Spicy Celeriac & Black Onion Seed Fritter

So many women fall down - or taking a flying leap - off the healthy eating wagon in the evening. More often than not it's because you come home late from work or you're exhausted from looking after the kids and assume you haven't got time to cook. Solution? Fast food or a takeaway.
The truth is though if you're prepared to experiment with cooking you can always rustle something up in less than 30mins. And it tastes damn good by that time. This was my post yoga meal using leftovers in the frige (shoot me if I sound like Nigella - agh!)

Ingredients (makes five)
Celeriac, 2 inch thick grated
1 carrot, grated
Tin of chick peas, mashed
1/2 onion chopped thinly
1 tomato, diced
1/2 slice of rye bread, crumbled
1 egg, beaten
1 chilli finely chopped
1tsp of black onion seed
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley
Polenta/cornmeal for coating
Combine all the dry ingredients and then add the egg until it is moist enough to pick up and mould. gently mould into thin patties - it will be delicate so don't worry about this. Coat on a plate covered in cornmeal and then place in a hot - oil free - pan. It will crisp up lovely. Serve with salad
Admittedly, pic is not good!

Why no olive oil?

When most people start on the Fitbitch Stage One eating plan, they always ask why they can't cook or use oil in dressings. Or rather they don't ask, they just ignore it and carry on regardless.
That is totally up to you as Fitbitch Boot Camp is not about being prescriptive, making you feel guilty or ordering you to do something. You have to make your own conscious decisions about the way you eat and exercise. But it's worth being informed and many people don't realise just how calorific olive oil is - or how much we use.
Have you ever tested how much olive oil you pour into a pan? Try it. It's quite shocking as a small, innocent little slick in a pan when you pour it out can amount to around 2 desert spoons. And that's not to mention how much you glug over a salad.
Of course, nutritionally olive oil is fantastic but that doesn't mean it is good for your waistline if your aim is weight loss.
And now here's the sums...in two teaspoons there are around 84 calories. Have olive oil for breakfast with your eggs, for salad at lunch and to make your dinner and that's 252 calories right there.
Olive oil is delicious though and who would want to cut it out forever? It is worth eliminating it for at least four weeks and finding alternatives though and then you may find you don't need to use it as often.
Scan down the archives for the Fitbitch healthy dressing and sauce alternatives.

Cod with spicy celariac & carrot salad

Ingredients
cod fillet
Juice of 1 lime, 1/2 lemon
2inch piece of celeriac
1 carrot
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 chilli
Nam pla fish sauce
Rice wine vinegar
tamari

Wrap the cod fillet in tin foil after squeezing with the lemon juice and seasoning with salt and pepper. As it is roasting in the oven start cooking the quinoa and add the broad beans in the last five minutes of cooking.
Meanwhile grate the carrot and celeriac. In a separate bowl make the dressing by finely chopping the chilli and garlic, then adding the fish sauce, rice wine vinegar and tamari. Finally add the lime juice. Taste and adjust accordingly.
Add the poppy seeds, dressing and mint and combine. Serve with the quinoa and fish when ready.

Add the poppy seeds to the salad and pour over the dressing.

Sweet potato & Spinach soup

Here at Fitbitch Boot Camp, we love a soup. They're delicious, low calorie and blimmin' filling! This is the perfect lunch time soup - or top with a poached egg for something more substantial.
Ingredients
3 cloves of garlic
1 birds eye chili
bunch of broccoli
3 large tomatoes chopped and diced
big handful of baby spinach leaves
1 sweet potato, chopped
dsp fenugreek
2 dsp ground coriander
sea salt
pepper
Yoghurt to serve

Bung the garlic, chilli, broccoli and sweet potato in a pan, cover with water. Season with the spices and salt and pepper and leave to simmer. Once the potato has cooked through, add the spinach and stir in. (add water at any stage when it becomes too thick or looks as if it's going dry). The spinach will take seconds to cook through. Whizz with a handheld processor (make sure it's under the level of the soup!) Check for seasoning and serve with a spoonful of yoghurt. Delicious!
Sorry, no pic as it wouldn't upload!

Mussels in chilli tomato broth

Most people are petrified of cooking mussels themselves but they are so simple to do. And best of all, they're perfect food if you're on either Stage One or what I'll call the 'Fitbitch Relax' eating plan.
To prepare them do the following:
1. If any of the mussels are already open, give them a sharp flick of the a fingernail. If they don't close, throw them away.
2. Scrub the shells with a wire pan scrubber. Any hairy beard bits, grasp firmly and pull out. And that is it!
Now, on to the cooking...
Ingredients
Bowl full of mussels
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 hot chili, or to taste
handful of tomatoes, diced
Squeeze of lemon
Coriander, parsley, basil or any other fresh herb

Saute the chili, garlic and tomatoes on a low heat in lots of fresh lemon juice. Add some water to prevent it drying but just enough to cover. The tomatoes should begin to reduce down helping to form a thick, stewy broth. This should take around five - ten mins.
Next, tip in the mussels,(add a few tbsp of water - you don't want the sauce too thick) leave on a low heat with the pan lid on for three to five mins. Give the pan a rattle or stir around and they're ready to serve. Any mussels that haven't opened (or that you have to prise apart) don't eat. Top with chopped chives, coriander or whatever else you have.
The best thing about this is that a huge bowlful only contains around 150 calories and around 20gs of protein.
If you want to eat it with something, have it with quinoa if you're on the Stage One of the eating plan. If you are now maintaining you can use a tiny bit of linguine if you wish. Be careful though - I usually tell people to avoid pasta because most people habitually eat it with cheese, olive oil and red wine and the trick is to avoid anything that triggers these kinds of things!

