Chai Tea & Banana Muffins - 'NoCheating' recipes

Chai tea is an ancient Indian tea blend which is made by combining black tea with spices such as black pepper, cinnamon, cardammon, cloves and nutmeg. Cinnamon is a well-known fat burning spice as it has the ability to increase insulin sensitivity - meaning that your body becomes more effective at utilising food as energy and ensuring that your blood sugar is kept steady for a longer period following a meal.

In addition you're getting a nice dose of chromium from the rolled oats (which also helps to keep your blood sugar low), high biologically-available proteins from the eggs and the UPS whey protein as well as natural energy and minerals from the banana.
I used organic chai tea bags however if you don't have these on hand, the spice mix below or Chinese Five Spice will suffice.

These make a great balanced snack or pre-workout meal for people on the go - they don't require refrigeration once cooked and will last for two days when stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of strong black chai tea (or 1/2 teaspoon each of ground cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice mixed into 1/2 cup water)
2 serves of Ultimate Slim in Banana Twist
1 medium banana
2/3 cup of oats
2 whole eggs
1 teaspoon of baking powder

Method:
Add the chai tea, UPS Banana Twist, oats, eggs and baking powder to a food processor and mix until the oats have lost their shape and the mixture is smooth.
Chop the banana into thin slices before pouring the chai-banana mixture into 6 muffin trays (medium to large size) and placing the banana slices
on top of each of the muffin mixes.

Bake in a preheated oven at 160 degrees for twenty minutes or until the muffins have puffed up and are firm to the touch.

Nutritional info per muffin:

Calories: 134
Protein: 14.6g
Fat: 3.4g
Carbs: 10.4g
Fibre: 1.4g



Aerobic Vs Anaerobic - Know the difference!

Aerobic and anaerobic are words originally applied by bacteriologists to bacteria. Aerobic the word applied to the bacteria requiring free oxygen in order to live. Anaerobic the word applied to the bacteria able to live and survive in the absence of oxygen or air. Later, as exercise started to become more and popular, these words were adopted to designate certain types of exercise. Most everyone is familiar with “Aerobic Exercise”. Not everyone is familiar with non-aerobic or anaerobic exercise.

When performing a set of aerobic exercises you are causing the body to utilize oxygen in order to create energy. The oxygen is needed to breakdown glucose. Glucose is the fuel needed to create energy. However, the opposite applies to anaerobic exercises. In anaerobic exercises the body creates the energy without oxygen. This basically is because the body’s demand for energy is greater so that it will find natural body chemicals to create it.

Breathing properly when exercising is very important. The air enters the lungs and the oxygen in the air is passed through the lining of the lungs. The oxygen is taken up by the red blood cells. The red blood cells enter the circulating blood carrying the oxygen. The blood goes to the heart and is circulated throughout the entire body. The muscles use this oxygen for the needed energy as it is being used will give off a waste product (carbon dioxide). The carbon dioxide (CO2) is in turn released into the blood stream and returned to the lungs to be exhaled.

The above explanation may be simplistic in its description. However, I assure you it is an extremely complicated feat of nature. That is why it is important to know why and how you are exercising. Your heart rate when exercising can determine whether you are doing aerobic or anaerobic exercise. The maximum heart rate for men is 220 less your age. For women it is 225 less your age. The goal rate for exercising should be 70-80% of your maximum rate.

* When the heartbeat is faster than the 70% you are doing aerobic exercises*

How exercise is performed will determine it to be aerobic or anaerobic. Any type of movement your body makes requires the use of energy. You don’t have to do aerobics to lose weight or maintain a desired weight. It has been determined that anaerobic exercise will burn more calories than aerobic exercise, on a ratio of 5 to1 basis, and even as much as a 7 to 1 ratio. The aerobic exercise will burn 25% muscle and 75% fat, while anaerobic exercise will burn 100% fat.

Examples of aerobic exercises are:

1. Aerobic/Fitness classes
2. Treadmills
3. Exercise bicycles
4. Cross Trainers 
5. Air gliders
6. Jogging

Aerobic exercise will have more of an impact on the cardiovascular and circulatory system. Combining the two would give the greatest health benefits. 

Examples of anaerobic exercises are:

1. Weight lifting
2. Machines that offer resistance
3. Dumbbells     

Anaerobic exercises use resistance so that you will also be building muscle and supporting bone density as an added benefit.

Don't get sucked into to every fitness article you read about jogging being the best for fat loss. Also, do NOT get caught up in shows like the 'Biggest Loser' for advice on fat loss! Your number one priority should be knowing the nutrients you put in your mouth, then be wise and train specific to your goal.

Written by, Georgia Holton

How much protein do I really need?

I get asked all the time about how many protein shakes a day someone should consume. What people fail to realise is that its not how many shakes you should have but rather how many grams of protein per day you should be consuming.....

"Supplements" are designed to supplement an already good established nutrition plan or to "top up" not become your main intake. One should never ever underestimate the value of "food".
Food controls many biological signals inside the human body to stimulate metabolism, release hormones, signals to uptake nutrients etc.

Now getting back to just how much protein does one really need. Well naturally there are going to be many factors and influences for each and every situation. I obviously cant advise for every single person and there individual situations but all we can do for the purpose of article is surmise.

If you believe the government RDI (recommended dietary intake) for protein it is 0.8g per kg of body weight. So for a 100kg person that would be 80g of protein per day. (approx 2x chicken breasts). I don't know about you but what I've witnessed in the general public arena is that i doubt many people are even getting that low amount...

Now if your weight training or exercising and looking to increase muscle size/recovery/speed up metabolism it is well known amongst athletes and professionals that a minimum intake of 2.5-3g per kg of body weight of protein per day is required. So for the 100kg person that would be 250-300g of protein per day. (approx 6-7 chicken breasts).

This is where supplements come in. Not many people can physically or financially consume 6-7 chicken breasts each and every day. But most serious athletes will be able to consume 3-4 chicken breasts or protein meals. Then by adding 2-3 quality protein shakes on top of that will provide you with your desired protein intake.

I highly recoomend these products: Ultimate Slim, which is a high protein, low fat and low carb shake that has added fat burning enhancers for those trying to shed fat stores or Ultimate Sustain, which also a high protein, low fat, low carb shake (without the fat burning enhancers). Both products are suitable for men and women. Go to the link below to read more on these products.

Ultimate Performance Supplements
http://www.ultimateperformance.net.au/