In the past a business man once told me ‘Fail to Plan and Plan to Fail’

We were talking business at the time, but today as I was preparing my weekly foods the statement popped into my head and it occurred to me that planning and preparation are skills that apply to our diet also!

The majority of my clients have at some stage have spoken to me about how hard it is to achieve their weight loss goals when they have not planned and shopped for the foods they intend to cook and eat. 

I know for sure if I do not plan, I find myself either having to skip a meal or grab a food that I wouldn’t normally care to eat.  It causes havoc to my hormones also!

Preparing foods does not have to be a chore – It will save you money – it could also be the difference between meeting your body fat goals or failing them.  Maybe it is time to get into the kitchen and get organized?

Brush away the excuses – Check out one of my pre-cook meals below – See how easy it really is.  They are super tasty and will last me for two days – breakfasts and lunch are now sorted.

And trust me I am not a slave to the Kitchen nor a chef – I just want to achieve my goals…

What is your choice? Plan or Fail?

 Mini Frittata Bites

Ingredients

1 onion (red or white) Chopped

6 Free Range Eggs

3tbsp almond milk or Kara Milk or Milk!

6 Vine ripe tomatoes or cherry tomatoes

Handful spinach leaves (or frozen spinach)

Few slices of goats cheese

How to make me

Preheat your oven to 170.

Grease a six hole cake tin (you can use a muffin tin if you have one )

Heat a small frying pan with a little butter and fry up the onion, and toms and spinach for a few minutes

In a bowl beat the egg with the milk and season with some black pepper and mixed herbs

Divide the mixture among the holes and drop in some small chunks of the goat’s  cheese

Bake in your oven for around 20 minutes.

Allow them to cool before removing.

You can eat this for breakfast with some large tomato slices and mushrooms or with a super crunchy salad for lunch.

I had mine with a beetroot, avocado, cucumber and lambs lettuce salad.

I often get asked what I do to keep fit and what I eat – so I thought I would do you a day in the life of me!

At the moment I am entering a new phase to my workouts – I am really into CrossFit and lifting Iron!  I am looking forwards to seeing how my body will respond to this.

I have a huge way to go as I am actually weaker than I thought – but that is what drives me forwards- I would be bored if it was easy.

Thankfully I have CrossFit coming soon to Cambridgeshire – but while I am waiting for that to open I am surrounded by people who love training this way and they motivate me onwards.

I have to credit the workouts to the Facebook Group ‘Girls Gone Strong’ – Charlie Wall from Purple Fitness introduced me to this group and I am hooked!

We all have a want to look like someone and these are the women whose bodies I adore!

Wednesday 11 April 2012

Really unusual start to my day with a lay in – I woke up at 7:30 and felt really refreshed.   Hello Lay In – please come back more often!

Breakfast

Black coffee only – I am trying intermittent fasting at the moment so my breakfast is just a coffee to get me going and through my workout.  (If you want to know about intermittent fasting – you can send me a email and I will explain)

Pre-workout Drink:

I have My Proteins exceed as I find it pumps me up enough to get through a training session – I also add in some BCAA’s.  Mix and down the hatch!

 The Exercise:  GLUTE & AB DAY

 The Abs!

So I thought I had strong abs and then I did this exercise and realized my side plank is poor and despite my friend Kim Parr at the gym showing me how easy it is, I cannot do the explosive plank.  Area to work on me thinks!

I only did one round – I will be attempting again tomorrow

This workout has 6 exercises and 2 rounds.

• 12 cycles of 15 seconds (changing time)
• and 45 seconds effort.
• This workout only lasts for 12 minutes.

