2015 healthy eating

Right New Year, New Years resolutions, get fit, get healthy, eat healthier, lose weight, blah, blah, blah!

Some time towards the end of last year I realised I needed to eat better breakfasts, sugary processed cereals were not doing me any favours. I tried out incorporating more fruit, had yogurt with my cereal and experimented with bagels. Nothing really hit the spot.

What do I want from a breakfast?

It needs to be reasonably quick and easy, tasty and filling and above all it needs to contribute to my overall healthy, active lifestyle and support my running plans.  

I want my breakfasts to incorporate plenty of fruit and/or veg, clean carbs and ideally a good dose of protein as I feel I am not getting enough in my diet.

So thinking about breakfast ideas I came across some great recipes from Tess Agnew (@fitbits) which you can see here.

I used these along with some other ideas as my own inspiration for making my own awesome breakfasts!

Nutty banana protein breakfast smoothie

Using my new Breville blend active smoothie maker and a few basic ingredients I devised a great tasting protein packed smoothie that kept me full all morning. 

Ingredients: A splash of orange juice, a handful of brazil nuts, a banana, half a dozen spoonfuls of natural yogurt and a dash of milk. 

Method: Chuck it in the blender and blend until smooth, simples!

Spinach omelette/frittata/scrambled egg 

Inspired by +FitBits Brighton Veg omelette muffins but without access to any muffin tins (I really need to buy some!) I went freestyle and used the same ingredients and just threw it all together in a omeltte/frittata style. Awesome! So quick! So easy and so amazingly tasty! 

Ingredients: two eggs, a big scoop of spinach, and some mushrooms and baby/plum tomatoes. 

Method: Chop up the veg, throw in a wok/frying fan with a bit of oil, lightly fry for a bit then chuck in the eggs and scramble. Serving on a piece(s) toast optional. 

So they are the two breakfast stables at the moment, a nice balance of a sweet option and a savoury one as well, I had each twice last week setting me up for the day ahead and plenty of training. I need to work on a few more options but these two options will serve me well I feel and they are both versatile enough to incorporate a range of ingredients, e.g. peppers instead of mushrooms and a variety of nuts in the smoothie. 

Other healthy eating meals from 2015: 

I am a big fan of stir frays, and why not? Loads of veg, and plenty of flavoursome sauces to use, my downfall is a large portion of prawn crackers that I usually accompany a stir fry with.

Earlier in the week I whipped up a veggie stir fry with extra mushrooms, minus the prawn crackers and with the healthier option of rice noodles instead of the usually wheaty noodles. 

Clean eating lunch time meals: 



As it seems spinach only comes in large family sized gigantic packs I had a lot of it going spare! So I used it with some tomatoes, mushrooms and courgettes along with brown rice for a tasty nutritious lunch time pack up for work.









On a Friday you need something a bit decadent and enjoyable, it doesn't need to be healthy and fatty though, sweet potato! What is more tasty, luxurious and so enjoyable to eat than sweet potato?! Through in some kidney beans for a bit of substance and protein and you have a healthy clean eating great tasting lunch!

Evening meals:

Its too easy to eat some rubbish in the evening when you are tired after a long day and I am too find of throwing a pizza in the oven as a quick, filling, satisfying meal especially after training. 

So here we go an easy homemade healthier pizza: 

Here I made too different types of pizza both using wholemeal pittas as a base. The standard pizza using ketchup as a base with a topping of cheese and then mushrooms, tomatoes and peppers. My even healthier option then used homemade guacamole (Mashed avocado with a squish of lime) as a base with a little cheese and courgettes and peppers as a topping. So tasty, so enjoyable and surely so much healthier than a takeaway pizza or a frozen pizza. At the weekend I even tried just a pitta with guacamole and courgettes with n cheese and this worked out really well and was obviously so much healthier without any cheese. 


I hope you enjoyed looking at these recipes and are maybe even inspired to try these or something similar out yourself?! Happy 2015, hope its a healthy one! 

