Tweety's Wednesday dinner

Just wanted to share this, it has been a busy couple of weeks but taken the time to sit and enjoy this beauty!!

Salmon, broccoli, sweet potato and wholemeal cous cous with a bit of salad cream!!

Right back to it!!!

Tweety's thought of the day

Tweety's Spartan Challenge - Day 1

Day 1 complete! 

I felt my shins hurt for the first time in a long time when running as I was really pushing the sprint but I mostly I felt good during the sprints and it wasn't too hard apart from my shins and I completed it so I am really pleased!


Bring on day 2!

Tweety's 30 day Spartan Challenge - pre testing

I haven't done a challenge for a while so I thought I would give this one a go when it came through on email a couple of weeks ago and I have finally got myself organised to start.  I am planning on doing this as well as my normal training because I am training for a 10km race and although it will help I need to get the runs in. Its going to get tough though! 



So last Thursday (30th April) I completed the pretesting and the results are below:

1. Max Pull up or dead hang time - DHT 17secs (can't currently do pull ups)
2. Burpee test - 50 in 5 mins
3. Run (1 mile) - 9mins 15secs

Tweety's Quorn Chicken and cous cous mix

This is another recipe I have made up because it combines I bit of what I fancy, something I like and a couple of new bits. I haven't had kale before so wanted to see if it was something I like and would eat. and Quorn Chicken Pieces. As it says in big letters on the packet they are a healthy source of protein but want do they taste like? Only one way to find out?

Quorn chicken pieces, 2 peppers, curly kale, tandoori spice, a tin of chopped toms (not pictured) and cous cous packets.

 I started by heating up the oil and throwing in the quorn pieces, they are frozen so it took about 10 minutes or so to see that they were all on their way to being cooked.

I chopped up the peppers as the quorn pieces cooked but before adding them to the pan, I added a couple of teaspoons of the spice to the quorn pieces and made sure they were all coated. I then added the peppers. I stir fried them all together for a few minutes.

Then emptied the cous cous packets into a bowl, boiled the kettle and left the cous cous to do it's magic.

Once the peppers were on their way I added the kale to the mix. After a few minutes the kale starts reducing and I decided it was looking a bit dry so added a tin of chopped tomatoes which solved it a treat! 

Lastly when everything was cooked, I added the cous cous which was now fluffy to the pan and mixed everything together! 

And there you have it a tasty mix of goodness for lunches next week!!

Tweety's Sunday Prep - Here we go on number 3!

I didn't have a great week food wise last week! I eat some extra things when I didn't need them, I lost my resolve a bit and even had a takeaway! I think this may have been in part because I didn't like the dinner recipe I made last week, it didn't go as well as I had expected and I was reluctant to eat it which didn't help me at all! It has been a while since I had a takeaway, I enjoyed it but I think it will be even longer til the next time but I am a little disappointed I carved that far because I was doing so well!

My exercise on the other hand has been very good, I did a PB at the parkrun, ran around pitsford, did my first TRX twisted class and two sessions in one day!

But that was last week and today is a new one!! I am going to get firmly back on the wagon and follow the track to success.

This week is going to be awesome.. how do I know? because I say so! 

Breakfasts - Raspberry porridge 
Lunches - Quorn chicken, peppers, kale, tandoori spice and cous cous
Snacks - pumpkin and sunflower seeds and bananas
Dinners - Thai Green Curry and rice

Thai Green Curry is fast becoming my favourite recipe and I really enjoy cooking it!

I saw this image earlier in the week and it feels very relevant today...

Tweety's first Parkrun

Today I headed off to Welland Park in Market Harborough to take part in mine and Market Harborough's first official Parkrun!!!

There was an excellent turnout and the sun was shining ready for the start!

I would say I am still new to running and I talk to myself a lot to keep myself going when I run as I want to stop all the time even when I know I can run a 5km now!! But I am pleased to say I am getting better at the motivation speech and I ran a personal best today!!!! 

Tweety's Friday Night Pasta Feast

Friday night and I fancied one of things I love the most! Pasta! But not only that... pasta with chorizo, peppers, mushrooms and pesto!

I don't have it very often because it is not the healthiest thing to eat but it does give you a good amount of fuel and energy!

Its easy to do and really hits the spot when you need a bit of a boost and a treat but don't want to over do it!

Tweety the monkey!

