Saturday 8 February 2014

Super Kai - Part 2


Thursday

Anything goes, epic porridge

Everyone who has lived with me knows I am a sucker for porridge. Here are few tips on how to get the most out of this wholesome, comfort food breakfast.

Try to use whole oats – they are rich in complex carbohydrates and fibre. Instant oats are broken down much more quickly and therefore have less sustaining energy.

Add lemon rind, grated ginger, cinnamon and fruit to porridge instead of sugar. Try to avoid sugar in the morning as this causes an energy spike - what goes up must come down. If you start the day with a wholesome breakfast, without sugar, you are more likely to have consistent blood sugar levels throughout the day and less likely to experience cravings.


This porridge is topped with apricot, chia (which I have raved about enough), pomegranate and yoghurt for extra proteins – athletes should include proteins in every meal. However, protein is often over consumed. It is calorie dense and if unused, stored as fat and excess amounts are very straining on vital organs.

If you are a person who likes to run/exercise before breakfast to boost the metabolism you could try adding coconut oil to your coffee. Coconut oil is a good fat which can be used instantly by the body (most fats are used as a last option – hence the build up).

I can’t generally run before breakfast because I always tend to wake up with a rumbling tummy. I instead sometimes add coconut oil to my porridge. I usually cook my oats in water but you can use milk – almond, rice, oat, coconut or normal. Mix up the milks you use to avoid intolerance and to give your gut the variety it needs.

Another topping idea is peanut butter. I have used chocolate peanut butter (yum). Nuts are another good form of protein and don’t contain the saturated fat that animal based proteins do.  

Friday

Fruit Salad with coconut water (the real thing!)

This is a lighter option than porridge so if you aren’t training for a marathon you may prefer to mix the key, nutrient packed ingredients  that I have mentioned with a variety of seasonal fruits, not oats. Mixing seeds, nuts and citrus rind to a fruit salad not only boosts the nutrient value by adding proteins and even more vitamins, it also gives it a bit of crunch. Eat colourfully – your body will love you for it.

I have mixed chia, coconut and almonds with watermelon, passionfruit, apple, banana and sliced limes.

It is very hot where I am living at the moment so the electrolytes contained in the coconut water certainly won’t go to waste. Training for a marathon in 30 degrees plus is a sweaty, thirsty business.




Saturday

Raw, green, anything goes muslie with lemon water

Packaged muslies are really yummy and I certainly enjoy them when I am in a rush but most (operative word here) do contain a ridiculous amount of sugar – check the packet. Avoid them if you wish to limit the cravings you have for sweet food and if you find yourself feeling lethargic early on /throughout the day. I got very creative and mixed goji berries with chopped almonds, coconut, chia, sunflower, pumpkin seeds and brazil nuts. Everyone should eat two brazil nuts everyday as they are one of the only foods that provide us with the selenium that we need. These nuts and seeds provide the crunch of muslie, without the sugar . I then added kale (oh yes I did), chopped granny smith apple and banana. Raw foods contain an enzyme required to efficiently break down food that heat (frying, baking and boiling) destroys. I added coconut milk


It is also an idea to start the day with warm lemon water. Warm water is less of a shock (than cold) to the waking body, making the nutrients more absorbable. Lemons boost the metabolism so will ensure your digestive organs are working efficiently early on in the day. They are also incredibly high in vitamin c so a nice alternative to a tablet, if you have time. Just add the juice of one lemon to a cup of slightly cooled boiled water.



Sunday

Polenta power pancakes with paw paw

I usually do a longer run on Sunday, if Saturday night permits, so pancakes for breakfast is always nice. This was a rather humbling experience after all my breakfast successes! In other words, probably don’t make this. Instead enjoy/relate in the ways my ‘’too big for my foodie boots” disaster can be linked to training for a marathon.

To cut a long story short, I decided to replace the flour I would generally use in these, with polenta. Just as it is good to mix the milks you drink, it is also good to vary the grains you consume. Overconsumption of wheat has lead to astonishing/avoidable (in my option) levels of celiac disease. However, it turns out that flour gives pancakes something that polenta quite frankly, does not. I tried frying the pancake mixture three times - #fail. Just before throwing the fry pan across the room in frustration I decided to try and grill them, as one last resort. My housemate and breakfast food sampling extraordinaire was relying on them to get her through the day after all! This semi worked, in a crumbling all over the place kind of way.
So the pancake experience can be linked to the training for a marathon in these ways;


 1)   Trial and error is a necessary part of success.

    2)   Persist, persist, persist – the reward is so worth it (it turned out that Anna actually really enjoyed them!)
 3)   Throughout the process, stay humble! There is always someone out there who knows more than you do about what you are doing – just as recipes are abundantly available and have also been generally proven to work!

Along with polenta this mixture contains chia, coconut and flaxseed (a roughage that is guaranteed to boost your metabolism and assist digestive organs).





Saturday 1 February 2014

Breakfast of Champions


This is part one of a two part breakfast blog that covers seven days of nutrient packed breakfast ideas.

