Food For Fuel: Chicken, Rice and Steamed Veggies

After a sweaty workout, I love to refuel my body with food that's packed full of natural, nutritional goodness :) some fitness bloggers and companies say the best thing is a protein shake. Personally, I prefer to eat as many foods that have not been altered and aren't packed full of man-made ingredients that might cause havoc with my digestive system. 

One meal that's super quick, easy and doesn't cost a fortune is this Chicken, Brown Rice and Steamed Veggie dish that is packed full of flavour and nutrients. Here is how to make it for one person:

Ingredients: 

• 40g dry brown rice 
• Organic chicken stock cubes
• Either a tsp of coconut oil or olive oil 
• One chicken breast 
• One garlic clove
• Half a red onion 
• Half a green pepper
• A bunch of asparagus 

How to make it:

1) Boil some water in a pan, and add a chicken stock cube making sure it's broken up and dissolved

2) Rinse the brown rice in a sieve to get rid of any dirt and excess starch

3) Add to the boiling stock 

4) Add some coconut oil or olive oil to a frying pan and add the sliced pieces of chicken breast 

5) Cook until starting to brown 

6) Add the chopped garlic and sliced red onion and stir thoroughly

7) Add the sliced green pepper and asparagus to a colander and put on the pan of boiling rice with the lid on to steam 

8) Make approximately 100ml of boiling chicken stock and add to the frying pan and simmer

9) Add the steamed veggies to the pan and stir

10) Once the rice has cooked, drain and add to the plate or bowl, dishing up the chicken and mixed veggies. Pour a little of the leftover stock for added flavour 

Enjoy! :) 

 

Why I've Quit Sugar

Hi I'm Amy, and I was a sugar addict.

For the last few years now, I've eaten a diet that's included lots of cereals, fruit and the occasional piece of dark chocolate. Compared to my diet in my early twenties, this was healthy! Cereals are always marketed as being good for your heart, fruit is packed full of natural vitamins and dark chocolate that's over 85% cacao is a lot healthier than a milk chocolate bar right?

The problem is, these foods are still packed full of sugar.

I had heard about Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar a while ago but had also read some mixed reviews. I decided to find out for myself partly because I was curious, but mainly because I generally want to be free from my sugar addiction. I've always found my tummy to be my 'problem area'. Weight that just didn't seem to want to shift no matter how many core exercises I did. 

I bought the I Quit Sugar: Complete 8-Week Detox Programme and Cookbook and read through the recipes and the outline of the next few months so I knew what to expect. I soon realised that weeks 1 and 2 are already what I have cut out and changed in my diet for some time now, so I started from Week 3 of the programme. 

To get a rough comparison of just how much sugar I was actually consuming, I used a fitness and food app to track my food. I had already been tracking my food before I started the programme and from my diet of fruit and cereals, I was eating between 35-50g each day! Now I'm eating on average between 13-20g a day. 

Previously, I'd been eating fruit to snack on throughout the day at work, so this programme has given me a chance to get creative and find some other ways to enjoy some tasty snacks. Before, I would take an apple, an orange, a banana, some grapes and blueberries and maybe even some cherries on an average day. This is a LOT of sugar to be eating, as despite them coming from natural healthy foods, they still contain high levels of fructose. 

The programme encourages you to cut out fruit at the beginning to help our bodies re-calibrate to a 'clean canvas' so we can clear our system of any fructose, release the toxic build up in our fat cells and ultimately help ourselves to quit sugar and kick those cravings to the ground. Since starting the programme, I feel leaner, wake up earlier and my skin is clearing up. Collectively, I have lost a couple of inches from my thighs, arms, and hip area and about 5lbs in weight. 

Regardless of the number on the scales and tape measure, the main progress and changes inside my body that I'm more concerned about is how I feel. A mere week before I started the programme, I had been struggling to get out of bed before 7am and yet since quitting sugar I have naturally woken up and out of bed around 6am. Perhaps it's psychological. Perhaps cutting down on the bad stuff actually does work this quickly. My ultimate goal is to feel good, increase my energy levels and enhance my focus, so any other positive physical benefits are a bonus to me! 

