To Nepal and Back Again

Hi Lifters!!

Sorry for my absence – those of you on Facebook would have seen that I went volunteering in Nepal for a month! I went over to do a medical elective and received the whole cultural experience by staying with a local Nepali host family. It was a wonderful experience and very humbling.

I had a bit of a rant on Facebook, and for those that didn’t see it here it is again:

“Hi lifters! I’m back from my overseas adventure and would like to thank you all for being so patient. I ended up taking an extra week to get myself organised and recover from the trip.
What. An. Experience. Going to a third world country and witnessing the life that many people have to endure is a true eye opener and has made me question many of my priorities. I have always been concerned about my appearance – it is natural for us to feel this way in our society – but in comparison to many of the issues that I saw in Nepal it has really made me revise whether it is really that important. Sure, I still truly enjoy sweating it out in the gym. But the obsession with the shape of my body and the importance placed on eating 100% clean is really blown way out of proportion. Unfortunately the Western society has encouraged us all to believe that if we are thin, we are successful and happy. It is a huge money making industry.
I have come back from Nepal with a fresh attitude towards a healthy lifestyle. It is necessary to look after your body by eating well and regularly exercising. But putting it ahead of other aspects of life, such as being with friends or going out for a romantic dinner with a loved one or appreciating the birth of a newborn child, is completely unnecessary and, in fact, unhealthy.
I’m not discounting everything posted on Learn Love Lift, I just want you to reconsider what is important in life, and remember how lucky you are :).” 

I’ve decided to take on a personal project to attempt to improve infection control within hospitals as it is currently terrible – and it has nothing to do with lack of money.

It’s great to be back and eating the usual diet again. After a month of rice, lentils and curry I was so excited to come back and eat grilled chicken and veggies. I kept my metabolism going whilst overseas by ensuring I still ate every 3 hours, even if I wasn’t very hungry, and I think that has made it a lot easier to get back on track.

Before I left, you may have seen photos of my crepes on Facebook. They are SO delicious!! You can top them with anything you want, but my personal favourite is slice banana and 70% dark chocolate 🙂

Ricotta Crepes

½ cup ricotta

¼ cup almond meal/flour

4 eggs OR ¾ cup egg whites

3 Tbsp milk

Pinch of salt

1 tsp baking powder

 

Method

1. Beat ricotta with eggs

2. Beat in flour, salt, milk, baking powder

3. Allow to sit for 15 mins

4. Heat saucepan over medium-low heat

5. Pour in batter – enough to thinly coat the pan

6. Don’t attempt to flip it!! Wait until the top of the crepe is dry to the touch, then slide straight onto a plate

7. Go crazy with toppings!!

 

I’d love to know if you come up with any great combinations that you recommend

Learn constantly, Love your body, Lift yourself higher x

Mad for Muesli

 

Hi Lifters!

Not much to chat about this week – other than these scrumptious muesli bars!! For some reason I was really craving them and decided that it wouldn’t be so hard to up the protein content in them. Give them a try and let me know what you think!!

Chewy Protein Muesli Bars

These are great to throw in the bag for an on-the-go snack AND feel free to make your own modifications – I would have loved to add pepitas and almonds but there were none in the pantry. Get creative! 🙂

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats

¼ cup chia

¼ cup shredded coconut

1 Tbsp sesame seeds

1 Tbsp sunflower seeds

½ cup (55g) vanilla whey

Pinch of salt

¼ cup coconut butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

¼ cup sugar free maple syrup (or honey, or regular maple syrup)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius
2. Mix all dry ingredients
3. Whisk together coconut butter, vanilla essence, and maple syrup (it may be necessary to soft the coconut butter by putting it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds first)
4. Add coconut mixture to the dry ingredients and mix
5. Add a splash of water if too dry (mixture should be sticking together but not sloppy – I added only about 1 tsp of water)
6. Line a baking tray with baking paper, and spread mixture out evenly. I used a 30cmx24cm tray but if you want thicker bars, use a smaller tray
7. Bake for 10-15 minutes – longer if you want the bars to be crunchier or if you have thicker bars
8. Once cooked, allow to cool slightly before slicing into bars (I divided mine into 16)

Learn constantly, Love your body, Lift yourself higher x

Metabolic Rage

Hi Lifters!

This week I learnt that my metabolism has significantly slowed down L. Talking to my doctor (who actually knows about this stuff, unlike many) she was shocked at my currently daily caloric intake and suggested that by continuing this over a long period of time it has resulted in my metabolism adapting and subsequently slowing.

