Monday 30 August 2010

Today's healthy recipe - yummy Daniel Craig

That's right, you read it correctly.  There is no healthy recipe today because I am sat on the sofa enthralled by Daniel Craig's body..erm...performance...in Casino Royale.  If you're absolutely devestated by the lack of a recipe today, go rent a copy of Casino Royale and you'll soon forget all about being annoyed with me.  And if that doesn't work there is clearly something wrong with you and you can get over it tomorrow when I post two healthy recipes (I can tell my new career as a psychologist is going to go well already.  I have so much wisdom to share with the world.)

G'night all! xxx

Saturday 28 August 2010

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 - squash and blue cheese risotto

Okay, I believe the words "blue cheese" and "healthy" go together about as well as the words "Christina Aguilera" and "talent" but this is such a yummy one I couldn't resist sharing it.  And this is a great autumn recipe! Not that it's autumn yet, but you'd never know it here in England, where summer normally lasts all of 4 days in a good year.

Ingredients
150g pack blue cheese
1 butternut squash
1 lemon
1 red onion
500g pack of arborio rice

Preheat oven to 200C (gas mark 6)
Peel squash and cut into chunks, place in a baking tray with 1 red onion, peeled and cut into 8 segments and toss 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Roast for 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile, make 1 litre of vegetable stock using 2 vegetable stock cubes.  In a deep frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and add 200g arborio risotto rice.  Coat the rice in the oil and cook 2 minutes.  Gradually add the stock to the rice, allowing the rice to absorb each ladle of liquid before adding more.  It should take around 20 min to absorb the full amount of stock.
Add the roasted squash and red onion to the pan, crumble in the blue cheese and allow it to melt slowly.  Mix through the zest and juice of one lemon and season with freshly ground black pepper before serving.

Enjoy!  Would love to hear any other good risotto recipes anyone has...

Thursday 26 August 2010

where have I been?!

Ah my dear millions of readers (okay...19 of you...but hey a girl can dream), no I have not been on a secluded (adults only of course) island soaking up the sun, nor have I been recovering from full body liposuction.  As glamorous as it sounds, I'm recovering from a back injury.  And sadly, not of the shagging my brains out fell off the bed kind of back injury, more of the too much lugging around a heavy car seat kind of back injury.  I know, you're all jealous of my rock n roll life. 

I am now on the mend, thanks to a happy state of mind inducing cocktail of yummy drugs (all legal) and an adorable physiotherapist called David.  I shall therefore be posting updates and new recipes very soon, as well as an update on the tissue, dead bug, and battery eating little Princess.

Ta ta for now my adoring fans!

Wednesday 18 August 2010

Only in America....

Now, I know it's wrong that my first thought upon being sent the link to this article from a friend was "WHY didn't I know about krispy kreme cheeseburgers when I was pregnant?!? That would have been even yummier than mango macaroni with extra cheese" but hey, you can't help what you think sometimes.  I'm still a bit speechless at this article, and while in jest I have titled this post "Only in America", it's unfortunately becoming more and more common everywhere to see shocking food options in such big portions that our view of normal portion sizes is becoming increasinly distorted.   Just recently I have seen one fast food restaurant chain advertising huge "snack" chicken wraps dripping in cheese and all kinds of things.  When did a snack stop being a piece of fruit and a glass of milk?  Is this how warped our views of acceptable food choices and sizes have become?

A couple of years ago a nutritionist friend told me that a  portion size of a food (ie of pasta, rice, meat, vegetables) at meals should only ever be the size of your clenched fist.  (Note: luckily yesterday when I had pizza I was able to double fold, pound and squash the slices so they fit into my fist.  Phew.  Major post pizza guilt avoided there).

On a serious note though, lately I've become more and more interested in childhood obesity (and obesity in general), and I'm not sure if this is prompted by having my own baby or by my return to university and psychology.  Some of my (many) hopes for the Little Princess are that she will grow up healthy, unridiculed by her peers, that she will enjoy the kind of happy, easy, outdoorsy,  long summer days spent bike riding kind of childhood that I had, and that we can keep her protected from some of the influences of the "outside world" for as long as possible.  And that when she is at an age that she is exposed to things like krispy kreme cheeseburgers at public events, that we will have hopefully equipped her with enough common sense, knowledge, and love for herself, that she will make a better choice. 

