Baked Stuffed Plantains

Baked Stuffed Plantains

So I had some leftover plantain and mince from my Plantain Lasagna and decided to make some Baked Stuffed Plantains. 

I decided to make both a vegetarian and a meat based version, just to show you how versatile you can be with this recipe. 

To make this amazing dish you will need: 

Vegetarian Ingredients 

-1 Ripe Plantain 

-½ Small Onion Chopped

-1 Green Pepper 

-1 Yellow Pepper

-1 Red Pepper 

-½ tea spoon of mixed herbs

-1 Tablespoon of Coconut Oil 

-Salt and pepper as needed

Instructions

-Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. 

-Line oven tray with foil and coat with coconut oil.

-Slit a shallow line down the long seam of the plantain and remove plantain peel by pulling off the

skin.

-Place the plantain on the tray and bake for about 15 minutes each side or until the plantain is golden brown. 

-While the plantain is baking, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to a saucepan, followed by the onions and peppers. 

-Let it simmer for about 5-7 minutes, add your  mixed herbs and season to taste.

-Remove the plantain from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. 

-Make a horizontal slit in the plantain and then stuff with the pepper mixture.

Mince Version

Ingredients

-1 ripe plantains

-2 tablespoon coconut oil

-½ pound lean mince

-½ medium onion chopped

-1 teaspoon minced garlic

-1 tin of chopped tomatoes

-Season to taste 

Instructions

-Use the same instructions as above in relation to baking the plantain.

-While the plantain is baking, add 2 tablespoon of oil to a sauce pan, followed by onions, garlic and your chopped tomato. 

-Let it simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently and add about ½ cup of water if needed.

-Add the lean mince to the sauce, seasoning to your taste and continue cooking for about 15 minutes.

-Remove the plantain from the oven and let it cool for a couple of minutes.

-Make a horizontal slit in the plantain and stuff it with the mince mixture. 

And there you have it, Stuffed Baked Plantain.

Happy Eating

G 

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.

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