Tomato Avocado Salad and Kona - What a Combo!

The Holy Grail of Triathlon was run over the weekend. Every year I get excited and go on the countdown to Kona - the Ironman of all Ironman. The elite athletes that complete this course in astounding times just about make my head spin. The average people who have full time jobs and kids and have to spend $20K just to get there, as well as the people who are fighting or have fought illness or tend with disability, well, they just make me cry. There is something all inspiring about a human being who has all of the odds against them, staring fear and doubt and impossibility in the face and getting it done anyway. True inspiration.

I managed to get my 5km run time trial done on Thursday. I was right ... it hurt, but on a massive plus side I managed not to go out too fast and completely lose the plot at 3km. I ran 25mins3sec, which is relatively slow, but it's where I'm at and from here I can work accurately on speedwork pacings and well, just getting faster.

I spent the entire weekend working, so got a total of 0 hours training completed. Work life balance ... what is that?

If watching Kona wasn't enough to change your life then never fear, this salad will. This salad was inspired by a great raw chef website, only their version used heirloom tomatoes and required a melon baller and considering that I have worked the last 9 days straight these were things I just didnt have the time or brain power to find, so I mixed it up and made my own version and WOW. My new favourite salad has been found! Don't be put off by the fact that it looks so darn gourmet or that you need to use a food mixer - you could substitute it for a mortar and pestle and this meal can be put together in under 15 minutes. It combines the fresh tastes of tomato with creamy avocado and cheesey parmesan, all whilst being dairy free, raw, high in essential fatty acids, vitamin C, E and B6.

Tomato and Avocado Salad
Serves 1

Salad
1c Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 Avocado, chopped into large chunks
1-2c Mixed salad leaves
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

Parmesan
This vegan parmesan cheese

Place cherry tomatoes on serving plate and add a splash of balsamic vinegar. You can use as much or as little as you like, depending on your tastes. Season with a little salt and pepper. Roughly chop the mixed salad leaves and place on serving plate next to tomatoes.

Gently roll the avocado chunks in your parmesan mixture until coated and place on top of tomato. Voila!

I added some lean protein (mini angus burgers) to balance out this meal nutritionally. You could use Chicken or lentils or some grilled fish - whatever takes your fancy.

Until next time...
Train hard, live long and prosper.

Time Trials & Fresh Menu Plans

Did I say Summer was on its way? What I so easily forget after 20+ years of living in Melbourne, is that a run of 3, 4 or even 20 days of seasonal weather in no way indicates that you won't be sent a FREEZING day at any moment. But there is a silver lining in every (rain filled) cloud. Cold weather is terrible for swimming and riding motivation, but cold weather is always great for running. I love putting on lots of layers and heading out for a run in the rain and thankfully that is what the training schedule called for.

I nailed a great endurance/speedwork run on the weekend. It was a format that I had never tried but I found it so much more enjoyable than 400's repeats. I did 5 x 1km run at between 4min30sec/km and 4min55sec/km with 90 second walking breaks in between. I also did 1km warmup and cool down easy jogs. It felt good to do my first speed session of the season and I am planning on doing this session once a week and seeing where it might take me (I am optimistic for Usain Bolt-like territory).

I have been just so lucky over the past few days, to get some help with my training plan from a friend at work. It really is terribly helpful when a workmate has competed in track for Australia at the Olympics. After checking my running form he made some suggestions to try and avoid the general niggles I get in my right leg. We then ran through what my training schedule should look like and he made it clear in no uncertain terms that running should always be quality over quantity. That, quite frankly, is in direct opposition to what I usually do, but I am happy to give his method a go as, well, my method has made me exactly 0sec/km faster since I employed it in marathon training 3 years ago.

We decided that what I really need to do is a current 5km time trial, because my pacing is from a TT I did oh, nearly 2 years ago I think. Or maybe 1 year ago - who even knows?! The problem is that I hate time trials. Time trials hurt. A lot. But seeing as my A race (try and say that without feeling like a tool) will have a 5km run, its really important that I know where I am at so I can get correct pacing for sessions. Boo.

Nutrition wise my diet has been very blah. I have not been organised, I have not had a plan and so what has occurred is an awful lot of avocado sandwiches, sweet muffins, bounce balls and bananas. Thats about it really. It has been a combination of not having ingredients in the house and of being in a food rut. So I did what all good nutritionists do, I sat down and made a menu for the week and it goes a little something like this (thanks run dmc):

Breakfasts
Pina Colada Smoothie
Choc Banana Smoothie

Lunches & Dinners
Asian Chicken Salad - minus the Chicken plus more Edamame
Vegan Mexican Salad bowl
Tomato Salad with 'Mozacado' Balls
Beetroot, Goat Cheese and Lentil Salad
Pumpkin, Olive and Quinoa Salad
Quinoa, Pepita and Tahini Salad

Snacks
Blueberry Banana and Seed Muffins
Apple, Almond and Grape Snacks

... and then I shopped. I will cook up a storm over the next week and post any new recipes. Mmmmmm I am hungry just thinking about it.