The Eat as Much as You Like Soup!

When the cold, dark nights draw in, soup is the perfect thing to eat. And if you make it yourself, you can make delicious concoctions that are fat free. Don't ever be scared to experiment when you're making stuff either - for some cooking comes naturally, others not so much. But at the end of the day, you're not going to kill yourself by making a mistake with a veggie soup. It just might taste a bit bland. Here's a Butternut Squash and Chickpea soup.

Ingredients
2 Birds eye chillies
3 cloves of garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cumin
Turmeric
5 carrots, peeled and chopped
Bunch of celery
1/2 butternut squash
6 tomatoes, chopped

Chop everything up and chuck in a sauce pan. Cover with water, add the seasoning and simmer until the veggie's are soft but not completely mushy! Whizz in a food processor or with a hand blender. I like to leave mine a little bit chunky.
Then adjust the seasoning to taste and add the chickpeas and serve. This is so healthy, you can eat as much as you like!

Trout with horseradish dressing on Rye

This makes a fab tasty lunch or light dinner. Roast a whole trout in foil in the oven with the juice of one lemon and salt and pepper for seasoning. It should take around 20mins but you will know when it is ready as the skin should just peel away easily and the flesh will fall from the bones.
Take the fish off the the bones and mix in a bowl with a dressing made of 2 dsp of low fat yoghurt with 1tsp of horseradish, fresh lemon, salt and pepper and chopped spring onions or chives. Toast one thin slice of rye bread and layer with fresh spinach, tomatoes and the fish. Delicious!

Diet saboteurs

Are you always on a diet but never manage to lose any weight? Or perhaps you're on Fitbitch Boot Camp and despite thinking that you're sticking to the diet as the next person, they're shrinking before your eyes while you look the same?
The likelihood is that either your portion sizes are too big, or you are eating something that you think is healthy but isn't.

Diet saboteur: Granola
Reality: Many cereals, particularly those that do a stunning job of packaging themselves as a healthy alternative are full of sugar, hidden or otherwise. Dorset Cereals for instance are packed full of sugar busting dried fruits but worse by far is Granola.
This is made by adding oil and sugar to cereal and then baking it. Most of us would never dream of eating a pile of biscuits for breakfast but that's effectively what you're doing.
Fitbitch Alternative: Make your own granola by soaking oats, pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds, grated apple, grated carrot and a few finely chopped nuts in apple juice. Then spread on a baking tray and bake very slowly at a low heat for 1-2hrs. Serve with yoghurt.

Diet saboteur: Honey
Fair enough it's not as bad as processed white sugar but it's still sugar. And what makes it worse is that it's perceived as healthy so you tend to overuse it. Just 1 tbsp contains an average of 50 calories. yet if you're the type to use honey, you tend to use it on toast, on your yoghurt and on cereal. That's 150 calories just there. Moreover, it's a high GI food so it will only leave you craving more.
Fitbitch Alternative: Agave nectar - it's still sugary but it releases energy more slowly.

Diet saboteur: Oat Cakes
You hear it all the time in diet features - snack on oat cakes. Yes, they release energy slowly but most people have absolutely no idea how many they eat in a day. Oat cakes usually come in individual 'handy' snack sizes of five. That's 289 calories just eating them plain. Of course it's fine if you can eat with control and just have two. But then if that were the case you probably wouldn't need to be on a diet.
Healthy alternative: Edmame beans or soya beans.

Diet saboteur: Grapes
The reason everyone likes grapes is frankly because they're sweet. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that a 450g pack of red grapes is around 300-400 calories. If you're trying to restrict yourself to 1500 cals or less that's the equivalent of a lunch or dinner. you might think you don't really eat that many grapes but next time you buy some really watch yourself, you'll be surprised how easy it is to scoff them without even noticing.
Healthy alternative: one piece of fruit that you can't overeat

Spicy tuna with autumn salad

Halloween is just around the corner, and suddenly there are pumpkins and squashes everywhere you look. They may be a bugger to peel and cut up but it's well worth it for a comforting, nutritious addition to a salad.

Tuna marinade
Two cloves of garlic, finely grated
1inch of ginger, finely chopped
1 Birds eye chilli or more if you like it very hot
Juice of one lemon and two limes
Fish sauce to taste
Rice wine vinegar to taste

Marinate the tuna steaks for a30mins at least.

Meanwhile, chop the pumpkkin and parboil in salted boiling water to cut down roasting time. Season with lots of salt and pepper and add the juice of two or three lemons and an orange. Put in the oven to roast until cooked through. When cooked, add a teaspoon or two of Dijon mustardto the roasting dish and stir in to give the pumkin a dressing. Leave to cool for a bit and add the leaves and chopped tomatoes. If you add to early or put the pumpkin on top of the leaves they wilt and become soggy.

