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Jan 11
Love0

Peanut Butter ‘QUEST’ Bar Recipe

By Nutrition

After the Christmas and New Years antics are over,  the cold weather seems to really kick in. The Christmas decorations are pulled down and the left over alcohol stashed away.. ‘Dry January’ They all say.. It’s like the fun police came in and really fucked shit up. No more parties, no more naughty food, and defiantly no more fun…

This however, should not be the case. A new year is really time for new fun, new goals, new ambitions.. blah blah blah, sounds so cheesy but life really is what you make of it. If you allow life to become boring it will. There is this thing we all have. It’s like our safety bubble. I believe life gets fun and exciting when we push outside this safety bubble. This could be by trying new things, pushing yourself to achieve your new goals or purely doing something which scares you. If you plod along doing the same thing your whole life, guess what?… You will get bored. It’s inevitable. And what stories will you have to tell your kids…. grandkids… I wrote a super detailed post on my blog a few weeks back about goal setting for the new year. Please take a peak for some help on setting those new year’s goals, to push yourself to your limits and achieve great things!!!

In saying this, while you’re making your new goals, please take time to remember the things in life which are great. Every day I like to think of a few things I am grateful of. Today.. Right now.. I am grateful for bacon. MMMMMM bacon..  I am currently on a plane to India and just got served what looked like vomit in a bowl. To be fair, it didn’t taste…. toooo bad. But I want bacon. Today I am also grateful for my fabulous family I have who support me in everything I do. And finally I am grateful for cuddles. Because cuddles are great!!!! 😀

For many people weight loss is a goal this new year. Don’t hate the body you have now.. I hear so many people say ‘I hate my body. I will be happy when I’m slim’. Okay, your body may need some TLC and you may be a little over weight. But love your body, love the fact you have damn legs to go to the gym and train, and that you are capable of losing weight. Love that you can afford to buy healthy food to fuel your power house body, and love the game. Weight loss is just a silly game we play in life. If you live life a little less seriously you WILL be healthier and happier and you will lose weight quicker too!!

So remember to push your boundaries. Do crazy shit but don’t forget all the wonderful things you already have in life.

I am heading to Goa, India, to complete a 500hr yoga instructor course. Follow my time on Instagram @charliefrancisfitness

And for now… WHO LOVES QUEST BARS. Here is my super easy peasy protein bar recipe which is low in carbs, super high in protein, and is peanut butter flavour!! It don’t get much better than that.

Peanut Butter ‘Quest’ Bars

Ingredients:

Makes 9

3 scoops of vanilla casein

8tsp/120g(ish) vita fiber (order from musclefood.com)

12g/1tbsp PPB (powdered peanut butter)

40g 100% peanut butter

1tsp melted coconut oil

Directions:

Firstly, combine casein and PPB in a small blender/nutribullet. Add the peanut butter and the coconut oil and blend until combined. You should kind of have a slightly lumpy powdery consistency at this stage. Now the tricky bit. Add around half the vita fiber to the mix and blend until combined. From this point you must only add very small amounts of viter fiber at a time, blending imbetween. When the mixture reaches a stage where you can just form it into little balls that stay together. Stop adding vita fiber. Too much will cause the bars to flop into a blob after forming them into shape. Add a little PPB to your work top to act as flour and roll the stiff mixture out, as if making cookies. Roll to approximately 2cm thick then cut into bars. Store in a container in the fridge to help maintain the shape of the bars and try not to eat them all at once.

Notes: Try adding a tsp of peanut butter on top of one. DEVINE!!

Peace, Happy New Year.

Dec 13
Love0

Gingerbread, Protein, Pumpkin Pancakes

By Nutrition

My family are all very healthy, with diet and in fitness. This makes life very easy for me being constantly surrounded by health and exercise freaks!! The house is always full of fabulous healthy food which keeps me on track. BUTTT.. Christmas.. Now thats another story. We all do relax on the diet a little over Christmas, but during the festive season, shit really hits the fan in the Francis family.. When the ‘pigs in blanket‘ duties are passed on to you, and your uncle says.. ‘Hey Charlie. You and your sister are making the sausages wrapped in bacon this year. We need 600!’ SIX HUNDRED PIGS IN MOTHER FUCKING BLANKETS. Now pork is one of my fave meats. but dammmn is it fatty.. 

Now ladies and gentlemen.. Lets not forget that a single day of eating healthy, will not make you slim and sexy. The same as one (or two) days of eating unhealthy food, will not make you an obese cow.

I do have a lot of discipline and motivation, but it takes every little bit of willpower for me to not eat like a fat moose around Christmas. The NUMBER ONE RULE is appreciate your food. There is no need to go into Christmas day like a bull in a china shop.. Smashing every inch of food which comes in your way. You must must must appreciate every damn morsel of food which enters your mouth. Don’t sit there munching down chocolate pancakes for breakfast, while thinking about the box of celebrations you are going to woff down straight after. Don’t scoff your Christmas dinner while dreaming about the dessert your going to pretty much inhale down your throat later. APPRECIATE and SLOW DOWN! Savor every meal and don’t go over the top. I always think of those gross people you see in a breakfast buffet, who take 3 full plates of food back to their table to devour. They can’t just have one little spoon of everything they like. They must squeeze as much of everything they can onto their plates because its EAT ALL YOU CAN. This is just discussing and greedy. Whats wrong with appreciating one plate of food because really thats all you need!!

