Author: Maria Runs

Runner up

Hey peeps,

Thanks to everyone who voted for me in the Whittard Afternoon Tea Blogger Carnival. I didn’t win (but it’s the taking part that counts)- but the runners up were also sent some tea!

I have my eye on the organic Earl Grey. Luckily we bought a new sideboard a few weeks ago, to replace some shelves in our living room, so we now have an overflow area for storing extra tea.

Also my other i-herb order finally arrived! We loved the sweet potato popchips while we were on holiday (I hope they start selling them over here soon) and I had some weight allowance left so I added them. I was mainly after the Vanilla Almond Butter which I had seen on Peachy Palate– it lives up to the expectations!

I couldn’t wait to try it so had it the next morning on toast along with a peach (think I put lemon curd on the other slice).

Scrumptious! It is super drippy too, so I am going to try it drizzled on some muesli one morning as I bet it would go really well.

On Wednesday I was actually feeling really nervous before the Sweatshop run- I knew we would be doing the long route through the fields, and I just worried I would be tired. The weather wasn’t as humid as last week which helped, but it was still hard. I ran the first mile or so at the back, but after that headed out on my own. The end of the field is so tough- it’s a good half mile of really deep grass, and narrow tyre tracks, and there were stinging nettles and brambles that had to be avoided. Also there was some confusion as they wanted to make it get up to 4 miles (it was 3.85) so talked about how to add a bit on. I thought I knew what they meant, but the people in front of me turned earlier (but still later than last week) so I followed them and we ended up doing 3.95 miles, but the lead runners (who are super speedy) and the people at the back did the extra, which was something like 4.35 miles I think. I did it all at an average 9.44 per mile, which isn’t bad as I am normally much slower on the off road sections. My run back home was much slower!

Last night I went to Pump- I mentioned last week I was not that keen on the new release, but perhaps it will grow on me. Although the abs track is rubbish- these weird hip thrust things, and then holding a weight above your head and reaching up (which hurts my neck even though we have to rest the head down between each one). I did add some extra weight to the chest as you only use the bar for a bit, used heavier dumbbells for the first rotation of the shoulders, and I tried to add extra during the biceps but had to knock it off as I couldn’t lift the bar half way through!

My shoulders are already aching today!

Have you ever won anything?

 

Healthy Vegetarian Diets

Hey everyone,

I have a guest post for you today from Olivier Perodin at Astronutrition.com, all about having a healthy vegetarian diet. Hopefully you will find it interesting:

Healthy Vegetarian Diets: Fulfilling Your Body’s Nutritional Needs

By Olivier Perodin @ AstroNutrition

Whether you’re considering becoming vegetarian for ethical, political, or health reasons, you may be faced with the old stereotype of being too weak to live your life fully. You may already realize that this is mostly a myth, since research from the UK’s Food and Drinker Federation’s Meat Free Group indicates that a vegetarian lifestyle can be much healthier than a typical non-vegetarian diet. However, a vegetarian diet can leave several nutritional gaps in your diet which you must take care to fill.

Calcium– This mineral is needed to maintain healthy bones and teeth and enable the body to effectively manage blood vessel, muscle, and nerve functions. Calcium is found in certain vegetables, usually dark green leafy vegetables such as kale or dairy products. Calcium deficiency is usually only a problem for vegan diets which eliminate all dairy products from the diet.

Iron– Iron is essential for the body to regulate the growth of cells and facilitate oxygen flow to the cells around the body. The majority of non-vegetarians gain sufficient iron from red meats. However, there are a number of excellent plant based sources of iron such as spinach, soy beans, and lentils.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids– These fatty acids or oils are an essential dietary component of maintaining a healthy heart and blood system. They reduce the rate of inflammation throughout the body, prevent excess blood clotting, and can actively reduce bad cholesterol in the blood. Non vegetarians gain Omega 3 in their diet from oily fish but there are many nuts and seeds such as walnuts or flaxseeds which contain high levels of omega 3.

Vitamin B12– This vitamin is essential for the health of the blood and nerve cells of the body. It is also needed for the body to produce DNA and prevent certain types of anemia. Unfortunately B12 cannot be found in any plant-based foods. It is usually found in animal products, however it can be found in certain fortified foods such as nutritional yeast and breakfast cereals.

Zinc– According to the National Institutes of Health, Zinc is present in cells all over the body. It can assist the immune system to fight bacteria or viruses; it is also needed by the body to make DNA and protein. Zinc helps the body to heal wounds and enhances the senses of smell and taste. It is especially important for pregnant women and children since zinc is essential for proper growth and development. Zinc can be found in pulses, beans, dairy products, and whole grains.

The Singapore Government’s Health Promotion Board explains how a full and healthy vegetarian diet to be achieved. There are a number of supplements which are tailored to help balance any shortfalls, including multivitamins, protein powders, and green food powders. These can boost protein, vitamin, and mineral levels in the diet to ensure your body maintains optimum nutrition levels.

