Pumpkin Workout

So it's finally Halloween - a chance to dress up, eat sweets and try to avoid A&E carving a pumpkin.Any trick or treaters knocking on my door will be getting a healthy nakd bar - lucky devils :)On the flip side Halloween is a great chance to use a pumpkin like a medicine ball for a total body workout and then afterwards make a tasty, healthy soup :)That is exactly what we are doing at Zest Bootcamp today so I thought I'd make a video of some of the great exercises you can do with a good old pumpkin!In this pumpkin workout can either do 30 seconds of work with 30 seconds of rest or for a tougher challenge work for 40 seconds followed by a shorter 20 second rest.You can do 3-4 sets of the whole workout after a little warm up and don't forget to stretch afterwards too.Watch out - If you have a giant pumpkin you might want to stick to the 30 seconds!http://youtu.be/E1lmHmYLebIThe exercises are:1. Plank Tap overs - optional extra set of mountain climbers too2. Overhead Press3. Alternating circles4. Squat5. Squat Press6. Side Lunge7. Reverse Lunge8. Pullover9. Ab curls10.Hop oversOnce you have done your workout you deserve a healthy bowl of soup so here is a gluten free (if you use a gluten free stock cube), sugar free and dairy free recipe.This will make a big batch so half can be frozen.PUMPKIN SOUPChopped flesh from 1 pumpkin or 2 butternut squash2 sweet potatoes2 - 3 onions2 - 3 carrots4 sticks celery2 gloves of garlicStock cube or fresh chicken or vegetable stock2 -3 cups of unsweetened almond milk or 1- 2 cups coconut milkoptional :fresh ginger, tumeric, chillChop all vegetables - start by gently frying the onion in coconut oil or ghee then add garlic and fry for 1 minute. Add all remaining vegetables, stock and make sure just covered with liquid. Bring to boil then simmer for 20-30 minutes. Blend then add almond milk or coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste.Delicious and nutritious!Depending on how much garlic you put in I bet you could get your children to enjoy it too.If you'd like more healthy, tasty recipes then check out our Healthy Mammas programme where we are offering you some quick, easy alternatives to breakfast - you can download your free copy here Happy Halloween!