Beetroot soup with ginger, lemon and chili

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Malin

It seems like everyone is escaping this never-ending winter and traveling south. At the same time we are receiving letters regarding strep throat, infections and stuffy noses so what else can you do than trying to stay healthy by eating food that boosts your immune system. Not only is beetroot good for defeat colds but it also enhance physical activities because it improves the oxygen uptake…so I guess more beetroot for the people!

3 big beetroot
1 yellow onion (i used a red onion)
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 tablespoon Ginger
Chili Flakes (depends how spicy you like it)
6dl /3 cups water
3 tablespoons beef fond or 2 cubes vegetable stock
salt and pepper
1 lemon (juice and peel)
Sour cream
Direction: Chop the beetroot, onion, garlic and grate the ginger. Fry the beetroot and the onion for a couple of minutes before adding the ginger, chili and garlic and sauté for another couple of minutes.

Add water, bouillon, season with salt and pepper. Let it simmer for 15 minutes, mix the soup until it is smooth and serve with a splash of sour cream.

Original recipe by Linnea Sward

What is your goal!

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Malin

I can be your fairy godmother!

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Malin

The person who knows your body the best will always be yourself and therefore I think it is important to communicate with my clients to meet their requests. So this sunny Wednesday morning with me as their fairy godmother their wish was about to come true…

…but not until I had tried the intensity of the workout myself 😉

The first circuit was just for warming up and making the heart pound a few extra beats before getting into the fun part. We did it twice through with 30 sec plank to push up and 30 sec plank followed by 10 push ups.

With that done we did a variation between a wood chop and russian twist apparently called “crazy Ivan”. Sitting down with the feet either on the floor or off the floor depending on the desired intensity lifting a medicine ball from one hip up through to the opposite side. This should be a challenging move and it may not be the core that gives in first as the shoulder has to do a fair bit of work as well.

To finish this series off we did another variation of burpees but instead of a push up we twisted both knee to the opposite elbow before we jumped back up into a squat jump. And I can promise after two sets the warm up was completed.

Giving the abs a small rest we got into the lats. I have a few goals of my own in mind this spring and being able to do pull ups is one of them. For some reason I am really weak or my body is to heavy for my arms, you choose which one you think it is…haha

So first out was cable pulldown, this is not a favorite move of mind but like I always say you will seldom like anything you’re not good at so you just hang in there and keep pushing.

Next up was TRX “lateral trunk twist”, this move will not only work the lats but also the shoulders and biceps. Hold on to one strap, reach for the floor behind you and pull yourself up and reach along the strap.

At this point I had a nice burn going and with one more exercise before the grand finale it had to be single arm rows.

And here they were, the pull ups! I am not ready to do it without assistance and the first couple of reps felt so easy but coming into the last few I had the shiver!

I did said I was the fairy godmother today and I didn’t want to disappoint nobody so we went back to the old TRX to hit the core. The first exercise was really two in one, almost like a bargain, right! Put the feet through the straps in a push up position, pull your knees in to your chest and out again. From there you will pike your hips up into the air as high as your can using your abs…that is one rep. Normally your abs should be burning by 10 but if not by all means keep on going to 15 or 20, it’s your choice and it’s your workout 😉

With the rectus abdominis out of the way next up was to hit the obliques. This move can be done from the floor as a regular “spiderman” or with one foot through the strap and the other one reaching for the shoulder and back into a plank position without the foot touching the floor. Again it is not only the core that is working, it is a lot of tension on the shoulders as well.

Someone recently told me the summer is around the corner although I have a hard time believing them but one thing I know is that few of us likes that “muffin top” sticking out. This is a great move to work on the love handles. Again, you can make it easier by keeping your feet on the floor but using the TRX, creating an unstable environment will make you recruit more muscles to stabilize the entire exercise. You can stay here or you can shoot the hip up in the air pretending you are rolling a ball underneath you to take it to the next level…

…and that is how you make dreams come true for some 😉

What is in your grocery bags?

