About Me

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Hello, dear viewer, and thank you for visiting my blog! I am a dedicated (and certified) Food Coach and Personal Trainer with a very individual attitude to coaching. I search to look beyond people's health issues and modify their lifestyles so that they can live a healthier life, increase vitality and longevity. Recently as a strong believer in natural healing I have published two books on Ayurveda and how to use Ayurveda lifestyle and food at home. Further, I am very much into TCM and the concept of original Chinese Food, especially after my recent stay in China. I am striving to become a Yoga expert through intense training and am practicing some kind of exercise every single day. My second blog http://thrumyeyes-kat.blogspot.com/ is dedicated to my passion to capture the world with my camera and create my own world like that. Everything you will find on these pages about nutrition and exercising is authentic and self-tested. Enjoy and don't forget to send me your comments, which are always welcome in my attempt to meet your expectations even better!

Monday 29 November 2010

Healthy through optimum nutrition / Fruit Muesli

Good morning everybody!

I am so excited! Tomorrow I will finally get to see Patrick Holford! He is coming to Dubai and I will attend his full-day workshop on 100% Health! Check out this page: http://www.patrickholford.com/index.php/events/event/831 

I really like his logical and easy way of informing his audience about what to eat and how to eat, what supplements to take and so on. No end to it.

So as I started my day with a nice bowl of healthy muesli to keep my little body fit and in shape I will provide you with this simple, but gorgeous recipe for fresh muesli. There is nothing like a "homemade" muesli! No however healthy looking ready-made cereal mixture from your local supermarket can replace your own mixture. And it really does not take much time if you prepare everything already in the evening!



 SIMPLE FRUIT MUESLI
(serves 2)

75-1007 mixed cereals (oat flakes, rye flakes, millet, rice etc)
1 tbsp raisins
4-5 almonds, chopped
4 walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp linseeds
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
150g low-fat natural yogurt (I love the Greek yogurt by Onken!)
250g chopped fruits to your likings (apple, pear, banana, papaya, mango etc)


Place the mixed cereals, nuts and fruits in 2 nice soup bowls, top with yogurt and spoon the fruit onto the muesli.
You CAN soak the cereals and nuts/seeds as well as- if you like it- 2 tbsp of buckwheat in drinking water overnight. 


Enjoy your day!!! 




LINKS:

The New Optimum Nutrition Bible
The 10 Secrets of 100% Healthy People
 

Sunday 28 November 2010

A healthy mind in a healthy body - Some myths about Margarine

Dear readers,

so you had - or are still having - a relaxing or very active weekend and I hope, you are enjoying it to the fullest! For sure you indulged in an extended breakfast with all the good things you like and which you do not necessarily eat on a normal weekday. Maybe some smoked salmon, a nice omelet, some really great cheese and the ever oh-so-yummy serano ham. 

Nothing wrong with that! 



Question is: what do you put on your bread? Butter or Margarine? If it is butter you can stop reading now and go back to bed or work or ...gym! 
 
Margarine it is??? I recommend you to continue reading...strongly recommend...

So you still think that butter is the bad guy and margarine is the good guy that keeps your cholesterol levels at normal, that is not fat and just provides you with good stuff? 

Let me tell you one thing: It is Margarine that will harm your health in the end! 

Butter is a natural product made from cream with a low content of saturated fat.
Butter is an excellent source of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E and K. These are not found to any degree in margarine.

Margarine rather than a nutrient is a technical, pharmaceutical or therapeutical product! Margarine begins as chemically-extracted, refined vegetable oil. This is a poor quality product to begin with. After the whole processing there is nothing left of the initially great ingredients like seeds, beans or kernels. The refining of the product also produces trans-fatty acids, which are really bad for you. They can cause colitis or even arthritis. In the end, you will eat a chemical fat. Do you really fancy that? 


Yes, there IS less or no cholesterol in Margarine and it costs less than butter. BUT: 
Very recent research indicates that trans-fatty acids in margarine raise LDL levels. LDL is the "bad" cholesterol. Plus you do not need to put 1kg of butter on each slice of bread. The great taste of butter allows you to use a small amount and get a lot out of it.


And regarding the money...rather put nothing on your bread if you are not ready to spend a few bucks more on your healthy nutrition!


Some more facts about cholesterol if you are STILL shaky about it:


Most cholesterol is manufactured within the body. A maximum of about 4% of all cholesterol comes from the diet. Cholesterol is the raw material for the adrenal stress hormones and the sex hormones. The body often reacts to stress by producing more cholesterol. This allows the body to make more stress-fighting hormones. As biochemical stress is reduced through a scientific nutrition program, cholesterol levels often decrease without the need for restrictive diets.
In fact, eating some animal products often helps balance body chemistry. In these instances, cholesterol levels or the cholesterol/HDL ratio improves although the diet contains cholesterol-containing foods.

