Handy food tips

Hello Friends, 

So this is what happens when you get a 'grown-up' job... lol.. You don't have any time for your Fitness blog!  :)  

I think I am finally starting to get the art of juggling work, training and cooking with a relationship.  That moment everything click into place - the fun starts! 

Anyways, wanted to share a quick post with you for some meal ideas.  I know we all run out at some stage.  

First up, is my delicious sweet potato wheels.  These a crispy like oven chips.  With some light tomato sauce you wont know the difference.  Simply slice the sweet potatoes and place them of baking paper, on  oven tray.  Bake in a very hot oven for about 60 min.  Add coarse salt and pepper. 

I had the above pancake yesterday on my refeed day for breakfast.

7 egg whites
60g oats
1 cup of berries
1 scoop of Delicious whey from QNT sports.

Mix eggs and oats. Bake like an pancake .  Mix the whey with a little bit of water and stack your pancake! yum!




Omelet with grilled veg.  No explanation needed  :)



Oats and strawberry QNT whey.  Add a handful of strawberries.

There you go.  Now go eat clean and get lean ! :)

Cabbage stirfry

This a an excellent example of your vegetable portion for my meal plan clients.  Try this one, you will not be sorry.  I simply love this recipe!

I will briefly explain how you make it. Super easy.

In a lightly oiled pan , fry a onion, a red bell pepper, 1 small chopped chilly and a teaspoon of fresh garlic.

Add your chopped cabbage and let it grill until you feel it is soft or hard enough.  I like mine still crunchy.

You could have this as a side with chicken breasts, fish or beef.

I had mine with avocado and little bit of mozzarella ( Not good for my lactose problem.. I know) .  This is vegetarian option and still delicious!

You can really prepare this in 5 minutes, so no excuses for not having time.  :)

Self love - Vanity?

Self Love? Vanity? Where's the line, and how do you walk it? 

I believe a little vanity leads to a healthy self-esteem. This being said, there is a line.  Sometimes we linger on that thin line, as fitness girls.  In a industry like this, you want to promote a healthy, fit body.  You have to be the advert for yourself, if you want to make a success.  If this need a little self-love, then so be it.  

In my humble opinion, if you still inspire people to be the best that they can be, and you are not just working for self gain, there is nothing wrong with it.  You are taking the lead and giving something positive back. The most important part is to remain HUMBLE.  In great success, it is an even greater achievement to keep your little feet grounded. 

Arrogance can be a deadly quality and can have an extremely negative effect on a sufferer's daily life, personal relationships and performance at work.

So how do you see the difference? This will vary from person to person as to what they perceive to be over confident and vain... as to someone who  feels competent and self-assured, a person willing to take responsibility, who at the same time cares about others. 

To conclude; believe in yourself. Trust in  your abilities and above all remember that humility is the most attractive characteristic you can find in someone.  

I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes.

-Oprah Winfrey quotes

Some news

Hello Friendies...

How are all of you? I do not have alot of news for you yet.  Still trying to make sense out of the chaos. :)

I have interviews coming up.  My goal, as you know is to find a job as Personal Trainer.  Tomorrow will be first meeting/discussion for  an interview.  I will have to set up a Business plan .... grrrrrr I cant say I particularly love it. Just doing what needs to be done for the moment.  I still remain positive.  I will achieve my goals.

Other than that, I have some exciting stuff happening with QNT SPORT, who will remain to be my provider of supplements.  I am very happy about this, as they really are an exceptional brand.

It feels good to be back in SA.  France has been an enriching experience, but nothing can compete with your own country, language and culture.  I particularly enjoy the sunsets every night, wine with good friends and of course everyone understanding what I say.

Will let you know when I have more news.  Its time for apartment hunting ! :)

Quite the challenge! My home workout from yesterday. ....

Morning peeps! 

Hope everyone is doing great?  After attemping to amputate my index finger on Thursday, I try to stay out of the gym a bit. ( Will spare you the images and visuals..lol)  There's dirrrrrty germs.  :)  So I put together a kettlebell homeworkout.  Must add, I burned a good 450 calories doing this.  Worked up quite the sweat!

