Recipe : Vegetarian Zoodles

Everyone loves pasta but a lot of people cut it out when they are dieting because it has carbs as one of the primary ingredients. Here is an alternative which increases your vegetable intake and reduces the carbohydrates and fat intake (as it also has no meat). I also prefer it to normal pasta

Vegetarian Zoodles

Serves 4

2 zucchinis

1 carrot, sliced

1 small onion, diced

1 cup pumpkin, diced

1 cup broccoli, roughly chopped

2 tomatoes, diced

1 tin tomatoes

1tbls tomato paste

1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground garlic
splosh of red wine (optional)
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a saucpan heat up a small amount of olive oil on medium heat

Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent

Add in carrot, pumpkin, broccoli and tomatoes

Cook for approximately 5 minutes and then add tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs and red wine if desired. Allow to come to the boil and then turn down to a simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender

In the meantime spiral your zucchinis and bring a pot of water to boil on the stove

Add a pinch of salt and the zucchinis cooking for approximately 5 minutes or until the zucchinis are soft but not falling apart. Drain out the water.

Place zucchini in a bowl and add sauce on top

Enjoy

Feel free to add some turkey, chicken or beef mince to make it non-vegetarian

Recipe : pizza

Pizza is a fairly common takeaway food and something almost everyone loves, it is also something you can make to suit yourself changing the toppings to suit. I love home made pizza and never have take away pizza, mainly because it makes me really sick but also because you can see the fat dripping off of it unlike at home pizzas. The other thing I love is it is something that can use up excess veggies in your fridge so here is a common combination I use:

Home made pizza:

2 large wholemeal pita breads

shredded BBQ chicken (or approximately 50g cooked chicken breast shredded)

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 capsicum, diced (whatever colour you have in the fridge)

1/2 sweet potato or pumpkin (sliced and precooked in the oven for 3 minutes with a little water on high)

3 rings of pineapple, chopped

2 mushrooms, diced

2 handfuls baby spinach

1 tomato, diced

handful mozzarella cheese

pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Slice and dice up vegetables
Place sweet potato/pumpkin in a microwave proof container with a little water and cover in gladwrap, cook for 3 minutes on high
Cover wholemeal pita breads in pizza sauce
Add toppings as you please
Finish with cheese
Place in oven for approximately 20 minutes or until cheese in melted and slightly brown

Enjoy

Recipe : Eat a rainbow chicken and veggies

This has become one of my favourite meals of late and something I tend to prepare on a weekend and then have for a few days as I've got a little extra time. I love this because it is packed full of veggies of all different colours plus has the protein from the chicken

Rainbow chicken and veg

Makes approximately 4 serves

1 red onion, chopped roughly

1 corn on the cob, chopped into 4 pieces

1 head of broccoli, chopped roughly

1 zucchini, chopped into approximately 1cm think rounds

1 medium sweet potato, chopped into approximately 1cm thick rounds

2 carrots, chopped into approximately 1cm thick rounds

2 chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
olive oil

Preheat over to 180 degrees

Line 2 baking trays with alfoil and place all the veggies on one and a half of the trays, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt, pepper and dried herbs on top, feel free to use any combination of dried herbs Ive just found I like these the best.

Place veggies in the oven for approximately 20 minutes
During this time wrap each chicken breast in baking paper with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper if desired, wrapping them in the paper allows them to steam in the oven.
After the initial 20 minutes remove the veggies and place your wrapped chicken next to them and place back in the oven for 25 minutes.

Remove once the chicken is completely cooked through and serve half a chicken breast with veggies

Enjoy :)

Recipe : homemade granola

It is no secret that breakfast is without a doubt my favourite meal of the day and  I love being able to snack on things that are like breakfast throughout the day so granola is a favourite of mine. You can purchase them in the shop but there is usually a lot of sugar in them, a lot more than if you make it at home. This recipe is adapted for Kayla Itsines meal plan

Home made Granola
Makes approximately 6 serves

1/2 cup pure maple syrup or rice malt syrup for those watching fructose intake
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
360g rolled oats
40g chopped almonds
30g pepitas
50g sultanas
40g dried goji berries

(note you can use any dried fruit these are just the ones I tend to have in my cupboard. you could even use 200g mixed fruit and nut mix instead of all the different nuts and fruit listed)

Preheat oven to 140 degrees and line two baking trays with baking paper.

Mix wet ingredients together first before adding all the dry ingredients. Mix well making sure all the oats are covered in the syrupy mixture.
Spead out thinly on the baking trays - make sure it is thinly as the thicker the layer the longer it will take to bake and it will end up uneven
Bake for approximately 30 minutes, checking every 5 minutes or so and stirring around to ensure it all bakes evenly. Remove when the oats are a nice brown colour.
Leave to cook and place in an airtight container

I serve mine with milk but you can have it with yoghurt and fruit or use it to top your smoothies or yoghurt cups

Food Groups

Dietitians / Nutritionists often talk about the 5 main food groups: breads and cereals, vegetables, fruit,  dairy and meat or protein. This is where I often get myself in trouble or am not your standard nutritionist as I don't calorie count (or very rarely), I don't look at serve sizes or number of serves and I don't count my macro nutrients. My aim is to eat whole foods as often as possible and limit the processed stuff. However, for the point of this blog and for the February challenge we are going to do in my bootcamp I am going to talk about the 5 food groups as these are what we are going to use as a guide for the nutrition side of the challenge.

