RAW SALAD DRESSINGS & WHOLEFOOD GARNISHING TIPS!

 

Blossoming Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 Lime
• 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/2 cup Cold Pressed Olive Oil
• 1 Tsp Spoon Agave
• 1 Tsp Diced Ginger
• 1 Tsp Diced Parsley
• 1 Small Red Chili - (Optional)

Method:

• In a clean recycled jar pour in your liquid ingredients & whisk with a fork for 1 minute.
• Finely dice your dry ingredients & add to the mixture.
• Make sure your lid is on tight & give a good shake. Place in the fridge & use as needed.

Tips:

• Other fresh herbs I use are Coriander for Asian dishes, Basil for Italian dishes, Mint for invigorating dishes like a Mango & Avocado Salad.
• You can use other citrus fruits like Grapefruit, Lemons, Oranges.
• Garlic is great for Italian dishes.
• You can use different spices like turmeric, cinnamon, chili powder & Moroccan spices to enhance the flavors.

Enjoy your new dressings & embrace the wholefood lifestyle as now you can make your own & no need to buy pre packaged dressings which can contain preservatives & artificial ingredients. Peace

Wholefood Kitchen, How?

Wholefood Kitchen

Many people want to start eating clean & have a wholefood kitchen but get overwhelmed with how, where & what they need to do to get the transition happening. Let me tell you it is easy, easy, easy & below are some steps to starting your wholefood kitchen. I remember when I was a youngster, my grandma & great aunt whom were from Sri Lanka would flavor everything with fresh ground spices, herbs/chili from the gardens & fresh coconuts, the reason I mention this is because they were taught this simplistic way of eating by there grandparents, this was when society had the perfect balance with food & life where these simple skills were handed down by the parents & grandparents of the family.

Storage & Tools:

• BPA free containers & Jars will be all you now need for your pantry as packaged goods are no longer needed. Unless you need the staples like myself & have a can of Organic Chickpeas or some Kelp Noodles on hand.
• A Vitamix Blender will be your kitchens best friend when it comes to making nourishing green super smoothies, soups, almond milk or simply just to food process.
• A slow compress juicer for all your juicing needs.
• A food processor for making all those yummy raw treats or just simply to mix up some homemade dips like Hummus.
• A good cook book for wholefoods is essential, some authors like Gabriel Cousens, David Wolfe have written some great wholefood/raw books & a great book for kids wholefood recipes is called Wholefoods for kids.

Where to shop:

• Local farmers markets/organic market's are great because you are getting fresh local produce & supporting your community.
• Organic Grocers like Flannerys if your in Australia & Wholefoods if you are in the USA are great because they stock a wide range of Organic produce, Natural body care products & everything you will need for clean living within your home.
• Bulk food grocery stores are great because they generally will have everything you need to fill those jars up I mentioned earlier. Bulk food stores have all produce in big containers & you can self serve either straight into your jars/containers or bags they supply. This is great because you are not paying for packaging or marketing like you would in the grocers & the produce is always cheaper. Mmmm just think of all those yummy Goji Berries.

How: ( What about all my packaged foods in the pantry, how will I make my food tasty?)

• Its a common quote on peoples lips that there is nothing to eat if the pantry is not full of every packaged, ready to eat snack, whole meal or Sauce/dressing. This is where society has lost its connection with food, life & the basic fundamentals of how to simply cook. I know I say this all the time but honestly LESS IS MORE PEOPLE!
• Spices are now all you need for flavoring your foods. Spice kits are very inexpensive & generally have whats best to use them for on the jar. Spices like Cinnamon & Turmeric are great for their high antioxidant components & Turmeric is actually an anti inflammatory . Many spices are used for medicinal purposes & also evoke the senses.
• Fresh Ginger, Garlic, Chili, Raw Honey, Agave, cold pressed olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Lemons & Limes are all great to have on hand for seasoning.
•  Fresh Herbs will be your best friend in the kitchen when it comes to flavoring your dishes. Having a herb garden or even just a couple of small pots in the kitchen window like some parsley, basil & oregano.

If you have any questions on the above & are feeling a little stuck with how to swap a packaged food for a wholefood please feel free to email me or leave a comment on the above article. I will be posting a recipe for a raw salad dressing to get you all started.

Byron Bay Yoga Fest this week! POST WILL BE BACK UP NEXT WEEK :-)

Hi all,

Hope everyone has had a wonderful week & have started the new year with a wholefood lifesyle change in mind. This week I have been organising our stall for YOGA FEST BYRON BAY AUSTRALIA. We are all very excited to be promoting out Yoga Retreats company at yoga fest 2012.

To view our retreats website follow the link below. Blog will be up next week with a recipe & tips on setting up your wholefood kitchen.

http://www.zensoulyoga.com/

Namaste

Wholefoods is a LIFESTYLE not a DIET!!

Living A Wholefood Lifestyle Explained!

Happy new year all! Now with the new year in full swing there is so much talk in the air about EXTREME, DIET, DIET, DIET.... Lemon drink for 5days, Only Protein for 10 days & who could forget the Atkins & Liquid Shake diets!!! Ahhhhhh they terrify me as education is the key to power, power is the key to making the right decisions for your health & learning how easy it actually is to lead a life full of abundance through a balanced, simplistic & wholefood diet. Those extreme diets do not offer any of this & instead give your body shock, a short term fix & leave you chasing your tail to a healthier YOU.

It really is simple & over the coming weeks I am going to teach you the basics to creating your own Wholefood kitchen & developing your own wholefood lifestyle through facts about Nutrition, where to shop, how to store the foods, recipes, food labeling, fats, salt, sugars & how to actually put together a basic meal from a box of vegetables. Today I am going to start with the basics, what to include & what to start cutting out.

A healthy balanced diet & lifestyle should consist of the following. Each heading will be explained in detail over the coming weeks.

Carbohydrates

Raw rolled Spelt or Oats, Buckwheat, Quinoa, Rye or Spelt bread, Spelt Pasta & Gluten Free Seeded breads.

Proteins

Fresh Fish, Organic Chicken, Organic lean meats, eggs, Legumes, tofu, raw nuts, raw seeds, & Organic Biodynamic dairy.

Good fats

Avocados, cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, Flaxseed oil, fish oils, Coconut Oil, Omega 3, 6 & 9.

Dietary Fibre

Fresh Fruits, Super greens & Vegetables.

Vitamins +Minerals

I will be going into more detail about all Vitamins & minerals, how they work & what foods are rich in essential vitamins & minerals needed on a daily basis. Always remember variety is the key, eat across all colours of the rainbow to avoid defficiency.

Water

1.5 to 2.5L per day (increase if exercising) 

Next week:

 we will  be starting with how to set up your wholefood kitchen, storage, where to shop & how to convert from packaged foods to raw wholefoods.

Recipe next week:

 will be how to make your own salad dressing from raw ingridients.

Enoy the journey to a more simplistic, easy, healthy & yummy way of life.

Peace

Simplistic Skin! GLOW INSIDE & OUT CHEMICAL FREE

Chemicals In Your Skin Care

We all strive to be healthy & glowing from the inside out but forget one important factor.... CHEMICAL EXPOSURE! In today's world we are surrounded by pollution, chemicals & false marketing from Major Cosmetic Companies whom paint a picture of healthy skin through air brushed models & the promise of a healthy GLOW!

We focus so much energy & time on what we eat, the supplements we take & our exercise routines that we forget about what we are putting on our skin, the chemicals used in most big brand name cosmetics as listed below are not only being absorbed through the skin into your system but reeking havoc on your insides & causing free radical damage. The skin is actually quite an uncomplicated organ & only needs the basics to be happy, nourished & glowing.

The skin naturally produces SEBUM from the Sebaceous Gland which is an oil used in the protection & hydration of the skin. When the skin is dehydrated or dried out from over cleansing with harsh chemicals it can then over produce causing skin issues like blemishes, blackheads & white heads. So as you see can see, THE SKIN IS NOT COMPLICATED! Don't be sucked in to gimmicks, marketing & false promises as if you EAT WELL, KEEP HYDRATED & USE A BASIC NATURAL SKIN CARE RANGE YOUR SKIN & INSIDES WILL BLOSSOM WITH VITALITY.

Common Chemicals To Watch:

• Parabens
• Mineral Oils
• Paba & EDTA
• Petro Chemicals
• All Sulphates
• preservatives
• animal derivatives

Here is a link to an A-Z list of harmful chemicals used in your comercial skin care & cosmetics. When unsure always check your labels against this list.

http://www.naturalinstinct.com.au/pdf/Advanced%20Natural%20Formula%20(Excluded%20Ingredients%20List).pdf 

This is the BIBLE when it comes to additives in not only your food but cosmetics. This book can be purchased from all good book stores, healthfood stores & online from the link below.

http://www.chemicalmaze.com/

Nutrition Tips:

• Keep hydrated, allot of skin issues can be resolved with simply increasing your daily water intake.
• Cut out refined sugars & foods high in saturated fats. (PACKAGED FOODS)
• Keep your blood sugar levels regulated e.g. skipping meals, have small snacks throughout the day.
• many brands claim to put high potency Vitamin C on your skin when in fact it is much better to take a good quality Vitamin C powder e.g. Collagen synthesis.
• Add Super Greens & Fresh Juices into your daily routine as this combats free radical damage, Oxidative stress & increases your intake of Antioxidants.
• Eating a balanced diet full of wholefoods, Maxim hydration & limited packaged foods will have not only your skin glowing but your insides to.
• RELAX -  stress also is a major precursor in oxidative stress which in turn effects your skin. Enjoy Yoga, Meditation, Reading, Painting or whatever it may be that gives you time out for YOU at least 3 times per week.

