Leigh Vickers - Health & Fitness

🥗🥑 Pumpkin, Halloumi and Avo Salad 🥑🥗

Gone are the days of bland and boring salads! This pumpkin, halloumi and avocado salad makes for a perfect weeknight dinner, or even for that weekend braai - minimal effort, maximum taste! 👌🏼

Ingredients:
• ¼ pumpkin (or use butternut)
• 90 grams halloumi cheese, sliced 1cm thick
• ½ avocado, diced
• mixed lettuce (or use rocket or baby spinach)
• salt + pepper
• 1 & 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• Plus 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
OPTIONAL
• pine nuts or cashews to sprinkle on top of finished salad

Preheat oven to 180°C
Chop pumpkin/butternut into bite size pieces, place on a baking tray and drizzle with 1 tbsp. of olive oil.
Mix together, then separate out.
Cook for 30 – 40 minutes, until browned, flipping pieces’ half way through.
Mix 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil and 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar in small jar and shake to combine to make a basic balsamic vinaigrette.
Heat a frying pan on medium-low and add 1/2 tbsp. olive oil.
Fry halloumi pieces for approximately 2 minutes each side, or until browned. Be careful not to burn – they cook fast!
Add lettuce to bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix well with your hands.
Add in avocado, pumpkin and halloumi on top of lettuce, drizzle with dressing and serve immediately!

NOTE:
I wouldn't recommend making this salad ahead due to the fact it uses avocado and halloumi which are best served immediately. If you want to cut down prep time, try roasting a batch of pumpkin/butternut at the beginning of the week. You can then either reheat or enjoy cold when putting together the salad.

Recipe from www.cookitrealgood.com

With minimal time in the mornings nowadays (due to a super busy 10 month old!) I have to make sure my breakfasts are made in advance....so this is my morning brekkie fix this week! 😁

SUPERFOOD BREAKFAST GRANOLA BARS

Do you battle with time in the mornings to make a healthy breakfast?⏰ Then why not make these healthy Granola Bars in advance (like on a Sunday!! 😉), and munch them on the go if you need to! 🚗 They are jam-packed with superfoods, they're gluten-free, vegan, dairy free and refined-sugar free!👌🏼 (The recipe below is double to the original recipe so I could freeze half of them)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats (or gluten-free oats, if needed)
•1 cup oat flour (grind up rolled oats in blender)
•1 cup dried cranberries, raisins, or other dried fruit
• 1 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds or other seed/nuts (I used half mixed seeds and half chopped almonds)
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• 2 tablespoon chia seeds
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon himalayan rock salt
• 2 large mashed banana or 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 6 tablespoons melted coconut oil or butter
• 6 tablespoons coconut nectar/syrup, honey, or other liquid sweetener
• 4 tablespoons almond milk or other milk of choice

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180ºC.
Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl—oats, oat flour, dried cranberries/dried fruit, pumpkin seeds/nuts, ground flaxseed, chia seeds, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
Stir in mashed banana/applesauce, coconut oil, coconut nectar/honey, and almond milk until well blended.
Let mixture rest for 4–5 mintutes, giving time for chia and flax to bind everything together. If your dough has gotten too thick, stir in an additional 1–2 tablespoons milk before scooping out onto your baking sheet. (Preferably onto parchment paper)
Bake for 15–18 minutes, or until granola bars are lightly golden around the edges.
Store leftovers in an airtight container for 2–3 days, and any extra can be kept frozen! 👍🏼

Are you needing an idea for a healthy Friday night dinner?? Skip the pizza and rather make this healthier homemade meal!

Broccoli is a great source of vitamins K and C, a good source of folate (folic acid) and also provides potassium and fiber. Broccoli is packed with powerful antioxidants and protects the body from damaging free radicals.

🥦🍗🍜HEALTHY CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI STIR-FRY 🥦🍗🍜

• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil divided use
• 1 cup thinly sliced peeled carrots
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 450g boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth or water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in the large pan over medium heat.
• Add the broccoli and carrots and cook for approximately 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Remove the veggies from the pan; place them on a plate and cover.
• Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel and turn the heat to high.
• Add the remaining tablespoon of oil.
• Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add them to the pan in a single layer - you may need to do this step in batches. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through.
• Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add the vegetables back to the pan and cook for 2 more minutes or until the vegetables are warmed through.
• In a bowl whisk together the chicken broth, honey and soy sauce.
• In a small bowl mix the cornstarch with a tablespoon of cold water.
• Pour the soy sauce mixture over the chicken and vegetables; cook for 30 seconds.
• Add the cornstarch and bring to a boil; cook for 1 more minute or until sauce has just started to thicken.
• Serve immediately, with brown rice if desired.

