Duckeys Get Fit Week... day seven... Thursday

On day seven...

Today is the last day of my “get fit week” I can say I am really beginning to enjoy it now! Its almost a shame that it is officially over today. Just to let you know I wont be going to raid the supermarkets for chocolate based products tomorrow!

It was just a usual Thursday today, I had lunch on the beach and really enjoyed my bowl of porridge this morning.

I was due to go to the gym and unfortunately we got back late and missed our usual time so decided to stay in do some yoga and stretching while cooking a healthy meal! (Yes I can do yoga and cook at the same time I am a woman!)

So heres how my last day went:

6.30am – half hour of yoga

7.30am – breakfast

Porridge oats with currents and skimmed milk


8.30am – 15 minute walk into work

9.00am – glass of water

11.00am – green tea

12.30pm – green tea

1.00pm – Half hour walk down the beach



2.30pm – Carrot and an Apple

5.00pm – 15 minute walk home

7.30pm – Dinner with half hour of yoga whilst cooking!

Chicken stir fry with brown rice and vegetables

8.30pm- Dessert

Strawberries and Mango with bio yogurt



9.00pm – 50 ab rolls

Today was a light day in the end but I feel as I have had such a healthy week I didn’t need to push myself. I have really enjoyed this week and having a goal to work to. There has been some element of pressure there but it has not been awful.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my week! Perhaps you could let me know if you’ve tried something similar?

Stay tuned for my final thoughts tomorrow!

Prawn and Avocado Salad with spiced noodles...

For a quick light summer meal I have found the perfect solution, you usually see a lot of offers on King Prawns throughout the Summer months so this also makes a cheap recipe.

I also know that avocado compliments prawns immensly so I made an avocardo salad with spice noodles to compliment the prawns.

RECIPE: Dressed King Prawns on a bed of spiced asian noodles on top of an avocardo mixed salad.

You will need:
1 pack of King Prawns
2 servings of noodles
1 avocado
1 bag of mixed salad
1 teaspoon of Mayonnaise and Mustard
Chili

To Make:

1. In a sauce pan bring some water to boil and insert the noodles

2. Arrange in a bowl the salad and avocado



3. Once cooked add the noodles and top with chili

4. Mix the prawns with a spoonful of Mayo and Mustard for extra flavour.


5. Top these on the noodle mixture.

This made a really light elegant meal, it was really enjoyale and flavoursome! Perfect for a late summer evening.

Duckey gets fit week... Day 6... Wednesday

On day Six:

Today has been a bit of an unusual day, I fancied a change for breakfast and went for lunch with a work friend Sacha. We went to seven dials in Brighton to a small cafe for a tea date!

It has been a good day and tomorrow will be the last official day of my get fit week!

6.30 am - half hour of yoga

7.30am - Breakfast A bowl of porridge with a few currents and skimmed milk



8.30am - 15 minute power walk into work

9.30am - Glass of water

11.00am - Green Tea

1.00pm - 45 minute walk around town

1.30pm - Orange and Coconut tea

2.30pm - Dinner

I missed dinner today but had one rice cake to keep me going I couldn't make it out to get anything.

5.00pm - 15 minute walk

6.00pm - one hour of rapid housework

7.30pm - Dinner Big bowl of fresh Tuna salad with lettuce, tomato, celery, beetroot, hummus, pickled onions and a bread roll. I also had half a corn on the cob. I didn't have dessert just a few teaspoons of yogurt.



8.30pm - half an hour of yoga

9.00pm - 50 ab rolls

9.30pm - Green tea

I am feeling again a little less swollen today and feeling pretty tight and healthy now. It usually takes a few days to feel the effects but I am doing well and like I have been saying all along learning new things.

I haven't missed a meal in a while and found it was harder to eat when I did as my stomach was quite small and I felt really full very quickly.

I have learnt to have something even if it is just fruit.

Duckey gets fit week... Day 5... Monday

On day Five:

Today marks a sad day for me. Its the anniversary of my Grandad Ducker's passing. I can't believe it happened a year ago. I would like to take this time to tell the world what a wonderful man he was. He was very much loved by all who met him.

My dad wrote a great post about him on his blog Fighting Fit at Fifty, so to read more you can view this here.

Sometimes when you are feeling a bit low it can be hard to stay motivated, especially over the last few days I have had a virus flare up again, when I get stressed out I usually have this aftermath affect where my spleen area will raise, my boobs get bigger and I notice my bras won't fit (I know this might not be a bad thing but it aggravates the hell out of me) and also my stomach puffs out.

But the day still went according to plan and I have taken some tablets prescribed to help reduce the swelling.

