Beef and Broccoli

Guess what world?! Georgie's got a new camera lens! After our last flat ruined two lenses with it's evil damp mould, I'd been sans lens and unable to use my 450D for nearly an entire year. But then this beautiful Canon 50mm came into my life and I'm once again a happy snappy bear! 

Here's my recipe for simple, quick and healthy Beef and Broccoli!

Clean Eating Beef and Broccoli

Serves One

Ingredients

1 Rump Steak (around 150g), sliced into strips

1 Brocolli head - roughly chopped into florets

1 diced Red Pepper

1/2 diced Onion

1 thinly sliced clove of Garlic

1 inch of roughly chopped Ginger

1 tsp Honey

2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

1 tsp Coconut Oil (or olive/rapeseed oil)

Salt and Pepper to season

Method

Heat the oil in a large shallow pan.

Add the onions, broccoli and pepper, and saute until softened. 

Add the garlic and ginger, and continue to cook until golden brown.

Mix your honey and soy sauce together and add to the pan along with your beef strips.

Fry on a high heat for two minutes until the beef has browned and your soy/honey mix has coated everything. 

Add salt and pepper to taste and a sprinkle of fresh chilli if you're feeling adventurous (just don't touch your boyfriends face afterwards - oops).

I Love Doughnuts But...

I have been a little absent from my blog of late, but I haven't been any less obsessed with food. I have begun to make one change however, and that is a promise to myself and my body that I will try my very best to eat cleanly and heathily wherever possible - as well as cutting my meat intake by half.

So I still love doughnuts, but I've just been eating a little less of them and have been getting interested in healthy alternatives to my favourite sugary snacks. The clean eating promise comes from my want and need to nuture my body as there is nothing more important than looking after ourselves. There is a definite awareness that comes with clean eating, and in taking up this challenge, it has really highlighted for me how little I think about what I'm putting into my body - things that would before seem like a normal snack or a drink are things that I no longer want to consume.

This new lifestyle started after I watched the BBC2 Horizon documentary series - 'Should I Eat Meat?', and I was shocked by the effect that meat production is having on the planet. One third of the world's land is used for arable farming, just so we can feed the animals that we eat. Our current meat intake in the UK averages at 220g of meat per day and in order for meat production to be sustainable in our current environment, we need to half that intake. This is a change I thought I could easily make - it would save me money and improve my health. It's been a month or so now and I have definitely decreased my meat intake - some days I don't eat meat or dairy at all. It's made me realise that I don't really miss them.

However being a big foodie and with food being a part of my career as well as my personal passion, I wanted to give myself the freedom to eat animal products if and when I wanted to, as long as I was adhering to my reduction rule. As I cut down on my intake, I started to cook more vegan meals - ones that were piled high with the most delicious vegetables, eating dried fruit for snacks, drinking cold pressed juices and getting really obsessed with avocados. My eating was becoming cleaner, so why not make that a permanent change in my life?

I have also been spending a lot of time on Instagram (you can find my account here: http://instagram.com/skye2612 ), where I post a lot of pictures without writing blog posts to go alongside them. In exploring this, I have found a lot of other accounts that are passionate about clean eating and alternatives to what we are so used to eating. 

Although I still love eating out and am thoroughly obsessed with Crosstown Doughnuts, you will notice a change in some of the things I am cooking and writing about. I hope to share my finds with you - particularly if I find any new good and healthy snacks, as well as my usual food porn.

July Snack Pick

Say Hello to the Bounce Energy Ball. 

I can quite safely say that I am addicted to these. They come in eight different flavours, but I have to champion the Coconut and Macademia Protein Bliss Ball. 

At first sight, it looks a little weird and the texture is a bit of a surprise, but not only are they packed with protein, fibre and antioxidants, they taste incredible. If you're craving a mid morning or afternoon snack, these are a great way to fill you up and because they're so filling, there's no risk of a binge session. 

For something that tastes so insanely delicious, these are the the health benefits for you:

• High in Fructose
  
  • Slow Release Energy

• High protein
  
  • Contributes to growth and/or the maintenance of muscle mass
  • Contributes to the maintenance of normal bones

• High fibre

• High in vitamin E
  
  • Contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress

• High in manganese
  
  • Contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism
  • Contributes to the maintenance of normal bones
  • Contributes to the formation of connective tissue
  • Contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress
    
     

So you want to get your hands on one now?! You can purchase Bounce energy balls from Waitrose, Tescos, Holland and Barratt, Wholefoods, POD, GNC, Planet Organic and Nutricentre. 

 

Well done Bounce. This is ultimate guilt free snacking.