QUICK HOMEMADE PESTO COURGETTI RECIPE

30.7.15

I've been so desperate to try Courgetti for such a long time since I've heard about it hear there and everywhere.

However, I didn't want to spend £29.99 on a Sprializer or spend ages cutting Courgette into teeny tiny slices. So I found the perfect little kitchen accessory for creating Courgetti and it was only £4.99 from eBay.

Once my Veggetti Vegetable Sharpener arrived I couldn't wait to create a New Courgetti Recipe for my first Courgetti experience.

So, I thought I'd make my Healthy Homemade Basil, Watercress, Rocket and Pine Nut Courgetti.

Recipe Bellow!


Ingredients:
1 Courgette
1 Handful of Basil
1 Handful of Watercress
1 Handful of Rocket
2 Handfuls of Pine Nuts
100ml Water



Step 1:
Blend the Basil, Watercress, Rocket and 1 Handful Pine Nuts in a Blender or anything you have to combine the ingredients into a paste/liquid.

I use my Breville Blend Active Blender which is such a handy accessory for blending anything and everything. I use it all the time for pesto or pastes.

Step 2:
Sharpen your Courgette with the Veggetti Vegetable Sharpener and place into a Pan.

Step 3:
Pour Pesto Over the Courgetti and stir together in the Pan until it's all coated.
The Add the last Handful of Pine Nuts into the Pan too.

Step 4:
Heat everything in the Pan on the Hob for 5 Minutes.
Ensuring you don't over cook or the Courgette will go mushy.

Step 5:
Once Cooked Pop into a Bowl

...and Eat!



Let me know if you try my recipe by Contacting me on Twitter or Instagram!
#StyledbyCharlie


Thanks for reading!










MINDFULNESS & ME - MY 5 TIPS FOR LIVING MINDFULLY

28.7.15

If you've been reading my blog from the start or since last year you'll know I previously wrote a tell all truths blog post about my battle with Mental Heath, Depression and Anxiety about my diagnosis with Bipolar Disorder.
See Blog Post here.

Since then I wrote another blog post about How I Stay Positive, Happy and Relaxed.
See Blog Post here.

Continuing my journey to happiness and sharing it with you all I thought I'd share with you how I deal with daily struggles, staying positive and being mindful.





Mindfulness is very, very important to me and something that can I can say is the main thing that has helped me sculpt the positive and open minded attitude I'm now lucky enough - after my exhausting journey - to say I'm in.

There are several Mindful things I do in my daily life to prepare myself for everything I may panic about, worry about, get anxious or stressed about that keep me calm and collected when certain occasions arrive I may have previously struggled with.

I thought I'd share with you 5 Tips and Tricks for Living Mindfully.

1. Take Each Day with a Fresh Mind
Something I always used to struggle with was carrying over my worries, troubles and concerns from the previous day or week.
My New Mindful Attitude has taught me that once I wake in the morning it really is a New Day with New Findings and New Experiences, don't mix that with worries that are in the past and they don't need to be carried over.
Start the day by filing those concerns in your Mindful Filing Cabinet in the 'In The Past' File.

2. Don't chase Happiness. Live it.
For years and years since being diagnosed with Bipolar I've chased Happiness.
Thinking 'Now I have the medication and the diagnosis, all I need now is the happiness and I'll be fine.' Well this was a lot more difficult than 14 Year Old me initially though.
Happiness wasn't waiting for me in some long lost abandoned cave by it's last owner and it didn't need chasing.
I just needed to let myself live it.
I spent too many years thinking I would stumble upon Happiness or it would finally find me like a Hogwarts Wizards Owl until I finally realised I just needed to accept that I could, and was allowed to be Happy.
Do what you love, spend time with who you love and give yourself some credit (because you're pretty awesome too you know!) and Live Happiness.

