Some resourceful eats/more running

Its a bright day in London today and it smells a bit like spring - I know its still feb but a bit of optimism int a bad thing. Have been running this great loop from my house to and along the river and back via Waterloo bridge. Which, by the way is a great bridge to run over. It makes me feel quite epic and smug and thats quite enjoyable. Think its something about the view/people/up and down nature of bridges in general... Anyway its about 4.5 miles and is a lovely run to start the day, have definitely got running bug back with a vengeance and looking for  a club/ a buddy and a race to join / find / sign up to.

Anyway i've also found some nice recipes as i've been on my own in the flat this week, which makes me more resourceful and go to tescos less - so have discovered some yumsa eats.

Tasty sweet potato and bean bake.

• Small sweet potato
• 1/2 tin of baked beans
• bit of: onion, chilli, garlic, any other veggies you have.
• feta cheese
• seasoning, cumin.

Slice the sweet potatoes and bake in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil and sliced onions. Meanwhile fry up chilli, garlic and your other veg - I used a bit of courgette, peppers, aubergine. Then add a bit of cumin and fry for a few more mins. Then add your 1/2 tin of beans and cook all together till warm through. When the sweet pots are soft and cooked through pour your bean mixture on top and sprinkle with a cheese of your choice, I used feta. Pop back into oven for a few min. Delicious and nutritious and cheap and yum. 

Fishy salad. This was all I had left in fridge....

• piece of white fish
• courgette, peppers, onion, garlic, chilli.
• lime juice
• red pesto
• black pepper
• Leaves
• balsamic vinegar, wholegrain mustard and olive oil.

Fry up veggies then add seasoned fish to pan, add a few splashes of water and pop lid on until fish cooks through. Arrange some dressed leaves on a plate - dress with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar and whole grain mustard. When the fish is flaky and cooked though gently flake it up with a bit of red pesto. Pour the mixture onto leave and EAT. 

Using up stuff in the fridge is really satisfying and (often) well tasty so don't shy away from it be creative.... 

On another note - i tided my wardrobe LOOK: 

                                                     (Argh before)                      

                                                    (After... a bit nicer)

Phew Sunday has been quite productive. Time to roast and eat, eat and roast a chicken. woohoo.

Running again and delicious Moroccan stew

So its good news all round today...After months of frustration I am finally back in the game of running (if it was a game). I've had about 2 happy weeks now of no pain running and it feels brilliant. It started after a conversation about how many squats i'd been doing and seeing no improvement with a relative stranger, who, I think, I have to thank for being back on track. He, although possibly slightly alarmed about being engaged in a rambled discussed about my knee..( I don't know his name, but I knew he was a marathon runner so figured we were practically best pals) anyway he told me to stretch my hamstring 3 times a day - thats it, that simple... Im not sure if it was this or in fact the months of squats, bikram yoga, foam rolling i'd been doing but the next day - having stretched fanatically -  I apprehensively set off. Nervous, from repeated disappointment in my unworn snazzy running gear and I ran around the park - 2 laps, 20 minutes no pain. HORAY.

Although injury has been a massive pain and frustration and at times, my somewhat melodramatic self has despaired, i'm still glad it all happened as I now appreciate it more than ever. There is nothing like not being able to do something to make you really want it! So i'm being super careful and taking it slow but today I had a glorious 4-mile run along the South Bank and felt free and happy again.

Ok enough of that, I don't want you to vomit but there is another purpose of this post: to give you the recipe of the lovely veggie morrocaney stew I made on return. I didn't know what to make for lunch so I knocked this up based on what I had in the fridge/cupboard and it works so well...if i may say so myself.

Ingredients: (serves about 2)

• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 carrots
• 1 medium sweet potato
• any other veg you fancy (I used a few mushrooms and cherry tomatoes)
• 1/3 cup puy lentils
• 1/2- teaspoon of: coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and a splash of all spice. 
• Fresh corriander

Fry up onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil then add the spices and fry for a few more mins, (add spices to your own preferences). Add chopped up sweet potato, carrots and any other veggies your using - stir well then add your lentils. Cover will boiled water and leave to simmer with the lid on until lentils and vegetables are soft, add some fresh coriander Serve with cous cous. 

To make cous cous: 

Cook your plain cous cous, meanwhile chop up a small bunch of mint and coriander. Mix the herbs into the cous cous along with seasoning and tomato puree. Add some chopped up sun dried tomatoes or olives if you have any (or any other additions you fancy).

 *This is so tasty/warming and nutritious and goes down a treat. 

Healthy and delicious homemade pizza!

I ate lunch today with a feeling of pride, like I had actually won. Now i'm not really sure what i'd won, but either way I felt like a winner. I had created in a matter of minutes - probably about 15 to be exact - a healthy but delicious homemade pizza.

                                                     (yum)

So here is how I did it, and I urge you to do it too and feel like a winner.

The trick and the thing that made it healthy was the base; a wholemeal flatbread (you can find these in most supermarkets, you could also probably used a wholemeal pitta if you like.)

Ingredients:

• Wholemeal flatbread
• half an onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1-2 tomatoes 
• tiny bit of tomato puree
• Dried of fresh herbs and black pepper
• veggies of your choice - I used, peppers, mushrooms, courgettes and some jalapenos. 
• Cheese (you can again use any, I just used cheddar)  - if you want to restrict calories then use low fat but i'm not a great believer in low fat cheese...yes low fat yoghurt isn't a huge problem for me and I buy it, but low fat cheese?! please. 

It was so easy:

I blitzed up the onion and garlic and lightly cooked in a spot of olive oil then added the cut up tomatoes and tomato puree and cooked a little more before adding herbs and seasoning. Any italian herbs work nicely in this. I then spread this sauce all over my flat bread and piled chopped up topping of: mushrooms, peppers, courgettes and jalapenos all over the base. Finally I chucked on a load of grated cheese and put the whole thing in the oven for about 7-10 mins. 

