Paleo Day 1

After contemplating through my new Paleo recipe book as well as my Raw cookbook, Alkaline book AND Superfoods book (yes i am rather addicted to healthy 'cooking' ;)) i made up a weekly guide to my Paleo meals and excitedly had a trip to the Supermarkets!

You really appreciate just how much of the shops is refined, processed and packaged foods. I spent 75% of my time and money on fresh fruits and vegetables from garlic, fennel and kale to the essential sweet potato and dates and the other 25% on nuts, seeds, coconut, eggs and seafood! I couldn't help but feel proud of my trolley as i passed others with their cokes, icy poles and instant meals! My trolley came to $65 which can be seen as a lot for one person, i could have budgeted better if i tried but that is for next time, i am on a Paleo mission and restocking the kitchen with nuts and meats is never a cheap expedition.

So what did i eat today?

Breakfast was a delicious & simple scrambled eggs with coconut oil with chopped banana, blueberries and sprinkled with coconut and cinnamon! A little mix of sweet eggs which is not the usual but so delicious :) I was well ready for my gym workout afterwards!!

Lunch i enjoyed some raw and dehydrated flaxseed crackers i had dried overnight using flaxseeds, chia seeds, carrot and sesame seeds. This was topped with avocado, roast beef left over from yesterdays dinner, kale and some chopped carrot on the side, very simple!

Raw Flax seeds crackers

Snacks was walnuts, 2 dates (my weakness) and i had a go at cashew milk which is easier to make than almond milk as you do not necessarily have to strain the milk! It is a more creamier texture too, simply soak 1/2 cup of raw cashews for at least 2 hours and blend in a blender with 1 1/2 cups of water and a little maple syrup or agave nectar (or vanilla essence) until smooth. Store in a container (or mason jar!) in the refrigerator for 4 days :)

And with my cashew milk i added some spices and cacao and made a mild Choc-Chai milky tea, so good!

Cashew Milk

Dinner was back into my alkalising meals, after a big weekend of indulgence i felt like something cleansing and made Fennel and Pear soup. An odd combination for many but it is actually really good! So i keep making it :) Fennel is very alkalising and cleansing for the body as well.

And that was my first full Paleo day... apart from avoiding sugars, pasta's, grains and bread not much has changed in what i ate! I love trying new recipes and new foods and can't wait to keep going :)

Stay tuned! xox

Paleo - My 2 week Challenge!

While one of my life goals is to be the healthiest I can be, to do this I am enjoying exploring the different types of healthy lifestyle that different people try. One lifestyle I have wanted to try for some time now is the Paleo lifestyle, and I can think of no better time to try it than now!

Why do I like Paleo? Basically its gluten-free, refined sugar-free, clean eating and of course includes raw foods AND Paleo baking!! Sounds too good to be true? It’s pretty simple and follows the foods of our ancestors, basically you eat real foods, foods that grew in a garden, you pick from a tree and you hunted, gathered or foraged. Don’t worry its not about living like a caveman as they did not have processors, stove tops or the wonderful new age utensils that we now have to spice up the variety of meals simple foods can produce!

Preservation of foods in supermarkets make foods look the same today as they did a year ago and unfortunately the preservatives do not preserve us, in fact they make us sicker and fatter. REAL foods consist of grass-fed meats, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and fats. There are of course better choices than others in these categories alone such as locally produced organic fruits and vegetables without the preservative layer over the skin or grass fed meats as oppose to those given hormones and antibiotics to grow bigger. We cannot always make these better choices but should always aim to try depending on price and availability. Do the best you can with the choices and availability to you. The main things NOT included in the Paleo lifestyle are grains, pasta’s and breads as most carbohydrates come from your fruits and vegetables :) So what is included:

Proteins

·         Red meat (grass fed where possible)

·         Poultry – chicken, turkey, duck etc

·         Pork

·         Fish and seafood – salmon (my favourite!), tuna, bass etc

·         Eggs (free range where possible!)

Fruits and vegetables (AKA carbohydrates)

·         Eat what is in season from local farms, the following are in order from cleanest i.e. lowest in pesticides, to most contaminated

·         Cleanest – onion, asparagus, avocado’s, cabbage, cantaloupe, eggplant, grapefruit, kiwi, mangoes, mushrooms, onions, pineapple, sweet potatoes, watermelon

·         Intermediate – apricots, artichokes, bananas, beets, blackberries, bok choy, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, collards, cucumbers, fennel, figs, garlic, kale, lemons, limes, pumpkin, radishes, raspberries, rhubarb, squash, tomatoes

·         Most contaminated – apples, capsicum, celery, cherries, grapes (imported), lettuce, nectarines, peaches, pears, spinach, strawberries – therefore buy local and organic wherever possible

Fats (yes these ARE good for you and essential for body functioning!!)

