Tag Archives: Healthy eating

Summer training & races to come

Posted in Running by

Well hello there! It’s been a while since I properly posted a training update – or anything for that matter – so here goes!

I’ve had a little break but I’ve since been quietly working away, trying to improve my running and strength and slowly build back up towards marathon training.

long run

I’m running the York Marathon in October which will be my 5th marathon! York was actually my first marathon as well so I’m super excited to go back and run it again. Not only that, but it’s home turf so I’m hoping the family (including my 1-year-old niece!) can all come and cheer me on which would be amazing.

Aside from that, York is flat – yipeeee! My current marathon PB is at 3.25, which I achieved in London earlier this year. I’m not expecting to beat that at York but what I am aiming for is a strong finish. My goal is to be able to run that last 10k as strongly as I ran the first 10k. I realise I’m not going to be finishing the race as gazelle like as when I started it, but I want to be able to maintain a consistent speed, without seeing those mile splits climb.

So basically, that’s what I’m training towards. As always I’m doing my three gym sessions a week. This is made up of 2 strength sessions and a third focusing more on conditioning rather than lifting big numbers – I do love a bro sesh though as demonstrated below, ha!

strength 1

At the minute I’m running three times a week. Before anyone tells me that you need to be running every day to run a marathon, you definitely don’t need to. For me, it’s about getting in the quality sessions and finding out what works for me. I’ve tried running 6 days a week and for me, that just doesn’t work – particularly for my mental health! If you want me to do a post on training for a marathon on three runs a week – just let me know by commenting below or Tweeting me (@hannahbryan91).

speed session

This week I did a speed session on Tuesday, an easy run on Wednesday and a long run on Friday. I’ve got one more gym session to do (my conditioning one), which I’ll do tomorrow (Sunday). This might increase as the marathon nears but this depends on a number of factors i.e. time and my body! I’m currently getting some help with my nutrition which I’m hoping is going to benefit my performance and aid recovery so I might end up running more within the next few months, but I’m going to tell you more about the nutrition side of things in a different post!

easy run

Here’s a list of what I’ve got coming up:

August – Askern 10 miler
September – Great North Run
October – York Marathon, Sheffield 10k
November – exciting challenge to be announced soon!

I’ll try and get some other races in but at the minute that’s what I’ve got booked in.

The only other thing to mention is that I decided not to accept my Good For Age place for London next year. I hope I don’t regret it! My plan is to focus on Boston – providing I get a place! If I don’t get a place…then the Great Wall Marathon is on my list…!

That’s all for now training wise, I’ll keep you updated as the marathon nears. I’m ready to work hard for this one!

🙂

My favourite breakfast spot in Sheffield

Posted in Travel by

Ok, so I’ve put this under the travel section because basically, if you don’t live in Sheffield you need to come here just for this breakfast spot!

Marmadukes Cafe Deli in the city centre is my all-time favourite breakfast spot in the city. It’s where I always take friends, family, dates, (basically anyone) when I get the chance.

marmadukes 2

Located down a side street from the city centre, Marmadukes offers the best of British, in a wholesome, healthy way! Everything they serve is locally sourced and mostly made from scratch right in the cafe. They also have Artisan bread handmade and delivered on a daily basis – FRESHLY BAKED BREAD – need I say more!?

It gets even better though, if you’re a coffee lover like me, then you’ll be right at home at Marmadukes. Their house coffee beans come from Workshop Coffee, who source some of the tastiest coffee from around the world. Combine that taste with the fresh milk they serve from local company Our Cow Molly and you’re in cappuccino heaven!

marmadukes 1

The love of good food and coffee is evident as soon as you walk through the door as you’re greeted with inventive salads lined up in the chiller cabinet and freshly baked treats (you need to see them to believe them!). The staff are all incredibly passionate about the food and drinks they’re serving too, which in my opinion makes all the difference.

Have a look at the menu here, to get an idea for yourself as to what Marmadukes can rustle up for you!

My personal favourite however has to be poached eggs (hello perfect runny yolks!), on toasted Welbeck bread with large field mushrooms and homemade beans! Oh god, the homemade beans are something else!! I don’t even like baked beans (sorry Heinz!), but I could eat these every day!

