Grilled Veggie Wrap

 

Ingredients:

Hummus

Avocado

Spinach

Eggplant

Zucchini

Red Onion

Red and Green Chili

Capsicum (Red Pepper)

Wholemeal wraps

Method:

Spread hummus and avocado and layer the rest of the ingredients, fold and grill until browned. 

Grilled veggies:

I use the Swiss Diamond Grill Plate for my grilled veggies. They do not stick and I can control the temperature much better than with a BBQ.

Place chili on grill whole, do not cut open and turn once sides become darkened. Slice veggies and place on grill, season top with salt and pepper. Turn veggies once grill lines appear. When grill lines appear on other side remove from grill and place in a metal bowl. Do not over cook as veggies will continue to cook in the bowl. Continue cooking the rest of the veggies with the same method and then add them to the bowl. When chili is blacken, place on cutting board, cut top off and slice down the middle. Remove seeds (unless you really like heat) and slice into strips, add to veggies. Once all veggies are grilled squeeze half a lemon over them and toss. Add 1 tbsp flaxseed oil and 2 tbsp Olive oil. Toss to coat. 

Gluten Free Prawn Pasta

Ingredients

2-3 Anchovies

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small red onion, sliced

1 vine ripe tomato, chopped

1 jalapeño or chili

300g prawns

2 handfuls spinach

1 package Mung Bean linguine

Cold pressed or first pressed Olive Oil

Method

Boil noodles to package directions less 2-3 minutes, drain and drizzle with Olive oil

Add anchovies, garlic, onion, tomato and jalapeño to a wok or fry pan and cook for 2-3 mins, use 1-2 tbsp oil if not non stick pan. Add prawns, toss to coat and cook 3-5 mins until done. Turn off heat and add in 2 handfuls of spinach and linguine, toss to cover.

Chippies

These cookies are lower GI then your traditional cookie recipe. By using coconut palm sugar, wholemeal spelt flour and oatmeal you maintain more of the whole food, increasing the fiber content which aids in blood sugar control, unlike using processed white foods which are quickly converted into sugar and absorbed much faster into the body, increasing blood sugar.

Ingredients 200g (1 cup) butter

1 cup coconut sugar

1-2 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tbsp lucuma powder (optional)
2 tbsp flaxseed /linseed(ground)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups wholemeal spelt flour

2 cups oatmeal

1 tsp bi carb soda (baking soda)

2 cups dark chocolate chips

1 cup peanut butter chips (Reese's peanut butter chips- www.usafoods.com.au)

Method
Preheat oven to 375F/180C

Cream butter and sugar, than beat in eggs and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined.

Place small spoonful size cookie balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, this makes for easy clean up. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Let cool slightly before devouring these cookies. 

Enjoy!

Coconut sugar is a naturally low glycemic index food (GI35) and contains protein, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc and iron.

Wholemeal Spelt flour contains more fiber and less gluten than wholemeal (whole wheat) flour and is more tolerated in people who have gluten intolerance. Spelt is a good source of iron, potassium, zinc and B vitamins.

Oatmeal is another good source of fiber and aids in the control of blood sugar levels. Oats contain beta-glucan in the insoluble fiber. As beta-glucan is digested it forms a gel and causes the contents of the stomach and small intestines to become thick and sticky, in turn slowing carbohydrate digestion in the small intestines and absorption of sugars into the blood stream.

Raw Cacao is chocolate before its been processed.  Unprocessed it is jam packed with antioxidants, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron and protein. This is a superfood that I add to all of my yummy treats, because I love chocolate!!

Lucuma Powder is made from the Peruvian lucuma fruit and is a low glycemic sweetener that has a maple like taste. The powder contains many nutrients including beta-carotene, iron, zinc, vitamin B3, calcium and protein. I like to use this powder in replace of vanilla. 

Chili Mango Rice

In Southern Queensland you know its summer, and Christmas is just around the corner when you can find fresh mangos at the markets. This recipe is sweet and spicy and great for a light afternoon lunch or as a side dish to accompany fish or chicken. Enjoy with a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, NZ on a hot summer afternoon.

 

2 cups cold, cooked brown rice

Juice of one lime
2 vine ripe or heirloom tomatoes
1 red chili (hot variety- I used Asian red chili)
1 small red onion
1 cucumber
2-3 garlic cloves
1 mango
Handful of coriander (cilantro)
Pinch of rock salt
Dash of ground coriander seed
Dash of cumin
1-2 tbsp extra virgin cold pressed olive oil

Dice tomatoes and put into a metal bowl, sprinkle with salt and add juice of lime, toss to coat and let sweat while dicing the remains ingredients.

 

Remove the seeds from the chili and chop, add to tomatoes and lime. Adding the chili to the lime helps bring out the heat of the chili.

Dice the red onion, cucumber and garlic and add to top of tomatoes

Chop coriander, I use the stalks and all. Grab a small handful and fold in half, begin chopping down, then across, add to bowl and sprinkle with ground coriander seed and cumin, mix all ingredients together.

In a larger bowl drizzle the cold rice with olive oil, toss to coat. I used garlic and red chili infused olive oil for an extra kick, but regular olive oil is fine. Add the tomato, chili, mango mixture to the rice and mix.

Enjoy!

To boost the protein in this dish you can use mixed quinoa instead of rice. Quinoa has 6 times the amount of protein then brown rice, is energy boosting, an antioxidant and is good for the heart by lowering cholesterol and increasing circulation.

Chilis stimulate blood flow, are a natural decongestant and excite the nervous system, and not to forget, they increase your body’s fat burning ability!

Tomatoes, onion and garlic are all good for your heart, lowering cholesterol. Helps protect against cancer, natural immunity booster and are a natural antibacterial, antiviral and antibiotic.

Mangos stimulate the immune system, energy boosting and detoxifying. They also contain papain which is a protein-digesting enzyme that may help with gluten intolerance.

Extra virgin cold pressed olive oil is high in antioxidants that help protect against heart disease, reduces bad cholesterol and has an anti-inflammatory effect. It is low in omega 6 fatty acids which are pro-inflammatory. To obtain all the benefits of this oil, it should be consumed at room temperature. Olive oil has a low smoking point at which it turns rancid, releasing free radicals in the body and losing its antioxidant effect.

Fruit and Veg Muffins

2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup rapurda
1 cup oat milk
1 cup grated zucchini, 1 normal size (not GMO) will be approximately 1 cup
2 cups shredded carrot
1/3 cup honey or agave nectar
2 cups raw oatmeal
2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill RIGHT STUFF Cereal
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 apple or pear skinned and chopped

Heat oven to 175C/400F

In a bowl whisk together eggs, oil and rapurda, add in milk, zucchini, carrot, honey or agave and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until blended.

Line muffin pans with paper baking cups and fill 2/3 full. (I like to use a soup spoon to measure).

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Recipe makes 24-30 muffins

Enjoy!

 This is a recipe I adapted from Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Fruit Muffins. Bob's Red Mill products can be found at most health food stores and some of the larger grocery stores. To find products or other yummy recipes, visit bobsredmill.com

Raw Chocolate Oat Bars

1/2 cup butter or Nuttelex

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup brown sugar, I used rapurda brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut sugar
2 tbsp agave nectar or honey
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
2 heaping tbsp cacao
3 cups almond meal
2 cups oatmeal

Mix butter, oil, sugars, honey, vanilla, cocoa and cacao until smooth. Add in almond meal and oats, mix well. Mixture will not stick together at this point. Pour into a baking dish and firmly press into the dish. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours and then cut into bars.

Enjoy!

Health tip, add in 1-2 tbsp of SUPERFOODS FOR KIDZ Berry Choc Chunk it's a great way to boost the antioxidants and photonutrients of theses bars. I found this one at my local health food store in Australia. If you can't find a superfood add in, just add an extra heaping tbsp of cacao.

Diet, exercise and fat loss

You Can't Out Exercise a Bad Diet.

Who these days hasn’t been on some kind of diet and exercise program in hopes of dropping a few kg/lbs? Some diets are so extreme that you are set up to fail before you ever start. Here is some information I have learned through my research of Nutrition.

Our bodies are bombarded with toxins every single day through our drinking water, the soaps we use to clean ourselves and our houses, to the air we breathe and the food we eat. Let’s face it, we live in a toxic world, but our bodies have the amazing ability to heal its self. We have the power to help it every day.

Toxins store in your fat cells and are our body’s way of protecting itself. The liver is your body’s filtration system and everything you eat, breathe and absorb through your skin goes through the liver. The liver then excretes the waste and toxins into the bile. If you are eating the right foods, you then remove the waste and toxins through your bile (pooh). If you are not eating the right foods these toxins are then reabsorbed into the blood stream and distributed throughout your body. Your body is so incredible and is constantly trying to protect itself from harm that it forms a fat cell and mucus around the toxin to protect it from damage.^{1, 2} When you diet or exercise to lose weight (fat), your body holds onto the fat because losing it will cause more damage to your body.¹ You can’t exercise the toxins out. Yes, you do lose some toxins through your sweat, but to effectively remove toxins from your body they should exit through the bile.

