12/2/2018 0 Comments Pancake dayPancake Day! One of my favourite days of the year... especially when it involves quick, easy to make, healthy pancakes!
We tried out a couple yesterday to share with you all and will no doubt try out a few more tomorrow! Our basic pancakes are so incredibly easy and involve just 3 ingredients... 1 Banana 2 Eggs 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon Whizz in the blender to create a batter Heat some oil in a pan (I used coconut oil) Pour in small amounts of your batter (like small blinis) Cook for around 2/3 mins on one side and the flip over and cook for another 2/3 mins. Et Voila! Now for some real flavour... We went for chocolate, cardamom and date and they were absolutely delicious and demolished by all the family! Once you have created you batter from above, Throw in some chopped dates 1 Tbsp raw cacao powder 1 tsp ground cardamom Pulse in your blender until combined and then cook as above. Serve with some coconut yoghurt, chopped pistachios and pomegranate seeds for a real feast! Enjoy!! X P.s. I would love to hear your favourite pancake flavour combinations, comment below.
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10/2/2018 0 Comments oats... 7 days - 7 waysOats are definitely one of those underestimated ingredients. Porridge used to remind me of my grandmother clattering through the hall with what can only be described as a congealed lump of overcooked oats, topped with a mountain of sugar to obtain some taste! Now it has to be one of my absolute favourites as it's so easy to change the flavours and experience every day!
Here are 7 days of oats done 7 ways... M O N D A Y Perhaps you're running to work, feeling slightly disorganised despite your best efforts over the weekend so let's go for overnight oats! Soak your oats from the night before, I tend to soak a large kilner jar full of oats with coconut milk to keep me going through the week as even if I want warm porridge, it's quicker to cook if they have been soaked. Now for the flavour, one of my favourite overnight oats combinations is... Chocolate and Orange. (kids love this!) 1 cup oats 1/2 cup coconut milk 1/4 cup almond milk 1 date 1 tbsp raw cacao 1/2 satsuma per portion plus rind Blend milk, date and cacao powder together Put oats in a pan and pour milk over Stir on a low heat until the milk thickens Chop satsumas up and grate some rind Serve! You could blend a banana in with the milk etc for a little extra sweetness! T U E S D A Y Chocolate and Pistachio Porridge 1 cup porridge oats 1/2 cup coconut milk 1/2 cup water Pinch of good quality salt 1 tbsp raw cacao powder To serve Crushed pistachio nuts 1 tsp maca powder 1/2 tsp honey Place your oats in a pan on a low heat with your coconut milk and water (add more milk if you want it creamier) Stir slowly and add your cacao powder and a pinch of good quality salt Once your porridge has cooked, serve in a bowl with any toppings you like! W E D N E S D A Y Peanut Butter and Jelly For the ‘Jelly’ 5 Tsps Chia Seeds 1 ½ Cup Raspberries (fresh or frozen) 3 Tbsp Maple Syrup 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract Heat your raspberries in a pan until they are easy to crush Add in your maple syrup and stir Remove from the heat and stir in your vanilla extract and chia seeds Store in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a week Allow the chia seeds to swell overnight before using Stir your ‘Jelly’ and 1 Tsp Peanut Butter through your oats and Enjoy! T H U R S D A Y Black Forest Gateau 1 cup porridge oats 1 cup coconut milk 1 tbsp raw cacao powder 1/2 cup frozen cherries 1 tsp hemp seeds (optional) Slowly cook your porridge in your coconut milk, stirring continuously. After a couple of minutes, add your cacao powder and your frozen cherries. Cook until your cherries soften and start to burst. Serve with a scattering of hemp seeds for a little crunch! F R I D A Y Warming Spiced Oats 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon ½ Tsp Ground Nutmeg ½ Tsp Ground Ginger Zest of 1 Satsuma 1 Tsp Raw Honey Pour your overnight oats into a pan and heat gently Stir your spices and zest in Remove from the heat, drizzle your honey over and serve! S A T U R D A Y Carrot Cake Oats ½ Carrot Grated 3 Walnuts Crushed 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon ½ Tsp Ground Nutmeg ½ Tsp Vanilla Paste Pinch of Good quality Salt Add your oats to a pan and heat slowly, stirring continuously Add in your grated carrot and keep stirring Remove from the heat and add in your other ingredients. S U N D A Y Such a great one for those mornings when you have a little extra time. I tend to make a big one and enjoy a small slice as a mid-afternoon snack throughout the week. Apple and Blackberry Baked Oats Apple and Blackberry Baked Oats (Serves 4) 3 Cups Oats 2 Apple (Peeled and grated) 1 ½ Cup Blackberries (this works well with blueberries too) 2 Cups Milk of choice 2 Eggs 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon Preheat the oven to 180C and lightly grease a baking dish with coconut oil. Place the grated apple and most of the blackberries at the bottom of the dish. Whisk up the egg and add the milk, maple syrup and cinnamon to it. Whisk everything together. Add the oats to the egg and milk mixture and stir to combine. Pour the oat mixture over the the blackberries and apple and then scatter the top with any remaining blackberries. Give the mixture a light mix with a fork to make sure everything is evenly distributed. Place the oats into the oven and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Serve and enjoy. So there you have