Your Food Recipes & Pictures... Please :)

Aloted (of FabXchange) saw my Mackerel Stir-Fry Recipe , she made & shared her version:

If you try any recipes posted here or have your recipes, please share :)

Send me pictures --> Email Me

Thanks in Advance.

Chicken Thighs with Stir Fried Vegetables

Quick Recipe
1. Marinade chicken thighs in seasoning of your choice
2. Pan Fry (maximum of 2 tablespoons of oil) chicken and chopped 1/4 onion. Until chicken is cooked and onions are caramelized.
3. Remove from pan and stir fry vegetables in the oil and juice/fat from chicken
4. Serve

Chicken & Spinach Curry Soup

I've been ill for most of the week, I wasn't at the Saturday Fitter London classes yesterday and anyone who knows me would be surprised.

Any time I'm ill, soup always makes me feel better. I didn't make pepper soup because the only meat I had was a whole chicken and there was no way I was going to cut it up into small chunks (my preference).

So I decided to make a curry, a little more watery than usual so I could sip on it - curry soup!

Ingredients
1 boiler chicken - skinned and cut into medium pieces
1 Onion
1 Can of Coconut Milk
3 bunches of large leaf spinach
3 tablespoons of Curry Powder
1-2 Maggi Cube(s)
Mixed Herbs
1 tablespoon of Ground Ginger (raw ginger preferable, I was being lazy)
Ground Pepper or Chilli (Forgot to add this but I will next time for that extra kick)

Curry Soup

1. Boil chicken - add to pot with one chopped onion, maggi cube(s), ginger and mixed herbs. Use more water than usual, so the chicken is totally submerged in the water.
2. Allow to cook for 20 minutes (boiler chicken), if you use roaster chicken, cook for a maximum of ten minutes.
3. Add coconut milk and allow to cook for another 7-10 minutes.
4. Add the curry and stir contents.
5. Wash and chop the spinach. Add to pot.
6. Cover and cook for a maximum of 10 minutes.

This definitely made me feel a little better and I had some more for lunch today. Yum :)

Yes coconut milk contains fat (which isn't necessarily bad for you) and as long as you don't have the entire pot of soup in one sitting, you're good ;)

Coconut milk has many health benefits including:

• Contains Iron (reduces risks of aneamia)
• Contains Potassium (reduces risk of high blood pressure)
• Contains Selenium (reduces the risk of joint inflammation eg arthritis)
• Other benefits can be found HERE

Workout/Spin Track of The Week

WEEK #12

'Don't Be Cruel' - Bobby Brown
An Oldie... but a real Goodie ;-) Oooh I miss the 80s and the dance moves ;)



When Bobby Brown was still an attractive human being... :p

Natural Hair and Shrinkage

Twists (after shrinking) earlier this year

December '10 - Straightened 

I'll admit that the main thing I found hard to accept after I went natural was the shrinkage factor. As the above pictures illustrate, my hair in its natural state looks much shorter than it actually is. I've finally accepted this and I'm sure it has a lot to do with the health of my hair. It might not look long but my hair's in a 'good place'.

I love my natural hair and I totally ignore some people's "advice" to relax my hair because it'd be "very long and pretty" <--- whatever. Sorry to sound mean but I'm always extremely close to telling them to sort out their hair before advising me ;) Actually, I'm not sorry :) I don't force going natural on people so I won't tolerate people forcing relaxed hair on me... #rantover

I twisted my hair on Sunday night and it looked long enough but it's already shrinking... once I wash it on Friday, it's going to look half the length but like I said, I've accepted it... just.

Sunday's Twists

Shrinking on Wednesday

I'm glad that this is my main problem with my hair and not a long list of things. I'll admit that having natural hair can be time consuming which is why sometimes I twist my hair up so I can get a break from it but I won't have it any other way.

I will put up a post on my shea butter mix - natural ingredients - next week.

Exercise Class Review: Fitter London Kettlebells

Ogo lives in Lagos but was in London for a week (for work) and was interested in trying out a Fitter London class.

