Short and Sweet!

 

Felt it was about time to update you all on my ventures!

BWL Golden Chance - As you may have seen, this time around, I wasn't selected for the next Phase.

Although it was an amazing experience and I was extremely flattered to be invited to that stage of the process, I have so much going on in good old Basingstoke, I realised I wouldn't want to leave!  I couldn't leave what I have here behind. Every cloud and all that! Always better to focus on the positives of situations than to dwell on the "What If"s or "Why not me?"s


Mia Cucina - I love food / cooking and creating - and providing healthy meals for those that don't have the time is a big passion of mine. I hate admitting defeat and quitting, so this is really hard.

I have so many things going on, something had to give - with 2 jobs, training/competing and my health, I have decided to put Mia Cucina on hold for a while - I will still continue to create dishes and share recipes and hope to revive it once I have more time. I will of course continue to provide for the EBW Day Cures when needed!

Extra EBW Class - Friday at 6pm - This is to start next week and again is a Female Only Weight Training class, mainly being an introduction to weightlifting and building confidence within a gym setting to enable further development - and of course working on those Bikini Bodies! I am really excited to start training a new group of ladies, in blocks of 6 week focused programmes! The class is open for up to 8 ladies, and I think all the spaces have already gone!

Endometriosis UK - This is probably the biggest piece of news I have. Last Year, I had a few interviews with Endometriosis UK and on Friday 6th of January, I attended a training course at their main office in London to become an Official Volunteer Support Group Leader for the Charity.

My task is to set up the first of it's kind in Basingstoke, plan and run at least 6 meets a year for ladies of all ages who suffer - and also a place for partners or fathers to come to for further information on the condition to help support their loved ones.

Each session will be varied, where we can share experiences, provide information on how to manage the condition and most of all, create a warm, inviting environment for those who feel they have no support elsewhere.

This is a huge opportunity for me, and luckily I already have a few willing helpers, as well as a local journalist and sufferer Emily Brown who also plans to train up to support the running of the group with me. (She also wrote the lovely article about my Fundraiser last year!)

We plan to launch our first group in April / May, but before then, we are running another fundraiser - and this time it is on a much Bigger scale..

When and Where?!

Saturday March 21st and is being held at the Tea Bar at the Top of Town, from 2pm. The afternoon will be one of socialising and entertaining, including live acts performing on the day and of course a raffle! Prizes have already started coming in; Bombay Sapphire Distillery have donated 2 tickets for a tour, Official NFL Merchandise is up for grabs, as well as a Family Portrait and FHC Vouchers and of course Training vouchers from EBW - and more to be confirmed. If anyone wants to contribute to the prizes, and gain some local promotion free of charge as a result, please let me know!

For more info, here is the link to the event - Free Entry too! And if Tea and Coffee isn't your thing, there's always the bar!!

 https://www.facebook.com/events/385010941659705/392179724276160/?notif_t=plan_mall_activity

We will officially announce the first date for the group meet at the event!

Like I said, Short and Sweet today - I wanted to share all the excitement - as always!

Over the next few weeks I will be posting a few more updates on my training, including how I am faring with 6 training sessions a week plus yoga, when my next competition will be and what my next set of goals are!

Have a great weekend guys!

Franki xx

Facebook: Franki Napolitano
Twitter: @fnapolitano2
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All Systems Go!

Can you quite believe little old me is now running her own business?! Me neither...it was a hectic first weekend, I won't lie - but I loved every minute of it! Sunday night was the best nights' sleep I'd had for along time...and the latest bedtime for a while too!

Chicken Fajitas and Slow Cooked Chilli

All Ready to GO!!!

Thank you so much to those who placed their first orders, and I am happy to report that all the feedback so far as been very positive.....!

"The soup is best I have ever tasted. Not usually a soup man and
think it will never satisfy me. This did and so tasty. Great work.
Next week might be a full 5 day order I think." Matt P

 

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"(Your) Fajitas are Scrummy!" Ciara H

 

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"Just had the soup. AMAZING!!! more please :) Also the roulades are SO good!! top work. I thoroughly recommend to anyone. Cant wait for lunch!" Adam W

 

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"Yea, the chilli was great" James S (can't be seen to be giving too much praise ;-) )

 

 

 

Wow!!! Thanks Guys!

