Earlier this year I came across a post on social media from someone I follow.

She said, she’d been eating mostly vegetarian meals and ate her way into a B12 deficiency.

Which got me wondering, might I be deficient in B12, or anything else for that matter?

I didn’t know the specifics of her B12 deficiency, but I felt fine… I think.

I take a daily multivitamin and omega3 supplement and ate a fairly diverse range of plants in my diet. But how could I know?

This wasn’t just about a B12 deficiency.

My dad and grandad both had heart problems and had to have heart bypass surgery.

At the age of 6, I was told I had a heart murmur (which I’ve since been told has gone away).

And so if my goal is to live a long and healthy life, catching anything that could seriously be affecting my long-term health, would be a sensible thing to do.

And so I did some searching online and came across Thriva – the finger prick blood test that can be completed at home.

So with further ado, here’s my Thriva review.

Going into this I didn’t know what to expect.

Thriva has a bunch of different home blood test kits to choose from – which at first glance might seem quite overwhelming.

But they also have a quick 3-minute online quiz, which will ask you a bunch of different questions about yourself and based on your answers will suggest what things you should get tested on.

You can of course remove certain things from your package if you don’t feel the need to test for it and equally add ones you think should be included.

This is the route I went down, my package was put together with a focus on long-term health – exactly what I was looking for.

Personalised Thriva health package with recommendations and results

It took a few days for my package to arrive, but whilst I was waiting, I received plenty of helpful emails on how things are progressing, what to expect and what I should do when it arrives.

It was just the right amount of information, not too much that it was annoying and not too little that I wondered what am I meant to do when this turned up.

The package itself was so well put together and organised. Everything was clearly labelled and separated into its relevant section.

If like me, it’d be your first time doing an at-home kit, I’d recommend reading the instructions ahead of time, as you’ll likely have to make some preparations before you collect your blood sample, I had to:

Once you’ve figured out a day and time that you’re going to collect your blood sample.

Make sure to get everything you need and organise it somewhere you can access easily.

With that out of the way, make sure to read the instructions a good few times – because once you start it does feel like you’re on a countdown to get enough blood into the vial(s).

Instructions on how to collect your Thriva blood sample

Once I had posted my box into the mailbox, I received an email from Thriva when they had received it and also with the expectation that my results would be ready within 48 hours.

Here’s an exact timeline, from me, placing my order to getting my results:

When I did get my results, my expectations were definitely exceeded. I expected to get a list of everything tested and whether I was deficient or not.

There’s a message from the doctor who checks your blood sample who’s looked at both your results and the details you’ve added to your profile and helps to pick up on points that might matter to you.

There is little or no active inflammation occurring in the body. Studies have shown in an otherwise healthy individual this is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke. That’s great news!

You get an overview of everything tested and how well you performed.

Once you click through to your results, there is a detailed breakdown with your personalised insights:

Vitamin D health results with insights and doctor’s feedback

Once you’ve been through all of your results at the end of it you are presented with a section on ways you can improve your health.

Personalised recommendations on how to improve your health

Although these high-level recommendations are useful, they aren’t easily measurable, which is where the Thriva health plan comes in (free of charge).

The health plan gives you actionable tasks you can complete weekly to work towards improving your health.

It can seem overwhelming the number of activities you’re tasked with, but you can remove some if it feels like too much.

Health plan activities to improve your health

It’s been roughly 2 months since I did my first Thriva test, so how am I getting on with my health plan?

I started off strong, ticking things off my list but within the first week, I was taken out by the Norovirus.

Since then I’ve been ticking off the low-hanging fruit activities like taking my daily supplements and doing my daily walks.

But there are 2 activities I think I’d benefit most from:

It’s worth remembering, that just because you’ve strayed from the path, it doesn’t mean you can’t get back on track.

So these are the 2 areas I’m going to focus on until I do my next Thriva blood test.

A lot of this really comes to habit change, in which case it’s worth grabbing a copy of Atomic Habits – and for myself to give it another read.

If you want to learn more about building habits and sticking to them, I’d recommend grabbing yourself a copy of Atomic Habits. James talks about habit stacking, the compound effects of habits and much more.

