Lifetime Nutrition is loving that so many of you have been enjoying the Quinoa recipes from the article for Velvet Magazine and from my blog 

Just this week Papillon from Liberté Fitness tweeted to Lifetime Nutrition that she had run out of things to do with the amazing food that is ‘Quinoa’

 

It got me thinking that a post workout dish would be just perfect for Papillon and likewise my followers and  clients – This recipe was found by a clinet of mine & I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did!

When i have finished a training session that is HITT or endurance based , i like to replenish my glycogen stores with the higher GI foods , so the dates and yoghurt are perfect. The protein and carbohydrates in the Quinoa and the fats in the olive oil and nuts give me all the nutrients i need to recover my worked muscles.  It can be used as a pre-workout snack also!

 Toasted Quinoa with Greek Yoghurt

 Ingredients  

½ tablespoon red Quinoa

5 Shelled pistachios (raw) and chopped

5 almonds, chopped

6 ounces Totally Greek Yoghurt (0 or 2%)

2 dates, pitted and chopped

Pinch of freshly grated lemon zest

Flaky sea salt or other coarse salt

1-2 teaspoons Olive Oil 

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Pour the quinoa into a small sauté pan and place over a medium heat.
• Toast the quinoa , as soon as it starts popping , pour it into a bowl to cool
• Spread the almonds and pistachios in a deep baking dish and toast in the oven for 5 minutes.
• Remove and let cool.
• Place the yoghurt into a small bowl and sprinkle with the quinoa, pistachios, almonds and dates
• Grate over the lemon zest and sea salt
• Finish with a sprinkling of olive oil

I just LOVE a good breakfast!  

I hear it so often in clinic ‘I don’t have time, I can only eat toast or cereal, I can’t stomach eggs in the morning, what other choices are there’

Breakfast didn’t come with a set of rules that state– if you don’t eat Mr Kellogg’s or Mr Hovis – then you will be sent to prison (though you should be sent to ‘learn how to eat healthy camp ‘ if you eat Kellogg’s cereals)  

What you need is a little Lifetime Nutrition Kitchen Inspiration!

Check out this tasty little number! – You will love it.

 Mushrooms with bacon & goat cheese

The Ingredients

2 large Portobellow Mushrooms

½ garlic clove

40g mild goats cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

10g pine nuts -lightly toasted

Ground black pepper 

 Serves 1 

• Heat your oven to 200C
• Wipe the mushrooms with kitchen paper and place on a baking tray, facing up.
• Scatter with the garlic, dot with the goat’s cheese and top each with a piece of ham.
• Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes
• Whilst cooking – you can toast the pine nuts off in a small pan or frying pan
• Remove the mushrooms from the oven when tender and the cheese has melted
• Drizzle with olive oil and the pine nuts

Notes:

Instead of the olive oil – you can add a little butter to the mushrooms before they go in the oven. Yummy

Try it with tomatoes or with spinach – both taste great!

This month Lifetime Nutrition talks foods that will supercharge your health & a super tasty dish that you MUST make!

Throw some Z’s

Lying in bed, restless and trying to get to sleep (or back to sleep), and feeling you’re the only one who’s wide awake and the rest of the country is resting soundly?

You are not alone; one in 5 people are said to have difficulty sleeping. Sleep is absolutely essential for basic maintenance and repair of the immune, musculoskeletal, neurological, endocrine and digestive systems.

Eat Right – Sleep Tight

Supporting your brain and body throughout the day with good nutrition is essential for good sleep.   The basic principles are to eat regularly, eat at each meal, good fats, protein and slow releasing carbohydrate sources to help maintain mood, blood sugar levels and help your body carry out day to day functions.  

A varied diet that contains the B vitamins and calcium is also a requirement to help the brain use the tryptophan to manufacture melatonin so eat foods rich in these, bananas, cabbage, walnuts, fish, and so on.

Tryptophan – What is it?

Stay with me on this one – I will try and avoid the science….

