Blog | Leah Itsines

While I believe ALL meals are important, I love breakfast because it gives you the energy and nutrients your body and brain needs to start your day. Skipping breakfast can actually cause you to overeat later in the day and also experience low energy and blood sugar levels, which can cause lightheadedness...and no one wants that. So long story short, breakfast is SO important! You want something packed with delicious nutrients like proteins, carbs and fats. Plus, if you're anything like me, you want a recipe that's super easy! So here's 5 healthy recipes to kick off your day...   1) Baked Beans Meal Prep If you're craving a healthy yet filling meal prep breakfast, then this Baked Beans recipe is for YOU! The eggs and baked beans give you all the carbs, protein and fat you need. Plus, it's super quick and easy, and lasts in the fridge for up to 2 days.   2) Banana Smoothie While some fruit smoothies are loaded up with too much sugar, this banana smoothie is nutritionally balanced with protein, fats and complex carbs. I love smoothie because they're so easy to whip and enjoy on the go.   3) Sticky Date Oats Yum! This recipe is so sweet, warming and delicious. I love oats because they're a complex carb that will keep you fuller for longer. Plus, you can cook them up in less than 10 minutes!    4) Maple Muesli with Protein Yoghurt I love love love this maple muesli because you can make it in bulk and enjoy for days. Serve it up with my quick and easy protein yoghurt, and you've got everything you need to start your day.    5) Avocado & Tomato & Corn Salsa On Toast Topped With Eggs Who doesn't love avocado on toast? Well this tomato and corn salsa takes this classic breakfast to the next level. Serve it up with a couple poached, boiled or fried eggs for a completely nourishing breakfast.     Try recipe or two this week and be sure to let me know your thoughts  I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing your feedback! Be sure to also share your creations with me on Instagram so I can like, comment and share! Use the tag @leahitsines and hashtag #leahitsines to reach out.   Happy cooking, Leah xx

Anyone else hate when you're told a recipe only take 20 minutes but in reality it takes 2 hours?! So annoying!! But luckily for you I have 14 amazing dinner recipes that REALLY do take 20 minutes or less to enjoy.  You can serve these up for two, the kids, your whole family or even as a meal prepped lunch. As always, all the recipes are quick - you would hope so - easy, healthy and super delicious. You know me, would I do anything different? Start scrolling to discover tonight's and even tomorrow's dinner! 1. Vegetable Pad Thai The perfect healthy way to enjoy delicious pad thai! You'll be enjoying this is under 20 minutes. Get this recipe here.   2. BBQ Honey Chicken Bowls These Barbecue Honey Chicken Rice Bowls are packed with flavour and are super quick and easy dinner you can throw together! You can also meal prep these for easy work lunches. Get this recipe here.   3. Red Curry Fish Cakes and Noodle Salad I love this healthy recipe because it's packed with flavour and is another delicious idea that you can meal prep too! Get this recipe here.   4. Egg and Bacon Noodles This is a super tasty dinner that your kids with love!! You'll be enjoying it in less than 20. YAY! Get this recipe here.   5. Chorizo and Broccoli Pasta   I love a simple and quick pasta! This is such a easy meal that the whole family can enjoy. Get this recipe here.   6. Ground Chicken and Rice Stir Fry  Quick and easy yet super tasty. This is the perfect "I have no time" dinner or meal prepped lunch. Get this recipe here.   7. Crumbed Calamari & Greek Salad Yum! This easy dish is truly so delicious, you'll be loving every single bite. Plus, it takes less than 20 minutes. What more could you possibly what you want? Get this recipe here.   8. No Bun Burgers   If you're wanting a quick, light but super delicious meal - this is for you. These no bun burgers are AMAZING! Get this recipe here.  9. Steak Salad A fresh delicious and easy meal that you can whip up in a few minutes. Perfect for those nights when you can't be bothered cooking! Get this recipe here.   10. Bean & Corn Salad This is a little gem of a side dish BUT could also easily be meal prepped for tomorrow's lunch.  Get this recipe here.   11. Chicken Fried Rice How good is fried rice? Such a delicious and easy way to serve up a healthy dinner for the family. Get this recipe here.   12. 10 Minute Salmon Laksa LAKSA + MY FAVE FISH... YES PLS! This is soooo delicious but more importantly... SO QUICK! It's is simple that you'll be like...."This is going to be my dinner for the next 100 years" hahaha!  Get this recipe here.   13. Quinoa Salsa Salad   You can throw this together this super fresh salad in a matter on minutes! Plus, it's incredibly filly and satisfying. Get this recipe here.   14. Chicken Satays You are going to love this easy chicken dinner. The satay sauce is next level! I love pairing this with a simple salad and some rice for a quick meal. Get this recipe here.   Try recipe or two this week and be sure to let me know your thoughts  I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing your feedback! Be sure to also share your creations with me on Instagram so I can like, comment and share! Use the tag @leahitsines and hashtag #leahitsines to reach out.   Happy cooking, Leah xx

Yay!! And we're back into another amazing week of Meal Prep Sunday! This week I've got some delicious NEW recipes for you to try and I just know you're going to LOVE them...especially the Cherry Ripe Bliss Balls. And as always I've designed a regular meal plan and a vego and vegan meal plan so there is something for everyone. YAY! I design these every week so you can easily fit healthy and balanced eating into your life. This is all about feeling happy and healthy while enjoying all your favourite foods - no restriction here! So let's dive into another amazing week...     MEAL PREP GUIDELINES Each Meal Prep Sunday Plan contains one daily plan, which you can use from Monday to Wednesday or for the whole week. It's completely up to you. For each recipe I provide, you'll need to work out how many serves you need. This is determined by how many days you follow the plan and also how many people are following the plan along with you. For instance, if you and you're partner (2 people) decided to follow the plan from Monday to Wednesday (3 days), you would need to make 6 servings of each recipe. To be clear, each plan isn't a diet or weight loss plan but a guide to easily incorporate balanced and healthy eating into your life. However, because each plan is packed with goodness you may notice a change in your energy, overall wellbeing and potentially your weight over time depending on you normal eating routine. If there's a recipe you don't like then simply swap it out for one of my many others. Simply look for recipes that you can easily batch cook, keep in the fridge and reheat if you need. After you've portioned out any warm or hot meals into containers, make sure you give them some time cool on your bench, before putting the lid on or putting them in your fridge. Putting hot into the fridge straight away, can cause bacteria to form and no one wants that.     REGULAR  This Week's Meal Prep Plan: Breakfast: Chia Pudding Snack 1: Apple & Nut Butter Lunch: Honey Soy Chicken & Brown Rice Salad Snack 2: Cherry Ripe Bliss Balls Dinner: Lentil Bolognese Meal Prep Method: 1. Read through this whole post first - so there's no risk of missing anything - and then work out how many days and how people are following the plan so you know how many serves you need to make of each recipe. 2. Go through each recipe and construct your shopping list for the week. What's great about meal prepping is you don't need a million different ingredients because you're making the same meals. 3. Go food shopping! 4. Once you're home, make sure you're kitchen is clear and ready for cooking, and then get out all the ingredients and containers you need. This is also the time you can put on some music, a podcast or a movie - or maybe you just want silence - whatever you need to enjoy the next couple hours. 