Thursday 25 November 2010

Quote of the day

Egoism does not mean living according to your own desires, but expecting the others to live the way we want.

Healthy food - Pumpkin and Feta Frittata

Good afternoon to all of you!
Weekend in our part of the world is approaching and before I will leave my appreciated audience for 2 days I would love to share this delicious recipe with you. I tried it last night and my husband liked it so much that he had another piece after midnight (not recommendable, but might happen...) and the rest for breakfast. 
And do not worry about the eggs! There is nothing wrong with eggs. They are still an excellent source, actually the best in case you do not eat meat, of protein and on top of that they

  1. provide you with all 9 essential amino acids
  2. help to prevent blood clotting 
  3. contain choline, which is vital for your brain and nervous system
  4. have only 1,5g saturated fat out of 5g of fat
  5. IMPROVE your cholesterol 
  6. and (ladies!) improve your hair and nail.

But remember: 2 chicken eggs/person/week is sufficient! 



Recipe:
(Serves 4)

-4 cups (650g) of coarsley chopped pumpkin
-1 large potato, chopped coarsley
-100g baby spinach leaves, chopped coarsley
-200g feta cheese, crumbled
-3/4 cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese
-8 eggs, beaten lightly
-1 small red onion, sliced thinly


Preheat oven to very hot. Grease deep 23-cm cake pan. Steam pumpkin and potato for about 5 minutes until just tender, drain.

Combine them in a large bowl and add spinach, cheeses and egg, stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and top with onion. I personally spiced it up with some salt and pepper, do that to your own likings. Frittatas normally are a bit bland, you can season it when serving.


Bake in very hot oven about 25-35 minutes or until firm. Stand 5 minutes before serving.


Along with that serve some rocket or spinach salad.


ENJOY!!!!





 

Wednesday 24 November 2010

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Office workout - keep fit at your desk

Dearest readers,

sometimes it is a good thing being married to a smart person :). My dear husband despite of being a really busy manager takes his time to read through my posts - highly appreciated! Then - he also makes remarks about them. That is the hard part about it...but still highly appreciated. So that man came up with the idea to rather than pushing you guys through that tough tummy workout I'd rather tell you how to do some mini exercising during your long working hours to keep your muscles loose and working so they do not forget what they are there for!

Here we go....

The easiest thing to start with is NECKROLLS.
They relieve tensions around your head area and also help to get rid of headaches. 
Looking forward allow your head to relax to one side of the shoulder. Gently roll the head forward and up to the other side and return to the opposite direction. Ear to shoulder, chin to chest, ear to shoulder. Avoid turning your head so far that you are looking upwards.


Next exercise your ARMS a bit:
  1. Extend your arm in front of you, placing your palms up,
  2. With the other hand, grab your fingers.
  3. Gently stretch your hand down, bending your wrist backwards. Feel the stretch in your forearm?
WRISTS, FOREARMS and CHEST
  1. Press hands together in front of chest. Keep elbows bent and parallel to the floor.
  2. Gently bend wrists to the right and left.
  3. Repeat several times.
For your BACK:
  1. Sit straight in your chair and place right arm behind your right hip.
  2. Twist to the right. Hold for a few seconds.
  3. Repeat on the left side.
And your CALVES:
  1. While sitting, lift up your legs onto the balls of your feet and then release.
  2. Continue until your legs and calves are tired.
  3. Repeat every 10-15 minutes for an hour.
And as for that famous TUMMY:


Just draw it in and extend it combined with breathing ever so often. Nobody will notice apart from your stomach muscles. 


This does NOT replace your gym workout, but see it as a healthy add-on to your exercise routine! 


Stay tuned, next will be some recipes coming up..... 












Tuesday 23 November 2010

Quote of the day

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. (Confucius)
 
 

Monday 22 November 2010

Flat abs and a strong, healthy core

Good morning my dear audience!

After providing you with all these recipes in the last days I consider it time to make all of you workout! Let's start with our oh so happily neglected abdominal muscles. I know, I know, there's many of you, who absolutely do not like training your abdominals. 

