Monday Meatfree Meatballs!!!

Lots to post today, so I apologise in advance for the long post!!

Had a very late night last night, stayed up and watched the fantastic Olympic closing ceremony, but that meant didn't get to bed until 1.30 and my alarm goes off at 5.30 .... 4 hours sleep does not make a happy Jo!

Regardless, when the alarm went off I jumped straight out off bed and straight into the shower. Luckily, I am a morning person, it will be this evening when it catches up with me and I will be begging to go to bed about 9pm!

Whilst in the shower I decided I would need some good energy conserving foodstuffs to get me through the day. A morning at work, followed by swimming in the afternoon.

So first things first ... BREAKFAST!

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, I am always ready for it and can't bear to miss it. I start work at 7 so it always needs to be something that will get me through the first few hours at least.

This mornings choice was to be scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast with smoked mackerel, with a half glass of chocolate protein shake!


Eggs are a fantastic source of protein, making them more satisfying than carbs as they make you feel full for longer. They also contain certain amino acids which makes egg protein easy for your body to absorb ... an ideal muscle repair food after an intense workout!

I make my scramble eggs from 2 whole eggs and some pure egg white (from a carton...I get this from Waitrose). The fat is in the yolks, adding more egg white bulks them out a bit more, adds more protein without adding extra fat.  I add nothing more to them, just put them in a non-stick saucepan, give them a good whip and slowly let them scramble. (Just make sure you put the saucepan straight in to soak afterwards!!).

I always use Nimble wholemeal, have done for ages now. A lot of people shun bread, saying it bloats them etc etc. I say its fine eaten in moderation, like most things. However I just prefer Nimble, it is light and makes lovely crisp toast and your sandwiches become more about the filling than the bread. I can't stand a sandwich made with thick clogging bread, I get bored of chewing it!

I also always use Flora Extra light, again have done for ages, both my husband and I prefer it.

So, all this together, topped with a piece of skinned smoked mackerel and a squeeze of lemon, makes a bloody delicious start to the day!

I'll tell you more about the protein shake in another post, but I have a half glass every morning and again after exercise every training day. The morning glass helps keep me feeling full, the afternoon one stops me picking! It also helps towards repairing muscles after they have been given a good stretch!

Mid-Morning Snack

I think its important, especially when training, to eat little and often, keep your energy levels replenished. So I make sure I have something around 10ish every morning when the first slump hits. Sometimes its a handful of almonds, or some dried apricots, or a few oatcakes ... today it was my little pot of loveliness!!

In a little container, I put two dessert spoons of porridge oats and add a dessert spoon of mixed seeds. I then add a pot of fat free yogurt and some fresh fruit, today was raspberries. Mix them all together, bung on the lid and then put in the fridge when I get to work. Its a lovely fresh tasting filling snack that really does the job.

LUNCH

I try to eat my lunch about 12ish during the week, this is then about an hour before my workout, long enough for my body to digest it and extract the nutrients and energy it needs to help me without feeling bloated and uncomfortable whilst exercising.

Today's lunch was a quinoa, spinach, sweet potato, roasted new potato and chicken salad! The quinoa comes ready prepared in a packet, the potatoes were left over from last nights salad and the chicken was marinated yesterday in garlic, lemon juice, pepper and a couple of teaspoons of rapeseed oil yesterday then cooked in the Actifry last night, left to go cold overnight. All this was tossed together in a bowl and drizzled with a dressing of 0% greek yoghurt and mint sauce....... et voila!  (Then put in a plastic container and taken to work!)



(What is quinoa? .... It is usually considered a whole grain, but is actually a seed, although it can be prepared like whole grains like rice or barley, but it takes less time to cook.  It has a higher protein content than whole grains and provides all 9 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. )

My current AFTERNOON SNACK is one of my homemade protein bars, ideal after a workout, see yesterdays posting
magical energy bars

DINNER

I hadn't decided what to have for dinner tonight, normally I have an idea in the morning but this morning was too tired to think that far ahead!  But whilst swimming this afternoon I started thinking about one of mine and my husbands favourite dinners, meatfree meatballs and pasta ... and I had to have it!

I am a big fan of quorn, I love it.  I never buy beef mince anymore, I use quorn mince to replace anything I would have used beef mince for beforehand.  Cottage pie, chilli, spag bol etc etc.  It is a fab source of protein, very low fat and takes on any flavour to show it.  For more info on Quorn click here http://www.quorn.co.uk/why-quorn/

I discovered Sainsbury's own version of quorn, in particular their meatfree meatballs!!

I always cook this in the Actifry.  Its quick, its easy, and I can get on with other things whilst its doing its thing.

First of all I just chuck the balls, from frozen, into the actifry, add the timer for 5 minutes and let them cook, whilst I can chop up the veg!

I like to use peppers, onions and mushrooms in this, and if I have asparagus then that will go in too! When the timer has finished I will then throw in the veg and set the timer for another 10 minutes. The Actifry slowly turns all ingrediants over so everything gets evenly cooked and nothing sticks. I then add the tinned tomatoes,a splash of balsamic vinegar and an oxo spag bol cube (although I think they have now stopped making these .. luckily I stocked up on a few boxes!). Set the timer for another 8 minutes and ding ... its done!

I then cook some wholemeal pasta, serve it in a bowl with a sprinkle of low fat cheese.

So thats todays food out of the way! As you can imagine, I am feeling nicely full and nicely nourished!

EXERCISE

Exercise wise today was a swimming day. I knew I was feeling pretty tired and didn't want to push myself too hard. I try to aim for between 80 - 100 lengths per session, 80 is a mile apparently, but today I took the decision to do 60, and I made sure I stuck to that, I felt I could have done more, but I decided to be sensible. I followed the swim with a 15 minute relaxation in the the steam room .... I LOVE THIS!!  It took me a while to build up the length of time I can spend in there, now I have to force myself out!  I actually got stuck talking to somebody in there recently and didn't realise how long I had been in there, and when I came out I nearly fainted!  I always make sure now I still have plenty of drink left to rehydrate when I come out.

OTHER NEWS

Today at work was like Christmas!!  Last week I had been quite trigger happy on Amazon, and had forgotten all about it, and it all arrived today!

I will tell you more about them when I have had a chance to look through them ... but have already have a quick glance at A Woman's Guide to Muscle and Strength and it looks fantastic, so that is coming to bed with me tonight!

I also got a tub of Epsom salts!!  I am told bathing in these have so many benefits, see here for further information Epsom Salt Benefits

My poor old Mum is really suffering with her knees at the moment and awaiting an operation, she is in a lot of pain and I read that Epsom Salts can be beneficial in helping with the pain, so I got her some too.  Its not a miracle cure by any means, but if it helps in some way to ease her pain and make her more comfortable it will be worth it!

After working out, by the evening my legs always start to ache, I also really suffer with plantar fasciitis, a problem with my heel, so am hoping these will provide some relief.

So, I am off for an Epsom Salt bath and then into bed with my bedtime reading!

Night all ... and thanks for reading to the end!!!
xx