Seasonal Eating – The best foods to eat for Autumn

There are so many good reasons to eat seasonally.  Aside from being that seasonal food is fresher and tends to be tastier and more nutritious without pesticides and other nasties coating their permeable skins.

 Eating seasonally can mean you eat more locally grown produce so you contribute to:

•  reducing the energy – and associated CO2 emissions – needed to grow and transport the food we eat around the world.

•  avoiding paying a premium for food that is scarcer or has travelled a long way.

•  re-connect with nature’s cycles and the passing of time.

It is very important to remember that in Coles and Woolworths the food produce is imported from around the world – to ensure that shelves look the same week in week out – providing comfort and familiarity during the shopping experience.

If you think about it, when you are living in Australia it is a bit silly to buy tomatoes and asparagus flown in from South America, when for many weeks or months of the year some awesome, superior tasting, local grown foods are here to enjoy very fresh, and often at a lower cost financially as well as environmentally.  Bear in mind that whenever a home grown food goes out of season, you can guarantee that another delicious food has come back into season to tempt us all, just don’t be afraid to incorporate it into your kitchen.
 So here’s a guide to seasonal eating for Autumn.

Below is a list of the foods that are right and ready to eat and sure to be locally grown:
Fruit:
 

•  Apples

•  Bananas

•  Figs

•  Grapes

•  Kiwi Fruit

•  Lemons

•  Watermelon

•  Peaches

•  Pears

•  Nashi Pear

•  Persimmons

•  Plums

•  Quinces

Vegetables:
 

•  Asparagus

•  Beans

•  Bean shoots

•  Beetroot

•  Broccoli

•  Cabbage

•  Carrots

•  Cauliflower

•  Cucumbers

•  Eggplant

•  Lettuces

•  Mushrooms

•  Potatoes

•  Pumpkins

•  Snow Peas

•  Spring Onion

•  Sweet Corn

•  Tomatoes

•  Turnips

•  Zucchini

My Favourite Pumpkin Soup

As the days get shorter and the cold begins to creep in, I love to make this warming Pumpkin Soup.

1 medium pumpkin – chopped and de seeded
1 tub of yoghurt (CoYo, full fat, greek or natural – whatever floats your boat)
1 Red Chilli – chopped (deseeded if you don’t want too much spice)
1 tsp grated Nutmeg

Roast the pumpkin in coconut oil with the chilli. Once cooked, stir in the yoghurt and grated nutmeg and use a hand blender to whizz it all together to a thick, tasty soup. Garnish with a drizzle of Basil oil and black pepper.
Serves 4

Poached Pears Dipped in Dark Chocolate

I like this sweet desert to have occasionally, great for entertaining, or to enjoy all on your own.

4 ripe pears, peeled, cored and halved
100g dark chocolate 75% or more (I prefer Green’s Organic 80% as its dairy free)
50g almonds, crushed

Place the pears in a pan, cover with water and poach very gently for 8-10 minutes until tender, then drain.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
Place the crushed almonds ready in a bowl, and have 4 serving bowls.
Dip each pear in the chocolate until lightly coated, then in the almonds so that the almonds stick to the chocolate.
Serve immediately.
Serves 4

One way you can have a nutritious and varied diet is to eat seasonally this will help you stay happy and healthy in the long run.
Nic
xx

x

Do more of what makes you HAPPY :)

Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed.  Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.

Feeling as though you are living an authentic life is an important part of happiness.  If you believe in yourself and your values, your choices reflect this and you feel happier and in control.  If you move towards doing things in your life that fill you up and make you beam sunlight from the depths of your stomach then you'll feel like your on the right path and you'll feel more in control of you life.  It can be easy to overlook the fact that the only person in control of your life is you.

You are responsible for your life and letting go of things that are out of your control, whilst accepting responsibility for the things you can change.  You can always change the way you look and react to a situation that you may find yourself in and it can be liberating to finally let go and see things from a different light.  You are not your past, you are not your future, you are your present and that's the moment you need to live in.

So today I'm doing everything that feels right for me in this present moment.  Today right now I'm doing something that makes me want to jump up and down and dance like no ones watching, and that is writing this post and putting it out into the world wide web for everyone and no-one, but mainly because I want to tell you that you have control over your own happiness.

I woke up so early this morning and I was excited.  Not for any particular reason, it's just a normal Saturday, but I just couldn't wait to get the day started! I couldn't wait to get up and do some exercise and have my green smoothy, I can't wait to catch up with friends and also to spend some time with myself, today has endless possibilities and if I want to make something happen, today could be the day that I make the change.  Who knows!  But that's the beauty of it.  Always be present and live in the moment and do things that feel right to you and you'll be on the right track.