I have always been a very healthy eater and I put a lot of thought into what I fuel my body with. Athletes place such high demands and expectations on our bodies so we therefore must reward and nourish them by giving them exactly what they need.

I am currently training for the London Marathon. When I fully committed to this decision, around November last year, I promised myself two things; I would listen to my body and what exactly it was telling me in response to the training (getting to the start line of a marathon is as much of an a accomplishment as it is to make the finish line) and I would nourish my body well. I try to eat as many ‘super foods’ as possible, I eat as many raw foods as I can and most importantly; I eat clean. Eating clean simply means eating food in its purest form – minus unnecessary chemicals, addititives and preservatives. A simple trick to eating clean is to stick to the outsides isles/shelves of the grocery store. These shelves contain produce, grains, diary and meat products. The shelves in between these usually contain packaged, convenience foods, full of unnecessary nasties.

Eating clean, super foods (a super food is simply proven to have super health benefits for humans) allows our bodies to efficiently and quickly convert the food to fuel (gas to burn for us runners) and act as a readily available building block to allow and optimally assist with recovery. The purer the food, the more effectively your body will use it for what you want it to do.

I try to eat super foods all day long but here are some ideas on how to get a whole handful into your body before you even leave for work in the morning. Committing to a clean, super food packed diet does require a bit of extra time and effort but I believe that super expectations on the body require super treatment, care and nourishment. I love cooking too! I hope you can have some fun with these ideas. I am not one for sticking to recipes so take what you want from these ideas and swap whatever I have used for whatever you have (as long as it is clean and super).

Monday

Qunioa Super Porridge



Qunioa is commonly considered a grain but it actually belongs in the same family as leafy veges such as spinach and kale. It is high in protein making it perfect for post run and it is delish! I cooked my qunioa in almond milk and sweetened it with a grated green apple, cinnamon (lots of cinnamon), vanilla extract and lemon rind and juice. The rind of the lemon contains the most super powers so get grating. Once the qunioa was ready I mixed in chia seeds (if you haven’t read ‘Born To Run’ read it now to understand how truly amazing this tiny, black, omega 3 packed seed is – I eat them everyday) and chopped almonds. I topped mine with berries (the ultimate antioxidant provider) – this time I used raspberries and goji berries but use whatever you have/is in season.  I added greek yoghurt for even more proteins and added a slice of watermelon for extra hydration.

I ate this the day after a hard track work out. I woke up with throbbing legs so I knew I had to get some serious protein into me.

Tuesday

Coconut Water Super Bircher Muslie




Bircher muslie is a kind of raw, cold porridge, soaked overnight in liquid. Our bodies best absorb the fibre and vitamins that oats contain when they are raw and soaked. I have soaked mine in coconut water as coconuts are packed with nutrients and the water of a coconut acts as a natural electrolyte drink (I try to steer clear from sugar packed sports drinks). Coconut is also one of my favourite flavours! I have soaked the oats with shredded coconut, chopped almonds, seeds and nuts (whatever you have - they are all super) grated ginger (ginger is in the root family and all roots have natural healing properties and a long list of other benefits), lemon and lime rind and juice and cinnamon (spices contain nutrients in a very dense form so sprinkle, sprinkle, sprinkle). I have served mine with acai powder (pronounced a-sigh-eee - a dense powdered form of super berry – great in smoothies), greek yoghurt, blueberries and the seeds of a beautiful pomegranate fruit. Seeds are all high in omegas (building blocks for muscle) and pomegranate seed’s rich red colour is a give away to their super levels of toxin busting antioxidants.  They are a wonderful addition to any salad or breakfast.
Finishing touches include fresh mint, extra lime rind and a slice of lime. Bon appetite!!!

Wednesday

Clean, Green Breakfast Smoothie

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The key ingredient in this smoothie is kale. If you don’t eat kale every day, start now. I could write a whole blog on why but here are the key facts:





1) Kale is high in fibre, low in calories and has zero fat.
2) Kale is high in Vitamins K, A and C which protects against many cancers, supports a wide variety of bodily functions and is great for your vision, skin, immune system, metabolism and hydration.
3) Per calorie, it has more iron than beef and more calcium thank milk.
4) Kale is full of antioxidants, which help protect against various cancers.
5) Kale lowers your cholesterol levels.
6) Kale is an anti-inflammatory food and contains omega-3 fatty acids,
which help fight against arthritis, asthma and autoimmune disorders.
7) As Kale is filled with fibre and sulphur, it is great for detoxifying your body and keeping your liver healthy.

I have crammed a large handful of kale into the blender with half a frozen banana (the one and only food you could live off if you could only eat one food for the rest of your life), a mango, a green apple, celery, grated ginger, lemon rind, lime rind, greek yoghurt and coconut cream – packed with protein and flavor!

I have served mine with mint, blueberries, shredded coconut, chia seeds and lemon and lime slices AND I was lucky enough to devour it after a beach run, yoga session and by a beautiful pool. Hang in there Londoners, summer is coming! Hopefully this smoothie will be able to bring a bit of summer to you!

Stay tuned for part two – more recipes and super, clean eating facts.