Megan's New Years resolution 2013

I am not one to make New Years resolutions only because I don't believe you should wait till the end of the year to make necessary changes that you see fit in your life. But after a conversation with some health conscious friends today I decided I could use the New Year as an excuse... it is always good to try new things - right?

So although I already started changing my lifestyle from about midway through last year I have now made a commitment to better living and taking care of my body the way it deserves!

To support this change I have adapted the 'Seven lifestyle keys' by Stephanie Tourles

1. Daily cleansing

2. Maximal nutrition intake

3. Regular consumption of pure water

4. Regular elimination of internal and external toxic buildup

5. Daily movement

6. Moderate exposure to sunlight

7. Sound sleep.

I truly believe the real beauty comes from knowing and loving your own body inside and out and this can be easily achieved using the 7 steps above.

Wish me luck people!

Let's all be natural this year!

"When you improve appearance, you also boost your morale. And we all function better and are more comfortable when we know we have presented our best to our critical selves and to the world."
-VIRGINIA CASTLETON

Intermittent Fasting - The new anorexia?

My brother (Ian) visited us a couple of months back from China and introduced me to a new concept known as 'Intermittent Fasting'. My family are religious and fast for 19 days every year as a part of their spiritual devotion, and as a teenager I tried to join them in this a couple of times but normally didn't make it to lunch time without having a sneaky poke in the fridge and pulling out a few left-overs.

Ian as of recent years has become a bit of a guru in the exercise & healthy lifestyle department and he is the culprit who started my family off on this paleo-primal diet! Needless to say we were all open ears when he started talking about this new fasting program he was using.

I think the first thing to know is that this may not work for everyone, and before you can consider fasting you should first make sure you are eating the right foods at regular intervals. If done properly fasting has some real major benefits for your body.

Trying to summarise in my own words I understand that we believe that we need to eat way more than what our body actually needs. When we consume food our bodies start to produce new cells, and that by fasting this allows our body to slow down on the new cell production and actually repair damaged cells within your body already.

P.S I do not know this person but thought it was a pretty significant body change?

Intermittent fasting acts to turn on certain genetic repair mechanisms that enhance cellular rejuvenation. This adaptation appears to allow certain cells to have a longer lifespan during times of famine. It is energetically less expensive to repair a cell than it is to divide and create new cells. This has a positive effect at shutting down cancer cell formation and proliferation.
Intermittent fasting is one of the most powerful modalities for reducing inflammation, boosting immunity and enhancing tissue healing. This is one of the reasons why many people feel nauseated when they have infections. This innate mechanism is the body's way of influencing us to fast so it can produce the right environment to boost natural immunity.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034277_fasting_longevity.html#ixzz2EDlLoyBZ

In my household my Dad is actively trying this, and for a 50 something year old man who does not like exercise he is in the best looking shape I have seen him for years. I believe that we have some lucky genes in my family and this way of eating suits us perfectly.

I have also started to fast 2 days a week - On these days I will not eat breakfast however will normally eat a boiled egg at lunch and a small portion of whatever is being cooked for dinner. Throughout the day I will keep well hydrated and also have a sneaky coffee or two or three....

Last night I met up with an old friend of mine (Sonne) who is majorly into the exercise & health world and he too supported the intermittent fasting idea and practices it. So it must be good for you right?

Blogged by: Megan

Shopping and Stereo and Shopping

Quality mother daughter time and crazy partying are not usually two things that go together (unless you’re the Ridges) but it seems to be the perfect way to describe my amazing long weekend away in Melbourne.

Our trip started with a 6:30am flight out of Auckland allowing Mum and I a full day of shopping yeee! After checking into our perfectly suited 2 bedroom apartment in Little Lonsdale Street, we set off to Bourke Street Mall where we spent the majority of our time in chain stores you just wished would make the final move over the ditch to NZ; Zara, Sportsgirl, General Pants Co, Bardot…sigh.

After a very well earned sleep, we started our Saturday morning at Federal Coffee Palace for some of the best coffee in Melbourne and the most divine bircher muesli before visiting the Myer jewelry and shoe departments.

Reluctantly I bid farewell to mum to meet up with my long time friend Lisa. We made our way to our friends place in Northcote (pronounced north-cut in Australia, filth) where we “sipped” a few champagnes before making our way to Stereosonic. My favourite act at Stereo was by far Carl Cox who was conveniently playing in a tent when the rain decided to pour down!

