Look after your love muscle

With Valentine’s Day approaching many hearts will be fluttering with thoughts of romantic meals and gifts, but how can we make sure that our hearts only ever flutter through romance and it doesn’t get broken for real?

  

We need to focus on our hearts every day to live longer and healthier lives. The heart is the most important muscle and just a small amount of cardio exercise will keep it functioning properly. Even as little as ten minutes a day can make a huge difference. 

I know a lot of guys who get a lot of exercise on Valentine’s Day by running around at the last minute trying to get a gift for their partners but if they were to do that every day  it would really improve the health of their heart!

 

The three S’s are what you really need to cut out:

·       Smoking

·       Saturated fats

·       Salts.

Smokers are twice as likely as non-smokers to have heart disease and quitting is a no- brainer with all the health issues it can cause.

There are lots of hidden saturated fats and salts in processed food, fast food and ready meals I would strongly advise people to check the content of the ingredients of any food they buy.
 

To encourage people to ditch the chocolates and focus on exercise instead this year we are sharing the love and inviting couples to work up a sweat together at Kettlercise, 6:20pm on Valentines Day for FREE.

Make sure you spend a lifetime of Valentines together.

You really can change your eating habits

 You really can change your eating habits

Sometimes without even realising it...

On Tuesday I travelled to Birmingham with my partner to watch Aston Villa play in the Capital One Cup semi final against Bradford. It was a long way and there was loads of traffic so we didn't have time to eat before the match. When we came out (we lost so the mood was... eat and get home!) we were starving and freezing, so we had no alternative but to eat a greasy burger from one of the vans. Spencer (my partner and self confessed junk food lover) has been living with me (missus health and fitness junkie) for almost a year so you can imagine that his diet has changed drastically! I always cook healthy food for my family, from scratch (I love cooking) but with my busy life and difficult working hours it has to be simple (just thought I'd get that point in.. I don't spend hours in the kitchen). So, Spencer has been subjected to healthy food for many months now and I'm sure craves burgers on many occasions. This however, since Tuesday night, has changed somewhat! So we both quickly ate said greasy burgers and dashed home to bed. The next morning Spencer complained of feeling sick in the night, that the greasy burger he was so looking forward to made him feel repulsed and that it felt like was oooozing from every pore. He couldn't stand the smell and said he couldn't believe how bad his reaction was to it.

So there you go.... his body had a reaction to highly processed, greasy junk food because it isn't used to it anymore (I'm not saying we never eat junk but it's very rare!) In a matter of months, and without realising it or even thinking about it, his body and the way it reacts to food has changed dramatically. 

For me this is awesome. It's proof, without even trying, that our bodies adapt to what we put in them - which means that changing your eating habits really is achievable (even unwittingly in some cases!) Change your eating habits for long enough and you can get to a point where you don't miss the food you used to eat and probably will have a similar reaction to junk!

Snow has a strange effect on me!

Has the snow made you want to cook? 

For some reason, I always seem to spend the day cooking when it snows... I tried to keep it healthy but with a house full of teenage boys I'm afraid I let the side down and made brioche, flapjack and cake (but also a yummy chicken soup)! 

That said, home baked goodies are much nicer than the sweet and cakey stuff that you buy in the shops and although contain sugar, they don't contain preservatives and you know exactly what's in it. Although there's no need for preservatives in my house because it's all gone in seconds!

I was lucky on this snowy occasion... I had been shopping a few days before and the cupboards were fairly full so I could spend the day cooking and baking (and even getting my boys involved to a degree). It also reinforced the fact that cooking is a pleasure if you're organised and have everything to hand.

So, plan your week ahead, get your shopping done... make a list of what you need and don't buy anything that you even slightly consider 'I might not use this' even if it's on offer because the chances are... it will end up in the bin. Only buy what you need and plan to use, it keeps costs down and satisfaction high.

I posted a recipe on my 'horse meat' blog the other day and the following day I tried it out (it had come from another blogger and I was curious to give it a go). WOW... it was awesome and so simple. I also made a fantastic soup with the left overs, it fed my family of 5 for 2 days!

