My Healthy Makeover: Healthy Recipes and Snack ideas

Hello beautiful!

Shock horror I am actually starting to enjoy cooking. Me..the girl who can burn water and inevitably sets off fire alarms (that’s usually how people know I’m in the kitchen). The only things I used to be able to cook included cereal (combining 2 ingredients together DOES count as cooking right?), toast, and maybe the odd potato gem. Now that I’m turning over a healthy new leaf (and loving it btw) I’m starting to experiment more and more with different healthy recipes. With the help of social media aka instagram I’ve come to realise that you can make almost any unhealthy food into a healthy version! So don’t stop it, swap it!

Today I want to give you a sneak peek at a few of my favourite healthy and delicious recipes. I think a lot of people think that vegetarian food  means only eating boiled carrots. My dad has more than once suggested that instead of cooking dinner, I just go out into the garden and have a nice graze on the grass… But let me share a little secret with you – vegetarian food is DELISH! There are so many delicious recipes out there and ways of experimenting with different ingredients. I am by no means the next Jamie Oliver, and you won’t be seeing a croquembouche coming out of my kitchen any time soon, but I have discovered a few quick and easy recipes that even the most inexperienced in the kitchen can whip together.

Overnight Oats

Oats are seriously a superfood. They are great source of carbohydrate and are more versatile than you might think. You will need:

• 1/2 a cup of dry oats
• 1/3 cup of water
• A big dollop of plain all natural Greek yoghurt
• Banana
• Cinnamon
• Honey

Mix the oats, water and yoghurt together in a bowl, pop in the fridge overnight and add banana, cinnamon and honey in the morning. Super easy, and super fast!

Eggplant super salad:

For this easy and filling salad you will need:

• 1 eggplant
• 1 block of feta
• Lettuce mix
• Walnuts
• Sunflower seeds
• Avocado
• Pomegranate

Cook the eggplant in a frying pan with some coconut oil then chop up all the ingredients and mix them together. I like to add the eggplant in straight out of the pan so the salad is nice and warm.

Halloumi and veggies

Eating your veggies doesn’t mean munching on raw celery! For this recipe you’ll need:

• Zucchini
• Broccolini
• Capsicum
• Cherry tomatoes
• Red onion
• Halloumi
• Rosemary

Chop up all the ingredients and place them in a frying pan. Spray them with olive oil and sprinkle a little rosemary on top for flavour. Cook them until they’re nice and golden brown. Then you’re good to go! If you want a sauce, combine natural Greek yoghurt with some chopped apple – sounds weird, but tastes amazing!

Snacks

No joke, if I don’t have snacks with me at all times I can get a little anxious. It also makes resisting the vending machine that little bit harder if you don’t have something on hand to snack on. Here are a few of my favourite munchies to snack on throughout the day.

• Almonds
• Walnuts
• Apples
• Bananas
• Greek yoghurt
• Quest bars
• Carrots and hummus

Remember: your body needs fuel. If you’re hungry, eat – but make sure you’re making good choices!

annelise xx

My Invisalign Experience

psst… go look at the old photos of me on my blog. Seriously, I’ll wait… go on.

I bet you didn’t know that I was straightening my teeth! For the last 4ish months I’ve been wearing Invisalign to straighten my teeth. Having that perfect smile can seriously boost your confidence and happiness, and I am a huge believer that the happiest girls are the prettiest girls (thanks Audrey Hepburn). Now that my treatment is finished, I thought I would share my experience with you.

First let me start by telling you what invisalign is – basically it’s a series of clear removable retainers that straighten your teeth. You change them every 2 weeks, and your teeth will move little by little, week by week, until they have moved to the final position.

