Healthy Food Haul

One of the hardest things to do when trying to lose weight is keeping a fridge full of healthy food - and being on a student budget doesn't exactly help matters. I tend to shop in my local supermarket about once a week to stock up on fresh fruit and veg but every month to six weeks I do a big online order to restock my cupboards and occasionally to treat myself on a cheat day.

This week I received my monthly order from Ocado and I decided to photograph it and share it with you as an example of what I buy in order to maintain a healthy diet.

Monthly Ocado delivery
Cost of goods - £70.10
Money spent - £45.00
Number of bags - 10
Number of products - 45

 Although the exact items range from month to month I tend to get the same basic staples. For my cupboard I always stock up on tinned tomatoes and a selection of beans and chickpeas as they're so handy to turn into feel-good meals like chilli con carne or curry, and I normally find I'm running short of either pasta or rice so I tend to pick up wholemeal versions of those too. This month I also picked up some nice salad dressings (which I will be featuring in an upcoming blog post!) and for a sweet treat I got some popcorn, Special K cereal bars and a new purchase to try: almond butter.

 Look at all that colour! Whenever I get an Ocado shop I like to stock-buy some products I know will last, like carrots, apples and jacket potatoes. This month I also picked up some sweet potatoes to make some yummy sweet potato fries, and they're much higher in Vitamins A and C than regular white potatoes. I like to stock up on fresh greens too - rocket leaves in particular are so versatile and I like to chop it all up and put in a airtight container just to prolong its life a little bit and so I always have salad available - that way I'm far more likely to eat a salad!
When I can afford it I also stock my fridge with fresh fruit; normally strawberries, blueberries and bananas, so I have something in the evenings to stave off the sugar cravings and to turn into smoothies.

One area I often fall down in when trying to eat healthily is eating enough protein, so I often stock my freezer with Quorn products or other meatfree alternatives that I know are high in protein - tofu is a great source of protein and I also stock my cupboards with lentils. This month I also picked up some hummus, as I find it to be a great snack food with some crudités, and some carrot and swede mash to make one of my favourite dishes: Barbecue Tofu.

Yes, I'm well aware that this is an awful lot of food and money to spend on a restricted budget but I know that I will all-too-easily succumb to cheap microwave meals if I don't have healthier options available to me (I can be notoriously weak-willed sometimes). I often freeze some of the fruit just to make it last that little big longer and I will prepare meals from this to take to my partner's house if I'm going for dinner or staying the weekend - and I would rather spend that bit more to eat healthily than waste nearly a year's worth of hard work.

70's Chic

Spring is here, and with it brings some brand new trends to the high street and our wardrobes - although this year, we're feeling far more nostalgic than normal.

One of this season's biggest trends already is the bohemian 70's inspired look, which is set to take this year's festivals by storm. With the weather warming up so early this year there's little doubt flared jeans and bags with fringe detailing with be flying off the shelves.

Source

Below, I've put together a quick night and day look, inspired by the likes of 70's socialite and human rights advocate Bianca Jagger and modernized with clothes taken directly from the high street.

Day

Top, Topshop; Printed Trousers, New Look; Necklace, Boohoo; Gladiator Sandals; Dorothy Perkins; Satchel, Next

Night

Chiffon Dress, New Look; Fringed Suedette Jacket, Boohoo; Heeled Sandals, Topshop; Flower Crown, Crown and Glory 

This spring I'm personally I'm loving printed trousers and cute little satchels, but I'd love to hear from you so please comment down below and let me know which 70's inspired pieces you've seen on the high street and are loving!

Spring-spiration Risotto

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And when life gives you asparagus tips, you make risotto.

Inspiration can come from the craziest places sometimes, and when you least expect it - including in your Ocado shop. I don't get an Ocado shop often, but now we're officially into spring and I've been cooking with winter vegetables for far too long (butternut squash, I'm looking at you!).

Yes, I am fully aware that not every student can afford to splash out on Ocado shopping, and this really is a rare occurrence for me, but I do think the quality of food and the service you get is far better than other supermarket delivery services - I booked an 8:30pm-9:30pm slot with a text coming through earlier that morning telling me I had no substitutions and that my shopping would be delivered by Andrew in the Lemon Van. Andrew in the Lemon Van knocked on the door at 8:31pm. All my food had extended best before dates, which has been an issue with Sainsburys delivery before, and they have a multitude of discount codes for your first shop which makes the money-savvy part of me so happy. 25% off? Yes please!

But continuing with my tale of inspiration, I was packing away my Ocado shopping when I found a pack of asparagus tips that I can only assume had been accidentally packed into the bottom of the bag. While there is plenty on the website about items not turning up, there's nothing about extra items, and about 15 minutes before I had been surfing on the Jamie Oliver website and had hovered over an asparagus and mint risotto. It was like fate.

How good does this look? 

Asparagus, Green Bean and Pea Risotto with Lemon and Mint
Time to make: 30 minutes
Calories per portion: 173kcal
Cost per portion: £3.13
Portions of your 5 a day: 3

You will need:

• 1/2 onion, diced
• 75g asparagus tips, trimmed
• 50g frozen peas
• 100g arborio risotto rice
• 50g green beans, trimmed
• 1/2 tsp mint
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Knorr vegetable stock pot
• 10g rocket leaves
• 500ml water
• Frying pan
• Baking tray

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celcius, and place your asparagus tips on a baking tray. drizzle with some olive oil, season with the salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 20 minutes, tossing just once to ensure the asparagus roasts on all sides.

While the asparagus is roasting, fry the onion in a frying pan on low heat until translucent and soft. Boil 500ml of water to make the stock, and add the frozen peas and risotto rice to the frying pan to lightly toast. Don't allow either to burn so keep stirring until the water is boiled and ready to mix with the stock pot. You can do this in a saucepan but I prefer not to dirty too many pots and pans so I just make up my stock in a mug.

Add the green beans, and then add the stock slowly, allowing the first couple of spoonfuls to be fully absorbed before adding more. The most important tip for cooking risotto is to not stop stirring - by stirring the rice you release the starch inside, creating the creamy consistency we're looking for. Keep stirring and adding stock until you have two or three spoonfuls left, and remove the asparagus tips from the oven.

Add the asparagus tips, the last of the stock, the thyme, the mint and the lemon juice to the pan and continue to stir until all of the liquid is absorbed, and remove the heat. The risotto should be soft and without crunch, but should still retain its shape. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before stirring in the rocket leaves and serving.

The fresh vegetables and creamy consistency of the risotto rice is going to make this dish a firm favourite in the upcoming months, especially as I had no plans to make this dish! Personally I chose not to make my risottos with wine but if you want then I would recommend a light white wine such as a sauvignon blanc or a pinot grigio to pair with the asparagus. You can also add parmesan at the end but I didn't have any in the house. Next time though!