What are you doing today to make yourself excited and happy?  Why not a create a list of all the things that light you up and make you happy.  Don't be afraid to share in the comments below.

Nic
xx

PS.  Don't forget to sign up to my newsletter, I'll be sending out a weekly publication delivered straight to you inbox each Thursday including delicious recipes, wellness tips and much more.  Just hit the subscribe button at the top of the page.

Why I don't heart dairy

Have you ever considered why a cow produces milk?  It's the same reason that females produce milk, to feed our babies to help them to develop and gain weight so that they have the best start in life.  Breast milk can grow an 3kg newborn into a 10kg toddler.  It is intended to allow for the biggest growth spurt of a person's entire life.  When a child is anywhere from 12 to 24 months old, a mother stops breast feeding.  Her milk dries up.  The child will never drink breast milk ever again.

Cows are much the same, their bodies produce milk only when they give birth.  Contrary to belief cows don't need to be milked - ever.  Their udders, like women's breasts exist even when there is no milk in them.  There is one major difference though.  Cow's milk by design, grows a 40kg calf into a 900kg cow over the course of two years.  It allows calves to double their birth weight in forty-seven days and leaves their four stomachs feeling full.

So now I want to ask you a question?

Why do we as humans ingest a food that is designed to make baby cows fat?

Now I know that you are thinking, "but we need cows milk to grow up big and strong, it's the only source of calcium I can get, and without milk my bones will break or I'll get osteoporosis".

Let's address the main underlying issue everyone has with limiting their intake of dairy - Where do you get your calcium?

Firstly you don't need to be ingesting calcium by the truck load.  A simple way to get adequate calcium is by including the following foods in your diet: fortified grains, kale, cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, seaweed, chickpeas, red beans, soybeans, seeds and nuts.  Did you know that 1 cup of kale, broccoli and tofu has more calcium then 1 cup of cow's milk.

Milk is also not a reliable source of minerals.  You get much higher levels of manganese, chromium, selenium and magnesium from fruits and vegetables.  Fruits and vegetables are also high in boron, which helps lessen the loss of calcium through urine.  Consuming high amounts of dairy also blocks the absorption of iron, contributing to iron deficiency.

Dairy products have been linked to a host of other problems too, including acne, anaemia, anxiety, arthritis, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, fibromyalgia, headaches, heartburn, indigestion, irritable bowl syndrome, joint pain, osteoporosis, poor immune function, allergies, ear infections, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, autism, Chron's disease, and cancer.  In short dairy products are disease producing.  They're the perfect thing to eat if you want to be sick and have a diseased body.

To look at this from a vanity stand point, the amount of weight you will loose from removing dairy alone will make you want to kick it to the curb.  The fat in cheese is what gives it the taste and texture that we love; 70 to 80 percent of the calories found in cheese are from fat.  Even if you think you are buying the low fat versions, more than half the calories still come from fat and the other half is pumped full of sugar to make it taste bearable.  Remember what milk is made for; it is designed to make baby cows fat, do you really think milk can be made fat free?

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, you don't have to give up on traditional milk products, there are some great substitutes if you are craving something a little sweeter or if you love having milk in your morning coffee.

In Australia, Sanitarium make a range of great soy, seed, grain and nut milks, remember to read the labels though and don't buy the products that are pumped full of sugar, try to buy the un-sweetend versions.  Sanitarium also make a pretty amazing soy ice-cream.  There are also more and more coconut products out there everything from yoghurt, milk and ice-cream are available.

Remember as the demand grows for healthy, yummy, animal free, dairy free products more and more companies will supply us with these foods.  So let your consumer dollars voice your desire and your body will be rewarded.

Nic
xx

PS.  Don't forget to sign up to my newsletter, I'll be sending out a weekly publication delivered straight to you inbox each Thursday including delicious recipes, wellness tips and much more.  Just hit the subscribe button at the top of the page.

This is all just my opinion and advice, you can do what ever it is that you want.

But, What do you Eat?

"So now that you are a vegan... what do you eat, there is nothing left?"

I just look at the people who ask me that and think to myself, are you walking around with sticks of cheese in your pocket and a slab of beef in your hand 24/7?  I mean seriously!  I eat anything I want that does not include meat or dairy.  They are the guidelines that I stick to, it makes it easy for me because I know that I don't have any restrictions over food, I just avoid meat and dairy.  In general I crowd out processed foods by filling up on whole foods first, that way there is no room for processed foods in my day.