The 6 exercises are: (7-17 are completed one after the other)

1. KB Sit-up (or L-Crunch)
2. Leg Rotations (changing direction each round, or every few reps)
3. Side Plank with knee raise and leg elevation (right)
4. Side Plank with knee raise and leg elevation (left)
5. Weighted Glute Raise with Alternate Leg lifts
6. Walking Planks
7. Walking Plank (walk out)
8. Body-weight Renegade Row (both sides)
9. Down into Plank (forearms)
10. Explosive Plank (or plank climber up onto hands again)
11. Alternate Shoulder Touch
12. Diagonal Knee Tuck
13. One Push Up
14. Into Side Plank (left or right)
15. Raise top leg (hold for few seconds)
16. Return to original plank position and reverse the walking plank back to standing position.
17. Repeat on the other side

 Post Workout Food:

• Water to rehydrate
• Mackerel salad which contained avocado, cheery toms, mackerel mashed in Total Greek Yoghurt, cucumber , lambs lettuce and beetroot.
• Apple and some almonds

Snack:

• 3 Chicken drumsticks and Total Greek Yoghurt with some cucumber dip

 Dinner:

• Salmon – cooked in coconut oil – served with sweet potato – spring greens – mushrooms and peppers.

 My Closing Thoughts:

Tomorrow I am going to have a cardio day – heavy bag work and some skipping – then I will be attempting the Ab workout again.

I felt motivated and strong today – I am still not happy with my body fat levels – but I am working on that one!

 I might post up another day in the life of me soon – so let me know if you have enjoyed this.

Until the next time – Eat Clean – Train Hard & Ladies …LIFT!

After talking with the High Tech Farmer from La Hogue in Chippenham just last week about my love of Venison – i was completly excited to get my hands on some Wild Venison from the butcher counter at his farm.

100% natural Wild Venison, not pumped full of medication or growth hormones, free to roam in the wild of East Anglia – I was excited !

Wild Venison is a totally underrated and underused food source – however It is becomming more popular and now i can get this nutritious meat in any cut i like at La Hogue it will be featuring in my diet weekly.  Are you ready to ‘walk on the wild side?’

Packing more protein than chicken – a wonderfully lean meat full of heart healthy omega’s and twice as much iron , compared with lamb and beef –perfect for the fitness warriors amongst you.  Alongside this Venison is totally versatile when it comes to cooking – If you are conscious of your health and body composition – you would be crazy to ignore this meat.   

.  The Nutrient Content worth showing off ‘Game On!’

Don’t shy away from Game – if you are nervous – Keep it simple with a Venison Chilli or Spag Bol.

My own Venison Preferences: After some experiments (I would be great on come-dine-with-me!) this is my preferred take on venison:

• I have cooked it rare – medium rare and well done.  Medium rare wins! – I find it juicy and the game taste seems more alive.
• I love to use venison mince, for daily cooking as it is quick and easy to knock up in my busy working/family lifestyle. Firm favorites such as burgers and chilli are perfect.
• Cooking venison in butter or lard keeps the meat tender and moist.
• It goes extremely well with bitter raw chocolate!

For those of you looking to impress your guests I have created my own dish – adapted from several recipes that I found. It was an experiment that I was very nervous about but it turned out to be a masterpiece on my plate!

 Venison Loin with Raw Cacao & Blueberry Reduction

Ingredients

8oz Venison Loin

3tbs Raw Cacao (Grated)  

300g Blueberries (Fresh)

100ml Red Wine

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon butter

•  Season the Venison with ground black pepper and coat with the grated cacao. Leave to one side.
• Heat a deep based frying pan with some lard or butter
• Sear off the venison depending on how you like it – around 10 minutes for medium rare.
• Once cooked remove from the heat and keep warm in the oven
• Melt the butter in a small pan and add the red wine and balsamic vinegar.
• Bring to a boil – it will reduce a little.
• Add the blueberries and cook for around 5 minutes on a low heat (taste at this point and adjust the seasoning to your liking)
• Carve the venison into thick slices and serve on top of the blueberries and sauce.

 I served this with roasted sweet potato and carrots with spring greens.

• Try fresh minted potatoes and purple sprouting broccoli
• A bed of creamy sweet potato mash and sprouting broccoli.

If you cook this dish – I would love to know your thoughts – apparently raw cacao and coffee works even better.

