Ketogenic Chocolate Truffles

Sometimes the best ideas come to you when you are out running.

Do you get that?

I solve all manner of problems when out on a long run, sometimes things that have been bugging me for a while suddenly become clear when I am putting one foot in front of the other,

I wanted to find a way to introduce a different range of chocolates to one of my stores.  I already stock gluten-free chocolates, dairy-free and diabetic.  I kept thinking about ketogenic chocolates.

So I went into my production kitchen today and started playing around.

The first couple of attempts just didn't work and then I got just the right taste and consistency that I was craving.

I wanted something rich, decadent and velvety in consistency.

So here it is, let me know how you get on making them

Velvety Keto Truffles - makes approx 25

Ingredients:

250g unsweetened chocolate  (I can highly recommend Pacari chocolate) or go for a really dark chocolate 80%+

100g full fat coconut milk (I used Biona Organic in this recipe)

1 heaped tablespoon of Tahini (I used Organic Dark Tahini by Equal Exchange)

Unsweetened Cocoa powder to decorate

Optional 1 teaspoon Xylitol powder

Method:

I used a microwave to make these....super easy.

Place your chocolate in a bag and bash with a rolling pin until you get very small pieces (like chocolate chips)

In a plastic bowl add your coconut milk and microwave on a medium heat for approx 90 seconds - you want the coconut milk to be really hot but not boiling over.  (If you are adding the xylitol then mix it in after microwaving).

Add your tahini and tip your broken chocolate chips into the bowl and stir with enthusiasm until all your chocolate has been mixed in.

Once velvety smooth, cover and leave in a cool place for 1 hour.

Whilst this is cooling, grab a shallow bowl and sieve in your cocoa powder ready to roll your truffles later.

Using a teaspoon scoop out a ball and roll it in your hands, then toss into the cocoa powder until covered.

Repeat (trying not to eat them as you go)

Store in an airtight container in a fridge or a nice cool cupboard in winter for up to 2 weeks.  You can also freeze these and defrost at room temperature before eating.

They make great gifts and I have tested them out on my paleo and vegan friends and they LOVE them.  

Chocolate that is good for you!

Enjoy

How you can make running more enjoyable

I ran a lot in my early 20's, I used to watch the London Marathon every year on TV and it would get my running juices going.  I felt inspired and wanted to run like the people I saw chucking out mile after mile on an epic journey.  I watched World Championships, the Olympics and wanted to try and run as fast as I possibly could, as far as I could.

I soon realised a few things:

1) When you are not an experienced athlete or a beginner at running you CANNOT run fast AND long.

2) Yes others can make running look easy but when you are just starting with running it can 'feel' really really tough, especially when you try and run too fast.

3) When you try and run really fast it is like a tunnel vision happens - you have to concentrate so hard that your field of vision narrows and it is so difficult to enjoy the experience.

So I got really injured and then didn't run for about 15 years.

Last year my need to start running was like a burning itch, I kept thinking about it, started reading running books and blogs and checking in on the Runners World website.

Then one day I got up, put my trainers on and started to run.

I started off by just running a kilometre.  Then a few days later another kilometre and so on.

Finally I reached 5 kilometres.

I had made a pact with myself that once I had got to the magic 5 I would go and run at my local parkrun.  If you aren't familiar with parkrun - it is a 5k timed run every Saturday morning at 9:00am.  There are parkrun events all around the world and it is a great social way to run the same distance every week, in company.  It is NOT a race (certainly not for me anyway!)

I was so anxious to do my first parkrun that I got ready really early and paced around my flat drinking lots of cups of tea.  I got to the start nice and early and needn't have worried, lots of people said hello to me and the organisers made sure I knew what I needed to do. 

So at 9:00 am we set off and the rest of the run was a bit of a blur.  I crossed the finish line breathing so hard I felt dizzy.  I was elated though.  I really did have that runner's high that people talk about and I STILL remembered the feeling from years back. 

A couple of hours later and my phone pinged a text message alert.  I had completed my first timed 5k in 28 minutes and 30 seconds.  As I hadn't run with a watch, timer or phone I didn't know what sort of time I had done, I thought it would be more than 30 minutes and I was momentarily elated.

A few hours later though and fatigue set in, I had a headache and was really hungry. 

I knew I had pushed myself too hard, got into the excitement of running with others and my pace was far faster than all my shorter runs leading up to my first parkrun. 

I pushed it to the back of my mind and the next few weeks before Christmas I got back to the start line each Saturday and sprinted my way through the 5k. 

The problem with that approach was that I started to not actually enjoy the run.  I was puffing and panting so hard that it made each run feel like running through a very narrow tunnel.  I couldn't appreciate my fellow runners, the trees, the clouds in the sky, the birds singing.  It was all I could do to keep my legs moving.

I decided to monitor my heart rate - with one click of a button on Amazon I ordered a Wahoo fitness heart rate monitor.  At the next parkrun I strapped it on and recorded my run.....

No wonder I was struggling!! Having worked out my heart rate zones I was up near the top of my maximum.

Checking my heart rate at parkrun - the horror of nearing maximum heart rate! 

As I walked back home (with my heart still beating hard) I decided to approach things I little differently.

I remembered learning all about heart rate zones years ago in my training to become a PT.  I looked at my data from my heart rate monitor and decided to approach my next run keeping my heart rate within the fat burning zone.   

SO MUCH MORE ENJOYABLE. 

In my journal that day I wrote: 

This is what I want my running to feel like.  Saying hello to other runners and dog-walkers as I pass.  Listening to the sounds - the river gushing downstream, the woodpeckers drilling for food, the dogs barking.  I want to take in my surroundings, to feel aware of my body, to consciously allow it to relax. 

I am never going to be the fastest runner in the world, so why do I feel the need to sprint along? what am I trying to prove? 

That day was a turning point for me.  I am approaching my running totally differently.  Although I had run for years, years ago, my body needed to build a running base again.  I needed to enjoy my running, to experience the joy of putting one foot in front of the other as lightly as I could.  To learn to breathe again comfortably.   

I am still building on this, I have to remind myself to keep slowing down but I am getting there. 

I am slower in my 5k parkrun now, I am really enjoying each run  and my weekly long run is up to 11 kilometres.....it feels comfortable....I feel comfortable. 

My running is so much more enjoyable.

I would love your thoughts on this, do you enjoy your running or does it feel like a hard slog? 

I am hoping to form a separate category for my heart-rate training and my learning from it each week. 

Wherever you are in the world, get in touch - I love hearing from other runners. 

The excuses we make

I am REALLY good at procrastinating....  so much so that it took me a while to sit down and write this blog post.  Then I figured, just sit down and write it Bridget.... what's the worst that can happen?  You don't like what you have written?  Edit it.

Last Sunday I woke up with a sore throat and a headache at 7:00am and lay in bed staring at my running clothes.  I had laid them out ready to get up and get dressed and go join the BearCat running club for a Sunday club run.

I started to argue with myself, to procrastinate and to make excuses as to WHY I SHOULDN'T go.  My reasoning for not going was that my sore throat would turn into something worse, a cold or flu or strep throat.  

I reached for my phone and googled 'running with a sore throat'.  I pre-agreed that I would go with the first piece of advice that came up.....

'If your symptoms are above the neck you should be fine.  Below the neck i.e. chest problems, give it a miss'

So I got out of bed, put my clothes on and went off for the club run.

As I cycled to the clubhouse I felt instantly better - more energy, less shivery, my sore throat easing.  Why hadn't I trusted my own judgement?  I ALWAYS feel better when I move.

If I hadn't gone running I would have concentrated on feeling sorry for myself, guilty that I hadn't got my run in, sluggish for the rest of the day.  I had momentarily let fear get in the way.

I believe that many of us of procrastinate out of fear - fear of not being good enough, fear it's going to hurt, fear that we won't be able to complete what we set out to do.

I enjoyed every minute of my club run, I ran slowly, for fun and chatted to my fellow club mates.  

I now have a post-it note with NO EXCUSES written on it, it is attached to this laptop screen.  I WILL post this blog article and I WILL be going out running again in a couple of days.

Why I love running

Running doesn't care.....

If your trainers are clean.

If you have make up on.

If you are depressed.

If the sun is shining.

If you had a bad day at work.

If you got a parking fine.

If you failed an exam.

If your thighs rub together.

If you are dressed in the latest kit.

If you are slower than dial-up broadband.

If you are the CEO of Apple or unemployed.

If you suck at baking.

If you can't run more than round the block.

If you have a dodgy playlist on your iPod.

If you are first or last in a race.

Running just let's you BE.

P.S. this list WILL get longer.

Can I run 1000 kilometres in 2016?

New Year's Resolutions really suck.

So why did I make one?

I love running.  I got back into it in December 2015 after years of not running a single step for about 6 years.  I used to love it and ran a lot and started to get stress fractures.  it put paid to my running efforts.  I was scared to run in case I got another one and then had to suffer the disappointment of not being able to run again for months.

That fear sucked.  It sucked big time in 2015 as I suffered the biggest bout of depression I have had so far.

Running is really one of those things that lifts my mood.  It allows me into my thoughts (and not away from them which I originally thought would happen).  Getting into your thoughts and being able to look at them calmly and logically is a great tool.  When I run I am less anxious, when less anxious I am not so scared of taking a look inside.

So I hit January 1st, 2016 and decided I needed a running challenge that would stretch but not overwhelm me.  So in 2016 I will run 1000 kilometres.

I would love you to join the challenge, we can cheer each other on!