Your metabolism refers to the chemical processes that occur within your body enabling regular everyday actions to occur, such as bowel movement, muscle repair, and temperature regulation. This also includes rate of fuel breakdown to provide the body with energy, also known as Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Basically, this determines how many calories/kilojoules our bodies should be consuming each day. If a person has a high BMR, calories/fuel stores (e.g. fat) will be burned up faster.  BMR is influenced by several factors, some of which we can modify to increase (or decrease) the BMR.

Non-modifiable factors:

•          Age: BMR slows down with increased age
•          Gender: males have higher BMR than females
•          Genetic predisposition
•          Infection/illness: increases BMR
•          Environment temperature: extremes of temperature (really hot and really cold) increase BMR

Modifiable factors:

•          Lean muscle mass: increases BMR
•          Body fat percentage: fat cells slow BMR
•          Drugs (e.g. caffeine, nicotine)
•          Diet
•          Physical activity

Here is a really basic guide as to the recommended caloric intake to maintain a healthy weight range. Please keep in mind that this is only to give you an idea, and the recommended intake varies depending on all of the factors mentioned above. To accurately calculate individual energy intake you should consult with a dietitian.

It makes sense that to lose weight you should eat less than the maintenance energy requirement; and similarly if you wish to gain weight you should eat more. However, when aiming to lose weight and going to the extreme for a prolonged period of time will cause the metabolism to slow down. The body is smart – it wants to keep you alive. If you’re not providing your body with enough fuel, it will slow the chemical processes down so that you aren’t burning your energy stores too quickly. I have been eating between 1,200-1,500 calories for about 2 years now and hadn’t thought about how it could be affecting my metabolism. It has causes my weight to plateau, I get tired easily, and my body has stopped responding to different exercises. I want to make you aware that this can happen so hopefully it doesn’t happen to you. As I’m young, it should be easy to speed my metabolism back up by making slow modifications to my diet. I’ll be seeing a dietitian in several weeks and will let you know how it goes :). I’m annoyed that I’ve done this to my body, but I’m glad I’ve found out now and can make the necessary changes to get back on track. If sufficient damage is made to metabolism it becomes more difficult to repair, resulting in a permanent low BMR.

Zucchini and Walnut Protein Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

 

 

This tastes way better than it sounds haha it’s a beautiful dense cake perfect with a cup of tea. Plus it gets in a cheeky serve of vegies 😉

Ingredients:

Cake

½ cup oat flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

20 serves stevia

25g pea protein

25g whey protein

123g zucchini – grated

3/4 cup fat free Greek yoghurt

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

38g walnuts – chopped

Frosting

125g light Philadelphia cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 serves Stevia

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees

2. Combine dry ingredients (except walnuts)

3. Add in zucchini and yoghurt

4. Whisk eggs with vanilla essence, then add to mixture

5. Taste mixture and add cinnamon/nutmeg/sweetener to taste

6. Fold in walnuts

7. Line cake tin with baking paper (this won’t rise much, so keep this in mind when choosing a tin)

8. Pour in mixture and bake for ~30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

9. Whisk together ingredients for frosting and, once cake is cooled, layer on top

 

 

Learn constantly, Love your body, Lift yourself higher x

 

References:

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/healthyactive/publishing.nsf/Content/healthy-eating-calculator

http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines/publications/n6

Eat and be Merry

Hi Lifters!

Wow it has been ages. I am so sorry!! I find it quite easy to consistently post on the Facebook page but it seems to be more difficult to keep the blog up to date

NO EXCUSES!! New Years Resolution – frequent reliable blog posts 🙂

A lot has happened since my last post but here’s a quick up date:

– Summer holidays woo!

– Finished Medical Uni exams but waiting to get results *fingers crossed*

– Moved back home with my family (I was in temporary uni accommodation)

– Accepted by Voguehouse modelling agency – I have been invited to attend a 10 week ‘Model Boot Camp’ and following the 10 weeks I may or may not continue with the agency. It should be a good learning experience, if nothing else! www.voguehouse.com.au/

– This boot camp requires me to make very slight alterations to my usual routine – as I already eat clean and frequently, the only changes that I need to make are an additional 30 mins of high intensity interval training each day

– Queensland holiday with my family + boyfriend in less than a week

 

It can be quite difficult to stick to health and fitness routines around the holiday season, but there are a few things that you (and I) can do to minimise the dint it makes in our progress. Here are a few quick and easy tips:

