Recipe for nice cream

If you haven't heard of nice cream and are a big ice cream fan this recipe will be right up your ally! I only tried this for the first time a few weeks ago and absolutely loved it. I could have eaten it by the bucket load. The good thing about this recipe is it has so many variations and you can really make it your own based on what you like.

Choc Almond Nice Cream

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana

1 1/2 tablespoons almond, coconut and cacao nut butter

1/4 cup milk

Method:

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor, adding a little more milk if required to make it your desired consistency and place in bowl. Shave a small amount of dark chocolate on top and enjoy!

Alternatives - cashew butter or frozen berries or cacao powder

Recipe for Healthy Potato Bake with baked chicken

I have been doing a lot of cooking and baking of late to make some healthy meals and thought I would share a few of the recipes with you today

Vegetable bake with Chicken

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato

5 potatoes
3 large handfuls baby spinach
1 brown onion
2 carrots
2 tins diced tomatoes
1 small tin coconut milk
2 chicken breast fillets

Method:
Preheat oven to 180. Slice sweet potato, potatoes, onion and carrots into approximately 1cm thick slices. Place into a casserole dish with baby spinach, diced tomatoes and coconut milk and toss until all combined. Cook for 50 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
Meanwhile place 2 chicken breasts on a tray and bake for 25 minutes or until baked through.
Slice up chicken breasts
Place Vegetable bake onto plates and arrange chicken on top

Feel free to add any other vegetables you enjoy - turnip, swede and pumpkin would all be great additions

Alcohol and how it may impact your weight loss journey

Let's face it we all enjoy a glass or two of alcohol, be it wine, beer or spirits, every now and then particularly coming into the silly season of Christmas, New Years and all those endless parties. So can I still drink alcohol and lose weight? Or at the very least can I still drink alcohol and maintain my current weight? In short alcohol of any kind is not great for weight loss as it is what I call 'empty calories' (meaning you get no nutritional benefits for the amount of calories you are consuming), it also promotes fat storage and decreases muscle growth. Once you begin consuming alcohol it takes away the glycogen built up in our livers which makes us hungry meaning not only are we consuming the empty calories of the alcohol but we are also more likely to consume fatty take away foods which also sabotage our weight loss.

Alcohol can impact on the liver, stomach and kidneys due to it irritating the lining of the stomach and gradually weakening the kidneys and liver meaning all 3 don't work as efficiently as our bodies require them to. If these organs are impaired we will not be able to break down our food as effectively which will effect our ability to absorb nutrients and maintain a healthy body. So how is alcohol absorbed? Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream extremely quickly with approximately 25% absorbed in the stomach and the remainder through the small bowel. Absorption is affected by food in the stomach (drinking on a full stomach slows absorption of the alcohol), carbonation of the drink being consumed (champagne is absorbed quicker then non-sparkling wine) and the concentration of alcohol within the drink (the higher the concentration the faster it is absorbed so choose low alcohol options). At least 90% of the alcohol is processed in the liver taking approximately 10 hours per standard drink to be completely processed by the body. This is why we can offer wake up after a big night out still feeling intoxicated and why police are often doing RBTs in the morning as it is likely you would still be over the limit.

Something you need to keep in mind is for every gram/ml of alcohol you consume that is 7 calories or 29KJ. If you think about that the AVERAGE Australian male should consume 8700KJ per day. This is all the drinks, main meals and snacks throughout the day. And I say average because this does not fit for everyone, if you are someone who is really active then you may need to consume more than this, there are many factors which influence the amount of kilojoules we should consume each day including gender, age, fitness levels and ethnicity. So what are the best options when consuming alcohol this festive season?

Common drinks and calorie/kilojoule content:
Beer - 139 calories / 581KJ
Light Beer - 104 calories / 435KJ
Wine - 120 calories / 502KJ
Cider - 210 calories / 879KJ
Vodka and club soda - 64 calories / 268KJ
Champagne - 84 calories / 351KJ
Rum and coke (small glass at pub) - 120 calories / 500KJ
Sangria - 167 calories / 698KJ
Martini - 69 calories / 289KJ
Vodka and 1/2 can red bull - 110 calories / 460KJ

It is also really important to keep up water intake throughout the night as well as alcohol can cause dehydration, leading to headaches and feelings of fatigue so try and match your alcohol glass for glass with water.