I then took it out and ate it greedily and smugly with a side salad. And can I just say it was so nice! I didn't feel like I was compromising on anything and I didn't feel guilty for having pizza for lunch. Watch this space for more healthy alternatives as although I love salads, there is more to life and food than salad. 

The great thing about this nutrition-wise was the high fibre content with the wholemeal flatbread and all the vegetables. Although too much cheese is frowned upon, the amount used for this is hardly going to do anything and it adds some protein to the meal. You could also add some lean meat like chicken if you want a more protein rich meal. Ok get cooking and enjoy your meals as thats what counts!

Appreciating what we've got

Feeling a bit glum about city living and the constant peoplebeingrightthereinyourface - ness of it I was stomping on my way to work when I looked and saw I was standing by a beautiful lake on a frosty morning and the sun was coming up.

I stopped from my life and bad mood for about 30 seconds and it was really nice. I'm not saying I suddenly felt like a new woman and skipped through the rest of my day, but it did make me think that there are little things you can appreciate everywhere and its important to take a moment out of your head and look around.

London may be stressful sometimes and the daily commute is not ideal but sometimes one needs to get over oneself a bit....although geese are not necessarily friendly so its best not to stand by lakes in awe for too long.

Branching out with salad

Sometimes when people say they eat alot of salad, fairly dire ideas of lettuce and not much else come to mind. But I have learnt that salad is and can be some much more than that. To me salad is anything that involves a collection of fresh ingredients put together that can be eaten with a fork, OFFICIAL DEFINITION. 

So in the spirit of this realisation i'd say that I tend to have 'a salad' in some shape or form for lunch most days and its always different and nearly always delicious ...apart from that time I accidentally used mouldy pesto in the dressing, that wasn't really delicious. Here is some saladspiration: 

Things to put in yummy salads:

• Sweet potato
• Roast carrots, onions, butternut squash etc...
• Chickpeas
• Any other kind of bean!
• Lentils
• Cheeses
• Eggs
• Left over roast chicken
• Green beans, brocoli, cauliflower
• Cous cous, bulgar wheat, quinoa, rice, pasta.
• The usual culprits - leaves, tomatoes, celery, cucumber, avocado etc...
• Tinned fishes

...the list goes on. 

Getting creative with dressings helps as well, i love: balsamic vinegar, garlic, mustard, pesto, cumin and honey, curry powder, fresh herbs, lemon juice etc they all add tons on flavour to the dressing mixes. 

So get chopping thats what I say as its always exciting making a crunchy and fresh tasty lunch. Also brought salads are nearly always disappointing, even m&s lets you down there...

Yoga time

Much to my frustration my goddamknee (as it shall be known) injury is still not allowing me to run. I feel like i've been squatting more or less continuously for 3 months and doing all else I can think of to strengthen it up but this mornings attempt at a one-minute walking one-minute running session has resulted in a bit of a limp. I'm not sure if its a case of slightly pushing through the discomfort or more work and rest to sort it out. Anyway I'm not giving up and my little trip and spending spree in a run shop today has proved my optimism....

But I've had a bit of a revelation... hot yoga. 

I've done a little bit of bikram yoga before, yoga in a heated room, sweaty yoga, hot yoga - whatever its great. I'm kinda hoping this may be the miracle cure I need to stretch out and strengthen my injury. I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is and i'm pretty sure I am becoming a wise master of patience...not an easy thing my friends, not at all easy, particularly for someone like me.

I'll keep a bit of a yoga progress diary on here. I've signed up for a month deal so will try to cram as many sessions in as possible. I've always wanted to be a yogi - such nice outfits and all that inner calm business is most appealing. Anyway fingers crossed in a months time I can be a yogi and a runner.....

Don't go mental

Being in the early days of 2012 there is alot of concern about new years resolutions and starting out as a healthier, better fitter, thinner you... Everywhere you look is a new diet or a new exercise plan - gym memberships suddenly boom in early January. Its all a bit old though and taking on too much or starting some insane diet is never really the answer. How many people have forgotten about their gym membership or given up their diet by early February? Quite a few I rekon...  Thats why anything extreme and unattainable is just stupid!! I sometimes start to feel a bit crazy and google bikini body plans or something like that only to be advised to spend 3 weeks merely eating chicken breast and steamed vegetables to lean out. But what would be the point in losing 10lbs in a few weeks by eating in an insane/unhappy/abnormal way. Who would care and what would happen when I returned to eating pasta again, which I would, obviously, because the rest of my existence would be so miserable on such a controlled and boring regime. 

So my point really is that new years shouldn't symbolise the beginning of an extreme detox or diet but just a healthier lifestyle. Small changes and long term goals are what its all about. 

The best thing I did for myself - body and soul in 2011 was my half marathon. It sounded like a ridiculously massive task after my first 10minute run, which was pretty hideous to be honest but it just took small steps and some will power, also something I didn't really think I had... 

...But it was so worth it! I've never felt more smug (sorry to sound smug). So my ideas and intentions for 2012, although pretty optimistic, aren't about punishing myself and becoming a certain way. I want to get back to running and sort out my knee because I love running and not doing it makes me feel like i'm failing and those same 4 walls of the gym make me a little insane. I want to breathe fresh air and be on my own when I exercise. I'm going to try and make healthy choices and all that business because I feel better when I am. 

What I'm saying really is there is no need to go mental just because its January. So what if you ate too many mince pies and didn't do much other than lift mince pies to your mouth over Christmas. There is no need to take it out on yourself. Just relax a bit and find something that you love thats good for you, or not, just something that makes you feel good, then do it.