– Avoid the snacks! Cheeses/biscuits/sausage rolls etc are too easy to overindulge on

– Bring a healthy platter to the family dinner – I don’t know what your Christmas dinner is like but we tend to have tonnes of creamy potato salads and lamb cutlets etc, so bring a nice fresh salad, or a fruit platter for dessert

– Fill your plate with salad and healthy options before adding a few treats (such as Nanna’s infamous lasagne)

– Only fill your plate once!! Don’t keep going back for seconds

– Let yourself have some dessert and don’t get hung up on it! It’s Christmas after all

– If you drink alcohol (which I do – guilty!!), steer clear or minimise consumption of heavy alcohol such as egg nog, beer, wine – the alcoholic beverage with the lowest number of calories is a vodka, lime (fresh, not cordial) and soda (~80 calories). Remember that these drinks do contain calories

– Left overs: give as much as you can to other people to take home/freeze it/throw it away/pack it into individual serves. If it’s just going to sit around and get consumed in a big moody binge it’s better to be out of the house, even if it may seem like a waste of money

– Give yourself a bit of a break from exercise. Please don’t feel like you need to go for a big jog on Boxing Day to ‘work off’ Christmas. If you follow the above tips you should be happy that you haven’t overindulged and, besides, one unhealthy/large meal won’t make you gain weight

– Move on! Don’t stretch the holiday season over weeks/months. Party, enjoy yourself, then get back into it

 

I can’t stress enough how important it is not to beat yourself up if you feel like you ate too much over the holiday season. Punishment and regret is not going to help in any way. Just lift your head up, think of the wonderful memories you had with loved ones without stressing about calories, and carry on :).

Of course, Christmas food doesn’t have to be unhealthy. I’ll post a few recipes up here over the next few days – some of my own and some that I find that look scrumptious. 

Gingerbread Protein Cookies

Adapted from Protein Pow holiday e-book

2 whole eggs

1/4 cup vanilla pea protein powder

1/2 cup oats

6 brazil nuts

1/8 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup sugar-free maple syrup

12 serves Stevia

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

Blend the ingredients together

Roll out the dough onto the bench with a rolling pin (make sure to cover the bench with PLENTY of oat flour because otherwise you’ll never get that off…)

Grab cookie cutters

Bake at 170 degrees Celcius for ~30 mins or until browned

If you want you can jazz these up with some nuts pressed in before baking, or drizzle melted chocolate over them once they’re cool

I will get back to you with the calories 🙂

 

I love hearing from you, so if you have any questions or comment please feel free to chat on Facebook or via email!! x

Eating Through a Straw

I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed a week ago, so this second week of holidays has not been ideal. Most of my meals have been mush and, most frustrating of all, I haven’t been allowed to exercise. On the plus side, I was pedantic about ice application, so my swelling was minimal and I didn’t have any bruising :).

Motivation: Ana Delia De Itturondo

 

In an effort to maintain my high protein, low carb diet, I came up with a few yummy smoothies. It seems that many people turn to smoothies when wanting to go on a ‘health kick’. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve found that liquid food is never as filling. If you look at the recipes below the macros are higher than my usual recipes, and yet they never kept me satisfied for very long (I’ve been snacking on sugar-free jelly to get me by – highly recommend for cravings!!!!).

Let me explain the importance of chewing (mastication) to you. Chewing is a primary component of the first stage (ingestion) of food digestion. It triggers various physiological components that are essential to good digestion and the feeling of satiety.

1) Mechanically breaks down food (duh) which increases the surface area of the food and enables easier absorption later on

2) Saliva contains an enzyme called salivary amylase (or ptyalin) which starts the  breakdown of starch and carbohydrates

3) Glands near the tongue secrete an enzyme called lingual lipase and is involved in fat digestion

4) Chewing relaxes your stomach. There is a muscle called the pylorus at the base of the stomach leading into the small intestine. The mechanism of chewing helps relax this muscle, enabling the contents of the stomach to easily enter the small intestine

5) Helps taste the food. This might seem silly, but taste is actually an important part of triggering the rest of the digestive system to produce certain substances to optimise digestion. This is called the cephalic stage of digestion. Here’s a good little animation if you’re interested: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072507470/student_view0/chapter24/animation__three_phases_of_gastric_secretion.html

So basically what I’m saying is that I prefer to chew my food haha.

