Getting back into Fitness & a Recipe for Super Healthy Pot Noodle

After the excesses of Christmas I’m itching to make a few adjustments to my life. I’m not one for making new year’s resolutions because I invariably feel rubbish when I can’t/ don’t see them through but I want to feel better in 2017. Introducing regular exercise to my routine is a big part of that, you can read about my intentions for 2017 here.

I used to be quite fit not so long ago but between giving up my teaching job and adjusting to life as a freelancer I completely lost my enthusiasm for running. It’s ironic really because I thought the opposite would be true, I was preparing to be uber fit in my new ‘working from home life’ but I turned into a couch potato instead! I miss the buzz that exercise gives you and having that precious time to myself.

I wrote about getting your fitness back on track a while ago and I completely stand by my own advice, time to put those trainers on and hit the road!

Five tips to get you back on track

1. Get out there – Taking the first step can be daunting but give yourself a pep talk, get up and go without too many expectations, then repeat. I have only been for a couple of runs so far this year and they have been tiny but I intend to run for longer as the days go on. My reasoning is that doing some physical activity is better than sitting on the sofa, right?

2. Be kind to yourself – Let’s play nice shall we? Beating yourself up about how much cheese and wine you consumed and how lazy you are is completely counter productive. Take a deep breath and accept that it will take time to get back in the swing of things.

3. Set yourself (realistic) goals – I recommend setting yourself small goals and building up from there. Radical changes are usually unsustainable in the long term, even if you have been very fit in the past, it will take a while to get back there. Remember that finding the motivation to exercise regularly is challenging and like any other challenge you set yourself it’s very much mind over matter. I’m going to sign up for a 10K so I’ve got something to aim for but it’s going to take a little while to get there so for now I am focusing on doing a comfortable 5K again. Slow and steady wins the race as they say. 

4. Find a workout buddy – I really enjoy working out alone but I have to concede that my biggest sporting achievements have taken place when I had the company (and some friendly competition) from either my best friend or my husband.

5. Get some new kit – this is a bit frivolous and God knows I’ve been guilty of buying new kit only for it to languish at the bottom of the drawer BUT putting on some new threads can make you feel on top of your game.

Super Healthy Pot Noodle Recipe

This section deserves a blogpost in its own right but I thought I’d tag it on to my ramblings about getting fit. I wont be doing anything drastic in the diet department by the way, there will be no juicing or detoxing, just laying off alcohol and getting a few more veggies into my body – the aim here is to feel better.

Image: Goop

Anyway, let’s get started. I want to take this opportunity to introduce you to my friend Nese (we call her Nesh) and you might recognise her from ITV’s Lorraine, she is a regular model on the show and she is truly a beautiful person. One of those people who is lovely inside and out with a fantastically infectious laugh but Nese isn’t just a pretty face, she’s a bit of a health and fitness guru too. She takes nutrition seriously, she’s super healthy but not in an unattainable and restricted way. She has recently started blogging and you can follow her recipes, fashion tips and musings about life here.

I saw Nese prepare a healthy ‘pot noodle’ recipe (inspired by The River Cottage) over on Instagram Stories and I thought it looked great, just the ticket for a healthy lunch or a quick midweek supper. I’m dying to test these out on my kids, I know they’ll love them too! So here it goes:

Serves 1

Ingredients: 1 heatproof jar (Kilner jars are perfect) | 1 nest egg noodles | 1 tsp vegetable boullion powder | pinch of soft brown sugar | 1 thinly sliced carrot | 3 spring onions | small handful of frozen petit pois | a couple of leaves of pak choi shredded | 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger | 1/2 garlic clove grated | 1/4 red chilli finely chopped | 2 tsp soy sauce | Juice 1/2 lime

Method:

Put all the ingredients in the jar except the soy sauce and lime. Pour boiling water over the ingredients to cover everything, gently pressing the ingredients down. Put the lid on and leave to stand for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Add soy sauce and lime juice to taste and get stuck in!

It strikes me that the beauty of this recipe is that it is speedy, healthy and can be adapted very easily to suit your tastes.

Are you on a health kick this month? Let me know what you’re up to and please do let me know if you some tasty recipes or exercise tips up your sleeve.

Antonia x

PS: Did you know you can find me on Pinterest too?