I must admit, winter is my most favourite time of year to cook, so my challenge is to continue this domestic goddess behaviour throughout the year.

Watch this space....

Exercise...who snows?

 Once again we have that 'is it going to snow' feeling in the air with possible disruption ahead!

It seems almost every year, when everyone wants to get back into a routine and start their exercise after Christmas.. we get hit by a bout of bad weather and everything goes t**s up!

It's so annoying when you have your day planned in your head but by lunch time you're not sure if that workout kit, pair of trainers and bottle of water will see the light of day after all. Or, school is closed and your morning class is impossible to get to because your children are home. 

So, your class is canceled and you have to go home - use the time wisely, stop at the supermarket and pick up some health food (fresh veg and meat or fish) and make a super healthy meal instead of consoling yourself with a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates.

If you have fresh food in the fridge, use it up... make a stir fry or casserole. Prepare a health lunch for the next day at work (or for your sledging trip if you can't get to work).

When you get home, before you get inside, take your coat off and warm up... go out for a brisk walk (as long as it's safe and not too slippery!) It will clear your mind from the day and you won't feel like you've missed out on exercise quite so much.

Whatever you decide to do, keep safe and keep warm.

A Gorgeous clean and very filling Faux Beef Lasagne

Ingredients:
Filling: mince meat, 1 medium onion, chopped fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, 1 yellow pepper and 1 red pepper plus tomato paste.

For layering:
1 medium butternut squash
1 large courgette

Preparation:
Heat coconut oil in a pan, then add onion and stir until softened. Add mince meat and stir until browned. Then add mushrooms, tomatoes and peppers and mix together. Cook for a few minutes before adding tomato paste and warm water to cook the meat & veg. Season to taste and allow the liquid to reduce.

Meanwhile slice the butternut squash and courgette and grease an oven proof dish. Layer the base with the veg slices and start adding the mince mixture and creating more layers. Finish off with a final meat layer on top.

Bake in a moderately hot oven for 45min or longer depending on your oven type.

Enjoy with a salad or more veg on the side x

Horse meat - Source meat!

Well, I woke up this morning to news of the horse meat scare... 

'Outrageous' I hear!

It's a shock to think that horse meat has been used in certain produce that has been removed from supermarket shelves. However, it reinforces the fact that we really do not know what goes into processed foods (even if they claim to be healthy). Truth is, horse meat is not bad for your health BUT eating it without a choice is something many people react badly to. Most people, if offered, would refuse horse meat due to it mostly being a domestic animal. The thought of eating it without even realising is (for many) quite horrible and unacceptable!

However, do we ever think about the things added to our food that are BAD for our health and we don't even realise they are there?

Artificial sweetners
E Numbers
Preservatives
Hidden sugars
The list is endless....

These things lurk in processed foods of all kinds and they can cause - cancer, depression, heart disease, obesity etc. 

The only way to REALLY know what's in your food is to source fresh, unprocessed, clean food (ideally from your local butchers and greengrocers) and cook from scratch (which is so easy and quick too!) Get yourself a slow cooker and experiment... it's so easy!

So, really think about your food choices... 

Does horsemeat damage your health... no... BUT it is ethically wrong to add it to food without people knowing - after all, a beef burger should only contain BEEF!

Does a processed meal damage your health... YES! Are you willing to sacrifice a few minutes a day to prepare a meal which is GOOD for you and you know EXACTLY what's in it? 

It's so easy to cook REAL food....

Pot Roast Chicken (from another blogger)
Ingredients:
1 chicken - the largest size that will fit into your slow cooker Veg of your choice, chopped (ie. celery, kale and broccoli, carrots are great in this.) Olive or coconut oil
Oil the sides of your slow cooker pot. Place a handful of veg in the bottom then put your chicken in, upside down so the breasts are at the bottom. Shove the remaining veg around the chicken and into the cavity, anywhere that you can find space. Put the lid on your pot and pop it in the slow cooker on low for approx 8 hours.
By the time you come in after work the aroma from your slow cooker will be just heavenly and your bird will be moist and tender. The veg will have cooked in the chicken juices so will be lovely and soft and full of flavour too. Mmmm...