Cavolo Nero is part of the Brassica family and super nutritious.  It is high in Lutein, Vitamins A, K & C as well as a very good source of Manganese, Copper, fibre, Calcium and Vitamin B.  It has a strong flavour and needs nothing else to make it delicious.  It is plentiful this time of year both in the farmers markets and in my kitchen.  I make a big batch of the pesto every week so that when I am too tired after a gym session I can just boil water.

Ingredients:
1 bunch Cavolo Nero
50g smoked bacon cubes
Drizzle of good olive oil
1 dried chilly pepper
100g long pasta per person

• Remove the centre stalk of each of the cavolo nero leaves.  If you do not do this you will not be able to run it through your food processor. Place in a an inch of salted boiling water and simmer for 5 or 6 minutes. Use a wand or pour Cavolo and water into a blender or processor to make a puree. One bunch should be enough for about 5 portions.
• Once cool store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until needed.
• In a Pot of boiling water cook 100g of long pasta per person for 2 minutes less than the package says
• in a small covered skillet cook the bacon over very low heat until it is cooked through but soft.  You do not want it to brown, and this should take just as long as the pasta to cook.
• Drain the pasta leaving a small amount of the water in the bottom of the pan and return all the pasta to it as well as enough of the cavolo nero to coat the pasta well and the bacon.  Simmer covered for another 5 minutes and then stir in the broken up chilly pepper.
• Dish out and drizzle with a generous serving of olive oil.

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2. Venison, Jerusalem Artichoke and Rooibos Pie

Rooibos means red bush in Afrikaans. Although the plant itself is green the leaves turn red after oxidation hence its name. Over the many years working in Africa I have come to love this infusion in place of black tea. On my last return from working in the Cape I was looking for an alternative to wine to make my pie with and thought to give this red tea a try. It cooks down to a rich gravy full of flavour, gives the venison a beautiful deep red hue and has none of the acidity that wine can have. I now never use wine for my venison pies.

Makes 6 small pies or 1 large one

Ingredients:
2 litres Rooibos tea
450g diced venison
80g chunks bacon (I get the ends from the butcher)
Butter for frying
6-8 Jerusalem artichokes
3 bay leaves

For the crust:
250g flour
125g butter
1 tablespoon toasted cumin seeds
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg for dough plus 1 egg for wash

• Boil 2litres of water and pour over 2 handfuls of rooibos tea. Let it stand in the leaves until cool. Rooibos is not like ordinary tea and will not get tanniny.

• In the meanwhile brown the bacon chunks in ¼ of the butter. I like to leave the meet and bacon in large chunks that make for a hearty eating experience.

• Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside in a casserole.

• Brown the venison in three batches adding butter every time. If you do it all at the same time the pan will cool down and the meat will not seer; it will release its moisture making it impossible to brown. Remove every batch once brown and set aside in the casserole with the bacon.

• Strain the tea from its leaves and pour over the meat. Rinse the Jerusalem artichokes and cut into bite size pieces and add to the meat.

• Bring to a simmer and cook on a low heat for 1-½ hours with the lid on. In the meanwhile make the crust.

• Toast the cumin seeds and then pound in a mortar.

• Measure out the flour in a bowl and stir in the cumin seeds and salt before cuttimg in the butter.

• Work in with a fork until crumbly and then add egg. Kneed the dough together for 1 minute. (Add sprinkle of flour if too soft or a dash of cold water if still too crumbly). Place in the refrigerator while the meat cooks.

* Preheat the oven to 180’

* With a slotted spoon, remove the venison, bacon and artichokes to a pie dish (or 6 small ones if making individual ones) Turn the heat up and reduce the liquid to ½ cup and then pour over the meat.

*Roll out the dough and cover the dish or dishes with the crust making sure to seal the edges well. Do not pierce the crust and brush with an egg wash Place in the warm oven for 50 minutes of until the pies have browned

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3. Gingerbread cookies

There is nothing that gets you in the Christmas spirit more than walking into a room full of the smell of gingerbread. I like them quite spicy and use 2 teaspoons of black pepper. If you want them a bit more mild then half this quantity. I collect copper cookie cutters of all shapes and normally the whole animal kingdom would have been represented. This being a special year, I only chose polar bears and rhinos!

Makes about 16 large cookies

Ingredients:
6 cups (750g) sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
300g unsalted butter
170g dark-brown sugar, packed
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
250g molasses

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

2. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Add flour mixture; combine on low speed. Divide dough in thirds; wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour.

3. Heat oven to 350°. On a floured work surface, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Transfer to un-greased baking sheets; refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cookies cool on wire racks, then decorate as desired.

