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Friday 18 January 2013

Lemon Courgettes, Feta & Watercress Salad


Here is a fresh tasting, flavoursome recipe by Silvana Franco. (I didn’t use feta cheese and it was amazing without, so use or exclude as you fancy.)
Lemon Courgettes, Feta & Watercress Salad
Serves 4, Ready in 20 minutes
50g couscous
4 medium courgettes, cut into thick slices
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
Grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp toasted cumin seeds
400g good quality feta, cubed
80-100g watercress or various other salad leaves
Handful fresh mint leaves
Put the couscous in a small heatproof bowl. Pour over 75ml boiling water and set aside.
Put the courgettes on a large plate, sprinkle over 1 teaspoon sea salt and leave for 10 minutes. Pat dry with kitchen paper, then sprinkle with the rosemary, lemon zest and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Mix well.
Put a griddle pan over a medium-high heat and cook the courgettes for 2-3 minutes each side, until golden.
Meanwhile, make the dressing. Whisk together the lemon juice, 2-3 tablespoons of the olive oil, the cumin seeds and some black pepper.
Toss together the feta, watercress, mint, courgettes and the dressing. Sprinkle over the couscous and serve while the courgettes are just warm.
Enjoy!

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Fat Loss Tips!

To lose weight you must be using a combination of effective training with effective nutrition.
Key points for weight loss:
1. Healthy eating
The main principles you should follow are:
- eat fresh produce as much as possible, not pre-prepared meals, to avoid hidden salt, fat and sugar
- eat lots of fresh vegetables every day for a range of vitamins and nutrients
- drinks lots of water and herbal teas to help flush out toxins and aid fat loss
- eat a good source of protein at every meal to promote lean muscle tissue
Those are the dos, and the don’ts are:
- avoid added sugar and be watchful of eating more than one piece of fruit a day
- eat fruit within 30 minutes after a workout
- steam, grill and bake your food where possible as opposed to frying
- if you can’t resist eating bad things, don’t keep them in the house!
- if you are a parent, the kids’ leftovers don’t have to be eaten by you.
… Sound familiar?
2. Weight training.
Weight training makes your muscles ‘calorie hungry’ so the muscles burn up calories, even after your training session. Long slow distance on the cardio machines is not going to help you in the same way. You are better off doing a circuit of exercises, working big muscles groups, alternating lower body then upper body with little rest in between. This will involve strength training, cardiovascular work and endurance also.
3. Intervals/HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)
This method is not only vastly more time efficient but produces greater results in fat loss and maintaining muscle, as opposed to working at a moderate pace for longer. Start off by stepping out of your comfort zone a little then build the intensity over time. Don’t suddenly sprint if you’ve not done any before! Intervals involve short bursts of fast, hard work e.g. rowing or running and then slowing down to recover for a short time then sprinting again and so on. It can be tough work but extremely rewarding for your visual results, your heart health and for boosting your basal metabolic rate!
If you honestly think you’re doing all these and are puzzled, perhaps you have reached a plateau. It’s important to remember that if you’re training regularly (2-3 times a week) you need to change your exercise programme every 6-8 weeks in order for your body to adapt and respond. If the body gets used to the same exercise for 8 weeks plus, you’ll begin to notice very little change as opposed to when you started. Keep it fresh!

Laura Clark of LEC Nutrition gives her Top Tips!

Did the Olympic Games inspired you to get out and take advantage of some personal training? For athletes, nutrition is often described as a vital piece of the jigsaw alongside natural ability and training. Even for a novice athlete, what you put in your body and when will play a big part in getting the most from your new fitness regime. Here are some top tips:
Laura
Eat Regularly
Fuelling your body at regular intervals helps to keep your metabolism working efficiently and will give you the energy you need to exercise. Regular eating means a breakfast, lunch and dinner with snacks in between if going longer than 3-4 hours between meals.

Make it balanced
Include some form of complex carbohydrate (found in bread, pasta rice, potatoes) some form of lean protein (meat, fish, eggs, 
pulses) and some sort of vegetable/ salad or fruit at each meal. Balanced meals help to regulate your blood sugar levels and keep your energy levels topped up so you’ve got fuel in the tank to exercise!