6.30 am - half hour of yoga

7.30am - Breakfast

A bowl of Shredded Wheat with skimmed milk and raspberries

8.30am - 15 minute power walk into work

9.30am - Glass of water

11.00am - 1/4 of a cup of Green Tea

12.45pm - 1/2 cup of green tea

1.30pm - 45 minute walk around town

2.30pm - Dinner

An apple and carrot



5.00pm - 15 minute walk

7.00pm - one hour at the gym

• 15 minutes on the cross trainer
  
• 10 minutes on the wave machine
  
• 5 minutes on the arm bike
  
• 10 minutes on arm and leg weights
• 10 minutes of pull ups
• 10 minutes of sit ups

7.30pm - Dinner

Fresh chicken stir fry with peppers, mushrooms and brown rice




8.30pm - Dessert

Mango and Raspberries with a spoonful of low fat yogurt


9.30pm - Green tea

I still managed to have a successful day. I think I am beginning to feel much better but its hard to track my progress with my swollen torso!

Hopefully if I can manage to relax this will calm down and that is my biggest problem - not being able to switch off. So I am still learning lots and I can't wait to record and reflect all of this at the end of my Get Fit Week.

Choosing your gym...

Having joined a gym for the first time a few months ago here are some tips to help you!

When shopping for health clubs consider the following:

Location

Is it close to your home?
Is it close to your office?
Does it have enough parking?
Can you attend other branches?
The location should provide you with no excuses not to go

Try Before You Buy

Do they offer a day pass trial?
Is there a wait for equipment?
Are there busy times?
Ask the members about the gym you need to know if you will feel comfortable at the gym to go!

Make Sure They Have What You Want

Make a list of what you want to use
Do you want a personal trainer?
Do you need child care?
Do you want to go to classes?
You need to be motivated to keep attending

Member Profile

Find out what the members are like
Make sure you feel comfortable and welcome

Staff

Make sure someone is always available
Is there someone to show you a new exercise?
Are the friendly and helpful
You need to know the staff are supportive

Costs and Contracts

Find out the exact membership fee and what it includes
Are there extra costs for additional services?
Can you afford it?
What package suits you?
This should be the most important part in your decision

Some health clubs have a one-time initiation fee and require purchasing a minimum of three months up front.

Depending on your budget, you may want to find a club that allows you to go on a month-to-month basis.

In addition, find out if the health club debits the funds directly out of your account. This can make it easier to pay membership fees but make sure that it's easy to cancel if you decide you don't like the club. Be sure you read the contract before you sign so you're not "locked" into paying even if you move out of town or change health!

Beat the credit crunch with an M&S meal for two at just £10!

You may have seen the divinely presented advert; you know the one with the music and the mouth watering food that’s right Marks and Spencer’s!

We saw this meal deal advertised and thought wow, that’s great let’s try it. The good thing is as well as a few naughty treats like the chocolate soufflé they also have some healthier options which I opted for of course within my Get fit week!

So I guess you could even call this Get fit on a budget.

We opted for:

• Chicken with pesto
• Caesar vegetables (but I took the butter out of mine)
• Summer Fruit Pudding
  

And you do also get a bottle of wine (healthy in the way of relaxing your mind!) You can find more information about our dinner in my Get Fit Week day three post.

We added some vegetable corn pasta and peas to fill the plate.

If your single and your having it for one person i'm sure it would last over two days.

It really was a tasty meal usually I don’t like pre-prepared meals but it wasn’t unhealthy and it was quite fresh. It only took 25 minutes to cook as well so it had an added perk in that respect.

I believe the offer has ended now but I recommend you definitely try it if they have another one soon!

Get fit week... Day Four... Monday

On day Four:

Well today it is back to work for me. Today unfortunately is not a great day as I have major cramps, that are so painful I want to pass out and feel really sick. Now like I say my pmt is becoming much worse but so is the after effects, so I am keen to find out why?

I don't think I am the only person who suffers with this and all I can think is that my stress levels are high to put it politely 'that time of the month' seems to be happening 1-2 weeks later than it should which is obviously worrying.

So today I suffered in silence at my desk trying to make it through the day! All hunched over!

This is how my day went despite this!

6.30 am - half hour of yoga

7.30am - Breakfast

A bowl of Shreaded Wheat with skimmed milk and honey

8.30am - 15 minute power walk into work

9.30am - Glass of water

11.00am - Green Tea

12.45pm - Snack

Half a rice cake

1.30pm - 20 minute walk

2.30pm - Dinner An apple and carrot with a green tea

5.00pm - 15 minute walk

6.30pm - Dinner Baxters Autumn vegetable soup with a salad wrap



7.30pm - half hour of yoga

8.00pm - Green tea

8.30pm - Dessert Raspberries with a spoonful of low fat yogurt


9.30pm - Green tea

I have looked in to the reasons for bad "ladies times" it is called Dysmenorrhea! It is described as a dull, aching cramp... in the tummy and lower back... its the worst kind of pain as it distant yet there.

You can cure it with drugs such as ibuprofen but I hate taking pain killers! A hot water bottle can also help and I do love cuddling up to my bottle as people who know me will know! (any excuse)

Cramps are caused by hormones called prostaglandins, which cause the painful cramping they can affect the other organs causing:

• Back pain
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Dizziness
• Diarrhea (nice)
• Cramps

They usually effect you on the first or second day. Lets hope for me tomorrow will be a better day!