Brands I love To Suit All Budgets:

• http://www.naturalinstinct.com.au/Home.aspx/Index - Affordable & Sustainable
• http://www.sukinorganics.com/ - Affordable & Sustainable
• http://orgess.com/ - VERY SPECIAL LIP BALMS & BODY CREAMS Which are all in Biodegrdable packaging.
• http://www.mionegroup.com/ - 100% CERTIFIED ORGANIC
• http://www.koraorganics.com/ - SPECIAL PRODUCTS & SUSTAINABLE
• http://www.antipodesnature.com/ - All Natural Cosmetics & Skincare
• http://www.livingnature.com/ - SPECIAL PRODUCTS DIRECT FROM NATURE.

NOW YOU ALL HAVE THE TOOLS & KNOWLEDGE, GO CLEAN OUT THOSE CUPBOARDS & REPLENISH WITH ALL NATURAL PRODUCTS AS THIS WILL NOT ONLY NOURISH YOUR SKIN BUT YOUR INSIDES TO. PEACE

Nutrition tips - Raw Kale, Dehydrated snacks & using the senses for digestion

This Weeks Tips

(SMELL) Stop for a moment breathe & smell your food before indulging your taste buds as this will stimulate your digestive system. A stimulated digestive system = efficient absorption & a comfortable digestive process. Try this for one week, see if you can build a routine & before you think to smell your memory repsonse will be on auto drive... SMELL!

SNACK or TREAT  - Dehydrated fruit is the perfect snack to replace packaged snacks, they are jamed packed with nutritional goodness & are 100% natural. In today's society kids lunch boxes are full of packaged snack foods which as we all know contain harmful chemicals & additives which effect concentration, mood, energy levels, blood sugar levels & children who suffer from attention deficit disorders. If you don't own a dehydrater don't stress it, these goodies are available from all good health food stores & bulk food stores. Some of my favorite dehydrated snacks include bananas, mangos, strawberries & apples.

RAW GOODNESS - Kale can sometimes be a little corse for some peoples liking when used as a base in nourishing raw salads, here is a tip that will raw cook your kale whilst still locking in all those essential nutrients we all love. Once your Kale has been washed & chopped, place in a large salad bowl & squeeze over half a lemon & half a lime followed by a sprinkle of either Himalayan or Celtic rosk salts. The enzymes & acids in the citrus will cook the kale leaves & turn them a beautiful shade of fluresent green, allow to sit for 15 mins for raw cooking time.

DETOX, REVIVE, RESTORE & NOURISH - MISO SOUP

Vegetable Miso

In conjunction with the article this week on Pre & Probiotics I have created this nourishing recipe which will help nourish your benefical good bacteria & feed the body with vital antioxidants, vitamins & minerals.

Ingredients:

• 1l water
• 2 Tbl spoons Miso Paste
• 1 bunch Asparagus spears
• 1 bunch Brocolini
• 200g fresh Shittake mushrooms
• 1 bunch of fresh bok choy
• 1 large Carrot
• 1 knob of Ginger
• 300g Organic GM Free Tofu
• 2 bunches of Organic Buckwheat Soba Noodles

Method:

• Chop up & wash all of your vegetables & slice your tofu into small cubes.
• Bring your water to the boil for both your soup & Soba Noodles.
• Add your Miso paste into the rapid boiling water until dissolved & then add in all your vegetables, ginger & tofu. Turn the stove off & let sit with the lid on.
• Place your Soba Noodles into the rapid boiling water & let boil for 7-8mins, once finished drain & wash in hot water.
• Add soba noodles to your serving bowls & dish out your vegetables & tofu into the serving bowls followed by 2-3 scoops of the Miso broth.
• allow to sit for a following few minutes & serve.

Health Benefits:

• Beneficial bacteria
• Great for immunity
• High in Antioxidants
• Rich in Essential Vitamins & Minerals
• Alkalising
• Anti inflammatory
• easily digested

Enjoy :-)