Travel Watchdog

The post will look at 5 protein snack ideas that will help you reach your protein intake for the day. The post will not be using protein shakes for any of the ideas ,but items that would be found in most everyday kitchens or easily sourced in your local supermarket.

1. Greek Yogurt and Granola Bowl

The first option on the list is 0% Greek yogurt , granola and honey. Like most items there will be a slight variation on the exact macros when you compare different brands . But the low fat brand I use (Milbona) will have 6.8g of protein per 100g of yougurt, you can then add in a serving of granola which is said to be 45g but depending on your own goals you may have to lower this. The protein amount for a 45g serving comes to 4g but do be aware that there is roughly 200 calories in this serving amount.To finish this off don’t be afraid to add a little bit of honey, its not a source of protein but adds a great taste and we’re all about getting that balance. A great dessert option when looking to loss weight.

The snack total will come to around 21g of protein if you use 250 grams of yogurt and 45 grams of granola and 15 grams of honey. Coming to 400 calories if you’re watching weight you can simply reduce the granola amount.

2. Ham and Cheese Toastie

The next item on our list of protein snack ideas is an all time classic the ham and cheese toastie. This seems to get neglected a lot, because done as normal it can have a lot of calories due to using the wrong options. Start with the bread depending on your own goal to lose weight or gain muscle you want to keep an eye on your pan. Cutting season use a loaf that is only 60 calories on average Brennanas be good panis a good option as it also offers 2.7g of protein per slice.When bulking up you can treat yourself to a nice bloomer this loaf is a lot higher in calories averaging 120 calories per slice but can have 5g of protein for each slice. Next it’s your main protein source lets not complicate this any brand will do for this. Each slice of ham gives us 4g of protein so depending on your requirements of protein you can be the judge on how many slices you have. Finally it’s the star of the show and whether your bulking or cutting I would say always use a low calorie cheese if you can find a good one. A good ball park is no higher than 60 calories a slice .Giving you roughly 5.5g of protein and 4.4g of fat. You may have noticed I haven’t mentioned butter but trust me when you toast the ham and cheese sandwich you won’t miss the butter.

The protein will come to around 23g when cutting and little bit higher when bulking but 23g for something that takes about 2 minutes to make you can’t argue with. For me it’s an ideal protein snack idea.

3. Tapas

s the next idea on our list. Unlike the earlier options this is where you can get creative as this option is something you can do when you have a little bit more time during the day. Lidl or Aldi can be options for sourcing your meat for the tapas you know yourself they have a range of different types of hams. If you wanted a suggestion try their Spanish serrano ham 100g comes to 232 calories with 30g of protein and can be a great snack when brought together with a few more items like, olives, cheese ,grapes, chorizo, bread etc. Always prepare with your fitness goals in mind if your looking to lose weight maybe leave out certain items that maybe high in fat. But it truly can be nice protein snack idea that you can use when you have friends or family around .Always remember never neglect the foods you like it’s all about that balance.

4. Cottage Cheese and Crackers

Like most other items on this list will be going for the low fat option. There’s no need for that full fat garbage. This is something that can be whipped up in seconds and is ideal for those hours after lunch when you feel a little bit of craving coming on. A small bit of cottage cheese on a cracker is great protein snack idea that will help you hit that protein target at the end of day. Depending on brand per 100g you can expect 16g of protein and only 66 calories which is such a great source of calories whether your bulking or cutting. Then simply top it off with 2 or 3 Ryvita crisp bread crackers . Each cracker has only 1g of protein but every little counts and with 35 Calories you can’t go wrong.

The snack total comes to roughly 20g of protein and has only 170 calories with 3 crackers and 100g of cottage cheese ,this is a protein snack idea that everyone could get into their plan.

5. Tuna Salad

Last on our list of protein snack ideas is a simple tuna salad. It really doesn’t take much to put this all together . Are protein source is canned tuna, with 1 can (normally 120g ) coming to 27g of protein is going to be a great way of hitting that protein requirement for the day. For the salad you can get inventive but for me a nice cucumber salad normally goes well with tuna . If you haven’t given this a try I would really recommend that you give it a go . Perfect for a midday snack and with the canned tuna only coming to 120 calories it really leaves you room to have extra calories later on in the day when you may crave them most.