If you don't want to use drugs than a natural way is to rest and relax before your cycle is due.

Cramps can worsen through lack of sleep and anxiety both in which I suffer from! This is why I exercise, meditate and do my yoga.

Perhaps I will have to accept i'm someone who will always have a little anxiety and stress in their life.

Duckey gets fit week... Day 3... Sunday

On day three:

Despite heading out for a meal last night I thought I handled it pretty well and maintained my healthy eating challenge.

Temptations are always there but to be honest I enjoyed my meal just as much and if not more as I didn't have the doubt of picking something that was really bad for me.

Today we didn't have many plans it was just going to be a typical Sunday, however we ended up spending the sunny afternoon in Brighton and took a trip to the crazy sealife centre... honestly not worth the money but funny all the same!


9.45am - Breakfast A bowl of Shredded Wheat with a drizzle of honey with skimmed milk

10.15 am – half hour of yoga

11.00am - one hour at the gym

• 15 minutes on the cross trainer
  
• 10 minutes on the wave machine
• 5 minutes on the arm bike
  
• 10 minutes on arm and leg weights
• 10 minutes of pull ups
• 10 minutes of sit ups
• 2 minutes on running machine

2.00pm - Lunch at Zilli's in Brighton

(I only ate half) Small salad consisting of tuna, bean and onion, butternut squash and mushroom and fennel with rocket 1 fresh strawberry and apple juice




2.30pm - 2 1/2 hours walk around town (including sealife centre)

7.00pm - Dinner

M&S dine in for £10 meal Pesto chicken with vegetables and corn pasta with peas




8.00pm - Dessert - M&S Summer Fruit Pudding

This is low in calories and fat and so fruity a really top tip on a tasty healthy dessert!


10.30pm - Water

So again another successful day, plus I always think weekends are harder as you have more time to be tempted by naughty things! Sometimes when your working your too busy to snack.

I must say, today I feel quite tired and have a bit of a headache whether this is done to my healthy detox or just a tiring weekend!

So i'm off to bed!

Duckey gets fit week... Day 2... Saturday

On day two:

Yesterday I feel I did great but weekends are always more of a challenge. Usually on a Saturday I will have a coffee and let my hair down so that's the hardest thing about today!

As a different type of exercise today we are playing tennis! We have courts booked at 3pm!



I also have a meal at at The Crown in Turners Hill with Rob's brother and his girlfriend Georgina. So I will try and be as good as I can whilst out however sometimes to keep social slight sacrifices have to be made.

I am beginning to remember after one day how unhappy I was before when I used to be so controlling over my diet. So although being so strict is not good its bringing back home again that life is for living and you shouldn't sacrifice it for being seriously strict. Still one week to sit it out!

9.30pm - 30 minutes of "private exercise"

10.00 am – half hour of yoga

10.30am - Green Tea

12.00pm - 20 minute walk around town

1 pm – Lunch out at Savannah's Carrot and Coriander soup with brown bread and 1 earl grey tea (black)


3pm - 1 hour of tennis

4.30pm - 1 green tea and glass of water with a few dates to perk up my sugar levels

5.00pm - 30 minutes of Yoga

6.00pm - Another Green Tea

6.30pm - 50 rolls on the ab machine

8.00pm - Dinner at The Crown

1 cranberry juice and soda water

Sea bass with sweet potato and green beans

9.30pm - Dessert

Fresh strawberries

10.30pm - Green Tea

Today yet again another successful day with heaps of exercise and managed to eat a healthy meal out! So it proves this can be done with good self discipline! A few tips can be found on my eating out tips page.

Get Flexible!

Flexibilty is a range of movements in series within your joints and muscles. To be flexible simply helps balance muscle groups that might be overused during exercise.

It is something that comes with plenty of practice, this is something I teach in Martial Arts.

A good goal is to learn how to fall into the bridge position (but please don't break your back!) This take a while to perfect and to prevent injury go at your own pace. If you can simply achieve one of the below steps then thats great.

Stretching is a great way to start off and even if at first you have to start this bridge position from the floor up do so until you feel strong enough to support yourself.

1. Start in standing position

2. Start of by practising a lean. Do this until you feel confident your back is adapting to its new found flexibilty.

3. Lean back further but only go as far as you feel comfertable. You will find with practise and time this will feel more comfertable as the muscles will stretch.

4. When you can feel your hands on the ground you have reached your goal. It ha taken me a while to get as flexible as I am today but remember I practice yoga everyday.

Flexiblilty will defintately benefit you in your older years so good advice is to start now! Plus it also makes a great party trick!...

Duckey gets fit week... Day 1... Friday

So lets start with today day one:

Well hopefully I wont have to change much of my routine just be careful with those evil treat I crave or find replacements! I am going to try and cut out coffee, so I am upping the green tea!