Tryptophan is a precursor of the sleep inducing substances serotonin and melatonin.  The brain uses Tryptophan to build these relaxing neurotransmitters.

Eat Tryptophan containing foods & you will raise serotonin

We read it all the time – gobble up Tryptophan foods and you will increase serotonin and therefore conversion into melatonin and BOOM! – We should sleep – Has that worked for anyone?  

NO – It is not backed by research

The body is not as simple as this common statement would have us believe – ‘Eating foods rich in Tryptophan will not raise brain serotonin’ and here is why:

• Tryptophan is the least abundant amino acid in protein.
• After eating a meal containing protein, there is a rise in several amino acids and they compete for a transport system to cross the blood-brain barrier.   Being as Tryptophan is the least abundant it loses out on this battle.

However-

• Eating carbohydrate foods with Tryptophan containing foods makes this amino acid more available to the brain. 
• A high carbohydrate meal stimulates the release of insulin, which helps lower the levels of blood amino acids except for tryptophan which therefore allows more of this sleep inducing amino acid to enter the brain and manufacture serotonin and melatonin.

Melatonin: What is it?

• A natural occurring hormone that regulates sleepiness. It is released at night by the pineal gland at night to induce and maintain sleep. 
• It is made in the brain from Tryptophan , first converted into serotonin , then finally melatonin
• Foods rich in melatonin are almonds, Montmorency cherries and bananas.

Eating for sleep – Worth Considering? 

I am not suggesting eating correctly is the winning formula to help sleep – but if you are stuck in the vicious insomnia cycle – it makes sense to focus on your diet as it may well impact your sleep in a positive way and give you some quality ‘Shut Eye’

• The research is suggesting 3-4 hours before bed you should take on board some carbohydrates with your evening meal.  Choose your carbohydrate choices wisely- avoiding the sugary processed kinds in favour of sweet potatoes, brown rice and oats.
• Sweet potato with salmon and spinach
• Chicken stir-fry cooked with brown rice
• Homemade venison burgers with slices of Gruyere Cheese with some sweet potato
• Oat cakes with a banana (snack before bed)
• Bowl of Total Greek 0% yoghurt with some nuts, seeds and half a banana (snack)

 Areas being researched

• Valerian Tea:  This herb can bring on a restful sleep without morning sleepiness or other side effects.  It is useful for insomnia, anxiety and tension. Studies are showing that valerian can aid people who have difficulty in falling asleep.  I have tied this tea and find it calms me at night.
• Cherry Juice: Studies have shown that people who drank Montmorency cherry juice received a significant boost to their levels of melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep and on average their total sleep time increased by 25 minutes.  The current trials are testing a serving am and pm for the affects to take place.
• Glycine: This amino acid (found in meat and fish) has a calming effect on the brain and research suggests that glycine may help promote deeper sleep. This was observed at 3grams per day.  It is said to increase sleep duration and quality and decrease the time taken to fall asleep.

My Client hit a whopping 2 stone target weight loss this week & as a little thank you she bought me some fresh duck eggs!

A few of you wanted me to do duck egg & soliders – served in a wine glass! – You crazy lot!

BREAK THE BREAKFAST CEREAL & TOAST TREND WITH THIS TASTY LIL DISH – IN UNDER 15 MINUTES!

Duck egg with Prosciutto & Spinach 

Ingredients

 8 slices prosciutto or Parma ham

500g Spinach or purple sprouting broccoli

olive oil

handful parmesan or Grana Padano

2 duck or hen’s eggs , poached 

Serves 2

• Grill the prosciutto until crisp.
• Steam the spinach or broccoli until just tender,
• Divide between 2 shallow bowls and drizzle with a little olive oil
• Top the spinach or broccoli with pieces of crisp prosciutto and parmesan.
• Poach the duck eggs in a frying pan of simmering water for 3-4 minutes or until cooked to your liking
• Lift out, drain and add one to each bowl. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and black pepper and serve.

