Salad Sensation!!!

Oh how the lowly salad can be turned into a bowl of wonderfully delicious morsels of joy...........with just a little know how!!!

Having previously stumbled across a Jamie Oliver app on the iPhone which provided a session on how to make a jazzy salad, I raised an eyebrow and contemplated the potential.  The benefits of veggies, in particular green leafies are well known.  You can do your body and mind a world of good by eating more....so finding a way to make a healthy dish (and in particular a salad) a pleasure to eat and not a fork fight is a winner as far as i'm concerned!!!

It wasn't however until I watched a DVD by the wonderous Sherry Strong  (more on this angel from another world later) that I managed to produce some salads to rock my world!!!

So here are my tips (and these are tried and tested as my girlfriends are now hooked and loving their homemade salad lunches!!)

Ingredients (not limited to....and you don't need to have everything, can just add what you like!!)

• A couple of handfuls of Leaves (Rocket, Cos Lettuce, Butter Lettuce, Mixed Salad Leaves, Spinach.......any of the above, mix them up) cut into shreds
• One cup of chopped veggies (broccoli, zucchini / courgette, capsicum / peppers, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, green beans......anything you can think of) I think it's best to chop them up nice and small.
• One carrot or small beetroot grated
• Small handful of chopped nuts and seeds
• Small handful of chopped dried fruit (apricot, sultanas, dates, prunes etc....)
• Goji berries, desiccated coconut
• Grains (half a cup of cooked quinoa or brown rice).  It's easiest just to follow instructions on the quinoa packet.  I just rinse and cook.
• Cheese (I LOVE Goats Cheese, could use feta, mozzarella is also fabulous)
• Roasted veggies (sweet potato, pumpkin, parsnip etc.... to do this, cut into bite size chucks and roast in the oven in a drizzle of oil at 180 degrees for about 30 minutes)
• Could add boiled egg, tuna etc.....

Here are a couple of examples that I have had this week that were delicious:

Salad 1

• Handful of leaves chopped
• Handful of nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews) chopped
• Sprinkle of sunflower and pumpkin seeds
• Sprinkle of raisins
• Goats Cheese
• One carrot grated
• Squeeze of lemon juice and dash of extra virgin olive oil
• Couple of broccoli florets chopped
• A few green beans chopped

 
Salad 2

• Handful of chopped leaves
• Half a cup of cooked quinoa
• Goats Cheese
• 2 dates chopped
• One carrot grated
• Handful of chopped nuts and seeds (walnuts, cashews, sunflower and pumpkin seeds)
• One stick of celery chopped
• Squeeze of lemon juice

I also made this salad for dinner last week and it was super satisfying.
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2009/01/warm-spinach-salad-with-quinoa-and.html

Go get started, take a salad for your lunch or have in the evening.  Once you start you will be hooked.  Such a great way to love your food, love your body and feel fantastic!!!

P.s. I love to use all organic veggies.....the choice is yours of course :)

Feel Good Friday.........Laughter!!

"Laughter is the best Medicine"

How true this is.  As well as knowing how good it makes us feel, the benefits have been rather well studied.  Laughter can relax the whole body, boost immunity, trigger the release of endorphines and protect the heart!!

We all have different things that make us laugh.  For me, I love to watch funny movies and have a good giggle with friends..........I also have to admit that I can't help but fall over laughing when someone trips up....terrible I know :)

Children are reported to laugh more than 300 times a day which drops to around 15-20 times a day as adults!!

Whatever it is that makes you laugh...find it and do it!!!  Laugh long and laugh hard!!  Have a look here for more ideas and info....

Women Food And God.....what a trio!!

Whilst pondering around a few cute gift and book shops at the weekend, I was drawn to a book on the shelf of the Health & Wellbeing section in a wonderous book store!!

Having flicked through a couple of pages I was compelled to make the purchase...did so swiftly (as is my usual style) and pulled up a chair in a nearby tea room, ordered a cup of Orange Pekoe and scones with jam and cream which was served in antique fine china (heaven) and launched into 'Women Food and God' (as is my usual style).  Just 3 days later I have read it from cover to cover and am going back for another read!!  It is beautiful!

Essentially it shows how our relationship with food represents the way in which we live life 'No matter how sophisticated or wealthy or broke or enlightened you are, how you eat tells all'.  Although I have never had to deal with excessive weight gain, I have certainly spent years gorging on food and suffered appauling ill effects to my digestive system.  Whether it's binge eating, over eating, weight gain, trying to kick the sugar habit, or your general relationship with what you munch on......this book is a real eye opener........because behind everything we do is the way we think and the way we feel!!  I have been using the teachings from this book this week and it has already had an impact. I have eaten healthy nutritious food and not touched my usual daily coffee!!

Here is a reading from the book by the author herself.......lovely!!

Enjoy!!!

Delicious Soups!!

After a weekend away filled with indulgence I was literally crying out for nutritious food by lunchtime Sunday and all I could think of was greens greens greens.  For as much as scientists and studies will tell us that something is good for us one week and not the next.......they all agree that fruit and veggies are best right???  And with that, green veggies are supreme!! So I believe that any way you can get the veggies (especially green ones) into your diet, the more your body will love you for it!!  It is Monday night and I have had greens at every chance since Sunday eve and I feel wonderful!!!