Of course you must enjoy your self. You don’t want to be the sad old sod sitting in the corner eating dry turkey and steamed greens. Skipping the fabulous dessert and turning down any alcohol. Lets face it. No one likes a boring party pooper! Get the balance right. Don’t eat so much that you want to vomit and don’t deprive your self of all the goodies. Just be sensible and eat until your satisfied.

Now I sound like the fun police. Organized fun is always the worst kind of fun.. So I will shut up now….here are my top rules for not becoming a greedy fat pig over Christmas:

  1. Appreciate your food
  2. Savor every flipping mouthful
  3. Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.. You are a human, not a hippo.
  4. Eat your food slowly. Its not a race
  5. Don’t let it become a cheat week. Allow a few ‘off’ meals on Christmas day and boxing day.
  6. Keep to your regular diet where possible on the days around Christmas
  7. Keep strictly on your fitness programme over the festive season
  8. Don’t attempt to be a skinny scrooge and not drink alcohol (we are all allowed a drink occasionally)
  9. Introduce your family to healthier alternatives where possible (try these pancakes for breakfast)
  10. Enjoy your self!!!!!

So these are the pancakes which I will be munching on Christmas morning. Healthy, christmassy and delicious. Who needs sugars fatty shit when you can whip these bad boys up on chrimbo morning for the fam!

Gingerbread, Protein, Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients

serves 2

  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
  • 5 drops vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup vanilla casein
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp stevia

Topping:

  • 2 heaped tsp PB2
  • 1 heaped tsp pumpkin puree
  • 1 heaped tsp casein
  • 1 heaped tsp stevia
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 4 tbsp greek yogurt

Directions:

Whisk eggs and xanthan gum in a bowl. When the eggs and xantham gum have combined, add all other ingredients and blend until smooth consistency is reached. Use the 1/4 as a size guide for the pancake mix. Make sure the pan is real hot. Add a little coconut oil to the pan, then add pancake mix using 1/4 size cup. Keep cooked pancakes in a low oven to keep warm while you cook the rest of the mixture.

While the pancakes cook. Mix together all the topping ingredients and blend until smooth. When all pancakes are cooked, stack up and top with sauce and any nuts and seeds you like.

Notes: Try topping with granola or raisins 🙂

Nov 27
Love0

Chocolate Beetroot Smoothie

By Nutrition

Vitamin D is seriously lacking in my system right now.. I miss the sun!! A lot of people often ask me about my supplementation with my training. When participating in intense exercise (weights or cardio).. The body is at risk of free radical damage. Antioxidants found in foods you eat will fight this free radical damage. A lot of people cannot physically pack enough superfood into their daily diets to get enough antioxidants in their systems. This is where supplements come in handy…

My Top 3

1. Spirulina

If your a veggie hater or purely need to up your intake of minerals and vitamins then spirulina is great! It will contain all the nutrients your regular multi vitamin will have along with very high iron and B-12 content (found in meats) so great for vegetarians. It also high in protein and contains essential amino acids which makes it a great addition to your diet when pregnant or when trying to increase immune system.

2. Wheatgrass powder

The powder form is great but if you can juice your own fresh thats the best!! It has twice the amount of vitamin A than carrots. Higher in vitamin C than oranges. It has all kinds of vitamin B, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus…. and the list goes on. Similar to spirulina it contains all essential amino acids. It helps detox the liver and cleanse.

3. Omega-3

Unless your eating fatty fish (salmon) every day then you need this in your life!!..Omega-3 can help improve cardiovascular health and control diseases which involve chronic inflammation such as atherosclerosis. It can help mental disorders like Alzheimer’s and depression. It improves brain function, improving intelligence and preventing memory loss. Some studies show it helps with fat loss in combination with exercise. I make sure I have 2g EPA and 1.5g DHA.. find this by looking at the back of your fish oil supplement.

 

Todays recipe is packed with superfoods and protein to aid muscle growth and increase metabolism to improve fat loss efficiency. Real easy to make and a great post workout meal!

Chocolate Beetroot Smoothie

Ingredients:

serves 1

  • 1 roasted beetroot
  • 1 scoop natural vanilla protein powder
  • 1/4 tsp xatham gum
  • 1 tsp maca powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp raw cacao powder
  • 1 tsp stevia (to taste)
  • 200ml almond milk (more or less depending how thick you like it)
  • 5-10 ice cubes

Direction:

Put all the ingredients into a high speed blender and wizz up. Add more or less almond milk depending how thick you like it.

