Posted on July 12, 2011 by Caroline
Yes, you heard me right, I have been reading the infamous ‘Dukan Diet’ this weekend out of curiosity and there are a few things in it that do make sense and 
have made me think of a few new strategies to implement, one of which being this fab recipe (tweaked slightly from the original!)
One of the key aspects of the Dukan Diet is to have an ‘Oatbran Galette’ (pancake in French, fat one as opposed to a ‘crepe’ I guess) every day. There is a lot in the diet that makes no sense to me, this is kind of one of them – you are not allowed any green veg on protein days but you can have unlimited low fat dairy which is high in carbs and you can have these that contain more carbs than a bit of lettuce, but that’s not what this post is about… Ignoring the contradictory details of the Dukan Diet, this is a recipe you can implement to support your goals while still eating salad and vegetables!
The oatbran is designed to boost the daily fibre content, we all need 25g minimum each day, while this is possible with generous servings of veg (which I recommend), boosting fibre is great for detoxification, if you have problems with hip and thigh fat it is linked to excess oestrogens and adding extra fibre is a real help there. I personally use pysllium husks mostly for adding fibre (it is good to rotate fibre sources every couple of weeks as your body may adapt to one source, so I do alternate with ground flax, hemp and apple fibre / FOS, you can get all from MyProtein, I would stick to psyllium / oatbran in this recipe, could try hemp flour / protein though too). This is a super tasty and also quite ‘bread-like’ way of boosting fibre intake and is very filling and will help with any cravings you might face…
So having tweaked the recipe by adding the psyllium I actually think it was better, lighter and held together better.
I tried this over the weekend with a couple of eggs fried in a little coconut oil and was fab, yesterday had as a kind of tuna open sandwich with cucumber & tomato, mixing mustard and a little 0% Total Greek Yoghurt with the tuna to make it like tuna mayo (could also use a bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a bit of mustard I just had Greek Yoghurt to use and hadn’t done that in a while!). Can also have sweet with berries. Whatever! Let me know your ideas!
I am on the fence with dairy, I don’t recommend unlimited amounts and don’t recommend milk for various reasons I will expand upon in a future article, but live yoghurt is something I have on occasion and recommend as a great breakfast alternative to cereal and milk, having 0% Total Greek Yoghurt with berries and a few nuts is a great, high protein and high nutrient start to the day. Generally I prefer people go for Total Greek Yoghurt as it is higher in protein and you can have the 0% version but the carbs / sugars stay low and the protein actually gets higher – most yoghurt goes low fat and ends up higher in sugars. You can add good fats from a few nuts and seeds to balance the meal, or stir in some orange flavoured omega 3 fish oil (not fishy, just orangey!).
This recipe calls for yoghurt which is what I tried it with but thinking about it I will probably use coconut milk instead – I love one from Goodness Direct that is super creamy: What on Earth Organic Coconut Milk or you can use Kara coconut based milk alternative but that will be thinner, you may need an extra egg if you do that…
If you have kefir that would be even better – you can make it from coconut milk or milk and it transforms a regular food into a healthy bacteria filled superfood!
Psilly Oatbran Galette
1 dessertspoon oatbran (this is not oatmeal or regular oats, it is the bran, so higher in fibre which is the goal_
1 dessertspoon psyllium husks (can get these from health food stores or online from MyProtein)
1 dessertspoon Total 0% Greek Yoghurt or coconut milk (see link above for my fave!)
1 large egg
1 tsp coconut oil (again, you can get small tubs from health food stores but I recommend you order in bulk from Coconoil as works out loads cheaper!)
Toppings as you wish!
- Stir the ingredients together, and heat a frying pan on the hob, use some greaseproof paper to grease the pan with coconut oil.
- Dollop the mixture (should be quite gloopy and dollopable) into the pan, pat it down a bit but if its too thin it will break when you try to flip it) into the hot pan. Leave it to cook a few minutes (if you flip it too soon it will collapse!) the edges should be coming away from the pan a bit.
- Flip and cook a few minutes on the other side, preparing the topping.
This is a super high fibre, high protein bread alternative, great for those times you are missing your old frenemy (have you ever wondered why the French call bread ‘pain’?!). Better than making a loaf with similar ingredients (although you can) because you make one at a time, and they are super filling too.
Adding the Psyllium was my tweak, I have it in my smoothies and it is a great fibre boost, I might actually try it in an omelette, which will make it more like a pancake, we shall see! Psyllium, kara and a bit of Sunwarrior protein powder, mixed so it is thick, with a few frozen berries, is another great snack or dessert, fills you up and beats any craving!
Would love to hear your topping ideas – comment below!
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Posted on June 29, 2011 by Caroline
Anyone for tennis?
Well there’s tennis fever as usual for Wimbledon, but that is not really the point of this article, it just reminded me to remind or alert you guys to the power of the tennis ball in helping you get more flexible and get more out of your training programme!
Yes, a tennis ball can do all that!
