Welcome to my REAL blog....

...for REAL families. That is families that are like mine - two working parents, two high energy children - that either hate each other or are best friends - and an overindulgent dog! We are probably all a little crazy in our own right (I like to think of it as individualism), far too busy with life, but trying our hardest to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Below I have the recipe for my Sweet Potato Hummus with Harissa Spiced Seeds and Sweet Potato Skin Chips. Skip ahead if you are eager to whip this up at home or read on to learn more about me and my family; my world....

As a qualified physiotherapist I took my passion for health and wellness to the next level by completing my Masters in Health Science - Physical Activity & Nutrition with a special interest in child development, child obesity and fundamental movement skills. This led me to working in NZ as the Director of Youth Development at Sport Auckland, managing, creating and delivering a wide range of health and movement initiatives to young people and their families.

Back in the UK I have been busy training as a Yoga Teacher, a Yoga Shred teacher and creating lots of new recipes to share with you. Of our two children one will eat all food offered - especially anything 'healthy' and the other...... well lets just say there is a reason I have been trying so many new recipes!! By stealth I will succeed in getting healthy food in her body......

I have been working across sport, health, fitness and education since I was 19 years of age (twenty years) and in that time I have been extremely fit and healthy but also had periods where I have struggled to juggle work, kids and life so that I've felt sluggish, unfit and unhealthy. I know first hand what that feels like and how hard it can seem trying to turn things back around.

I'm hoping that my REAL blog will give you some ideas or inspiration to try something new with your family or give you the motivation you need right now to live the lifestyle you want. With REAL there are four main pillars to our family health that are important to us....... and believe me are extremely noticeable when things are out of whack:

R - Rest & Restore

Pretty self explanatory but over the coming weeks and months I will share with you why it is so important to get a healthy sleep routine in place and how our bodies repair when we sleep. And best of all I will share bed and morning routines that will have you ready to attack each of your days with renewed energy and awareness. I will also teach you new ways to meditate by your self and with your family to give you moments of clarity and calm in our busy lives.

E - Eat Real Food

You will be pleased to know that i have never done a diet in my life! That's not to say I haven't smashed down a number of protein shakes over the years in my weight lifting, training twice a day years (we are all young and stupid once!).

In our house we have a REAL focus on REAL food. No processed food, no sugar. Do we ever eat these thing. YES. There are honestly occasions when we do. We happily and eagerly eat whatever we are offered when we eat with friends and family, we like to eat out occasionally and love trying new food. We are not that unrealistic to think that life with two children means we will always have time to provide freshly cooked, nutritionally balanced meals.

The key is in the planning and preparation, and the ability to get in the kitchen daily to keep on top of things. I will share with you our favourite family recipes to provide healthy meals and snacks (and sweets!) that will boost your vegetable consumption, decrease sugar, decrease processed food and improve your gut health.

A - Activate

Activate blogs will provide ideas, videos and knowledge of appropriate Active Play for your children through the life stages, exercise and fitness for parents and Flow-Mingo Kids Yoga for you to share and practice with your children.

As a family we are extremely physical in all that we do - we exercise individually, we exercise together, we are physically active together and we play together. It's just in our make up - it may be our inner competitiveness - or maybe just our inner child that has us all climbing and swinging from trees, playing tag and rolling down hills in the summer!

L - Loving Kindeness

This final pillar of our family health refers to our relationships. With our selves: with other people: and with our environment.

Relationships have been proven to be the number one factor in health and happiness above nutrition and exercise and are an important factor in longevity. That's not to say nutrition and exercise aren't important - all four factors contribute to family health and well being.

By practicing Loving Kindness in all three domains (self, other, environment) we provide ourselves with the best possible chance of developing and fostering deep and meaningful relationships. Build your tribe by setting your vibe!!

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Sweet Potato Hummus, Harissa Spiced Seeds, Sweet Potato Skin Chips

No other type of hummus goes quite as quick as sweet potato in our house (although seaweed hummus comes close!). The potato delivers just the right amount of sweetness to have everyone hooked. It also makes the consistency really smooth and a little thinner which is perfect for dipping vegetables and Sweet Potato Skin Chips.

If you are like me and enjoy garlic then use 1 clove of fresh garlic. My youngest finds this a bit too much so when making this version I either use some fermented garlic paste (an easy to make - recipe coming soon - paste) or 2-3 roasted garlic cloves (I roast a few bulbs and store them in the cupboard covered in olive oil - double win as it infuses the oil with garlic and can be used in other dishes or as a salad dressing. *remember to keep it completely covered with oil or they will go moldy).

I also use a food processor to make mine but have also made it in the nutri-bullet - it takes ages and you need to add extra liquid but still possible.

I roast my sweet potato whole in batches. Any that i don't use for this recipe i bag up and freeze and use as thickener in soups, sauces, add it to curries, use as a layer in lasagne or make sweet potato brownies!! It allows me to have plenty of skin to make chips.

Last note on ingredients......... no need to shell/take the skin off chickpeas - just chuck it all in. It makes no difference on the final product! Feel free to taste, taste and taste again - every one has different tastes and you may prefer more/less of some spices x

Hummus

400g chickpeas

1 1/2 small sweet potato (or 1/2 large one)

1/4 cup tahini

2-3 cloves roasted garlic (or 1 small fresh clove)

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

olive oil (to desired consistency)

Bake the sweet potatoes whole until soft and the skin slides off. Place skin to one side for the chips.

Throw everything in a food processor and blend to desired consistency. Drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika.

Keep chilled and use as is with vegetable dips or top with Harissa seeds.

Harissa Spiced Seeds

A drizzle of olive oil or coconut oil

Seeds of your choice - i use omega 3 mixed seeds (linseeds, pumpkin, sunflower)

Harissa spice

Paprika - sprinkle on top (optional)

I don't measure this one out - lightly toast seeds on low heat in fry pan with a good teaspoon full of spice. Sprinkle as many as you want on your hummus - I keep any leftovers in a jar and sprinkle on salads.

Sweet Potato Skins

Once you have taken these off the potatoes break into large piece and gently rub both sides with a small amount of olive oil. I find if you drizzle it on there is too much.

Make sure there are no large clumps of potato left on the pieces.

Sprinkle with sea salt and bake in the oven 180 degrees for anywhere from 10-20 minutes. Depending on size and your oven. I check in on these frequently!

Not only are these delicious but it means there is no wastage from the humble sweet potato. Best kind of recipes in my opinion!

I hope you enjoy making this and sharing with friends and family x