3. Be Creative
By creative I don't mean dig out your childhood paints and got wild with several canvas' in the garden - although that would be awesome and if you do please hola at me so I can join in - Unless that's how you generally spends your weekends then go for it!
I mean, let you mind be creative.
Do things you wouldn't normally do, Suggest thing you wouldn't normally suggest and Try new things you'd normally completely ignore.
I'm naturally a creative person. I can think of nothing better than spending an afternoon letting myself loose on Photoshop downloading new fonts and creating new designs or going on Holiday and spending more time with my Camera than with any of my friends or family.
But living mindfully has shown me new ways to be creative and have fun doing it.
If you struggle to get your creative juices flowing as an adult - as it was all so much easier when you were a child in primary school with nothing else to do than let your imagination go wild and be as creative as humanly possible - May I suggest you invest in An Adult Colouring Book.
I recently bought the Mindfulness Colouring Book for adults that has the most amazing selection of 100's of patterns from mandala's and tea cups to cabbages and it's so great for getting in to a creative and mentally healthy zone that my Boyfriend & my Mum who suffer from Stress and Anxiety have both invested in Adult Colouring Books and love them!

4. Give yourself Me Time
I used to try my best to plan and cram up all of my spare time so I wasn't alone and always had someone with me as one of my worst fears with my stress and anxiety was  being alone as I always felt more vulnerable and unsafe with my thoughts.
However, since practising being Mindful in the past few years I've come to cherish my Me Time.
It's the time where I become a version of myself I'd not seen in a while where I get creative, positive, motivated and calm.
I now try and have as much Me Time as possible in my spare time.
This isn't on my Weekends which I spend with my Family or my Boyfriend this is when I'm off work, or on those rare occasions where my boyfriend is away for the night or on a job.
I now adore my Me Time.
I mostly have my Blogging to thank for my changing in thoughts on being along, as for the past year it's meant I've needed to be alone to work on posts. Then once I'd finished a post I'd have more Me Time with my fresh and accepting mind from being creative writing my posts feeling so motivated.
In the past year using my Me Time I've created a Blog, YouTube Channel, Silhouette Signs Company and made more time for my Photography Jobs!

5. Challenge & Experiment
This is something I touched on in my How I Stay Positive, Happy and Relaxed Blog Post where I regularly challenge myself with things I'd normally struggle with.
Well with Living Mindfully I Challenge all the time.
Even yesterday during my Me Time instead of spending the next hour watching YouTube Videos with all of my jobs completed, I decided to take myself to my car and travel to a destination which I normally have anxiety issues with (which is only a shop in a town I struggle visiting. So to some of you this may sound  utterly ridiculous, or some of you who suffer with anxiety may be able to relate) on my own to do some shopping for the evening.
Normally I'd only go with my boyfriend and even on a good day would I go in with him, otherwise I'd stay in the car in my comfort zone.
But after I'd done this I felt so accomplished and proud of myself.
Anxiety it's challenging in itself as you don't know when it's going to spring upon you but you start to notice the things that trigger it.
So adapting a Mindful Life is amazing for you if you suffer from anxiety as it allows you to thing differently and from new perspectives about certain situations.

Being Mindful and Experimenting in every day life is another Top Tip I would recommend.

Try Random New Things such as:
• Take a new route home from work.
• Grab some random ingredients from the fridge and create a new meal.
• Doodle with no intention of an outcome.
• Take a walk exploring with no final destination.
• Have a hour away from you phone and social media. (you'll be surprised)
• Type a random 3 Digit Number into your Sky Remote and watch a program you've never heard off.
• Take a Baking Book off your book shelf and stop on a random page and baking something new.
• Go into a Book shop or onto Amazon and pick up/order a random book and take a read.
• Spend a weekend off in the sun driving in a direction and stumble across a destination to spend the day at;

Try new things, experiment, explore and find a version of you you didn't know before.
Maybe you watch a new TV Channel and educate yourself about something you didn't know or find a love for watching gymnastics. Maybe you take a different route home from work and stumble across as restaurant or shop on the way you didn't know existed and a new place to visit over the weekend.
All the things help calm, free and find yourself into a new way of things helping you change your mindset into an accepting and experimental mind.



