New Kitchen Appliance

I was given an ice cream maker as an early Birthday present. BEST appliance ever...after my Vitamix and dehydrator (of course!).

Ice cream makers have evolved over the year...thankfully. Mum had one when we were growing up that resembled a large wooden bucket. She had to put ice and salt in one section and the mixture in another. Then spend 100 hours a really long time churning it by hand. My new wiz bang model, which is a Cuisinart, makes scrumptious, ready to eat, frozen desserts in 20 MINUTES.


I've been churning out lots of experiments...so far, so good. It's not difficult because I put all the ingredients in my Vitamix and try it before it goes into the Cuisinart and I can tweak the mixture.

Since I've been pregnant, my appetite has been awful...as in non existent and the thought of eating all my favorite foods - primarily green leafy vegetables, makes me gag!!!


This new appliance is helping me get some form of nutrition into my body. I know, I know, you think it's just ice cream and should be classified as an unhealthy treat, but wait...


I'm going to share a couple of recipes with you...


BLUEBERRY GINGER ICE CREAM


2 cups unsweetened almond milk (I make my own)
1 cup of frozen blueberries
2cm of fresh ginger (or to taste)
1/4 tsp pure vanilla powder (I use Loving Earth), or scrape 1/2 a pod
A couple of tbs of sweetener (agave, maple syrup, coconut syrup) again to taste.
Put all in Vitamix until it's blended then into ice cream maker.

it's really good with fruit

CACAO ALMOND ICE CREAM


1 cup almond milk (I make my own)
3 tbs almond butter (I make my own)
1 banana
2 tbs cacao powder
Everything into the Vitamix til it's smoothie-like then into the ice cream maker

I sprinkled cacao nibs on top for some crunch

Enjoy these and let me know if you have any ice cream recipes of your own you think I should try.

Activated Almonds

Yesterday, the Twitter World was all abuzz with this from one of the Sunday papers

The thing that got everyone talking wasn't the two breakfasts or the emu meatballs...it was ACTIVATED ALMONDS!!!

Why??? 

Nuts and seeds are a rich source of essential fatty acids, protein, antioxidants, fiber, Vitamin A, B’s, C and E, zinc, potassium, iron, folate, manganese, calcium and magnesium. This makes them a great snack to help reduce inflammation, assist in lowering cholesterol and lowering blood pressure.

To me they're a staple in my diet. I eat them by the handful or blend them with water to make almond milk.

I only ever eat nuts and seeds if they've been activated. This involves soaking them overnight, then drying them out in a dehydrator or oven at a very low temperature.

Nuts and seeds have a job which is to protect themselves in phytates until conditions are just right so it can start to re germinate.These phytates are enzyme inhibitors whichl block the absorption of many valuable nutrients and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, and iron. By activating (soaking) them, diminishes the phytates and makes them easier to digest.

Here's how to activate your nuts (hee hee)...
The process takes a long time, so make A LOT at once

Buy pesticide-free almonds
Put them in a bowl and cover them with water and (optional) sea salt
Soak them overnight in the fridge
Rinse well
If you have a dehydrator, lay them on the telflex sheets and dehydrate on 105/115 degrees. Otherwise, lay them on a cookie sheet and put them in an oven heated to the lowest temperature, which should be no higher than 60 degrees Celsius (140 Fahrenheit)
It will take at least 12 hours, maybe more. Taste one, you'll know when they're ready because they will be very dry.
Store them in an airtight container. They'll last for months...but you'll probably eat them before then!!!

Enjoy x

Food And I Are Not Friends

If you read my other blog you'll know I'm pregnant. Nine weeks to be precise...with TWINS

If someone had told me I'd be off all the food I love, I would have poo poo'd them and said nonsense. Actually, this is EXACTLY what happened. I've been eating mainly raw food (salads, soup, juices, smoothies), eat very little sweetener and no processed food for about 18 months now and feel amazing for it. I'm the healthiest I've ever been.

Until the past five-ish weeks...
In the week leading up to my blood test, I started not loving the salads I was making. Then I got the positive result I've been wanting for so many years. I Tweeted my wonderful news and along with the congratulatory Tweets, we started talking food, and morning sickness, as I was now beginning to feel nauseous 24/7.

Everyone had a remedy for morning sickness and what got them through the day...everyone is different. I was determined to stick to MY eating regime. A lot of people told me I would start wanting food I don't normally eat and would probably not want to look at vegetables, some fruit and most of the things I love.

