Weekend Update

Well, now that I have finished scraping scrambled egg and mushed fruit off of my windows, bookcase and husband's blackberry (darling if you're reading this, just kidding), and have stopped taking a cocktail of drugs that Lindsay Lohan would envy, I have time to update all of you wonderful peeps on what has been happening around here.

First off, there is no real update on project downsize ass thanks to my back injury, but thankfully it is mending and I should be able to get back to the gym and running this week, although sadly not enough to burn five family size cadbury's dairy milks, so I shall have to cut back or risk further back damage.  Will let you know which one I choose.

The Little Princess has started sleeping through the night (FINALLY) after three not too painful nights of sleep training.  Good thing this worked as our plan B was too call her grandpa (an anesthetist) and see if he could slip anything into her mashed banana (before she smears it through her hair and up her nose) that would give us 12 hours of blessed peace and silence.

Right, must go watch the freakshow that is the X Factor and make notes for my audition next year.  Since my other half has flatly refused to duet "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with me while wearing matching his and hers outfits, I'm open to suggestions....

Today's healthy recipe - hawaiian pizza

Today's healthy recipe is hawaiin pizza.  Easiest recipe ever....

Sit on your ass on comfiest sofa (or chair) possible with remote control in one hand, phone in the other.  Call Domino's, which of course you have on speed dial, while saying prayers of gratitude for Two for One Tuesdays.  Use hubby's AMEX card, seeing as your cards were all stolen the previous day by a bunch of punk ass ASBO wannabe's.  Do not get on the scales.  Do not count calories.  Do not go upstairs to look at your ass in the full length mirror.   Do not bother to order diet coke instead of regular to save a few calories and do not (gasp) attempt to go the gym after said pizza.  Trust me.  Wayyyyyy too painful.  Promise yourself that tomorrow you will embark on Beyonce's liquid honey and cayenne pepper diet for at least two days whilst already imagining how you will fall off THAT wagon by consuming way too many chocolate hobnobs with your sugar filled tea at morning playgroup.

Today's healthy recipe - salmon and green bean stirfry

This is a great recipe that I got from Sainsbury's Feed your family for a fiver collection... very quick and easy!


265g salmon fillet (2 fillets)
300g pack dwarf beans (translation: green beans)
1 large courgette (translation: zucchini)
400g can of cherry tomatoes
plain flour for dusting
150ml vegetable stock (made with 1 cube)
250g of rice, whichever kind you like, prepared however you like it (the recipe uses easy cook rice, we just boil plain white rice for this recipe.  My hubby thinks you could also serve it with noodles instead, but I'm not so sure and I'm right a lot more often than he is)

Prepare your rice, and meanwhile, cut salmon fillets into small chunks and toss in 1 tbsp of flour and season with pepper.  Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan, add the salmon and cook until browned, then set aside.  Add the beans, chopped courgette and tin of cherry tomatoes.  Pour in the stock and bring to the boil.  Simmer for about 8 minutes until the vegetables are tender.  Return the salmon to the pan and heat through.  Serve with the rice on the side.  And follow up with some kind of rich, chocolatey, calorie laden dessert to make up for such a healthy main course.  Eat after your ten month old goes to bed to avoid yet further food mashed into your nice hardwood floors and carpeting.

today's healthy recipe - eggplant pizzas

Ah I know all of you who read my last post are breathing a sigh of relief at today's healthy recipe.  Phew, it's not moonshine with a side of heroin, so the little Princess MUST have slept.  Well she didn't, but I avoided the temptation of brewing my own 40% alcohol in the backyard overnight and we started sleep training last night...more to follow on that in the coming days.

Now, I don't have a formal recipe for this as it's my own invention but they're wonderful and versatile as you can change the toppings to suit your own tastes.  For two adults we use two eggplants (uhm aubergines...) you can use as few or as many as you like depending on how many you're feeding, but these don't keep brilliantly as leftovers, I must say.

2 eggplants, cut lengthways in slices approx 1/2 inch thick
pizza sauce of your choice
grated mozzarella cheese
assorted chopped veggies such as red and green pepper, mushrooms, green or black olives, sweetcorn (that's right Canadians, I said UGH in disgust as well, but Brits put canned corn on their pizzas...or mixed with tuna in their sandwiches...it's actually quite nice, I have to say!)

Brush both sides of eggplant slices with a bit of olive oil and bake approx 20-25 min (around 180-200C) until they soften up a bit.  Remove and top with pizza sauce, cheese, and your choice of toppings and return to oven for approx another 25 minutes until toppings are a bit bubbly and look like melted pizza toppings usually do.  Serve with salad and wine and yummmmmmm! One delicious, vegetarian, low carb dinner!

