OMG Moment & Travels

[image taken from nandyala.org]

I've got a secret to share with Paleo folks (well, anyone really...) in search of a healthy, yummy and quick snack!  Frozen coconut chunks and prunes... I kid you not, it's no "Lara Bar" or "Paleo Brownie" recipe.  It's a lot simpler than that.

Take one coconut:
- Get yourself a coconut
- Drill a hole in it
- Slurp out the goodness
- SMASH IT!
- Take the skin off
- Shove in a bag in the freezer
- Nibble when hungry.

Take one bag of prunes:
- Open, pour into a container and put in a hidey hole so no one else can nick them!

I'm going to have a go at chopping/grating my coconut so that I can pop little bits into prunes for an even more "ready made" snack and let you know how it goes!

Linking to coconut and prunes (yes, travels can link to these yummy food sources) - I'm off to Morocco on Saturday for a week!  I've been warned about their delectable pastry, entirely non-Paleo goodies so I'm sure that I'm not going to be able to have a 100% Paleo week.  To be honest, I think I should be able to treat myself - I've not touched wheat since I first jumped into the Paleo lifestyle and managed to get through a week in the land of P*zza and P*sta (Bella Italia of course!) without touching wheat!

I'm going to document my travels in Marrakech and reveal (honestly) how hard it is to stay Paleo whilst in a country where I've been told not to trust chicken, the most mouthwatering pastries are pennies and I'm not allowed to run as it isn't the done thing out there (I've got a skipping rope with me for my bedroom workout!).

Stay strong!

Put Some New Shoes On...

Asics Trainers (Kayano 17 series)

I bought myself a treat yesterday (I thought that I deserved one as a spur onto me giving up all forms of dairy - chocolate and cheese included) to continue on my journey towards being truly Paleo.  After enjoying cheese and chocolate for a little while (although I am lactose intolerant) and putting up with the sickly consequences, I decided that it was time to kick the habit.

It coincided with the revelation that I really did need new running trainers, I've got just enough time to adequately break them in before the Great North Run and it's a vow to myself that I can give up dairy!  Armed with my new Asics (Kayano 17) and a bar of Carob chocolate, I returned from town feeling very smug.  I'm going to hit the road/trail and let you all know how I fared with my new shoes.  I said a fond farewell the other day to my old Asics with a nice 7 mile run through the countryside - hopefully these will be their better big brother and provide lots of support!

Paleo Brownies: Lottie Style

Food porn getting any yummier looking? I can vouch that these are lick-the-screen-worthy brownies!

There are so many brownie recipes out there on the Internet, all advising different measurements and different ingredients... I decided that with all these differing ideas, I'd screw the recipe book and make my own concoction (which has turned out to be not too shabby!).

Lottie's Paleo Brownies

Ingredients:

- 2 eggs (beaten)

- 1 cup of raw honey

- 1/3 cup of almond butter

- 1/2 cup of almond flour/ground almonds

- 3 tablespoons oil (I used olive oil)

- 100 grams Carob chocolate (melted)

- 2 small tablespoons of cocoa powder

Method:

- Mix together the eggs, honey, almond butter and almond flour.

- Add the melted Carob chocolate to the mixture, followed by the cocoa powder

- Finally add the oil and mix together thoroughly.

- Pour into a small greased baking tray 

- Cook for roughly 40 minutes (I cooked it in an Aga and it took an hour, but that's because I'm awkward...)

- Do the skewer test and a little bit of gooeyness should be left on but not TOO much!

Stay Strong & Enjoy!

Busting A Move

It won't be long until the Little One can run with me!

I haven't given a recent update of how my workouts are going... I swear I am actually exercising and not just spending my life making yumminess in the kitchen and getting rotund.

My training plan for the week looks like this:

Monday: Rest

Tuesday:

• 3 mile (roughly) run 
• VIPR & Abs Blast class

Wednesday:

• Crossfit WOD (3 sets of 800m sprints with 2 minute rest intervals)
• Abs workout

Thursday:

• Body Pump
• 4 mile run

Friday:

• 3 mile early morning jog
• Fly to Italy!!

