4 Elements Diet and My Very First Attempt at Blogging

So I've gone to bed, tired and ready to fall asleep, but something is keeping me awake.  It's a drive and a push to do something more that is keeping me from falling asleep but I can't quiet work out what that is.  Maybe I'm just thirsty....

Well anyway, I got myself some water and was lying here scrolling through Instagram, yep 'cause that's going to help a sista fall asleep, not!  I then started thinking about my first ever blog that I started way back in 2011.  I called it 4 Elements Diet.  I had been sitting in bed one fateful Tuesday evening, around the same time as now and I remember I had been trolling through the internet in search of anything and everything and I came across a girl who had challenged herself to eat only foods that where provided from the Earth for 365 days (it was called the Earth Diet, you may or may not of heard of it?!)  So I was sitting up late on my laptop and was thinking, hey I should do my own version of this and blog about it!

And so 4 Elements Diet was born.  Here is my very first blog post, (killin' it in 2011).  Ok, so I had this thing that I didn't want to use capital letters ever... yeah I got over that, don't know where that came from, guess I thought I was being a game changer and leading the pack.  Second is the hideous theme, lol I was learning!

Anyway the point of this whole post was that re-reading my old blog got me really inspired.  I was someone who inspired me to make a change for the better for myself.  I've been inspired by my own determination from 3 years ago, my absolute authentic and pure passion for living a healthier and clean life.  My last journal entry ends at 61 days, I think that's when I threw the towel in.  I don't know why I did though, I do remember that I felt incredible, I was never stressed about food or my weight, I was loosing weight, it was falling off me effortlessly, I just knew that my body was finding it's balancing point I had this absolute belief that my excess weight would come off until my body was happy, I remember getting to a point that I never felt hungry because I always listened to my body's cues, I had boundless energy and my sex drive was through the roof!

I kinda want that back, that raw authentic energy, that passion and drive for inspiring others through my daily choices, I wonder if I can go 61 days of eating only un-processed foods?  

Could you?

Nourish Yourself from the Inside Out

After getting active for 10 days straight, it's now time to concentrate on Nourishing yourself from the inside out for the next 10 consecutive days.  The question that I am going to put to you, is what does Nourishing Yourself mean to you?  The reason I ask this is because what works for me may not work for you.

We live in a world of modern nutrition.  Almost everyone is on one diet or another.  So many people dwell on calories, carbs, fats, proteins, restrictions and lists of good and bad foods.  It would seem that each day we are hit with a new discovery, proclaiming the health benefits of a certain food or the best way to lose 5 kilos in a week.  Diet books are best sellers, cooking shows are more popular than ever, while more and more families are eating out.

The world of nutrition has become incredibly complex.  How is it possible that one expert can prove dairy is a necessary component of a healthy diet, while another expert can prove dairy is extremely detrimental to health; one expert can claim meat is essential to a healthy human body while another expert says meat is an unnecessary and unhealthy part of the the human diet?

So to avoid and navigate myself confidently through a media-driven an perplexed diet industry, I now take a new approach to nutrition and that is one of bio-individualtiy.  

No perfect way of eating works for everybody.

The food that is perfect for your unique body, age and lifestyle may make another person gain weight and feel lethargic.  Similarly, no perfect way of eating will work for you all the time, what may have worked for you a number of years ago, may not be right for you now and what you eat during the week may be totally different to what you eat on a weekend when you are relaxing.

One thing that you need to remember is that being healthy is really not that complicated.  Trust that your body knows what it needs and what it wants to eat.  It's the brain that makes mistakes.  It's very easy to convince yourself to follow some diet plan and after a week it may leave you feeling lethargic and bloated.  You don't need to read nutrition books to know what to eat, instead you have to foster a deep relationship with your body in which it naturally tells you what it needs to function at its highest potential.

So for the next 10 days I don't want you to think about restricting anything from your diet, I want to you concentrate on ADDING IN the right clean foods.  