P.S. I am still toying with the idea of organizing a group of mums in London/Surrey to run a 5k for an obesity charity (something along the theme of "Fit Mums for Fit Kids") so if that's something you'd be interested in, please drop me a line. 

http://www.thestar.com/living/food/article/848767--a-krispy-kreme-cheeseburger-only-at-the-state-fair

Tuesday 17 August 2010

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.

The Price I Paid for Being in a Rush....and Happy Anniversary!

I know you were all missing my daily recipe yesterday, hopefully noone has gone hungry overnight as a result.  I was too busy being pissed off after having my wallet stolen by a bunch of kids (from the Little Princess's stroller!) while out picking up the dry cleaning.  By the time I got home, my neighbour was arriving at my house with the remnants of my wallet, as he'd seen what had happened from an upstairs window and had managed to photograph the kids and eventually follow them to a nearby address, which he could then give the police.  God Bless nosy, interfering, retired neighbours!

The upsetting part was not the better part of an afternoon wasted having to cancel my bank cards (another day I will rant about the fact that when you call banks' lost/stolen cards line, the first thing you hear is "please enter the 16 digit number on the front of your card" AGGHHHH) but the fact the future ASBO holders of Britain took the Little Princess's first passport picture, taken when she was two weeks old. 

Anyway, I'm off to cancel my library card before someone does something unthinkable like try to borrow Katie Price's autobiography from the local branch and people will think it was ME reading it.  The horror.  Then I'm off to join the local Bring Back the Death Penalty and I'm All for Public Stoning campaigns.

Oh yes, and why have I titled this post ...and Happy Anniversary? Because today is my five year anniversary of living in the UK.  Five years and THREE police reports...THREE more than 4 years of living in Mexico City, apparently "the most dangerous city in the world."

Healthy recipe, gym and Little Princess updates coming soon.....

Sunday 15 August 2010

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.

The Season of Goodbyes...Ode to Roxy

Last night, walking back to the tube in Covent Garden after saying goodbye to (yet another) expat friend, I was reminded of this song by the Byrds, I'm sure you all know it...

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late

For me this seems to be the season of goodbyes.  "Roxy" as she will be known for the purpose of this post, is the latest in a list of many friends packing up their tea bags and wellies and heading for new or more familiar, as in her case, shores.  I will miss all of them, but Roxy in particular as I associate her with good times, fun, and laughter.  So much laughter.  She is just one of those people who lights up a room and makes you instantly want to be her friend.  And as only small town Canadians do, she has the most outrageously funny stories.  We met via facebook several years ago on the Canadians in the UK group.  I believe the message I sent her read something like "We're both Canadian, you live near me, and from your photo you appear to be good looking enough to meet my friend criteria so we should meet up."  Fast forward a few years, a girls' trip to Paris which almost resulted in a lifelong Eurostar ban and a near death experience in an Audi in Belfast caused by three screaming Canadian girls spotting a Tim Horton's, and we are still friends.  And always will be.  She knows way too much!  So...my dearest Roxy...I wish you and your beloved all of the success and happiness in the world running your new business.  You both deserve it and will definitely make it into something incredible.  I will miss you, and so will the sales figures of the alcohol departments in all the major retailers of England. 

As for me, I'm accepting applications from potential new friends.  Please send photo along with your completed twelve page application and essay.


Saturday 14 August 2010

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!

Thursday 12 August 2010

Choosing childcare for the Little Princess

What, you are saying? Two posts in a row about the Little Princess? How about an update on Project Downsize Ass and Mummytummy.  Ah fine then - well it's 9pm and I am not at the gym tonight, as I'd planned to be.  I put this down to sheer and utter exhaustion caused by the fact that I've had three sleepless nights in a row plus the fact that I spent part of the day scraping dead banana out of the washing machine (don't ask).  Hence I am sat on the sofa, half comatose, trying to work out when the Apprentice will be back on TV.   On the plus side - I am not sitting here with an extra large tub of Ben & Jerry's clutched in one hand and a spoon in the other with a chocolate ice cream covered face whilst growling at anyone who comes near to try and take it away.  See, you always have to look for the silver lining. 