Find out what’s happening inside your body and discover the best evidence-based ways to improve your health — based on your lifestyle

Is a plant-based diet affecting my health? I did a Thriva blood test to find out

I can see the appeal of recipe kits like Grubby, if you live a busy life it can be hard to find time to plan, go out and buy all the ingredients you need for tasty, nutritious meals every week.

I really enjoy cooking (if you couldn’t guess), but even I don’t always have time to cook new, tasty, healthy meals every week (running my own freelance business and being a dad of 2), so I thought I’d give Grubby a try and share my thoughts.

This was honestly the thing that drew me in, you can tell that Grubby seriously cares about the impact they have on the planet, they:

On top of all of this, Grubby even donate a free meal to children living in poverty in Uganda for each box sold – having donated more than 12,000 meals already.

One thing I was a little bit disappointed about was the plastic that some of the produce came in. This is what Grubby have to say on the matter:

From time to time, plastic is used in our boxes… the tricky truth is that in some instances, plastic still plays an important role in tackling food waste and keeping produce fresh. Don’t get us wrong, we’d much rather use eco-friendly alternatives, and we’re pushing ourselves to continuously research and test new materials.

So this is definitely something Grubby is aware of and is continuously looking into – for more information on the sustainability of their packaging make sure to check out their FAQs.

Each week you can choose up to 4 recipes (serves 2-3 people) or 2 recipes (serves 4-5 people) from a lineup of 10 (the recipes change every week).

If you’re someone who likes to plan ahead, you can even choose the meals for the following 4 weeks.

Your Grubby box will be delivered on either a Monday, Tuesday or Friday – depending on the day you select in the Grubby app when choosing your meals.

If your circumstances change you can skip weeks or change the delivery day.

Once your box arrives, you can expect to find fresh, pre-measured ingredients inside for all of your meals – with each recipe’s ingredients found in separate bags based on the recipe.

If you’re lucky, you might even get a freebie in your box – in my case, I got a free vegan hazelnut truffle chocolate bar from Rhythm. Safe to say it didn’t last long.

And if you like to listen to music whilst cooking, each recipe card has a QR code to a curated Spotify playlist so you can listen along whilst cooking.

Grubby freebie – vegan hazelnut truffle chocolate bar

Now that we’ve covered all of that greatness, how much will Grubby set you back?

Well, you have a few options to choose from.

If you’re choosing the regular box which serves 2-3 people per recipe, you can choose from:

Or if you’re choosing the family box which serves 4-5 people per recipe:

So now that you know what Grubby stand for and how it works, are the meals any good?

Butternut, pepper & pinto quesadillas, avocado salsa

This recipe required a bit of context switching – oven, frying pan, making the sauce and preparing the salsa.

But the recipe was structured in a way that meant I didn’t fall too far behind and everything was ready when it was meant to be.

It did take me a little bit longer to make, the recipe said 30 mins but it ended up taking me around 40 mins.

I knew when I was cooking it that it was going to taste good.

The balance of flavours between everything was spot on, you wouldn’t guess you’re eating so many different veggies in one go. If I got this in a restaurant I’d be really happy.

Roasted med veg risotto and toasted seeds

This recipe was pretty straightforward, it didn’t involve too much context switching.

I did find the order of steps could’ve been better (as the veggies from the oven were ready much sooner than my risotto in the pan).

Timings were pretty accurate, it took maybe 5 mins longer than stated.

Taste-wise, it was okay. Not the most flavoursome meal, but when you got a spoon with the toasted seeds, the flavour kicked in. I’d happily eat it again but I wouldn’t choose it over their other recipes.

This was the recipe I was most looking forward to. Following the recipe was pretty straightforward – it mostly consisted of chopping veggies and adding them to a pan.

Timings were again pretty accurate, it probably took me 25 mins to make – whereas the recipe said 20 mins.

It had a generous portion size (possibly could’ve served 3 people depending on how hungry you are). As for taste, it was great, the crunch that the peanuts added were an underrated addition – would definitely eat this meal again.

Honest answer, yes, but not all the time.