·         Almonds, almond flour, almond butter

·         Avocado oil, avocados

·         Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts/oil/butter, pecans, walnuts

·         Coconut, coconut milk and coconut oil

·         Ghee (clarified butter) or regular butter

·         Olives and olive oils

·         Sunflower seeds

·         Tahini

What we do not have is gluten, grains, legumes, dairy (except butter), processed foods, sugar and alcohol. You may also notice peanuts are not on the list as they are actually a legume and not tree nuts. Although sweet potato is a Paleo staple in most lifestyles the white potato itself is not. Much of the reasoning why comes down to the fact these when consumed cause inflammation in the body which the foods listed above play a large role in reducing inflammation in the body and promoting health. But remember we are all unique and react to different foods in different ways particularly if one has allergies or autoimmune conditions which are aggravated by certain foods. So remember just because food is Paleo friendly does not mean it agrees with everyone. This is why it is important to find time to play with your diet to find what works for you. I am one who gets excited seeing if certain foods agree with me and how my body reacts particularly when you find foods which leave you vibrant and energetic!

Remember you don’t need to claim to be 100% Paleo or any lifestyle for that matter. Following the 80/20 rule you can still enjoy the odd piece of dark chocolate or wine but still opt for avoiding those sugar filled doughnuts or packaged pies where you can as these induce much inflammation in the body and leave you feeling sluggish and fatigued. A healthy food lifestyle including the Paleo lifestyle is truly a conscious awareness of what we put into our bodies and whether these have a positive or negative impact on our health.

What I also LOVE about the Paleo lifestyle is it still incorporates many aspects of the raw food lifestyle – clean, fresh, wholesome and grown. The raw lifestyle aims to reduce inflammation and be full of anti-cancer fighting agents and live enzymes promoting our longevity, but admittedly the raw lifestyle does not have a sustainable balance of proteins and essential vitamin such as B12 and folate needed for our bodies and these are advised to be consumed as supplements. Therefore I am excited to announce I am having a 2 week Paleo lifestyle challenge… or should I say mission! And all raw foods and vegetarians are all still Paleo! So I can still most definitely incorporate raw goodies into the 2 weeks at the same time (yay!). I will keep you up to date with the progress and what foods I make and eat and how simply (or hard?) the Paleo lifestyle can be :)

I have also bought myself a little gift…. A body composition scale! I have not been a true believer in counting the kilo’s just because muscle is heavier than fat and a higher weight for those who gym and lift weights can be healthier than another person with a lower total weight but higher per cent body fat aka less muscle. So I plan to monitor whether the Paleo lifestyle combined with my gym sessions help to tone my body over the next 2 weeks by reducing % fat and increasing % muscle mass. Admittedly I have been indulging a little too much these past few weeks and my body is now telling me it’s time to refocus!! Particularly as university exams come closer and stress levels slowly rise, I want to be as healthy as I can be to get through keeping my mind and body healthy. Hence I have had my last indulgence for a while celebrating my nan’s birthday with a piece of her home made lemon sponge cake, well worth it I must admit ;) … but there is no better time to try something new than now! :)

Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies

Mmmm cookies... Sometimes I feel I am a muffin monster, but this recipe could easily make me become a cookie monster but a healthy one of course!!

I took these to a tutorial one Friday afternoon with my Uni peers and they could not believe they had chickpeas in them! They were definitely a hit :) The recipe usually has dark choc bits which would go nicely but I switched and used chopped dates instead, but which one you use is up to you :) I got this great recipe from a friend thanks so much for passing it on!!

Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups chickpeas canned or cooked patted dry with a tea towel
½ cup peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
¼ cup honey
a drizzle of olive oil (about 2 tbs)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup almond meal (optional but makes the mixture easier to handle)
a pinch of salt
2/3 cup chopped dates or dark chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a cookie sheet with baking paper & lightly spray with olive oil.
2. Add the chickpeas to a food processor with a steel blade and puree. Scrape down the edges, and pulse again a few times until the "dough" is completely smooth.

3. Add all the remaining ingredients (except the dates/dark chocolate chips) and puree again!

4. Pour the cookie dough into a bowl, and add in the dates/chocolate chips. The dough will be super sticky especially if you didn't add almond meal but this is normal :)

5. Scoop out heaping spoonfuls of dough and drop them onto the baking paper. (You can also form the dough into balls with wet hands, but this can get quite messy.)

