Monday Madness 09/06/2014 - Another week dawns!

Monday Madness 09/06/2014

In this Mondays blog:

* free legal high (I mean endorphins!)

* Wimbledon strawberries

* parents arrested over obese child

* B is for.......

* your weekly recipe

* rumour busting

* move more chill a bit less

* dear diary, the countdown begins

Wow! Where has the week gone?. Is it really a week ago I was bouncing off the walls with excitement at the official first blog entry being published? At this rate it will be Christmas again soon!!(aghhhhh!)

Okay, so how has your week been?

Did you make time to move more?

Did you try out the MM recipe?

BTW if you want some inspiration for getting moving ladies you must check out Jessie Pavelka. I'm pretty certain he could get most of you interested in fitness! Just go and check him out (jus sayin')

My free legal high!

So this week I have been crazy in the gym. It might sound sad but the feeling of happiness when I've had a damned good sweaty workout at the gym is incredible. Of course its also scientifically proven as we release endorphins which give us a free and legal high! I'm really chuffed that my “standing up” cycling on the spinning cycle, (no not the washing machine!), is getting longer and longer. Its going to help my legs, bum and waist! Yay! Its lovely to come out of the gym and feel happier and more energetic than when I went in. You have to give exercise a go, you’ve got nothing to lose. Note: if you are new to exercise etc. do consult your GP first.

Wimbledon Strawberries

As some of you may know I live in Wimbledon. We aren’t far form the tennis and the town is def gearing up for Wimbledon fortnight which begins on the last week of June. Strawberries will be everywhere oh, and Cliff Richard look alikes singing down at Wimbledon train station! 

Pic courtesy of velojoy

I love strawberries but you know the Lawn Tennis Association thinks they can only be eaten with cream. For the Wimbledon fortnight blog I would love to publish your recipes and ideas of how you use strawberries. Feel free to send pics and ant anecdotes too to mrsjesmith@outlook.com.

In the news this week I spotted a report about a mother and father who are being investigated by the police for child cruelty. Their son who is eleven years old, 5'1” and weighs 15 stone has a BMI of 48. I’m not really sure what to make of this. I would love to know what you think and am really interested to hear your viewpoint. Please comment below at the end of this blog. Thank you.

To read more on this story go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-27730696     

Is for

berries ( a gazillion varieties!)beetroot

butternut Squash

brussels

bamboo

banana

broccoli

burdock

beans galore

balsam apples

balsam pears

broad beans (in season! right now)

As broad beans are in season and because they are yummy and under rated this weeks' recipe features them. This a recipe I have made oodles of times because quite simply its delicious! The original comes from Angela Hartnet but I've modified it a little. It is a warm salad but is delicious cold too.

I love this courgette photo. It is here courtesy of jandlseeds.com

Broad Bean and Courgette Salad. (serves 4)

Ingredients

4 large courgettes

200 g broad beans out of the pods. (tbh you can use frozen!)

1 tbsp olive oil

10 walnut halves, chopped

The dressing ingredients

half tbsp white wine vinegar

25 ml olive oil

salt/pepper

Method

*Whisk the dressing ingredients together and set aside.

*Slice the courgette in to half cm slices

*Heat oil in saute pan and add courgettes to cook for around five minutes (no more, you want them with some bite and not soggy)

*Put your broad beans in boiling water and cook for three minutes. Drain and peel if you are using fresh. Add to the pan with the courgettes.

*Add walnuts and stir dressing through whilst the salad is still warm.

Eat and marvel at how delish this is!

Myth Buster!

This weeks myth is one I heard sooooo many times when I was a weight loss leader so I thought it would be a good one to address!

The Rumour: My body is in starvation mode so I can't lose weight.

The facts: if I had a pound for every time I was told this at the scales I'd be super rich by now.

The fact is it's a myth. If you are not losing weight or are gaining weight its not because you haven’t eaten enough, it's because you've eaten more calories than you've burned. It is so rare that there is any other cause I'm afraid. Simple. This is usually caused by miscalculating your energy intake so you need to be careful and honest with yourself when adding up your energy in and energy out.

So you've heard that low calorie diets slow down your metabolism so that must be why you aren't losing weight. Okay, it may slow down a little but not enough to prevent you losing weight.

I'm not trying to be funny but you only have to look at the devastating effect of people unfortunate to live in countries where they really are starving. Have any of them kept their original body weight on? No!

So, sorry everyone but this one is a myth! Just be really careful to make your sums balance if you are trying to reduce body weight.

