Saturday, October 18

Getting Fresh

Happy New Year everyone! Today is the day we traditionally take down the Christmas tree. This last year has been full of surprises! Some good, some not my favourites. Here's to a New Year, full of good things, good relationships, new beginnings & new recipes of course.
If you overly partook of the good foods of Christmas, like I did, now's the time to jump back on that wagon & eat single ingredient foods.

 

I went to the doctor yesterday & was told my last cholesterol test came back great! That's a testimony to my eating choices over the last year! The only things I buy processed are coconut milk/cream, organic tomatoes in cans, hulled seeds, cocoa, dried beans or canned, tea bags, coconut oil, olive oil, tamari, and shampoo.
This year I plan to change over to cacao & buy more organic brands of those things.
Being financially challenged, that's difficult to achieve each week, but if I buy one product each week, I can do it...and so can you :0)

Here's to better food choices! Let's Show the traditional medical profession & other eaters the way to better health!

My daily breakfast all year. Wholegrain soaked cooked oats, nuts, seeds & fruit
 


Summer has well & truly arrived in New Zealand, yay!
Christmas has been, the holidays are upon us. Sitting in the sun listening to cicadas sing, jet skis on the water & children playing. Life is good! How are things with you right now?

Have a chocolate on me


Is anyone else having weird crazy weather? A beautiful blue sky very hot day today! And about time I have to say!



So what about this Summer we're not having...



This is the view from my flat at 3pm...sea fog & drizzly rain.
On the upside, its been a great day or few days for getting all the Christmas sewing & baking done. How are you doing with your prep?


Sorry about the lack of warning for changing the blog. Its been on my mind for sometime, to modernise it the way other blogs that appeal to me are. And the clean fresh feel of white, who can go past it!

Do you like it?

Makes the food pics pop, dont you think?



My fave easy dessert, a baked apple, stuffed with dates, coconut sugar & currants


Wednesday, October 15

Flour Substitutions

Hi again, I found this today. Its a keeper!

http://www.superhealthykids.com/blog-posts/the-essential-food-allergy-substitution-guide.php

More User Friendly?

Hi there, how frustrating it can be when you want to cook something from someones blog, & the font is too small to follow easily. 
I've just increased the size so its easier for you.

Let me know how that works for you please?





Are you eating your colours?

And please remember to go like the Facebook page, thanks.

Tuesday, October 14

Im getting pickled

Its that time again, time to make some more delicious fermented cabbage...aka sauerkraut.

I made a small jar expecting not to like it. Just the thought of soggy salty cabbage is enough to make me gag! But I persevered thinking about the free probiotics I would get with it. Thats always a win!


Boy was I wrong! The cabbage, carrot & ginger I made up was only slightly salty...I used the right amount of salt this time, & Crunchy! So I've just made a new batch, dare I say a huge batch! So easy to make too!




So you want to know how to make it? Ok here's the recipe:


Ingredients:


  • Enough cabbage, carrot, fresh ginger or any other veges you like, to fit into your jar, leaving enough room for liquid to cover it.
  • Water
  • 1 Tbs salt
Instructions:
  1. Cut up the cabbage, carrot & ginger as rough or finely as you like
  2. Put them in a bowl & bash them to release the juices
  3. Layer them into the jar, sprinkling a little salt on each layer.
  4. Fill the jar with water & use some kind of weight to hold the vegetables down under the water.
  5. Leave on the kitchen bench or counter for 24-48 hours until the liquid starts to taste fizzy. You will see bubbles coming up & popping.
  6. If you like the taste, push the veges back down, close the lid & put in the fridge. Job done!
  7. Drink 1 Tbs of the liquid before meals for the probiotics & eat the vegetables with meals or by itself. I'm hooked! Such a great way to use the other half of the cabbage before it spoils too!
It keeps for months by the way, win! Not that it'll last that long!

Thursday, October 9

Sweet Potatoes aka Kumara

Why do I keep adding weird recipes with vegetables in them? Simply because they are so much healthier than recipes without! Which means we can eat more treats right?
And kids can eat yummy snacks, so Moms/Mums dont have to worry about their nutrition so much, win!
Not to mention the fact that they will sustain us for longer.

So todays lesson is about sweet potatoes, grab a drink & have a read:


Chocolate Sludge (recipe on baking page)



Sweet potatoes are a powerhouse when it comes to nutrition.


They’re rich in beta carotene, Vitamin A and C, and act as an anti-inflammatory in the body. One large potato provides 4 grams protein, 6 grams of fiber, and just 162 calories

And if you'd like to read more of the nutrition info, go here:


Now go ahead & indulge yourself 

Wednesday, October 8

Go check out the Facebook page

Here: Feeding You Well

The Cooking Angel doesnt always cook healthy either ;)

Cooking with kids...Fun!



Especially when there is recipe testing involved!


Tuesday, October 7

Which Diet? Low Fodmap, GaPs, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers...

I've been doing some more thinking & research on diets.

My gut is pretty unhappy right now, because Ive been eating Way Too Many carbs lately!

Why do I do it? Its the only leverage I have in my budget, like many of you I"m sure. Also post menopause I crave them, bad I know.


One of the common patterns Im seeing in all of these diets, is to eat more veges & protein. For me that means eggs, nuts, meat, fish & chicken, as I"m dairy & gluten intolerant.


So how do we incorporate more veges & proteins into our food?


Here are some suggestions:


Roast Vege Salad - goes with everything, eat hot or cold, travels well & keeps for a week in the fridge.


Scrambled Eggs on Toast - Different versions include: with rocket, chilli, parsley (is a green vegetable), other herbs & spices you like. Get creative with it!


Quiche- A great way to hide veges, with cheese & milks, lots of eggs


Fish Pie- Made with veges in a white sauce as the second layer, under the fish. I always eat fresh fish 99% of the time now, to avoid the Massive amounts of salt used in tinned fish. 


Desserts- with eggs, seeds, veges & nuts: You can eat these at lunchtime too you know.



  • Pumpkin custards, it really is delicious, give it a try
  • Chia pudding w berry coulis (made with cashew milk)
  • Rice pudding, made with eggs & milks
  • Egg custard pies & tarts
  • Avocado chocolate mousse & ice cream
  • Pumpkin spice ice cream- by Minimalist Baker
Just some ideas for you to start with, even a meat & salad lunch or sandwich. Make sure you add some seeds for extra nutrition

And Snacks, mustnt forget them!



  • Chopped up raw veges in containers in the fridge
  • Pumpkin custards are great for that
  • Chocolate sludge too
  • Sunflower crackers, or thyme & garlic, cinnamon
  • Hummus & dips with raw veges or crackers
  • Cheese for those who can eat it
  • Yoghurt, not dairy food though
  • Dates, but only a few (sugar)
  • Protein bar, but don't go crazy (sugar) 



Saturday, October 4

Tightening Your Belt to use funds more efficiently?

In my opinion, the recession is still very much ON. I'm sure a lot of you would agree with me. When the  number 1 Shoes are closing their doors, thats enough proof for me!
I forget which store, but saw it on the news, 4000 jobs will be lost, dislike. 

Sad day, I walked to my mall today & saw that #1 Shoes is gone!


So how can we make our money go further?


Here's a couple of ways to have healthy inexpensive snacks that almost everyone will eat:



Kumara chips

  • Peel kumara (sweet potato) if not organic, Slice finely & toss in a bowl with a little olive oil. 
  • Bake until crisp, approx 30-45 mins on 375ºF (180ºC)



Organic Air Popped Popcorn (Bin Inn)


Friday, October 3

An Excellent Article to read over & over until we Get It. Take some time out to read this, its worth it I promise


Chef Pete Evans
 added 2 new photos.
8 hrs · Edited · 
I know it is a big read, but yesterdays post by Dietitian Caryn Zinn with her link to her teams 55 page document to have NZ dietary guidelines looked at is really compelling and if you get a chance to read it, please do. This mornings post is also an interesting one, and of course these are observations, they don't equal causation, but are pretty difficult to ignore. I'm sure the experts will agree. This article appeared inwww.preventdisease.com
Renown Heart Surgeon Speaks Out On What Really Causes Heart Disease.
We physicians with all our training, knowledge and authority often acquire a rather large ego that tends to make it difficult to admit we are wrong. So, here it is. I freely admit to being wrong.. As a heart surgeon with 25 years experience, having performed over 5,000 open-heart surgeries,today is my day to right the wrong with medical and scientific fact.

Monday, September 8

Its a Dogs Life

And this is how I did it...






Today is grooming day! And that means a fight in this house. Lexi HATES being groomed. I have no idea why, I've never cut her or hurt her, but she did used to come home from a groomer exhausted & shaking when she was a puppy...so perhaps that experience has traumatised her?


Sunday, September 7

Wow

What a day! That moment when after weeks & months of cold, wet, stormy weather, you wake up & open the curtains & its a blue sky day!

Today I'm making an American recipe, called gluten free orange raisin drop scones.
When I"ve made them I'll post the recipe & pic.

Have a great day, because you woke up

Tuesday, August 26

Good Morning

Here in New Zealand, its almost Spring! How happy we all are! The sun is shining most days, the daffodils are out, lambs are leaping & there is a feeling of joy in everyone. 

My apologies for not having all the recipes up yet, its been a busy week, with the official launch. I'll get there, as we do. 

Meanwhile feel free to ask for any recipes you'd like to see, or cooking tips & I'll endeavour to answer them as quickly as I can. 
Have a great day, because you woke up 

Wednesday, August 20

Being Resourceful cont

HI again, nice to see you! Well figuratively anyway.

Yesterday I got into my stores of dry food & what was left over in the fridge etc & made some very yummy things to eat!


I started the day with my traditional wholegrain oats, with sesame seeds, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger & some frozen cranberries(man those things are Sour) in it. Chopped apple & brazil nuts on top.





I had brown rice, so I made rocket lemon risotto with chicken for dinner. It was So good! I used the liquid from cooking the chicken as the water for the risotto, picked some of the larger leaves of rocket from the garden & had been given some lemons, so the zest & juice went in at the end. (zest gets bitter otherwise) You can find the recipe on my main meals page


I also had some coconut flour, a banana & other dry ingredients like currants, so I made what I like to call Banana Bread, but its more like coconut fruit bread with only one banana. You can find the recipe on my baking page.


Then I had some Chia Pudding with Cranberry Compote for dessert. You can find the recipe on my dessert page.




Next I found some dried chickpeas, to make hummus & roasted chickpeas for snacks. They are cooking right now! Find those recipes on my snacks page.


Tuesday, August 19

Being Resourceful

This week is a challenge for me, to  be as resourceful as I can. Its that time when the bills roll in one after the other, with surprises in between. You know what I'm talking about, no matter what country huh!

I"m looking in my cupboards to see what I can make. So far I've found dried chickpeas, they will be roasted chickpeas & hummus, with a lemon & garlic I have. If I had a can of tomatoes I'd make Moroccan chickpea soup, but I don't.

I found a banana in the freezer, & eggs, so banana bread is on the menu, along with the apple cider bread to use up. I still cant get why anyone would want to eat that stuff! Its sour!

I have 2 chicken thighs for today, what shall I make with them? I was thinking soup but I have NO vegetables left.

I have rice, gf noodles, lentils, gf flours, 2 eggs, a small can of coconut milk & coconut flour. Lend me your creativity today, all ideas welcome.

