So here’s the deal….. you can eat as many eggs as you like.

Excess cholestorol comes from eating too much saturated fat, not from eating foods which contain cholestorol, like eggs.

For the full story check out this great article from the British Heart Foundation, The truth about eggs and cholesterol

But first, on a lighter note, check this out!The Egg Song

In theory, I understood the point of this, but I had strong associations between beans and pulses and a rather strange vegetarian girl I knew at University. (I’m sure I’m not alone here!) So while I’d mostly avoided them till now, I decided to do some research online to see if there was a way I could learn to love lentils.

The key, like in most of cooking, is with the seasoning. You can add beans and pulses to many dishes to make them more filling, but if the dish is already quite bland adding beans or pulses will make it even worse.

This quick and easy recipe has become one of my favorite side dishes, to go with any meat & veggies.

Spicy Tomato Lentils (Serves 2-3)

Ingredients

• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 half red pepper, chopped
• 1 half onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 200g tinned lentils, rinced well
• ground chili flakes, to taste
• salt, freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Heat the coconut oil in a small saucepan. Add the pepper and fry for 2 mins. Add the onion and garlic and fry gently for 5 minutes or until the onion starts to soften. Season generously. Add the tomatoes, lentils and chili to taste. Continue cooking till lentils are heated through, then serve immediately.

Fish oil supplements have been shown to have powerful antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-heart disease properties, it is easy to see why it would have the tag of magic potion!

However of the other great side effects of fish oils is its effect on metabolism. In the right dosage you could see as much as a 400 calorie a day boost in metabolism… At this point I could give you the full geek run down of why this occurs, but most folk are more interested in where and what type of fish oil to invest in.

This is where you need to check the supplement facts, because a lot of commercially available fish oils don’t stack up… You are looking for the EPA and DHA values listed on the back, add these two values together and you should have at least 300mg per capsule. Some will contain as much as 1000mg per capsule where you need to see between 30 and 60% is the EPA and DHA values combined.

Don’t bother with cod liver oil, check the ingredients and the oils should come from one or more of the following fish: salmon, menhaden, anchovy, sardine or crib.

I am a great believer in quality over quantity, so I invest in the best grade fish oils but take less… you’ll hear some health professionals popping almost a dozen or so capsules a day. I buy expensive but take 2 or 3 total a day with meals.

Tim Goodwin

You can check out the Omega 3 supplement we use here

http://getfitnutritionalprograms.com/ – for the sake of full disclosure this is an affiliate link.

Although it’s a seed, it acts more like a grain, and is a great wheat-free alternative to cous cous. You can also use it is a rice alternative – egg fried quinoa is a favourite of mine. You could also make it with rice milk as a kind of breakfast porridge.

Quinoa is actually considered to be a complete protein as it contains all eight essential amino acids. It’s also high in calcium, iron and a good source of Vitamin E.

Oh, and it tastes great!

Just do make sure that you rince it well before cooking to get rid of the bitter coating on the seeds.

Here’s a quick and easy quinoa salad recipe you could serve with meat of fish for dinner, or eat on it’s own for a light lunch.

While it uses a ‘cup’ size, don’t worry about this. The key is to use the same measuring ‘cup’ for the quinoa and the water. The size doesn’t matter too much.

If I’m cooking for two people I tend to use an espresso cup, for four a tea cup.

Quinoa Black Bean Mango Salad

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 ripe mango
1 x 400g can black beans, rinsed
2-3 spring onions, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Place quinoa in a sieve and rinse well under cool water. Place quinoa in a medium saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Add a bit of salt. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes before fluffing. Cool slightly.

Toss slightly cooled quinoa with mango, black beans, spring onions, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

This salad lasts 3 days in the refrigerator.

If you’ve read Ferriss’ first book, the 4 Hour Work Week, you may have wondered what this guy does all day, since he clearly doesn’t work. Read The 4 Hour Body and you’ll find he spends his time experimenting to discover the quickest way to a number of goals, from quick fat loss, fast muscle gain to the 15 minute female orgasm. (Bet that got your attention!)

I haven’t read the whole book yet, but I’ve had some great results following the advice in his fat loss chapters.

It’s basically Nutritional Responsibility, with a couple of tweaks….

1. No fruit. While I was initially sceptical of this point, I did find that cutting out fruit did help control my sugar cravings.

2. You can have a glass of red wine daily. Only red wine though, no beer, white wine, spirits etc.

3. You get a ‘cheat day’ each week, where you can eat ANYTHING you want, including the fruit you’ve been missing in step 1.

Anyway, I reckon the book is well worth a read. Some of the experiments he’s done are crazy, with results that’ll cause you to question a lot of ‘well known facts’ around health and nutrition. It’s easy to read, and you can skip the really geeky science stuff if it’s not for you.

Get it here!

Once my worst nightmare due to their tiny bones, Sardines are now fast becoming my favourite fish.

We never really did fish when I was a kid, unless it was bettered and fried and wrapped in newspaper, and it’s only in the last few years that I’ve eaten anything other than salmon.

In fact I know a few people who say they love fish, when really they just eat salmon.I guess it’s the easy, familiar choice – and usually comes in pieces rather than a whole fish, head and all.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE salmon, but I’ve now realized there are so many other  amazing fish out there.

This is a photo of some sardines I just grilled for lunch today. Totally delicious and super healthy, just busting with omega 3.

And the smell when they are cooking is divine! They have such an intense flavour, but it’s not what I would call ‘fishy’, I’d say it’s more meaty. For their flavour I’d say sardines are the crispy bacon of the fish world!

Not sure what to do with them? When I get the technique better myself I’ll do a video. In the meantime….