Finally out of hibernation

It's that time of year when, after a few days of sunshine I finally feel like I can come out of hibernation.  No more layering on the clothes, staying indoors because it's dark at 4pm, or eating comfort foods due to being bored!  Yes, it even happens to me!
This is the time of year I love, it's time to get out and get living life to the full again.  And I do mean for you to get out - don't exercise in a gym when it's sunny outside - get out there and climb a hill or cycle to the shops - include it into your daily routine.  I feel hugely lucky that I live in the beautiful Chilterns so for me the perfect antidote to feeling sluggish is a brisk walk over the nearest hill - it's amazing how positive I feel when I return home.
For a lot of people it's also a time for spring cleaning, but as I've never been that keen on hoovering and dusting, I tend to do my spring cleaning on myself!  I will not mention the D word, or I will have you all rushing to make cauldrons of cabbage soup and the like, but spring cleaning your body is a great way to help you towards optimum health and vitality, and all it takes is changing your eating habits to only include fresh, clean foods.
Cutting out processed foods doesn't have to be difficult, and once you start experimenting and enjoying fresh food, you will never eat processed food out of choice again!
Next time you go food shopping fill your basket with fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits, nuts, seeds, eggs, fresh fish, lean meat, olive oil, quinoa, rice, lentils, coconut milk, spices, and anything else you love that is not processed, then go home and start to experiment (that's pretty much what all good cooks do to come up with recipes).  You will be amazed at what you can make - tabbouleh with grilled fish, Spanish tortilla, Thai curry, vegetable soups, fish pie, rice salad - the list is endless, and not a processed food in sight.  Here's what I came up with this weekend - a protein rich meal made with fresh ingredients, ready on the plate in 20 minutes!

Salmon Burgers with Griddled Asparagus

Serves 4

700 g salmon fillet
20 g fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 sticks lemon grass, sliced
1 tbsp black sesame seeds
5 g fresh coriander
freshly milled black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
400 g asparagus
4 eggs
2 tbsp flaked almonds

- Place the salmon, ginger, lemon grass, sesame seeds, coriander and pepper into a food processor and blitz until well combined.
-Using wet hands, shape into 4 burgers then chill for 20 minutes.
-Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and 1 tbsp olive oil on a griddle.  Cook the salmon burgers for 6-8 minutes on each side, until golden and cooked through the middle.  Keep warm.
-Poach the eggs in a pan of simmering water, and cook the asparagus on the griddle for 2-3 minutes.
-Serve the salmon burger on a bed of asparagus, topped with the poached egg and sprinkled with flaked almonds.

Happy eating!

Joy x

Stressful Times Need Food

Although we think of stress as something that comes from too much work, not getting to a date on time, burning dinner or just being totally disorganised and having too much on your plate, it's important to remember it also comes from your emotions too.  So if you are upset or sad, your body sees this as another stress, and it's important to know how to deal with this, to prevent it from causing long-term illness, such as excess weight, heart problems, depression or anxiety problems.
Stress uses up vitamins and minerals that are needed for every function in the body, so while your nutrients are being used for stress they are not being used to digest your food, support your immune system, produce energy or keeping you hair and skin healthy.
The B vitamins are especially important with regards to stress - B1 and B3 play a vital role in maintaining a healthy mental attitude, B6 helps to produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps the body to deal with depression (serotonin is know as the 'happy hormone'), B12 is called the memory vitamin as it used mostly in the brain.
In general B vitamins are also needed for the production of energy, and without energy it's hard to cope with anything!
To ensure a good intake of B vitamins eat a variety of colourful vegetables, wholegrains, legumes, nuts, seeds and eggs.

Vegeree

Serves 4

1 large red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
350 g butternut, deseeded and chopped
2 large courgettes, sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp olive oil
300 g basmati rice
4 large eggs
handful parsley leaves
seasoning

- Preheat the oven to 200° (400°F) Gas mark 6.
- Place the onion, butternut and courgettes into a roasting tin.  Sprinkle with the cumin seeds, curry powder and oil.  Roast for 40 minutes, tossing a couple of times.
- Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the pack instructions.
- Softly boil the eggs.
- When the vegetables are cooked, drain the rice and stir into the roasting tin with the vegetables, along with the parsley.  Season to taste.
- Carefully peel the eggs and serve cut in half on top of the dish.

Happy, stress-free eating.

Joy xx

How to start the day.....

Most of my friends who know me well will know that my favourite way to start the day is to take my sculling boat down to the river Thames and disappear for a couple of hours into my own little world of serene water, sharing it only with the water-land wildlife.  There is something very magical about being propelled by your own efforts. And knowing that I have the river to myself is such a treat (that normally happens only when I get out there before 6am these days!).
Apart from loving my surroundings, I also love returning to the boathouse to enjoy a breakfast that I know I have really earned.  
As a nutritional therapist I see a lot of rowers as well as other sports people, and I am constantly asked about breakfast and whether you should eat before training and if you are going out so early in the morning how is this possible (as you need at least one hour for your food to digest)?  As with all things related to us humans, everyone is different.  Some people can cope with eating a small amount before training and not suffer any effects, whilst others really struggle.