5. Let's start cooking! First complete step 1 for your Honey Soy Chicken and then leave it to the side - we'll come back to it later. 6. Next we're going to prep your Chia Pudding for breakfast. Simple follow all the steps and then seperate each serve in individual containers and top with berries so you can easily grab it on the go! 7. Now for your Apple and nut butter Now for this you may want to just take a bag of apples and jar of nut butter to store a work - this way you can serve up your snack as you want it. Otherwise, portion out each apple with some nut butter into seperate containers, and even sprinkle with cinnamon if you like! 8. Now it's time for your Cherry Ripe Bliss Balls! Yum! Simply follow all the steps of the recipe and then put them in the fridge - we'll come back on how to store them later. 9. Time to make your Lentil Bolognese for dinner. Simply, follow all the steps of the recipe and once the food has cooled down pop it in to a big container or individual containers to store in the fridge. 9. Now for lunch. First follow all the steps for your Brown Rice Salad and then once you're done complete the rest of the steps for your Honey Soy Chicken. Once you've finished both recipes, seperate each serving into individual containers and store in the fridge. Tip: Now if you're following this plan for more than 3 days you may want to only make 3 serves of the salad and make a new batch for your remaining days so it's nice and fresh. Once you're done and the food has cooled, store each recipe in seperate containers. 10. By this time your Cherry Ripe Bliss Balls should have set so you can choose to either seperate each serve (2-3 truffles) into individual containers and store in the fridge or put them all in one big container to store in the fridge at work. 11. Time to clean up! Put on your favourite music so you can smash this last step. After you've finished cleaning, all your food should have cooled down so you can now put on the containers' lids and store them in the fridge. 12. You're done! AMAZING!! You just finished another week of Meal Prep Sunday and you should feel so so so proud of yourself. Well done for putting your health and tastebuds first. Now take some time to sit back and relax - you've earned it!     VEGO / VEGAN  This Week's Meal Prep Plan: Breakfast: Chia Pudding Snack 1: Apple & Nut Butter Lunch: Asian Style Tofu & Brown Rice Salad Snack 2: Cherry Ripe Bliss Balls Dinner: Lentil Bolognese Meal Prep Method: 1. Read through this whole post first - so there's no risk of missing anything - and then work out how many days and how people are following the plan so you know how many serves you need to make of each recipe. 2. Go through each recipe and construct your shopping list for the week. What's great about meal prepping is you don't need a million different ingredients because you're making the same meals. 3. Go food shopping! 4. Once you're home, make sure you're kitchen is clear and ready for cooking, and then get out all the ingredients and containers you need. This is also the time you can put on some music, a podcast or a movie - or maybe you just want silence - whatever you need to enjoy the next couple hours. 5. Let's start cooking! First complete steps 1-3 for your Asian Style Tofu and then leave it to the side - we'll come back to it later. 6. Next we're going to prep your Chia Pudding for breakfast. Simple follow all the steps and then seperate each serve in individual containers and top with berries so you can easily grab it on the go! 7. Now for your Apple and nut butter Now for this you may want to just take a bag of apples and jar of nut butter to store a work - this way you can serve up your snack as you want it. Otherwise, portion out each apple with some nut butter into seperate containers, and even sprinkle with cinnamon if you like! 8. Now it's time for your Cherry Ripe Bliss Balls! Yum! Simply follow all the steps of the recipe and then put them in the fridge - we'll come back on how to store them later. 9. Time to make your Lentil Bolognese for dinner. Simply, follow all the steps of the recipe and once the food has cooled down pop it in to a big container or individual containers to store in the fridge. 9. Now for lunch. First follow all the steps for your Brown Rice Salad and then once you're done complete the rest of the steps for your Asian Style Tofu. Once you've finished both recipes, seperate each serving into individual containers and store in the fridge. Tip: Now if you're following this plan for more than 3 days you may want to only make 3 serves of the salad and make a new batch for your remaining days so it's nice and fresh. Once you're done and the food has cooled, store each recipe in seperate containers. 10. By this time your Cherry Ripe Bliss Balls should have set so you can choose to either seperate each serve (2-3 truffles) into individual containers and store in the fridge or put them all in one big container to store in the fridge at work. 11. Time to clean up! Put on your favourite music so you can smash this last step. After you've finished cleaning, all your food should have cooled down so you can now put on the containers' lids and store them in the fridge. 12. You're done! AMAZING!! You just finished another week of Meal Prep Sunday and you should feel so so so proud of yourself. Well done for putting your health and tastebuds first. Now take some time to sit back and relax - you've earned it!   Be to let me know your thoughts and what you would like to see more in Meal Prep Sunday. I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing your feedback! Be sure to also share your creations with me on Instagram so I can like, comment and share! Use the tag @leahitsines and hashtag #leahitsines to reach out. Leah xx

Hey Guys! Everyone has been asking me for a blog on my favourite places to eat & things to do in New York.. So here you go!!  As I'm sure you all know there are thousands of amazing restaurants in New York, and the food is amazing. Here is a list of some of the places I'll often return to when in the city :)  Breakfast Two Hands -  164 Mott Street, New York.  If you're looking for a good coffee in NY and some amazing Australian style breakfast, this is the place to go! I was CRAVING Aussie coffee (sorry my fave Americans haha!) and this place delivered. A latte and a watermelon juice were my absolute favourites.  I ordered the basic eggs with bacon + every single side haha it was EXACTLY what I needed! Mitch and I will always come here at least once for breakfast every time we're in NY. I went up to pay for my food at the counter and the lady goes "Aussie right?" JUST LIKE THAT QANTAS COMMERCIAL HAHA. Apparently people just get the bill at the table.... well... I'll know next time haha!  Bluestone Lane - 55 Greenwich Avenue, New York Another Australian Cafe! I really found my Aussie places didn't I...Bluestone Lane has amazing smashed avocado on eggs and amazing Australian style coffee too. I highly recommend trying out any of their cafe's if you're nearby and want a delicious breakfast and even better coffee. I think we ordered smashed avo and a baked eggs - both were so good!  Starbucks - Located every & anywhere! If you're looking for a decent coffee (legit would order mocha everywhere #hotchocolate)  and a typical American breakfast like a bagel and cream cheese this is the place you need! I live in Adelaide, so we dont have Starbucks so I just had too. However, most of my NYC friends told me "not to give into the green witch"....but I HAD TOO.  Lunch Chopt Salad - Several Locations in NY Wow, just wow.. I am obsessed with this place. If you're looking for a massive portion, delicious, build your own, well priced salad or wrap, I recommend eating at Chopt. If you're in NY in the summer, you must try this place.. Perfect for a quick on the go lunch. Always busy and packed with local busy professionals, so you know its good. Trust me you'll thank me for this one later!! I order just a random salad with all my faves with caesar dressing, but I've heard their Mexican caesar is incredible, so thats next on my list!  