The I Quit Sugar goal isn't to never enjoy a slice of cake again; it's to help our bodies understand the difference between hunger and cravings, which the body can find very difficult while sugar is pumping around our system. 

It has now been 11 weeks since I first gave up sugar and I don't for a minute regret not eating all the doughnuts, biscuits and sweets that were always available at work! Last week was the first time I introduced sugar back into my diet (something that the programme does encourage!) and I was actually quite surprised. My favourite Cadbury bar didn't taste half as delicious as I remember and I didn't feel any satisfaction from eating it. 

I'm hoping this is the start of a much healthier lifestyle, where I can eat something sweet if I choose to, but I can also stop easily. 

Why Carbs Aren't The Enemy

A few years ago, and even still today, people view carbohydrates as the enemy. 

When people swear by their initial rapid weight loss on low-carb diets, it is usually water weight that they lose first - they are never able to sustain the weight loss adopting this diet for long. It is extremely dangerous to cut out any one food group, so if you are thinking of going on or are already on a low-carb diet, then please don't restrict yourself. We need healthy carbohydrates to live; for our brains to function properly and to provide ourselves with enough energy when we exercise. Without them, our muscles will waste away, and you could find yourself feeling incredibly weak. 

Carbohydrates are the macronutrient we need the most in our day to day diet, with most people needing to consume between 45-65% of their total daily intake of food. Aim to eat healthy, natural grains such as wholegrain rice, quinoa, and plenty of organic fruits and vegetables. When we exercise, it's particularly important to consume carbs as this is the fastest source for our bodies to find energy. The starch, sugars and glycogen provide fuel for our muscles which is particularly great if you do any high intensity interval training (HIIT). Carbohydrates provide a number of other healthy benefits vital for optimum health as well including supporting your brain, kidneys and heart to function properly. 

If you struggle to fit them into your diet, try adding some wholegrain rice to an avocado and chicken salad, or some oven-baked sweet potato to some steamed fish and green beans - trust me you will feel a million times better! 

5 Life-Changing Tips For Eating Clean

Eating healthily does not have to be boring and a lifestyle full of plain salads. Eating clean and healthily is actually what a normal 'diet' should be anyway! Our bodies and how they function are a direct consequence of the foods we eat, the products we use and the environment that surrounds us. 

Every bite of food we eat is digested and broken down and used to transport nutrients to every cell in our body. If we eat highly nutritional, fresh and natural foods we are designed to eat, we will be providing our bodies with a healthy variety of vitamins and minerals, keeping illnesses at bay, our skin, hair and nails shining and strong, and our organs functioning to their very best. 

Here are 5 simple yet life-changing tips for how you can eat clean:

1) Buy organic foods where possible. 

The difference in nutritionally dense foods when bought from sustainable farms is shocking. If you can, buy from local organic market stalls that not only support local farms, but you will also know that they really are fresh and haven't been transported for miles on end to reach your plate. 

2) Wash your food. 

Modern agricultural methods have meant that tonnes of pesticides have been sprayed on crops so much, that the impact is having detrimental effects on our health without many people realising it. Although some pesticides are waterproof, it is still best to wash fruit and vegetables as much as possible to try and remove any harmful chemicals. 

Free Weekly Meal Planner Download

To help you stay on track, recognise your food patterns or to help you write your shopping list, I have created a weekly food planner that is available for free to download now. 

With a simplistic design, I hope it will give you an easier way to plan your meals ahead for the week. The planner is available to download for free - just click the button below! Enjoy :)

DOWNLOAD NOW

The Real Super Stars: Micro-Nutrients

You may have heard of the saying: "If it ran, swam or grew out of the ground - eat it". Since studying nutrition, I have learnt an enormous amount on the importance of micro-nutrients; vitamins and minerals that ultimately keep our bodies functioning. 

You might already be familiar with macro-nutrients - the three main food groups of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. For the past year, all I've read and seen on social media and even on some health websites is the importance of eating and hitting our macros; mainly protein, to help us achieve the lean body we admire. Protein can help build muscle tissue and is known to keep you fuller for longer but it isn't the only food group we should be consuming. 

