A day's menu

Yesterday I was rambling on about a typical day's eating - i.e. how many meals there should be in a day, and how that fits into a basic exercise plan. Today I would like to delve into a little more detail about what those meals could be.

I have a pretty healthy eating plan today (except for lunch) (and the early morning snack), and so I'm going to tell you about that (editted to make it actually look healthy):

Wake up Snack: Murray's awesome frozen banana & peanut butter smoothies. I have yet to post the recipe for this, but they are the perfect smoothie for around workout time. I got up at 5AM this morning, made coffee and then (lets pretend) made this smoothie. So I would have drank the smoothie at about 5:20, before going for my run at 6:00. 

(Author's note: Actually I had about 3 pieces of chocolate cake for my wake up snack, which gave me heart-burn and gas during my run, so tomorrow I'm definitely going to try the smoothie!)

Morning Run: (6:20 - 7:00AM) 6.5km trail run (40 minutes) through the newly cut canefields, at sunrise, with a brief jog past the insanely beautiful Anse La Raie bay. Gorgeous. Birds tweeting. Sweet smell of burnt mollasses.

(Author's note: I did! Why don't you believe me?! No really, I love my morning runs! (Note: I really did go for the run, it was awesome (except for the heartburn!))

Second note: Did you know? You're supposed to eat within an hour after doing exercise to refuel your body and help build muscle and recover. Simple (high GI) carbs are fine for this, and some protein is important. I'll skip the science for now, but please believe me - Re-fueling after exercise is really, really critical to the exercise being effective and you becoming fitter. Really critical. Even if you're trying to lose weight, you must eat then. And this is why I got home and made breakfast ...

Breakfast: Jungle oats with Goji berries and sliced bananas. Healthy Awesomeness! Same as the post below called "Weekday breakfast" which says its 480kCal which is a bit high, but because I'm doing exercise I'm not worrying. Breakfast of champions, especially when combined with a run directly previously to it.

Morning Snack: (at about 10:30AM) 2 jars of yoghurt and an apple

Lunch: I haven't brought any lunch today. Lunch is most likely to be KFC fried chicken, which I don't think is so healthy and shouldn't fit into a healthy eating day, what you should eat instead, if you're not me ..

Hummus and veggies in wholewheat pita, or

Tuna salad, or

Chicken salad.

Afternoon Snack: Not sure. Today I'm planning on having leftover KFC. You should have something healthy!

Dinner: (6:30PM) Tonight we've got Linguine with a mushroom and garlic cream sauce, tomorrow we've got Caesar salad with grilled salmon. Both awesome, and both fairly nutritious (although the linguini is probably fairly fattening).

Evening Workout: (8PM - 9PM) I don't actually workout straight after work like I said yesterday. I workout when the kids go to bed. Quite looking forward to it tonight, last night I didn't feel great, I think I started to close after supper, so I felt a bit nauseous (sp?)

Evening Snack: Because you know you're supposed to eat straight after your workout. Ummm, I'm not sure. I wonder if chocolate is a valid form of carbs and protein? I doubt it. My guess is I'm going to eat more of that Chocolate cake that Wifey made last night, it should be iced by tonight.

There you go. That's a little bit of a day in the life of Murray. What I think it shows is that I need to put a little thought into healthy afternoon snacks and evening snacks. I'll think about this while I'm at the KFC later. Happy eating!

Healthy Eating

Long time no post I realise - it's most probably because I'm a bad person. Moving on...

I have become a fitness fanatic, and with that have started to look more closely at my diet as a whole, rather than focussing on individual meals.

You know by now that opinions are like assholes (everyone has one), and diet plans are exactly the same. The thing is that that's how it should be - everyone has a different body/ metabolism/ health/ weight/ BMI, everyone does different quantity/ quality/ types of exercise, we've got different budgets, different toxins that we allow into our lives, different time allowances. In essence, we're all different, so of course our eating plans should be different.

This is my version ...

Start with exercise. In an ideal world I would truly love to work out 12 times a week. Divide that into 4 types of exercise, 3 times a week each.

Type 1 is cardio - in my opinion this is the be all and end all of weight-loss, but my weight is fine, so for me its all about endurance. In my case it means running - 1 long run on Saturday mornings 10ish km right now, but this flows up and down depending on whether I've got a race coming up, so it should ease up to about 25km by the year end, and up to about 40km or 50km before the Marathon next June. 1 easy run, about 8km. 1 run that's either a 5km temp run or 5km intervals. Note that although the focus right now is on running, and is likely to stay that way until at least after the marathon next year, I fully intend to broaden the scope of my cardio work after that. Other cardio options available outside of the gym are cycling (road or mountain bike), kayaking (probably a surfski is best for me), or swimming (open water swimming seeing as I live on an awesome tropical island). When I do get round to another cario type, I'll probably focus on it pretty exclusively for a period and try get into a race or two in that discipline.