To cook the tuna steaks, heat a griddle pan until smoking hot. Place the tuna steaks on the pan and leave for 3-5mins depending on thickness. Turn and do the same for the other side. They should be served pink or even red in the middle according to taste - and freshnes of the steak. There's nothing worse than grey, tough dry tuna steaks!
use the leftover marinade as sauce and serve!

Quinoa with rainbow dressing

Just back from Switzerland and to prove it's not all Gruyere and chocolate, this is a lunch I had from a little hippy cafe in the heart of Lausanne. I've made up the recipe from what I deduced from taste but it was delice and easy to make.
Some of you might think, 'not another quinoa recipe' but this grain is fantastic. It's full of nutrients and unlike other grains it contains a high level of protein. it's much lighter and has a lower GI than many other grains such as couscous, bulghar wheat and the like.

Quinoa
1 courgette, sliced
2 carotts, thickly chopped
(I'd also add 1 red pepper chopped plus two cloves of garlic for extra taste)

For the green sauce
Cucumber
Fresh mint
Garlic
Yoghurt

For the red sauce
Roasted tomatoes, skins off
Garlic
Salt and Pepper
pinch of paprika


In an oven dish roast the veggies, using fresh lemon juice in place of oil.
Meanwhile, in a food processor whizz up the cucumber, fresh mint and garlic. Add the yoghurt and seasoning to taste and give it another whizz until you get the taste you're after.
For the red sauce, roast the tomatoes first and then whizz in a food processor. You may want to add some tomoato puree to thicken.
Serve the vegetables on top of the cooked quinoa with the sauce.

D is not for deprivation

One of the biggest downfalls to any diet is people thinking they've got to stay in and can't ever go out because they're not allowed to eat. It's not true. You could go and eat out every night of the week if you wanted just as long as you choose right.
Obviously, yes, you have to have the will power to say no to bread and oil, desserts and a bottle of wine but is that really such a hardship compared to thinking you've got to sit in front of the TV?
In Brighton & Hove there are so many options of where to eat but the same is true of anywhere. At The Chilli Pickle, an Indian restaurant in Meeting House Lane, choose Tandoori Fish with a pomegranate and onion salad for instance. And that's an Indian restaurant somewhere that most people think they can't possibly eat.
Let me know where else you think is good...my list includes
The Ginger Pig on Sackville road - just ask them to serve the fish with a salad and grilled with no sauce for instance.
The Giggling Squid, a new Thai on Church Road. Opt for the fresh chilli fish salads
Murasaki, sushi in Seven Dials (go for sashimi)
it's a life that you're living so forget the whole, 'I'm living on a leaf' mentality.

Gilthead Bream with leafy quinoa salad

Forget the supermarkets - and get down to your fishmongers for the best fish. I'm lucky as a live in Hove on the South Coast, home to a great fishmongers, Fish who supply a lot of the restaurant trade. I nip down there and buy a bunch and stuff and freeze it for the week. No more grey looking limp fish from the supermarkets for me.

Ingredients
Gilthead bream filet seasoned with salt and pepper and lemon juice
quinoa
celery
Watercress
1 tsp of sultanas
1 tsp of pumpkin seeds

Place a 5p piece of olive oil in the centre of the pan and heat - as it heats it up you'll notice that it begins to spread so you don't need lots of oil. Now turn the heat down and place the fish skin side down on the oily patch and squeeze liberally with the juice of one lemon. The fish will cook in this juice but make sure it's not on too hot or it will burn.
One the fish has become to turn creamy white, flip over on to the other side keeping heat low. The whole thing should only take around 10mins if that.
meanwhile, cover the quinoa in water and boil, turning down to simmer. cook for 15mins or until cooked. Wait until cool and then mix with the sultans, pumpkin seeds and chopped celery. add the watercress and dress with pink grapefruit juice or any other citrus fruit you have to hand (er, except lime - use your common sense!)
Delicious and only around 400 calories, with 26g protein, 24g of carbs and 12g of good essential fats.

Smoked haddock and lentils

I hate to say it, but as the rain starts to put in an appearance with ever more frequency there's no denying that the seasons are on the change. As we slip into autumn it's all too easy to let the diet slide as the nights get colder and you start thinking of comfort food. But wintry food doesn't have to mean a plateful of mashed potato and cheese.
Think meaty stews or light Thai style broths - or try fish with a warm salad like this smoked haddock on leek, chilli and lentil salad.
Ingredients
1/2 leek sliced
5 asparagus spears chopped
1/2 birds eye chilli thinly sliced
clove of garlic
Puy lentils
2 tbsp of low fat yoghurt
fillet of smoked haddock
Saute the chopped leeks, garlic and chilli in a little vegetable stock of a tiny amount of olive oil. Add the Puy lentils, cover with water and simmer until almost cooked. (if it needs more water top it up). Then add the yoghurt, a bit more water and the fish.
Cover the fish with the lentils and simmer gently until the fish poaches in the lentil juice. Add the asparagus with a few minutes to go. Then serve with chopped coriander, mint or any other herb of your choice.