After seeing image after image on Instagram and other blogs of muscular men and women who look so lean and healthy, I got roped into buying protein powder. Let me tell you here and now - do not buy these as they are a waste of time! I've already spent so much on huge bags of protein powder believing that they were helping me to gain muscle and shred excess fat. Yes they are full of protein (usually averaging about 24g of protein per scoop), but our bodies can only use about 30g of protein a day so anything more than this and we just excrete it. Don't forget that eating eggs, meat and even quinoa all contribute to our daily intake of protein anyway, so we all usually hit this just through our main meals.  

Our real stars of the show though are our micro-nutrients. Our bodies need vital vitamins and minerals to be able to function properly. Even if you focus on taking loads of one vitamin, you risk becoming deficient in another. This can lead to all sorts of problems from insomnia and bloating, to weak bones and dry skin. To reach optimum nutrition and health, our bodies need a combination of vitamins and minerals to ensure that each and every part of our bodies works to the best of it's ability. 

Sound impossible? It's really not! We can start by taking in a healthy variety of fresh, organic produce and get creative by mixing different foods together for our bodies to feel revitalised and full of energy. I'll be posting plenty of recipes that I use to help you get started, alongside some extra knowledge throughout this website so all you need to know is in one place. Nothing but clear, science-based knowledge that will give you the tools to reach the healthiest, strongest and happiest you. 

Treat Yourself

When youre embarking on a new lifestyle, it's important to keep up your focus and mentality. I truly believe that by allowing yourself treats every now and then, can actually help you to keep going and improve your progress! 

As long as you maintain your healthy eating for 80-90% of the time, a full-fat coffee or burger is not going to hinder your results. A lot of people even dedicate a cheat meal once a week to satisfy their cravings. Not only could this motivate you to eat clean for the rest of the week, but it can also help you to not feel as if you're missing out. 

So if you have a BBQ to go to, or a dinner with friends and family, you can relax and enjoy the meal you want. Being healthy doesn't mean you always have to stick to a salad at every meal, while people around you indulge! But by sticking to your goals for most of the time, enjoying the odd treat will help you enjoy your time out, instead of making you focus on what you 'can't have'. 

Learn To Love Yourself

We've all been there. You've eaten more than you can stomach and you're feeling pretty guilty. You've worked SO hard to keep on track and now you've gone and blown it on a takeaway. 

It's not the end of the world. Don't beat yourself up about it! As I said above; we've ALL been there and you're not alone. 

This time of the year is particularly difficult. We've just spent the previous month indulging in our own body weight chocolate, mince pies and turkey, and now we're all on a health-kick to start off the new year. The problem is, at first you may be motivated and determined, but once you're a few weeks in your body will naturally start to crave all the junk food you've been recently used to.

Many nutritionists claim it takes us about 5 weeks to drive our sugar cravings away. 5 whole weeks to get rid of any sugar cravings?! Just how addictive is sugar?! But by making small, achievable goals, you will feel far less overwhelmed and a lot more likely to stay on track. I've found that sometimes I set myself huge challenges and then when I don't quite hit all of them, I feel disappointed and annoyed with myself! It seems ridiculous to be so hard on ourselves when we should really be focusing on the positives. By choosing to do a workout when I was tempted to chill out and watch TV. By cooking a healthy meal from scratch when I really fancied fast food. These healthier decisions are what I am ultimately working towards; a healthier lifestyle. Therefore in some respects I have already achieved this by making these changes which can only be a good thing! 

In time, these choices will become healthy habits and will only get easier to make as the cravings wear off. Exercise will become part of my daily routine, and I actually already enjoy cooking dishes from scratch knowing that every ingredient is fresh, clean and nutritious! 

I hope I can encourage you to learn to love yourself, be proud of your achievements and to not be so hard on yourself when you don't quite hit your goals. We are only human at the end of the day, and any progress is good progress. So eat healthily, move your body and remember to treat yourself ;)