donderdag 29 mei 2014

As those of you who follow me on Instagram (@escapingconrete) might have noticed, I've been eating mostly vegan for the past week. Vegan basically means eating no meat, fish and dairy products. I'm not sure if eating strictly vegan is something that is attainable for me but I do like to try new things and it's been a lot easier than I thought. I've never been a big meat eater, same goes for dairy. I do enjoy fish (especially salmon!) so I'm not sure if I will be able to remove it from my diet completely. 

I do not wish to start a discussion about the moral and health benefits for (not) becoming vegan. 
I used to think that banning whole food groups from your diet was wrong and unhealthy but those views have changed now. I do not want to command people to stop eating animal products either, I think that's a choice everyone must make for themselves. Now that's out of the way, let's look at some delicious vegan meals that I've tried this week!

Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto Pasta

(Photo by Oh She Glows)

This was my first time making pesto and now I don't know why ever bought pre-made pesto. Making it yourself is so easy! This recipe does take a while because you have to roast the tomatoes but except for that it's very quick and easy. Oh and absolutely delicious! The recipe is from Oh She Glows and you can find it here. This is what my version looked like:




Strawberry Vanilla Overnight Oats

(Photo by Fit Food Finds)

I first made overnight oats a few months ago and I absolutely hated it. I only used milk, cinnamon and oats and it tasted bland, slimy and just downright horrible. I didn't understand what the hype was about, how could people enjoy this? But I kept seeing overnight oats recipes everywhere so a few days ago I decided to give it a second try. I found this recipe, which isn't strictly vegan because it contains Greek yoghurt but I made it with vanilla soy yoghurt instead, and loved the way it looked so I decided to give it a last try. And luckily it turned out to be just as delicious as it looked! The vanilla soy yoghurt gave it a nice sweet taste and the texture wasn't runny and gross like with my first try. I already made it twice this week! Do any of you guys know any other vegan overnight oats recipes? I want to try them all! The recipe is from Fit Foodie Finds and you can find it here. This is what my versions looked like:




Creamy Avocado "Carbonara"

(Photo by Crunch and Chew)

Another pasta recipe (what can I say, I love pasta!) but this one is a lot quicker to make. I love avocado so when I came across this recipe I just had to try it! I don't like the original pasta carbonara sauce but this one tasted so good! The avocado makes it really creamy and the walnuts add a nice bite to it all. Even my little brother who isn't too happy about my enthusiasm for healthy eating ate a full plate! He did add a ridiculous amount of Parmesan but oh well, baby steps. The recipe is from Crunch and Chew and you can find it here. My version looked like this:



Vegan Sugar Free Banana Bread

(Photo by De Groene Meisjes)

I have a love/hate relationship with banana. On its own, I can't stand it. But in a smoothie, overnight oats bowl or apparently in bread, I really like the sweet, subtle flavor it creates. I was looking for healthy, vegan snack ideas when I found this one. It's vegan and gluten/sugar free! (Mine isn't gluten free because I used regular oats instead of gluten free ones.) For the filling I chose walnuts and dried apricots. I was a little wary because I had baked a bread with mango filling once which turned out to be a complete disaster (it stayed wet and doughy on the inside while the outside turned hard as a rock). Luckily this did not happen here. 

The bread tasted so good it only lasted two days! I topped it with some homemade peanut butter and it made a great snack or even lunch. The recipe is from De Groene Meisjes and it's unfortunately all in Dutch. I'm sure if you google "vegan banana bread" though, you will find loads of English recipes. You can find this recipe here. Mine turned out like this:



I hope you found this blog post inspiring, even if you aren't vegan/vegetarian. Should I do more food related blogposts? I you are interested in seeing what I eat on a daily basis you should follow me on Instagram (@escapingconcrete), I post pictures daily!

maandag 26 mei 2014

My weekly review for the bikini body guide! My reviews for the other weeks:
 week 1 here
week 2 here
week 3 here
week 4 here
week 5 here
week 6 here
week 7 here
week 8 here
week 9 here
week 10 here
week 11 here
week 12 here

Monday
This week started with arms and abs, so hard! Especially the drop push ups were a challenge.


Tuesday:
Biked an hour for cardio.

Wednesday:
Abs and cardio. There's a lot of cardio this week, not sure if I'm loving it or hating it... Definitely gets my heart rate up!


Thursday:
Biked half an hour for cardio.