Move More Chill a bit less!

How are you feeling after a week of marching? Revitalised and raring to try something new I hope?

So this week how about getting yourself outside and take a walk around the park or even around the block? Try doing it every day and you will soon be walking further and who knows you may start running in the future. Maybe you could walk to collect the children/grandchildren from school? You could stop at the park on your way home and play with the kids. Walking is great for our lady bones. It helps to keep them strong which is of course essential for us girls. It will also help to tone your body. A toned body had more muscle and more muscle means that your body burns calories more effectively.

So, healthy bones, heart, toned body, the ability to burn energy more effectively – how can that not be motivation enough to get moving more and chilling a bit less? YOU can do it, I believe in you!

Illustration : www.letswalkmore.com

Dear Diary - The Countdown Begins!

Dear Diary will begin in on the 25^th of June and feature every fortnight. I've got a great diarist lined up for you whose them is going to be about how to have a healthy family on a budget and boy does she know exactly what she's talking about. I know you’re going to enjoy it and naturally there will be plenty of humour involved!

I have loved working on this Mondays blog and I really hope that you have enjoyed reading it too. My dream is that you have been inspired to go and make some small changes towards getting a healthier life that you want! cant wait for next week!

Janie xxxx

Monday Madness! June 2nd 2014

Are you ready?
No, I cant hear you! Are you ready?!
Yes? Well let,s go!




Monday will be the biggest blog of the week so what can you expect?
Every week
A-Z of fruit and veg
Diet Myth buster
Move more!
Nutrition made easy
Recipe of the week

Fortnightly
Dear Diary

Monthly
Seasonal eating Chart
Expert in the spotlight

Soooooooooooooo lets get going!

is for
apple
amaranth
artichoke
achoccha
anise
arrowroot
arrugula (rocket)
asparagus
atemoya
apricot
and my absolute fave, AVOCADO

So why do I love the avocado so much?
They are awesomely versatile and incredibly yummy but not only that they really are a gift from nature.
It has its own creamy flavour and texture and can be used in sweet and savoury dishes.
Its mostly eaten raw but I also love it warm as a veggie burger topping and in pasta.Only gently warm it though because it will become inedible!
It is super rich in monounsaturated fat, around 9.8 g per 100 g and a reasonable source of protein at  2  mg per 100 g. Mother nature has packed it full of vitamins and minerals
Studies have shown that the Hass avocado is brilliant at reducing harmful cholesterol levels and that can only be good!
So how can we introduce this awesome fruit in to our diets?
salads and salsas
smoothies
in pancakes - yum!
tostadas
as a sandwich filling
in sushi
with pasta
cupcakes
brownies
dips
and the list goes on!
I'd love your recipes please!

An unusual but scrumptious recipe for you to try!
Key Lime Pie (Serves 6)(240 kc per serving)

Filling
2 ripe avocado
2 tbsp raw honey (any will do if you don't have raw)
2 tablespoons of lime juice (yum)
1/2 cup coconut oil
* Blitz all the ingredients together for your filling and set aside.



Base
1/2 cup of finely ground almonds
1/2 cup dates (do not soak)
pinch of sea salt (please don't use table salt)
a few dried chilli seeds if you like a light kick
* Blitz the base ingredients together and press in to your tin (line it)

Spoon the filling over the base and place in your freezer for an hour or so.
remove and eat!!!!!

Top Tip
You can make these as individual portions using muffin cake cases. Freeze to avoid too much temptation
This is not meant for everyday eating but its a great one to wheel out when you want to impress your friends!


This weeks diet myth busted just for you!
Is fat our enemy?

The rumours:
*fat is bad
*fat makes you fat
*very low fat diets are healthy
*there's no such thing as a healthy fat

I set to work to find out the truth because quite frankly I'm sick of all the scare mongering that goes on and I want to know the truth so that I can make informed decisions about my own health.

So fats can be simplistically put in to four main groups:
*saturated
*cholesterol
*Monounsaturated
*Polyunsaturated

The first thing to note is that we have to have fats in our diet - we cant live without it.But it is also fair to note that all fats are not equal!