Seriously though - gym update and healthy recipe coming tomorrow.  Anyway, we've been going through the agonizing process of deciding whether or not to put the Little Princess in part time day care (nursery) when I go back to university next month.  Back in the months of the immobile, cooing little cherub who couldn't yet sit up, eat mobile phones, dump the fruit basket into the washing machine, or consume dead moths wing by wing, I naively thought I could easily manage both.  Commence crawling, and BAM...reality hits.  She is now almost a toddler and clearly all those people who told us the first year is the hardest were LYING.

Anyway...before I have to submit my first paper that is half eaten, half covered in strawberry mango slobber, and half written at 2am in a state of mental breakdown (yes I know...there is no such thing as three halves!), we began our childcare search.  Suddenly every well meaning, kind hearted babysitter and daycare full of shiny, happy people are potential dark pits of hidden dangers, murderers and sociopaths.  I used to half vaguely listen to coworkers returning from maternity leave with tears in their eyes on the phone to their day care centres ten minutes after leaving them, reminding little Johnny to drink all of his milk and half gag and roll my eyes.  Now I am that teary eyed mother and she's not even gone yet.

Before I fall asleep typing I must go compare the names of the people we've interviewed with the most wanted list on Americasmostwanted.com.  Just in case.  Not that I'm a paranoid mother.

Today's healthy recipe - vodka

That's right, you read it correctly.  Vodka.  Just a big old bottle of smirnoff or absolut or whatever cheap label you prefer, and a shot glass.  Or, if you've had as little sleep as I have these past few nights - just get a straw.

The Little Princess (who from here on in will be known as Quite Possibly the World's Worst Teether) has deemed no daytime or nighttime sleep required for the past three days and nights, thank you very much.  In all fairness to her sweet and adorable little soul, she is suffering with her 7th tooth and I curse the mother who recently told me "oh after the fifth tooth we never even noticed them coming in".  I feel terribly sorry for my poor little poppet, and as always try to keep my fatigue and impatience from showing to her, but I feel even sorrier for ME.  This is all about ME today.  Okay, I feel sorry for my husband too, but not as sorry as I feel for ME.

What would make me feel better? A one way ticket to an (adults only obviously) resort in Aruba, a shiny set of complete pearly whites for the Little Princesss, a massive triple layer calorie free chocolate cake that will not immediately settle on my ass and hips and more booze than is currently stocked in Amy Winehouse's basement. 

Tomorrow's healthy recipe will depend on how tonight goes.  It will either be A) homemade eggplant pizzas or B) moonshine with a side of heroin

Hope all the babies out there are faring better with the horrible thing that is teething! x

Wednesday 11 August 2010

Tests to Determine if You're Ready to Have Children

Somebody sent this to me when I was pregnant and we had a good laugh over it, smugly thinking to ourselves "ah there are soooo many people out there who have no idea how to parent.  Enter us PERFECT parents to be..." Today's healthy recipe on my blog: Humble Pie.

FOLLOW THESE 14 SIMPLE TESTS BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO HAVE CHILDREN.
Test 1 - Preparation

Women: To prepare for pregnancy:-

1. Put on a dressing gown and stick a beanbag down the front.
2. Leave it there.
3. After 9 months remove 5% of the beans.

Men: To prepare for children:-

1. Go to a local chemist, tip the contents of your wallet onto the counter
and tell the pharmacist to help himself.
2. Go to the supermarket. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their
head office.
3. Go home. Pick up the newspaper and read it for the last time.
Test 2 - Knowledge

Find a couple who are already parents and berate them about their methods of discipline, lack of patience, appallingly low tolerance levels and how they
have allowed their children to run wild. Suggest ways in which they might
improve their child's sleeping habits, toilet training, table manners and
overall behavior.Enjoy it. It will be the last time in your life that you will have all the answers.
 
