Remaining positive.

Hello friends,

I hope all of you are doing great.  This is my favourite time of the day, when I can just come home after a day's hard work. Have a good nutritious meal.  Take off my make-up so my skin can breathe again. Take a cold shower (not cold by choice).  Sit down and sip a mug of infused tea. Ahhh bliss.  I was suppose to go train, but my body is just so drained - it is better to know when you need rest.

My thoughts have been around this topic the whole day.  How do you remain positive when it feels like everything around you is working against you? I tend to believe that I am a positive and grateful person, but even the most positive of us have days where you would rather go rock in a corner with your knees hugging your chest. lol. Serious... this happens to the best of us.  What makes the difference is how you are going to handle this negativity.

Look life in the eye and just say 'COME AT ME' ...  Your attitude will be the number 1 denominator in whether problems is going to get under your skin or not.  I have this thing I do and for me it really works.  I wallow in self pity for a day.  Really. Ha ha! Normally while I am doing this, it dawns upon me that I am being such a ungrateful idiot, because I have so much to be thankful for.  There are people so much worse off and they are smiling.

Obstacles are ALWAYS going to come your way in many shapes and forms.  Lift your pretty lill' chins up ladies and look life in the eye.

Anyhow... on  a lighter note.  Here is a delicious meal recipe I had after work today. Took me 10 minutes to prepare!

People always ask me how I get my fish like that.  I have a few tricks up my sleeve... which I am still deciding if I am sharing ( I am bribe able... haha)

Pan grill your hake in coconut oil.  I seasoned with Coarse salt,pepper and rosemary.

For the coleslaw I shredded cabbage.  Added 100ml of Hellman's Light mayonnaise, a tablespoon of honey and about 100g of dried cranberries.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Bonn ap!

Baked apple and coconut milk

Good  morning,

Hope everyone is doing great and ready for the new year?  I sure am!  This is going to be a good one.  I have so many plans and dreams and ambitions and not shy to act on them !

I returned yesterday from a lovely visit at my parents on the farm.  They live in a little house between the mountains.  It is absolutely medicine to the soul to wake up there in the  morning.  There you realize that there is something so much bigger than you in this universe.  Anyway.....

I put a little twist on my normal apple compote.  Cut your apples into quarters, sprinkle with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.  Bake in the oven until soft.  Bathe in coconut milk when cooked.

Normally I would eat my compote with almonds, so I only swapped the nuts for the milk.  This is like dessert.  I highly recommend!

Also this is a paleo as you can get.  I am getting good at complying to Paleo now. (Said after doing one decent meal ....lol)

Home workout!

Bitches be like... No make-up...  lol 

 Hello my friends!

It is SO good to be home for Christmas!  My father lives in the mountains, so you wake up to the most amazing view.

Anyways, still need to keep the tush tight... even on holiday.  I have 4 Expo's coming up and want to look my best.  The show must go on.

As many of you know, small towns does not have gyms. lol. .... Next best option is to drive a home workout gym around in your car's boot.  :)

I did this workout this morning.  Burned a good 500 calories in 50 minutes! That is REALLY good.

The routine:
Warm up with 5 minutes jogging:



Perform this sequence 2 times.  45sec action with 15 seconds rest.
1.  kettle bell swings
2. Push ups
3. Elastic band pull over body.
4. Other side -
5. Squat set with bent over rear delt raises
6. Dynamic lunge set with dumbbell curls
7. Stationary lunge set with triceps extension (elastic)
8. Other side
9. One arm squat press
10. Other side

I finished off with 10 minutes of abs exercises

All the equipment you need for a great session at home. 

Workout at home!

Short Circuit

Perform the following exercises as a circuit, doing one set of each with minimal rest between exercises.
If you’re unable to reach the prescribed number of reps in a given set, rest-pause until you reach the rep count. (Rest-pause is where, when reaching failure during a given set, you rest anywhere from 10-30 seconds and continue repping out.)
After each circuit, rest 2 minutes. Repeat the circuit 3-4 times, or however many times you can in 20 minutes.

Muscle Group	Exercise	Reps
Legs	Bodyweight Squat	20
Chest/Delts	Incline Push-Up*	20
Abs	Hip Thrust	20
Legs	Walking Lunge	20 total (10 per leg)
Chest/Delts	Standard Push-Up	20
Abs	Crunch	25

Coconut flour cookies - and my view on sugar addiction

Staying on point with a eating plan this time of the year can be a challenge right?  I am consumed with sugar cravings at the moment. 

After being on cortisone injections for a few weeks (many of my friends know I have been going through something with my skin - which is 'sort of' under control now) , my appetite has been out of control (not under control ...lol ) . 

It is so hard to get your mind focused again after derailing a little bit. For people who think they have weak will power, it is not as simple as that.  Don't beat yourself up too much.  You teach yourself to get stronger at begin good with your diet, over time. 

