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How To: Healthier, Happier, Greener

10/11/2022

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We are predominantly a private training gym: I help men and women with weight training on a one-to-one basis in the privacy of our exclusive gym in an effort to transform their physiques and increase strength. But on top of this I really like to advocate seasonal eating and a greener lifestyle, which I find goes hand-in-hand with transforming your body, and I call this the 'Healthier, Happier, Greener' lifestyle.

Getting in better shape is a fantastic decision towards having a healthier lifestyle, but I believe the process should also make you happy. Eating in tune with the seasons, reconnecting with nature, learning new skills and bringing the outdoors into your own home will be healthy for you, be better for our planet and in turn make you so much happier in yourself. Follow and join us in our ever-progressing endeavour for a healthier, happier and greener lifestyle here at ForestFit... 


Everyone who has the ForestFit eBook ‘Healthier, Happier, Greener: A Taste Of The Seasons’ will know that I always ask myself 3 simple questions for almost all my actions...

1/ “Will it make me healthy?
2/ Does it make me happy?
3/ Is it ‘green’ for the planet?”
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This can be applied to decisions regarding your meals, but also all of your actions! 
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Take your first steps toward a HEALTHIER, HAPPIER, GREENER lifestyle with my recipe eBook, 'A Taste of the Seasons’. 12 recipes, one dish to represent each month of the year, showing you how you can eat healthier, more nutritious and mouth-watering, tasty food!

Food enjoyed within its natural season and grown closer to your home is more nutritious, tastes far better and is greener for the planet. Together, we can enlighten ourselves on what can be grown here in the UK (or wherever in the world you are!), helping support local farmers so that we can prepare, serve and eat fresher, tastier food! In some cases you may even be tempted to grow your own, which would be even more of a ‘happy’ bonus! We grow lots of our own food and it definitely helps me with my fitness-goals. Having the same foods available all year round is actually unnatural, but consumers’ demands mean that our food travels for miles and miles as it is flown in from all around the world so that our supermarkets are consistently stocked with the same range all throughout the year. But it can be so much more exciting than that! 
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Through Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter nature offers us a different selection of homegrown items, so let’s make it our task to find out what is growing each season and each month, learn new and exciting recipes, and benefit from a lot more vitamins, minerals and good quality protein!
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Fast Cajun Chicken Wings (oak-smoked - optional)

12/8/2022

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Mouth-watering, homemade fast food at its finest! This recipe is so easy and fast to put together and relatively healthy within a considered diet. If you are doing the classic of keeping your carbs pretty low and protein high the rest of your day then a portion of this (even every day) would be absolutely fine to hit your fat-loss goals! Of course you could sub the chicken for your own preferred protein and it will taste great. I always cook lots as they are a delicious snack/meal for a few days after, which saves you eating junk. Seriously, imagine being sat in front of the TV wanting a “midnight snack” or at work mid-afternoon and instead of grabbing a fast snack like crisps and regretting it - you grab an equally quick portion of oak-smoked chicken wings! Yum. Let’s just make them already!

How do we make them?

For about 2kg of wings:
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp onion salt
  • 1 tsp garlic
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • ​1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp oregano

Thoroughly mix all herbs and spices, then rub into wings.

Start coals on your barbecue or smoker (I use a chimney starter) and also place a handful of oak wood chips or chunks in a small bowl of water and leave to soak until coals are ready (around 20mins).

When the coals turn a light grey spread around your smoker/barbecue. Place your wings on the grill (top shelf if possible). Pat dry your wood chips and scatter amongst the coals. Close the lid and slightly open vents. Allow to cook for 15-mins with lid down (temp should be around 200C), then flip wings and repeat (close lid, vents slightly open and cook for 15-mins).

Finally, open lid, place all wings on grill closest to coals, keeping lid open, to finish them on a higher temp and allow to blacken a little for a slightly crispier texture and authentic barbecue flavour.

You may need to alter your cooking time to suit, but internal temp of the wings should be 75-80C. Always check.
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Pork Sausage, Jerusalem Artichoke & Cabbage Traybake

15/3/2022

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Proof that eating seasonally will improve the variety of food you eat! I had never eaten a Jerusalem artichoke before, so I chose this meal for my first taste as there is minimal effort that goes into its preparation meaning you get to taste it in a fairly raw form. We were pleasantly surprised with the results. We've definitely been missing out, I think the main reason being that we had never been exposed to this veggie as children, so it always seemed a bit weird to see one in a shop - being creatures of habit it's easy to just leave it alone, not knowing how it tastes or what to do with it, and stick to the veggies we know. Ultimately, we now have another fantastic tasting ingredient added to our winter pantry!

So, for this very simple and healthy, seasonal recipe, you'll need...

A little oil of choice
8 pork sausages
500ml chicken stock
500g Jerusalem artichokes (no need to peel for this recipe; just scrub clean and cut into halves)
1 Savoy cabbage
seasoning
thyme
paprika
chilli flakes
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Fry the sausages for about 10-minutes to brown them.

Add them to a deep baking tray along with the chicken stock and the Jerusalem artichokes, cover and cook in the oven at 180C for 15-minutes.

Lift the cover, add the seasoning, thyme, paprika, chilli flakes and cook again for 15-minutes.

Finally, add the cabbage leaves and cook for a further 10-15 minutes. 
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Pan-fried Duck & Butterbeans

13/4/2021

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A super easy recipe for a fancy, delicious dish. 