Warm up with 30 seconds each of the following;

Arm swings / change direction
Torso circles
Toe touch kicks
Jumping jacks
high knees

Do 20 reps of the following:

1.  Kettlebell swing
2.  Kettlebell lunge with an arm swing
3.  Alternating single arm swing
4.  Kettlebell rack
5.  Bottom up rack and hold
6.  Squat and press
7.  Kettlebell Halo
8.  Lunge with rotation
9.  Single leg deadlift
10. Turkish get ups
11. Kettlebell pullovers
12. Hammer curl
13. Tricep extension
14. Kettlebell side crunch
15. Toe touch crunch


After completing my kettlebell routine, added some exercises for glute activation.

6 x 20 Bent over kick backs
6x  20 Swiss ball hamstring curls

Enjoy! :)

How others perceive you...

I chose a difficult topic today.  I have been thinking about this for some time now.

There is two sides to this.  How others see you.  This might turn into one of those post that result in incoherent blabber... be warned.  I do not think I have an answer to this.  I also think it depends greatly on the type of personality you have to do with and how the person takes critisism.

For some it might be a very big thing how others see them.  For others its all like water off a duck's back what people say or think about them.

I must admit, when I entered the fitness industry this was a HUGE thing for me.  I felt so injured at the smallest criticism.  Only later did I realize ( and I quote the lovely Miss Dita Von Teese )

“You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches.”

You NEED to know this. LEARN this and then LIVE by this.  People cannot all like each other.  People say rude, nasty, jealous and dearly uncalled for things to each other without thinking about it twice. Our chemistry's just do not all mix, you know?   Unfortunately not everyone was born with tact, and needless to say some people just needed some more smacking on the buttocks for better manners when they were little... wink wink :) 

My conclusion, and this just what I think about the topic.  You cannot take everything people say about you, or to you to heart.  You will end up a mess in a corner rocking front and back. ha ha! YOU know who you are, and as long as you are not intentionally hurting people around you, it cant be that bad.  

Lift your pretty little chin, shake back that hair.... cause you are FABULOUS! .... and don't let anyone tell you any different :) 

Slow roasted honey and rosemary pork

My dear friends....

You will have to search far for a better Sunday lunch! 

This is why I love paleo food so much. Just good real food! 

The vegetables was my normal veg mix - I have previously explained how I do it. 

The pork: 

I oven grilled it for about 5 hours on 170 degrees Celsius - only adding water with a chicken stock cube.  I covered the oven tray with foil. 

When pork was cooked - I cut the roast into wheels. Added herbs de provance , salt , pepper and honey. 

Then I put it back again , uncovered and grilled it on 200deg for about 30minutes more. 

a Day in the life of paleo

Importance of post workout nutrition

I will explain this simply, as I do not like to complicate things.  No one likes to read big words anyway. 

This subject is not emphasized enough. Ever wondered why you are not getting results from your training program? You need to realize that you can squat your ass to the bone in the gym, if you are not going to step up in the kitchen, you are not going to see results. 

What happens when you exercise?  You damage and deplete your muscles.  You tear down muscle fibres. So what do you need? You need FOOD to rebuild and remodel this muscle fibres to become stonger.  You need food in the form of carbohydrates and protein.  Without proper post workout nutrition, your muscles will never reach its full potential. 

This is an example of what I had post workout today.  I had a hell of a back and shoulder session. My preferred body parts to train. 

I had 100g cooked Quinoa. 
2 fried eggs and salad.  I always load up on the foliage, because it gives you the feeling of satiety for longer. Fibre baby Fibre! 

Something about Quinoa ----- Quinoa Nutrition Facts

Quinoa is nutritionally renowned for its protein content and while it does have a decent amount, it’s not actually the amount of protein that’s so impressive. Instead it’s the type of protein. Quinoa has the perfect balance of all nine amino acids essential for human nutrition. This type of complete protein is rarely found in plant foods, though common in meats. Quinoa also offers a good dose of fiber and iron. There are 111 calories in each 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa.

