Date-snack : Super Easy snack made with Dates!

Date snack :D

Super easy and yummi snack made out of dates

250gr chopped up dates ( I used my magic wand blender)

110gr butter

2tbs honey

= all melted togeather in a pot untill its all well blended, 

turn off the stove and put the pot aside.

Then add 80gr of rice crispies to the mixture

Mix well.

Place in a form. i used about 20cm*20cm tin form lined with baking paper

melt Dark chocolate and spread over

- Put into the fridge untill settled of if your super excited to try new things like I am put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes (untill chocolate is hardened)

Take out of the cooler and cut into desired squares or pieces 

- I think its best kept in a cooler as the chocolate stays nice and firm.

and split them into backs and put in freezer to enjoy on a later date!

Enjoy!!

@justdiymama in instagram, twitter and facebook ! 

Breakfast anyone??

 Breakfast!

I have always struggled with breakfast, I want something quick and easy and effortless or just not to eat anything.

But I started making breakfast the day before or even making 3 days worth at a time.

Here are some of my favourites :

Protein pancakes :

2 eggs, 1/2 cup almond milk, scoop of your protein powder and then add flour until me mixture is smooth and has a pancake-y texture.,
cook on both sides on the pan.

They are super easy to store and even freeze 

Oatmeal!

I use gluten free oats,

Its always up to personal taste how thick you like your porridge, I like mine really thick! 

Easy to make the night before and leave in the fridge and to add something extra put a spoonful of Chia seeds  :)

topped with mix of seeds and what ever berries I got in the fridge.

Banana Raisin and oatmeal fingers :)

Mash up 1 banana, 1 cup oatmeal and as many raisins as you like.

roll in preferable sizes and bake in the oven until golden and firm :) 

My kids love these and they are easy to keep and something nice to grab on the go 

The breakfast I have when I'm not really feeling like breakfast :

Chop up apple and pear and enjoy it with my coffee :)

Almond yogurt with added fruit and berries and topped with cinnamon 

Gluten and dairy free crispbread with pesto and some berries :) simple and lovely.

Omelet Muffins:

I usually use about 4 egg whites to 1 whole egg.

quantity depends on how many i need to make.

I mix the eggs together and put to one side.

then I cut up whatever I want in the omelet, Ham, bacon, mushrooms and/or onions. and place in my muffin tray ( oil the muffin tray before adding ingredients).

and then top them off with eggs..

cook in the oven until the eggs are cooked through.

keep nice for 3 days in the fridge, and easily frozen.

I take them out of the freezer the night before I want to eat  :D

Simple omelet

for the omelet I usually use 3 whites to 1 egg.

add whatever i fancy and on the pan! 

I don't always want a full blown salad for breakfast so just add cucumbers or just tomatoes or apples to the side :D

Hope this has given you some nice and easy breakfast ideas

I like simplicity and still want to keep it healthy!

Any questions welcome to message me xx

Instagram, twitter and facebook @justdiymama

Meal prepping, Getting organized.

I love meal prepping, it makes life so much easier, I cook big meals 2x a week and Sunday's are my guilty pleasure days.
When I cook big meals on Mondays i cook  for Monday/ Tuesday /Wednesday  and then on Thursdays I cook for Thursdays/Fridays / Saturdays.

Chicken is my absolute favourite and it keeps nicely in the fridge for 3 days as most other food.


My normal menu might look like this :

Breakfast :
Bacon + boiled egg + Apple
Fruit Smootie
Omelette ( I love making the Omelette muffins and keep them in the fridge for 3 days or frozen up to 30 days )
Gluten free oatmeal made with Water or almond milk + Berries

Lunch :
Gluten free wrap with salad, egg and some sort of meat or chicken
Dinner from the night befor
Egg + bacon and beans
Free from pasta + chicken + chopped up cucumber, tomato and celery + sause

Dinner :
Sweet potato cottage pie
Chicken + Rice + veg
Steak + tomato + sweet potato wedges
Salmon + roasted asparagus + mash (either normal or sweet potato , I prefer to use sweet potato)
Meatballs + freefrom spagetti + home made Tomato sause
Chicken salad
Curry + rice


Then I am sorting out a few treats  and nibbles that are healthy and lovely to grab if im fancying something a bit sweeter.