She was kind enough to send in a review, thanks Ogo :)

Prior to attending my first kettlebell class in London last month, I knew next to nothing about kettlebell training. I had never even picked up a kettlebell, so I had no clue what to expect.

The class began with a warm-up, and then the instructors (Adura and Lucy) showed us the basics. Then we launched into it – a series of exercises that had my heart racing right from the get-go. I remember doing goblet squats, mountain climbers, lunges, and a lot more besides.

Before each set, the instructors demonstrated the exercises, and also gave us pointers throughout to help us maintain the correct form and stay motivated.

With this kind of guidance available, I think anyone (regardless of fitness level) would be able to take a kettlebell class.

I found the class really intense and challenging – I really felt like I was pushing myself, and that’s a good thing. I clumsily struggled my way through it, huffing and puffing (and sweating) like no man’s business, helped along by the lively instructors and some great music. It was really tough, but it was actually enjoyable at the same time. We ended the class with some abdominal work and stretches.

At the end of it I was exhausted, but I felt really exhilarated (gotta love those post-workout endorphins!). I had a nice ache in my muscles the next day as evidence that I had given my body a really good workout.

Despite my dismal showing at my first class, I can definitely see myself taking kettlebell classes on a regular basis, getting better at it, challenging myself more, and gaining a great sense of achievement as well as a fitter, stronger, more toned body. I really liked the fast pace of the class, and I felt like being in a group made me work much harder to complete the exercises than I would if I had been working out alone.

I will definitely revisit kettlebell training in the future, and would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Ogo did *really* well and I'll definitely drag her to  look forward to seeing her in another class when next she's in London.

I attended my first ever Fitter London class three years ago and I loved the classes so much, I now teach some of them ;) That should tell you how amazing they are!

If you live in London, or are just passing through send me an email (Fitter London email address) - come & try a class, you'll love it!

At least one Fitter Fitter London class will meet whatever fitness goals you have - strength, weight loss, cardio, endurance, etc. Your first class is FREE! For a full listing of Fitter London classes, check out the class timetable HERE.



Photo Credit: E Etomi Photography

Mid-Week Food Pictures :)

I felt like I spent my entire Monday cooking, in between lunchtime and evening classes. Here are pictures of 2 of the 4 things I cooked yesterday.

Chicken Breasts cooked in tomatoes and vegetables

Chicken Wings in Efo

The recipes will be posted on Sunday. hope you're having a good week.

Spinach Salad

Happy Monday! :)

I've always shied away from salads. Don't get me wrong - I love my vegetables and I eat a lot of spinach (cooked in efo), carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc BUT I prefer them all cooked or steamed. I rarely made salads and when I did, I didn't really enjoy them. I have had some good salads but they weren't prepared by me.

I finally decided to give salads a REAL try last week. I'd seen a spinach salad recipe in my Everyday Paleo cookbook and decided to modify it slightly.

Note: One thing I've learned is washed & packaged small leaf spinach is definitely more edible uncooked than the larger leaf spinach sold in bunches (as in Nigeria).

Spinach Head (Larger leaves)

Smaller leaves

Ingredients

Spinach (1 pack)
1 pack cherry tomatoes
1 Cucumber
1 bunch of Spring onions (1st time trying this, thanks for the tips Matt)
1 Lemon
Mackerel
Egg (to serve)

Spinach Salad

1. Boil an egg, or two.
2. Wash and Prepare the vegetables -
   Chop the cherry tomatoes and spring onions. Dice the cucumber.
   Cut the mackerel into small chunks
   (Add any other vegetables of your choice)
3. Once the egg's boiled, peel and slice in half.
4. Add the spinach into a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped tomatoes and spring onions (& other veggies of your choice) and toss everything together.
5.  Add the mackerel and 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Toss.
6. Squeeze a whole lemon into the salad and give it one more toss.
7. Add a portion to a plate and serve with the egg (s). If you have only one egg, bulk it up with some meat as seen in pictures below:

Served with turkey breasts.

