nevertoooldortoofattogetfit

 Today was one of my favourite gym instructors last day :o(  Lucy is off to pastures new, onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship dancing in their shows. Can't say I blame her, I'd be off like a shot to do similar and it's just starting to get chilly in the uk so even a grotty job cleaning loos in the Caribbean sounds better than a wet and cold British winter. Gutted that she's going, she's been such a source of laughter during the classes, even when I've called her a cow for making us do flutter kicks.  And she's been a major cheerleader for me doing the PT course, even sharing her hint about using chatgpt to explain the medical stuff that goes straight over the top of my head. If you ever read this Lucy, have an amazing time and pop back and visit us when you can. xxx

 Yesterday we did the stupid thing, hit up Costco without having a clear plan for last nights tea.  I knew I needed chicken & haddock plus a bag of almonds for Ade to munch on over the next few months but I hadn't massively settled for tea plans.  I was thinking smoked haddock, spinach, poached egg and possibly a jacket spud to get Ades carb levels up.  In the end I went for their 1kg of huge prawns, bag of broccoli salad and jacket spuds. I sort of looked at the label on the broccoli salad and yes it's high on fat (if you don't know it comes with 2 sachets of onion sauce and a bag of mixed nuts and dried fruit to add to the mix) but we had plenty of spare calories to splurge on so I wasn't too particular and hadn't read that the calories were per very small portion sizes, not half an 850g bag each Now I was thinking a bit when I "made" tea, I saved one of the sachets of onion sauce to use as a mayo replacement to go with the prawns and added a small d...

 This is one of my go to recipes when I can't think what to prep ready to cook quickly after kick boxing on an evening.  Veggie mix is down to preference and whatever is to hand as is the spicing. My usual mix, veggies all peeled and cut into large chunks,  makes 4 portions at this size but if you've added in more veg you'll get more. 1 butternut squash 4 red onions 2 small sweet potatoes 2 courgettes 3 large carrots pack mushrooms pack cherry tomatoes 2 red peppers block of halloumi cheese 1 chicken oxo cube 1 cup orzo 2 tsp pesto siracha seasoning salt & pepper Chuck all the veggies except the tomatoes into a large roasting tin and cook in the oven with a squirt of oil until cooked and starting to brown (I usually cook for about 45mins on 180).  Add toms and halloumi and cook until the cheese is starting to brown.  Add the orzo, pesto and enough stock, (you may need less than 1l) to come up the pan about an inch, give a stir and pop back in for about 15 mi...

 Over the years I've collected more than a few recipe books and one of our favourite recipes is from Slimming Worlds SP Sensations book, Beef and Apricot Tagine.  Not authentic I know but I prefer pork to beef so make ours usually with a pork shoulder steak each, tinned chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, butternut squash and dried apricots.  I can't give the exact recipe but if you search there are loads out there using ras el hanout spice mix, lots of cumin, paprika, chilli, garlic and cinnamon (not too much cinnamon in this house) I could make the recipe healthier by using pork loin but I've given up an awful lot of foods I enjoy but sorry there's not enough of a difference to make me eat a drier blander cut of meat. Verywells recipe analyser has the nutrition as Nutrition Facts Servings:  4 Amount per serving   Calories 814 % Daily Value* Total Fat  33.3g 43% Saturated Fat 9.6g 48% Cholesterol  88mg 29% Sodium  1063mg 46% Total Carbohydrate  90.1...

 For me the only good thing about the end of summer is saying hello to lots of casseroles, stews and soups. I pretty much base most of my veg and bean soups around a tin of chopped tomatoes, whatever veg and dried beans I have to hand. I made a note of the one made yesterday, in a huge stock pot and it should serve at least 10 decent portions. Veg stock, probably about 2 pints but keep topping up with water tin chopped toms, 2 if you like really tomatoey flavour about a cup each of dried pinto, butter and mung beans about a cup of black eyed and split yellow dried peas. 1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into small cubes 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced 4 onions (I'd usually add more if I had room in the pot) 300g chopped carrots 1/2 cup pearl barley salt, pepper chilli flakes 1/2tsp mixed herbs 3 bay leaves Chuck everything in the pot except the mung beans and pearl barley, bring to the boil and simmer for several hours until the butter beans are soft and the veg has s...

 While I wait for the upcoming in person Level 2 Fitness Professional workshop I thought I would make a start on the nutritional parts of the course.  First part is to become certified Nutrition Advisor and I had to learn the basics of macronutrients (fat, protein, & carbs) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).  Talks of polysaccharides and phosphate molecules had me a bit confused and confuddled at times but when the module was about weight loss I passed that with 100% flying colours.  I guess that's a sign that I either know the basics of losing weight via a healthy eating plan or I've dieted far too often over the years, or maybe a bit of both but it did make me laugh. Now I have to be honest as a Nutrition Advisor I will have to go by the national health guidelines (which I'm slightly at odds with) and I can't prescribe any diet with a medical purpose in mind such as to help with rheumatoid arthritis or diabetes but I can now decide what's balanced acc...