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Jul 28
Love0

Gluten Free, Protein, Chai Seed Flat Bread

By Nutrition

So I thought it was July but apparently its Winter again. I’m sat drinking a hot mug of tea wrapped up in a hoodie. Its fucking July. I should be tanning on the roof with a iced coffee!

There is always a bit of a anti climax for the English Summer. The adverts all over the TV saying ‘Get Beach Body Ready‘. Deals in the gym to get your smoking bikini body and your ripped 6 pack. Its too fucking cold for any part of my body to be exposed right now, let alone wear a bikini on the beach. I have seen so many people grinding away in the gym for months, working so hard, achieving so much progress.. to wear a hoodie…..

Someone remind me why I live in this country again?

Through this pre summer fitness hype, there is so much more achieved than the beach body though. Some people forget that progress comes in so many different forms. Progress isn’t always just about getting ripped abs, or loosing weight on the scales. Sometimes progress is about doing 5 pull ups, its about upping your squat PB by 10kgs, or running a 5k 1 minute faster. Its about gaining a healthier relationship with food and lifting heavy shit in the gym so you can eat loads of carbs 😀 😀 Its about feeling more confident with your self and coming to the gym to train for the love of training. Progress is stronger legs, stronger shoulders and growing a bubble butt.

Progress is not always something visible but sometimes something mental. No scales or progress pictures can tell you how you have changed mentally though your fitness journey. Every journey will have its ups and downs. You will have weeks where maybe your eating habits go up the wall but through the extra calories you manage to dead lift more than you ever have! You have weeks where you feel like utter shit and feel like quitting but you always keep going. You always find the motivation to push through. You always remember your goals and look for the progress. Always learning through the highs and lows. Growing stronger as a person physically and mentally. Learning to love your self and not pointing out every fault. Slow progress is better than no progress.

‘I’m a slow walker, but I never walk back‘ Abraham Lincoln

 

 

 

Gluten Free, Protein, Chai Seed Flat Bread

Ingredients:

serves 1

  • 15g gluten free flour
  • 15g un-flavoured whey
  • 1/8 tsp xantham gum
  • 1 tsp chai seeds
  • 3-4 tbsp of water

Directions:

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the water a little at a time and stir into a thick paste like consistency (you may need more of less than 3/4 tbsp of water). Take a non stick pan and spread the mixture to the bottom of the COLD pan making sure the mixture is the same thickness the whole way across (it takes a while because its real sticky). Place the pan on the hob and heat on a low/medium temperature for about 2 minutes, When the sides begin to lift, flip an cook for around 2 minutes on the other side.

Notes:

This flat bread can be used as a wrap or a pizza base also. Try topping with a pizza sauce and cheese and putting under the grill. Or making a breakfast wrap by filling with bacon and scrambled egg.

 

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.

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 🙂

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 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!!!

 

 

May 16
Love0

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Beetroot Protein Blondies

By Nutrition

Finally some great weather in Melbourne again this week! Hitting about 20 degrees every day 🙂 YAY.. Good week for nice weather as I have been flyering the streets all week for a promo we have on at work. Their are so many ups and downs being a promo girl. One minute everyone who walks passed smiles and accepts a flyer. The next minute a grumpy old man tells you to fuck off and you loose the will to live. I was just delirious most of the time as I was doing this on top of my usual personal training split shift (6am-10am then 4pm to 8pm). I have to say i’m glad promo week is over. Yesterday everyone could clearly tell I was over it and I was giving off the ‘wrong vibe’…. This resulted in a total of 4 fuck offs. I genuinely wanted to cry.. On the plus side, I have so many new clients from promo week so I can’t complain 🙂 🙂

Today I woke up with glands in my neck the size of golf balls. So I finished work, came home and passed out on the sofa for about 3 hours! On top of this I ate sooooooo much… I feel I need extra energy to fight off getting ill… (well thats my excuse). I’m also taking a few days off training which is super hard for me. I get stuck in my head that my muscles are going to fall off if I take like 3 rest days when I know this is clearly what I need. Its important to give the body rest. Listen to your body. If you feel like crap, don’t train. Often after taking 3-4 days rest you will actually come back stronger as well which is always amazing 🙂

