Spicy Beef Wrap

This is my 3rd hay of healthier recipe ideas for all you good folk wanting to shift your Christmas pud's... God knows I need to shift my own! I want these recipes to show that cleaner eating doesn't have to be boring, the recipes are full of flavour and very easy to put together. We don't need fad diets that leave you energy-less, just good ingredients that balance our your diet as it should be which is roughly:

50% Carbohydrates

30% Fats

20% Protein

At the end of the day what we eat and drink determines our state of being, food and nutrition are crucial to health not only for the body, but for the mind and the emotions which I think we can all relate to. Modern ailments, sickness and diseases are caused by an imbalanced diet… junk food, takeaways, preservatives, additives, too much salt, sugar and animal fat… that mixed along with too much alcohol, and of course tobacco-which I know doesn’t come into food consumption, however it does surpass hunger and does come in the way of a healthy balanced diet. Now I’m not preaching or bullshitting off the top of my head, all of the above with the exception of tobacco used to be a part of my life… I literally am speaking from experience.

I have changed my eating habits and it has been the best change I have ever made, no downside, no repercussions, no negatives. It has led to a healthier body, weight loss (in a healthy way), a healthier mind and a much happier Paul. The way I see it is this… If you have a car, and most of us do… well, that car won’t function right if you don’t put the right stuff into it. How far would your car go without the right fuel (carbs), the right oil (protein), the right brake/clutch fluid and power steering oil (fats) and the right coolant (water)… now I’m certainly no mechanic but I do know that without the correct type and the correct amounts of all of these you will not have a full functioning car? The only difference is that a car will need serviced once or twice a year, our bodies need serviced on a daily basis-a few times a day in fact.

For me, having a healthy diet and watching what you eat is, or should be common sense. Yes you can get the percentages right-carbs v’s protein v’s fats– and you can be eating very fresh produce too but if you don't watch portion sizes and  don't get up of your backside and do some exercise then you will find that a healthy balanced diet may not make you look and feel as good as it should. There is no point in me going into depth on portion sizes as everyone’s size, metabolism rate and daily exercise routine is different… a bit like BMI (body mass index) it wouldn't be very accurate. As I say common sense goes a long way but if you are really stuck then a dietician would be happy to create a plan for portion sizes taking everything into account.

5 keys to a healthier diet:

 Cut down on convenience food and takeaways

 Try replacing meat with oily fish more often

 Reduce your intake of sugar, salt, coffee, fizzy drinks and alcohol

 Make your diet as varied as possible

 Use fresh ingredients as often as possible

Spicy Beef Wrap

This is a great simple lunch that will blow your socks off. It packs a super flavour punch. Alternatively it can be made with chicken or pork, even chicken dippers for a really easy option.

Serves 2:

2 medium sirloin steaks-fat trimmed

Olive oil

Paprika

Dried oregano

Cumin seeds

1 small red pepper

2 scallions

4 tablespoons of sour cream

1 tablespoon horseradish sauce

2 low-fat tortillas wrap

Sweet chilli sauce

Fresh rocket

Method

Take the steaks out of the fridge 15 minutes before cooking, massage in a drop of olive oil and season both sides with the paprika, oregano and cumin seeds.

De-seed and finely slice the red pepper and the scallions, set aside. In a small bowl combine the sour cream and horseradish sauce and use as a dip.

On a screaming hot griddle pan place the steaks, 2 mins either side should suffice for medium steak, then remove and wrap in foil to rest for a few minutes (ideally 10-15 minutes) but as long as u wish.

Heat up the tortilla wraps as instructed by the packaging. Carve the steak into thin slices and arrange on the wrap how you wish, I spread on some sweet chilli sauce, top with peppers, scallions and fresh rocket. Serve with some low fat crisps and most of all.... Enjoy!