Hopefully this helps you to choose your alcohol wisely if you are looking at losing weight or going out throughout the next couple of months.

Simone
xx

Are all fats bad for me?

A lot of people when they start up a new healthy eating plan or diet tend to cut out all fat thinking this is the enemy and will help them to lose fat. While it is true when it comes to things like McDonald's, KFC, chips and other take away or 'junk' food it is not true across the board for all fats. Fat is essential for us to lead a healthy lifestyle and our bodies to work at it's optimum level but we need to ensure that we consume the right types of fat. It's important to read the labels and understand the difference between saturated, unsaturated and trans fats.

Saturated fats are often referred to as the 'bad fats' and are both animal and plant based and are typically solid at room temperature. They have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and high blood cholesterol levels. Sources of saturated fats are dairy foods, meat, palm oil, coconut oil, coconut milk and cream, cooking margarine and lard. It is also commonly found in packaged foods like potato chips, crackers, cakes, high fat muffins, deep fried take away foods, pastries, pies and sweet and savoury biscuits. When choosing meat products it's important to trim off or drain as much excess fat as possible.

Unsaturated fats are often referred to as the 'healthy fats' and these help to reduce the risk of heart disease and lower cholesterol levels. There are two different types of unsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats, both have slightly different chemical structures. Unsaturated fats are commonly liquids at room temperature with common sources being omega 3, omega 6 fatty acids found, fish, oils, nuts as well as avocados. It's important to still consume these in moderation despite them being the healthier alternative as too much of anything can cause weight gain.

Trans fats are processed unsaturated fats which means that they act in a similar way to saturated fats and can increase the risk of heart disease. It is important to limit the intake of trans fats to maintain a healthy diet. There are typically found in packaged foods as well as butter and some margarines, similar to saturated fats. 

Cholesterol is a type of fat found in our bodies and more and more people are being diagnosed with high cholesterol levels. It was long believed that consuming large amounts of food containing cholesterol you were at a higher risk of high blood cholesterol levels. It has now been shown that consuming high levels of saturated or trans fats pose a greater risk to high cholesterol levels than those foods which contain unsaturated fats. Cholesterol plays many important roles in the body including production of hormones, bile and vitamin D.

Hope this helps to break down the myth of fats and that not all fat is the same

Simone xx

Workout you can do at home

It's can sometimes be really difficult to find motivation to workout at home by yourself and you can offer wonder if there is any point if you don't have any weights or workout equipment. I'm here to tell you that you can still build up a sweat and get your heart rate up without fancy equipment. There are many things that can be used around the house to make the exercises a little bit harder. Bottles of water or cans of tomatoes can be used for weights or even a child if they want to help you out with your workout, mine always does. 

Today's workout we will start with 5 minutes of brisk walking followed by 5 different exercises completed for a 40 seconds each time with a 20 second break in between each exercise and going for 4 rounds (20 minutes all up), then a 5 minute cool down walk (30 minutes all up)

Exercises are:
Push ups - these can be done on your knees, toes or if you are just starting out even against the wall

Renegade rows - I am using weights in these pictures but you could use tins or jars from your cupboard

Jump squats - imagine getting your bum down on a chair and jumping high into the air. This exercise should give you a nice burn in your legs 

Bicycles - this is a great core exercise and you will quickly feel the burn. Make sure to keep your feet from touching the ground as you complete the exercise. Try not to strain your neck throughout this exercise

Toe reaches - In this picture I am using a 10kg weight but you don't need to use a weight at all or could substitute for a bottle of water or anything you have lying around the house to add an extra little bit of weight. Make sure to keep your arms and legs as straight as possible throughout the exercise

Making healthy choices coming into the celebration season

We are only a few weeks away from Christmas and the holiday season which means parties and events where there is alcohol and all those tempting treats on offer on a more frequent basis then usual. So how do we stay on track and not put on unwanted weight? 

When drinking alcohol it's important to follow the rule of 1:1 which is one glass of water for every glass of alcohol. It's also important to not drink to excess as this can cause dehydration not to mention the extra calories and the hangover the next day. It is also important to limit soft drinks as the average 600ml bottle of soft drink has 11 teaspoons of sugar in it. Soft drinks also dehydrate us so it's important if you are consuming soft drink to drink extra water as well.

