Quinoa and bulgur tabbouleh

This recipe was adapted from a recipe in the Times magazine - thank you the Times! It was a hit a my recent Pilates and yoga retreat, and is a piece of cake to make. Learning to love vegan!

Ingredients:(makes about 8 servings)
225g mixed quinoa and bulghur wheat (dry weight) or use one or the other
1/2 reduced salt vegetable stock cube
400ml boiling water
large handful fresh parsley
large handful fresh mint
3 spring onions, finely chopped
50g dried cranberries (or raisins)
2 medium carrots, grated or shredded
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Dressing:
Juice of one lemon
50ml sesame or olive oil
1 tsp honey
salt and pepper
1. Rinse quinoa and then place in large pan, cover with boiling water and add veg stock cube. Reduce to low heat, cover and cook for around 12-15 minutes, until tender (adding more water if needed).
2. Make dressing by mixing oil, honey, lemon and seasoning.
3. Add remaining ingredients to quinoa and pour over dressing. Ta da!

Why running will never be glamorous

Girls, what you are about to read is not intended to put you off running - in fact it's meant to do the opposite. To make you feel confident that you're not on your own in being, let's face it, un-ladylike, un-'hot' and sometimes downright minging when you're running.

But it's OK.

We don't need to be ladylike, or glamorous, or 'hot' all the time, or even some of the time.

Guaranteed she's not just run 15 miles

We're normal and there are other more important things in life - like not dying at the age of fifty from a stroke, or getting depression, or having a giant fatty liver.

Here's why running will never be glamorous (and it's OK):

1. The kit - unless you're planning a quick 20 minutes around the block you won't be able to run without some sort of lycra/polyester/non-sweat ensemble. Typically capri pants or leggings make my legs look like sausages, sports bras tend to make me look like a 12yr old boy, or Madonna - neither being a great look, and add a 'reflective' neon waterproof to a fuscia face and it's game over in the style stakes.

2. Phlegm - yes, phlegm as in snot. Now I HATE spitting with a passion, but sometimes and just sometimes hacking it back and getting it out of your system (mouth or nostrils being optimal outlets) is the only option. NB. Try to save this for when there are no fellow runners or pedestrians in near vicinity. And you need to really go for it - half hearted efforts can lead to mortifying consequences (speaking from experience) ;-)

 

How we actually look when we run

3. Sweat - apparently some people believe that women 'perspire' not sweat. Well yes maybe if you're strolling along the prom, but not if you're seriously training. There's a reason French women don't run.
My favourite type of sweat is that white stuff that coats your face so not only are you red, stinking and knackered but you also have a nice white crust on your boat, mmm lovely. 

4. The runner's 'GI disturbances' - Paula Radcliffe. Enough said.

5. The runner's screw face - I usually put this on when someone decides to 'beep' me from a car (I'm not running to be beeped or hollered at. Just ignoring me and letting me get on with it is absolutely fine).

6. The drinking/swallowing gels whilst running thing - again, no glamorous way to do it, dribbles, splutters all part of the challenge.

7. Runner's feet - blistered, swollen, sometimes with black toenails. If you want to be looking good in flip flops I'd recommend being a winter runner.

8. Chafing - luckily we don't tend to get the nipple chafing (ouch) that's often seen on men wearing white polyester vests tops during a marathon. But there is all sorts of unexpected chafing that can appear.  Note to self, don't plan any major skin exposure in the week or two after a long run (unless of course you've 'vassed' up).

9. Runner's acne - yep you train for a marathon and suddenly you have the skin of a teenager.

But hey.

Remember, it's OK.

We don't run to look glamorous do we? 

What do you do when you NEED a chocolate hit? Make a 3 minute cake.

You know what it's like, you've had dinner and you just really really fancy something sweet. Well this happened to me tonight and I had nothing in my cupboards, or did I?

Raw cocoa powder, ground almonds, eggs, honey - hang on a minute...I feel a microwave mug cake coming on. I had not suspected it would turn out this well though! AND it seriously took me less than 5 minutes from start to finish.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp raw cocoa powder
2 tbsp ground almonds
1 egg
1 tbsp honey (or rice syrup)
1 tbsp fromage blanc/thick natural yogurt
2 tbsp milk (if you're dairy free you could swap the yogurt and milk for soya cream or coconut cream)

Mix all the ingredients in a mug (don't worry if there are a few lumps). Microwave on full power for 1min 40 secs - this keeps it nice and gooey!

The bad thing about microwave cakes is that they don't keep - so you just have to eat it all in one go. Enjoy.

If it makes me run further...

Beetroot juice has been shown to increase stamina in athletes so I'm going to try it out (with an added anti-inflammatory boost of ginger). Try this beetroot and ginger shot every day and see if it boosts your performance.

Ingredients:
One large raw beetroot
1/2 inch ginger, peeled
Squeeze of lemon

Juice the beetroot and ginger and then add a splash of water and lemon juice. Stir and enjoy!

A shot of stamina

Afternoon pick-me up juice

You know what it's like, you get to 3.30pm and crave a sugary, caffeine-hit. But instead try this zingy, antioxidant packed, metabolism boosting, energy lifting jar of good health!

Ingredients:
1/2 cucumber
1inch ginger
1 small apple
2 sticks of celery
1 large handful of spinach

Put all ingredients in your juicer and enjoy!

If you don't have a juicer, halve the quantities
and blitz in your blender with half a cup of water.

Vegan low-fat (but sweet) apple cake

I was trying to work out how to use up 6 slightly soft apples and a few wrinkly satsumas - this was the perfect solution (especially as I had no eggs in the fridge). 

Ingredients:

650g apples (any type), peeled, cored and cut into small chunks
100g brown sugar
100g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g chopped nuts
50g sultanas (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Juice of 4 satsumas or 1 lemon

Method:

Mix the apple with the juice in a large bowl. In a different bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and nuts. Mix well with the apple until there are no floury bits - add a little warm water if it doesn't turn into a cake-like consistency.

Grease a large cake tin or square tray with vegetable oil or butter. Fill the tin with cake mixture and spread.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for around 1 hour (the apple makes the mixture quite wet so it needs this long - if it starts to burn, cover with aluminium foil). Serve warm.

Choccie chickpea brownies

Yes, I was cynical too - chickpea brownies? Really? But they're actually really tasty - and contain no flour, eggs or butter so perfect for all you gluten and dairy free peeps. As they're made with chickpeas they also pack a mean protein punch so are perfect for a post gym or low GI snack.

Ingredients:

400g of tinned chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
2 tbsp raw cocoa powder
4 tbsp agave syrup or maple syrup
4 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp orange essence or 1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp dark chocolate chips
1 tsp baking powder

Method:
Blend all of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips in a food processor (I used a hand blender due to my lack of kitchen equipment!). Then stir in the choc chips. Lightly grease a baking tray with coconut oil. Spread the mixture about an inch thick on the tray.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at about 180 degrees C for around 30 minutes. Leave to cool for 20 minutes and then cut into pieces.