There are many positives to Grubby; the meals are tasty, I don’t need to plan what to cook, or buy the ingredients and with bigger box sizes it means I can cook enough food for my wife and me for 2 separate meals.

But the sticking point for me is – cost.

But as someone who enjoys cooking and will happily go out and buy the ingredients, the cost difference can be vastly different.

Personally, I feel like I could incorporate Grubby into my schedule when I get busy.

As someone who runs their own business, there are weeks where I just don’t have the time and/or brain capacity to plan out what to cook for the entire week – this is where Grubby would come in really handy for me.

But that’s just me personally, Grubby could be exactly what works for you. 

So if you’re in the market to try out one of these recipe kits, I’d definitely recommend giving Grubby a try.

Whether you’re new to plant-based eating or you’ve been plant-based for a while, Grubby is definitely worth a try – you’ll be making healthy food choices that have less impact on the planet.

Looking for something that doesn’t require so much effort? Check out my review for allplants – frozen vegan ready meals.

Grubby’s 100% plant-based recipe kit offer veggie-packed recipes that have less impact on the planet

Grubby, the plant-based recipe kit that doesn’t cost the earth

Chances are you’ve heard of allplants, but if not, they sell frozen vegan ready meals prepared with fresh ingredients by chefs and the best part is, you can enjoy them from the comfort of your own home because they’re delivered straight to your door!

Now you might be thinking, aren’t you all about cooking?

Yes, I do like to prepare freshly cooked meals – but there’s often a day for one reason or another my wife and I don’t have something to eat.

In which case we’d likely reach for a takeaway or throw something together that really doesn’t constitute a meal.

If a day comes when we don’t feel like cooking, we know we have something both tasty and healthy stashed away in the freezer.

And with my wife going back to work after maternity leave, we thought it would be the perfect time to give them a try and share our allplants review with you.

When it comes to buying something new I’ll always see what the company’s commitment is to the planet.

And with allplants you don’t have to look far before you find out where they stand.

allplants entire ethos revolves around the planet, they:

These vegan ready meals are not only easy and tasty, but they’re also planet-friendly!

If you’re after a more detailed look, make sure to check out the allplants 2022 impact report.

We have publicly committed to Net Zero by 2030 with over 500 other B Corps and as part of the Tech Zero taskforce. Decarbonising our economy is a focus of allplants.

As I mentioned above, allplants meals are frozen, so that might have you thinking that they only sell meals for dinner and lunch.

But in fact, they also sell sides, breakfast, treats and smoothies – all plant-based.

So with that information to hand, you have 2 options – you can pick the exact dishes you’d like to try or you could choose one of allplants bundles – which might all be mains or a combination of mains, breakfasts, treats and smoothies.

Also, there’s a lot to choose from, and with a menu of 100+ vegan dishes, you shouldn’t get bored of their meals quickly.

Sometimes plant-based ready meals may not hit the spot when it comes to taste – but not allplants!

It took a little while to decide, but for my first order I decided to go with:

Miso roasted tofu, coconut and edamame smash, with power grains, sweet chilli broccoli, sesame cabbage, and a pea and edamame medley.

Buttery bechamel, lightly steamed spinach and caramelised leeks are generously layered with a creamy almond ricotta in this rich and more-ish lasagne.

So good they named it twice. Peri peri sauce coats roasted tempeh, garnished with a peri peri rub, served with spicy rice and a vibrant pea crush.

Fluffy potato gnocchi mixed through a cheesy sauce with baby spinach, leeks and broccoli, topped with a nutty garlic crumb.

Layers of roasted aubergine, courgette and lasagne, covered in a rich, sweet red pepper tomato sauce and a creamy garlic bechamel, topped with red pepper flakes and basil.

Honestly, every meal I had was tasty, there weren’t any that I felt like I wouldn’t happily eat again. Some maybe needed a little bit more salt (but that’s an easy addition).

I also found myself having one of these meals for lunch at the office, I cooked two meals the night prior – one for dinner and one to take to work, I simply reheated it in the microwave and it was still yummy.

One thing that really bugs me about ready meals is that they’re usually very unhealthy as a lot of them have high levels of salt, sugar and fat.