 

Here's to the next one!

Speaking of the next one, be sure to check my Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/FrankiNapolitano2 for this weeks menu, ready for your orders to be placed!


If you're in the gym over the next week or so, keep an eye out for my brand new Business Cards too! Feel free to take a few and hand them out!

So what else is going on?

Training is well underway for The BNSF Britain's Strongest Woman competition on August 10th! (Yes, a week before I go on holiday - just what I need - BRUISES!) 

Morgan Holmes

Glad to say I also have a new training partner, Morgan, who is also competing in this competition having placed 4th in Basingstoke's Strongest Novice last month....So expect a few videos and pictures over the coming weeks!

Sara Smith

A third EBW Strongwoman is also competing - Sara who placed 1st in the aforementioned novice comp - so there will be a great EBW Presence on the day! Can't wait ladies, looks to be a great comp!













The Event list for my weight category in this comp is pretty good too - take a look!

Gutted I missed both practice sessions that were held, so I'm hoping I will be ok on the day! Feeling pretty good about this one, despite only making my final decision to compete last week!

A few weeks ago EBW held one of their Events session which I love! This time I was joined by Polly, another Strongwoman competitor who was also at the qualifier I did in April. Sadly, she didn't manage to qualify this year, but we have big hopes for next year!

This is what I love about Strongman / Strongwoman - everyone is so supportive and friendly - it doesn't matter how you do, everyone respects the time, effort and determination you put into training - being especially supportive on competition days - even cheering on their rivals. How great is that?!



Polly from WHS down for an Events Session

And what's EVEN better is that more and more women are slowly getting into the support which is amazing! The Final I'm competing in in September (England's Strongwoman Championships) looks to be quite a spectacle - The organiser, Aaron, wants us all to be introduced to the crowd one by one - to our own piece of chosen music...and with a commentary on out training and a weird fact about us...plus the local press and sponsors being there - talk about added pressure! But I think that's great - what a way to feel like a celeb hey?!











Once the summer months creep in, most people go into panic mode about looking as good as possible with minimal clothes on - stripping body fat, fighting the bloat and pumping up their arms...I'm just trying to keep from getting injured and keeping my strength up - hoping this will carry over into my bikini body look too! Which reminds me...I need to bikini shop!

Franki the PT...!

As you may have seen from my FB Page, two of my clients have recently been through a bit of a ''detox' - basically two weeks of meat and green veg, no booze, sugar, dairy or caffeine in a bid to reduce body fat and really accelerate their results. Glad to report that both ladies managed to hit their short term target before their holiday / break away - one even losing an incredible 7cms from her waist and hips in a few weeks! Very proud of all my clients, well done to you all!

Lastly.....

On a Wednesday morning at 7am, you'll find me in the gym with an incredible group of ladies being put through their paces in my Elite Female class. Over the last 4 months, I have had amazing feedback on the class and I really enjoy leading these women on their quest for a healthier, leaner body. It has proven rather popular with people asking if I will run another....

Well I am pleased to announce, that from August, I Will Be! We are in the process of turning the first floor of our new premises into our Body Composition area and so from August, Monday Evenings at 8pm will belong to me and a second group of ELITE FEMALES! The class already has 5 of 8 spaces filled from ladies on a waiting list - so if you would like to snap up one of the remaining 3 spaces, contact me to arrange!

Safe to say it's All Systems Go with me right now - I love to be busy - gives me a sense of purpose and drive...lets hope it keeps up!

I hope you are all well and on track with your goals and focuses for this year!


Until Next Time!

Franki xx

Facebook: Franki Napolitano
Twitter: @fnapolitano2
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It's Nearly Time!

The wait is nearly over!

