Excitement of the Week- Recipe for Green Courgette Salad

I had an exciting day yesterday... May not be exciting for most but it was great for me. 

If you follow my Instagram posts or have been listening to me natter on, you will know I have planted some vegetables in my garden. So yesterday my long awaited courgettes were ready to eat! Not only that but while they were roasting I received a package from my shoe and clothing sponsor New Balance. I still get excited about the latest shoe or trainer from New Balance and this is no exaggeration but I truly think my shoe brand is fab!! 

So it really was an afternoon of excitement.... Athletes lives can be quite boring. 

Poppy and I chilling and weeding post     

                           run 

I planted my courgettes around May time. I put them in small pots to begin with, lovingly watering them everyday and kept them inside so they didn't get too cold. After this I put them in large pots, continuing to water everyday (but just around the roots not the leaves... They don't like that.. They told me). We did have one tragic moment in the Katgette (Katie-courgette) relationship and we lost one of the plants. 

     They may be little but they tasted        

                             great

On a serious note planting vegetables and getting to eat what I have grown has been really rewarding and very therapeutic!! I also read recently that it's  a trendy thing to do, so get to it people. 

   One of the early pictures before the    

             broccoli went a bit wild 

New balance have recently brought out the Vazee range which will replace my staple shoe the 890's. So as I'm sure you can imagine I was eager to try them out to see how they compared. I had been teased with Instagram posts from Emma Coburn and Jenny Simpson and I couldn't wait to try them myself.

         New Balance Vazee Pace in 

   personalised solid grey back pack 

I was happily cutting some food for lunch when the new balance parcel arrived. The shoes were contained within an amazing spaceship like backpack made by a company called Solid Grey. Poppy really seemed quite interested in it and would not stop sniffing it and pawing at the straps so I think she was excited too!

       Poppy also loves New Balance  

                       Deliveries 

The launch of the Vazee Pace also coincides with the "Always in Beta" brand launch. This is almost to be the new motto of new balance and means to be always improving, evolving and pushing. This is basically what is seen as the qualities and attributes that athletes need in order to achieve goals. I stand by these and I'm not being big headed but it is something that I feel I show in my character. Saying that it can also be a curse and this year I may have pushed myself too hard and I have not had the best of track seasons but this is one of the crucial hard lessons in athletics. With Always in Beta in mind I will continue to improve and evolve, and I cannot wait to put things right. 

               I am Always in Beta 

Every time I tell anyone I am growing courgettes they seem to feel the need to then recount their or a family members experience with them. This usually seems to revolve around the fact you get so many you don't know what to do with them and end up eating courgettes for weeks and weeks on end!! So today I am going to share a recipe for a green courgette salad that I will probably be bringing out countless times over the next few weeks to use up my courgette bounty. 

It's a great salad because you can mix and match what to put in it, use leftovers and tailor it to what you have on the fridge. You can also increase protein content by adding some sliced chicken or boiled eggs which will keep you fuller for longer. This very loosely based on a salad that was in a free Tesco magazine. I make this at least once a week and it's a great weekend lunch and it does require a bit of prep. But what you can do is make double, keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days and eat for lunch. I have added a few things to make it tasty and changed about the ingredients. It is best served warmish and great with a few grains, couscous or rice to make it more substantial. 

Green Courgette Salad

Enough for 2 with some possible leftovers for lunch the next day. 

Ingredients 

2 medium courgettes 

1/2 red onion sliced

25-50g Feta cheese (depending if you like a little or a lot) 

2 tbsp chopped mint

2 tbsp chopped parsley 

Zest of 1 lemon 

50g blanched hazelnuts 

2 tbsp pumpkin seeds 

75g of leaves roughly chopped (I find rocket and spinach work really well here) 

175g grains or rice (I like to use ready to eat quinoa or freekeh) 

choose 1 from- 

90g asparagus 

OR 

90g green beans 

OR 

90g broccoli 

OR 

do a mix of them all!! 