Today seems as good as any to time trial - go on, get out there and make yourself nauseous with me, I know you wanna.

The Art of Procrastination

Day 2. Swimming day. Duh na na na. Dn dn dn dn. In case you couldn't understand that, it was the sound of impending doom.

I had 1 aim and 1 aim only for this day. Get. In. The. Water. The plan was to go straight from work to the pool. But then I finished work and decided that I should really have some breakfast. After I had breakfast I reasoned that I would definitely swim more if I just got a wetsuit and could swim at work. So then I researched and priced wetsuits for 2hrs on the internet. Then I reminded myself that I had to swim today, wetsuit or no wetsuit. And then I thought to myself "Emma, everyone always says, don't affirm poor swimming form, get a few lessons". So then I researched female swim coaches in my area. For about an hour. Why female you say? Well for some reason it feels less intimidating to flail around like a drowning cat in front of a girl than a boy. I blame single sex private education.

So that brought me to 11am ... and it was time to head back to work. Shucks. I did, however, enjoy a delicious lunch at work. This little flavor combo was brought to my attention by a lovely co-worker. It covers off all your macro nutrients - including complex carbohydrates, essential fatty acids and protein. Not to mention zinc, choline, b-vitamins, vitamin E, omega 6 - the list goes on and on. It is easy to cook in bulk on a Sunday and then assemble at work during the week for lunch.

Egg Quinoa Salad

Serves 2

1/4c Quinoa (dry)
1/2tsp Organic vegetable stock
2c Water
1c Baby spinach shredded
1/2 Avocado
4 Boiled Eggs

Rinse quinoa thoroughly in a sieve. Place quinoa, stick and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for approx 10 minutes or until quinoa is soft and cooked through. Drain and set aside. Roughly chop avocado. Peel and roughly chop eggs. Place half of the quinoa on plate and top with baby spinach, 2 eggs, then 1/4 avocado. Season with salt and pepper or fresh chopped spring onions. You can eat this warm or cold.

I mentioned to one of the swimmers at work (who is a swim teacher) that I swim like a cat drowns and she offered to look at my stroke and give me some pointers. Not wanting to scare her off, I didn't point out to her that calling the way I move through the water a 'stroke' was probably going a bit far and agreed to a little swim lesson on Thursday.

After work the water looked Uh-Mazing, but it couldn't fool me, I know its only 13.3 degrees in there. Plus, I had a swim lesson the next day. I needed to get home and rest for crying out loud.

This may look like the most inviting swimming water. It's not. It's freezing.

Though it may appear that my procrastination knows no limits, I have purchased a super cheap wetsuit online and I lined up swim lessons, so eventually, I am confident I will run out of excuses and will just bloody swim ... tomorrow.

Here Comes the Sun

I am sure this won't come as a surprise, but it has been so long since I blogged that I had forgotten my password to login. As if I wasn't returning with my tail between my legs anyways, the wide web of the world had to make a fuss while I tried to sneak back in. Rude.

So spring has sprung! Exciting times for those of you who have been out pounding the pavement and riding into arctic headwinds all Winter. And for everyone else who had a cold weather hiatus - its time to, quite literally, get back on the bike. Mild sunny days are on their way. Spring also means that triathlon fever starts floating in the wind - which may be the reason that I can't stop sneezing ... or maybe its just the pollen count. It's around this time of year that I think
1) I am so pumped for triathlon season
2) Why didn't I actually do the swimming training I had planned for Winter
3) I wish triathlon clothing was looser. They really don't factor in that one may have a tendency to partake in an extra winter casserole or two.

I have put in a lot of slow, miserable kms on the bike this winter and thanks to a foot 'thing', not a lot of run time. Swimming ... what's that? I have swum a grand total of about 300m since March this year and that was because I had to become a qualified lifeguard for work and we did a 200m timed swim, plus a bit of general floundering around. I have, however, managed to do quite a bit of 'Bodyrocking' and Metabolic circuits, which will be beneficial in no way whatsoever for triathlon. Schmeh.
Hence why this week is all about trying to ride a little faster, run a little more and ACTUALLY GET INTO THE POOL.

Yesterday was a great start to my training. I figured I would start off with a run  - the easiest of all disciplines. I had planned 5km with 700m about 30sec above 10km race pace and then 300m gentle pickup x 5. My signature planning style is to make the first run session back a set of about 6 x 400's at 80% ... and then I actually run it as fast as I possibly can and can barely run for a week. You can see why I might be trying to avoid this. I headed out for my run, sans Garmin due to the fact that I had left it at home on the charger, which meant my run was something like this: Run for about 4km or maybe 6km who would really know. Sometimes running fastish, sometimes slowish, but really its all hurting so I have no clue what sort of times I am running. Or distance. The only thing I know for sure is that I went for a run and at this stage, that'll do.

For best result, take Garmin off charger and place on wrist before leaving household.

The Breakfast of Champions who Forget their Garmins (this is an actual category of breakfasts) was porridge with banana, almond spread and almond milk. Served, of course, in a glass jar, because I have found that everything in life tastes better when served in a glass jar that has fruit imprints on it.

