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!

Photoshoot results

This Saturday I had an amazing experience during my first fitness photo shoot!

Angels Of Steel

Currently I am 11 weeks out; with 18% fat, so still have some work to do! But I am getting there! 3x a week full-body workout with focus on my glutes and 3x a week high-intensity cardio. For cardio I do mostly indoor-biking, but I will take on a new challenge: walking stairs. If you know Rotterdam, you might know the Maastunnel (a tunnel under the river, de Maas). Think about these stairs... Yes! That is my new cardio challenge!

Thanks to JR Photography I have some amazing photo's to share with you. The pictures definitely show my progression in training. In this blog post I will give you a preview of the photo's. There are still a lot more to come!

Here we go!

Angels Of Steel

Angels Of Steel

Angels Of Steel

Recipe for grilled Salmon with Asperagus

This recipe is a recipe for grilled salmon with asparagus. I love to make this recipe on a Sunday evening because it is very easy and quick to make! The meal is clean and healthy; and high in good fats, because of the salmon which is a fat fish. I love to finish up the dish with a cooked egg. This tastes delicious with the fish and asparagus!

Ingredients

• 1 fillet of salmon
• 10 green asparagus
• 1 red onion
• Dill
• Pepper
• 1 Cooked egg

Method

1. Heat a non-sticking pan very worm and boil water in a pan
2. Cut the onion
3. Grill the onion and salmon fillet (each side for about 3 min)
4. Cook the asparagus for about 5 min
5. Place the salmon on a plate and spice with pepper and dill
6. Place the cooked asparagus on top of the salmon
7. Cut the egg in half and place on the side of the dish 
8. Enjoy!

Let me know how you like this recipe!

Recipe for Chocolate Protein Pancakes

This is a recipe for the best way to make protein pancakes! I have tried different recipes from the internet with banana, peanut butter, oats and more. After trying and mixing ingredients I choose this recipe as the best! This is, in my opinion, the most clean variant of the pancakes. Of course you can add any type of toppings you like best. I am excited to share the recipe with you and to hear what you think of it. 

Ingredients for 1 portion

• 1 scoop of chocolate flavour protein powder
• 2 egg whites
• 1 egg
• 1 table spoon of stevia powder (in case you like it sweet)
• 1/2 cup of almond milk (can also be substituted by water or regular milk)
• 1 cup of strawberries
• 1 spoon of cottage cheese (you can also use quark)
• 1/2 hand of unsalted almonds

Method

1. Heat a small non-sticky pan 
2. Clean and cut the strawberries
3. Mix the 2 egg whites, 1 whole egg, stevia powder and almond milk well in a bowl
4. Put half of the mix in the pan and wait till it is not liquid anymore
5. Flip the pancake to the other side
6. Place the pancake on a plate when done
7. Repeat step 3, 4, and 5. 
8. Top the pancakes with the strawberries, cottage cheese, and almonds
9. Enjoy!

I am excited to hear if you like this recipe! What is your favourite topping?

Whey and Casein Protein powder

What should you know about these two types of Protein?

These are the casein (left) and whey (right) supplements I use

When you are active, aim to build muscle, and stay lean, protein supplements are useful to reach your personal goals. So, what are proteins actually? Proteins are made of amino acids. These acids serve as building blocks of protein. There are different types of protein, like whey, soy, and casein protein. Each of these types consist of different, unique compositions of amino acids, which results in different effects on your body. I like to use both whey protein and casein protein. 

Whey protein

Whey is protein is a natural byproduct when making cheese from milk. About 20% of protein that is found in milk is whey protein. The other 80% is casein, which will be discussed next. Three types of whey protein are concentrate, isolate and hydrolysate. The difference between these types is mainly the type of processing, and fat and lactose content. Whey isolate is the type with the highest content of protein, namely 90% and the lowest content of fat and lactose. 

Casein protein

Next to the supplement use of casein, casein is used a a binder or filler in different food-processes. When you are consuming the protein in a liquid form (as a shake) you will notice that the structure is more than two times as thick as the whey variant. Therefor, it gives you a more full and satisfied feeling after consuming. This thickness also results in a lower rate of digestion of it by the stomach. Casein provides your body with proteins even 7 (!) hours after consumption. The table below shows this process of protein time release of the different types of protein. You can clearly see that casein protein (the blue line) provides protein for a longer duration. 

Figure comparing the release time of different types of protein.

Which to use when

Studies show that both casein and whey are beneficial for building muscle when taken directly after training. But, it showed that because of the slow digestion of casein, this protein might not stimulate the muscle protein as powerful or as quickly as whey variant. Whey provides a direct boost of protein which makes it perfect to consume before, or right after working out. But, because of the slow digestions of the casein protein, the intake of this protein especially could be beneficial before going to sleep. This way your body gets the protein to stimulate muscle growth when the growth hormone is peaking (see my earlier post Why sleep is so important). 

Conclusion

Thus: Take whey protein before or after your workout and casein protein before you go to sleep. 

I just enjoyed my casein shake, cookies and cream taste, before I am up for bed! Yumm! Let me know which type of protein you take and when!

Sources:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/

http://www.muscleandfitness.com/

Recipe for Chicken from the oven and stir-fried veggies

This is an easy-to-make recipe for chicken from the oven with delicious spring veggies on a base of spinach. With an egg on the side for the extra protein! Very nutritious and quick meal!

Ingredients for 1 portion

• 100g Chickenfilet
• 1/4 Courgette
• 1/2 Red bell pepper
• 6 small tomatoes
• 1 hand of fresh spinach
• 1 cooked egg
• 1 clove garlic
• Italian seasoning
• Chicken seasoning without added salt

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven at 220 degree
2. Season the Chicken with the chicken seasoning and Italian seasoning
3. Place the chicken in the oven for about 15-20min
4. Spray a pan with Pam spray or use a non sticky pan and heat it
5. Cut the courgette, bell pepper, and garlic and stir fry for about 5 min
6. Cut the tomatoes in half and add them to the veggies in the pan. Stir fry for an additional 2 min
7. Peal the cooked egg and cut in half
8. Put the bunch of spinach on a plate and place the chicken, veggies and egg on top of it
9. Enjoy!

Let me know how you like this recipe! What are your favourite seasonings for chicken?

Fitness categories

Many of you have asked me: 'What is a fitness competition', and 'Will you look like a bodybuilder'? In order to answer these questions and more I am writing this post about the IFBB fitness categories for women, focussing on Fitness, the category I will compete in. 

The categories

There are different categories to compete in at the IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness). These include the Fitness category (including Bikini-Fitness, Body-Fitness, and regular Fitness), Physique, and Bodybuilding. The picture below shows these categories and the corresponding body types. 

Overview IFBB fitness categories

In the text below, I will further explain the Fitness category.

Fitness

The first category is Fitness. There is 'bikini-fitness, body-fitness, and regular 'fitness'. The Bikini fitness subcategory requires the fewest muscles from all categories. The preference for this category is a sporty look, without visible lines of muscles (only the abs may be lightly visible) The posing on stage exist in the form of a line-up with front- and backposes. The ladies wil be judged on general presentation, tanning, and looks. Below, you can see a picture of ladies from the Bikini fitness class. 

Line-up Bikini fitness category

Brazilian Bodyfitness athlete Janaína Ferreira

Another subcategory is body-fitness. This is the category that I will be competing in. The category was added in the year 2002 by the IFBB, in order for women to compete by only physical rounds (so, posing on stage). there are for categories per length: 158cm, 163cm, 168cm and >168cm. During the competition, the ladies will do the T-walk: walking to the middle of the stage and do a frontpose, backpose, and frontpose. This T-walk is individual. In addition, all ladies come on stage and will be compared in the front-, side- and backposes. The ladies will be judged on general presentation, so not only on physique, but also looks and presentation on stage.

Line-up Bodyfitness category

There is also a subcategory 'Fitness;, where the participant will, next to the T-walk and line-up, also perform an act on stage such as acrobatics or circus.

My competition

I will compete in the Body-Fitness class. Why? Because that seems a challenge that suits me. It requires lean muscle mass, and a low fat% (about 12%) and a good performance on stage during the T-walk. With my dance experience in the past, I think I will perform well on stage and this is my opportunity to shine! :) The other category I considered is the Bikini-Fitness class. However, this body physique requires less muscle mass and thus requires more focus on cardio and lean eating rather than heavy weight training. I prefer weight training way better than cardio, and thus the Body-fitness training scheme looks way more appealing for me! I can do this! You can do this too! Let's rock the stage!

Source: www.ifbbnederland.nl/wedstrijden/klassen

Goals for July

Read about my goals for July!

As I mentioned in one of my earlier blogposts, setting goals is key to succeed 

(see angelsofsteel.blogspot.nl/2014/05/FirstthingsfirstMental.html). 

For this start of the new month I have set a couple of new goals I would like to share with you. My goals are: a lower fat%, tracking my food, increasing the weights of my training, and more cardio.

Lower fat%

The main goal for this month will be to decrease my fat%. Right now, I can really see the shape of my body changing, forming and growing. However, I would like to see more definition, for example my abs. This is done trough cutting your fat%. Therefore, my aim is to have my fat% by 16% at the end of this month. Currently, I think that my fat% is around 20,5%, based on a measurement last month. This means that I will have to loose about 1,2% of fat every week. Should be feasible! I am going for it!

Abs are made in the kitchen

Your abs will never show when you have a high fat%!

Like many competitors will tell you; abs are made in the kitchen. You can do a million ab crunches, leg-lifts and other ab workouts, but when you have a layer of fat on your belly; these amazing muscles will never show. Therefore, you need to adjust your diet! Eat frequent, small portions of clean food. Currently I am eating about 6 times a day. Every day I take carbs in the morning, and on weight training days (3x per week) I take complex carbs pre-work out and simple carbs post-workout. 

However, what I didn't do so far is measure the exact proportions of macro nutrients (carbs, fats, and protein) and the grams accordingly. This month I will keep track of it every day. For this purpose I will use 'Mijn Eetmeter', this is an app that allows you to easily track the foods and nutritions that you ate for a specific day and makes nice overviews of this. 

Increase weights

When working out in the gym, I focus on a full-body workout 3 times a week. Firstly, the larger muscles, and thereafter the smaller muscles. Since my problem area is my glutes, this is where I start my workout with because that is the moment I have the most energy. My goal for this month is to slightly increase the weights I workout with, especially for my leg and glutes training like deadlifts, squats and hip thrusts. My goal will be to increase the weights with 10kg for both the deadlift and shqats, and using the tougher orange resistant belt (instead of the black) for the hip thrust for 3x12 reps in a superset. 

Cardio

Cardio is incorporated in my trainings 3 times a week for 20-30 minutes. I will, in order to reach my goal of a lower fat%, focus to complete 30 min high intensity cardio 3x a week. In addition, when in the case I have not incorporated interval training in my weights training, I will end the training session with 20x stair walking (well, actually running) or 10min high intensity biking. So: More cardio for me this month!

What are you waiting for? Make July your B*tch!

I am going for it! What are your goals for this month! Let me know if I can help you with reaching your goals and if you have any questions for me! I will keep you updated about my progression!

Now... Make July your B*tch!