As well as my green smoothies and leafy green salad, I wanted a green soup.  Soups are fantastic in the evening as having something light before bed time is wonderfully light on digestion......you'll feel more comfortable and sleep better for it!!  This recipe I found is AWESOME!!  Nutritious and Delicious....result.  It is so versatile.  You could add chopped nuts, goats cheese or yoghurt to garnish.  I have also added goji berries in to serve and you could add a nice spoonful of brown rice or basmati for something to chew on!!

The Gluten Free Goddess blog looks fab for recipes!!  This was the first I tried and it's wonderful!

I have also been making this Moroccan soup recently.  Full of taste, this soup is beautifully chunky and filling....wonderful for winter.  I have made it a few times without the chickpeas as they aren't my favourite bean.  You could add different ones.  I have also made it with chunks of organic beef in for the boy...yum!!!

Another fab idea is to take a Thermos flask to work and have soup for your lunch.  It's hard to fall asleep in the afternoon having scoffed a delightful bowl of soup :) I have been using the Thermos flask recently and was so surprised at how it can keep my soup piping hot for a good 8 hours!!!

For more info on soup....click here.

Feel Good Friday - Sunshine!!

How good does the sun make you feel?  Blumin amazing I say!!  Well in recent years it has been shown that many people are Vitamin D deficient.  The best thing to do is have your doctor test your Vitamin D levels and provide advice.

This wonderful little vitamin might be helpful in treating or preventing autism, autoimmune disease, cancer, chronic pain, depression, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, flu, neuromuscular diseases, osteoporosis and more so the Vitamin D Council say!!!     http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/


This is a fantastic and informative video!!

Go get your levels checked and you will be bouncing around singing this tune...........

Breathing - And make it a BIG one!!!!

Although I would have to say Food is the thing I think about most (easily.............. hands down.......... no contest), it goes without saying that breathing and drinking water are far more important.  Why??  Because you can live for a fair few weeks without food, only a week (if that) without water and just minutes without air.

The benefits of breathing are endless.......massaging to digestive system, increased oxygen to organs (and the brain!!!!), engaging the parasympathetic nervous system (so that we rest and digest), combat stress, increased clarity of mind............

So why is it that we all breathe like pigeons??  Research shows that a good 90% of us breathe like little birds, panting in to our chests.  If you watch a baby or small child breathe you will see that they do so with their whole body!!  We have learnt through bad habits and socially acceptable stomach sucking to breathe with as little movement as possible.

The great thing is that you can change all of this and effect remarkable changes to your body and mind just by changing the way you breathe!!

Start by taking taking a big deep breath.  Let your stomach rise first and then your chest fill.  Feel how it stretches into your torso. Some of you may feel restricted and breathless to start with as the muscles stretch and are worked.  Keep with it and it feels great.  Breathing has the ability to relax and calm.  When we sleep we come into a natural rhythm of breathing in for 3 counts and out for 5.  Try it and see how you feel.

Now that I am in the habit I regularly catch myself throughout the day and take a deep breath to make sure i'm not panting.  It makes such a difference.  We don't need to get caught up in all sorts of breathing exercise and regimes (although there are plenty if you like).  All we need to do is BREATHE.  Take a nice big gulp of air and sigh into bliss.......float your way through the day!! :)

For more info here are a couple of good sites.

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au

http://www.yogajournal.com

Slow Cooker Special

Well folks, I am super excited as I have so many food ideas that are super healthy and tasty to share with you i'm almost brimming at the seems.  I have thought up a nifty way to get it all across........so over the next coming weeks I will be imparting all my beans of knowledge with you yippeee.

This winter I have been churning out the soups and slow cooker dishes.....why?  Because they require little skill (basically cook themselves), little effort and you can make a big batch which is perfect to freeze as well!!

So, in the same design as my soup post.  I will walk you through slow cooking 101.  There are some recipe ideas that I have found to be delish....but also it's about rustling together ingredients you have in the kitchen and keeping it SUPER simple (K.I.S.S).  Healthy, tasty, easy to make food.....that's what we want right??

The basic rules for ingredients and method are the same, they are as follows.

Slow Cooker Ingredients 101

• Pick a meat
• Onion and garlic
• Pick a flavouring i.e. chicken works with coriander, cumin, chilli, thyme, lemon, garlic, ginger (but not all at once he he), lamb goes well with mint, rosemary, spinach and beef goes well with chilli, paprika, red wine / port, pumpkins, tomato
• Pick some veggies – I usually go with carrot, celery, potato, parsnip, turnip (some or all)
• Some liquid (either 300ml stock and some tinned tomatoes, could add some red or white wine).  Aim to have enough liquid to reach a third of the way up your ingredients.

Slow Cooker Method 101

1. Brown onions, garlic and chilli in a pan, add meat and brown on all sides.
2. Add meat, veggies and liquid to the slow cooker, switch on and go out to play!!!
3. On high it will take about 4-6 hours, on low about 8-12.