Nutritional Goodies:

271 kcalories, protein 24.9g, carbohydrate 3.8g, fat 17.5 g, saturated fat 5.8g, fibre 4.4g, salt 2 g

English Rose Veal

Bet you haven’t heard of it? -you are not alone!  My favourite Farmer Chris from La Hogue Farm Shop & Café posted up a fascinating blog on English Rose Veal and I just knew it would feature in the Lifetime Nutrition Kitchen this month!

 

One quick Tweet to the lovely people at La Hogue & I had myself a shoulder of English Rose Veal

 Of course this meat would not have made it into my kitchen if it wasn’t offering an impressive nutrient content – 

NUTRITION VALUE ENGLISH ROSE VEAL Protein: High quality protein source which provides the essential amino acids for our body to grow and function. Around 30g per 1lb serving Vitamin B12:  Needed for making use of protein. Helps the blood carry oxygen, which makes it essential for energy. Vitamin B6: Essential for protein digestion, brain function & hormone production. Helps balance sex hormones. Natural anti-depressant & diuretic. Helps control allergic reactions. Zinc: Essential for growth & Important for healing. Aids ability to cope with stress effectively. Promotes a healthy nervous system & brain. Essential for constant energy. Niacin: Essential for energy production, brain function & the skin. Helps balance blood sugar & lower cholesterol. Also involved in inflammation & digestion Omega 3&6: Cannot be synthesized by the body, which means you can only get through diet.  Promotes HDL cholesterol, joint health, regulates mood and cell function Also contains the anti-oxidant vitamin E & the majority of minerals needed for electrolyte balance.

HOW TEMPTING IS THIS!

‘Slow Cooked Rose Veal Shoulder’ 

I am not a chef- but cooking this dish bought a real Nigella in me ! -It tasted so tender – melt in the mouth meat – and the wine & sauce really compliment the meat.

The Veal was very lean and it had a mild beef taste.

Served up with some sweet potatoes and curly kale – YUMMY !

With the added bonus of the fantastic nutrient profile - this is one humane and healthy meat that gets a 10/10 from Lifetime Nutrition!

Spring is the perfect season to source English Rose Veal– Mother’s Day & Easter are just around the corner – Impress your guests with the cut of your choice from your local farm shop - JUST DELICIOUS

After a conversation with a client this week it occurred to me – Whilst we seem to be more aware of the ‘Vitamin D deficiency’ – Actual food sources of the vitamin are less known…

…So taaaa-darrrr! - New blog on the foods that contain decent amounts of vitmain D!

 ARE THEY IN YOUR DAILY DIET ?

If you want to read about vitamin D and its health benefits please read my earlier blog here.

Sunlight is of course the most effective natural way to obtain vitamin D – so get outdoors as often as you can.

Cod liver oil : Cold processed through fermentation is said to be the best.  It is the heating of oil that could damage the omega 3 fatty acids, which in turn make them potentially harmful to ingest. 

Animal Meats: From grass fed animals only – that way you are eating meat from a healthy animal which has been reared naturally on a healthy diet.

Salmon: Choose unfarmed fish. Sardines are also a good source of vitmain d.

Offal/Liver: Try my recipe – you will love liver again

Butter/Lard: Chuck out the margarine – get the butter dish back in your kitchen. Lard and Milk are another source of vitmain D.

Egg Yolks: Make sure they are from free range hens – Go to your local farm shop

If you have any questions please ask!

After a cold Sunday making a snowman & freezing my little fingers off – it was time to cook a healthy meal to offer some comfort from the cold…

I am always seeking healthy recipes to pass onto my clients and the one thing that I am have learnt is they want QUICK- CHEAP -HEALTHY – FAMILY MEALS!

I managed to get my hands on some Venison Mince via La-Houge in Chippenham- after they kindly sourced me a few bags worth.  One tweet later the Venison was mine!