My experience:

So now let me tell you about my experience. Let’s go aaaaall the way back to grade 9 in school. Little bare faced Annelise had crooked teeth and needed some serious work. Back then it was all about braces – yep, those horrible metal things that gave you that not-so-winning metal smile *shudder*. I wore those bad boys for about 18months and through that time I suffered wire poking into my cheek, ulcers, wearing those little rubber bands that kept snapping off, food ALWAYS getting stuck, and I even broke them a few times when eating hard foods. Normally when you finish your braces you get a set of retainers to wear at night. These ensure that your teeth stay in their new position and don’t go back to their crooked ways. You would think that going through all that I would be a good little patient and wear my retainers… I didn’t. And before long my teeth were crooked again. Let’s just say my parents were less than impressed.

My teeth didn’t go back to their pre-braces crookedness, but they definitely weren’t perfect. And that bothered me SO MUCH. When I first heard about Invisalign I was a little skeptical. Clear plastic retainers that were just as effective as braces.. you could remove them to eat, eat anything you wanted during your treatment, no wires poking around, no torn up cheeks and lips, no feeling like you wanted to rip off the braces, no metal smile. It sounded too good to be true.

At my first appointment I had some impressions taken. If anyone has ever had a mouth-guard made, it’s just like that. You lie back and have a putty like substance pressed around your teeth which forms a mould of your teeth. This tells the orthodontist how your teeth are currently sitting. Then the orthodontist will calculate all the adjustments that are needed to give you the perfect smile.

At my next appointment I was given my set of aligners and had them fitted to make sure they were comfortable. The number you need will differ depending on your tooth situation. Because my teeth weren’t too crooked I only needed 10 sets. I would wear each set for 2 weeks, then change to the next set until I was done. Simple as that. Now that my treatment is finished, I only have to wear the last set (number 10 aligner) at night to make sure my teeth stay in their perfect position.

Oh ps. Invisalign costs around the same as fixed metal braces and can be used for the same teeth problems (winning!)

Wearing the aligners: The main thing I want to say here is that they did not hurt. When you change to the next set they can feel a little tight for about 10 minutes, but that’s it. It might feel a little weird wearing them at first, but after a while it actually feels weird when you don’t have them in!

Tips: Make sure you have a box to store them in when you take them out to eat. I was lazy and just threw them in my bag (gross I know), and because of that I actually lost a set *sad face*. So make sure you keep them safe.

The orthodontist that I went to is Dr Brett Kerr (link here) who is located in Ashgrove, Brisbane, QLD. He has over 30 years’ experience in orthodontics, and is the only specialist orthodontist in Queensland to use the Invisalign technique exclusively.

Now it’s time for some pictures ya’ll!

No Invisalign

Wearing Invisalign

No Invisalign

Wearing Invisalign

Can you guess??? (I’m wearing Invisalign!) 

I hope I might have helped you understand Invisalign a little better. Obvs I’m one happy camper and am so so glad I had Invisalign. I would recommend it to anyone who is considering straightening their teeth. As someone who has had both fixed metal braces and Invisalign, I would ALWAYS recommend Invisalign.

annelise xx

The Chop

Sometimes you get stuck in a rut. For me, I was stuck in a hair rut.

I’ve been growing out my hair for over a year now, and I’ve had pretty long hair for as long as I can remember. I think long hair is beautiful, and I absolutely love how it looks on some girls – unfortunately, I don’t think I’m one of them. When my hair was out and worn straight it fell to below my bra strap (yes, this is official hair-related measuring guide). Unfortunately, my hair is on the thin side and to be honest the length wasn’t really doing me any favours. It lacked volume and movement and was starting to get a little unmanageable..

I mulled over the idea of having shorter hair for a couple of weeks – would I regret it? Would I miss the long locks? What if the hairdresser cuts me a mullet? Finally I decided that it was time to give it the chop. As someone who has had their fair share of haircut disasters, I was a little nervous. Luckily I’ve found a really great hairdresser who I trust completely with my hair. She’s so lovely and sat down with me, listened to everything that I had in mind, and made any suggestions.

Before the chop

Before the chop

After!

I ended up taking about 15-20cm off my hair, and I’m soooo glad I did! I’m even thinking about going a little bit shorter! My hair looks healthier, thicker, and is far more manageable. It’s done wonders to spice up my normal look –  it seems silly that something so simple can have such a dramatic impact, but it really can! Changing up such a central part of your look can be daunting, but it can really change the way you see yourself and refresh your style.