 

Breakfast Booster

This contains super foods such as goji berries, psyllium, flaxseed and blueberries. It is high in antioxidants, fibre, good fats… and is delicious!

Serves 1-2

¼ cup reduced fat cottage cheese

1/3 cup oats

1/3 cup frozen blueberries

1 tsp goji berries

1 tsp flaxseed oil

1& ¼ cup water

¼ tsp psyllium

4 serves Stevia

1 scoop vanilla whey

4-5 ice cubes

Blend!!!

 

Nutritional info: for whole recipe

Calories: 345

Total fat: 8g (1.8g sat)

Total carbs: 33.5g

Sugar: 7.2g

Protein: 35.8g

 

Coco-Berry Smoothie

Tastes like a chocolate smoothie!! I recommend adding natural almond butter, I think it would taste even better!!

Serves 1-2

½ banana

½ cup silken tofu

3 strawberries

2 tbsp cocoa

4 serves Stevia

1& ¼ cup water

4-5 ice cubes

½ scoop vanilla/choc whey

Handful spinach

Blend!

 

Nutritional info: for whole recipe

Calories: 415

Total fat: 14.4g (7.3g sat)

Total carbs: 29.1g 

Sugar: 11.3g

Protein: 39.5g

 

Starting back at uni next week – holidays never seem to be long enough!! I’ll be able to get stuck into my training again; I’m going to start Ashley Conrad’s program from the start and this time there won’t be any surgery disrupting it. Hope everyone is well and keeping on track!! Please don’t hesitate to message/email me, I love hearing from you all and finding out where your are in your fitness/healthy lifestyle journey 🙂 x

Beautiful Blueberry Pie

Another week another recipe!! I’m stressing out today because I’m getting my wisdom teeth pulled out tomorrow :S I’m going to be living off protein shakes for a while I think!! Any ideas healthy low sugar high protein smoothies feel free to let me know :). I’ve been smashing out week 1 of Ashley Conrad’s Clutch Cut program and it’s pretty good!! It involves a lot more cardio than my usual workouts and I think it’s good to shock my body by getting out of routine.

 

Motivation: Dana Linn Bailey

 

This recipe was inspired by Protein Pow(d)er – Blueberry Protein Pie

Yum. Yum yum yum yum yum

Serves 8

Pastry:

1/2 cup egg whites

1/2 cup oat flour

1/2 cup vanilla pea protein powder

1/2 cup chopped almonds

1 tbsp coconut flour

Filling:

1 packet of unflavoured powdered gelatine

2 scoops berry flavoured BCAA (I used raspberry blue)

2 cups of blueberries (I used frozen)

(Instead of gelatine + BCAA you can substitute sugar-free jelly powder)

 

Blend the pastry ingredients together until it resembles a sort of dough

Press the dough into a greased small spring-form pan, covering the bottom and as much of the sides as you can (I saved some and sprinkled it on top as well)

Put this to the side

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celcius

Put the blueberries in a saucepan and bring to the boil

Once the blueberries have started to disintegrate a little, add the gelatin and the BCAA and mix until the gelatin is well combined

Pour the filling into the prepared  pastry base

Cook for 20-30 minutes or until the sides and top look and feel cooked

Allow to cool before serving with a big dollop of fat free Greek yoghurt 🙂

 

Nutritional info: per serve (without yoghurt)

Calories: 173

Total fat: 7.9g (1g sat)

Total carbs: 11.2g

Sugar: 4.2g

Protein: 12.4g

 

Yours Always in Health & Fitness x

Escape from Study

Study. Seriously it is taking over my life. My only escape is an hour or so of exercise per day!! So as you can imagine, it’s my favourite time of day :). In order to create a little extra break, as well as sneak in some more cardio (which I’m constantly avoiding), I’m going to put together a 30 minute plyometric circuit that I can do at home in the mornings – a great way to start my day. Within the next couple of weeks I’m going to post this workout on my facebook page and would love to have people doing it with me so that we can keep each other accountable! Please let me know if you’re interested.

Motivation: Paige Hathaway

 

I only have a couple of recipes to share with you this week, but they’re both really yum.