Know when to snack
If your last meal was a while ago it can be useful to have a snack about an hour before exercise to top you up for example fruit, yoghurt, malt loaf, oatcakes or some plain popcorn. If you’re exercising for weight loss, you obviously don’t want to put unnecessary calories in so have smaller meals and use the calories saved for a small pre-exercise snack to help you power through your session.


Remember exercise is not always a license to eat more
Don’t be fooled into thinking that a slow jog round the park might cancel out last night’s curry. Although exercise has many health benefits such as reducing risk of cardiovascular disease and fending off depression, try not to be unrealistic about how many calories you’ve burnt, particularly if you’re trying to lose weight. For example walking for an hour burns approx. 180 calories, less than what you’d find in a standard sized chocolate bar.
Don’t be fooled by special sports products
Sports products have their place; the key is knowing when to use them to avoid extra calories you don’t need or throwing your money away. 
If exercising at a moderate to high intensity for over an hour you’ll need to top up your carbohydrate reserves in your muscles. This is where sports drinks or portable snacks like bananas or cereal bars can play a role. If you’re exercising for less than an hour you should only need water.
Protein shakes and bars are another confusing area. Despite what you often hear, protein requirements for most active people can genuinely be met easily through diet. It’s much more important to get the timing right rather than worry about the amount. To repair and re-fuel muscles, protein and carbohydrate taken together within 30 minutes of exercise is most effective. Great snacks for after a workout include a fruit smoothie, crackers and ham or yoghurt and fruit.
For more individualised advice, contact Laura at laura@lecnutrition.co.uk or on 07917 473 181 for a free 10 minute consultation.


Tahini-dressed Courgette and Green Bean Salad


I'm a big fan of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's! His recipes are colourful, inventive and straight forward to follow. Try this tasty, refreshing salad. It's easy to make and delicious!
Tahini-dressed courgette and green bean salad
from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's book 'River Cottage Veg Every Day'
Salad
Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil
3 medium courgettes (about 400g), sliced into 3mm rounds
Juice of ½ lemon
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
About 125g French beans, trimmed
4 good handfuls of salad leaves
12-18 oven-dried tomatoes or semi-dried tomatoes (optional)
A handful of mint, finely shredded (optional)
For the tahini dressing
½ garlic clove, crushed with a little coarse sea salt
2 tbsp light tahini (stir the jar well first)
Finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
Juice of ½ orange
½ tsp clear honey
2 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To make the tahini dressing, put the crushed garlic into a small bowl with the tahini, lemon zest and juice, orange juice, honey and a grind of black pepper, and stir together well. The dressing may thicken and go grainy or pastey, but don’t worry. Just thin it down by whisking in a little water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you get a creamy, trickling consistency. Finally, gently stir in the olive oil. Taste and add a little more salt and pepper if needed. The dressing is now ready to use.
For the salad, heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a fairly high heat and cook the courgette slices in batches, tossing them occasionally, for a few minutes until tender and browned on both sides, transferring them to a bowl once cooked.
When the courgettes are all cooked, season generously with salt and pepper, add the lemon juice and chilli and toss together well. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Tip in the French beans, return to the boil and blanch for 1 minute. Drain, then dunk in cold water to refresh. Drain again, pat dry with a clean tea towel and toss the beans with the courgettes.
To assemble the salad, spread the salad leaves in a large shallow serving bowl and scatter over the dressed courgettes and beans, tomatoes and shredded mint, if using. Trickle the tahini dressing generously over the whole lot and serve.