Today's healthy recipe - veggie quiche cups

These are FAB! Easy, quick, high protein, delish and freezable, so you can make a whole batch at once.  Great for breakfast or snack on the go!

3 large eggs or 3/4 cup egg whites
1 package (10oz) frozen spinach
3/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheese such as mozzarella or cheddar
1/4 cup diced red or green pepper or mix of both
1/4 cup diced onion

Thaw spinach, mix ingredients and pour into greased/sprayed muffin baking tray (no little muffin papers necessary) and preheat oven to 350F/180C and bake approx 20 minutes or until a knife comes out clean)

Think I'm going to make some later today and see if the Little Princess likes them.  Does anyone from N. America remember those old television commercials from the late 70s/early 80s with the breakfast cereal and Mikey and the line "he likes it! he likes it!" Well, it's a bit like that feeding the Little Princess...if it passes her clamped shut mouth and turned away head, it must be yummy!

Somebody please pass the botox....

Welcome back readers, and well done for the bravery you have shown by coming back after I threatened to post photos of my thighs.  Lucky for you that disgusting sledge of a swampwater masquerading as cellulite eliminator juice has shockingly not worked overnight.  Damn, I was so hopeful.  Anyway....

Ahhh how I hate teething.  Yet another night of broken sleep and at least five new wrinkles as of this morning.  As well as crying and whining, and the Little Princess cried and whined too.  Oh how mommy envy is kicking in for those of you who have babies who actually sleep through the night and who teethe with relatively little fuss.  Each new tooth is usually a two week nightmare for the Little Princess which ends when those little white spots finally break through and more wine than usual has been consumed by mommy and daddy.

On a positive note I made it to the gym last night and managed a full hour of a bit of cardio and my complete resistance training program and have lived to tell the not very exciting tale and (knock on wood) am not suffering too much.  Going back again this morning, this time for a longer cardio session (likely the treadmill) and some abs.  Thought to ponder - are they still called abs when they're covered in fat? Should I just call them flabs for now? Hmmm... today's healthy recipe coming later.  I've decided to give up coffee and tea, so am looking for an alternate source of a temporary energy boost before I can type more.  My head says "go to the kitchen and have a banana with some almond butter and a huge glass of water".  My heart says "go find the nearest crack den and buy a few grams".... stay tuned later for which will win out!

The Joys of Juicing - today's healthy recipe - Cellulite Eliminator Juice

This post is prompted by me noticing that my favourite appliance of all time, my Phillips Juicer, is £28 off at Argos, down from £94.99 to £66.59 (and no, I'm not being paid or rewarded in any way to mention any of this, I really do love it).  I got it when I was in the first few weeks of pregnancy last year, as my cravings were cantaloupe juice, cantaloupe juice, and more cantaloupe juice.  I know, sounds great, but that soon gave way to chocolate cravings that I'm hoping will pass soon, considering the fact that I gave birth 10 months ago.

When I bought the juicer it came with Jason Vale's (aka the Juice Master) book Over 100 Delicious Juices and Smoothies Keeping it Simple, which is a fabulous book.  Now, I thought the juicer looked a bit big and scary when I got it, but it's actually very easy to use and clean.  That says a lot coming from me, as I can barely change the batteries in the remote control and have yet to learn how to use the DVD player.

Today I am going to try the juice "cellulite eliminator"....gasp...could there really be such a thing?! Sounds about as believable as finding David Beckham in my bed on a Saturday morning.  Well, there was that one weekend in Madrid but I'm not supposed to talk about that.  The recipe is simple... 1 apple, 1 pear, 1/2 pink grapefruit, 2 sticks of celery, a few mint leaves and 4 ice cubes.  Juice everything except the mint, which you chop and sprinkle on top of the juice once you've poured it into the glass.

I will report back tomorrow.  And maybe even post a picture of my thighs...not to scare you all of course, because by then they will be fabulous and cellulite free ;-) 

This is the juicer I'm talking about in case anyone's looking to get one:
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500002451&langId=-1&searchTerms=PHILLIPS+JUICER

Happy Monday!

The Benefits of Resistance Training

 Well today I had a fantastic session with a personal trainer at my gym, with my specific request being help with resitance training.  Unfortunately, as I have learned, all the cardio in the world does not give you a lean, toned, peak performing body.  Just to clarify, resistance training will not make you look like the moustached, hairy female gymnasts of the old East Germany (but if you happen to like that look than go for it...) or give you the massive thighs of cyclists.   Resitance training also does not mean a resistance to any kind of physical training, something I do occasionally (or often) suffer from.   Here is one definition of resistance training....