Spicy Chick Pea Burgers

You might think there's no point even attempting these as they'll take ages. But they took me about 20minutes to knock up after coming home starving having play 2hrs of volleyball after a 6mile hill run. Give them a go, they're delicious.

Ingredients
3/4 can of chickpeas
Fresh coriander
sliced spring onions
finely chopped carrot
sprinkle of turmeric
fresh lemon juice
2dsp of cooked wholegrain rice (or use quinoa - i needed my carbs!)
small Bird's Eye Chilli, finely chopped (or to taste)
Polenta grains for dusting
Mash of whizz up the chickpeas in food processor. Add the veggies and turmeric and stir. sprinkle uncooked polenta or cornmeal on a chopping board. Shape the patties (sld make two) and roll in the polenta. Using a tiny bit of oil or dry fry the patties, cook until browned. serve with a veggie salad dressed with lemon juice.
Don't be afraid to experiment - you can whack any old veggie in there -as long as it fits the FB eating principles of course!

A hard won breakfast

Dinner used to be my favourite meal of the day, but now breakfast wins by a mile. There is nothing like eating that first meal of the day after you've exercised. After doing Fitbitch this morning, I did my own workout although admittedly, this brekkie tasted all the more amazing as the blackberries were hand picked from Devil's Dyke in yesterday's sunshine.
Although, before you get the image of me looking all monthly magazine shoot with wicker basket in one hand, flowers in my hair (why do they always style shoots like that? As if...) I went up in Haviana flip flops and board shorts. Not sensible when trying to pick blackberries out of tangled bushes.
Cue me standing on one foot, trying to lean up and over a particularly thorny bush and nearly toppling headlong into the whole damn patch. But yes, these devilish black berries were well worth it. Give it another 10 days and these will be falling into your hands from the bushes.

Summer days

There is nothing better than eating outside, and when the weather is as good as it has been recently there's no excuse not to.
I know you may get home late from work, you've got a family and all manner of excuses. But it takes 30mins to get your stuff together and it really is worth it.
Last night, myself and friends got a cheap supermarket disposable BBQ (no Sunday supplement images of candy pink bbq bucket and Kath Kidstone style rugs here!) and headed off to the beach with fresh seabass wrapped in foil with lemon juice and salt and pepper, corn on the cob and a few salads that took us minutes to prepare.

Corn on the Cob
Whack it on the bbq turning frequently to ensure the chargrilled effect doesn't turn into blackened. Then soak in salted water - delicious! Never tried this before but it was a tip from my Iranian flatmate who says they apparently do this on the streets of Tel Aviv.

Carrot Salad
Sliced carrots, lightly boiled in salted water.
1 onion
Tumeric
Fresh coriander
Lemon juice
Mustard seeds
Dried apricots diced, or sultanas
Saute the onions in a spritz of low cal spray or in stock if on FB level one. Add tumeric powder (add to taste - I added about 2tsps) until onion is well coated. It dries out quickly so keep adding lemon juice and water. Add the carrots and dried fruit and stir until well combined. Add the fresh herbs right at the last minute once the heat has been turned off.

Leek and tomato salad
Tomatoes
Leek, thinly sliced
Fresh dill
Fresh mint

Combine all together and dress with fresh lime juice. That's it!

Mmmm Mondays...

First up on my 'planned list' to eat last night was a Chilli Bean Frittata - and I have to say it was delicious.
Made with three eggs plus three egg whites, it was big enough for two people or works as a dinner and lunch for the next day. Best of all, it packs a powerful protein punch while being low in calories and fat.
Egg whites contain just 16 calories but contain high concentrations of important amino acids which are vital to help muscles repair and recover after exercise. All that aside, in this recipe they make the frittata deliciously light and helps it to cook really quickly.
Ingredients
1 onion
1 red pepper
1 Birds Eye Chilli (or to taste)
Fresh mint and coriander
1 tin of sweet corn
3 eggs
3 egg whites

using a squitz of 1 cal cooking oil, saute onions, chilli and pepper and then add the corn. Remove from heat and place in a bowl.
Whisk the whole eggs and beat the egg whites separately until they form soft peaks. combine the two egg mixtures and whisk again to combine, then pour into the bowl with the veggies and stir. It will now look disgusting. But don't worry!
Resquirt the frying pan, heat and pour in the egg mixture. Sprinkle with the fresh herbs and cook on a medium heat - it should take literally minutes but you'll be able to tell as you'll see the sides of the egg mixture coming away from the pan.
Using a plate, upend the frying pan onto the plate and then carefully slide it back into the frying pan to finish off. Serve with a fresh watercress, spinach and rocket salad with balsamic. Delice!

Plan your figure future

You rush in from work starving and grab the first thing that looks yummy. Bread slathered in bread and butter perhaps? Or come lunchtime, after having worked through without a snack, you nip to Pret A Manger. Except, your determination had to buy a skimmed milk coffee and a crayfish salad with no dressing goes out the window.
Instead, as you guiltily brush off the crumbs you realise you've wolfed down a cheese sandwich or a pastry without even realising. Sound familiar?
Most diets fall down simply due to lack of planning. You might think that planning your diet is a bit much. Yet everything that is important in life - career, a summer holiday, even a party is usually planned or thought about. So, why not put some thought into your diet on a weekly basis, particularly when your body shape or fitness (or lack of) can improve every aspect of your life if you get it right?
By planning, it doesn't mean calorie counting as who can be bothered with all that. Yet setting out snacks, breakfasts, lunches and dinners and ensuring you've got the right food in the house means you are much less likely to come a cropper.
Today, I was lucky enough to have some leftovers in my fridge when I came in from a full on training session involving 500m sprints, squats, sits ups and pulls ups.
A delicious lentil and quinoa spicy salad with a poached egg was the perfect recovery meal. Without it, I would no doubt have shoved something unhealthy in my gob.
For the rest of the week though, I'm planning - give or a take any spontaneous event to eat the following. How about you?
I will blog the recipes for the some of these so keep your eye on the blog/twitter.

Brekkies
Poached eggs on Rye
Porridge with yoghurt
Scrambled eggs with spinach
Muesli with yoghurt & fruit

Lunches
Spinach avocado and grapefruit salad
Lentil Sambar
Thai cucumber Salad
2 x eat out



Dinner
Black Bean and Corn Spicy Frittata
Bean Burgers with Cabbage salad
Lemon Sole with capers
Bass with butter beans and tomatoes
1 x eat out

snacks
Spiced plum and orange yoghurt ripple with poppy seeds
ryvita/cottage cheese
plums, blackberries, apples, pears, melon
skimmed milk protein shake

Fitbitches getting out there...

This weekend saw real breakthroughs for so many Fitbitch graduates. Gilly, who is midway through her second level one bootcamp took on her first Hove Park 5km run. Belinda, who has graduated to Level 2 went sub 30mins for the first time which is an amazing achievement. And Tanya, mum of one who started boot camp never having done much sport took on her first Triathalon in Seaford. While done at Nivea Yellowave, Thurka from Fitbitch two plus others competed in a national Beachfest. well done all of you!
If you're new to boot camp or thinking of trying one, you may think there's no way you can imagine yourself doing any of these things. But that's exactly what most of those who are now out there doing it once thought.
Fitbitch Boot Camp is not intended to be a camp that you tries to make as much money out of you as possible. The aim is to get you all up to SuperFitbitch level and wanting to do sport yourself simply for the enjoyment of it, not simply for weightloss reasons. If you start off doing it because you want to lose weight then that's good enough. But as unlikely as it may seem to some of you, as a Fitbitch graduate you will get to the point where it's about fitness too.
Aside for all of that, it's good to try new things particularly as you get older and your social circles and everything else tend to get smaller and smaller. Try one new thing and it's amazing the ripple effect that you can have on your life.
Last week, I tried sea kayaking for the first time, not sure what my next thing is going to be...paddleboarding probably. But if you live in Brighton & Hove or anywhere else for that matter there is so much on your doorstep.

Fitbitch Queen

IN three months, Belinda's dropped almost three stone. Although the aim of boot camp is to transform you all into Fitbitches so I'm just excited that Belinda has gone from never having run to running 5k races every week and taking on a 10k challenge, I know that for many the initial motivation for getting fit is dropping a dress size. So, here's proof anything is possible. Read the post below for Belinda's diet examples.

How Fitbitch works...

You have no doubt all heard me bang on about the fact that it's not enough to just do the fitness side of boot camp if you're looking for lasting weight loss. It will transform your fitness levels, improve your heart health and turn you into Fitbitches. But for real shape transformation you have to follow the tenets of the Fitbitch Eating Plan.
Make-up artist Belinda, is testament to that as since starting boot camp in April she's lost almost 3 stone in 12 weeks, dropping from 13st 7lb when she started to 10st 13lb.
Many of you have asked for her diet plan but there are no secrets there. Belinda has completely embraced the Fitbitch eating tenets and experimented so it has become a whole new world of culinary exploration rather than a boring old diet.
But to give you some idea of her eating plan, she's kindly shared some samples of what she has eaten over the weeks.

Breakfasts
Porridge made with water with apple and blackberries. Americano with skimmed milk.
Oats soaked overnight with strawberries and blackberries and 1tbsp of no fat Greek yoghurt.
2 slices of Rye bread with poached eggs and spinach

Lunches: Slicked smoked swhicken with cucumber and tomatoes
Tuna with cannelini beans, artichoke hearts, watercress with lemon juice, cider vinegar and parsley dressing.
Two baked portabella mushrooms stuffed with garlic, chilli, coriander and lemon juice.

Dinners
Grilled chicken breast with artichoke hearts, rocket and balsamic. With minted yoghurt dressing for the chicken.
Fillet steak with seared asparagus, rocket salad and balsamic.
Steamed monk fish with cabbage, carrots, rocket and tomato salad.

Snacks
Strawberries, berries, apples, ryvita with low fat cottage cheese, mi so soup.

FitBitch girls share...

It's great to see so many FBitches beginning to really love the exercise but also get into eating healthily too. Here's a pic from Kate S who kindly shared a shot of her lunch (quinoa wld be better but still brill) and another fab recipe from Gilly.