Note: add grated dark chocolate curls for decoration

 

Nov 22
Love0

Raw Salted Caramel Slice

By Nutrition

I must say.. England has really hit me hard. Rain. Wind. Cold…. Rain again. The weather is fucking shocking here. When the weather is shit, All I want to do is get my bake on. I have created so many wonderful treats in my 2 days since returning home. My kitchen in England is so well equipped by my wonderful mother with the best equipment and super foods, so I have gone rather crazy in the kitchen. 

My 3 months traveling have been the best 3 months of my life. Leaving Melbourne in September got me panicked about not having gym access when ever I wanted. And sometimes possibly not having a real choice of the food I had to eat.. (with 1 frying pan and a temperamental stove). Although to my surprise, we managed to fill the whole trip with wholesome healthy superfoody goodness and used the most bazaar equipment for exercise (please see my instagram for photos).

With January just around the corner I wanted to talk a little about new years goals. Goal setting in your fitness journey are essential for success. First thing i’m going to hit you with is SMART. Now your all like ‘fuck off Charlie thats what my school teacher nagged on about. BUT ITS TRUE! So many people come to me and say ‘make me skinny‘… By what date? How much weight do you want to loose? Is that realistic?… If you set that goal for when January comes around. You will fail. Also.. NEVER set your goal to get skinny. Skinny is not cool. And you won’t get skinny. You want to get fit and healthy and have a strong toned bosssss body!

Specific

‘I want to loose 8kgs of weight from fat and tone my shoulders to improve posture,while building muscle on my butt to give me a sexy as hour-glass figure’ THATS MORE LIKE IT.

Decide a plan which is specific and gives you focus to your training. This can help someone like my self (if you have a personal trainer) make you a specific, unique fitness and nutrition plan to help reach your goal.

Measurable

Put a number on it!! Take bodily measurements and look how many centimeters you want to loose from your waist. Look into how strong you are in a particular area, e.g. Squats. and increase the amount you can lift by 20kgs. Body weight goals are not so great as you may put on a heap of muscle, but they can be used for a guide.

Achievable

‘I want to loose 10kgs in a week’….Sorry NO! That ain’t gonna happen. Firstly if you loose weight mega quick. You will pile it all back on.. FACT. Slow and steady wins the race…. Check back in my posts on Metabolic Damage!!

Relevant

Okay this ones a little obvious. Your not going to set a goal of how many burgers your can eat in 1 hour are you!!

Time

If you have an event coming up. definitely make this event your goal. If your wedding is in 10 months. Make this the long term goal. Your must also set short term goals to hit on the way to keep your fitness journey super high of motivation. So often people will say….’Fuck it. Its 8 months till I have to put that bikini on. One large pizza won’t hurt’. If you set goals to achieve in 1 months time. This won’t happen!

 

Once these goals are set. Get your ass in the gym. Get your apron on in the kitchen and smash those goals.. I have great January deals coming up for online and personal programmes to help you hit those goals. Contact me for more details 🙂

In the mean while. Enjoy these taste raw goodies…

Raw Salted Caramel Slice

serves 12

Ingredients:

Bottom Layer

3tbsp desicated coconut

2tbsp walnuts

1tbsp powdered stevia

1.5 tbsp powdered stevia

1tbsp melted coconut oil

Caramel Layer

1 cup cashews

1 cup pitted dates

(4-7 tbsp hot water)

1/2tsp vanilla extract

1/2tsp salt

Chocolate 

6tbsp melted coconut oil

3 heaped tbsp raw cacao

3tbsp maple syrup

2 drops of vanilla extract

 

Directions:

Put the dates and the cashews into soak in some warm water and leave to one side.

Put all bottom layer ingredients in a blender and wizz up for around 3 minutes until all ingredients are combined. (you may have to scrape down the sides a few times).. Get your self a shallow dish. Press the bottom layer evenly into the bottom of the dish and place to one side.

Drain the cashews and dates and place in the blender with the vanilla and salt. Blend until a smooth consistency is reached (you may have to add the hot water while blending to get a less thick caramel).. Once the caramel is smooth and delicious. Pour over the first layer in the dish and leave to one side.

To make the chocolate. Combine the melted coconut oil, cacao, maple syrup and vanilla in a bowl and stir until combined. Pour over the caramel layer and place the dish into the freezer

If you are patient enough… Wait over night then take out and cut into squares. Store in the fridge 🙂

 

 

Aug 21
Love0

Pumpkin Protein Cake

By Nutrition

Alcohol and fitness are not really two things which go well together. Many people ask me how bad alcohol is and how much they can drink while still improving their bodies?! Alcohol consumption relating to fitness is generally not an area discussed. You will often see fitness fanatics stay home while their friends go out drinking to ‘save the gains‘… They seem to think having a few drinks will cause their muscles to fall off and give them a beer gut. This is really a load of crap..

People talk about the work/life balance and getting it right. People also should think about the fitness/life balance and getting that right. Yes drinking may not be optimal for the best physique. But when your old and frail looking back at your life. Do you want to be the person who stayed home and got an awesome body?!! Im going to explain simply how to keep a great body while being able to enjoy alcohol.