So seeing as my sweet potato, protein, brownies were such a hit with all you fitness fanatics… I decided to make something similar. Clearly due to my stupidly long working hours this week, my head wasn’t screwed on properly and I thought… FUCK IT. Beetroot!!!! BEETROOT.. Bet your all thinking ‘eww gross‘. But for real. These are so yummy. The only reason I used beetroot was because I wanted to make them pink. Yes I could blab on about the health benefits of beetroot. But all I thought was YAY PINK! I also took on the challenge from one of my clients who wanted something gluten and dairy free to bake… Soooooo.. These are GLUTEN AND DAIRY FREE!!!! Not only that. They are free from refined sugar. WOOO 🙂

Beetroot Protein Blondies

Ingredients:

Makes 12

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 100g gluten free oats
  • 100ml unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 scoop of gluten free, dairy free protein powder (I used brown rice(vanilla))
  • 100g almond butter
  • 300g sweet potato (peeled)
  • 10 drops of vanilla stevia
  • 100g roasted beetroot
  • 30g gluten free, dairy free dark chocolate
  • 50g gluten free, dairy free granola (I used my homemade granola)

Dircetions:

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees. Take the sweet potato and boil/steam/microwave until soft. While the sweet potato cooks, combine all other ingredients except the chocolate and granola. Once the sweet potato is soft, add to the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth consistency is reached. Pour the mixture into a cake tin and top with chopped dark chocolate and granola. Place into the oven for 20-25 minutes. You want them to still be slightly gooey when you take them out. Once cooked, remove from tin and allow to cool. They taste best when warm and can be re heated in the microwave 🙂

May 02
Love0

Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip, Sweet Potato Protein Brownies

By Nutrition

Hellllll.. I’m going to get straight too it and say these are the best thing I have ever created in the kitchen! I mean Jesus Christ. These are fucking fantastic. I cannot wait to share the recipe with you!! Look at the name.. I couldn’t even work out what to call these things because no words can describe their greatness..

Okay sorry.. Blowing my own trumpet slightly here

Melbourne’s weather has been absolutely shocking this week. Why did no one warn me how bipolar the weather is here! Literally I walk to work in a fricking thunder storm. Two hours later I leave work to a stint of gorgeous sun. By the time I have walked home its blowing a hooly again and pissing it down with rain. Not Cool!

On the plus side, my ‘bulk’ is going absolutely fabulously. I have gained 1cm around my hips… 1 CENTER METER. Sounds like a pathetic gain but this is such an achievement for me as my glutes refuse to grow.. EVER. Only down side is my obliques have ballooned from the amount of heavy squats and dead lifts I’m doing, so I no longer have a waist. Just can’t win. Body sculpting is the most frustrating thing sometimes!!

The great thing about these brownies are that they provide you with protein, carbs and healthy fats making them the perfect post workout snack!

Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip, Sweet Potato Protein Brownies

Ingredients:

Makes 9

  • 350g peeled sweet potato
  • 1 egg (or 2 egg whites)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 100g natural peanut butter (or other nut butter)
  • 100g honey
  • 50g low fat greek yogurt
  • 20g wholemeal flour (use coconut flour for gluten free)
  • 50g oats
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein (I used Optimum Nutrition)
  • 75g dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees. Chop up sweet potato and steam, boil or microwave untill soft. When cooked, add to mixing bowl along with all other ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, then blend/whisk ingredients together. If the mix is too thick add a splash of almond milk. Pour the mixture into a greased or lined baking tin. Add the chocolate chips and slowly stir in. Because the mixture is warm from the sweet potato, the chocolate will begin to melt slightly giving that ripple look through the brownies. If you want your chocolate chips to stay whole then wait for the mixture to cool before adding the chocolate chips. Place baking tin into the oven for 20 minutes. They should be slightly gooey when you take them out the oven. Cut into 8 slices and leave to cool (if you can control your self)