Confused? You may have read my article on foam rollers a while ago (along with a downloadable instruction manual and links to some good vids). A foam roller basically is a self massage tool, which you use by lying on it on the ground and moving yourself around to massage the tight spots on your body – for most people calves and ITB (outside edge of thigh) are top priorities (try it – if it is tender or sore you really need it!!!) but also great for quads, glutes and other areas (check out the link above for more info).
There are a couple of limitations to the foam roller, though. Firstly as they are quite big they are only really good for bigger muscle groups. Luckily, that is where the tennis ball comes in – it does the same thing with the same effect (releasing the fascia, or connective tissue, that keeps your muscles tight even if you stretch them regularly) but the smaller size means you can get into those tight spots more easily. You can place the ball against a wall, and use that to get your trap (shoulder / neck) muscles for example.
The use I want to focus your attention on right now, though, is the feet. And this is also where the ball has advantages over the foam roller.
You simply place the ball on the floor and roll the base of your feet over it, getting into all the nooks and crannies. This releases the connective tissue all the way up the body and can even result in improved hamstring flexibility, so is a perfect thing to do before each workout, as well as just generally. If you have any issues with feet, such as plantar fasciitis, it is definitely something you need to be doing daily.
The reason the ball may even trump the foam roller is convenience and simplicity. You can fit a ball in your bag easily but also you can leave a few around the house for impromptu usage. I have one by the sofa and one under each desk (one desk being the dining room table, I have an intermittent aversion to using the actual office!) and you can easily roll your feet while doing something else, which means you are more likely to be able to do it every day. Foam rolling you have to actively focus on (while you can do it while watching TV it’s still more active) and it does often end up being the thing that gets forgotten about.
So, find yourself a tennis ball and get rolling! Once things loosen up you can progress to a lacrosse ball and then a golf ball, I tend to use the tennis ball and the golf ball too. The spiky physic balls are really great too, you get a huge feeling of ‘foot massage’ with those.
You will improve your flexibility, which will improve your performance in exercises such as squats, which mean you can work harder at them and work your muscles more effectively, so you can burn more fat during workouts and get in shape more efficiently – result, huh?!
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Posted on May 20, 2011 by Caroline
Feeling Slinky?
Are you struggling with motivation to take that first step towards a fitter, healthier you?
Do you feel that it could all be so easy, but you don’t really know where to start? Perhaps you feel overwhelmed because you then let your thoughts run wild and think about all the pitfalls – what if I can’t keep it up, what if it’s all too hard? Fear of failure is debilitating, so it is VITAL that you remind yourself that the only failure is not taking any action at all! There is nothing to lose by trying something – even if it doesn’t work perfectly it will help you decide upon a better route.
One of the best ways of thinking about your journey in life is as a series of spirals. We know how easy it is to take the downward spiral – you miss a workout and then start eating badly, or you eat one chocolate and suddenly the whoel day is a write off… But if we simply flip that notion on its head it is a stark reminder that creating an upward spiral can be as easy!
Yes, if we stop thinking about where each step will end up, and simply take one small step forwards and upwards, the next step seems to be there, waiting expectantly for another small, do-able, positive step!
So, if you don’t feel like going for a walk, just put on some exercise clothes and trainers. Don’t think about the next bit. Once you are kitted up, you feel more ready for action – when you are wrapped up in a dressing gown and pyjamas even an athlete is not in athlete mode, so simply a change of clothes can make a huge difference.
That simple, easy, positive step drives you forwards to the next one – getting out of the door. In life coaching and time management coaching the 5 minute rule is often used to get people doing things they usually put off and end up never doing. This works fantastically for exercise too – say you are going to do 5 minutes, and that’s it. If you feel like doing more when you start, great, if not, at least you have done 5 minutes! I am actually using that technique right now – writing articles is the thing that keeps staying at the bottom of my things to do list, as I have client emails, programming and ‘important / urgent’ tasks I need to do, so the ‘important / not urgent’ things can get forgotten. They can be more important than the urgent things – in the same way that putting off exericse today as its not ‘urgent’ whereas all the chores and jobs and emails screaming for your attention are ‘urgent’, but in the long run, you simply cannot keep putting off getting healthy!
I teach an outdoor fitness ‘bootcamp’ and all my clients LOVE the feeling of getting up and out in the mornings – there are evening sessions too, but the effect of getting up that little bit earlier, getting started with that pretty huge step, or series of steps, on the positive spiral, means making better choices for the rest of the day becomes easier. The feel-good factor is biochemical due to the endorphins released because of the exercise and being outdoors, but the sense of achievement and positivity has it’s own feel-good factor. Spiralling upwards!
Noticing that life operates in spirals makes it easier to halt those downward spirals – as you know that all you need to do is take one small positive step in the other direction, rather than thinking about the whole journey, to kick start that positive momentum taking you onwards and upwards!
So, make the choice right now – ditch the downward spiral of excuses, and say ‘YES’ to life and the positive spiral of taking positive action, and getting the cascade of positive effects that will surround you as a result!
