In 2013 I decided that I was going to take part in the Moonwalk in London, run by Walk the Walk. The event raises money for breast cancer charities and involves walking 26.2 miles around London at night, wearing a decorated bra. I was a bit sceptical that I would manage the full marathon so I decided that I would sign up for the half marathon (13.1 miles) and at that point both of the kids decided that they would participate with me. I was pretty impressed with their enthusiasm considering S was only 16 and J was only 13 at the time. (although we all agreed we would wear Walk the Walk t-shirts instead of just the bra for modesty’s sake!). We received our training plan through the post and started walking every other day, building up speed and distance. I soon realised that some of the excess wait I was carrying was hindering me so I decided to look out for a diet that meant I could eat with the kids rather than having to make 2 types of meal every day.
This quest for healthy food which appealed to the whole family led me to the Hairy Bikers cookbooks. The cookbooks contain a variety of types of meals, including takeaway ‘fakeaways’, and snacks and there is such a wide range of ideas that I could use the recipes daily without the kids complaining that they were bored. Favourites include the chicken and ham tangle pie, red pepper hummus and the chilli salad bowls which are in the original book The Hairy Dieters:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Hairy-Dieters-Love-Weight/dp/0297869051
In the build up to the Moonwalk the combination of the healthy eating and exercise meant that I lost 21 pounds (9.5 kgs in new money!) and with the kids motivating me along the way we completed the half marathon in a little over 2 hours. It was a fantastic experience that we all enjoyed and I know that improving my eating habits improved my performance on the night.
I hope that the Hairy Dieters won’t mind me sharing my own version of the red pepper hummus which I developed to suit my family’s palates.
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (The Ohana method)
2 x Large Red Peppers 
2 x tbsp. olive oil
1 x onion finely chopped
1 x heaped tsp ground coriander
1 x heaped tsp ground cumin
1 x 300 g tin of chickpeas (approx. 180g when drained)
2 x garlic cloves
finely grated zest of 1/2 unwaxed lemon (and lemon to serve)
Method
- Cut the peppers into quarters, and remove stalks and seeds
- Place under the grill, skin side up, until the skin is charred. Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes
- Pour the olive oil into a frying pan with the onions, coriander and cumin. Fry until they are soft and then allow to cool for 5 minutes
- Pour the onions into a blender and blend until smooth
- Peel the charred skin off the peppers and discard the skin.
- Chop the peppers into small pieces and add into the blender with the onion mixture. Blend until the mixture has a smooth consistency.
- Add the chickpeas, raw garlic and lemon zest then blend until you reach a consistency that you like (I prefer chunky on toast but smooth as a dip)
This keeps for 2 days if you refrigerate it and is excellent for lunchboxes or for a healthy snack and is teenager approved!
My husband is a genius when it comes to finding new and interesting things to do. He seems to have a knack of knowing what we enjoy individually and as a family and his ideas help to make family time fun. As the kids have got older it’s been harder to find cheap ways to lure the kids from their rooms to spend time with us old fogies but my husband came through with this little gem; the You to Do, Missions to Accomplish chart.
ohanameans 