Breakfast Muffins

It's been a couple of weeks since the Rome Open and European No Gi Championships. You could say that I did better than I expected. One gold medal would have been enough, but to win 3 was quite spectacular. Rome itself was spectacular, so was the competition and so was standing on top of the podium 3 times.

Rome Open, Absolute winner

 European No Gi Light weight winner

I won my division in the Rome Open, and also the absolute. Then 2 days later I won the European No Gi championships. I went up a weight division and fought in Light weight as there was no one in my division. I was so chuffed and I know my coach was too. Unfortunately Alain couldn't be there, but I had a few Carlson Gracie team mates there to shout at the side of the mats. I came second in the No Gi absolute. It was so late in the day and I was tired when it came to the final. Anniles was a great opponent to have in the final and worthy winner.

Three gold and one silver, not a bad weekend of Jiu Jitsu at all

In enjoyed Rome and the food it had on offer, but it's not a great place to be if you want to stick to a low carb diet. I had a blow out after the competition which is traditional. I ate lots of bread, pasta and relaxed for a few days when I got home, then got back in to eating healthy.
It's funny when you eat healthy all the time, when you have cheat days, sweet foods aren't really that appealing anymore. I still love bread though and all it's varieties.

At the Colosseum, Rome, Italy

Often people ask me what they can eat for breakfast on a Paleo diet. I generally refer them to my blog and tell them about Pancakes, omelettes or smoothies, but I've heard often that people don't have the time in the morning to make them.

I found a really nice recipe for Easter muffins that are supposed to be a replacement for Hot Cross Buns. I made them, and they are perfect as breakfast muffins and a good replacement if bread is your thing in the morning.

Here is how I made them:

Ingredients:
75g Honey
75g Coconut Oil
3 Eggs
50g Coconut Flour
50g Ground Almonds
2 tsp Baking powder
Grated zest of one lemon
2 tsp Mixed Spice
1 tsp Cinnamon

Makes about 12 Muffins

Method:

Melt the coconut oil in a bowl and add the honey, then the eggs.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Place the mixture in muffin cases and fill 3/4 of the way. I used silicone cases.
Place in a pre heated oven at 170 degrees C for 20 minutes or until brown.
Once baked, cool on a rack and then enjoy.
They taste lovely when cut through the middle and smothered with Cashew or Almond butter.

Enjoy!
Jolie x

Thai Pomelo Salad Pots

It's almost 4 weeks since I came back from my epic adventure with my boyfriend Jason. It's also been a very long time since I updated this blog!! Life is so busy sometimes, especially when you are travelling around Australia meeting so many lovely new friends, catching up with old ones too.
We also went to Singapore to visit one of my lovely best friends, Michelle and her husband Charles. Then we went on to Thailand and the incredible happened, Jason proposed marriage and I said yes!

On our travels I tried loads of new foods, kept as much to the Paleo diet as possible and still kept training as much as possible.

Since I've been back, I have realised how much I do and how much I did before we left for our travels. It's a lot! I've been tired and my body is still very much getting used to being back on the go all the time. Slowly but surely I am getting back in to the swing of things and training twice a day for 5 days a week.

On Sunday 23rd March I have my first competition of 2014. It's a small and local competition and in my division there is just myself and another girl. Training has been good, my cardio is getting better and I'm ready for the first of quite a few competitions this year.

My diet has been super healthy, no alcohol has passed my lips at all this year and the crossfit training I have been doing is making me feel strong. Things are very good right now and that's how I plan to keep them.

Whilst travelling around Thailand, I tried something new and different. I had eaten a Pomelo on previous trips to Thailand, but hadn't thought of putting it in a salad.
Pomelo, if you haven't tried it before, is large, has a really thick skin. Some would say it's like Grapefruit, but it's no where near as bitter. The pulp is huge, so once it bursts in your mouth there is a lot of juice from it.

