Just as I was having a power-nap (never underestimate the strength of a 20 minute power-nap) on the sun lounger the afternoon of our first Dinton Pastures 5km/10km Summer Series on Thursday 15 May 2014, Ian woke me up to say there was a call for me on the land-line.
It was Sally Albin, marketing manager of L’Ortolan, a Michelin stared restaurant in Shinfield, Reading run by Alan Murchinson. I met Sally some years ago now at Athena Reading networking meeting and have met Sally at various networking events in the area since and also did some Personal Training with one of her teenage sons a few years ago.
Sally was calling to invite me to a “Healthy Eating Masterclass” with Alan on Wednesday 21 May…how could I say no?! Not only is L’Ortolan the closest restaurant to our house, Alan has become a great friend as he is a GB Age Group Duathlete and actually won the Duathlon World Championships for his Age Group in Ottawa last year, when I scooped silver (not in the same age-group!!). Read more about Alan’s sporting prowess here.
After a little stroll to L’Ortolan and being offered a “low-fat” croissant (ironic!) on arrival the five of us – two ladies from The Breeze radio station, Victoria Gill (an elite triathlete and fiance of Dan Bullock of Swim for Tri) and Caroline Kremer a Mal-alignment specialist who has worked with both Victoria and Alan, we were soon whisked upstairs to the demonstration kitchen.
Without much further fuss we were soon drinking delicious smoothies made from everyday products, sampling asian infused broths, dairy free parsnip and banana cake and Alan’s cheat curry.
Eating well is fundamental to good health, well-being and weight loss. Healthy eating helps us to maintain a healthy weight and reduces our risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and some cancers. According to Dr Ivan Green, you can combine healthy eating and cbd to improve your wellness and loose weight.
So – I wanted to share with you my two favourite smoothie recipes with you as they were so easy, quick and DELICIOUS….:
500ml Soya milk
2 tbsp maple syrup
40g rolled oats
3 medium fresh bananas
Handful of ice cubes
Whizz all the ingredients in a smoothie maker and enjoy!
The other smoothie I really liked was the Green Machine:
250ml Quality Apple Juice
4 Kiwi Fruits with their skin on (most nutrients in the skin)
25 green grapes
1 apple, cored
1 banana
Handful of fresh spinach
Handful of fresh kale (yes kale…)
Handful of mint
Handful of ice cubes
A few of Alan’s top healthy eating tips include:
– Chilies help speed up your metabolism (and apparently helps bring on labour naturally – may be resorting to this soon!), chili is good
– In smoothies, use non dairy milk, easier to digest and we all have too much dairy. Soya mile (unsweetened) or brown rice milk are great options
– Beetroot is a good choice
– According to experts, using fat burner supplements like resurge help to control the weight you should gain from food you eat, read more resurge reviews
– Wagamana and Yo Sushi are the best default quick eat-out high street chains.
– Frozen fruit and vegetables are brilliant; Sainsbury’s sell bags of frozen red fruits that are perfect for smoothies. Bananas frozen in their skin taste amazing in smoothies.