Gilly's Butternut squash chilli with quinoa
(serves 4)
Ingredients:
1 large onion - finely chopped
2 garlic cloves - crushed
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 kg peeled/cubed butternut squash (you can get frozen in Waitrose- easier!)
100gr quinoa - soaked in cold water for 10 mins
2x400gr tins chopped tomatoes
400gr tin kidney beans
Handful coriander

Instructions:
Cook the onion & garlic in a small amount of stock until soft.
Add the chilli powder and cook for a further minute.
Then add the squash, quinoa and tomatoes.
Simmer for 10-15 mins until the squash and quinoa are tender and the sauce has thickened.
Add the beans and heat through.
Stir in the coriander and serve.

Any leftovers are nice for lunch the next day - hot or cold.

The Hills...

 

Getting fit doesn't always have to mean donning a pair of running shoes and hitting the road. In fact, if you do ths day in and day out your body stops adapting and - more importantly - you get really,really bored!
This weekend, this Fitbitch and fellow new recruit hit the Downs for a walk followed by a very steep ascent! It's the perfect option for those of you who have a family and don't always have the time to fit your workout in during the weekends. Just get everyone together, choose a midway point (we went to the Handmade House in Ditchling - and no we didn't eat the bread!)

Leaves are not the only salad

This is for you guys who think that having a salad means that it's just lettuce.
If you go to Bill's Produce Store, The Sancturary or Hove Park Cafe you'll find a whole range of dishes that make up a salad plate. Admittedly, some of their varieties can be rather calorific but you can easily make healthy versions.
These dishes take longer than shoving some fish in the oven but if you make plenty, you can have it cold for lunch, or it can accompany a meaty dish that your family is eating so you don't have to cook twice.

Lentil & Beetroot Salad with yoghurt dressing
Cook some puy lentils and then finely slice raw organic beetroot. it doesn't need cooking as it's much more delicious eaten when crunchy. Combine the two along with some roughly torn fresh mint leaves. Mix a few tsps of no fat yoghurt with fresh lemon and a touch of Dijon. Combine and serve.

Morrocan style cauliflower salad
Using a bit of veggie stock, saute some garlic and onion. Add the cauliflower, a handful of plum tomatoes, more veggie stock. Add salt and pepper, cumin seeds, ground cumin, coriander and tumeric to taste (sorry, i never add measurements as it's up to you!)plus about four dried apricots chopped. Stew until cooked through (not mushy!) add some tomato puree if needed. The liqud should cook down so it's literally just coating the cauliflower.

Lemon Sole & Samphire

I'm sorry if I'm about to sound like the bloody Observer Food Monthly, but really you should try and take advantage of foods that are in season at the mo. If you're following the FB Eating principles, none of you should feel like you're on a diet but that you're exploring new foods. And this dinner (a little thing I knocked up earlier) ticks the right boxes in being in season, high in protein and low on carbs.
You can get the fish and the samphire down at Fish by Hove Lagoon.

The Fish
To prepare, score the lemon sole and put in baking dish. Squeeze liberally with lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and add tomatoes, crushed garlic, basil and mint. Bake in oven for 15 mins or so until cooked.

The Samphire
Meanwhile, soak the samphire in cold water as can be quite salty. Then put a pan of boiling water on, turn down and blanch samphire for a few mins in the water with some asparagus. Drain and run with cold water.
Then in a dry frying pan heat 1tsp of sesame seeds, making sure to turn as they brown. Put in a small bowl with lemon juice and garlic then use to coat the samphire and asparagus spears. Serve with the fish. Delice!

Protein power

Eggs, eggs, eggs...I'm sure some of you are fed up with me banging on about the importance of protein. But if you understand the process - and why it's good both from a slimming point of view and to help prevent the dreaded DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness don't you know) you be more receptive to the power of protein.
Firstly, as some of you have now discovered protein keeps you feeling fuller for longer. This is because it takes longer to digest so keeping you satiated for longer. Even better, it boosts your metabolism because you burn more calories simply as the body breaks it down. But there's also another important reason why you keep hearing the protein word.
Essentially, as we exercise the muscles undergo intense, repetitive muscle contractions. This causes microscopic tears in the muscle membranes and protein filaments. The body's effort to repair these tears increases blood flow to the area leading to inflammation. In other words, the feeling that you can't climb the stairs because your legs hurt too much!
The solution? Eating good, low fat sources of protein within the first 180mins after exercise. This means eggs, lean chicken or ham.
Nuts and seeds would also come in here but as many of you are trying to lose the pounds - and nuts are just too moreish to eat in moderation they're not on the FB plan.
Alternatively, if you are such rushed off your feet you have no time to cook eggs, you could try protein shakes. Natural, good quality protein is the best option - and cheapest (after all, it only takes 3mins to poach an egg) but if you're desperate for a protein snack and have no time, it's better than scoffing a sarnie.

What did you have for dinner?

I've noticed that very few people appear to be talking recipes or food at Fitbitch.In my experience, that usually means you are not following the eating plan. That is fine - I'm not here to be a diet Nazi. But if you are hoping to lose weight, don't fall into the trap of thinking that simply exercising will do it all.
Those who have had success in the past camps have got into the eating plan - and have realised it's not a depressing diet.
To prove it, here's one of the dinners I have enjoyed this week that is part of the eating plan, although subsitute the mackerel for white fish such as gilthead bream,sea bass etc, if you're level one.

