I'm sure I'm not the only one that struggles to find the balance. I'm forever lecturing my friends that diets are a load of rubbish and to stick to a healthy balanced diet and regular exercise. Yet I can have days of binging on anything and everything I lay my eyes on then the next eat nothing until 5pm. 

As women, we are recommended to consume 2000 calories per day. Of those 2000 calories, 45g protein, 300g carbohydrates (90g sugar), 70g fat (20g sat, 50g unsat), up to 5g salt and 5 portions of fruit and vegetables. Without taking into consideration lifestyle choices, such as exercise and the level of activity involved in your job, this is a 'general' guideline. But I wonder how many people would know what 45g of protein looks like. 

Forget measuring out your portions, I'm sure no one has time for that. So here are a few recommendations on how you can subconsciously make a small effort to reaching some kind of balanced healthy everyday diet.

1. Exercise. And that doesn't mean a painful half hour run on the treadmill. Any exercise will do, as long as it gets your heart pumping. It is crucial to keeping the skeleton healthy and joints moving. Give some time to finding exercise you actually enjoy, it makes it much easier.

2. Step away from the white carbs. One of my New Years Resolutions, as they generally contain a higher level of salt and sugar and are more difficult for the body to process. Swap to whole meal or whole grain as they contain fibre, making you feel fuller for longer.

3. Drink water. Yet another New Years Resolution as it is every year. With it making up over 70% of our bodies, it should be a massive part of our everyday diet. Try drinking a glass of water when you think you feel hungry; studies have shown its very common for us to mistake thirst for hunger.

4. Break the fast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for a reason, it kick starts your metabolism and provides you with sufficient energy to go on with your day. Nutritionists advise it within two hours of waking up, containing calcium, protein and fibre, and little sugar. 

To those of you that live on Mars and may not know what I'm talking about, The Great British Bake Off is a British baking competition shown on BBC 1, judged by the baking queen, Mary Berry, and the blue eyed heart throb, Paul Hollywood. This year will be its sixth series to date, showing twelve contestants baking it out to prove themselves and win the crown of Bake Off queen or king.

Since it began in 2010, Britain has seen a huge growth in popularity in the baking world. It'll be interesting to see how this years contestants put the boat out to be different from the rest.

In favour of the show's return (doesn't take a lot to give me an excuse to bake!), I baked Mary Berry's infamous Victoria Sponge recipe from my 'Great British Bake Off: How To Bake' book. I shall enjoy tucking into this with a cup of tea at 8pm tonight!

Let me know who your favourites from the new series are!

I think naturally women are a little more spendy than men (in my family and friend circle anyway!), which makes it difficult to hold back and attempt to spread your funds over a time frame. My weakness is definitely with food; it's where most of my disposable income goes without even realising! 

Being entirely responsible for my set budget for just over four weeks therefore challenged how much I could spend on foods, which is most difficult when you're in a different country wanting to try new things! Here's five tips that I found helped me to control my spendings:

1. Start as you mean to go on. Be more savvy at the start. This can be difficult depending on where you start your travels, and in particular trying to gage which foods are cheaper in other countries. This could be rectified by doing a little research before heading to the country you're travelling to. Most hostels have kitchens, so cooking your own food is feasible.

2. Accept that the cheapest foods aren't the healthiest. It is really difficult to eat healthy on a budget at the best of times, let alone when you're in a country/area you don't know well and you're surrounded by McDonald's and KFC! Trying to stick to the 60:40 rule is the best way to try to stay healthy whilst travelling, but also be realistic with money.

3. Cook with others you meet. This is also a great way to make friends along the way; pop to a market or supermarket and all tie in together. When buying food it's a lot more difficult to cater for one or two people, so asking others if they'd like to join you makes it both cheaper for you all and creates less waste!

4. Balance. If there's a pricey restaurant everyone has told you about that you're desperate to try, try it! You don't need to spend the same amount each day, if one day is more expensive, make a conscious effort to make another day that week particularly cheap. 

5. Vouchers and discounts. If you're travelling a tranquil area that's not necessarily classed as a touristy location, this won't be as easy. Most of the places I visited along the East Coast were full of backpackers and travellers. A lot of hostels inform you of local eateries that have backpacker meal deals on offer or present you with a bundle of food and drink vouchers. Make use of them! 

Bit of a long post today to make up for my absence, felt very inspired since coming home to cook more so expect a few more recipe blogposts! Any of you have any good tips for budgeting? Know of any hidden gems that are good for foodies on a budget?

Here's some of my favourite snacks that have kept me from breaking my Lenten vow:

'Healthy' chocolate milkshake - for when the chocolate cravings really kick in.

Each decade has had their own 'it girl'. 1910's was all about the Gibson Girl, when illustrator Charles Gibson drew his idea of the 'it girl' as a busty figure of 8 lady with large bust and a tiny waistline. His illustrations features in the Vogue magazines of their day.

1920's saw a very different figure that all women were lusting over: the Flapper Girl. Renowned poker straight physiques, it was almost polar opposite to the previous decade. Petite and dainty, small busts and hips were the in trend, and more leg was on show.

When the stock market fell in 1929, so did hemlines. Waistlines were more in fashion, as a more fitted silhouette returned. Smaller chest sized were still deemed popular, possibly due to the new bra-cup sizing that was brought in this era. 'The Bread Diet' was the most popular diet of this era, with women confusing gluten with glutton.