Type 2 is strength. The problem with being a distance runner is that you end up being an endurance skeleton. I don't want that. Rather, I'd really like a general, rounded fitness, all be it one that includes running as its (current) focus. So 2 or 3 workouts a week are strength training. Been doing this for about 2 months and its going pretty well. Got to say that vanity is a big reason to be doing strength training - I try to explain it away to better fitness, but you and I both know better. One validation I've got though, is that stronger legs and being stronger generally should speed up my running, but I haven't really seen great improvements in my running time.

Type 3 is flexibility / balance. No I don't do anything, which is bad. The absolute minimum is where I'm at right now, which is stretching my legs for 5 minutes when I get back from a run. In a prefect world I'd rather be spending a workout on yoga, or tai chi or some such after my runs. They tell me that flexibility is key to avoiding injury. I'll get the one day.

Type 4 is power / speed. No I don't do anything here either, yet. My theory is that its really sad I never get to sprint flat out, or hit a ball as hard as I can, or some such. In my perfect world I'd have 3 workouts a week which were either sprinting intervals, or some high-intensity sport like squash or rugby.

What that gives me is a normal day where I workout early in the morning and early in the evening, so my Meal Plan go something like this:

Wake up (say 4:45AM) Carb and protein snack, easily digestible, plus a freshly made fruit juice.

                    Morning Workout (6 - 7AM)

Breakfast (7:20AM) Simple carbs and protein to recover from the workout, plus complex carbs to give energy for the day.

Morning Snack (10AM)

Lunch (12:30)

Afternoon Snack (3:30PM)  Fuelling for afternoon workout.

                    Afternoon Workout (5 - 6PM)

Dinner (6:30PM) Some carbs for workout recovery, but not much carbs for sleeping.

Late Snack because I have a chocolate addiction.

Diet

The goal is balance and variety with a few small rules:

Sugar should be minimized. Its fine (even good) straight after a workout, but only then. So leave the cupcakes for binging on when I come in from my run (unless you're trying to lose weight, then you should count those calories). The aim is to keep my blood sugar levels pretty steady to avoid fatigue crashes through the day.

Generally things should be low-ish fat. Saturated fat (i.e. from animals or dairy) should be kept to an absolute minimum because its bad for your cholesterol, and un-saturated fat is good for you, but is still high in calories, so some fat is important, but if you want to lose weight then keep it to the minimum.

Eat as much fruit and veggies as you can.

Carbs should be complex whenever possible. Find a good wholewheat bread that you like and eat that every day. I've just found a really nice one as my local supermarket.

And that's about it.

I close with this philosophy to eating which I think came Anthony Bordain:

"Eat real food; Not too much; Eat mostly plants"

That's really what it boils down to.

Okay, cheerio.

Nutrition 101

I seem to write this article over and over again, without ever getting to the end of it, or never complete enough to finally press the publish button. So this is my next attempt.

This blog is all about healthy eating – eating for sustained energy throughout the afternoon / cooking with nutrient-full ingredients / cooking without chemical additives.

The concept behind Low GI food fits into my (personal) diet paradigm quite nicely – I couldn’t really care less about losing weight (although that’s Wifey’s focus), what I want is to be energetic throughout my day; to have my mind alert and responsive; to get regular exercise with the goal of slowly becoming stronger, fitter and more active. Low GI foods = slow release of sugars = sustained energy. I have a feeling it relates exclusively to carb’s and sugars (fats and proteins (I guess)). I should add calcium and omega-3 for brain performance. Omit simple carbs and sugars (for example SUGAR, you dimwit). Eat complex carbs – wholewheat bread; oats and cereals for brekkie; ummm, and stuff.

Wifey wants to lose weight. Really this is exclusively related to eating fewer calories than you’re burning. Simple as that. (I truly apologize if my attitude to weight-loss is to brush it off as unimportant, it’s just because I have one of those bodies that doesn’t change shape no matter what I abuse it with, except that I’m kind of a skinny runt these days.) So for Vix it’s a case of increasing the amount (and intensity) of exercise she gets, and eating foods that make her feel full and give her the energy she needs without adding too many calories. She also needs as many anti-oxidant and vitamin-type foods, because she gets sick way too often.