Firstly there are the grains, breads and cereals group. This was a group I struggled with the most during my uni days as part of our degree required us to follow the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGHE) for 2 weeks consuming the recommended serves from each of the groups. Thankfully these guidelines have now been revised and the grains group has reduced what is now classified as a serve so I find it a lot easier if you want to follow the recommendations for number of serves. The AGHE currently recommend that the average Australian adult consume 6 serves everyday. An example of a serve is 1 slice of bread, 1/2 cup cooked rice or pasta or 1/4 cup muesli. It is important to note that when consuming foods from this group you should try and choose where possible options which have not been heavily processed, so wholemeal or wholegrain.

Next are the vegetables. This is my favourite group and the one I will be concentrating my recipes on as there is such a high percentage of Australian adults who are not consuming the recommended serves for vegetables. As a mum it is also the group which is hardest to get my son to consume. The average Australian adult should consume 5-6 serves everyday. An example of a serve is 1/2 cup cooked vegetables, 1/2 cup cooked beans, 1 cup salad vegetables or 1/2 medium potato. It is important when consuming foods from this group that you aim for a variety and a lot of people would have heard me say to EAT A RAINBOW!

Fruits, are probably the easiest for kids to meet and my son will happily consume fruit as a snack and would eat more that the recommended daily intake but as adults we sometimes struggle. The AGHE recommend that we consume 2 serves of fruit everyday. An example of a serve is 1 medium apple or banana, 2 apricots, 1 cup diced fruit or 1/2 cup fruit juice. While fruit juice and dried fruit are both included in the serves of fruit these should not be consumed on a daily basis as they are higher in sugar when compared to whole fruit such as an orange.

Dairy is often a food group which is cut out completely during weight loss as it is typically high in fat, however it is an extremely important group and one that should not be neglected. Yes it has fat in it but it also has protein and calcium which help our muscles and bones to stay strong and healthy. It is recommended that we consume 2.5 serves everyday, according to the AGHE we should also try to consume low fat options where possible, something I do not agree with but it is up to individual preference. Serve size examples include : 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup evaporated milk, 2 slices of cheese or 3/4 cup yoghurt. For those who are lactose intolerant but need to increase their calcium intake good options include 100g almonds, 60g sardines or 100g firm tofu.

The last food group is the meat or protein group. This is the group which is the most overconsumed group of all, especially among adult men. It is recommended that we consume 2.5 to 3 serves everyday. Examples of serve sizes are 65g cooked lean red meat, 80g cooked lean poultry or 100g cooked fish. Non meat alternatives include 2 eggs, 170g tofu or 1 cup cooked beans/peas.

Now most of this is just to refresh your memories as I know most if not all of you would know what the 5 food groups are and maybe even how much of each group to consume. Feb's challenge is not going to focus on serve sizes or number of serves from each group but more at consuming from these food groups as opposed to eating from the 'sometimes foods'. I look forward to going more into that on the bootcamp page closer to Feb.

Simone
xx

Setting realistic goals for the new year

It is that time of year where almost everyone sets new year's resolutions with the most common being related to health or fitness. So today I am going to talk about setting goals and making sure they are realistic. 

Firstly the big thing is don't go out too fast too soon. If you are someone who has not worked out in years it's not a great idea to set yourself a goal of working out twice a day, 7 days a week because you are likely to get a few days in and feel exhausted, sore which may result in you giving up all together.

Secondly it's important to ensure you find something you enjoy doing or do it with someone you enjoy spending time with. For example if you are someone who finds running really boring it's probably not a great idea to take up running 3x a week, you could however choose to go for a hike or a walk at the beach with friends or family which you may find enjoyable and may not notice the amount of steps you clock up and calories you burn. Other good options are group fitness classes, swimming or being active with the kids.

Thirdly, make sure your goals have a purpose. You may be thinking you want to lose weight because you want to be able to play with the kids more, or you want to increase your incidental exercise so you can remain active as you get older and reduce your chance of injury. By having a purpose you are more likely to stick to it. Make sure it is something that you want to do, not something you feel like you need to do. If you set yourself something that is positive and something you want to achieve you are more likely to stick to it. 

Make the goal specific. Instead of saying I am going to lose weight, state I am going to lose 2kgs a month for 6 months. This way you know exactly how much you want to lose and the time frame in which you want to lose it. It's also important to set both short term and long term goals. It's no good saying I am going to lose 20kgs without setting smaller goals to keep you on track and so you don't feel like you are putting in a lot of effort with no results. 

Making goals are personal and should be something each of us come up with ourselves, not goals that others set for us. So what are your goals for 2017??

I hope this has helped for you to make realistic goals around your health and wellness for this year

Simone
xx

Recipe : pumpkin and spinach risotto

Pumpkin and Spinach Risotto

Serves 4

Ingredients:
400g pumpkin
4 large handfuls of baby spinach
6 cups vegetable stock
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
240g aborio rice
olive oil
oil spray

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Peel and chop pumpkin into small cubes and place on the baking paper, spray with oil and place in oven and cook for approximately 25 minutes or until slightly roasted
Heat oil in a saucepan and cook onion and garlic until onion is transparent, add rice and cook until fragrant (a couple of minutes)
Add 2 cups of stock and cook until almost all the stock is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Continue this adding stock one cup at a time. This should take approximately 30 minutes until all stock is used and rice is al dente
Gently stir in pumpkin and spinach and cook until heated through
Serve and enjoy

This recipe was adapted from Kayla Itsines recipe book. Tip add other roast vegetables to the mix along with the pumpkin. This is a great way to use up excess vegetables in your fridge