Recipe: Garlic and Lime Chicken

Ingredients

Per-Person:
2 Chicken Breasts

1 Lime

3 Cloves of Garlic

1/4^th of a Red Chili

Method

1)     Take a large glass bowl (large enough to place the chicken breasts in) and combine the finely chopped chili (as small as possible), crushed garlic, lime juice (squeezed from the lime) and lime zest.

2)     Cut chicken breasts up into square inch cubes (roughly) and remove any fat, cysts, et cetera. Place the chicken into the bowl and stir so it is covered in the sauce. Alternatively you can cut slices into the chicken breast and cover in the marinade depending on your preferences. 

3)     Leave in a fridge for at least 2hrs, longer depending on your taste.

4)     Place on your George Foreman Grill and cook to your heart’s content.

Uses

The best thing about this recipe is the fact the chicken can be used in a variety of meals, depending on your personal preference. For me the most common uses are:

·        Fajitas  

o  Cut up 1/4^th of a red onion, some lettuce and salsa, sour cream, guacamole to taste and combine ingredients in a whole wheat tortilla.  

·        Salad

o  Cut up 1/4^th of a mango, 1/4^th of a cucumber, half a lime, 1 spring onion, small amount of coriander and combine. Zest the lime and squeeze the juice over the salad, combining with the chicken.

·        Shish Kebab

o  Skewer the chicken and separate it with chunks of onion (red/white/spring), bell pepper (yellow/red/green/orange), cucumber, or other vegetables depending on taste.

This is just a sample of what can be done with this recipe depending on if you are a low carb, low fat or other type of diet. Furthermore due to the fact you can make so many recipes with this it is possible to marinade and cook the chicken one night, box it up and use it over three or four days and get a variety of meals from it – lunch, dinner or snacks.

Nutritional Breakdown

Protein: 60g

Carbohydrates: 2g

Fat: 18g

The Beginners Guide to Weight Training

I’m a firm believer that Good things come to those who wait. Weight Training (of any variety) definitely falls into this category. I won’t deny you can find an easy fix (steroids) but the short term gain is not worth the waste in money, possible damage you can do to your hormone levels (if you are under 25), et cetera.

I have the firm belief that if you develop your base strength and then move onto focus on your intended end point (be it sport, strength, bodybuilding) you will result in a superior body for all three and one that can be tweaked to perfection.

If you have just started weight lifting, I would use the below outlined routine. I know it is very similar to Mark Rippetoe's “Starting Strength” but I have made a few minor changes which I feel allow for a swifter transfer from beginner to intermediate.

Workout A

·         3*5 Squat

·         3*5 Bench

·         1*5 Deadlift

·         Dips to Failure

Workout B

·         3*5 Squat

·         3*5 Military Press (Standing)

·         5*3 Power Cleans

·         Pull Ups to Failure

You should do these workouts on 3 non-consecutive day’s per-week.

I also hold the firm belief that you should not attempt to use your 5 Rep-Max Lifts, but pick a weight you can work easily with. From this point you should add around 1.25lbs to 10lbs per-workout per-lift (aside from Dips/Pull Ups). If you are a fan of cardio (of any form) do this on the weekends or in short bursts (of less than 15 minutes) after the routine.

You want to continue the above routine until you go from Untrained to Novice on the EXRX Weight Lifting Performance Standards. Once you are up to Novice move onto the next article that’ll detail a more advanced routine for the lifter.

Recipe: Beef Lasagne

Ingredients

Per-Person

1/2 an onion
200g of minced beef
1/2 of a can of chopped tomatoes
1tbsp of tomato puree
1tbsp of finely chopped parsley
Handful of mushrooms
1/2 pepper
1 carrot
Wholegrain Lasagne sheets
.5 litre of beef stock

10g butter
10g flour
150ml milk
25g of grated cheese

Method

1) Heat beef in a pan with no oil. In a second pan, add chopped onions, after a few minutes add the chopped mushrooms, chopped carrot, parsley and chopped pepper, allow these to soften. Turn up the heat and add the chopped tomatoes, beef stock and tomato puree. Leave to simmer for 20-25minutes, once the time is up combine the minced beef with the vegetables and stir removing from the heat.

2) While the vegetables and beef are cooking make the cheese sauce. To make this, melt the butter in a pan and add the flour. Cook for a minute and stir. Gradually add milk, still stirring over a medium heat, once all the milk has been added, put in the grated cheese, stir till it has melted and remove from the heat.

3) Take a baking tray and place a layer of the lasagne sheets, followed by a layer of the beef mixture. Another layer of the lasagne sheets, followed by the remainder of the beef mixture. Place a layer of the Lasagne sheets and add the cheese sauce on top. Place in an oven for 40minutes on 190c (375°F, gas mark 5) till the top is golden (roughly 30minutes)

Enjoy an easy to make meal, which will hit many of your macros. It tastes great and due to the type of meal you can in fact make 3 or 4 servings and use it for lunches, dinners over the next few days.

Nutritional Breakdown

Protein: 70g+

Carbohydrates: 40g

Fat: 20g

(Depending on quality of produce, please check the packets on the lasagne sheets, et cetera)