Banana and Almond Porridge

Serves 1

1sml Banana finely chopped
1/4c Raw oats
3/4c Water
1T Almond spread
Splash of almond milk

Combine water and oats and cook porridge as normal. Stir in almond spread and banana and add almond milk if required. Serve.



Easy. Simple. Delicious.
Like me.
I kid, I kid.

How to Make Nut Milks & Other Life Skills

I'm not a fan of cows milk, for a variety of reasons...

There is the ethical side where I question how kind it is to force cows to have calf after calf just so that they can make milk.
Then there is the 'Nutritiony' side, where we often notice digestive difficulties when drinking milk, whether that be bloating or nausea or runny noses or poor immune function.
And then, of course, there is the 'that's weird' side, where, when you take a step back and look at it, humans drink the 'breast' milk of another lactating animal that mother nature made for little calves and calves only to drink to get really big and fat really quickly. Imagine for a moment, if you will, a human expressing milk all year round and feeding it to her dog. Weird.

In saying that I know that most of us have grown up with cows milk as a part of our diets. If you enjoy food and like trying new things, why not experiment with oat, rice or soy milks or better yet, why not try making your own nut milk?

Stop rolling your eyes. You do not have to be a pot smoking, non-working hippy with only commune life to tend to to make nut milk.

This Almond milk will literally take 10 minutes to make. Add to that the fact that making a litre of organic almond milk will set you back about $2.50 versus $6.50 and you can see what I'm saying...it's a good idea.

Almond Milk
Makes 1litre

1c Almonds
4c Water

Equipment
Blender
Old clean pillow case cut on the diagonal to make a triangle shape like this ...

Place almonds in a bowl and cover well with water. Place in fridge for at least 4 hours, but I find doing it the night before you want to make the milk works well.

In the morning drain the water off the almonds and discard it. Place the soaked almonds and 4 cups of fresh water into a blender. Put the lid on and blend for about 4 or 5 minutes. Use any bowl that will hold 1 litre and place your pillow case in it like so ...

Pour all of the liquid in the blender into the pillowcase. Bring all the edges together and squeeze all of the milk out of the pillow case. This might take a minute or two to get all of the liquid out.

Hey presto you have fresh almond milk ready to be stored in the fridge.

The solid meal left in the pillow case is almond meal, which can be stored in the fridge for a few days and used to make cookies, energy balls, cakes etc.

This couldn't really get any easier and the idea can be extended to cashews, hazelnuts, whatever you like, really. Use in smoothies, on cereal or just drink it plain.

Happy drinking guys!

The Blogging Wagon Vs Travelling

Can anybody find the blogging wagon? I need to get back on it. Travelling Vs blogging - travelling wins every time.

I had a fantastic time in Northern Ireland, Dubai, Spain and Singapore. We spent most of our time in Northern Ireland which meant, despite it being summer there, lots and lots of 'comfort food'. Irish stew, potatoes, chille con carne, potatoes, roasts, chips ... potatoes.
'Lean meats' and 'leafy greens' are not in the vocabulary. One of the great things about NI food though, is their amazing and affordable range of berries. Each morning I would have a bowl full of blueberries, raspberries & strawberries. Delish! The other thing that I loved was the endless array of forests to run in. In a great twist of fate Colin washed my ipod and broke it, forcing me to run with nothing but the sound of my feet, trickling streams, the pitter patter of rain and the singing birds to accompany me. Tough, I know.

After a month abroad, I was just so very ready to lighten the food load. I want vegetables, and fruits, and nuts and seeds and juices. I wanted to get reacquainted with what it felt like to actually get hungry. I think we can all agree that holiday eating can be fun with its 3 course meals and endless time to eat at a variety of places, but there comes a time where it loses its shine. That time is usually when you are getting dressed and your pants no longer do up.

I stumbled across this old recipe that I think I got and adapted from the magical Angela over at Oh She Glows. It is a vegan website so to be honest I usually use her recipes, and then add meat. I hope this doesn't devastate her. It probably does. Anyway, This is a Vegan Taco Mince recipe which can be put into soft or hard shell tacos but I prefer to just eat a bowl of it. Its warm, a little bit crunchy and the spices make otherwise plain ingredients work in perfect, tasty harmony. Are you sold yet?


Vegan Taco Mince
Serves 6Seasoning
1t chili powder (adjust according to taste
1/4t garlic powder
1/4t dried oregano
1/2t paprika
1 1/2t ground cumin
1t sea salt
1t black pepper

Combine spices and set aside. Extra can be made and stored to be used in other dishes.

Mince
1/2c brown rice
2 1/2c water
425g can canellini beans
1/4c sunflower seeds
1/4c pepitas
Prepared seasoning
2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

Boil water and rice in a medium saucepan. Cook for approximately 30-40 mins, making sure it stays slightly al dente. Drain the rice and set aside.

