Serves 4-6

Allow 40 minutes to prepare

125ml olive oil
1/2kg onions
2 cloves garlic
1/2kg green peppers
1/2kg red peppers
1/4kg aubergine
1/2kg courgettes
1/2kg fresh or tinned tomatoes
A little oregano to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Put just over half the oil into a large saucepan over a low heat. Skin and chop the onions, add them to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes. Don’t let them brown. Skin and crush the garlic and add it to the pan.
Wash the green peppers, remove the seeds and pith, and cut them into strips. Add them to the pan and sauté for a few minutes, increasing the heat slightly if necessary. Repeat with the red peppers.

Wash, top and tail (but don’t peel) the aubergine and chop it into finger-thick chunks. Add to the pan together with the rest of the oil and continue to sauté for a further 5 minutes. Wash, top and tail the courgettes, cut them into finger-thick slices and add to the pan. Stir them in and leave the mixture to cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, skin the tomatoes, coarsely chop them and add them to the pan. Stir in and bring the mixture to a simmer for at least another 10 minutes, until it reaches the consistency you desire. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Enjoy it accompanied by some brown rice or quinoa!

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Both filling and delicious, this soup is easy to make and great for a cold evening to warm you from the inside out. And if you like adding (dried) chilli to lots of your cooking like I do, that goes well too.

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
3 shallots (or 1 onion), peeled and finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
A few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 tomatoes, cored, deseeded and diced
150g Puy lentils, rinsed
1.3 litres vegetable stock (or light chicken stock)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small bunch parsley, tough stalks removed, the rest finely chopped
150g spinach – if using baby spinach, leave it whole; if using larger spinach, remove the leaves from the stalks and chop
To serve
1-2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil or rapeseed oil
Parmesan or hard goat’s cheese or other well-flavoured hard cheese (optional)

In a large saucepan, warm the oil over a medium-low heat. Add the shallots, carrot and thyme, and sauté gently for five minutes. Add the garlic and tomatoes, and sauté for a minute more.

Tip in the lentils, stir, then add the stock and a little salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Add the parsley and spinach, simmer for five minutes, season to taste and ladle into warmed bowls.

Trickle over a little oil and, if you like, shave over some cheese with a vegetable peeler.

Enjoy!

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Lemon Courgettes, Feta & Watercress Salad

Serves 4, Ready in 20 minutes

50g couscous
4 medium courgettes, cut into thick slices
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
Grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp toasted cumin seeds
400g good quality feta, cubed
80-100g watercress or various other salad leaves
Handful fresh mint leaves

Put the couscous in a small heatproof bowl. Pour over 75ml boiling water and set aside.

Put the courgettes on a large plate, sprinkle over 1 teaspoon sea salt and leave for 10 minutes. Pat dry with kitchen paper, then sprinkle with the rosemary, lemon zest and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Mix well.

Put a griddle pan over a medium-high heat and cook the courgettes for 2-3 minutes each side, until golden.

Meanwhile, make the dressing. Whisk together the lemon juice, 2-3 tablespoons of the olive oil, the cumin seeds and some black pepper.

Toss together the feta, watercress, mint, courgettes and the dressing. Sprinkle over the couscous and serve while the courgettes are just warm.

Enjoy!

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Serves 4

1 large head of broccoli (about 500g)
½ garlic clove
A pinch of sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar or cider vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2-3 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the broccoli into small florets and steam, or cook it in some lightly salted boiling water, until just tender but still a bit crunchy — about 4-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, crush the garlic and ginger with the sugar and some salt and pepper to a paste, using a pestle and mortar. Combine with the vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil.

As soon as the broccoli is cooked, drain it in a colander and leave for a few minutes so all the moisture can steam off. While still hot, toss with the dressing and put into a serving dish. Set aside to cool.

Lightly toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan until fragrant. When the broccoli has cooled to room temperature, scatter over the spring onions and sesame seeds, and serve.