Being Mindful is fabulous.
Try it.



Books I'd Recommend:
The Calm Book
Buy Here
The Mindfulness Colouring Book
Buy Here
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying
Buy Here
Life with a Sprinkle of Glitter
Buy Here
Get The Glow
Buy Here
Nourish: Mind, Body & Soul
Buy Here


I hope this post has either inspired, motivated or educated you to something either you didn't know about, were nervous to try or something you were curious about.
Either way, I hope it helped!
Please leave me a comment with your thoughts.



Thanks for reading!




P L E A S E   V O T E   F O R  M E:
Please VOTE for #StyledbyCharlie to WIN
I'm a Finalist for the Outstanding Beauty Blogger Career Achievement Awardand you're VOTE would me everything.



Follow #StyledbyCharlie on Social Media:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/pallettBLOGGER
Instagram: www.instagram.com/CharliePallett
Facebook: www.facebook.com/StyledbyCharlieBlog
Depop: www.Depop.com/CharliePallett
Snapchat: CharliePallett






FITNESS, HEALTH & WEIGHT LOSS UPDATE

25.7.15

As many of you will already know I recently spent 9 Days on the #Clean9 Health and Weight Loss Detox where I lost over Half a Stone in 9 Days.
You can read my whole #Clean9 Daily Diary here.

As so many people were interested in #Clean9 and what it entails I thought I'd write a daily diary.
Since then I wanted to update you all on what I'm doing health and fitness wise after finishing #Clean9.

It's been over 2 Weeks since I stopped #Clean9.
Since then I have maintained a strict health and fitness routine!
I wanted to use #Clean9 as my kick start into a healthy, fitter and hopefully thinner journey!




FITNESS
I'm not much of a fitness expert or fitness addict.
I'd love to be but unfortunately I had pneumonia when I was younger as struggle with strenuous and mainly cardio exercise. I also have a diagnosed set of extremely tight hamstrings my surgeon described as 'The same as a 75 Year Olds' so stretching exercise such as Yoga and Pilates isn't the easiest of things as I find it hard even tying my shoes laces.
Pathetic I know!

However I don't want thing like that to beat me.
I don't want to be unfit, I want to start and maintain a health lifestyle!
So, since #Clean9 I've been Speed Walking!
Starting with 2 Miles of Speed Walking and now I'm doing 5K at least 3 times a week!
I'm also aiming to meet or beat my Apple Watch Daily Fitness Goals of Burning 300+ Calories, 30 Minutes of Exercise, and between 8,000 - 10,000 Steps a Day.

I'm enjoying exercise again!
I'm enjoying trying to improve each time whether thats improving my time or feeling healthier and fitness doing the exercises.
I'm mixing up my 5K locations too.
Living in the countryside, this is very helpful!
My girlfriends and I do a Weekly Tuesday 5K Speed Walk together around our local forest, and I now look forward to it!

I'm finding that I'm no longer treating myself to unhealthy food or clothes I don't need.
I'm searching and buying New Fitness Gear!
I've been loving Fabletic's Range and offers!
Until they massively upset me recently with their random £44 Per Month Subscription that I wasn't made aware off.. But we won't go into that! (TOP TIP: Check out the T&C's at Fabletics first!)
As well as Primark's Fitness Collection.
I picked up some Sports Socks and the most amazing Trainers with Memory Foam Soles I just can't get enough of for less than £15!
I'm finally excited, motivated and dedicated, I can't wait to see more and more results!



HEALTH & FOOD
During #Clean9 I noticed how much I previously ate for the sake of it and drank far, far too much Diet Coke & Coke Zero as well as how little water I was drinking!
During #Clean9 they recommend you drink 8 Glasses of Water daily.
At first I found this hard as I have a weird issue with glassware and just couldn't seem to consume so much water...