There are too many whole foods to list down here, but in general a whole food is anything that comes in it's natural form or as close to it's natural form as possible.  So that is, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seeds, nuts, legumes and an abundance of super foods.

When your in the supermarket, stick to anything that is on the outside isles.  Buy all your fruits and vegetables first, then work your way to the health food isle, for things like quinoa, lentils, nut butters, seeds, and nuts, then to the freezer section for some frozen berries and edamame beans, then charge on to the self serve register and get your healthy little butt outta there!

So this is my method, I've been through a lot of trial and error and this works best for me.  I try not to give myself strict restrictions over food because I have found that it turns me into a food crazed maniac who's ready to binge on anything on my restricted list as soon as i get the chance.  When I say food restrictions I mean, I don't have a list running through my head saying, "I can't have chocolate, cheese, salami, tim tams, dips" etc. I just know that I am avoiding dairy and meat and I concentrate on finding foods that I can eat that fit my guidelines.

It really is changing up your thought patterns and looking at things in a different way.  Instead of concentrating on what you can't have, making that all you can think about; concentrate on what you can have.

Hope you all have a great day,

Nicole

xx

Are you up for the Challenge?

I've been feeling a challenge coming on for myself.  But I've been hesitant to start it because one of my focuses this year was to find BALANCE and I've been feeling as though if I started a challenge, I'd fall victim to the "all of nothing" approach which in turn could end up in the "if I have one bad thing then I've stuffed my diet up, and may as well start again tomorrow" territory, which I don't want to happen.  So i've been breathing through these feelings and meditating on the thought of doing a 42 day vegan challenge to make sure that it's not my ego driving my desire to do this, but that it is coming from a deeper desire for absolute health and wellbeing.  I've had to be honest with myself and realise that right now, the way I'm going I'm not feeling my absolute best.  I really want to be a walking advertisement of health and wellness, I really want to practice what I preach in the hope that I can inspire just one person to change the way they view their lives and start living a healthier more abundant life.

So why 42 days and why a vegan diet?

Well studies have shown that creating a new habit takes 21 days to stick, well in my history... I need a bit longer than 21 days.  To be honest, I'm just getting the hang of things at 21 days, but I haven't formed a new habit.  This brings me to doing something for 40 days, research has shown that after repeating an new pattern for forty days, you can change the neural pathways in your brain to create long-lasting change.  Mythical examples range from Moses's forty days and fort nights spent on Mount Sinai to the story of the Buddha reaching enlightenment on the full moon in May after meditation and fasting under the bodhi tree for forty days.  So I'm taking cue from the mystics and committing to a 40 day vegan lifestyle change, and because I like to have things even, I'm aiming for 6 weeks so that makes it 42 days, the extra two days are just a bonus!

Why a Vegan diet specifically?  Well I've been flirting with a vegan diet for a few months now.  I've been having meat and dairy free meals at least 2 meals a day, and the days I fully commit to a vegan diet, I wake up feeling more vibrant and full of energy than the days that some cheese or even some meat may have crept into my meals.  Now I'm coming to understand a few new truths.  Diet and meal choices are not one-size fits all, so while this feels right for me at this point in time, it might not be right to you.  It's certainly not the right fit for my fiancé, he needs his meat and that's ok.  So if you're thinking you want to embark on this 42 day challenge with me, but following a vegan diet isn't right for you, give something else a try.  It might be quitting sugar, or giving up dairy, or following the Paleo principles, or even just implementing one vegan meal into your diet a day / week.  Do what ever feels right for you at this time.

People choose to be vegan for health, environmental and/or ethical reasons.  For example, some vegans feel that one promotes the meat industry by consuming eggs and dairy products.  That is, once dairy cows or egg-laying chickens are too old to be productive, they are often sold as meat; and since male calves do not produce milk, they usually are raised for veal or other products.  Some people avoid these items because of conditions associated with their production.

The main reason I'm doing this is for my health, I've lived a vegan lifestyle before and honestly that has been the best I have ever felt.  But it also feels pretty darn good to choose this lifestyle to promote a more humane and caring world.  I know that I am not perfect by I believe I have a responsibility to try to do my best, while not being judgemental of others.

The key to a nutritionally sound vegan diet is variety.  A heathy and varied vegan diet includes fruits, vegetables, plenty of leafy greens, whole grain products, nuts, seeds and legumes.  And for me I will still include some eggs.  I have chooks at home, I know how they are being treated and I know what they are being fed, and I am content that they live in a great environment.

