Fitness with Tracy Griffen

August newsletter

Hello healthy people,

I hope you are all enjoying the slightly warmer weather. Out with the old and in with the new – summer has brought inspiration for two new sections; 'Fad or Fab?', my personal take on whether new fitness innovations are good technology or plain marketing guff and 'Bike Ride of the Month'. Out with the old, this issue sees the sad departure of 'Oatcake topping of the month' with a Top Ten of oatcake toppings. Feel free to send in your favs and perhaps they'll be included in a future newsletter…

It's long newsletter this month, with two months worth of ideas. Next month's newsletter will contain a very special article, 'An Alcohol-free Month: Downsize Me'. Yes, my partner-in-crime and I are on an alcohol-free July. You can read next month how we got on. This article is a special one-off, and will not be published on the website. As for this month, read on…

What's in Season for July / August

It's a great time of year to eat seasonal fruit and vegetables, so here's what's in season:

VEGETABLES

Artichoke, aubergine, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, carrots, courgettes, cucumber, fennel, french beans, garlic, kohlrabi, mangetout, new potatoes, onions, peas, potatoes (maincrop), radishes, rocket, runner beans, sorrel, spring onions, turnips, watercress

FRUIT
apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, gooseberries, kiwi fruit, loganberries, melons, raspberries, redcurrants, strawberries, tomatoes

All Time Top Ten Oatcake Toppings

Hommus, on it's own or with chopped tomato
Crowdie cheese – a Highland tradition
Tartex vegetarian pate
Good ol' banana, either mashed on it's own, or sliced with honey. mmm
Avocado, solo or with harissa
Kidney bean pate (see our January newsletter for recipe)
Olive tapenade and feta cheese
Quince paste (membrillo) with strong cheese
Sliced pear with blue cheese
Cream cheese and fresh herbs (parsley is good)

Easy Recipe - Ratatouille
a lot of aubergines! Recently we spent a week in a caravan with my Mum and stepfather Derek in Provence. It was a lovely week, especially enjoying Derek's cooking. He taught me how to make proper ratatouille, a very versatile Provençal dish that is traditionally served with meat. I like it on top of steamed new potatoes or with veggie burgers. This recipe makes a big pot full, and it keeps well in the fridge or freezer. I don't worry too much about how much olive oil is in it, as it makes such a big pot that lasts for ages. Also, it's definitely more nutritious than shop-bought sauces. All ingredients are approximate as traditionally it was made to use up veggies that needed using. Keeping the lid on the pot whenever possible will ensure the success of this recipe.

- Slice longwise three large shallots or two large onions

- Finely chop 8 cloves of garlic, or even more if you like. There's some lovely fresh garlic around at the moment, and I used a combination of 'normal' garlic and fresh. Really go to town with the garlic, as this dish requires it.

- Heat about ¼ cup of olive oil in a large, preferably heavy bottomed pot and soften shallots / onion on a medium heat. Put the lid on the pot

- Add the garlic, stir and keep the lid on.

- Cube 1 – 2 aubergines and add to the pot to brown.

- Stripe 2 – 4 courgettes with a peeler and cut into chunks. Add to the pot and stir gently.

- If you're running out of oil in the pot, add a little more and / or some water (adding water is not strictly traditional, but who cares!)

- Chop up any old tomatoes you have hanging around. Don't bother with them if they are hard. Add to the pot.

- Toss in 1 –2 tins of tomatoes. Derek recommends only using tin toms with no added sugar, in this case, buy Italian. Use your judgement about how tomato-ey you'd like it. You can also use passata.

-Season well – grind your pepper grinder a good dozen times and added a wee bit of sea salt. If you are using dried herbs, add them now. I tossed in a handful of Herbs D'Provence that I brought back (basically mixed herbs). You can use dried basil, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, mint – don't be shy. If you're using fresh herbs, toss them in at the end.

-You will notice bubbles of olive oil on the top. This is good. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting on the smallest ring you have. Even better, use a hotpot.

-The idea is to keep the pot on as lowest heat as possible for at least an hour. Try not to stir it too much and definitely leave the lid on. If it's bubbling it's too hot.

