fitnessandfood

If you’ve never tried almond butter, you’re seriously missing out.  I don’t care for peanut butter myself, but almonds are another matter.  It’s wonderful on toast, stirred into oatmeal, and baked into cookies.

And, the wonderful Hangry Pants is giving away almond butter! Click here to enter the giveaway.

I love sweet potatoes.  I never had them with marshmallows at Thanksgiving growing up, and the very idea of marshmallows on sweet potatoes frightens me.  Marshmallows should go on s’mores and nowhere else.  This recipe is a quick dinner that can be cooked in less than half an hour, and is full of protein, iron, and fiber from the chickpeas, and the sweet potato packs a huge punch of vitamin A, C, and beta-carotenes.

Curried Chickpeas and Sweet Potato

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and stir, thoroughly coating them with the oil.  Add the salt, pepper, cumin, curry powder, and coriander, stirring to make sure the spices do not burn.  Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, and chili and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.  Add the potatoes and water and bring to a simmer.  Cover and reduce the heat to low, cooking for 15 minutes and adding more water if necessary.  Stir in the chickpeas and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh parsley.

Can be served over rice, quinoa, or cooled and used as a wrap filling or fry as croquettes.

As a swimmer at university, we had to endure a grueling winter training schedule that included cross-training with the football coach (we called it ‘dry land’ training).  This was intended to increase strength, stamina, and overall fitness, but its most immediate result was the inability to walk up stairs or roll out of bed in the morning without intense pain.  Good pain though, the kind that reminds you of muscles you nearly forgot about.

The football coach would take us through series of plyometrics, exercises that alternated short bursts of speed and strength followed by short rest periods.  These exercises can be performed with minimal equipment, and are perfect for home training.  All you need is an empty outdoor space and some natural props such as stumps, benches and railings.  The following are some good basics exercises to get you going and get that heart rate up.

Two footed ankle hop

Keeping your feet together and trying to remain in place, hope up and down using only your ankles and calves. Concentrate on getting as high as you can without compromising your movement and exploding off the ground as soon as you land.

Side to side ankle hop

Similar to the ankle hops above, but instead of remaining in place jump 2-3 feet side to side.

Stump Jumps 

Like the name suggests, this involves finding a stump, bench or box that is about knee height.  Stand facing the stump about six inches away and, keeping your feet together, jump up onto the stump.  Jump back lightly, bending the knees to protect the joints, and repeat as many times as you can.  An advanced version would be one-legged stump jumps.

Clap Pushups

Begin in push-up position, the back straight and the arms and legs engaged and strong.  As you push-up, explode off the ground and clap your hands before returning, repeating as many times as possible.  If you are unable to do this version, try clap push-ups from the knees initially.

Sprints

Sprints of all kinds are wonderful for cardiovascular health and muscle strength.  Using a park or playground, or designting start and finish lines with cones or other markers, set up a course that has three equidistant markers about 50 yards apart.  From the starting line sprint towards the first marker, turn and run back to the start, immediate turn and run to the second marker, back to the start, and then to the third marker and back again.  Rest and repeat, or, if you are able, turn this into a pyramid sprint and work your way back to the first marker in the same manner as you worked up to the third.  This will really get your blood pumping!

A lot has come out about vitamin D in the news recently.  The BBC reports that the vitamin can help stave off the mental decline which affects people as they grow older, and another report suggests that the vitamin may help prevent Parkinsons’ disease as well.  Yet another, earlier report suggests vitamin D can reduce the risk of dying from all causes, from heart disease to rickets, cancer to multiple sclerosis. That’s pretty powerful stuff.

Apart from any mental benefits, vitamin D is important in maintaining bone health, in the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, and in helping the immune system.  This means that if you are taking a calcium supplement to prevent bone loss, it may not be doing you any good if you are vitamin D deficient and are having trouble absorbing the nutrients.