Dinner Catch - 20 W 39th Street, New York Hands down my favourite place to eat in New York and by far the best food I've ever eaten overseas. If you like Japanese style raw fish and sashimi style food, this place is for you. I would compare Catch to something like Nobu, however, a younger crowd and better food. I would say this is a little more on the expensive side, however, if you're looking to treat yourself.. Well worth it. The atmosphere is amazing here, such a cool restaurant. They also have a restaurant in LA too.. Which is just as amazing. Do yourself a favour and go here!! I ordered the salmon sashimi, the tuna sushi hand roll (best I've ever eaten), the chicken bao buns and the waygu tacos. BOOM. #allforme Laboratorio - 329 W 51st Street, New York BEST ITALIAN! We actually discovered this place by accident.. Funnily enough, Mitch and I wanted to try their sister restaurant down the road! We walked in to the sister restaurant and it was booked out. The staff suggested we walk down the road and eat at their sister restaurant Laboratorio, which shared the same menu, was less busy and had a table free for us right away. So we walked on down, and let me tell you.. The service, food and atmosphere is better than their main restaurant down the road (we ended up trying it the second time we came back). Please, try the Lasagne here... Best EVER!! Mitch and I are obsessed, we typically go here 2-3 times when we're in town haha.  Santina - 820 Washington Street, New York A new style Mediterranean/Greek style restaurant which is amazing. Located close to Chelsea, this is a restaurant you must try. My sister says the chickpea pancakes are incredible - so you know they're good!  Shake Shack - Multiple Venues in NY If you're looking for a burger and fries, this is the place to go. This place is well priced and well worth the wait (there's typically a large line up at each of their restaurants). However, if you go here.... you MUST get a shake. Don't be a party pooper and order a soft drink, it just isn't the same haha!! I hope you love these recommendations and if you're ever in New York, make sure you try some of them.. I promise you, I'm all about good food!!Love, Leah x  

In those days where you're running around like crazy at work or have major hunger pains, snacks are your best friend! BUT you don't want just any plain old snack. You want filling, energising and high protein snacks that will keep you going all the way until your next meal! Plus, they also have to be 100% healthy and delicious (of course!!) and perfect to enjoy before or after a workout, on the go or at work.  Think it's too much to ask of one tiny snack? Think again! Because I've got 5 protein-packed snacks that are not only going to keep you full between meals but so damn tasty! You'll be loving every bite. AND I even have vegan options for all my vegans friends. YAY!   1. 3 Ingredient Peanut Chocolate Truffles These 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter and Chocolate Truffles are like little drops of heaven! Peanut butter is an amazing source of protein and healthy fats BUT tastes even better with dates and chocolate - it's ridiculous!! This is the perfect quick and easy recipe for when you're getting those killer chocolate cravings. In not time at all, you'll be enjoying these raw healthy sweet treats and saying goodbye to the work cookie jar! Makes: 10 dates Prep Time: 5 minutes Freeze Time: 5 - 10 minutes Ingredients: 10 pitted medjool dates 3 tbsp peanut butter 200g dark chocolate, melted Directions: Cut the dates in half, lengthways. Using a small spread of peanut butter, spread between the dates.  Dip the date in the melted chocolate and then rest on a lined baking tray. Repeat until all dates are filled with peanut butter and coated in chocolate. Place freezer for 5 - 10 minutes or until set.  Eat! Yum!     2. Vanilla Chia Pudding This creamy Vanilla Chia pudding will keep your tastebuds and your tummy super happy.  Light, refreshing but super filling! This recipe is packed with chia seeds, which are another great source of healthy fats and proteins - aka no more hunger pains and plenty of energy. Plus, I have a special little trick that super creamy and smooth! Serves: 2 Prep Time: 5 minutes Fridge Time: 2-3 hours Ingredients:  1/4 cup white chia seeds (can use black!) 1 cup almond milk (or milk of your choice!) 2 tbsp. vanilla yoghurt  1 tsp. honey 1/2 tsp vanilla extract  2 fresh strawberries  + more fresh (or frozen) berries to top with!   Directions:  Into a small bowl, add chia seeds, almond milk, yoghurt, honey and vanilla extract Stir WELL, as you don't want the chia to be sticking together.  Cover, and leave in the fridge overnight (or for 3+ hours). After two hours, give it another stir to ensure it's all mixing through. Into a blender, add the chia mixture (It should be thick by now!) and the fresh strawberries.  Blend for 2-3 minutes, until your desired consistency.      3. Spicy Almonds I'm sure you're already aware of that almonds are amazing  source of healthy fats.  BUT did you know they're also packed with fibre?? This combo means you'll stay fuller for longer and less likely to crave any quick sugar fixes! How cool is that?? Plus, I'm about to take you're love for almonds to the next level because this recipe makes them pop with flavour and spice and all things nice! You won't want to share. Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Ingredients: 500g Almonds 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp pepper 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp olive oil Directions: Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Into a large bowl, add almonds, olive oil and the dry spices. Mix well to ensure they're all coated. Pour onto a lined baking tray.  Place into the oven for 15 minutes. Allow to cool and then store in a air tight container.      4. Banana Smoothie Everyone loves a classic banana smoothie but this one is NEXT LEVEL! I've created it to give you a big sustained burst of energy, so you can keep powering through your day. The coconut, nut butter, frozen banana and vanilla protein powder are going to give you all the healthy carbs, fats and proteins you need! So basically it's nothing short of a super smoothie. PLUS, it is so damn yummy and delicious - don't be surprised if you get a little addicted. Prep Time: 1-2 minutes Serves: 1 Ingredients: 1 cup of OOB frozen banana  25g vanilla protein 1 tbsp nut butter 1 tsp honey handful of ice 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp desiccated coconut  1 cup almond milk (or milk of your choice) Directions: Place all ingredients into a blender and blend all ingredients together until a smooth consistency.      5. Egg Breakfast Muffins Don't be fouled by the name! These muffins ain't just for breakfast. They're packed with the protein, good fats and nutrients of eggs to give you all the energy you need to power through the day.  Plus, they're the perfect recipe to get in an extra tasty serve of veggies. YAY! I love making a big batch and having them ready to go for when those 3pm hunger pains start playing up. Makes: 6   Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Ingredients: 2 spring onions, thinly sliced ½ zucchini, grated (excess water squeezed out) ½ red capsicum 4 button mushrooms, thinly sliced 3 asparagus stalks, sliced into 2cm pieces 1/2 brown onion, finely diced 6 large eggs, whisked pinch of salt pinch of pepper  Directions: Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius Pour your eggs into a large bowl and whisk until mixture becomes bubbly and fluffy. Using a chucks cloth squeeze out excess water of grated zucchini. Spray a muffin tray with olive oil to ensure mixture doesn’t stick. Add zucchini, capsicum, onion, mushrooms, Asparagus, spring onion to a muffin tray in which ever flavour combos you want (or all in!)  Evenly spread the eggy mixture of the top of the ingredients.  Sprinkle salt and pepper. Using a fork, mix the ingredients around in each so the ingredients are evenly spread.  Bake for 20 mins or until nice and golden.  Ps...They will rise and look like egg monsters, but don't worry...they go down haha!      Try recipe or two this week and be sure to let me know your thoughts   I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing your feedback! Be sure to also share your creations with me on Instagram so I can like, comment and share! Use the tag @leahitsines and hashtag #leahitsines to reach out.   Happy cooking, Leah xx