Place cooked rice, beans, seeds, and seasoning in food processor and pulse until ingredients are broken up but not mushy. Transfer to a large frying pan, add 2 tbsp of coconut oil, and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, or until heated through. Remove from heat and serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt.

Easy, right? Store the extra in the fridge and sprinkle it over salad or into wraps for lunches the next day

Have a great week everyone and stay warm!

Paleo days 5-7, Weekly Roundup & Paleo Fueling for Endurance

Just when you start to think you are a mildly talented human being, your Mum owns you on a ride. No matter how hard you pedal you really don't make any ground. Your quads burn, oh how they burn. And then you realise, she keeps looking back to make sure you are still there. Because she knows she is kicking your butt. Note to self. Go to more spin classes.

Fortunately eating paleo does not hurt body nor ego nearly as much. As I round out the last 7 days I have to say that I have shocked even myself in a couple of ways.
1. I have not eaten a single piece of bread or chocolate or refined food. I cannot recall a time in the last 5 years when this has happened. Noteworthy.
2. I haven't even been interested in eating chocolate. Beyond noteworthy. Astounding.
My digestion is fantastic. Probably the best it has been in a long time. My energy levels are good too. Although I did get smashed on the bike today, I am confident it was not due to the way I fueled. I think I may have lost a little weight, but I don't ever weigh myself. I just know that my pants are getting a bit looser.

As a food roundup for the last 3 days I will include anything new I have tried but leave out anything I have
already posted, so this is not a true photo food diary, but I'm sure you can use your imagination. Here goes.

Ummmm. This is an apple.



Re-worked Meatloaf with Creamy Brussel Sprouts and Kumara.
I combined the meatloaf from earlier in the week with a few tablespoons of tomato passata. Then I blanched some brussel sprouts and dressed them with mashed avocado, salt and pepper and baked some sweet potato slices in the oven. Delish

I have no doubt that cavemen sat around with good friends and had a wine or two on a Friday evening...



And a really good Chicken Salad with Raspberry Dressing.

I have been on riding, running & swimming rations (what, you haven't heard me whinge about it repeatedly) for 3 weeks now so I have not had to fuel for endurance with paleo eating yet. Today was my first attempt and I think it went quite well. I didn't struggle with any nausea like I sometimes can and I didn't crash (energy-wise, or literally for that matter).

Pre-ride - I usually have toast with almond spread, so I improvised and used banana instead. Its also a medium release of carbohydrates to top up stores from the night before. The almond spread has fats and proteins to help to slow down the gastric emptying and just generally keep the meal well rounded. Sports nutritionists like to use a lot of carb heavy foods pre and during events and not a lot of fibre, fat or protein, but I find my body just doesn't love that. You should always do what works for you.

During ride - I have been using organic fruit packs for a while, so I knew I would digest these just fine and I did. I swapped my Gu electrolyte drink for organic coconut juice and I put a pinch of Himalayan salt in it. The coconut juice is naturally high in magnesium and potassium, but has less sodium that a sports specific drink so the salt helps with that. I have to say the tatse of this is SO much better than any electrolyte drink I have had. I find them too sweet, especially if you have to drink a lot.

Post ride - The trusty blueberry, glutamine, banana, maca, cashew milk (recipe and instructions to come) recovery shake. mmmmmmm.

So how did I find paleo fueling - easy. To be honest I didn't have to change a lot of my normal practices. Depending on the length of your ride it would be more expensive to use coconut juice that a sports powder, but I don't have a problem with that because at this stage we don't ride longer than 2 1/2 hrs.

Wow...If you are still reading then I really do owe you a prize. How about a cashew milk recipe tomorrow - will that do?

Until then, enjoy your life, enjoy your training and enjoy your food. That's what its all about right?

Day 4 - Coconut Butter and Other Delights

Day 4 started with delightful clients and a really upbeat feeling at work despite howling icy winds and sleeting rain. Hello Winter, not overly nice to see you. But I think Winter is fantastic - not because I like cold weather. Au contraire. I like Winter because it helps us to appreciate sunshine. And the smell of the warm summer nights air. And straight hair because the rain hasn't made it go frizzy. Ahhhh the simple things.

So paleo today looked like this

Choc Nana Smoothie - caveman style. Cavemen had blenders didn't they?

Coffee & Coconut Butter

I had noticed these little snack packs of coconut butter at the health food store and figured what better time than now to give them a try. The verdict ... they grow on you. The first 2 mouthfuls were horrendous. The rest of it tasted awesome. Just like blue cheese. Be warned though, don't eat one of these without some water nearby. It has the texture of dry peanut butter. Give it a try!

Roo Casserole

Leftovers from last night tasted just as good. Oh how I wish I had cooked more.

Paleo Banana Bread & Coconut Juice

I got the recipe for this awesome bread HERE. Truth be known I may never stop looking at this site. Its pretty and interesting and the recipes look delish. The only changes I made ... because I am incapable of following a recipe perfectly, is that I used 1c Almond meal and 1c Coconut flour instead of 2c Almond meal. This meant that I had to add an extra 1/2c water because the coconut flour is a lot dryer. I also substituted the honey for agave, simply because I didn't have any honey in the cupboard. Last of all I didn't using baking soda because I'm pretty sure it's really un-paleo.

