My Favourite Cookbooks

For last seven months or so, I have been completely in charge of everything that gets cooked in the family kitchen. And beside the surprising amount of stress that goes into planning meals that everyone will eat, I have enjoyed every minute of it! We recently started doing our weekly shop online, so every Saturday I flick through all my cookbooks and pick out the meals for the following week, and order the ingredients. Over the last couple of months I have found myself reaching for the same cookbooks over and over again, so I'd thought I share my favourites with you today. 

The Healthy Life by Jessica Sepel // I bought this book not realising it had recipes in it. Which was a bit stupid of me really. This book is a bit different to the usual cookbooks, as it focuses on living a healthy life (no pun intended). Jessica shows you how to address certain health ailments, to make sure your body is performing at it's best. The book focuses around Jessica's 10 principles for a healthier life. It teaches step by step methods to help you with a multitude of problems. From balancing your blood sugar, detoxing, and hormones, to stress, sleep, and mindfulness. It even includes various meal plans for each of her 10 principles. My favourite bit is right at the end of the book where there is a huuuuuuge list of blogs, websites, books, and online fitness classes to look at.  

The Skinnytaste Cookbook by Gina Homolka // I've been a fan of Gina's blog for years. I have made many of her recipes and they are all delicious. I don't think I've ever made a recipe of hers that I didn't enjoy. There is a halibut and broccoli bake (which I have made using cod) which is sooooo delicious it's unreal! Some of my favourites include the jerk chicken tacos (yum), the persian turkey burgers (mmmm), and the loaded potato skins (yaaas).

A Modern Way To Eat by Anna Jones // I bought this after a friend recommended it to me. I've recently been leading more of a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. Although I'm not completely committed (bacon tho), 75% of my meals are either vegetarian or vegan. I've only really made some of the salads from this book so far, but I did attempt to make the bay and mushroom biryani. I'm not sure if it was me or the recipe, but I found it pretty bland. But I would buy it again simply for the salad recipes. They are completely delicious, and I hope to be more adventurous and make some of the other recipes soon! 

Good and Simple by Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley // I've been watching the Hemsley sisters on the television for a while, and from what I can tell the book accompanies their show. Again I haven't really made anything other than salads, but the photography in this book is incredible. If I was allergic to food (and somehow still alive) I would flick through this book for the photos alone. They are so bright and vibrant, and a huge amount of inspiration for me. 

Lean In 15 by Joe Wicks // Although I don't agree with Joe's methods for losing weight, he has some pretty tasty recipes in this book.  The recipes are all fairly quick and easy (hence the 'in 15'), and are perfect for students or those with a busy lifestyle. There are a lot of asian style recipes, and a packed full of nutrients. What I would say is if you make the 'Cheeky Chicken Fried Rice' measure out your Sesame Oil properly - don't guess, it will taste disgusting! I especially love how there a couple of workouts in the back too - it covers all bases!

Where do you find your recipes?

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Recipe: Iranian Shirazi Salad

For me it is finally starting to feel like summer - I've just about finished university and I'm ready to collapse and do nothing for the summer holidays. I'm rather partial to a salad, especially when it comes to summertime, but sometimes you just fancy something a bit nicer than iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and a few slices of cucumber. And last summer, whilst looking for a new salad recipe to try out, I stumbled across the Iranian Shirazi salad. With just a couple of simple ingredients, you'd think it would be pretty bland and boring. But you'd be wrong. This is up there in my top 5 salads that I've ever eaten (alongside a gorgeous apple and rocket one that I'll probably end up sharing at some point!) - and I've eaten a lot of salads. 

Makes: 4-5 servings (as a main meal or 6-8 as a side salad)

Ingredients:

• 2 cucumbers (or 4 Persian cucumbers if you can get hold of them)
• 4 medium salad tomatoes
• 1 medium red onion
• Handful of fresh mint - finely chopped
• Juice of a large lemon
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Step one. 

To a large bowl, add the juice of a lemon and the chopped mint. 