Until I started to drink it bottled!
Yes, it sound so stupid I know!
Not buying bottled water but buying Refillable Bottle.
I picked up a Fitness Bottle that had an RRP £8.99 that I picked up in Home Bargains for £4.99!
I seem to just drink and drink water out of it and am now definitely getting the recommended 8 Glasses Daily... At least!

Health and Body wise after #Clean9 I feel amazing.
I feel happy, motivated, excited and healthy!
I've noticed since #Clean9 that my skin is clear and hydrated. I'm sleeping a lot better. I'm not craving food at all. I've go so much energy too!

On to Food!
I'm a huge foodie anyway.
I love food and I love cooking!
I'm quite a healthy eater anyway due to being Vegetarian (and disliking fish, potatoes and dairy!) I eat so, so, so many vegetables and I prefer the wholemeal side of life anyway.
My main aim was to control my portion sizes, to not over eat or snack and I've managed all of those with ease!
#Clean9 shrank my stomach so I can't eat as much as I was without getting so full, which is helpful!
Doing #Clean9 also made me realise that when I think I'm hungry, I'm actually not!

Now when I'm cooking my meals at night I'm not that hungry anyway but I love cooking and am excited to cook up something healthy and amazing!
I've fallen in love with Courgetti!
I've been so eager to try this vegetable spaghetti craze but didn't want to fork out £30 on an huge, overpriced, ugly spiralizer all the YouTubers have been raving about.
So with my Bargain Hunting Uniform on I headed to eBay and found my new favourite kitchen accessory.. My Vegetable Sharpener!
It's actually what it says on the tin. A Giant Sharpener for Sharpening Veg!
I use it to make Courgetti all the time!
So quite, simply and easy and only takes 5 minutes to make a whole meal!

I'm also staying away from sweets and sugary treats (I don't eat chocolate anyway) and staying to natural sugars like fruit and healthy cereals. As well as always choosing the wholemeal option when it comes to pasta too!



WEIGHT LOSS
Honestly, I've not weighed myself since #Clean9.
I never used to weigh myself anyway!
I'm a strong believer in you weigh what you feel, and know when you've lost or put on weight just by getting out of the bed or popping on clothes in the morning.
I don't feel like you have to get a digital reading of it by standing on scales, you know if you've put on or lost weight just by being you.
I feel lighter, my old clothes are fitting better and I've needed to buy some new bras.
So I know what I'm doing is working!
I'll weigh myself when I get to a size I'm happy with and compare with my Pre #Clean9 Weight!
It just works for me that way and I feel less pressure.



I'm really looking forward to continuing my journey of getting to a healthier, thinner and happier Me!
Starting with starting with adjusting my routine and getting stuck in really!
I'm going update monthly on my progress and how I'm getting on, keeping you updated with my New Fitness, Health & Weight Loss Journey.

If you want to try #Clean9 and get a kickstart to the healthier new you you can find all the information at the bottom of my #Clean9 Posts here.



Thanks for reading!




P L E A S E   V O T E   F O R  M E:
Please VOTE for #StyledbyCharlie to WIN
I'm a Finalist for the Outstanding Beauty Blogger Career Achievement Awardand you're VOTE would me everything.



Follow #StyledbyCharlie on Social Media:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/pallettBLOGGER
Instagram: www.instagram.com/CharliePallett
Facebook: www.facebook.com/StyledbyCharlieBlog
Depop: www.Depop.com/CharliePallett
Snapchat: CharliePallett












#STYLEDBYCHARLIE ASKS FITNESS EXPERT LUCY WYNDHAM-READ - THE INTERVIEW

14.7.15

I've recently become obsessed with Lucy Wyndham-Read's amazing easy to follow YouTube Health and Fitness YouTube Videos which really do make exercise and workout easy and accessibly for everyone!

So, I asked Lucy if I could Interview her for my Blog to share with you my New Favourite Workouts, New Favourite Health and Fitness Book and my New Favourite Fitness YouTuber!




#StyledbyCharlie Asks Lucy Wyndham-Read.