How many you think superfood...and then think expensive!! With all the hype around superfood, it's no surprise that wallet your starts to cry at the thought of ALL the different foods, powders and potions you could buy. But getting your daily dose of superfoods can actually be a lot cheaper than you may think. Below I've made a list of everyday superfoods that are packed with nutrients and antioxidants but also super affordable and won't break the bank. Plus, I've got easy, healthy and delicious recipe ideas for each amazing superfood. YAY! 1. Oats An oldie but a goodie! Oats are super rich in soluble fibre and also low GI, making it an incredibly filling breakfast option that produces a slow and steady rise in your blood glucose levels. Oats are also super rich in beta-glucan! Studies have even shown that 3 grams of beta glucan per day can help to lower your cholesterol. To get some more oats in your diet, try out one of my many Overnight Oat recipes.     2. Almonds Almonds are another everyday superfood that can help to fight bad cholesterol, while also being an amazing source of protein and help fats. Plus, it's also packed with antioxidants! Antioxidants can help protect you against oxidative stress, which can damage molecules in your cells and contribute to inflammation, aging an diseases like cancer. How incredible is that?! Try out my Spicy Almonds for a easy, healthy and tasty snack.     3. Honey Mmmm honey!! So sweet and tasty but also incredible for your health.  Another great source of antioxidants, high quality honey has also been shown to lower triglyceride levels through regular consumption - especially when it's use to replace regular sugar. Elevated blood triglycerides are risk factor for heart disease, and tend to increase on a diet high in sugar and refined carbs. So get on the honey train! Check out my amazing honey recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks here!     4. Blueberries While we're still obsessed with antioxidants, how could we not mention the power of blueberries! They're particularly rich the antioxidants pterostilbene and resveratrol. Plus, they're also high in manganese, copper and fibre, and vitamins K and C. I know fresh blueberries can get a bit expensive though so I recommend frozen blueberries to get more bang for your buck.  Being frozen, means all the nutrients has still been trapped inside so you won't be missing out on any goodness. Check out my healthy and tasty blueberry recipes for breakfast, dessert and snacks here!     5. Broccoli What can't broccoli do? It's high in folate, potassium and fibre, and also rich in vitamins A, K and C. Plus, it's also a good source of minerals like zinc, phosphorus, calcium, manganese, iron, magnesium and selenium. So much goodness! And if you didn't think it could get any better, broccoli is also a source of sulforaphane, which helps supports your body's natural detoxification processes.  Discover all my delicious and easy ways to include more broccoli into your meals here.     6. Sweet Potato Who doesn't love sweet potato? They're so delicious but also packed with good carbohydrates that give your body the energy it needs to get through the day and also recover after a workout. Plus, they're easy for your tummy to digest and high on fibre - aka helps you go to the toilet! Make sure you get some sweet potato on your plate with these delicious recipes.     7. Olive Oil I could swim in olive oil haha! Not literally but it's pretty damn amazing. Not only is it perfect for salads and cooking but also a great source of monounsaturated fats! Plus, it's amazing for heart health, rich in antioxidants for immunity and also contains a substance known as oleocanthal, which is acts an anti-inflammatory in the body. I use olive oil to cook pretty much everything but also love it in my Lemon and Chive Dressing. I'm also OBSESSED with olives in general! I eat them every single day and that is no exaggeration haha Be sure to try my Warm Marinated Olives!     Try adding these everyday superfoods into your meals this week by trying a few of my easy, healthy and super tasty recipes, and be sure to let me know your thoughts   I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing your feedback! Be sure to also share your creations with me on Instagram so I can like, comment and share! Use the tag @leahitsines and hashtag #leahitsines to reach out.   Happy eating, Leah xx

Week 8! Where has the time gone? I'm so happy you are loving Meal Prep Sunday! For some of you, this is the meal plan you stick to and for others it's a source of recipe inspiration... ...And both are AMAZING! I this designed so you can use Meal Prep Sunday however are YOU want! Take one recipe, adapt the plan or follow the full thing. It's completely up to you! If you don't like something or want to add an ingredient or choose an meal than that is so fine.  This is simply a guide line, so feel free to mix it up. This week I've got two amazing meal plans! One regular and one vegetarian and vegan - so as always there's something for everyone. Let's get into it!     MEAL PREP GUIDELINES Each Meal Prep Sunday Plan contains one daily plan, which you can use from Monday to Wednesday or for the whole week. It's completely up to you. For each recipe I provide, you'll need to work out how many serves you need. This is determined by how many days you follow the plan and also how many people are following the plan along with you. For instance, if you and you're partner (2 people) decided to follow the plan from Monday to Wednesday (3 days), you would need to make 6 servings of each recipe. To be clear, each plan isn't a diet or weight loss plan but a guide to easily incorporate balanced and healthy eating into your life. However, because each plan is packed with goodness you may notice a change in your energy, overall wellbeing and potentially your weight over time depending on you normal eating routine. If there's a recipe you don't like then simply swap it out for one of my many others. Simply look for recipes that you can easily batch cook, keep in the fridge and reheat if you need. After you've portioned out any warm or hot meals into containers, make sure you give them some time cool on your bench, before putting the lid on or putting them in your fridge. Putting hot into the fridge straight away, can cause bacteria to form and no one wants that.     REGULAR  This Week's Meal Prep Plan: Breakfast: Vanilla Banana & Blueberry Overnight Oats Snack 1: Veggie Sticks (e.g. 1 carrot & 1 cucumber cut up) & Hommus (store bought or my Sweet Potato Hummus) Lunch: Honey Thai Salmon & Quinoa Salsa Salad Snack 2: Spicy Almonds Dinner: Chicken Yiros Meal Prep Method: 1. Read through this whole post first - so there's no risk of missing anything - and then work out how many days and how people are following the plan so you know how many serves you need to make of each recipe. 2. Go through each recipe and construct your shopping list for the week. What's great about meal prepping is you don't need a million different ingredients because you're making the same meals. 3. Go food shopping! 4. Once you're home, make sure you're kitchen is clear and ready for cooking, and then get out all the ingredients and containers you need. This is also the time you can put on some music, a podcast or a movie - or maybe you just want silence - whatever you need to enjoy the next couple hours. 5. Let's start with marinating your Honey Thai Salmon for your lunch. Simply follow the first step and then put it to the side to marinate. We'll come back to it later. 6. Now for breakfast - Vanilla Banana & Blueberry Overnight Oats. Simply follow all the steps of the recipe and then pop your oats in the fridge! 7. On to your snacks. Let's start with your Spicy Almonds! Simply follow all the steps, and once the almonds are in the oven, put on a timer for 15 minutes and go to the next step. When the timer goes off, simply put the almonds to the side. We'll come back to them later. 