Coconut Oil : What's The Deal?

I keep hearing about coconut oil. On twitter, blogs, facebook, all over… but I don’t really *get* it. I don’t understand why it’s suddenly so popular or what the health benefits are. So, as much for my sake as anything, I decided to do a bit of investigation.

I was all over the coconut water trend last year, mainly because it was handed out at just about every event I took part in, and it was pretty good. It refreshed me, hydrated me and was tastier then a regular sports drink. I’m not quite on board with this new superfood trend though.

Wikipedia’s wisdom informs me that coconut oil is high in saturated fats and so keeps well but also means many health organisations actually advise *against* consuming a lot of it. It’s been used for thousands of years but has gained popularity in the health and natural food circles recently.

It’s white and solid at room temperature and is less damaged by heat than many other oils so is considered healthy to use for frying and so on. It doesn’t appear to be cheap but as it keeps well and a little goes a long way it might be a worthy investment.

The list of health benefits that coconut oil provides is miles long. It seems there’s very little it can’t help with. Hair care, skin care, stress relief, cholesterol level maintenance, weight loss, boosted immune system, proper digestion and regulated metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV, and cancer, while helping to improve dental quality and bone strength... the list goes on and on.

But why? Well coconut oil contains lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, which have antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-fungal, antibacterial and soothing qualities. What does that mean in layman’s terms?

Well the saturated fats it contains are, for some reason, considered less harmful than those found in vegetable oils and don’t lead to an increase in LDL levels (bad cholesterol). It’s easy to digest and improves the metabolic rate resulting in more energy being burnt. It’s also good for the immune system, helps to improve the digestive system and helps to prevent conditions like IBS.

I’m yet to try coconut oil myself yet but here’s a plethora of recipes out there involving it and I have to say I am curious. I’m not sure how much difference it would make to me, as someone who already eats a fairly healthy diet, but who knows!

Do you use coconut oil? Do you rate it or is it just another fad? Got a favourite recipe you think I should try?

Roses v Medals

Noses are red,
Fingers are blue,
That's what February running
Does for you

I am not celebrating Valentines day as such this year. Not because I don't have anyone to celebrate with, it's just that as you read this, rather than looking forward to a romantic meal for two, or even a run with my OH, I am hanging around in Gatwick Airport waiting to board a flight to Nice where Alex and I will be running the 10 mile Carnival du Nice on Sunday.

I'm probably regretting choosing the smaller suitcase for the trip and having second thoughts about the kit I've packed. The weather report has gone downhill a bit since mid-week, meaning there's a very high probability that it'll be raining for most of the time we're out there. It's meant to be a bit warmer and less windy than in the UK but the weather isn't the only thing giving me cause for concern this weekend.

Not only have I developed a cough and snotty nose which might hamper me a little, I've done very little actual running lately. My energy levels haven't been too bad this week but I've not felt like braving the storms to run outside. I've got a 7.5 miler under my belt which should see me through as I'm not looking for a time. I've done quite a bit of incline walking on the treadmill recently, working from 1-15% gradients, and lots of cross-trainer work. I've done Body Pump and Combat this week, some yoga and an all-over gym session so I've been active but not necessarily in the right way.

I don't want to let Alex down; we said we'd run together and enjoy the experience but I just hope I don't hold her up too much. Maybe I'll surprise myself. In any case it's a weekend away with a friend and the chance to get a cool medal. Fully report on my return!

Instant Porridge Pots

Breakfast. Quite possibly my favourite meal of the day. There’s almost always time to make something more interesting than a bowl of cereal or toast. Smoothies, porridge, pancakes, yogurt and eggs all feature regularly on my breakfast menu. I’ve even made my own yogurt in the past, which is surprisingly easy and requires little effort. Many’s the time I’ve gone to bed at night full of anticipation for the meal I’ve planned to start the next day with. I always make time for it and try to make it a moment of calm; sitting at the table looking out at the birds and squirrels or curled up in my big wicker chair with hands wrapped around a bowl of something, coffee made in a cafetiere and served in one of my favourite cup and saucer sets.

If I’m not hungry before I have to go to work, I’ll take breakfast with me to eat when I get there, rather than eat before I’m ready as this usually just means I get hungry again about an hour later anyway. What I don’t do is skip it. Ever. Bad things happen when I do.

I recently had a smoothie phase but at the moment I’m in a porridge phase and in particular portable porridge. I expect most people are familiar with the sachets of porridge you can get that just require the addition of milk, bowl and microwave. These are great but these can be expensive and sugar laden and of course require access to a microwave. What’s even better is a porridge that will work with just the addition of hot water. Ok, I know some people make up their porridge with water anyway but I usually like at least half the liquid to be milk, so I’ve been trialling three different “instant” porridges that only need you to add hot water, stir and wait a couple of minutes before eating.

First up are the porridge pots from TheProteinWorks. These individual pots come with a spoon in 4 delicious flavours, plain, chocolate and banana, apple and cinnamon and mixed berry. I've tried mixed berry and banana chic chip are bothvery tasty, not too sweet and extremely filling. It kept me feeling full for about 5 hours – virtually unheard of! They have a very high protein content which accounts for this. You can only order these online and they cost £1.79 each but they’re nutritionally balanced and certainly serve a purpose. You can find similar, lower protein porridge pots that just require the addition of hot water, in the supermarkets.

