Frittata

Since Friday November 28th at 8.30pm, Jiu Jitsu got that little bit more special.

As the competition season comes to an end, Jiu Jitsu is full of seminars and big events to keep us entertained and our love for the sport thriving.
In Chelmsford we were lucky enough to have one of the best Light Feather weight Black belts in the country come and teach us a few techniques.
Eduardo Goncalves from Nova Geracao and BJJ Revolution Team taught us his winning take down ankle pick. He then went on to teach a really advanced sweep. It took a while to click with me, as I was having one of those days where nothing was sinking in properly.
Our Head coach Alain taught a really kool arm bar, and then Sam Gibson taugh an Oma Plata set up.
Since Clark Gracie's seminar, I have really got back in to using the Oma Plata.
We all sparred, then lined up. A few people got stripes on their white belts, also on their blue belts, then the belts came out. Our coach does a little speech, and then each person who received their new belt, would know they really deserved it. Carlson Gracie belts are the hardest to get as they aren't given out willy nilly, you have to work hard for them.
Then the last belt came out, it was Purple. I saw Edu look at it and he said 'Oooooh'. It's quite a big deal when people get past Blue as it's so easy to give up when you get your blue belt. It hasn't happened much in Carlson Gracie Essex, but it does happen.

Alain made a speech about this person as a white belt, that they never really won in many competitions, they certainly didn't win any gold medals, then when they got their blue belt, they worked even harder and won a lot more. As soon as he said 'She has worked very hard this year' I heard a little ghasp from a few people because they had the realisation that they knew who it was.....
It was me!

I was introduced as the current European No Gi and Masters World Champion.

I went up to collect my belt and the emotions of having this huge change happening right before me, were bubbling in my throat. Josh Palmer told me once that when you get your Purple belt, you know you're never going to give up because you have come too far.

As soon as the belt was tied around my waist, Alain put out his hand, but this was more of a hug moment. Then the tears came flooding out. It's like a dream come true to get through Blue belt. You're in that stage where you know a lot, but still not enough and it can be as frustrating at times, but obviously not as much as being a white belt. Don't get me wrong, I still have a lot to learn, years and years of learning in fact and I'm going to enjoy every one of them.

Alain said to me later "You earned it Jolie". I guess I did, I've done quite a lot and learnt so much more about myself on this journey.

I wiped the tears and shook my training partners hands. Just like when you get news shoes, you can't stop looking down at them. I did it with my belt and I didn't want to take it off.

As soon as I got home, Jason gave me a hug and made me a cup of tea. "Anything for my purple belt warrior" he said. He is so proud of me.

Three weeks have now passed since the belt was tied around my waist. I had my doubts that I may be good enough to wear it, but something has changed in my jiu jitsu, a bit like it did when I was given my blue belt, I had to prove that I was good enough to wear it, to myself and to the people I train with. I went to a womens open mat 2 days after I was promoted and was the second highest level in the gym that day. That felt weird. I felt like I was some sort of pro. It was my first roll with my belt, and I just took it easy. I had hurt my leg a few days before, and every time there was a shin to shin moment, I would whine and curl up in pain. The following week was a bad week for me training. I had been working so hard and preparing Norro's for it's 3rd event, that I only managed 2 training sessions in one week. That hasn't happened since I was travelling at the beginning of the year. I was starting to wonder if people would think that I had become Poderosa (Powerful) now that I had my new belt. But I guess we all have to have these weeks when so much goes on in our regular lives.

Womens Open mat in Stevenage hosted by Sonya Marie. 

Jiu Jitsu is a huge part of my life, it's the sport that has taken me 37 years to find, and realise that it's a sport that I'm actually pretty good at it..... In a non Poderosa way! haha I'm definitely in it for the long run, it's my feel good factor and no one can take that feeling away.

Now for the food.....

A Fritatta is something that you can have any time of the day. I make them for breakfast or lunch and even for dinner if nothing else is on the menu.
The cooking time is about 20-30 minutes and you can even eat it cold after making it the night before if you know you'll be in a hurry for work the next morning.
The great thing about a frittata, you can chop and change the ingredients as you please. what I made is just an idea.