I really hope this makes it easier for you when trying to hit your protein target for the day and that you found some of these protein snack ideas useful . If so please check out our meal plans were anyone of these can be part of your customized meal plan. The meal plans can be found at http://www.balancedfitnessclub.com .

The blog will highlight 5 easy changes that we all can do to improve our overall fitness level and live a healthier life.

1. The first change is probably the most obvious and that’s to simply find a type of exercise that you enjoy doing . Many people take on some sort of class or exercise that they don’t really enjoy going too but continue going until they find a valid excuse to ditch the workout. So just remember the type of workout doesn’t always have to be a music blaring ,sweat dripping hour of hell but could simply be step counting along your favourite walk ways as long as you continue to see progress and push yourself each workout. This is a fantastic workout.This leads me onto my next point.

2. Accountability. You need to make an effort to track your workouts . So that whatever type of training you undertake you want to see progression 2,4 or 8 weeks down the line from the day you started. This applies to running ,weight training or walking etc . If you run 5km in 30 minutes well in 4 weeks you want to be below this . If you’re weight training you want to have improved you lifts whether that’s by 5kgs or simply just half a kg you want to see improvement over a certain period. While if you’re step counting more steps covered over a period of time is a great way to measure your progress. This seems obvious to anyone that starts training. If you’re honest with yourself how often do you go through the motions when training with no tracking log of your past workouts ,if you continue like this your never going to see improvement as you’ve never improved from last week or weeks previously .With a tracking log you’ll have some sort of accountability when you train.

3. Find out your caloric maintenance. In lay mans terms you need to find out how many calories you can have before you put on weight or lose weight . From here you can adjust your caloric intake in line with your own personal goals.

4. Track your calories. This can be torture for some people and can be abit of a pain in the arse for want of a better word. But I would suggest that you even just track for three days every piece of food and liquid you consume over those three days just to give you an idea why you have been putting on weight or losing weight over the last couple of weeks. I’d say you will get a slight shock with the results. But never sacrifice foods that you like eating just because your tracking your calories.

5. Shopping changes . What we all can do is make some small smart changes when shopping in our supermarkets that will have a massive effect on our overall health and fitness. For e.g just change the type of yoghurt you eat there always a healthier option, maybe try the leaner beef option, try maybe a low calorie sliced pan or even a high cocoa% bar . There are unlimited ways that you can make small improvements when you shop that will lead to great results when it comes to your overall fitness and health.

I hope you got some value from the blog and if you have any questions please do leave a comment. But if you would like any more information on any of the topics you can download a free ebook with this link https://amzn.to/2EI9Cxw.

But if anyone is interested in a free workout and meal plan in line with your own personal goals I would happily forward you on your own personal plan, I’m currently providing this service while I wait to launch my PT business online in the next few weeks.

If interested please just fill in this quick questionnaire and I will get back to the first couple of people who fill in the questionaire.

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Thanks for reading guys.

The blog will give you a quick checklist to things you shouldn’t forget to bring when visiting Ireland. Without delaying will get straight onto the list.

Leap card: A leap card is one of the most important items you can buy when coming to Ireland. It can be bought in most corner shops in Ireland for around €5. You can also top up the card in these shops for your travels ,€20 should cover you for your first couple of days . With your leap card you save up to 31% compared to buying your ticket normally for public transport.

Audible books : When you come to Ireland you will probably be looking to travel to different parts of the Island. Audible books can be a great way to pass the time from one county to another. Also there a great way to build up knowledge of places to visit when on your travels. On another note they could be a way of bringing up conversation with someone on your travel should you be travelling alone.

If you’re interested in two free audible books you can click on the link below and sign up for Audible’s 30 day free trial. https://amzn.to/2EI9Cxw

Clothing : Ireland’s weather is so unpredictable you can get 4 seasons in the space of an hour. If you do manage to get caught out with the weather conditions there is a Penney’s in nearly every major city in Ireland where you’ll be able to pick up whatever you may need for your daily event. A light jacket would be the one piece of clothing that would be essential for whatever time of the year you’re coming to Ireland.

International Bank card : When travelling to Ireland I’d advise that you look into signing up for a bank card that is going to stop you incurring bank charges for using the card outside it’s home country. Depending on the particular atm’s you will be incurring unnecessary charges that could be used to buy yourself an extra pint or two. I would reccomend if you are a EU resident that you apply for a Revolut card before you arrive in Ireland.

