I’ve treated myself to some new books this week, and they are all packed full of delicious recipes and healthy eating inspiration. Which one would you choose?
Welcome to the first of my new revamped Fabulous Fridays! As I’ve explained in this post, I’ve decided to turn Fitness Fridays into Fabulous Fridays. The posts will now cover all sorts of aspects of health living, everything that makes us feel fab!
This week I made the decision that I need to restart the kind of healthy eating that I was doing a couple of years ago. I explained in a photo on Instagram that I’ve been indulging in a pity party since I hurt my back last summer. I’ve allowed myself to eat and drink whatever I fancy, whenever I fancy! And while it was all good fun at the time, it’s really starting to show now. I’ve also feeling quite tired and sluggish because my energy levels are all over the place, I’m eating too much and not moving enough. All in all, I’ve been feeling pretty awful.
But enough is enough! I decided to find some delicious recipes to give me the encouragement to avoid the snack box and treats that I buy for the boys. Earlier this week I treated myself to some new books which are packed full of healthy eating inspiration, and I’ve been flicking through them and picking out some of my favourite recipes.
The three books I bought are ‘Lean in 15‘* by Joe Wicks, ‘Clean Eating Alice‘* by Alice Liveing and ‘Eat well, Move Better and Feel Awesome‘* by John Chapman and Leon Bustin. Although all three cover healthy recipes and exercise routines, they’re all quite different as well. Read on to find out what I think of them, and which one is best for you.
‘Lean in 15‘* by Joe Wicks
Joe Wicks is also known as The Body Coach. If you’ve seen his posts on Facebook or Instagram you know that they are fast-moving videos of recipes that usually take no more than 15 minutes to cook. I love Joe’s videos – I find his enthusiasm really infectious!
His book ‘Lean in 15’ features 100 of these meals, and aims to rescue you from ‘depressing low-calorie diets’. I like the fact that the book includes low-carb recipes for rest days and recipes with more carbs for days when you are training. I’m really looking forward to trying ‘Joe’s McLeanie Burger’ and the ‘Super-Speedy Beef Stroganoff’. The ‘In-a-hurry Curry Fried Rice’ looks a certain for Friday nights, and I know that Lyle will enjoy the Quick Tortilla Pizza.
It also features two of Joe’s HIIT workouts (that’s High Intensity Interval Training) – one concentrating on cardio and one on resistance. They’re very basic, and just give a taste of what’s involved in an HIIT workout really.
This book is great if you are looking for quick-fix meals that will fit into your busy lifestyle.
‘Clean Eating Alice‘* by Alice Liveing
Like the other two books, this book by Alice Liveing stresses the need for lifestyle change if you want to lose weight and get fitter. It’s not about a quick fix, it’s about creating long lasting habits.
This book is divided into recipes and workouts, and starts off with some tips on healthy eating habits and ingredients you might want to keep in store. The recipes look amazing! The photography is really bright and fresh, everything looks really appetising. There are some great salads and prepare-ahead recipes for lunch, which is the meal which I often struggle to find inspiration for. I’m definitely going to try out the ‘Chilli Prawn Salad with Red Cabbage and Carrot Slaw’, and the ‘Mexican Style Spicy Sweet Potato and Chicken Bowl’ will probably make its way onto my dinner table soon. And ‘Caramelized Banana and Peanut Butter Sundae’ for breakfast? Yes please!
The last third of the book focuses on exercise, with 5 HIIT workouts and an Express Abs workout. The workouts all take about 20 minutes to do, and the exercises are very clearly explained and illustrated. It all looks very achievable and can be carried out either at home or in the gym.
This book is ideal if you’re just starting out on your healthy eating and fitness journey.
‘Eat well, Move Better and Feel Awesome‘* by John Chapman and Leon Bustin
John and Leon are also known as ‘The Lean Machines’, and they are the UK’s biggest fitness YouTubers. This book aims to help as many people as possible get healthy, and makes the point that ‘getting in great shape doesn’t have to be hard or depressing’.
This book is fantastic – it’s full of useful information, and I love the fact that the recipes come with nutritional information. When I’m trying to eat healthily I do like to know the nutritional stats where possible, so that’s a plus point for me. I also like the fact that you get nutritional information for recipes with or without the carb element, very useful if you’re cooking on a rest day. There are lots of delicious breakfast ideas in this book – we’re going to give the ‘Protein Pancakes with Blueberries’ a go this weekend. I’m also thinking of cooking the ‘Piri Piri Chicken with Spicy Rice’ next time we have a barbecue.
I also love the fact that this book has a section called Be Happy, which covers 8 areas such as coping with anxiety, positive affirmations, good sleep – everything else that adds to a healthy lifestyle. It’s a little bit of extra value added to this book.
Now just a little word of warning. Whenever I pick up a new book, I always flick through from the back to the front. If you do that with this book, the first thing you see is the Advanced workout which includes moves like Tricep Push Ups and the Crucifix Plank. Do Not Panic!! There are also beginner and intermediate plans, so you can pick the one that suits you best. The exercise section on this book is more indepth than in the other two – there are also Gym Plans which include notes on tempo and reps.
This is my favourite out of the three, and it’s the book to go for if you are a bit of a numbers geek (like me!)
Any of these healthy eating recipe books would be an excellent addition to your bookshelf – which is your favourite?
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