Carob Kibble Nibbles

I think it is time to get Instagram. It helps to disguise that both the iphone camera and myself are rubbish when it comes to photography.

Meatloaf with Baked Zucchini and Kale

I used THIS meatloaf recipe, only I used beef instead of chicken, fresh garlic and onion and no basil. I told you, I have a substitution problem.

With the cold snap I'm completely uninterested in vegetables unless they are stewed or baked, so I'm just going with it...

Today was a day off training. Its really hard to get inspired when the only form of cardio you are really allowed to do is the cross trainer. Wanna come to my pity party? I'm serving freshly cooked paleo delights.

And remember ... "you are far too smart to be the only thing standing in your way" - Jennifer J Freeman.

Paleo Days 1 to 3

In the interest of full discolsure I am going to admit that I just wanted to try out paleo before I declared to the 2 people that read my blog (i'm sure one of them is my mum) that I would do it for 30 days. So this being Thursday, I have completed 3 full days already.

I will give you the pics of the different breakfast, lunches, dinners and snacks I have had over the last few days later in the post but initially I want to talk about how I feel physically.

In a word - awesome. It was definitely a challenge not to run to the freezer and make some toast every afternoon when I was tired and had been up since what feels like the middle of the night, but with a bit of craving control (see previous post) and organisation to have plenty of foods on hand that I can eat, it has really been pretty easy. I feel like its pretty under control now. Using the Carob Kibble Nibbles when I felt like I needed sugar also helped a lot.

I feel like I have more energy and my appetite has decreased a bit. It will be a big test in a few weeks when I return (fingers crossed) to 7 or 8 hours of running, riding and swimming a week to see if  I can cope with the absence of sugar and bread. I am hoping to have fully adapted by then.

So what have I eaten over the past 3 days?

BREAKFASTS

Paleo Banana Berry Smoothie

Serves 1

100mls Coconut milk (see tomorrows post for the one I use that has no additives)
200mls Water
1/2c Blueberries
1/2 Banana
Raw Protein Powder

1/2t Glutamine

Blend ingredients and serve

LUNCHES

Avocado, Tuna and Celery Sushi with Capsicum and Coconut water

Avocado, Tuna and Celery Sushi

Serves 1

1/4 Avocado
1 lge Celery stalked finely chopped
1 sml tin Tuna
Salt & Pepper to season
2 sheets Nori

Combine avocado, celery and tuna and then divide mixture between 2 nori sheets and roll.

Salmon with Garlic Broccoli

Garlic Broccoli

Serves 1

2 cups Broccoli chopped
1 Clove garlic chopped
1t Coconut oil
Salt and pepper to season

Place coconut oil in heated pan and melt. Add broccoli and garlic and cook quickly on high heat. Make sure broccoli is still a bit crunchy, season and serve.

Mediterranean Chicken with Spicy Cabbage, Kale and Pumpkin Fry

Mediterranean Chicken

Serves 4

1 500g jar Tomato Passata
3 cloves Garlic roughly chopped
6 Free range Chicken thighs, skin off

Preheat oven to 175degrees. in a medium baking dish place chicken evenly in dish. Mix passata and chopped garlic together and season with a little salt and pepper. You can also add fresh herbs if you like. Pour tomato mix over chicken, place in the oven and bake for approx 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Spicy Cabbage, Kale and Pumpkin Fry

Serves 1

1/4 sml Purple cabbage finely sliced
100g Pumpkin diced into small cubes
2 stems of Kale chopped
1 clove Garlic
1/2t Cumin
1/2t Coriander seeds
1t Coconut oil

Place coconut oil over medium heat with garlic and spices and cook for 1-2mins. Add pumpkin and stir regularly. When pumpkin begins to soften add cabbage and cook for 2mins then add kale and cook until all vegetables are still slightly crisp. Serve.

SNACKS

Fruit Puree & Almonds + A Coffee & some Medjool Dates

And of course Carob Kibble Nibbles randomly throughout the day.

DINNERS

Roo & Vegetable Casserole - Best thing I have made in AGESSSSSS

Roo & Vegetable Casserole

Serves 2

300g Kangaroo Fillet
2med Carrots chopped
2lge stalks Celery chopped
1 Onion diced
2 cloves Garlic roughly chopped
1T Coconut flour
2t Coconut oil
500mls Organic stock

Place 1tsp coconut oil in hot pan and very quickly seal the meat. You really don't want to over cook it so seal for 2 minutes then put to the side. Reduce pan heat and place last of coconut oil in the pan and add garlic and onion and allow to become translucent. Return meat to pan and add coconut flour. Stir and cook for 1 minute before covering in stock. Allow to gently simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes. Add the vegetables and continue to simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes or until sauce has thickened to desired consistency. Serve.

Sausage with Baked Vegetable Stack and Avocado Tahini Sauce.
This was also uh-mazing.

Sausage with Baked Vegetable Stack and Avocado Tahini Sauce

Serves 1

2 Organic Beef sausages, cooked in a pan
3 slices Sweet Potato cut 1cm thick
1/2 Zuchini cut lengthways into 3 1cm slices
2 stems of Kale chopped

Sauce
1/4 Avocado
1t Tahini
2t Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to season

Preheat the oven to 170C. On a baking tray lined with baking paper place the sweet potato and zucchini and cook in the oven for approx 10 minutes before turning to cook the other side for 10 minutes. Cook your sausages in a pan.
Then to make the sauce you simply mash and combine all ingredients and set aside.
For the last 2 minutes of cooking your vegetables, place the kale on top and return to the oven so that it softens. Then you simply assemble all of your ingredients. I placed the vegies on the bottom, then the sausages, followed by the kale and then the sauce on the top.

Wow...marathon post. You can see why I am loving this way of eating. I really don't feel restricted in any way and I have had plenty of energy for my workouts, which have all been strength training so far. I am hoping to post a photo food diary daily so that it won't be as mega as this one.

Train hard. Enjoy life. Much love x

Pa Pa Paleeeoooowww

The best decisions are always made in the presence of cake and wine. Everyone knows that.

So it made sense that on Sunday, after the consumption of wine and cake, whilst doing the weekly grocery shop, I made the final decision that I would give 'paleo' a go. And ever since I have been hearing "Pa, pa, paleeoooowww" to the tune of Sussudio by Phil Collins in my head at least 20 times a day.

So here is the deal. This is how the paleo diet is meant to work. But its important to note that I don't think it is a miracle, or a cure for anything or even a brand new idea. It just makes sense to me really. Not everyone will like it and not everyone will feel their most well and happy eating this way. If that's the case then use your noggin and don't do it. Groundbreaking huh?!

I will follow the guidelines with 3 exceptions, because, as I say time and time again, I don't believe in "diets" and if I didn't have these exceptions, then, for me, it would become a diet and I can't be on a diet for 24hrs, let alone an ongoing basis.

For 30 days I will eat;
Lamb, chicken, fish, beef and kangaroo - All either organic or free range, basically the best I can find
Eggs - Again organic and free range
Vegetables except potato (because its gross)
Fruits
Nuts & Seeds
Organic Oils like coconut, flax etc

I will avoid;
Grains
Cane sugar
Processed foods that are not raw (for more info see below)
Dairy

My exceptions to the rule are;
Protein powder - There is no chance at all of me eating meat for breakfast every day. None. So I have chosen to stick with my normal smoothie breakfast which contains raw protein powder sourced from sprouted seeds and grains. I have, however substituted the almond milk in it (which contained sugar) with organic coconut juice that contains pulp which makes it creamy and thick.

Coffee - 1 a day with a dash of soy milk. Because I like it. And I have to be up at 4.30am 3 days a week.

Carob Kibble Nibbles - These. rock. my. world. I just discovered them. They are literally carob pods chopped up and then packaged. No heat processing, no refining. Technically they belong to the legume family so are a no no, but if having a small handful of these every day helps me not to eat a family block of chocolate, then I'm happy to make the sacrifice. PS, they can be found HERE if you live in Melbourne

Processed foods
Processed foods are not allowed when you are eating paleo, but the term 'processed' is pretty vague really. I mean, if something has water added to it, then technically it has processed. You can see how this could get tricky. So I am doing what I always do and marching to the beat of my own drum - as long as the foods are raw and organic - meaning not heat treated and wholefoods meaning no artificial or nature identical flavours, colours, sweetners, preservatives, blah blah blah then I will eat small amounts in moderation. I will endeavour, however to eat atleast 90% of my food from the traditional paleo list.

As you can see if you are a traditional paleo-er this post will have you up in arms about my rule changes, but if that's the case then relief is only a 'click the x' away. Then there will be some of you shocked by how many times you can say 'paleo' in 1 post. And then there will be the rest of you who are hopefully interested in what I'm going to eat, how it will all taste, how it will make me feel and of course whether or not I fail miserably.

Only time will tell kids, only time will tell ...

I Have the Need, the Need for ... Cake

I spend most of my life thinking about food or how much my legs are hurting. Previous methods to think less about food and hurting legs went something like this.

Don't think about cake, don't think about cake, don't think about ... ahhhh $hit I can't stop thinking about cake OR God my legs hurt, god my legs hurt, holy hell my legs hurt ... why wont my legs stop hurting.

Who would have thought these highly evolved methods would prove unsuccessful?

We can talk about the hurting legs later but for now, lets talk about cravings. I am certainly no psychologist, so I won't offer you any advice about the psychology of it, but I can tell you, as a nutritionist, that cravings are so rarely about the food. Cravings are about emotions and smells and sounds and beliefs and so rarely about the actual cake. But this does not stop us using our totally useless method to stop craving food, which is to tell yourself not to crave it.