Ingredients:

3 Eggs
20 g Grated cheese
4 Mushrooms
Handful of plum baby tomatoes
2 small sweet peppers
Hand full of Kale
Teaspoon of Coconut oil

Method:

Melt the coconut oil in a pan
Cut the pepper in to small chunks, halve the tomatoes and cut the mushrooms in to slices. Fry in the pan until cooked though, add the kale minus the stems.
Reduce the heat.
Turn on your grill and get it warm for the last step.
Beat the eggs and add the cheese and any seasoning that you want. Add it to the pan and let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Once you see the edges getting brown, transfer to the grill and cook until golden brown.
Enjoy hot or cold!

Apple Crumble

At Carlson Gracie Essex last Thursday, we had the pleasure of Clark Gracie's presence gracing our mats. I had been to one of his seminars last year in Kent and was so impressed and was over the moon to hear that he would be coming to our Colchester gym.

Our head coach Alain brought Clark to the gym with a room full of 30 something people. Our gym isn't the biggest, so numbers were limited, and the places were reserved as quickly as the word was out that Clark was going to visit.

Clark is the cousin of Carlson Gracie Jnr, so when we started the warm up drill, Clark took it from something that Carlson Jnr showed him. We did a few more drills, then went straight on to techniques.

Its so refreshing when you go to a seminar and someone magically shows you the techniques that you have been getting stuck in and can't get out of or complete for a few months. This was it! I've been using reverse De La Riva for a while, and not been able to finish what I started. After Clark showed his technique, I was enlightened.

Clark showed a couple more techniques, and finished off with the Omo Plata. What seminar would be complete unless Clark showed this?

Clark is a brilliant professor, he was so involved in watching everyone and making sure they were doing everything correctly, not only that, you could see that there was so much more that he wanted to show us, but time was running out and we had some sparring to do.
Clark got involved and sparred with some of the students. It wasn't meant for me though, so maybe next time when he comes again I'll get to spar with him.

It was such a brilliant night of training and learning, and I can't thank my coach Alain enough for bringing him to the gym to teach us. We are so lucky at Carlson Gracie, we don't have many seminars, but when we do, they are some of the top competitors in the world.

Now for the food.

At the end of the summer, I made this crumble using Rhubarb. It was delicious, so now that cooking apples are in season, I thought that I'd give it a go too. It's Paleo friendly and not fattening at all as all the sugar is natural.

Ingredients:

2 large cooking apples
1 Teaspoon of cinnamon
1 Tablespoon of Honey (optional)

The Crumble:
120g Mixed nuts (unsalted and roasted)
20g mixed seeds
20g Raisins
Tablespoon of ground almonds
Tablespoon of coconut oil
Tablespoon of honey

Method:

Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees C
Peel the apples, core and slice. Layer the tin with the sliced apples, add 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon, then layer the apples until all the apples are used, add the remaining cinnamon and add the honey if you like. I didn't because the sweetness of the apples and crumble were enough, but the honey doesn't hurt to add it.
Cover the tin with tin foil and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
While the apples are steaming, melt the coconut oil and honey in a pan
Place the nuts in a food processor and chop until they are in small bits, transfer to a bowl and then add the seeds, ground almonds and raisins. Add the coconut oil and honey and mix well.
Once the apples are ready, take to foil off the tin and cover the apples with the crumble mixture. Lower the heat to 175 degrees C and bake for a further 8-10 minutes, or until the topping has turned golden. Let it cool for 5 minutes, then serve and enjoy!