Alcohol has about 5.6 calories per gram. It is liquid form which does not fill you up meaning your left hungry. This is why you get in from a night out and eat a whole pizza and a bar of chocolate….

Alcohol effects testosterone levels very slightly after binge drinking, although not enough to take any negative effect on the body. Studies show that even drinking alcohol post workout won’t reduce muscle strength and gains. Alcohol will not increase muscle protein synthesis (using muscle as energy).. Which means your muscle will stay totally intact while doing a bar crawl.

Alcohol its self is not fattening. It cannot be stored as fat in the body. However. When consumed, it takes priority so fat oxidization from the body cells (using fat as energy) will not happen. It is the sugary crap in alcoholic drinks along with the consumption of drunk eating which will cause fat gain.

So.. How do you drink while preventing fat gains…

  • For that day, reduce fat and carb intake to allow for extra calories from the alcohol which will be consumed
  • Keep protein levels high to prevent muscle protein synthesis
  • Have sensible beverages.. a beer will have 12g of carbs in it, while cocktails will range between 10-20g of carbs. Stick to dry white wines which contain <1g of carbs and spirits (mixed with soda or diet drinks) contain almost no carbs.
  • Limit big nights out to once a week due to the increased risk of disease caused by alcohol…. We want to be happy and healthy. Not diseased alcoholics!
  • Finally.. Don’t come home and eat the whole fridge. This will cause fat gain!

Now.. Don’t use this an excuse to go out and get shit faced every weekend because thats not healthy.I strongly believe in everything in moderation. So what if you get absolutely smashed every once in a while. So what if you eat a pizza to your self occasionally… Having one healthy day will not make you slim and healthy. One day of drinking or one day of eating crap (make sure they are on separate days) 😀 will not make you fat and unhealthy. Don’t be a square meat head with no social life because thats not something to be proud of!

Following up from my last high carb post for re-feed days. This is a delicious, high protein, low fat (almost no fat) recipe using my faveeee veggie. PUMPKIN:)

Pumpkin Protein Cake

Ingredients:

Makes 16

  • 75g protein powder (I used vanilla flavor)
  • 4 egg whites (for lower fat) OR 2 whole eggs
  • 300g pumpkin puree OR roasted/microwaved pumpkin
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 150g oat bran OR oat flour
  • 100ml unsweetened almond milk

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cake tin with a little coconut oil. Put all ingredients in a mixer/blender and mix until a smooth consistence is reached. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife comes out the cake clean. (everyones oven seems to cook faster than my shitty oven)

Tip:

For extra texture, try adding nuts, seeds of cacao nibs to the mix after blending 🙂

Aug 08
Love1

Low Fat, Pumpkin Risotto

By Nutrition

Do you ever hit major plateaus in fat loss? Keep eating a low calorie diet yet can’t seem to loose any fat, how ever much you bust your ass in the gym? You may be suffering from low levels of Leptin in your body and need a re-feed… Re-feed? To most fitness junkies this is a familiar word although most people don’t even have a general understanding of Leptin levels and shy away from re-feeds in the fear of putting on weight…. There are hundreds of amazing explanations online but most of them go all scientific and confusing on us… No body got time for that shit.. So i’m going to tryyyyyy to explain this as simply as possible so you can have worry free re-feeds and burn that fat away.. YIPPEE

So Leptin is a metabolic, anti starvation hormone found in the body. Leptin levels are reduced by a calorie defect of a reduce of body fat. When Leptin levels decrease, a message is send to the brain to pretty much say..don’t burn any body fat and eat more food.. This is why you can be dieting super strictly, training like mad and still loose no weight. Sucks right? On top of this you find your self super hungry all the time where the brain is telling you to eat more food. This makes dieting super hard! You may also find your workouts are slacking from a lack of muscle glycogen stores for energy…. Sound familiar?

So how do we increase leptin levels? We eat a shit ton of carbs?!?! CARBS CARBS CARBS. Yes thats right. And not just the slow GI ones either. You can go to town on carbs. This is what we call a re-feed. It is a process of eating over your daily calorie allowance with a high percentage of carbs to bounce your body back out of starvation mode by raising the leptin levels. Don’t get too excited. This is not just a blow out cheat meal. You can kind of look at is as a controlled cheat meal...

To carry out a perfect re-feed you must increase your daily calorie consumption with carbs. You will eat 50%-100% more carbs than on a normal day from any carb sources containing no sucrose or fructose. Sucrose and fructose have no effects on leptin levels so we dont need these. While doing this you will reduce your fat intake to a minimum. This means eating no fatty foods and grams of fat you do consume will be a miniscule amount from the other foods you are eating. Protein intake must be taken to 1g per lbs of body weight.