8. With the veggies and hummus, you may want to just take a bag of veggies and a container of hummus and put them in the fridge at work (if you have one) - this way you can chop up the veggies and grab the hummus as you need it. Otherwise, cut up all the veggies you need and then seperate each serving into a container before adding the hummus to one side of the each container. ALSO, you can choose to either buy your hummus or make my easy Sweet Potato Hummus recipes, it's completely up to you! 9. By this time you're almonds should be done! Now just like you're veggies and hummus, you can choose to either put all your almonds in one big container and store it at home/work, or seperate into each serve in individual containers to grab when you need. It's your choice! 10. Now to finish off your lunch. Start by cooking the quinoa for your Quinoa Salsa Salad (a.k.a step 1) and then follow the remaining steps for your Honey Thai Salmon. After this, you can then finish off the remaining steps for your Quinoa Salsa Salad. Once both recipes are done seperate each serve of salmon into individual containers and then add your salad to each serve. Done and done! 11. Let's finish off with your dinner. For your Chicken Yiros, we're simply going to prep the chicken and tzatziki . Simply follow steps 1-3 of the recipe and store you're tzatziki and chicken in the fridge (once it's cooled of course). Now each night for dinner all you have to do is reheat your chicken and follow steps 4 and 5, how easy is that?! 12. Time to clean up! Put on your favourite music so you can smash this last step. After you've finished cleaning, all your food should have cooled down so you can now put on the containers' lids and store them in the fridge. 13. You're done! AMAZING!! You just finished another week of Meal Prep Sunday and you should feel so so so proud of yourself. Well done for putting your health and tastebuds first. Now take some time to sit back and relax - you've earned it!     VEGETARIAN & VEGAN  This Week's Meal Prep Plan: Breakfast: Vanilla Banana & Blueberry Overnight Oats Snack 1: Veggie Sticks (e.g. 1 carrot & 1 cucumber cut up) & Hommus (store bought or my Sweet Potato Hummus) Lunch: Bean & Corn Salad & Quinoa Salsa Salad Snack 2: Spicy Almonds Dinner: Brown Rice Stir Fry  Meal Prep Method: 1. Read through this whole post first - so there's no risk of missing anything - and then work out how many days and how people are following the plan so you know how many serves you need to make of each recipe. 2. Go through each recipe and construct your shopping list for the week. What's great about meal prepping is you don't need a million different ingredients because you're making the same meals. 3. Go food shopping! 4. Once you're home, make sure you're kitchen is clear and ready for cooking, and then get out all the ingredients and containers you need. This is also the time you can put on some music, a podcast or a movie - or maybe you just want silence - whatever you need to enjoy the next couple hours. 5. Let's start with your breakfast - Vanilla Banana & Blueberry Overnight Oats. Simply follow all the steps of the recipe and then pop your oats in the fridge! 6. On to your snacks. Let's start with your Spicy Almonds! Simply follow all the steps, and once the almonds are in the oven, put on a timer for 15 minutes and go to the next step. When the timer goes off, simply put the almonds to the side. We'll come back to them later. 7. With the veggies and hummus, you may want to just take a bag of veggies and a container of hummus and put them in the fridge at work (if you have one) - this way you can chop up the veggies and grab the hummus as you need it. Otherwise, cut up all the veggies you need and then seperate each serving into a container before adding the hummus to one side of the each container. ALSO, you can choose to either buy your hummus or make my easy Sweet Potato Hummus recipes, it's completely up to you! 8. By this time you're almonds should be done! Now just like you're veggies and hummus, you can choose to either put all your almonds in one big container and store it at home/work, or seperate into each serve in individual containers to grab when you need. It's your choice! 9. Now for your lunch. Simply follow all the steps for your Quinoa Salsa Salad and then all your steps for your Bean & Corn Salad.  Once both salads are done, simply fill each lunch container with half Quinoa Salsa Salad and half Bean & Corn Salad! The combination is going to super fresh and tasty but also incredibly filling. 10. Let's finish off with your dinner. Simply follow all the steps for the Brown Rice Stir Fry - and feel free to add some tofu if you like - and then you choose to either store it in the fridge in one big container or seperate containers for each serve. 11. Time to clean up! Put on your favourite music so you can smash this last step. After you've finished cleaning, all your food should have cooled down so you can now put on the containers' lids and store them in the fridge. 12. You're done! AMAZING!! You just finished another week of Meal Prep Sunday and you should feel so so so proud of yourself. Well done for putting your health and tastebuds first. Now take some time to sit back and relax - you've earned it!   Be to let me know your thoughts and what you would like to see more in Meal Prep Sunday. I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing your feedback! Be sure to also share your creations with me on Instagram so I can like, comment and share! Use the tag @leahitsines and hashtag #leahitsines to reach out. Leah xx

I LOVE quinoa! It's such a great way to bulk up your meals and pack it with nutrients.Not only is quinoa gluten-free and high in protein, it is one of the few plant foods that contain all nine essential amino acids! How amazing is that!It's also high in potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E, fiber, magnesium, B vitamins and iron.Plus, it's a great replacement for rice, if you're looking for something different.So I wanted to share 6 delicious and healthy ways to cook with quinoa! All of the recipes are super easy and perfect for dinner, lunches or 3pm work snacks. Let's get into it... 1. Beetroot and Haloumi Salad Uhhh haloumi has to be my favourite cheese, ever! Its so soft, and such a great addition to salads! Pair it with quinoa and beetroot and you're in heaven.     2. Budget Friendly Poke Bowl I have always loved poke bowls, but there sometimes on the expensive side! but....never fear....the canned tuna and quinoa have come to the rescue!     3. Zucchini and Quinoa Slice Zucchini, Mushroom and Quinoa Slice!! 😍 Freeeeeking YUM! This recipe is so easy to make and packed with nourishing ingredients, making it the perfect healthy 3pm work snack, side or grab and go breakfast. It's also an amazing vegetarian meal prep recipe and incredibly filling.     4. Quinoa Salsa Salad This fresh delicious recipe is perfect for summer! I love salsa and quinoa takes it to a whole new level. You will love this nourishing salad.     5. Quinoa Fried 'Rice' I absolutely love this recipe! It's super easy, super healthy and super delicious. Plus it's so so so easy to make - it's the perfect simple dinner idea and also makes amazing leftovers for work lunches the next day. This recipe can also easily be made vegan and is super kid friendly so the whole family can enjoy together. YAY!     Try a recipe or two this week and let me know your thoughts. I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing your feedback! Be sure to also share your creations with me on Instagram so I can like, comment and share! Use the tag @leahitsines and hashtag #leahitsines to reach out. Leah x

