Bake-in and Bosu!

Another day off today, but today I had to wait in for delivery of a new dishwasher, which meant I couldn't go out to the gym, which was a shame because today would have been a swimming day.  I could have gone once it had been delivered, but I prefer to get there before 2pm as after then children are allowed in the pool which when you are there for fitness purposes is a tad frustrating!!!

So instead, after a lot of housework etc, I did a home workout.

~BREAKFAST~

 

So another leisurely feast for breakfast this morning. A couple of grilled field mushrooms topped with scrambled eggs (literally two eggs in a non-stick pan, a pinch of salt and pepper, and scrambled!) and some potatoes which I cubed and cooked in the Actifry, no oil, for 25 minutes, added some shredded parma ham and cooked for a further 5 minutes till the ham crisped up.

I also made my favourite berry smoothie.

Fab!  And saw me though to lunchtime.

~LUNCH~

 Another bowl of the Moroccan Chickpea, Sweet Potato and Spinach Soup that I made yesterday, only today instead of homemade flat bread I had it with some oatcakes, was even more delicious as the flavours had deepened overnight.

 

~DINNER~
 

Friday night used to normally mean take-out night for us.  The usual excuse was having been working all week it was night to just order in and let somebody else cook.  But take-out always made me feel unwell, if not straight away then definitely over night.

One of my husbands favourites was always KFC.  He loves it.  I hate it, it makes me feel so greasy, I feel like it is flooding out of my pores.

So tonight, I did a homemade version of KFC, and I loved it.

Based on a recipe from the CYT first cookbook.

First of all I wrapped a couple of sweetcorn cobs, sprinkled with black pepper, in some tin foil and placed in the bottom of the oven, heated at 180oc.  I then cut up some potatoes into thin batons and placed these in the actifry, with a teaspoon of rapeseed oil to give them some extra crisp, and cooked for 35 minutes.

In the meantime I took some chicken escalopes and dipped them first of all in some wholemeal flour, then into beaten egg, then into a mixture made of polenta, grated fresh parmesan, paprika and mixed seeds, coating both sides.

I put the chicken onto a lined baking tray, sprayed with olive oil and placed in the oven for about 25 minutes till cooked and crisped.

Whilst cooking, I made up a homemade coleslaw, using shredded cabbage, carrots, beetroot and apple, I doused this with a couple of teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and then mixed in a tablespoon of half fat creme fraiche and a tablespoon of 0% greek yogurt, I then also added in some chopped walnuts.

 

All made in the time it would have taken for a take-out to be delivered, virtually no fat and grease, and full on flavour.  A HUGE success.

 

~EXERCISE~

 

As I mentioned, I didn't get to the gym today for my swim, so I did a workout at home instead, using my Bosu Ball, Kettlebells and hand weights.

Bosu is an acronym, standing for Both Sides Up!  It consists of one side that is flat, the other side is an inflated 'ball', essentially half an exercise ball.

It is great for balance, when using it your body is forced to use numerous core and stabilising muscles to gain balance.

There are so many exercises you can do on the ball, I love it.  I find it brilliant for working on stomach exercises as these have never been my strong point and I am very lazy with them.

The basic crunch, on the right, is performed by basically lying back onto the ball with the small of your back supported, knees bent and hands placed gently behind your ears, then simply engage your core muscles to recline and then raise again.  Rather than lying flat on the floor which usually results in me jerking my neck to rise up, this really does make you use your stomach muscles.

I also have resistance bands that attach to my Bosu that you can incorporate for even more exercises.

There are literally hundreds of exercises you can perform on it, lunges, push ups etc etc, it is a great piece of equipment to have at home.

Now finishing the day with some nice cold liquidised grapes!!

Thanks again for reading
Jo
xx