Habits:

We are now halfway through the year, can you look back over the past six months and appreciate the changes made? Not that we have to have achieved certain goals by an exact timeline, but it can be a useful milestone in order for you to reflect on how the months have gone.

So, how is your year going so far? Have you managed to become fitter, faster, and stronger by implementing strategies to fuel yourself to achieve such goals?

And if not, what is something you could commit to? Be it your nutrition, training or your recovery to enable you to achieve your goals or get you one step closer before the end of the year?

Random nutrition fact of the week:

Iron plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy immune system. But iron deficiency is one of the most common mineral deficiencies especially in females or people that consume a plant-based diet.

There are two different types of iron “haem iron” which is found in animal sources and “non-haem” which is found in plant sources. It is more difficult for your body to absorb haem iron, so in order to aid absorption pair non-haem iron sources with vitamin C. While avoiding tea and coffee in the same sitting as they contain tannins which can inhibit the absorption of iron into your body!

Example pairings:

Beans on toast (iron) + glass of OJ (vit C)
Nuts & seeds (iron) on porridge + berries (vit C)
Bean (iron) stew + tomatoes (vit C)
Omelette containing spinach (iron) + pepper (vit C)

Nutrition tip of the week:

If fat loss is your goal here are some practical tips to get you started:

• Include a source of protein at every meal (even breakfast as it can be so often forgotten), this will provide a building block for the body and leave you feeling fuller
• Aim for 1-2 portions of fruit and veg with each meal, to ensure you’re including a range of vitamins and minerals while increasing satiety
• Aim to avoid liquid calories as they may leave you feeling unsatisfied and result in extra energy intake for the day. Or alternatively, swap to lower calorie beverages i.e. coke to diet coke
• Maintain hydration levels across the day, to support energy and performance!

Performance:

Check out last week’s blog!

This week’s simple swaps – budget-friendly recipes:

Energy balls:

Time: 5 minutes / Difficulty: easy / Serves: 8  / 189kcal – 24g carbs, 3.5g protein, 8g fat

Ingredients: 80g desiccated coconut / 190g Medjool dates (soak for 15 mins in hot water & chop) / 100g raisins / 1 large orange (juiced + zest) / 120g oats / 60g sunflower seeds / 2 tbsp cocoa powder

• Place everything except the coconut in a food processor and blitz until forms a sticky paste!
• Use your hands to roll into balls (usually easier when hands are wet), and coat in the coconut.
• And they’re ready to eat!
• Note: Can make variations i.e. different nuts & seeds. Store in the fridge in an airtight container!

Bean stew:

Time: 40 minutes / Difficulty: Moderate / Serves: 3 people / 454kcal – 46g carbs, 17g protein, 19g fat

Ingredients: 1 tbsp oil (coconut oil will add extra flavour) / 4 garlic cloves crushed / 1 onion, diced / 1 chilli pepper / spices: 1 tsp grated ginger / 1 tbsp cumin seeds / 2 cardamom pods / 1 tbsp turmeric / 1 butternut squash, peeled + diced / 1 aubergine, diced / 400g tin chopped tomatoes / 2 tbsp soy / 1 tbsp honey / 1 can mixed beans (or beans of choice)

• Heat the oil in a pot, add garlic, ginger, onion, + chilli and cook for 4-5mins
• Stir on occasion and if it starts to stick add a splash of water
• Stir in the spices and cook for 2mins. Add the butternut + aubergine, & cook for a further 2 mins
• Add tomatoes, soy, & honey and stir
• Cover & simmer for 30mins
• When veg are soft add in the beans and heat through
• Serve with rice and topped with 1-2 tbsp Greek yoghurt + flaked almonds

Stick this one on the fridge!