Super foods

Yes I admit have gotten on to the Super food bandwagon. I did do my research, reading articles, magazines, the Internet and watching TV programmes which involved interviews with experts . They did conclude not all foods could be considered super foods but all agree they are good for a healthy lifestyle.

I have to agree with them because a lot of the food I eat are in the super foods category. What I have done is to add the ones I didn’t eat often or was not aware of into my eating plan.

I  have noticed that I lost a few pounds when I tried out online recipes and books. The one I will highly recommend is Jamie Oliver’s Super foods. I watch an  (recorded) episode of the TV series then try out the recipes. They are absolutely delicious.

There is one that I really think is dangerous to call super food -:dark chocolate, the reason is quite simple you could end up eating too much of it. I am not really big on chocolate, I have actually stopped eating the dark ones, I was only able to eat something  small pieces back then, I  actually threw out my last pack even though I ate it just once. I didn’t want it in my fridge anymore, lol. These days I snack on nuts and seeds.

I can see myself been a superfood fan for life, even though it is  expensive, the way I see it is you can’t put a price on good health.

Sugar Free Meals

I have spent the last few months cooking Sugar Free meals, they have all turned out to be so tasty I ended up buying quite a number of cookbooks. Please don’t ask how many, you will be amazed at how many ingredients we use in cooking that contains sugar, check the labels of items next time you are out shopping. Baking with honey, xylitol or agave is so delicious I don’t have to worry about calories. I can’t really recommend sugar alternatives due to the fact that everyone is different based, also taking into account lifestyle/health issues, this will be down to a Doctor or Dietician but I know what works for me because I have discussed it with my Doctor.  I must warn you that some of the sugar alternatives are not cheap but they are worth it the price as you will usually need only a tiny drop or spoon.

I have noticed changes since I started low sugar cooking, my skin looks better, it has a real nice sort of glow to it, I am even more fuller for longer,  I have lost weight, feel light and full of energy, this confirms the old saying ‘sugar fix’ is utter rubbish!! I have decided that this is going to my lifestyle from now on,  to be honest I  don’t’  miss sugar anymore and that is saying something for someone who has a sweet tooth. Don’t get me wrong I still have the occasional sweet (s) but that is about it. And here is a funny thing I have gone off dark chocolate ( was my alternative to refined version) completely, I’ll rather eat nuts, mixed seeds, carrot batons or celery sticks which I now carry in a tiny plastic container in my bag either to work or even going to catch up with friends or church.

As usual please free to share or comment below. I look forward to hearing from you.

PS: I have found this rather useful article on the dangers of sugar, based on UK research.

http://www.shadestation.co.uk/Sugar-Is-Killing-You

Pasta and Rice alternatives

It is the newest addition to low carb diet – Spiralizing. I guess some will be wandering what this means, it’s quite simple really, think of spaghetti and rice but in veggie form. Basically, a close resemblance to the carb stuff but without the starchy bit. To achieve this you will need a tool known as a Spiralizer. It comes in various designs and sizes depending on the brand. I choose to buy a portable size for storage purposes – I have a tiny kitchen!
Needless to say I am very happy with my choice it spirals my courgettes( or zucchini ) very nicely. I haven’t tried it with other veggies but I will in the next coming weeks.

Once you have Spiralizer your veggie of choice, you can either serve it raw or fry/ bake/grill depending on your recipe, serve with your deserved sauce. Basically, you have a meal in minutes. I will post a picture of my courgetti ( coined by Helmsley and Helmsley ) with left over beef stew above this post. I have had courgette with other sauces and I have to say I love it. The Spiralizer has become my go to gadget. Apart from main meals, the Spiralizer is great for making salad and coleslaw. It is the perfect tool for summer foods and picnics. No guesses what I will be making this summer, lol.

Another low carb idea I have discovered is Cauliflower rice, this is so easy to make. All it requires is taking tearing up the stems of the cauliflower, throw it in the blender and you have what looks like rice in veggie form. Word of warning be careful not over blender, you just need to whiff very briefly, like courgette you can eat it or stem it. I am not sure if it can be grilled or baked I will have to look into that. I had my first taste with Chicken curry and it was yummy-lious.

If anyone has tried this please let me know what you think.

Have a great weekend.

Dee

Detox – my improved version

I decided to go on a 3 day detox last month. I did it last year but that was rather intense and I ended up with a migraine for days so having learnt my lesson I opted for a softer ‘version’.
My breakfast was a combo of greens and fruits in the berry family plus frozen banana to give it that slushy look, using my new blender with its on the go bottle. To give my smoothies a bit of kick I added ginger, alternating with cinnamon. I am not into energy powders so I put in sunflower and flax seeds instead, finishing with oats using soya milk as my mixture of choice. I did add almond butter on the last day just to see how it would work, it was even more delicious.
Mid-Morning – I had a handful of seeds or brazil nuts
Lunch was salads, oat and rice cakes with hummus.
Drinks – I had green tea and water through out.
Mid Afternoon – I didn’t have anything as I am not into snacking.
Dinner – Ribbon Courgettes or Aubergines with mushrooms, chopped fresh tomatoes, sweet potatoes. Lean chicken with veggies

I drank hot lemon water first thing, which I found really refreshing. I have now incorporated that it into my daily routine, although I do forget sometimes as I am rushing to work. I will definitely be doing this again, I felt very cleansed, lost a few inches around my tummy area, overall my skin felt great, most importantly there were no side effect

I opted for gentle short workouts as I didn’t have the energy to do my regular intense routines. Following from the results of my detox I have decided to start drinking detox water at the weekends. I have tried strawberries, orange slices for a bit of colour. I alternated by going green using mint, lemon and cucumber topped with ice. I am sticking with the latter as its really cooling and very refreshing I felt cleansed on the inside as well. Detox water works better with bottled or distilled water – tap water is a no, no because of the chemicals.