The re-feed will usually be done over a 24 hour window every 4-7 days. The lower the body fat levels are.. the lower the calorie consumption.. the more often you will need to re-feed. You will generally find each re-feed can be slightly higher in carbs every time as well. I have been known to have re-feed days rocketing up to 700g of carbs!!! Your muscle glycogen stores will also be replenished which will give you amazing energy levels and strength in your workouts :).. Your shouldn’t worry too much about veggies on re-feeds as they contain a high level of fiber which will make you feel super duper full and may prevent you from eating enough carbs.

Best Carb Sources:

  • Bread
  • Pancakes
  • Waffels
  • Fat free Icecream
  • Fat free Frozen yogurt
  • Oats
  • Rice
  • Pasta
  • Fat free Chips
  • Cereal (frosties are the bombbbb)

Bellow is one of my favorite hearty re-feed meals. I will usually have a portion of this, followed by a huge tub of frozen yogurt and maybe a stack of pancakes with frosties on! Doesn’t get much better than that!!!!

 

 

Low Fat, Pumpkin Risotto

Ingredients:

Serves 2

  • 1 onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 6 mushrooms
  • 2 handfuls of chopped green beans
  • 300g roast pumpkin
  • 200g arborio rice
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1tsp paprika
  • 1tsp cumin
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cups of vegetable stock
  • 400g cooked chicken breast
  • 400g low fat cottage cheese

Directions:

Chop the onion, mushroom and garlic and combine in a pan on low heat with the turmeric, cumin, paprika, salt pepper and a splash of vegetable stock. Fry for around 3 minutes until the onion is browned. Add the rice and stir allowing it to absorb the flavor. Add the first cup of stock and stir regularly until all the liquid has absorbed. Once all the stock has been absorbed add the second cup of stock and continue to stir on a low heat. When all the liquid has been absorbed, check the rice has been cooked all the way through then chop and add the roast pumpkin and the green beans along with the cottage cheese. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes then remove from the heat. Serve and top with sliced chicken breast. ENJOY

 

p.s don’t weight your self after re-feed day. You will be heavier!

 

Jul 15
Love0

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

By Nutrition

So I took the morning off work today as i’m feeling sore as anything. I have been having Bowen Therapy which is amazing but makes you achy and tired the next day. Bowen is a non-manipulative, non-invasive, holistic massage treatment and soft tissue remedial therapy to facilitate healing of the whole body. Its almost like trigger point therapy. The muscle fascia is rolled over the muscle in certain areas to trigger the bodies natural healing process. This means any injuries or bad alignment kind of fix them selves…. What am I saying!!!  I have no idea about the science behind it but let me tell you its bloody fantastic! Why?! Well my mum had awful back problems for months due to a long term coccyx injury from when she was pregnant with me (sorry mum). She has seen osteopaths, physiotherapists, chiropractors, and all sorts of therapists for years and no one has been able to fix it. She then got recommended Bowen therapy when she was at absolute rock bottom… (she could barely walk at this stage). Anyway… This Bowen therapist has totally realigned her whole body and she is able to run again, go to the gym and go rowing again with absolutely no pain! WOO 🙂 I always get minor lower back pain and a sore knee which I generally ignore, so I thought I would make an appointment to see if this could be fixed. Turns out my right leg was shorter than my left due to my pelvis being out of line. My hamstrings were literally frozen trying to compensate for this which was arching my lower back causing pain. My right shoulder was also totally out of line which pulled my upper back muscles and caused my right pec to be inflamed! Shit.. And I was ignoring this for so long! Two sessions in and my legs are the same length 🙂 My shoulder is back inline and my lower back pain has gone!!! What I want to get onto is that just because your fit and healthy it doesn’t mean everything is always working how it should be. Having minor imbalances in the body can cause major injuries later on in life. It can effect form for exercises in the gym and cause other inuries where muscles try to compensate for imbalances. For example.. A bad squat form may be due to a pelvic tilt and tight hamstrings which can cause the glutes to not activate and make major muscle imbalances. This will also cause pain in the knees and can lead to extreme pain later on in life.. LOOK AFTER YOUR BODY!! I totally recommend this type of therapy to anyone who does weights training. It is so important to take care of your body. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be in a wheel chair at the age of 40 with fucked knees and a bad back! We all bust our asses off in the gym to be ‘healthy’ and ‘fit’ while we ignore minor niggles and pain. You only get one body.. Don’t ruin it. Don’t buy that new dress.. get some bowen therapy. Invest in your health, it will last much longer than clothes or handbags 🙂

Speaking of being healthy and fit.. I have an ammmmmazing new recipe for you beauties. We DO NOT want to fill our bodies with crap which is why I try to healthify  high calorie, high sugar, high saturated fat goodies… because no body has time for that shit!!

