Fiona's top tip #1: Avocados are handbag and bikini body friendly!

Good evening!

As the organiser of this challenge, I've stepped in a little late to talk to you about exactly what we're eating. Thanks for being patient!

Every single little final detail will be explored in my upcoming e-book that our Bikini Dream Team ladies are exploring in draft version, and in the meantime I can tell you this:

We're eating absolutely gorgeous real food.  We're real people with really busy lifestyles, varying challenges - and above all, very little time.  At the same time we're making the necessary space for food preparation, exercise and mindful eating that is crucial to sustaining our evolving bikini bodies for good.

All of the girls on the challenge are realising that taking just an hour out of their day for exercise, food sourcing, preparation and cooking is doing marvellous things to their physiques.  Chewing food properly and eating in a relaxed manner is another powerful revelation - all of a sudden emotional eating (even around period time) is flying out of the window  Our portion sizes are in control, and occasionally we are treating ourselves to what we decide that we truly want ... and making a big ritual of it.  The rest of the time we're satisfied with all of the tasty and healthy options that are on offer.

The truth is, you can make any recipe a healthy one - you just need to follow my suggestions and apply a little of your own style to make it a truly satisfying experience.  For example, our lovely Amy Willerton (winner of the Miss England Bikini Challenge - woo hoo!) knows that eating in restaurants can be perfectly healthy if you know what to order and practice doing so.  She now makes a rule of ordering a fillet of fish or chicken (and occasionally steak) alongside a generous portion of "anything green".

Some of the top shopping list recommendations from my book include:  hazelnut and almond milk with my "Fiseli" breakfast mix (instead of cows milk), eggs, avocados, watercress, spinach, rocket, lemons, lean chicken and turkey meats (instead of beef for chillis and bolognaises), salmon, tuna and mackerel, quinoa instead of cous cous, sweet potatoes (instead of white potatoes), porridge oats, nuts and seeds, and low GI fruit such as apples and dark berries.  Top herbs and spices include cinnamon, ginger, garlic, tumeric, cumin, coriander, basil, thyme, oregano and black pepper.

Top Snack Tip #1 - Avocados are both portable and bikini body friendly!

For a satisfying snack that every cell in your body will love, mash half an avocado with fresh lemon juice (which stops it going brown) and ground cumin, and spread over a pumpkin seed and oat ryvita crispbread.  Top with a generous twist of black pepper.  Yum!

So why are avocados, which are relatively high in fat, good for us?  Well the answer has to do with what type of fat they contain.  Basically they have a type of fat that is really friendly to cell membranes which helps them function better -- and that supports a healthy metabolism, detoxification process and all-round general function.  So treat yourself to an avocado today!