 

Greg Plitt Cookie Dough from www.gregplitt.com – my boyfriend absolutely loves these!! He makes them every week

Serves 12 (although make them as big/small as you want)

2/3 cup chopped almonds

2/3 cup chopped walnuts

2/3 cup oats

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp cinnamon

200g dark chocolate

¼ cup sugar-free maple syrup/agave syrup

3 scoops of whey protein (not part of the original recipe but I think it makes them better)

Blend/process all of above ingredients

Roll into golf-ball sized portion and place on baking paper

Freeze

Nutritional info: per serve

Calories: 214.8

Total fat: 15.1g (5.5g sat)

Total carbs: 10.4g

Sugar: 5.3g

Protein: 9.0g

 

Banana Nut Protein Bars from www.proteinpow.com – these are awesome as breakfast-on-the-run or a pre-workout snack

Serves 6

1 small banana (~55g)

1/2 cup oats

1/4 cup almonds

4 brazil nuts (I subbed 10g of hazelnuts)

2 tbsp coconut flour

3/8 cup whey powder (I used vanilla)

3/8 cup milk (I used lite coconut milk)

1 tsp of chicory powder – I could NOT find this anywhere!!! Very frustrating. It’s optional but apparently adds a nice flavour kick

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celcius

Blend everything together and press the batter onto a small non-stick brownie pan

Bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

Nutritional info: per serve

Calories: 163.3

Total fat: 7.9g (1.7g sat)

Total carbs: 14.2g

Sugar: 2.3g

Protein: 9.6g

 

I’m looking forward to creating this morning workout and hope you can join me in burning those fat cells!!! 🙂 x

 

Third World Problems

No internet. This is a HUGE issue I’m having at the moment – one that is such a third world problem but unfortunately it affects so much of my daily function. We haven’t had internet connection at our uni accommodation for weeks now and it is horrendous! What makes it worse is the fact that the library, with free wifi, is only open limited hours (the pros of living rurally). It’s shocking how reliant I have become on internet… and is one of the reasons why I haven’t posted here for a longgg time.

Anyway, back into the swing of things (now that I’ve figured out how to connect to the internet for brief periods of time through my iPhone…).

Motivation: the gorgeous Courtney Prather

 

Goji+Carrot Cake adapted from proteincupcakes.net – this is my favourite snack right now! It is SO YUM!

Serves 12

2 cups carrot (roughly 2 carrots) – grated

1&1/3 cup oat flour

1/3 cup almond meal

2 scoops vanilla whey

1 tbsp LSA/ground flaxseed

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla essence

4 egg whites

1&1/2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

12 serves of Stevia

¾ cup unsweetened almond milk

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

25g almonds – chopped (you can sub with any nuts – walnuts or pecans would be nice)

30g goji berries (you can sub with sultanas/raisins)

30g carob/dark chocolate – chopped

Icing:

100g low fat cream cheese

2 serves of Stevia

1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180^oC

Mix all dry ingredients in a big bowl (excluding nuts, goji berries, and chocolate/carob)

Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl separately

Combine wet to dry, then fold in the nuts, berries, and choc/carob

Line a cake pan with baking paper

Pour mixture in, then bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

For the icing, mix it all together and spread over the cake once it has COOLED

YUM! Try not to eat it all at once (seriously… freeze it)

Nutritional info: per serve (including the icing)

Calories: 148.4

Total fat: 5.8g (1.6g sat)

Total carbs: 14.7g

Sugar: 4.0g

Protein: 9.1g

 

Warm Prawn & Mango Salad, created by my boyfriend’s dad 🙂 this is so yummy

Serves 4

1kg raw prawns – washed, butterflied (optional) (run knife down the back of the prawn to open it up slightly)

1 red chili – finely sliced

1 mango – diced

1 avocado – diced

3 cloves garlic – crushed

25g low fat fetta – crumbled

Rocket (as much as you’d like)

Splash of white wine (to taste)

Juice of 1 lime

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Big bunch of coriander

Heat a large frying pan on high

Cook chili and garlic for a few seconds, until fragrant, then remove from heat and set aside

Cook prawns on the high heat (you may need to cook half of the prawns at a time)

Once cooked, add the chili and garlic mixture back in, then add a splash of wine and coriander

Prepare all rocket, avocado, mango, and fetta

Dress salad ingredients with lime and olive oil

When ready to serve, briefly toss the prawns in and serve immediately

Nutritional info: per serve

Calories: 396.7

Total fat: 12.6g (4.3g sat)

Total carbs: 10.4g

Sugar: 4.2g

Protein: 61.7g!!!!!

