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eggs

Balance

Q&A with Symmetry Breakfast

This week I had the absolute privilege of meeting the founder, visionary and chef behind Symmetry Breakfast.

The inspirational Michael hosted a Q&A nestled on the 3rd floor of Soho House 76.

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As I have been an avid fan and borderline stalker of this account it was wonderful to meet the face behind the creation. Michael’s Q&A was brilliant; Open, honest, witty and insightful.

Naturally I turned up with a handful of questions… here is a sneak insight into the Q&A

How did Symmetry Breakfast first come about?

Symmetry Breakfast was born when Michaels partner Mark moved in with him. After re-arranging their apartment and gaining a new dining table (the table seen in the photos) Symmetry Breakfast came to life.

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What was the first breakfast?

A plane meal (giggles all around the audience)

What was Michaels Inspiration?

With a Chinese and Scottish background – Michael grew up with Chinese food and Deep Fried Mars bars… Michael was fascinated with what other people know as normal? What is normal for people? Learning and discovering the traditions of where food comes from inspired him to create a new breakfast every single morning… with NO REPEATS

An original breakfast everyday for 685 days…How do you make sure you never repeat a breakfast?

Michael has a map which he uses to inspire all his breakfasts. He simply looks at the map to determine where his breakfast travels will take him. Discovering, researching and creating to bring us a Symmetrical Breakfast each morning.

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What camera do you use?

Iphone 5s

(can you believe it!?!?!)

What winds you up the most?

Outright copying.

There is a difference between people being inspired by Symmetry Breakfast and those who simply copy.

Michael has a wonderful way with words and delightfully explained this “Imagine if someone copied what you wore to work everyday…but badly!”

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Tips for creating a foodie blog: 

“remember its not a 40 hour week, it’s a 100 hour week! I am always thinking about food”

Don’t be a consumer – create

Go to every event – you must sell yourself, your personality, don’t be shy

Keep your personality alive

Love you community

Create your own events

Parting advice from Symmetry Breakfast…

If you give and give and give it will always come back to you”

Well that wraps up all the questions and answers I have for you. I really suggest you check out the instagram Symmetry Breakfast and also look out for the book which will be coming out shortly.

Behind the book Michael will be focusing on breakfasts from around the world educating us all to what people on this earth wake up to everyday.

I’ll update you when the book comes out in store!

(all breakfast photos are Symmetry Breakfast)

Stress Free Style

5 Beautiful Uses of Coconut Oil

Waking up to the beautiful smell of Coconut is a dream I thought I would only have when I was travelling in Asia. The transient smell that enlighten your senses and transports you to the Sunshine times…

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Well you can experience this joy every morning by bringing Coconut Oil into your daily routine. 

It can be quite daunting making the change to an all natural product as we are bombarded by so many products every day with all the perfect tag lines to draw us in. Coconut oil is a product that does far more than what one of these products can. It can be used in your morning eggs and your morning moisturising routine… now that is quite a product.

Here is a list of how I use this delightful product

1) Moisturiser – Coconut oil makes a fantastic moisturiser. Scoop a couple of table spoons out of a jar and keep it in your room. Pick a pea sized amount out of your pot and rub between the fingers which will cause it to melt – the lightly apply to skin. A little goes a long way to make you glow and save your so much money on moisturiser. Coconut oil has a natural SPF so you will also be protecting your skin from the harmful sun rays

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2) Breakfast – Eggs, eggs and eggs – I think my partner in crime would be very confused if I cooked our breakfast any other way. A little scoops with scrambled or fried ignites the flavour and fills your body full of those healthy fats that will keep you fuller for longer (thus maintaining or losing weight) put those good fats for your skin, hair, nails and cells into your body. Coconut oil is a saturated fat and therefore can be cooked at higher temperatures unlike Olive Oil or other vegetable oils

3) Shower Time – To keep my skin soft and supple – when I finish in the shower I lather my skin with coconut oil to keep the moisture in and prevent any fine lines. You can also create a natural scrub for in the shower… Combine Coconut Oil, Coffee Granules and Sugar and your have a beautiful smelling morning scrub which then leaves your body with a gorgeous layer of coconut oil to sink in and do its work.

4) Make-Up Remover – Mascara is one of the hardest items of make to remove from skin without pulling your eyes in different directions which can lead to fine line and wrinkles. Coconut oil seems to effortlessly dissolve the mascara and allows your to gently pull the smudge away leaving you with a fresh eye for the day.

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5) General Stain Remover – I know right! My boyfriend bought me some gorgeous lily’s which got left for two days over the weekend… Those pesky little brown pods from the middle had dropped and had stained my white dressing table. I tried wiping with a cloth but seemed to spread the stain. One evening I was taking my make up and had one of those…”what if I…” moments. I wiped my Organic Cotton Padsover the stain – which lifted up and out of the table with ease and grace. The list is just endless.

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How do you use yours?

There are many stores that sell coconut oil… but for the best make sure it is raw pressed, extra virgin and of course organic.

I get my coconut oils from;

 Lucy Bee – A family run company

and Vita Coco Coconut Oil

Check them both out – let me know your uses

Recipes

Todays Clean Meal: Coconut Scrambled Eggs

Love creamy scrambled eggs but want to get rid of the cow’s milk?

Why not try these Coconut Scrambled Eggs.

Very simple and very tasty and full of great fats and protein to start your day.