Here is how I made the Thai Pomelo Salad Pots

More idea's are coming soon. You have to bare with me as I catch up of every day life, business, training and all sorts.

Jolie x

Protein Balls & The London No Gi

Last weekend I competed at the IBJJF London No Gi Open. I was entered for the Gi competition as well, but sadly no one entered my division, so I chose to pull out of that competition and just do the No Gi.
I don't really train much without the Gi as training with the Gi is so much more interesting.
My fight was great, she got the take down, I went for the triangle, but she slipped out so she remained in my guard. I pulled her head down with 2 hands and apparently you aren't allowed to do this in no Gi, but it doesn't say it anywhere in the penalties section of the IBJJF rule book. I was a bit baffled, but carried on going for wrist locks, then a Kimura. My opponent was really good at defending everything I came at her with. She almost passed my guard, but I managed to get up and take her down. Our points were even, apart from that stupid penalty. I eventually lost the match.
It was a great fight and I'm pleased that I competed. It makes me even more determined to be better. My team mate Kat Gibson went on to beat my opponent and win Gold.
Now time to train hard for the English Open......

This morning I caused quite a stir at Mi-Gym with my Almond and Cashew butter balls.
Click this link to see how I made them. http://www.kineticmartialarts.co.uk/#!protein-balls/c1hjr
Enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash & The IBJJF Worlds

Last week I returned from a very successful visit to California, for the Master Seniors World Championships in Long Beach near Los Angeles.
I have only been a blue belt since February this year, but I have had a succession of competitions this year at my belt level and wanted to really test myself. I spent the summer making mistakes and learning from them. Learning new techniques and improving on the ones I already knew.
I knew in the back of my mind that I'm going to have a busy year next year as my boyfriend and I are planning a new venture, so it will take up a lot of our time. So, before that happens, I wanted to do something awesome, and to really test myself. The Masters Seniors worlds was it!
Earlier in the year I was inspired by higher grade British BJJ ladies, Vanessa English, Yas Wilson, Gret Zoeller and Anna Mayne, who all competed in the Adult worlds Championships. In BJJ the divisions are separated by belts, weight and age. For the over 30's you can fight in Masters and over 35's Seniors. I am now senior 1, which sounds ancient, but I don't feel it.
For the first time ever I could compete against people who were my age and not a 16 year old phenom who has been training for 7 years.

From reading previous blogs, you will know that my diet has been strict. I've been on holiday and hardly drunk a drop of alcohol, stayed away from sugar, made cakes for family and not indulged myself. It hasn't been easy!

I knew that I had to sacrifice a lot if I wanted to succeed.

When I arrived in LA, I was worried about the 11 hour flight and how much water I would retain on the flight. I had made some enquiries, and once I had landed, I put 10 drops of Dandelion root in my water before bed and low and behold, the next day the water I held from the flight was gone. I actually weighed myself and couldn't believe I was 55.2kg. I was so shocked I asked my uncle (who I was staying with) to check his scales to make sure they were correct. They were!!

Leading up tot he competition from the flight, I had 2 days to get in the zone. I'm lucky to have family in California to stay with and they were brilliant! My uncle Eddi was a Judo brown belt when he lived in England and didn't know much about BJJ, so I gave him the run down, showed him some of my fights online and briefed him about the scoring. I even showed some moves on my cousin Jared, who was up for being arm barred!
My auntie Stacie was just so happy to have me there visiting and was excited for the competition. I get the feeling that my other cousin Evan thought I was crazy. Haha

On competition day we arrived at the venue with plenty of time. It was such a huge venue within the California state university. The IBJJF had set out 12 mats, the most that I had ever seen at an event. All the Referees were standing on the mats in their suits ready for the first fights at 10:30am. My belly had done about a million somersaults at that point.

