Author Archives: Active Pulse

Corn & Mango Salsa with Black Beans

Dinner, Food & Recipes, lunch, Salad, Side Dishes, Snack, , , ,

Ingredients:

  • 2 corn cobs
  • 1 small Lebanese cucumber
  • 1 mango
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 small tin of black beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 1 long red chilli (seeded)
  • 1/2 red capsicum
  • Large handfuls of coriander and mint
  • Olive oil
  • Lime juice
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  1. Steam the corn then allow to cool before slicing off the kernels into a salad bowl
  2. Dice the mango, avocado, cucumber and capsicum and add to the salad bowl
  3. Finely dice the onion and chilli and add to the salad bowl followed by the black beans
  4. Add a large handful of roughly chopped mint and coriander then dress with a squeeze of lime juice, salt to taste and a splash of olive oil 

Simple, fresh, vibrant, seasonal and an easy accompaniment to any grilled meats. It doesn't need much dressing as the quality ingredients are full of flavour. Enjoy.

 

 

 

Choc-Mint Hemp Seed Protein Balls

Breakfast, Food & Recipes, Snack, , , , , , ,

Ingredients:

  • 12 Medjool dates
  • 2 tbsp. Hemp seeds*
  • 1 tbsp. cacao butter (6 buttons)
  •  1 cup walnuts
  • 20 drops pure peppermint extract*
  • 3 tbsps. cacao powder
  • Mixture of your favourite toppings to coat. I used desiccated coconut, Dutch pure cocoa and a cape seed mix (sesame, flaxseed, poppy, sunflower)

Method:

Blitz all the ingredients in a food processor until the mixture sticks and holds together in the palm of your hand then shape into balls before rolling in your favourite topping.  Super easy and quick to make! I spooned 1 tbsp. of mixture to make each ball which yielded 20! Enjoy!

  • Hemp seeds and pure peppermint extract can be found at Organic Grocers or Health Food stores.

 

 

 

 

Garlic Eggplant, Carrots and Capsicum Salad with Goats Cheese Fetta

Dinner, Food & Recipes, Salad, Side Dishes, Uncategorized

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 Large red capsicums
  • 1 Large eggplant
  • 3-4 Carrots
  • Marinated Goats cheese fetta
  • Large handful of parsley
  • Large handful of mint
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 large garlic cloves
  • Olive oil

Method:

  1. Chargrill both capsicums whole over a naked flame or under the grill until the skin is completely blistered and blackened. Place in a bowl and cover with cling wrap for a few minutes to cool and soften. Once cooled, cut in half, remove the membrane, seeds and core and carefully peel off the blackened skin. Slice the capsicum into thin strips and place in your salad bowl. This is messy a job so feel free to use kitchen gloves or a small sharp knife to speed up the job. The end result is worth it!
  2. Scrub or peel your carrots, cut them lengthways and cut the eggplant into large chunks. Place them on separate baking trays drizzled with olive, salt and pepper, a bashed garlic clove and a bay leaf.
  3. Roast the veggies in a moderately hot oven at 180 degrees until golden and tender. The eggplant can also be chargrilled with olive oil in a griddle pan.
  4. Once the veggies are cooked and slightly cooled, toss into your salad bowl with the strips of capsicum then add roughly chopped herbs, crumble over the goats cheese with a little of the marinated oil and add a squeeze of lemon juice to taste.
  5. Serve warm.

 

 

 

Cauliflower, Spinach & Rocket Salad with Minted Tahini & Yoghurt Dressing

Dinner, Food & Recipes, lunch, Salad

Mad about salads and constantly creating interesting ways to eat a variety of veggies, this salad works with any accompaniment.  I make large quantities to feed a family of four and have the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 large or 1 small cauliflower
  • 3 Large handfuls of spinach and rocket leaves
  • Sprinkle of cranberries
  • Handful of cashew nuts
  • 1/2 red onion sliced
  • 1 avocado cubed

Ingredients for Tahini and Yoghurt Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup of Organic hulled tahini paste
  • Approximately 3 tbsp of natural sheeps milk yoghurt
  • Zest of 1/2 lemon and juice  
  • Large handful of chopped mint
  • 1 small clove of garlic smashed to form a paste
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  1. Break the cauliflower into florets and steam till tender. Once cooled add the rest of the ingredients into a large salad bowl.
  2. Make the dressing!  Mix the tahini and yoghurt first then add the remaining ingredients to suit your taste. Adjust the quantities of yoghurt and lemon juice to achieve a smooth, creamy consistency and then stir some through the salad with some extra on the side.