My favourite fish recipe, with oven grilled veg

Marinate fish for about an hour in fresh lemon and apricot jam. 

Hello Friends, 

I hope everyone has been great?  I had a very special friend over for dinner today and made her my favourite fish recipe.  

I had a little accident with the salt grinder... lol.  The veg was almost done, when I wanted to give  grind of pink himalayan rock salt. .... and then the house of cards came tumbling down. The whole pot of salt in my tray of veg. DAMN! I tried to rescue it and hoped she would not 
notice... lol. I noticed. :)  Anyhow, it was just the one half, other half of tray was fine. Tasted amazing! 

My oven grilled vegetables 

Fish simmering in the pan. 

For the fish;
I used Cabillaud. Struggling to find a good tasting fish in France. Marinate about an hour in lemon juice, wild black pepper, teaspoon of apricot jam.  Pan fry for 10 minutes in drop of olive oil. Easiest thing in the world! 

For the veg, just mix all your favourites.  I have cabbage, butternut, potatoes, mushrooms, peppers.  Give it a whizz of olive oil, grind of salt and pepper. I love lots of rosemary on this and oven bake on 200deg for about 60-90 minutes.  Depending on how you like your veg. 

It's easy to impress me. I don't need a fancy party to be happy. Just good friends, good food, and good laughs. I'm happy. I'm satisfied. I'm content.

-Maria Sharapova

Blueberry pancakes

When I cycle my carbs, I always find it difficult to get my protein and fat intake the same, while still keeping the carbs low.  You all know that too much protein will kick you out of ketosis.  When making pancakes with protein powder and egg whites, the protein tend to go too high and kind of making balancing the meals rest of the day so hard. 

Anyways, Futurelife cereal has a new Zero Sugar version porridge. This makes a hell of a pancake!!! 

You will need:

150g egg whites 

40g futurelife Zero sugar 

100ml milk (lactose free for me) 

100g fresh blueberries 

Mix all these goodies (except berries) very well and pour mixture into a heated pan.  I add about 15ml macadamia oil in the pan, because this counts towards my fat intake for the day.   Scatter half of your berries over the uncooked pancake.  Put a lid on it. Let it cook for about 5minutes.  You will see when it is done.  

What I love most about this is the yummy berry juices everywhere!

Take it out of the pan and add rest of the berries.  I also added fresh vanilla pod. Makes an amazing taste. 

If you use spray and cook instead of oil, you can reduce calories by 120 and fat by 15g

Calories 450

Carbs 42g

Fat 19g 

Protein 30g

Remember the journey

I always joke around and say I have so many personalities cooped up inside me, resulting in never a dull moment.  My point with this that each one of them have the need to speak their mind, ending up in me talking too much. lol

So, one of these girls was thinking about something this morning while driving to gym.   The journey.  We can sometimes get so lost with the end in sight, the final goal, that we forget to enjoy the magical journey that leads you there. Sometimes even less magical, but I believe that the hardships is what makes you appreciate the end goal even more.

If things come too easy, you just do not appreciate it that much.  It is when you put in the hard labour that the fruit you pick is 'oh so sweet'!

Another thought was that when we choose not to focus on the journey, you take so much pleasure away from yourself.  Be happy in the moment. JUST BE. There is no feeling more pleasing than just to BE.  I love this word => Content.  Be content.  Life is too short and you cannot afford to take any of the precious moments away from yourself - even the less enjoyable ones.

Anyhow - this was me being deep today. :)

IFBB WESTERN PROVINCE update

Hello Friends,

I am so guilty of not being on here for so long.  I just want to give you a quick update on my previous competition.

I competed in the IFBB provincial championships.  This was a very challenging prep, because I had to rest 6 weeks after my operation and ended up with 7 weeks of prep.  I did feel somewhat unsure as to if I was ready or not.

I assume I was then. :)  I placed first in my line up, fitness bikini short (-163cm) and won the Fitness bikini ladies overalls.  I have to words to explain how blessed and amazing I feel.  It certainly was very very unexpected, but nevertheless, MARVELOUS!