 Test 3 - Nights
 To discover how the nights will feel:

1. Walk around the living room from 5pm to 10pm carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 4 - 6kg, with a radio turned to static (or some other
obnoxious sound) playing loudly.
2. At 10pm, put the bag down, set the alarm for midnight and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 11pm and walk the bag around the living room until 1am.
4. Set the alarm for 3am.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2am and make a cup of tea.
6. Go to bed at 2.45am.
7. Get up again at 3am when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs in the dark until 4am.
9. Put the alarm on for 5am. Get up when it goes off.
10. Make breakfast.

Keep this up for 5 years. LOOK CHEERFUL.


Test 4 - Dressing Small Children

1. Buy a live octopus and a string bag.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the string bag so that no arms hang out.

Time Allowed: 5 minutes.

Test 5 - Cars

1. Forget the BMW. Buy a practical 5-door wagon.
2. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
3. Get a coin. Insert it into the CD player.
4. Take a box of chocolate biscuits; mash them into the back seat.
5. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.


Test 6 - Going For a Walk

Wait.
Go out the front door.
Come back in again.
Go out.
Come back in again.
Go out again.
Walk down the front path.
Walk back up it.
Walk down it again.
Walk very slowly down the road for five minutes.
Stop, inspect minutely and ask at least 6 questions about every piece of
used chewing gum, dirty tissue and dead insect along the way.
Retrace your steps.
Scream that you have had as much as you can stand until the neighbours come out and stare at you.
Give up and go back into the house.

You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.


Test 7

Repeat everything you say at least 5 times.


Test 8 - Grocery Shopping

1. Go to the local supermarket. Take with you the nearest thing you can find
to a pre-school child - a fully grown goat is excellent. If you intend to have more than one child, take more than one goat.
2. Buy your weekly groceries without letting the goat(s) out of your sight.
3. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys.

Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.


Test 9 - Feeding a 1 year-old

1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend the melon from the ceiling and swing it side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy cornflakes and attempt to spoon them into the
swaying melon while pretending to be an aeroplane.
5. Continue until half the cornflakes are gone.
6. Tip the rest into your lap, making sure that a lot of it falls on the floor.


Test 10 - TV

1. Learn the names of every character from the Wiggles, Barney, Teletubbies
and Disney.
2. Watch nothing else on television for at least 5 years.


Test 11 - Mess

Can you stand the mess children make? To find out:

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a fish behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flowerbeds and then rub them on clean walls.
Cover the stains with crayon. How does that look?
4. Empty every drawer/cupboard/storage box in your house onto the floor &
leave it there.


Test 12 - Long Trips with Toddlers

1. Make a recording of someone shouting 'Mummy' repeatedly. Important Notes:
No more than a 4 second delay between each Mummy. Include occasional
crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet.
2. Play this tape in your car, everywhere you go for the next 4 years.

You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.


Test 13 - Conversations

1. Start talking to an adult of your choice.
2. Have someone else continually tug on your shirt hem or shirt sleeve while
playing the Mummy tape listed above.

You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a
child in the room.


Test 14 - Getting ready for work

1. Pick a day on which you have an important meeting.
2. Put on your finest work attire.
3. Take a cup of cream and put 1 cup of lemon juice in it.
4. Stir.
5. Dump half of it on your nice silk shirt.
6. Saturate a towel with the other half of the mixture.
7. Attempt to clean your shirt with the same saturated towel.
8. Do not change (you have no time).
9. Go directly to work.

Tuesday 10 August 2010

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!

Monday 9 August 2010

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!

Sunday 8 August 2010

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). 


Sunday Fitness...

Well, I had a marvellous baby free Saturday when my lovely husband had the Little Princess out for the whole day.  Despite being inundated with texts and messages from friends saying "don't do a single chore! Put your feet up for the entire day!" my OCD kicked in and I scrubbed the house from top to bottom, then wondered what the house cleaner will do on Monday and just exactly what I pay her for...oh well.  As my OCD is usually centred around "Hmmm is there a new magazine out this week filled with utter rubbish about that oxygen thieving, fly on hind legs Victoria Beckham that I haven't read yet?" it was a welcome change to have it focus on something somewhat useful.