Resistance training is a form of strength training in which each effort is performed against a specific opposing force generated by resistance (i.e. resistance to being pushed, squeezed, stretched or bent). Exercises are isotonic if a body part is moving against the force. Exercises are isometric if a body part is holding still against the force. Resistance exercise is used to develop the strength and size of skeletal muscles. Properly performed, resistance training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being.

The goal of resistance training, according to the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI), is to "gradually and progressively overload the musculoskeletal system so it gets stronger." Research shows that regular resistance training will strengthen and tone muscles and increase bone mass. Resistance training should not be confused with weightlifting, powerlifting or bodybuilding, which are competitive sports involving different types of strength training with non-elastic forces such as gravity (weight training or plyometrics) rather an immovable resistance (isometrics, usually the body's own muscles or a structural feature such as a doorframe). Full range of motion is important in resistance training because muscle overload occurs only at the specific joint angles where the muscle is worked.

A bit wordy, but you get the point... the benefits of resistance training are huge.  Strength, increased bone density, fat reduction/muscle increase, pain reduction, and on and on.  Personally I am interested in it for strength, improving my core strength and stability, increased flexibility and to aid in the healing of an ongoing shoulder injury.  Obviously secretly my number one goal is the reduction in size of my ass and thighs, but I dare not speak that dream aloud in case it never comes true ;-)

So I now have an easy to follow, 20 min/3 x per week program that I am really happy with.  I will keep you all posted on my progress assuming I do not pass away suddenly from previously unused muscles seizing up or from the rare disease CWD (Cadbury's Withdrawal Disorder). 

chickpeas, chickpeas and more chickpeas....

I was recently given a load of food by an expat friend and fellow vegetarian who was leaving the grey shores of Blighty for somewhere where there was a big yellow thing in the sky (lucky girl!)  This load of food included a bag of chickpeas which weighs about 473lbs and has left me with the quandry of what on earth to do with so many chickpeas?! Chickpeas a l'orange? Chickpea trifle? Chick-offee pie? Chickpea lasagne? Hummous is the obvious answer, but apart from the fact that I'd have enough hummous to feed the entire Middle East for three generations, my hummous sucks.  Badly. 

So....here you go folks! A recipe for yummy chickpea burgers which I can't take credit for as I got it from the site treehugger.com.  Will post my recipe for chickpea trifle another day.

2tsp veg oil
3 chopped green onions, including the tops
2 cloves of minced garlic
1tsp each dried oregano and chilli powder
1 cup diced red pepper and/or 1/2 cup chopped pickled hot peppers
1/2 chopped tomato
1 can (19oz) chickpeas dried and rinsed
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
2tbsp chopped parsley or cilantro

Heat oil over medium head and cook onions, garlic, oregano and chilli powder and stir for about 2 min.  Add red pepper and tomato and cook approx 3 minutes until pepper is tender and liquid evaporated.
In a food processor, mix the above with chickpeas then transfer to a bowl and stir in breadcrumbs, parsley, salt and pepper to taste until well combined.  Press and shape into 4 burgers, cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes each side.
Note: After they're made into patties but before cooking, they can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 1 month.  Good news for me, I can make about 1,000 burgers and freeze them.

How much do we do to help other people?

It's easy to get caught up in our daily lives and trying to get things crossed off of our never ending, ever expanding to-do lists (or our honey-do lists, the lists we give our husbands to do...which reminds me, I have about 5 things to add to my honey-do list...).  I've been inspired by my cousin's 15 year old son, who is busy trying to raise $2000 and shave his lovely long red curls off for the breast cancer campaign "shave to save", breast cancer being a cause close to his own heart.  I thought teenagers were supposed to be the best example of selfish, disinterested in society behaviour, so this strikes me as a fantastic thing to do and has left me with the question, "What can I do for an organization other than Myself, Inc?"  Being a tired, overwhelmed new mom is a great excuse for not doing much for the greater good, but in the end it's not really a great excuse is it?

So I'm busy trying to come up with a plan.  As I'm currently already training for both a 5k here in England, and next summer's midnattsloppet 10k midnight run in Stockholm, I believe I'm going to do them for a charity other than Improve the Size of my Own Ass (which is a good cause in itself, believe me).

I'm waiting to hear back from a charity I would really like to run for, called Small Steps, which buys shoes for children who work on dumps around the world as their feet are especially exposed to harmful toxins and chemicals.  I'm also debating organizing a group of local moms together to run a 5k for a childhood obesity charity as I thought that would be a great example for our own kids, and hopefully others.