 

Kung Pao Chicken from simplyrecipes.com

Serves 4

500g chicken breast – chopped

2&1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp Szechwan peppercorns (optional – I left out)

1 red chili (add more or less depending on your chili tolerance)

3 cloves garlic

1 tbsp ginger – freshly grated

6 spring onion – chopped

2/3 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts

Marinade:

2 tsp soy sauce (I used Bragg’s aminos)

1&1/2 tsp white wine

1 tbsp water

2 tsp arrowroot powder

Sauce:

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp soy sauce/Bragg’s aminos

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp water

3 serves of Stevia

1 tsp arrowroot powder

Mix together the marinade ingredients and toss with the chopped chicken. Set aside

Combine all ingredients for sauce, whisking well to ensure arrowroot is fully incorporated. Set aside

Place 2&1/2 tbsp sesame oil in a wok or large sauté pan and place over medium-high heat

Stir-fry chilies and peppercorns until fragrant

Add the chicken, and as soon as the pieces start to separate, add the ginger, garlic, and spring onions

Stir-fry for a few minutes until chicken is no longer pink in the middle

Add the sauce and toss

When the sauce becomes thick, toss the peanuts in, and serve

Nutritional info: per serve

Calories: 286.9

Total fat: 16.5g (3.2g sat)

Total carbs: 4.8g

Sugar: 0.0g

Protein: 29.3g

 

Hazelnut Biscotti from chocolatechillimango.com

Serves: 10 (40 biscotti)

110g hazelnuts (you can substitute other nuts/chocolate/dried fruit)

3 large eggs

15 serves of Stevia

1 tsp vanilla essence

35g unsweetened cocoa powder

90g oat flour

60g casein protein

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp bicarb soda

Preheat oven to 180oC

Line a large baking tray with baking paper and set aside

Place the hazelnuts on a second lined tray and spread them out evently

Toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly roasted and starting to colour

Remove nuts from the oven and use a tea-towel to rub off as much of the skins as possible (I made a huge mess…). Set aside

Whisk together the eggs, sweetener, and vanilla until the sweetener is dissolved and the mixture is light

In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa, oat flour, casein, salt, and bicarb soda

Add the dry ingredient mixture to the egg mixture and mix until the dough comes together

Fold in the COOLED hazelnuts

Divide the dough in half and form each half into a log measuring about 1 cm in thickness, 3.5cm wide, and about 26cm long

Lay the logs on the prepared baking tray, leaving room between them for spreading

Bake the logs for 30-35 minutes

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly (about 10 minutes)

Lower the temperature of the oven to 125oC

Use a serrated knife to slice each log into about 20 slices, about 1 cm thick, on a 45 degree angle. For consistency it’s easier if you slice each log in half with a diagonal cut, then in half again, and then cut each piece into 5 even diagonal slices

Place the slices in upright rows on the baking tray and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes. If you wish to make the biscotti as hard rusks, you can leave them in there for up to 20 minutes. They will crisp up even more once they cool

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack

The biscotti will keep for several weeks if stored in an airtight container, at room temperature

Nutritional info: per serve

Calories: 159.6

Total fat: 9.9g (1.6g sat)

Total carbs: 8.0g

Sugar: 1.0g

Protein: 9.7g

 

I’ve been pretty overloaded with things lately – study, organising the premier event of a new Victorian organisation (Red Party, raising awareness for HIV/AIDS and sexual health), my own mental instability, volunteering with the RSPCA, exercise, food prep… it seems likes everything’s going on!! I just have to take a deep breath, make a list or two, and keep my priorities right!

Eat clean and train dirty 🙂 x

 

It Must Be Love

My man has stuck with me for two whole years… it must be love!! I can’t believe he’s put up with me even when I’ve been carb-craving-crazy; whinging about muscle pain; hangry due to being 15 minutes late for a meal; sulking about missing a gym sesh; talking him out of pizza for dinner…. if that doesn’t scare him off, then nothing can haha.

Motivation: Emily Skye

 

 

Paleo Shrimp Scampi from paleocupboard.com – I made this for my boyfriend and we absolutely loved it!!