I had already seen a couple of guys from Carlson Gracie, so my mind was at ease that there would be someone shouting for me at the side of the mats. I warmed up, saw my first opponent (The current world Champion) and went to get checked.
My Gi that was given to me to wear, didn't pass the IBJJF standard Gi Check, so I had to rush back to where my bag was and change in to my trusty old faithful, slightly smelly Gi that has passed the IBJJF test twice before. As soon as I put it on, I felt at ease and much better.
I went to the mat, nervous, but confident. I had to win this match to put me in the final of the championships. I did! I won by an advantage. It was that close and Gina Sanchez really kept me on my toes. She was so tough, but I guess I was a little bit tougher.

Half an hour later it was the final. I was there with Vera Brown who I had already spotted earlier. We fought and she got 2 points for a sweep. She was a very tough opponent and much better than me. She was well worthy of the Gold medal and title of World Champion. I took the Silver medal.

The Worlds Senior 1 featherweight final

An awesome lady, Vera Brown winning the final

Blue belt Senior 1 feather weight finalists

Silver in the Worlds Master Seniors Championships

 I did compete in the absolute, but my thumb injury was niggling and I lost another close fight by 1 advantage. I was kind of relieved that I didn't fight on as my thumb felt busted.

After the competition I indulged for a couple of days, I got the glass of red wine that I had craved and ate bread, potatoes and non paleo desserts. That's what it's all about, as long as we know when to stop and go back to the Paleo eating way, then thats fine.

My family took me to the Pumpkin patch where every kind of pumpkin could be found.

I found a spaghetti squash that we don't currently have in the UK. We bought it along with others and the day I was leaving, my uncle and I cooked it.
We cut it in half and put it on a baking tray skin side up and cooked it in the oven for 35-40 minutes.

Once cooked, I scraped the inside out of the skin and it became very spaghetti like, hence the name. I placed it in a bowl and added Black pepper, garlic salt and Parmesan cheese.
It was delicious!

I kept the seeds, brought them home and will plant in April to have my own batch of Spaghetti Squash.

I had a brilliant time in California, and I'd recommend the competition to any BJJ competitor. Life is about making things happen and having a great time doing it.

Traveling with paleo

This week I returned from a road trip to Spain with my boyfriend Jason. It was my parents 40th Ruby wedding anniversary. We had been planning the trip for a few months and when it finally came around, it felt a bit surreal. I had never driven in France before and certainly not driven down to Spain. I had done with my parents when I was 14 years old, but doing the drive yourself is a different story.
When we planned the trip, I wasn't planning on competing in the worlds, so I didn't think about food and snacks for the journey. That was the last thing on my mind.
A few days before I wanted to prove to myself that I could eat Paleo the whole way to Spain and back.

When being on a Paleo diet, the key words are organisation and preparation.

I had made a batch of Protein bars

You can find the recipe here: http://www.kineticmartialarts.co.uk/#!protein-bars/ctpz

I had cut up a whole Pineapple to snack on throughout the trip

Nakd bars kept our energy up

Jason's Egg and cheese Salad filled a nice hole

This was accompanied by some peppered Mackerel

Once we arrived in Spain, I kept my food healthy and always opted for the fish dish if we ate out or at home.
I did have a cheat day while I was there as it was my parents anniversary and the Chocolate beetroot cake, Raspberry Cheesecake I made and my mum's tiramisu had to be tried. I literally had the smallest piece and felt so sick after!!
It's amazing how you feel when you eat sugar after not having it for so long.

The journey back to England via Berritz and Paris was a little different as we drove through the night and didn't need any meals, so I pretty much lived on Almonds and Cranberries to snack on.

We stopped in Berritz for breakfast and had the most awesome scrambled eggs. I don't think I have ever had any so lovely in all my life!

When we left Paris, we hadn't eaten much at all. I had bought a Banana and ate it for breakfast. We were in a bit of a rush to get around Paris and see as many sights as possible and not waste any time. By 2pm we were on route to Calais to catch the Euro tunnel train.
My belly was rumbling for the first time in what seemed like forever. Eating Paleo, you never seem to get too hungry, so it was a bit weird having this feeling. Thankfully when we stopped to fuel up, there was a decent cafe that served really healthy Paleo friendly food.
My salad had chicken in it, but I soon picked that out and enjoyed what was left.

So now there really is no excuse to travel and not eat healthy.

When I left England on 7th September I weighed 58.1kg. Today I weigh 56.5kg. A perfect featherweight!

Enjoy!
Jolie x

Paleo Ice lolly's

It's been a while since I have put anything on here. The reason being is that I'm still in the process of moving my recipes to my website. It's a lengthy process when you have so many to transfer.

Since I last blogged, a lot has happened. I have signed up to the IBJJF Masters / Seniors worlds competition in Long Beach, California. The competition is  on 5th & 6th October. I gave myself 8 weeks to get prepared and drop 2.5kg.
I walk around at a really healthy 58-59kg, and for my size I feel good. For the competition I will be fighting in the Feather weight division of 58.5kg with my Gi on. This morning I weighed 58.1kg and have 4 weeks until the competition and to get myself to a respectable 56.5kg.

Last week, the stress of the competition set in. My training has been very good, my strength has been very good, but my running (what I need to do to drop the weight) has been very bad. In all honesty, I really dislike running. To me it's not fun and it's so boring. I only managed one 20 minute run in the whole week. Not only that, I stressed myself out about not being able to eat chocolate, sweets, bread or anything else that is not Paleo. I don't even really eat a lot of junk, so I don't know why I was stressing so much. I know that I was a nightmare to live with last week. Just ask my boyfriend Jason! Thankfully this week has been a lot better and the realisation that the competition is just around the corner is very much a reality and I'm enjoying being healthy.

Since Monday I have run 4 times, done 2 strength classes and tonight will be my 3rd Jiu Jitsu class of the week. I'm happy with that and I've still got tomorrow's training to go.

As it's been lovely and warm this week and the Indian summer is definitely settling in nicely. I thought what better way to enjoy it with a Paleo treat.

Here is a lovely recipe for Paleo Ice Lolly's. Just click on the link and it will take you there.
http://www.kineticmartialarts.co.uk/#!paleo-ice-lolly/c12m6
They are great for adults and even better for kids as the only sugar in them comes from the Raspberries.

Enjoy!

Spinach smoothie

For a while now I have been wanting to make a smoothie, a green one, only because I have never tasted one. Yesterday morning I had no choice but to make one. There were no eggs, tomatoes or mushrooms to make  an omelette for breakfast, but I did have some ingredients for a smoothie. One of the reasons I wanted to try a smoothie for breakfast was to see how long it would be until I felt the need to eat again. I never really imagined that it would keep me going for long. I made my smoothie at 6:30am and by 9am I felt that I should eat something, only because I was going for a crossfit session and I wanted to make sure that I had enough energy.
Eating every 3 hours is perfect, as it keeps our metabolism motivated and on the move, it's when we starve ourself that the body goes in to panic mode and holds on to fats because it doesn't know when it's going to be fed again.
Food is fuel, and just like a car we need to keep fueling it to keep it moving and running well.
Anyway, back to the smoothie.
Here is how I made it.....

Ingredients:

Handful of spinach
1 lime, juiced
1.5cm sq of Ginger, grated
1/2 a Mango
Tablespoon of Almond butter
Splash of water
8 cubes of ice

Method:

In your blender, crush the ice, then add the spinach, lime juice, ginger, Mango and almond butter. Push everything to the bottom of the blender and add a splash of water. Blend until everything is smooth and has not lumps or bumps in it.
And thats it!

I was pretty amazed at how luminous it looked and pretty scared that it was going to taste awful, even though individually I love all the ingredients.
It tasted lovely and was a pleasure to have something different for breakfast. The great thing about smoothies, are that the possibilities are endless.

Enjoy!
Jolie x