Would love to hear what you all are doing for the greater good of the world... or if you would like to make a donation to Tim's Shave to Save efforts, drop me a line or it's on facebook at the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?cropsuccess&id=731800343#!/group.php?gid=113705828679407&v=info

Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshake for moms (or kids) on the go!

I love this recipe! Not just because it sounds and tastes decadent (without actually being decadent) but because it is quick, filling and can easily be varied. 

1 cup milk (or soya milk or 1/2 cup plain yoghurt)
1-2 peeled, frozen in pieces, ripe bananas (or more depending on your tastes)
2 tbsp peanut butter (can be substituted for almond butter)
1-2 tsp cocoa
Blend all together in a blender, add a bit of water if you need to thin it down a bit, particularly if you're using the yoghurt instead of milk
*Optional - add a slug of vodka if, like me, you have a Baby Who Does Not Sleep

If you want an even healthier version, try blending just the frozen banana, yoghurt and almond butter.  Delish!

Every Little (bit of exercise) Helps

I've had a revelation that I do not have to start off at marathon level running.  I can take small, daily actions that over time will add up and help me to achieve my health and fitness goals.  With a husband who works very long hours and travels a lot, there will be days when I simply can't get to the gym or out for a run and will have to take small steps and get creative.  Things such as long walks with The Little Princess and stopping to do a few squats or lunges while she admires the ducks in the pond, keeping a skipping rope on our patio, and who can resist a few good old fashioned aerobics DVDs full of big hair, sparkly legwarmers, and shocking pink leotards a la 70s?

This morning I had booked a creche space at my gym, so once I had pried a diamond earring and a blue ball point pen out of The Little Princess's hand (mental note to look for the other earring...hmmm) and pretended I didn't notice the blue streaks all over her face, I dropped her grumpy (lack of sleep) self off and prayed she would last more than 10 minutes without full blown shrieking demanding mommy's return.  Then I stopped worrying and realized that even 10 minutes exercise is better than nothing!  Unfortunately I chose a treadmill with a broken TV that wouldn't change channels and rather than change treadmills, was forced to endure 20 minutes of P. Diddy's Starmaker (how he ever became famous is a rant I'll save for another post on another day) and vowed to remember my iPod next time.

Success - 35 minutes of cardio (a mix of walk/run and elliptical trainer) followed by some stretching and abs and creche booked for tomorrow morning as well.

Anyone else have any tips on how they fit a bit of exercise into a busy life?

What the hell happened?

The first of hopefully many blogs! I say hopefully as I am a serial "starter" and serial "non finisher" (or commitment phobe as I like to call it).  I am great at trying new things and coming up with sometimes crazy plans, but not the best at seeing them through to completion.

Life has done a complete 360 in the past year when I became mom to my fabulous, fun, beautiful and unfortunately virtually sleepless daughter, The Little Princess.  Fitness and healthy eating somehow went out the window as large meals, sugary cups of tea and not-the-healthy-kind granola bars saw me through sleepless nights, feedings, the days where the crying and fussing seemed never ending, and the days when the baby cried too.  My long ago adopted and much loved vegetarianism disappeared out the window along with any hope of wearing a bikini as I just grabbed whatever was quick, easy, and sadly, calorific.

As my fellow new moms gasped in surprise as they were fitting into their pre pregnancy size 10 skinny jeans within hours, days, or weeks after giving birth to enormous 11lb babies, I was gasping in surprise as my weight went up and my maternity clothes gave way to new clothes in a size much larger than I would have liked.  Oh how I longed to visit said skinny friends with boxes of krispy kreme donuts and secretly pinch their sleeping-through-the-night-already little cherubs.

I had plenty of excuses at the ready..."they have their families nearby, mine is thousands of miles away so I get no break"..."I'll start exercising when she sleeps through the night and I'm not so exhausted" (um...I will likely be arthritic and collecting a pension when that happens)..."I'm breastfeeding, the weight should just drop off."  (who knew that a newborn doesn't consume more calories than are in an entire pack of chocolate digestives?!) The simple truth is that there is no good excuse for not eating healthily and exercising moderately.

Fast forward ten months and my plan is simple.  No quick, overnight fixes.  No fad diets of eating only cayenne pepper on Wednesdays during a full moon.   No surgery, botox, or cheek implants made from the semen of rare red squirrels (or whatever the current fad is).

1.  Healthy, non packaged as much as possible food, in moderate portion sizes
2.  Exercise and work towards my goal of completing a 10k race within a year
3.  Return to vegetarianism and my love of vegetarian cooking
4.  Scales are evil - the fit of my clothes will tell me just fine how I'm doing
5.  Share my journey

Happy reading, and I would love your thoughts, feedback, experiences, criticisms....