Saturday: Rest day

Sunday:

• 3 mile run
• Self-created workout (ultra-cavewoman style!) 

Eastern Chicken

I was cooking for two today as my Mum is working from home so I thought I'd do something a little different (but obviously including cherry tomatoes... what can I say? I've now run out of these little beauties so I'm going to have to start getting creative!).

I went for an Eastern Chicken recipe that came to me as I stood staring at the spice rack in vain.

Eastern Chicken (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

- 2 chicken breasts (cut into small pieces)

- BART Baharat Spice Mix (or your spice mixture of choice)

- Large handful of cherry tomatoes (halved)

- 1 white onion (diced)

- 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)

- Large handful of cabbage (shredded)

Method:

- Heat your oil of preference in a medium sized frying pan
- Add onion & garlic, cook until beginning to lightly brown
- Take chicken breast pieces and rub spice mix so that the chicken pieces are lightly covered in the mix
- Add chicken breast pieces to the onion & garlic and cook through
- After about 10 minutes (or when the chicken breast pieces are cooked), add the shredded cabbage and baby tomatoes
- Cook until the cabbage is slightly softened and the baby tomatoes have expressed their juices
- Serve & enjoy!

Stay Healthy & Strong!

Cauliflower Hash Browns, chou-fleur?

Whilst raiding the fridge for a yummy lunch earlier, after spending 2 hours ironing and having taken a brief trip to the gym to try out a 'VIPR & Abs Blast' class (which was great fun!), I found a lonely looking cauliflower at the back of the fridge.

I'd heard of Paleo folk rustling up "Cauliflower Hash Browns" but had no idea how to go about it! I decided that I'd set myself the challenge of making Cauli-Browns WITHOUT looking up a recipe... Surprisingly, common sense seemed to be on my side today and my meal turned out to be delicious!

Tomatoey Chicken With Cauliflower Hash Browns (Serves 1)


Ingredients:
- 1 chicken breast (sliced)
- As many cherry tomatoes as you're addicted to (I had 6 or 8... I'm hooked!)
- A large handful of cauliflower florets
- 1 clove of garlic (chopped finely)
- 1 cm (ish) of ginger (chopped finely)
- 1/2 or 1 beaten egg (depending on size of egg)

Method:
- Fry chicken in a splash of olive oil until almost cooked through
- Tip chicken into a dish with the halved cherry tomatoes in
- Put into the oven for roughly 5 minutes (or until the cherry tomatoes have expressed their juices and are squidgy)

- Take the cauliflower and whizz in a hand blender until finely chopped (make sure you don't liquidise it!)
- In a bowl, add the cauliflower, garlic and ginger
- Pour in the beaten egg with the cauliflower and mix (get your hands dirty - it's the easiest way!)
- Take handfuls of the mixture and roll into a circular shape
- Place these balls into a saucepan (pre-heated) with a splash of olive oil in
- Flatten the balls so they are patty shaped and cook through on each side until browned and the egg is no longer raw

- Serve with the chicken & tomatoes

Apologies - my food is more personality than porn... It tastes damn good though!

My next challenge is going to be "homemade tomato ketchup" to go with my Cauli-Browns and a few rashers of organic, farm shop bacon...

Stay strong & healthy!

Berry Tasty Smoothie

My whole30 is going really well - I've been sticking to it as rigidly as possible and am really feeling the positive results.  I feel stronger, more alert and healthier.  I felt as though I was in a bit of a rut, however, as recipes didn't immediately spring to mind and I was getting sick of eggs for breakfast.

I grabbed a few things from the cupboard and chucked them in the blender to make this amazing smoothie.

Ingredients:
- blueberries
- raspberries
- strawberries
- baby spinach
- cashew nuts
- almond milk
- kiwi

Quantities:
Use as much or as little of each ingredient as you desire - I used 1 handful of the fruits and veg and half a handful of nuts.

Serving Suggestions:
As well as drinking straight away, I'm going to try and freeze it slightly so that it has more of a sorbet texture - future dessert choice!?