It is the turn of the monkey bars today! They have just been installed at the gym so I will be working on getting all the way along and beyond!! Currently I am a #littlemonkey 

Tweety's Sunday food prep - take 2

Here we are again, Sunday evening! I am delighted to say the sun is still shining and I am feeling motivated, positive and inspired all in one!

This week I have really found that having everything ready to go really did help me stay on track, stay motivated and I haven't felt hungry at all! I saved so much time but having everything ready and it allowed me to stay focused! So much so I doing it all over again!

This week I am going for the same effect! I have done my food shopping and it is just about 6pm and everything is ready and raring for the week.

In the bag this week:

• Chicken thighs
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Salad
• Cucumber
• Thin beef steaks
• Banana chips
• Cashews
• Apples
• 4 peppers
• Caribbean jerk spice mix

Breakfast - Raspberry porridge,Lunch - Steak and Salad and Apple Dinner - Trinidad Curry Chicken and Veg,
 Snack -  Banana chips and cashews

I felt it didn't take as long this week, I knew what I needed to go and I had everything ready to go. 

Measured out my snack pots, cooked my dinner dish and cooked the steaks ready to go in the lunch tray then made the first one up and gathered the breakfast together.

I tried something new for dinners this week, Trinidad Curry Chicken, I was inspired by Friday night out with the girls from work. I had an amazing Curry Chicken in Turtle Bay and I wanted to try to do it myself. Obviously it won't be anything like that because it was incredible but a girl can try... see what I did the following post!

And here is the exercise plan for the week:

Well enjoy your week and let me know if you have done your own prep! 

Tweety's thought for the day....

Tweety's knee ups in the sun!

Again I have been working on being able to hold myself on the bar for longer periods of time. I couldn't resist the weather this evening so headed outside and got some practice in!

Tweety's thought of the day...

Tweety's Paprika Chicken and Cauliflower Rice

Here we are again!!

It's time for some more Sunday afternoon cooking and today was part of the complete food prep for the week!!!

All ready to go!

500g chicken, 3 peppers, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 cauliflower, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp mixed dried herbs, 2 bay leaves, black pepper, 2 cubes of chicken stock, can of chopped tomatoes and coconut oil.

Chop the chicken up and remove all visible fat, chop up 3 peppers and the garlic to get you started. (please note the sweet potato has photo-bombed and isn't included in this recipe) 

Heat up your pan and put in a bit of coconut oil (you can use an oil of your choice but I would recommend a healthy option and stir clear of the butter or stick marg)

Add the chicken to the pan and season with black pepper and fry for 4-5 minutes until browned.

Chicken in the pan, black pepper in and frying!

Stir in the garlic,paprika and cook for a minute more. Then add the can of chopped tomatoes, chopped peppers, chicken stock, bays leaves and mixed herbs. Bring to a simmer and stir well! Leave to cook for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Everything is in and it's time to let the magic happen!!

In the meantime get ready to make a bit of mess unless you have a food processor! (I haven't so I made a bit of mess) 

Get your cauliflower, remove all the leaves and cut up to remove the stork,next get your grater with a bowl underneath and get grating! It takes a while to get through it and I would recommend switching arms to get a workout in both! 

Or if you have food processor just remove the leaves and stork and them whack in the tub and off you go!!

 Once it is all done, get a frying pan, heat it up with a bit of oil and throw the cauliflower in. Add a bit of dried coriander and cumin to give it a bit of flavour. Mix and fry of for a few minutes and then it is done and ready to go!

Grated cauliflower with cumin and coriander.

Once your chicken is ready, add a couple of teaspoons of cornflour into the pan to thicken the sauce up.

I have split both the paprika chicken and cauliflower into 5 portions ready for my dinners in the week.

Ready to go for the week!!

Tweety's Sunday Food Prep!

To get the week off to a good start this week and I am going to prep as much in advance as I can, I seen a few people do this before and heard they found it easier to stay on track and takes the stress out of worrying about food too much during a busy week!

I really want to see if this is true and to see if I can 100% stick to the food I set for myself over the week, it will be all cooked (as much as possible) and be ready to go for breakfasts, lunches and dinners with snacks in between! I may even go as far to write out all my workouts ready to give me added focus at the gym!

Sunday afternoon's are made for prep! I got up this morning after a great night out with the gym crew and went to the gym at 8am, completed my workout, got showered, cooked a tasty omelette for breakfast and headed out to do the food shopping! I went with a list of the things I needed to prep all my meals and snacks! (didn't want to get sidetracked)

It is now 17:30pm and I am done!!! Food prep complete!!