The body makes vitamin D when it is exposed to the sun, or it can be obtained from foods such as oily fish, and those fortified with vitamin D, such as milk, cereals, and soya drinks.  If you live in a country where you don’t see much sun (like Scotland) and you don’t eat fish, you may want to consider taking a supplement. Ideally you should take a vitamin D and calcium combination with at least 1000 international units of vitamin D.  The house range of vitamins at Whole Foods is pretty good, as are the vitamins at Trader Joes.

Spinach is a wonderful stable to have in your fridge or freezer - I had cubes of frozen spinach to soups and stews to increase the nutrition content, I always include baby spinach in my fresh salads, and spinach makes a wonderful counterpoint to beans and grains.  This recipe is loosely Spanish, and results in a warm chickpea salad perfect as a side dish or on its own, served on toast with a glass of wine as an appetizer or light meal.

I know a lot of people shy away from cooking beans from scratch, but it really isn’t that difficult.  Investing in a pressure cooker is a great idea if you use a lot of beans and pulses; you’ll save lots of money cooking them from scratch rather than out of cans, and you can monitor the salt and sugar content for yourself.

Having a well-stocked fridge and pantry are a huge help in preparing healthy, tasty food on a regular basis.  If you routinely come home to a fridge devoid of food apart from condiments and that container of who knows what from who knows when, chances are you’ll be reaching for the delivery menus more than you’d like.

Here are a list of my favourite staples for whipping up a quick and healthy meal.

 And my secret indulgence?  Vegetarian chicken nuggets in the freezer!

Okay, okay, ref takes a point for the terrible title of the post.  But, with today’s focus on the hips and hip flexors, I couldn’t resist.

We put our hips through a lot on a daily basis.  They carry the weight of the torso, move the strong leg muscles, offer complex flexible movements, and are put under strain by modern sedentary jobs.  Often the lower back pain which plagues modern man can be linked to tight or weak hips.

The following exercises will both strengthen and open the hips.

Warrior II

Start standing with your feet together.  With an inhale, jump to the right, landing with your feet about a leg’s length apart.  Raise your arms parallel to the floor, turn your right foot in and your left foot out.  Activate the thights as you exhale and bend the left knee, keeping the knee cap in line with the ankle.  Keep your right foot firmly anchored to the floor, sending energy through the outer edge of the foot.  Don’t lean out towards your left foot; keep the torso straight over your hips as you reach out over your left knee with your left arm.  Hold for one minute; release and switch to the other side.

Image courtesy of yogatic.com

 Keyboard Bend

This one’s for everyone that has to sit at a desk.  You can easily do this stretch at work or school, as well as part of your hip-stretching routine.  Sit on a chair that is at a height where your legs are bent 90 degrees but your feet can still lie flat on the floor.  Take the right foot onto the left knee and bend the torso forward, lengthening the back and through the top of the head rather than towards the foot itself.  Fold over as far as you feel comfortable without hunching the back.  With time you may be able to reach you arms towards the floor and fold over completely, but do not stretch beyond your abilities or you may injure yourself.  Inhale and come up, switching the legs and completing the stretch on the other side.

Pilates Side Kick

Lie on your side on a mat or carpet.  Rest the head on your hand, the other placed on the floor in front of you for stability.  Raise the top leg a few inches, flexing the foot and sending energy through the heel to the opposite wall.  Keeping the hips immobile and the foot flexed, swing the leg to the front.  At the height of the kick, do a small pulse kick.  Point the toe and sweep the top leg to the back, lengthening your leg and keeping your torso quiet (no ‘dancing’).  Do 8-10 repetitions on each side.

photo courtesy of Peak Pilates

Leg Circles

Lie on your back on a mat or carpet, arms by your side and anchored to the ground through the triceps.  Inhale and float your right leg up to the ceiling, pointing the toe, while your left leg is flexed and firmly anchored to the ground.   Using the hip and abdominal muscles, sweep the leg across the body as you circle the leg in the hip socket all the way back to the starting position.  Keep the breath even and full, and the hips and shoulders firmly anchored.  Repeat for 8 circles each direction.

It’s a dreary time of year, after the excitement and indulgent excess of the holidays, before the first fresh breath of spring air wafts through in March, and we are surrounded by diet ads and gimmicks telling us to get off the couch and get back in shape.  When really, as we sit and watch the dull storms swirl outside, is often the last thing on our minds.

Here are a few quick and easy ways to achieve a new, healthier you in the new year, and without slogging it out in overcrowded gyms.

1. If you drink tea and coffee, reduce or cut out the sugar you add.  If you absolutely cannot go without a sweetener, try agave syrup, which doesn’t spike your blood sugar (or ruin your teeth) as quickly.  To go another step, replace at least one hot drink with a cup of green tea and lemon.
2. Stretch in bed.  Seriously, just when you wake up, do some cat stretchs while you’re still lying down and before you get up.  This will get the blood moving and help lubricate your joints so you’ll get up feeling less tired and stiff.
3. Go out for a walk.  Sitting indoors in the winter can be very stupifying and drying, with the dry warm air from heaters acting as a cocoon.  Even just walking out to the shop will get fresh air in your lungs and on your face.  Just don’t buy chocolate while you’re at the shop
4. Try a new activity.  If you normally love running or cycling, but can’t or don’t want to in winter weather, take a trip to the local swimming pool or try a yoga class.  Not only will it get you out of your rut and breath some excitement into your fitness routine, it will keep your body constantly working in new ways.
5. Floss.  No, really, this is one of the most important things you can do for your health.  Poor oral hygiene has been lined not just to cavaties and gingivitis, but also to heart and stomach disease as well. 
6. Take advantage of winter bounty. Though no sign of summer favourites like peaches and delicate greens, the winter is a wonderful season for citrus, squash, and root vegetables such as celeriac.  Try a new recipe to break up the winter staples.

Peanuts (or groundnuts) are used often in African cuisine, usually pureed into pastes like peanut butter and added as a thickener to soups, stews and sauces.  This soup is bursting with veggie goodness in the form of sweet potato, pepper, and spinach.  The peanut butter ups the protein, while the ginger and chili give it nice warming heat for a cold January day.

West African Peanut Stew

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan.  Add the onion, pepper, garlic, ginger and chili and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.  Add the water, tomatoes, tomato puree, sweet potato, thyme, cumin and salt and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Reduce the heatand cook for 25-30 minutes until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.

Add the peanut butter and stir until it is blended.  Add the spinach and return to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and stir in the fresh parsley.

Ladle the stew into bowls and serve on its own or with rice or couscous.

*adapted from 150 Vegan Favourite by Jay Solomon

Well my previous post on the Tracy Anderson method sure got a lot of hits, and as they say, give the people what they want.  Although I had mixed feelings about the method itself, in an interview with the Guardian on 3 January 2009, Anderson reveals ten sensible tips for anyone looking to get in shape.

1. Train for an hour a day, six days a week, splitting the time between cardiovascular exercise and strength training/stretching.
2. Anderson cautions against gym-style weight training, as she says most weights are too heavy and cause bulking.
3. Dancing is one of the best forms of cardio out there - there are lots of dance aerobic videos out there to try, from salsa to belly-dancing, urban to ballet.
4. Anderson recommends low weights and high reps - up to 60 repetitions for a single exercise with weights as low as 1-3 lbs.
5. Keep the mind engaged while exercising - don’t “tune out”, really think about the movement as it’s happening.
6. Watch yourself in a mirror will help you think about your movements.
7. Don’t push yourself too hard to achieve an unrealistic fitness goal - i.e. not everyone can be like Madonna (or should be).
8. Be balanced with your eating - eat sensibly, but don’t deprive yourself.
9. Do think about what you eat, however, and try to cut out processed foods or food with high saturated fat (dairy, red meat).
10. And the final tip is to cut down on alcohol - Anderson claims it slows the metabolism for three days after consumed.

These are good general guidelines for anyone seeking to increase their fitness and overall health.  My personal goal is to start engaging the mind when I run, as it’s so easy to get into a rhythm and not really think about anything (in fact, one of my favourite parts about running).  Tuning into my movement will help me analyse the efficiency of my running as well as connecting more with my body and perhaps discovering a bit more about my niggling back pain.