I may detox every month after the satisfied results, not necessarily 3 days, I can do a 24 hour to 48 hour detox.

Egg muffins packed with nutrients

image

Great for breakfast or lunch, make a batch and freeze some.

Sugar and me

I had a lovely Easter, I didn’t over eat like I thought I would. Well I had planned to start cutting sugar out of my food straight after. It is going well so far, I have used syrup/honey in place of sugar in my baking which has actually turned out really yummy. I was already on the road to sugar free late last night when I started using sweetner in my coffee.

However, it has not been easy considering the fact I have got a sweet tooth. I have cut down on the sweets but the soft drinks which I have only at the weekends may be hard to cut out completely. I still have sugar-based foods in my cupboards, once I have eaten all that I will buy alternatives.

If I am being completely honest with myself I don’t think I can completely take sugar out of my diet, I can in cooking but not all snacks. Let’s face it there are some foods that taste vile without sugar, let’s not go there. Another thing, some of the alternatives are very expensive so there will be some foods that I will either use a combination of sugar and alternative to even out the measurements.
When I am out and about it is impossible, I will still want to eat with my family and friends.

Cheese and Easter

I love cheese and it is the one thing I am never giving up which was why I decided to go to the Cheese & Wine festival last weekend. It ran alongside the Chocolate festival, which didn’t get me that excited as I am not really a chocolate fan anymore, I still have it occasionally but usually the dark variety, it is in the fridge for ages as I go off it, then I eventually chuck it but I won’t be doing that anymore as I know I can leftovers to bake cakes for friends. The festival turned out to be a disappointment as there were very limited cheese stands all of which were crowded. I went back to one that caught my eye when the crowd had died down but the seller was so rude to me I just walked off. There were only 3 wine stalls which were over the top pricey worst of all they were actually horrible – I tasted a couple. I left the so called festival with homemade fudge but no cheese, needless to say I would not be going next year, the BBC Good Food Show is a 100% better. And that is the end of my whinge, just needed to get it off my chest, lol

With only two more days to go to Easter, there is no doubt chocolates and treats have been ‘lying’ around in the workplace. Yesterday was the height of sugar in my team, it all started with one colleague bringing boxes about 5 boxes of Celebrations, for non-Brits they are mini variety of popular chocolates, they come in sweet wrappers. It snowballed from there, up till the time I left for the day there were endless flow of ‘goodies’. I have to admit I did eat one of the chocolates and had tiny piece of freshly baked Granola bar. But that was it I knew my limits, my consolation was that I was going home to burn off the fat anyway and boy did add I intensify my workout, I am aching a bit but feel really good.

It is my birthday on Good Friday so I am throwing my healthy routine to the wind for the day, anyway by the time I have finished walking through the exhibitions at the Victoria & Albert museum with my friend I will need to re-fuel. In my usual fashion I will be straight back on the saddle, well not completely as I am going to be socialising but I won’t be going overboard. I am going to ease myself back into my usual routine, the good thing is that I don’t have any junk food in my cupboards/fridge so I am pretty sure I will be ok. My trick to losing the weight is go on a 24 hour detox; Paleo or Low Carb diet for a week.

Have a great Easter and don’t feel guilty if you have fallen off the wagon you can pick up yourself but don’t leave it too late.

Is Fibre really necessary?

As I am not one to go by hearsay but research I have been doing a lot of online researches in my continuous quest to remain healthy for the rest of my life. After looking at my sites I have decided to base my findings on the most reliable source I can trust, my country’s Health Service, commonly known as the NHS – National Health Service. The extract from one of the articles states Fibre ‘can help prevent heart disease, diabetes, weight gain and some cancers …’ You can read more about this very short but informative article (the Importance of Fibre) by visiting their website.
http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1141.aspx?categoryid=51
Having done a number of online searches the top foods I found were: wholemeal bread, barley, broccoli, red sweet pepper, nectarine, peanuts, orange, beans, wholemeal/grain cereals, dates. The list is inconclusive, as our bodies are different then there are health issues to take in to consideration especially those with bowel syndrome there are certain foods that are not allowed. Please always remember to consult your doctor or Nutritionist or Dietician before making changes to your eating habits.
Another useful article which gives a breakdown of the foods high in fibre and how much should be eaten in day.

Click to access Dietaryadviceforincreasingyourfibreintake.pdf

Stay healthy and fit.