Lets define here what I mean by craving. A craving is different from hunger. Hunger is normal and natural and it enables us to, well, stay un-dead. Hunger lets us know when our body requires more fuel. A craving occurs when you are not actually hungry or thirsty, but rather you just feel like you want a food, well, because you want it. Because you need it. Because you must have it.

If you are a healthy weight, fit, happy with good skin and good pooping and you don't spend half your life burping or telling people how tired you are and you have cravings all the time and just go with eating whatever you want then apart from being a metabolically gifted human being, you needn't read on. If, on the other hand, cravings are standing in the way of your health and fitness goals then there is a really simple exercise you can try to lessen them.

Cravings Buster
At the first sign of a craving I assess if I have eaten enough in the last few hours. If not, then I eat some real food - try nuts and seeds, fruit, raw vegetables, you know...real food. If i'm not hungry, only craving then I...
1. Decide on a time in the next few hours that I am going to eat and what I will eat. For example, if its 4pm and I have already had my afternoon snack and I am not hungry but I would really just like some chocolate, then I decide on what time I will eat dinner and what exactly I will eat.
2. I then take 5 deep breaths and with each breath out I relax my arms, neck, shoulders.
3. The last thing I do is change the activity that I am doing. If I am watching TV and eating because I am bored then I get up and find something to do. I take myself out of the area that triggered my senses to think it wanted a family block of cadburys chocolate.

Its simple, costs nothing and I find it works most of the time really, but I make sure I do each of the steps - just doing 1 or 2 isn't as successful.

Give it a go and tell me what you think. If nothing else your house will end up really clean from all the extra chores you will be doing.

Train hard, love life. Over and out.

Coffee Vs Juice Day 2 to 4 + Epic Fail

There is an old English saying that goes something like this - "Thou can only be consistent with so many things at one time. Too much consistency is harmful to ones health." That is a lie. I just made that up to make myself feel better about the fact that I managed two consecutive days of blogging before I fell of the wagon. And only 4 days of juicing before I caved to the powers of coffee.

What did me in? Well to be honest it wasn't fatigue or cravings or anything serious at all. It was Mums offer of meeting up on a sunny Saturday morning to walk the dog and drink a latte. How could I say no when... well, I didn't want to?!

Due to the great success of my 7 day Juice challenge (insert scoff here), I am considering a 30 day Paleo challenge that is happening in blogland lately. You can read about paleo eating in a previous post. For the most part I already eat Paleo, but we can always do to reduce the processed food in our diets and it will be a great way to bring new ideas to you guys. Plus I know lots of you aim for paleo eating anyway.

So I am planning to spend my lazy Sunday revising my paleo book, followed by a non paleo lunch with the bestie and then bookended by reading rest of said book. Then, and only then I will make the educated decision (possibly in a mild wine haze - I found most decisions are best made in this state) about whether I will try the challenge.

In other news (I use the term loosely), I am taking the new bike out for her first ride. I don't count riding it around and around the carpark under my building for the last few days actually riding. So here we go. I only expect to go 15km/hr faster with no extra effort so I am sure I won't be disappointed.

Train hard and eat well guys. As always!

Juice Buzz Report Day 1

All I can think this morning is why? Why would I pick our second freezing wintery day of the season to give up warm, comforting coffee? When I think about drinking my juice today instead of coffee all that comes to my head is expletives about what, exactly, I think of the idea and where, exactly, you can stick the juice.

I got through the morning by downing a few cups of Roasted Dandelion tea, which is bitter and dark like coffee and I found it a surprisingly good replacement. Crisis averted, now to wait for the afternoon.

I decided to go with a cold juice that will give me a little bit of warmth on the inside - A Carrot Ginger Juice and a few raw almonds to attempt to get rid of what I assume is a coffee withdrawal headache and  a very sluggish feeling.

Carrot Ginger Juice

Serves 1

3 Medium Carrots
3 Stalks of Celery
1.5cm piece of Ginger
1/4 Lemon
1/4 Orange

Juice to your hearts content.

The result ... the juice was really quite sweet. I think I needed more lemon and more ginger. I like my juice to make my face involuntarily screw up and then get a warm fuzz all the way down to my stomach. Normal people would probably find the juice I made quite pleasant.
Energy wise I felt fine after the juice. It did give me a bit of a pick-me-up and I didn't have a coffee craving anymore.
Sleep wise I slept as per usual - straight to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and then spent the wee hours of the morning half asleep half awake thinking I hadn't emailed a client back. I'm really hoping my juice buzz will help to improve this.

Day 1 ... done. How did you go?

The Juice Buzz Challenge

Coffee. Who doesn't love coffee? Most days I have people ask me 'is coffee bad for me?' or 'should I keep drinking coffee'. The answer to both questions is...yes and no.

Coffee has been associated with all sorts of positive health effects, such as an increase in mental clarity and focus, decreased liklihood of Alzheimers and possible links to warding off some types of skin cancer, diabetes type 2 and decreasing the risk of Parkinsons. Its important to acknowledge that most of these studies are epidemiological in nature, which means that they have taken a large population, asked them how  much coffee they have averaged daily for a certain amount of years and then compared the groups who didn't drink coffee to those who did for the said disease. As far as the scientific method goes this is one of the loosest ways to draw conclusions and is usually only an indication of what areas we need to more thoroughly delve in to.