Choose 1 from- 

125g broad beans (usually frozen) 

OR 

125g frozen peas 

OR 

125g edamame beans (usually frozen) 

Dressing- 

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

Juice 1/2 lemon 

1tsp soy sauce 

1 tsp honey 

Sprinkle of chilli powder 

Other options- 

1/2 avocado chopped 

1 chicken breast sliced 

Boiled egg quartered 

1. Preheat oven to 190•C 

2. Begin by preparing courgettes and red onion. Trim the ends of the courgettes and cut in half lengthways. Then cut into thick half moon shapes about 2cm thick. Alice red onion. 

3. Place courgettes and onion on a baking tray and drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast at 190•C for 20 minutes. Remove red onion and set aside. Using a spatula gently flip the courgettes. They should have browned nicely on one side, if not increase the heat to 200•C. Cook for a further 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the chunks. I really like a dark colour on my courgettes (this gives the best flavour). 

4. While the courgettes are cooking prepare your green veg. Place pan with an inch of water over a high heat and bring to the boil. Then reduce to gentle simmer. 

5. Prepare the vegetables you have decided to use and cut into bites sized chunks. Throw into a steamer basket along with your frozen broad beans, peas or edamame beans. Place this on top of the pan of water, cover with lid and cook for 5minutes of until just tender. (They should still have a good bite and be firm). 

6. Remove from the pan of water and set aside to drain and cool slightly with the lid off. 

7. Chop herbs, feta and hazelnuts. Throw these into a medium mixing bowl. 

8. Whisk or stir dressing ingredients. 

9. Add the rest of the ingredients including the lettuce into the mixing bowl. I usually serve this as room temperature. The green vegetables and courgettes just slightly warm but it's also great cold. 

10. Pour over the salad dressing and toss well with a large spoon. At this stage also add in grains and optional extras like chicken or egg. 

11. Serve in a pretty bowl and dig in. 

    Feta chunks add such a good sour    

              tang that lifts the salad

Give it a go you won't be disappointed! Don't worry too much about the exact quantities- mix it up with what you already have. And who knows give it a few weeks and I may be able to supply all the readers of this blog with a free courgette... Stay tuned. 

Katie X 

We are not ladies who brunch... We are strong women who brunch

Following extreme disappointment last weekend in the England U23 champs at Bedford last week I decided to do things that I really enjoyed. I went for lunch with my friends, had a spontaneous lunch with Johnny, did my first Pilates class overlooking strangford lough, ran some different routes and topped it off with Sunday brunch at the little pink kitchen. 

    The table at Little Pink Breakfast Club 

I have 'liked' the little pink kitchen on Facebook for a couple of months now and I love when one of Sarah's witty posts pops up on my news feed. I was so intrigued by her Brunch club which is held in her home. The food looked like my kind of food and I jumped at the chance when she posted that some spaces had become available for brunch this weekend. 

I brought my friend Jill along and we were both a tad worried that going to a strangers house for breakfast... may be slightly dangerous.... But I feel this adds to the effect of food clubs along with the worrying prospect of making polite conversation with strangers. Luckily our fears were not met and we were greeted by the host with the most, Sarah's husband "Mr P". 

I don't think I was quite prepared for the group of women I was about to meet. We took our seats around a large communal table and were offered drinks and introduced to a few of our most intimate neighbours. Chat was polite and Jill and I had a lot of catching up to do so we did just talk among ourselves for a while. 

Apart from some oohing and ahhing as the menu board was brought out the chat was constant. All thoughts of awkwardness were forgotten and Jill and I loved sharing some stories with the women around us. 

             The brownie with tasty   

     chocolate sauce and sour cream 

                      SO GOOD 

Caroline from the popular Belfast Food Tours persuaded us to do the usual "tell us your name and a little bit about yourself...". This is literally my most hated activity in a room full of strangers. But after some encouragement of "women need to boast a bit more" we all shared a bit about ourselves. I always feel a wee bit embarrassed and I tried my best not to blush! 

I was surrounded by business owners, an academic, cancer charity workers, a teacher, a writer, bloggers and to top it all off woman of the year. It was possibly the most interesting group of people I have ever had the pleasure of being in company with. 