I recommend La Hogue for locally sourced meat – Support your local farmer & your health.

 If you want to try Venison Spag Bol – Check this blog out & to see more photos of the dish above click here

Busting Stress with Food – The one thing i have learnt is when i am busy and stressed out – if i have failed to eat correctly with healthy nutritious foods – i will be frazzled and moody by the close of the day….Do you know that feeling? – Well give this little article a read – its a good place to get started if you are keen to bust your stress levels and balance out your hormones.

You can read this article on line at: http://www.velvetmag.co.uk/bust-stress-with-food

So in a moment of madness i decided to video blog the Celery & Nut Butter Snack that i was enjoying so much !  To my suprise you all loved it so i do intend to do more of the same – purley because it provides a lot of entertainment !

So to join in learning whilst laughing at me ! click on this image below and you can subscribe to my video blogs! 

 

 Listen out for the word ‘erm’ i use it way too much!

The tune in the video is called ‘your so cool’ and is from one of my fav films ‘True Romance’

 

This month in Velvet Magazine we cover some Sports Nutrition Q&A – for the Velvet readers – A lovely little article and well worth you reading …

I just love spring – the light evenings – training outdoors – slipping into my flip flops again with freshly painted minx nails and relaxing in my garden listening to the river flowing …eating some seriously tasty food al fresco with my little boy and friends…

What I love about April is how all the foods that are coming into season – seem to be a perfect match – for example – lamb, rosemary and kale and baby new potatoes….

Its been a hard choice but here are my favourites April new season foods….Enjoy!

Rhubarb:  You can start to find fantastic rhubarb stalks in your local markets/farm shops. The garden grown varieties are ready and waiting.

• Rhubarb is a vegetable – often you hear people call it a fruit
• The stalks are rich in the full range of B=Vitamins
• The stalks contain vitamin A, and flavonoids that are converted to vitamin A inside the body.  Vitamin A is a powerful anti-=oxidant.
• Bone promoting vitamin K can also be food in the stalks
• Potassium, iron, copper, calcium and phosphorus are also found in the stalks in reasonable amounts.

Asparagus: The young edible spears are ready to be enjoyed! – I had some just the other night and I have to say they were superb.

• The shoots contain dietary fiber, which will help keep your bowels moving and reportedly decrease the LDL cholesterol levels.
• The anti-oxidant properties of asparagus could help remove harmful oxidant free radicals from the body – which help protect from caner, neuro degenerative disease and infections.
• Fresh asparagus is rich in folates = which are important during pre-conception and during early pregnancy, helping prevent neural tube defects in the new-born baby.
• Asparagus shoots are rich in B vitamins which are essential for metabolic functions.
• Also rich in vitamin C, Vitamin E and A.  Vitamin K and minerals copper and iron.

Lamb: I adore Lamb and fresh Mint and April brings us the very best of this stunning meat.

• Pasture raised lambs offer an impressive Omega 3 content and contains monounsaturated fat and both of these have been associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease.
•  Lamb is a good source of vitamin B12 and also provides important amounts of the B vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, folate, biotin, pantothenic acid and choline.
• Lamb provides a very good amount of the mineral selenium and good amount of the mineral zinc.

Crab: I first had crab one valentine’s day – it was a crab and mango salad & being honest I thought woaaaaaaaa no way do I want to eat crab 0 but I loved it and I think you should all try it!

• Crab contains heart and brain healthy omega 3 fatty acids
• Crab is a low risk mercury seafood – so will lower the risk of mercury poisoning
• Also a good source of vitamins A, C, and the B vitamin complex
• Crab contains small amounts of chromium , which could help with blood sugar metabolism and zinc, copper and selenium.

I couldn’t end this blog without a few recipes to inspire you…

Mango & Crab Salad

Perfect post workout on a super sunny day

Ingredients:

75g radishes, sliced

1 large ripe mango, peeled and cut into chunks

120g bag watercress

½ cucumber, sliced

Zest and juice of 1 lime

2tbsp olive oil

1 red chilli, finely sliced

100g white prepared crab meat

Lime wedges

• Toss the radish, mango, watercress and cucumber in a bowl.
• For the dressing, combine the lime zest and juice with the olive oil and chilli.
• Drizzle over the mango salad and toss together.
• Divide between two bowls and serve topped with the crabmeat and lime wedges ready to be squeezed over. 

Mackerel & Rhubarb Salad

 For the mackerel

1 Red chilli

4 Tender sticks rhubarb, cut into 3cm lengths

450ml water

20 mint leaves

2 whole mackerel- (filleted and pin-boned)

For the Salad

Handfuls mixed salad leaves

1 dash of extra virgin olive oil

½ lemon juice

Lemon Wedges

• Preheat the grill to high. Place the chilli under the hot grill for a few minutes until the skin is black. Remove and wrap it in cling film.
• When it is cool, peel and remove and discard the seeds. Finely chop the chilli and set aside.
• Place the rhubarb in a large heatproof bowl. Pour the water into a small saucepan, Boil for 1 minute, add the chilli and pour this over the rhubarb (the heat of the rhubarb should carry on cooking it, without needing to return it to the heat).
• Leave to cool to room temperature, then add the mint.
• Season the mackerel and grill, skin-side up, under a hot grill or on a griddle until just cooked – about 4 minutes on each side.
• For the salad, dress the leaves with a slug of olive oil, and squeeze over the lemon juice.
• Heap the leaves onto 4 plates and top with the mackerel. Accompany with the drained rhubarb.  (If you want to sweeten up the taste you can add some stevia)  

Serve with lemon wedges.

 Asparagus and Goat Cheese Frittata

Ingredients:

5 eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

½ small red onion, chopped

1 cup of cherry tomatoes

3-6 ounces chopped roasted* asparagus (about 5 spears)

3-4 ounce fresh goat cheese

Method

• Preheat the oven
• Beat eggs and season well with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil (you can use butter if you prefer) in a small cast iron or other ovenproof dish
• Chop onion and tomatoes in half
• Chop asparagus into bite size pieces
• Place in the oven dish and cook for around 10 minutes
• Pour eggs into pan and top with goats cheese
• Bake in the oven until the frittata is fluffy and golden (around 5-10 mins)

Serve with a yummy peppery rocket salad

I am getting in the Mothers Day Cooking mood in the Lifetime Nutrition Kitchen!

Not really one to eat a sweet treat after my main meal – as i would much rather eat a starter – however my mummy deserves a tasty treat & i would rather make it myself than purchase a shop bought sugar laden processed heap of rubbish!

Blueberry Cheesecake

Macros per 1 slice (out of 10):  71.8kcals 6.4g protein 8.9g carb (1.3g sugars) 1.2g fat (0.3g sat) 3g fiber.

  

Ingredients

3 cups cashews, soaked for 1 hour
2 cups almonds
¼ tsp sea salt
1½ cups raisins
1 tbsp + 1/3 cup agave nectar or Manuka Honey
8 medjool dates, pitted
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
¾ cup coconut butter (coconoil)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp water (more for texture)
¾ cup raw cacao powder
1½ cups mixed berries

Serves 2 

• Soak the cashews in water for at least one hour.
• Drain, and set aside.
• To make the crust: Add the almonds to the processor and grind until fine.
• Add salt, raisins and 1 tbsp agave. Process until clumpy and sticky. (you can add water if not sticky enough)
• Press the crust into an 9 x 13 pan lined with parchment paper.
• Place in the fridge to set.
• To make the filling: add the soaked cashews to the processor and grind until fine.
• Add 1/3 cup agave, dates, lemon juice, coconut butter, and the vanilla. Blend until very smooth, adding the cacao powder after everything has blended.
• Add water 1 tbsp at a time as needed to blend. 

Reserve about 1 cup filling in the processor, and spread remainder onto the crust.

• Blend filling with the berries and spread on top of chocolate layer. 

You can sprinkle it with cacao nibs, berries, nuts and so on.