I was also selected to represent WP in the IFBB South African National Championships. I am working very hard for this, but must
say that whatever happens there, I will be fine with.  I feel beyond happy to have even made it there on my first WP show.

This have been a rough week with prep.  I had to step things up a little bit. LOTS of amazing bodies at SA's :)

Well, that is all I have for now. Cardio time!

Zerocarb zucchini bread

Good morning my lovelies!

I hope everyone is as excited about this week as I am!  I think this is mostly due to the fact that I get to eat carbs today.  Ha Ha! I have been on low carb for 5 days, so this is a big event for me okay! lol  I am on a delicious carb-high! 

I still have to do a post about what Ketosis is, but I will get there.  Today I want to share a super good low carb, gluten and lactose, grain free bread with you.  The interesting thing about this is, you can have it on low or high carb days.  I had it with a spoonful of almond butter, to keep it low carb.  This morning I had it with maple syrup to up the carbs. 

You will need the following:

100g grated zucchini

200g egg whites

1 whole egg

30g almond butter

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

vanilla essence

Mix everything in a blender and pour the runny mixture into a bread pan.  Bake for 15-20 minutes on 200 degrees.  

Makes 2 servings

Calories per serving 190

Protein 18g

Fat 11g

Carbs 3g

Frequent question. Why do I have to take Flaxseed oil?

Flaxseed and flaxseed oil (Linum usitatissimum)

Flaxseed is an oil-rich seed that has a nutty flavour. The seed contains vitamins, minerals, fibre, protein and essential fats that have many health and disease-fighting benefits. Flaxseed can be ground but also cold-pressed to produce flax oil. Flax oil contains high levels of the omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linoleic acid---almost eight grams per tablespoon.

Omega-3 is a good heart-healthy fat that has the reverse effects of saturated fats, which are known to contribute to obesity, cardiovascular diseases, stroke and other degenerative diseases. Taken in supplement form, flaxseed oil can also be beneficial for weight loss because essential fats naturally satiate your appetite, help increase your metabolism, and curb cravings.

Flax oil aids in suppressing Appetite. The website Barleans says the essential oil found in flaxseed actually helps the stomach to retain food longer. When you take flaxseed oil with each meal, the food you've consumed is released more gradually into your small intestine, which slows digestion and helps regulate insulin levels. The result is a gradual steady drop in your blood sugar levels rather than a prolonged plateau, providing you with more energy and a sense of fullness after each meal.

Flax oil has shown to help curbs Cravings. The fatty acids in flaxseed are essential nutrients meaning your body is actually unable to convert other sources of foods into the essential fatty acids naturally found in flaxseed oil. Your body actually seeks out these essential nutrients in the foods you eat. When it can't find them, it detects a nutritional deficiency. The result is you continue to crave unhealthy fats and sweets.

They say Flax oil can boost Metabolism. The essential fatty acids found in flaxseed oil help increase your body's metabolic rate allowing you to burn excess fats your body doesn't need, including even unhealthy ones. According to the website, Ask Dr. Sears, your body burns this unwanted fat through thermogenesis, "...a process in which specialized fat cells throughout the body (called brown fat) click into high gear and burn more fat when activated by essential fatty acids, especially gamma-linoleic acid (GLA)."

So how do we use Flaxseed Oil?  The recommended dosage of flaxseed oil for weight loss or maintenance is one to two tsps. Per day divided between each meal. Taking flaxseed oil with each meal increases the nutritional value of other foods you're eating, especially foods rich in sulphated amino acids such as yogurt, cabbage, and animal, fish and soy proteins that help the absorption of essential fatty acids into your cell membranes. Make sure to refrigerate your flaxseed oil en use within 6 weeks of opening.

Basil pesto chicken with pine nuts

People who claim that they do not have time to prepare healthy meals... huh uhhhh! No excuses. I made this in 15minutes.  Be honest and say that you do not WANT to spend time preparing healthy meals.