The final point isn’t a piece of equipment but just a bit of advice .Try not fall into some of the tourist traps when you come to Ireland you won’t get the true experience of visiting Ireland going to all the places tourist go. Try any bar or restaurant and speak to some of the locals and they’ll point you in the right direction if there is something that you’re looking to do.

I have a blog about Dublin nightlife that you might find interesting should you be thinking of visiting Dublin. https://watchdog.travel.blog/2020/07/18/dublin-nightlife/

If you do like the blog please leave a like or comment and don’t forget to download two free audible books.

https://amzn.to/2EI9Cxw

Covid 19 has had a massive impact on our travel plans for this year and if you are currently living in Ireland you are being encouraged to holiday at home the term they are calling a “staycation” .With this in mind I thought it would be interesting to pick two locations around Ireland that are being advertised as an ideal travel destinations and see how much would it cost to stay in one of these destinations for 1 week during August. Will cover three types of accommodation holiday homes, hotels and hostels so that there is an option for everyone that is thinking of staying in Ireland for the next couple of months. Be clear I’m not for or against holidaying at home I just wanted to investigate how much it costs to have a holiday at home for 1 week. At the end will compare it to a holiday abroad just for a little bit of fun. The two locations that I have chosen are Dingle and Eyre Square . The only requirements that I have for our stay is 2 adults and 2 kids. And just to make you aware I won’t be going into detail of why you should visit each location. I’ll just be giving an overview of how much it will cost to visit each destination.Let’s get started.

Dingle is the first destination on the list for our “staycation” and with no doubt will have a lot to offer in terms of activities and things to do during your week stay, but how much will it cost you to stay here for the week starting the 24th of August to the 30 of August. Will start with Airbnb the average night for an Airbnb in Dingle is coming to €235 for this particular week and for this price you will get a fantastic home.The cheapest home that we found on the website for this particular week was for €137 a night coming to €819 for your week’s stay. The example we have highlighted is 10 Dingle Manor if you are thinking of visiting Dingle.

“Under new management these houses are situatated in a spectacular location overlooking Dingle Bay, stay at one of these superb properties just outside Dingle Town.

Quality accommodation on the grounds of a hunting lodge built in 1703 and former home of the Earl of Cork.

They combine a traditional design with modern, spacious, and luxurious interiors to ensure comfort for all ages.”

Will next look at the cost to stay in a hotel in dingle for a week and for this we’ll be using booking.com . The average that you’ll pay for a family of 4 for your 6 night stay will be €1850. Booking.com only gave us a small amount of options for our search but the cheapest hotel came to €1123 which does feel very expensive for a week away. If you were planning to book accommodation for a week ,I would say stay clear of any of the hotels as the prices are just crazy for a 1 weeks stay . But if you wanted to find a great place that would be great for the whole family I would recommend the Seafront Inn @Inch beach it’s only 22 minutes drive from dingle but a stay here for 6 nights does come to €1868.

Finally I’ll have a look to see what prices we can expect when looking to stay in a hostel for our stay. The website that I used for this was hostelworld.com . The website gave us only two options for hostels in Dingle one of them was sold out for our week,while the second option only gave us the option to book a room for 2 people for €50 euro a night so €300 a week and for a family a stay would come to €600. The hostel is situated in the heart of dingle and could be an option for a family looking to holiday from home. The hostel is called Lovett’s Hostel if you wanted to find out more. (picture below)

If you’re looking to get more information on what type of activities you can expect if you do choose to holiday in dingle, I’ve left a link to a guide here https://amzn.to/2P8Hkyh

The guide will describe all of dingle’s rugged peaks, dramatic ridges, captivating valleys, glittering lakes, and stunning Atlantic coastline form a treasure trove of walking options.

Our next destination on our search will be Eyre Square. Going off experience you’ll find it hard not to have a nice few days here. The buzzy city and the beautiful sea front is great during the day and come the evening you won’t be disappointed with the traditional pubs and live music bringing you an eventful night should you take part in this during your stay.

Like last time we will start with Airbnb . Getting straight into it the average cost to spend a night in Eyre Square is coming to €267 straight off the bat this would turn away a lot of holidaymakers, but lucky for us there are cheaper options starting from €150. If I was looking myself to book a home on airbnb my choice would be the Central Artsy Apartment the apartment is only 5 minutes from Eyre Square and comes with three bedrooms so everyone in the family will have their own space. The stay is €160 euro a night so for the 6 nights it comes to €1196 with all the service charges . So if this floats your boat I don’t think you could go wrong.