I’m so happy with my new hair and will be loving this style for a long time I think. What do you think?

annelise xx

My Healthy Makeover – Week 2

Hello lovelies!

Long time no talk! So week 2 of my healthy makeover didn’t really go to plan. I got rather sick so wasn’t able to do anything at all for over a week *sad face* While I was sick I lost a lot of weight (note this isn’t legit weight loss) and as a result was feeling very weak for a few days after. Now I’m fully better I’m more motivated than ever to lead a healthy lifestyle! I want to make my body healthy and strong and boost my immune system with lots of nutrients.

Because I don’t really have anything to share with you in the way of my exercise and diet for that week (literally stayed in bed all week and ate nothing…)  I thought I would share some of my favourite little pictures that I find motivational or inspirational : ) It can be really hard to stay motivated, particularly early on when you’re not really seeing results – motivational pictures can give you the little boost you need to keep at it.

Don’t ask me why a raspberry hat is inspirational…

Oh and here is a picture of a kitten…

annelise xx

My Healthy Makeover – Week 1

Hi my lovelies!

Week 1 is done in my Healthy Makeover!

Exercise

Day 1 – Yoga day! I’ve been super inspired by some of the Yogi’s on YouTube – if you haven’t seen them check out Tara Stiles – she is absolutely amazing! While I am no where NEAR the stuff that she can do – I doubt I can even hold my own body weight up at this stage (awkward) – I am so inspired by the control she has over her body. I’m going to start with some beginner yoga and hopefully work up to some of the more advanced stuff – which for me is downward dog…

Day 2 - Not going to lie, I was a bit sore from my yoga-venture yesterday. So today I went for a quick walk then did some weights and stretches when I got home.

Day 3 - More yoga and stretches!

Day 4 - Today I went for a late night walk around campus with one of my friends. It was a little chilly but it was a good break from study!

Day 5 - Weights!

Day 6 -I started off the day with weights in the morning before going for a run in the afternoon. It was super windy and cold outside today, but I made myself go. I looked ridiculous in my pink jumper and pink beanie, but oh well! I even ran past a girl in a singlet and short shorts! I mean REALLY? It was 10 degrees outside! I didn’t get very far, only 1.93km but at least it’s a start!

Day 7 - Weights!

Diet

Water, water, and more water. Seriously… this is me..

This week I’ve had some pretty annoying cravings for pizza and fatty foods, especially chocolate. I know that if I do eat them I’ll just feel shit, and I’m definitely not one of those girls that can be like “oh I’m craving a whole pizza…hmm I might eat a carrot instead – it’s TOTALLY the same thing!”. So instead I’ve been making myself hot chocolate (fat free – as much as it can be I guess!). It satisfies my sweet tooth without being OTT.  Oh, and I don’t get hungry..I get hangry (hungry/angry).

So that’s my week! Not the best job, but I’m a work in progress! I hope you all had a lovely and healthy week.

I will be doing more in-depth posts on my diet and fitness routine so stay tuned!

I’ll leave you with this thought…

Lots of love

annelise xx

I heart coconut oil

Hi my lovelies!

It’s no secret – I heart coconut oil! There are lots of uses for coconut oil, but today I want to share some of the beauty perks of this lovely little oil.

“Ideal for baking & Sauteing” … and beauty!

Body

• Body scrub! By far my favourite use for coconut oil is to mix it with some white sugar and create a dynamite exfoliating scrub. Not only does this baby smell good enough to eat (and yes…I may have eaten it once or twice), but it’s crazy effective – the best scrub I’ve ever used! This is super simple to make and you can find the recipe here!
• Moisturiser – simply scoop out a blob of oil and massage it all over your body. It smells ah-mazing and works wonderfully as an intense moisturising treatment. This one is probably best kept for night time right before bed..unless you liked that oiled up look. For me, that look only works on a shirtless Ryan Gosling…. wait.. what were we talking about?