6.30am – half hour of yoga

7.30am – Breakfast

For breakfast today I had a bowl of wholegrain shredded wheat with skimmed milk.




They recommend lots of whole grains which shredded wheat contains. For more information on healthy cereals see my Cereals post.

8.30am – 15 minute power walk into work

9am – Glass water

12. 00pm – Green tea - this replaces normal tea / coffee

1.45pm - Snack – 2 organic rice cakes

1.50pm – Green tea

2pm – 10 minute walk

2.30pm – lunch - 1 Apple and 1 carrot with another rice cake

Fruit and vegetables are good to help lower pmt levels.

5.00pm – 15 minute walk

5.50pm - Pre-gym snack of 5 dates

6.00pm – 1 hour at the gym...

• 20 minutes of cross training
• 10 minutes of weights, including leg and arm work
• 10 minutes of pull ups
• 10 minutes of sit ups
• 10 minutes stretch

7.30pm – Dinner

Baxters Autumn vegetable soup served with salad and a chicken salad wrap

8.30pm - 45 minutes of "private" exercise

9.00pm - Dessert

Fresh fruit salad (apricot - plum and kiwi) with low fat cherry yogurt

9.30pm - 50 rolls on the ab trainer

10pm - Green Tea

I think this has been a successful day and I am already starting to feel cleansed. I have done about 3 hours of exercise and kept a well balanced diet.

Beat PMT...Duckeys Get Fit Week...

Every now and then we all have a lapse with our food habits.

The last few weeks have presented me with some stressful situations... so naturally I have been comfort eating not to mention my pmt cravings! (sorry guys too much info?) But seriously this and your hormones all encourage the way we eat.

I am sick of having this pmt I never had it until I moved away and my life became more stressful!

Apparently coffee can heighten pmt levels there are four types of pmt...


PMT 1: anxiety, irritability and mood swings (I have this.. Rob can vouch!)

PMT 2: weight gain, swelling of the extremities, breast tenderness and abdominal bloating. (I have this I feel like i've had a boob job and that my tummy is like a balloon!)

PMT 3: headache, craving for sweets, increased appetite, heart pounding, fatigue and dizziness or fainting. (I have this too, I want chocolate, I have headaches!)

PMT 4: depression, forgetfulness, crying, confusion and insomnia. (And yes this too I am emotional and forgetful at present)

I find these types come in stages! Stress also doesn't help PMT in women!

There are a few things you can do to help!

• Reduce eating sugars, redmeat, salt and drinking alcohol
• Eat more whole grains and legumes
• Eat more fish and poultry
• Reduce drinking coffee, tea, eating chocolate and cola-based drinks so basically caffine!
• Increaseyour fibre by eating green, vegetables and fruits.
  

Along with my diet I have also found it hard to do my usual routine of gym sessions.

This week has simply been a bad week which included (from last Friday):

*Chocolate desserts, Thai food, Fish and chips (which is said to be the healthiest take away) a BBQ even though I substitued the meat for Salmon, a high in fat cheesecake, and a small bowl of ice cream* eek!

Now to you this may seem not that bad, but to me, my body is not used to it and really suffering because of it.

So I have set myself a goal target to show you how easy it is to set a goal and stick to it in hope that it might also improve my wicked pmt!

I am calling this next week get fit week, now I’m not saying I’m out of shape or unhealthy but I just want to feel good in my mind. So I will document what I am doing each day for a week and if it works it may be useful to you also.

Stay tuned for my daily progress!

Korean Food....

Going to another country is great especially if it is somewhere with completely different cuisines or traditions.

In 2005 i was lucky enough to be able to go to Korea. I can say that it was the best experience away from the UK I have had.

One thing that really amazed me was the food culture. My favourite food was Korean Kim Chee which is a spicy (and I mean spicy) cold salad. I also loved the noodles and also the Korean style omelettes (shown in the photo above.)

It also quite funny how Koreans love to drink, beer especially.

I am always interested in learning about different foods. If you have any interesting facts about food nationalities let me know!?

REVIEW... The Crown in Southwold Suffolk

The Crown is a small quaint hotel, pub and wine bar in Southwold, Suffolk just a few miles from my home town, it is owned by part of the famous brewery Adnams and of course serves this specialty brew.



It is famous in the area for its buzzing atmosphere and mouth watering food. So I thought while visiting it was worth a review.

A great way to start an evening is to start with a Mezze, Olives or bread if you know you will be drinking this lines your stomach.



Now speaking from a health point of view, as long as you don't over eat or over do it a treat is great in moderation. Perhaps you have a "night off" on a certain day. Picky food is great for keeping portions to a minimum or sharing with a partner or friend.

The crown do an amazing range of Olives and bread with hummus. They source them locally from the shop on the same street "Black Olive." This is always a treat for us when we come to stay!

We also had the Mezze which consisted of a range of olives, a bean salad, bread, hummus, bean dip and fafels with roasted artichokes.