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Posted on May 17, 2011 by Caroline
The BBQ season is pretty much upon us now and this can lead to challenges on the nutrition front!
BBQs themselves are brilliant in many ways – plenty of protein, loads of salads. The key is to ignore the bread / buns and be canny on your choice of sauces – regular BBQ sauce is a disaster as its full of sugar, but you can make your own, using balsamic vinegar, agave or coconut syrup for sweetness, and BBQ spices, as well as lemon or lime juice for some more zing…
Drinking is always a dilemma, and I am certainly not a tee totaller myself! The lure of a cool beer for some, or a cool glass of wine for others on a hot day in the sunshine can be too much to resist. And the more you drink you also run the risk of messing up all your good intentions to avoid the junky parts like the buns and potato salads drowning in mayo!
A few brilliant beverage options to refresh you, and give you a bit of a taste sensation at the same time – use them for your first drink instead of cracking open the beers / wine too early, have them in between drinks to reduce overall consumption and aid detoxification at the same time, or even have these instead of drinking altogether!
1. Sparkling mineral water with a squueze of lemon or lime.
This is not only super delicious but a great way to alkalinise and detoxify – I start every day with this drink and recommend you do too! Beware of lime cordials, might seem inocuous but loads of sugar, have this instead, all taste none of the junk and so much better for you. Add slices of lemon or lime and ice cubes as you wish. Can also freeze lemon / lime juice into ice cubes for an even quicker way to achieve the same result.
2. Spa Water - I got this from Valerie Waters, trainer to the best bods in Hollywood (if it’s good enough for them…). Simply add slices of cucumber to your water, could also add lemon / lime (Pimms optional, ha ha) for another refreshing twist.
3. Berry Fizz - another poach from Val, add a handful of frozen berries to your sparkling water – gives the drink a fab colour too!
4. Kombucha! Now, this is a bit more complicated. You can buy kombucha but it is better to make your own. It is a slightly intricate process but well worth the effort. You have to get hold of a kombucha ‘mother’, then you can make your first batch, and every batch creates a ‘baby’ that you can give away so someone else can start it up. I am making it so will soon have some progeny to give away, or you can order online, I got mine from HERE. It is not only a super refreshing drink that tastes awesome, but it has a whole host of health benefits and has been used in many traditional societies for years. I will do an article on it in more detail at some point, but in the meantime, hit up Google if you are interested! I love to have a little kombucha in a tall glass of sparkling water with ice – tastes as refreshing and tangy as an alcholic beverage but does you good!
5. Iced Herbal Tea. I love Tulsi tea - it is also a great destresser, you can practically feel your cortisol levels dropping as you drink this stuff! A sense of calm and serenity hits you gently over the head with every cup! A great, refreshing way to have herbal teas when you are wanting something cool and / or sparkling is super simple – make a cup top up in a jug with sparkling water and ice. Shazzam, yet another healthy yet lurvely refreshing alternative to booze…
What about the nibbles, I hear you cry. Those darn kettle chips tend to scream at you at BBQs – I used to be haunted by the spectre of kettle chips and houmous, while houmous can be great, a whole tub along with most of a giant pack of kettle chips while the barbie’s heating up doesn’t a slimline bikini body make… Plus, they are, like the equally taunting yet even worse for you Pringles, ‘unstoppable’ once the salty, fatty, carby combo has taken over your hormones and taste buds and hijacked your bodily functions to the extent that your hand repeatedly reaches for more and seems to bypass conscious control.
Save yourself from this torment, and try some alternatives!
1. Salt and Vinegar Cucumber Strips. Super lush, slice cucumber into cyclinders or big chunks, toss in balsamic and / or apple cider vinegar and celtic sea salt and black pepper. Enjoy the salt and vinegariness and the smugness of a snack that is actually angelic.
2. Celery / Carrot or Apple slices with nut butter. Almond butter is particularly good for this, while you can’t eat loads of nut butter (a personal trigger food I sometimes struggle not to over do so actually now avoid stocking it!) this is a great snack, any time of day. Protein and good fats keep you satisfied and energised.
That’ll do for now! Comments or other ideas below gratefully appreciated!
XCaroline
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Posted on April 13, 2011 by Caroline
Due to popular demand, Fit Body Fix is launching in Highfield next week, on Tuesday 19th April.
There is a special launch offer, where you get the first 3 weeks for a mere £35, or you can register for May at £99 and get all of the 3 weeks in April completely FREE!
Sessions will run at 6.45am on Tuesday and Thursday, and 9.30am on Saturdays. Sessions last 45 minutes.
You also receive downloadable nutrition manuals and online support. Those who register for May get a full hard copy manual and all can attend the coaching meeting on Friday 6th May, 6pm at Shirley Parish Hall.
For more information or to register please contact Caroline: fit@fitbodyfix.com or call 07798 941832.
PLACES ARE STRICTLY LIMITED SO HURRY!
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