So what can you do? There are so many options here and no way for me to list them all, but here are a few I have learned and incorporated into my family’s diet.

· DRINK WATER! The first thing you should drink in the morning is water. Sleeping is how your body repairs itself and it needs to be hydrated to do this. If you wake up in the morning stiff and sore, that could be a sign of dehydration. Headache, thirst and hunger pains are all signals your body sends you that it needs water.

o Vitamins and minerals are water soluble, which means they need water to travel through your body. If you take vitamin supplements and don’t drink enough water they cannot travel through your body and be distributed where they are needed.

· JUICE!Why juice when you can just eat it? Good question, but are you eating it? Juicing is a great way to supply your body with the nutrients you need to function and for your body to heal. Here’s one I juice every day. (All organic ingredients)

o Celery- for bone health and a great alkalizing food

o Cucumber- good source of vitamin C, good for skin health and another alkalizing food

o Parsley- super chlorophyll food, helps eliminate body odor, highest vitamin C rich food, diuretic, settles stomach, and helps with kidney stones

o Cilantro/coriander helps remove the toxins from your body

o Broccoli- high in vitamin A,C and K, overall super food

o Carrots- super beta-carotene food, powerful antioxidant. Beta-carotene is what protects fruits and vegetables from sun burn, has the same protective effect in our body.

o Apple- high in vitamin C helps promote digestive system, an apple a day keeps the doctor away!

o Oranges- major source of vitamin C, flavonoids in the white part are a great antioxidant.

o Beetroot- helps oxygenate the blood and is great for muscle recovery in athletes.

· SUPERFOODS!

o Chia seeds- form a gelatinous texture when mixed with liquid and helps to ‘grab on’ to toxins in the bile. Aloe Vera has the same beneficial effect.

o Coconut oil- helps remove toxins from fat

o Miso- helps remove toxins

o Organic Coffee- helps to stimulate the liver to release toxins. Organic coffee enemas are used in the Gerson Therapy.³

2 ½ months ago I went to a Naturopath and I started a liver detox, an herbal drink that quite honestly tasted horrible. During this time my body started to detoxify, I began to get headaches and felt a cold coming on. I became congested and two weeks in felt a bit run down. The next week my mouth filled with tiny ulcers and felt like there was a gritty film (yeast) all over my teeth, tongue and cheeks, food tasted horrible, I also craved salty foods. That lasted for just over a week. At first I didn’t know what was happening to me, I felt horrible, but I was reminded that my body was detoxifying. Detoxing will be different for everyone and will depend on the amount of toxins you have stored in your body and how your body will react. Since I started my detox, I have lost almost 2.5kg, the majority of it coming off in the last few weeks. (Keep in mind, Easter was 2 weeks ago- Chocolate!!!) I have incorporated raw foods and juicing into our family’s diet and I do a Raw Food Detox at least once a month for maintenance. (Check out my Raw Detox and Cabbage Salad Blog)

Now for those of you who know me know I love exercise, but since November 2011 I have not been able to work out due to a strained muscle in my back. The only exercise I am getting right now is walking and riding bikes with my two daughters to and from school (less than 15K a week). A year ago I was competing in my first Olympic distance Triathlon, but during my training I put on an extra 2kg. I constantly complained to my husband who saw the foods I ate, plants and neither one of us could understand what was happening. I was 64.7kg this time last year and I am happy to say I am 60.2kg today! I have lost fat from my abdomen, arms, thighs, face and bum. My hair and nails are growing stronger and healthier and my skin has never looked better. Wrinkles are disappearing and even my dark spots on my face are fading. My energy is back and I no longer have that afternoon fog, I feel great! The power of food is amazing and I will forever quote,

“Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be food.”- Hippocrates

“When you eat real food, you don’t need rules”- Michael Pollan

Lori M

Here is the legal stuff… The thoughts on this blog are my opinion and are of things I have an interest in. They are based on research, testing on myself and documented where need be. They are in no way intended to override a medical professional or treat or cure anyone. In addition, my thoughts and opinions change from time to time…I consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind. Feel free to challenge me, disagree with me, or tell me I’m completely nuts in the comments section of each blog entry, but I reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason whatsoever (abusive, profane, rude, or anonymous comments) – so keep it polite, please.⁴

1) http://www.hungryforchange.tv/
2) http://www.hungryforchange.tv/detox 
3) http://gerson.org/gerpress/
4) http://www.blogherald.com/2007/10/01/does-your-blog-need-a-disclaimer/