RUBBISH, I thought. I eat a lot healthier than many people I come in contact with and I won't want what they ate. So the next Saturday off I went to the farmer's market and bought all the beautiful vegetables I would normally buy. Came home and made a huge cabbage, kale and lots of other green leafy things salad. That evening I dished some up for dinner, took one bite and could eat no more. I couldn't even stand the smell of it!!!

How bloody wrong was I!!!

My fridge is now empty of all my beautiful greens (even typing this is making me gag). I still have coconuts but my diet has done a 180.
There are very few foods I can stomach at the moment...
Haloumi is one (I hadn't eaten dairy in at least a year)
Avocado
Ginger (I'm drinking gallons of fresh ginger tea)

They're the three staples. I take it day by day. I have to smell something before I know if I can eat it, which is not that easy, especially if I'm eating out!!!

I'm not fighting it because I figure my body knows what it wants.
I do know, however, that I'm better armed to help coach women who are wanting to get pregnant, either naturally or by IVF and those who are already pregnant, or on the other side and needing to be healthier.

N x

Why I've Been Gone

In July I went to Athens, Greece.
You can read about it here.
One of the things I LOVED about the Greeks is that they know how to eat and eat well. The food there was un.believably fresh and simple. Nothing was covered in sauce, or stuffed with something else.

I was there with Mum and we ate and ate and ate and still the locals at tables around us, ordered and ate more than us!!! Being out of my food-comfort-zone, I was a bit skeptical when we left home, but even at the airport lounge on our layover, the food they had on offer was way better than anything I'd experienced in an airport.

Perfect food for an airport layover - mini pitas, hummus, cukes, tomatoes and feta

The restaurants in Athens didn't disappoint either. The first three nights we stayed at a hotel in the City. I'd been madly Googling raw food/vegetarian restaurants before we left and the one that was on the top of my list just happened to be literally around the corner from the hotel!
It's called Avocado and was great. Lots of raw options which was also perfect for Mum because it was 39 degrees every day and too hot to eat much else.
We ate all three dinners here!!!

This was our favorite salad...baby spinach, avocado, sprouts and a yummy dressing

Gazpacho and a green juice

I was happy.

For the next six nights, I'd rented an apartment in an area called Glyfada. It's commonly known as the Beverly Hills of Athens. I see why. While the city was hot, dirty and very touristy, Glyfada was also hot (but not stifling), clean, the people were dressed impeccably and the stores were more upmarket - no 2Euro chachky stores!

I'd found a gorgeous apartment on Air b n b and while I had no idea of the area when I booked, we found ourselves two blocks from the main center of the town. There was a BLENDER so I could make my smoothies for breakfast. on our first outing, I scouted out the health food store, bought cacao nibs, goji berries, almond milk and cashews. We then found the supermarket, where they stocked organic produce and bought figs, yoghurt, cucumbers, bananas and some berries.

Not having to go out for every meal was a blessing. Mum had fruit and yoghurt for breakfast and I made a smoothie...which I took up to our private pool every morning! It was the best time to sit there because it wasn't so hot yet.

I told you the apartment was amazing

Over the next few days, Mum and I found 3 restaurants we loved and made them our staples for lunch and dinner.
Here are some of the wonderful meals we partook in...

We did a lot of sharing dishes

Fresh sardines and a sea vegetable called Almira

Tzadziki, cabbage salad, hummus, green salad and yummy pita

 

Lentils... Perfect for Winter

I've started volunteering at Our Big Kitchen, henceforth to be known as OBK. Everyone there is selfless and so generous with their time. When I was approached to help out with school kids who come in once a week...I couldn't say no. I am teaching them to make healthier food.

Every week, they have kids from one of the schools come in to do community service. They learn to make a dish, or sometimes just cookies, that's then packaged up and delivered to either the women's refuge or Matthew Talbot.

Yesterday was my first "class". The weather is still quite VERY cold, so, after going through the pantry to see what was on offer, I decided on a red lentil and vegetable stew.

About a dozen 13-14 year old girls arrived. WE donned aprons and hair nets and I got straight to business.
I explained the nutritional value of lentils and was surprised only one of the students had never tried them.
They set about chopping all the vegetables as small as they could. The lentils had already been soaking overnight, which was a huge help, seeing as they need to be soaked and washed very well. Lentils, like all legumes and beans, should be  if not soaked, washed well to remove dirt and small stones and reduce the phytates, which inhibit the body from absorbing essential minerals.