Grilled mackerel with tomato, orange, asparagus spears herby salad

Squeeze fresh lemon over a entire fish that has been gutted. Season and wrap in foil and pop in oven.
to make the salad blanch fresh aspragus in boiling water and add to mixed cherry tomatoes, 1/2 sliced orange, handfuls of fresh mint and basil. Squeeze with lemon juice.
When fish is nearly cooked, pop under hot grill to brown skin. Serve, using the juices over salad.

Easy dinner

If you think there simply isn't emough time to make dinner, try this delicious broad bean and herb frittata.

Whisk 5 eggs and season with salt and pepper
Meanwhile saute 1 courgette, pepper, tomatoes and any other veg you have to hand in a squirt of one cal olive oil spray. Add the egg mixture (you don't need more oil if it's non stick). Add the chopped herbs - i used mint and parsley a I had some left over. cook until you see the edges start to brown and then place under a hot grill. this will help it to puff up and brown. Serve with a fresh water cress salad.
Obviously, don't eat the lot! Share or cut in three and have another bit for lunch or brekkie.

Vegan Fitbitch Eating Plan

Brekkies

Ruby red grapefruit, no sugar. One slice of wholegrain toast with almond butter.
Scrambled tofu with steamed spinach. Squeeze out excess water from firm tofu. Marinate in a mixture of soy/tamari sauce, cayenne pepper and crushed garlic (mix to your taste before adding tofu). Then break up tofu into pieces and scramble with 1 spray of one cal olive oil or 1tsp of oil. Serve with steamed spinach.
Roasted cherry tomates with mustard seeds on one slice of wholemeal or rye toast. With low fat cottage cheese.
Pop some cherry tomatoes in a roasting dish squeezed with plenty of fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. Leave to roast in hot oven until done to your liking and serve.
Porridge mde with 2/3water to 1/3 soya milk and berries.
Oats soaked overnight in small amout of apple juice. Serve with grated apple, 1 dsp of pumpkin seeds and 1 dsp of yoghurt.

Lunches

Broad bean, aspargus and mint salad with pine nuts
Blanch broad beans and asparagus in salted water. Dice some tomatoes and add to the beans and asparagu along with some cooked quinoa. Add 1 tsp of pine nuts and dress with fresh lemon juice.
Seaweed wraps
Get some nori wraps and fill with cooked quinoa or wholegrain rice, ¼ avocado (go easy!), sliced spring onions, diced tomatoes and some tofu that has been marinaded and cooked or some already smoked tempeh. Serve with soy sauce mixed with fish sauce, white wine vinegar and diced chilli.

Dinners

Brocolli and Tofu stir fry
Marinate ½ block of diced firm tofu in soy sauce, fresh chilli, garlic and 1tsp each of sesame oil and agave nectar. Meanwhile blanch brocollic in hot water. Drain and run under cold water. Scatter 1tsp of sesame seeds in dry frying pan. Jiggle to toast to they don't burn. Dry fry the tofu. When coloured add the juice from marinade along with sesame seeds and soy to taste. Ganish with fresh coriander.
Chargrilled asparagus, courgette and tomato salad
Marinade aspargus and thinly sliced courgette in plenty of fresh lemon juice. Meanwhile in an oven roast the tomatoes without olive oil and dry fry 1tsp (ONLY!)of pine nuts until browned.
Chargrill the vegetables, combine with tomates and their juices and serve with a handful of wholemeal rice.
Portobella mushrooms with pearl barley
Cook the pear barley. Meanwhile take two mushrooms and squeeze liberally with lemon juice so it pools in the cups. Add crushed garlic. Cover in foil and bake in oven until mushrooms are soft.
Mix 1 tsp of chopped cashew nuts with the barley and use to stuff the mushrooms. Serve with side order of spinach, brocolli, tomatoes or any other veg except potatoes.
Spinach, mushroom and Chickpeas and stew
http://fitbitchuk.blogspot.com/2009/01/spinach-mushroom-and-chick-pea-stew.html

Snacks
Two rice cakes with carrot spread. Grate some fresh carrots and mix with 1dsp of yoghurt some lemon juice and crushed garlic to taste. Mix and serve.
Two ryvita with thin spread of humous.
Small teacup of cottage cheese with mixed berries.
Two ryvita with marmite and cottage cheese.
Fruit: apple, plums, pear, berries.

Fitbitch Dinners

Red Mullett with Borlotti beans
1/2 cup of beans soaked overnight if need be
garlic
onions
chilli
celery
Veg Stock
Cayenne pepper
paprika
rocket

saute garlic, onions, celery in 1tsp of olive oil and/or stock. Add remaining stock and simmer until beans are cooked. You can add seasoning of your choice, including mustard. Stir in some fresh rocket just before serving.
meanwhile, season fish both sides with s&P and lemon juice. Pan fry in juices, skin side down first. Can place small plate over to stop it curling up. then flip over and cook on other side. Add more lemon juice as needed to keep it sticking or light olive oil.

And ...
Here's a little something that Core Queen Aleks has been cooking up at home. Although you are all on slightly different eating plans, email me what you've been cooking. If it is good for all the campers, I will post.

