WEEK 1

EATING AND DRINKING HEALTHILY TO FUEL OUR ACTIVE JOURNEYS

MONDAY 20TH APRIL

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As you may of heard, Velocity’s workshop remains open and our Project Workers are here to support active travel for keyworkers as well as those collecting supplies and getting their daily exercise!

Active travel was best described to us as ‘going somewhere using your own engine’ by a lively pupil at Strathpeffer Primary School. How do you normally travel? Would you like to make more active journeys by walking or cycling?

It’s Alice here, from our Go ByCycle project which promotes active travel in schools. This morning I enjoyed overnight oats inspired by Velocity’s much loved breakfast menu (see photo for a very simple recipe) before getting ready to cycle to Beauly for supplies. The journey will serve as my ‘one a day’ and provide much needed respite from the indoors!

Let us know if you’re planning an active journey and what local shops you’re supporting ??

????????? ???? – to fuel your active journey

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup of uncooked rolled oats
-100g of yogurt or alternative (any flavour)
-3 tbsp of milk or alternative

Toppings:
-Any choice of fresh fruit and nuts
-Any choice of spices such as cinnamon
-Drizzle of honey or alternative

Method:
Stir together oats, yogurt and milk in a bowl, container or jar. Cover and place in fridge overnight. Remove from fridge in the morning and add your choice of toppings- you can be as creative as you like!

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At Velocity we try to shop local whenever we can such as getting supplies from the Natural Vegetable Company. We also have a zero waste policy.

Today’s challenge is to create your own smoothie! Bonus points for walking, cycling, rolling or scooting if you have to collect supplies, shopping local and buying over-ripe fruit which would otherwise go to waste. Please share your smoothie recipes and photos. The best recipe and photo will be posted on our website.

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It can be challenging to find reasons to be grateful during these uncertain times. Noticing what makes us smile and practicing gratitude can boost our immunity and build resilience.

We thought we would share three things which made us feel grateful today: quieter roads, shopping local and community spirit!

Please let us know why you feel grateful today!

TUESDAY 21ST APRIL

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There’s a lot of doom and gloom in the news which is why it’s important to find joy in the small things!

Anna works for Own Your Street Inverness to increase awareness of and participation in active travel. She helps local communities get involved in consultations and infrastructural changes in their area.

Anna is here to uplift us with a local good news story – the safe arrival of four healthy chicks (see our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for cute photos)!

Please share your local good news stories with us. Animals and pets are always a good place to start!

WEDNESDAY 22ND APRIL

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Meet Kenta, a local mountain biker and coach. He is currently working from home and volunteering locally.

See our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for a video clip of Kenta practicing his skills before lockdown. Unfortunately it’s not a time for stunts and extreme downhill riding but it’s the perfect time for exploring what’s on our doorstep! Watch our Q&A to find out how he is keeping healthy and active under coronavirus restrictions.

Cycling is beneficial for our physical and mental health especially during uncertain and stressful times.

How to ride:
Guidance from Cycling UK is to go alone or with members of our household, follow hygiene/social distancing recommendations, respect trail closures and take care not to put pressure on emergency services.

Where to ride:
Advice from Scottish Government is to stay local, use open spaces near our home and avoid unnecessary travel.

How long to ride:
Guidance from Scottish Government is to minimise our time outside when exercising.

Further advice available at Cycling UK and Cycling Scotland.

Q&A with Kenta

Find out how Kenta fuels active journeys, including his favourite meals and snacks! (This Q&A was recorded a few weeks ago so please visit Cycling UK and British Cycling for the latest advice)

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Ingredients:
– 1 ½ cup rolled oats
– 1 ½ cup seeds, sunflower seeds and chopped almonds
– ¼ cup olive oil
– ⅓ cup maple syrup
– Coarse salt

Method:
Mix it all together really well! Once your oven is heated to 150 °C, spread everything on a baking sheet and pop it in! Give your granola a proper stir every 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Check in the comments below to see the process!

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Ingredients:

-350g rolled oats
-100g chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts – you can choose!) 
-200g mixed dried fruit
-Some goji berries
-50g mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, hemp)
-200g dairy free butter
-100g (ideally soft brown) sugar
-175gram maple syrup

Method:
First, mix all the dry ingredients together– bonus points if you manage to get a little helper involved! Gently melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a pan. Once melted, add to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix well. Tip the mixture into a lined tin, spread it out and press down firmly.
Bake for 20-30 min in a preheated oven at 160°C – try not to overdo it as they can get too hard! At first they will be soft but harden up after cooling. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then cut into slices with a knife while still in the tin. Leave to cool completely, then turn out and re-slice. Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days – and let us know what adventures they fuel!

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We would love to see what healthy snacks are fueling your daily exercise! Please tag #velocityonline in your Facebook, Instagram or Twitter posts, or send your recipes and photos to [email protected]. The best recipe and photo to be shared by 5pm on Friday 24th April will win a £15 voucher to spend at Velocity Cafe once we reopen (you know you’ll need that coffee fix!)