Vegetarians can lead normal active lives with a healthy diet that fulfills their body’s needs. However, vegetarians do need to pay attention to ensure that they are consuming adequate levels of vitamins, minerals, and protein. According to Vegetarian Society, ensuring your diet is filled with whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables, and a balance of dairy, nuts, and pulses will help you fulfill your body’s nutritional needs for long term health and fitness.

 

AstroNutrition is a premier supplier of sports nutrition and other dietary supplements, a community of healthy living advocates, and an educational source for fitness enthusiasts. Check out our blog and join the conversation!

 

References:

Meat Free Group

Singapore Government’s Health Promotion Board

Vegetarian Society

National Institutes of Health

If you are vegetarian or vegan or have any sort of dietary restrictions, how do you make sure you get all the nutrients you need? What did you think about this article? I must say I am becoming more sceptical about dairy products- I am vegetarian and not vegan, but I have read a lot of studies contradicting the Western perception that we need milk for calcium, and some that say our bodies find it hard to absorb the calcium in dairy products.

I do agree that all sorts of diets can be healthy so long as they are balanced- I think if you are eating a wide range of natural produce then you should get all the vitamins and minerals you need. But I still take a multivitamin (when I remember) for insurance! I have been having nutritional yeast for the B12 as well.

*Sponsored post

Skiing and Strawberries

Hey peeps- how are we all doing?

Just back from a walk to the allotment- the strawberry plants are loaded and I picked a big handful of ripe ones today- they smell wonderful.

On Saturday I mentioned I was off skiing- not on holiday, just a lesson!

When I was younger there was a dry ski slope in Hemel (near where we lived) and so I had lessons, and my family had a few skiing holidays in France. I was always very nervous and I liked to find an easy slope and go up and down it all day, whereas my Dad, sister and brother would go on all the slopes and ski to all different places. Once, they convinced me to come with them, and we skied from France into Italy on nice easy slopes (the ski pass included lots of different places) and then it turned out the only way back was a red run (green= easy, blue= OK, red= hard, black= plummet vertically to your death )- after being stuck on several runs my poor Dad had to walk home with me while we carried our skis! Anyway, the last time I went skiing was a good ten years ago, but last year Andy got some skiing lessons as a birthday present and really enjoyed them. The dry slope has now turned into a Snow Dome, and a Groupon popped up for a double lesson, so we booked it.

I was super nervous before, but I ended up loving it. It was a beginners lesson which turned out to be a bit easy, but I wasn’t sure what I would remember from all those years ago. We got there about half an hour early to give us time to get boots, skis and helmets, and then spent an hour and a half walking up and skiing down. There were only 6 of us in the lesson and the instructor was really good- he kept giving us challenges, so in the end I had to ski down the slope, turning around certain poles while doing “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”! I was hoping we would get to use the lifts, but not this time. We think we will book one more lesson at a higher level, and then just go for fun.

We ended up being really busy over the weekend but I did manage to spend a bit of time baking. I made Cherry and Marzipan Tray-bake.

I based it on a cherry cake recipe from the Great British Book of Baking, as I could not find a recipe that fitted what I wanted.

I preheated the oven to 170C, and lined my brownie pan with paper.

Then I creamed together 175g pure spread and 170g caster sugar. I added 3 eggs, and a tsp almond extract (I used Dr Oetker). Then I stirred in 200g plain flour, 3 packets of baking powder (I have these little packets which I think are the equivalent of a tbs each), and 50g ground almonds. Finally I chopped up a tub (200g) of glace cherries, and mixed them in.

I poured this mixture into the pan, and then topped it with 50g chopped white marzipan.

I baked it for 35 minutes- it is hard to tell when it is cooked as the marzipan will be liquid at oven temperatures, so will leave residue on the cake tester.

I find they slice much better when they are cold, so I left it on the wire rack for a while.

I had a piece on Saturday afternoon to give me some energy for skiing (as our session wasn’t going to finish until 8pm)- delish! I love the combination of cherries and marzipan. I took most of it to work on Monday and wasn’t sure how it would go down as I know marzipan is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it was all gone by lunchtime!

Once we were home I was quite chilly, so I had a hot chocolate to warm up with too- I love that Montezuma’s stuff.

I had Sunday as a rest day (we went out for breakfast to Bill’s, then watched some of the children from school in a parade in town, then spent the afternoon visiting our parents) so Monday after work I went out on a run. It was much warmer than I had expected. I headed for the fields as I didn’t fancy running near to traffic, and was enjoying listening to podcasts I went a bit further than I had planned- 5 miles in 50 minutes. Tomorrow we are doing the long fields run which was tough last week- not sure I am quite looking forward to it- I’m just hoping it won’t be as humid as it was last week as that is what makes it really tough.

Have you ever been skiing? Or would you be tempted by it? 

Healthy eating on a budget (£5 for 500 calories)

I was asked to join in with a Most Wanted campaign to come up with a recipe that was under 500 calories and under £5 per portion.

