GUEST BLOG: Adventures in the kitchen by Anastasia

Anastasia is a powerlifter who has a BSc in Chemistry, MSc in Chemistry/Life Sciences and is currently PhD candidate in Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge.  She also has a love of healthy eating & the fitness lifestyle, so is often in the kitchen whipping up wonderful treats that actually aid you in your fitness goals.  If you are after looking good or performing well then we'll be a adding a few recipes & training ideas from Anastasia to help you reach your very best whilst still enjoying healthy treats you can put together together in minutes.
Remember to join Anastasia over on her facebook page where she puts up recipes, training & recovery advice.


Chocolate Cream Pancakes

Ingredients

Pancakes:
-       30 g buckwheat flour
-       30 g pea protein powder
-       1 tbsp. pre-cracked or ground flax seeds
-       1-2 tbsp. cider vinegar
-       Backing powder
-       Stevia or other sweetener
-       ½ cup cannellini beans
-       ½ tsp. coconut oil


Omega-3-Choco Cream:
-       10 g flaxseed oil
-       10 g cocoa powder
-       10 g agave nectar


Method

1)      Combine flour, pea protein, flax seeds, vinegar, backing powder and stevia
2)       Add ¼ cup of water
3)      Add beans and process everything to obtain a mushy constancy
4)      Spread coconut oil on a frying pan
5)      Pour the pancake mixture into the pan (gives 5-6 pancakes)
6)      Cook 3-4 minutes on each side (pancakes’ upper side should start blistering before you turn them)
7)      Combine ingredients for the Choco Cream and mix thoroughly
8)      Serve pancakes topped with Choco Cream and fruits

Gives one serving. Approximate nutritional information:
Pancakes: kcal 351/ carb 40g/ protein 37g/ fat 5g
Omega-3-Choco Cream: kcal 150/ carb 10g/ protein 2g/ fat 11g

Preparation time: 10 min


High Protein Chocolate Berry ‘Cheesecake’

Ingredients

Crust:
-       ¾ cup porridge oats
-       3 tbsp. almond milk
-       Pinch of cocoa powder
-       1 small pinch of salt

Cream:
-       2 cups cannellini beans
-       ¼ cup almond milk
-       2 tsp. stevia or other sweetener of choice
-       1 scoop pea protein powder
-       Vanilla

Chocolate layer:
-       ½ tbsp. cocoa powder
-       1 tsp. stevia
-       1 tbsp. almond milk

Berry layer:
-       ½ cup berries
-       1 tsp. stevia
-       ½ scoop pea protein powder


Method

Crust:
1)      Combine the curst ingredients and mix thoroughly
2)      Put the mixture between two sheets of backing paper
3)      Roll out
4)      Transfer the crust into a cake tin or food container

Cream:
1)      Combine 2 cups of beans, ¼ cup of almond milk, stevia and vanilla and process
2)      Whisk in one scoop of pea protein powder
3)      Take ½ cup of the mixture out
4)      Stir in chocolate layer ingredient
5)      Spread the chocolate layer on the crust
6)      Add ½ cup of berries and additional sweetener to the residual cream mixture and process it
7)      Whisk in ½ scoop of protein powder
8)      Distribute the berry layer on top of the chocolate layer
9)      Garnish with coconut flakes and berries
10)     Refrigerate for at least one hour to obtain a ‘cheesecake’ like consistency

Gives four pieces. Approximate nutritional information per piece: kcal 216/ carb 33g/ protein 17g/ fat 2 g

Preparation time: 10-15 min
Cooling time: at least 1 hour

Notes: This cake has a low GI, contains mostly complex carbs and is high on protein. If you don’t try to avoid high GI carbs in your diet, you can always substitute stevia by more natural/ whole foods. Bananas and dates are a great alternative to stevia.
Protein powder: I use pea protein because it can be used as thickening agent. You could substitute it with other plant protein powders (sunwarrior vanilla is a tasty alternative), however, you have to add more to achieve the same consistency.
 

GUEST POST: My Journey to the Roof of Africa by Luke Berman

BIO
Luke Berman is a vegan of six years and extremely passionate about wildlife, conservation and especially primates. He has worked for local authorities, social enterprises and charities like ‘The Conservation Volunteers’, where he developed skills in teaching people how to manage and look after the environment. He is now developing a career in Primatology and is off to Kenya in February for six months working with Colobus monkeys; before hoping to start an MSc in Primate Conservation at Oxford Brookes in Spetember 2014.

1) When and why did you decide to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro?

 
It all started in November 2012 when I wanted to do a big fund raising challenge for Wild Futures & to promote the benefits of a vegan diet. Wild Futures works to protect primates and habitats worldwide. It also has a Monkey Sanctuary where it gives ex-pet primates a home for life as they can never return to the wild. Unfortunately it is still legal to keep primates as pets in the UK and it is currently estimated there could be around 5,000 primates kept as pets. Due to the fact most primates live in large social groups and are not domesticated they suffer very badly, physically and mentally, as pets. At the Wild Futures Monkey Sanctuary some rescued monkeys have deformed bones, diabetes (caused from being given sweets) and carry out repetitive actions like rocking or head spinning.
    I have been volunteering for Wild Futures since 2005 and spent a year living and working at the Monkey Sanctuary, in Cornwall, from 2010 and have been an ambassador since 2012. This charity is very close to my heart and it was a privilege to be able to undertake this challenge for them.

2) How long have you been a vegan and what made you go vegan?

 

Uhuru Peak 5895m 'The roof of Africa'

I actual went vegetarian when staying at the Monkey Sanctuary in 2007 for a month, then when I went home two weeks later I decided to go vegan. Six years on I still believe that was the best decision I have ever made.
    Before going vegan I was a heavy meat and dairy eater and was a big stocky rugby player. As I was going through my university degree (Wildlife Conservation at Plymouth Uni) I was learning more and more about the environmental impact of a western diet, and the animal cruelty involved in producing meat and dairy. For example a vegan diet uses about a third less land than a standard western diet. Also, why should animals be cooped up in cramp, painful conditions and then be killed just so I can have a meal. I decided that I didn’t want to be a contributor to this anymore and wanted to make a positive difference. The fact it was also healthy was just a great bonus.

3) What preparation did you do for the climb? 

Joey was in a cage alone for 9 years

As mentioned earlier I decided to do the climb in November 2012 and that left me ten months to prepare; as the climb was in September 13. I already had an alright level of fitness as I like to go the gym, do long walks and running, but I knew I would need to build endurance for this challenge. You are walking for eight days for up to ten hours, so it is a mental challenge as well as a physical one. I started going for long walks on the weekends to build up my leg strength. On top of this I was doing a lot of bodyweight training, which are exercises such as push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups etc to build core strength. Within a month of the climb I started to go for eight hour walks and find as many hills as possible; the dog was very pleased.

In all honesty nothing could have prepared you for the summit climb. After climbing for six days we began the final walk to the top. Leaving at 11pm in -10 degrees and dropping to -20 we climbed 1400m in altitude and walked uphill for eight hours. After three to four hours you are relying on mental strength alone, water bottles have frozen, eyes are closing, and the top looks so very far away. Once at the top you can only stay for an hour due to the altitude and so must then climb down for three hours, have some lunch and then another three hours to the camp where you sleep. All in all it was seven days up and one and a half days down.

4) How did the rest of your group react to you being vegan?

 

Luke & the guides

There was not as much shock as I thought there was going to be. Our climb leader was a vegetarian and so was another woman, however, everyone else had a standard diet. I did get some early questions regarding how was I going to get enough energy from not eating meat and dairy, but I think the fact I was always at the front of the group and not as out of breath as the rest made them soon realise I was not going to have a problem. The best moment was when one member of the group turned round to me, about half way through the trip, and said ‘I have a whole new understanding and respect for vegans. Before I didn’t know much and thought it was unhealthy, but now I can see it is perfectly healthy.’

5) What did you eat during the trip, and was it easy to get vegan food?

  We were above the clouds for 4 days

I took high protein & carbohydrate energy bars with me, as well as bags of peanuts and raisins to snack on during the walks. The cook we had with us was excellent and went out of his way to make sure food for me was prepared correctly and without animal products. Mornings consisted of porridge made with water, I added nuts and raisins with a cup of ginger tea (an excellent pick me up in the morning). Lunch and dinner mainly consisted of a carbohydrate (pasta/rice/potatoes) with a vegetable and bean sauce. There was also a meat one for the others. The food porters would always bring my food in separately small Tupperware boxes, which was such a nice gesture. The fruit at dinner time was really appreciated as the food got quite samey.
Are there any vegan Tanzanian delicacies?
There are a couple of Tanzanian breads using local flour and water which are quite tasty, but I am afraid most of their dishes contain meat. But they do love cooking with bananas, which were lovely to eat.

6) Have you got another adventure planned?

 Joey & Charlie playing

I am looking at Tough Mudder, which is a twelve mile run through obstacles such as crawling under barb wire, running through fire and swimming through frozen water. I am definitely up for more challenges after this.

Support and keep in touch

Please do check out Wild Futures and think about adopting a monkey, which is a great way to support the charity and protect primates for the future.
www.wildfutures.org        www.adoptamonkey.org        @wildfutures

Also, donations are still being taken for my climb through justgiving – www.justgiving.com/luke-berman
My contact details:

Email – lukeberman@hotmail.com       Twitter - @lukeberman
I also coordinate activities in London for Wild Futures, please let me know if you want to get involved.