Salmon with avocado and egg

This recipe is very simple and clean. I like this recipe best when freshly  prepared, this is why I like to eat it in the weekends, when I have time to prepare some nice dishes.  I like fresh salmon the best, however, you can also use frozen salmon for this dish. Make sure the salmon is defrosted before preparing it.

Ingredients

• Salmon (about 150g)
• ½ cleaned avocado
• 1 cooked egg (or just the eggwhite)
• Pepper
• Garlicpowder
• ½ tablespoon Mustardseeds

Method

1. Heat a pan
2. Fry the salmon in the pan for about 2-5 min each side
3. Add the pepper, garlicpowder and mustardseeds to taste
4. Serve with the cooked egg and avocado on the side.

 Enjoy!

Beetroot salad with chicken, apple and white cheese

This is a very easy and healthy salad to make and is a nice variation on the simple chicken salad. I like the sweetness of the raspberry vinegar to marinate this salad. You can also try other vinegars to your taste!

Beetroot salad with chicken, apple and white cheese

Ingredients (Recipe for 2 portions)

• 2 cups of fresh spinach leaves
• 200g of beetroot (pre-cut)
• 200g chicken filet
• 1 apple
• 20 small cubes of white cheese
• 1 tablespoon of pumpkinseeds
• Raspberry vinegar
• Pepper

Method

1. Cut the chicken filet in small pieces and cook it until done
2. Cut the spinach and apple in small pieces.
3. Add the spinach, beetroot, apple, chicken filet, and cheese in a large bowl
4. Add the vinegar, pepper and pumpkinseeds and stir well
5. Enjoy!

Let me know how you liked this recipe! :) 

Recipe for endive with grinded chicken and dried apricots

This is a very quick and easy recipe I like because of the mix of flavours: the sweetness of the apricots with the bitter taste of the endive. I buy the chicken grinded in the store, but you can also grind it yourself in a kitchen machine. You can vary with the type of curry you use for this dish; I like to use curry masala myself.

Endive with chicken filet and dried apricots

Ingredients (recipe for 3 portions)

• 300g Grinded chicken/turkey breast
• 3 large endive stalks
• 15 dried apricots
• 2 spoons curry Powder
• Pepper

 Method

1. Bake the grinded chicken in a large pan until done     
2. Add the endive, curry powder and pepper and bake for about 5 min
3. Cut the apricots in small pieces and add to the dish
4. Enjoy!

Let me know how you like this dish!

My first Figure competition! Enercup 2014

Last Sunday was the big day! My fist figure competition!

I had a great first experience and enjoyed it very much. Although it was a very long day, I had a great time and looking forward to the next one!

This day couldn't have happened without the support of the people around me! Fistly, I would like to thank my trainer for his time and effort he has put into me. Without his knowledge and guidance I would never have looked this great on stage! Secondly, I would like to thank the persons that helped me practicing my posing routine. Also, I had the best hairdresser/make-up artist in the world to make me beautiful! In addition I would like to thank my boyfriend, friends and family for their support and patience! It is not always easy to live with a fitness addict! Thank you guys for all the support! 

I would like to share my experiences of the competition! 

The day of the competition began at 6AM when I stood up and had my breakfast: sweet potatoes with coconut oil. Not a bad breakfast I have to say! I had to be present at the event location at 8AM in order to receive my athlete pass and the backstage pass for my coach. Than we had to show our outfit; bikini and shoes; to representatives of the IFBB federation.

One of the preparations before going on stage is tanning. I choose to use the spray tanning service that was provided at the event itself. The morning I made sure I scrubbed my full body and face, so the tanning would look perfectly smooth. However, unfortunately the spray tanning resulted in a stripy mess!! Luckely, this stripes were less visible after using oil. On stage; it looked like a perfect tan!

I was very blessed that I had a great hair and make-up artist with me that came all the way to the event just to help me with my hair and make-up. I cannot imagine that I should have done this myself! Feld so blessed with my friend! J

There were in total three moments I went on stage. The first moment was the pre-judging. This was in the afternoon where I went on stage with the other girls from the bodyfitness category and we would stand in a line-up. Then we were called forward to show the quarter turns, after which we would return back in the line-up.

The second time on stage was my moment of fame: my T-walk. I was the first of my category to show my performance and this went well! I practiced a lot and I made as much eye contact with the jury as possible. Before going on stage both times, my coach helped my with oiling my body and warming up my muscles for the posing routine.

When these two most important moment on stage are done, the third time occurring on the stage is during the awarding of the prizes. I did receive a place in the finals! The 6^th place.

During the day I ate just a little, spread over the day; only when I felt I needed to eat something. The meals I brought with me mainly consisted of carbs, fats, and sugar. There is no need for protein on these days, because you are not building muscles. In addition, I avoided protein and fibre, because this might give a bloated feeling. So I ate some pasta, white rice, sweet potato, and nuts.

The event ended around 11PM; so it was a very long, but exciting day! 

I will definitely continue with my lifestyle. I know what I need to work on and aim to improve a great deal before returning on stage! Stay tuned for the rest of my journey! J

Update and more pictures photoshoot

Hi Guys!

Meanwhile I am 3 weeks out of my first competition. So my body has changes quite a bit already. Still working to get my fat% lower by keeping a strict food-schedule. Somehow, this seems more challenging lately ;). Also, I am very excited to start my new job this week! Meeting new people and finding more opportunities! I am ready to rock the stage (almost :))!

As promised, here are several more pictures from my photoshoot a couple of weeks ago. 

Have a great week and enjoy the pictures!

Recipe for Chocolate protein Cupcakes

Cupcakes, ready to go in the oven!

These cupcakes I love to make and are a healthy snack! It is actually very similar to protein pancakes, only you use a cupcake tin and bake them in the oven. Easy on the go or when chilling at the couch! 

Ingredients for about 9 small cupcakes

• 4 egg whites
• 2 eggs
• 2 scoops of Whey chocolate protein 
• 150ml unsweetened almond milk
• 1 teaspoon raw cacao powder
• 1 teaspoon cacao nibs
• Stevia (if you like it extra sweet)
• Pam spray (or any other non-sticky spray)

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees
2. Spray the cupcake tin lightly with Pam spray
3. Mix all ingredients together
4. Divide the mixture over the cupcake tin
5. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 min
6. Enjoy!!

You can also try this recipe with 1 scoop of banana whey and 1 scoop of chocolate! This also gives a very nice banana/chocolate taste! Let me know how you like this recipe! :)

The competition: Enercup

Hi All! In this blogpost I would like to tell you more about how my preparations for my first Body-fitness competition are going. Also I would like to introduce to you; the Enercup! This is the competition I will will be competing in. 

Enercup

The competition will take place at the 5th of Oktober. This is only 25 days left! So excited and nervous already at the same time. Time goes by so fast! The Enercup is a beginners competition, they call this an 'open-C competition'. What it means is that everybody can compete in the competition. When you are ranked in the top during this competition, you can go to a B-class competition, and when you win such a competition you can eventually go to the A-competition. 

Preparation

So far my preparations for the competition are going well! Trainings are hard and doing cardio in between the training days. Also trying to keep to a strict eating schedule. This is what I find the hardest; still experiencing some cravings every day! I try to satisfy those with a nice sweet protein shake or protein pancakes. Work for most times! ;) 

Also, I have been shopping for my out fit on stage! I probably will receive it this weekend and go for a fitting. I just love the bikini's in the Body-fitness class with all the *Bling* and the high heels! Which bikini I choose is still a surprise! You will have to wait for the competition day!

Excited to share more of my journey the upcoming days!

Recipe for savoury cupcakes with salmon and spinach

Savoury muffins with Salmon and Spinach

This is a nice alternative for food on-the-go! It is easy to prepare and even more easy to eat! All you need is a cupcake tin and an oven! I used a silicon cupcake tin, so I don't need to use any oil or baking spray. If you use a tin one, make sure to spray some oil before baking. Enjoy! 

Ingredients (for 9 cupcakes; 3 portions:

• 9 eggs (You can also only use the egg whites)
• 2 spoons of Cottage cheese
• 100 g smoked salmon (or more if you like)
• 2 cups of spinach cut in small pieces
• Pepper and herbs to taste

Method: 

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees
2. Divide the salmon and the spinach in baking tin
3. Mix the eggs and the cottage cheeese together and add pepper and herbs to taste
4. Poor the egg mixture in the baking tin
5. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes
6. Let it cool down before you take the muffins out and than.. Enjoy!!

Let me know how you liked this recipe! What are your favourite ingredients for a savoury cupcake?

Recipe for stir fried chicken with sugarsnaps and spinach

This is a nice recipe for chicken with veggies. I love to eat this as lunch or diner. It is also very nice with brown rice as a side dish when in need of carbs! Enjoy!

Ingredients for 1 portion

• 100g chickenfillet, cleaned and in small pieces
• Hand full of Sugarsnaps
• 1 red onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• Hand full of fresh spring spinach (pre-washed)
• 1 cooked egg (peeled)
• 1 spoon of Ketjap Manis
• Pepper (I like the lime-pepper from the brand Jonnie Boer)

Method

1. Heat a large non-stick pan
2. Cut the onion and garlic
3. Sautee the onion and garlic in the pan
4. Add the chicken in the pan with the Ketjap manis and pepper and stir for about 7 min. 
5. Add the sugarsnaps and stir for about 2-3 min. 
6. Place the fresh spinach on a plate and put the mix in the pan on top of it
7. Add the egg (I take out the yolk, so I only eat the egg white)
8. Enjoy!

Let me know how you liked this recipe! 

High protein foods

Being a Fitness junkie, I have a high protein diet. That is why I drink about 1 whey isolate shake during the day, and 1 casein shake before going to bed. However, I try to get my protein from different sources. 

In this blog post I would like to share some high protein food items I love to eat next to my protein shakes. Below you can find a table with my favorite high protein foods after which I will highlight a couple of them. 

Food product	Protein per 100g	Carbs per 100g	Fats per 100g	Calories per 100g
Almond Nuts	21.1g	6.9g	55.8g	614kcal
Pumpkin Seeds	28.8g	15.2g	45.6g	586kcal
Goji Berries	12.3g	57.7g	0.3g	285kcal
Cottage Cheese	12.2g	4.5g	1.5g	80kcal
Quark	9 g	4.0g	0.3g	55kcal
Peanut Butter  (Calve)	20g	9g	58g	670kcal
Chicken Breast	23.5g	0g	1.7g	109kcal
Beef Fillet Steak	20.9g	0g	7.9g	155kcal
Salmon Fish Fillets	21.6g	0g	14.0g	215kcal
Tilapia Fish	24g	0g	4g	105kcal
Tuna Fish (Tinned)	26.3g	0g	10.7g	202kcal

Almonds are high in protein, fats
and contain vitamin E

1. Almonds

I love to eat almonds. When I eat them, I like to eat them as a snack, or in my quark (deliciously crunchy!) One hand full of almonds is about 25 pieces of almonds, providing about 6 grams of protein. Be careful that you do not eat too many of them, as the almonds are also quite high in fats. Next to a good source of protein, almonds are also high in Vitamine E, which protects your muscle and other tissue and is good for your immune system.

2. Cottage cheese

I love to eat cottage cheese in my salad, or plain and topped by strawberries! This cheese is a curd with a very mild flavor. It is extremely low in fats (only 4%!) compared to other cheeses. Also, this cheese is high in casein protein, releasing protein to your body for a longer period of time (for an explanaition between whey and casein protein, see my earlier post Whey and Casein Protein Powder) 

3. Quark

I LOVE quark. I eat it in the morning, I eat it during the day, and I eat it in the evening! I eat it with fruit, or nuts. But you can also add quark to your shake! Yum! The beautiful thing about quark is that it is rather low in carbs and high in protein, and also low in calories. In the table it looks like quark is not that high in protein, but if you take 1 portion of 250g, the intake of protein is 27g! Also, it is cheap! 

4. Chicken breast

Chicken filet is high in protein, but be carefull
not to buy fillet with added sugar and/or salt

For lunch and diner, I often eat chicken breast filet. I cook the fillet, or bake it in a non-sticky pan. Than I chop the chicken in small pieces for my salad or serve it with stir fried veggies. When you buy chicken, be careful with the type of chicken you buy, as many packages have added salt and/or sugars. Bio chicken is often the best option, while at the same time also to most expensive. 

5. Tilapia fish

I like to eat tilapia fish filet for lunch or diner. My favorite way to eat it, is to spice it with spicy herbs and bake it in the oven with some veggies. For a nice recipe with tilapia, check out recipe, and replace the pangasusfilet by tilapia filet. Tilapia fish has unsaturated fats and is high in Omega 3-fatty acits. This helps with the overall body growht and development, and supports the brain function. It also is associated with reducing heart disease. Sounds good, right? 

I am excited to hear about your favorite sources of protein!