A Nutty New Challenge

Sorry for the gap in posting!

The doctors have got me on a great new combination of medication which has got the shingles completely controlled- as you may have noticed from my recent posts on Facebook and Twitter!

In February, myself and 2 of my best friends applied to be Team Whole Earth 2016.
We didn't really know much about Whole Earth Man V Horse, but the offer of a Spa day and a personal trainer to get me over the post-shingles slump was too good to turn down, so we pinged in an application and forgot all about it!

I was heading out for a run in late February and got a call from a number I didn't recognise; usually I don't answer at all (too many PPI callers) but for some reason I picked up. I'm thrilled I did, as it was Abbie calling on behalf of Whole Earth, letting us know that we were down to the final 2 teams.

Suddenly the prospect of running through the Brecon Beacons was real- and I hadn't run more than once or twice since October-December's run of shingles!

A week or so later, and we got the email letting us know that we were successful and had been chosen as Team Whole Earth 2016! Cue giant panic at my end!

Ever since I started running, I've done my utmost to avoid running near anyone faster than me/who knows about running! The only exceptions were Great South and the triathlon, but the idea of having a trainer, or even joining a running club filled me with fear. (Hangover from the days of PE lessons!)

The first part of our Team Whole Earth experience was a fitness assessment with one of our 2 endurance coaches, Martin Yelling (his wife, Liz is our other coach.) Their website is here. I was so, so nervous coming to the assessment, even more so than going to Great South! I was scared I'd lost too much fitness and Martin would be panicking that I wouldn't get fit enough to handle Man V Horse!

I needn't have worried. Martin and Liz are possibly the nicest, most encouraging people I have met in my life! We ran our fastest mile (mine was 8.49) and chatted through our fitness background, and goals for the race (survival is my #1!) They then used this info to make our training plans.

We also met our fab nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed, who talked through our diet and eating habits with us, before drawing up a bespoke nutrition plan for each of us.

On 23rd March we headed to London for the press launch, a very surreal day of exercise and peanut butter in Hyde Park! Our hours of posing, interviewing and another really great workout (with Liz not Martin that time) became this rather snazzy video:

After all the excitement of the launch, it's now been a slow and steady slog working through our training plan and getting ready for race day on 11th June! Ironically this has coincided with my busiest time at work, with lots of overnight stays and residentials, as well as 2 weekends away.

That said, I've weirdly enjoyed taking my running stuff and getting out and about exploring- as well as my usual stomping grounds of Southsea and QE country park, I've been running in Marrakesh, through Primrose Hill and along the Regents Canal in London (running past the zoo was cooler than the mansions en route!), Parkrun in Sheffield, round Sunningdale Park in Ascot, and along the canal towpath in Leeds! My strategy for running in a new city seems to be to head for the canal- it's worked so far!

Sheffield, Marrakesh , London and Leeds

It's also been a huge learning curve getting confident on hills and trails- I remember running through the Braidburn park near my parent's house in Edinburgh and making a 5k route which avoided both any hills and any grass/non tarmac surfaces! Hill reps have been an essential yet challenging element of this- luckily Lauren and Helen are always up for a quick set of hills and we definitely cheer each other on as we plod away up and down. (Except for Helen who is still cheering but definitely not plodding- the girl is quick!). We even went out on a 7 mile trail run with Martin, something I'd never, ever have imagined myself voluntarily doing a few months ago! Except for falling down the hill right at the very end, it was great, and Martin did a great job of boosting our confidence and giving us each a few pointers for the rest of our training.

Hill and Trail Adventures

It's 2 weeks to go, and I'm actually feeling alright! We had a group 8 mile trail run with Liz on Monday, something that would have seemed impossible 8 weeks ago but actually it was a really fun, enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours!

Life has eased up slightly so I'll endeavour to keep you all better updated on our Man V Horse training. I've also got a couple of recipes I've tried out with my years supply of super-yummy peanut butter- watch this space!

Run! When you can't run, walk! When you can't walk... crochet?!

Sorry for another gap! I've been entertaining myself with Christmas, round 5 of shingles, a ear infection and a sinus infection. Living the dream!

I had a fabulous break over Christmas this year- it was great to spend a nice big chunk of time with my family, Jon's family and our friends down here on the South Coast.

Treacle settling in under the tree at my Mum and Dad's house

I'd asked for predominantly fitness related gifts this year, including a new Sweaty Betty sports bra (my old one was giving me crazy eczema all down my back!), blue tooth head phones, and a lovely shiny set of kettle bells.