`Grilled Chicken
2 x chicken thighs, de-boned
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp fennel seeds
3 cloves
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp hot chili powder
pinch fresh-ground salt
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 x portabella mushroom sliced into 1-in thick slices
squeeze lemon

grind spices in a mortar & pestle. add chopped garlic and soy sauce and grind into a paste. coat chicken thighs and let marinate for 1hr 30m.

Heat grill pan on a moderate-high hob. add chicken and let sear for 2 minutes. turn over and reduce heat to medium-low. Slow cook until done.

with grill pan still hot, remove chicken and add trimmed asparagus and mushroom. squeeze lemon over the veggies, lightly salt and let sear for 2 minutes on either side.

serve with spinach salad with sliced carrot and balsamic vinegar.

serves 2.

What have you discovered? Post a comment and share your culinary delights!

Some more ...

Delicious dressings

Part of reason behind the Fitbitch diet is to help confront habitual ways of eating. We all cook with olive oil for instance and glug it on our salads, but do we really need to use so much of it?
It's only be taking things away that you can really assess your habits, good and bad. In the meantime though, try these dressings/sauces - they're not just 'diet' alternatives but delicious dressings in their own right and that you can carry on using well after Fitbitch is over.
(Admittedly, I've photographed them in a way that makes them look like shots of tequila, but I haven't got my photostudio sorted yet!)

Asian dressing
Fish sauce
Rice wine vinegar
Garlic
Chilli
Fresh lime

Mix according to taste and use to dress carrot and prawn salads, quinoa or any thing else of your choice. Add coriander and our mint in your salads for extra authenticity.

Yoghurt Mustard dressing
no fat Greek yoghurt
Lemon juice
Dijon or Coarse grain

Yoghurt and Wasabi
no fat greek yoghurt
Wasabi paste
lemon juice
This goes perfect with fish or on asparagus and broad bean salads. Use wasabi sparingly though - unless you have a tongue that can take a lot of heat!

Yoghurt and Horseradish
Same as above - really water down with lemon or even Rice wine vinegar which will make it sweeter.

Pomegrante Dressing
Pomegrante molasses (Taj do it, as do any Middle East store)
Rice Wine vinegar
Agave to taste
This goes brilliantly on quinoa with leeks, peas or any other combination of your choice

Lemon Juice
Honestly, it's nice if you use it to dress a super fresh organic salad.

And of course, that's not to mention using just balsamic vinegar.

These dressings will help ensure you get into your dress! (oh god, that was weak!)

Breakfast - two ways with eggs

If you're getting a bit bored with your breakfasts or lunches, try one of these which are delicious, even if I do say so myself.

Eggy Bread
1 slice of rye or wholemeal toast
1 egg
1 dollop of no fat greek yoghurt
Salt and pepper to taste
Worcestershire sauce, Tamari or Soy

Whisk up the egg and yoghurt with the seasoning. Then soak 1 slice of bread in the mixture and dry fry in a non-stick frying pan or use 1cal olive oil spray.Serve with tomatoes, spinach and cottage cheese.
If you haven't had eggs for breakfast try this for lunch and add some pieces of sliced, smoked ham or a small grating of Parmesan cheese (only for those who have been on the diet for two weeks!).

Another option, which I haven't tried but I'd be interested to see if it works is melt two squares of dark chocolate (only those on diet plans that allow this) and put in the egg mixture (minus other seasonings of course!). Serve with raspberries and dollop of yoghurt. ONLY have this as an afternoon snack and ONLY if you've done an afternoon run in addition to bootcamp.

Let me know how it turns out!

Scrambled eggs with chilli
one egg beaten
Skimmed milk
S&P
1/2 chopped birds eye chilli
If you want to make your scrambled a bit different, add half a chilli before cooking. alternatively tear up some spinach just before you finish cooking and add.
Or try basil with cottage cheese. All delicious!

Slim-spiration Soups

If anyone is stuck for thinking of a lunch or dinner choice, try one of these delicious ideas from Belinda, who 'graduated' from FB camp one in April, having lost 13lb. And as you can see, she didn't skimp on having tasty dinners.


Quick Fish Soup

* 1litre water in saucepan, bring to the boil.
* Add 2 packs instant miso soup - add chopped garlic & ginger & cook for 2mins.
* Add 8 chopped mangetout, 1 chopped red pepper, 1 cup cubed chunks of boneless & skinless haddock (or other white firm fish) and cook for 5 mins.
* Add 1 finely sliced pak choi & 2 finely chopped spring onions and cook for 5 mins.
* Add handful of fresh peas & handful of beansprouts and warm through before serving.

(I started having this for lunch to begin with, but found at the end of boot camp it was enough to have for dinner once I had got used to no carbs and smaller portions)


Broccoli Soup

* 1litre boiling water in saucepan, add either 1 wheatfree stock cube or 2tsp bouillon powder.
* Add 2 cups finely chopped broccoli & 1 finely shredded fennel bulb and cook for approx 10mins or until soft.
* Remove from heat and add handful of fresh tarragon & handful fresh sage. Cover and leave to stand for about 5mins.
* Blend using handheld blender or food processor.
* When in bowl top with handful of alfalfa sprouts.

(This is so nice and I found it instantly stops a rumbling tummy and stops bread / sugar type cravings, especially good for first couple of weeks on diet