We talked about women in Northern Ireland, Airbnb, sport, adoption, cancer and of course food. I had a realisation moment that I was so very lucky to have been surrounded by an amazing bunch of people and how crazy it can be that our paths crossed. 

So thank you to my brunch group for opening my eyes and making me thankful for being alive!! This was more than just brunch, it was an experience I won't forget. I would truely recommend Sarah's little pink breakfast club... Although I can't promise your group will be as amazing as mine was!! 

Book here at 

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/sarah-p-8042630061 or check out Little Pink Kitchen on Facebook for upcoming event details. 

What we ate- 

The food lived up to expectation and then some. I had run that morning and hadn't eaten yet so I was starved and wolfed down the whole lot. 

- shallot and thyme potato cakes 

- bacon 

- roast pepper compote

- sweet potato mayonnaise 

- slow roast tomatoes 

- rocket 

The potato cakes were more what I would call a rosti- they were crispy on the outside and perfectly cooked. 

Sweet potato mayonnaise- SAY WHAT? Such a revelation. Slightly sweet and creamy. I piled this on as I am a sweet potato addict

The pepper compote and roasted tomato provided the acidic tang that rounded it all off. I definitely ate more than my fair share of the compote, I am such a condiment and sauce fan. 

Bacon is well bacon and who doesn't like that!! 

The brunch was finished with a chocolatey brownie. The brownie was the perfect balance of chew and goo which is hard to achieve. The brownie contained ground almonds and hazelnuts (I think) and this is great for flavour and texture. 

The best way to spend a Sunday morning. Thank you Sarah! 

Experiment 1- Vanilla Cashew Butter

So last week I carried out an experiment for the cause of nut butter lovers out there. 

I love nut butters. I would class them as a stable food group in my diet. They aren't cheap and I spend a lot of money on them per week. So can I make my own for less money and does it taste as good as my favourite brand Keen Nutrition?

Lots of health food bloggers urge us to make our own nut butters because they will be "more nutritious", "no additives", "cheaper" etc etc. All well and good. But who has time to make their own? I certainly am not twiddling my thumbs on a weekend thinking- oh I must make some almond butter. With the amount I eat my house would need to be turned into a factory to meet my appetite for nut butter goodness! 

I do have some past experience of making my own almond butter. I can tell you my previous attempts were not very successful and didn't compare on flavour or texture to Keen. Way back in 2008 , hereby know as "pre Keen", when alternative nut butters were in short supply (requiring pre ordering from my local healthfood shop I might add). I had an attempt at making some almond butter that resulted in a burnt out blender and an angry mumma Kirk. The final product wasn't even worth it! 

The first issue with making your own nut butter is the food processor. You will need a high powered one with a motor strong enough to turn the Nuts into a smooth delicious paste. These include brands such as magimix and vitamix which usually cost between £300 and £500. Forking out that large sum for a food processor seems like madness to me. Hard to say making your own nut butter is a cheaper alternative. 

The second issue is the time involved. The nuts do not magically become a paste after a minute. It can take over 20 minutes to achieve the right consistency. At one stage my other half was concerned and started shouting that it had formed a ball... This is perfectly normal. The time issue is also associated with your food processor because the longer it takes to release the oil from the nuts the more work the processor is having to do. 

Another issue is extra ingredients. I am most definitely an almond butter purist. Hence why Keen nut butters are my go to brand. They contain nothing else except some delicious ingredients for flavouring like vanilla, coconut and cinnamon to name a few. When making my own I have found the consistency wasn't quite right and had to resort to adding coconut oil to make it more spreadable. 

I did a bit of recipe research and settled on a cashew butter with some vanilla seeds thrown in for good measure. Adding vanilla is like magic! It makes foods taste sweet because of the sweet aroma that vanilla produces which is great if you are trying to reduce sugar consumption. When I'm going to make something for the first time I will look at about 10 different recipes and then make up my own based on a combination of these. My recipe was largely based on a cashew butter that can be found on the Deliciously Ella App. Although to be honest there isn't really a recipe to follow just a method which means it's really flexible! I will let you in to a nut butter secret... The darker the roast of the nuts the better the flavour. I have a confession... When I am buying nut butters I always turn them over and look at the base of the jar to choose the darker coloured jars. What can I say, I'm quite particular about my nut butter! That's what I love about Keen they definitely spend more time making their products and this means the flavour is far superior than mass produced nut butters (ahem... Meridian). So I suppose one advantage of making your own nut butter is that you can control the flavour and get exactly what you want. 