Unfortunately, my body had other ideas and all of the above are still sat, in their packaging, collecting dust in my living room. As shingles gave way to infections, I ended up back at the GP and have been put on strict 'rest and recuperate' instructions whilst we wait for the 10 tubes of blood they took from me to come back and, hopefully, shed some light on what on earth is going on!

Happily, lots of my friends have been very busy popping out babies, so I've had plenty of opportunities for cute crochet projects whilst resting!

Lovey comfort blanket for the newly arrived Emily

A hat for new baby Ciara and head bands for her two gorgeous big sisters

Comfort blanket for Cam (the whale rattles! I was disproportionally proud of myself for that.)

Bootees and a hat for Matthew

Over the past few days, the sun has come out and I've been out and about walking every day. I may not be running yet but I'm determined not to sit on my backside and wait for this bug to sort itself!

The weather and the sea have rewarded me for bundling up and braving the cold:

I've really enjoyed taking it slower and stopping to enjoy the beautiful sunrises. (Not too slow though- it's minus 1!)

It's quite frustrating knowing how hard I was training to start Tri at this point last year, however I know I've come from being far less fit than this in the past, and if the doctors are saying rest, rest I must.

Now who else has got a baby on the way? I need another crochet project!!

Shingle Bells, Shingle Bells, Shingles all the way...

As you may have gathered from the title (apologies for the pun- got to find my giggles somewhere!!) the last gap in posting was due to yet another bout of shingles- that's 4 in 2 years and 3 since April!

Bleargh.

The annoying yet good news, is that after a full immunology work up, it seems that the recurring shingles is 'just' due to how run down and stressed I was over my last few years in the classroom. It seems prolonged stress and insane working days will take their toll, whether you want them to or not!

After round 3 in October, I was determined to be back out and running as soon as possible- so headed out for a 5 miler about a 2 weeks after the rash had gone. Bad, bad plan! Within 24 hours the rash was back and shingles round 4 was in progress.

I've listened to the doctor this time, have taken some time to let the new medication kick in, and headed out today for my first run since the last bout. It was so, SO frustrating to be back to run-walking 4k after the great south and triathlon last year, but if it prevents a 5th episode of shingles, run-walk it is! I'm heading for a swim tomorrow (hopefully) and taking baby steps to get back into my routine!

However, those of you who know me will know that I am not one to sit around idle, so I decided to fill the increased amount of sofa-time with a new hobby- Crochet!

I've always knitted, but wanted to be able to make a blanket for our sofa, and couldn't work out how to find knitting needles big enough!

A few balls of chunky wool from B&M and a giant crochet hook later, and I was away.

Unfortunately, I hadn't accounted for my ridiculously short attention span, so the blanket is still very much a work in progress, with a little bit being done here and there.

Alongside, I've been really enjoying making some smaller projects, like this hat:

With Christmas coming, I decided to spend the sofa time making something to add to our stash of christmas decorations; enter the most addictive and wonderful crochet blog- attic 24.

In one of my rambles around Pinterest, I came across Lucy's beautiful winter wreath:

pic from Lucy at attic24

I was inspired! Something to make, full of little bits and bobs, which suited my short attention span perfectly.

I'm not a pink and purple person, so I took her design and played with the colours and design a little bit to match it better to our Christmas decorations.

I crocheted evenings and train journeys for about 3 weeks to make my wreath. This thing took a LOT of bits and bobs to make:

Weirdly, I found doing all the stripes for the wreath more annoying than the 32 leaves, or 18 little balls- evidence yet again of my appalling ability to do any one thing for longer than 5 minutes!

I was so chuffed to find a tub of tiny polystyrene toadstools for £1 whilst stocking-filler shopping at Tiger- 7 of these babies ended up on my wreath.

Once it was all done, it was time to pin all of the components in place. 

I took a break for a couple of days, then took time last night to sew everything into place. A lot of crochet fans I know hate the sewing up stage, I found it weirdly satisfying. Better than making the wreath background anyway!!

So, without further ado- here's my surviving-shingles-with-my-sanity-intact Christmas Wreath!

I am over the moon with it! I love the warm colours, the cheeky little robin in the middle and the sparkly snowflakes. Hopefully this will become a family heirloom for many Christmases to come.

So less running has made for more crochet- here's hoping for plenty of time, and health, for both over this festive season!

Slowing Down (reluctantly!)

Long time no see!

It's been a hectic few months down here past the promenade.

I've changed job, Jon's finished his masters and started his new job(s) and it's been all change, all round.