Served with homemade beef burgers and an egg

You can use any leafy vegetables (eg lettuce, kale, etc) you like and play around with the content of the salad. You don't need salad dressing for this, the olive oil and lemon add a nice flavour to it.

Have a nice week :)

Sunday's Snack: Pan-Fried Plantain and Tomatoes

I absolutely love lazy Sundays. I've done nothing productive today except my laundry. I'll deal with cleaning and cooking later ;)

I was in the mood for a snack before a quick nap... I will be twisting my hair (myself) this evening and it takes HOURS.

I planned to grill plantain but decided to try pan frying it just to see how it would turn out. I was going to eat the plantain on its own then remembered I had some tomatoes from last week which were past their sell by date. They still looked edible to me so I decided to eat some today before throwing the rest out. Plus veggies are good for you ;)


This is a much healthier alternative to 'dodo' (plantain shallow or deep fried in much more oil) and the best thing is it tastes the same . Try it and see! :)

Ingredients

1 plantain
2 tomatoes
2 tablespoons of coconut oil

Plantain/Tomatoes

1. Heat the coconut oil in a pan
2. Peel and slice the plantain (each slice should be ~ 1/2 an inch thick)
3. Add the plantain to the pan and fry on medium heat.
4. Turn after 4 minutes and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
5. When the plantain's cooked, serve it on a plate.
6. Chop the tomatoes and add to the pan (heat another tablespoon of oil)
7. Add some mixed herbs and toss tomatoes in pan every 30s.
8. Serve with plantain

Preparation Time: ~10 minutes.

Alternatives:
Any vegetables of your choice and here I used sliced green peppers with mackerel.

Sunday's Brunch: Mackerel Stir Fry

Happy Sunday ;)

I was at Sainsburys (weekly food shopping) this morning and saw a packet of mixed vegetables (reduced to 69p from £1 because they'd be expired after today) and immediately had the idea to make myself a quick and easy stir-fry for brunch.

I hadn't eaten breakfast because I wanted to get my shopping done asap so the only thing I'd eaten was a handful of brazil nuts (I always try to eat something no matter how little for breakfast). I bought some smoked mackerel and some oranges.

Why oranges? Well, I'd seen a few recipes in my Everyday Paleo recipe book using oranges in stir fries and I wanted to try it out.

Ingredients

1 pk Mixed Vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, carrot, onion)
Half a pack of Smoked Mackerel
1 Orange
1 Tbsp of coconut oil

Mackerel Stir-Fry

1. Heat the coconut oil in a pan. 
2. Add vegetables and season with ginger. 
3. Stir fry for a few minutes. 
4. Add mackerel (I tore mine into smaller pieces) and squeeze an orange into mix. 
5. Allow to cook for a few more minutes.
6. Serve

Yum! :) The citrus flavour from the orange was nice, loved it!

Alternatives

• You can use any vegetables of your choice 
• Add to or replace the fish eg other types of fish, chicken, turkey, beef, prawns/shrimps, mussels, etc

Workout/Spin Track of The Week

WEEK #11

Bob Sinclair featuring Sean Paul -'Tik Tok' (Club Mix)

I'd actually heard this song a few times in the gym but never paid attention to it until the receptionist told me he liked it. I listened to it a couple of times and bought it last week :)

Again, like most of the songs in this series, I'm practically dancing when it's playing :)

My favourite bits of this version (club mix) are the first 30 seconds and the last minute.

Fuller's Earth Powder Giveaway Winner :)

Hi :)

There were 4 entries:

1. Sisi Yemmie
2. Mocha
3. Ibukun
4. Pretty Lashes

And the Winner is...

Mocha!

There'll be another Fuller's Earth powder giveaway next month and you three ladies, who didn't win, will be entered automatically :)

Food Posts and Recipes are Back :)

Stir Fry (This picture isn't doing it justice, it's
beyond delicious. Wow!)

I'm still laughing at my friend who told me I eat "sheep food", LOL! My response was, "Whatever!!" ;) I try to eat *very* clean and healthy Monday to Friday and it's so much easier than it was last year. I don't see it as a challenge, it's a lifestyle now - although I've been a little lazy with this, I'm 100% back on it.