Serves 4

1/2 cup arrowroot powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

1/2 cup coconut oil (I replaced this with just coconut oil spray because it seemed like excessive oil)

1kg shrimp/prawns – shelled, deveined, tails removed

3 cloves of garlic

1 spring onion – finely chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley – finely chopped

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/3 cup chicken stock

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp lemon zest

Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Lemon wedges (optional, for serving)

Rinse the shrimp and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside

Combine arrowroot, sea salt, black pepper, parika, and cayenne pepper in a large mixing bowl and  break apart any clumps

Add shrimp to the bowl and toss to thoroughly coat in the mixture

Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add coconut oil

When oil is heated, add shrimp and saute for 4-5 minutes, turning often

Transfer the shrimp to a serving plate with tongs/slotted spoon, leaving the oil in the pain

Add garlic, shallots, oregano and parsley to the pan and stir constantly for about 2 minutes

Add chicken stock and lemon juice and boil for 1 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits

Add lemon zest and stir to combine, then season with salt and pepper

Remove the pan from the heat and add the shrimp to the pan, tossing to combine with the sauce

Serve with additional chopped parsley and lemon wedges

Nutritional info: per serve

Calories: 284.3

Total fat: 1.3g

Total carbs: 16.2g 

Sugar: 0.9g

Protein: 51.6g!!!!!!

 

Berry (Cherry) Protein Bars from chocolatechillimango.com

Serves 12

3 large egg whites (not from the packet)

15 serves Stevia

12g coconut butter

1tsp vanilla essence

10g chia seeds

50g whey protein

120g quinoa or coconut flour or almond meal (or a combination) – I used 1/2 almond meal, 1/2 coconut flour

3 tsp baking powder

165mL unsweetened almond milk

50g frozen blueberries (the original recipe used 120g fresh/frozen pitted cherries)

100g dark chocolate

10g coconut butter

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Line a brownie pan (18cm x 28cm) with baking paper and set aside

Beat the egg whites and sweetener until frothy

Add all other ingredients, except the berries, and mix well until smooth

Stir in the cherries

Pour the batter in the pan and bake for 15 minutes

Remove and set on a wire rack to cool

Melt the dark chocolate and coconut butter together

Pour over the cool berry bar slab and spread evenly

Cut into 12 bars

Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature

Nutritional info: per serve

Calories: 141.3

Total fat: 8.8g (4.4g sat)

Total carbs: 8.3g

Sugar: 3.6g

Protein: 7.3g

 

15-Minute Chicken and Pea Sauce from www.theironyou.com – this may sound really simple and boring, but it’s really nice!! The thyme really shines

Serves 6 (next time I’ll divide the mixture into 4 serves I think)

200g chicken mince

1/2 cup frozen green peas

1 small carrot – finely chopped

1 celery strip – finely chopped

1/2 onion – finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup white wine (or stock – I used salt-reduced chicken stock)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp fresh thyme

Black pepper to taste

Warm oil over medium heat in a frying pan

Add onion, carrot and celery, and saute for 2 minutes or until everything is fragrant

Stir in the chicken mince

When the chicken is almost completely brown, pour in the white wine/stock and add salt

Lower the heat, cover with a lid, and cook for 6 minutes

If it looks dry, add some broth one spoonful at a time

Remove from the heat, season with pepper and sprinkle with thyme

Nutritional info: per serve

Calories: 86.5

Total fat: 4.4g (1.0g sat)

Total carbs: 3.8g

Sugar: 2.1g

Protein: 7.8g

 

Constantly challenge yourself – it reminds us that we are alive 🙂

The other day I was talking to my mum about how stressed I was and she said “it means you’re pushing yourself honey – would you rather a boring life?” x

MFT28

I’m so sorry that my blogs are becoming less frequent!! I’ve been flat out with assignments and trying to keep on top of study (a never-ending struggle) so unfortunately I haven’t had the time to dedicate an hour or so to writing blog posts!!

Motivation: Amanda Adams

I felt like I was in a bit of a rut with my training so I did a bit of searching and found this training program – Greg Plitt’s MFT28 (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mft28-greg-plitts-4-week-military-fitness-trainer-by-met-rx.html). It is INTENSE!!! He is really enthusiastic and motivating though, and I find it really helpful to watch the videos. My boyfriend is doing it with me via long distance, which is nice :).

I have HEAPS of recipes to share with you!! I think it’ll be easiest if I break them up into a few per post though (don’t want to overwhelm you!!)

 

High Fibre Cinnamon Protein Pancakes (chocolatechillimango.com) – these are really yummy and really filling

Serves 1-2

100g egg whites

40g pea protein

10 grams psyllium husk

250mL unsweetened almond milk

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla whey protein powder

Stevia, to taste

Whisk together the ingredients

If necessary, add a little more milk or water if the batter is too thick

Cook the pancakes in a non-stick pan

Serve topped with whatever you like (I used flaxseed oil because I’m ADDICTED!)

Nutritional info: per serve (without toppings)

Calories: 146.7

Total fat: 2.2g (0.5g sat)

Total carbs: 5.5g (4.9g fibre!)