Of course no meal is complete without dessert and sharing a dessert is always better than stealing a whole one to yourself, (however on some occasions one does not want to share) we had a baked chocolate cheesecake with a hazelnut brittle and a chocolate torte with orange cream. Both were exquisite!




I have been learning its great to be healthy however a treat feels even more well earned when you have been healthy for so long... its ok to have a treat! Embrace it!

Can you tell the difference between Quorn and Steak?

If you are a vegetarian it may be nice to know that there are meat substitutes on the market, one that I have been testing lately is "Quorn."

Some people see this as "fake" meat and are totally against it before even giving it a try. The Quorn meals in particular, contain a unique product, such as you would find in pro-biotic yogurts. This is called mycoprotein. It is part of the fungi family, as are mushrooms.



















More advantages are:

• Its high quality protein
• It is naturally low in fat
• It contains very few calories
• It contains essential dietary fibre, which helps the digestive system
• It doesn’t contain any cholesterol
• It is completely meat free

You can find a range of meals, grills, sausages, burgers, Deli slices.

To put Quorn to the test I used Rob as my experiment! Being a big meat eater I told him I was cooking steak... but didnt say what kind of Steak. So I cooked Quorn steaks and served them to him with some noodles and stir fry vegetables.



















Now me being clever I really thought he might not notice... but being a meat lover he took one bite and guessed. So this failed the test of it tasting exactly like meat, but that didnt mean it wasn't tasty!

Personally I think they make a refreshing change from meat and hold a different flavour. I am not always the biggest meat eater as I find it hard to digest sometimes. I have also tried the sausages which are really delicious!

Perhaps you should try it... test somebody you know today! I am interested to hear your views on Quorn so let me know!

Salmon and Cream Cheese Pita Breads with vegetables

Salmon is a great fish to cook with but sometimes apart from roasting it, poaching it and adding a sauce it can be quite simple to cook. I wanted a healthy meal which wasn't to heavy, but a little bit indulgent and unique to eat. So I thought instead of plain oven roasted salmon with a sauce lets create something more creative using some cream cheese, spices and pita bread.

Pita bread (the wholemeal kind) isn't too bad for you, which makes up the carbohydrate element of your meal and salmon, which is the protein element, is rich in Omega 3 and contains all of your essential nutrients. Serve this with some vegetables you have a very healthy balanced meal.

RECIPE: A luxurious Salmon fillet embedded on a toasted pita bread layered with warmed hummous, cream cheese and wholegrain mustard served with fresh vegetables.

You will need:

2 Salmon fillets

Dill seasoning

2 teaspoons of hummus, wholegrain mustard and cream cheese (light version)

2 pita breads (wholemeal)

Fresh vegetables (Carrots, peas and broccoli)

To make:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees once warmed, sprinkle the Salmon with Dill and insert

2. After about 20 minutes layer the hummus, mustard and cream cheese on top of the pita bread

3. Insert this in the oven to warm for 1 minute

4. Remove the pita bread shortly followed by the Salmon

5. Slice the Salmon into strips and layer on top of the Pita Bread

6. Serve with fresh vegetables or a side dish of your choice, add a sprig of basil to finish.

This really hit the spot, there was lots of flavours textures and it was really simple to make. It proves that cooking healthy food is not hard work.

Sometimes you just need to get a little creative with it.

Let me know what you think?

Why I love Jamie Oliver!!!

Jamie Oliver is a funky little monkey! It is the only way I can describe him!

He has charisma, charm and he's a bloody good cook! I love the way he describes his food with images, flow charts and he has a really down to earth approach in demonstrating his cooking.

I mean check out this clip from "The Naked Chef"



He knew at 16 he wanted to become a chef so he went to Westminster Catering College and spend some time cooking in France. He then returned to work as head pastry chef for Antonio Carluccio at The Neal Street Restaurant.

He then worked three years for Ruth Rogers at the River Café where he was spotted for his "cheeky" approach to cooking and "The Naked Chef" was born!

With various campaigns over the last few years to promote healthy eating to our children and his most recent show "Jamie at Home" he is an inspirational chef. The fact he cares about are society is pretty rare so I take my hat off to jamie!

He also made famous the word "Pukka" and I think he looks rather like my partners brother? Don't you think?



I know a lot of people who don't share my views but I would be interested to know what you think?

Complaining about your food... Our Zizzis complaint...

Italian food is said to be healthy from a 'natural' point of view. All food is cooked fresh and contains wonderful flavours.

When I go out locally and I dont mind indulging in a few pasta carbs then I go to zizzi's. Now even though this is a chain the food is cooked fresh and is great for a special treat.


Our first visit to Zizzis was not a great one,we had just moved into the area and were starving after a hard day of moving boxes. We had our meals and half way through my mum found a piece of a plate in her food? I think that was enough to put us all off our meals.