Last couple of weekends, I've been forced (yes, FORCED!) to eat Vickii's baking and I won't lie - I don't regret a minute of it ;) <-- Proof that I treat myself at least once a week... life's too short :)

My friend (Mama A) got me a recipe book I really wanted for my birthday - 'Everyday Paleo' and it has so manyy recipes and I can't wait to add my own little twist to them. Eg I made some beef burgers (picture below), the author used grated yam in her recipe and I tried grated butternut squash... yummy is an understatement!

Monday's Dinner: Turkey Breasts with Spinach Salad

Breakfast: Homemade Burgers, an egg & Spinach Salad

From this week, I'm back to posting one recipe every week (on Sundays).

Fuller's Earth Powder Giveaway

Happy Monday! Hope you enjoyed your weekend :)

I'll be giving away one pack of Fuller's Earth Powder. This provides a natural way of cleansing the face (and hair) and I love it!

If you're wondering what Fuller's Earth Powder is, have a quick look at my blog post on it ---> HERE

To enter this giveaway, you must live in the UK, US or Nigeria*. And you should do at least 2 of the following:

• Follow my Blog
• Follow me on Twitter (@Adura_O)
• Like my Facebook Page (Adura Odesanya)
  and
• Leave a comment here

The winner will be announced on Thursday.

Have a nice week!

*If you live outside Lagos, you must have someone who can pick it up from Lagos.

Another Healthy Snack Bar Review: 9-Bars

Reposting This as the bars are available in Lagos right now, email me for more info:


I LOVE these bars :) I was introduced to them by Keris and Matt of Fitter London last year. Perfect timing as I needed a healthy snack option which was high in protein and most importantly - contained natural ingredients :) These bars contain carbohydrates but the sources aren't processed... carbs aren't the devil, as long as they're from natural sources ;)

I took them to the Nutrition & Fitness workshops (More info HERE) in Lagos and everyone loved them. The feedback I got, after the workshops, was - "The chocolate covered bars were the best". It is not chocolate, it's actually carob (a chocolate substitute). <-- Which is why I've decided to make them available to purchase in Nigeria... but more to come on that later ;)

In 9-Bar's words "9Bar is a deliciously nutritious seed bar designed to get the maximum nutritional goodness from seeds in a convenient and tasty way, so its no great surprise to find the main ingredient of a 9Bar is a blend of wholesome seeds."

Why have a 9 bar instead of chocolate or flapjacks or biscuits? They are healthier and highly nutritious - Amongst many other nutrients, they contain protein which makes you feel fuller for longer (including all 20 essential amino acids), minerals and vitamins (including potassium, b vitamins, vitamin d and more)
Most chocolate bars:
- are full of empty calories: They are of very low nutritious value for the amount of calories they have
- contain processed ingredients eg corn syrup and artificial flavor and as you know I'm a full supporter of natural ingredients.

This is my favourite and seems to be the same for majority of people. This bar is covered with carob which is is extracted from the carob bean (also known as locust beans) and is sometimes used as a substitute for chocolate. This bar tastes soo nice (and I'm yet to get a negative review about it) and the carob tastes like chocolate... someone told me it's almost like it's too good to be true (Ingredients are listed below, these bars contain sugar BUT a small percentage and they are from natural sources. Sugar in small quantities is fine!):

• As long as you have a maximum of one bar (as a snack) a day, this will serve it's purpose as a healthy snack. 
• I've had 2 on some days especially if I have one bar as breakfast when I'm on the move and don't have time to sit down and have a cooked breakfast. 

Ingredients: Mixed seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, poppy) (55%), carob topping (sugar, vegetable fat, soya, carob, emulsifier: sunflower lecithin) (15%), honey, raw cane sugar, vegetable oil, dehulled hemp seed (3%).

For more info on 9-bars, check out their website: http://9-bar.co.uk/about-9bar/our-bars.asp

--
Email me if you're interested :)

Workout/Spin Track of The Week

WEEK #10

Tinie Tempah - 'Pass Out'

This was one of the 1st tracks I bought when I initially started teaching spin classes about a year ago. It never gets old... I might take a few months off playing it but when I do - it *always* works!