But allow me to make one statement about the importance of training your abs: 


As I had mentioned in one of my earlier post, it is not just about that famous six-pack! To obtain that you need to have the right body composition and you need to be training your abs since many, many years. 
The important thing is to strengthen your core muscles in order to obtain a flat, strong stomach PLUS to improve your posture and by that your general well-being when standing and walking on your 2 legs. With a strong core straightening up and walking in that position you will feel so much lighter and better that once you adopted that (natural) posture you will never want to have a wobbly middle again. 


Now please follow me through this quick, effective stomach workout! As everyone of us has a different fitness level try to do at least 15 reps if you can, else there is no problem to go up to 30. Yes, your stomach muscles are supposed to burn! It does not do them any harm! 
AFTER your workout do not forget to stretch out your stomach muscles. You do that best with Yoga's Cobra position. Repeat it 3 times, hold it for 4 deep breaths and try to go up a little higher each time. Remember to protect your back by drawing the navel in!


Let's start....


Our first exercise is the REGULAR CRUNCH
Do this exercise slowly and concentrated, always remember to pull your stomach in and to breathe out coming up and in going down.


Next we will do the TWISTED CRUNCH. Draw your left elbow to your right knee and vice versa. Feel the muscles in your waist working!




While we are at it...let's train the WAIST a little bit more: 




Very important: keep your stomach in, keep your body in one straight line, don't collapse on your supporting elbow, squeeze your butt muscles and...never forget to breathe.


Once classic, very efficient one...the PILATES 100 is next:


This is not an easy exercise, but it gives fantastic results. Keep your legs in an angle where you can still control the posture, all the tension should be in your tummy, NOT in your lower back! Draw the stomach in and then start pumping your arms: 5 times breathing in, 5 times breathing out until you have counted to 100. By then you should be nicely shaking :).


Last, but not least for intense strengthening of your core muscles - THE PLANK:


You can do the modified version with your knees on the floor






or - tougher and more efficient - the real one




It is all about pulling your stomach in, being nicely built up on your fists, your elbows directly underneath your shoulders, firm legs, butt muscles squeezed together and hold the position for as long as you can, but at least for 3 deep breaths. Remember to try to keep your lower back as relaxed as possible!


Now I hope your stomach muscles are nicely burning! Doesn't that just feel great? You can repeat these exercises as often as you want throughout the week. I will keep you posted with a bigger variety soon.

At the end of your training as mentioned on top...THE COBRA:




Have a fantastic day!





Sunday 21 November 2010

Healthy food for a fit body

Dear readers,

here I am online again after the Eid holiday to enlighten you with further healthy recipes (I have not forgotten Christmas!)and exercises to get back on track after a week of lazing around on beaches, going out for delicious food and maybe not exercising all thaaat much (unless you are one of these really admirably disciplined persons).

Let me start with a recipe for a truly mouthwatering THAI MACKEREL SALAD.

 Some facts about Mackerel: This very nutritious fish somehow always seems to be slumbering in some dark corner of the food department in our brains. It is not the first to come to your mind when you start considering a nice fish dinner. That is not what this fishy deserves! Read on please:



Nutrition & Health Benefits of Eating Mackerel
  • Mackerel helps in reducing cancer-causing agents in cells, thus preventing the risk of different cancers.
  • It regulates the hormone level and makes blood vessels and capillaries more elastic.
  • By reducing blood coagulation, mackerel eliminates the deposition of cholesterol.
  • The fish also helps in reducing the bad cholesterol (LDL) and lowering blood pressure.
  • It prevents cardiovascular diseases, strengthens the immune system, improves functions of organs weakened by illness and regulates metabolism.
  • Mackerel helps in easing the pain of migraine, arthrosis and arthritis. It also improves brain activity and thus, enhances the memory through the essential fish oils.
So, maybe now you became a tiny bit fond of that blue fish! Let me share this recipe with you:

(serves 4)
Preparation time: 45 mins


1 small fresh whole mackerel (200g) 
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp juice from green limes
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 red chillies, finely chopped
6 slices ginger, finely chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
50g crushed roasted peanuts
1 sprig coriander leaves
2 heads leafy green lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces


Clean and scale the fish (unless obviously you got the ready-to-serve mackerel fillets, which I always buy from Spinney's) and rub with the salt, then allow to marinate for 10 minutes. Heat the oil in a wok and fry the fish until nicely browned. Cool, then flake the flesh, discarding the skin and bones.
Combine the flaked fish with all the other ingredients except the coriander and lettuce and toss well.


Arrange the lettuce on a serving platter and place the fish mixture on top, then garnish with the coriander leaves. Eat like that if you're on a non-carb diet or serve with rice and enjoy the intake of all these beautiful nutrients.


Unfortunately I had to make this just a boring written post today as my computer is still on holiday mode and has absolutely no intentions to let me add some pictures! Sorry about that!