This left me shocked! I started Meal Prep Sunday because so many of you expressed your struggle with time when it came to cooking healthy meals.I hoped that it would be able to give support and make your life easier BUT I never thought it would have such an impact!The feedback I have received has been amazing, and this particular message completely melted my heart..."Hey Leah, Just want you to know this is GENIUS! I love cooking and eating healthy but honestly it’s so stressful with a busy job, and I have really bad anxiety too. My anxiety makes it really hard to plan stuff in advance and stay on top of food, so something like this which breaks it down (even suggesting putting on a podcast or music!) is so helpful. Eating better and planning for the week honestly helps my mental health so much, so thank you for making that easier. Keep doing what you’re doing, you’re making our lives more delicious and healthy and full of energy and we love you for it!"This made my day!And gave me even more motivation to create delicious healthy recipes and meal prep plans that fit into your life.Which is why I'm so excited to share Week 7 of Meal Prep Sunday! Yay!Let's get into it.   MEAL PREP GUIDELINES Each Meal Prep Sunday Plan contains one daily plan, which you can use from Monday to Wednesday or for the whole week. It's completely up to you. For each recipe I provide, you'll need to work out how many serves you need. This is determined by how many days you follow the plan and also how many people are following the plan along with you. For instance, if you and you're partner (2 people) decided to follow the plan from Monday to Wednesday (3 days), you would need to make 6 servings of each recipe. To be clear, each plan isn't a diet or weight loss plan but a guide to easily incorporate balanced and healthy eating into your life. However, because each plan is packed with goodness you may notice a change in your energy, overall wellbeing and potentially your weight over time depending on you normal eating routine. If there's a recipe you don't like then simply swap it out for one of my many others. Simply look for recipes that you can easily batch cook, keep in the fridge and reheat if you need. After you've portioned out any warm or hot meals into containers, make sure you give them some time cool on your bench, before putting the lid on or putting them in your fridge. Putting hot into the fridge straight away, can cause bacteria to form and no one wants that.     REGULAR  This Week's Meal Prep Plan: Breakfast: Baked Beans Snack 1: Greek Yoghurt and Blueberries (Fresh or Frozen) Lunch: Grilled Pork and Broccoli Snack 2: Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles Dinner: Sesame Chicken Meatballs and Brown Rice Salad Meal Prep Method: 1. Read through this whole post first - so there's no risk of missing anything - and then work out how many days and how people are following the plan so you know how many serves you need to make of each recipe. 2. Go through each recipe and construct your shopping list for the week. What's great about meal prepping is you don't need a million different ingredients because you're making the same meals. 3. Go food shopping! 4. Once you're home, make sure you're kitchen is clear and ready for cooking, and then get out all the ingredients and containers you need. This is also the time you can put on some music, a podcast or a movie - or maybe you just want silence - whatever you need to enjoy the next couple hours. 5. Let's start cooking! First we're going to prep your yoghurt and blueberries. Now for this you may want to just take a container of yoghurt and a box of fresh or frozen blueberries and put them in the fridge and/or freezer at work (if you have one) - this way you can serve up your snack as you want it. Otherwise, portion out each serving of yoghurt and blueberries into seperate containers, and even sprinkle with cinnamon if you like! 6. Now it's time for your Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles! Yum! Simply follow all the steps of the recipe and then put them in the fridge - we'll come back on how to store them later. 7. With all the simple stuff done, let's make your breakfast - Baked Beans! Simply follow all the steps of the recipe and once the food has cooled down you can pop on the lids and put the containers in the fridge.  8. Time to make your Grilled Pork and Broccoli for lunch. Simple follow all the steps of the recipe and once the food has cooled down you can pop on the lids and put the containers in the fridge.  9. Now for dinner. First follow all the steps to make your Sesame Chicken Meatballs and then follow all the steps for your Brown Rice Salad. Now if you're following this plan for more than 3 days you may want to only make 3 serves of the salad and make a new batch for your remaining days so it's nice and fresh. Once you're done and the food has cooled, store each recipe in seperate containers. 10. By this time your Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles should have set so you can choose to either seperate each serve (2-3 truffles) into individual containers and store in the fridge or put them all in one big container to store in the fridge at work. 11. Time to clean up! Put on your favourite music so you can smash this last step. After you've finished cleaning, all your food should have cooled down so you can now put on the containers' lids and store them in the fridge. 12. You're done! AMAZING!! You just finished another week of Meal Prep Sunday and you should feel so so so proud of yourself. Well done for putting your health and tastebuds first. Now take some time to sit back and relax - you've earned it!     VEGO/VEGAN  This Week's Meal Prep Plan: Breakfast: Baked Beans (Vegans you may want to add some tofu instead of eggs) Snack 1: Greek or Coconut Yoghurt and Blueberries (Fresh or Frozen) Lunch: Brown Rice Salad with black beans (1 can for every 3 serves) Snack 2: Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles Dinner: Mediterranean Pasta Meal Prep Method: 1. Read through this whole post first - so there's no risk of missing anything - and then work out how many days and how people are following the plan so you know how many serves you need to make of each recipe. 2. Go through each recipe and construct your shopping list for the week. What's great about meal prepping is you don't need a million different ingredients because you're making the same meals. 3. Go food shopping! 4. Once you're home, make sure you're kitchen is clear and ready for cooking, and then get out all the ingredients and containers you need. This is also the time you can put on some music, a podcast or a movie - or maybe you just want silence - whatever you need to enjoy the next couple hours. 5. Let's start cooking! First we're going to prep your yoghurt and blueberries. Now for this you may want to just take a container of yoghurt and a box of fresh or frozen blueberries and put them in the fridge and/or freezer at work (if you have one) - this way you can serve up your snack as you want it. Otherwise, portion out each serving of yoghurt and blueberries into seperate containers, and even sprinkle with cinnamon if you like! 6. Now it's time for your Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles! Yum! Simply follow all the steps of the recipe and then put them in the fridge - we'll come back on how to store them later. 7. With all the simple stuff done, let's make your breakfast - Baked Beans! Simple follow all the steps of the recipe and once the food has cooled down you can pop on the lids and put the containers in the fridge.  8. Now for lunch. Follow all the steps to for your Brown Rice Salad and then add your black beans and mix well. Now if you're following this plan for more than 3 days you may want to only make 3 serves of the salad and make a new batch for your remaining days so it's nice and fresh. Once you're done and the food has cooled, store each serve in seperate containers so you can easily grab them in the morning. 9. Time to make your Mediterranean Pasta for dinner. Simple follow all the steps of the recipe and once the food has cooled down you can store it in a big container in the fridge. 10. By this time your Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles should have set so you can choose to either seperate each serve (2-3 truffles) into individual containers and store in the fridge or put them all in one big container to store in the fridge at work. 11. Time to clean up! Put on your favourite music so you can smash this last step. After you've finished cleaning, all your food should have cooled down so you can now put on the containers' lids and store them in the fridge. 12. You're done! AMAZING!! You just finished another week of Meal Prep Sunday and you should feel so so so proud of yourself. Well done for putting your health and tastebuds first. Now take some time to sit back and relax - you've earned it!   Be to let me know your thoughts and what you would like to see more in Meal Prep Sunday. I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing your feedback! Be sure to also share your creations with me on Instagram so I can like, comment and share! Use the tag @leahitsines and hashtag #leahitsines to reach out. Leah xx