This morning we are off swimming with the Little Princess and then it is off to the gym for me to get my new resistance training program.  Am continuing to struggle with a right side neck and shoulder injury and really hoping it heals soon before I am forced to start tweeting Lindsay Lohan to see where she gets all her painkiller prescriptions.

Disclaimer: I don't really have OCD, the mention was for entertainment purposes only.  Not that OCD is entertaining to those who have it.

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.

Saturday 7 August 2010

Big Steps for Small Steps

Just a quick update on my last post.  I've just heard back from Small Steps, and it looks like I will be able to run for them, so my running campaign will soon be renamed Big Steps for Small Steps :-)  You can check them out at http://amyhanson.co.uk 

Happy running!

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

Today's healthy recipe - roasted aubergine & goat's cheese pasta

Well, not only did I survive last night's run and am still able to move today (kind of), but lovely hubby and the Little Princess have gone out for THE WHOLE DAY to visit some family friends.  I've not been alone in the house since she was born ten months ago and am not quite sure what to do with myself.  Sleep? Clean? Go for botox? Get really drunk? All of the above?

Anyway, here is a great quick and easy veggie recipe that is one of our favourites...hope you like it! And ahem, aubergine is eggplant for you North Americans...why do I always feel I need to translate for those of you back home in my motherland?

1 medium eggplant/aubergine cut into wedges
1 red onion
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
8 leaves fresh shredded basil (and optional - a few more for garnishing)
150g penne (I use wholewheat penne to make it healthier)
100g soft goats cheese
2 tbsp pine nuts

Preheat oven to 220C/gas mark 7 and roast the aubergine and onion in a small roasting tin with the garlic, oil and shredded basil leaves, season and roast for 20-25 minutes.  Stir once or twice until tender and charred.
Meanwhile cook the pasta until tender, drain and toss with the cooked vegetables, goats cheese and pine nuts.  Garnish with basil leaves, goes great with salad.  Bon appetit!

Friday 6 August 2010

Running gear & Twitter!

Thanks to the suggestion by the fabulous LadyV, Little Princess and I headed for our local running shop this morning which does gait analysis for runners (thankfully the video playback does not show your butt, just your running strides!).   This involves running a few seconds on a treadmill while it's recorded and analyzed and then again whilst trying out various new shoes.  It was highly useful as my previous strategy for choosing any fitness gear was purely brand, fashion and colour based.  Definitely would recommend this analysis to any other new runner! Ended up with a highly comfortable adidas, which is not something I normally would have chosen based on previous strategy.  The bonus - £100 pounds off the normal price so I really couldn't complain!  I'm also kitted out with a fabulous New Balance running jacket to beat off that British drizzle as well as running socks, so I'm good to start the outdoor training.

The shop also acted as improptu babysitters for me as Little Princess decided that her usually comfortable Quinny Buzz was more like a Turkish prison cell today and she was having none of sitting patiently.  So I was able to have a good look around at the gear while she was carted around like the Queen of the shop by the owner while managing to completely mangle his sunglasses when his head was turned for all of two seconds.

Please do follow me on twitter (mummygetsyummy)...if I get 10 followers by the end of today (Friday) I will add an extra outdoor run to my schedule this week and head out tonight (looks like in the rain!)

Happy running!

Thursday 5 August 2010

Fitness Update # 1

Ah, you may be saying, it's all well and good to be posting about The Little Princess, but how am I doing on my journey to achieve the body of Katie Price (but please god not her face or her perma orange skin tone)?  I hit the gym again yesterday and managed 3km in 30 minutes, as well as close to 10 minutes on the galileo vibration plate.  If you've not tried the galileo, I highly recommend hightailing it to your nearest gym - they are FAB.  I find them particularly useful for pain reduction as I have an ongoing right shoulder/neck injury that has proved resistant to most therapies so far.