THURSDAY 23RD APRIL

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At Velocity we work closely with other people and initiatives to promote cycling.

Meet local cycle champion, Mick, who has been a fan of Velocity since the beginning. Mick has previously been a board member and cycle ride leader at Velocity which included tandem rides for visually impaired people. He is also a co-founder of Spokes for Folks which enables older people to experience the benefits of cycling by 8 electric trikes and 100 volunteers. They have also provided electric folding bikes for health care workers on home visits. Last but not least, Mick is also an active member of the Highland Cycle Campaign advocating for improved infrastructure for all abilities in Inverness.

Mick is here to share a random act of kindness and spread a bit of love. Recently someone dropped off a sunflower seedling in his garden to brighten up his day!

When the big things feel out of control it’s important to find joy in the small things!

Have you witnessed a random act of kindness lately? Please let us know!

FRIDAY 24TH APRIL

How have you been coping during lockdown and how to you feel?

As a usually busy surgery in Inverness, the last 6 weeks have been a funny, peculiar sort of whirlwind. The waiting room is the Socially Distanced Staff Room. The car park is empty. We all wear Britney Spears headsets and spend our lives on the phone or on video consultations.

When I say we, I mean The Team, and what a team it’s been. Everyone, as usual, plays his or her vital role.

So, how do we feel? Concern at the fate of some of our patients with Covid-19 in the short term, and patients “not wanting to bother us” with other serious health issues in the longer term as well as the hardship and trauma many will face. Hope as well; hope for what many have valued in these days of slowing down, for how quickly we can change things when we put our minds to it, for how different the city feels without cars everywhere. And loving seeing so many people out walking and cycling!

How are you keeping healthy and happy?

These are some of the things the staff at the practice have started doing:

– Running, walking, cycling for many including Couch to 5k

– Lots of craft activities: mending, sewing, knitting, preparing virtual birthday party decorations

– There’s a lot of head shaving going on

– A few quotes from my colleagues: “I loved my cycles to and from work last week. Seeing Ben Wyvis in the morning really was a tonic and it’s really helping my sleep”, “Just starting an impossible jigsaw”, “ I flew a kite – it was surprisingly good fun”

– Lots of catching up with family and friends on social media like everyone else, Zoom games such as the ‘What’s in the House’ round (one person shouts out an item in the house and everyone has to race to bring it back to the screen. Hairbrush, cellotape, shampoo! Good fun and helps you get some exercise)

– Stargazing and watching for satellites

– Waking up with the window open listening to birdsong

– Reading, listening to podcasts

– Watching the bees

Any advice on eating and drinking healthily?

I would say: be kind to yourself, find the things that make you happy without damaging you, and focus on those, wherever you can.

And please remember that Glebe Street Food Bank is open 12-2pm Monday to Friday and the Red Cross are doing food hampers. You can contact them on (01463) 796624 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.

This is a time that many will struggle and many can help – time to make a fairer society. And that starts with food.

What about those of us who don’t have a garden or access to green space?

This pandemic has shown up the inequalities in our society faster than anything else… lockdown in a tower block flat will feel very different to lockdown in a suburban house with a garden. We are lucky in Inverness, as even if you live in the areas that are most built up, there is still easy access to the river and the Ness islands, to the canal, to Merkinch nature reserve. It would be great to see a new wave of allotments coming out of this. That is perhaps something to campaign for with the local land developers – more provision of land for allotments, rather than yet another housing development.

What do you hope the legacy will be?

Kirsty, a health care assistant in the practice, is my current guru. She summed it up last night: “I believe the world was heading for disaster and humans lost sight of true humanity and as much as this pandemic has and will bring a lot of pain and sorrow it will also bring about some extraordinary changes to our planet, our lives, our very existence. We are learning what really matters.”

Thank you Katie and team for everything you do!

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This afternoon we are joined by our very energetic friend, Iain from Sustrans. Pupils from the Culloden, Charleston and Inverness High School cluster schools will probably know his face! Iain has some tips on how to swap unhealthy sugars for healthier alternatives!

Try it out, and don’t forget to share your healthy snack by 5pm today for the chance to win a £15 Velocity Cafe voucher! Tag #velocityonline or email [email protected] to participate!

Check out the NHS website for more resources on sugar swaps: https://www.nhs.uk/change…/food-facts/…/sugar-swaps-for-kids

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Healthy Porridge Bowl

Ingredients:
100g frozen raspberries
1 orange (½ sliced and ½ juiced)
150g porridge oats
100ml milk
½ banana (sliced)
2 tbsp smooth almond butter
1 tbsp goji berries
1 tbsp chia seeds

Method:
Tip half the raspberries and all of the orange juice into a pan. Simmer for about 5 mins until the raspberries soften. Meanwhile stir the oats, milk and 450ml water in a pan over a low heat until creamy. Top with the raspberry compote, remaining raspberries, orange slices, banana, almond butter, goji berries and chia seeds.