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Malin

I am a pretty good planner when it comes to what I am making for dinner but lately I have been working out of what I have had available in front of me. Then yesterday came and I finally sat down and planned my week ahead and went to my new favorite store Mariano’s and Costco and this is our first dinner.

Sweet Potato Soup with Coconut milk

1 big Sweet Potato

Ginger

Cumin

Chili flakes

Lemon Grass

2 cups of Water

1 cube of vegetable bouillon

1 can of Coconut Milk

Coconut Oil

a small “squeeze” of agave nectar

1 Sausage from Greenridge Farm

Chopped Cilantro

Direction: Boil the sweet Potato for about 5 minutes, drain and use a hand blender to make it into a smooth paste.

Fry the lemon grass, chili, cumin and ginger for a couple of minutes in the coconut oil.

Mix in the spice mix with the sweet potato, add the water, bouillon and coconut milk and let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes.

Fry the sausage and chop the cilantro. Serve the soup with sausage and cilantro…mmm

LowCarb Nasi Goreng

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Malin

I always have my freezer stocked with meat or fish but when I opened it up today I realized the only thing left was a piece of pork tenderloin. Not knowing what I was going to do with it I started to unfreeze it and pulling out whatever we had in the fridge…and this is what it turned into 😉

1/2 shredded Cabbage
Sesame Oil
chopped Garlic
fresh grated Ginger
Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon tomato pure
1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek
Fish sauce (I used touch of taste)
apple cider vinegar
splash of Worcestershire Sauce
1-2 teaspoons Hoisin Sauce
leek
Cilantro
2 egg
Salt
Edamame Beans
Pork Tenderloin
Salt and Pepper

Direction: Start by shredding the cabbage and fry it in the sesame oil. Add the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, hoisin, sambal oelek, tomato pure, fish sauce, vinegar, worcestershire sauce and let it cook or simmer until dry. What you will find is all the spices will really infuse into the cabbage.

Whisk the two egg with some salt and fry in sesame oil. Slice into smaller pieces add into the cabbage together with the edamame beans and the chopped leek.

I used the grill to cook the pork tenderloin. I love to use the grill, less mess and the meat taste 100 times better!

Serve the meat on top of the cabbage with some fresh cilantro. The kids loved it and so did the grown up…so tumps up!

Unfortunately I did not keep track of the measurement but I think with common sense it will be ok 😉

That is how a recovery run should go down!

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Malin

Oh gosh, this weekend has been really busy with one thing after another. The premier of “The Ghost Pirates” was at seven o’clock friday evening, all the kids had practice really hard and did an amazing job and Mira was really buzzing when she got off stage. She though it was so much fun so the next morning I found her totally dressed up with bright red lipstick and a pair of my highest heels on ready to bring on the world.

But in-between all the birthday parties, hockey and theater I managed to get my 7 miler in and it is amazing how your mind works. I mentioned my 4 mile recovery last Wednesday and it was sooo hard and I was disappointed because half way through it felt like it was never coming to an end.

This time around, I knew I was “turning” around at 3.5 mile and was running “home”. The only thing that gets me is the “sprint session” in the middle of the run, they are truly killers for the legs so for the rest of the afternoon it looked like I had **** in my pants…haha.

So when Sunday morning came around I had a choice to make…the 3 optional miles. The thing is optional is not really optional unless you hanging on by thread so I decided I was not going crazy. I took it nice and easy and I really enjoyed the brisk sunny morning not meeting a single soul on my first run of the season through the forest preserve! My legs were a bit stiff as expected but I went straight to a well deserved hot yoga session and what can be better for both the soul and the muscles to reach for your fullest potential to complete the workout week…this is truly how a recovery run should be like!

What’s in your cupboard?

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Malin

I know it is only Thursday night and Taco Night is sort of reserved for Fridays but what the heck. This is what I found in my cupboards, so tonight we’ll have Taco Pie!

Pie Shell

3 deciliter Almond Flour

1/2 deciliter Sesame Seed

1 egg

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Coconut Oil.

