Category: healthy eating

Must have Hummus

Yes – it’s true – hummus is the best – here is my recipe, and remember – once you get it right – it is so much better for you than any shop bought variety – in which there are usually many additives you really do not want to eat – such as palm oil (I mean- Why?) and artificial flavouring to name the most obvious, and they are lazy about spices so to compensate they add way too much salt

The answer is to make your own – and once made it keeps well in the fridge for many days. Also it’s a great way to get more fresh vegetables down you as you can easily and quickly prepare celery sticks, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks and paprika (bell pepper) sticks – just to name a few – to dip into your Hummus and munch on –

Also a great quick fail safe party snack and great to get kids to eat healthy food – which can often be a real hurdle. On top of that is that it is very, very economical, it costs almost nothing to make.

a tin of chickpeas in brine
Juice of half a lemon
water
2 – 3 tablespoons of tahini
ground cumin – or even whole cumin seed.
a pinch of salt

Drain the chickpeas
squeeze the half a lemon
Then simply chuck it all in the blender – and blend until smooth-ish , adding water to get the right potato-mash consistency (it does not have to be silky smooth – some rough body to the hummus is part of what makes it so delicious – then salt or add more spices to get the flavour just right!
I add ground fenugreek or curry powder to mine, and sometimes use other kinds of nut butters – peanut is possible or almond, pine nut, pistachio or cashew – but make sure you use 100% nut butters with no additives whatsoever- not even salt.
Also, you can make a hummus out of ANY kind of bean. Lima beans, black beans, red kidney beans, berlotti beans – simply try them out – see how to adjust.
You can also add fresh herbs if you wish chopping fine before adding to the blender. Try parsley or chives, garlic or dried provincial herb mix.
You can even experiment with vegetables, add some spinach, try beetroot, finely chopped spring onion.

You have choices. take them.

Tofu and pesto

Two delicious vegan recipes that will blow your mind

Pesto – is made from coriander leaf – yes – coriander , and pine nuts, a dash of nutritional yeast salt fenugreek powder and the teensy-est drop of olive oil. The health benefits are great – it’s a very tasty addition to your vegan meals. it keeps in the fridge for several days.

The firm tofu has been dry fried in a non stick pan with garlic ginger and chili, all three first freshly and finely chopped added to the pan with a sprits of olive oil (you can get olive oil in spray bottles now – just for this use)
Then add the firm tofu chunks and let them roast gently turning them over now and then so some sides develop a golden crust – be careful not to let the spices burn – so keep the heat fairly low – enjoy the process, take your time. At the end just before serving add a pinch of salt and a twist of pepper

Prepare your underlying salad – this one is little gem lettuce and plum tomatoes with spring onion all freshly cut.

Simple, delicious, practically oil free and low calorie as well as completely vegan

Enjoy

Supplements

I take many supplements

As we all know, or should know – the only supplement we all need is B12 – and we ALL need b12 even dedicated carnivores, also vegetarians, and specially us – going to be vegans.

Everything is a matter of choice – what you eat is certainly a matter of choice
Unless you feel you cannot get the right nutrients from your diet in the food desert where you live.
Or more to the point are not getting it from your really bad unhealthy diet that you know you should and could change.

A good multivitamin is always worth having in the cabinet and taking from time to time.
Especially if you hate vegetables, any green stuff or don’t eat fresh fruit.
If so, take one every day.
Even if you do eat fresh veg and fruit

These days the vitamins that used to be in fresh food are no longer there
due to the way they’re grown – so – the amount of food you need to eat to get the same value is so huge it’s practically impossible to consume it all in a day.
Bio – organic – fresh – locally grown foods are the most nutrient dense
So get that, eat that if you can – better than any supplement

And get out into the sun for your D3 every day
you don’t need to roast on the beach
just warm your face as you sit in the park
or garden in your shorts
roll up your sleeves on your bike ride

It’s also very popular to supplement for longevity
taurine, berberine, resveratrol, among others are popular
also supplements for muscle growth and bone mass
calcium, iron, magnesium.
If you take all the supplements recommended you’d rattle!

Weight loss supplements and fat burners are all the rage
But these are the most dangerous as they lull you into thinking you don’t need to make an effort to improve – or completely overhaul your diet and lifestyle to be healthy.
They cannot be taken long term – think of your kidneys, your liver –

And be kind to your guts – that’s another one
The pre and pro biotics – amazing as they are as supplements will not surpass getting this from your diet
get if from you diet – it is better for you
Just add pickles and kimchi or sauerkraut or atjar to your diet.
Even a splash of cloudy apple cider vinegar will do it.

Supplement heaven – choose your own pharmacy!
but always and forever – the good diet wins out.

White bread

I just ate the last one

A Kaiser roll – the hell of white bread – probably the unhealthiest thing I eat.

I shall have to quit all bread – especially the Kaiser roll
Ooh and my other favourite the croissant
Ooh! And there is the chocolate croissant too – I also love that – and French bread delicious!
And I like those little whole-wheat crackers you can put anything on
melba toast they are called – yes I love them too

I also love sesame seed knakerbrood. (crispbread or cracker to you)

In fact I am a total knakerbrood fan
I have ta least five varieties in my knakerbrood tin on the kitchen counter where I can easily get at them.

These are foods I will have to drop for the duration
perhaps forever
I know that as I go on with this diet I will loose the taste for them
as I did when I was backpacking around Southeast Asia
where you only get rice and there is no bread.

It worked

But it also worked because I was carrying an 11 kilo backpack and walking everywhere.

So this is how it’s going to be, the crackers can wait, they keep forever.
The bread is all now gone – there is none in the house and no more is entering the house.

I just hope my husband doesn’t start baking his glorious whole-wheat loaves again
they are irresistible.