Friday:
Legs and cardio (again). Am I the only one having trouble with jump lunges? I can never do more than five in a row...


Saturday:
Hour long power walk for cardio.

Sunday:
Rest!

Sorry my review is one day late this week but I spend all of yesterday in Amsterdam attending a free concert by Passenger! It was amazing, really love his music. Today I'm starting week seven, which means I'm half way done with the guide! 


You can buy the guide here.

maandag 19 mei 2014

Last Sunday I went on a brunch date with my mom and brother. We ate at Anne&Max, a cafe in Haarlem. After we had finished I asked my brother to take some pictures of my outfit, I think he did a pretty good job! Although the angle makes my feet look a lot bigger than they really are, sandals don't really flatter my feet either.


Top: Best Kept Secret
Skirt: H&M
Sandals: H&M
Sunglasses: Six
Bracelets: H&M


On to the food!


From left to right: organic apple juice, iced latte macchiato and an iced tea.


From left to right: club sandwich with smoked chicken, bacon, rucola, tomato and mayonnaise, salad with grilled veggies, olives, tomato, parmesan, pesto dressing and walnuts, salad with sheep cheese, beets, rucola and lentils. Both salads served with bread.



From left to right: iced tea, jasmine tea and a cappuccino.



Same club sandwich as before and a baguette with cucumber, hummus, avocado and mixed salad.


Everything was so delicious! Definitely recommend this place to everyone for breakfast or lunch.

zondag 18 mei 2014

My weekly review for the bikini body guide! My reviews for the other weeks:
 week 1 here
week 2 here
week 3 here
week 4 here
week 5 here
week 6 here
week 7 here
week 8 here
week 9 here
week 10 here
week 11 here
week 12 here


Monday:
This week's legs and cardio was so hard! Felt like week 1 all over again. Had sore muscles for three days!


Tuesday:
An hour long treadmill run/walk for cardio. Somehow I can run farther on a treadmill than outside?

Wednesday:
And my enemy (commandos) returns again... Liking the decline push ups though. Abs are giving me good results!


Thursday:
An hour of power walking for cardio.

Friday 
Abs! Never felt them burn as much as today. I feel like my abs are my strongest muscles? Sounds weird I know.


Saturday:
Half an hour of power walking for cardio. The weather was so nice!

Sunday:
Rest!


You can buy the guide here.

dinsdag 13 mei 2014

Saturday I received a package from my favorite store: H&M! I ordered some basic summer essentials that my closet still lacked, let's take a look shall we?


€9,95

No I didn't go crazy in photoshop, this is how vibrant these shorts really are! They're also really comfortable and look great with a summer tan. 

€9,95

I finally found my ideal summer sandals! I wanted something in a neutral color that wasn't black, no toe sandal and preferably with a band around my ankle. It took me a while but luckily I found them.

€12,95

Crop tops and crocheted clothing are all the rage and this piece combines those two trends perfectly. This will look great over a brighty colored bikini top!

€4,95 

Another light weight top, this one with a cute sea bass print.

€14,95

This is my fourth maxi-skirt so I think I can officially say they're my favorite clothing item at the moment. This one is dark blue and has a slit on the side.

Have you already bought your essential summer items? Or are you waiting for the last minute summer sales?

zondag 11 mei 2014

My weekly review for the bikini body guide! My reviews for the other weeks:
 week 1 here
week 2 here
week 3 here
week 4 here
week 5 here
week 6 here
week 7 here
week 8 here
week 9 here
week 10 here
week 11 here
week 12 here



Monday:
Decided to take my picture after I finished my work out for a change, god I look terrible. Legs and cardio still kick my ass!


Tuesday:
Biked for half an hour.

Wednesday:
Arms and abs, commandos are definitely my least favorite exercise ever. Getting better at push ups though!


Thursday:
Biked half an hour through the rain, welcome to May in The Netherlands.

Friday:
Full body workout today. Love feeling the burn in almost all my muscles. You may have noticed that I have done all my resistance workouts at home this week. With a few heavy books and something you can step on (I use a low chair) you don't even need a gym!


Saturday:
Biked for half an hour (sorry, my cardio was pretty boring this week).

Sunday:
Rest day!