So for those of you who read my posts. I am OBSESSED with peanut butter.. and chocolate. As a matter of fact, its in most of my recipes! Another thing I LOVVVE is cheese cake mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…. So here we have peanut butter, chocolate cheese cake! Its gluten free and by omitting the cheese cake topping, it will no longer be cheese cake 🙁 but it will be dairy free. WOOO

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients:

makes 10

  • 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 50g gluten free oats
  • 100g mashed sweet potato
  • 40g raw cacao powder
  • 100g peanut butter
  • 50g honey
  • 50g raw sugar
  • 10 drops of caramel stevia
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 50ml almond milk

Topping: (optional)

  • 150g cottage cheese
  • 50g raw sugar
  • 50g peanut butter
  • 1 scoop vanilla whey

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees. Place all cake ingredients into a blender and mix until a smooth consistency is reached. Pour the mix into a baking tray and make the topping. For the topping add all ingredients to a bowl and mix/blend together until smooth consistency is reached. Blob the mix over the cake mix and carefully swirl into the cake mix so it is partially combined. Put in the oven and bake for 50 minutes (its a long time, but its worth it) They should be a little gooey when you remove. Allow the cheesecake to cool and cut into slices.

Note:

To add some texture to this recipe, try mixing walnuts through the cake mixture after blending 🙂

Jun 27
Love0

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Nutrition

There is currently a massive storm going down in Melbourne! The extreme wind conditions have managed to blow the kitchen extractor fan in the wrong direction which is proving to make baking (or any other kitchen activities) rather difficult. Despite getting blown around the kitchen in the process due to the torrential conditions, I managed to create these little goodies which taste delicious.

Before I give you beauties the recipe, I wanted to talk a little about training plateaus! Plateaus are very common, especially for women. After weights training for around 2 years now, I struggle to see progress in my body. I take pictures every few weeks, body measurements and weight to see muscle gain/fat loss. After time the changes in your body come slower and slower which can really effect motivation and dedication to training. If this happens to you it is the first sign you need to mix up your training!

Look at your weak points. People often neglect their weaker areas because they feel like crap after they have trained them. I have a client at the moment who doesn’t train calves because they are weak! Prime example.. Use this to your advantage. Weaker muscles are the most likely to improve. Sooooo train them like crazy. We have been taking measurements and photos of her calves every week while she has been training them almost every day. In just one month she saw an 1.25cm increase in size and some sweeeeet definition in those babies!

Improve your form. Figure out exercises where form can be improved. I am a perfect example of this. My squat form was awful, but I wanted to lift heavier so ignored the fact I had a shit squat! Months down the line I wonder why my glutes aren’t growing and my knees are constantly sore. After looking into it in more depth I figured I have extremely weak knees and glutes along with tight hip flexors and tight calves which was majorly effecting my technique. I had to go right back to squatting the bloody bar and stretching every day to sort out my form… If you tackle the problem as soon as possible you can improve your strength gains injury free!

Work on core and flexibility. Often with bodybuilding and weight lifting, flexibility goes out the window and core strength training is replaced by another leg day. Flexibility is key when trying to keep muscles in great working condition. Without stretching the muscles will become tight, range on movement will be lost and you will be prone to injury. No one is getting gains in that state. I think there is nothing more impressive than someone who can do the splits. Instead of focusing on strength gains for a while. Why not get your ass to yoga and do some flexibility work. This will not only keep your muscles in better condition. It will improve core and your strength gains in the gym.. 🙂

Try a new sport. No I don’t mean quit the gym for another sport. Just try and add a different activity to your scheduled. Think of the most bazaar sport you would like to try, or go back to what you were shit at in school. I was always rubbish at gymnastics and dance in school. Most uncoordinated and unbalanced. Soooooooo.. I tried pole dancing. Yes I was shit, but it was so much fun. It has massively improved my core strength which has resulted in strength gains in the gym. My flexibility has also increased dramatically.. I am also seeing progress by nailing a new pose or hold on the pole which allows you to see constant improvement in your self keeping motivation high!

Lastlyyy… Set goals! Ones you have highlighted your weaknesses, focused on your form and taken up your new sport. Make sure you set goals. Not just long term, but short term also. That way they can be as small or big as you like. My most recent has been to be able to get my nose to my knees with my legs straight.. Next is the splits! Make them SMART Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timed. It must be clear and to the point. This helps you keep on track with motivation to push your self working towards your goals.

After all that, lets eat cookies mmmmmmmm 😀

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 20 mini cookies

Ingredients:

  • 50g egg white (or one egg)
  • 50g peanut butter
  • 50g coconut oil (melted)
  • 50g oats
  • 50g raw sugar (or coconut sugar)
  • 50g dairy free, dark chocolate chips
  • 100g wholegrain flour

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees. Combine all of the above ingredients in a bowl and stir. The mix should come together rather dry and only just hold together. Don’t be tempted to add liquid as this will ruin the crunch. Split into 20 small balls and squash into cookie shapes on a baking tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes (depending how crunchie/soft you like them) Remove from the oven, let the cookies cool and store in an air tight container 🙂

Note: This mix is also the most the most insain cookie dough when raw. If using egg whites it is perfectly safe to eat 😀

Jun 23
Love0

Why Dieting Can Make You Fatter!

