As you all know I am massive fan of making eating healthy a lifestyle choice, with a longterm goal of feeling great and confident within your own body.

The first major change I made to my lifestyle and positive eating habits came when I was 13 years old and decided to become vegetarian. This was a decision that was a little difficult to manage, coming from a half Cypriot, half Irish family (who like their meat). With that said, it was one of the best decisions of my life. It was at this point that I started to fall in love with food even more, experimenting with different recipes and ingredients.

2 years later, I added fish into my diet, a decision purely based on the fact that I was struggling to get enough protein in to my diet. This further fuelled my passion for experimental cooking, trying out different recipes with a mixture of ingredients, herbs and spices (some way better than others) with my family as my testing subjects!

It was only when I reached my mid 20's that I started wanting to understand why I was making certain nutritional choices, and what impact they had on my body… Which brings me on to our topic of discussion, veganism.

A question I get asked all the time- would I ever consider becoming vegan?

In short, the answer is yes, I would consider it. I strongly believe that veganism is a lifestyle choice that is now perfectly attainable. The awareness around veganism has grown rapidly over the past few years with way more supermarkets, and restaurants serving vegan meals.

I don’t doubt that this will continue to grow and I hope that the misconception of ‘eating healthily is too difficult to maintain’ will become a myth.

To show you just how easy it is to prepare a delicious & satisfying Vegan meal in under 15 mins, I have shared my yummy new recipe here:

ASIAN SPICE FUSION KEDGEREE

This dish is traditionally made with smoked haddock and is served for brunch.

My vegan kedgeree dish is made with a fusion of Asian spices, Iceland’s multi greens rice steam bags full of the perfect plant based foods, Iceland's incredibly easy to cook white rice steam bags

It is also optional to use Iceland's delicious smoked haddock fillets if veganism really isn’t for you!

For those of you wanting an even healthier, higher protein fix that is equally as delicious, I recommend Iceland’s 500g quinoa (you all know how obsessed I am with quinoa, and this packet from Iceland is so convenient as it takes of the hassle of cooking up that perfect batch of quinoa. Which, let’s face it, goes wrong 50% of the time!

For the full recipe- click here. Get ready for a yummy treat!

ASIAN SPICE FUSION KEDGEREE WITH SMOKED HADOCK

MY 5 TOP TIPS TO KEEP YOU MOTIVATED WITH YOUR NEW YEAR HEALTH KICK

1.   Fall in love with the feeling of living a healthy lifestyle. It should not feel like a chore, quite the opposite. It should make you feel great about your body on the inside and outside!

2.  Make small positive lifestyle changes that work for you. Consistency will be achieved through enjoyment- choose exercises classes that you love and that make you feel great afterwards. Rather than forcing yourself to go to the gym and doing a workout that you don’t enjoy! Home workouts are also a great option too, and I have plenty of them on my YouTube channel to keep you focused and motivated!

3.  Eat little and often. I recommend eating small, frequent meals, approx. 6 small meals a day rather than 3 large meals. This helps to keep your blood sugar levels steady so you don’t have big energy dips & also aids digestion

4. Routine is key! At the beginning of every week, set out your schedule and do your grocery shop the weekend before- I recommend online shopping  as it is so much less stressful and saves you time. Included in your schedule should be: What days you are working out, where and what? Also a few meal ideas. Of course, this may change, but try to stick to it as much as possible. It feels great when you achieve those mini goals

5.    Meal prep. Cook your meals for your work lunch box either the night before or over the weekend and freeze it. This is a great way to save money on eating out and to ensure you eat more healthily, keeping yourself on track to achieve your health goals.

Good Luck & even more importantly- ENJOY!

x Love Lilly x