Ingredients:

  • 3 Eggs
  • Coconut Milk (2 tbsp)
  • Coconut Oil
  • Sea Salt
  • Black Pepper
  • Drop of water

Method:

  • In a skillet – heat a knob of coconut oil till hot.
  • Meanwhile beat the eggs, coconut milk and seasoning. Add a drop of water
  • Turn the heat OFF on the pan and add the eggs
  • With the heat of the pan fold the eggs till cooked all the way through – the heat generated should cook the eggs all the way through

And voila – a nutritious and delicious breakfast ready to go 

Balance

Todays Workout: Hiit and Pod

Spring is here and it is time to shake of the dust!

Get up and get out in the sunshine as the sun rises – it will boost your body full of vitamin D and get you ready to start the day.

Head to the gym or to the garden for some HIIT workouts

In the Gym:

Stepper:
Warm up – 5 mins
1 min – level 10
30 seconds – level 2
1 min – level 12
30 seconds – level 2
Repeat for 15 mins
Cool down

In the Garden:

Sprints:

Jumping Jacks – 1 minute
Sprint – 40 seconds
jog/walk – 1 minute
Sprint – 40 seconds
jog/walk – 1 minute
Repeat for 15 mins

Walk

Walk to work! leave the car – leave your oyster on the side

Walking is one of the most effective ways of keeping toned and losing winter weight. It saves you pounds and helps you lose pounds

Nourish:

Make sure you get the right protein, carbs and fats in the morning!

After a HIIT sessiona and a 5 mile walk to work if I have had not had time to make an omelette to have for breakfast I head to POD for a Supergreen Blitz smoothie and after an hour or so have some Energizer Eggs to set me up for the day.

Firm believer in fasted cardio – using up those glycogen stores and then nourishing your body when you’re ready to start the day

http://www.podfood.co.uk/

Recipes

Todays Clean Meal: Get your protein

egg

These cheeky little brown shells that most of us have in our fridge can actually be a solution to the morning grumble that usually hits us all around 11am.

Eggs are full of protein! Studies have shown that protein numbs the signal from our tummies to our brains telling us we are hungry. Those little gremlins that make our stomach rumble….actually known as ghrelin… sends a signal to our brain telling us we are hungry. Diets high in protein are a good way to keep hunger in check. Protein in the diet is effective at keeping ghrelin in check, while carbohydrates and fats don’t work that well. Suppression of ghrelin is a way to lose appetite. Fats suppress ghrelin quite poorly. Proteins suppress ghrelin quite well. Carbohydrates suppress ghrelin well at first, but levels rebound later, rising to an even higher level. Carbohydrates eventually make people even hungrier than before they had eaten.

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Eggs are a great solution! You can boil them the night before and grab it out of the fridge as you run out the door to work!

They come in their own little packaging which you can dispose of…so no carrying around a bowl, spoon and a bottle of milk…

egg

A large egg weighs in approx 70 calories!

All together the winning solution to maintain weight, keeping full and generally a happy tummy!

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Recipes

Today’s Clean Eat – Eggar and Aubergine Salad

The sunshine has been out in the uk and the nights are getting longer which leaves more time to spend with friends, in the gym or out and about in the evening. The length of the evening leaves more time to indulge in life however this does leave less time to prep for your weeks clean meals and for me sometimes my own evening meal!

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I have been using eggs ALOT recently – to the extent I now buy pure egg whites to reduce the amount of saturated fat in my weeks meals – and discovered this beautiful treat The Eggar. The French have omelettes, the Spanish tortillas, the Italians frittatas and Arabic nations have eggahs. Eggahs are delicious served straight from the pan or left to cool.
I made my Eggar using zucchini, chickpea and spinach. This spicy zucchini and chickpea version makes a great value lunch. It can be made in advance and keeps like a quiche and holds its flavour to be enjoyed again and again.

Alongside this I baked some aubergines with sundried tomatoes and garlic – drizzled with olive oil and half a cup of water. Aubergines keep really well for a couple of days and seem to bathe in their own flavour.

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Perfect for a summers evening; you can enjoy this meal straight after work, post gym meal, as a quick a flavourful lunch or to share with friends. The Eggar slices like a pizza so this can be enjoyed as a gluten free and vegetarian alternative on a pizza night with friends and family!

So how do we make this:-
1) One Zucchini
2) One can of chickpeas
3) Cup of spinach
4) One garlic clove
5) 4 eggs and 2 egg whites ( you can use 6 eggs but this version cuts the cholesterol and sat fat down
6) tsp of cumin
7) tsp chilli
8) handful of parsley
9) low fat cheese (cheddar or feta)
10) one onion

Heat a frying pan (one that can be put under the grill) with a tsp of coconut oil. Add a thinly sliced onion – cook until softened. Grate the zucchini into thin slices and add to the pan.
In a separate bowl put the chickpeas, cumin and chilli (if you are feeling a little spicy I added a pinch of cayenne and smoked paprika at this point) once coated add to the frying pan with a crushed garlic clove. Place a lid on pan and leave – gently stirring – for 5-10 mins
Whisk the eggs (season) and add a tbsp of water. Turn on the grill
Add eggs to the mixture and keep on the heat till almost firm.
Grate the cheese and sprinkle on top and grill until bubbling and slightly browned.
Cut and eat!

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To make the aubergines: – this will take a little longer so start this about 40 mins before eggar
1) 4 aubergine
2) 3 garlic
3) as many sun dried tomatoes as you like
Slice the aubergine length ways in to 4
Peel the garlics and crush with knife
Add tomatoes in-between layers of aubergine
Drizzle with olive oil
Bake until soft and then grill to add a little brown
This should last you 2-3 days and the flavours just keep getting better and better!
Voted by slimming world – the eggar is one of their extra easy sun free meals – so healthy, easy, can be made in advance and quite frankly delicious!

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