The fit foodie: Energy balls and embracing extra veggies

January has flown by so far. I’m really busy this month with loads of different projects, Christmas seems like a long time ago.

January is a good time to have a healthy snack so I’ve included a great recipe for energy balls. With lots of people embracing extra veggies in January I’ve given two great recipes to get them in.

I’ve been struggling a little with the flu this month so I’ve written about my tips for health and fitness too.

Orange and coconut bites

It’s always great to have tasty, healthy snack options. These are made from wholesome ingredients. I keep seeing these energy balls popping up in cafes and it makes sense because these are lovely with a cup of tea mid-morning or afternoon.

I tend to keep a couple of these in my handbag and have them to snack on in the car if I’m rushing from work to the gym.

Makes: 6-10 balls

Prep time: 20 minutes

80g dessicated coconut

190g dates, pitted and chopped

100g raisins

Juice of 1 large orange

100g porridge oats

60g sunflower seeds

2 tbsp good quality cocoa powder

Spread the coconut on a big plate and set aside. Soak the raisins and dates in the orange juice for 15 minutes.

Place the dates, raisins, orange juice, oats, seeds and cocoa powder in a food processor and blitz until you have a paste.

Using your hands roll the paste into balls, then roll each ball in the dessicated coconut until coated. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Stuffed butternut squash with lentils and feta

My household is a meat and fish loving one, dinner often centres around this. But each week we have a couple of dinners that have neither meat or fish. These stuffed butternut squash are a big hit.

They are full of flavour and are a great combination of ingredients.

You really don’t feel like you are missing out without the meat or fish.

I love to use butternut squash. They seem to last forever after you buy them so they are a great ingredient to throw in your shopping trolley and have in the kitchen.

Serves 2

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

1 butternut squash, halved with the pips scooped out

150g green lentils

75 g pine nuts

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 tbsp ground cumin, ground turmeric and paprika

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Tin chopped tomatoes

75g feta, crumbled

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees.

Place the butternut squash in an oven proof dish and bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add the onion and the spices and saute for 5 minutes.

If the pan gets dry add a dash of water. Add the garlic and lentils and cook for about 2 minutes making sure all the ingredients are mixed well together. Add the tin of tomatoes and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir occasionally making sure the lentils do not stick to the bottom or the pan. If the mixture is beginning to get dry add a little water.

Carefully remove the butternut halves from the oven and spoon the lentil mixture into them. Crumble over the feta cheese and sprinkle the pine nuts on top.

The stuffed butternut squash is ready to serve.

Zesty kale

One of my 2017 new year resolutions is to eat more vegetables. It’s an area that I tend to fall down on.

This simple recipe is one way that I’m trying to do it. I love kale like this, the orange juice is a really nice match . This side is made in super quick time so you have no excuse not to get some greens.

Serves 2 Prep time: 1 minutes

Cook time: 2-3 minutes

1 large handful of kale

Half an orange

Cut the stalks out of the middle of the kale. Add the kale to a pot. Using your hand squeeze the juice out of your orange half (be careful to avoid adding pips). Turn the heat to medium and pop the lid on the pot. Stir occasionally and be careful that the kale does not stick to the bottom of the pot.

Remove the kale after 2-3 minutes, after it has wilted a little.

Serve as a gorgeous green addition to your dinner.

Fitness and the dreaded flu!

We all know that exercise makes us feel good and keeps us healthy. January is a time when people are determined to get moving with lots of people setting themselves fitness goals.

As someone who loves January I have no problem motivating myself to get out and moving but this January has been a wipe out for my fitness. I got sick.

First my toddler got sniffles and then before we knew it the three of us were riddled with a flu in my house.

When I was a full time athlete I found missing training really difficult. I felt I was losing time and that I would miss valuable training sessions to help me run fast. In the end I had to learn to listen to my body and cop on a bit when it came to fitness and the flu.

It can be equally frustrating when you’ve set yourself a fitness goal and then get sick. Here are a few flu related fitness tips that help me:

Heart rate: If my heart rate is higher than normal I avoid doing exercise that will cause my body too much stress. I wear a monitor most days so it’s really easy to tell if my heart rate is elevated and take it as a sign to slow down my exercise plan. For the first couple of weeks of the new year I felt terrible so I watched this carefully.

Reduce the intensity: During my recent bout of flu the thought of doing a high intensity training session made me want to hide under the duvet for the month of January. I skipped high intensity workouts for a couple of weeks and just settled for steady walking. I was still out in the air but I wasn’t totally trashing my immune system by pushing it too hard.

Avoid the gym: Imagine if you were in the gym and someone was coughing and spluttering beside you? You would not be impressed so don’t be that person. If you are under the weather avoid spreading your germs.

Sleep: This is the key for me when I’m under the weather.

I try hard to get more sleep. The time I miss in the gym I make up for by getting extra sleep and helping myself recover.

Training time becomes sleep time.