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 ! :)

Creamy Chocolate cupcakes

This is the most amazing texture for the simplest of ingredients! You can do them with or without the 90% chocolate block on top. With chocolate the calories is 130

Without chocolate it is a mere 75 calories
Fat 1g
Carbs 6g
Protein 5g

Ingredients:

200g canned chickpeas
2 tablespoons carobpowder
50g raw honey

Mix ingredients in food processor.  Scoop into 6 cupcake pans. Pre-heat oven to 180deg .
Bake them for 15 minutes, then add the chocolate block on top. Bake 15minutes more.

Allow them to cool before taking them out of the cupcake pans.

Day before Christmas pancakes

These festive pancakes was so easy to make and if you eat with your eyes, like me, I need not say that they were delicious.

You will need:
1 Scoop QNT Delicious Protein
150g egg whites
Touch of caramel essence
Hint of cinnamon

Mix everything well and bake in a heated lightly oiled pan.

Top with homemade apple compote , nuts , berries and a drop of raw honey.

Bon Ap!

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 

Grilled asparagus dish

Hello ladies and gentlemen ,

I am doing a lot of vegetarian dishes lately. I am not going 'veggo' or anything , just not craving too much meat at the moment. 

Here is a simple but delicious asparagus recipe. : 

Grill asparagus with tiny bit coconut oil in a pan. When cooked, slice into tiny pipes. ( or what you may call it) 

Add beansprouts, chopped avocado, celery ,cherry tomatoes and a few almonds. 

I gave it a turn or two of  salt and black

Pepper. 

Bon ap! :) 

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.  :)

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.

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. 

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.

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

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.

Red bean and asparagus dish

Hello Friends,

Hope everyone is doing great?  I am back on show prep.  I have 7 weeks to go to IFBB Western Province.  Just saying this makes me nervous, since I have not competed in South Africa for 3 years.  Eeeeeeeeeeeeek! Very exctited though!

That aside, I have a Delicious dish for you.  This is actually very vegetarian! lol... check me out!

This was super easy.  All you need is:

1 egg
10 Asparagus spears
100g red beans
1small onion
2 teaspoons olive oil

Lightly pan fry the chopped onion in the olive oil.  Add steamed asparagus and red beans.  Break the egg in the corner.  I added chilli powder , just because I add it to practically everything. lol

Let it all sit for about 2-3 minutes, or when you consider the egg done.

Enjoy!

Calories 305
Carbs  23g
Fat 15g
Protein 18g