To add to the fun, I've been having a frustrating battle post shingles to get back to the fitness I was at before the pesky virus entered my world.

Long story short, I've had to scale my training right back and take it very slowly, as I've picked up a few other bugs in my post-viral state and the doctor has said to chill out and take my time rather than jumping straight back in and flooring it immediately!

plenty of opportunities to cuddle Treacle- less opportunities than I'd hoped for to compete!

To say I was gutted to miss everything I'd planned for the 2nd half of the year's racing is an understatement- I marshalled at June's triathlon with every intention of being in September's; a summer of new job, no routine and fatigue hitting after exercise and September's tri joined the growing list of 'races I missed because of ***** shingles!'

That said, I've learned so much about myself and my relationship with exercise by being forced to slow it down.
-My garmin has been gathering dust on my dressing table- I've been out running for the pure joy of running and being outside with no reference to pace or time.
- I've learned that a 1 mile run after a bug can be as big an achievement and give as huge an endorphin boost as a 10 mile run when you're well.
-I've been loving helping one of my besties get into running, and working through various bits of C25K with her.
- I've realised that it isn't training for an event, or beating a PB, or going further/harder/faster than I've ever gone before that gets me out and moving. It's the solitude, the freedom to go wherever my feet take me, the feeling that my body is doing what it was made to do and will thank me for moving a bit quicker, and knowing that I'm staying strong by exercising that makes it worth an early start or a rainy run!
- picking blackberries or wrapping up and getting out for a walk is still better than sitting in the house on your bum- it's not triathlon-or-nothing when it comes to exercise (this one has taken some work!!)

I've got a few posts saved on here; some great recipes I've adapted over the summer, my bizarre experience marshalling the baby triathlete kiddos in June and a few inspiring ladies- it's time to get back on it with blogging and keep sharing what we're up to- whether that's a triathlon or a autumn walk around the headland.

Watch this space!

Working it Out Wednesday

So here goes with an idea which has been bouncing around my brain for a while!

We live in a connected world, rife with social media which I firmly believe can be used for good or ill.

A year ago, I was spending a fair amount of time online, whilst poorly and very stressed. Facebook was showing me that, while I was on the sofa, some of my friends were out and about, active, and making some far healthier choices than I was!
I had no idea where to start on my journey into fitness, let alone how to fit it into my life, or if women 'like me' even were out there exercising amongst the hundreds of fit-freaks I imagined to be powering up and down the promenade.

So- working it out Wednesday is my contribution!
Each Wednesday, I'm going to interview a different lady who has inspired me on my journey into fitness. Some are hard-core, running ultra marathons or pursuing qualifications within fitness. Some are like me- committed plodders who love how exercise makes them feel! There are single ladies, married ladies, ladies with kids and ladies without. Some have faith, some don't, some I've never asked so wouldn't know! All of them are amazing, and were key inspiration to me in starting and continuing exercising regularly.
I've asked the questions that were on my mind when I was starting out on this path- if there are any other questions you can think of- stick them in the comments and I'm sure they'll be willing to start a conversation!

So, without further ado- grab a coffee, settle down on the sofa and let me introduce Amy!

Amy is a lady who I've known, by association since I started dating Jon. She's also married to a Marine- who's still serving in the RM Band Service. We've not seen each other much in real life, but her couch to 5k journey was one of the biggest motivating factors in getting my bottom off the sofa and out of the door. Last year, she posted this picture:

I'd just finished C25k, and it made me realise that maybe, just maybe, I could manage a triathlon one day! 

Enough from me- let's hear from Amy and how she makes it all work for her:

Tell us a bit about yourself:

My name is Amy Rushton, I am 31, married to Jon who is in the Royal Marines Band and mum to Evan 7 and Lucas 3. We live in Emsworth in Hampshire. A long time ago I was also in the Royal Marines Band and enjoyed sport but a series of health issues put an end to that!

What sports do you like to do in your free time, and how did you get into it in the first place?
When I decided I wanted to get fitter I was 4 stone heavier than I am now. I'd had 4 knee operations and my joints weren't coping with all that weight, so I started walking. Initially it was to the shops, round the block etc but soon I was upping the distances. I started walking 5 miles most nights and frequently spent whole Saturdays on 20 mile+ walks. This alone helped me lose 2 stone. Once I had lost a bit of weight I decided to try running, which I hadn't done properly since leaving the Marines 14 years before! I found it VERY hard! But I stuck at it and coupled with some cycling I soon saw improvement. Now I frequently run 5km, enjoy parkrun, and cycle distances of around 40km.