Q: As a personal trainer you obviously have to have a vast knowledge of not only fitness but health. What are your Top 3 Tips to being Healthy?

 A: Be a numbers girl and always and set Rules:
1. Workout 5 Times a Week
2. Spend 80% of the week eating clean
3. Be an '8 Glasses of Water' a Day Girl


 Q: Your Book '21 Day Love Your Body Plan' features so many easy ways to workout whatever your lifestyle. Which of your signature workouts is your favourite?

A: I love squats more than shoes!
For me even if I am super short of time I can squeeze in some squats as I know these help keep the booty lifted, but more than that it is a great way to keep your calorie burn fully charged all day.


 Q: After reading your book its clear you've lived a very full lifestyle including being in the army. What is the main thing you took from being in the army that has shaped who you are today?

A: The Army taught me that you can do anything you put your mind too! If you have the motivation, discipline and determination you can get what you want. So even though I don’t have a sergeant major shouting at me to get out of bed at 5:30am I will still set that alarm (maybe 6:30am though!) to jump out of bed and chase my dreams of Fitness and Motivation.
I have jumped many hurdles, with doors being slammed in my face, constant rejects, being ripped off and that is just on the business front as my personal life has been hard, but all these events taught me to toughen up and learn how to do everything yourself. I have learnt how to build my website, even down to coding. Learnt how edit videos and much more which has given me the ability to create my dream job which is writing the books (and now have I don’t have to knock on doors, the publishers are coming to me) and my YouTube Channel is growing from strength to strength.


Q: You have you YouTube Channel too! How long have you had a YouTube Channel and what have you why did you decide to take your talents to YouTube?

A: I started my Channel about 2 years ago and for me it was a great way to show my workouts and also give good advice on everything from how to find the right training shoes to 4 minute full coaching workouts. I wanted to create a Channel that woman can come to and find everything they need to lead a healthy lifestyle.


 Q: Your YouTube Channel features so many easily to follow tips to working out from solo workouts or working out with friends. Which is your favourite 10 Minute Workout for Solo/With Friends?
 A: My favourite workout is probably the 100 Rep Skinny Jean Workout - Less than 5 Minutes And You Can Do It Anywhere!

Remember to Subscribe to Lucy's Channel for FREE Workouts you can do anywhere.


 Q: I'm at work a lot of the week and want to make sure I'm using my body, working out as much as possible and keeping active. What kind of exercise regime would you recommend for someone like me that works 9 - 5?

A: I would recommend you do one of my 4 Minute Workouts first thing in the morning.
These help you burn calories off for the rest of the day, then when you get back from work do a 100 Rep Workout as then you are toning all over and this is all you need to do!
So the morning one is all about calorie burning then the afternoon one is all about toning, you can easily do these even with a 9- 5 job.

Plus you could try this 2 Minute Lower Body Workout of mine that you can do even at a desk!
The Easiest & Most Effective Thigh Workout:


Q: Theres a lot of health and diet tips out there dominating social media it can be hard to know which are truthful or which are just going social media crazy because they're paid for promotions by celebrities. Your Book '21 Day Love Your Body Plan' is a quick fix to feeling body confident, why does your quick fix work over others out there such as the Teatox's for example?

A: If you eat healthy clean foods and workout then you don’t need to ever spend a penny on such products. Which by the way if you read the small print with them all it states you have to do it alongside healthy eating and exercise (helloooooo!) this is what gets the results not the product! It makes me so cross as it comes down to what you eat and how much you move!
My book (Click here to Buy Lucy's 21 Day Love your Body Plan eBook) is all about showing how easy it is to eat clean food and how workouts can be short but still effective.


Q: I'm really, really enjoying reading your book and find it so easy to relate to the writing style and format without the fitness and exercise jargon that confuses so many of us.
What was important to you when writing this health and fitness book?