After shopping all morning and dancing all afternoon/evening I am still surprised I managed to wake up early on Sunday to spend another full day shopping! But I guess I had too, I was in Melbourne after all! Mum and I spent the day exploring the arcades and laneways off Little Collins Street, Collins Street and Flinders Lane where I could only admire the amazing designer clothing and footwear on offer while mum was able to treat herself to some lovely shoes. Monday morning was spent (you guessed it!) shopping before making our way to the airport for our flight home.

If you haven’t been to Melbourne before, I highly recommend booking some of the cheap flights that pop up often and get yourself over there. Apart from the shopping, Melbourne also has awesome restaurants, shows, museums and art galleries worth visiting. But when the shopping is so good, why do anything else?

For more information about Melbourne visit www.visitmelbourne.com and keep checking www.airnewzealand.co.nz for flight deals!



Wednesday BBQ Dinner

Hump-day woohoo! And Wednesday is also known as 'My Cooking Night AGAIN'. 

Tonight I decided with the awesome weather we have been having (minus today - so average!) that a BBQ was definitely in order. SO I whipped out a few favorites that abide the gluten-free, sugar-free, no simple carbs, dairy free combo that my family require - phew what a mouthful!

On the Menu tonight:

Soy & ginger lamb kebabs with a spicy peanut sauce

&

Lentil & spinach salad

Soy & ginger lamb kebabs:

Ingredients

600g of Lamb leg steaks

3 tsp finely grated ginger (fresh)

1/4 cup of soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp of Honey

1 Red pepper

2 Zucchini

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 Tbsp Soy sauce

1 Tbsp Sweet chilli sauce

1. Cut the lamb into small pieces - cubes approx. 2 cm by 2cm

2. Put into a mixing bowl and add ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and honey

3. Mix all together and put in the fridge to marinate for 4 hours

4. Once marinated long enough take out and prepare the kebabs by putting a mixture of diced red pepper, cubed zucchini and marinated meat onto skewers.

5. this recipe should make approximately 12 skewers.

6. Chuck on the BBQ on a medium to low heat and cook about 2 mins on each side.

7. Mix the boiling water, peanut butter, chilli flakes, soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce in a small bowel and mix till a smooth sauce forms.

8. Serve the kebabs and pour the peanut sauce on top - YUMMY!

Lentil & spinach salad:

Ingredients

Salad - 

1 x 300g of Brown lentils (drained and rinsed)

1 x 300g of diced beetroot (drained and rinsed)

1/2 bag of fresh baby spinach

1/2 red pepper

1/2 cup of cut dried dates

1/2 cup mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower & poppy)

Dressing - 

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp Apple cider vinegar

1 clove garlic

1 Tbsp whole grain mustard

2 tsp honey

1/4 cup of grapeseed oil 

1. Mix all salad ingredients in a large serving bowl

2. Put all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and blend together with stick blender

3. Pour dressing over salad and toss to serve

Addicted to Sweatcamp!

I used to think of the concept of Bootcamp as ex-army buffs screaming at you as you trudge through tires, belly crawl under nets, drag weighted objects through swamps all while the rain is pouring down and chilling you to the core. However after finally accepting I had put on a little extra padding than I would have liked to over the winter, and the gym just not cutting it anymore, I decided to give it a go. Needless to say I was definitely nervous turning up to my first session of Sweatcamp where I discovered the reality was a lot less scary. Now three months in, and 5kgs lighter, I am hooked!

Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I head along to our “sweaty sessions” where our trainer Anna puts us through a variety of different exercises each time that challenges yet another part of our body. One week we even played Cardio Monopoly!

This variety along with sound nutritional advice, support of your fellow campers, Anna's constant positivity, fortnightly fitness tests and even motivational updates on their Facebook page has made Sweatcamp such an enjoyable and awesome experience. Best of all I am getting results! Added benefits I have noticed include sleeping so much more easily, increased energy, better balance and of course meeting a great group of people. I have also ditched the hungover visits to the golden arches and dipping my hand into the always full lolly jar at work, talk about will power!

Enjoying a mini treat after a particularly sweaty cardio session!

If you want to find out more about Sweatcamp NZ, visit their website: www.sweatcamp.co.nz and remember to never let your fears stop you from trying something new!