My stomachs rumbling now so I’m going to try and find someone to come for brunch with me this morning – that’s another great thing about Marmadukes, they serve breakfast all day on Sunday!

Enjoy 🙂

marmadukes 3

Cookie dough Twix cheesecake chunks

Posted in Recipes by

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Surely that title has got your mouth watering already?! Yes, these aren’t healthy but baking unhealthy treats and desserts is definitely part of my happy pace.

If you’ve got a real sweet tooth then you’re about to fall in love, as these chunks pretty much incorporate everything you could want in a dessert. I’ve called them chunks because despite the fact that these were meant to be ‘bites’, it’s just not possible to have one small bite, I need a big handful per portion!

You will need:
To make the cookie dough:
– 226g unsalted butter
– 220g brown sugar
– 2 eggs
– 1 tsp vanilla essence
– 260g plain flour
– 2 packets of chocolate chips
– 9 mini Twix bars (or another biscuit based chocolate bar of your choice)
To make the cheesecake layer:
– 225g soft cream cheese
– 65g granulated sugar
– 1 egg
– 1sp vanilla essence

To make:
-Start by lining a baking tin with foil so that there is an overhang on each side. Grease the foil with a little bit of butter and set the pan to one side. Preheat the oven to about 180 degrees.
– First, we need to make the cookie dough layer. Either in the microwave or over a pan of hot water, melt the butter in a bowl and then put to one side to cool slightly. Next, add the brown sugar to the melted butter and mix together. Add in the egg and vanilla before slowly adding the flour and then mix well to combine. To finish, add the chocolate chips and mix well. Take half of the mixture and spread a layer into the bottom of the foil lined baking tray. Leave the rest of the mixture in the bowl for later.

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-Next, line your Twix bars on top of the cookie dough mixture that’s already in the baking tray.
– To make the cheesecake layer, grab a separate bowl and add all of the ingredients before mixing/beating well until it’s of a smooth consistency.
– Spoon the cheesecake mix on top of the Twix bars before adding the rest of cookie dough mixture on top.
– Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes and then leave in the dish on a wire wrack to cool. Once completely cool, use the foil overhang to get the cake out of the dish and then cut in to big, hearty chunks! Keep them in the fridge…if you don’t eat them all in one go!

img_0165Enjoy 🙂

Delicious low carb tortilla pizzas

Posted in Recipes by

No stodge, healthy pizzas – yes you heard me! 

pizza

Oh pizza! You can be a calzone, a deep dish or a crispy thin creation and I’ll still love you no matter what. However you’re served up you’ll always hold a special place in my heart!

So as you can probably tell, I love pizza! In my quest to be able to eat them a couple of times a week I’ve come up with this recipe. This pizza is low carb and you can make it as healthy as you desire. We’ve all been there when we’re looking at a menu in a restaurant and like the toppings on one but want to add some from another but with this recipe you can! You’re in control of what you want to throw on there so go ahead and chuck on whatever toppings your heart desires! That said, these are meant to be healthy pizzas so you are in control of how healthy you make them as well.

These actually feel as though you’re eating a “real” pizza with a delicious thin and crispy base topped with plenty of tasty offerings; you forget you’re not tucking into the real thing. Another plus is that they take no time at all to make and bake.

You will need:
 – Wholemeal tortilla wraps
– Tomato purée
– Buffalo mozzarella
– Basically any toppings you want! I topped mine with chicken, olives, sundried tomatoes and loads of veggies.

To make:
– Pre-heat the oven to about 180 degrees.
– Get a wrap and spread the tomato purée all over one side of it followed by a few slices of mozzarella. – Add the rest of your toppings.
– Pop the wrap on a foil covered baking tray (this just lets it slide off and on to your plate more easily) and bake in the oven for about 12-15 minutes until the wrap has begun to crisp up and the cheese has melted.

Voilà, that’s literally it! Enjoy your pizza and let me know what you like to top yours with!

Tag me in your creations on Twitter and Instagram using #hannahshappypace

Healthy pancakes with blueberries

Posted in Recipes by

Pancakes make the perfect Sunday brunch or weekend breakfast…

pancakes

They also make the perfect post-work out snack if you add some protein powder to them, making them the perfect balance of protein and carbohydrates. If you top them with some honey or golden syrup you’re making the most of that recovery window where it’ll go straight into your muscles to refuel rather than to be stored as fat!

You will need: 
– 1/2 cup of coconut flour
– 1 tbsp oats
– 3 eggs
– 1/2 cup of milk
– any fruit you want in there
– 1 tbsp of natural honey or golden syrup if you want to sweeten them

To make:
 – Mix all of the ingredients together in a blender or by using a hand blender.
– Put a dollop of your chosen oil ( I use coconut oil) into a pan on a low heat and when the oil has melted add a spoonful of the mixture to the pan.
– Flip the pancakes when you see the surface begin to ‘set’/bubble. Stack them up and then add whatever toppings you fancied.
– I like to top mine with honey, blueberries and peanut butter!

Tag me in your creations using #hannahshappypace and let me know what you top yours with.

🙂

 

Training on holiday & the Berlin Marathon countdown

Posted in Fitness & well-being by

Thanks to the fabulous running community on Twitter I’ve been reminded that it’s less than 10 weeks until the Berlin Marathon! 

Run 4

10 weeks though! Seriously, where has the time gone?! I’m already at that ‘can’t stop thinking about it marathon stage’ and constantly drifting off into day dreams of running a 3.15 marathon (yeah right, Han!) and I’m not ashamed to say I’ve already planned the outfit I’m flying in! God help whoever has to put up with me for the next 10 weeks, I apologise now.

As you may have spotted from a previous a post, I’ve been in Italy on a bit of a tour across the country. When we booked the holiday I knew I wouldn’t be following my set marathon training plan for a number of reasons; 1) there’s gelato to be eaten 2) the heat and 3) I booked a holiday to relax, sightsee and have a break.

So with that accepted I settled on trying to get a few runs and some bodyweight exercises in now and again, it is part of my happy pace after all! Still, it was hard not running. I worried about getting behind, worried about the extra pizza weighing me down and worried that I ‘d be too unfit to get back on track.

The reality is that it’s two weeks and I actually exercised most days. Granted most days it was walking but when sightseeing in Venice and Rome we averaged 8 miles of walking a day! Never forget to pack your Garmin on holiday, even if you’re not going to be running!

If you’ve got an autumn marathon booked and a holiday coming up as well then check out these tips on how to maintain a training routine while away.

Sightseeing – Grab a guidebook and go on a walking tour. Lonely Planet books are amazing for this. Not only will you see the sights and plenty of hidden gems along the way but you’ll also be banking some miles in the legs. Think of it as another version of steady state cardio. Another amazing way to see the sights of where you’re staying and to explore an area is to get up and run! Run early in the morning before the heat hits and use it as a way to explore the area and see some sights before everyone else is awake. It’s like your own personal private tour and a chance to get up close and personal with the city.

Run 2 Run 1

Use your surroundings – If there are some steps down to the beach do stair runs up and down them or sprints along the beach. Think of the feeling of jumping into the sea after a hot and sweaty workout! Also, use the sea or a swimming pool if your hotel has one to get some swimming in. It’s a great cross training activity and gives your knees a break from road running or pounding the treadmill. Not to mention it’ll cool you down!

Run 3

Move the furniture- Make space in your hotel room/find the space to do a bodyweight workout. This can be as little as a tabata workout or an hour long strength session if you wanted it to be. Check out Dane’s blog where he’s posted what we did as well as some more challenging hotel workouts. Make sure you look around and see what you can make use of. It might be a step for calf raises or a chair for Bulgarian split squats for example. A good bodyweight workout can go a long way! You can burpee, hip thrust, or squat jump just about anywhere! If you’ve got some bands pack those in your suitcase too to use when you get there.

Run 5 Run 6

Running past the colosseum, along the Venetian canals and by the harbour in Ischia was amazing and I feel so lucky to say I’ve done that. I’m excited to get stuck in to Berlin training once again now though as well as my new programme for the gym designed by Dane. You can check out my previous programme in an earlier post here.

Run 7

In other marathon news I’ve only gone and got myself a good for age place in next year’s London Marathon! 😀 YES!

LDN mara 1

I’ll be keeping you up to date with how my trainings going over the next 10 weeks as well as posting plenty about Italy and the new recipes I’m going to rustle up inspired by the food I’ve eaten in Italy.

Ciao!

 

Easy homemade guacamole

Posted in Recipes by

guac 1

 

If there’s one food that’s extremely versatile it’s avocado. This homemade guacamole is super easy and quick to make and can be used as a dip, added to your lunch, spread on wraps or as a garnish on certain dishes.

You will need:
– 1 red chilli
– 1 red onion
– 1 whole lime
– 1 ripe avocado
– Black pepper for seasoning
– tomatoes (optional)

To make:
– Start by finely chopping the chilli and red onion and put into a bowl.
– Peel and dice the avocado and add to the bowl along with the black pepper for seasoning.
– Next add the juice of one lime and mash together with a fork.
– If you want to add tomatoes I’d recommend a variety of red and orange ones. Simply chop finely and add to the mixture as well.
– Voilà – homemade guacamole ready in a flash!

Enjoy 🙂

Tag me in your creations on Instagram and Twitter using #hannahshappypace

Nourishing our bodies at The Garden, Hale

Posted in Fitness & well-being, Nutrition by

Get yourself to The Garden in Hale

The Garden 2

Balance in my life is always restored after I’ve been to see my best friend, Liana. Visits to Liana’s always involve great food, training and hysterical laughter at some point throughout the weekend. A recent visit to her house was no exception.

We rustled up a delicious dinner on Saturday evening of scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, spinach, chives (who are we?!) and avocado – we LOVE breakfast at any time of the day, especially for dinner. Sunday morning was a knockout egg scramble with chilli and chives before we hit the gym for a strength session.

We have been dying to try Bosu Body Bar in Chorlton for ages as it looks amazing but sadly for us it wasn’t meant to be as they are closed on a Sunday so we had to go in search of another fantastic healthy eating place to fill the void. Liana had been to The Garden, in Hale before with her friend so even though it was a good 30 minutes away after looking at the menu we decided that it would be worth it.

The Garden offers a selection of healthy, organic dishes using local produce and has an array of mouth-watering clean treats.

45 minutes later thanks to horrendous traffic we arrived delirious with hunger but the friendly staff soon had us sat down at a table browsing the menus with two tasty drinks on the way.

Liana went for a Green Peace smoothie which was made up of spinach, avocado, apple, kale, cucumber, parsley, wheatgrass and spirulina while I had an I am Balanced juice of coconut water, fresh aloe vera and fresh peppermint. They were both served in charming jam jar style jars with cardboard straws. They also do amazing looking shakes and a raw cacao smoothie, too.

Choosing lunch was just as hard as choosing a drink as the whole menu is full of delicious superfood dishes packed full of flavour and goodness.

Liana went for the Rainbow Spaghetti which was seasonal vegetable spaghetti, which you could have raw or al dente, served with a choice of tomato, coriander and chilli or a kale pesto sauce. You could then choose from quinoa meatballs, organic salmon or organic chicken. Liana had kale pesto and organic chicken and said it was delicious.

The garden 3

Meanwhile I went for the Abundance Bowl with king prawns. This was a big, hearty bowl of cauliflower rice, chilli and lime chickpeas, spring onions, parsley, radishes, apple, sunflower seeds and pomegranate seeds topped with pistachios a lime and mustard dressing. It was really tasty and the cauliflower rice was very filling but the only thing I would say is that I would’ve liked more dressing.

We didn’t stop there either. We also got some kale chips which had been cooked with some sort of cashew butter making them even tastier than regular kale chips, as well as and dips and crudités. The three dips we chose were houmous, sundried tomato tapenade and cashew cheese.

Enjoying the chilled atmosphere we decided we wanted to stay a bit longer, i.e. we weren’t done eating, so we checked out the dessert menu. Everything looked delicious but what we really had our eyes on were the blueberry buckwheat pancakes on the breakfast menu. The staff and the chef were kind enough to make us them and we enjoyed them with dairy free ice cream, banana and homemade chocolate sauce. We also threw in a homemade date and raw cacao protein ball on top – us girls can eat!

The Garden 1

If you live in Manchester/near Manchester or are there for a day trip I’d definitely recommend checking out The Garden, it’s well worth it. It’s a health food lover’s paradise. #earthfriendlyfood

Seafood & three tomato courgetti in a spicy tomato sauce

Posted in Nutrition, Recipes by

Crazy for courgetti!

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Looking at the picture on the left you could easily mistake it for a pan of pesto covered spaghetti yet it’s actually one of my favourite “pastas”, courgetti!

Thanks to my handy little spirazlier (which you can spend as much or as little on as you want – mine was £13 from Amazon) I’m able to transform this underrated vegetable in to yummy ribbons of courgette as a substitute for pasta. The outcome is a light dish which has the same texture as spaghetti and is quicker to cook than pasta – I love it.

Another food I love is fish and it goes great with courgetti which is how this dish was created. The recipe uses fresh, clean ingredients that are easy to get hold of and the entire dish can be made in less than 40 minutes. Healthy eating doesn’t need to be overly fancy and involve lots of ingredients you can barely pronounce, just eat good stuff! Also, this dish is ridiculously tasty!

You will need: (this served three people, two ladies & one big portion for the other half!)
– Three courgettes, spiralized
– Cherry tomatoes, chopped
– Vine tomatoes, chopped
– Sundried tomatoes, chopped
– 1 tbsp red pesto
– 2 tbsp, tomato purée
– King prawns
– 2 salmon fillets
– Coriander, chopped
– 2 cloves garlic, chopped
– Kale
– Coconut oil
– 1 red chilli, chopped

To make:
– Start by preheating the oven to about 180 degrees and wrap the salmon in some tin foil before putting in the oven to cook for about 18-20 minutes.
– Heat a tsp of coconut oil in a frying pan and add the chopped garlic, cherry tomatoes, vine tomatoes and chopped chilli. After a couple of minutes add the tomato purée.
– When the salmon has been in the oven for about 10 minutes put the kale on a baking tray and drizzle with a little oil before putting in the oven to roast for about 10-12 minutes – be careful though as it does crisp up quickly.
– Add the spiralized courgetti to the pan and stir in the pesto, king prawns and chopped coriander.
– Once everything is ready, put the kale in a bowl then add the courgetti pasta and top with a piece of your salmon fillet.

Enjoy and tag me in your creations using #hannahshappypace

Got a courgetti recipe you want featured? Contact me! 

Egg muffins – a healthy high-protein breakfast or snack

Posted in Nutrition, Recipes by

Muffins? Love. Eggs? Love. Egg muffins? GO ON THEN!

egg muffins

Many of us don’t have the time/would prefer not to make eggs in the morning so these are the perfect portable breakfast to have on the go or as a snack or lunch accompaniment.

Boasting the density of a muffin and all the protein benefits of eggs, this is a super easy and tasty recipe to rustle up when you’re doing your food prep.

Not only that but it’s another way of getting your greens in first thing in a morning. If you’re someone who can’t stomach the thought of broccoli for breakfast (personally I love it morning, noon and night!) then this is a great way to get those vitamins and nutrients in your system in a creation which actually tastes amazing too.

You can keep these egg muffins in the fridge, heat them up or simply eat them cold.

My recipe below used the ingredients I had in the fridge at the time but you can add chorizo, salmon, sweet potato… basically anything you like – give it a go and let me know what you use.

You will need: (makes 6 big muffins)
– 6 eggs
– Handful of chopped spinach
–  Pepper/spices to season
– 4 spring onions, chopped
– ¾ bacon rashers, grilled & chopped up

To make:
– Crack the eggs in to a jug or a large bowl and whisk with a fork as though you’re going to make scrambled eggs.
– Add the pepper and other spices as well as the rest of the chopped ingredients and stir well.
– Pour the mixture into muffin cases or a Yorkshire pudding tray, basically anything that’s deep enough to hold the mixture and put it into a pre-heated oven at about 180° for 20-25 minutes until cooked.

Have you made these and added your own fillings? Let me know. Tweet me at @hannahbryan91 or tag me in your creations using #hannahshappypace