A: It has to be clear and for me I want my readers to be able to understand how the body works but not in a intensive and heavy text style. I want to make it simple and fun and then we absorb it more.
I love being creative and in this book my creative juices got flowing and could not stop!
But on a serious note the more we understand how body works are; the easier it becomes to work with it.


 Q: Your book features recipe tips too for getting a confident body in '21 Days' what is your idea of the perfect 'body loving' daily food menu? (Breakfast, Lunch, Snack, Dinner)

A: I love toast!
A: So my Breakfast is always toast and coming soon to my channel is a series of Healthy Breakfasts! 
Then my Snack is a banana with a few pecans (sometimes more than a few!!!)
Lunch is a quick favourite of mine is Tuna, Red Onion, Kidney Bean and Coriander Salad.
Dinner would be Courghetti Bolognese.
I love to swap traditional spaghetti pasta for courgette noodles.


Q: I'm quite body conscious and always worry about whether the exercise I am doing isn't helping the areas I want it to. Which of your YouTube Tutorial exercises would you recommend for Abs? For Arms? For Legs? And Booty?

A: Very soon on my Channel I will have some workouts for each area, so Watch This Space! then you can tone at home just as if I was training alongside you.


Q: If I had a spare 15 - 20 Minutes to fit in a special Lucy Wyndham-Read Quick Fit Routine and I wanted to focus on losing some quick calories as well as quickly toning my body what exercises would you recommend I could do in that time?

A: If you have 15 - 20 Minutes, you could do a Quick 10 Minute Power Walk then my 6 Minute Fat Burning Workout for your Butt, Thighs and Abs and this will tone you all over.
Watch Video here.


Q: I have just bought an Apple Watch and monitor my daily activity religiously on it from my minutes of exercise a day to my daily steps. I aim to do between 8,000 to 10,000 Steps a day.
Is that enough? Are then any other simple ways to keep in shape to easily adaptable to add to your daily routine?

 A: That is great to aim for 8- 10 Thousand! 10 thousand is roughly about 5 miles, so that will get some amazing results.


Q: I love going out for a Meal and trying to keep in shape but this can sometimes be a tricky balance especially if you work 5 - 6 Days a Week. As you have so much experience with Fitness and Health do you believe in the so called 'Cheat Day' where you're allowed that calorific Indian Takeaway and Naan?

A: Yes! We are all allowed a cheat day as I mentioned earlier it is about balance and the 80/20 Rule so for me once a week I have a big slab of Fruit of Nut Chocolate (and I mean as in the one in the purple shiny wrapper!!) So Yes! Go for the Naan and lets face it a curry without a Naan is a bit like a Workout without a Squat!


 Q: I often hear that it's best to have an 80-20% relationship between food and exercise. (80% Diet management and 20% exercise) What Food to Exercise ratio would you say you'd recommend to live by for maintaining a healthy and in shape lifestyle?

A: Food: Be good and eat clean 80% of the week.
Exercise: Between 4 – 5 times a week.


Q: You've been in the Army, you've written books, you've got a youtube channel and your personal train internet sensations such as Anna Saccone-Joly. Where with Lucy Wyndham-Read go next?

A: I have lots of new exciting projects lined up and another one is also helping promote a fun message to youngsters. Not like my Love Your Body eBook which is aimed at teenagers and woman, but another series which is for very young children on introducing them in a magical way to healthy eating and being active.
I have written 7 Children's Books in this series which you can View and Purchase here.


Q: Thank you so much for your time today Lucy with all your amazing tips and trick to feeling fabulous and body confident! I can't wait to start my '21 Day Love Your Body Plan' from your book (which can be purchased here).
Do you have any last minute tips for so many of us out there who struggle with finding the motivation to keep up a fitness routine and healthy lifestyle in our busy lives? 

Keep your workouts short (then you are likely to stick to them) and keep focused, keep eating clean healthy food and then you will keep seeing results!



Lucy xx

Lucy's YouTube: https://goo.gl/fh6wf7




INSTAGRAM @charliepallett

© Styled by Charlie. Design by Fearne.