Easy Vegetable Stir Fry

One of the nutritional principles I first teach my clients is the importance of a high vegetable intake.

Vegetables provide important fibre, vitamins, minerals, and other phyto nutrients that help with detoxification and estrogen balance (especially Cruciferous vegetables)

Vegetables also quite low in calories meaning that you can fit quite a lot of them into your daily targets. Keeping hunger at bay becomes especially important when eating in a deficit when loosing body fat.

Variety and rotation of colours is important to get a broad spectrum of different health promoting nutrients and also avoid developing food sensitivities. 

Go Organic

I recommend to choose organic vegetables whenever possible because although some studies have shown they don’t have any more nutrients in them than non organic produce the fact that you are going to be exposing yourself to less pesticides and fertilisers is only going to be a good thing.

If you are truly budget strapped then spend the time to properly clean your non organic vegetables before preparing them.

"I can't eat vegetables, I don't like the taste"

I hear excuses all the time about how vegetables don’t taste good but I find this is often due to lack of creativity with cooking. 

Yes I agree if I were to attempt to eat only plainly steamed or boiled vegetables I would not enjoy the taste andget pretty sick of it too.

Ensure not to over cook your vegetables and make them too soft otherwise this will also negatively affect the taste. 

Combing The Vegetables Into A Balanced Meal and Limited On Time?

I understand that limited time can be a factor for the busy professional so following the below tip can save you around 10 minutes of preparation-

• Use ready cut and washed vegetables.

• Ready Cooked meat/fish or tinned fish-  Look in the packet for the least amount of ingredients and additives as possible. 

• Canned beans, lentils, ready cooked quinoa,  potatoes or rice are valid carbohydrate sources.

• Healthy fats are easy to add in the form of adding nuts or oil to your meal. 

Using tinned food is not ideal as there are some concerns surrounding the BPA (a form of plastic) they use to line the can's. Some studies have shown this can leak into the food however tinned food is a better option than not eating at all or opting for more processed ready meals if you really don't have the time to prepare fresh food. 

The quantities of food you use are of course always in the context of hitting your macro nutrient targets for the day. It only take a small amount of time figure this out and quantities can be adjusted as needed.

Ingredient's

1 large Onion (92 grams)

2 large Carrots (192 grams)

12 Asparagus Spears (146 grams)

2 large sticks of Celery (224 grams)

1 head of Cauliflower (408 grams)

1 bunch of Chard (140 grams)

8 grams of Butter Oil (Ghee)

Fresh Garlic and Ginger.

1 MSG free stock cube mixed in to ½ a cup of hot water.

Salt, pepper, chilli’s and other herbs and spices to taste etc

3 other vegetable combinations ideas-

1, Broccoli, Red Onion, Spinach, Sweet Pepper, Parsnip and Green Peas

2, Brussels's Sprouts, Spring Onions, Mange Tout, Mushrooms, Turnip and Zucchini 

3, Non cooked version - Romaine Lettuce, Jerusalem Artichoke, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumber, Beetroot and Bell Pepper.

Cooking Instructions

1. Wash then cut up the vegetables into relatively even sizes, the smaller you cut them the faster they will cook. 
2. Using a large wok pan, stir fry the onions in the butter oil for 2 minutes until lightly browned.
3. Add the vegetable stock cube liquid and Cauliflower and stir fry for 2 minutes
4. Add the Asparagus and stir fry for 2 minutes
5. Add the Carrots, Celery and stir fry for 2 minute.
6. Add the Chard and stir fry for a further 2 minutes
7. Finish off by adding the fresh garlic and ginger and any herbs and spices you wanted.

Macro nutrients per serving (4 servings) work out to be approximately (I rounded up)-

104 KCAL

5 grams Protein

18 grams Carbohydrate (7 grams fibre)

2 grams of Fat

There we have it,  4 delicious and filling portions of vegetables prepared in 15-20 minutes if you washed and cut fresh vegetables and 10 minutes of you use ready prepared vegetables.

Boost Your Health With Kefir

Looks a bit like cottage cheese but don't eat the grains!

Kefir is one of the best natural sources of pro-biotic’s, Kefir fermented for only 24 hours contains around 3 billion CFU per ml. So for example if you were to have 100 ml’s of this twice a day it would give you 600 billion CFU, that’s quite a boost to your friendly bacteria and will provide numerous health benefits.

The bacteria breaks down lactose, so Kefir is suitable for people who are lactose intolerant to unfermented milk products.

How to make Kefir, it’s dead easy!

