FIT&FAB: A great meal to keep you warm this cold season

It's delicious, filling and laden with health benefits such as calcium for stronger bones and antioxidants to fight diseases. PHOTO| MARION MAINA

What you need to know:

  • Fortunately, I have alternative indoor workouts which include skipping rope, YouTube Zumba routines or simple stretches.
  • On the flip side, the rain has been great for the various herbs and vegetables I planted in my mother’s kitchen garden.
  • Every day I pass by the garden to check them out and my palates tingle with anticipation of munching crispy fresh veggies very soon.
  • Fit&Fab is a blog series by Marion Maina who lost 30kg during her weight loss journey that started two years ago and is now in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. Do you have feedback on this story? E-mail: [email protected]

The cold and rainy season comes with its own set of challenges for this fitness enthusiast. Rain, for instance, has made me put off morning jogs on my usual hilly terrain route because it gets very muddy and slippery.

Fortunately, I have alternative indoor workouts which include skipping rope, YouTube Zumba routines or simple stretches. On the flip side, the rain has been great for the various herbs and vegetables I planted in my mother’s kitchen garden.

Every day I pass by the garden to check them out and my palates tingle with anticipation of munching crispy fresh veggies very soon.

The cold on the other hand has not been so easy to cope with. I feel hungry more often throughout the day. It has made me understand a saying in my language: Úrugarí  umaga na nda ( warmth comes from the stomach). As if the hunger pangs are not enough, they are accompanied by a craving for hot treats. Apples, salads, yogurts, nuts and all my other go-to snacks and fillers are not an appealing option for me in this season.

To add salt to injury, my route to work every morning is paved with local vendors frying greasy mandazis, sausages, samosas band chapatis that seem to be calling out to me ever since this cold season begun.

MANDAZIS CALL OUT TO ME

“Come bite me, I’m a hot crunchy mandazi,” I almost heard one whisper from the frying pan as I walked by yesterday.

I’m happy to report that I didn’t succumb to the temptation. My relationship with wheat, sugar  and deep-fried  foods has always been a slippery slope. I have one bite and will binge for an entire week or so.

For instance, last Christmas happened to be an extra festive season for me since my graduation fell on  December 21, four days to Christmas. There was a huge cake to celebrate my graduation and being the star of the day, I had the first bite of the mouth-watering cake.

One thing led to another and by the time I was done with celebrating my birthday on  January 7, I was carrying a whopping six extra kilos. The good news is by end of February I had lost most of it and now am in my usual weight range. Extra weight that comes easy, goes easy especially if you switch back to your usual fit lifestyle.

Later that day after narrowly escaping that oil-dripping mandazi, I bumped into one of my recipes which turned out to be a great meal idea for keeping warm without compromising the fitness journey.

It's delicious, filling and laden with health benefits such as calcium for stronger bones and antioxidants to fight diseases such as flu which are more prevalent in the cold season.

 

BONE SOUP RECIPE

Ingredients

4 huge bones( get those with bone marrow)

A handful of rosemary leaves

A handful pieces of diced tumeric

2 stalks of sliced celery including the leaves

I pepper ( red, don't slice)

Salt to taste.

 

METHOD

Place all the ingredients in a sufuria. Cover with water to the top. Bring to boil (3-5hrs)

Allow to cool. Blend the soup ( minus the bones). Enjoy!

 

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Fit&Fab is a blog series by Marion Maina who lost 30kg during her weight loss journey that started two years ago and is now in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. Do you have feedback on this story? E-mail: [email protected]