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To prevent a build up of tension and its visible effects e.g. hunched shoulders, rounded back, neck jutting forwards, short stride length in gait, it is useful to try and integrate some movements that are key to realigning the body towards optimal posture as well as greater comfort. These movements can, in turn, help prevent injury. With one set of muscles dominating a movement where there should be an equal balance, this can cause other muscles to strain to compensate and lead to a pull, strain or even a tear.

If you are sitting for long periods of time your hip flexors are prone to becoming tight. This tension can alter your posture and affect your gait, which in turn may lead to pain or injury.

Here is a stretch pattern to remedy this area:

Lunge forwards with your left foot in front, allowing both knees to form a right angle and reach up as high as you can with your right arm while keeping your shoulder blades down your back. Then step back to a neutral standing position. Repeat this 15-20 times, or until you feel looser in the hip flexor area. Then change sides.

NOTE: To increase the stretch sensation, add a rotation in your torso either towards or away from the front leg. Take care however, as it can have quite a dramatic effect.

Another common complaint, in sportsmen particularly, is tight hamstrings. Instead of the usual static hold you may already know, we will add some movement to allow maximum benefit. Step your right foot backwards leaving the left foot to rock onto the heel, then take your hips back while reaching your arms forwards (towards your toes or out ahead of you). Now step back up to a standing position and repeat. Imagine someone is pulling your hips backwards and your hands forwards to get the best stretch!

This dynamic form of stretching is far more beneficial in the long term than the static type; the muscles are naturally stretched in two or three planes of motion to trigger contraction back towards a position of least effort/tension — we call it centre: you currently know it as neutral.

To support this increased flexibility you should work on your core strength to allow the spine to align well in accordance with the surrounding muscles. Core stability is important to everyone, active or not; it can help to prevent back pain and to have greater control over your stomach muscles, achieving a slimmer and more toned appearance. As well as abdominals exercises, make sure you work your back and do some twisting movements to encompass all planes of motion that the body goes through.

Through doing these exercises, you should feel a lot less restricted in the lower body and perhaps your upper body as well. Practice daily for maximum results; it may improve your posture, when static or walking, as well as alleviating any niggling pain you have had. These are some of the benefits of dynamic stretching. I hope you enjoy using them!

If you have any questions then please do get in touch.

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The race itself was great fun to take part it. It was a rainy, grey day but it didn’t matter one bit. What is one hour of slight discomfort compared to what the women in the Democratic Republic of Congo have gone through? By the time we started it had stopped raining and the drips from the trees helped to stay at a good body temperature in fact! During the run, a slight injury I have in my right foot started to play up so I focussed more on correcting my posture and running style as well as keeping a decent pace. I had set my heart rate monitor stop watch so I could see my lap times and I was doing pretty well, getting similar times for the first two laps (about 16 minutes). The total course was three laps, so in the final lap I was intent on achieving my own personal goal; completing the 10K in under 50 minutes.

I knew not to push it too early, otherwise by legs would fail me on the home straight. I checked the path way ahead of me, that nobody was in the way and just kept on, breathing steadily. Once I turned the corner towards the finish line I gave it all my legs could take, sprinting as fast as I could. I felt a little sick with exertion bur once across the line I was warmly welcomed by my boyfriend, the lovely Jenny Burrell and husband (who did the run also) and the fantastic team at Women for Women International, who organise the race. Thank you for such great support!

It wasn’t until the next day when the times were put online that I knew for sure but I was thrilled to discover that I had run it in under 50 minutes — 49 minutes and 50 seconds!!

If you would like to take part in the next 10K Run for Congo Women, you can find details on how to enter here!

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Tahini-dressed courgette and green bean salad
from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s book ‘River Cottage Veg Every Day’

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil
3 medium courgettes (about 400g), sliced into 3mm rounds
Juice of ½ lemon
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
About 125g French beans, trimmed
4 good handfuls of salad leaves
12-18 oven-dried tomatoes or semi-dried tomatoes (optional)
A handful of mint, finely shredded (optional)

For the tahini dressing
½ garlic clove, crushed with a little coarse sea salt
2 tbsp light tahini (stir the jar well first)
Finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
Juice of ½ orange
½ tsp clear honey
2 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the tahini dressing, put the crushed garlic into a small bowl with the tahini, lemon zest and juice, orange juice, honey and a grind of black pepper, and stir together well. The dressing may thicken and go grainy or pastey, but don’t worry. Just thin it down by whisking in a little water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you get a creamy, trickling consistency. Finally, gently stir in the olive oil. Taste and add a little more salt and pepper if needed. The dressing is now ready to use.

