Month: March 2013

Sprouting is EPIC!

/ Frankie Mouche / Leave a comment

Yes that’s right. Whether it’s sprouting biceps or a beard….. Oh no wait a second. This is a food post and I’m supposed to be talking about sprouting beans and seeds. *Whoops*

A little while ago I brought a sprouting tray and I never really knew what to do with it. I asked my Facebook friends and got some sound advice, so I got to work. I covered both trays in chic peas, quinoa and other random beans and stuff I had in my end of the world food supply cupboard. Then I sprinkled with a little bit of cold water every day for four days.

The sprouts started to appear and I was over the moon. I even did a little celebratory dance know as, “the bum dance.” Maybe one day I’ll blog about that too.

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Anyway, I decided to eat make some part raw food with this deliciousness.

Enter spring greens, soy sauce roasted broccoli, b12 fortified nutritional yeast, raw carrots and a big load of sprouted beans and seeds. Very tasty and full of vitamins and minerals. GET SOME!

 

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Kettlebells For Beginners

/ Frankie Mouche / Leave a comment

I’ve noticed lately that there seems to be a surge in the availability of them in gyms and separate kettlebell classes such as kettlercise.  I’ve been using kettlebells for about year now with great results so I thought I’d share some beginners techniques with you because a lot of people have no idea what to do with them. Below are six easy exercises that you can do every day with kettlebells.

(Please note that these are just random internet images I have borrowed to emphasise my point and demonstrate exercises to you. Also, I’m not a qualified fitness instructor. Just a heads up. )

1)      The Dead Lift Snatch.

30 reps and a low weight to start with.

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2)      Goblet Squats.

20 reps and a medium weight to start with. (Only go as low as you feel you can manage.)

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3)      Lunges.

15 reps on each leg with a light weight to start with.

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4)      Two arm swing.

20 reps on the lowest weight possible to start with.

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5)      Pyramid goblet squats. (Going down for one and coming up. Going down for two and coming up until you reach 12 and then work your way back down to 1) Use a light to medium weight to start with.

6)      Pyramid lunges. (As above with a light weight to start with.)

Things to remember:

  • Keep your core tight.
  • Do not lift above your weight when starting out. You don’t want to fall over and a lot of these exercises require balance.
  • Take it slow and easy until you master the movements.

Nice and simple! What are you waiting for?

Quinoa, Bean and Pepper Salad

/ Frankie Mouche / Leave a comment

Here is a quick, easy and nutritious salad recipe that can be eaten on the go.

Ingredients:

  • ¼ of a bag of Quinoa (Tesco is by far the cheapest place to purchase Quinoa at £1.69 a bag.)
  • A whole yellow bell pepper.
  • A whole red onion.
  • A handful of pinto beans. (Pre- soaked or from a tin.)
  • All-purpose Caribbean seasoning.

 

Method

 

  • If you are using pre-soaked pinto beans, you will need to cook these in water on a high heat for approximately 30 minutes first. If you are using tinned pinto beans, drain excess liquid and put to one side.
  • Pour quinoa into another pan of water and cook on a high heat for 20 minutes.
  • In the meantime, deseed and chop the pepper and peel and chop the onion into small chunks. Place in a large bowl.
  • Add cooked pinto beans (or from a tin) into the bowl a long with the cooked quinoa.
  • Mix all the ingredients together and sprinkle with Caribbean seasoning for acquired taste mixing again.

I’m lazy, so I just ate it out of the big bowl I mixed it in. You can serve with a fresh, crisp salad if you’re that way inclined.

 

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A Week Off

/ Frankie Mouche / 1 Comment

A couple of weeks ago now a friend of mine was taken from this world by someone who never deserved to have someone as amazing as her in his life. The whole metal community in my home town drank, partied, grieved and drank some more in her honour. I went to a couple of events and even carried on going to work until last Monday when it hit me hard in the face like a brick. The girl who was the first person to actively use Mouche and Emzy together , who would listen to my problems or dance the night away with me: She was gone, forever.

I had to have some time off to get my head around it, but that’s when my depression really started to kick in. All I wanted to do was sit on the sofa, play video games and drink and that’s exactly what I did. I didn’t even go to the gym.

My depression is a crazy monster that lives inside of me that makes me act strangely and alienates those around me. It’s also heavily affected by a healthy diet and a serious amount of exercise, neither of which I had last week. I continued to spiral downwards.

When I’m not in control of how I feel, I tend not to be in control of my gender issues either. I kept switching along my gender spectrum. This is highly traumatic for me because I can get dressed, go out and then be in the entirely wrong clothes and feel 100% dysphoric.

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The picture of my Dad from 1978 rings a bell with me. I don’t have any biological male siblings, so I have no idea what I’d look like as a guy. I’ve been in femme mode for about the last two months and now I’m sat firmly back in androgyny, or as I like to say: without gender. Mykey my partner, has been supportive throughout this time and I look forward to him meeting the more masculine me, but for now I am back in control and where I like to be.

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To top it all off, my oldest rescue cat went missing on Saturday. This triggered my anxiety and made me very twitchy. Thank-fully she came back and is happily asleep somewhere warm and comfy.

All in all, I feel a lot better today and I’m back at work. I even went to the gym this morning, so onwards and upwards.