A goldilocks treat with a twist - Chia Porridge

I love breakfast.   It's the first thing I think of when I open my eyes in the morning and I'm sure is the soul reason I leap out of bed without a second thought.

At the weekend I needed to get some more greens in as I wanted a good start to the day with my detox protocol.  I only had a banana and bunch of celery in the way of smoothie ingredients so with low expectations I wizzed them together in the blender.  To my surprise it was actually pretty yummy!  It would have been extra special with some spinach in as well!

A little later I was feeling peckish again so I soaked some chia seeds to make a chia pudding.  Check out this article on the benefits of chia.  To the chia I added some almonds, blueberries and water.  10 minutes later I took my first bite and the cold texture really wasn't working for me.  I can't currently have porridge (oats aren't allowed on the detox) however I had an idea.  I had some gluten free porridge in the cupboard.  It is nowhere near as creamy, dense and filling as oats so I figured the chia would bulk it out and hey presto it was a winner. Here's how to make chia porridge.

Happy Sundays!!!!

A few weeks ago I went to this hip yoga studio in St Kilda for a friday night yoga class, nibbles and screening of a new movie called Happy.

It was a great reminder and reality check......we all needs these from time to time right!!!!  So in a nut shell here is the synopsis.......

Fifty percent of our level of happiness is inborn - for those in the UK it would seem that Victor Meldrew really couldn't help himself - and Dale boy is one of the lucky ones!!!! So we have a baseline level of happiness that stays with us for life.  We think that certain things will make us really happy (such as marriage, a new car, a pay rise) or really sad (such as losing a job and getting a divorce) yet the research shows that while these circumstances do have an impact and we do become ecstatic (or depressed), the feeling is short-lived and we very quickly bounce back to our baseline level of happiness. Good news?

A further 10% of our level of happiness is impacted by the very things the majority of society are chasing after.  Status, how we look to others, wealth and approval have all been shown to impact the level of our happiness by up to 10%.  Great to know!?!  Don't you feel like mini genius' now!?! ;)

Now the good bit.  The researchers (psychologists, social scientists and psychiatrists) found that a whopping 40% of our level of happiness can be changed by actions that are within our very control.

Get your pen and paper ready darlings - and in no particular order, you can do the following:

Detox Details!

On the 1st October I started a detox......a 6 week detox.  Here is the why, what, how and more........

Who

The detox plan was provided by a wellness clinic called Vitality (I go there for chiro regularly).  A group of us eager health beavers have embarked upon our detox mission. The boy had a boys weekend planned for the middle of October and has therefore just started his detox on Monday of this week.  I’m planning to keep going with him for moral support....making mine a 9 week challenge wahoo!

What

The detox itself constitutes the following:

Feel good Friday!!!

Have a cuppa.....that's my mantra!!!

Throw together a chicken stirfry......

When it comes to food I am generally on the scout for something quick, yummy, seriously nourishing and something I have thought of on the fly.  I have to go by what is in the cupboards / fridge at the time as I don’t always like to plan too much and sometimes recipes are fun but sometimes you just want to throw something together right?  So here is the chicken stirfry run down......(inspired by the fact that I got a double order of my organic veggies this week and have so many to use up)........

All you really need is:

We are well into spring wahoo and on the spring equinox (23rd September) I set myself the challenge and focus to detox my life......spring clean, send off to the charity shop, de clutter and simplify my life.  In all aspects.  Seems like a mammoth task for a goal of simplifying!! :)

Since then i’ve had a good clear out of my clothes and cupboards.  A first draft anyway.......when i'm feeling ruthless (currently slightly fragile on a detox - more on that later) I will give it another go!!  I now have a bag of clothes for the charity shop and my cupboards have more space.  I’ve realised that of all my belongings i tend to stick with and use the same 20%, like the same pieces of jewellery, a few of the same clothes.  Partly because i haven’t been able to see what i actually have in the cupboards and partly because i think i have too much stuff.  Way more than is needed to live..........so I have pledged the following:

Knock up these little Frittatas quick smart!

I made these little gems before dashing out Sunday morning, it was super quick and easy.

 

Firstly I lightly greased (with some good quality cold pressed organic olive oil) a 6 muffin tin and preheated the oven to 180 degrees c.

The I got the following ready:

• 4 eggs
• 1 medium onion diced (sliced into small pieces)
• Couple of handfuls of spinach
• Cut 2 tomatoes into chunks (or could halve cherry tomatoes)
• Sweet Paprika spice and basil on hand (could use whatever herbs you fancy)
• Salt and pepper
• Some coconut or sesame oil 

To whip these eggy treats up - do as follows:

1. Put a tablespoon of oil into a pan and saute the onions.
2. Add the spinach to the pan and stir around for a minute or so until it wilts. 
3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool - in the mean time......
4. Whisk the eggs, herbs, salt and pepper
5. Now that the mixture has cooled (don’t worry about it being room temperature, just cooler is fine)
6. Spoon the onion mix into the muffin cases (about half fill) then pour the egg mixture on top of each.  Top with a piece of tomato.

Place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, they will start to brown on top.  Don’t worry if you can see a little liquid as when you take them you can leave them in the muffin tray for 10-15 minutes and they will continue to cook slightly anyway.

Once a little cooled, pop them out to a wire rack.

So good to grab for breakfast / when you’re on the run or with a salad for lunch.  If you inspired.....go try them!!