When you can’t be stuffed preparing a fancy meal why not try stuffing a capsicum instead

Do you sometimes crave a meal that is a little different, but the idea of putting thought into a meal just seems too much?

I do; often!

I love cooking, I love creating in the kitchen, but there are times (normally when I am tired or have limited time) that I just can not be bothered.

A few weeks back I was tired, I was hungry, I opened the fridge about 5 times, I opened the cupboard and I repeated this process a few times, stomping around the kitchen sooking to myself that I had nothing to eat, when I decided it was time to stop being an idiot.

I grabbed the two red capsicums from the fridge and pretended I didn’t notice the haggard looking carrots, I willed myself to be creative and before I knew it I was preparing stuffed capsicums and if I may be modest, they were terrific.

Here is what I did.

Cut the capsicums in half take out the middle bit.

Put a little bit of olive oil on the top and  place them under the grill until the top changes colour.

While these are cooking, boil some water and make some couscous.

In a saucepan fry a little bit of garlic, mushroom and tomato chopped into cubes (I add a handful of fresh herbs from my garden) then when almost cooked add a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar.

Mix this all together with your couscous and I add pine nuts as well.

Then take your (hopefully not too chargrilled)  capsicums out from the griller, stuff it with your couscous combo and put a tiny bit of cheese on top.

Place it back under the griller until the cheese melts and goes a little bit brown.

As I type it all out, it seems a little more time-consuming than it actually is, trust me it really doesn’t take long at all.

I did try it with green capsicums the other day, which actually wasn’t as nice as the red ones, green ones take longer to cook and are not as sweet.

Please let me know if you try this and have any other suggestions, additions etc.

Happy stuffing and happy eating.

x

Kale – super food

It’s the start of a new year, and I like millions of others around the world are busy making plans to “eat better and get fitter”.

Well as a fitness instructor, I have the fitness bit all sorted, and while my husband and I eat very healthily already, there are always things that can be improved.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not (and never will) one of those girls who drinks water only when out and has nibbles on a few lettuce leaves and thinks that’s enough…..

Sure if that lettuce was a comfortable bed for a range of other veggies and meats then count me in.

I love a good steak, and recently I read that kale is the “new beef”. I knew it was a superfood but it has cow like properties – amazing 🙂

So off I went to buy my bunches of kale amongst other things as I figure putting that into a blender rather than a chunk of porterhouse steak makes way more sense.

I made (thanks to a recipe from a friend) a healthy, and surprisingly refreshingly delicious drink of kale, green apple and coconut water.

Kale is not only super it is versatile, throw it in your omelette, put it in your stir-fry, make some brown rice with kale, avocado and mango.

These are just some of the super things I have been doing recently with my super food.

Here is an interesting article I read recently on the top ten health benefits of Kale.

A time to reflect, to plan, to celebrate

After a few soul searching days by myself at the beach, I have come to the conclusion that:
A – you are never too old to change your life.
B – happiness is a choice, a way of life, something we all have the power to experience.
C – you can achieve anything with determination and by setting little realistic goals.

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I have been walking on the beach, exercising, relaxing and after setting myself some fitness goals for the new year have been already challenging myself to learn some new yoga poses.

Like anything worth achieving, we must first be dedicated, motivated and patient.

Enjoying the journey along the way ….

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Whatever your plans are for the new year, I thank you for your support, for your dedication in striving to be fit, healthy and happy.

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Happy New Years

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Merry Xmas

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Short and sweet today, have a great Xmas everyone, and if you are interested in doing any classes down by the river at Currumbin over the next week, please let me know.

I will be between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, resting, eating and trying to keep a little bit fit in-between.

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Give yourself permission to slow down

I didn’t really understand until this year, just how stressful this time of the year can be for people.

I am fortunate that Christmas for me is a joyous time, yet for many the thought of spending time with family they may not really like can be a forced and stressful situation.

The thought of racing from one family function to another is tiring before it even begins.

The act of running around; shopping, cleaning, fitting in as much as possible is exhausting rather than exhilarating.

If this is all ringing out true for you, then please know that it is ok to just slow down for a moment, it is ok to sit still and breathe.

It is ok to take it easy at the gym, rather than push your fatigued body.

You are the master of your own destiny and if you need to slow down, then give yourself permission to do just that.

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Everything in moderation

Everything in moderation, we have all heard that saying countless times.

I think this time of year as you are devouring your third plate of Christmas dinner goodness, eating just “one” more chocolate, and drinking your hundredth alcoholic drink you are starting to wish you actually adhered to it.

