Just a quick little post to let you all know about a wonderful idea to try to change your eating habits, or re affirm existing habits during September.
A wise lady once told me “it’s not the fat in food that will kill you, it’s the sugar”
We have been told for years that fat is bad. Ok sure some forms of fat are, eg trans fat, BUT sugar is the big danger. In the worst case it causes cancer. Some forms of artificial sweetener cause Parkinsons Disease. On a day to day level, it stuffs with your hormones, making you prone to wildly swinging moods, inability to concentrate, memory loss, getting really angry and feeling depressed and just generally crabby. So why eat it when there are perfectly good alternatives out there for us! It is the refined sugar that is the killer.
I am an avid instagrammer, and I stumbled across this inspiring woman Cassandra Michelin aka @liveitdoit . She also has a website which is http://www.liveitdoit.com.au. She has founded this wonderful challenge for the month called ‘Sugar Free September”. Not just a photo a day challenge, but the idea of Sugarfree September is to educate yourself on the dangers of refined sugar products, have a look at ways you can remove them from your diet and replace them with heathier, but still just as sweet, alternatives.
You can just join in on instagram, or if you feel so inclined you can sign up for a FREE Renew food Journal in e book form. Follow the links on her website 🙂
In the ebook there is a great list of sweetners to avoid, and enjoy.
Some great sugar alternatives are raw honey, coconut sugar, fruits, barley malt syrup, maple syrup, dates, stevia and rapadura sugar.
I already eat very well, however it has made me take a closer look at the ingredients in the foods that I don’t prepare myself – eg my almond milk. Turns out it has agave syrup as the sweetener. Now, it is up to me to decide what i want to do about this.
Here’s to a Sugar free September!
Al xx
Al xx
I am addicted to this muesli!! A lovely friend gave it to me a year or so ago, and I swear in that time I can count on one hand the times I have NOT had it for breakfast!!
So I thought you might like to enjoy it too! It is gluten free, vegan and very healthy 🙂
Ingredients
Quinoa flakes
Slivered almonds
Puffed rice
Shredded coconut
Pitted dates
Dried cranberries
Puffed millet
Hazelnuts
Pepitas
Black Chia seeds
Puffed amaranth
Linseed (slightly ground)
Sunflower kernels
Activated bukinis
Either raw malt syrup, maple syrup or coconut nectar to drizzle
I don’t use quantities, but a basic rule is to
make the majority of the mix puffed rice and sunflower seeds, and add whatever quantities you feel of the rest.
You can put whatever nuts or seeds you have in the pantry. My recipe changes slightly every time depending on what I have, and also my taste at that time.
Power Muesli
Method
Combine everything except dried fruit and the “to drizzle” ingedients in a large bowl.
Put the griller of your oven on. Spread mixture thinly on an oven tray. Drizzle over your choice of sweetener. Pop into the oven to brown, will only take a few minutes so don’t leave it.
Place into a ceramic container to cool. Once cooled you can add your choice of dried fruits, and transfer to a plastic storage container.
Pre shake up 🙂
Notes
Enjoy with almond milk or rice milk for premium health benefits. Try to keep all ingredients organic, and buy sulphate free fruits.
Something I really love to do is cook. Over the years my baking has transitioned from sugar laded, gluten loaded cakes, to more mindful, and creating sweet delights with quinoa flour, coconut nectar and cacoa nibs. Life is a whole lot sweeter when you don’t feel sick and bloated after a treat, and also not having wild mood swings due to the copious amounts of sugar!!
Also being vegan I have created some little masterpieces in the kitchen. Just today I was being quizzed by some workmates about what I eat. Generally the standard response I get when I say I am vegan is 1) do you eat fish then (um.. no) and 2) so what do you eat then?? This is not uncommon, and I find that once people open their mind to a world without meat and animal products, then a whole new world opens up, with many interesting and healthy foods that most meat-eaters didn’t even know existed. I know, coz that was me 2 years ago!
So I rattled off the list of the nuts, seeds, fruits, vegies, grains and legumes that I devour each day. They were so interested that a couple have asked me for some of my recipes and meal plans of what I eat each day. This is not the first time i have been asked this, and of course I am MORE than happy to share the vegan/gluten free/healthy eating love!! xx
So here is the first of many recipies I will post on the blog.
Tonight I made this delicious Zucchini ‘Pasta’
Ingredients:
1/2 medium zuchinni
1/4 jar of organic pasta sauce (or tinned tomatoes with oregano and garlic)
Assorted pre cooked vegies
Few teaspoons cashew nut cheese*
Herbamere* to taste
Sunflower or coconut oil to cook in
Method :
Using a wide vegetable peeler, slice thin piece of your zucchini long ways. Then using a sharp knife slice into thinner long pieces about 1/2 cm to 1cm wide.
Heat your oil in a fry pan. Cook the zucchini for a few minutes until just starts to soften. You don’t want it to go mushy. In fact you can have this raw. Add your pasta sauce and the vegies. Heat through. Then add a few tea spoons of nut cheese and stir through.
Add Herbamare to taste. Serve while hot.
This makes enough for one smallish dinner.
* I love “Botanical Cuisine Classic Cashew Cheese”, available in Mount Gambier from Ecologie Organics http://www.ecologieorganics.com.au
* Herbamare is a herb salt and is available at Woolies. Adds so much flavour to dishes.
Sunshine and Green Tea 