But with allplants, that’s not the case. All their meals are prepared from scratch, by chefs and nutritionists – working together to find the perfect balance between micro and macro nutrients all whilst using fresh ingredients!

And before a meal even lands on your doorstep you’re able to check out what ingredients it uses and its nutritional information – so if you’re after some high-protein vegan meals you don’t have to guess.

allplants recipe showing nutritional highlights

With allplants ready meals, you don’t have to worry about meals taking much longer than stated on the box.

Simply take a meal out of the freezer, remove its packaging and whack it into a preheated oven (or the microwave if you fancy).

Of the recipes I tried, they ranged from 35 minutes up to 55 minutes, but generally, the recipes fall around the 45-minute mark.

allplants recipe cooking time and instructions

Serving sizes will vary depending on what you’re buying, but here’s an idea of what to expect.

This is going to depend entirely on what you’re buying and how many servings each meal has. But to give you an idea, for a single-serving meal:

You also need to spend a minimum of £25 to place an order.

So you’ve figured out what you want to buy, and now you have the choice of a one-off order or a subscription.

I know what you’re thinking, not another subscription, but let’s take a little look at what a subscription offers you:

I’ll be honest with you, I have a bad taste in my mouth from some subscription services (cough no reminder email cough).

But so far allplants have been really good – I’ve not felt like they’re trying to use any dark patterns to trick me into buying another round of food.

Let’s take a minute to talk about deliveries because most of us have jobs and aren’t sat at home 24/7.

With allplants selling frozen ready meals, you might be worried about your delivery sitting on the doorstep whilst you’re out.

Well not to worry, each box comes with a liner inside and a dry icepack so your meals will stay frozen until 10 pm on delivery day.

So don’t worry – allplants home delivery makes a plant-based lifestyle much more accessible.

allplants review verdict – would I buy it again?

I have to say, I’m really impressed with allplants. The meals are not only super healthy but also really tasty (they’re not like a typical bland vegan ready meal). Plus, there’s so much variety to choose from.

As for the packaging, allplants have some killer branding but more importantly, it’s easy to recycle or reuse! The box is a guaranteed hit with small children and cats alike.

With a lot of these things, the price is usually the sticking point. But when compared to a takeaway (which is what we’d typically have instead), allplants work out to be much cheaper.

So the real question is, would I buy allplants again?

Definitely, I’ve already ordered a second round of food and I’ll no doubt be buying a third.

I’d say on average my wife and I have 1 allplants meal a week – shared between the 2 of us.

It’s a massive relief knowing we have a tasty, healthy plant-based meal stashed away in the freezer for those days we don’t feel like cooking or we don’t have the time.

Looking for something a little more hands-on? Check out my review for Grubby the plant-based recipe kit.

allplants frozen vegan ready meals review

allplants – frozen vegan ready meals that are good for people and planet

building-a-consistent-walking-habit.mp3

At the start of the month, I set myself a goal to develop a more consistent walking habit. This was for several reasons:

Before this, how often I walked fluctuated from week to week, but it’s something I enjoy doing so I figured it should be a relatively easy habit to develop.

There were a couple of things that made this easier for me:

Before covid, I’d regularly listen to audiobooks on my commute to work (I completed ~25 books between 2018 and 2020 which I wouldn’t have otherwise).

Since working from home from early 2020 (now self-employed), I haven’t been able to find a place in my schedule where listening to audiobooks works for me.

So I decided to try and stack my walking habit with listening to audiobooks.

I had the proof is in the plants on my radar from months prior so I grabbed a copy on Audible.

The proof is in the plants provides such a great overview of how a plant-based diet impacts our personal and planetary health. Simon also tackles the question of why there is so much conflicting information out there and uses science to back it up!

If you want to try listening to audiobooks, choose subjects you’re interested in, it could be;

Don’t choose a book you’ll end up hating, just because you think you should – this should work as an aid and not a deterrent.

The best time to walk is what works best for you. For me that is:

I’m more of a morning person and like to get out when things are quiet.

On top of this, it’s great to achieve something early in the day and not have to worry about it later.

