I’m determined to catch up to myself, but for a few weeks, you’re going to have to bear with me while I go over my backlog of favourites of the week posts!

After my lovely holiday I landed right back in the thick of things – a deadline, a new eating plan, and kitchen walls that were streaming water everywhere thanks to a leak that had sprung up from upstairs. Thankfully that seems to be sorted now, but for almost two weeks, I couldn’t cook anything in my kitchen! Luckily, I’d just started Louise Parker’s Lean For Life, and so I was ready to dive into a world of delicious salads…

Lean for Life has a few basic ideas central to the plan. First of all, don’t call it a diet. (Sorry!). Secondly, exercise should consist of at least 10,000 steps a day plus at least 20 minutes of strength and toning / body weight exercises a day, six days a week. Thirdly, that you should ditch low quality carbs (potatoes, white rice, etc) and ramp up your intake of protein. There are a few other aspects to it, of course, but those are the main ideas I’ve taken away so far!

I’ve been surviving on the odd meal made on my outdoor gas stove (which was originally bought to make okonomiyaki!), like the delicious frittata above (finished with a blow torch!), and many rotisserie chickens (CostCo do the best tasting and best value for money version, unsurprisingly!).

The Best Bistro Salad is one of my favourites – peas, gem lettuce, chicken, and baked prosciutto, amongst other things…

I’m also a huge fan of the Super Cherry Bircher, which includes a sour cherry concentrate, yogurt and oatbran. Lots of breakfast recipes consist of a basic base of oatbran and yogurt, which you mix together overnight, usually with some stevia and vanilla paste to sweeten. It’s a great idea, especially if you’re not keen on the texture of oats or granola.

It’s also been a great excuse to eat some of the fruit I adore but never usually buy – figs and cherries! And, I’ve purchased a new set of storage containers just for all the nuts I’ve had to buy too!

I also experimented with making my own gravlax, thanks to The Guardian’s recipe. It turned out really well, but I’m all gravlax’d out now… I don’t think I can eat any more for a long while… (I made A LOT.)

I also went blackberry picking with my family, to get some fruit to eat and freeze. Unless I freeze it right away, I usually end up leaving the blackberries in the fridge to go bad – an absolutely terrible habit I need to break right away! I also really want to make some kind of blackberry liqueur for Christmas, but I need to find the motivation from somewhere… Did you know that blackberry season only lasts until the end of September in the UK? Supposedly, as soon as the clock strikes midnight and we get to October, the devil rushes out to wee on the berries and make them sour. The more you know!

I’ve also fallen in love with Superlife’s Mrs Green Mix – what a lifesaver! I adore Natural Blender because the recipes come with superfood supplements, and I wondered if there was a hassle-free way of replicating this for my own recipes. Superlife have blended together a variety of incredible supplements just for women, to make sure that every smoothie or juice you add it to is as packed full of goodness as possible. They sent me a couple of sachets to try, and I’m so impressed. The taste isn’t completely undetectable, but the crazy long list in this blend makes it well worth adding in. (I’d say it lends a deeper, earthy taste which is actually pretty pleasant if you add the right fruits and vegetables.) Pick up the blend from their site here, for £12.61 (and check out the rest of the range, and the discount options if you buy in bulk!).

Finally, to compensate for all the fries and takeaways I’ve been skipping, I’ve also treating myself to some beautiful flowers from Bloom & Wild (the Harper is pictured above) and Bloomon, which is a really exciting and cool company. Check out their range here, and with my referral link you can get a free vase! Each delivery they provide a new and exciting arrangement of flowers in small, medium or large sizes, and the first one I received was super cool!

Channelling Louise Parker’s beautiful lifestyle certainly has its perks… pretty flowers, beautiful plates of healthy food, and a good start to my weight loss. Hurrah!

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