The second time we visited we waited over an hour and a half for our food. When we got our mains it was the wrong order so after another 20 minutes we received our order BUT it was cold. The waitress acting very stroppy to us and we had a really bad meal yet again, so we wrote a letter of complaint to the manager.

He was most apologetic and kindly offered us a free 3 course meal and bottle of wine if we came back. We took this offer up (I mean who wouldn't) I have to say the meal was perfect, its a shame that we had to complain to get such great service. We were so impressed although the meal was free we left a £20 tip.

I think this went down well as now everytime we go in there they remember us and we get free desserts or coffees. My question is should we have to complain or moan to receive a great meal now a days. This has happened to us several times but we have been too polite to complain.

If we were in Italy the Italians would not serve food unless it was floorless.

In the states if we complained they encourage it as they want to serve great food to earn bigger tips.

So is it a British thing? Are we too scared to complain?

Innocent Smoothies GOOD VS BAD!

Now here’s something shocking I heard the other day!

Smoothies are bad for you?

I thought that smoothies were meant to be good for you?

Are they not low in fat, packed with vitamins and full of fruity goodness! It is said that in Britain we spend over £100 million pounds on Smoothies a year now, although just lately it has been in the news that experts are calling a warning that they are also full of sugar, calories and acid. Most people think that a Smoothie is the equivalent to eating a whole piece of fruit but this is incorrect.

I was watching the F Word the other day and Janet Street Porter produced a report on how bad Smoothies were for you, in which she demonstrated with a fake BIG bottom! The gigantic arse weighed a huge 13 pounds, which is what the average person could put on if they drank an extra smoothie a day for a whole year! Now to me that’s quite scary although if we ate anything with sugars in wouldn’t this be the case. Now I have always been in two minds about Smoothies so this sparked my interest!

She was encouraging people to swap their Smoothies for a good old fashion apple. She actually compared Smoothies to fizzy drinks and chocolate which shockingly had less calories, my argument is again fizzy drinks contain added sugar and fat, where as Smoothies are natural sugars.

So how are smoothies bad again?

As Smoothies are juiced they lose the fibre from the skins, the juice therefore contains more sugar and is more acidic to the body and to your teeth. The worst part of a smoothie is that whole milk, full fat cream and yogurt elements that are added to a smoothie in some cases.

Of course ‘Innocent Smoothies’ where not happy with Janets statement and came back with “Smoothies are made from nothing but 100%”fruit”, on their innocent drinks blog I also like how they describe Ramsey as ”knocking up a vegetable curry.”



Now personally I am a big fan of Ramsey and I think he has a point here, however not sure if it had been blown out of proportion by Janet as the argument had a few floors.

There is a big debate going on and I see both sides to the story.

Advantages of a smoothie

One of your five a day fruit portions
Healthier than fizzy drinks or junk food
Natural Sugar is better for you
Easy and quick to consume

Disadvantages

Too much sugar
Stripped nutrients
Expensive
Lots of Calories
Acid values are high

I suggest if you like Smoothies then make your own! You know what goes in it and you can do it in a way that keeps all the goodness in. Instead of juicing, use a blender this allows the nutritious skins to be kept in the Smoothies, use ice and limit the yogurt to low fat or fat free versions or as Janet says grab an apple instead!

What do you think about it I would love for you to leave your comments... vote Janet? Or Vote Smoothie?

Coconut Crusted Mustard Chicken with noodles and vegetables...

I have been speaking lately to another blogger called Pomai who has a blog hosted in Hawaii! Now coconuts and exotic ingredients are widely found there so I wanted to create a different spin on a traditional English chicken dish.

So to experiment with a few different flavours and upon reading my trusty food magazine BBC good food magazine I found this recipe for coconut chicken! I was very intrigued and love coconut so it seemed like a fantastic recipe!

Out of most meats chicken is really healthy as it is white meat and has less fat content.

So here’s how to make it yourself!

RECIPE: Coconut Crusted Mustard Chicken served with egg noodles and an assortment of fresh vegetables

You will need (for 4 people)

4 chicken breasts washed
1 bag of desiccated coconut
Dijon and Wholegrain mustard
1 egg white
1 pack of green beans
1 pack of mixed vegetables
3 servings of medium egg noodles

To Make:

1. Wash and prep the chicken pre-heating the oven to 180 degrees and layout some coconut on a plate



2. Beat an egg white in a bowl




3. Dip the chicken breast into the mixture



4. Cover the breast with a mixture of wholegrain and Dijon mustard

5. Coat the piece in coconut until well covered

6. Place n a lined baking tray and cook for approximately 35 minutes



6. Meanwhile heat the vegetables, beans and noodles

7. For decoration spread a line of wholegrain mustard on the plate



Add the vegetables, noodles and chicken

I must say please try this its my new favourite recipe and I cant wait to make it again!

The chicken was like breaded chicken, however the coconut gave it a sweet crunchy texture, yet in cased a tender and mustard seasoned chicken breast. It has been suggest by Pomai that Mango would go great with this recipe and I totally agree!