1 lb minced Beef

Garlic…a lot

Cumin

Paprika Powder

Chili flakes

Oregano

Salt and Pepper

(I added a touch of bong but it’s ok to use beef bouillon, make sure you mix it in well)

Egg Royal

2 Eggs

1 deciliter cream

1 deciliter milk

Oregano

Cumin

Salt & Pepper

Direction: Add all the ingredients for the pie shell in a food processor and mix it together until it becomes a smooth paste. In a oven proof dish press the paste and prick it with a fork. Pre-bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350 F.

Fry the minced beef and drain any fat or liquid that comes from the beef. Add garlic and the spices (touch of taste) and fry for another couple of minutes. When done add it into the pie shell and lay out the chopped tomatoes.

Whisk the egg, milk, cream together with the spices and pour over the pie. Sprinkle over the cheese and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

A recovery run should be easy, right?!

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Malin

This morning the alarm went off at 4.45, I was taking Knut to his early morning skate and although I was tired I knew what I had to do. I went down in the kitchen brewed my coffee, that is a must for me in the mornings and boiled my eggs. I was running around the house getting everything together and before I knew it I grabbed my coffee and it was time to leave. So I thought I have my eggs when I got home, no big deal.

But for all the parents out there you know how it goes when you are about to send the kids off to school. They need to get dressed, you have to pack their lunch, homework and so on, once again time slipped between my fingers and it was time to go to the bus. I had a busy morning in front of me so I put my head down and got to my business and it was not until my way to the gym I realized how hungry I was. It was just so odd because my egg breakfast normally last me until lunch and I remembered I had not yet eaten, the eggs was still in the pot on the stove…haha, what can you do?

I had to run and I was so excited knowing it was my 4 mile recovery run, I told Megan (my trainer) that this was going to be a walk in the park! I knew it was my own fault being so forgetful and I could blame no one. Also I have my pride to protect, right? So all I could do was to make the best out of it and pretend it was a recovery run knowing I had an amazing yoga session in front of me to stretch me out!

This is how it was supposed to feel like…

…but this is how it really felt…haha

Lets make oatmeal…hmm, delightful?!

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Malin

In our family it’s just Knut and me that really likes oatmeal and this was often on the menu as both my parents were working and would not have time to spend an hour in the kitchen.

Although oatmeal is not really a low-carb alternative it has a fairly low Glycemic Index and when adding flax seeds reduces the effect on blood sugar. So today after working out a fair amount and rushing out to fit the kids activities in this was a perfect alternative.

Oatmeal

1 cup oatmeal
2 tablespoons flaxseed
2 cups water
a pinch of salt
Milk

Strawberry jumminess

4-5 sliced fresh strawberries
a splash of water
a pinch of stevia

Directions: Bring oatmeal, flaxseed, salt and water to simmer and stir occasionally for about 2-5 minutes. In a different pot add strawberries, stevia and water and simmer for the same amount of time. Serve the oatmeal hot with strawberries and cold milk…you will be surprised!

It will be what you want it to be!

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Malin

This week has been a little slow and it seems like a lot of people is sick or feeling sluggish and I would guess it’s the weather change. This will only give excuse to the unwell but for the rust of us, we don’t have one!

As you probably have figures out by now I am training for 1/2 a marathon but this doesn’t mean I given up on weight lifting. I like to “feel” that I worked out the day before, yes I sort of thrive on being sore. The thing is, trying to get all the miles in we have planned for every week and being tight and sore is not necessarily a good combination. But to every problem there is a solution, right? And mine is called YOGA!

This hour gives me the opportunity to center myself, release all the tension in my muscles but also focus on the goals I have ahead of me. So yesterday when I was doing my first run of the week, 6 miles. 2 miles warm up then 20 sprints a 30 seconds then running normal pace and legging it the last 1/2 mile and it was tough. The wind was gusting in my face and my heart pounding at 185-190 beats/minute and I’m not lying, it felt like I was running in syrup. That is when I came back to that place I go to when I’m doing yoga. Again it doesn’t mean it stopped hurting but I knew that I could do it and so I did!