Options:

  • Add freshly chopped coriander or dill
  • Add a touch of saffron to the dressing

 

 

 

Bali Holiday Cardio HIIT Workout

Fitness Thoughts

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a workout mode which involves alternating between short bouts of highly intense vigorous exercise activity with periods of a low to moderate intensity exercise activity. The whole workout can be as short as 5mins to 20 minutes long.

The suggested benefits of this style of training are:

  • You will expend the same amount of energy exercising at a high intensity for a short period of time compared with low intensity endurance activities
  • It's a time efficient way of committing to exercise for those who have a hectic schedule juggling the work/life balance
  • Your overall fitness and VO2 Max (a measurement of how much oxygen your body can consume during exercise) will improve
  • Your anaerobic (without O2) and aerobic (with O2) fitness will improve as you condition your body to use both energy systems
  • The energy we expend during physical activity is the only form of energy our bodies control which influences our BMR (basal metabolic rate). With HIIT this will promote your body to increase it's BMR and burn more calories!

This is my Bali holiday cardio HIIT workout which has 13 intervals and is 11 mins and 10secs long!  For a real sweaty challenge, complete 2-3 rounds or record your reps and aim to increase this number for each high intensity exercise in your next session. Set your interval timer for 40secs of HIGH intensity work with 1min of LOW to MODERATE intensity work.

Take 10 seconds to prep, get ready, sweat!

  1. High knees skipping
  2. Burpees with pushup
  3. High knees skipping
  4. Switch Jump lunges
  5. High knees skipping
  6. Step Ups LHS with propulsion
  7. High knees skipping
  8. Step Ups RHS with propulsion
  9. High knees skipping
  10. Star Jumps
  11. High knees skipping
  12. Pencil Squats
  13. High knees skipping

END OF TIMER

 Tips:

  • Warm up with dynamic stretches or light cardio to prep your muscles and joints for the work ahead
  • Adopt correct exercise principles and technique
  • Progressively overload
  • Do static stretches at the end

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PlyoMania Workout

Fitness Thoughts

Plyometrics or jump training is a fun alternative to the routine strength-training or standard cardio workout. 'Plyos' are compound, dynamic exercises we did as kids - skipping, hopping and jumping in and out of puddles. These explosive exercises force your muscles to exert maximum force in a short period of time and will improve your agility, power, strength, speed and co-ordination.

Try this one!

  1. 20 Tuck jumps
  2. 10 Single Leg Backward Burpees - LHS
  3. 10 Single Leg Backward Burpees - RHS
  4. 20 Spinning Squats Jumps
  5. 20 Pencil Power Squats
  6. 20 Sit Throughs
  7. 20 Explosive Star Jumps
  8. 20 Jump Lunges
  9. 20 Box Jumps

 Tips:

  • Keep the exercises simple
  • Keep your core muscles engaged
  • Land in a soft and controlled manner
  • Avoid jumping on hard surfaces by jumping on grass, carpet or a mat

French Beans, Broccoli & Puy Lentil Winter Salad

Dinner, Food & Recipes, Salad, Side Dishes, , ,

This winter warmer salad is vibrant and fun. Lentils provide a rich source of essential nutrients such a B group vitamins, protein and iron. An ideal alternative for vegetarians and very filling.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of Puy lentils (black French lentils)
  • 1 Head of broccoli
  • Large handful of green beans
  • 1 cup of peas
  • 1 small red onion
  • Olive oil

Stock of your choice (I used beef because it has loads of flavour). Make your own or make sure you use a good quality preferably organic low salt brand.

Method

  1. Cook the lentils according to packet instructions and set aside to drain.
  2. Top and tail the beans, cut the broccoli into florets, wash the peas and steam the lot - separately!
  3. Toss the lentils and veggies in a large bowl, then add finely sliced onion and torn mint leaves. Mix through a dash of your chosen dressing and if you're serving the tahini dressing, serve extra on the side.

Tahini, Mint & Yoghurt Dressing

  • 1/2 a cup of Tahini paste
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup of natural sheep or goat yoghurt
  • Lemon juice
  • Salt
  • Handful of fresh mint
  • 1 small clove of garlic smashed to a paste

Mix all the ingredients in a jar or small bowl, add roughly chopped mint and serve.

Simple Vinaigrette Dressing

  • Olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
  • Lemon juice or organic white wine vinegar
  • 1 clove of garlic smashed to a paste
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix 3 parts olive oil to 1 part lemon juice or vinegar into a jar, then add remaining ingredients and shake.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Successful Snacking

Fitness Thoughts, Snack, Uncategorized, , , , ,

Many of my clients reach a point where their main meals are controlled but hit a wall when it comes to snacking.  Generally, most of us benefit from having one to two snack times per day which helps to control appetite but successful snacking can be challenging so evaluate your need to 'snack' depending on your fitness goals. 