Next up: starting the outdoor running this weekend (if you happen to be driving through Surrey in the coming days/weeks and spot a red faced and gasping woman curled over or seized up in pain while screaming like a banshee, be a good samaritan and toss a bottle of water or a family sized cadbury's bar out your car window)

Am also going to start resistance training this weekend when I have my first session with a trainer at my gym (who is hopefully, blonde, Scandinavian, 6'2 and called Sven) and really need to work on my core stability and fitness, which has never really recovered yet since having the Little Princess. 

Ah yes, and also need to invest in some new gear.  First on the list is new running shoes (have been recommended the brand Minuzo - any thoughts on this?) and a sports bra, and have been recommended the following, carried by John Lewis.  Going to check them both out this weekend and hopefully decide soon....

http://www.johnlewis.com/26471/Style.aspx

Happy exercising, whichever your sport/activity of choice!

Wednesday 4 August 2010

Feeding the Little Princess

Thankfully before she started to turn mango yellow due to over consumption, we have been tossed a feeding lifeline by a lot of lovely friends who have "been there and done that" with their non eating babies.  As the Little Princess has decided over the past couple of weeks that she would eat nothing served from a bowl or via a spoon, we were at a a bit of a loss and trying to prevent the UK's first case of rickets in I don't know how long.

So we asked around and were given the fantastic advise of putting a selection of finger foods that she could manage on her high chair tray and basically ignoring her and what she did with them.  We've never been afraid of a little mess - babies, high chairs, and clothes are all washable (thankfully, as are my now jam and yoghurt covered dining room windows) so we gave it a go and so far it's proving a success.  What have we given her?
Pieces of cooked sweet potato, carrot, and potato.  Strawberries, blueberries, grapes and pieces of banana and melon.  Hard boiled egg (her current fave!) with pieces of cheese or toast, and cut up pieces of cooked pasta and turkey.  A lot of it ends up mashed into her hair and my once lovely hardwood floors have now seen much better days, but none of that matters.  And as we've been told...the best way to create a fussy eater is to be anal retentive about them making no mess.

Right, I'm off to eat my lovely homecooked dinner of aubergine (eggplant) and goat's cheese pasta, and maybe smear a bit of it into the carpet just for fun....

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!

Tuesday 3 August 2010

Mother of the Year

I've had a day which has made me want to run screaming into the kitchen stuffing a family extra large size pack of double cream mint oreos down my throat!  The day started with the Little Princess falling over the edge of her cot onto the floor, followed by a fall off of our bed which sent us both into floods of tears and a wailing phone call to my poor husband.  Did the day get better? Well.... not exactly as I was putting groceries in the trunk (oopsss...boot) of the car and got quite a shock when I turned around and the Little Princess was rolling away across the parking lot while I was on the receiving end of several a dirty look and glares from fellow shoppers who no doubt were thinking I was a candidate for a phone call to the NSPCC.   I will be checking the post carefully for my Mother of the Year nomination. 

Note: I do feel slightly better after getting a facebook message from a friend who had managed to lock her keys and her son in her car in 40C heat.  Luckily all ended well but I fear she's just trying to steal my Mother of the Year award.

Pat on the back for me as I didn't stuff a single oreo down my throat (or pour myself anything alcoholic and calorie laden!)

Off to prepare dinner (baby potatoes, carrots, stuffed mushrooms and yoghurt with strawberries)

Today's healthy recipe - easy peasy and delicious lentil soup!

This is one of our faves, and even my 10 month old, whose preferred diet normally consists of mango and mango, likes it (I make it with baby friendly vegetable stock that is low sodium and gluten free)

1 tbsp olive oil
2 chopped medium onions
2 cups red lentils
2 tbsp tomato puree (or less/more to taste)
1L vegetable stock (I've found 1.2L works better as this soup is disastrous if it gets too dry)
parsley, cream and croutons to garnish (optional - I don't bother with these)

Fry the onions in the olive oil until soft/clear, then add the stock, lentils and puree and simmer for approx 20-25 minutes until the lentils are soft.  Pour into blender and blend for a few seconds only.  Serve immediately, adding the parsley, cream and croutons.

Yummmm! I'm always looking for good vegetarian soup recipes...anyone have any they'd like to share?

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....