it... Oats for 7 days, 7 ways! Remember that you can download your free meal planner template here! 9/2/2018 0 Comments Creating the right mindsetSo much of our journey to a healthier lifestyle comes down to our mindset. I can't tell you the amount of times that I have heard the words 'My head's just not in the right place!' This can be a very frustrating feeling as you have the desire to be eating well, often even the desire or need to lose weight and yet somehow a barrier keeps on reappearing. We've all been there and we all know the feeling but how do we adjust this way of thinking and fight that barrier down for good? We first need to work out our 'WHY' Why do we want to eat better? Why does this matter to me? Why am I doing this? This may all seem very broad at the moment but work on breaking it down. If weight loss is your WHY then take 10 minutes to work out your specific goal, try not to do this as a number on the scales as this can fluctuate so easily, instead have an image in your head that you would like to achieve. Really feel how good this would make you feel, what would you wear? How confident would this make you feel? How do you look in an outfit that you have always wanted to wear? What effect will this have on your relationship with your partner? What will you be able to do that you can't do now? Have a very clear image in your head, one that you can return to whenever you lose motivation. Be precise and study every part of you. Write all of your answers down in pen on paper and refer back to them whenever required, you can use our visualisation template for this. Another example of your WHY may be that you want to thrive in life rather than simply survive, you may be tired of riding on the ups and downs of sugar and caffeine and want to feel more in control of your eating habits which will in turn lead you to be more in control of your moods. How does that feel? How will you feel with less brain fog? Will your children benefit from this? There are so many reasons why people want to live a healthier lifestyle but the most important part is making it personal to YOU as your goals need to excite you and boldly propel you into this new healthy chapter. Next, I want you to work out and write down HOW you will achieve these goals. This may include eating a balanced whole food diet, reducing sugar from my diet, allowing yourself one healthy treat per week, getting up earlier to make a good breakfast, taking 30 mins on a Sunday to prep some snacks for the week ahead, joining The Fresh Life for more support and accountability, increasing my step count daily etc. These are just some ideas of what it might require but only when you really believe and see your WHY will you be able to achieve your HOW. Now I want you to assume success, you CAN do this and you absolutely WILL do this because you now understand and can taste your WHY and you can refer back to it whenever required. So now that we have worked on your WHY and looked at your HOW, we need to put this all into practice in a way that is sustainable and achievable. You may feel like this plan all takes too much time that you simply don't have but in reality, this will set you up to save time in the future by having a system that works for you. First, set aside some time to create a meal plan for the following week. It's a really good idea at this stage to keep it simple and manageable, create dinners that you can use the leftovers on the following day for lunch and have your snacks ready to go (I like to portion out my nuts etc so that I am not tempted to keep going in for more!) Write your meal plan down and stick to it! Perhaps you are used to having a takeaway on a Friday night so have a quick easy option for that night that you will really enjoy. You may have to run your kids to clubs on a Wednesday so that may be the night to use the slow cooker to have it ready. Really think about your weekly routine to work out how this will work best for you as there is no point of sticking in a roast dinner on a Tuesday if you're not home till late etc. It is worth keeping a food diary at this stage (check out our template here) as we often eat without even thinking about it but somehow putting pen to paper makes us more mindful about what we are eating. It is also worth keeping a 'Tracking Diary' to keep a note of how your body is responding. So often we don't listen to our bodies as we are used to feeling bloated or uncomfortable so this is a great way of listening in to our bodies tiny whispers. This also helps us understand our eating habits and we need to have a good understanding to have the ability to change them. I want you to also learn to forgive yourself. Guilt is one emotion that should never be associated with food! If you do eat something that perhaps doesn't fit with your new principles then accept it and move on. Don't use this as an opportunity to wait until the next day to 'get back on track' as that often then moves to Monday and before you know it, you've lost sight of your goals entirely. Whereas, when we don't look at foods as 'good or bad' we can simply focus on what food make us truly feel good which will soon become part of you and the way you are. Remember that these changes won't happen overnight so give your body the time it needs and deserves to benefit from this way of living and remember to be kind to yourself. Our online monthly support groups, encourage you to make and sustain these changes as well as providing you with recipes and meal plan suggestions. To find out more, head over to Join Now. |
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