Here is a list of things that I would encourage you to ADD IN to your diet each day:

• Upon rising have a warm glass of water with 1/2 a lemon. 
• Pump up your green vegetables, have at least 4 servings of vegetables per day - you might do this by having a green juice or a green smoothy in the morning, then one serving of greens with lunch and one serving of greens with dinner.
• Don't be afraid of fruits, have 2 servings per day - this could be an apple with a spoonful of nut butter, strawberries, blue berries, add a banana to your smoothie for breakfast.
• Eat good quality and properly prepared whole grains - have at least 2 servings per day - think quinoa or oats for breakfast, sprouted bread, sourdough bread for lunch
• Lean meat and protein sources - have at least 2 servings per day - think chicken, pork, wild salmon, sardines, and white fish
• Good fats - have 2 serving per day - think coconut oil, olive oil, fish oils (essential fatty acids), seen and nut oils and organic butter - use coconut oils for cooking, pour olive oil over your salad, add seeds to your salad, spread organic butter over your toast.

Real food is medicine.

Great food and a healthy diet means enjoying full flavours and invigorating meals while relishing the fresh, simple and unadulterated.  Remember that processed food is loaded with sugars, artificial sweeteners, damaging hydrogenated fats and oils, white flour, chemicals, fillers, synthetic vitamins and minerals, food additives, preservatives, heavy metals and pesticides, all of which contribute to the toxicity with our bodies and are damaging the health of our planet.

Over the coming days I will go over some of my favourite super foods, we'll have a guest post from the fabulous Clair Power from Power of Wellness and plenty of fun recipes and healthy tips and tricks that you can incorporate into your diet.

Nic

xx

Not your traditional porridge

I love making this raw porridge for breakfast.  It's a light and refreshing way to start these hot summer days.  No baking required this is a fully raw and healthy meal packed full of vitamins and minerals and it is a filling and satisfying dish that won't leave a heavy feeling in your body.

I put cinnamon on a lot of my food, it's great for regulating blood sugar levels and the ground flaxseed are rich in antioxidants, B vitamins, dietary fibre, protein, potassium and omega-3 fatty acids.

Here is the recipe:

1 pear, chopped into large pieces
1 banana, broken into large pieces
1 apple, chopped into large pieces
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of flaxseed

1. First put the pear into the food processor / blender; then add the banana and then the apple.  Blending the fruit in this order prevents the mixture from getting too sticky.
2. Sprinkle the cinnamon and flaxseed over the mixture.

I try to always buy organic where possible.

Hope you enjoy this delightful breakfast treat; let me know if the comments below if you give this one a try.

Nicole x

Zucchini Carbonara for Dinner

How does zucchini carbonara sound for dinner??  Sounds like it would be an amazing idea!

Seriously zucchini spaghetti is such a great alternative to pasta.  It cuts out all the bad carbohydrates and leaves you with a full belly and a smile from ear to ear knowing that you just ate something that tastes as good as it is for your body.

Why Zucchini - well its a great source of potassium, rich in vitamin A and contains minerals like iron, manganese and zinc.  Also it is one of the very low calorie vegetables, providing only 17 calories per 100g.  Try to leave the peel on as it is a great source of dietary fibre.

Ingredients:

Zucchini

Sundried Tomatoes

Goats Cheese

Garlic (crushed)

Salt and Pepper

Snow Pea Sprouts

Egg

Coconut Oil (or your cooking oil of choice)

(You can include all your favourite veggies, mix and match as much as you like)

(Try to use organic ingredients where possible)

Method:

- Start by heating a little oil in the pan.  Add in the garlic and salt and pepper heat for around 2-3 mins

- Add in the zucchini, cook on its own for around 2 mins or until it starts to soften

- Throw in the goats cheers, sundered tomatoes and snow pea sprouts

- In a bowl whisk the egg

- Slide all the food over to one side of the fry pan and pour in the whisked egg (as image above).  Allow the egg to cook through slightly before stirring everything together.  The egg gives the meal that creamy texture.

- Serve and enjoy!!

Why not give this healthy meal a try tomorrow evening.  Let me know how it goes for you.

Nicole xx