The food shopping! One bag to complete the magic!

The shopping is made up of:

• bag of mixed seeds
• bag of plain cashew nuts
• 1 head of broccoli 
• 2 heads of cauliflower
• 3 peppers
• 2 large sweet potatoes
• a bag of carrots
• 500g pack of chicken
• 2 packs of 2 portions of salmon
• a pack of mangetout 
• smoked back bacon
• free range eggs
• peanut butter

 From the cupboard:

• coconut oil
• mixed herbs
• garlic
• bay leaves
• black pepper
• can of chopped toms
• paprika
• chicken stock

Getting everything ready for cooking!

A mountain of plastic tubs is required!

First I measured out my afternoon snack. 30g of mixed seeds and 25g of plain cashew nuts into a tub and 5 done. (there was a bit left over so that is ready in case I need a little something extra, I know its there and its healthy)

Next I made Paprika Chicken with cauliflower rice, more information on that will be in a separate post. Once done it was split into 5 portions ready for my evening meals.

And finally I made lunches, that are made up of Salmon, grated carrot, sliced and fried sweet potato and steamed broccoli with a piece of fruit for after.

Breakfast will be a packet of raspberry porridge, it doesn't need any advance prep as it is already measured so can be made in the morning.

Mid morning, I will have a protein shake as my morning snack around 10:30am

And here we go...Ready for the week!!!

I have been going most of the afternoon, I had a break for a cuppa and to change the washing over but all in I think its about 3 and 1/2 hours which isn't bad considering the time it will save in the week!

Right Week... you best be ready because I am and I am going to hit you hard!!!!

Tweety's Beef and Vegetable mash up!

After a trip to a weekly club that just measures progress on weight, I am feeling inspired to get myself in shape but I will stop getting hung up on what the scales say. I am training at least 3 times a week, I'm fueling my body with the right things and I'm loosing inches where it matters!

So inspiration has created the below Beef and Vegetable mash up!!!

This little baby is completely made up this evening and is quite tasty!!!

1 courgette, 2 peppers, 1 head of broccoli, 2 sweet potatoes, 1 pack of lean beef, red pesto and not pictured a can of chopped tomatoes

So heat up your pan and a bit of your chosen oil, I used coconut oil. Throw the beef in and fry for 3-4 minutes until browned on the outside and add the courgette and peppers and fry for 6-7 minutes.
In the meantime, steam the broccoli in the mircowave, I have these magic bags which work wonders (I will let you know where they are from another time) and once that is done add it to the pan.
The mircowave the sweet potato for a couple of minutes so it is softened and then add to the pan.

Steamed Broccoli! 

Once everything is in the pan, stir fry for a few minutes until everything is cooked, add the chopped tomatoes and pesto and then after another 5 minutes or so it is ready!

And there is enough to lunch and dinner tomorrow so I will continue to enjoy my new creation then hehehehe!  

Tweety's push up progress

I am not great at push ups but I have been going from strength to strength and they are really coming together.....

Really pleased with that!! #getresults

Tweety's Mexican Chicken and rice

As it is Easter weekend and because I can, I cooked dinner for my parents on Saturday evening!

After looking through all my cookbooks and magazines with an abundance of recipes that I could do, I have decided on (with the help of my dad) to go for Mexican Chicken and Rice from a magazine.

Mexican Chicken and Rice!

This is a simple recipe that can be done in a slow cooker as easily as it was done in the oven. The prep doesn't taken long and it is ready in about 50 minutes.

3 peppers, 1 onion, 3 garlic cloves, 300g of rice, 4 chicken breasts, 1 can of kidney beans, bit of olive oil, 1 tsp of smoked paprika, 1 tsp of chilli flakes, 2 tsps of cumin, 600ml of chicken stock, 200g frozen peas.

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees. Start by frying the chicken in the pan with the olive oil for 6-8 minutes on a high heat until brown on the outside, then set aside.

Next, add the onions to the pan and fry for 5-6 minutes and then add the spices, garlic and rice. Fry for another minute.

Then transfer from the pan into an ovenproof pot or slow cooker. Add the chicken, peppers and stock. Cover with lid if available or foil.

Ready for the oven, let's get the lid on!

Cook in the oven for 20 minutes, then taken out, add the kidney beans(drained and rinsed) and the frozen peas. Stir them in and put back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes until most of the stock has gone.

