Four healthy things I have learned this month.

One of the most important parts of being a health and fitness professional is to keep yourself well-read and on top of your game. It would be quite easy to learn just enough to get me by, but after many years in an ever changing industry with new science and new methods coming into the public domain constantly, you can never stop learning.

On that note, here are four healthy things I have learned this month;

1)  How to make a tasty, savoury, gluten free bread.

I am always trying out new recipes and as someone who is a big fan of the Paleo movement and the message they promote, I often try gluten free breads. However, I find that most of them have been very sweet and almost cake like, so I was really happy to find this fantastic savoury option, which is really simple to make.

Here’s the recipe:

• 200g almonds
• 260g pumpkin seeds
• 200g brown rice flour
• 85g sunflower seeds
• 3 tbsp. psyllium husk powder
• 3 tbsp. dried mixed herbs
• 2 tbsp. chia seeds
• Salt & pepper

• Place the almonds and 175g of pumpkin seeds in a food processor and blend until a flour forms.
• Pour the flour in a large mixing bowl with all the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Add in 600ml cold water, stirring the mixture together.
• Leave the bowl to one side for about an hour to let all the water absorb into the mixture.
• Turn the dough out onto a baking tray and form into a loaf no thicker than 5-7cm tall and bake in an oven at 180 degrees centigrade for approximately 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

2.       How to make your own organic chicken liver pate.

Recently I have been made aware of the benefits of eating organ meat on a regular basis, especially livers for their superior nutritional profile. Chicken livers are packed full of protein, healthy fats, vitamin A, vitamin B12 and iron. The problem with buying shop bought pate is it is often full of rubbish ingredients and you cannot be 100% sure of the quality of the livers used – these must be organic as the liver is the chemical plant of the body, therefore if the animal has been fed rubbish then you can guarantee the liver will be rubbish.

So here is a link to a delicious organic chicken liver recipe I have tried and tested and can confirm it’s delicious.

3.       I should spend more time at the athletics track.

This is not something I have learned this month, more reminded myself of. I went for a little track session this week with a few colleagues and after 30 minutes of a mix of 400m, 300m, 200m and 100m sprints at full intensity I was more than ready for a sit down and couldn’t bring myself to jog back up the hill to work. WOW! 

I have been so focused on improving my Olympic lifting technique over the last 18 months, coupled with the fact I no longer play football on a regular basis means my sprint sessions have been few and far between. 

Sprinting is the ultimate high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout. HIIT workouts have been widely promoted for their health benefits, including fat burning, improved cardiovascular health, strength gains and time efficiency. The 4 days of DOMS I experienced after this is personal testament to how effective they are for a workout.

4.       Why sleeping naked is good for your health.

    The last thing I have learned this month is something I guess I have always known intuitively as I always sleep more soundly and comfortably this way. Now I have the evidence to back me up I can convince the other half that science is why I insist on this policy at night :-)

Stay healthy!