A mango salsa would work brilliantly all you need to do is blend some chopped mangos with lime, garlic, chili and basil.

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Duckeys Chocciehotpots...

OK now I am all for healthy eating, however it is very good for us to have a small treat once and a while.

Below is the recipe that will knock any choccie lovers socks off… I originally found it via Nigella... my favourite chef! I was bought her book "Feast - How to celebrate life" for my 21st birthday! The book is great there are recipes for every occasion and if you don't like Nigella's naughty calorie infested cooking then simply use different ingredients and adapt like I have done!

This is really my favourite dessert and I know when people come for dinner it is always a winner!

The great thing about theses desserts is that you can make the mixture in advance and then cook them when desired they will even last a few days in the fridge if you want to have them on simultaneous days. So I will share with you my special recipe!

RECIPE:

Melt in your mouth hot chocolate filled pots… soufflé style warm gooey chocolate encased in a soft dark chocolate sponge served with crème fresh

You will need:

125g plain flour (I use wholemeal to feel less guilty!)
125g brown sugar (again I use less but sweeten to your own taste)
2 eggs
125g Dark Green and Blacks Organic Chocolate
125g ButterIn one bowl mix
125g of chocolate
125g butter

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl easily done in the microwave or over hot water.

2. In the other add the flour, eggs and sugar

3. Once the chocolate has melt leave to cool for a few minutes and add to the dry mixture

4. Butter 4 ramekin dishes lightly.(At this point you may wish to add currents or raisins to you dish or some big chunks of chocolate white works quite well)

5. Pour the mixture into the dishes

6. Then bake in the oven for around 15-20 minutes depending on how gooey in the middle you want them
























7. For extra effect add ice cream, yogurt, and some fresh fruit on the side with some honey!

To view Nigellas version you can watch it below! Let me know whos you prefer!

Duckeys top 10 Tips for Exercise Haters!!!

We all know its good for us... we all make an effort to do it... but do we enjoy it! When we've had a bad day, feel a little bit under the weather exercise is the last thing on your mind!

Just 3 in 10 of us actually do the recommended amount of exercise we need to keep us fit and healthy.

This is our investment for a long term future.

So here are my top 10 tips to get you ready for action!

1. Find activities you like and stick to them!
2. Set your goals in advance
3. Create mini-workouts throughout the day
4. Reward yourself when you have done well
5. Schedule regular times to exercise
6. Exercise early - get it out of the way!
7. Vary your activities, reduce bordom!
8. Join forces with others!
9. Get a personal trainer
10. Keep it in the family exercise togther!


So try these top tips and hopefully they will help you!

Duckeys Healthy Trifle Heaven!

I was stuck for a dessert and wanted something which was a healthy treat, temping, tasty but not too high in calories! Is it too much to ask for? No!

So I saw a recipe for a fruit trifle... again in BBC good food magazine but sadly it wasn't healthy, so to make it healthier I replaced the Madeira cake with some Whisky Fruit Cake I found in Waitrose. It was actually healthier believe it or not and tasty!

I then replaced all cream and custard aspects with fat free Fromage Frais and fat free yogurt! Also replacing nuts with white chocolate chips and the raspberries remained a healthy ingredient as before!

RECIPE: Healthy indulgent raspberry trifle made from a base of whisky fruit cake, layers of fromage frais and strawberry yogurt and raspberries topped with white chocolate chips.

You will need:

1 box of fresh raspberries
1 pot of fat free yogurt (I used strawberry)
½ pot fat free fromage frais
1 pack of white chocolate chips
½ waitrose whisky fruit cake

To make:



















1. Cut a section of waitrose whisky fruit cake and layer in the bottom of a glass dish



















2. Add a few spoonfuls of fat free fromage frais


















3. Layer on top of this some raspberries



















4. Then apply the yogurt until the glass bowl is full



















5. To decorate add 5 raspberries and white chocolate chips



















6. You will then be left with a healthy piece of trifle heaven! Guilt free!



Trifles can be made in many different ways, they can include sponges, jelly, alchohol and many more unhealthy ingredients!

I believe trifle can be however you make it - in the eys of the beholder shall we say. So there are no rules or restrictions just let yourself go in the kitchen and create a trifle bespoke to your tastes. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Fruit and Yogurt Bagels...

Bagels can come in two forms sweet or savoury! I wanted to experiment with a dessert.

These bagels actually had less calories than 2 pieces of bread so added with fruit and yogurt makes a filling yet healthy dessert.

I wouldn’t recommend these after a large meal but ideal if you have had something light like salad and still have a little hunger craving.

RECIPE: Warmed sweet bagels, served with a coating of yogurt with layered fruit and glazed with honey.

You will need:

1 Cranberry and Cinnamon bagel
1 pack of fresh raspberries
1 pot of low fat prune yogurt
Honey

To make:

1. Cut the bagel in half

2. Toast the bagel halves under the grill


3. Once warm spoon on the yogurt mixture

4. Add a circle of raspberries

5. Squeeze over a drizzling of honey

So good and so tasty!