Next I got a surprise to what I had seen previously. There were a large amount of hotels to choose from when looking to spend a holiday in Galway. The average price a night was above €200 still quite expensive for a family looking to have a week away . The lowest option on booking.com was €798 and compared to our choices in dingle and the airbnb in Eyre Square I don’t think you could go wrong. But if I was to choose a hotel with value for money I would recommend that you take a look at the Connacht Hotel the hotel offers a family room from €930 for the week and has a full fitness centre that includes a pool ,sauna and gym should you get caught inside during your stay with the typical Irish weather . 

The last thing we’re going to be looking at is the price of a hostels in Eyre Square . There is a range of hostels that you can book in Eyre Square that will do exactly what it says on the tin . But if I was to choose one it would be the Galway city hostel and bar. At the moment you can book a room for 4 for €80 a night .The rooms are very basic but what it lacks in comfort it makes up for with fun and friendliness . The staff are wonderful and the bar does rock with great traditional music throughout the week.

If you do have an urge to travel around Ireland but not sure exactly where you would like to go I would recommend that your read Rick Stevens best of Ireland Link Here https://amzn.to/3jCsv4N

He provides you with a two day itinerary for a number of locations around Ireland including Dublin, Kilkenny, Kinsale, Kenmare and the Ring of Kerry, Dingle Town and Peninsula, County Clare, Galway, Aran Islands, Belfast, Portrush and the Antrim Coast. So if your undecided you can’t go wrong.

To finish off I want to make a comparison between our locations in Ireland and a holiday abroad. So will look at flights and accommodation and how much this would cost for a family. So the area that I have chosen is Lanzarote .The flight will depart from Dublin airport. As I couldn’t get a flight on the 24th I had to move to the 23rd of August and fly home the 29th of August. The flights for the family come to a total of €280 which is really good for this time of year. While when it comes to accommodation there are a lot of options with hotels starting from €480 for the 6 nights but the hotel that caught my attention was Hotel Suite Montana Club. The stay for the six nights comes to €678 this would be at the higher end of the scale but the hotel has great facilities and is right on the beach front. The total for flights and accommodation comes to €958 for the week but you could definitely find accommodation a couple of hundred euro cheaper for the week.If you wanted.

To conclude I hope this was informative and gives you an insight to what is the major issue with staycations in Ireland. When we compare how much a holiday abroad will cost us it can be a couple of hundred euro cheaper than a holiday in Ireland. Even if we don’t manage to save on flights and accommodation the cost of living for that week will no doubt be 100 euro less each day if I was to make a guess of the top of my head . While this is the way people will continue to take the risk to holiday abroad.

Thanks for reading to the end and any questions please leave a comment below.

With Ireland welcoming back tourists to the country I feel it’s a good time to give a insight into some of the best pubs and late bars to spend your time in while visiting Dublin. The post is going to be split into three sections. Temple bar , pubs away from the tourist traps and the late bars and nightclubs.

Temple bar

When visiting Dublin temple bar is an area that everyone must see and spend time in .You will hear people say that it’s a tourist trap and this I would agree with but certainly wouldn’t want anyone to miss out on experiencing the fun and laughter that can be had while in temple bar.

While in Templar bar I would recommend that you try the quay bar .It can be found on the main square of temple bar and come the weekend it starts to get very busy from early with live music being played throughout the day. A pint of cream here will be expensive compared to any pub outside of temple bar but the atmosphere from early makes up for that .

Once you mange to pull yourself out of the quay bar there are many other option’s for you in temple bar and the one’s that you must try are temple bar pub and the auld dubliner. Both are great pubs for live music and you will be 100% guaranteed a great night but it certainly won’t be a cheap one. With pints nearly coming to €8 and should you want a spirit and soft drink you’ll want to have a talk with your bank because it won’t come with much change.

To conclude with temple bar if your’e coming to meet locals and find out what it’s like to visit Dublin temple bar isn’t the place to go,but if you want a great night from start to end and your pockets run deep go for it ,you’ll have a fantastic time. But if you want to know where all the locals go on their weekends continue reading.