On the flip side too much coffee can be associated with dependence, chronic adrenal insufficiency, cardiovascular problems, difficulty losing weight, high blood pressure etc.

My general coffee rule is 1 a day. For people who like to get  their coffee from stores like Starbucks and Gloria Jeans, 1 coffee does not mean the "Trenta" which apparently holds 916mls of coffee. That is not a joke. On the other hand if you want to quickly find out if you have an underlying heart condition, Trenta away. One coffee is one shot.

Lately 4.30am starts have me reaching for a Soy Latte and raw brownie at about 3pm and whilst I could be reaching for a 'V' and a mars bar, I'm not keen on encouraging my body in its energy-hit-junkie tendencies. So I am going to do a lil experiment on myself that I am going to call ... The Juice Buzz Challenge.

For the next 7 days I am forgoing coffee to have a fresh vegie juice instead and I am going to see if the nutrients, enzymes and natural sugars can in fact give me the boost that coffee does and if I notice any other health benefits as well. Some juices I will purchase from juice stations or the local health food store and some I will make at home. Get ready for some pretty wacky juice combinations - I ain't no orange and apple girl.

So your challenge - shall you choose to accept it is 7 days of fresh (not bottled) vegetable juice instead of coffee. What have you got to lose?

My New Family Addition

What a week. Work is booming, my mum turned 50 ... then got engaged, we had a big party, I got an awesome new training regime to get me stronger and more balanced than ever before and last but not least ... there has been a new addition to our household. This little bundle of joy arrived on Monday evening, right on time, to my joyous shrieks  and Colins modest head nod. Let me introduce you to ... My new bike. I haven't named her yet. I'm going to see what kind of personality she has first.

So back to the training regime, which, so ironically, doesn't feature too much of my new baby. I have had, for years, trouble with little niggles all the time. I am never injured, but I always have something that is a bit 'unhappy' which causes me to have to avoid an aspect of my training or training all together. For example, I had an 'unhappy' ankle for about 3 months where it felt like I had injured it and would  be restricted in movement. I got treatment which included physio and dry needling into the muscle that runs next to your shin bone. That was a wonderful experience that I recommend you must do before you die (that is a blatant lie). Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't and rest would help sometimes but sometimes not. Now repeat the above sentence and replace ankle with hip, calf, knee and you can see how frustrated I get.

So I am trying something new. As they say, insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I have been seeing a brilliant exercise scientist at work who has given me a program based on the various testing and analysis he did on my posture and movement patterns. It is the bizness. Its really specific and helps me to forget the fact that he has allowed only 2 days of cardio. Yes, that is right, for the next 3 weeks and 2 days I am going to do only 2 shorter but higher intensity ride/run/swim sessions. Baby cheeses give me strength.

In the mean time, i'm just going to sit on my new bike in the kitchen and possibly shuffle on it around my 1 bedroom apartment. Because I can.

What to do When you Have Partied Like it's 1999

What does one do when they have consumed more champagne than food on a Saturday? Why, they eat some awesomely healthy food on a Sunday, that's what.

After Saturdays festivities I was feeling a little dehydrated and well ... hungover. Now I know that usually first thing people do when they are hung over is to go to a local shop that fries stuff and order up big, but i'm here to tell you, there is a better way!

Hear me out. When we drink we deplete our bodies of water, B vitamins, Magnesium, Sodium, the list goes on and on really, and although fish and chips might replenish the sodium...that is about all it does. Eating greasy, processed, unhealthy food with a hangover is a surefire way to get it to last all day long. And who wants to waste a Sunday feeling like rubbish right?!

Lost of water and fresh salads with a lean protein will help your liver and digestive system to get back on track faster. Team it with an extra little morning rest and you will be feeling substantially better by the afternoon than if you ate the deep fried Mars Bar, I guarantee.

We had Asian Chicken Salad for lunch and it was absolutely delicious. The sesame oil made it nutty but the crisp vegies made it taste so fresh. This recipe is filled with liver loving amino acids, cruciferous vegetables and protein as well as vitamin A, Vitamin U, digestive enzyme love from the apple cider vinegar and just a touch of healthy fats. Hangover or no hangover, you gotta try this one!

Asian Chicken Salad

Serves 1

Salad
1 Carrot grated
1/4c Cabbage finely chopped
1/4c Edamame
1 Spring onion finely chopped
1/8 Capsicum finely sliced
1 Broccoli stork finely sliced
1 Small chicken breast poached and shredded

Dressing
1t Udo's oil or Flax oil
1t Sweet Chilli Sauce
1t Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4t Sesame oil

Mix all dressing ingredients and set aside. Toss together salad ingredients and add dressing. Serve immediately. You can have the chicken warm or at room temperature depending on your preference.

So fresh, so simple.

And so darn tasty!