Most snackers eat out of habit, boredom, social circumstances and often make poor food choices. This can easily lead to totally blowing your calorie cap for the day and all of a sudden, you're overeating! On the other hand, a mid-afternoon snack can keep blood sugar levels at bay which prevents overeating your next meal.

The key to success, is optimal food timing and regulating appetite by aligning your body's chemistry at the beginning of the day. When we first wake up in the morning, a neurotransmitter called nueropeptiede-Y is released driving us to eat mostly carbohydrates, so we should embrace breakfast and eat like a Queen (muesli, fruit, milk, yoghurt). If you miss breakfast, you'll be playing catch up all day. "Eat Breaky! Missing it is like a trip at the top of the stairs. Your diet goes down fast" by Matt O'Neill - Nutritionist/Dietician, Speaker, Educator. If you've allowed this to happen, a hormone called Galanin will release in the afternoon and drive you to eat fat usually in the form of cakes, chocolate and sweet biscuits.

Here are some simple strategies for successful snacking and appetite management:

  1. Only eat only if you are truly hungry
  2. Ensure your snack is exactly that! It's not a meal, it's a fix not a fill
  3. Keep your snacks to 140 calories or less (examples to follow)
  4. Make nuts or a trail mix your main mid-afternoon snack (contains healthy fats, protein, minerals and carbohydrates)
  5. Drink more water
  6. Drink green tea
  7. Prepare and plan your snacks at home, which reduces the risk of buying an unhealthy choice
  8. Eat nutrient dense quality food. Why waste snack time on empty calories? Peak performance can only be achieved with proper fuel.

And because we crave variety to keep our taste buds stimulated and motivational levels charged, here is a list of other snack ideas:

  1. Boiled eggs
  2. Green apples
  3. Slice of free range organic ham
  4. Homemade dips  with veggie sticks (capsicum, carrots, celery, cucumber)
  5. Small tub of low fat natural yoghurt with berries
  6. Punnet of berries
  7. Small tins of tuna
  8. Smoked salmon and cucumber wraps
  9. My date & cashew coconut energy balls (110calories/serve)
  10. Maca, Walnut and Macadamia Energy Bars
  11. Berry and banana or green smoothies 
  12. Veggie juices
  13. Natural popcorn

 

 

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Maca, Walnut & Macadamia Energy Bars

Breakfast, Dessert, Snack, Uncategorized, , , , ,

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups of whole walnuts
  • 1/2 cup of whole macadamia nuts
  • 1 teaspoon of Maca powder (another super food, this root which grows in the volcanic soils of the Andes in Peru, contains vegetarian proteins, vitamins and lots of minerals)
  • 2 teaspoons of Cacao powder
  • 4 large Medjool dates
  • 1 teaspoon of chia butter (Made by soaking Chia seeds in water 9:1 ratio and the instructions are on the pack). Once made, refrigerate the gel for up to 2 weeks in an air tight container. It can be used as a substitute for butter as well as added to smoothies, freshly blitzed fruit and veggie juices, yoghurts, muffins, slices and energy balls.

Method

  1. Blitz all the ingredients in your food processor until combined and sticky.
  2. Tip the mixture on to a shallow rectangle baking tray lined with baking paper (I recommend a tin 20cm x 15cm x 3cm). Mine was to big so I just shaped the mixture into a rectangle using 1/2 the tin size. Using your hands, press and smoothe the mixture into your tin then cover with baking paper and refrigerate until cold and firm.
  3. Once firm and cooled (about 15mins), turn out on to a chopping board lined with baking paper and slice into 8cms x 2cm mini bars. Or whatever size you like! I like to keep these rich nutrient dense snacks small.
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Protein packed Energy Balls

Dessert, Food & Recipes, Snack, , ,
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Home made protein packed energy balls. Eat these for afternoon tea with a cup of green tea or after a workout.

Ingredients

  • 150g of whole cashew nuts
  • 4 large Medjool dates
  • 2 tablespoons of raw cacao
  • 2 tablespoons of shredded coconut
  • Extra coconut to roll and coat the balls

Method

  1. Place all the measured ingredients into your food processor and blitz until combined and sticky.
  2. Turn mixture onto a sheet of baking paper and shape into 10 balls
  3. Roll the balls in the extra coconut and refrigerate until cold and set

A delicious ball of goodness at only 110 calories per serve - Yum!

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