Simple Jerk Chicken

This is a great 10 minute preparation recipe that I got from a friend and thought I would share.

 You'll need: 

Vegetables of your choice. I used 1 green bell pepper, 1 onion and 2 tomatoes.
Chicken breasts
Rice / cous cous
(If using cous cous you'll want 1 pint of chicken stock too)
Olive oil
Levi Roots Jerk sauce (or any brand)
Baking dish
Saucepan

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.

Cut the vegetables into chunky quarters and put them in the baking dish. Pour olive oil over the veg so a little is on each piece and shake the dish from side to side to spread the oil about.

Next, make a space in the centre of the baking dish and place the chicken breast in the space. Make short cuts in the top of the chicken breasts, maybe a couple of centimeters deep.

Pour over the jerk sauce , making sure to cover the chicken and getting it into the cuts.

Put the baking dish in the oven and cook uncovered for 40/45 minutes (adjust cooking time to your oven).

Prep. the rice while the chicken is cooking. If using cous cous, soak it in the hot chicken stock for the stated time.

When cooked through and the vegetables are looking lightly crisped on the outside, serve with the rice or couscous and VOILA! A cheap and easy dinner.
     
                 Before cooking....
                                                                                                        After cooking...

                 

If you have more time you could make your own jerk sauce and marinade the chicken in it overnight in the fridge...but that's neither quick or simple.

Oh, and it tastes delicious!

I took the plunge

I finally took the plunge and did an aquacise class (pun intended). I was looking forward to this class the most out of my "exercise class try-out list" because it genuinely seemed fun and hilarious to do.

There are multiple benefits of aquacise according to a national website dedicated to the promotion and training of the activity, including but not limited to hydrostatic pressure and the cooling effect benefits the exercise has over other activities not in water.

Ideally, the water level should be chest height and the movements should be pushing through the water and not above the waterline. This is okay in pools which are multi-depth or if you're really short, neither of which apply to my experience. You see, i'm 5'11 and every time I stood to my full height in the pool I felt like Godzilla.  Consequently, I spent the entire time with bent knees to keep my body at the same height as everyone else's. Awkward. 

This photo is from the Virgin Active Website and is my club's indoor pool that I swim/float about in.

We did the whole class to retro 90's music and did lots of jogging, jumping jacks, moving around and water weight work. It was really good fun and there were times I had to bite my lip to stifle the giggles at how ridiculous we all must have looked to the onlookers in the spa area. I didn't actually feel worked at all at the end of the class though and for me personally, the benefits were pretty minimal for time expended. I can see how it would be great if you were of poor health, new to exercise or had a physical disability as it was gentle and the water does aid movement. 

I obviously ended the session in the jacuzzi and sauna to allow for adequate recovery time!

Zumba

I'd wanted to try Zumba for a long time but never really took the plunge and went to a class. I'm glad I finally did because it was an experience to laugh about for a while!

The official Zumba website states: "Shake, shake, shrink! The most fun and effective workout ever!" Well, that pretty much sold it to me.

I thought maybe it would be a little bit like a dance class where the instructor would teach the steps and we'd all give it a jolly good try. Nope. The music went on and like robots these women all started a dance routine that only they knew. It was like joining a dance troupe which had been practising for months without me. I was concentrating so much on the copying the steps from the person in front of me that I was always one beat behind and my weight distribution wasn't right for a lot of the moves. There were times when they walked back whilst I was still jumping forward and so many close calls with squishing ponytails and bright pink Lycra. I don't think I've ever felt so much like the elephant in the room.

Did I enjoy it? Well, despite the review above, yes I did. The music was great and even though I caught the instructor shaking her head at me, it was fun to be the quirky in her perfect class.

Will I go again? Sure will. If all they do is repeat the same dances week after week I figure I'll pick it up eventually. I mean, I have to right?

Next up: Aquafit. This will be a tricky one because the classes are always fully booked. I'm interested to know who goes and then gets out of the pool and immediately books the next class. Bit keen? The plan is to slip into the pool unnoticed and join in anyway (note: this plan will fail if they're all old and I'm quite obviously the young one).

(N.B. Being sly with these things isn't my forte I admit. I once slipped into a university physics lecture wearing heels and a dress - you can only imagine how much I stuck out in that room.)

Travels

This week i've been trying my hardest to stick to my budget which will hopefully make my bank balance look a little healthier and help me save to move out. I've been praying about friendships too and 2 opportunities have sprung up...both of which cost a fair bit.

The first is to fulfill a promise i made to a best friend 18 months ago when we said goodbye at Gangnam Station and I left my home and life in Seoul. I told her I would visit her in Texas when she returned to the States and she's been back for a year already. However, she's also looking at returning to Korea this Autumn so my time window to visit has suddenly shrunk! After scanning the internet for flight prices we've settled on March for my visit to Texas and i'm so excited to see her again and all the state has to offer!

The second is to go with new friends at Church to Bergen in Norway over the Easter weekend. I'd never really thought about visiting Norway before, I mean it's not that I didn't want to, it just never jumped out at me as a place to go to. After checking the weather averages I can't say i'm ecstatic about the thought of a cold, snowy city break but I want to go with those people, so to Norway I will go!

This is a little scary but i'm going to be tracking my weekly weight and exercise goals this year:

Weight: 80kg
Exercise: Managed 3 gym trips,3 swim trips and a climbing evening this week. 
Using the MyFitnessPal app is really helping with logging diet and exercise, plus it's motivational as friends can see how much you're eating vs. the calories you burn!