For the salad, heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a fairly high heat and cook the courgette slices in batches, tossing them occasionally, for a few minutes until tender and browned on both sides, transferring them to a bowl once cooked.

When the courgettes are all cooked, season generously with salt and pepper, add the lemon juice and chilli and toss together well. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Tip in the French beans, return to the boil and blanch for 1 minute. Drain, then dunk in cold water to refresh. Drain again, pat dry with a clean tea towel and toss the beans with the courgettes.

To assemble the salad, spread the salad leaves in a large shallow serving bowl and scatter over the dressed courgettes and beans, tomatoes and shredded mint, if using. Trickle the tahini dressing generously over the whole lot and serve.

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Key points for weight loss:

1. Healthy eating
The main principles you should follow are:
- eat fresh produce as much as possible, not pre-prepared meals, to avoid hidden salt, fat and sugar
- eat lots of fresh vegetables every day for a range of vitamins and nutrients
- drinks lots of water and herbal teas to help flush out toxins and aid fat loss
- eat a good source of protein at every meal to promote lean muscle tissue

Those are the dos, and the don’ts are:
- avoid added sugar and be watchful of eating more than one piece of fruit a day
- eat fruit within 30 minutes after a workout
- steam, grill and bake your food where possible as opposed to frying
- if you can’t resist eating bad things, don’t keep them in the house!
- if you are a parent, the kids’ leftovers don’t have to be eaten by you.

… Sound familiar?

2. Weight training.
Weight training makes your muscles ‘calorie hungry’ so the muscles burn up calories, even after your training session. Long slow distance on the cardio machines is not going to help you in the same way. You are better off doing a circuit of exercises, working big muscles groups, alternating lower body then upper body with little rest in between. This will involve strength training, cardiovascular work and endurance also.

2. Intervals/HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)
This method is not only vastly more time efficient but produces greater results in fat loss and maintaining muscle, as opposed to working at a moderate pace for longer. Start off by stepping out of your comfort zone a little then build the intensity over time. Don’t suddenly sprint if you’ve not done any before! Intervals involve short bursts of fast, hard work e.g. rowing or running and then slowing down to recover for a short time then sprinting again and so on. It can be tough work but extremely rewarding for your visual results, your heart health and for boosting your basal metabolic rate!

If you honestly think you’re doing all these and are puzzled, perhaps you have reached a plateau. It’s important to remember that if you’re training regularly (2-3 times a week) you need to change your exercise programme every 6-8 weeks in order for your body to adapt and respond. If the body gets used to the same exercise for 8 weeks plus, you’ll begin to notice very little change as opposed to when you started. Keep it fresh!

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Sweet Potato Cakes
from Yotam Ottolenghi’s book ‘Plenty’ (with my alterations in brackets)

Serves 4

1kg peeled sweet potatoes, cut into large chunks
2 tsp soya sauce
100g plain flour (or wholemeal/spelt)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp caster sugar (optional)
3 tbsp chopped spring onion
½ tsp finely chopped red chilli (or more if you want them hot)
(some olive oil spray/rapeseed oil for frying)

Steam the sweet potatoes until completely soft, then leave in a colander to drain for at least an hour.

Once the sweet potatoes have lost most of their liquid, place them in a mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix everything together, preferably by hand, until the mix is smooth and even; do not over-mix. The mixture should be sticky; if it’s runny add some more flour.

Put a small amount of oil in a non-stick frying pan. For each cake, use a tablespoon to lift some mix into the pan and flatten with the back of the spoon to create a not-too-perfect disc that is roughly 5cm in diameter and 1cm thick. Fry the cakes on a medium heat for about 6 minutes on each side, or until you get a nice brown crust. Place in between two sheets of kitchen paper to soak up any excess oil. Serve hot or warm. Enjoy!!

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