If you're on a cheat day, the crumble tastes amazing with ice cream or custard. Mmmmm

Jolie x

No Corn, Corn bread

It's been almost two weeks since I competed in the World Masters BJJ Competition in Los Angeles, and what a day it was!!
I had arrived in LA on Wednesday 29th, and took a sleepy drive down to San Marcos in San Diego to visit my aunt Stacie and uncle Eddi who were letting me stay for the week I was there. It's always great to see them as they are so much fun to be around. It was the first year since 1982 that I had been there for Halloween.
We dressed up and visited the school where my aunt works as all the teachers had costume and cake competitions. My aunt won both! I could feel a winning weekend coming on.
On Halloween night we went to a friends house and enjoyed some Mac and cheese and corn bread. My weight was really low that morning, 54.6kg and I had plenty of room to fill myself with energy food. I fell in love with cornbread! I remember having corn dog's when I was younger, dipped in mustard and ketchup. I wouldn't dream of having that now.
Halloween was a lot of fun, especially trick or treating. Everyone was trying to tempt me with candy, but I've got so used to saying no to it, another day doesn't matter. The best part was visiting a lady's house who completely transformed every part of her home in to a Haunted House. Only in America would that happen!

I had a great nights sleep and woke up fresh for the day.
We took a drive up to Long Beach, checked in and found my other Carlson Gracie team mates. It wasn't long before it was time to warm up. I watched the first fight in my bracket to see who would win. Marcia from Hawaii was my first opponent.
As I went through the bull pit, then the Gi check, then the weigh in area, my nerves kicked in BIG style!! My stomach was in knots and hurt so much! The only way I could calm myself down was to breath in and hum my breath out.
I was up next and Marcia from Hawaii was my first opponent. I looked up at my uncle Eddi, gave him the thumbs up and went on the mats. After shaking hands, she quickly pulled guard and almost got an arm bar. My elbow wasn't in the danger zone, so although it looked bad to my team mates, I got out of it. The fight was great and a lot of fun. I noticed that I was really calm and collected and my muscle memory from the drills we do in class took over.
The fight went the full distance and I won 11-2.

My next match was with Chanda. We were in the same division last year and Chanda came third. Although I came second last year, I hadn't come all the way to LA to mirror the same result. Chanda was tough, probably my toughest fight of the day. She had the most amazing grips that I just couldn't break. The fight started when Chanda went for a leg vine take down, the same technique Simon Hayes taught a few days before, so I was prepared and sprawled my legs away from it. She pulled guard and I really had my work cut out, but I managed to pass the guard and secure the 3 points. I must confess, I played a really safe game as I wanted to win so much. I could hear my friend Kirsty shouting at me from the side "Go on Jolie, you can do it!!" That helped massively and felt like I had some great support.
The fight cost me 2 penalties, but it was worth it for the title of Master 2 Blue belt feather weight World Champion and I won the fight with 3 points and 2 penalties.

With Kirsty Fright - UK Ladies doing well at the Worlds

My family and team mates were over the moon. Dickie Martin from Carlson Gracie London congratulated me, and that always means a lot to me when black belt instructors tell me I've done well.

Later that day I competed in the open class. They mixed the weights really well and I got the heavier girls. The first lady I fought was really aggressive and played a little dirty. I don't actually mind this as it gives me a little fire in my belly. She was inside my guard and was pushing her hand on my boob so much that it was about to fall out! I've never had any embarrassing moments on the mat, and I didn't want it to start now. I went for the sweep, and mounted her from the top, then from the back, and in the last 30 seconds I caught her with a bow and arrow choke.
I could see my uncle in the stand and he was smiling from ear to ear. He was so pleased, as I was too.

My next fight was the semi final and I was matched with a lady called Christy to compete with. She had already won her first match. I pulled guard and from there on it was a battle. It was the most fun on the mats I have had for a long time. Thats what the great thing is about the open class, there is no pressure and nothing to lose. I thought that I should have got two points for a sweep as Christy was on my back and I pulled her down to get the top position, but I later found out that some referee's give the points and some don't. Christy also should have got two points for a takedown, but I think it was just outside the area. Christy won by 1 advantage. So close, and so much fun.

Kendra receiving her Purple belt on the podium

When the day was over, I got changed, then met Eddi and Stacie by the doors. I burst in to tears as the emotions of the day completely took over. What a day! I can safely say it's the best day of my life so far.

 Post competition dinner with Eddi & Stacie in Long Beach

Proud athlete

The next few days were all about chilling out and enjoying family time. We went to San diego to meet my cousin Evan and have lunch on Coronado.

I got my groove on again by Tuesday and the feeling of being run over by a big yellow American school bus had passed and I did a little touring around LA. I went to Griffith Park, something I've always wanted to do, then drove down Melrose and stopped in the Burton shop for some snowboarding gear. I went along to Santa Monica, then down to Venice where I stopped and walked around, enjoyed the beach and the craziness of the place.

 Venice Beach

I gave myself a good 2 hours to get to Costa Mesa, and I'm glad I did because it took me that long in the ridiculous LA traffic. I really wanted to do some training and chose the Art of Jiu Jitsu. I had read their code of conduct for visitors and already knew of their strict rules. I was happy to oblige.
I arrived in the huge white painted gym, had my photo taken and changed in to my fresh white Gi. It was a present to myself for doing so well at the World Masters competition.
I was greeted by a lovely Brazilian lady called Thais. She thought I had just joined up, but I told her that I was just a visiting guest. I recognised her, then found out that she was weighing in all the athletes at the competition that past weekend. Small world! She became my training partner for the evening.

Guilherme Mendes took the class. I knew he was small, but he was actually tiny. We warmed up for a few minutes, then partnered up to drill a takedown set up. We drilled 2 more techniques for about 10 minutes each, then sparred for the rest of the class. I was so impressed with what I learnt, and not disappointed to know that at Carlson Gracie, we train as hard as AOJ do too.
I really wanted a photo with Gui, but I didn't want to be another tourist BJJ-er. So I took a photo of some Carlson Gracie History that I found amongst the medal decorated walls of the gym.

I was going to go back the next morning for another class, but my plans had changed and spent the day hanging out with my uncle Eddi.

I've made a lot of friends through Jiu Jitsu. This trip being one of them. I loved my trip to America and the Worlds, it has been the most uplifting time of my life.

Now here for the food:

No Corn Paleo Cornbread

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup of Almond Flour
1/4 Cup of Coconut Flour
1/2 Tsp of sea salt
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
3 Eggs
2 Tbsp of Olive Oil
2 Tbsp of Melted Coconut oil
2 Tbsp of Honey
1/2 Cup of unsweetened Almond milk

Method:

Pre heat the oven to 180 Degrees C
Line a 8x8 baking tin with a sheet of baking paper.
Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl, then add all of the wet ingredients using a hand whisk.
Pour the batter in the tin and bake for 25-30 minutes. Check by piercing with a tooth pick that the centre is cooked through and the tooth pick comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then cut in to squares and enjoy warm.

This is so delicious, I doubt that it will last the day. It didn't in our house!!

Enjoy!!
Jolie x

Munchkin Pumpkin souffle

Last week was quite possibly the busiest, varied week I've ever had in my life! My organisational skills were put in to action and thankfully they didn't fail me. If there is a skill that I'm strong at, it has to be organising.

On the run up to the London BJJ Open and the London No Gi competitions, I had a lot of regular work going on, plus our food trailer needed attention. There was also the added fact that I needed to get enough training in, but not over do it for the competitions.
Norro's (our food trailer) had the refurb finished, the coffee machine was installed, as was the new fryer, griddle and water boiler. It just needed the electrics sorting and to pass the councils strict Hygiene test. It was a race against time.
Saturday morning, the electricians came to install what was needed at the crack of dawn. I cleaned as they worked, then when they were finished I went on to Crystal Palace to compete in the London Open.
I was in a decent size division for Master 1 feather weight, and a lot better than last year. I pulled out last year as I was alone in the Master 1 feather weight division. This year there were 4 of us. My first fight was with a Irish lady who was very good. She slipped out of my guard and almost took my back, but I recovered and took hers. I won the fight on points. My second fight was the final with Sophie Cox, a Judo black belt. I guess when you know your opponent has a complete advantage with a standing game, you're going to pull guard. I did just that, and as quick as I pulled, she pushed my knee across and passed my guard, then went for the arm bar. I tapped as quick as I could as I couldn't risk any injury for the Worlds. Sophie was awesome and a well deserved winner. She went on to win the Open class too.

I went back to the food trailer after the competition to clean some more.

On Sunday it was the No Gi competition. I was having one of those mornings and trying not to get in a bad head space. I missed my turning on the M25 and ended up driving about 20 miles out of my way to get back on route.
Again I had a division with just 4 of us and my first fight was with Stephanie, the Irish lady who I fought the day before. My team mates were all there and having a mixed day of results. When it was time to go to the bull pit, I couldn't catch any of my team mates or my coaches attention to come and help me on the mats. Everyone was occupied or chatting on the seats over looking the competition. I was getting myself in a bad head space and I needed to snap out of it. I couldn't. We fought and I made a stupid mistake and got caught in a foot lock. Stephanie went on to win gold and she was very deserving of it. I later found out that she too is going to the worlds, but is in the age division below myself. It will be great to meet up with her out in LA.

It's funny how your head can rule your hara if you let it. I let it on Sunday.
I did an experiment with myself last weekend. I come from a Gypsy background and I'm stupidly superstitious and I'm trying to get myself out of it. I didn't wear my 'lucky' underwear or do my 'lucky' ritual of 100 triangles before competing. I got myself in the best head space that I could and fought my heart out. My head was in a great place on Saturday, but wasn't on Sunday.
If there was anything that I need to work on, it's getting my head in the right place before competing and making sure it stays there until the fights are over.

Next weekend I'm competing in Los Angeles at the Masters World Championships. I went last year and came second. This week is going to be about focussing, tweaking those last imperfections and getting in a good space with my head and letting my hara do the work.

After the event on Sunday, I went back to the trailer to do the last bit of cleaning ready for the Council lady to come and inspect the next day. She gave us a 5 start rating, the best rating you can get. Feeling chuffed was an understatement!

Being a Jiu Jitsu athlete, I get a lot of perks. The clothing brand Three Stroke, Fight wear brand Scramble and supplement brand Forever Aloe all sponsor me and supply me with some awesome products that really help with my training.
Just before the London open, I upped my intake of Aloe Vera gel and took the Lean food supplement each morning to help with my weight. I didn't struggle one bit with my weight for this competition and thats purely down to the extra intake of the Aloe vera and supplements.
I speak to a lot of competitors and people in general about keeping my weight down and I can't  recommend the Forever products enough. They aren't just for competitors, they are for people who are looking to better themselves and manage their weight in a really positive way.
I currently use the Aloe vera gel, Lean supplements, bee pollen and the ARGI + food supplement. They have a great range of skin products for aches and pains, and the Aloe Heat gel is particularly good. Its kind of like deep heat, but without the dodgey chemicals. That's the beauty of all the products, they aren't full of bad chemicals, they are full of natures goodness.
For those who have asked me about where to buy the products, you can get them here.
https://www.foreverliving.com/retail/entry/Shop.do?store=GBR&language=en&distribID=440500025632

I'm a huge fan and it's a bonus that I get sent these products to enhance my training.

Now for the food.....

Breakfast is one of my favourite meals of the day. If I fill myself up, it keeps me going for most of the day, and happy!
I bought a munchkin pumpkin in the week and just looked at it wondering what I could make with it. I had never made a soufflé before, so this was a great opportunity to try. I roasted the pumpkin who the night before, then in the morning I made the soufflé. Only make this in the morning if you have plenty of time. Luckily I wake up early, so I ended up eating it at a reasonable breakfast hour.

Ingredients:

1 Munchkin Pumpkin
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice
Tbsp honey
Coconut oil

Method:

The night before roast the pumpkin whole at 150 deg C for about 45-50 minutes until you can feel that it has softened.

Pre heat the oven to 200 deg C
Separate the egg yolk from the white.
Beat the egg whites until you can make a peak with them.
Beat the yolks and add the honey, vanilla, spice and cinnamon to the mix.
Cut the top off the pumpkin and scoop out all of the seeds. You can bake these and have them as a snack. They are yummy!
Scoop out all of the pumpkin and add it to the egg yolk mixture. Then gently fold the mixture in to the egg white, making sure not to over mix.
Add the mixture in to the pumpkin skin. There will be a lot of mixture over, so grease enough ramekins with coconut oil. I used 4 for the remaining mixture.
Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. The soufflés in the ramekins should have risen slightly and be golden brown on the top. The pumpkin will take a bit longer, about 25-30 minutes in total.

Enjoy hot, or cold, for breakfast or dessert.

Jolie x

Stuffed sweet potato breakfast

Training has been going really well since I last posted back in August.
I entered a few competitions, and they are all coming up in the next few weeks. Managing strength, cardio and of course Jiu Jitsu in a very busy time of my life is quite a challenge, but it's exciting.

A couple of weeks ago I went up to Liverpool to do competition training with ladies only. I had been to a session like this before, and they are tough! The level of jiu jitsu is high, and probably the only place where you will see an equal amount of brown belt ladies on the mats as white belts.
Everyone who trained, all had competitions coming up or in the pipeline. It was a brilliant day, and made such a nice change to train with so many ladies.

We are lucky at Carlson Gracie Essex, and also Carlson Gracie London to have so many ladies training BJJ. But what are the chances of 2 of my training partners getting pregnant within a few weeks of each other!?
Its an interesting subject, pregnancy and Jiu Jitsu. From what I've heard, there isn't much online to read about, to find out if it's safe and if people who are lower ranked belts have gone through this.
I don't have any children, and I'd like to think that if I did, I'd still keep training. Both my friends and training partners said they would, but their reality has been very different to one another. One friend has stopped training, and the other has carried on. I guess its a very personal decision, and like anything, if it doesn't feel right, don't do it, but if it does feel right, keep on.

I made a promise to my friend who has carried on training during pregnancy that I would always partner up with her during drills and techniques. It's only in the last week or so that she has started to show a little bump. Before then I would forget that she was pregnant and snap back to reality and remind myself to go lighter. She would forget too, but I guess her bump would be a gentle reminder.
It's an exciting time to know that this is possible, to train BJJ if your body feels that it's ok with it.
Thankfully at our gym we spend 2 thirds of time on drills and techniques, and the last part of the class is sparring. During certain drills, such as the berimbolo drill, we would have to change that up a bit and my friend would do something else that allows her body to move in an easier way. Techniques have not been a problem as yet, and the last few classes have been focussed on sweeps, so the bodies leverage just goes with the flow.
My friend has been sitting out of sparring, and this is probably the hardest part of the class. I've done it in the past with an injury or because of a competition the next day and it's painful!

As the pregnancy weeks go on, I'll keep writing about our training together. I have mentioned to my friend that she should write a BJJ pregnancy blog. I definitely would, but for now, I'll stick to the food.

Which leads me nicely to a breakfast recipe, and there hasn't been one for a while on here.

Stuffed Sweet Potato Breakfast

Ingredients

1/4 Red Onion
1/4 Red Pepper
3 Mushrooms
Coconut oil

Sweet Potato - Mine was fairly small
Grated Cheese
1 egg
Curly Kale

Method:

For a quicker breakfast in the morning, bake your sweet potato the night before. 5 minutes in the microwave, then 35 minutes in the oven at 200c.

Zap the sweet potato in the microwave for one minute to heat it, but not scald it. Cut a circle at the top of the potato and scoop the inside out, leaving a thick edge of skin and potato. Keep the inside of the potato to one side.
Dice the onion, pepper and mushroom and fry in a pan with the coconut oil. Add this to the potato to stuff it with half way. Add a layer of cheese, then crack the egg on the top, then layer this with some more cheese.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 200c or until the cheese has browned.
Heat the remaining of the inside of the potato, add a little cheese. Fry the Kale in the pan with coconut oil and serve.
I still had some of the stuffing left over, so I served it with the mash.
Yummy!!!

Enjoy!
Jolie x

Ratatoullie with Marrow Spaghetti

A few weeks ago Jason and I popped over to Italy to see my cousin Lindsay marry her now husband Luke in Lake Garda. It was a stunningly beautiful place and the wedding was a lot of fun and amazing.

We indulged in plenty of mozzerella and tomato, Spaghetti and the best Pizza ever! Plus a lot of laughter.

The summer is the time when the main competitions are over, and it's a great time to train, learn, work on mistakes and have a life again. It's been lovely spending time with Jason, not stressing about my weight and enjoying not having the pressure of a competition looming.

It's easy to slip in to an unhealthy diet, but I've kept my weight on track and really enjoy eating good fresh foods. My mum and dad have been staying for the past few weeks as they usually live in Spain. They enjoy treats, and my mum gave me a shortbread biscuit from Morrisons. It made me feel sick, even though it was the smallest biscuit, but it probably had more than my usual dose of sugar in one day, in that small biscuit alone.

So with the summer season here, there isn't much going on with Jiu Jitsu, except training and the small matter of releasing myself from the running of the Carlson Gracie Essex Chelmsford Gym.
I set the gym up on 5th March 2012 and rented space in Fitness First 3 times per week. My head coach's brother taught a few classes at the start, then James Costa took over instructing the classes and every so often, Alain would come and teach on Fridays. It was so tough at first, trying to get the word out there, advertising by flyer-ing, word of mouth etc. We had hardly any students and the money was all coming out of my own pocket to fund the classes, but I knew that it would work, I could feel it.
After being at fitness first for 3 months, we moved to a gym that was only for martial arts. It had just been opened by a guy who I trained with years before in Kickboxing and Muay Thai. It was the perfect place, and I made it our new home.
Two years later and 30 members strong, the Chelmsford gym of Carlson Gracie Essex is a huge success.
I would have loved to carry on running the gym, but it takes up so much of my time and I've never been paid an penny for the time and dedication that I put in to running it. It's all been done with love and to make sure the instructors get paid and James Costa gets a decent sponsorship from the gym profits.
Sometimes you have to let the love go and hand it over to those who want to take it to the next level. It'll be sad not having the control of running my little baby that I have seen grow from a seed to a blooming tree, but I won't miss all that running around for nothing. I'll still be training, and training for the Worlds on November 1st, so there is no change there.
Jason said that my jiu jitsu will get better as I'll have less stress and pressure now. I hope he's right, and I can finally enjoy Jiu Jitsu properly.

Now for the food....

One of my Jiu Jitsu friends Mike asked me to find him a one pot recipe that's quick and easy. Ratatoullie is one of my favourite dishes thats great to eat as a dinner and again as left overs the next day for lunch. It actually tastes better the day after as the ingredients have had a chance to infuse.

Ingredients:

For the Ratatouille
1/2 Red Onion
1/2 Red Pepper
1/2 Yellow Pepper
1/2 Green Pepper
Courgette
5 Mushrooms
4 tomatoes
Fresh Basil

For the base of the dish
Marrow
40g Quinoa

Method:

Chop all the ingredients for the ratatouille in to cubes, apart from the courgette, I like to cut this in to discs, but there is no rule how to chop this. Add each ingredient in order and cook in a pan on a medium heat of the hob.
Once everything is in the pan, cook for about 15-20 minutes and add pepper to taste, and also a handful of basil.

Cook the Quinoa as directed on the packet

When the ratatouille is almost ready, use a jagged edge vegetable peeler on the marrow. This will create spaghetti like strips. If you don't have a jagged edge peeler, a regular peeler will be fine, but you will have ribbon like strips instead. They both work as well.
I bought my peeler from a market in Paris, but you can get them here, you just have to look hard for them or buy online.
Place the marrow in a pan of coconut oil and fry for a few minutes.

Serve the Quinoa on the plate, then add the marrow around it, then place the Ratatoullie on the top.

Et Voila!

Enjoy!

Jolie x

Roasted peaches

A lot has been going on over the last few weeks, so I have been a little slow in posting some recipes.
Since I last posted, I've been to Paris, and also Italy.
The Paris Open was fun and so was Paris itself. I can't believe I've been back over 4 weeks already.
It was a pretty last minute decision to go as I was planning to go to Glastonbury with Jason, but we couldn't get hold of a spare ticket. I was disappointed that I wasn't going to Glastobury, and Jason was, but pleased I had an alternative weekend I could plan.
So with less than 2 weeks to mentally and physically prepare myself with a busy working week, I managed to fit in a lot of training and strength classes, then before I knew it, I was on my way to Paris on the Euro star.

 Walking around Paris, being artistic

Last September Jason and I stopped off in Paris for the night and stayed with his friend Dustin, and did the usual sight-seeing things. So this time I spent time just taking my time, walking around and taking in the sights, and also doing a bit of shopping too.
I stayed in the South at a place called Malakoff. It was so close to the metro, but a girl at my hostel lent me her map, so I took to the streets and walked, and walked, and walked. Stopping for coffee, to browse in shops.
Cakes, Macaroons, Coissants were all so very tempting as I walked past the Patisseries and coffee shops, but I had about 200 grammes to drop for the No Gi comp on Sunday.

If I'm unsure about a country and how their food will be, I pack my own and enough for the duration of the stay. A friend of mine said that Paris isn't the most healthiest of places to eat. I think he was just speaking about the Patisseries.
I walked along the Sienne river and saw a funky al fresco restaurant that was made out of an old shipping container. The menu looked great and I ordered the Salmon and prawn salad. It was delicious, and for the city and location by the river, my 18 Euro's was money well spent.

I continued walking over the river, and looked behind me to see the Eiffel Tower. "There she is!" I thought to myself. It's funny how lumps of metal can actually look so beautiful.

I walked on to the Arch de Triumph along the Champs Elysees, then finally thought, that's enough for today. I think I had walked about 10km, that was more than enough and I didn't want to wear myself out before the first competition.

After a good night sleep, I made my way to the venue. My team mates were all competing when I got there, but I wasn't on until the afternoon. The Master 1 divisions were pretty stacked for the ladies and a great turn out.
My first fight was great, she got a sweep, then I got a sweep, but in the last few seconds she got the points for a second sweep. I'm happy with my performance, but there are a lot of things that I need to work on. I came away with a Bronze for my efforts.
I also competed in the Absolute. I won my first fight, but lost the second to my Russian friend Oxana.

Blue belt feather Master 1 division

The no Gi on the Sunday was the same ladies as the Gi, minus one. I won my first fight, but lost the second by a crazy neck crank that came from a jumping guillotine. Now that is something to work on. Respect to the lady who won, and she went on to win the absolute too. I also fought in the absolute too, but lost out to Oxana again. I think that she got me back for the two wins I had over her in the European No Gi in Rome. We laughed and said now we are equal with our scores 2-2. This is the great thing about Jiu Jitsu, we make friends, but when we fight, it's not with Malice, it's with respect for one another, and each time we fight, we are learning.

I had a lovely time in Paris, I made a visit to the Moulin Rouge and enjoyed the sights and sound of this fantastic city.

At the Moulin Rouge

So that was Paris, and now it's time to enjoy the summer, train, learn and work on my mistakes.

One thing I love about Summer is the fruits that are in season. At the moment there are peaches everywhere, so what better way to enjoy them, than to roast them.

Ingredients:

Peaches
Honey
Fresh ginger
Sliced Almonds

Method:

Halve the peaches and de-stone them. Place them in a baking dish, then drizzle honey all over them, filling the middle of the peach. Grate the ginger and sprinkle all over.
Place the dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius. After 25 minutes, sprinkle the sliced almonds over the peaches.

I had a cheat day and served them with ice cream, but they are just as delicious on their own, or with home made granola sprinkled over them.

Enjoy!

Jolie x