Tag Archives: Weekend

Burpee breakfast tarts

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I ❤ weekend breakfasts and these baked egg tarts are the perfect start to fuel a Sunday Funday.

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The eggs are baked in a basket of bacon and mushrooms and after you’ve tried making them once why not add other ingredients like tomatoes, spinach or kale. If you’re vegetarian just switch the bacon for half a pepper to create the basket effect.

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I didn’t follow a recipe for these tarts and sadly I can’t take all of the credit for them as it was a joint creation between my boyfriend and I. They are a great low carb breakfast for someone who is following a Paleo plan and are high in protein thanks to the eggs. More calories are used to digest protein rather than fat and carbohydrates so these burpee tarts will keep you full until tea time.

If that’s not reason enough to give them a go then listen to this highly scientific (kind of!) piece of evidence.
Dane and I are currently doing the 100 burpees a day challenge in the run up to Christmas- yes, even including 100 burpees on Christmas day- which is how the name for this creation came about.  After eating these tarts Dane managed to bash out 100 burpees in an amazing 4mins 32 seconds after already completing 150 just a few minutes earlier!

I think the burpee breakfast tarts should take credit for that…

Proof of Dane's 100 burpees in 4:32 after completing 150 beforehand!

Proof of Dane’s 100 burpees in 4:32 after completing 150 beforehand!

You will need: (makes two tarts)
8 eggs (or 3 whole eggs per tart and one egg white)
Bacon rashers
Mushrooms
Seasoning
Butter to line tart dishes

To make:
– Grill the bacon and whilst that is cooking line the tart dishes with some butter.
– Once the bacon is cooked preheat the oven to about 180 degrees and then line the dishes with the bacon and finely chopped mushrooms. The idea here is to create a lining at the bottom of the tray so that the egg doesn’t leak through.
– Add some seasoning and then crack the eggs in to the tarts before putting in the oven to bake for about 15-20 minutes.
– We added a muffin to ours but they’re great on their own or with avocado or spinach.

Enjoy! 🙂

Sunday Funday: Robin Hood’s Bay to Whitby coastal run

Posted in Fitness & well-being, Running by

I’m pretty sure that this is exactly how weekends are meant to be spent; outside in the fresh air, exploring the great outdoors and of course running.

The view looking back towards Robin Hood's Bay

The view looking back towards Robin Hood’s Bay

A late one on Saturday night resulted in a slightly lazy morning on Sunday before Dane and I headed out to Robin Hood’s Bay to breathe in the fresh sea air and tackle the 10K trail run to Whitby.

Considering the weather in York had been horrendous on Saturday we couldn’t have asked for better weather on Sunday as we arrived at Robin Hood’s Bay. It was crisp and cool but the sun was on our backs as we had a little wander around the village and a mini warm up on the beach before we set off.

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The route is about 6 miles if you follow the coastal path but you can also opt for a shorter and less hilly route along the cinder track. After a brisk walk to the start of the trail we were soon running along the coastline which offered fantastic views over the bay and out across to Whitby, I genuinely felt like I was on holiday!

I’ve not done much running since the Yorkshire Marathon so hitting the trails was more forgiving on the knees and provided plenty of entertainment along the way…but more on that later.

As well as offering stunning views along the coast the route also kept our legs guessing, with rocks, hills and even the occasional stair sprint too. The only aspect that did prove difficult was going downhill in the mud. We were taking bets as to who would be the first to go down and luckily for me it was Dane – much to my amusement!

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If you’re going to do this run I would definitely recommend donning your trail shoes as the uneven ground can try and claim your ankles if you’re not wearing the right trainers.

We reached Whitby after about an hour and a half and that was running at a steady pace, stopping to take pictures and walking down hills to avoid any more mud slides.

When you get to Whitby you run down past the abbey and then down the infamous Whitby steps before you arrive right in the middle of the town. Once we got there we headed to Trenchers in our lycra to refuel.

I had an amazing poached salmon salad and I’d even go as far to say that it was one of the best salads I have ever had. The salmon was full of flavour and it came with coleslaw, mixed beans, egg, mixed salad and even a mini fruit salad complete with a star fruit – it was yummy.

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Dane had fish, chips and mushy peas which looked equally as good and neither of us could resist having a pudding afterwards.

I opted for the homemade apple crumble with vanilla ice cream which was divine and Dane’s sticky toffee pudding came with an incredible hot toffee sauce.

We left Trenchers full of great food and warmed up after the run before we made our way back to the car at Robin Hood’s Bay (by taxi – we didn’t fancy running back in the dark on a full tummy!)

So yes, I’m pretty sure that is exactly how weekends are supposed to be spent; getting outside, getting muddy and rewarding yourself at the end. We headed back to York pretty sleepy but not too tired to start thinking about the next adventure.

Trying out tapas in York

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So as you’ve probably guessed from reading this blog, I love running and eating. If I’m not running or eating you can guarantee that I’m thinking about it.

Living in York I am lucky enough to be spoilt with an abundance of nice restaurants to choose from which makes choosing a new weekend haunt possibly one of the best problems to have.

On Friday night my friend and I were torn between either Thai or tapas for dinner. After several pre drinner drinks tapas came out triumphant and we headed to Ambiente Tapas on Goodramgate. We hadn’t booked and the waitress told us that there might be a table for us in the bar area if we came back in about half an hour.

Even though our bellies were rumbling the food smelled so delicious and the decor was warm and inviting that we decided to head for another drink before going back later. Luckily when we returned there was a table free for us in the window and we were seated at a long wooden bench. It didn’t offer a roomy space like a table in the restaurant but it was big enough and added to the whole dining experience.

After drooling over the menu we decided on bread and oils to start and almond stuffed dates wrapped in Parma ham. I’m a huge fan of dates but I’ve never had them wrapped in ham so decided to try them on the recommendation of my friend. He wasn’t wrong, they were incredible and the almond in the middle made for a nice surprise.

For our main we chose six dishes:

The Calamares fritos – calamares rings deep fried in Estrella beer batter with aioli
Chorizo y patatas – caramelised chorizo and roast potatoes
Gambas con crema de manchego – Grilled prawns with a spiced Manchego Mojo sauce
Alboronia – A warm spicy salad of quince, pumpkin and aubergine
Queso de cabra y hinojo – Soft, mild goats cheese lightly battered and drizzled with honey, served with braised fennel and beetroot crisps.
The classic patatas bravas

 

Our six main dishes at Ambiente Tapas, York.

All of the dishes were packed full of flavour and even the classic patatas bravas contained more flavour and taste than expected.
My favourite was the goat cheese which melted in the mouth and the honey added a surprisingly pleasant sweet taste to it. It was unlike anything I’d ever tasted before. The calamares was also the best I had ever tasted and the restaurants own beer batter really gave it the edge. My friend fell in love with the chorizo dish, so simple yet exceptionally cooked.

All in all our bill came to just under £50, with wine and beer as well which I think was reasonable considering the amount we had eaten. We couldn’t resist eyeing up the dessert menu which offered some tasty treats but it would’ve been a case of eyes bigger than the belly if we had said yes.

The atmosphere in the bar was great too and had a real buzz about it. When I ventured to the toilets, which are through the restaurant, I was surprised to find that I was actually pleased to have been seated at the bar. The atmosphere in the restaurant seemed a little quieter than the bar area and somehow you didn’t quite get the buzz on offer in the bar. All in all a great evening and I will definitely be heading back to Ambiente next time I fancy tapas.