By Nutrition

Call me crazy and obsessed but here I am.. at 6am, on a Sunday, writing a blog post because this subject is playing on my mind. Not sure If its because summer is coming about, but I am seeing a lot of people begin dieting right now. A lot of those people are going about it the wrong way. This is the reason I am up writing this right now. I don’t want to see friends, family.. anyone putting them self through a crap fad diet and actually getting fatter in the long run!

So I went to watch Wolf of Wall Street with my boyfriend last week.. What a film! If you don’t like lots of sex, drugs and over the top nudity in a film. Don’t go to watch it! Now this is not a film review.. So for anyone who has seen the film… ‘Sell me this pen‘. Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) is not only fricking hot in this film! He is an awesome sales man. He teaches his employees to be amazing sales people by giving the buyers urgency to have it.. They do not want it.. They need it. Now what ever ‘it’ may be, companies use this strategy to sell their products. Diet companies being one. They target the over weight, vulnerable, self conscious audiences with their fad diets claiming extreme weight loss. ‘Lose 1 stone in 1 week‘ Seriously… If you lose 1 stone in one week your body is going to need help.

So before all you dieters get up in my face and tell me your diet worked. I’m not claiming diets don’t work. A lot of diets work.. In the short term. Do you want short term fat loss? I didn’t think so. This is why a lifestyle change is needed. This is a long term change which results in long term fat loss with out using these crazy diets.

Lets look at how a diet works.. Diets are a reduce in calorie intake which means your energy expenditure is higher than your intake. This causes the body to use the fat stores as a fuel resulting in fat loss. Sounds good right? Well not exactly. By reducing your calorie intake, your slowly reducing your metabolism. This means your body is becoming more efficient, getting use to running off less and less calories. ‘I want to have an efficient metabolism though right’? No. Having an efficient metabolism is bad for fat loss. We want to be able to put more in (more calories) and use less. Pretty much eat more and stay slim.

So you finish your crazy fad diet plan.. Your eating 1000 calories a day, but thats okay because you have lost 2 stone and you can go back to eating normally now… Think again!!! This is where diets suck. You go back to your normal diet of 2000 calories a day and the weight begins to pile back on. This is because your body has become efficient at using the little amount of calories you are giving it. So to maintain your weight you would have to stay eating 1000 calories a day because this is all your body needs. Now eating more than 1000 calories a day means your energy intake would be more than your expenditure causing fat storage. And because you have been depriving your body it is now a fat storing machine. A hungry monster in starvation mode ready to store every extra calorie you give it! Also being restricted from so much food on your diet, your going to go off the rails binging on donuts, chocolate and cake! This is going to cause even more fat gain.

1 month on and you have put on 2.5 stone. Your metabolism is still slow (efficient) which has caused ‘fat over shooting’. Fat over shooting is where your fat levels go passed what they were before you started your diet. This happens because you go back to eating normally and your metabolism doesn’t increase. Your unhappy and ready to start dieting again. So down the calories go… You have that goal weight in mind but this time your going to have to take the calories even lower because your metabolism is slower (more efficient). You reach your goal weight at 800 calories this time. Your body is super efficient at using the fuel your giving it with a really low metabolism. You finish the diet and boom. Hello weight gain … For most people this cycle will continue for most of their lives and they will actually get fatter and fatter over time. This is why a life style change is needed. A long term solution!

Before you break down crying saying your going to be fat forever, I am going to explain to you what you need to do. Now this is just what I have found to work and what has also worked with my clients. Here are some pointers on how to make a lifestyle change with your nutrition and how to get long term results!

  1. Make changes which are realistic and sustainable! Its all well and good going on a juicing diet for a month but your going to have to eat normally again at some point. Guess what happens when you eat normal food again.. Fat gain!!!
  2. Learn how to read nutrition labels. There are many foods out there claiming to be healthy. Low fat vanilla yogurt… Check the label and you will see the fat has been removed and replaced with a ton of sugar. Not cool!
  3. Don’t cut out whole food groups. Its all well and good saying..‘I’m never eating sugar, dairy or wheat again’. Well realistically you will so allow your self everything in moderation.
  4. Don’t think of foods as good and bad. Moving on from point number 3.. If you make these associations with certain foods as bad it can cause a unhealthy relationship with this food. This means when you do allow your self a small amount of ‘bad’ food it will often lead to a binge as you feel your cheating!
  5. Eat good fats! Fat does not make you fat so don’t cut out fats. Make sure you get unsaturated fats from sources such as salmon, avocado and nuts. These fats keep your skin hair and nails beautiful while keeping your brain functioning.
  6. Reduce sugar intake. Sugar spikes blood insulin levels which can cause fat gain. Get carbohydrates from complex carbs e.g. sweet potato, brown rice and oats.
  7. Get your protein. Protein plays a vital role in muscle growth and recovery so after you have worked your ass off in the gym your body needs protein to recover! Great sources of protein are lean meats, cottage cheese, eggs and protein powders.
  8. Minerals and vitamins. When people diet they often get deprived from certain minerals and vitamins. Because many people will cut out dairy they end up having low calcium levels. Calcium plays a vital role in bone and muscle health. You may need to supplement with a multivitamin to maintain levels in the body. Keeping your veggie and fruit intake up will also help with this.
  9. Make sure your diet is balanced. Its all well and good eating healthy foods but make sure your eating enough of each food type. Macros calculators such as IIFYM can be used to find out how much of everything you need to be eating.. Everyone is different though so be careful of these generic calculators. They are good to use as a rough guide.
  10. Enjoy your food! Finally make sure you enjoy your food. You will not stick to anything if your food tastes like crap. Its not all about eating plain chicken, rice and broccoli every meal. Do your research for healthy new recipe ideas. Keep mixing it up and try new foods. For this to work it is essential what you are eating tastes good.

