Sweet Potato Cakes

These are very good and healthy too!

Sweet Potato Cakes
from Yotam Ottolenghi’s book ‘Plenty’ (with my alterations in brackets)

Serves 4

1kg peeled sweet potatoes, cut into large chunks
2 tsp soya sauce
100g plain flour (or wholemeal/spelt)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp caster sugar (optional)
3 tbsp chopped spring onion
½ tsp finely chopped red chilli (or more if you want them hot)
(some coconut oil for frying)

Steam the sweet potatoes until completely soft, then leave in a colander to drain for at least an hour.

Once the sweet potatoes have lost most of their liquid, place them in a mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix everything together, preferably by hand, until the mix is smooth and even; do not over-mix. The mixture should be sticky; if it’s runny add some more flour.

Put a small amount of oil in a non-stick frying pan. For each cake, use a tablespoon to lift some mix into the pan and flatten with the back of the spoon to create a not-too-perfect disc that is roughly 5cm in diameter and 1cm thick. Fry the cakes on a medium heat for about 6 minutes on each side, or until you get a nice brown crust. Place in between two sheets of kitchen paper to soak up any excess oil. Serve hot or warm. Enjoy!!

The Benefits of Practising Yoga… And What It Does For Me

The Benefits of Practising Yoga

… And What It Does For Me

In September 2012 I started on my yoga teacher-training course in London. I would not have known back then just how much it would affect me, how it would be so life changing and important to me.

It’s especially nice to be living here in Brighton, with the sea nearby, and to have a short walk home from class. I have done my practise today as well as a class locally and I’m so incredibly grateful to have yoga in my life.

Why? Because … I am calmer, I am more resilient when things get stressful, I am even more thankful for the little things in life, I cry less and accept more, my body is leaner and stronger overall, and lastly I feel that I know myself a whole lot better because of yoga. I feel truly honoured to be able to teach this wonderful art and ancient practice, so that I can do my best to assist others in a similar way.

Training

I have been active all my life. From loving gymnastics as a little kid to doing my degree in dance, I have been nicknamed ‘a pocket rocket’ many a time. Having been a personal trainer for over five years, I enjoy a mixture of disciplines to keep me feeling happy, strong and slim. Yoga has definitely helped with another passion of mine, kettlebell training. When doing kettlebell swings with a 12kg bell one day, I realised how much stronger I felt in my back and shoulder muscles.

Emotionally

It’s not all peachy and a story of discovering my bliss. At times, going to yoga teacher training has left me feeling open, exposed, vulnerable and in need of hibernating under the duvet with a cup of milky spiced chai. I found that it can stir up things that I didn’t even know were troubling me. Yoga allows you to work through your own ‘baggage’, digest it and come out alive the other side and be grateful for the experience.

It is natural for a group to bond through studying and training together. But there is something much deeper than can be said about the kind of ‘sisterhood’ felt amoungst the group of teacher trainee Yogis. After the first couple of weekends and once we’d had a chance to meet everyone, I came home and said to my boyfriend “I’ve never been in a room with so many nice people all at one time”. At school or other group events, there’s always one with an ego problem, or a performer of the bunch who wants to outshine the rest. However, at yoga training I always felt fully accepted and comfortable in my surroundings. — This is such a good thing because at various points throughout the course, we all needed to have a good cry — a meltdown over the Sanskrit names for poses — or something. On the last day of the course, the group went out for a lovely vegetarian meal in central London. Upon saying goodbye it dawned on me that we would not be together as the same group again. Sure we’ll arrange meet ups, but some will move away, etc. so really, it was the end of an era.

A Mantra in every day life

George Harrison describes a mantra as ‘a mystical sound vibration encased in a syllable’. One of my favourite mantras (with lots of syllables!) that I learned from the course was ‘Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu’. This translates as ‘May all beings everywhere be happy and free and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all’.

Namaste and here’s to the future Yogis! With love, light and happiness xx

Safe and Effective Exercise in Pregnancy

Safe and Effective Exercise in Pregnancy

As featured in the August 2013 issue of Zest Magazine

So you and your bump want to do some exercise? Here is how to keep mummy and baby happy and healthy during each stage of your pregnancy. What is most important during pregnancy is that you listen to your own body and trust your intuition. Below are some great exercise tips, but every baby is different and so is every pregnancy. What might be right for another mum-to-be may not work for you. No two pregnancies are the same and how you feel can also depend on if it’s your first baby or not. I would always advise seeking out specific antenatal classes or a fitness professional that specialises in pregnancy exercise, as you’ll get far greater benefit.

Enjoy the process, learning more about your body and keep a positive attitude towards yourself as you and your baby grow together!