The beauty of Kefir is that it’s so easy to make. All you need to do is put some Kefir grains in a jar topped up with whole milk - preferably raw unpasteurised dairy from Guernsey cows, goat or buffalo (A2 Milk).

You can find your nearest supplier here - http://www.naturalfoodfinder.co.uk/unpasteurised-raw-milk-uk

Leave the sealed jar in a cupboard for at least 24 hours. You will find the kefir will separate from the milk after a period of time. Give it a shake to mix it back together.

Give the jar a shake to mix it back together, hold the lid closed!

The longer you ferment, the higher content of good bacteria and the more ‘tart’ flavour it’ll have. Therefore you can adjust this according to your taste.

Once this is completed, scoop out the Kefir grains (you can use a sieve or I use a pasta fork) and transfer them into a new batch and repeat as often as needed.

Refrigerate the Kefir and aim to consume 25-100 ml in the morning and evening with a meal.  Start of with small quantities and steadily increase the dosage to avoid any gastric disturbance or upset.

The finished product!

Remember to fit it into your macro nutrient targets; it’s only around 67 kcal- 4 g Protein, 5 g Carbohydrates and 3 g Fat per 100 ml so it’s easy to incorporate into your daily intake.

The Kefir will multiply over time so please share with friends and family. The best place to find fresh Kefir grains (better than a dry Kefir starter kit) is on ebay. Here is and example of a seller-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Organic-Milk-Kefir-Grains-1-teaspoon-/271150577174?pt=UK_Health_Beauty_Natural_AlternativeTherapies&hash=item3f21d57616&_uhb=1

If you want to improve your gut health while enjoying a delicious alternative to yogurt then make the effort 

and start incorporating Kefir into your daily diet.

Source of information - http://heal-thyself.ning.com/profiles/blogs/probiotics-pusher

'Healthy' Eating Doesn't Mean Boring Eating

I thought I would post up some examples of what is cooked up in the Sklayne kitchen to illustrate that whether following a diet or not the food that you eat certainly doesn't have to be bland or boring.

You are only limited by your imagination.

If you feel your cooking skills suck then the best way to get better action is with PRACTICE! Invest in a cooking course if you really are clueless.

Stir Fried Squid with vegetables

kcals: 414kcal | fat: 13.26g | carbs: 32.14g | prot: 44.54g Per Serving

Stuffed Cabbage with Spinach and Carrots

kcals: 412kcal | fat: 17.08g | carbs: 28.60g | prot: 35.38g Per Serving

Sea Bream with Broccoli and Carrots

cals: 385kcal | fat: 8.77g | carbs: 15.16g | prot: 60.66g Per Serving

These are just a sample and I will post more up in future if I get enough requests. With the required effort to educate yourself on food and it macro nutrient content your 'diet' never has to be boring.

If you would like to know more and are interested in coaching then please visit www.upfitness.co.uk or email caroline@upfitness.co.uk

Results of Teodora's mini pre holiday cut

Teodora decided for the sake of looking better on the beach to do a mini diet just before we went away recently on holiday. Here were the results-

This was achieved mainly through subtle manipulations to her eating over a 6 week period.

Martyn's Current Off Season Condition

I am often asked what sort of shape I am in when not competing so I thought I would post up a couple of pictures. 

As you can see I am not in competition shape but I am far from out of shape either. Gaining muscle in the off season does mean a green card to getting sloppy and out of shape. However it also doesn't mean restricting yourself to bland and boring foods. I will post up an article soon about eating and how it can be interesting and varied while being in good shape. 

Please forgive the expression! :-)

Three Fundamental Principles To Getting Results

I find that most people do not get the results they want at the gym because they fail to focus on three key aspects and instead get distracted by the little things such as 'wonder supplements'.  No pill or powder will fill in for not getting these 3 key principles right.

1, Train consistently in the gym with the required frequency and effort every training session

You must train hard and be prepared to bust your ass in the gym. This is one of the secrets of why facilities such as Ultimate Performance where I coach get our clients such great results. We push people harder than they have previously ever done when training.

Training harder also means getting stronger. There must be progression of some sort, whether it be using more weight, doing more reps or reducing the rest period which would serve to increase training density.  Muscle is metabolically active a tissue so the more you build of it the better your metabolic rate will be which increase your bodies demand for nutrients at rest. Its also not easy to build so don't concern yourself whether you are male or female about getting 'too bulky'. Being 'bulky' is normally because your body fat is too high.

Consistency means getting to the gym enough times per week in order to stimulate an adequate training effect. Put the date in your diary, block out that hour at least three times per week. Your body will thank you for it.

