The humble spud may have originated in the Andes 7000 years ago, but it features heavily in today’s Swedish diet, and is a mainstay in many of the recipes in my recent book Fit In 3. When Love Potatoes reached out to ask me to craft a delicious, healthy breakfast recipe using potatoes, I was delighted to oblige, and dipped into my deep bench of spud dishes! The potato isn’t just an incredibly versatile ‘hero ingredient’ (think roasted, baked, mashed, steamed, crisped, wedged/chipped etc), but it packs significant health benefits. Each one is loaded with flavonoids and carotenoids (whose antioxidant activities to help reduce the risk of chronic diseases), vitamin B6 (to enable enzymatic reactions and promote cellular renewal, as well as the production of serotonin in the brain and healthy heart function) and a unique type of ‘resistant starch’ that may help regulate blood sugar and improve the digestive health. They’re satisfying (their latin name solanum tuberosum literally means comforting tubers!) so you stay fuller for longer, and actually contain more potassium than a banana (which helps to regulate blood pressure and protect against the likes of stroke) or indeed any other fruit or vegetable. They’re also affordable, and always on hand as they’re grown throughout the year – the leading vegetable crop in the world. This recipe is for a delicious Breakfast Potato Frittata with Mushroom, Spinach and Italian Herbs – it’s quick and easy, requiring limited kitchen skills, packs a serious nutritional punch and will keep you full until lunch time! Click MORE for the full recipe and video ‘how to’… (more…)
Salad isn’t boring, it’s just chronically misunderstood; this recipe is a refresher on how to get the most out of your relationship with it! It’s a protein-packed dish which takes mere seconds to throw together and packs a host of flavours as well as some unusual textural surprises. It’s light, lean, nutritious and also works as a great post workout meal. For the piece de resistance, I’ve added some fresh, plump, juicy raspberries! The low GI sweetness of these little red cones compliments the crunchy textures and savoury flavours of the broader dish fabulously, and overall makes it taste fresher and lighter. What’s more, the colour renders the dish less drably green by introducing some visual variation to excite the eye as much as the taste buds! A beautiful, timely reminder that spring is on its way which is a big deal for us Swedes 🙂 I hope you love it too; on the off chance you prefer something more carby, I’ve provided an alternative ‘progression’ of the dish, invoking the timeless formula of the whole grain wrap… Click MORE for the full recipes and how-to…(more…)
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One of life’s greatest pleasures is eating – for me that means trying out new restaurants or cooking for friends and family, but I remember a time when eating felt more like a guilt trip. As a young, impressionable teenager I used to guinea-pig my way through unrealistic diets because I was led to believe (through clever marketing, and a pressurising ‘media onslaught’) that eating 5 bars a day was ‘the best way to be healthy’. I also thought the word ‘skinny’ was synonymous with ‘healthy’ and that the quickest way to achieve ‘skinny’ was by eating less food. The scales may have told me I was right, but I felt physically tired, emotional, starving and frankly miserable…. That is anything but an informed understanding of ‘healthy!
I think that especially amongst women, there is a vast and dangerous misconception. By eating far too little in order to lose weight you starve the body of essential nutrients, & have less energy to do anything, including work out! My ‘trick’ is to eat the right food, little & often, throughout the day, to speed up the metabolism. Weighing scales can be very deceiving. Going on bizarre fad diets which promise ‘rapid weight loss’ generally rely on either water loss (i.e. dehydration – bad, as c.70% of the body is made up of water, and there’s a reason for that!) or the loss of your natural muscle mass. Some long term diets may also slow down your metabolism further. Caring for your body by eating well and by being active, you’ll lose the right kind of weight (thus improving the ‘body fat percentage’ ratio).
I hope some of the recipes on my blog can help inspire healthy eating. With that in mind, here’s my asian-inspired lean Chicken Curry packed with nutritious flavour! It’s perfect for sharing!
FOUR KEY HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE RECIPE ???
1) GREEN FRESH JALEPENO CHILLI Chilli is full of immune-stimulating and health-promoting properties. One is capsaicin (which gives it the spicy kick, and is a strong anti-diabetic). It also has anti-bacterial and anti-carcinogenic properties, whilst reducing (bad) LDL cholesterol levels. These Jalepeno peppers are pretty fiery (2500 on the Scoville scale of ‘can you handle the heat?’), and are more than enough to raise your metabolism a few notches too! It’s rich in vitamin-C (100g chilli = c.240% of RDA) which is immune boosting and fights free radicals from the body. There’s a good amount of minerals such as potassium, manganese, iron, and magnesium too, all of which will help regulate the blood pressure. It also provides your body with its required dose of B-complex vitamins such as niacin, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin and thiamin (vitamin B-1).
2) LEMONGRASS Contains beneficial ‘essential oils’ (counter-irritant, anti-fungal & anti-septic properties), as well as vitamins and minerals (such as vitral, lemonal, and aldehyde responsible for that strong lemony scent, but which also has strong anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties). It contains a mini ’99 calories per 100 g’ and not a trace of cholesterol! The stem and leaves are high in folic acid (19% of RDA) which is important in cell division & repair. Plus it’s also rich in vitamin B5, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-1 (essential for the body to replenish). There’s also a cheeky amount of anti-oxidant vitamin-C and vitamin-A (immune and sight-boosting respectively), and finally lemon grass has plenty of bonus minerals like potassium, zinc, calcium, iron, manganese, copper, and magnesium. The body needs these – lemongrass has them!
3) GARLIC
Garlic is a great source of potassium (regulates blood pressure / oxygenation & heartbeat pace, lubricates joints), iron (supports red blood cell formation), calcium (promotes healthy bones), magnesium (aids nervous-system functions, body temperature regulation, detoxification, energy production, and hormone balancing) manganese (an antioxidant enzyme), zinc (cell regeneration, digestion-aiding, with anti-cancerous properties), and selenium (heart-healthy, antioxidant enzyme). It also has a compound called ‘allicin’ which has been shown to reduce cholesterol, alleviate high blood pressure and help decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke.
4) ORGANIC CHICKEN
Free -range, hormone & antibiotic free organic roast chicken breast (100g contains 116 calories, 22g protein, 3g fat) is perfect if you’re trying to lose weight, as it’s lower in fat and calories than other meats such as beef (100g fillet steak contains 196 calories, 26g protein, 9g fat) and pork (100g pork chop contains 260 calories, 28g protein, 16g fat), whilst still being high in lean protein. It contains vitamins B6 and B3 (to help cell recovery) and contains essential selenium (anti-cancerous properties) and zinc (as per description in ‘garlic’, above). A small serving of chicken can meet the niacin requirements for the entire day (essential for brain health, shown to help protect against Alzheimer’s disease & dementia), as well as Vitamin E, betacarotene, and Vitamins B6 and B12.
Click more below to see the full instructions to make this delicious and healthy dish. Enjoy, and I’d love to hear what you think of it! fitnessontoast@gmail.com for any feedback and questions. Faya 🙂