First trimester

• In your first trimester I advise doing functional, low-impact circuit training e.g. squats, middle row, lunges, bent over row as well as core exercises.
• Start with this and then lower the intensity as you progress, your baby grows in size and your energy levels may vary.
• Exercise like this will help to set you up with a strong and efficient body. You will be primed to burn fat more effectively than long cardio sessions, and to offset excessive weight gain. Your circulation and lung efficiency will also improve which will benefit both you and your baby.

When doing bodyweight or resistance training, exhale on exertion (generally on the upwards movement) e.g. standing up from a squat, pulling a dumbbell upwards in a bent over row. Doing this switches on your core and pelvic floor muscles, doubling the benefits. Integrating breath with the movement is highly effective and is used in Pilates and antenatal yoga classes also. Learning from a specialist how to contract and also release the pelvic floor will help you have greater control for pregnancy and the birth itself.

Second trimester

• As your baby grows, you will want to focus on keeping strong for everyday tasks, like lifting heavy shopping/children, as well as promoting good posture, therefore helping to reduce back pain and other complaints.
• Yoga is fantastic for increasing your fitness in a stress-free, low impact style workout. It also helps in building strength while shaping and toning your muscles, improving posture and building self-awareness and relaxation.
• Treat yourself to a one-to-one session with a specialist antenatal yoga teacher. This will provide you with tailor made sessions for you and your changing body. Investing in this and getting all the attention to yourself will allow to really reap rewards from your practice.

Poses such as downward facing dog are excellent for strengthening the arms and legs whilst stretching the hamstrings, calves, chest, the arches of the feet and the hands. It is also known to ease stress and improve digestion. Arms binds and chest opening poses will help to reduce tight chest and shoulder muscles and strengthen the back.

           

Third trimester

• As you get heavier, begin to focus on the remedial side of physical activity. Buy yourself a ‘Grid’ foam roller, which is a great self-massage tool to release tight muscles using light pressure on key areas e.g. piriformis (muscle in the middle of your buttock), calves, thighs, upper back. You’ll even get a bit of a workout for your arms doing this as you have to support yourself while rolling. Bonus!
• As your centre of balance shifts with your growing tummy, take time to walk slowly, treading softly through the feet, becoming more grounded as you do so. This will help to improve your sense of balance.
• In the third trimester, you can still do gentle training but just take longer breaks in between exercises and keep hydrated.

Again, listen to your body. Focus more on pulling exercises than pushing. While cradling and feeding your baby the shoulders can be drawn forwards and upper back begin to round. Therefore pulling exercises like a middle/high row, lat pull down, bent over row will strengthen your back and open up the chest, bringing you more upright while reducing shoulder and neck tension. Add relaxation/meditation and gentle stretching into your day. Never underestimate the power of what a few minutes of calm can do for your body and mind.

Tips:

- Avoid lying on your back for long periods as the weight of the baby can put pressure on one of the major veins, causing reduced blood flow to the uterus.

- Swimming is excellent during pregnancy, as you can enjoy feeling weightless.

- A hormone called relaxin is released into the body to promote joint flexibility in the hips and areas that adapt to make room for the baby. You may become more flexible but take care not to over extend, especially in stretch sessions or yoga class. Avoid workouts with stop-start, jerky or bouncy movements such as squash, as the relaxin makes your ligaments stretchy and joints looser, so you are more prone to injury and falling over.

- Get into the habit of getting up from lying down with care, by rolling onto your side, pushing up to sitting, kneeling first (or legs over the side of the bed) then standing up as you exhale.

- Do not exercise if you are experiencing Braxton Hicks in any trimester.

White Bean & Artichoke Dip

White Bean & Artichoke Dip 

From Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s book ‘River Cottage Veg Every Day’

This rich, creamy, deeply savoury dip is wonderful with crudités, or dolloped on to a warm flatbread. It also works well served on some crisp lettuce, as a salad.

Serves 4-6

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

200g artichoke hearts in olive oil, drained, oil reserved

3 garlic gloves, finely chopped

A few sprigs of oregano, leaves only, finely chopped

400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Juice of ½ lemon

½ tsp dried chilli flakes

2 tbsp thick, plain yoghurt (I didn’t use this)

25g walnuts, toasted (optional)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat and sauté for about 10 minutes, until soft and translucent. Meanwhile, roughly shop the artichoke hearts.

Add the garlic to the pan and stir for another couple of minutes. Tip in the oregano, cannellini beans and artichokes and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes, until everything is heated through.

Tip the mixture into a food processor and add the lemon juice, chilli flakes and yoghurt. Blend to a coarse purée. Add salt and pepper to taste and thin with a couple of tablespoons or so of the olive oil from the artichokes, until you have the texture you like.

Serve the dip warm or cold, trickled with olive oil, and scattered with toasted walnuts if you like.

… Enjoy and do tweet me @lift_pt or facebook message me to let me know how you get on!