A pattern of avoiding and binging -- not sugar itself -- may lead to addict-like effects. Sugar even affects the same "feel-good" brain hormones as street drugs. Nobody would say sugar is the same as heroin, but it can still mess with your brain and body.

You may have an eating disorder or a plain bad habit. Anyone can use sugary foods in ways that aren't healthy. Some signs: You may lose control and eat more than you planned. You may feel bad when you skip your daily cookie "fix." These low blood sugar symptoms include feeling a little nervous and shaky.

Sugar fuels every cell in the brain. When you overload on sugary foods, it may alter the parts of the brain that control how much you eat. 

 Alot of hormones is involved when it comes to eating.  There is never just a simple answer.  

I simply cannot have one bite of something sweet though, it sends my body into overdrive, every fibre urging me to have more sugar.   So... I did a bit of searching and testing for a cookie recipe.  These are not sweet, so it will not activate any triggers! Still easing the mind that I am having cookies.  

Retrain your tastebuds.  Gradually reduce high sugar foods in your diet.  Excange it for fruit or honey. Your tastebuds will adapt to this over time and cravings for simple sugars will reduce. 

Cook recipe:

1/3 cup of coconut oil 

6 eggs 

2 tablespoons honey 

3/4 cup of coconut flour 

1 teaspoon of baking powder 

Pinch of salt 

Pinch of xantham gum 

Mix all ingredients and bake 20-25 minutes 

Time for important things

"If it's important to you, you'll find a way. If not...you'll find an excuse."

- Coach Whitney

>>>> It really is as simple as that.  People like to come up with excuses all the time for not doing things and then blame other factors - Most of the time ' I did not have time' .  It all comes down to what your priorities are.  Do what you feel is most important to you.  It is hard living up to other peoples expectations all the time.  

Here is a small recipe I would like to share with you. 

I made a big whole chicken and took all the meat of the bones.  I like to keep it in the fridge during the week.  It ensures that there is something cooked and healthy to eat all the time. 

Grill mushrooms, snap peas and marrows in a tablespoon of coconut oil until soft but still crunchy.   Add oven roasted chicken pieces.  Add 3 tablespoons yogurt ( I used lactose free) and let everything cook through.  I added my new favourite spice from Woolies, salt and pepper. 

Enjoy! :) 

Stuffed giant mushrooms

Morning,

I hope you had a great weekend? I sure did. Busy busy busy!

I want to share a very delicious recipe with you.  I made these stuffed giant mushrooms last night. What a treat!

Pre-heat the oven to 200deg.

You need 230g lean ground beef
1 Small onion
1 Tablespoon Woolworths Slimmers choice Chutney
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
Spices to taste :  I used fresh rosemary, salt and pepper
2 Giant mushrooms

Chop your lill' onion.  Mix with ground beef and spices.  Devide equally and top the mushrooms.

Pop in the oven for about 30-40minutes.  It really depends on how cooked  you eat your beef.  I like it almost charcoal. lol... I want to be able to draw pictures with my meat, then it means its cooked enough :)



I served my stuffed mushrooms with a side salad of mixed greens and 90g of avocado.

This works well as a lunch or as a dinner.  There is no carbs in this meal.  My mealplan clients can use this in for their beef meals.

Nutritional information per serving:
Calories: 223
Fat: 9g
Protein:  33g
Carbs; 0g

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.  :)

Homemade applesauce with Pink Lady apples

See now... Making this is really as easy as taking candy from a child. (don't do that though... bad habit! :)  

To get one cup applesauce I peeled 6 Pink Lady apples.  Cut into blocks.  Cook until soft and mash.  Voila! You have applesauce!  I use this as a replacement when baking, instead of butter and sugar. 

Protein bread with QNT delicious protein

I want to share a great recipe with you.  This bread can be used in place of store bought normal bread for people with wheat or gluten intolerance's.

You will need:

2 Scoops QNT whey protein
1 Cup oat bran
3 whole eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup applesauce

Mix everything well and pour mixture into a lightly oiled oven tray.  Bake at 200 degrees for about 20minutes.  Test with a tooth pick to see if inside is cooked.

Let it cool before trying to remove the bread from the pan, otherwise it will break.

Should make 8 servings.

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 ! :)

Paleo bread - lactose free/grain free

Hello friends,

I have been reacting worse and worse to wheat - so been experimenting with more wheat free recipes.  This low carb bread is a winner! It's got a good texture with a nutty pallet. 

Ingredients: 

1.5 cups almond flour 

1/4 cups flaxseed flour

1/4 cups coconut flour

5 eggs

1/4 tsp baking soda 

1/4 tsp salt

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

4 tablespoon coconut oil

Mix everything well and bake on 200deg for 40-50 minutes. Wait until it's cold before you cut it. 

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