Failing or in addition to a morning walk, next up would be lunchtime. Lunchtime walks have saved entire afternoons of work for me – as the break and fresh air helps to clear my head.

There’s also evidence that being out in nature helps to improve our mental health as mentioned in plant therapy.

Being surrounded by nature is both good for our mental and physical health. The evidence shows a clear link between being in nature and better sleep, reduced stress levels and much more.

A little incentive goes a long way, you can choose to either:

Loss aversion (preferring to not lose what you already have, instead of gaining something you don’t have), is a very strong motivator.

I decided to download the Treekly app – where they plant trees if you hit a certain step count (even on the free plan).

I chose to upgrade to the plus account, which meant I paid £3.99 a month, and for each day I did 5,000 steps they’d plant a tree.

Weather you stick with the free plan, or upgrade to the paid version – you can turn your steps into trees all whilst creating a healthy habit.

When we look at starting new habits (especially exercise related), there’s often a lot of equipment and gadgets you could buy, but I’d encourage you, to try and use what you have.

There will be exceptions to this, depending on your circumstances and what you’re doing, but you can often do a lot with what you already have.

And once it’s become a habit, you can then reward yourself with some of those things you know will really help you.

If I keep my walking habit come April, I’ll reward myself by upgrading my shoes to something like Vivo Barefoot shoes – designed to be more like our natural foot.

Vivo barefoot shoes aim to provide protection to your feet and then get out of the way so your feet can do what they’re meant to.

If you want to build better habits, like walking, consider changing some variables (depending on how new you are to it);

Don’t overextend yourself in the beginning, start small and work your way up. These principles can be used for developing any habit.

How I used habit stacking, incentives and finding the right time to walk to build a consistent walking habit.

I built a consistent walking habit, here’s what helped

I’ve never really struggled with sleep, until sometime in 2021.

On occasion, I’d either struggle to fall asleep or wake up just after midnight and then lye awake for 3+ hours before falling asleep again.

So I decided to look at my daily activities to see what could be affecting my sleep.

Scientists have determined that getting a good night sleep on a regular basis is important for a multitude of reasons;

Now if that’s not a good enough reason to get a good nights sleep I don’t know what is.

Want to understand the science behind why we sleep and why it’s so important for us? This is probably the most comprehensive resource on sleep and might just convince you why to try and sleep better.

Our lifestyles play a big role in how well we sleep at night (or day, maybe you work nights), so it’s worth looking at your day-to-day activities that might be impacting your sleep.

Whilst this is definitely not a definitive list, here are some things that have helped me get better, more consistent sleep;

Our circadian rhythm which regulates our sleep pattern is governed by our exposure to light.

By stepping outside first thing in the morning after waking up we expose ourselves to natural sunlight (even on a cloudy day) which will help us sleep better at night.

This also has the added benefit of getting Vitamin D from the sun.

This probably won’t come as a surprise to you that moving (using up your energy) will help you sleep easier at night.

If you’re not used to regular exercise, try and find something you enjoy and work it into your routine – something is better than nothing, you don’t have to suffer for it to count.

My go-to is a daily walk, but on occasion, I might mix it up with;

Coffee and other caffeinated drinks (like teas and energy drinks) might be hurting your sleep.

Caffeine has a half-life of around 6 hours, meaning if you drank a cup of coffee at 4 pm, by the time you go to bed at 10 pm, half of the coffee will still be in your system.

So cutting out caffeinated drinks around mid-day to early afternoon might be a sensible idea.

Keep hot drinks hot for up to 4 hours with a reusable coffee cup 

Looking for a stylish, reusable cup for your hot drinks? I’d definitely recommend this coffee cup from Chilly. I use it most mornings when I have to commute into an office.

Working before bed is my Achilles heel (I’ve found this can also extend to checking emails).

Blog

allplants – frozen vegan ready meals that are good for people and planet

Is a plant-based diet affecting my health? I did a Thriva blood test to find out

Grubby, the plant-based recipe kit that doesn’t cost the earth

6 ways to get a better night sleep

I built a consistent walking habit, here’s what helped

New plant-based recipes & articles every month