Some Slow Cooker tried and tested Recipes.

To follow are some of my favourite recipes I have stumbled across of late (just in case you would like some guidance)!!

This is my absolute favourite that The Boy rustled up just by having tasted an amazing Lamb Ragu dish of someone else’s fair hands.  All of the following ingredients were either Biodynamic or Organic (my preference).

Lamb Ragu Ingredients

Serves 4-6, prep time is about 20 minutes

• 1.5 kg diced lamb
• 6-8 mushrooms sliced
• 3-4 sprigs of thyme (or a teaspoon of dried)
• 2 sticks of celery chopped
• 3 carrots chopped
• 1 onion diced
• 3 cloves of garlic chopped
• good glug of port
• 300ml chicken stock
• tin of chopped tomatoes
• salt & pepper to taste

Lamb Ragu Method

1. Brown onions and garlic in a frying pan or large saucepan, add meat and brown on all sides. 
2. Put all ingredients into the slow cooker, adding the tomatoes, port and stock last.  The key with a slow cooker dish is not to add too much liquid.  The liquid doesn’t evapourate so you don’t want to end up with a watery soup. 
3. Put it on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-10 hours.
4. Serve on mashed potato / polenta mash / potatoes of your choice / pasta / rice.....nice glass of red....yum!!!

I also came across a sensational Morocco Chicken dish.  This was inspired by the amazing Stephanie Alexander with a recipe in her ‘The Cook’s Companion’ masterpiece.  It has been tailored for what was in my kitchen and to make it super easy.  This was delicious and looked wonderful, great to put on in the morning for guests at lunch or dinner!!!

Moroccan Chicken Ingredients

serves 4-6

• 8 chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 1 onion diced
• 4 cloves of garlic diced
• 1 teaspoon of grated or finely diced fresh ginger
• pinch of saffron threads (these were super expensive from the organic shop so I opted out but think it would be fab with this in the recipe!!)
• ½ teaspoon of chilli flakes or half diced fresh red chilli
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds
• 2 carrots diced
• 2 turnips diced
• 500ml chicken stock
• 500g pumpkin diced
• tin of chickpeas
• juice of half a lemon
• chopped leaves of half a bunch of coriander leaves

To go with the stew

• 1 cup of couscous
• 2 tablespoons of ghee (or olive oil)
• 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon of paprika

Moroccan Chicken Method

1. Heat oil in large frying pan or saucepan, sauté onion, garlic, ginger, saffron, chilli, cinnamon stick and tablespoon of cumin seeds.  Add chicken and brown on all sides.  Add carrot, turnip and stock.  Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours.  Add pumpkin, chickpeas and lemon juice and cook for a further 2 hours on high or 4 hours on low.
2. Cook couscous as advised on packet (usually, pour one cup of boiling water on one cup of couscous, leave for 5 minutes and fluff with a fork).  Heat the ghee (or olive oil) in a saucepan or frying pan, sauté teaspoon of cumin seeds and paprika.  Pour the couscous into the pan and stir through until completely coated.  Yum!!!
3. Serve the chicken dish on top of the couscous and add coriander leaves on top for garnish.  Looks beautiful!!!

Last but not least.....

Lastly is one of The Boy’s favourite finds.  This is more

tailored to those serious meat eaters out there.  The great thing about a stew I think is that you can make a meat dish and if you’re anything like the inhabitants of my house (all having completely different taste requirements) the men can have more meat with the veggies, and I like to have a little serve of meat with huge mountains of veggies, it’s very versatile!

Here’s a recipe the boy discovered which turned out really well. http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/Slow-Cooker-Pot-Roast-L2068.html

To be honest, if it was all up to me I would probably just use onions and a good organic stock as opposed to French onion soup as I don’t like putting in packet mixes. 

Hope you enjoy.  Let me know how you go with the recipes and if you find them delish.

I have just had a wonderful pumpkin soup with chilli, goji berries and chopped nuts!!  I have so much to share J xx

Feel Good Friday - Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy!!

Little explanation needed!!!  Enjoy!

Handbag Tidy.....aka Handbag Thingimadu!!

I had some crazy inspiration come to me today.....which I was so excited about (it's the little things right?? he he)

I was rummaging around in my handbag all day long for bits and pieces and it was driving me insane, then I thought of the handbag tidy 'thingimadu' and thought gosh I have to buy one of those.  Then I got home and couldn't find my keys and after looking for them for 5 minutes I realised I had left them at home (scream) so then I thought, right, I SERIOUSLY need one of those things.

Green Smoothies

I have recently re discovered the Green Smoothie.  It's basically a fruit smoothie with greens in.  Green leafies and green veggies in general are packed full of goodies (calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, Vit C, Folate, Vit K and more) and the smoothie is an absolutely revolutionary way to get the greens in.  With a green smoothie a day you could potentially have already got your veggie and fruit serves for the day, and that's just in a drink.  It's awesome, like you're very own home made multi-vitamin, and much more absorbable by the body.