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Last night I had my sports massage!  Big thanks to Jess for recommending a therapist, she was excellent and very knowledgeable. She talked through my injury with me, gave me some suggested stretches and corrective exercises and then massaged my legs. It didn’t hurt as bad as I had been expecting but she did say that my legs were very tight. She explained that I had some muscle imbalances and that my glutes probably aren’t ‘firing’ properly and that my inner thigh muscle is a little under developed. She also said that I should be able to do the Great North Run! I’m still going to try a short run on Sunday and obviously if I still have a lot of pain I’m not going to risk things getting worse, but overall things are looking up!

I’ve still be working out this week, as thankfully my usual exercise doesn’t hurt my knee. I’ve had a few light cardio sessions at the gym and my usual body pump class and yoga podcasts.

I’ve also had some lovely eats this week including the usual suspects:

Green smoothie containing assorted leftover greens: spinach, romaine, spring greens, frozen banana, kiwis, hemp protein, maca, spirulina, msm crystals, vanilla stevia, water, ice, xanthan and guar gums topped with lots of almond butter sauce, goji berries and bee pollen.

Salad with romaine, cucumber, carrot, yellow pepper, beet, green olives, Lydia’s raw organic crackers, cheesy pumpkin seeds and braggs liquid aminos

On Tuesday evening I made the most luscious bowl of protein ice cream:

This was made with some frozen watermelon, vanilla sun warrior protein powder, stevia, ice, water and xanthan and guar gums. It was divine!

As I had a busy evening on Wednesday I decided to treat myself to something from the salad bar at Sainsbury’s. I was pleasantly surprised!

This was half butternut and lentil salad and half ‘seventeen salad’ containing quinoa, bulgar, edamame and I think there were also pear and cranberries in there! All served up on top of a bag of mixed spinach, watercress and rocket. Yum, I can totally see that becoming a lazy evening habit!

I’ve also been experimenting with a new way of cooking tempeh. I made a Tempeh and Quinoa Stir Fry based closely on this recipe which crumbles the tempeh rather than frying, baking or grilling it in slices:

I made mine with shredded cabbage and sliced runner beans and served with steamed greens. This was really delicious, I will definitely be cooking tempeh in this way again!

Veggies in my breakfasts (i.e. my carrot cake chia pudding!) have become a bit of a theme this week. This morning I had this amazing dish waiting for me when I got up:

Chocolate Courgette (zucchini) Overnight Oats (vegan, serves 1)

• 1/2 cup of scottish oats
• 2 1/2 cups of water (or milk, or half and half)
• 1 tbsp of chia seeds (optional)
• 1 large grated courgette
• 1 tbsp of cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp of agave syrup or sweetener of choice
• 1 tbsp of cacao nibs (or chocolate chips, or nuts) for topping

Begin by cooking the oats and water according to Katie’s Voluminous method. Once semi cooked and cooled slightly, stir in the chia seeds, grated courgette and cocoa powder. Once completely cooled transfer to fridge to chill overnight. The oats should thicken up nicely! In the morning add sweetener to taste and enjoy either cold, or reheat topped with the cacao nibs or other topping of choice!

I think I’ve been inspired by all the chocolate and courgette action going on in other blogs recently! This is a lot tastier than you may think, and is a great way of getting in an additional portion of veg! The cooking method, especially when combined with the chia seeds, gives you can amazing creamy bowl of oats.

Obviously I’m a lover of getting my greens at breakfast in my smoothies but my carrot cake chia pudding and this recipe are a new way of getting my fix! Are you a fan of veggies for breakfast?