Who hasn't experienced chocolate cravings at one point in their life? They're notorious! (If you haven't, I'm not sure if you're human...joking but seriously...how? Tell me your secrets!) I'm all about balanced eating and enjoying your favourite foods but I'm sure you know that feeling when your chocolate addiction has gone a little crazy! haha And while it's no crime to love and enjoy this tasty treat, your cravings could be more than a desire to devour an entire block in 5 seconds. 1. Your Cycle  For all my amazing women out there, I'm sure you are all to familiar with chocolate cravings around your time of the month. This is because when your oestrogen drops – approximately we (aka your happy hormone) also drops, while your cortisol (stress hormone) starts to rise. Therefore, you'll naturally find yourself reaching for foods that will increase your serotonin e.g. CHOCOLATE! However, complex carbohydrates are also great for serotonin so try reaching for something like brown rice or sweet potato to satisfy those cravings. 2. You're Not Eating Enough Fat or Protein Carbohydrates are amazing but be sure to also enjoy them with a source of good fat or protein.  When you eat a high starchy meal, you’re pretty much setting yourself up for a guaranteed chocolate craving. The energy from carbohydrates can be absorbed very quickly, keeping you from feeling full or satisfied. Combat this by choosing complex carbohydrates - slower release of energy - and adding healthy sources of fats and proteins to your meals. Check out these blog posts for more information and ideas - 5 Rules To Building A Nourishing Meal, and Your Ultimate Guide To Portion and Size Control. 3. Your Emotions Apparently a lot of eating and snacking is emotional! When we're having a bad day or want a reward, it's easy to fulfil those emotions with food. Stress is also a big one! Because when our body gets stressed, it starts producing cortisol. This hormone not only increases your appetite, but also you motivation e.g. your motivation to stuff your face! And it's not surprising that chocolate is high on the list for stress-related cravings. For a short time foods, like chocolates, will stop the part of the brain producing these stressful emotions and make you feel better however, it’s often only a short-term solution. Stress and emotional cravings are better dealt with through exercise, meditation, having some time to relax properly or taking the time to see what else is going in your life and why you may be feeling the way you.  E.g. If you're feeling lonely, why not give a friend or family member a call for a nice chat? 4. Your Deficient While the research isn't 100% certain, chocolate is naturally high in magnesium and therefore it is thought that cravings for chocolate could indicate that your body is needing more magnesium.  The solution for this is easy! Simply enjoy healthier alternatives that are high in magnesium such as raw almonds, black beans or whole grains. 5. You Developed A Habit Just like some people bite their nails or others crack their knuckles, your craving for chocolate at 3pm or after dinner every night could simply mean that you've developed a habit. The best solution for this is awareness. Each time you fill your habit starting to kick in ask your self - Do you really want this? Are you really craving it? Are you really hungry? If you're not eating enough during the day, then a 3pm chocolate bar is going to be hard to kick! So be sure you're eating enough through out the day and filing your meals a combination of complex carbs, fats and proteins. (Check out these for more information 5 Rules To Building A Nourishing Meal, and Your Ultimate Guide To Portion and Size Control) Also having healthier alternatives on hand such as your favourite herbal tea - e.g. lemongrass, peppermint or rooibos - or my raw Reece Peanut Butter Cups are a life saver!   So the next time you get a big chocolate craving be sure to come back to this guide, and determine what your body is telling you. But ALSO remember that it's totally ok to enjoy your favourite treats here and there! Food is to be enjoyed! Be sure to let me know your thoughts, opinions and ideas. I always love hearing from you. Love, Leah xx

Welcome back! I am so excited to be writing this post because I know how much you LOVED Meal Prep Sunday last year. And now it's a NEW year! Which means NEW recipes and NEW meal plans. YAY! As always each plan is designed to help you easily fit balanced eating into your life so you can be your happiest and healthiest self. And of course there's a plan for meat eaters, vegetarians and vegans - something for everyone! For me, meal prepping is key to eating healthy. With just a couple hours of effort, you can set all your meals up for the week! This means no skipped meals, no food overwhelmed, no last minute takeaway, no boring meals and no hours in the kitchen every day. Life is SO much easier when you take the time to meal prep. So let's kick off the first week of Meal Prep Sunday for 2019! Meal Prep Guidelines Each Meal Prep Sunday Plan contains one daily plan, which you can use from Monday to Wednesday or for the whole week. It's completely up to you. For each recipe I provide, you'll need to work out how many serves you need. This is determined by how many days you follow the plan and also how many people are following the plan along with you. For instance, if you and you're partner (2 people) decided to follow the plan from Monday to Wednesday (3 days), you would need to make 6 servings of each recipe. To be clear, each plan isn't a diet or weight loss plan but a guide to easily incorporate balanced and healthy eating into your life. However, because each plan is packed with goodness you may notice a change in your energy, overall wellbeing and potentially your weight over time depending on you normal eating routine. If there's a recipe you don't like then simply swap it out for one of my many others. Simply look for recipes that you can easily batch cook, keep in the fridge and reheat if you need. After you've portioned out any warm or hot meals into containers, make sure you give them some time cool on your bench, before putting the lid on or putting them in your fridge. Putting hot into the fridge straight away, can cause bacteria to form and no one wants that.     REGULAR  This Week's Meal Prep Plan: Breakfast: Granola with Date Syrup (You can also use maple syrup or honey) Snack 1: Carrot Sticks with Hummus (2 tablespoons) Lunch: Quinoa Fried Rice with Lemon Chicken (80g) Snack 2: Apricot Bliss Balls Dinner: No Bun Burgers Meal Prep Method: 1. Read through this whole post first - so there's no risk of missing anything - and then work out how many days and how people are following the plan so you know how many serves you need to make of each recipe. 2. Go through each recipe and construct your shopping list for the week. What's great about meal prepping is you don't need a million different ingredients because you're making the same meals. 3. Go food shopping! 4. Once you're home, make sure you're kitchen is clear and ready for cooking, and then get out all the ingredients and containers you need. This is also the time you can put on some music, a podcast or a movie - or maybe you just want silence - whatever you need to enjoy the next couple hours. 5. Let's start cooking! We're going to begin with your Granola. Simply follow steps 1 to 5 and then once you're done store each serve in seperate containers - that way breakfast is all ready to go and you can easily grab it in the morning. If you have any leftovers, simply store the rest in one big container in your pantry. 6. On to your snacks. With the carrots and hummus, you may want to just take a bag of carrots and a container of hummus and put them in the fridge at work (if you have one) - this way you can chop up the carrot and grab the hummus as you need it. Otherwise, cut up all the carrots you need and then seperate each serving into a container before adding the hummus to one side of the each container. 