If you want to know more about the science behind all this. Watch Lane Nortons video on ‘Is Your Weight Loss Diet Making You Fatter?‘. He is an extremely intelligent guy from the USA and who is fricking awesome! He knows his stuff and you should defiantly make time to watch some of his videos. He has taught me most of what I know about nutrition and dieting!

Please use my tips and advice to help you make your first step to a lifestyle change. Its not easy which is why people like my self are there to offer nutrition plans.

Everyone is different so a nutrition plan made specifically for an individual can work very well for long term fat loss. A nutrition plan would involve sustainable changes in the individuals diet with controlled calorie restriction followed by a reverse diet to increase metabolic capacity. This should be done with the help of a nutritional advisor or personal trainer like my self to ensure the correct method is used for you to maintain optimal health and maximal fat loss!

Be Healthy and Be Happy 😀

 

 

 

Jun 06
Love0

Whipped Egg White, Pumpkin Oatmeal

By Nutrition

Hi all! Sorry I have been so crap at posting recently. I am currently doing my chemistry pre courses to study a nutritional therapy degree!! EEEEE EXCITING! For those of you who know me well and follow me, I am extremely passionate about nutrition so feel I ought to take my knowledge to the next level so I can help more people doing what I love.

So, what’s new? The personal trainer I work with quit last week which has left me with a huge influx of clients which he left behind WOOOO. Clearly this has given me even less time to cook and blog which is a bit of a bummer but as of next week i’m going to be back in that kitchen, baking goodies like there is no tomorrow! I cannot wait.

I am just coming to terms with the fact I can’t be super lean all year round. For a start it is not healthy to have very low body fat for long periods of time being a woman! But mainly I can’t bloody enjoy my food and stay super shredded. I am the biggest foodie. I fricking LOVE food! Melbourne offers some of the most amazing crazy restaurants and no way am I missing out on that shit! A guy said to me the other day. ‘I wouldn’t want a girl who could compare abs with me.. I want a girl with a big booty who can smash a cheese cake with me and have a little fun‘…. Soooooo I have decided I am one of those girls!! Of course I won’t be ‘smashing’ cheese cakes every day.. But I will be smashing one of my healthy protein ‘clean treat’ goodies every day. And I will be having cheat meals every weekend. If anyone wants to comment…, my reply will be.. ‘I’m Bulking‘ because anyone can get away with that these days :D! I think if I am healthy and happy thats all that matters. There is more to life than being ‘shredded’.. Get that balance and you will be cruzzzzing!!!

This recipe is the bomb! Like holy oatmeal! Its so good.. Its not the quickest thing to prepare so it is currently my weekend breakfast. I think it should stay that way because it makes me appreciate it so much more! 🙂 shit….. Just remembered its Saturday tomorrow, so I get to have this fluffy, puffy, sweet, pumpkiny bowl of goodness in the morning AHHHH TOO EXCITED. Okay i’m over excited. Sorry.. Here is the recipe. Enjoy beautiful people 🙂

Whipped Egg White, Pumpkin Oatmeal

Ingredients:

makes 1

  • 150g pumpkin puree
  • 30g oats
  • 1 tbsp chai seeds
  • 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 10 drops of liquid stevia (I used cinnamon vanilla)
  • 1/4 tsp xatham gum
  • 200ml water (could use almond milk also)

Directions:

Combine oats, chai seeds, flaxseed and water in a small bowl and leave in the fridge to soak (preferably over night). When oat mix has soaked, remove from fridge and transfer to saucepan on low heat. Stir in pumpkin puree, cinnamon and stevia, and leave to simmer. While the oatmeal cooks. Place 2 egg whites and xatham gum in a cup or small mixing bowl. Whisk until stiff peaks are formed (1-2 minutes). Add extra liquid to the oatmeal if it looks too dry then remove from the heat. Quickly stir the egg whites into the oatmeal, making sure it is fully mixed in. Allow to stand for around 2 minutes then pour into a bowl and top with a little extra cinnamon. ENJOY!!!

Notes: Have a play around with different spices to change the flavor. I tried coconut stevia and topped it with coconut flakes one time which was delicious!!!

 

 

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