Step two. 

Chop up the cucumbers, tomatoes, and red onion into really, really small cubes, and add to the bowl. Mix really well to make sure all the veggies are coated with the lemon and mint, and can absorb the delicious flavours! Traditionally everything is chopped up really small so you can have a taste of each ingredient in every mouthful. 

Step three. 

Season with salt and pepper - I don't add salt to pretty much anything, so I just used the pepper and I thought that was more than enough alongside the fresh veggies, the lemon and the mint!

And there you have it! A delicious salad! As always, please let me know if you have a go at making this and tell me whether or not you liked it!

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Recipe: Warming Tomato and Basil Soup

Hello everyone! Hope you're having a lovely Sunday! I haven't done a recipe post for absolutely ages, so I felt like doing one today! As it is starting to get a little chillier and the sun is nowhere in sight, I thought I'd do a soup recipe as soup is one of my favourite things to eat when I'm feeling chilly or when I have a dreaded winter cold! I've been making it a lot recently as the weather is freeeeezing and this week I've been feeling a bit ill. Making soup is incredibly easy, and you will be surprised at how much better it tastes than it does out of a tin! You can even make it in large batches, freeze some and save it for later! I like to mess around with different flavours but I love making the classics like tomato and basil, and that is the recipe I have for you today!

You will need!

Around 8 large salad tomatoes per person (don't use tins of chopped tomatoes or it will taste like pasta sauce! Which isn't very pleasant - trust me! Ew!)

Vegetable stock cube (I use the Knorr stock pots)

200ml of water (roughly)

Fresh basil (dried also tastes just as good)

A blender - essential!

Salt and pepper (as seasoning - optional)

First things first, you'll need to stick the kettle on (not for a cuppa) to start off your stock! Whilst you are waiting for it to boil, you can start chopping your salad tomatoes (and basil if you are using fresh) into chunks. Smaller chunks will cook faster if you are in a rush or staaaaarving! Once your kettle has boiled, add boiling water to a large pan and pop in your stock cube. Wait for it to dissolve before adding anything else. 

Once your stock is ready, you can add the tomatoes into the pan. You want to let them simmer down so they go all soft and squishy. Once they are soft enough, turn off the heat and add in your basil. Leave to cool for a couple of minutes before blending (or you'll burn yourself if it splashes!) and serve! I like to have mine with a granary bread roll as the two go together perfectly!

See I told you it was simple! And so so quick! 

As always, if you make it tag me in a photo as I love it when you do this! 

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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Recipe: Spiced Chicken Burrito Bowl with Coriander and Lime Rice

Hello everyone! So after scouring for recipes and dinner inspiration on Pinterest, I came across this and I've been enjoying making it (and eating it!) a lot recently so I thought I'd share it with you! I'm making mine with chicken but you could use whatever meat you like - beef steak, turkey, quorn?

In no particular order, you'll need:

 

The first things first, you'll need to create the marinade for the chicken - so in a large bowl, mix a good glug (extremely accurate measure there Charlotte) of olive oil with your taco seasoning mix, add the juice of 2 limes (or more/less if you choose) and add the chicken. With your hands, or a spoon if you don't like touching raw meat, coat the chicken in the marinade and cover and set aside for 15 minutes - 24 hours.

When you have set the chicken aside, you can start on the rice. I've used Tilda Easy Cook Long Grain Rice as I think it absorbs more of the flavouring, but you can use any long grained rice! Simply boil the kettle and cook the rice following the cooking instructions on the packet, then leave to cool.

Once your rice is on you can start chopping your veggies! I absolutely love most of the veggies in existence, but these are my favourites to go in this particular dish. If you don't like what I have used, feel free to swap and change as you please! :) 

By the time you have chopped your veggies, the rice will have cooled slightly. Chop your coriander and stir it into the rice. You can use dried coriander if you wish, but the fresh tastes and looks so much better. Juice more limes into the rice and stir to make sure all the rice is flavoured. 