Notes:

Try adding chopped nuts to the mixture along with the chocolate chips to give them more texture 🙂

 

Apr 21
Love0

Low Fat Hummus Recipe

By News

Firstly.. HAPPY EASTER! So everyone has hopefully had a fun filled,chocolate fueled weekend. I have a mega food baby and cannot wait to get my diet back on track! It’s all about balance in life. You must give your self time to cheat on your diet and have a blow out every now and again. I would literally drive my self mad if I couldn’t have chocolate. I personally allow my self one cheat meal a week which allows me to indulge in the foods I am craving while keeping on track. Cheats must be planned, not spontaneous. This way you can plan a cheat for when you deserve it and maybe on a convenient day. For me this is Saturday night as we always go out for meals. This will also prevent you from feeling guilty if you know you are having a treat because you really deserve it. The guilt will come when you have a random binge, mid week when you know you shouldn’t. This causes stress which is scientifically proven to make your body hold onto body fat…. DON’T STRESS!!!

So my tips for cheat meals are….

  1. Plan a time and day convenient for you to have a cheat meal
  2. Decide what you want to eat or where you want to go for a meal depending on what your craving. This will stop you eating everything you come across
  3. Don’t feel guilty! If it was planned and you ate what you craved then got back on track after the cheat then you cannot feel guilty. Remember stress causes you to hold fat!
  4. Don’t try and make your cheat healthy. If your craving something which is healthy.. Happy days 🙂 Go for it. But if you want cheese, go ahead and have cheese because that craving will not disappear until you satisfy it!
  5. Don’t go wild.. Its not a game of eat as much as you physically can. You will probably throw up!

So after we have all eaten too much chocolate you will be pleased to go wild with this savory recipe..WOOO SAVORY. This is my first savory post on the blog so I hope you like it! Most shop brought hummus is full of oil which makes it very high in fat and calories. It is also super expensive so why not make your own?

Ingredients:

  • 240g chickpeas
  • 50g peanut butter
  • 100g 0% fat greek yoghurt
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.. Easy. Store in the fridge.

Notes:

There are many great variations to this recipe. Try using different nut butters for different flavors. Add roasted aubergine or red pepper?

Mar 19
Love0

Healthy Nutella Cookies

By Nutrition

When I am food shopping I purposely avoid the chocolate isle. My weakness is chocolate. So with easter looming, this is a hard time for me! The super markets have begun to fill every isle with chocolate deals. Not just the chocolate isle.. Every single isle!!!! Not only is there cute little chocolate bunnies and eggs on offer. The Nutella is half price.. HALF PRICE!! Why would they do this. I fricking love Nutella. Fortunately I managed to control my self and slowly strolled to the veggie section where I unenthusiastically filled my basket with leafy greens.

With an uncontrollable Nutella craving, I decided to whip up Nutella Cookies. This recipe was a complete fluke by throwing ingredients together and I have no idea how they taste so bloody good. They are dairy free, low in saturated fats and so speedy to make 🙂

Nutella Cookies

Makes 4

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp raw cacao powder
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 10 drops of liquid hazelnut stevia
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp nut butter (I used natural peanut butter)
  • 1 cup of wholemeal flour (approximately)

Dircetions:

Pre heat the oven to 180c. Put the nut butter in the microwave for around 1 minute or until soft. Add all wet ingredients together and stir until combined. whisk in the raw cacao then slowly add the flour. The mixture will form into a hard dough like consistency which you can mold with your hands. Split mixture into 4 and mold into 4 cookies. Place  cookies on baking tray and bake for 8 minutes. These taste the best out the oven. So If you manage to not scoff the lot, store in an air tight container once cooled.

Note:

Try dipping in almond milk. Literally the best thing ever!

 

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