Im constantly adding to my list, finding what I think work well togeather and making up new recipes.
I usually put them on my instagram @justdiymama


I got 2 kids, 2 and 3 1/2, life is busy, I work 3-4 days/nights a week and I train Crossfit as much as I can , along with doing some home exersizes.

I find the days I prepp are a bit hectic, alot of washing up, but the days between so easy!, there is 10x less washing up and cleaning
Defenately worth giving a try.

Any questions welcome to message me xx

Rakel Kela Gunnlaugsdottir @justdiymama at instagram and twitter

Gluten and Dairy FREE Blueberrie Muffins!

Dairy and Gluten free Muffins!

So Ive been having a bit of tummy ache and bloated stomach recently so I'm trying cutting out dairy and gluten completely. Ive been experimenting and came out with an amazing muffin recipe!

Ingredients :

250ml Orange juice
60g Gluten-free porridge oats
100gr caster sugar
200gr gluten free flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
125ml vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
1tsp glycerin
150-200gr blueberries


1.Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Add the orange juice and oats together in a bowl and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. add Oil, Egg and glycerin to the dry mixture and mix well together.
5. Then add the oat and orange juice mix in with the rest.
6. Finally gently add the Blueberries to the mix ones its nice and smooth.
7. Divide the mix into muffin cases depending on what sizes you want them to be.

Finally put in the oven and they are ready when the muffins start to golden on top and you can stick a fork in them and it comes out clean.

2016 HERE I COME!

So this year has been somewhat of a roller coaster,
I started the year 2015 by loosing a stone in 1 month by cutting out all dairy product, then early January I was bitten by a Lyme infected deer tick and had to go on 4 weeks worth of antibiotics. I kept trying to loose weight and get into football and over the few months after the weight slowly melted off me and by the end of may I had lost nearly 2 stone since beginning of January,

These pictures were taken 8 weeks apart! :) very pleased!

 then in May we moved house and went on holiday in the space of 2 weeks!

And doing all this and having 2 kids under 3 is no joke!!

3 DAYS after we came back from holiday I was cycling back home from work on a Friday night ( work at a pub), where a lady who didn't see me with full light gear coming down the hill turns in front of me and I missed her hood by a foot but smashed into the side of her car instead, face planting the car with the handlebars digging into my thigh, as I was trying to jump off the bike,  and then bouncing onto the road and hitting my head and my shoulder badly on the road.

I was taking by an ambulance to the nearest hospital and thankfully nothing was broken, just a severely bruised thigh (hematoma along with damaged fat cells ), bruised knee, face and a really bad whip lash.

Took 2 weeks to recover before I started going out and about again,

The thing I was most destructed about after the accident is all the hard work I had put in to get myself fit and ready for football season, now I had 2 months of absolutely no exercise do to terrible back and thigh pains.

I slowly eased back into football and with physio therapy along side I think I came back together quite quickly, I wouldn't even say I'm now at the same place as I was in the summer, I still got a fair way to go before I get to that stage again but I CAN AND I WILL!

 Yes I'm definitely getting my confident back and my body back. Slowly but surely, but hey I will get there!

Signed on again this year with the most awesome team ever!, Newbury ladies, they are the most amazing group of girls and just absolutely epic to play along side them!

I keep taking progress pictures as I feel its the best way to see how well I'm doing!

I try keeping on track as just from September - December, I pulled a muscle in my groin, abs, and thigh, I got 2 infections in my throat, 1 in my wisdom tooth, a new found severe allergic reactions to avocado! :(,  fractured chest bone  , constant sickness bugs (either me or the kids) and just all in all a hell of a lot of CRAP thrown in me, but Ive always tried to keep on track with my eating if i haven't been able to exercise properly.

And I have to say in a year!.. I'm So happy going from this 

TO THIS!! :D

Peace out 2015!, Ill be rocking into 2016 in my Pj's as a true Mom !

All about CARBS!

I'm one of the people who LOVE Carbs, after I started eating them religiously, making sure if they contain simple or complex sugars I feel ten times better!, more energized and focused!

Simple sugars are digested faster and release energy faster, but you will go down just as fast, so making sure you are eating more of complex sugars to get the slow releasing of Glucose and keep energy nice and steady over the day so you wont be up and down like a yo-yo.

It varies how much of each Macronutrient each person needs depending on age, weight, how often and for how long you train for and what your goals are.