How to eat more protein snacks!

If carbs are not your thing it can be hard to snack on low-carb food.

So I have done some research and found a great list of snacks for the low carb eaters to dine on!

Try these yummy low carb alternatives.

Egg yourself up...

Keep a stock of hard boiled eggs in the fridge for a handy snacl you can mash these up with spring onions, mayo and chilli powder.

The green stuff...

Guacamole is great – add a few chopped avocados, to some chopped red onion, coriander, garlic and some lime juice and mash up! High in fibre low in carbs and great served with vegetable crudités.

Nuts about nuts!

They are rich in fibre and protein making a great low carb snack. Try a serving of almonds (30g) coconut or hazelnuts or try brazil or macadamias which have half the carbs of these. Go natural.

Eat more meat...

Meat contains high levels of protein this includes, white meat, red meat and fish.

Cheeseilious...

Pick and Mix cheese are great for on the go snacks. High in protein and help heal a hungry tummy! Go half fat and choose the lighter options or one of my favourites cream cheese and celery!

Italiano Mezze...

The deli counter offers a great range! Olives, pine nuts, mozzarella balls, Parma ham, peppers all great for protein!

Lettuce rolls...

Adding meats rolled into this such as turkey will totally satisfy your cravings and you can add a dollop of cream cheese!

All of these should satisfy your hunger cravings and give you lots of extra energy!

Love Heart Fried Eggs...

You may have seen these great novelty heart shaped frying pans before, you can find them in most home ware stores across the UK. Amazon sell a well priced heart shape frying pan, if you are cooking for someone you love or want to theme your cooking this would make a lasting impression.

For my birthday my fellow Froggers bought me a heart shaped frying pan for my birthday with a range of cooking goodies.

I wanted to test it out so I made the following:

RECIPE: Love heart oven fried eggs with sweet potatoes, served with a pasta and tomato salad with mini wholemeal pita breads.

You will need:

2 eggs
2 sweet potatoes
100g wholemeal pasta
10 baby tomatoes
1 bag of Leaf salad
A swirl of light salad dressing
4 Mini wholemeal pita breads

To make:

1. Cook the pasta in a sauce pan for 15 minutes and leave to cool

2. Add to the cooled pasta some ripe tomatoes, leaf salad and dressing (light)

3. Heat the sweet potatoes in the microwave for 7 minutes

4. Heat the love heart shaped frying pan over the hob with some 1 calorie spray, once warm, crack an egg into the pan

5. Bake in the oven until cooked on top

6. Arrange in a bowl the pasta salad followed by the sweet potato and the mini pita breads.





















This was a really nice meal with a cute message of love! A great sunny supper!

My favourite dessert of the month...Fresh fruit with yogurt!

Desserts are usually seen as the 'sin' part of the meal, its the time when the extra calories can multiply into the hundreds. Dessert doesn't always have to be this way though, there are plenty of desserts out there to try which are really tasty and healthy for us.

I tend to go through favourites and my current favourite dessert is the following:

RECIPE: Fresh fruit served with bio yogurt sprinkled with flaked almonds or white chocolate chips.

To Make:

1. Select a fruit of your choice (I prefer strawberries or raspberries)

2. Add a few tablespoons of fresh bio-yogurt, Sainsbury's have an offer on low fat prune yogurt which is my current favourite!

3. Add the almond flakes or chocolate chips

4. You can even add a few dates for a little treat and extra sweetness.

This is a great healthy way to fight off those sweet cravings! I find the chocolate chips give me satisfaction so I dont feel the need to go and have a choccie binge!

The 10 Reasons why Running is Great!

There are many reasons why running is one of the most popular forms of aerobic exercise.

Running is very inexpensive, apart from the shoes, which I would recommend as when I got my running shoes I really felt the difference and could run much easier.

Running is great in all weather conditions, giving you a chance to enjoy the great outdoors, explore the area you live in and listen to your favourite ipod tunes! In bad weather, running can be done indoors, running machines work just as good if not better as you cant see how far you have left to run! It can also burn significantly more calories than other aerobic activities and workout most muscles at once.

• Running is the most efficient path to cardiovascular fitness


• You can run anywhere without fancy equipment
  
• Running is inexpensive and easy to learn
  
• Running is the best method of stress reduction on the market
  
• Running can help ease women's menstrual tension
  
• Running is an excellent compliment to a weight control program


• Running is a flexible method of training. You can run at your own pace, with or without company, at whatever time of day that suits you
  
• Running increases your overall sense of well-being
  
• Running is for families and individuals of all ages


• Running is a great social activity… you can even join a running club
  
• Running can be done anywhere, even you are traveling
  
• Running and walking can be incorporated into any routine and can be done by people at any level of fitness

Just put one foot in front of the other and go!