With the warmer weather approaching, I felt like a salad would be a good idea, but I wanted to create an evening meal. My favourite meal at the moment is the black bean taco/wrap things– I love the combination of the avocado and  beans. But that was not really a salad, and probably is not under 500 calories- especially with the cheese added in.

So I came up with a slight variation- Black Bean Quinoa salad.

This made 3 servings:

100g (dry weight) quinoa

1 tsp paprika (or chilli flakes if you like it very spicy)

200g cherry tomatoes

1 tin black beans

1 medium sweet potato (120g ish)

1 avocado

Lime juice

First up, preheat the oven, halve the cherry tomatoes and roast them.

Then prepare the quinoa- some dry quinoa needs to be rinsed before cooking so check your pack. Put it in a pan, cover with water, and gently heat until the seeds burst and they go all squiggly (technical term there). Add in a tsp paprika.

While this was cooking I baked the sweet potato in the microwave (just pierce it lots!) but if you are a potato purist you may prefer to cube it and then bake it in the oven.

Drain the beans and stir them into the quinoa to heat them through, then add in the sweet potato and tomatoes.

Add a squirt of lime juice, and then top with sliced avocado.

I now have 2 salads for lunches for the next couple of days too!

This turned out to be filling, but not stodgy- it was perfect after my 5 mile run today, and will be lovely cold once the flavours have had a chance to mingle together a bit more. One serving ended up being 350 calories, 13g protein, 7g fibre and 12g fat (mostly from the avocado I imagine)- I used the recipe section on Weight Loss Resources to calculate.

It also ended up being pretty cheap to make- I was meant to have one serving costing under £5, but the entire recipe came to £4.80 (using Ocado prices).  It would be lovely with a little salsa on the side, or a little fresh guacamole on top. I keep seeing recipes for cashew cream/ cheese (and have bought cashews to make it with)- I imagine that this would taste wonderful with it too, and still fit under the 500 calorie mark 🙂

A note of caution- treat cooked quinoa a little like cooked rice- it is not good to heat and cool it over and over, so once cooled keep it refrigerated and if you re-heat it, only do that once and make sure it is piping hot. 

Do you have a favourite salad or summer meal? Quinoa is one of my favourite summery foods as I find it filling but not really heavy, plus it is so versatile- I had a lovely salad with cranberries and dried coconuts before which I sometimes re-create at lunch times.

How do you manage sticking to a budget with your shopping? On-line shopping has been a revelation for me because I can see the total I have spent, so if it is too much I just go back through and delete items, plus I don’t get tempted by offers as I don’t see them. If I actually go into a shop I will spend loads more as I am easily persuaded to add things to my basket!

I was compensated for the cost of ingredients for this post, but of course all opinions are my own. 

Running in the rain

So the weather this week has been more…. English? On Wednesday it threatened to rain all day- it was so humid and muggy. I headed up to Sweatshop and was so hot and sticky by the time I got there (and it’s about .75 miles away, so not far). I was hoping we would choose a short-ish and shaded route as I didn’t feel like putting in a max effort! Then it turned out that someone had invented a new route, which actually was going on the fields, then across sort of cross country fields to add on another mile. At one point I was running through knee high grass, and couldn’t see the runners ahead of me as there were lots of trees around. By the time I got back to the shop we had run 3.85 (fast) miles, and I still had to run home. Tough!

Thursday at pump we had the new release- I am not a fan so far. Tough on the legs, no music I really knew/ liked, and the abs track is just weird and hurt my neck.

On Friday after work I went on a short (2 mile) run to try to ease the aches in my legs, and was back just before it poured! Later on it brightened up so we headed to the allotment after dinner for some weeding, and I picked my first lot of strawberries!

This morning I went on a run before breakfast- I was going to try to avoid the rain but that just seemed impossible so I put on my tennis visor and went for it. The first mile was gently uphill but right into the wind so my glasses were covered! I was really cold and wished I had worn gloves. But then later on the sun came out and it was suddenly baking. In the end I did 5 miles which I was pleased with- we are going skiing later so need to save some energy! I was going to have pancakes, and had made the batter the night before (spelt + peanut flour, chia seeds, almond extract, baking powder) but decided to bake it instead while I showered. (I had the coconut water when I got home)

I put sliced apricots on the bottom with a little coconut oil to stop it sticking (should have put that on the sides too) and then some blueberries on the top. I also topped it with a little coconut/ chocolate butter.

I had it with a mint black tea, and some strawberries from the allotment which taste amazing. It baked for 30 mins at 160C, but I think I could have left it for a little longer to firm up more. Baked apricots are always a winner in my book anyway.

I don’t mind running in the rain, unless it is torrential as I hate soggy shoes. Plus once I was out running and it rained so hard that the water filled up my eyes (so weird) and I actually couldn’t see. That was not good! And lightning makes me a bit nervous. I think the thought of running in the rain is worse than the actual act- if I am at home and it’s raining I might do some prevaricating to put it off a bit, but if I am out there and it rains I don’t really mind, as I think I will be having a shower when I get home anyway.

Do you mind running in the rain? Are you growing any of your own fruits or veggies this year? Favourite baked fruit?