Royal icing:
1 egg white
250g icing sugar
juice of one clementine or half a lemon
colouring

Beat the egg white until stiff and then slowly add all the sugar. Stir in the juice to give it the consistency of thick cream before adding the colour you want

Use a piping bag for each colour or cut a small whole in the corner of a ZipLock bag. I put some damp kitchen roll at the bottom of a tall glass and put the icing I am not using in the glass. This keeps it tidy but also keeps the end from drying out before I am finished with decorating.
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4. Granola

I have never liked porridge and that is a disaster on expeditions as most breakfast meals are a variation of just that. I never seem to wake up until my teeth have crunched through something… there is nothing more satisfying than the sound and sensation of eating granola. This is my personal favourite, but really any combination of nuts and fruit will work. Experiment and find your own. The only thing to remember is not to add the fruit into the mixture you bake. The fruit will become hard so only toss it into the mixture once it has cooled.

Ingredients
150g butter
300g honey
1 TBS cinnamon
500g oats
100g sunflower seed
100g chopped pecans
100g pumpkin seeds
30g sesame seeds
100g dried cranberries

1. In a small saucepan over low heat melt the butter and honey together. Stir in the cinnamon.
2. Heat the oven to 180′
3. In a large bowl combine the oats, and all the nuts and seeds.
4. Pour the butter mixture over the oats and mix well.
5. Transfer to a baking tray and place in the oven.
6. After 10 minutes stir the oats and then again every 5 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before breaking up and adding the cranberries. Store in an airtight container ready for your breakfast!

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My friends revel in passing me all their leftovers, the cakes and cheeses they desire but can’t eat, allowing them to live vicariously through my copious eating. Eating indiscriminately however, is not ultimately going to build fat and replenish muscle in the correct way.

Protein

Milk Protein is the best for building muscles immediately after I have trained. I also end every day with a large glass before going to bed. Ken from Hurdlebrook farmscomes to the Notting Hill farmer’s market every Saturday and sells his delicious unpasturized whole milk and I am addicted to it. You are only allowed to sell unpasturized milk at farmer’s markets in the UK so if I think I will be away I buy extra and freeze it. Milk protein contains all the essential amino acids required by the body for optimum growth. For this reason more of the protein can be used for protein anabolism so there’s less chance the protein in milk will be converted to fat and stored. The quality of the protein in milk is higher than the protein in other protein-rich foods but the quantity of it is low per ounce because of the high water content in milk. For this and for its lack of fibre, it can only be a part of the protein I look to take in every day.

Average values for and 8oz glass of milk:

I need to eat 1.2-1.5 g of protein a day per Kilo of body weight. That adds up to around 80g a day. An average person would look at trying to take in .8g of protein per kilo of body weight.

How much carbohydrate do I need?

Calculate your daily energy needs:

Your weight in Kilos x grams of carbohydrate/ kg = carbohydrate needs

e.g. 70kg x 6 g / kg/d = 420 g carbohydrate per day

Fill in your figures to find how much you need

Weight _____ kg
X
grams required for your activity level ______
= ______ grams carbohydratess you need per day

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May 2009 Report from Dr. Andrew Middlebrooke

Since June 2008, Christina has been undergoing a series of physiological assessments in order to optimize her physical training and improve her chances of completing her Polar challenge. The latest assessment comes immediately after arriving home following Christina’s successful training mission to the North Pole. This allows us to look at the effect of the environment and physical work on her body’s physiological capacities. Here’s a summary of the changes that occurred from Pre- to Post-Polar expedition!

There was no significant change in Christina’s blood pressure pre v post the North Pole, however her resting heart rate was lower suggesting a training effect. Christina’s blood hemoglobin (iron) levels were much higher following the trip, which creates an increased capacity of the body to carry oxygen. This is a positive training adaptation.

Christina has lost a small amount of weight pre to post the North Pole trip (-1.7kg), which is very good considering the energy demands of the Polar environment and indicates that Christina has returned, she has managed to fuel herself effectively to replace the lost weight. This weight loss is reflected in a small but significant loss of body fat (2%).

In terms of body shape, we have noted a significant change in Christina’s waist (2.4cm) and hip (2.6cm) circumference, which reflects a change in body composition during the expedition.

Resting Metabolic Rate

There was no significant change in Christina’s resting metabolic rate (RMR) pre v post the North Pole that reflects little change in muscle mass during the expedition.

Exercise Data

This includes the data collected during your maximal exercise test, providing information about your physiological state at each exercise stage. At every exercise stage, Christina was more physiologically economical; with a lower heart rate, oxygen uptake, blood lactate and energy expenditure at each speed. This is a really positive training adaptation suggesting that Christina’s body found each level of exercise easier Post-Pole than before the expedition. This reflects the hard and sustained physical effort that Christina endured which acts as an intense and sustained training session.

At maximal exercise, the data demonstrated that Christina has managed to retain her aerobic capacity (maximal oxygen uptake – VO2max) with negligible change in VO2max (56 v 55) with a high maximal heart rate of 198 b/min.

There was also an improvement in Christina’s Lactate Turnpoint compared to pre-North Pole, which reflects the sustained high intensity work Christina endured. Interesting, her Lactate Threshold decreased slightly pre- and post the expedition which may reflect the lack of exercise stimulus at the easy to moderate intensity zone.

In summary, during the 8-month training period we have seen changes in Christina’s physiology, which was more advantageous to her in completing her Polar Challenge. These included increases in her maximal capacity for aerobic exercise (VO2max), improvements in exercise economy and in the lactate profile (lactate threshold and turn point). These changes have been further improved by the sustained and intense physical work that Christina has had to complete during her North Pole training expedition. This information along with heart rate data collection during this expedition will help the team prepare an even more accurate training programme for Christina’s challenge in 2010!

Glossary Resting Metabolic Rate This is the amount of energy expended while at rest and is measured calculating the gas in her exhaled breath. The same equipment will continue to measure the amount of energy or calories that Christina burns as the exercise increases.
One of the main goals of the program will be to achieve the lowest possible calorie burn at the level of exercise that is estimated Christina will work at while skiing to the North Pole.

VO2 Max This is the maximum oxygen consumption. Christina’s cardiovascular fitness or aerobic capacity will be determined by measuring her breathing while running her to exhaustion.

Lactic threshold This is the point at which Lactic acid starts to accumulate in the blood due to …… It is measured by taking small samples of blood at every level of exertion. Understanding of this threshold will allow the team to tailor-make a program that works Christina in such a way as to push the turning point at a much greater exertion level.

Comparing these tests at 3-month increments it is possible to assess the efficiency of the program and Christina’s progress as well as highlighting any areas that need extra work.

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Counting eleven times Paralympic gold medallist Dame Tanni Grey Thompson DBE and the GB wheelchair athletics squad among his clients, Dr Andrew Middlebrook has worked with everyone from university sport scholars to polar explorers.

A graduate of the University of Liverpool and with a Ph.D from the University of Exeter (where he now works as a lecturer in Exercise Physiology) for his work in aerobic fitness and vascular function in diabetes, Andrew is also the founder of Exercise Science Consulting Ltd.

Andrew has been my task master for the past 6 months. His monthly exercise regimes have ensured that I arrive at Ward Hunt Island as strong as I can be.

www.exercisescienceconsulting.co.uk

Neil Lewis Strength and conditioning specialist

http://www.eliteconditioning.co.uk

Kieron Bradley Lotus Engineer

Kieron Bradley, Engineer at Lotus Engineering has been instrumental in developing some of the equipment that will help Christina accomplish her goal of being the first women to ski, walk and swim solo to the North Pole. Kieron, who has worked on everything from Formula 1 cars to the famous Concept Ice Vehicle (also in conjunction with Voyage Concepts) has designed and assembled Christina’s ski bindings, made from titanium and by using the same material, has made the fuel burner lighter and more efficient. All of this equipment has been thoroughly tested at the world-renowned Lotus headquarters in Norfolk, England to a temperature of -30°C.

While Lotus Engineering is responsible for engineering Lotus’ fantastic sports cars, the majority of its work is for third party clients on some of the most significant projects in the automotive industry and engineering world. Lotus’ clients, major global car manufacturers, new entrants to the industry and everything in between, all value its thorough understanding of the automotive business, its cutting-edge engineering expertise and its talented, visionary staff.

http://www.grouplotus.com

Carl Newbury Massage

http://www.carlnewburymassage.com

John Falkingham Weather and ice information

John is a meteorologist who retired last year after 33 years with the Canadian Ice Service, a division of Environment Canada. He is very knowledgeable about ice conditions in the macro scale and monitoring the ice with satellite remote sensing. Using images from a number of satellites, he can interpret the big picture and will provide advice to Christina about large scale ice movements and expected weather conditions.

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Image copyright: Matteo Corner

Andy’s regime of training at first took a great leap of faith. I arrived to him in what I considered a fit state and had always trained regularly, so when he suggested that I should start by training less but “his way” I was initially apprehensive.

Like many people who train as part of their everyday life, my body had become very efficient at working at a certain level. Andy immediately identified my strengths and weaknesses and came up with a schedule that would grow my endurance and allow me to work even more efficiently at a low levels of exercise.

I needed not fear, as the initial low levels inevitably gave way to long hours pulling tyres and sleds around town!

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