    [ Yummy dark roast on my cashew                                   

                            butter.]

I chose cashews because they are slightly softer than the likes of almonds, Brazil or hazelnuts and might put less pressure on my average food processor. I also tried to minimise burnt out processor risk by giving it a rest every 5 minutes or so. 

I was so pleased with my vanilla cashew butter. Even though I cook and bake a lot it still amazes me that the ingredient you start with is very different to the final product. I got such delight from making my own nut butter- but that might just be me! 

     [My jar of cashew butter in recycled           

                  Keen nutrition jar.]

I worked out how much the batch cost me to make. I used a pretty bog standard  200g bag of Sainsbury's cashews that cost £2.50. I also bought some vanilla pods , for the amount I used it worked out at 75p for half a vanilla pod. The amount This made didn't fill a standard Keen nut butter jar which I recycled for the occasion (if anyone wants some I am coming down with empty nut butter jars!!). In total my homemade vanilla cashew butter cost £3.25 for just the raw ingredients. Of course this doesn't include the electricity, jars or equipment. Keen normal flavours usually cost £3.50. So yes homemade may be slightly cheaper but for the sake of 25p and lots of time and effort saved I will continue to buy my locally made nut butter.  

Not only will you be buying a tasty product but you will also be supporting a local company that employs local people and if that isn't a good reason to spend an extra 25p I don't know what is! 

METHOD/RECIPE- Dark roast vanilla cashew butter 

Ingredients- 

200g unsalted cashew nuts 

1/2 vanilla pod 

Method- 

1. Preheat oven to 180•C. 

2. Place cashews on baking tray and place in oven for 15 minutes or so depending on how rich a flavour you want. Shake the nuts every 5 minutes to brown evenly. 

3. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. 

4. Throw in food processor. 

5. Cut vanilla pod in half horizontally and Keep half for next time. Slice pod in half length way, expose inside and scrape out seeds with the back of a knife. 

6. Add vanilla seeds to nuts in food processor. 

7. Turn processor on full for 5 minutes , scrape down sides with spatula and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

8. Repeat step 7 until nuts have been processed for approximately 20 minutes. 

9. First the nuts will be broken up to crumbs, then to a dust. You will start to see some "sticking" at the base of the bowl as oil is released from the nuts. 

10. The nuts may form a ball at some stage but don't worry just continue processing. 

11. When it starts to look creamy and liquidity I urge you to keep processing for an extra 5 minutes. Those 5 minutes are worth it to make the butter runnier and even more delicious. 

12. Spoon carefully into a sterilised jar (look up how to on Google- I usually don't sterilise properly. Just dishwasher then fill with boiling water from kettle and allow to sit for few mins then pour out water and air dry upside down. This is enough to kill the bugs don't worry.) 

13. Will keep for way longer than it will last. If you are really paranoid you can store in the fridge but I am a bit of a rebel and keep all my nut butters in the cupboard (Cold almond butter is weird!!). 

What to do with your cashew butter- 

It tastes like cake mixture so a finger or spoon is preferable. 

- eat with a spoon (generally my method of choice) 

- spoon onto sliced apple for tasty protein rich snack 

- stir into hot porridge 

- drizzle over yoghurt and fruit for breakfast 

- spread on toast 

- make my previous recipe of cashew energy balls 

- smoosh open a medjool date and fill with cashew butter- actual heaven 

- go back with the spoon for a third time that day... Yep that's me. 

If you come up with some exciting ways of using your cashew butter let me know and I will post some of your suggestions! 

[Cashew butter with some apple. Great       

                     wee snack.] 

UPDATE 

Really enjoyed doing a sports nutrition talk for Queen's University Belfast widening participation programme. The programme is focused on secondary school boys exploring how sport and leadership can be used to access university and higher education. They will come back for a week every year and do sport, education and leadership workshops. The theme of this particular year was American football and the boys were really enjoying exploring a new sport. I focused mainly on general healthy eating and introduced the concept of fuel and recovery. 