World War 2 in the 40's brought a far more structured fashion; broader shoulders were the craze, and so came around shoulder pads along with 'bullet' bras. Taller ladies were the 'it girl' of this era, with women lusting over Kathrine Hepburn's 5"8 physique.

Make way for Marylin; the Hourglass Era. 1950's saw the introduction of a softer, more voluptuous woman; advertisements were aimed at 'skinny' women to take weight-gain supplements to fill out their curves. Barbie was created this decade, imitating the small waisted, large chested woman that the ladies of the 50's were aiming for.

As if history is repeating itself, the 60's said bye bye to Marylin and hello to Twiggy. Doll-faced, slender, petite made its way back into the spotlight, with smaller bust and hips making a comeback. There was a lack of tailoring with women going girdle-free and the popularity of shift dresses making an entrance. With the declining sales of weight-gain supplements, Weight Watchers was founded in 1963.

The 70's saw far more natural 'it girl', with Farrah Fawcett leading the pack with her natural beauty, and toned, athletic figure. Slim hips and flat stomachs, as fashion took a turn into synthetic fabrics such as spandex, however curves were still making a comeback. The Atkins diet was founded in the 70's, so much for The Bread Diet!! However this also saw a rise in cases of anorexia, as women strived to look their slimmest.

The era of the supermodel, the 80's. Naomi Campbell, Elle Macpherson and more rocked a tall, leggy physique to lead the runway with. This era saw an introduction to fitness, with Jane Fonda making a trend of jogging and aerobics. Muscles are no longer looked upon as 'just for men'.

The 90's saw those leggy supermodels tossed into the washing machine at 50°, as Kate Moss takes control of the catwalk at a mere 5"7. Fashion took a far more relaxed feel, with slouchy jeans and oversized jumpers were favoured. Pale skin, angular bone structure and slender limbs were in fashion. Kate Moss' famous last words: "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."

2000's. Washboard abs are in, with Britney and Xtina showing off their midriff and killer abs in their music videos. The popularity of Victoria Secret's lingerie and even more so, their angels strutting their stuff. Tall, thin and leggy models with large busts, flawless hair and toned figures. Who wouldn't want that?

And now, the 2010's. Destiny's Child were a decade ahead with 'Bootylicious', but oh how they were right. Kim K, J-Lo, Nikki Minaj and Beyonce and queens with their mighty derrières. While the rest of womankind are signing up for gym memberships and squatting until their legs can't move!

Sorry for the history lesson (and may I say congrats if you've made it this far) but this wasn't intended to  just enlighten you about the history of women's body shapes. It's for reassurance that whatever shape and size you are, you will be 'the fashion' one day. Don't punish yourself because you don't have big boobs, or a big bum, or a flat stomach or long slim legs. There's a difference between being healthy and keeping fit, and harming your body to lose weight because that's what the media pressures you to do.

However with the positives comes the negatives. Juicing diets are often looked at as a quick and easy way to lose weight, however these diets should only be followed for a couple of days and used as a method of detoxing the body. If followed for longer than a few days, you are starving your body of nutrients that are vital to bodily functions. The majority of nutrition from juices and smoothies is carbohydrates, mainly natural sugars from fruits. A lack of protein in the diet means the body doesn't feel as fulfilled and will struggle to maintain the body's metabolism. The majority of fibre found in fruit and vegetables is found in the pulp and skin, which is the part removed when juicing fruits and vegetables. In effect, a juicing diet provides a high-carb, low protein and fibre intake, which is just going to spike blood sugar levels.

So to conclude, juice diets have little or no benefit, however along side a balanced diet are a tasty and healthy way to up your fruit and veg intake. To balance out the high sugar content, try green smoothies or juices with a higher vegetable to fruit ratio. Most days I like to have a smoothie or juice as my breakfast before the gym, it's nice and light so won't feel heavy on your stomach while you work out but gives you enough nutrients to keep you going.

Here are a few pictures that have inspired me through the past couple of weeks of 2015 to juice/smoothie more.

 

For this recipe I used cups and spoons as a method of measurements (easier to follow, especially for students like myself that may not have scales!) You will need:

• 1 cup of pecan nuts
• 2 cups of mixed nuts (mine contained pecans, hazelnuts, almonds, cashews and brazil nuts)
• 1/2 cup of mixed seeds (I used pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and chia seeds)
• 1 tbsp flaked almonds
• 1 cup dried cranberries (any dried fruit will do the same, for added sweetness)
• 2 cups of oats
• 4 tbsp natural sweetener (I used 'Sweet Freedom' syrup but maple syrup may be easier to find)
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 150C/300F. Put pecans and mixed nuts in separate resealable food bags, squeeze air out and close fully. Begin to crush nuts in bags, make sure pecans aren't broken up too small in size as they will add nice sweet taste and crunchy texture when caramelised.
2. Empty both food bags into a large mixing bowl. Add mixed seeds, flaked almonds, cranberries and oats and distribute thoroughly. 
3. Add olive oil and sweetener and combine with dry ingredients. It is easier to combine with hands so that all dry ingredients are combine with the liquids, and continue mixing until mixture is slightly sticky and clusters are forming. Add a tablespoon more olive oil or sweetener if too dry.
4. Empty granola mixture onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Spread granola across whole tray and leave plenty of gaps between so that it doesn't all stick together and resemble more of a flapjack.
5. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until lightly toasted. Remove from oven, remove greaseproof paper from baking tray to allow the granola to cool faster. Serve with some greek yoghurt and fresh berries.

What are your go-to breakfast recipes?