Chop 4 chicken breasts and put in a non-stick pan.
Add 2 teaspoons basil pesto and about 30g pine nuts
Add spices to taste

Put the lid on and let it simmer for 10 minutes!

Bon ap!

Chicken Breasts

Hello Friends,

I hope all of you had a great weekend.

I have decided to start dedicating some posts to chicken. lol...  The question I get asked the most probably , is how to get the friggin chicken tasty!?

This can be a daunting task at first, BUT practise makes perfect.  I will share some more chicken recipes with you guys :)

Here goes:

Marinate your chicken breasts overnight in a tablespoon of honey, generous squeeze of lemon and fresh rosemary. Pan fry in a light coating of olive oil on a how heat until you can see the breasts is cooked.  Then turn up your heat and the juice will start to caramelise.  DELICIOUS healthy chicken! Boom!

Fueled tennis players!

With the french open approaching, I want to write something for the players in beautiful white clothes.  I did always have an admiration for the ladies' beautiful arms, and off course the gentlemens' legs.  :)

That aside, lets talk about how they need to fuel up to be performing at peak level. 

The all over nutrtion of tennis players should be based on a healthy and balanced diet.  It should be geared towards developing optimal glycogen storage in muscles for optimum energy release.  They should be at a ratio of 60/15/25 of carbs, protein and fat, respectively when training. 

Pre-match nutrition:  Most important thing is that it releases energy into the body without a insulin surge (sugar rush).  Pre-match meals should include slow release carbohydrates.  Low GI food. Examples include: wholewheat bread, apple slices with peanutbutter, granola bars, or pasta with butter.  Activate bars by QNT SPORT is an excellent choice when it come to pre-match nurition.

Post-match nutrition: It is very important to replace water as fast as possible.  Athletes should drink water pre-, during- and post- match. If they feel thirsty, they are already dehidrated.  Sodium and potassium should be replenished.  After a match try foods rich in these electrolites , like bananas, orange juice, or pretzels to replace it.  You should opt for carbohydrates with a high GI to fill muscles up fast. Protein Burst Bars from QNT SPORT is an excellent source of readily available carbohydrates and protein to refill and replenish your muscles after a very intense match. 

Time to get your tennis on!

Haywire on holiday!

Hey my friends...

I asked some of you what you would like to read about.  Many responses was about diet.  Also, dieting on holiday.  I have written about my 'home diet' so many times before, so I will do 'holiday diet'.

When I go on holiday, I don't diet.  I have a few guidelines I apply and follow.  This works very well for me. The purpose of going on holiday is to relax a little and enjoy yourself.  You can still do this, while not adding loads of pounds.

My basic guidelines consists of this.  I have complex carbs with my breakfast. This is the only time of the day I have these. With complex carbs, I refer to oats, or a wholewheat toast.  Then I have protein, either in powder form, or eggs.   I cut down on my fruit, except, if I am working out.  Then you can get away with much more.

The remainder of my meals will consist of vegetables and protein (fish, beef or chicken) or salad.  I skip all sauces and dressings as these calories add up REALLY fast!

I know this can be hard, but it is important to cut back on nibbling in between meals.  Another big this is to avoid sugar laden soft drinks or juices. Rather hydrate with some cool, fresh water.

Another thing, when I am holiday and I feel like having a cocktail, I will have it.  I have a love for mojitos and will not deprive myself of these in my downtime.

All work and no play makes Mel a dull girl....  :)

QNT Protein Sorbet

Who ever said you cannot have Ice-Cream this summer?

Try this creamy texture sorbet I just made! Use 1 cup of frozen berries with 30g of QNT Metapure Zerocarb protein.

I blended the frozen berries until they were quite broken up and smooth, then added a little bit of water and finally my protein.  I let it run for about a minute.  If you need it to be sweeter, add some stevia, but I was fine with the taste!

You would want to use a blender with a strong motor to do this chopping!  Try some other fruit and let me know how it came out!

Calories 155
Carbs 12g
Fat 1g
Protein  26g