While I do think that drinking 100 drinks probably isn’t ideal and eating too much fatty sugary food isn’t going to make you feel amazing;  it is Christmas, it is a time for celebrating and partying so please don’t beat yourself up if you are consuming the “bad” things a little more frequently and less moderately than you normally would.

As I always say in my classes, be kind to yourself, listen to your body, give it the break and treats it deserves, but keep in mind if you are drinking and eating excessively you will most likely put on weight.

So my friends, eat and drink (at least not too crazily)  if the weight creeps up, then so be it, deal with it by not allowing this to become a habit, jump back into action early in the new year and get your body healthy again.

Life is too short to be at war with yourself.

 

Water a trusted old friend

The human body is comprised of over 50%water.

So clearly quite an important part of it.

As you sweat you dehydrate, as you drink you dehydrate.

As you dehydrate you need to rehydrate.

When you reach the point of feeling dehydrated, your body has already been pushed too far.

If you don’t really know the effect that lack of water has on your body, look at your garden and notice what happens to your plants when they are thirsty and starved of water.

Our bodies are the same.

If you, like the majority of people, are drinking more alcohol than usual over the madness of the Christmas party season, then your water intake is crucial.

Even if you don’t realize it at the time.

Drink water, then drink more, then drink more again.

Your body will thank you for it.

Water is an old trusted friend, who often gets neglected, yet always come back to rescue us when we need it.

Resting your body is just as important as moving it – true story

Anyone reading this post who knows the amount of classes I have already done this week, may find this hypocritical and as my mum reads my blogs and always worries I am overdoing it (hi mum, love you) I am not going to actually tell you how many classes I have done.

What I am going to tell you is how I am coping with doing x amount of classes.

Aside from walking like a zombie, speaking as though English is my second language and spilling things all over myself frequently I am in fact coping!

I am coping by resting in-between classes.  In fact this week has felt like a crazy blur and I think on Tuesday I had convinced myself it was already Thursday.

I have been doing 5:45am classes, I will then come home and sleep for an hour or two then do my next class, rest, eat, teach again and repeat the process all over again.

As much as we all like to think we are invincible, and as much as I promote the theory of pushing and challenging yourself, there are limits.

We are human, we need rest, our muscles need the correct nourishment to thrive, and that nourishment comes in the form of eating well, drinking water to re-hydrate and resting.

It is counter productive not to do so!

As always I learnt that the hard way.

If you are exercising frequently you NEED to eat and rest frequently or I dare say you are without knowing it, undoing all the good work you set out to do.

Think about your computer, your smart phone – they perform well until they don’t! We reboot them and then wallah, they leap back into action refreshed reawakened.  Our bodies are the same!

The more we work them, the more we need to treat them with the rest they deserve.

Resting your body is just as important as moving it!

There is always more we can learn

We can always do more than we think we can, we can push ourselves further and keep practicing until we get it right.

Flexibility takes time, the trick is not giving up!

There is always more we can learn.

There is nothing wrong with looking up to someone, and aspiring to be better.

Giving up should never be an option, even if you fail, it is a chance to learn, to set a new goal and to try again.

Learn, try, practice, fail, then learn some more, try again, practice more and keep failing until you succeed.

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Mind over matter

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It is Friday afternoon and I am sitting outside with a glass of red wine that I just poured for myself. I am about to write about a topic that I know I have written about in various forms; yet I am still just so overwhelmed and inspired by a certain person that I just feel I need to write about this topic again.

I am talking about, well two things actually; mind over matter and being inspired. Today, in my morning class I was yet again inspired for the third week in a row by a new class member.

This man is in his late 70’s and his determination inspires me beyond belief. His smiling face warms my heart and his persistence and dedication is the most amazing gift I could ever receive as a fitness instructor.

In just three weeks he has improved at such a rapid pace and it is all due to sheer willpower.

At the end of every class, he stays behind to ask questions, to find ways to improve.

Every week he improves.

Each week he walks in to my class determined to succeed and he does.

Every week he walks in to my class with a strong mind, he will not give up, he cant, he won’t!

He is one of the most amazing people I have ever had in my classes.

He tells me he makes sure his mind is always strong and he uses mind over matter to achieve what may be impossible for people his age.

Today as I was learning choreography, my brain was on the verve of giving up and I thought about him, and immediately changed my mindset and refused to give up, what kind of person or role model would I be if I did?

I believe being a good and inspiring person means you should be that person at all times even when no one is looking. If you are just doing things for show, for attention for gain, then it doesn’t count.

Be authentic, be strong, be inspiring!

Realise just how much you can achieve with a strong mind.