When it comes to food there can be hidden calories in all sorts of foods we find at Christmas parties. So how do we choose the best options? For starters make sure to eat something before you go to the party. This way you are less hungry when you go to the party and less likely to binge on everything that is on offer. It's also important to allow yourself a few little treats otherwise you are more likely to feel like you are missing out and will end up consuming more in the long run. As I've said before I do believe in a balanced lifestyle with everything in moderation. Choose as natural food as possible, including fruit and vegetables. Avoid pastry based products which are high in fat and sugar.

You always have the option of making something and taking to the party if it is not at a restaurant or catered venue. Yesterday I set out to make a healthy chocolate tart which could be taken to parties and I am really excited by the result. Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Almond Tart
Tart base
1/2 cup oats
1 1/2 cups almond meal
2 tbls oil (I used olive)
pinch salt
3 tbls rice malt syrup (could use honey or maple syrup if you have these)

Chocolate filling
1 cup cashews (soaked for 4 hours)
1/3 cup cacao powder
1/2 cup rice malt syrup (again could use honey or maple syrup)
100g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping
Strawberries
chopped up almonds

Method:
Crust - 
Blitz oats in a food processor until they are a fine powder, add all extra ingredients and blitz again until combined
Press the mixture evenly on the base and sides of a lightly greased tart tin
Bake for 12-15 minutes at 180 degrees
Remove and allow to cool completely before putting filling on
Filling-
Melt butter in the microwave and place aside to cool slightly
Place all other filling ingredeints in the food processor and blitz until combined and as smooth as possible
Slowly add the butter until smooth and creamy
Pour filling onto the tart base and place in freezer for at least 2 hours
Decorate with a topping of your choice and enjoy

Hope this helps a little and you enjoy the recipe

Simone
xx

Summer recipes

The weather is heating up and sometimes we don't feel like really heavy hearty meals so today I'm going to share some lighter meals we can have which are just as filling and packed full of vitamins and minerals. Firstly there is breakfast and I've already said how much I love eating breakfast of late and have been obsessed with oats but coming into the warmer weather I don't feel like a hot breakfast and I'm not one to really eat cereal, at least not the healthy kind anyway. So smoothies it is! Smoothies are so easy to make, refreshing and you can have them on the go or as a smoothie bowl where you can sit, relax and enjoy. 

I was given a nutri bullet for Christmas last year and it is one of the best gifts I've ever been given. Makes smoothies extra easy, just put all the ingredients in and blend. Smoothie bowls have become increasingly popular of late with a number of restaurants and cafe's now adding them to their menu. I have attempted a few at home and this morning was my most successful. It's an easy way to get your daily fruit requirements plus pack in some veggies and protein as well as other nutrients. I'll put the recipe for the one below which is mixed berry. Depending on how big your appetite is will depend if it is 1 serve or 2. I had this as a post workout meal and only needed half the serve of the recipe below.

Recipe for Mixed Berry Smoothie Bowl - serves 1-2
2 cups frozen mixed berries
1 cup coconut water
2 scoops protein powder
1/2 cup baby spinach
Place all ingredients in blender and blitz

topping:
handful of goji berries
1 tbls chia seeds
2 tbls shredded coconut

Another of my favourite meals at the moment is zoodles. For anyone who has not tried these it is substituting pasta for zucchini. All you need is a veggie spiraler which you can pick up at kmart for $15. You can then use this to turn vegetables into noodles. I've only done zucchini but you can do carrot, sweet potato or any vegetables that can fit in the spiraler. I find that the zucchini's make the dish lighter and you can add any sort of pasta topping you like. I prefer a vegetarian topping but depending on if I am making this meal for me or my whole family determines the type of topping I put on. In the picture above I have put a bolognase sauce (with extra vegetables) and in the one below which I will put the recipe for I have a vegetarian topping. 

Recipe serves 4
4 zucchini's 
3 cups mixed chopped vegetables - I use whatever I have in the fridge and it is usually the meal I make prior to market day
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbls tomato paste
Pepper to taste

Chop up all the vegetables and spiral the zucchini's 
Put water in a saucepan and bring to boil
While waiting for the water to boil heat oil in another saucepan and throw in all the vegetables, brown slightly
Add chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and pepper to the vegetable mix
Simmer away
Place zucchini with a pinch of salt into the boiled water
Cook zucchini for 5-8 minutes
Drain zucchini and split into 4 bowls
Place vegetable sauce on top

Enjoy

Simone xx