Pubs away from the tourist traps

Right guys if you’ve managed to survive temple bar and you’re ready to take on your next pub James Toner aka Toner’s is next on our list . Everyone will say their pubs serves the best Guinness in the land but Toner’s arguably has one of the best pint’s of cream out there. Toner’s don’t just do a great pint they have an unbelievable beer garden which are very few and far between when visiting Dublin,but when a Ireland rugby game or a Dublin match is on it’s very hard to beat the atmosphere in Toner’s for sure.

Next will move onto camden street where you will find are next few pubs . Camden street is one of the most popular streets in Dublin for night life . But in my opinion is the one area you must go to when in Dublin as it rivals temple bar for it fun and laughter . When on this street the pubs i’d look out for are Devitt’s, Ryan’s and Huck’s. These pubs offer great live music that is even better than temple bar and with real Irish folk songs mixed in with songs we all love to sing along too. These pubs will all be packed come a Friday and Saturday night with people from throughout the country so you will be guaranteed a fun time . You will also be charged the normal price for a pint while in these pubs so your pockets won’t feel as light the next day .

A little tip Huck’s has two singers that like to have a little bit of banter with tourists and try and call out any tourist in the crowd so if you’re up for a little bit of banter do give huck’s ago during your stay.

Late bars and Nightclubs

The newest late bar introduce to Dublin is the Camden and is found on camden street and if you’re looking for a night going into the early hour’s I would recommend that you visit here . The bar is for over 23s Monday to Sunday so make sure you don’t forget your ID as you will be asked on entry. When inside the bar is a sports bar with one of the biggest screens in Europe and with many other screens throughout the bar that you can watch any sporting event on ,the bar also has pool tables should you need a few hours of chill before another big night .But come 10 o’clock the staff remove a lot of the tables and the bar turns into an incredible nightclub, and is the best one in Dublin in my opinion. The bar closes normally at 2:30 am on the weekend and if you feel you have a little bit more left in the tank there’s only one place you can go Coppers.

Coppers some of you might know already as it’s probably Dublin’s most popular venue when it come’s to partying . The reason the venue is so popular is because it’s the only bar in Dublin that can stay open after 3:30 am. The nightclub I would best describe as a war zone and would recommend that you do try it for at least an hour while in Dublin. You will be met will pop classic’s and cheesy love songs on entry and will battle your way to get a drink at the bar even at 3 o’clock in the morning. If you want to know how it really feels to live like a Dub you will have to do a night in the coppers trenches and have the stamp in the morning to prove it.

Just to note coppers and a few of these venue still aren’t open yet due to Covid 19 but hopefully in the next few weeks will be back to normal .

A final tip: if you find yourself in Dublin on a nice summer’s day do visit dame lane it can be found behind the mercantile if you’re walking from temple bar it is just across from the central bank. The street will normally have a busker at the bottom of the lane singing and everyone in the surrounding pubs come out onto the street to watch and sing into the evening .One of Dublin’s hidden gems.

To conclude I hope this can persuade you to come visit Dublin one day as honestly I don’t think there is a city in the world that you’ll find people as friendly and open to welcoming guest to their city.

Please leave a comment at the bottom,would love to hear you’re thoughts.And if you’d need anymore information on spending time in Ireland there is a link here to a guide that’s even more informative https://amzn.to/3fEohr0.

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Introduction.

The site looks to provide a service that takes the stress and time out of researching where you would like to go on your next city break. We look to provide you with first-hand experiences within a number of cities throughout Europe. We wanted to stop customers from wasting time looking for the best places within a city as we promote weekend breaks where we want you to enjoy every second of your stay. Consider this on your next night out did I get value for money, did that €150 give me a new experience,  because at the Travel Watchdog  we provide you with the chance to get the best out of cities throughout Europe and  providing you with the chance to maximize a causal weekend and stop wasting time and money on the same old weekend .

The next post will be up in the next day or two where we will be looking to give readers our experiences of Munich Germany. The blog hopes to give you insights into European cities in our eyes and other tourists .We hope to give you prime locations to go and visit while your in a certain city .

Conclusion

What to expect from the Munich blog, the blog will we broke down into a number of blogs bringing you a breakdown of places to visit pubs ,clubs and one or two special locations that are probably unknown to a number of people until they visit Munich .

Hopefully, the blog caught your attention and you will read our next blog here at Travel Watchdog. P.S what do you think of our image it was taking while away in Rome?

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton