Vegie and ricotta fritters

Vegie and ricotta fritters

These are a great way to little kids (and big kids) to eat vegies.

Had one of these fritters on some rye bread with salad and home made chutney for lunch.

Fritters (this made 2)

1/2 cup grated pumpkin
1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli
1/4 capsicum finely chopped
1 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 heaped tablespoons chickpea (besan) flour
2 heaped tablespoons ricotta
Seasoning to taste

Mix all the ingredients together.

Shape into 2 fritters and fry in a little olive oil until golden.

Eat as a sandwich on bread of your choice or serve with salad of more veg.

Don’t forget the protein

Vegie soups are great but don’t forget to add some protein.

Red lentils and silken tofu blitz up well and have very little impact on flavour but are good protein sources.

I always add red lentils to my pumpkin soup.

Exercising more but not losing weight?

I have seen a number of clients who increase their exercise but either don’t lose weight or even gain weight.  What could be happening here?

For some muscle development from significant exercise can appear as weight gain or a plateau in the weight loss arena, simply because muscle weighs more than fat.  The questions here are: Do you feel better, stronger, fitter? Are your clothes fitting better? Numbers on a scale aren’t the be all and end all of being healthy.

Protein powder – cacao of course

For others who don’t seem to be losing weight despite undertaking extra exercise, there could be something else going on…

Doing a workout doesn’t earn you extra kilojoules for cunsumption if you are trying to lose weight.  The key to weight loss is to go into energy deficit or negative energy balance (that is, consume less energy (kilojoules) than you expend).  Too often I see people wanting to lose weight so they exercise like crazy only to eat larger portions or additional snacks.

The other pitfall is the protein shake or bar after a workout, which is often not counted because it is considered ‘post workout protein recovery for muscle repair’.  A protein shake can have the energy density of a meal (a protein shake for me is my entire meal) and can be a hidden danger for people trying to lose weight.  And for the vast majority of us a one-hour workout at the gym probably doesn’t require masses of protein to be consumed.  It would be wise to time your workouts pre- breakfast, lunch or dinner and ensure that those meals have a reasonable protein source.

Have a think about making some small adjustments to get weight loss back on track.

Quit the diets and detoxes

It’s that time of year when all the weight loss companies are sprouting their wares on television – trying to cash in on your new year resolutions.  Many of you might be considering some of these programs as an option or considering going on a short term calorie restrictive detox or diet.

You will notice that this post comes later than all the new year’s resolution posts.  There’s a method in my madness.  By now many of you will have stumbled through the holiday period, made a resolution and then realised there’s Australia Day to contend with…so the diet went on the back burner.

My struggle with new year resolutions around dieting and detoxing is that severely restricting calorie consumption can lead to cravings, slower metabolism and rebound weight.

Over 90% of people who lose weight on a severely restricted calorie diet will regain the weight they have lost and gain more within 3 years.

So this year, why not try adding in loads of vegetables to fill up your tummy rather than trying to drop so-called ‘bad’ foods out.  Being healthy and maintaining a preferred body weight takes lots of work over a life time not just a month or two.

This year why not consider ‘not dieting’  but filling up on vegetables and wholefoods as your new year intention?

The Rise of the Raw Food Dessert

I love a dessert as much as anyone.  Give me anything with pastry and any combination of dark chocolate, salted caramel and crème patissiere and I am done for!  I will devour it – no questions asked.  But here’s the rub I only do that ever so occasionally.  It’s a treat.

If I have a hankering for something sweet then it’s sated by usually a piece of fruit, a couple of tablespoons natural yoghurt with a light drizzle of maple syrup or honey, or a couple of small pieces of good quality dark chocolate (about 20g)…and that’s not every night.

Over the last few years we have seen the rise of the raw dessert.  They are delicious and what makes them even better they are made from beautiful unprocessed ingredients including: mejool dates, other dried fruit, raw honey, maple syrup, raw cashews and other nuts and seeds, fruits and vegetables, coconut oil, cacao butter.  Oh so yummy!

The trouble is that because they’re raw and contain highly nutritious ingredients and because they don’t have refined sweeteners in them we tend to think of them as the ‘healthy’ alternative.  The truth is that they can be (and mostly are) very energy dense meaning that they have a very high kilojoule count.   Whilst I don’t prescribe to the simplified concept that a kilojoule is a kilojoule (you can get vastly different nutrient profiles from foods with the same energy content) I still believe we need to be careful not to over-consume.

Another thing that is important to remember is that at the end of the day choosing to eat honey, agave syrup, maple syrup or rice malt syrup is not so different to eating sugar.  In a nutshell our bodies convert these other sweeteners to glucose just as it does with table sugar.  Sweeteners generally provide high energy for very little nutritional value.