The type of programme you use is important but in my opinion is secondary to actually putting in effort. There is no such thing as a ‘perfect programme’ and many people have created great results with less then stellar exercise regimes because they dug in worked hard!

Keeping a log of your training is an important aspect as you need to be able to access how you are progressing and adjust future programmes accordingly to enhance the training effect. If you don’t bother to write down your performance how are you supposed to target to beat that in the next workout? Every one responds differently to a style of training so without this critical analysis it’s like shooting a shot gun into a dark room in the hope you hit something.

This guy knew that he had to put in the work to see results

2, Eat to support your training goal.

If your goal is to add muscle then you must consistently intake a small positive nutrient intake to provide your body with the raw materials to build new muscle tissue.

For fat loss you must create a deficit in order to encourage your body to use body fat as fuel. Yes there are lots of arguments about “is a calorie a calorie” however that is a deep topic I won’t expand on in this article. 

Whether you try to create a positive or negative calorie intake accuracy is important here. For fat loss it’s very easy to overeat and ruin the deficit you are trying to create even when eating primarily whole foods. Typically this happens when someone over consumes nutrient dense foods such as nuts and oils which can quickly add a lot of calories to a persons overall intake. 

This is why I give students specific numbers or weight of nuts/oils they are to consume rather than a guideline of ‘a handful’ as there is far too much variability in what someone would consider a handful. 

Creating a deficit is most effective when it is created through a combination of diet and exercise.When trying to add muscle its also very easy to overeat, putting on too much body fat at the same time which in future can be troublesome to remove.  

Whether it be a positive or negative intake you are trying to create you have to choose to make the effort regarding your food choices. You always choose how much you eat; it will never magically jump into your mouth. 

If you over consume food and ruin the deficit you need to create to encourage fat loss or eat too much when adding weight and make yourself over fat then you should take responsibility for this and accept that you choose to make this happen.

This guy confused creating a positive intake for muscle gains with preparing for sumo wrestling

3, Ensure adequate Recovery

Sleep

Sleep is crucial to support recovery as it is the most restorative time for you body. Lack of adequate sleep has a whole host of negative side effects including interfering with hormone balance in, increasing inflammation and reduced cognitive function.

In my experience there is no way to get around not sleeping enough, you simply have to make the effort to prioritise this and ensure that you get enough hours of quality sleep that includes full sleep cycles.

If you find that you have trouble getting off to sleep or wake up during the night then this needs to be investigated more deeply as to why this is happening and then addressed.

Artificial lighting and over stimulating entertainment (TV, Computers) have contributed to interfering with the evening time which should be focused on winding down and relaxation.

Stress

Managing stress is the second area and this is a combination of emotional, physical and environmental based stress.

Emotional based Stress

How you hold your stress in important too. The stress response as explained excellently in this book ‘why zebras don’t get ulcers’ by Robert M. Sapolsky is largely governed by how you react to things.

Elevated stress affects many bodily functions including digestion, blood pressure and cognitive function. This is the ‘fight or flight’ response which gives you the ability to get out of danger quickly and then be able to resume a normal level. The mechanism was never designed to experience a constant ‘background’ level of stress over an extended period of time.

Environmental Stress

We unfortunately assaulted daily with environmental stressors including air pollution, chemicals contained in cosmetic and cleaning products, artificial additives in food and contaminants in water. This area is very important to address as its becoming an ever growing problem. 

A book I recommend on this is subject is ‘Achieving Victory In A Toxic World by Dr Mark A Schauss

Physical Stress

Exercise in itself is a stressor on the body. Its this stress which is planned correctly promotes the body to adapt and get stronger so that it can better deal with the same stressor the next time. This is the basis of progressive overload. 

That being said the ‘prescription’ of exercise needs to be appropriate and needs to encourage a positive adaption. Excessive exercise through bad exercise programming is actually negative and the lack of recovery from will halt someone’s progress very quickly.

Creating too great a deficit with your food intake is another sure fire way to quickly stress out your body physically. Dieting needs to be done at the appropriate speed that doesn’t lead to the body perceiving the event as ‘famine’ and putting the stoppers on fat loss.

Ways to improve recovery

There are many ‘force multipliers’ that you can use to enhance recovery which include massage, magnesium baths, contrast showers and soft exercise such as some forms of Yoga, Tai Chi and Qi gong or even gentle swimming and walking.

There are also some supplements which can assist in promoting recovery such as adaptogenic herbs and certain vitamins however I feel that without addressing the key psychological aspects of stress that these are no better than a band aid and might only work temporarily.

Recovery also means if you are genuinely training hard you cannot expect to go 100% in the gym all of the time and the need for periods of ‘de-loading’ and active recovery where you do some less intensive forms of exercise are important to ensure continued progress and avoid burning out.