- Even better, leave it in it's pot off the heat for a few hours. The latent heat will keep it cooking.

- You can add the fresh herbs just before you are ready to serve, if you haven't already put dried herbs in.

NEW! Bike Ride of the Month
After my last client on Wednesday night I was feeling energetic, so husband Andy and I cycled along the Union Canal for an adventure. We decided to see how far we could get before if started getting too dark to ride without lights. We had an easy ride looking at the ducks, ducklings, swans, signets and lots of bugs (wear glasses). We went from the beginning of the canal at Edinburgh Quay to Ratho. It was about a 13km ride there, which we did in 45 minutes. It was great fun cycling out of Edinburgh so easily on a flat well-defined path with no cars. We'll definitely do it again, maybe slower, and take a picnic to enjoy beside the canal at Ratho.

NEW! Fad or Fab?
Many folk have asked about the effectiveness of the new Power Plate type devices. It's a vibrating platform that you stand and exercise on. The theory is that the vibrations temporarily put your body off balance, so you engage more muscles by just maintaining your position. A friendly John Lewis sales assistant gave me a demo, and warned me to bend my knees or shatter my teeth. How right he was! It was a very vibrationary experience and my calves especially felt like they'd been challenged. I believe that it could tone your muscles pronto (just look at Madonna's bricklayers arms!). The downside is that I found the intense vibrations somewhat disconcerting.

One of my ultra-busy London friends goes to a Vibragym, however I personally I prefer a quieter workout and am happy to spend a bit more time on exercise I enjoy. For those who are strapped for time or enjoy being jiggled, then this may help you. I think this technology is here to stay.

Essential Website
As some of you know, 7/7/2007 was World Hoop Day. It was a fun soggy few hours in the Meadows with hula hoops (not the edible kind!). If anyone is interested in group hooping classes, see www.edinburghhooping.info

Exercise of the Month
Have you heard of Interval Training? It's used by professional athletes to increase their stamina and speed. If you imagine a running track, a middle-distance athlete training would perhaps sprint the straights and recover on the corners. Their heart rate drops back down before being pushed back up again on the straights. This allows the athlete to train for longer, harder and more effectively. Recovery is always an important part of any exercise programme (as is rest), and this is the approach I take for people starting out running. You don't need to run full tilt, but by exerting yourself, and then letting yourself recover before trying again, you can get some fantastic results.

Let me know if you'd like to try interval training and I am more than happy to oblige!

Article: Be Buoyant!

Diving into using water as an exercise medium

It's great to get wet… it's one of my favourite forms of exercise and boy, does it burn up those calories. I'm talking about jumping in a swimming pool of course.

You can move in so many ways that are not possible on land. With fluidity and without effort, movement in water has fitness benefits for all ages. Water provides a supportive resistance, which makes it the number one training medium for anyone with dodgy knees (a common ailment in my experience), creaky limbs, balance issues, a baby on the way or an uncomfortable amount of body fat (fat is buoyant, so it's a bonus in the water!). It's refreshing so you don't even notice when you're sweating.

So with that glowing introduction, I bet you're wondering exactly what you can do in water if you're a non-swimmer. There are two options, either learn to swim* or work with what you've got. I have trained many participants in aqua exercise who don't, or can't swim. It's not essential to be a swimmer to benefit from being in the water. Hydrotherapy, rehabilitation in water, is used by some medical professionals and involves exercises like walking in the water – which helps posture and strengthens your 'core' muscles. There are many other exercises that can help strengthen stabilising muscles around dodgy knees without worsening the injury. In fact, many professional sport players use aqua exercise for rehabilitation or as an alternative method of resistance training. A friend with MS finds moving in water much easier than moving on land.

One idea is to attend a local aqua aerobics class. Classes during the day tend to attract the blue-hair brigade (who are great fun to exercise with, but do little for your workout ego), so go to an evening class if you'd like to be pushed a little harder. Try and memorise as many exercises as you can and then you can replicate them at will, when you are having a swim session yourself, or even on holiday.

(* in next month's newsletter, details of an Edinburgh-based swim instructor who can help your stroke)

Until then, have a happy and healthy month.

Tracy

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August newsletter