For The Love Of Chocolate

It's only natural that I should have been drawn to York. Despite now residing an hour away from the viking city, my heart will always call itself a Yorkshire girl, my feet ever longing for the higgledy piggledy cobblestones streets of the Shambles (the inspiration for Diagon Alley dontcha know?) and my nose ever sniffing up at the air yearning to smell the intoxicating scent of chocolate that roams around the York streets like a little sugar fairy.

York is the city of chocolate. Forget Vikings, Romans, Richard of York's vain battle or the Minster, York is instead made up of a dizzying array of sweet treats. The Nestle factory sits just outside the centre, filling the streets with a deliciously bitter cocoa scent if the wind blows the right way. The old Chocolate Works, once owned by Terry's (of Chocolate Orange fame) is treated like some holy shrine to all things confectionery. The park is even named Rowntree Park after Joseph Rowntree who opened the Chocolate factory in York before it was taken over by Nestle.  And then there are more recent chocolate accolades: The Cocoa House, Hotel Chocolat and of course the York Chocolate Story. You could say York has an affection for confection.

I love chocolate. This declarative doesn't seem to convey the depth of feeling I have for the stuff. My favourite treat is a jar of Nutella, ever so slightly melted, with a spoon. Nothing else, just the glorious, liquid simplicity of the velvety smoothness of chocolate. However, I also love my health and whilst chocolate is the food of the gods, it's not exactly conducive to a slim figure if you eat it for every meal (which I would. I totally would).

If you've read my other posts, you'll know I'm doing The Body Coach's 90 Day Shift, Shape and Sustain plan, using his recipe books and work outs to help me. I LOVE this plan. I eat delicious food, never feel hungry and after 4 weeks, I've seen incredible results. My one qualm? There is a significant lack of chocolate (or indeed sugar) on the plan. Quelle horreur!

I'm not a girl to do things by half. I've stuck to the plan pretty rigidly and haven't had so much as a brick of chocolate in nearly 5 weeks...but that's not to say I haven't had cravings. My god, have I had cravings. At times I've walked down the sweets and treats aisle at the super market and left a puddle of tears in my wake (or was it drool?) So, not content with the meagre offerings of cinnamon on the plan (i love cinnamon...but it is chocolate's less interesting, somewhat overbearing cousin), I decided to create my own chocolate treats that don't break the rules (too much).

Chocolate mousse
This is delicious and filling and has a slightly fluffier texture than angel delight.

Ingredients:
Makes 2 good sized portions
1 tub250g of plain quark ( high protein, low fat, zero sugar cheese - just go with me on this)
2 tablespoons of cacao (you could use cocoa at a push)
1/2 teaspoon of agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)

Method:
Tip all the quark in to a food mixer with a whisk setting, though a hand whisk won't kill you.
Whisk on a medium setting  until the quark starts looking fluffier (or until your arm feels achey).
As you whisk, add in the cacao and cinnamon one tablespoon at a time. Continue to whisk until all combined.
In a lower whisking speed, add the agave syrup and whisk until combined (don't worry if the mixture looses a little 'fluff')
Empty the mixture in to storage containers and refrigerate overnight.
Serve with raspberries.

Snickers Smoothie
I can't get enough of this. It tastes just like a snickers and feels like a real treat. It makes a great breakfast on the go!

Ingredients
250ml unsweetened Almond Milk
1 tablespoon of almond butter
1 tablespoon flax seeds
1 tablespoon chia seeds
handful of walnuts
1 tablespoon of cacao
1/2 tablespoon of agave syrup

Method:
Chuck it all in a blender and blend well.
Enjoy!

Bounty Bites
I love Bounty chocolate bars but I know a lot of people don't. If you're one of them, just leave out the desiccated coconut.

Ingredients:
300g Medjool dates
1 tablespoon cacao
1 tablespoon almond butter
100g flaked almonds
50g of coconut oil
100g desiccated coconut

Method
Put all the ingredients, apart from the desiccated coconut, in to a blender and blitz to create a sticky soil like texture.
Form golf ball sized spheres by rolling handfuls of mixture in between your palms.
Roll in the desiccated coconut.

Chocolate Pudding Oats
This seems like such an indulgent chocolate dessert. If it's a little rich for you for breakfast, why not try it as a mid afternoon snack?

Ingredients
50g rolled oats
2 tablespoons cacao
1 teaspoon of agave syrup
1 tablespoon of flaxseeds
250ml unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon greek yoghurt

Method:
Put all the ingredients apart from the yoghurt in a bowl and give it a mix.
Microwave for 2 to 3 minutes (check after 2 minutes). You want a gooey, pudding-y texture.
Top with a dollop of greek yoghurt.


If you decide to give these recipes a try, I hope you enjoy them! Leave a comment if you do or if you have any of your own chocolate hacks to share!

J

Fitness, food and fitting in to my old jeans...