And now I've completed four weeks of the guide! I know you're all wondering, have I made any progress? Did I lose weight? Do I look different? Well obviously four weeks is not a lot of time so I haven't made any mind blowing progress. I did lose 2 kilos (4.4 lbs) and I feel a lot stronger especially in my arms and abs. Here is a comparison, the pictures on the left were taken on my first day of doing the bikini body guide four weeks ago, the pictures on the right were taken today.




I tried to take the pictures at the same angle and with the same posture. I didn't look terrible before but I had some toning up to do (in my opinion). There's not a huge difference but I still have eight weeks left! I will be posting my next progress pictures in week eight.

You can buy the guide here.

vrijdag 9 mei 2014


For years I've been struggling to find products that work with my hair. I inherited the very thin hair from my mother and the frizzy, curly hair from my father. When I was younger I used to dry comb my curls which resulted in a frizzy mess. I absolutely hated my hair back then, all I wanted was thick, straight hair like all my friends had.


When I was fourteen I got a CHI straightener for my birthday and I spent the following year straightening my hair every time I had to leave the house.


Luckily at some point I realized that I was badly damaging my hair and I had to find another way of dealing with my frizzy and curly hair. That's when I found out about co-washing (washing your hair with conditioner instead of harsh shampoos) and using silicone and sulfate free shampoos and conditioners. I'm not going to explain too much about why you should use silicone and sulfate free products, it would take up the whole blog post and there already are loads of articles about it online! Simply google "co-washing" or "why should you use silicone and sulfate free products". I've been using these products for half a year now and this is what my hair looks like now:



A pretty big difference with the first photo right! These are the products I use everyday:


I start off by washing my hair with this L'Oreal Elvive volume collagen conditioner. Washing your hair with conditioner is not very different than washing your hair with shampoo. The only thing is, it doesn't foam so you have to thoroughly massage it through your hair and rinse it out very well. If you don't rinse it all out the conditioner will stick to your scalp and make your hair look oily. Make sure to use a generous amount of conditioner (more than you would use if you were using shampoo).


Once a month (or more frequently if my scalp starts to feel oily) I mix some baby shampoo into my conditioner  when I wash my hair. This will get rid of any product built up on my scalp. 


After that I gently towel dry my hair and apply L'Oreal Elvive keratin smooth conditioner and leave it in for about 5 minutes. While it's still in my hair I gently comb through it with a wide tooth comb. This is the only time I comb my hair, if I comb through it while it's dry or semi-dry it will start to frizz. When my hair is tangle free I rinse out the conditioner and squeeze most of the moisture out of my hair with my hands. After that I roll my hair into one twist and wrap it up in an old T-shirt. I used to use a towel but a T-shirt is softer and will give you less frizz. 


I keep my hair in a T-shirt for about ten to twenty minutes (depending on how much time it takes to do my make-up) and after that I untwist it and massage a few drops of Argan oil into it. I don't run my fingers through my hair because that will separate my curls resulting in frizz, but I gently knead it into my hair focussing on the ends. I don't blow dry my hair but leave it to air dry for a frizz free look.

And that's it! These are all the products I use, nothing special or expensive. The conditioners and shampoo can be bought in any drugstore (at least here in The Netherlands). The Argan oil I buy online here. Make sure to buy 100% pure Argan oil without any silicones or other chemicals. Hope this helped some curly haired girls out!

zondag 4 mei 2014

My weekly review for the bikini body guide! My reviews for the other weeks:
 week 1 here
week 2 here
week 3 here
week 4 here
week 5 here
week 6 here
week 7 here
week 8 here
week 9 here
week 10 here
week 11 here
week 12 here


Monday
Legs! My favorite body part to workout. I was glad to feel that the workout went easier than the first time in week 1.


Tuesday
Skipped cardio for today... Had no excuse, just lazy so i made this my rest day instead of Sunday.

Wednesday
Arms and abs today. Abs are my second favorite part to work out since I'm not happy with them yet. My arms are still very weak, I hope they catch up to the rest of my body soon.


Thursday
Biked for half an hour instead of power walking.

Friday
I find the full body workouts the easiest, no idea why! Did this one at home since I didn't feel like going to the gym.


Saturday
Spent this Saturday walking around Ikea with my mom, felt like that was enough low intensity cardio for the day.

Sunday
Went on a 45 minute bike ride, I love exercising when the sun is out!


Tomorrow I'll be starting week 4! Time moves fast doesn't it? I'll be posting progress pictures at the beginning of week 5 (so after 4 weeks of doing the guide).

You can buy the guide here.
 
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