Weekend run report 21st/22nd June

A busy weekend of running as is pretty much usual! Parkrun on Saturday and a long run on Sunday and both were successful and enjoyable.

Parkrun

My aim once again as it has been in the last few was to try and run a PB or close to PB time and to try and dip under the 22 minute barrier.

It was a beautiful summers morning but I thought it possibly too hot for a good time. 

This week I had decided on a different tactic, I thought I should be more conservative and cautious and not go out so fast.

My usual tactic is to blitz the first Km in around 4 minutes and then try to maintain as fast a pace as possible for the next 2kms, hang in there for the 4th then give whatever I have left on the 5th to try and finish strong.

This week I wanted to go off slower and try to target my efforts to running faster on the parts of the course that would give most benefit namely the sections on concrete or downhill. I also wanted to run stronger through one of the middle sections from 3.5-4Km which is a mentally draining straight path along a grass field. I am usually tiring in this section and find it difficult having this long straight, flat section laid out in front of me  without having the stamina to run it fast.

My race plan worked out pretty well I was more conservative and saved my energy for faster bursts on the concrete paved parts of the course. The dreaded section at 3.5Km was easier too as I managed to pass a few runners in front of me as well and worked hard at keeping in touch with another group of runners just ahead. 

I finished in 22.01 which i think is my 2nd fastest time and certainly my fastest time this summer.

Looking at my splits they were quite typical as I still ran a sub 4 minute first Km and still faltered a bit in the 3rd and 4th Kms.

Perhaps running faster when trying not to is a great sign of me getting stronger and faster?!

Sundays long run

My aim was to cover around 25Km building on my last few runs of between 20&22Km, in the end I covered 26Km in 2 hours 23.

I opted this week to pound the pavements rather than head out into a country park and my route took me from Hornchurch, into Upminster, back to Hornchurch, to Emerson Park, Gidea Park, Romford, back through Gidea Park,  Hornchurch, Upminster then out to Cranham and back to Upminster and Hornchurch. Quite a little journey!

Again I wanted to work on my race strategy and wanted to concentrate on a steady slower pace through the first hour and then build on this to see what speed I could bring and how strong I could run for the remainder. 

Learning as I run 

I am trying to use every long run as a learning experience ahead of the marathon.

For this run I wanted to think about pacing, pre run nutrition, using energy gels and of course bedding in my new trainers for their first proper long run.

Pre run nutrition

I again ate a flapjack around 1.5 hours before running, a banana 30 minutes before as well as an energy drink. This option worked well and I didn't experience any digestive issues or feel like I ran out of energy during the run.

My good energy levels through the run were also helped by the fact I had eaten a good big meal the night before in the form of my wife's massaman curry. The rice and potatoes providing a good carb source while the chicken providing protein for my leg muscles to be in great shape. 

My muscles were further aided by the fact I had a protein shake before bed as well. I think I will be adding both of these factors to my usual pre race routine, that is if I can persuade my wife to cook for me on most Saturday nights! 

Pacing

As I said I wanted to head off at a good slower steady pace rather than push myself through the first hour. I achieved this by covering 12K in the first hour. I then wanted to try and push my pace to try to get close to 18K in hour and a half, I managed 16.5K in around 1 hour 22 before I popped back into the flat for a quick refuel and toilet stop. 

After taking on some water and an energy gel I was able to push on inject some good pace as I headed towards 2 hours with the aim of covering 21K+ in 2 hours, I was pleased with hitting this pretty dead on the head as I covered 21K in 1 hour 59.

My aim then was to hang on and cover the 25K in under 2.5 hours, I was impressed with my stamina and endurance levels of then being able to cover 26K in 2 hours 23.

I continued my recovery experiments by taking another cold water bath as soon as I got which again I found incredibly beneficial. This coupled with a good stretch and a hearty breakfast to refuel with meant I was able to have the energy to crack on with a afternoon of gardening cutting back some seriously overgrown grass in my mother in laws garden.