The muscles in my bum are on fire. Every time I take a step up the stairs, or bend over to pick up my son or tidy something away, or even so much as take a step, my glutes cry out in shrieking pain that they hate me. I move around with low grumbles of  'ouch, ow, ooh, ouch, gah' like I've just had a hip replacement and am off to Bingo.

This pain is self inflicted after a particularly intense HIIT workout yesterday that involved Sumo Squats. Sumo Squats. Sumo = large wrestler with a wedgie. Squats = using your bum muscles to dip down low and (hopefully) get you back up again. Those are two words that should not be put together but unfortunately have been collaborated to create a squat from hell that involves you dipping down into a regular squat and then jumping... jumping back up in to a legs together position. Sounds easy? Try it after high knees, burpees and mountain climbers and do 5 rounds of each, as fast as you can. It's HARD.

I'm in my third week of training for a running challenge for the British Heart Foundation called My Marathon. I have four weeks to run a total of 26.2 miles - that's 42K if you like it metric. You can choose to walk, jog or run it and you log the miles you complete on a fitness app connected to your own Everyday Hero page. I've chosen to jog and run the miles as best I can but considering I'm more unfit than I ever have been, I thought I'd better get some training in.

The apps I've been using are my trusty Samsung Health app and the Baby Steps to 5k program which promises to get me fitter and running a full 5k in 10 weeks. If I can manage to get through the My Marathon month (not that I have a choice now that the sponsorships are coming in!) then I might put myself in for a charity 5k. The other app is Strava, a fitness tracking app for athletes which is only a little bit intimidating but also really good at showing me at which points in my run that I'm at my fastest and trends in pace, distance and longest active time.

Whilst this may all seem very benevolent and selfless I assure you that my motives are not purely charitable. Frankly, I want to lose weight. 

Before my eggo got preggo I was a size 10 to 12 and at 5"7 I weighed in at 12st which, incidentally is considered overweight despite the fact that I ran three times a week and ate healthily due to having coeliac disease. At my most ill, when I was passing out and my blood pressure was dangerously low resulting in an iron infusion, I was a size 8 and 10st and considered 'normal'. I was skeletal and it just didn't suit me.  Now, post baby, I'm a size 14 and nearly 15st. It's not the largest I've ever been but I don't exactly feel confident. Whilst I'm realistic enough to know that my body is never going to be exactly the same as it was pre Sebastian, I would like to lose some of the flab which seems to have piled up on my hips, thighs and arms...accumulations of fat that have come from the slabs of chocolate I've lived off in the last 6 months. Worth it? My tummy says yes...my glutes disagree! Trying on my size 12 pre-pregnancy jeans a few weeks ago saw them fastening, only just, pushing up a muffin top that made me seriously crave a blueberry breakfast muffin but simultaneously made me want to stop breathing in case oxygen contained calories. 

Me as a size 10 to 12 before I had my son

Just a few weeks after having Sebastian

I was lucky really. I got no stretchmarks or wrinkly skin as a result of my being pregnant. My stomach looks squishy but, aside from my c-section scar, you wouldn't be able to tell I'd been pregnant in the last year. My fitness levels, however, tell a different story. The first time I went out for a run I was out of puff before I'd even made it past the end of my street. But I know I'll get there. 3 weeks in and I already feel the difference...and the burn in the bum muscles. 

Foodwise, I've started following The Body Coach's 90 day Shift, Shape and Sustain plan, inspired by my pal Rachel over at The Inelegant Wench (check her out!) who was kind enough to talk me through her tailor made plan. As I am a pauper on maternity pay, I can't afford the £150 three month plan so Rachel has let me purloin some recipes and I'm using the book to help me learn, plan and workout. I'm 2 weeks in to the food plan and it's been illuminating. Essentially, it's a low carb lifestyle which suits me fine as I love a bit of meat (get that smut out of your mind) but it educates you on what to eat and when. Carbs are allowed, but only as a refuel after a workout so if I want a bowl of pasta that's fine, but I'm gonna have to work my ass off for it first. Food as motivation? Oh Joe Wicks...you are a genius.

So far, I feel full...constantly full. There is a LOT of veg and eggs and I'm getting pretty tired of spinach though I have discovered a lifelong love for kale but in truth, I'm finding it fairly easy. I love to cook fresh and have to anyway to ensure none of my food contains gluten so it's not that much of a change for me. The first week I had major sugar cravings and was in a serious grump with Military Man who  thought it was acceptable to eat MY easter egg in front of me. But really I'm glad he removed the temptation! I had headaches, lethargy and general sluggishness but this week I'm feeling much more refreshed...although I do seem to be spending rather a lot of time on the loo, side effects of all that green veg!

The recipes are delicious and I've been posting pictures on my Instagram so check them out.

Joe Wicks instructs his 90 Day-ers not to step on the scales or the Sad Step as he calls it but as I'm technically not a paying 90 Day-er, I figured I didn't have to stick to the rules. I know...I'm such a rebel. So far? I've lost 14lbs.

I tried on my pre - pregnancy size 12 jeans earlier. My sore ass fit in them without a splodge of muffin top. Suddenly, my glutes don't ache as much.

J