Next week I will be doing something similar for a group of first year boys from the same schools and I am really looking forward to it. Hopefully I can improve my presentation and make it more interactive. 

     [As usual lots of hand action when 

      talking! Hopefully I don't bore the 

              poor boys too much!]

I am taking a leave of absence from university for a year to focus on athletics and would love to continue to provide nutrition talks and information for schools, sports and youth groups. If you or anyone you know is interested please do not hesitate to contact me. 

I am also looking forward to the Queen's Sport Blues awards dinner tonight. It's a great night to get glam and have a laugh with some of the athletics team. 

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful rest of the week,

Katie. 

Keen Nutrition nut butters can be purchased throughout Ireland and the UK. Check out their website for stockists. http://keennutbutter.com

You can purchase the Deliciously Ella app from iTunes App Store. http://deliciouslyella.com

Keen Nut Butter Active April- Recipe for cashew and date balls.

As part of local County Down food company Keen Nut Butter's #GetActiveApril Campaign I am posting videos and tips every Friday in an attempt to encourage everyone to make this a healthy and active month. 
Check out my other posts so far this month on my Instagram and Twitter pages. 

I have been an almond butter fanatic for well over 5 years and discovered Keen at one of their first markets in Holywood in spring 2013. I literally stumbled upon their company and have been consuming kilograms (Literally) of their finest nut butter ever since. When I first started eating almond butters it was difficult to get my hands on and involved buying out my local health food shop of their nut butter supply every week. Then I discovered Keen. Aimee and her team have worked tirelessly to get their healthy alternative to spreads and peanut butters to local shops, markets and online- so it is now much easier to fulfill my habit! Check out their website here. If you are yet to try Keen Nut Butters I urge you to give them a go, there are lots of different nut butters on the market but Keen trumps all for quality and flavour every time!

Right back to my post for the day. Cashew and date balls. They are easy to make and super tasty. I make mine in a large batch and store them in a sealed container in the fridge or freezer and nibble when I'm hungry. It appears my family do too as the numbers tend to dwindle and disappear quickly. They are energy dense and high in protein which will help to keep you full and fight those afternoon hunger pangs which usually lead to grazing and poor food choices. Yes, you chocolate, crisps and biscuits I'm talking about you lot!

They are also really handy before a gym session or as a post exercise recovery snack. I will bring one to uni  to eat in the car on the way to the gym or in between training sessions on my double days. Sometimes I just need an energy boost and this does the trick for me. Some people turn to red bull and coffee... I chose Cashews and dates... we are all different but trust me these are pretty tasty.

Recipe- Cashew and Date balls
Ingredients- 

• 2 cups unsalted cashews  

• 2 cups medjool dates 

• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil

• 1 Tablespoon of Keen Cashew Butter  

Variations- 

• Roll in toasted coconut 

• Add 1tbsp protein powder

• Cacao nibs chopped

• Coat in melted chocolate

Instructions- 

1. Preheat oven to 200•C 

2. Place cashews on a baking tray, add pinch of salt and shake to mix.

3. Roast for 10 mins or until golden brown in colour- the darker you go the better the flavour.

4. Every 5 minutes give the nuts a shake to give even colour. 

5. Take out and cool slightly. 

6. While roasting nuts place dates in food processor and pulse until broken up. TIP It is easier to combine

     later if dates aren't in one mass/ball so don't over process and break up slightly with a spoon. 

 
7. Tip out processed dates into a bowl. 

8. Melt coconut oil and cashew butter in a saucepan over a low heat- until the oil is melted. 

9. Place the roasted nuts in the food processor leaving handful aside- pulse until it resembles breadcrumbs.

10. Add dates and remaining nuts to the processor and pulse for 30 seconds. If making one of the variations 

      above add these ingredients now too.  

11. Slowly pour in the coconut oil and cashew butter while the processor is on. 

12. Add a large pinch of crushed sea salt and taste to check there is enough. It should have a good sweet salty

      balance.  

13. Blitz until it just starts to come together. TIP The mixture might not form a ball in the processor and 

      look crumbly but dont worry!

14. You can make any size of ball you wish- I would use a half tablespoon measuring spoon and scoop the 

       mixture almost like ice cream. 

15. Roll between hands and place on parchment paper on the baking sheet you used to roast the nuts (less

      washing up.. YAY). 

16. Place in fridge to firm up for an hour before either coating in 70% dark chocolate or placing a sealed 

      container. 

17.  Place in boxes and put in fridge to firm up! 

I like mine straight out of the fridge but they can be stored in cool dry place. 

This might seem like a lot of steps but I would probably say I like attention to detail and I always 

consider how I would like a recipe.

I challenge you to try it out this weekend! Let me know how you get on.

Katie. 

New York and Boston 2015

I am writing this post travelling from Dublin to New York where I am racing at the Armory Track Invitational. Then the following weekend I will be competing in Boston at the New Balance games in a Team New Balance Ireland DMR. 

I will be running 800m at the Armory Track on Saturday 31st January.

And then 800m in DMR race at the NB indoor games Saturday 7th February.

The reason for writing is that this is the first time in three months that I have had to even contemplate a blog post. 
This winter has been a challenging one to say the least. During the cool down of my first session back I stood on a stupid tennis ball and wrecked my ankle. I was able to train on and off for a couple of weeks. Mixed with some cross training on the elliptical machine I was able to maintain my fitness and coming back to training wasn't difficult. I suppose it was just the feeling of panic that for me that was unsettling. I have of course had lots of injuries but nothing as silly as basically a badly sprained ankle. I felt angry with myself and constantly wished I could go back and change it! I was able to take out my frustration on the elliptical, but going to the gym day after day training on my own but still training hard could get anyone a bit down. I definitely tortured myself a little and in the future I would try and be a bit more relaxed about the whole situation. 
It feels strange to be discussing my ankle which seems like so long ago already. I was back to training by late November and a much happier girl for it. 

We organised a very last minute training camp to Portugal over the new year. Myself and my boyfriend Johnny headed out on Boxing Day for 10 days of a bit of sun and some hard work. 

New Balance trainers post workout in Portugal.

With exams looming there was no time for sunbathing but I was really happy with the training I got done. It was great to get some time to focus without distractions of Christmas celebrations and I was able to do my favourite thing.... Cook. Johnny and I cooked nearly every night and I love deciding what to eat and making some super healthy tasty food. Those who know me know that I love vegetables, try to eat well and that my favourite meal is my take on a tuna nicoise salad! Poor Johnny has to put up with salads and vegetables 24/7 but he never complains, but my dad can't stand "vegetarian muck" and he always let me know how he feels about it! Check out my Instagram page for some of the meals that I brought with me for the flight and travel. http://instagram.com/katekirky1/
My brother Conall was also home from college in America. He is on a track and field scholarship at Oklahoma State University. He has been injured for over a year and it has been tough for him not being able to run. It was great to have him home and have that gap filled in our family that happens when he is gone. It's really strange being the older sibling and still living at home while my younger brother made a big move to the other side of the world. When he left and I suppose this is the same for any other brother and sister, I was thinking if we were close enough to still have a good relationship with him. Luckily we were able to keep in contact well when he was away and Skype with the family every weekend. 

I have received continued support from Ford UK and I would be stuck (literally) without my focus.

My Ford dash on one of my many early morning training trips.

Being a student and athlete involves many hours spent in the car travelling from uni to training to massage and then doing it all over again. 
Queen' sport have also continued to support me. They recently hosted a series of lectures for all the queen's supported athletes. Hugh Campbell got us to imagine our biggest goals and began the exploration of using psychology and relaxation to improve performance. I would love to continue in this area further. I am admittedly hard on myself and sometimes slightly negative, but I do believe that in some ways  this helps with my determination.

A huge thank you has to go to My shoe and clothing company New Balance and Nic Bideau who have kindly organised this trip and made it possible.

I am really looking forward to racing this weekend. It will be an amazing field and undoubtedly the highest quality field I will ever have competed in.  

Three words.... Bring it on.