Investing the time utilise active recovery methods such as foam rolling, massage, Yoga, Tai Chi or just ensuring you give yourself enough 'you time' to relax is crucial

To wrap up if you are not getting the results that you expect first relook over what you are doing and ask yourself if you are doing the right things in the three key areas outlined above?

Flavouring your food- Spicy Combinations

A question I often get from students is how to use herbs and spice to flavour there food so it tastes good. Food when eating for fat loss doesn't have to be bland at all if you put some simple thought into your cooking. 

There is a belief and stereotype promoted by some bodybuilder's that you must stick to only to plain chicken breast, tuna, rice and broccoli when on a fat loss mission in order to get in shape. This in my opinion is unnecessary and in fact negative from a health and psychological point of view

It no wonder that most bodybuilder's who follow this kind of regime then after their diet binge on what they perceive to be flavoursome food (Junk). Then again I find that a lot of people who are deep into body building are dealing with some issues relating to their psychology and health is often the last thing on their mind but that's a different topic that is worthy of its own article.

Back to flavouring your food. Here are five tips that I think will help improve the taste of the food that you eat.

Tip 1- Make sure your flavourings are real!

I advice to avoid all ready made sauces as they are heavily processed and normally contain excess sugar and  artificial flavour enhancers. This includes chinese plum and sweet and sour sauces, ready made bolognese or creamy sauses. Organic Passata and tomato puree which is only made from tomatoes is acceptable to use. 

Learn to read the label. If there is something on there that you don't know what it is then avoid it. Anything containing Mono Sodium Glutamate should be avoided like the plague.

I'll use wholegrain mustard for example. A real mustard should contain mustard seeds, vinegar water and salt and not much else. If you look on most mustards in supermarkets they will contain dextroses, flavour enhancers and all sorts of other crap. 

Tip 2 - Use good quality herbs and spices

I would to use organic herbs and spices where possible to get them. Your best bet to find these is at farmers markets. I further recommend to use fresh herbs as the taste they impact is markedly superior to the dried varieties. Fresh herbs are seasonal but can be frozen to extended storage life.

Herbs and spices also provide numerous health benefits as they contain trace amount of micro nutrients and also many have an anti inflammatory or anti parasitical properties.  Here is a good site listing some of the health properties - Health Benefits of Herbs and Spices

Tip 3 - Choose a flavour theme

I find the easiest way to plan flavouring is to stick to an ethnic theme. Here are some of my favourite basic combinations. These of course can be massively expanded on and I understand that I have left out many options.

Indian

Cumin

Coriander

Garam Masala

Turmeric

Chilli Pepper to taste

Thai

Thai 5 spice

Lime or lemon

Garlic

Ginger

Turmeric

Chinese

Garlic

Ginger

Gluten free soy sauce

Italian

Basil

Oregano

Garlic

Tomato Puree

Black Pepper

Sea Salt

Tip 4- If using salt use the right type

I personally highly recommend Pink Salt as it contains more trace minerals and adds a very nice flavour. 

Avoid processed table salt (sodium chloride) as this is chemically made and often contains anti clumping agents which are toxic to the body (aluminium).

Tip 5 - Don't over flavour you food

Practice moderation with the amount of spices you use in your food, its easy to over flavour food and thus ruin its taste. This is especially true for pungent spices used in Indian cooking.

Of course there are many varieties and the above are only some easy basic combinations. You are only really limited to your flavouring by your imagination.

Pretty much any recipe can be modified to fit into your eating whether you are eating a high or low carbohydrate routine. Here is a site I like for some recipe ideas - http://www.paleofood.com/

Fats can be added in appropriate amounts as needed. I recommend to cook with either ghee (clarified butter) or extra virgin coconut oil as both have quite a high smoke point. I would recommend to add extra virgin olive oil or macadamia nut oil to your food at the end as these are damaged by excessive heat.

One book I recommend which gives you lots of information and ideas on the best things to use in your cooking is Jonny Bowden’s The-150-Healthiest-Foods-Earth.

Wrap Up

I'm a bit believer that food is the best medicine and if you base your eating primarily on REAL whole foods that your health will be a lot better. Variety is important to provide a wide range of nutrients. The human body is a incredibly smart organism and if you give your body the right raw materials it will use them in a positive fashion.

A caveat to this is that you still need to eat the appropriate amount of whole foods, you will still put on fat or sabotage your fat loss goals if you eat too much of them for what your body needs.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-150-Healthiest-Foods-Earth/dp/1592332285/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343461444&sr=8-1