Heat up a pan with a LITTLE oil (there is oil in the marinade remember!), and add in your chicken. Cook the chicken through and place in your bowl along with your rice and the salad!

If you want to be all 'Jamie Oliver' you can finish off the dish with a few leaves of coriander and a wedge of lime. Perfect!

Bon Appétit! 

And as always, if you make this dish - remember to send me your photos on Twitter (@charrrroberts) or Instagram (@charlottesophiaroberts)!

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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Fitspiration #2 - The Workout Playlist

The other week, I mentioned that I have been getting really into fitness and that I have some new found motivation that is inspiring me to keep going week after week. The fact that I have a killer workout Spotify playlist is adding to the motivation levels as it is just so damn good! So here I share with you the tunes that give me the energy to work out on a regular basis…

Lips Are Movin - Meghan Trainor
Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson (ft. Bruno Mars)
Elastic Heart - Sia
Heroes (We Could Be) - Alesso
Outside - Calvin Harris (ft. Ellie Goulding)
Up - Olly Murs (ft. Demi Lovato)
Dangerous - David Guetta (ft. Sam Martin)
Chandelier - Sia
R U Mine? - Arctic Monkeys
Prayer in C (Robin Schulz Remix) - Lilly Wood and The Prick
Night Changes - One Direction
Rather Be - Clean Bandit (ft. Jess Glynne)
Something I Need - Ben Haenow
Steal My Girl - One Direction
These Days - Take That
Changing - Sigma (ft. Paloma Faith)
Blame - Calvin Harris (ft. John Newman)
Real Love - Clean Bandit (ft. Jess Glynne)
Hold Back The River - James Bay
My Head Is a Jungle (Radio Edit) - Wankelmut (ft. Emma Louise)
Pump It - The Black Eyed Peas
She - Greenday
I Can Talk - Two Door Cinema Club
This Head I Hold - Electric Guest
Dancing Shoes - Arctic Monkeys

Is there anything you think I should add that is on your playlist?
Let me know!

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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Fitspiration - The Beginning

Towards the back end of last year, I was being really negative about my appearance and I found myself being ridiculously self-conscious. I've never been one of the thinnest of people (like ever), but I decided that 2015 would be the year that I journey on a path of self-improvement. I told myself that I wanted to lose seven pounds (half a stone) over the course of the year. Now usually when I set a new years resolution to lose weight, I get bored and give up within about a week, failing before I have properly begun. Its now been 7 weeks and I have all of this unexplained motivation to do well and make a positive change in my life. It is only February and already I have smashed my weight loss target for the entire year and I have managed to lose 12 pounds! (Queue the applause).

One of the reasons that I have been able to do so well with my goals, is due to my new found "love" for running! Yes you read that correctly... running! Charlotte Sophia Roberts has taken up running. No seriously, laugh - I am still trying to get my own head around this haha!

When I first started, I was running in worn out Converse and Vans as I didn't have any proper trainers and I didn't want to buy any incase I only ended up going running once (I have tried running numerous times before and this has always been the case). But after a few weeks of sticking at it, I decided to invest in these little beauties! And wow they are comfortable! When I first tried them on I felt as if I was walking on air - they were so cushiony. This would mean that my bad joints would have a better time than they would with normal trainers. 

I love that they aren't just one boring colour and that they have a watercolour like print on them. It just makes them a little different from normal trainers, and hey, who doesn't like to look good when they are working out!

I also have been enjoying using these sony headphones that I got pretty cheap on Amazon a few months ago. They don't fall out when you're moving which makes them so much better than the usual in-ear headphones that I'm used to.

I am determined to succeed with my journey and have now upped the weight loss goal to a stone. And I am already so close to beating that target! I've found by increasing my target loss as I go along is keeping me more motivated.

If you're looking, Aloha has tons of recipes that are jam-packed full with goodness and nutrition that can help you make the most of your workout. 

What do you all do to try and keep fit? And to all you fellow runners, how do you stop your legs from aching like crazy???

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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