7. Now it's time for your Apricot Bliss Balls! Yum! Simply follow all the steps of the recipe and then put them in the fridge - we'll come back on how to store them later. 8. With all the simple stuff done, let's make your lunch - Quinoa Fried Rice with Lemon Chicken. Simply follow all the steps of the recipe and then in a seperate frying pan cook up your chicken with a little salt, pepper and lemon juice. Once everything is cooked you can combine the chicken and fried rice, and then seperate each serve into seperate containers. Once the food has cooled, you can put on the lids and store your lunches in the fridge. 9. One more recipe to go! It's time to cook your No Bun Burgers. For this recipe, I want you to ONLY follow steps 1 to 6 and then place all the patties and cooked onion in a container in the fridge (once they have cooled!). Then each night, as you're waiting for your patty to reheat for dinner, you can use this time to get your tomato, avocado and lettuce ready aka step 7 of the recipe - this way your enjoying you're veggies nice and fresh! 12. Your Apricot Bliss Balls should be all set now! Take them out of the fridge and then choose whether you want to store them in one big container in fridge at work OR store each serve in individual containers in your own fridge to quickly grab each day. The choice is yours. 11. Time to clean up! Put on your favourite music so you can smash this last step. After you've finished cleaning, all your food should have cooled down so you can now put on the containers' lids and store them in the fridge. 12. You're done! AMAZING!! You just finished another week of Meal Prep Sunday and you should feel so so so proud of yourself. Well done for putting your health and tastebuds first. Now take some time to sit back and relax - you've earned it!     VEGO/VEGAN  This Week's Meal Prep Plan: Breakfast: Granola with Date Syrup (You can also use maple syrup or honey) Snack 1: Carrot Sticks with Hummus (2 tablespoons) Lunch: Quinoa Fried Rice (Take out the oyster sauce and use more soy or a little sesame oil instead) with Lemon Tofu (170g)  Snack 2: Apricot Bliss Balls Dinner: Sweet Potato Burgers Meal Prep Method: 1. Read through this whole post first - so there's no risk of missing anything - and then work out how many days and how people are following the plan so you know how many serves you need to make of each recipe. 2. Go through each recipe and construct your shopping list for the week. What's great about meal prepping is you don't need a million different ingredients because you're making the same meals. 3. Go food shopping! 4. Once you're home, make sure you're kitchen is clear and ready for cooking, and then get out all the ingredients and containers you need. This is also the time you can put on some music, a podcast or a movie - or maybe you just want silence - whatever you need to enjoy the next couple hours. 5. Let's start cooking! We're going to begin with your Granola. Simply follow steps 1 to 5 and then once you're done store each serve in seperate containers - that way breakfast is all ready to go and you can easily grab it in the morning. If you have any leftovers, simply store the rest in one big container in your pantry. 6. On to your snacks. With the carrots and hummus, you may want to just take a bag of carrots and a container of hummus and put them in the fridge at work (if you have one) - this way you can chop up the carrot and grab the hummus as you need it. Otherwise, cut up all the carrots you need and then seperate each serving into a container before adding the hummus to one side of the each container. 7. Now it's time for your Apricot Bliss Balls! Yum! Simply follow all the steps of the recipe and then put them in the fridge - we'll come back on how to store them later. 8. With all the simple stuff done, let's make your lunch - Quinoa Fried Rice with Lemon Tofu. Simply follow all the steps of the recipe and then in a seperate frying pan cook up your tofu with a little salt, pepper and lemon juice. Once everything is cooked you can combine the tofu and fried rice, and then seperate each serve into seperate containers. Once the food has cooled, you can put on the lids and store your lunches in the fridge. 9. One more recipe to go! It's time to cook your Sweet Potato Burgers. For this recipe, I want you to ONLY follow steps 1 to 5 and then place all the patties and cooked onion in a container in the fridge (once they have cooled!). Then each night, as you're waiting for your patty to reheat for dinner, you can use this time to get your tomato, red onion and lettuce ready aka step 6 of the recipe - this way your enjoying you're veggies nice and fresh! 12. Your Apricot Bliss Balls should be all set now! Take them out of the fridge and then choose whether you want to store them in one big container in fridge at work OR store each serve in individual containers in your own fridge to quickly grab each day. The choice is yours. 11. Time to clean up! Put on your favourite music so you can smash this last step. After you've finished cleaning, all your food should have cooled down so you can now put on the containers' lids and store them in the fridge. 12. You're done! AMAZING!! You just finished another week of Meal Prep Sunday and you should feel so so so proud of yourself. Well done for putting your health and tastebuds first. Now take some time to sit back and relax - you've earned it!     Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and what you would like to see more in Meal Prep Sunday. I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing your feedback! Be sure to also share your creations with me on Instagram so I can like, comment and share! Use the tag @leahitsines and hashtag #leahitsines to reach out. Leah xx

Yay! Christmas is fast approaching, and it is by far my favourite time of the year.  I LOVE the decorations, the ugly christmas jumpers, the presents... ...but most importantly I love enjoying good food with all my family and friends.  There is nothing quite like a great Christmas feast! And in my opinion a great Christmas feast isn't complete without a couple delicious salads. Especially when you live in Australia, and enjoying Christmas in the summer heat. So today I'm sharing 5 delicious and healthy Christmas Day recipes that EVERYONE will enjoy! Plus, if you're looking for more Christmas inspiration make sure you check out My Easy Christmas Recipes ebook. It is your solution to a stress-fee christmas and packed with easy delicious Christmas ideas from platter food to the main feast to amazing desserts!   1. Classic Greek Salad Who doesn't love a good greek salad? It's the perfect side to any main meal...and in particular christmas! It's so quick and easy to put together, which is exactly what you want in a salad.       2. Light Potato Salad Sooooooo, are you SO over those potato salads that are DROWNED in thick cream sauces? (well i mean, you can never be OVER an amazing salad like that haha!) WELL, if you are, I have something SO EAAAASSSYY and so so YUM! Super good for all those lactose intolerant people out there! (holllaaa!!)     3. Strawberry and Spinach Salad This is a super different, but amazingly delicious salad! Everything goes so well together and its a super fun and different way to try new things!     4. Bean and Corn Salad Isn't this a little gem of a side dish! Super cheap, easy to make and lasts in the fridge! If you have any left over, you can throw it in a salad to bulk it up! This recipe was created as a part of my #communityrecipes by Vanessa Akgun (@bylaradee)      5. Beetroot and Haloumi Salad Uhhh haloumi has to be my favourite cheese, ever! Its so soft, and such a great addition to salads. This is a sure way to ensure everyone eats ups their veggies! I just LOVE this salad.     Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and what you would like to see more in Meal Prep Sunday. I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing your feedback! Be sure to also share your creations with me on Instagram so I can like, comment and share! Use the tag @leahitsines and hashtag #leahitsines to reach out. Leah x