- Carbohydrates prodive the body with glycose, which is converted to energy used to suppord bodily functions and physical activity.
- healthiest sorces are : whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans,
- Unhealthier sorces are : white bread, pastries, soda and other highly processed foods, these items contain easily digested carbs that may contribute to weight gain, interfere with weight loss , and promote diabetes and heart disease.



Good Foods high in carbs:

• Whole wheat bread , 1 slice, about 14gr
• Multi grain bread, 1 slice, about 17gr
• oatmeal cooked, 1 cup , about 25gr
• Pasta, whole wheat, 1 cup cooked, 37gr
• rice, basmati brown, 1/4 cup dry, 31gr
• rice, brown, 1/4 cup dry, 33gr
• Rye bread , 1 slice 15gr

•  Avocado , 1 medium  17gr
• Rasberries , 1 cup , 15 gr
• Blackberries, 1 cup. 15gr
• Black beans . 1/2 cup . 22gr
• Broccoli , 1 cup , 9gr
• Pear , 1 medium , 20gr
• Apple, 1 medium, 23gr
• Barley 1/2 cup, 22gr
• Peach, 1 medium 12gr
• banana, 1 medium , 27gr
• Pomegranate , 1/2 fruit 27gr
• Mango  1 cup , 25gr
• pinapple , 1 cup, 22gr
• Orange, (3 inch piece), 18gr
• Grapes, 1 cup , 16gr

I reccomend Myfitnesspal app !, easy to input what you are eating and it shows the Macros (carbs, protain and fat), and its usefull to keep track of what you are having on the go! :)

Obviously there are ALOT more foods that contain carbs and how you puzzle your meals togeather is upto you and your diatery needs.

soon I will be putting up some meal suggestions and recipes and best way to Carb load before a heavy physical activity :)

Instagram @justdiymama

Twitter @justdiymama

Finally growing up! :)

I'm so Excited!
Finally found what I want to be when I grow up, a personal trainer/health nut!
Ive started my first course and decided to go with the sport nutrition program with Shaw academy as I got a great deal on Wowcher.com :)

So I'm going to be re-capsing information, learning new/better recipes and posting on here, both so I got everything handy for me to go over but for everyone to enjoy and hopefully get something out of.

And just for every bodies information this is aimed for athletes or people doing exercises on regular bases, each person needs to adapt the information to reach their personal needs and goals.

To start of with

• you should be eating 5-7 portion of veg a day
• 2-3 portion of fruit a day
• with carbs aim for whole grain, unprocessed, and avoid refined grains, also choose legumes and pulses
• choose lean unprocessed meat, unsalted nuts and seeds, 
• Fish 2x a week ( 1 oily and 1 white)
• 
  
• Avoid foods and drinks high in fat, sugar and salt

Macro nutrients are : carbs, protein and fat

• Carbs are not just a bad thing, there are good and bad carbs!
• Carbs are the most important fuel for exercise.
• carbs get stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles
• Men can store up to 490g of glycogen in their muscles and liver
• Women can store up to 370g of glycogen in their muscles and liver
• 
  
• The more you train your muscles the more glycogen the muscles can store.
• When in training or match and the glycogen stores are inadequate the body starts breaking down proteins for energy, which leaves less protein for muscle build up and restoration.

• Proteins main function is muscle growth and repair
• protein is the most satisfying nutrient (will fill you up nicely)
• it provides a small fuel source for exercise.
• Protein over 2g/per kg does not give you any advantage for performance.
• WHO recommends 0,75g/per kg for an average person, but atheletes need more

• Fat is essential for the body, try to aim for about 20%-35% of your daily Kcal intake to be fats,
• stay away from trans fat, and look for healthier fats
• healthier fats are : salmon(oily fish), avocado, nuts, peanut butter, olive oil, fish oil, olives etc.
• During prolonged aerobic exercise in endurance athletes, fat can contribute up to 75% of energy
• 
  
• Carbs and fat are the main fuel for exercise

When making up your meals and meal plans try to choose from a variety of foods from each food group as even though they might have similar levels of macros you need to make sure you are having enough vitamins and minerals in your diet too.

ps. Sorry for spelling or grammar errors!, hope there arent too many! 

Thank you and any information or comments please get in contact

see recipes on @justdiymama on instagram and twitter, and coming on here soon! 

All the information is what i have learned on my course or throught research from a variety of webpages and books, if there is anything you consider wrong then please get in contact with me, I hold no reliability for anything anyone does with the information on this page