Sugar: 0.4g

Protein: 25.4g

 

Blueberry Almond Protein Muffins (chocolatechillimango.com) – I absolutely LOVE these!! Super fluffy, super tasty, super healthy!!! Awesome muffins 🙂

Serves 12

250g almond meal

20 serves Stevia (a lot, I know…)

3 tsp baking powder

150g blueberries (I used frozen)

200mL unsweetened almond milk

1 egg

1 tbsp vanilla essence

1/2 scoop vanilla whey powder

1/2 scoop vanilla casein powder

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius

Mix together dry ingredients

Whisk together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl

Add wet to dry, then mix lightly (do not overbeat)

Toss in the blueberries

Pour the batter into lined muffin tins

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and toothpick comes out clean

Cool on a wire rack before turning out

Nutritional info: per 1 muffin

Calories: 151

Total fat: 11.4 (1.1g sat)

Total carbs: 7.9g

Sugar: 2.2g

Protein: 7.4g

 

Chicken with Cauliflower and Olives (www.elanaspantry.com) – pretty self explanatory haha and yum!

Serves 4

500g chicken breast

1 bunch fresh thyme sprigs

1/2 head cauliflower – cut into florets

1 spring onion – finely chopped

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Zest of 1 lemon

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup kalamata olives – pitted

3 cloves garlic – minced

Spread thyme sprigs evenly in the bottom of a 7×11 baking dish

Place chicken over thyme and scatter cauliflower around chicken

In a small bowl, combine spring onion, oil, salt, pepper, lemon zest and juice, olives and garlic

Pour this mixture over the chicken and cauliflower

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour

Preheat oven to 200 degrees

Bake for 45-55 minutes, until chicken is cooked through

Nutritional info: per serve

Calories: 246.8

Total fat: 8.1g (2.0g sat)

Total carbs: 6.0g

Sugar: 1.5g

Protein: 37.5g

 

Dense Aduki Chocolate Cake (www.proteinpow.com) – this is super super dense!! I think next time I’ll add more sweetener because it was a bit too bitter for me

Serves 8

1 can aduki (or black) unsalted beans – cooked

1/2 cup liquid egg whites

1/2 cup chocolate whey protein powder

300g low-fat cottage cheese

12 cup cocoa powder

10 serves Stevia

3 tbsp coconut flour

1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 170 degrees

Blend everything together and pour into a greased cake pan

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (don’t overbake!!)

Sprinkle some cocoa on top to serve!

Nutritional info: per serve

Calories: 149.7

Total fat: 3.2g (2.2g sat)

Total carbs: 11.0g

Sugar: 2.1g

Protein: 16.8g

 

Vanilla Cupcakes (www.dessertswithbenefits.com) – these are pretty scrumptious (though have nothing on the blueberry almond muffins above…)

Serves 11

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce

3 tbsp coconut oil

3/4 cooking Stevia

2 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp almond essence (I left this out)

1/4 cup arrowroot starch

2 tbsp ground flaxseed

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup quinoa flour

1/3 cup almond flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp xanthan gum (I left this out)

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake tin with 11 paper liners

Whisk together almond milk, applesauce, oil, sweetener, vanilla and almond essence

Whisk on medium speed for about 1 minute

In a small bowl, whisk together the starch and flax

Slowly add this starch/flax mixture to the almond milk/applesauce mixture

Whisk on low for about 1 minute

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the brown rice flour, quinoa flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt

Slowly add to the almond milk/applesauce/flax mixture on low speed

When it is all incorporated, increase the mixer speed to high and whip for about 20 seconds

Scoop batter into cupcake liners

Bake for ~30minutes or until surface springs back when tapped

Remove cupcakes from tin and let cool on a wire rack

I decided to add my own person touch by pressing a raspberry into the centre of each muffin before I cooked them… don’t ask me why!! But it tasted awesome 🙂

Nutritional info: per serve (without raspberries)

Calories: 132.8

Total fat: 7.9g (4.8g sat)

Total carbs: 12.7g

Sugar: 0.8g

Protein: 2.3g

 

Oh and guess what? I’m now a Sweat Pink Ambassador 🙂 check us out at www.fitapproach.com

 

I haven’t been sticking to my eating and exercise plan super well lately (as those on my facebook page may know..) but the thing to keep in mind is to not give up – to keep on keeping on!! Tomorrow’s another day 🙂 x