Have a great day and stay tuned....tummy exercises coming up next!

Quote of the day

A beautiful world can only be seen through the eyes of a happy heart.

Monday 15 November 2010

Food, health and happiness

My dearest readers,

wherever on this planet you are, today has been a beautiful day. I hope, all of you had a really healthy lunch :) And that you've done your workout dutifully this morning or will do so in the evening. 

Today I had just another confirmation by a 51 year old (the age matters in order to show that there is no "Uuuhh, I am 45, sooo difficult to loose weight now!" or stuff like that!), who within 4 months lost 14kg (that is a bit too much, but 8kg would be great to achieve) simply by NO CARBS for dinner and EXERCISE each and every evening, no matter what. 

Remember: the more time you invest in your health now, the lesser time you will have to invest in your illnesses at a later stage!

So, for tonight I suggest a raw vegetable platter. Sounds horrible? Read on, I think you will love it. Make raw veggies part of your daily routine as any treatment, however little it may be, changes your food and kills nutrients!

For 1 person take:
1 small cucumber cut into stripes
1/2 bell pepper of each color cut into stripes
1 tomato cut to quarters
1 carrot cut however you like it :)
4 florets of cauliflower (yes, you can have it raw!)
some radishes

For dip prepare:

-A small amount of extra virgin olive oil in a nice bowl seasoned with some sea salt
-Hummus, which you can either buy readymade or prepare yourself as follows:

2 cloves garlic—roughly chopped
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup water
14 oz (400g) canned chickpeas —rinsed and drained
½ cup tahini
1 teaspoon sea salt

PLACE all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth, scraping the sides occasionally.
If you like a spicier hummus (like I do), add a small red chili (chopped) or a pinch of cayenne pepper, or try a little cumin for a more exotic variation.

Tip: Prepare extra quantities of this hummus—it can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 1 week and frozen for up to 3 months.



For carbs have 2 slices of wholegrain bread or just enjoy your veggie platter like this and benefit from the essential oils provided by the sesame seeds in the tahini and the vegetable protein provided by the chickpeas. Fresh coriander along with your dish is delightful. 

You can also add some feta cheese, sprinkle it with Mediterranean herbs, some pepper and extra virgin olive oil.

Enjoy this healthy dinner and just feel great and fit tomorrow morning when you wake up! 





Quote of the day

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
(Buddha)

Sunday 14 November 2010

Today's Dinner

Dear readers,
today the rising sun sent all of us in this part of the world back to work and in the meantime even the rest of this planet is preparing for another working week. While we have the advantage of some days of Eid-holidays coming up, the rest of you is strongly moving towards Christmas time. Which always inevitably means too much food and too little exercise!

So over the next weeks I will spill out some great recipes for healthy, delicious food to get you preferably slim :) through the festive season. 

Tonight I ll start with an Asian Tofu dish! Tofu? Yuk!!! I know, there is those of you, who absolutely cannot get to like this soft, innocent stuff, which is so easy to prepare and offers a fantastic source of vegetable protein. Well, in that case just replace the tofu with some white fish or chicken (without skin!).

Prepare the dish with some steamed parboiled rice if you can't do without your carbs or - if you'd like to maintain your slim waistline and have no tough workout ahead of you tonight - have it without the rice. 

For the 2 of you take

1 pack of Tofu
2 bundles of PakChoi
1 pack of mangetout
A "foot bath" of vegetable organic stock
3 spring onions
1 tsp coriander powder
1 cm of freshly chopped ginger
1 clove of chopped garlic
2 tbsp of vegetable oil 
Salt and white pepper to season
A dash of soy sauce


In a frying pan heat the oil and shortly fry the ginger, garlic and coriander powder. Add the Tofu and fry it to your likings. I prefer it a bit crisp and brownish on both sides. When the tofu is nearly ready, add some soy sauce.


Meanwhile in a casserole or pan bring the stock to a boil, stir in the coriander powder and add the Mangetout and boil it for 4 minutes with a closed lid. Then add the PakChoi and boil it for another max 5 minutes until it has the softness that you prefer (you might as well use just either or, I like a nice big pan of various greens). Season with salt and white pepper to your likings.


Nicely arrange the greens and the tofu on a plate and enjoy a simple, healthy dinner!


If you decide to eat rice along with this, I would boil it adding some spices like tumeric, a dash of chillie powder, some veg stock and a bit of salt and pepper.






Quote of the day

If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches; for the Creator, there is no poverty.
 