Lentils are low in calories and contain

• iron -  helps the transportation of oxygen from the lungs to various parts of the body
• folate - helps create red blood cells
• magnesium - essential for heart, nerve and muscle functions and proper functioning of the immune    system. It also builds strong bones and improves circulation of blood and oxygen in the body.
• protein - of all the legumes, seed and nuts, lentils have the third highest level of protein. 

Now, here's the recipe for the stew we made. I'm not good with quantities, so eyeball it for the amount you want to make. Also, it freezes well and is a great meal to have on hand when you come home late, or just can't be bothered cooking.
Another thing...I used the vegetables that were available at the time. If I were making it for myself, I'd also add kale, pumpkin, sweet potato. Add the ones you love...

Ingredients

Red lentils (soaked overnight and rinsed well)
Leeks
Garlic
Carrots
Capsicum
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Parsnips
Vegetable Stock
Oil (I used coconut, but whatever you want)

Method 

Chop all the vegetables quite small
Cover the bottom of a saucepan with oil and heat it.
Add leeks and garlic and stir for a couple of minutes
Add rest of vegetables, stirring occasionally, until they cook down a bit. You may need to add more oil.
Add lentils and stock.
Cover with more water if needed.
Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer.
Let everything cook and the lentils absorb the water - stirring occasionally
Depending on the amount of stock you've used, you may need to add some salt.
After about 40 minutes, everything should have cooked down.
If you want to eat this as a soup, make sure it's more watery.
If you want it as a thicker stew, either get a hand held blender and blend it in the pot, or wait until it cools down and pour it into a blender.
It'll become quite thick.

This dish can be eaten alone, or as an accompaniment to a meat or fish dish.

ENJOY xxx

The Power of Prayer...or Not

At a seminar a few weekends ago, a lady introduced herself to me during one of the breaks. She walked with a walking stick and had a noticeable limp. This woman was very chatty and without really asking, she told us she has Multiple Sclerosis (MS), diabetes, she's overweight and some other ailment that escapes me right now. She said she's been trying a lot of alternative medicine. By alternative medicine, she meant she goes to numerous health, healthy living, healthy body/mind seminars.

All the snacks for the conference were provided by Lettuce Deliver...a service that delivers organic produce to your door. Needless to say, all the fruit, cookies, dips and crackers were certified organic.

My new friend, let's call her Susan,was poo pooing the food...not the food so much, more the fact it was organic. She let lose on me, saying that she doesn't believe any food is actually organic, and what does it *really* mean anyway and why should she have to pay more for it and really, it makes no difference to her so she buys her fruit and vegetables at the supermarket. She then takes her conventional food home...the food that's been grown and sprayed with hormones and pesticides and before she eats it...and says a prayer over it...and that, to her, makes the chemicals she's about to ingest, disappear.

I explained the organic certification that farms need is expensive, so the farmers pass the cost onto the consumer. This is why I look for pesticide free rather than organic. It's exactly the same principle, but there's a big difference in the cost. She poo pooed that also.

I decided she probably wouldn't like me asking whether she thinks her ailments would be helped by eating less hormones, pesticides and chemicals, so I took a breath and excused myself...

"Oh, look, someone I need to speak to..."

ch ch ch chia seeds

Chia is a seed that comes from southern Mexico.
It's very rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants. Chia seeds also provide fiber, calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc. All that in one teeny tiy seed.

The best way to eat chia seeds is to soak them first. There are no preparation instructions on the packet...any packet that I've looked at. If you consume them "raw" and don't have enough liquid in your stomach (a lot of people don't drink enough water), they will go straight through you,  canceling out their nutritional value.

A serve is about ONE tablespoon. It won't look like it's enough, but chia seeds absorb ten times their weight in liquid. Soak them for about 15 minutes, then stir, getting rid of the clumps and soak for another thirty minutes. If all the liquid has been absorbed before the second soak, add a bit more.

I use one or a mixture of the following:
filtered water
coconut water
almond or cashew milk

Then I add a couple of these:
blueberries
cut up banana
almonds
goji berries
cacao nibs

They can be soaked overnight, so you're breakfast is just about made and there's no rushing in the morning.
If you want a smoothie, start the same way. One cup of liquid, soaked chia seeds, frozen banana, cacao powder, berries....drink

I used a handful of cashews, cup of filtered water, frozen banana & maqui powder

Have you tried chia seeds? How do you eat them?

N x