The magic in progress!

What a beauty! Full of goodness!

After magic is complete serve straight up and get it on the table! It wasn't on our plates long! It has a bit of a kick and the chicken was cooked perfectly! 

Clean Plates!!! 

Tweety's new earphones

I wasn't able to resist these earphones yesterday when I saw them say "Guaranteed to never fall out" - Yurbuds 100 Inspire for Women.
I am sure, I like loads of people have struggled with earphones in the past, they won't stay in, hey are uncomfortable, their too big so won't fit, the list goes on... I have found some recently that work well for me but as I said I wasn't able to resist these so I purchased them and tried them this morning on my run! 

So Yurbuds, its time to give you a try...

There are two sizes of the enhancers included in the pack and I have used the smallest ones, as I have small ears!! They look very different from any earphones I have had in the past but this is not a bad thing at all! They are easy to put in (following the instructions). I found it a very odd feeling at first, they seemed quite big and I wasn't convinced they were going to stay in at all. I did then jump up and down and bobbing my head at the same time in all different directions to see what happened! And I have to say.... they stayed in beautifully, they didn't even move slightly so after that very 'rigorous' test, I felt ready to go for a run with them!








5.72km later....

I can not believe I had so little trust in these earphones when I first put them in, they didn't move or come out at all whilst I was running! I did have to take one out to itch at one point but it went back in easily and again didn't move or fall out at all! I would recommend these very highly and I will be using them from now on! 5 out of 5

http://www.yurbuds.com/uk/for-women/152inspire-100-for-women.html#/color_uk-pink  

Tweety's thought of the day...

Tweety's Thai Green Curry

After a hearty run and a day of little jobs, my Sundays are about cooking and I like to take my time and enjoy the process! 

Today's delicious meal is Thai Green Curry with broccoli

Here are what is going in:

Chicken, red pepper, green pepper, carrot, mangetout, coconut milk, green thai paste, fish sauce, lime leaves, caster sugar.

In progress:

In progress

And the results:   

Served with Broccoli 

From the recipe I used it is about 286 calories for the curry and 50 for the broccoli so a total of 336 calories!
And I have 5 more portions to keep me going through the week! 

Tweety's Sunday Jog and Protein Pancakes

Morning! I got up late this morning as I got caught out and confused by the clocks changing! Its not the first time and I doubt it will be the last but I did get out on my planned jog so I am pleased. It wasn't a great run to be fair, I struggled with pace but I did 4.2km which was okay. Pace has always been my nemesis! 

This morning I used FlipBelt for the first time, it is easy to get on and position comfortably. I clipped my keys in to the front section and my phone went into the back. My phone is a bit bulky but it was no problem getting it in and the belt handled it well. I did have a bit of trouble at the start of my run with my phone pausing music and my headphones became unplugged but I adjusted things around and it was sorted. I wore mine quite low and under my t-shirt and jacket so it didn't ride up like I had read so I was pleased but it did bounce a little bit because of the bulk of my phone and it was a lot less than others I have used. So overall I am pretty pleased and feel confident that next time I will get the fit right before I start! I would recommend! Also arrived very quickly so thanks for that!

I have also tried something new for breakfast after my jog today, protein pancakes! I keep seeing them being made by The Body Coach and they look so easy but although the below picture looks okay the end result was a bit of mess so I think some fine tuning is required! 

The ones I made contain:

1 Banana

a small handful of blueberries

a scoop of raspberry protein powder

a scoop of oats

1 egg

topped with honey.

They tasted lovely and I ate them all! 

Tweety Update - 28th March 2015

Recently I have finally got my groove back, I am eating right and working out at least 4 times a week. There is a good mix of exercise mixed in and I am loving the results. I have just reached my lowest weight this week since I started training 18 months ago which I am extremely pleased about! It is so motivating!
I have started a project recently to see what type of eating plan works for my body and looking at them in more detail so this means four weeks each of the different plans and seeing what difference they make.
I have become more and more interested in nutrition since Christmas and what I eat and what it does to my body!

First up the 5:2 eating plan, so that is 2 days of only 500 calories and eating normally for the other 5. I have done this before for a few weeks and it was relatively easy however this time is a bit different. I will go into more detail when I get to the end of the 4 weeks which is next Saturday.

In the meantime I will be heading out for a run tomorrow with this new piece of kit:

It is a Flipbelt in neon green and I can't wait to try it out! Hold that thought for a review!