A lot of the scientific evidence points towards having fuel on board before training. But then there is the evidence of the hunter gatherer who certainly didn't eat before he left his hut first thing in the morning, the whole point was he was going hunting for his food, so he ran and hunted first, then he ate, and finally he slept (which also puts the post-Sunday lunch digestive walk idea onto the back burner - next time choose the sofa!).
So my advice is to find out what works best for you, but just be aware that if you don't eat before you train your training session should not be a hard one, and don't expect to reach any PBs - save those for later in the day.
What is important about breakfast though, is to make sure it's substantial - including good protein is important, not only for blood sugar control but also, if you have been training, to repair and rebuild muscles.  
Protein is also essential for making enzymes that are needed for virtually all biological processes that take place in the body, such as transmitting nerve signals or helping the immune system to work.  
The best foods to eat for protein are not necessarily those that are highest in protein as it may also mean they are high is saturated fat, such as beef or lamb. Eating a varied diet, including vegetable proteins such as rice and lentils, as well as fish, is ideal.
So if you are keen enough to get up early and start your day with a plate of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, you will starting your day in a great way.

Good morning!

Joy x

Defeating Muscle Soreness

As I am surrounded by sports people for the majority of my day it's inevitable that I am constantly asked for advice.  But that's what I love, the chance to go off and do a bit more research and to be able to help somebody with a simple solution - and that's the great thing about nutrition, normally the solution is quite simple, it's just a matter of doing it!
So this week, one of my fellow Masters students (who was clearly suffering from over-training, as he couldn't walk in a normal manner!) asked me what he could do nutritionally about Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, otherwise known as DOMS.
As with most things there is not one magic pill to cure all, but a planned diet may certainly help in relieving some of the soreness, which is mostly due to mechanical and oxidative stress.
Protein is an important component of the diet and is involved with almost every structural and functional component of the human body.  In general, exercise may affect the need for dietary protein by increasing the oxidation of amino acids.  Protein rich foods include eggs, fish, lean meat, lentils and beans, so be sure to include these regularly into your diet.  Antioxidants help counter oxidative stress, so including lots of colourful fruit and vegetables into the diet is also important for athletes.
The timing of nutrient delivery is also important for resistance and endurance athletes, with the first 40 minutes post-exercise being the time when your body is ready to absorb and replenish stores of nutrients it has used.  Replenishing nutrients is imperative to ensure your body is ready for the next training session or race - without replenishment your body will not recover to its' full strength.  Having a bag of dried fruit and mixed nuts and seeds in your sports bag will ensure you are never without food straight after training, follow that within two hours with a healthy protein rich meal such as this delicious Salmon recipe - 

Salmon with Lentil and Roast Vegetables

Serves 4

250 g butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
seasoning
1 x 400 g can green lentils, drained
4 x 150 g salmon fillets
40 g watercress

• Preheat the oven to 200°C(400°F)Gas Mark 6.
• Place the butternut and peppers into a roasting tray and sprinkle with 2 tbsp of the olive oil, the cumin seeds and seasoning and toss together.  Roast for 25-30 minutes.  Just before the end of cooking time, stir in the lentils to warm them through.
• Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and pan-fry the salmon steaks for 3-4 minutes each side.
• Divide the watercress between four plates, spoon over the lentils and vegetables and top with the salmon.

If you need an even quicker protein fix, cook yourself a tortilla filled with colourful peppers and herbs - the left-overs can be taken to the gym for after your next training session!

Happy training.

J x

Travelling gifts

I have a friend who has a great job of travelling the world to research and write about fruit.  I thought my job was pretty good, but I think he just out-ranks me!  And I thought when I asked if there was anything he would like me to bring back from Spain that his answer would be 'no', as he no doubt would be visiting there some time soon.
But I was wrong, and I had forgotten his love of wacky things - things like creative tins of food (not the food in them you understand, just the tins themselves!).  Hence I found myself wandering around the market looking for circular (he had been quite specific about them not being oval) tins of tuna.  I became like a twitcher, hunting out the most beautiful round tin I could find - I hope he will not be disappointed.
Once home I needed a taste of Spain to cheer me in this cold grey climate, so one of the tins had to be opened - sorry Chris!











Tuna with Cannellini Bean and Roasted Red Pepper

Serves 4
3 red peppers, halved and deseeded
200g can tuna in oil

1/2 tsp mustard

1/2 tsp honey

1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
60g cherry tomatoes, halved
380g can cannellini beans, drained
sprigs of fresh parsley

1.  Place the pepper halves under a hot grill, skin side up,  and leave them until they are totally black.
Place them in a bowl and cover with cling film and leave until cool enough to handle.  Peel off the charred skin and slice the peppers.
2.  Drain the oil from the tuna into a bowl and whisk in the mustard, honey and balsamic vinegar to taste.
3.  Using a fork, break up the tuna  and place onto a platter.  Add the strips of red pepper, drained cannellini beans, red onion and cherry tomatoes.
4.  Pour over the dressing and toss very briefly.  Scatter over the fresh parsley and serve.