February 2019
- Studio Update
- Easy Healthy Recipe: Strawberry Chia Pudding
- Article of the Month: It’s About Time
- And Finally… Eat Your Oats
Hello healthy people,
I hope you have had a great start to your year. We’re slowly coming out of hibernation (a good excuse to include a cute Coco photo). It’s such a relief when the days get longer, it’s easier to get outdoors for some good walks, runs or bike rides. I enjoyed presenting at two Wellbeing festivals last month, where most of the audience weren’thardcore exercisers. Here’s a review from one of the venues, Roots Deli:
“We were delighted to host a talk led by Tracy during the Wellbeing in the West End festival. ‘Eat Like an Athlete: The Easy Way’ was hugely informative, insightful and easy to follow. Tracy engages with her audience and her expertise is translated to usable, manageable and achievable systems, for a complete range of clients. Highly recommended!”
It’s good to remember that you don’t need to ‘beast’ yourself to get fit. Just start by getting outdoors and getting your heart rate up for around half an hour. Make this week more active than last week, and so on. Drop me a line if you need a hand, or even a Fitness MOT. I currently have off-peak availability (weekday, daytime).
Easy Healthy Recipe of the Month: Strawberry Chia Pudding
Puddings are fab, especially when they’re as nutritious as this. I’ve only just discovered making pudding out of chia seeds. According to Wikipedia: “Chia seeds are hydrophilic, absorbing up to 12 times their weight in liquid when soaked and developing a mucilaginous coating that gives chia-based creams and beverages a distinctive gel texture.” It makes a delicious snack, full of fibre, protein, good fats and minerals.
4 servings
250mL (one cup) coconut cream, you can dilute for less creamy texture
Small handful frozen strawberries, defrosted (or use frozen)
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp vanilla essence
Maple syrup, to taste
– Zizz the coconut cream, vanilla and strawberries and pour into a jar.
– Add chia seeds to the jar. Screw on lid and shake well.
– Refrigerate overnight. Stir or shake occasionally to ensure an even consistency. Sweeten to taste.
– Serve into a small bowl and enjoy.
– You can also make this recipe minus strawberries…
Article of the Month: It’s About Time
Daniel H. Pink is a very interesting author, he mainly writes about human behaviour, and his latest title, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing is no exception. My favourite chapter ‘The Hidden Pattern of Everyday Life’ covers how we can use work with our daily oscillations. He talks about how we have a peak in our day (usually morning), a trough (mid afternoon), and a rebound (evening), and how we can work with it to have more productive (and enjoyable) days. According to Pink, timing is everything. So it’s good to consider time when planning a fitness programme. Schedule your exercise in at a time to suit your natural energy levels.
My Healthy Living Yearbook is all about doing things with the Scottish seasons, in sync with nature. This is the perfect time of year to start planning what your warmer weather goals are, looking at your diary, and working out how you’re going to fit in your exercise. I’ve just started another book (from the Reading recommendations of When), ‘Off The Clock – Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done‘, by Laura Vanderkam. I’ll let you know how I get on with it… I’d love to hear your recommended reading too.
And Finally… Eat Your Oats
Oats are Scotland’s superfood, so good for you and full of fibre, that apparently 90% of people need more of. Oats are one of my staple ingredients, cheap, slow burning energy, for gut health, and to keep blood sugar levels stabilised. They even lower your cholesterol. So you know what to do – Eat Your Oats!
Have a happy and healthy February,
Tracy 🙂