Eating these raw dessert can also crowd out room in your daily diet for energy-low nutrient-dense foods like fresh fruits and vegetables.

So if weight loss or weight management is part of your journey then limit your consumption of raw food desserts as you would any other dessert.  If you are consuming more energy than you use then the very real likelihood is that you will gain weight.

Remember all desserts are treat foods – raw or not.  So enjoy a treat every now and then as part of a great well-balanced holistic food plan.

Taking Time Out in Autumn

Here are some tips I put together for the Golden Door:

https://www.goldendoor.com.au/taking-time-out-in-autumn/ 

Two ingredient icecream

Two ingredient icecream. Frozen mixed berries and yoghurt. In the blender … whizz and serve.

Try it with frozen banana or frozen mango.

Keep it simple and keep out the added sugar.

Fuel for Movement

Link to my blog about eating for exercise for The Golden Door Elysia:
https://www.goldendoor.com.au/fuel-for-movement/

Home Made Baked Beans

When I first posted this recipe on my Facebook page it was winter and I made all sorts of overtures about how wonderful baked beans are in winter. But here’s the real truth…these baked beans are good. Whenever. Any season. Any meal. Happy baking of beans.

What you need:

375g dried white beans ( you can use whatever beans you like…haricot, cannelini, aduki beans..they all work)…soaked overnight and rinsed.

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced (I used big ones)
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 tin organic diced tomatoes
500ml stock (I used vegetable stock)…you may need a little extra later
3-4 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon tamari sauce
Sprinkle of chilli flakes (optional)
Goodly pinch of Celtic sea salt … don’t be shy
Good sprinkle of white pepper

In a large heavy based pot, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion, garlic and carrot until the onion is translucent.

Whilst still on the heat add the beans, tomatoes and stock. As that bubbles away add all the other ingredients and stir well.

Take off the heat and cover the pot (oven-proof lid or foil) and bake in the oven (at about 150 degrees) for about 3 1/2 hours. Check on the beans hour or so to ensure there is enough liquid in the pot. Add a little extra stock if needed. I added a little extra to mine about 45 minutes before the end.

Parabens?

Parabens??

Parabens. Heard of them? Yep! Know what they are? Nope!
We’ll let’s see if I can help out here…briefly.

Parabens are a class of chemicals widely used in toiletries and cosmetics as a preservative. They are also used as fragrances in some cosmetics. You will see them listed on products as methylparaben, butylparaben, propylparaben, isobutylparaben and ethylparaben.

Parabens occur naturally at low levels in some foods. But many of the parabens used in cosmetics are synthesised from petrochemicals. When parabens in food are eaten they are metabolised but when applied to the skin (as soaps, shampoos and conditioners, lotions and moisturisers, makeup, deodorants and even toothpaste) they aren’t metabolised in the same way…they are absorbed by the body and simply enter the blood stream and then body’s organs.

Parabens act as endocrine disrupters and can interfere with hormone function by mimicking the female sex hormone oestrogen. Parabens have been found in breast cancer tissue samples suggesting a link between parabens and cancer. They are also linked with neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity and skin irritation.

So why not check how many of your bathroom products contain parabens and start to replace them with paraben-free alternatives?

http://www.safecosmeticsaustralia.com.au/p/toxic-free-list.html

Vietnamese Inspired Salad

Vietnamese Inspired Salad

Easy to make. Easy to eat.
Vietnamese inspired rice noodle salad:

Salad in the bowl:
130g of soaked rice noodles
I medium carrot, grated
Half cucumber, thinly sliced
2 shallots, sliced
Good handful of lettuce, shredded
Handful of bean sprouts
100g tofu, chicken or beef, pan fried (I used tofu)
Sprigs of mint
1 medium green chilli, finely sliced
Sprinkle of crushed peanuts.

Dressing:
Juice of one medium lime

2 tablespoons tamari sauce
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon macadamia oil
1 teaspoon palm, rapadura or brown sugar (to balance the sauce)

This recipe serves 2 so split the ingredients evenly between 2 bowls.

Place the beans sprouts in the bottom of the bowl. Add the noodles, followed by the other ingredients.

Drizzle the dressing over the salads.

Fe(a)stive Season 2014

The festive season is really ‘feasting’ season for many of us…and all that we have strived hard to achieve throughout the year gets pushed to one side as we attend function after function. Take a moment to sit back, breathe and take stock of how far you have come and how you will continue to move forward…

Click here to read my current blog for the Golden Door Elsyia.