Friday 4 January 2013

My 10K Run For Congo Women

Run for Congo Women logo
On Sunday 3rd June 2012 I took part in my first running event, the 10K Run for Congo Women. Early morning, on that wet and rainy Sunday I made my way to Regent’s Park, via Monkey Gate for the 8am sign-in time. Despite massive travel problems getting into London I made it to The Hub, with relief, by 8.30am. As the race start time approached I felt more nervous — a little excited also — but very nervous. Then I simply thought to myself ‘what’s the worry?’. I was there to run, at my own pace with no pressure and simply to raise money for people in need. I am very pleased to have raised £345 and hope to raise more over the next two months. Thank you to all those who kindly donated!
The race itself was great fun to take part it. It was a rainy, grey day but it didn’t matter one bit. What is one hour of slight discomfort compared to what the women in the Democratic Republic of Congo have gone through? By the time we started it had stopped raining and the drips from the trees helped to stay at a good body temperature in fact! During the run, a slight injury I have in my right foot started to play up so I focussed more on correcting my posture and running style as well as keeping a decent pace. I had set my heart rate monitor stop watch so I could see my lap times and I was doing pretty well, getting similar times for the first two laps (about 16 minutes). The total course was three laps, so in the final lap I was intent on achieving my own personal goal; completing the 10K in under 50 minutes.
I knew not to push it too early, otherwise by legs would fail me on the home straight. I checked the path way ahead of me, that nobody was in the way and just kept on, breathing steadily. Once I turned the corner towards the finish line I gave it all my legs could take, sprinting as fast as I could. I felt a little sick with exertion bur once across the line I was warmly welcomed by my boyfriend, the lovely Jenny Burrell and husband (who did the run also) and the fantastic team at Women for Women International, who organise the race. Thank you for such great support!
It wasn’t until the next day when the times were put online that I knew for sure but I was thrilled to discover that I had run it in under 50 minutes — 49 minutes and 50 seconds!!
If you would like to take part in the next 10K Run for Congo Women, you can find details on how to enterhere!

Dynamic Stretching for Postural Correction


Stretching after exercise is very important, not only to prevent muscle soreness the next day, but to also allow the muscles to realign and not remain overly tight following exertion. However, you should also use stretches even without doing any physical activity. Due to everyday activities; be it standing, sitting for long periods or lifting things regularly, your body will develop areas of tension. This is simply the body’s clever way of supporting itself; when in the same position time after time, certain muscles come into play, adapting and becoming shorter and tighter. Your muscles will stay this way unless they are attended to with some simple stretches. Further help can be sought through classes like yoga, which is fantastic for lengthening muscles, improving flexibility and posture.
To prevent a build up of tension and its visible effects e.g. hunched shoulders, rounded back, neck jutting forwards, short stride length in gait, it is useful to try and integrate some movements that are key to realigning the body towards optimal posture as well as greater comfort. These movements can, in turn, help prevent injury. With one set of muscles dominating a movement where there should be an equal balance, this can cause other muscles to strain to compensate and lead to a pull, strain or even a tear.
If you are sitting for long periods of time your hip flexors are prone to becoming tight. This tension can alter your posture and affect your gait, which in turn may lead to pain or injury.
Here is a stretch pattern to remedy this area:
Lunge forwards with your left foot in front, allowing both knees to form a right angle and reach up as high as you can with your right arm while keeping your shoulder blades down your back. Then step back to a neutral standing position. Repeat this 15-20 times, or until you feel looser in the hip flexor area. Then change sides.
NOTE: To increase the stretch sensation, add a rotation in your torso either towards or away from the front leg. Take care however, as it can have quite a dramatic effect.
hip flexor stretch







Another common complaint, in sportsmen particularly, is tight hamstrings. Instead of the usual static hold you may already know, we will add some movement to allow maximum benefit. Step your right foot backwards leaving the left foot to rock onto the heel, then take your hips back while reaching your arms forwards (towards your toes or out ahead of you). Now step back up to a standing position and repeat. Imagine someone is pulling your hips backwards and your hands forwards to get the best stretch!
This dynamic form of stretching is far more beneficial in the long term than the static type; the muscles are naturally stretched in two or three planes of motion to trigger contraction back towards a position of least effort/tension — we call it centre: you currently know it as neutral.
To support this increased flexibility you should work on your core strength to allow the spine to align well in accordance with the surrounding muscles. Core stability is important to everyone, active or not; it can help to prevent back pain and to have greater control over your stomach muscles, achieving a slimmer and more toned appearance. As well as abdominals exercises, make sure you work your back and do some twisting movements to encompass all planes of motion that the body goes through.
Through doing these exercises, you should feel a lot less restricted in the lower body and perhaps your upper body as well. Practice daily for maximum results; it may improve your posture, when static or walking, as well as alleviating any niggling pain you have had. These are some of the benefits of dynamic stretching. I hope you enjoy using them!
If you have any questions then please do get in touch.