Tag: every step fitness

Recipes

Squash and Bean Chili

Dr Nancy P

If you’re looking for a healthy, comforting dinner or lunch then this is it. It’s a yummy bowl full of love and comfort – full of taste, texture and a bit of heat!

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You  can use any squash or pumpkin you like,  in fact, sweet potato would also work well. You can also use any beans you like – I’ve made this a few times and just used the beans I had in my cupboard – kidney beans, haricot beans, pinto beans, butter beans, broad beans… Or even chickpeas!

For the Chili you will need:

3 cans of beans (drained)
2-3 cups chopped Pumpkin/squash/sweet potato
2 cans chopped tomatoes or 600g of fresh chopped tomatoes
1/2 – 1 cup Vegetable stock (adjust as needed)
2 stalks Celery, chopped finely
1 Red onion, chopped finely
1 Pepper (red or yellow work well), diced
2 large Cloves of garlic, chopped finely
2 tbsp Tomato purée
2 tsp ground Chilli
2 tsp ground Cinnamon
2 tsp ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Allspice
1/2 tsp ground Cloves
1 tsp Cayenne powder
Salt and black pepper to taste

0% Greek yoghurt to serve

Add a little oil to a large pan and add the onion, celery, garlic and pepper and allow to cook until softened. Add all the spices and seasonings, mix well and cook for another 10 mins. You may need to add a little more oil – ensure you keep the heat low and stir frequently so you don’t allow the spices to stick.

Meanwhile, chop your squash into decent sized pieces (approx 2cm square). Bring a pan of water to the boil and drop the pumpkin in. Boil for approx 5 – 7 mins – you don’t want it to soften too much but just to partially cook through. Drain them well.

Add the tomatoes and pumpkin to the stock pot and stir well. Then add the vegetable stock and all the beans. Make sure there is enough liquid to cover the beans well. Then pop the lid on and allow to cook on low heat for 45 mins or until the beans and squash are cooked through. I usually remove the lid for the last 15 mins and keep an eye on it so it can thicken up a bit.

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Now grab yourself a nice big bowlful of chilli and add a dollop of greek yoghurt and enjoy! 🙂

xx

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Fitness and Exercise

Another Quick Bodyweight Home Workout – Another Ten mins, Ten Exercises

Dr Nancy P

Well I’m still missing my classes, as I’m sure many of you are too, so I thought I’d do another little workout for you!

It’s equipment-free. All you need is yourself, a watch/iphone to time it, and a mat if you want one for your knees/hands.

Remember it doesn’t need to be a long session – any exercise is good! This little circuit takes only ten mins again – if you have more time then you can always do it twice or three times, but if you don’t then just do it once! Get everyone involved! 🙂

If you want to do it “with me” then there’s a video below.

Or you can use the pics below or download a pdf of the workout here: Bodyweight Circuit 3

Have fun! 🙂

xx

Ps. If you missed the last workout it’s here (Bodyweight circuit 2) and my first one is here (Bodyweight circuit 1)

 

Recipes

Quorn mince (or any veggie mince) and sweet potato shepherd’s pie

Dr Nancy P

This recipe should serve 3 – 4 people. You may find you have slightly too much veggie mince if so then simply add some more spices and chili to the left over mince for an easy lunch time chili 🙂

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140g Veggie mince (Soya, Quorn, etc)

450 ml Vegetable stock

1 Onion

1 clove Garlic

1/2 Red pepper

800 g chopped Tomatoes

1 tbsp Tomato puree

Seasoning (I used salt, pepper, celery salt, oregano, mustard seeds and paprika)

A dash of Balsamic vinegar

A dash of Worcestershire sauce

650 g Sweet potato (peeled)

A dash of milk

Dice the onion and pepper and crush the garlic. Place them all in a large saucepan and soften. Add the veggie mince. Add the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, balsamic vinegar (only a dash!), Worcestershire sauce and all the seasoning. Leave it to simmer for as long as possible – the longer the better.

Meanwhile chop the sweet potato and place in a pan of water. Bring to the boil and simmer until soft. Drain well and then mash – adding seasoning and a dash of soya milk to give a smooth mash.

Place the cooked mince in a large dish, fork the sweet potato mash over the top. Place in the oven (approx 180 C) before serving to brown the top slightly and heat through. Serve with veg of your choice!

Enjoy 🙂

xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Healthy frying…

Dr Nancy P

Healthy frying… 🍳

With most people’s general activity levels lower at the moment and a natural focus on eating more “healthily” to stay well it seemed like a good opportunity to consider how to fry food more healthily.

There is an assumption that coconut oil is a healthy choice for cooking. As with other oils (e.g. olive oil), it does have some health benefits. The oil contains saturated fat, specifically medium-chain triglycerides, which are easily absorbed by the liver and converted to ketones (an alternative energy source in the brain) and there is evidence that it could be beneficial for dementia and related conditions. There is also evidence that coconut may help type-2 diabetes, elevated cholesterol levels and may assist weight loss.

So many people recommend using coconut oil to cook with – dolloping in a spoonful of the stuff for stir fries, pan frying meat and fish etc. Now whilst it is healthy it’s also extremely calorie dense. A spoonful (15g) of coconut oil is approx 129 cals. If you used this for one meal a day that would give you a total of 3,612 calories over the course of a month.

Thats a lot of extra calories! If you’re using oil simply to ensure the food doesn’t stick then you’d be far better off buying a good non-stick frying pan and using no oil at all! Or if you really need it you can get a 1 calorie coconut oil spray.

By using a non-stick pan you can save those extra calories (which you’re probably not accounting for anyway) and spend them on something else. It’s a small sacrifice for some big savings and assuming you’re having a balanced diet overall then you won’t suffer a decrease in health by cutting it out.

🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Working from Home

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Working from Home 🏠

Working from home, be it your normal work, schooling the kids, or just now being at home as work has closed, can be hard. Productivity goes down and it’s hard to stay motivated. So here are some tips on how to make the best of it.

# 1 Routine

Try to stick to your “normal” routine as much as possible. Get up/go to bed at the same time as normal, plan your day, schedule in something every day that signals it’s the start/end of the day. These rituals will will help to keep you positive e.g. a morning workout, an evening walk or family movie time etc.

# 2 Workout

It’s vital for your mind and body to stay as active as possible. It releases endorphins, decreases stress hormones and helps create routine. Schedule it in; perhaps at the same time you would normally go to the gym /class etc. Publicly commit to it with your family or friends so you’re likely to stick to it.

# 3 Find a place

Choose a space at home that’s comfy, but not too comfy, to work in. Avoid the bed/sofa if possible. Set up the space up so it’s easy to work from; laptop/paperwork, easy access to power points/cables etc. Also set up a space to workout in. If you don’t have space for a dedicated workout area then just keep anything you need handy so it’s easy to use without spending ages getting set up.

# 4 NO distractions

Avoid distractions you can control. Put your phone away, turn the TV off, set aside a time for household chores so you’re not tempted to do them instead of the work.

# 5 Make a list

Make a list of all the things you MUST do that day, and another list of things you WANT to do if you can. Then you can prioritise and hopefully get some of the “want” list done too if you have time.

# 6 Schedule breaks

It’s easy for work to creep into all hours of the day if you’re not careful, so try to work similar hours to normal. Signal the end of the day by doing something that isn’t work; e.g. workout, a walk, a bath etc. Close the laptop and don’t leave it open all evening etc so you can separate work from home time.

I hope these tips help. If I can help at all with anything then please ask, anytime.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx