happy australia day

i hope everyone enjoyed their australia day celebrations yesterday.  we did have a trip to fraser island booked, but due to the crazy rain that we had early this week we decided to post pone that trip till easter.  i have my fingers crossed for great weather at easter.


know i have today off and i'm super keen to do some cooking today and try out some new things. i've been very busy lately, and i have actually found some time today to tell you all about some things that i have found and been trying.

breakfast

on my list of things to cook today is sweet potato hummus, this sounds so delicious and i think will be a nice alternative to the traditional hummus.  i'm hoping that the taste of this one will be a little more crowd pleasing than the traditional hummus as well.


i'm also going to try chicken skewers with a nutty sauce for dinner.  i'll make plenty of these so that we have heaps to eat over the weekend.



i've started my day off with roasted cherry tomatoes and sauteed herb mushrooms, absolutely delightful.  to make this, i chopped in half about 8-9 cherry tomatoes and sprinkled a little pink rock salt on top and popped them into the oven, set at about 180 degrees.  i then chopped the mushrooms in half and placed in a fry pan on medium heat.  i added some different herbs and spices, be creative add which ever herbs and spices that you like best, then added about a tablespoon of water, or enough to just coat the bottom of the pan, then covered the pan with a chopping board, leaving just enough room for the steam to come out.


i always use water to cook my mushrooms now, and stay away from any oils and fats, as this cooks them a lot nicer and holds a lot more flavor and moisture.


be back with you shortly with some recipes.


yours in health


NKx

sushi rocks!!

before rolling :)

i really love sushi, and before i flushed out all the toxic and rubbish food from my life, i used to eat it 2/3 times a week... not very good, considering majority of the sushi is pretty much a chicko roll rolled in seaweed.

my man has been dragging me along to sushi bars still and i am getting sick of eating sashimi, don't get me wrong, i love sashimi, but it can get quiet repetitive.  i still get a little buzz of excitement when i see a soft shell crab roll come past me on the train, but i reluctantly decline and stick to my raw fish.

i decided that enough was enough, tonight was round one of home made sushi, the healthy way.  i zipped off to coles when i got home and bought the nori (seaweed paper), some avocado, mushrooms and some fresh goats cheese. (by the way I'll eventually get to why you should completely ditch all dairy out of your diets and get on the goat band wagon).

Here we go...

ingredients

nori (seaweed paper)

mushrooms, use whatever type you like

1 clove of garlic

avocado

a squeeze of fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper

a little coriander

goats cheese

to make

- i started by cutting the mushrooms into strips

- then put the mushrooms into a medium heat saucepan with about a tablespoon of water and the crushed garlic, saute the mushrooms until they are soft, keep topping up the water a little so that the mushrooms don't stick to the pan (don't go crazy with the water though you don't want to drown them)

- while thats sauteing scoop out the avocado into a small bowel, add the lemon, salt and pepper and coriander, add the last three ingredients to your own taste and then mash that all together

- take out the mushrooms and place on a spare plate

this is the best that my iphone could do

- take out a sheet of the nori and place on a bamboo sushi mat

- scoop the avocado mash onto the nori, and start to spread evenly over the nori, leaving a 1cm space around the edges

- place the mushrooms along one edge of the avocado paste, and then crumble a little of the goats cheese on top.

- lets start rolling, lift the front of the bamboo mat closest to you, with the mushroom and goats cheese and begin to roll the sheet tightly.  apply gentle pressure to join the edges of the nori, the avocado helps to keep it stuck together

- then slice, i found that its easier to run the knife under boiling water and then slice while its clean, the seaweed does go a little soggy so get to it as quickly as you can to cut it up.

ta da!  and i've eaten my dinner and let me tell you i loved it!  give this a go, next time your pining for sushi and you wont be disappointed.

NK xx

day 29 - food journal

aahh its killing me to posts todays food journal, but i am being true and have to do it.

i ate a turkish delight today, i had a choice and i chose to eat it, and believe me, i don't feel awesome for having it.  not that i'm beating myself up over it, but i actually don't feel well.  my head has been throbbing all afternoon and the huge spike in my energy, followed by a giant crash, that almost put me to sleep at my desk (sorry work).  just reminds me why i'm doing this.  i understand that i'm only human, and i'm going to slip up sometimes, i'm not perfect, but it's these little moments of weakness that remind me that what i'm doing 98% of the time is really doing me a lot of good.

i'm going to try to get in touch with a nutritionist friend of mine, who years ago lead me in the path of being a vegan and gave me a lot of great tips nutritionally.  i'm going to get her opinion on what i'm doing, and what i could be changing, adding, or taking away to make this much more beneficial for me.  (and i'll pass on some of her wisdom to you too)

i'm going to take you through my journal now and show you where i went wrong today.

breakfast - cup of hot water with lemon

(i got out of bed really late today and therefore i didn't have enough time for a decent breakfast.  last night i started a new book, which i fell asleep at about 11pm half way through a page... not enough sleep for starters and definitely not enough to eat for breakfast)

lunch - green olives (marinated ones from the deli)

mushrooms with fresh garlic and goats cheese

(i also didn't have enough time to pack lunch and i had bought some marinated olives from the deli yesterday as a treat to have a couple in the afternoon, however i ended up having these for lunch.  again really not enough and not a substantial amount of food for the day)
snacks - desperately hungry by now, and not thinking straight, i went to the shop, i bought a packet of gluten free cheesles and a turkish delight (i thought i was in the health food isle so those chips must be good for me... and i used to eat turkish delight a lot as i thought that it was the better choice over all the other chocolates...)  after devouring my turkish delight and half a packet of chips an hour later, i really wasn't feeling that great.  the on set of my "great decision" had kicked in, urgh.  anyway, one slip up and back on track now.
dinner - portabello mushrooms, stuffed with fresh garlic and goats cheese, a little salt and pepper seasoning.  


to make these, i preheated the oven to about 180 degrees.  i popped two of the mushrooms, with the stalks removed and the fresh garlic cloves smeared on the flesh, seasoned with salt and pepper, upside down in a baking tray with about 1 cm of water in the bottom, into the oven for about 10 - 15 mins.  once a little softer to touch, or a little shriveled up looking, i took them out and crumbled a little goats cheese on top of each and then placed back in the oven to melt the cheese a little.  delicious :)


if i can give you one tip for the day - if you ever feel as though you have slipped up, deal with it, accept that you've done it and move on.  it's only one slip up and its really not worth ruining all your hard work over.


NK x