Rainer Maria Rilke

Thursday 11 November 2010

Workout

Dubai is getting closer to weekend by the minute...and soon the rest of the world is to follow!
So instead of bothering you with healthy nutrition this afternoon (who gives a thing about that on weekends, honestly!?!?!?), I thought I'd rather remind you of something very important, which we all just love to neglect...our regular abdominal exercises!!! Ha, don't leave this site right away now, just read on a bit..

Strengthening your abdominals on a regular base is not just all about the famous six-pack. It is about strength in your core (yes, it is there, even if you thought it might have been elsewhere!), which helps you e.g. when you lift things to not hurt your back, it helps you to get and maintain an upright posture, which then in itself helps your whole body to keep "everything in place" and relieve your skeleton from false postures and of course it looks good and gives you more self esteem on the beach or just in front of your own mirror.

 The abdominal muscles are a complex system of muscles, not only a straight muscle all the way through your stomach; instead they go criss-cross as well. Which makes exercising more interesting and fun as you can include various exercises for the different muscles. 

You can do 30 straight crunches in a row? That is fantastic! Now add the crossover crunches (elbow to knee) as well! Also include the lower stomach by pulling up your pelvic to the ceiling. And, girls, there's something else: your pelvic floor!! I will write on that in detail another time. Last, but not least don't forget to train your waist as well. It will be firm and you won't be annoyed with that little bit of fat popping out of your nice tight new jeans anymore.  


The Pilates 100 always is a very effective stomach exercise:



Good thing about abdominal muscles is they never get tired! You can train them as much as you like and don't even have to pause between the various exercises. So you can include a fast, but efficient training into your daily routine...even during the spots on TV...That was it for tonight! Ah, no, wait, there is something for you girls, but I think, even a man could get some inspiration here.....

 Have fun working out!!!!

Following me....

Dear readers,
a big thanks to all of you, who are reading my blog! Please follow me to always get the latest updates...you can find the "'Follow me" button on the left side of the page. Thank you! 

Quote of the day

"A paper flying in air is due to luck. But a bird flying in air is its effort. So be a bird and struggle with hurdles to become a successful person."

Wednesday 10 November 2010

Quote of the day

"God created countries with water where people can live. And he created the desert, where they can find their souls" (Tuareg) 

Dinner tonight - Spanish Bean Bake


You can use dried or canned beans for this delicious Spanish dish. Please consider a soaking time of approx 12 hours for the dried beans.

This dish is high in fibre, vegetable protein, provides you with iron, Vitamin C and folic acid.
(serves 4)

400g/14oz dried butter beans
3 tbsp vegetable oi, plus extra virgin olive oil to serve
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
800g/1lb 12 oz ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
pinch ground cinnamon
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus extra to serve


If you use dried beans you have to drain and rinse them after soaking. Then place them in a pan covered with water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, then simmer for approx 50 mins until slightly tender but not soft. Drain, set aside. Canned beans can be used "as they are".


Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan, tip in the onion and garlic, then cook over a medium heat for 10 mins until softened but not browned. Add the tomato puree, cook for a further min, add remaining ingredients, then simmer for 2-3 min, add remaining ingredients, then simmer for 2-3 mins. Season generously, then stir in the beans. Tip into a large ovenproof dish, then bake for approximately 1 hr (with canned beans only 30 mins). 
The beans will absorb all the fabulous flavour and the sauce will thicken. Scatter with parsley and drizzle with a little olive oil to serve.


The Spanish let the dish cool before serving, I personally like it steaming hot! 


431 kcals/serving


Enjoy your dinner!!!
 

Monday 8 November 2010

Quote of the day

I have found men who didn't know how to kiss.
I've always found time to teach them.
~ by Mae West ~

The annual cold

My dear readers,
here we go! 1 week in Germany and I got myself a nice little cold as well. You might think how can that happen when you eat healthy, take good care of yourself and and and? But there are so many factors that can influence your health! Get on a plane several times a week, be exposed to so many bacteria, mental stress or just the two days you did not manage to eat what you had planned, but just fed on some faster food. 
The good news is: with the right stuff you will be back on your feet and jumping as ever within just 2 days! I strongly recommend 1 day in bed...feet up...TV or book...no phone (the last one sounds really scary, doesn't it?). And then try the following:
First thing in the morning cut 1 cm of fresh ginger, mix it with the juice of half a lemon and fill your cup up to the rim with hot water. This you have a least 2x that day and even the next day. Have some light, healthy lunch, salad and a lot of raw veggies and for dinner a hearty lentil soup and there you go!! A good night's sleep will be guaranteed. Get well soon!