Just Geens Brown Fried Rice

Ingredients

 1/2 cup prawns
 1 chicken breast (diced)
 2 cups cooked brown rice
 1 small onion
 1/2 cup of green peas
 1 tsp white pepper
 3 tablespoon coconut oil
 1 tsp garlic
 1 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium)

Directions:

-Heat 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat.
-Add seasoned chicken then stir fry until cooked through and remove to a plate. (If using pre-cooked chicken, skip this step.)
-Repeat this method with the prawns.
-Heat remaining teaspoon oil in the wok then add peas and green onions.
-Stir fry until tender, about 2 minutes, then add garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
-Add cooked chicken, prawns, rice, and soy sauce to wok then toss well to combine.
-Season to taste.

Plantain Lasagna

Plantain Lasagna

Ingredients:

-5 ripe plantains

-4 egg whites

-1 onion, chopped

-3-4 garlic cloves

-1 ½ sweet pepper (green, red, yellow)

-500g lean turkey mince

-1 ½ can of chopped tomatoes 

-4-6 tablespoons coconut oil (maybe more)

-Cottage cheese

-Season to taste  

Method

-Peel your plantains and slice them lengthwise into long strips, about a half inch thick which is usually 4 slices per plantain.  

-Heat 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil in your non-stick pan to about medium low temperature.  Add the plantain strips and cook for 3-4 minutes per side; they will need to be lightly browned and soft. Drain them on paper towels.

-Lightly fry the peppers, onions, garlic and the turkey mince together until they are soft and then add the tomato sauce and your choice of seasoning.  

-Let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

- Place a layer of cooked plantain slices into your casserole dish.

-Spoon the meat sauce over the plantains and add a layer of cottage cheese on top

- Apply another layer of plantains and repeat the process.

-Beat the four egg whites and pour it over the casserole.  

-Let the eggs soak in for a few minutes and then bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes.  

Is the fitness industry a judgement free zone?

Is the fitness industry a judgement free zone?




I think not.




Recently, I’ve seen quite a few things on social media that has got me thinking, is the fitness industry too judgemental?




In my opinion, the answer is yes.




Some fitness individuals behave like they know it all, because they have what is perceived as the ideal body and workout- but that’s not good enough. It’s some of these individuals that will tell a person that they are training for the wrong reasons and knock what that person is seeing as motivation.




Side note: if I have told you your training for the wrong reasons in the past (which I doubt I have) I do apologise.

For example, a female says she wants to get a bigger bum and smaller waist. Some fitness individuals will class her as a fitness ‘foney’ and say that she is training for the wrong reasons. Why are they the wrong reasons? Because they don’t meet your standards? I don’t think she is training for the reasons... I mean at least she is training.












Another example is where a celebrity announces that they have adopted a fitness related lifestyle. Some that follow that celebrity will see it and may even find it motivating enough to start doing the same. 




Then you have the fitness critics who come along and tell them they’re jumping on the bandwagon. But if they’re jumping on the bandwagon SO WHAT? Is it not a good bandwagon to jump on? Some people might want to jump on the bandwagon to feel as though they are part of something and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.




It annoys me when people say they do not train for aesthetics (looks) and knock down people that do. A person, who has always been active and has the “ideal body”, is not in a position to rain on someone’s parade, who is training to improve their appearance. Of course they can say that they don’t train for aesthetics, if they have never really had to.












When I first started training, I didn’t like my appearance and I needed something to keep me occupied. I began training in the hopes of achieving my goals physically and realised that it was not that simple. I then understood the level of hard work I needed to put in practice before achieving my desired results and then adopted a different approach to my lifestyle. 




Training to achieve a physical goal changed me mentally and put me in a better place. Imagine if I was told in the beginning that I was training for the wrong reasons and I was just ‘jumping on the bandwagon’, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. I train for both aesthetics and ability and that does not make me any less of a person.




I think as individuals (myself included) we need to motivate and encourage without judging and mocking, despite what peoples' goals are. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT and what motivates you might not motivate others. If you are trying to educate and inspire, you can’t judge or mock in the process because then your message lacks substance.




Anyway, that’s my rant over! This is just my opinion on the matter and if you don’t agree lets discuss or alternatively you can talk to FRANK.









P.s Fitness is not a competition 

G

Topshop x Adidas Originals Collection

If you're anything like me and you spend a lot of money on training gear, then this is music to the ears.

Topshop and Adidas Originals have announced their first collaboration.

This is definitely an example of where fitness meets fashion. The full collection has 20 pieces and items range between £25 and £90-which is quite reasonable.

From the looks of things, Topshop have given Adidas originals an urban makeover which blurs the line between fitness and fashion, meaning you can wear the clothing for either purposes.

The collection will be released on March 20th 2014 online and in store. I know I will definitely be purchasing a few things, will you?

G

Hamstring: The Forgotten Muscle

The hamstring is probably one of the most forgotten about muscles and that’s probable because they can't be seen in the mirror, so people may think they're not as important as the Quadriceps (quads). Personally, I’m just lazy, so once I’ve done my variation of squats and lunges, doing hamstring exercises are the last thing on my mind.

However, recently I found out that I might suffer from knee problems because my Hamstrings are weaker than my Quads. I know knee problems are quite common in females and after having a read around the problem, I think this might be something a lot of females might relate to.

Before I go any further, I think I should explain the function of the Quads and the Hamstring and how they relate to your knees.

So your upper leg contains two opposing muscle groups, your Quads and your Hamstring. These muscles together, move your hip joints and your knee and stabalise your knee.

Your Quads flex (bend) your hip and extend (straighten) your knee and your hamstring extends (straightens) your hip and flexes (bends) your knee. In most cases, the Hamstring tends to be weaker than the Quads because the Quads are bigger and are used more frequently in day to day activities.

I’ve suffered from ‘bad’ knees for about a year now. I went to physio, completed my rehab exercises and home works and had the all clear to go back to weight training, but things were never the same.

It is important to have a balance between your Hamstring and your Quads because a strength imbalance increases the risk of injuries, such as damage to your muscles, ligaments and joints. As your Quads contract, your Hamstring lengthens and if you’re Hamstrings are too weak, your Quads will pull your Hamstring faster than it can lengthen, which may be too forceful and that’s where the injury starts.

Putting this into context with my own training regime, it all makes sense. I rarely train my hamstrings anyway, in comparison to my quads, so this does not come as a surprise at all *sigh*.

So how can you fix this problem then? It’s simple, train your Hamstring!

There are several exercises that can be done, which I will list below:

1.     Stiff Leg Deadlift 

2.     Lying leg curl 

3.     Good mornings 

4.     Exercise ball curls 

5.     Kettlebell deadlifts 

6.     Glute bridge 

All these exercises should help increase the ratio between your hamstrings and your quadriceps, which should hopefully fix the problem.

G