What drew you to the sport?
I was drawn to running after seeing a good friend of mine go from a non runner to completing the Thames Path Challenge (100km in 24 hours). She achieved so many amazing things and as I watched her progress I was inspired to try myself. (See- we're all secret fitness fan girls really! -Sarah)

Was it easy getting started? Did you start alone or have company?

When I first started I was incredibly self conscious so I ran alone and at night so no one would see me. I found it so very difficult but I discovered perseverance I never knew I had. Once I started seeing improvements I was hooked. I prefer to run alone, a combination of still being self conscious of my running ability and enjoying the time alone.

What's your biggest achievement in your fitness to date?

To date my biggest fitness achievement is competing the Great South Run in Oct 2014. I'm especially proud of that since I fractured my foot in 3 places half way and still managed to finish! (Madness! -S)

Are you working toward a goal at the moment? If so, what?

At the moment I am training for an event I am doing with my online running club Thunder Runners. We are all competing at the Adidas Thunder Run at the end of July, which is a 24 hour endurance race where a team of 8 take turns to run 10km laps. I think I'm down for 3 laps! This is easily my biggest challenge to date, especially as I'm battling persistent niggles in my lower legs. I am really looking forward to it though!

Let's be real- working out takes time! How do you fit it in? What's your weekly schedule like?
Training does take time, something as a military wife and mum to 2 sons with autism, I don't get a lot of! I tend to run at night once the boys are in bed or squeeze a run in as the kids eat tea. I try to keep weekends for family time where I can so I run early in the morning or go to parkrun. When my husband was in Edinburgh for 6 weeks with the Royal Marines I took to putting the boys to bed and then running up and down my 80m street until I had reached 5km! I had a baby monitor with me so I could hear them and always could see my front door so I was happy that they were safe, and I did that almost every night. My neighbours thought I was crazy.

If you could say one thing to someone sat on the sofa, considering starting a fitness programme, what would it be?

Be sensible, Start slowly, Dream big! I overdid it off the bat and hurt myself as I didn't know that I'm a severe overpronator. Consider getting a gait analysis and start with a Couch to 5KM app to get you started. Trust me, if I can do this, you can do this!

Amy before she started

Race for Life Pretty Muddy, June 2014

After the Mo-Run November 2014 (complete with broken leg!)

See- one inspiring lady right?! I couldn't agree more with so much of what Amy says- if we can do it- so can you! Her commitment to getting out and exercising is amazing- you should see her map my runs for the 5ks outside her house- it's like a very cross toddler went mad with a crayon in a very small area! Thank you Amy so much for taking the time to answer my questions.

I'm blessed with a very inspirational friendship group, so stay tuned for another working it out Wednesday with another fab friend next week.

Any questions- bring them to the comments!

baja(ish) fish tacos

As I'm stuck at home, waiting for this rash to sort itself, I've slept a tonne, read a few books and enjoyed having time to cook dinner for myself and Jon.

Fiddling with this recipe has been on my to-do list for months, ever since Jon and I had dinner at Wahaca in March and I had these delicious fish tacos:

Crispy fish, crunchy, citrusy slaw and creamy crema- it was absolutely delicious despite my nerves about the impending job interview I was facing the next day.

Life's been pretty hectic since, but to celebrate being well enough to return to work tomorrow, I decided to finally have a crack at making my own version- which actually turned out far better than I was expecting!

So, without further ado- here's my recipe for homemade fish tacos: (serves 2-3)

Ingredients:
2 large fillets of white fish. (I used Basa- it's sustainably caught and very reasonable if you buy it frozen)
1 egg
2 tbsp plain flour
1 avocado
1/4 white cabbage
1 red onion
2 tbsp garlic mayo (I used homemade olive oil mayo, mixed with 1/2 clove of crushed garlic)
3 tbsp sour cream
a big bunch of coriander
1 lime
1tsp cayenne pepper
1 sachet discovery crispy coating (or polenta- I just find this quick and easy!)
1 large tortilla per person (I like multigrain to up the fibre).
2tbsp sunflower oil

Method:
The cooking part of this is incredibly quick- so I prepped all the trimmings first then cooked the fish so that we could eat it whilst it was hot and crispy.

Slaw:
Grate the white cabbage on the coarse side of a grater or in a food processor. (I'd food process but I've lost the spindle for mine! Must order a new one!)
Finely chop the red onion and mix 3/4 in with the grated cabbage.
Juice 1/2 the line into the bowl, and scrape the little limey citrus bits (that stick out of the lime when you squeeze it) off with a sharp knife and stir through the mix with salt and pepper to taste.
Take a big handful of coriander, chop and stir through the mixture.
That's the slaw done- zingy, crunchy and fat free!!

Lazy Guacamole:
Dice the avocado (I score mine in the skin then scoop the whole lot out with a big spoon!) Mash lightly with a fork, then stir in the other 1/4 red onion, 1 tsp chopped coriander and a sprinkle of cayenne to taste. It's not really guacamole but it's tasty!

Crema:
Mix the garlic mayo, the other 1/2 of the lime's juce and the sour cream together in a bowl. Stir well and add chopped coriander to taste (there is quite a lot of coriander going on in this so bear that in mind! I had about 1tsp coriander in the crema.)

Fish:
Cut the fish into 1.5 inch cubes. Try to keep the bits similarly sized, so that they cook in an equal amount of time. Put your flour on one saucer, your beaten egg on another and your crumbs on another. Roll your fish in flour, then egg, then crumbs and lie on a plate ready to fry. Repeat until all the fish is prepped. (I find it easiest to do 4 bits at a time, using my fingers for the flour and egg, and a fork to cover with crumbs and move onto the plate.) Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan, then fry the fish in batches until golden brown and crispy. I'd imagine you could bake the fish in the oven if you were feeling super health conscious! Cooking the fish really doesn't take long, a minute or so on each side tops. You don't want to over cook it!
Remove from the pan onto a piece of kitchen towel, then serve!

I chopped the tortillas into 4 so that they better resembled the little soft tacos I enjoyed so much at Wahaca. Microwave them for 30 seconds so they're soft and pliable.

To serve, I just put all the different components on the table and let us tuck in!

Beginning to end, this recipe takes about 20 minutes to cook- it's healthy, fresh and tasty- why not give it a try?!

Saturday Summer Salads

Well it's been a fairly crazy week!

Shingles hit, and I've been sleeping around 16-18 hours a day. Craziness! Even at my poorliest with ME, if I'd slept all day I struggled to sleep all night, but shingles has pulled my power plug out, well and truly, and I just can't get enough sleep!
That said, my school have been insanely supportive, they've rallied round and covered everything so I've been off without worrying and able to be unconscious most of the day!
In good news, the antivirals seem to be working and the rash has stopped spreading, and the odd, burning, electrocution-y pain is less frequent, even if there's still more of it than I'd like!

As I've been asleep all week, I've only been enjoying the gorgeous blue skies and sunny weather from my vantage point curled up on the sofa, but yesterday I decided to celebrate the sunshine, even if I'm indoors, and make a scrummy summer salad!

Salad for me has always been one of those things that I love to have out, but never replicated in a way that I actually wanted to tuck into at home! It always seemed to end up being the same salad veg (lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes), some kind of super healthy protein (fish/chicken) and feeling hungry again within 2 hours. Salad in a restaurant was usually accompanied by chips!

When I started paleo last year, I knew that to make it a goer through the summer, I needed to change my viewpoint (and 'recipe bank') of salads- and over the course of the summer, I discovered a whole repertoire of easy, delicious and interesting salads that even Jon enjoys eating!

In doing so, I found a few things that I needed each time to make a salad go from boring to blooming irresistable!

1: Fat. Yep; you read that right! One of the most eye opening things I discovered whilst eating paleo is that your body needs good fat- and you can still lose weight if you eat it- so long as you're not padding out the rest of your diet with processed foods, sugar and refined carbs.
Fat for me takes salad from penitence to treat- and also triggers the satiety receptors in your head making you feel fuller and satisfied faster. Some good fats that I love to add to my salads are:
-Avocados.
-Nuts (toasted or raw- try pecans, walnuts, peanuts, macadamias)
-Homemade, olive oil mayo (This recipe is bulletproof- I've made it at least 10 times and it's never failed)
-Olives

2: Protein. Not just for decorative purposes- a fist sized portion per person. Protein is such a key to staying full, controlling blood sugar and building/repairing muscle- don't skimp here! Obviously if you're using a fatty protein like chorizo or cheese, you may want less added fat from the fats section.
- Meat- Chicken, Chorizo, ready cut bacon lardons if you're in a rush (Lidl do a great beech smoked packet). Try roasting off a whole pan of chicken drumsticks at the weekend and using them through the week for lunches. Ham, parma ham, charcuterie.
-Fish- smoked salmon, prawns (both really easy and quick, if a bit expensive) squid, trout. I'm not a huge fan of white fish on salad- all a bit too healthy! - maybe one day I'll change my mind!
-Cheese- crumbly goats cheese, feta, applewood smoked, cheddar, parmesan. Experiement with grating, finely grating, crumbling and cubing to get maximum cheesey flavour for minimum cheese!

3. Veggies. I have a confession to make: I detest iceberg lettuce. As in, cannot stand the stuff! I'd not be sad if it was wiped from planet earth tomorrow! That said, there's still loads that I love putting in salads to keep them interesting:
-Leaves: Spinach, watercress and rocket is my go-to bagged salad- tonnes of flavour and super easy. Cos lettuce and mini cos are crunchy and tasty if you've got a bit longer. Raddichio is tasty but bitter so go easy- same with endive.
-Fruit: I love fruit in salads- especially if you've got a salty or very savoury element like cheese or cured meat. Crisp apples, pears, raisins, melon, orange segments- all scrummy and one of your 5 a day!
-Veg: Veggies as well as leaves make for variety and taste; I love frozen, pre grilled mediterranean veggies- oven cook them and stir them in- easy and tasty! Mushrooms, grilled/poached asparagus tips, hot or cold peas, petit pois or french beans, grated carrot, grated cabbage (red or white)- the list could go on and on!

4. Dressing. For me this is where it can all go terribly, terribly wrong! Sometimes, if a salad's got a mixture of all of the above, it doesn't even need a dressing! That said, a sparser, simpler salad can go from dull to delicious with a good dressing. Remember dressing can count for your 'fat' as well if you're going for a mayo or oil heavy dressing:
Zingy- Lemon/Lime/Orange juice. Balsamic/White Wine/Cider/Champagne Vinegar. Buttermilk
Creamy: Mayo/Yoghurt/Sour Cream based dressings
Oils: Olive, rapeseed, walnut, sesame, tahini (obviously not an oil but tasty!)

5. Garnish. Add the final flavour punch you need to balance everything else in the salad; I love:
-finely chopped shallots/red onion
-herbs- dill for fish/ a scandinavian vibe on anything! Coriander for an asian/mexican flavour, Parsley goes with anything!

6. Carbs. Especially in summer when you're having salad as a main meal!
-New potatoes, sweet potatoes, beetroot, roasted butternut squash,
-Pasta, wholewheat pasta, quinoa, rice, wild rice, noodles
-fresh bread, wraps, croutons

7. Temperature.  Obviously not an ingredient, but can go a long way toward making a salad taste more interesting (and less like it's been in a tesco chiller cabinet for the last 2 days!) try;
-frying bacon lardons and leftover cooked chicken and scattering on top
-roasting baby new potatoes, chopping roughly and stirring through
-roasting aubergine, courgette and peppers and adding to a mediterranean salad.

I've found that trying to get a good balance of these 7 things has saved me spending loads trying to cook exact salad recipes, but also means that I'm not stuck eating a plate of iceberg lettuce and cold chicken (eurgh!)

That said- here's a yummy salad we had yesterday to celebrate summer!

Watermelon, fish and cheese may sound like an odd combo, but the hot prawns, cold, crisp watermelon and salty, creamy cheese are a really delicious, summery combination!

Watermelon, Prawn and Goats Cheese Salad.
Serves 2-3 as a main, more as a side.
Ingredients:
1/2 a bag of spinach, rocket and watercress salad
3 thick slices of watermelon
1/2 a pack soft goats cheese (approx 75g)
20 prawns (we bought ours in a bulk freezer pack at Lidl when they were on offer. Even 10 prawns would increase the protein and still be delicious)
handful of fresh parsley
2 cloves of garlic
Salt & Pepper
Flatbread (to serve)

Empty the salad into a big bowl. Chop the watermelon into big cubes, and mix through.
Crumble the cheese into fingernail size bits and scatter across the salad.
-at this point, just this salad by itself is really refreshing and a great side for a BBQ or lunch!-
Put a glug of olive oil into a pan, chop the garlic and fry for 30 seconds.
Add the prawns (still frozen if needs be!)
Stir around until prawns are heated through, add the parsley, salt and pepper and keep stirring.
Once the parsley is wilted, pour the prawns onto the salad.
Serve with side plates, a finger bowl and flatbread to wipe up and creamy cheesey bits stuck to the plates.

In an ideal world, I'd have used shelled prawns for this to make eating it easier. That said, these were on an insanely good special offer and due to shingles tiredness I couldn't be bothered to peel them first. It was still really tasty!