Saturday 14 July 2012

Spinning, New Veg, and a Recipe!


Ooops, said I would blog yesterday but I got lazy after spinning lastnight and didn't.

I think my new spin instructor has an actual mission to spin us into oblivion, literally EVERY 30 seconds it's a quarter, half or (God help us) a full turn on the resistance dial, and we're only told to take it down one or two full turns between exercises. My resistance dial actually maxed out, and at one point I could barely get my pedals spinning! If you have no idea what I'm on a about, below is a pic of what the bike looks like, and that little red thing is the dial that you turn to adjust the resistance/how hard it is for your legs to push, simulating different hill difficulties.

I always feel like I've had a very thorough workout though after spinning, so although it's hard work I can rather enjoy putting in the effort - it makes you feel like a total machine!

I also did my back workout according to my new workout plan, taking notes and adjusting the weights to find where my starting point is. I'm working at around 20-25Kg (including 2 x 10kg dumbbells) for back work at the moment.

Since I missed Pump on Thursday, I took the Pump class that was on this morning. It was exactly the same routine as the last 2 times, but I am noticing an improvement, especially in the shoulder routine, as I am lifting heavier plates more for the most part of the exercise (lateral raises and shoulder presses holding plates etc). They may only be 2.5kg plates but at a gazzillion reps, it's very hard work! As my shoulders are disproportionately weak to the rest of my body, I'm glad to be seeing some progress :-) My next aim is to bump up the weight on the barbell for the chest exercises.

In foodie news....

Last night I had my first use of the Giant Beans I brought home from Greece . I mixed them up with some quinoa, grated carrot and courgette and blanched chard that I bought at the market.

You might be able to see a purple-ish stem there - that's from the chard. I've never tried it before but it's a lot like spinach and can be used in smoothies too. I couldn't resist the lovely purple and yellow stems :-)







I also bought another vegetable that I have neither seen nor tasted before - a kohl rabi! Again, I couldn't resist its purpley colour, and I was told it's a little like a cabbage-y turnip, and excellent chopped up in bean stews. I think I know what my culinary challenge for the week will be!







Speaking of my challenge to try something new each week, I present my first successful attempt at preparing a meal with tofu in. I did this earlier in the week but have saved it for the weekend so that I can share it over at wellness weekend which is a wonderful opportunity for bloggers to share their clean, meat-free kitchen creations!

Tofu Kale Scramble with Sweet Potato Chips (for 1 hungry person!)

1 small/medium sweet potato - clean and chop into thick-cut chips (or fries for any American readers!)
Drizzle of oil/oil spray
140g of drained, pressed tofu - crumble up
50g kale - washed and chopped into strips
Half a red pepper - cut into dice
Small handful of button mushrooms - about 6 or 7, cut in half lengthways
1 garlic clove - slice thinly
1/4 tsp each of tumeric, cumin and hot chili powder

  • Heat the oven to 180C while you prepare your sweet potato. Spread the chips out onto a sprayed baking tray, or coat them well in a drizzle of oil and put them in the oven. These will need up to 30 minutes, depending on the thickness.
  • Heat a non-stick pan (add some oil if your pan isn't non-stick) and sautee the pepper and mushrooms, and about 5 minutes later add the garlic.
  • When the garlic is fragrant add the crumbled tofu and the spices. Mix them well until the tofu is coated in the spices (and it's yellow from the tumeric!)
  • Heat the mixture thoroughly, stirring frequently and then add the kale and a little extra water (about a tablespoon) if it's dry.
  • Cover the pan and allow the kale to steam for 5 minutes if you like your veg with bite, a few extra minutes if you prefer softer.
  • Season according to your taste and serve with the sweet potatoes.
Hope you enjoy it if you try it!

Hannah xx

1 comment:

  1. Love the Tofu Kale Scramble with Sweet Potato Chips !!!

    ReplyDelete