There were no chocolate chips in this banana choc chip porridge pot

Next up is a porridge pot designed by my OH. Having examined several recipes he came up with his own concoction which he gave me a sample of. He uses old pasta sauce tubs for transport/serving which work a treat! This concoction has a mix of regular porridge oats and rolled oats, some cinnamon, brown sugar and milk powder. It takes a while to soak up the liquid once added and isn’t as creamy as I like. It didn’t fill me up as much as my usual porridge but it was good for a standby with a handful of raisins thrown in. A squeeze of maple syrup would be a grand addition and it did taste fantastic with a spoonful of morello cherry preserve.

Portable porridge with raisins

Finally we have Jack Monroe’s (aka A Girl Called Jack) recipe. I left out the sultanas as I wanted the flexibility to add different things (and not everything goes with sultanas). I found I needed to add slightly less liquid than I would when making porridge normally but the consistency was great although not as filling as TPW pots. I added a tablespoon of apple and blackberry jam on this occasion.

Porridge with apple and blackberry jam - NOM!

The benefit of making up your own instant porridge is that it’s really cheap and the basic mix is plain which provides a great base to get creative. As someone who rarely eats the same thing two mornings running this is perfect. I can add fresh or dried fruits, nuts, seeds, honey, maple syrup… chocolate chips! Some of the fruit and seed snack packs I get in my subscription boxes are perfect for adding interest to a plain porridge pot and add variety without having to buy lots of packets of different things.

What’s your favourite porridge topping or other portable breakfast?

Protein Powder Comparison

What do you talk about with your friends when you meet up? Jobs? Holiday plans? Love life? It seems a certain set of my friends and I can spend the better part of an evening geeking out about health and fitness. One of the reasons I love the twitter and facebook communities I’m part of is that I can talk about these sorts of things with like-minded people and not bore them to tears. It’s even better that I can do this in real life too!

Aside from discussing our training goals, race plans and the January over-crowding in the gym we got on to nutrition; a subject which is at the forefront of my mind these days. Specifically we started discussing the merits of different protein powders. I use products from MyProtein and TheProteinWorks. My friend uses MonkeyNutrition and I’ve recently discovered Pro-10 and TheNatural Whey Company. It got me wondering about the merits of different brands and the comparison between whey and soy proteins. I’ve written a number of articles about soy protein for TheProteinWorks but have never looked in detail at the differences between the products. So I’ve put together a handy table comparing five brands of whey and soy protein that I’m familiar with and reproduced it below for you as a handy resource.

 Whey Protein

Soy Protein

I included Holland & Barrett to represent the high street as I know not everyone buys online. Neither Monkey Nutrition nor The Natural Whey Company stock a soy protein at present (that I could find) so we can’t compare them on that count.

It truly depends on what your priorities are, as to which you think is best. At the top end of the price bracket online we have Monkey Nutrition and Pro-10 pretty much level pegging on calories and protein content with Pro-10 Whey Protein Isolate coming in at around half the price. However MyProtein’s Soy Isolate just about pips them both to the post considering cal/protein content and value for money. If you want something low-fat and low-carb then I’d say Monkey Nutrition’s the one to choose but MyProtein Soy Isolate is the best value for money.

Across the board, where a brand stocks both a whey and a soy protein, the soy protein gives you a bigger protein hit with less fat content and is around half the price by weight. The soy comes in slightly higher on calories but you’d need to consider the carb and sugar levels… some brands soy protein are higher in these than their whey counterparts, some aren’t.

It’s certainly made me consider what I want from my protein. I currently use Whey Protein 80 from TheProteinWorks most frequently. They do an amazing range of flavours and the carb content doesn’t bother me. I’m just trying to get some more protein in my diet. I may switch brands in the future if my goals change but it still has to taste good!

Was this article helpful? What brand of protein do you use (if any) and what are your reasons for using it?

Doom And Gloom Has No Place Here

Tube strikes, floods, gales, these have all passed me by this week and I'm grateful for it. It's meant that I haven't wasted energy on being negative but have, instead, had a really wonderful week. My real highlight was going to Nordicana to spend around 5 hours watching amazing Scandi drama and taking part in Q&A sessions with the stars. It was held in an appropriately cold and stark brewery building near Brick Lane but I was warmed by vodka and my down jacket.

Sophia Helin aka Saga from The Bridge

Another highlight was staying up to watch the Superbowl for the first time ever. I think I probably annoyed my OH quite a bit with the incessant questions about the mechanics of the game but hopefully I made up for it a bit by providing some rather nice homemade brownies. There was beer, nachos, popcorn and marshmallow fluff. Doesn't get much better! Apart from that we had both booked Monday off so after an indulgent lie in we went to the zoo. Everyone should take the odd day off work to do stuff like this. It's great for a treat.

Two cute porcupines

I've realised that this is the first in a series of three 4-day work weeks as I have next Friday and the following Monday off as well, not for a valentines jaunt but for the Rock 'n' Roll Carnival du Nice. Tutu's have been bought and all my brightest kit has been sought out in preparation. I've even painted my toenails in festival colours. Let's get the party started!

I had an abundance of energy this week, from Tuesday onwards so I've taken advantage of it and worked out every day. I did Body Combat again but on advice from the instructor, wore gloves this time. It may seem odd as you don't actually hit anything but it encourages you to make a tighter first which activates the arm muscles more. I certainly felt the difference. I followed this up the next day with my first Body Pump class in aaaages. It wasn't the usual instructor but I really liked him. Singing, countdowns and "BOOM"s were all encouraged and the session left my arms feeling so weak I could barely wash my hair. My chest still aches. I snuck in a quick half hour on the cross trainer yesterday and did yoga and core workouts from the NTC app this morning. My local parkrun seems to be going ahead tomorrow so I'll be doing that unless I wuss out and go to the gym instead due to heavy rain. I'm susceptible to cajoling on twitter though so you never know...

Packing up. Glad I removed the heavy weights earlier.

It's also been a good food week. In the process of trying to use up things in my fridge I've made cous cous and falafel salad with olives, cous cous salad with pomegranate seeds, almonds and red onion, butternut squash and sage risotto, amazing veggie burgers, mushroom muffins and kidney bean, carrot and cumin burgers. Nom! I may also have made a lavender and lemon drizzle cake involving swede. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it!

Mushroom Muffins

So yeah I'm full of positivity right now and can't wait to see what next week brings. Soz. What have been your highlights this week? What amazing meals have you stumbled upon in the process of using up leftovers?

Nutrition Course Case Study - Submitted!

Yikes! There’s no going back. I’ve pressed send on the email that contains my coursework for the latest in my modules towards my Advance Diploma in Personal Training and it is hopefully winging its way to a tutor who will consider it worthy of a passing grade.

This is the 7^th module of 16 that I’ve completed. There are 4 more in the diary and 5 still to arrange. Thankfully I still love it. I adore learning anyway but most importantly I find the subject matter hugely engaging and can’t quite believe that I have gained knowledge that I can pass on to others or use to help them get fitter or healthier. My mum was the client for my recent case study and I helped her to lose 5lbs and 3 inches from her waist, I'm so proud of her!

I’m still working out exactly what aspect of PT I enjoy most. The nutrition side is fascinating to me, and as you know I do love my food… and I found the circuits course to be pretty inspiring; there’s just so much you can do in a circuit, the variations are almost endless. I’m not sure if I am brave enough to run classes, I might be more of a one-on-one person, but I wouldn’t mind the chance to try and see if I can build my confidence a bit.

Once I figure out what direction I want to move in I would like to start setting myself up as a PT, website, REPs, business cards, clients… that sort of thing. I know it’s a packed market and it won’t be easy but the industry enthuses me and there’s always something new to learn about or explore. You could say the same of most industries but I’ve never felt quite so interested or invested before. I loved coding as part of my Computer Science degree but I didn’t keep it up and my day job soon took me away from opportunities to practice or apply my skills. I never really found the impetus to pick it up again but to this day I much prefer the practical and hands-on aspects of my job rather than paper-pushing.

So hopefully I’ll soon get a certificate in the post to formally show that I know stuff about nutrition and be another step closer to qualification.

Is there a skill you wish you hadn’t lost or one you’d love to learn? If money were no object, what would you do to occupy yourself?

Two Months On

Hello, my name’s Vikki and I’m an anaemia sufferer. It’s been two months now since I was diagnosed with anaemia. Last week I had loads of energy but I know not to take this for granted. My moods have also stabilised a lot and I’ve found a routine that means I only forget one tablet a week rather than three or four.


My stamina is improving little by little; I took advantage of a glorious sunny morning to tackle a steady 7.5 mile run to music on Saturday morning, but my speed has suffered. I’m happy to push myself when it comes to weights and classes but I’m still nervous about intervals and other speed work so I’ve not done any. This hasn’t helped my pace but I’d prefer to enjoy a longer slow run and still have energy left over than push too hard and wipe myself out for the rest of the week. There’s been a lot less frustration now I’m learning how to manage things.

I had a dip in energy on Sunday but I think that was probably more due to staying up late to watch the Superbowl than anything else, and maybe not getting as much good quality sleep as I thought I had. Next week I expect to have a bit of a dip as I have my monthly, which sort of makes sense. The sudden drop in energy really took me by surprise last month but I’m ready for it this time, I’ve stocked up on the broccoli and orange juice!

My only real concern lately is that I seem to be going through a phase of getting quite cold, particularly hands and feet, but I’m not sure if that’s a separate thing. I’ve made my next blood test appointment for the end of the month and I’m considering making an earlier appointment with the doc to talk about feeling so cold. It’s something I can cope with and it’s not all the time but it does sort of take the joy out of an impromptu trip to the zoo when you feel so cold you want to keep moving rather than stop and look at the animals. I may be the only person to have felt comfortable in three layers and a down jacket in the tropical zone! I think this may have been a one off, in part due to tiredness, and a hot bath worked wonders but I’m keeping an eye on it.