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.