It's a very catchy song :)

Get Your Workout... Anywhere.

Except you're injured or have valid health reasons, you have no excuse not to exercise :)

For example, if you don't have access to a gym, you can workout at home, outdoors or find an exercise class in a studio or venue. No matter how busy you are, you can (and should) make the time for things that are important to you... exercise should be one of those things.

Everyone has specific reasons why they go to the gym, attend classes or use home workout DVDs. The most common reason - to lose weight.

To reach your goals, try to get a mix of the following:

Cardio
Be reminded that if you think endless cardio eg running for 2 hours everyday will give optimum results, you have to change that train of thought.
Last week's post (Read HERE), highlights that variation and continuously challenging the body = very important.

• On the Gym Floor
  Treadmill, Bike, Rower, Cross Trainer/Elliptical
  
• Classes
  Spin, Step, Aerobics
  



I teach 4 spin classes a week.

• Outdoors
  Running, Power Walking
  
• At Home
  Step DVD
  

Body Conditioning
This is not pure cardio, it also involves using resistance your bodyweight or free weights but is not pure strength training.
I had an interesting conversation with a fellow Trainer last week. He told me a member of the gym stated she does strength training 3 times a week... he asked her what she did during those sessions, she said 'Body Pump' <-- That is not strength training, it's a body conditioning class and improves muscular endurance. You might get some strength gains but nothing like strength training.

Once you are able to perform more than 15 reps, without rest, you are working more on your endurance. 

• Classes
  Fitter London Kettlebell Classes (See full timetable here), Body Conditioning, Les Mills (Body Attack, Body Pump)
  



Fitter London Kettlebell Class

• Outdoors
  Bodyweight Drills e.g Burpees, Mountain Climbers, Squat Thrusts, Jump Squats, Tempo Squats, etc
  
• At Home
  Insanity Workout (see below), Matt of Fitter London's vlogs on iVillage (Check them out HERE), Tae Bo, P90x  

Strength Training
This is my favourite... I love seeing a big and positive difference in my strength... it's very empowering.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of women think strength training will result in adding bulk and "looking like a man", I used to think the same thing. Strength Training with a good diet (lean protein, unprocessed carbs, etc) is very beneficial.
Check out this 'I Love Strength Training' blog post from last year, it explains shows why strength training is important.

• On the Gym Floor
  Free Weights and Resistance Machines.
  
• Classes
  It is quite difficult to find a class based solely on strength training but Fitter London run such a class. It's called 'Kettlebells for Strength, Size and a Sixpack' and of course, I love it! It takes place every Saturday at 11.30pm in Fitness First Covent Garden (http://www.fitterlondon.co.uk/our_classes).
  
  

  

  Yep, that's me. I was working hard as always ;)

• Outdoors
  Free Weights and Bodyweight
  
• At Home
  Free Weights and Bodyweight, DVDs eg 'Step By Step Strength Training'
  

Always make sure you warm up for at least 5 minutes at the beginning of your workout (classes and DVDs always include this) and cool down and stretch at the end.

I'll be honest - I prefer working out with a friend or in a class. So, if you don't have access to a class or are not comfortable training with people, why not try working out at home (eg a DVD) with a friend? You'll feel enjoy it more and you'll motivate each other... definitely!

As always, if you have any questions... please ask :)

Workout/Spin Track of The Week

WEEK #9

Big thanks to LondonDiva for this song... she kindly sent me a few tracks earlier this year when I needed to add new stuff to my increasing list of spin tracks. This was one of them... an MJ track :)




I LOVE it! And I think I overplayed it for about a month, now I play it in moderation ;)

My Article On (In) Sistaz Mag...

Wow, I can't believe it's August 2011!!!! This year is FLYING!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend.

There'll be 2 giveaways this month:

• Nat Fresh Deo 
  and 
• Fuller's Earth Powder

-----

Sistaz Mag is an online magazine created by women for women…………and the men who love to know about them.

Have a nice week!