We all love our yogurt and granola, and nothing says comfort food better than a steaming bowl of oatmeal before a long ski day. But when was the last time you tried soaking your oats?
Without using heat, soaking overnight slowly cooks the oats, while preserving much of the goodness. Adding an apple, yogurt, or a dash of apple cider or lemon juice ferments the oats which promotes the growth of beneficial gut bacteria in the digestive tract.
Whichever way you eat them, oats and oatmeal are among the most nutrient dense foods that you can eat.
Why are they so great?
Oats are rich in antioxidants and both soluble and non-soluble fibre that may help lower blood pressure levels, reduce blood sugar levels, lower cholesterol, boost heart health, reduce constipation, and aid in weight loss.
1/2 cup of dry oats contains 151 calories, 25 grams of carbs, 6.5 grams of protein, 2.5 grams of fat, 4 grams of fibre, and are packed with the following vitamins and minerals:
Manganese: 63.91% of the daily value (DV)
Phosphorus: 13.3% of the DV
Magnesium: 13.3% of the DV
Copper: 17.6% of the DV
Iron: 9.4% of the DV
Zinc: 13.4% of the DV
Folate: 3.24% of the DV
Vitamin B1 (thiamin): 15.5% of the DV
Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid): 9.07% of the DV
smaller amounts of calcium, potassium, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), and vitamin B3 (niacin)
There are so many recipes you can choose from to keep your oats interesting, however, be careful that you aren’t adding too much extra sugar, to what should be a very healthy breakfast choice.
Here is my personal favourite recipe. Feel free to adapt based on your taste buds. As you can see there are lots of different ways you can adjust the recipe. You can add almost any combination of fruits, nuts, and seeds, even peanut butter! Just remember to keep the ratio of milk to dry ingredients 1:1 at a minimum.
Apple Cinnamon Soaked Oats
Makes 2 servings
1 cup whole rolled oats
1/4 – 1/3 cup coarsely chopped raw almonds, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp hearts, or a combination of a few of them (the more variety the better)
1 apple grated (skin on)
1 tbsp unsweetened coconut
1 tsp cinnamon (I use more because I love cinnamon and its anti-inflammatory properties)
1/8 tsp nutmeg (optional – can also use pumpkin spice)
dash of sea salt
1-2 tbsp raisins
1 1/2 – 2 cups milk or milk substitute of your choice (or half milk and half cold water)
Place everything in a bowl, together with the milk. Place in fridge overnight or for 10 – 24hrs.
Whole oats work the best but steel cut oats work as well, especially if you like a chewier recipe. Quick oats are not recommended.
If you have kids or a sweet tooth, you have to check out these super quick tasty recipes.
Stop acting like an amateur and start acting like a pro.
An amateur is a person who engages in a pursuit on an unpaid rather than a professional basis.
Think about your current mode of employment, or job that you must do because someone else’s life depends on it.
You show up every day.
When it is cold, wet, and raining, you show up.
When you are tired and would rather watch Netflix, you show up.
When your best friend is in town for just one day, or it is your partner’s birthday, you may leave early, but you still show up.
Every morning you don’t wake up and contemplate whether or not you will decide to fulfill your responsibilities today.
You just do it.
In addition, while working you don’t typically suffer from feelings of guilt, laziness, or think you are wasting time as often happens when an amateur attempts to take an hour away from “their job” to paint, run, cook, bike, write, or play their instrument.
So what do you think would happen if you applied that same philosophy to your next goal?
With every goal comes massive resistance. Even if it is something that we desperately want, we will find every excuse to procrastinate, delay, or self-sabotage. By eliminating the choice of whether or not you will show up, you also remove the opportunity for that resistance (in whatever form of excuse it looks like) to stop you from doing the work required to achieve your goal.
Treat your goals as if your profession depended on achieving them.
Don’t think about whether you want to do it; just do it.
BUT, there is one caveatthat you need to consider.
Many people already have more jobs than they can handle.
Think about which responsibilities in your life are non-negotiable.
Beyond the employment that makes you money, your list of non-negotiable responsibilities, jobs, or goals may include:
raising children
attending to elderly parents
starting a new exercise program
volunteering in the community
serving as a board member
pursuing your love for music or art
learning a new skill
engaging in a sport or several sports
playing on a team
learning to become the next Top Chef
losing weight
renovating your home
dealing with an illness or injury
traveling for work or pleasure
It is impossible to continue adding more jobs to the list without getting burnt out and ultimately failing at all of them.
If you are someone who overextends themselves, you will need to review your current list and evaluate which responsibilities can be put on hold or delegated, while you work on achieving your new goal.
Once you have narrowed down the list into something that is both manageable and realistic, add your new goal to the top of the list and the rest will fall into place.
If your “profession” is to become a 50+ road cyclist and finish a fondo before x amount of time, then you will need to do what a professional 50+ rider would do. You need to sleep, eat, rest, recover, and train like a cyclist. Every day you need to do something that gets you closer to your goal of becoming a professional 50+ fondo rider.
Remember, this is your job. It is non-negotiable. Now stop thinking about it and go and do it.
Earlier this year, we had a live Q & A with Jennifer Thompson from Herstasis.com, which was highly informative and answered many of the questions women have about menopause.
Some women will pass through this stage without skipping a beat, while others may suffer terribly.
If you are suffering from new and uncomfortable symptoms, first rule out the possibility that they are not a sign of something more serious. Once your symptoms are diagnosed as peri-menopausal, you may need to make some lifestyle changes, at least until you get through it.
In this interview and the Herstasis website, we discuss hormone replacement, natural alternatives, and other coping methods. We are not promoting any particular method nor should you feel judged for making the choices you need to live your best life.
Wherever you are, please know that you are not alone.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation and a general lack of research on menopause. If you are looking for a good article to familiarize yourself with the history and where we are at today with the research, please read this article from the New York Times.
Let’s try to be kind to ourselves during this time. Becoming informed is a good place to start.
Please click on the following to view the one hour video with Jennifer Thompson.
The availability of both bike parts and bike mechanics are still feeling the squeeze of covid. Which means that doing some minor bike maintenance is necessary if you want to keep your bike on the road this summer.
Since your chain is your bike’s most “at-risk” part and an essential component, I feel that it deserves an entire newsletter on how to care for it..
In general, you should lubricate your chain whenever it squeaks or appears “dry.” But taking the extra time to clean and lube after wet rides will help keep your chain from rusting. It is a simple task but often gets forgotten, especially when we are cold and wet and just want to get into the shower.
To clean a chain that doesn’t have too much built-up grime, simply use a rag and degreaser. For really dirty chains, you may need to use a chain cleaning device that is more thorough and a lot less messy. Once you have cleaned the chain, you also need to clean the bike parts it comes in contact with, the front chainrings, rear cassette, and rear derailleur. See photo above if you are unsure of which parts I’m talking about. Scrub the front chainrings and rear derailleur with a brush and degreaser while turning the pedals (moving the chain). For the rear cassette, take off the rear wheel and wipe away any remaining dirt by flossing between the gears/cogs.
After the degreaser has dried, apply drops of lube slowly onto the chain, getting some on each link. Run the chain through all the cogs. Let the lube dry, then wipe off any excess lubricant, so it doesn’t attract more dirt. .
Cleaning and lubricating your chain frequently will help slow down the rate of chain wear. But even the most meticulous rider will need to replace their chain eventually. The more you ride, the sooner you will need to replace it. This bit of maintenance may seem costly, but it is much cheaper than the damage it could cause if you don’t. If you can get your hands on a spare chain now, take it! At some point, you will need it.
What happens if you don’t change your chain when you should?
If you continue to ride with an old chain, even if it is clean, it will start to grind away at the metal on your front chainrings and rear cassette. Over time, the chain and gears will grind out new grooves that a new chain won’t be able to match. This is not a good thing. You are now beyond the point of no return, and you will need to replace all three together. Your cheap $60-$150 replacement chain may cost you $500 or more, depending on what you parts you need to replace.
If you want to avoid this mistake, ask your bike shop to measure the chain to see how much wear it has left. When you bring your bike in for a tune-up, they should do this for you. They will let you know how much life you have left in your chain. If they don’t say anything – don’t assume that it is OK – ASK!
Every event is tough when you are pushing yourself to achieve a personal best. But when the weather turns sour and never lets up, it adds one more element of pain to the day. These are the days that build resiliency and character as an athlete. These are the days that you will never forget. Saturday July 16th 2022 was one of those days. I am so proud of all the riders, and especially the Kits Energy riders, who remained positive and smiling despite how cold they were. They rode 75km and climbed 2300m up into the wet and cold clouds. We had a large group of Kits Energy riders in the Triple Crown for Heart event and we were also among some of the fastest riders!! No matter what time you finished in, everyone should be proud of themselves for completing such a big event, on a mentally and physically challenging day.
Connie, Jack, Kristina, and Matthew starting our climb up Cypress Mountain
A huge thank you to Dominik Szopa, Marie Campbell, Fiezel Babul, and all of the other board members and volunteers who helped put this event together. The emergency blankets at the end were a very smart idea! In total, the event raised $30,000 for BC Children’s Hospital, Pediatric Cardiac Care.
Setting up the post ride snack table at the top of Cypress MountainDominik Szopa (helped organize and also rode the event!!) and Facundo Chernikoff
Congratulations to Paul Towgood and Grant Bullington (who is also our KE sponsor from StretchLabs) who both finished first, along with two other riders, in a time of 3:09!!!! That’s crazy fast!
Grant and Paul at the starting line
Lynda McCue finished in the second fastest group, in a total time of 3:53 and won the prize of a stuffed lion for first female finisher. Another crazy fast time.
