My Week in Food: Lucy Buckingham

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My Week in Food: Lucy Buckingham

Does the name Lucy Bee ring a bell? If you follow of a certain Joe Wicks  (a.k.a. The Body Coach), you can’t have missed her name being shouted out mid video as he whips up a new #Leanin15 delight. Lucy Bee  makes coconut oil, and coconut oil of the finest quality. Raw, cold pressed and unprocessed, Lucy Bee coconut oil can be used for everything from cooking to cleansing and the health benefits are endless. Here its founder Lucy Buckingham reveals her weekly food diary…

I think it’s really important to eat as close to nature as possible and I always opt for organic ingredients to make healthy meals. I love a variety of foods and I tend to make meals that are quick, easy and nutritionally rich. Being a coeliac, I’ve grown up having to check labels and this has also made me very aware of what I’m eating and the benefits to my body from the inside, out. For me, the quote ‘Every time you eat or drink you’re either fighting a disease or feeding it” is very powerful and true!  And I also believe in the saying, ‘there are too many people counting calories and not enough people counting chemicals”. I love to experiment in the kitchen, especially turning unhealthy foods into a healthier option.

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Monday

Every morning I start the day oil pulling, an old remedy where you use coconut oil like a mouth wash in your mouth for anything between 5-20 minutes. I usually do 5 minutes as I find it hard not to talk for any longer! Plus, it’s great for removing toxins and also helps with teeth whitening. After I have done my oil pulling and brushed my teeth, I start most days with loose green tea. I’m currently drinking a really delicious one from Japan that my sister’s friend brought over when she last visited - it’s a mix of green tea and matcha. I fill up the cafetiere and sit through our weekly Monday meeting drinking it by the bucketload! I love starting the morning with green tea or warm water and lemon as I try to avoid coffee.

Breakfast: Today I had asparagus, cherry tomatoes and two poached eggs from our lovely chickens in the garden.

I try to stick to having vegetables for breakfast as I feel my body works better when I do this, rather than having something sweet.

Lunch: One large courgette made into courgetti with brown rice and homemade pesto. I topped this with cherry tomatoes and pine nuts.

Snack: An apple

Dinner: Steak with aubergines cooked in Lucy Bee coconut oil, courgette and more cherry tomatoes - maybe I was a little obsessed with these today!

I’d also like to mention that I normally start the morning with an exercise routine. This gives me a real energy boost and motivation for the day but I had my appendix out a couple of weeks ago and cannot exercise for 6-8 weeks, which I’m really missing!

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Tuesday

Again, I start the day with green tea. I also take a vitamin D capsule and probiotics every morning - or when I remember to!

Breakfast: Two egg omelette, topped with asparagus, tomatoes, goat’s cheese and basil, all cooked in Lucy Bee coconut oil.

Lunch: Sizzling hot prawns cooked in gluten free soy sauce, chilli, ginger, spring onions, Lucy Bee coconut oil and red chilli served with brown rice cooked in water and turmeric!

Snack: Banana, strawberry and almond milk smoothie.

Dinner: Turkey burgers with feta, sweet potato mash with Lucy Bee Coconut Oil and green beans. The turkey burger recipe is in the first Lucy Bee Coconut Oil Cookbook which is due out 24th September.

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Wednesday

Staying hydrated is important so I like to add fruit to my water. Today I’m having strawberries, ginger, mint and lime. I’m quite good at drinking water but this makes it a lot tastier!! Meg and I usually do videos on a Wednesday so sometimes I wait until she is in and end up eating the strangest things for breakfast as we do videos for the Lucy Bee Instagram page or YouTube. Today though we’re doing beauty videos so I made some breakfast myself.

Breakfast: Getting in my good fats as always with smoked salmon, scrambled egg cooked in Lucy Bee served with avocado and lemon juice.

Lunch: Courgetti with an avocado pesto - for this you simply blend an avocado, basil, lemon, olive oil, Himalayan salt and pine nuts in blender. I topped this with basil, tomatoes and pine nuts and it was so thick and creamy. This is great for people who are lactose and dairy intolerant - I love it!

Dinner: Prawns, broccoli and cucumber with a dressing of peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, lime and a little maple syrup.

Snack: A couple of squares of dark chocolate!

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Thursday

Started the morning with warm water, mint from the garden and lemon juice.

Breakfast: I actually made some granola yesterday so had a bowl of this today - you can find the recipe on  www.lucybee.co  and also a new recipe in our cookbook. I had almond milk with my granola, plus banana and blueberries. I find this a real treat as I generally try to avoid sweet things in the morning.

Lunch: Sweet potato wedges cooked in Lucy Bee Coconut oil, avocado and rocket topped with lime juice, Himalayan salt and pepper.

Snack: Dairy free mouse which is made from avocado, cacao and banana, topped with a couple of raspberries and coconut shreds.

Dinner: Tabulah salad made with buckwheat, prawns and lettuce.

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Friday

Breakfast: Mixed vegetables cooked in Lucy Bee (courgettes, aubergines, tomatoes, red pepper) with a fried egg on top.

Lunch: Beetroot, mixed lettuce, walnut and soft goat’s cheese salad with some rice cakes and homemade sundried tomato hummus.

Dinner: I went out for dinner with my boyfriend today. We just went to a local plub and I ended up having ‘Sticky Chicken’ with fries and a side salad. I also had a couple of Pimms - surely this counts as one of my five a day?

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Saturday

Breakfast: Scrambled egg with spring onions, tomato, spinach and feta all cooked in Lucy Bee coconut oil.

Lunch: Cajun chicken with tomato, avocado, cucumber and red pepper, served with a homemade coleslaw salad and a tahini, lemon dressing (this is so refreshing), with boiled egg and a dollop of mayo - I just love this combo of boiled egg and mayo!

Dinner: I wanted something filling so I had a quinoa bowl with black beans, tomato and red onions that I’d marinated in lime juice for a couple of hours. This really softens the red onions and makes them taste delicious. I added avocado, chilli flakes and Greek yoghurt seasoned with pepper and parsley.

Drinks: I was out celebrating a friend’s birthday. I must admit that as well as some water I also drank a couple of glasses of Prosseco and vodka soda with fresh lime!

I really believe in everything in moderation. I strongly believe that we all need to enjoy ourselves as long as there is a balance!

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Sunday

Ok, I seriously needed to rehydrate today. I had lots of water, coconut water and green tea.

Breakfast: One of my favourite ways to start a Sunday is with a mountain stack of pancakes. Today I made oat pancakes with Greek yoghurt and strawberries

Lunch: Lettuce, courgettes cooked in ginger, garlic and Lucy Bee, salmon marinated in gluten free soy sauce, ginger, lemon and chilli flakes. I made a tzatziki to put on top which was garlic, yoghurt and cucumber.

Dinner: Roast dinner with the family and family friends with all the trimmings and laughter you need on a Sunday! My dad is a great cook and loves spending hours in the kitchen, unlike me who likes to spend as little time as possible. My mum is a great cook too and made a delicious raspberry bakewell cake, (which you can find on our website), a real favourite in our house.

Drinks: After last night’s antics, I was drinking lots of water with lemon, coconut water and green tea!