7. Bake for 12-15 minutes, these are amazing warm out of the oven! Keep in the fridge for 3-4 days or freeze some in a container to keep longer :)

You can now become a healthy cookie monster! Enjoy :D

xox

Cauliflower Crust Pizza :)

I think everyone has part Italian inside of them, after all who doesn't enjoy biting into a tasty home made pizza?? I have been inspired by Eat, Drink, Smile to make a healthy pizza crust when I came across her cauliflower pizza base! While I got rather excited at the thought others may frown, (my mum included!) but you cannot judge a pizza by its contents before you try it and this crust is no exception :)

The ingredients are quite basic and the recipe very simple! I have in the past made a based out of pumpkin or sweet potato which turned into a bit of a pumpkin scone base of a pizza (I didn't complain there!) but this cauliflower I find can be so versatile even before it is turned into a pizza crust.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza :)

Crust Ingredients:

1/2 a cauliflower
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (initial recipe was 1 full cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
2 gloves garlic crushed
Olive oil (optional)

Method

First we need to 'rice' the cauliflower which can be done in a blender or a grater. Cut the cauliflower florets into smaller chunks removing the stems and leaves. Add to a food processor and pulse for 10-15 seconds until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. Alternatively you can grate the whole head with a cheese grater. Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 6 minutes (some microwaves are more powerful than others, so you may need to alter this cooking time). There is no need to add water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself. I added water for my first round which made the base a little longer to cook.

Half a cauliflower should produce around 3 cups of riced cauliflower. This recipe uses 1 cup and the rest I put in the freezer for another day. OR add it to salads or turn into sushi as a substitute for sushi rice (my next experiment :D).

To Make the Pizza Crust:

Preheat oven to 210 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup of riced cauliflower, the egg and cheese. Add the oregano, crushed garlic and mix together. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a circular base around 0.5cm thick. You can brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and add tomato paste base and any toppings you wish! This one I made a vegetarian pizza with roasted pumpkin, red onion and zucchini having a lack of ingredients in the fridge at them time but I can't wait to try different flavours and make them prettier too :)

From there you can put the pizza back into the oven or under a grill for 4-5 minutes or until your ingredients are done and any cheese is melted.

Cut into slices and enjoy you home made cauliflower based pizza!!

xox

Rainbow salads, Spring has Sprung!

With finally Spring here and the colours of flowers and plants start to catch your eye, I have realised my salad lunches (and my days!) have been becoming more colourful too... and I had to share a few with you!

This one is a very photogenic salad with grated beetroot, broccoli and carrot with spinach leaves, tomatoes and dukkah! (I LOVE dukkah) I also had some homemade dehydrated flax seed crackers... yum :D

 

It has been a beetroot, carrot and broccoli rainbow theme... add a scrambled egg with avocado and tahini on raw flaxseed crackers and you cannot go wrong!

 

 

Combining raw and cooked vegetables I am rather fond of cooked pumpkin and red onion! This one also has home grown fresh alfalfa sprouts with cauliflower, tomato and you guessed it raw flaxseed crackers ;) 

One of my favourites would have to be mango salad! Spinach, carrot, sunflower kernels, avocado and a delicious mango. The green/yellow dip at the top is a raw chickpea, lemon and spinach dip I made for extra flavour :)

Or add in some super kale with chopped mushrooms, beetroot, carrot, avocado and sundried tomato's!

Lunch is always better shared, and when your company is as bright as your salad you know you are having a bright day! So this spinach, chickpea, red onion, carrot and raw chickpea, lemon and spinach dip will always be remembered to me as my parrot salad :)

These are a few of my favourite lunch snaps but I hope it helps you to know how easy it is to create a colourful, healthy and fun lunch with a high raw and revitalising lifestyle! Hello Spring :)

xox

Raw Gingerbread Cookies

Hello Spring :) I don't know where the time has gone but I am so glad the sun is coming out and the days are becoming longer. I have had a good time experimenting with alkaline foods and salads as well as more raw foods and treats! At the same time I am getting into a new hobby - road cycling on Sundays :D there are beautiful roads and countryside to see especially in the South West WA. I love coming home after a good ride (45km now!!) to some delicious foods to nourish my body, protein pancakes are one of those goodies ;)

I have a few catch up recipes to post but I want to share with you these cookies I made from Lorna Jane and Rhi's Foodie bites....

Raw Gingerbread Cookies!

Makes 10-12 serves

1 cup desiccated coconut
1 ¼ cup macadamias
½ cup sunflower kernels
10 medjool dates
1 Tbs fresh ginger, grated
½ tsp. fresh turmeric, grated
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. coconut oil

Put macadamias, desiccated coconut and sunflower kernels into a food processor and blend until broken down into a crumb.

Add the rest of the ingredients, and blend again until well combined.

Grabbing a chunk of dough, roll it into a ball with your hands, and press it down, thinly, onto a lined baking tray or dehydrator rack.

Repeat for the rest of the dough.

Dehydrate the cookies in a dehydrator for 8-10 hours, or dehydrate in an oven at the lowest possible temperature for 12hours, or until the cookies are crisp. If you don't want to use the oven for that long you can always not have them raw and cook in a moderate oven for 10-15 minutes, they are have an awesome nutritional content to beat those sugar cravings!

I actually made about 20 small cookies and they were great snacks to beat those sugar cravings :) I found they were also great as a base to a raw cheesecakes, raw banana ice cream or if you don't want to go fully raw crumbled into some yoghurt :)