I did however start to feel the side affects of my long run later in the afternoon as I started to tire and ache. A bit if a stretch, a quick nap and a cracking roast beef dinner soon left me feeling much better though!

So to the week ahead; I plan to run seven days straight through this week as it will be a restful weekend running wise as I will be away.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I would love to hear any thoughts and comments you have, all the best with your own training and running plans.

Bank Holiday Weekend Barbecue

A bank holiday weekend, is there much anything much better to do than a barbecue?! 

For the first time I decided to make my own burgers with a bit of assistance from a recipe from a chef called Jamie Oliver, not sure maybe some you will have heard of him he's quite good.

The recipe I used can be found here

I used it fairly loosely and made some burgers with and without mustard, to be fair there wasn't much difference in taste just colour, appearance and texture as the mustard ones were lighter in colour and slightly softer due to the added moisture.

So if you love a barbecue or are looking forward to having one this summer feast your eyes on the following documentation of my burger making process and subsequent barbecue. 

Carnivores beware you will be licking you lips in anticipation by the time you get towards the end! 

First step; finely chop some onions and lightly fry, for my first batch I used a normal onion but for take two I used a red onion and I think a regular probably worked best.

The onions were fried in some cumin as well to add a little extra flavour and kick which I think worked really well.

Next finely chop some flat head parsley, I tried to take a lot of care and attention in my fine chopping of both the onions and parsley and think it is definitely worth doing this so you get nice small pieces distributed throughout your burgers.

Time to start mixing up the ingredients, this is the mince mixed in with the onions and parsley. 

Next breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan, I know Parmesan in a burger! Wow did it work out well! It added so much to the texture and brought a soft dreamy feel to the bite of the burger the way that only melted cheese can. The Parmesan also provided the most deliciously pleasant after taste that lingered so delightfully at the back of your mouth after every burger.

Once everything was in the mixing bowl it was time to crack an egg in and season with a little salt and pepper, then it was time for the best bit!

Getting involved! 

I love getting involved with the meat whether its getting you hands right intoa mixture like this or preparing a nice chunk of roast beef or feeling up a chicken with herbs and marinade in preparation for a roast dinner.

The end result, some lovely little balls of meaty goodness.

I experimented with slightly different shapes and sizes and made a few massive burgers that weren't far off an inch thick and filled a burger bun from edge to edge.

However I felt smaller fairly thick burgers worked best and although that left a lot of excess bread around the burger they were best for cooking and were the right portion size.

I prepped my burgers in the morning so in the afternoon I had time to sort out the actual barbecue and entertain our guests. 

I am not an incredibly macho guy but the lure of making fire and cooking in this way does bring out a massive primeval urge in me and its something I really love doing. The eternal mysticism of fire never fails to captivate.

Fire under control and the coals burning nicely, the time has come to get cooking!

Having only a teeny tiny barbecue the grill was pretty fully loaded as you can see which worked OK but just required a little rotation to move things in and out of the hottest areas to get more consistent cooking. 

The end result, I was so busy enjoying it I almost forgot to take a picture!

My major discovery was the revelation that is brioche buns. I am a massive fan of brioche as a breakfast treat but have never had it before as a burger bun and cannot recommend it highly enough! The sweetness of the bun mixed with the creaminess of the parmesan from the burger worked like a dream.

It wasnt all meat though we did serve up some healthy veggie stuff in the form of peppers stuffed with rice and feta cheese. Not only are roasted peppers ridiculously tasty they add that nutritious balance as well as adding a vibrant dose of colour.

A picture of my barbecue in full flow, a magnificent sight!

And of course we made sure we had a bit of liquid refreshment to help wash all the food down! 

What summer barbecue would be complete without a glass or several of Pimms?!

All in all the barbecue was a culinary triumph for the tastebuds and one I look forward to repeating again soon once I have recovered from eating the burger shaped equivalent of a small cow!