If you will be joining me on this challenge.  Take some time before hand to become clear on why you are wanting to embark on this challenge.  Also work out what you want to achieve at the end of your 42 days.  Because if you are not clear in the beginning it will be easier for you not to stick to it and fall back on old bad habits.

Why not follow me on my instagram account for photos of meals and I'll also be loading a heap of recipes up on the blog to give you heaps of ideas and keep you going.  I'll also keep a bit of a online journal of my progress if you are interested in it.  I'll also track down some inspiring vegans and have a chat to them about they reasons for choosing this lifestyle and the positive way it has impacted their lives.

What an exciting way to start Autumn.  Hope you have a great Saturday!

Nic
x

Perfectly Cooked Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables

Quinoa pronounced keen - wah.

A must for all healthy contemporary diets, quinoa is a protein-packed grain that cooks quickly and is a wonderful canvas for all sorts of add-ins and dressings.  Annoyed with pot after pot of water or overcooked quinoa, I finally stumbled across a method that is sure to make perfect quinoa every time.  The secret is always use a less-than-two-to-one ratio of water to quinoa and tuck paper towel between the pot and the lid while the quinoa is resting.

This mixed pot of quinoa and roast veggies is the perfect warm summer salad to share with friends, or  make a batch up on a Sunday and use for lunches throughout the week.

So this is how it's done:

First choose your veggies, I used:

- Zucchini
- Capsicum
- Beetroot
- Sweet Potato
- Coconut oil
- Dried Oregano
- Dried Thyme

Peel and roughly chop your veggies into cubes.  Spread them out evenly on a baking tray, scatter a little of the herbs over them, and drizzle a little oil over the top.  Place veggies into a 180 degree C oven for around 20-30mins.

While this is cooking make the quinoa, this is how it's done:

1 Cup Quinoa
1 & 3/4 Cup Water
Coarse Sea Salt

Rinse the quinoa thoroughly in a fine-mesh strainer (although this may sound like an unnecessary step, it really makes a huge difference in flavour, since quinoa's natural coating tastes like soap).

Place it in a pot set over high heat with the water and a big pinch of salt.  Bring the quinoa to a boil, lower the heat, cover the pot, and cook until all the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa's germs look like lots of little spirals, 12 to 15 minutes.  Turn the heat off, place a dry paper towel between the pot and the lid, and let the quinoa sit for at least 5 minutes before giving it a fluff with a fork.

Enjoy, the most lightest fluffiest quinoa you've ever made.  Let me know how it goes for you in the comments below.

If you love cooking healthy treats for all your friends and family, and you live in a close vicinity to Brisbane, come along to my Pot Luck Instameet in the Park next Saturday the 15th Febuary.  Check out the details in my post found here.  Ash and I would love to meet you there!

Nicole

xx

Stay True to Yourself by Overcoming Your Fears!

Being real, staying true to yourself, overcoming your fear, pushing through the boundaries that you set for yourself, your life is full of endless possibilities, there is enough abundance for each and every person on this earth, you just have to be willing, deeply and truly open to receiving all that it is you are looking for.

Whether you think you can or you think you can't, that will be true for you.

I've been trying a lot more lately to be a more real and authentic version of myself.  It's not always easy, and sometimes I catch myself being a fake.  I catch myself doing the opposite of what I preach, and not walking the talk, just talking the talk.  This sends me into a place of fear, it makes my ego's voice sound loud and clear in my head telling me I'm failing, if I can't even get this right, how can I possibly be a success in life.

Well I'm ready to face my fear of failing, I'm ready to face my ego head on, because today I am witnessing my fear of failing and I am proud to say that I'm working on overcoming it.  Everyone is always working on bettering them selves and this is just one step in the bigger picture for me, but one thing I can say is that each and everyday I'm getting closer to being an authentic version of myself.

What fears have come up for you lately, maybe you skipped going to the gym because you were worried about what people would think of you; or maybe you didn't speak up in the meeting at work, could you have a deep rooted fear that your ideas will be rejected? By paying close attention to your behaviour, you can begin to get honest about what fears you may have been denying.  By witnessing your fears, you begin to deal with them head on and eliminating them all together.

Try and answer these questions:

1. What experiences trigger my fear?
2. What thoughts trigger my fear?
3. What are the feelings that come over me when I am in fear?
4. How does my fear affect my behaviour?

Don't worry if you find it a little hard to write what your feeling in the beginning.  Just put pen to paper and see what comes up for you.  Once you have recognised your fear repeat the following affirmation:

I am willing to witness my fear, I am proud of myself for doing this work.

Let me know if the comments below what fears you are trying to overcome.

Nicole
xx