After a hectic few weeks of name changing, branding design, picking the packaging and finalising my menu, I'm glad to say that I will be taking my first orders this week!

 

 

Mia Cucina is open for Business!

I wanted a simple, yet memorable name for this - and what better than My Kitchen in Italian!

So....Remind me how this will work again?!

After my last post I received many questions on how the food will be available and in what capacity...

Each Thursday Morning, I will put up a menu for the following week which will consist of;

*Two Main Meals
*1 Side / Snack
*1 Soup

I will take orders until Friday at 3pm, and then the food will be ready for collection on Monday morning.

The Collection Point will be Elite-Bodyworks* and your dishes will be labelled with your name for easy pick up.

There will be 3 Collection Slots Available throughout Monday;

7:30am - 9am

12pm - 1pm

8pm - 9pm

As I may not always be there when you do collect, there will be an 'I Contain' list to accompany each dish - just so you have sight of what's in your food!

*Apologies, at this point in time, I am unable to do deliveries - watch this space though! For their address, visit their website http://www.elite-bodyworks.com/

The idea being that you can purchase as many of the four options as you like, knowing you have something to fall back on should you not get to do the food shopping on time - or just fancy someone else to do the hard work for you  ;-)

The dishes will be suitable for home refrigeration and freezing where stated, so you can buy as you go, or stock up!

Dishes will be provided in foil containers and the mains will come in two sizes to suit different appetites. These will be suitable for home cooking (either in the oven or the pan) and cooking instructions will be provided.

The soups will be one size and provided in an Eco Friendly pot - although I would still recommend heating through on the hob ;-)

I may have not been totally 100% clear on my first announcement, But to start with, I won't be able to provide 'days' worth of food' - although this is the long term goal - this is a little venture I am setting out on in line with everything else going on, but I am hoping this will grow into the flourishing business I want it to!

Anyway, thought I would keep this short and sweet as I will probably be bombarding you over the next week with posts! But I hope this has made things a bit clearer and I hope to receive an order from you soon! Keep an eye out on Thursday for my first menu and details on how to order!

*Oh yes, of course...Thank you to everyone who has supported me during this quest, be it with Name Suggestions, Meal Ideas, Marketing Advice and Good Old Encouragement.

A special Thanks goes to James for giving me the initial push into this and to my friend and colleague Rich Kearsey, Creative Director of New Media Group who has designed my logos and created my branding!* http://www.new-media-group.co.uk/

Just to end, I promised my Facebook Followers I would provide the recipe for the Coconut Chicken and Aubergine Tapenade .... so here it is;

Crunchy Coconut Chicken

2 Chicken Legs
1 Tbsp of Mild Curry Powder
Sprinkle of Salt
2 Tsps of Smoked Paprika
Sprinkle of Coconut Flakes
2 Tbsps of Coconut Oil

Preheat Oven to 180'

Scour the Chicken skin and drizzle some oil over the top. Then rub the Paprika, Salt, Curry Powder and Coconut Flakes into the skin, ensuring both legs are covered and drizzle a little more oil over the top.

Place in the oven and roast for 40 minutes. Meanwhile....

Chunky Aubergine and Mixed Pepper Tapenade
Well...Kind of!

250g of Mixed Olives
1 Aubergine
1 Green Pepper
1 Yellow Pepper
2 Tbsps of Tomato Puree
2 Garlic Cloves
2 Tsps of Paprika
2 Tsps of Mixed Herbs
Pinch of Salt
Coconut Oil
Juice of half a Lime

Dice the Olives, Peppers and Aubergine into small chunks and finely chop the Garlic Cloves and add them to a mixing bowl. Drizzle in oil and stir to coat the veg.

Then Add the Puree, Paprika and Mixed Herbs and stir again - ensuring all the veg is covered. Then add to a saucepan on a medium heat.

Cook for 10 minutes until the veg starts to soften, and then add the lime juice.

Continue to cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Delicious served hot or cold!

Think this may be my last recipe for a while....I won't have anything to serve soon... ;-)

Franki x

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Twitter: @fnapolitano2
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