This is a recipe I found from Jamie Oliver, and is extremely healthy and tasty. You only need a few ingredients and it doesn't take very long at all. It's a great meal to have in spring or winter as all ingredients should be available locally-sourced. You could actually make this any time of year and be within season, but I find it's better to bring this dish out as a treat in the bleaker months when the variety of ingredients are a bit more scarce, so I would say you'd appreciate this meal more between say November and April. 
All you need is...
  • Duck breast (free-range or higher welfare)
  • 1/3rd tin of butterbeans
  • 50g spinach (or more)
  • 2 bacon medallions (organic, pasture-raised or higher welfare) or better yet, I dice up some of my own home-smoked, Honey & Clementine Gammon which I smoke outdoors every Boxing Day and freeze what is leftover to use for meals like this!
  • garlic
  • rosemary
  • balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper
(ingredients per person)
  1. Lightly score the skin of the duck breast width ways about 1 or 2cm apart, this will allow the juices to come out more to make a thicker and tastier sauce. Season the skin side with a little salt and black pepper. 
  2. Place the duck breast skin-side down on a cold pan and turn the hob to medium-high heat. Cook this side for 8-minutes without touching it, meanwhile dice the bacon medallions. Then, turn the duck breast over and fry for a further 4-minutes skin-side up. Remove the duck breast and put onto a separate plate to rest (leave the fat in the pan)
  3. Add the bacon (or smoked gammon), rosemary and chopped garlic (or granules if you don't have fresh garlic) to the pan with the duck fat and cook.
  4. Once the bacon/gammon is cooked, add a dash of vinegar to help scrape up anything that has stuck to the pan, add the butterbeans with their juices, allow to simmer for a while, and then add the spinach. 
  5. I like to use a lot of spinach as it has so much goodness, so once some has partially wilted, add a little more and cook until wilted. It always appears that you've got way too much spinach -- until you cook it and realise you should have made more, so make sure you give yourself plenty. Serve up and enjoy!
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Fresh Spring Chicken Pot with Mint

13/3/2021

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This seems to have just about every ingredient from your spring garden! It’s light and bright - and so quick to make. I know that when I come home from The Den, super late and hungry, that I’ll still be able to prepare this dinner - fresh! 

4 chicken breasts
1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil
2 shallots
350g broccoli florets
350g spring green, shredded
180g peas
Bunch of spring onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
200ml chicken stock
2 tbsp creme fraiche
Fresh mint, chopped (approx 15g)

Heat a little coconut oil or olive oil in a pot or deep pan. Throw in the diced shallot and crushed garlic, mix and then add the chicken breasts. Cook for 6-minutes on each side. Add the chicken stock then gently simmer for around 10-minutes. Pop in the peas, broccoli florets, shredded spring greens and sliced spring onions and cook until the chicken is cooked through. Add the creme fraiche along with the finely chopped fresh mint, mix well and simmer until the sauce begins to thicken a little.
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Cauliflower Garlic Bread (serve w/ Lean Beef Bolognese)

13/3/2021

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Cauliflower Garlic Bread

3 cups riced cauliflower
6 eggs, separated
1 1/4 cup almond flour OR 1/2 cup coconut flour (I used)
1 tbsp baking powder
6 tbsp melted butter
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp thyme, chopped
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
Salt

Cauliflower is a good source of fibre, contains lots of vitamins and is in season all year round; normally from Cornwall in the winter and from the north in Summer. Where I look to keep my body fat down I avoid bread made from wheat (as much as I can) so that is where something seasonal and healthy like a Cauliflower Garlic Bread recipe comes in handy!

Preheat oven to 180℃. Grate or blend 3 cups of cauliflower (approximately a whole cauli). Microwave riced cauliflower in a small bowl for 3-4 minutes and allow to cool, while you separate the egg yolks into a large mixing bowl and the whites into a separate bowl. Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form, like a meringue, and set aside. Add the flour, baking powder, melted butter and garlic to large mixing bowl with the egg yolks with about a quarter of the whipped egg whites. Mix well. 

Now that the cauliflower is cool enough to handle, soak up as much moisture as you can and then add to the mixed ingredients along with the remaining egg white. Again, mix well then stir in most of the herbs (but leave a little for the topping). 

Line a 24cm loaf tin with parchment paper and spoon in the batter. Bake for 50 minutes.
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Wild-Style Sea Bass Fillets

13/3/2021

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This is not just my favourite meal in July, this is one of my absolute favourite meals of the year and another reminder why I love to eat seasonally. There are other months that I can grill sea bass throughout the year but when this fish is combined with these amazing, summery, seasonal vegetables (and fruit - tomato) the flavours are immense and, in my view, unbeatable! 

Here's what you'll need...
2 Sea Bass Fillets
Handful of Spinach
Half a Courgette sliced and cut into quarters
Handful of Green Beans
Handful of Cherry Tomatoes cut into halves
Handful of Garden Peas
4 teaspoons of Pesto
2 teaspoons of Coconut Oil (if cooking at home)

Heat up a pan, adding your oil, on a medium heat. Place Sea Bass Fillet skin-side down for 5-minutes until they crisp up. Add the courgette quarters, cherry tomato halves, peas and green beans, and fry for another 3-5 minutes or desired doneness. 

Add your pesto and heat through before serving. How simple is that? I sometimes add a tablespoon or two of cold extra virgin olive oil over the meal once cooked. 
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I call this Wild-Style because I quite often make this outdoors, as it tastes even better grilled BBQ-style.
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Chicken & Leek "Lie-Pie"

13/3/2021

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Toasted & Spiced Pumpkin Seeds (snack)

13/3/2021

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Oregano Chicken & Butternut Squash

13/3/2021

1 Comment

 
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    by Shane

    "The desire for a Happier, Healthier & Greener lifestyle - simplified!"

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