Face

• Lip scrub! Same formula as the body scrub, you can use this baby on your lips too. The sugar is a great exfoliant and the oil moisturises the lips! I like to do this right before I apply lipstick as it preps the lips really well. 
• Lip balm – well, not really a balm..but lip oil doesn’t sound too appealing. I like to put coconut oil on my lips right before I fall asleep at night.
• Eye oil – pat a little on the delicate skin around the eyes as part of your night-time skin care routine.
• Makeup remover – use a cotton round and a little coconut oil and sweep it over your face.

Hair

• Deep conditioning treatment – I use coconut oil when I wan’t to really nourish my hair. Just work some oil into dry hair, tie your hair up into a bun and leave it for at least 20 mins. Then just pop in the shower and wash your hair as normal!
• Deep deeeeeeep conditioning treatment – if you want the supersize of all deep treatments then instead of shampooing out the oil after 20 minutes or so, you can sleep with the oil in your hair and wash it out in the morning. Just make sure you pop a disposable showercap on so you don’t get oil on your bed linens!
• Leave in conditioner – just like moroccan oil preparations and other leave in conditioners, you can work a small bit of coconut oil through towel dried hair.
• Defrizz – If your hair is temperamental like mine and likes to get frizzy and static in winter (sexyyyy) then take a teeny tiny drop of coconut oil, rub it between your palms, and work it into the very ends of your dry hair. It will control that annoying frizz – and it smells soooo good! Oh did I tell you I like the smell of coconut oil?

Coconut oil is available from health food stores and some supermarkets. And it’s cheap as chips too! Maybe not fancy pants chips, but if we were comparing it to doritos… yep it’s as cheap as chips! I would recommend sticking to the cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil : )

Are you a lover of coconut oil? What do you use it for?

annelise xx

My Healthy Makeover

Confession: I get puffed walking up stairs…and on more than one occasion I’ve been known to eat an entire pizza..or 2.

When I was in high school I was super active. I played so many sports sometimes people lost track – athletics, cross country, artistic gymnastics, swimming, hockey, ballet, trapeze. Ever since leaving school I’ve had a hard time keeping fit and healthy – not because of any particularly good reason, but because I’m lazy. I honestly thought that extra 30mins sleeping time was more important than going for a run, hell even a walk. But now that I’m older and pretty much put on weight if I LOOK at a cake the wrong way, I’ve decided it’s time for a healthy makeover. I’m tired of feeling disappointed in myself, of comparing myself to others, and for generally not feeling well due to living an unhealthy lifestyle.

So this is the first post in My Healthy Makeover series.

In this series I’ll be posting weekly progress reports, recipes, healthy tips, and general motivators. So I’m setting myself a 12 week challenge. If I can change my ways and prove to myself I can do this for 12 weeks, then I can aim for longer, and longer, and eventually it will become part of my life. At the end of the 12 weeks I’ll post before and after photos, and other info like measurements etc. I’ve decided that this is not about being thin, or skinny, or the number on the scale. This is about being healthy. I want to be able to run that 10km, or swim for an hour, and get up in the morning and feel energised. Basically I want to treat my body with the respect it deserves, and feel proud of myself for doing so.

Exercise: Because I’m super busy my exercise goals have to be realistic. I’m aiming to do weights every day and some kind of cardio at least 2 times a week.

Diet: My diet goals are really very simple: eat more fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, and legumes. I’m going to really try to cut out processed foods, chocolate, lollies, biscuits, sweets etc. Really when it comes down to it, it’s not complicated.

As someone who has struggled with distorted body image, eating disorders, and VERY unhealthy eating patterns I can tell you right now that this isn’t going to be easy. But I’m going to do it!

If you would like to do your own healthy makeover I would absolutely love to hear about it! E-mail me at lissyluliblog@gmail.com and let me know about what exercises you like doing (do people actually LIKE doing exercise???), let me know if you have any good recipes, or even if you’ve had a bad day and need some support – I would love to be there.

annelise xx