- Studio Renovations
- Give the Gift of Fitness
- Testimonial of the Month
- Seasonal Recipe: Easy Festive Nutloaf (ve)
- Article: Feel Fabulous over the Festive Season
Hello healthy people,
It’s nearly 2020! How did that happen? I remember as a child thinking 2000 was a long way away.
The studio will be shut for renovations this month, from 11th to 31st December. But do drop me a line if you’d like to book in for the start of 2020… The early bird gets the worm (or PT session), as they say.
Give the Gift of Fitness
If you’re looking for a Christmas present for that reluctant exerciser in your life, why not give the give of fitness? That’s right, we have Personal Training gift vouchers available. Simply email for details.
Testimonial of the Month
“In the five weeks I’ve been working out with Tracy, I’ve had great results which have motivated and inspired me to keep improving my fitness. Workouts are varied and you can do them at home. A ‘pug hug’ from Coco the fitness pug is an added incentive! I would recommend Griffen Fitness wholeheartedly.”
– Suzanne M, October 2019
Seasonal Recipe: Festive Vegan Nut Roast
If your family or friends are veggie or vegan, they’ll love you (even more) for going to the effort of making them something special for Christmas. This recipe is vegan, if you ensure the bread is proper bread (i.e. not supermarket bread, which tends to have dairy in). Once you’ve got the ingredients, this recipe not much effort, and you can prepare it in advance and cook it on the day.
Serves 8
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
125g wholemeal breadcrumbs, fresh
200 – 250g cashews
300g plain tofu (firm, not silken)
1 tsp rosemary, fresh is best
1 tsp thyme, fresh is best
1 vegetable stock cube
125ml hot water
250g mushrooms, chopped (field mushrooms for maximum taste)
Sea salt
Ground black pepper
Greased 2 lb loaf tin
– Preheat oven to 180C
– In a big pot, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and sauté onion and garlic until soft, not brown. Take off the heat.
– If you’re making your own breadcrumbs, you can do this now, then grind the cashews and mix them together.
– Add the cashew / breadcrumb mix to the pot of onion and garlic and toss in the herbs.
– Blend the stock cube, hot water and tofu in a blender until creamy.
– Add the tofu mix to the pan and add salt and pepper to taste.
– In a separate pan, heat remaining oil and sauté the mushrooms.
– In the greased loaf tin, arrange some of the mushrooms, then press in half the tofu / cashew mix.
– Arrange another layer of mushrooms, then the rest of the tofu / cashew mix, then a final layer of mushrooms.
– Seal the top with a piece of tin foil and bake for one hour.
– When cooked, remove from oven and stand for 10 minutes, before easing round edges with a knife and turning out. You can also reheat this by covering in tinfoil and popping in the oven for 30 minutes.
– Very tasty with roast vegetables and onion gravy.
Article: Feel Fabulous over the Festive Season
Christmas is getting closer, and it seems the festive season gets longer and longer each year. The average Christmas-celebrating person gains up to 6kg over the festive season, so here’s how you can avoid weight gain and feel fab over the darkest months of the year:
– Remember that Christmas is just one day, there’s no need to buy ‘Christmas food’ just yet. Sure, order your turkey from your local butcher in advance (and I would encourage you to use your local independent butcher than buy supermarket meat), but hold off buying calorific celebration food until the last minute. This means it won’t be in your cupboards tempting you to eat it until required. Only buy what you need and don’t get tempted by BOGOF deals – after all, who’s going to eat that big box of leftover Quality Street?
– Plan a group walk for Boxing day or even after Christmas lunch. Rope in your family and friends and make it a social occasion.
– Give healthy presents. Not everyone appreciates boxes of chocolates or bottles of wine, so think about alternatives. For children, instead of junk food, buy them toys that will get them active (and wear them out). A favourite present to a nephew was an inflatable football goal… Invest in some Spacehoppers and have a race on Christmas day for a silly laugh (and excellent leg exercise). A winner with parents and kids alike.
– Eat a low GI breakfast every day. Porridge is ideal, and eating well early in the day will help avoid snacking on junk food later. Hydrate well, experiment with different herbal teas.
– Try and keep units of alcohol to a minimum. Sample the wide variety of alcohol-free beers and wines that are becoming more popular. Less alcohol also means you’ll be more likely to get out and get active – how many festive family feuds are fuelled by too much sherry? Better for the waistline too.
– Traditional celebrations often feature a ‘brown buffet’ – buffet tables laden with meat, processed foods, pastries and ‘heat and eat’ products. Add some colour to your spread with a salad, roasted sweet potato, sliced fruit or some carrot sticks and dips.
– Overindulged? Try a 10 minute workout – ten minutes of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) can help utilise excess stored sugars in the body. Running on the spot, press ups, squats, lunges and star jumps can all be done from a lounge room (or your bedroom if you’re staying with family) and will help boost your energy levels too!
The festive season is a wonderful time to kick back and relax, but you don’t need to get to 2020 feeling bloated and unfit. Be a healthy influence on your family and friends, and you’ll be surprised at how much they thank you.
Have a happy and healthy festive season,
Tracy (and Coco)