Your lunch inspo for today is:
🥗🥦 ROASTED BROCCOLI QUINOA SALAD 🥦🥗

Broccoli has long been thought as one of the healthiest veggies because of its nutritional makeup. This superfood is loaded with fiber, antioxidants to fight cancer, and vitamin C to aid in iron absorption.

Ingredients:
• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 2 cups water (or veggie broth)
• 230g broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 sweet potato, chopped into ¼ – ½ inch chunks
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1 bunch kale, roughly chopped (optional)
• olive oil, as needed
• ¼ cup fresh parsley
• 3 Tablespoons feta cheese
• juice from one lemon
• 1/2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup/honey
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• salt and ground pepper, to taste
• crushed red pepper, to taste (optional)

Preheat oven to 200ºC.
Rinse and drain quinoa if needed. Place quinoa and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer, cover and let it cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat after 15 minutes and place quinoa in a large bowl to cool.
Drain and rinse your canned chickpeas. Place the chickpeas on a paper towel or hand towel to dry.
Toss broccoli and sweet potato chunks with a little olive oil and roast at 200ºC for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, add your kale and chickpeas to the roasting pan. Toss, and roast for another 15 minutes. Stirring the veggies around at least once during the roasting process.
Once your veggies are nice and roasted, remove from the oven and combine them with the quinoa.
Chop parsley, crumble feta and add to the quinoa and vegetable mixture.
In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, vinegar and maple syrup. Gently stir in oil, and add salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes to taste. Toss dressing over quinoa/vegetable mixture.
Enjoy and store any leftovers in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Recipe from: www.eatingbirdfood.com

Simon & Leigh are proud to introduce the newest team member of The Fitness Factory! 😁😍
💙 Jake John Vickers, born 20/08/2019. 💙

The reason this page is and will be rather quiet over the next few months.....3 1/2 weeks to go!!! 😁❤

But please follow The Fitness Factory@Northwood for any health and fitness posts and recipes! 👍🏻

GRILLED CHICKEN MARGHERITA

Easy, healthy grilled chicken margherita topped with melted mozzarella cheese, pesto, and tomato basil garnish.

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to less than 1 inch thickness
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (OR 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano + 1/4 teaspoon dried basil + 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme)
• 4 slices mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup basil pesto
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup packed basil leaves, very thinly sliced
• cracked black pepper

Instructions:

In a large bowl combine chicken, salt and pepper, olive oil, garlic power, and Italian seasoning. Toss to combine.

Grill chicken over medium-high heat for about 6-8 minutes on each side until cooked through. Top each piece of chicken with a slice of mozzarella cheese and cook another minute or so until melted.

Toss tomatoes, lemon juice, and basil together. Top each chicken breast with about 3 tablespoons pesto, a scoop of tomatoes, and some freshly cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.

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➡️ Classes are really small so you will get individual attention, training guidance and personal motivation from the trainer! You won't feel lost like in big group classes!

Email [email protected] for more information or to sign up!

💗💕💗

🌿🍕SWEET POTATO PIZZA🍕🌿

Here’s what you need for the sweet potato crust:

• 1 big sweet potato or two small ones
• 1/4 cup buckwheat flour or almond flour
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese

Method:
➡️ Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
➡️ Roast or soften the sweet potato in the micro
➡️ Add all the ingredients together in a blender and smooth it out on some baking paper (this is NB - you’ll see why now now). You want to make it quite thin so that you get a crunch.
➡️ Pop the tray into the oven and watch it carefully, when the top is nicely browned, you need to flip it over to brown the other side - I placed another piece of baking paper over the top and flipped it like that - this part is SO important otherwise you’ll get a wet base. 😑
➡️ Pop it back into the oven and let the underside brown.
➡️ Then take it out and put on your fave ingredients
➡️ Put it back in the oven until the cheese has melted and you’re happy (I only put mine in for 5 mins at the end 🙌🏼)

This may just be my best invention yet - you are welcome! 😉

Recipe from: