Olympics, Marathons and Delicious Ricotta
One of my all time favourite things to do every four years is watch the Olympics. I need to be listening to or watching them at all times for the entire two weeks they are on. It doesn’t matter what the sport – I’m all in.
What about you – do you love them too or are you waiting for them to be over?
Hope your week has been full of what you wanted it to be.
Something to Think About
“People run marathons every day of their lives in one way or another and we need to remember to give ourselves the finishers medals we deserve.” Zoe Koplowitz – Marathon competitor
Something to Make
Whipped Ricotta (Plain and Sweet)
Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow or goat whey left over from the production of other cheeses. It is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the casein has been used to make cheese. It is a seriously versatile dairy product that can be used in savoury dishes like pasta, lasagne, quiches and pies and also in cake icing, pancakes, hotcakes or spread on toast with sliced fruit. I love it!
Ricotta is lower in fat at 10% than regular cheddar cheese at 35% fat, plus a good source of calcium and protein too. There are so many ways that I use it in my kitchen but here are two of my faves.
Whipped Ricotta with Lemon
Ingredients
500g fresh ricotta
juice of one lemon
Finely grated rind of one lemon
Method
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a hand held beater/mixer for around 1 minute.
- This is delicious served on top of roasted vegetables or roasted cherry tomatoes or anything that takes your fancy. Can be used for savoury or sweet dishes and gives such a delicious lift to any dish.
Whipped Vanilla Ricotta
Ingredients
500g fresh ricotta
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup icing sugar
Method
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a hand held beater/mixer for around 1 minute.
- This is delicious served on top of plain or fruit toast with sliced strawberries, stone fruit or tinned sliced peaches. It can also be spread on cakes as an icing or as an accompaniment to fresh fruit as a dessert of breakfast.
Something to Do
We really can’t go past watching or listening to the Olympics at the moment can we? As a Sports Dietitian, I obviously have a big interest in sport and for the two weeks that the Olympics is on every four years, I cannot get enough of them. It is so cool that we get to watch sports that ordinarily don’t get the media coverage and to witness the unbelievable hard work that these athletes put in to get there. So many highs, so many lows, disappointments and celebrations. Thankfully, there are so many ways to watch the Olympics now too, which is fabulous.
Apart from the watching there are a few interesting things to read and do too. Have you ever listened to Roy and HG commentate sport? If you haven’t, you must. Their highly entertaining take on each days events is just wonderful and you can listen to them here. Go back and check out the earlier days of the games too – SO funny.
What about how the Ancient Olympians prepared? Some VERY interesting routines indeed and well worth a read here.
And then, I shared some of my Olympic thoughts after the Rio Games and I find myself doing the same things this time round too.
Lastly, if you are feeling super inspired and want to know how you can fuel yourself like an Olympic athlete, hop on over to my professional organisation Sports Dietitians Australia for lots of credible, informative and practical fact sheets on many different nutrition topics.
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie….
