Yummy Cottage Cheese Vegetable Lasagne

Most of us can benefit from including more vegetables in our diet and this vegetable lasagne is a great way to do it. 

This vegetable lasagne recipe is made using pumpkin, tomato pasta sauce, spinach leaves, crushed garlic and cottage cheese, which is a great source of protein and adds a nice zest to this dish. This recipe is a good source of protein.

Energy per 100g: 635kJ - 132Cal

Fat per 100g: 5.2g

Recipe Serves: This Recipe Serves 6-8. 

Recipe Ingredients:

• 500g Pumpkin, peeled & sliced
• 800g Pre prepared Tomato Pasta sauce
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 Cloves Garlic, crushed
• 300g Spinach leaves, washed & chopped
• 1 Tub of Bulla Original Cottage Cheese
• 1 tsp Tuscan seasoning
• 3 Eggs
• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 6 Fresh Lasagne sheets

Recipe Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees C.
2. Place the sliced pumpkin into a large saucepan with the tomato pasta sauce and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes.
3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and sauté the garlic 1 min, add the spinach leaves to the pan and cook stirring until spinach is wilted. Remove from the heat and cool.
4. Combine the cottage cheese, seasoning, eggs and 1/2 the parmesan cheese in a large bowl and mix well finally fold through the wilted spinach.
5. Spoon half the Pumpkin mixture into the base of a deep 24 cm square baking dish, cover with a layer of pasta sheets, top with half the cottage cheese mixture, cover with a layer pasta sheets and top with remaining pumpkin mixture repeat with remaining pasta, finishing with the cottage cheese and spinach mixture.
6. Sprinkle over the Parmesan cheese and bake uncovered in the pre-heated oven 180c for 30 minutes until golden.
7. Serve hot with salad and crusty bread.

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First RADKIDZ Classes a Success!

The first two RADKIDZ classes took place on Wednesday afternoon. The Group Fitness Studio was transformed into a fun, excitable, energetic space with the kids having a great time being active. A big thank you to Kerry and Kylie who did a great job motivating and inspiring the two classes. 

Bring on Friday's classes!

Interested in RADKIDZ? Enquire at Dolphins Health Precinct Reception. 

Vigorous Jumping Jacks

This activity burns approximately 526 calories per hour.

Jumping jacks completed at a vigorous pace can be a high calorie-burning activity, and are commonly a part of a circuit training routine. Jumping jacks engage the thighs, glutes, calves and upper body in a repetitive movement that will increase your heart rate in a very short period of time. This activity can be an intensive aerobic exercise.

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Are You Getting Enough?

We've all heard that drinking water will help keep us healthy. But how much is really enough?

The experts have always said, on average, that eight eight-ounce glasses per day will suffice. However, that might not be enough. While eight is great, amounts really need to be tailored to meet the needs of every individual. Most adults will lose between two to three quarts of water per day by way of normal body functions, but those who live in or work in warmer environments tend to lose more. Athletes for example, need to drink more water to balance their bodily fluids. For those people, drinking more water will make up for the bigger loss of water they had through perspiration, as well as in the regulation of body temperature.

Our bodies are made up of 55-70% water, but it does not replenish itself, so drinking water helps maintain that healthy balance. But even still, many will walk around dehydrated, most of the time unknowingly. That is because thirst is a poor indicator of dehydration. By the time someone gets thirsty, it is too late! Or, if one is thirsty, they may go for a beverage that does not actually replenish the body. A cold soda may feel nice going down, but beverages with caffeine are not meant to hydrate. Water is the best remedy for dehydration. If mild dehydration sets in, it can decrease one's energy level and mental functioning and increase stress on the body. Severe dehydration can have far more damaging effects. There are three important rules when it comes to drinking water:

1. Drink twice as much as it takes to quench your thirst.
2. Drink frequently throughout the day to prevent dehydration.
3. Drink at least eight glasses daily, or one cup for every 9 kilograms of body weight. For example, a 68kg person who does not exercise or work in hot climates needs 7.5 cups.

While some fruit juices and green tea may account for some fluid intake, you can count out beverages such as coffee or alcohol. They have a mild diuretic effect, which promotes urination and therefore water loss, which ultimately defeats the purpose.

QUICK TIP: A trick to ensure you are drinking your daily allowance is to fill a pitcher or jug with the allotment of water and keep it on your desk at work, or handy at home. The goal is then clearly marked. As you drink down the water, you know that you are on the right path to drinking enough water.

And finally, those frequent bathroom trips are not a bad thing. The best indicator that one is drinking enough water is when urine comes out pale yellow to clear. A dark yellow color, however, is a sign your body is dehydrated and is concentrating the urine in an effort to conserve water.

We Are Winners!

Justin Charlish (DHP Centre Manager), Sandra Hegarty (DHP Learn to Swim Coordinator)
and Lisa Maclean (DHP Learn to Swim Infant and Preschool Aquatics Teacher)

You may have heard whispers of our recent good news!

We are proud to announce that two significant awards were presented on Saturday night. Dolphins Health Precinct won the AustSwim Best QLD Swim Centre and Lisa Maclean was awarded 2011-2012 QLD AustSwim Teacher of Infant and Preschool Aquatics.

We would like to thank our dedicated staff who make the facility what it is, and of course, our Members, who make everything worth while.

Michael Klim's Top 10 Hints for Serious Swimmers

1. Consistency - consistency in training is key to better time and improvement.
2. Technique - swimming is probably the most technical sport so getting the stroke right will improve time and efficiency.
3. Stretching - as swimming doesn’t come naturally to humans and our bodies aren’t exactly designed to swim, we have to stretch to make sure we don’t put our muscles and joints under too much stress. Stretching is important as it will assist in recovery.
4. Diet (fuel) - it’s crucial that we fuel our bodies sufficiently before, during and after swimming. Keeping the fluids up is also very important; a mixture of water and carbohydrate drink is ideal.
5. Squad – I have found over the years that to get the best results out of myself I tried to surround myself with swimmers of similar ability. That way we were able to assist each other and push each other in the training sessions.
6. Ocean swimming – it’s a great way of mixing up the mundane nature of swimming training. Doing an occasional ocean swim will keep things fresh.
7. Cross training - it’s important to have great core strength and good strength in general for swimming and it’s impossible to improve that just by swimming as the load is constant, so supplementing your training with weights and core exercises will put you in good stead.
8. Equipment - there is a lot of different equipment on the market to aid stroke technique and different areas of swimming but using paddles and a pull buoy is a good start to isolate the arms and build strength.
9. Kicking – having a good kick is fundamental to being a good swimmer. Using your legs to the best of their ability will not only make you improve your times but give you good body position in the water which will enable you to swim for longer. Kicking should take up about 40% of the whole training volume.
10. Fun - don’t forget to have fun; it’s important that you enjoy the process.

Reminder: RADKIDZ Start Date - Next Week!

There was an overwhelming response to expressions of interest for RADKIDZ. We are proud to announce the first RADKIDZ class will take place on Wednesday 20th June at 3.30pm (for ages 4-7) and 4.30pm (for ages 8-12). 

RADKIDZ classes will be run every Wednesday and Friday afternoon, for both age groups. The classes are 45 minutes and aim to motivate and inspire young people into having fun while doing specially developed fitness activities. 

The casual fee for the class is $10, but there are attractive sibling rates available. 

To enquire or book, please visit Dolphins Health Precinct Reception or call 07 3880 3729.