Back to me for a little bit – I need to be dramatically improving my exercise habits as well. I’d like to focus on muscle building a fair bit (in order to get bigger). I want Vix to focus on muscle-building a bit so that her muscles get stronger and burn more calories when at rest. Both of us could do with regular time on the exercise bike – I know that this isn’t actually supposed to help that much, but it’s a simple start to get us into the habit of exercising. Exercise (especially the muscle building kind) needs protein to build the muscle tissue with – protein is to come from lean meat, low-fat dairy, and eggs. Please note that all of the above are also sauces of nasty saturated fat, which is to be avoided, so really, you’re screwed. Actually you’re not screwed – fat is pretty easy to remove from a solid piece of meat, and while it clearly adds flavour (think fillet versus entrecote), that flavour can be added with rubs, marinades and other sources.

So then, the plan...

Breakfast is supposed to be packed with slow carbs, a bit of protein, and a variety of fruits and veggies. Simple method – oats with milk, nuts and fruit (fresh or dried) sprinkled over the top. Complicated or dumb methods – (1) whole-grain bread roll with poached egg and coleslaw; (2) BLT salad as tried before (with avo); (3) actually that’s all I can think of right now.

Snack food is to be fruit (fibre, nutrients, and stuff); nuts (good fat, protein, and stuff); and stuff (stuff).

Lunch - I dunno, this is why I never finish writing this article.

OK, the disclaimer is that lunch and dinner (and sometimes breakfast), are things which require a healthy dose of variation, and that’s what this website is all about. I’ll write again when I’ve got a decent lunch and dinner recipe. I’m going to start by checking out mediterrasian.com again, which I haven’t done for a while.

Next comes Easter

So we were sitting at the Yacht club late Sunday morning, having drinks with the out-laws, and discussing how we're going to set the place up for our wedding in August. Despite being pretty suspect to start with, I think we will manage to fit all the guests on the main veranda, which will actually make it a nice venue.

Anyway, as things were slowly starting to get a little tipsy, Vicki's mom kindly informs us that Easter lunch is at the beach cottage every year. (And Vix and I are living at the beach cottage over Easter). I can do a leg of lamb on the weber, and there'll be flagolet, and green beans, and cheesecake, and a starter of some sort. The Vix started to freak, but then we got our heads around it and we started to make sure that the rest of the family weren't going to stuff it up too much ("No, don't worry, we'll do the starters as well, why don't you do the flowers and bring the easter eggs."). There'll be about 20 - 25 people.

Events like this always (for me at least) start with a kind of gung-ho excitement; then later in the day you get this nagging doubt, bordering on absolute terror (picture everyone sitting around the table watching me trying to carve a completely burnt 4 kg block of charcoal that I'm going to try to feed then); then the cycle repeats itself, and I get kind of excited again.

Oh, and its two weekends away, and we've got to spend next weekend moving house. There is no prep time for this one. (hehehe, bring it on!)

So, ladies and gentlemen, the plan ...

(some time passes)...

We were served an absolutely wicked Roast Lamb Shoulder on our recent soiray back to the homelands in Africa. Gorgeously tasty meat, true Jamie Oliver style food, and good family company. Thanks Denzil.

However, this is Easter lunch with a massive contingent of my future spouses extended family - I feel that the presentation of the meat is going to be pretty critical, and the problem with the shoulder was that it fell apart when carved and served. A leg of lamb, or possibly even a crown roast, make for great presentation, and oo-ing and aa-ing when folk see it at the table. A leg also lends itself to the showmanship style of carving at the table which is undoubtedly going to be expected.

Maybe crusted with a mustard, breadcrumb, parmesan and herb crust. Maybe marinaded in onions, garlic, lots of herbs, some wine and olive oil. Maybe try something slightly different and coat it in a spicy mixture of lemon grass, ginger and garlic, lime leaves and lemon juice (although I think I'm trying more for a classic presentation of the banquet this time.)

Side dishes? I shouldn't have asked at the Yacht club. "Flagolet and green beans" - It's just how things are done here. "Can we please have roast potatoes with it?" - says the other expat at the table. I shouldn't have asked. I'm all for the roast potatoes. Maybe the flagolet and green beans can be mixed together in one dish, maybe even the same dish that holds minty peas that I'd like to see added. In any case, I'm sure that's not enough. There are a lot of people coming, and its nice for them to have a little variation.

And a prawn cocktail starter?!? Not again please. Even if they do taste nice, lets try something refreshing.

Then there's the problem of timing the thing. I'm going to have to go to church in the morning, then come home and start the braai. That means that lunch is going to be served really late. That means we have to spend a fair bit of time feeding people before hand (but carefully so that they still have space for the magnificent main course.)

...

I'm going for a walk. I'll keep you informed on progress.

Christmas is coming

As the title suggests, the silly season is nearly upon us. My office closes for 3 weeks; my mom's coming to visit for 2 weeks; Christmas Eve at our house; Christmas lunch at the mother-in-law's; New Years Eve at the beach house; friends; family; merrimaking (with anticipated hangovers); Grand Bay fireworks on New Years; and other general fun in the sun.