So, research suggests that some fats are good for us - they can help reduce incidence of cardiovascular disease, help nerve and brain function, assist the absorption of the fat soluble vitamins vitamins A,D and E, create subcutaneous fat to regulate our body temperature and are crucial for fetal development.
The fats identified as good fats are mono and polyunsaturated. we can find these in veg oils, fish oils, nuts, seeds, whole grain wheat for example. (Oh and not forgetting this weeks featured fruit , the good old avocado). These fats provide Omega 3 and 6 which we must have to live.
Saturated fats are those we need to be wary of. Excess consumption is linked to serious diseases such as cancers and cardiovascular disease and who the heck wants to encourage that?! saturated fats are dirt cheap and that's why they get thrown in processed foods! a diet high in convenience foods will be high in killer saturated fats.
Cholesterol is found in animal products.
A healthy amount of healthy oils per day is 1-2 teaspoons.

So, concentrate on your healthy fats, cut down or eliminate processed "foods" and bobs your uncle!
Verdict! fat is our enemy       (not if you don't abuse it!)

Move more chill a bit less!
I keep hearing people tell me that they hate exercise and they don't do any. Well bad news buster, you better start liking it or its gonna make you ill with all that lounging about. As the saying goes "if you cant make time to exercise , you better make time to be ill". Not a good thought eh?
Now, I looooove exercise it makes my body lean, strong and lets me live my life properly. I also appreciate that it can be a hard habit to get in to. But one thing I'm sure of is that if I promised you a night of passion with Johnny Depp, (or whoever your crush is),if you just walked around the block for ten minutes, you could do it!! So that tells me this is largely due to motivation!
People tell me they are too fat to exercise, ( bet you aren't), too embarrassed, (why? you are as entitled to want to improve your life as anybody else), too expensive ,( well I think some of the best ways to exercise are free), they feel intimated ( hell no! you are as good if not better than anyone else out there).
Frankly, and I am going to be brutal these are excuse we invent for not doing something. We all do it in one or other walks in our life so you're not evil or bad or anything, we just need to get past it and find ways to deal with them.
I love being outside, being in the gym or whatever but that didn't happen overnight. I took small steps but pretty quickly I became fitter and more confident. This isn't about body size its about you feeling great.

So what can you do this week to have the life you want?
How about exercising indoors by getting up and marching gently each time the adverts come on the TV? (or if you watching BBC get up every 15 minutes and march for 3 minutes?) Before you know it you will want to jog gently  on the spot or even run or skip. I know that you can do this and you can build your new well oiled machine so that life is fabulous! PS do consult your GP before starting any new exercise programme.

Taken form the Wolfson museum blog

photo taken from web md

So this week I am looking forward to hearing what you have done to move more and if you are a seasoned exerciser I would love to hear what your routine was this week. Come on girls, lets share our successes and motivate ourselves and others who might be struggling a bit right now!



Your next blog is on Thursday so keep your eyes peeled!
Really looking forward to hearing from you all, and enjoy the wonderful body you have been blessed with!
Janie xxxx

let me introduce myself.......................

Hey you!

Thank you for popping over to see my brand new blog - An Apple A Day!
I am quite a health nut and really want to share my passion with you girls. Yep, this blog is aimed at the fairer sex quite simply because men and women have different needs and feelings and one size does not fit all.Its not always easy to share your feelings or ask girly questions when guys are about but feel free to share with your fellow friends here. Now don't get me wrong I don't anti men or any such thing but sometimes us girls just need our own little bit of space!

This blog is for all of us women who want to empower ourselves and take responsibility for our own health. And do you know what? It is possible.I know it is because I have made changes. Yep, granted its all  been in small steps but that's the best way to do it! I have been a curvy woman and unfit. I decided a few years ago when I lost my darling Daddy that life was precious and short and from then on I made small changes that have helped me run my well oiled machine (my bod) and allowed me to do the things in life I want to do! It is LIBERATING!

Support networks are really important in life and probably even more so when we have temptation around us or are trying to develop new habits. I want this blog to become YOUR support network.I want to invite you to contribute, ask questions, in fact what ever it takes to reach our goals.

We will cover all sorts of topics including nutrition, how to move more, how to dress for our new shapes, how to empower ourselves in all areas of our lives, a bit of beauty and soooooooooo much more!I also plan guest interviews with experts to make sure we get it all okay!

Now I'm going to confess that I am not a big fan of those pesky lists that get published all over the internet , you know the type, "the ten best diet miracles " etc. So, my aim is to avoid those lists and if I do get any queries about them to find out the truth for us because TRUTH IS POWER. 

I plan to blog on a Monday to get the week started with a bang, Wednesday to check in and make sure our week is going well and a Friday to set ourselves up for the weekend.

Cant wait for your contributions, join in and lets empower ourselves!!!!

Lots of love and happiness
Janie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx