My big walk up The Mount today

It's been about 4 years or more since I last walked up Mount Maunganui, and a friend mentioned some time back that it had been 15 years since she last walked up. We decided that we needed to fix that, so set a date to head on up.

After a few false starts, what with very little walking being done lately, tummy bugs in both families and a neck injury on my part, we finally got to do our walk today!

It was with great dread that we drove to The Mount, both joking about dying, leaving our funeral instructions with someone etc. We were also very excited about the Copenhagen Cone's we were going to treat ourselves to when we got back to the bottom.

It went so much better than either of us expected, neither of us died and we even felt energetic enough to skip/jump occasionally on the way back down.

Here is our journey in pictures:

Clean Eating - Chocolate Peanut Butter Icecream

Recipe and picture from The Gracious Pantry

Clean Eating Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream
(Makes 2 servings)

Ingredients
2 cups frozen bananas, thawed on the countertop for about 10 minutes
2 tbsp. peanut butter (more if you want)
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (more if you want)

Directions

Step 1 – Allow the bananas to sit out on the counter for about 10 minutes so they just begin to thaw (just barely).

Step 2 – Put the bananas through the Yonana’s machine (or in a processor with a small splash of milk and blend till smooth).

Step 3 – Stir in the peanut butter and cocoa powder. Mix well and serve.

Eat and Enjoy!

Nutritional Content
1 serving = 1/2 the recipe

Calories: 230
Total Fat: 9 gm
Saturated Fats: 2 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 78 mg
Carbohydrates: 39 gm
Dietary fiber: 5 gm
Sugars: 19 gm
Protein: 5 gm
Estimated Glycemic Load: 13

Nutritional Information estimated at Nutritiondata.com. Data may not be accurate.

Clean Eating - Chicken with Ancient Grains and Macadamias

I spotted this recipe on the Countdown website this morning. Although it has Chicken Stock, and I'm not sure that comes under clean eating, the rest of it is fine, and this looks delicious, one to definitely try!

Ingredients

• ½ cup quinoa
• 1 ½ cups Campbell’s Chicken Stock
• 600g chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally
• 50g rocket
• ½ cup flat leaf parsley
• ½ cup mint leaves, sliced
• ½ cup coriander leaves, sliced
• ½ red onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 15 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• ¾ cup macadamia nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• Black pepper to taste
• Salt to taste
• Sesame seeds to sprinkle over the top
• Lemon juice & wedge for garnish

Method

Rinse the quinoa in warm water for 5 minutes. Drain and place in a saucepan with the chicken stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes until the grain is softened to your liking and set aside (I like to keep a little bite to add another texture to the dish).

Heat the 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a large fry pan, add the chicken and cook until nice and golden on both sides and cooked through. Set aside to rest.

Place the quinoa, rocket, parsley, coriander, mint, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and macadamias into a bowl and gently combine.

Combine the lemon juice and 3 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add to the salad and mix thoroughly until everything is evenly coated.

Take chicken and slice across the grain.

Serve the salad in a large pile in the centre of the plate, top with the chicken slices and garnish with sesame seeds and lemon wedges.

Ingredients

• ½ cup quinoa
• 1 ½ cups Campbell’s Chicken Stock
• 600g chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally
• 50g rocket
• ½ cup flat leaf parsley
• ½ cup mint leaves, sliced
• ½ cup coriander leaves, sliced
• ½ red onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 15 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• ¾ cup macadamia nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• Black pepper to taste
• Salt to taste
• Sesame seeds to sprinkle over the top
• Lemon jucie & wedge for garniMethod:Rinse the quinoa in warm water for 5 minutes. Drain and place in a saucepan with the chicken stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes until the grain is softened to your liking and set aside (I like to keep a little bite to add another 

Clean Eating - Raspberry Lime Yosicles

Recipe and Photo from The Gracious Pantry

Ingredients
1 (12 oz.) bag unsweetened, frozen raspberries
2 cups plain, non-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1/3 cup honey (tart) OR 1/2 cup (very sweet)

Directions

Step 1 – Blend all ingredients together in a blender and pour into popsicle molds. Freeze overnight.

Clean Eating Recipe - Coconut Almond Cranberry Chicken

Recipe and Photo from The Gracious Pantry

Ingredients
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1 (15 ounce) can light coconut milk
1/2 cup dried cranberries (I used fruit juice sweetened cranberries from Whole Foods)
4 cups raw spinach leaves, tightly packed when measuring
4 chicken breasts (about 7 ounces each), chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/2 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger (grate on a microplane for best results)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

Step 1 – Combine all ingredients in a large pan and cook until the chicken is fully cooked through. Serve by itself or over brown rice or whole grain pasta.