Before I showcase the recipe I wanted to point out some Nutrition pointers around Venison:

GRASS FED MEAT: Shop bought cheaper style meat is NOT good for your health. Period! These animals are not feeding on natural grass – they are fed things like soy and corn and are pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones. Oh and Cattle were not designed to eat grains :0

• Choose organic and grass fed animals whenever you can – you can go to your local butchers and get really good deals – Go with your friend and neighbour and split the costs. Your health will thank you for it.
• Grass fed animals are higher in healthy omega-3s, and higher in vitamin E than meat from feed-lot cattle. It is also much higher in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a nutrient associated with lower cancer risk. And high in the GOOD saturated fat! 

Venison Nutrient Value:

• Protein:  Sorry to state the obvious – but Venison is a high quality protein source which provides the essential amino acids for our body to grow and function.
• Vitamins:  Contains the B Vitamins B3, Riboflavin, B6 and B12.  Important in the release of energy from foods and for healthy blood and nerves.
• Minerals:  Contains Iron, Zinc and Copper plus Selenium and Phosphorus.  Needed to transport oxygen in the blood and a healthy immune system.

Cost:

• This meal fed me and my son and I have three more bowls full – all for around £12 – You can eat healthy and feed a family – and if you have never tasted grass fed meat – you are missing out!  

Verdict!

We loved it! – If anyone can provide me with different suggestions on improving this recipe – please please let me know – I would love to learn about your venison recipes.

Venison Bolognese  

 Ingredients 

500g Venison (Ask your local butcher – avoid the supermarket)

2 Tablespoons butter- (BUTTER- not evil margarine or that weird spray stuff!)

1 Onion – diced

2 cans of Tomatoes – Organic – plump and juicy

1 Cup of Red Wine (Optional – get a good quality red )

2 Tablespoons of Tarragon

2 Tablespoons of ground coriander

2 Tablespoons of mixed herbs

3 Cloves of garlic

Fresh Parmesan – Grated

1 Pack of button mushrooms

Organic tomato Puree 

• Heat a deep pan with the butter , garlic , and onions
• Stir around for a minute
• Throw in the mushrooms
• Add the spices (apart from your fresh herbs) and Venison Mince
• I heated it really high I wanted to lock in those tasty flavours in my pan
• Add the red wine and let it all cook away like crazy!
• Once the meat has browned – turn it down to a very low heat
• Add the tomatoes and bash up with your wooden spoon
• Add the Fresh Tarragon (or herb of your choice)
• Add tomato Puree (if you need)
• Leave to cook for around 30 minutes 

Serve with the grated fresh Parmesan – and a sprinkle of your herbs 

NOTE: This was my first experience with Venison in Bolognese and I have to say I loved it! – My 7 year old ate it and loved it also.

I HAD MINE WITH KALE & TAYLAN HAD ORGANIC PASTA

I want to play around with this dish – different herbs and so on – I just used what I had in the house, so hence this is not a perfect recipe – but GOSH it was gooooood!

If you have a tasty Venison recipe please send it to me – I would LOVE to try it! 

Curried sweet potato soup 

Ingredients 

1 tbsp hot curry paste

21b Sweet potatoes, cut into chunks and peeled

1pt chicken or vegetable stock

400ml can coconut milk

400g chickpeas, drained 

 Serves 4

• Heat a large saucepan and fry the curry paste for 1 minute until the spices start to release their aroma.
• Tip in the sweet potatoes, stock and the coconut milk.
• Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender.
• Using a blender, pulse the mix until mixed, but not completely smooth.
• Add the chickpeas and again pulse until mixed but not smooth
• Pour into a large sauce pan and heat very slowly until ready to serve

  How we like it

This is just so tasty. It is much nice with a lumpy consistency so don’t over blend.

You can replace the chick peas with carrots – add some cauliflower

BOOST YOUR LABIDO WITH FOOD 

It is nearly Valentine’s day & as a regular writer for Velvet Magazine Online – it would be boring of me not to spice up your life with a fun article (click on the pic – for the full article)

I am spending Valentine ’s Day with my Girlfriends this year- i am really looking forwards to some girly loving – laughter and outrageous behaviour…

Enjoy your Valentines everyone… remember to find time to

 ‘Steal some covers & share some skin’