All of which will give me plenty of opportunities to force my cooking onto unsuspecting others.

The plan:

Christmas eve is the first big one - pity I only finish work the day before.

Guest list is probably fairly limited - Myself, Vix, Jazz, Dylan, my Mom, Vicki's mom, Martin, Stuart, Vicki's gran - I think that's all. Discounting Jazz and Dylan, it leaves 7 people to feed.

I cobbled the following menu together from http://www.taste.com.au/, which has got to be my new favourite cooking website, mostly because it's Australian, so its got the same climate and seasons as I do in Mauritius.

1. 
   
   Watermelon Ice with Malibu and coconut milk cocktails on arrival (this might be a bit overkill). 
2. 
   
   Barbecued lime and mint chicken skewers for early evening snacks.
3. 
   
   Barbecued Asparagus with roast capsicum salsa starter.
4. 
   
   Barbecued stuffed pork loin for the main.
5. 
   
   Side dishes of roasted pumpkin, red onion and spinach salad.
6. 
   
   Bean and basil salad.
7. 
   
   Roasted garlic and baby potatoes with Rosemary.
8. 
   
   Granadilla ice cream for desert. (My mom's secret recipe)

So cooking 8 different things is clearly going to be a fairly interesting challenge (ok, exclude the cocktails, and Vicki or my mom will make the ice cream, that leaves 6 things). In addition, this all needs to be done while there's guests to chat to, children running around, and beer to be drunk. Hence this blog post as a planning exercise. Kingmuzza keeps his cool, calm head about him at all times. (Oh, and I'm still likely to be severely sleep deprived from Dylan, who'll be 2 months old by Christmas).

And I'm including the Malibu with watermelon ice again, because it'll be a nice start to my holidays.

Timing:

1. 
   
   The day before (or more) - shop (might have to order the pork loin - Sean from the Patch and Parrot has a secret supplier from somewhere near Baie de Tombeau)
2. 
   
   The night before - make watermelon ice and freeze; make salad dressing for pumpkin salad; make garlic and herb butter.
3. 
   
   The morning of the event - marinade the chicken; prepare the pork (make stuffing, tie the thing together); make bean salad; prepare veggies for roasting (peel and chop)
4. 
   
   Stop for lunch.
5. 
   
   Expect 2 hours to cook roast; an hour for the veggies (pumpkin, onion, baby potatoes)
6. 
   
   I'm going to need 3 braai's - 1 for veggies, 1 for roast, 1 for asparagus and capsicum starter, and chicken skewers. I only have 2 available, so I reckon I roast the veggies first, then the roast pork on 1 weber, and the starters on the other one.
7. 
   
   Also, the asparagus seems to require a fair bit of on the spot preparation (I hate asparagus, but Vicki's family think its tradition, so I really do think I should give this a shot.)
8. 
   
   So lets assume a 8pm dinner time - that means the roast pork goes in at 6pm (make it 5:30), so the roast veggies must go in at 4 or 4:30.
9. 
   
   Start both fires at 3:30. Assemble chicken skewers, and place veggies in roasting pans.
10. 
    
    At 4:00, the chicken skewers can go on, beers can be cracked, they should only take about half an hour to cook. Also put the veggies on to cook.
11. 
    
    4:30 - remove skewers and serve, prepare and serve watermelon cocktails.
12. 
    
    5:00 - remove veggies and keep warm.
13. 
    
    5:00 - add extra coals to roast pork fire (old roast veggie fire)
14. 
    
    5:30 - insert roast pork.
15. 
    
    6:00 - add extra coals to asparagus fire (old chicken skewer fire)
16. 
    
    6:30is - cook asparagus (see recipe, capsicums get cooked first, then peeled, chopped and salsa made, then asparagus cooked, and all served immediately). So lets say we should serve that around 7:30, that means start cooking at 6:30. Also, I'm going to need to do all the kitchen work for this (chopping and such) outside on the pool table in order to be sociable.
17. 
    
    Remember to keep beer and wine flowing, but also slowly enough so people don't start getting into family fights before dinner is over.
18. 
    
    Return roast potatoes onto asparagus fire to heat before serving.
19. 
    
     7:30 - retreat to the kitchen for some much needed anti-social time - prepare salads.
20. 
    
    8pm Pass out, while everyone else eats.

I think I'm getting too ambitious. And I also think that eating can take a long time at Christmas, so maybe the whole lot should be moved an hour earlier - but the French might complain about this. Also, the salads should be made before the asparagus, so that once I serve the starter, we can all be sitting around the table (myself included).

Okay, the end. I'll come back to this.

Then there's Christmas morning breakfast, New Years eve party (not necessarily my responsibility, but surely something must be done) and lazy holiday lunches to deal with.

This is quite exciting.