Fun weekend with added practical bonus

This weekend was great. I felt I wanted to get out of the city a bit so I spent a couple of days by the coast spear fishing. Meanwhile I thought about my training and what has been missing. For a while I have felt a bit unmotivated and "chubby feeling" without actually being able to figure out what had changed.

What struck my mind was that I had become a bit more comfortable in my life. Saying that, I do still think I am a fit and healthy man but to a degree I had let myself become a bit lazy.

Over the last couple of months I have eaten out more often, used processed foods such as bread, pre-made sauces and low fat dairy product a bit too much. When I really think about it there is no reason why I shouldn't just sharpen up and start cooking more wholesome foods again.

I decided that I should do a six week block where I should focus more about the quality of the food I am eating. More fruit and vegetable, less eating out and less processed foods. I got a DEXA scan done at Measure Up in Sydney and will do a re-test in six weeks. I will post the progress where for you who are interested to see what a change of food quality means for your body.

Lucky I got a great start of the week as I got some great fresh fish spearing. It does not come much cleaner and fresher than this.

Labels: Diet, Fitness, Spear fishing

Low Carb Beer, Friend or Foe?

A while ago I was asked about my opinion in regards to low carb beer. Channel 7 decided to do a story about it and came for a visit at City Gym in Sydney where I normally work. What do you think? Is low carb the better option for the summer barbeque? What does health professionals think? Watch and find out for yourself.

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Labels: Diet, Media, nutrition

Swedish Cheese Cake

Today Sascha came over for morning tea. Both of us are currently trying to be healthy so cakes and biscuits wasn't really on the menu. I decided to bake a swedish cheesecake. This is a receipt that I have recommended a lot of my clients as it is a perfect snack to make over the weekend for the following week.

The trick with the cheesecake is to put some effort in to the preparations of the mixture as this decides if you are going to get a nice fluffy cake... or a dense pancake kind of snack. So read the instructions and try to stick to them as much as possible.

Swedish Peach Cheesecake 4 Portions

(Per serving: 247 Cal, 10g Fat (2.5 Saturated), 15g Carbs, 25g Protein)

400g Low Fat Cottage Cheese

2 Eggs

75 ml Non Fat Milk

100 ml Raw Almond Kernels

2 Tbsp Splenda

2 Tbsp Wheat Flour

1 Pinch Xanhtan gum

4 Half Peaches in Juice

(Almond essence and Cinnamon)

Margarine and Breadcrumbs for lining the tin.

Put the owen on 225 degrees.

Use an almond grinder to grind the almonds to a flour then mix together with the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix well before grinding the mixture once more to get a smoother mixture. Put to the side. Put the cottage cheese, milk, egg yolks and (almond essence) in a blender and mix until smooth.

Rub the inside of the tin used (1 large or 4 small) with margarine. Then cover the sides in breadcrumbs before gently shake the excess off. Beat the egg whites until stiff.

Start by mixing the dry flour mixture with the cottage cheese mixture. Blend well before gentle fold down the beaten egg whites. Spoon a thin layer of mixture into the tin(s) then place a half a peach on top. Cover the peaches with the rest of the mixture and sprinkle some cinnamon on top.

Put into the middle of the owen for about 30 min for small shapes and 60 min for a large one. If the cake gets enough color cover with tin foil and continue bake until done. The aim is to get the peach to hover in the mixture. This way you keep at the moisture of from the peaches.

Once done, take the cake out and let cool before removing the tin. If you trying to remove the tin right away the cake will collapse. Sprinkle some splenda on top. Serve lukewarm.

Tip: Make sure to use Splenda or any other sucralose sweetener as Aspartame (Equal) breaks down during prolonged heat and taste bitter.

Labels: cooking, Diet, nutrition, recipe

Sunday roast

Sunday, a day that for the last couple of years been my “day off”. The day when I spend most of my day doing very little. Breakfast in bed, coffee with friends and dining out.

This weekend I decided to do something I haven’t done for a long time. A traditional sunday roast. Four spatchcocks in the oven, pumpkin and asparagus in the steamer and of a good bottle of red wine. I was ready to relax. I had forgotten how much I actually enjoyed cooking. The smell of roast dinner spread through the apartment building. I felt good making the effort of cooking up a nice, nutritious dinner.

I wasn’t trying to make this dinner “healthy” as there was full cream in the gravy and a good amount parmesan in the stuffing but I think that real home cooked dinners are underestimated both from a culinary and nutritional point of view.

If more people learnt to cook basic foods from scratch rather than using all those processed foods that most of us eat today, if people sat down to eat rather than throwing down a pre made lunch in the matter of minutes I am sure that we would have a healthier and less over weight Australia. Sound nutrition is not about cutting out any foods but to understand and balance the foods you eat. Everything in moderation is what nutrition is all about. Sure I wouldn’t eat creamy sauces and drink wine everyday but now and then they still have a part in my diet.

Labels: cooking, Diet, nutrition

The choice is yours...

You always have a choice. How easy is it to make the right once?

The other morning I had an early start. At 5 am my alarm clock went off and I made myself ready to get my cardio done. After breakfast and a shower I headed of to work in a rush. I stopped at a cafe to get a coffee and a snack for later on. Normally I would have planned my day better and already have pre maid meal in my bag but this morning was one of those mornings when the bed seemed so much more tempting than normal and I ran out of time.

Facing the limited choices of food at this particular cafe made me realize how hard it is to do the right choices. I had pies, sausage rolls, pastry or a shiny pink glazed doughnut in front of me, neither that caught my attention. Each one of these most likely contains half my daily

intake of fat and way more calories than I really should have for morning tea. For a “healthier” options there where banana bread and low fat muffins which still contains 300-400 refined calories.

Sure, there is good choices out there, but how hard are they to find? My choice for this morning was to wait with morning tea until later on when I could get my hands on some almonds and a piece of fruit.

Education is the base in making a lifestyle change and to find out where you are going wrong I recommend all my clients to have a look at www.calorieking.com.au and search their favorite foods to learn what choices to make. Then at least we know what foods to eat. Next step will be to locate the better options.

Labels: Diet, food, nutrition

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Fun weekend with added practical bonus

Low Carb Beer, Friend or Foe?

Swedish Cheese Cake

Sunday roast

The choice is yours...