Monday, August 18

All Blogs are Not Equal

A bit of a controversial subject I know!

https://www.facebook.com/FeedingUwell/photos/a.672606116122081.1073741828.671856869530339/685904914792201/?type=1&theater


This is what I made today. As it was called an apple cider bread, I shouldn't be surprised that it reeked of vinegar, & worse still...tasted of it...a LOT!


Ok I swapped out 1 cup of the sorghum flour for flax meal, buckwheat & added an egg. 

But still! Bread shouldn't taste of vinegar should it? Perhaps its my limited cultural tastes?

Anyway, the texture was good, and the general feel & taste was good. I could post the recipe...but do you want it? Best wait for the next one.

Sunday, August 17

Bone Broth

HI, how are you today? Thanks for dropping in to visit my blog, without you there'd be no point doing one. 

Bone broth is the latest catch word, everyone who's anyone is using it. Why? Because its Full of nutrients!


I've seen bone broth before, in fact its a staple of a chefs kitchen, chefs call it stock. Though chefs don't put vinegar in theirs. Its said to bring out all the gelatine in the bones. They use vegetables, chicken bones, beef & fish bones, to make nutrient rich, flavoursome, flavoured broths for our dishes. Yum! 


Chefs use stock instead of water in most dishes that call for water. They do this to add more flavour to the dish, these days its used nutritionally, & thats a good thing in my opinion.


My grandmother used to save the water from all the vegetables she cooked, & either drink it with the meal, or freeze it to use another day in her cooking. Very thrifty! Not to mention health conscious, she was a whizz at things like that.


Some examples of places you could use bone broth are:

E.G. risotto, soup, pasta dishes, sauces, to cook vegetables in, polenta & meat dishes.  *Use it in the place of water.

Heres a recipe or two from the New Zealand Chef 2002 by Lesley Christensen-Yule & Hamish McRae


Thursday, August 7

Going Organic

Going Organic:

One of the dumbest things I've heard is the statement, "we don't believe going organic is any more healthy than not". (The food authorities)

Thats a strong thing to say, & I just cant understand the reasoning behind it.

If the vegetables & fruit have been sprayed with pesticides, who wants to or feels safe to eat the skin?

NOT me thats for sure!

So when I buy organic, I leave the skin on all my fruit & veges, where applicable of course.

Why do I do that?

Because heaps of the nutrients are in the skin!
The end, have a great day everyone. If you woke up, its a good day.




More on Snacks:

Gluten, dairy, egg, soy, sugar & nut free Crackers
From what I'm hearing its definitely the snacks that are hardest to find, in a more healthy or allergy friendly form. So I'm doing some research, learning a lot along the way, & producing some very tasty little morsels for you! See my baking page for more x


HI again, I've been thinking...did you smell the smoke?



One of the issues that a lot of people have difficulty with, when trying to eat a more healthy diet, in my experience, is snacks!


e.g. What can I eat between meals when I'm still a  bit hungry?...


Monday, August 4

More on Sugar

I thought about how I add sweetness to my food, without the use of sugar, and wanted to share it with you.

Some of my food rules are:


  1. Buy organic if I can, if I cant, buy the Best quality I can afford, & make sure its fully ripened before buying. When fruit is picked before its ripe, the sugars havent fully developed in the fresh produce.
  2. Find sweet flavours I can add to food, to appease my sweet tooth.
The way I do that is by following some simple rules for cooking. I caramelise the sugars in the food where possible, by roasting or toasting. When the natural sugars are caramelised, they go brown...simple.

If there are no sugars present or very low sugar, like bread, I add a flavour to enhance the sweetness or cover another flavour.
For example: Organic Coconut oil, chips etc, is quite sweet! So is liquorice root aka liquorice tea. If its a savoury meal, use bone broth/stock instead of water, to add nutrition & flavour. (chef tip)


I add fruit (gold kiwifruit, berries, chopped raw organic apple, skin on) to my porridge, seeds, (sunflower) spices like cinnamon & occasionally nuts. Almond nuts are sweet, but I just LOVE brazil nuts, & they give me selenium for my nails & hair. New Zealand is said to have low silica in our soil, so I make sure my nails & hair arent compromised. I also like to eat well.

Sometimes I add mint to things like coleslaw, or dried fruit (keep it minimal), a little sprinkle of sea or Himalayan pink salt, or other herbs. Parsley is divine with pumpkin soup, kale chips are crunchy...its all about the flavours, textures for me.

Pretty easy when you think about it, she says eating a handful of coconut chips mmmm creamy, chewy & lovely milk.

Friday, August 1

Sugars continued & FODMAPS

I'm reading the book I Quit Sugar For Life by Sarah Wilson, at the moment. It has some very good things to say about how ingredients interact with each other. It seems our bodies only need glucose, which is found in meat & vegetables. What we dont need is fructose! It has no nutritional helping value at all, in any part of our bodies...makes me wonder why God invented fruit?

Agave is Extremely high in fructose, 70% in fact! I know when I've used it, thinking it was healthy...I felt really sick. Now I know why! As well as the high fat content, albeit good fat from coconut oil & cashews. And honey is higher than maple syrup! (the no sugar added one) I'm changing my habits as we speak.  


What Sarah does say, is eat more fat for satiety (feeling full). 


Tuesday, July 29

All Sugars are NOT Created Equal

I"m learning about sugar & how it affects our bodies, well mine anyway.

Some time ago, I thought I had it nailed! Get rid of white sugar out of the diet, easy. Or so I thought!


So I ditched the white, went over to raw & carried on cooking...


Then I read about how sugar is inflammatory in the body, if there are any issues like arthritis, IBS (irritable bowel)


So I went all out & got rid of the sugars in my cupboards... Or so I thought!


Recently I've been dealing with leaky gut issues, learning about it that is. And compromised gut flora, & other inflammatory diseases (never stop learning)


A wise owl (wiser than me) informed me that dates, coconut sugar, maple syrup, & even bananas... are still sugar! 


There go the sweet treats! This leads me into thinking, what shall I eat or what can others eat, when I want that little something extra at the end of the meal?


So far I"ve found the organic coconut chips are marvellous! Creamy, chewy, semi sweet & filling! Ticks all the boxes! 


I also have a protein bar that I make & keep in the fridge for those moments...after dinner...every night! I'll post the recipe when I make a new batch. 


Some nuts are good, as are sunflower seeds, but I usually eat nuts in the morning unless Im desperate.


Even a date or three helps sometimes. I"ve found cooking some plain rice with bottled unsweetened fruit, with a few drops of stevia on it, is good as a dessert too.


Here's to our good healthy sweet things

p.s. I found this article: http://lifefoods.co.nz/blog/shedding-the-sugar/

Sunday, July 20

Moving Forward

Today I bought business cards for the upcoming seminar with Gina Wilson on August 23rd....excitingggggg!

Saturday, July 12

Chemical Poisoning


Today I want to talk about something a lot of us dont even think about...additives in food & other products we use on & in our bodies.

There are some some words I learned some years ago, that I had never thought about before. Thanks to some good friends of mine, who mentored me in my chemical free journey, I came to learn about these nasties: Sodium Laurel Sulphate & Propylene Glycol. Google what they are so I'm not influencing your thinking.


Saturday, July 5

Sugar- Whether to eat it or not

Today I learned about artificial sugars, and how they affect the body.
I was pleased when I learned that we should eat natural sugars, not synthetic or other sugars, so the stevia is in the bin!

The body responds when the brain says, here comes a sugar hit...yahoo! Then it doesn't arrive if you've eaten a synthetic sugar of any kind, because the body doesn't recognise it; so your brain tells you to eat more & then you gain weight! Thats the gist of it anyway. In fact the article written by an MD who is studying the correlation between sugar & weight gain said, eat a little sugar. No thanks!


I"m sticking with the dates, maple syrup & bananas! ...