January 27, 2016No Comments

Day 27 – FIBRE!

Fibre is hugely important for so many reasons. It can help with digestive health, heart disease, diabetes and even some cancers!

Most people in the UK don't get enough fibre in their diet and as such a lot of people suffer from digestive problems and disorders. Eating fibre also helps to keep you full and helps to keep your digestive system healthy. But what type of fibre should you be eating and where do you find it?

Soluble Fibre
Soluble fibre can be digested by your body and can help to reduce cholesterol in your blood. For anyone suffering constipation, increasing the amount of soluble fibre in your diet can help you to soften your stool and make it easier to go the bathroom.

Where do you find soluble fibre?
- Fruits - like bananas and apples
- Oats, barley, rye
- root vegetables

Insoluble Fibre
Insoluble fibre can't be digested by your body and simply passes straight through, helping other foods move through your digestive system.

Where do you find insoluble fibre?
- wholemeal bread
- bran
- cereals
- nuts and seeds

So if you constantly have digestive issues or pains, maybe take a look at how much fibre you are eating and which type and try to balance it back out.

Ciao for now x

January 12, 2016No Comments

Day 12 – Breakfast Muffins

MuffinsSweet Potato

Apologies for the delay but it's been a bit of a hectic one today.

Anyway, building up to the important article about breakfast and how much you really don't want to be skipping it I thought I'd include another breakfast recipe. This is one of my favourites and such an easy one to make. These muffins are delicious and I usually make them up on a Sunday and they will last all week for when I want a quick snack or if I just don't have the time to make a proper breakfast. They are also fantastic for after a workout as you get a big hit of protein, carbohydrates and vitamins and minerals that your body will be craving

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins):
24 rashers of Turkey Bacon - In most supermarkets now, just look at the bottom of the normal bacon aisle. 24 rashers is usually about 3 packets. Turkey is packed with protein and so yummy!

10 eggs - Great protein hit

1 Sweet Potato - the good type of carbohydrate to help your body regain some fuel used during exercise or to get the energy you'll need through the rest of the day

Varied vegetables - this is where you can be a bit creative. The only rule is that you need about the same amount of vegetables to the same amount of eggs. For this batch I used a handful of broccoli, handful of peas and about a quarter of a white onion finely diced. You can use absolutely anything you have to hand however, experiment with the flavours and enjoy it!

Two handfuls of grated cheese - ideally mozzarella or feta but I used cheddar in mine. Some fats to help your body start it's day!

 

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Peel and dice your sweet potatoes. Remember to cut the pieces nice and small as you want small delicious pieces, not chunks half the size of the muffins. Roast them until they are nice and soft, usually takes about 30-45 minutes.

In a bowl, crack and whisk your eggs together. Then add the vegetables that you have chosen. Mine were all uncooked and all taken from the freezer and thrown in with 1 handful of the cheese and the roasted sweet potato pieces. Mix, mix and mix it all up again!!

Brush two cupcake holder trays with coconut oil and lay the 2 turkey bacon slices in each so that they slightly overlap in the middle (make sure the mix doesn't fall out the bottom). They end up looking almost like the petals of a flower.

Spoon the egg and vegetable mixture into each cupcake holder space, adding another little sprinkling of cheese on top.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. You want to take them out when they are nice and golden brown on top.

Let them settle and cool for a little bit or if you just can't wait attack them while they're warm! They are delicious and another excuse for you to NOT skip breakfast.

Ciao for now x

  
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