Ditch Diets! Get Your Hands In The Dirt!

Are you tired of loosing weight, just to gain more back? Feeling restricted and hungry? What about the feelings of guilt when you inevitably cave and eat “illegal” food? It is time to…

STOP!

Diets do not work because they are not sustainable. While it is true that short-term it is very possible to drop pounds, long-term is a different story. A diet doesn’t teach you about your connection with food, it doesn’t help you to make lifestyle changes, it doesn’t get you outside in fresh air. Diets will restrict your food and make you obsess over calories, or carbs, or fat…the list goes on. I believe diets are promoting an unhealthy relationship with food, which is essentially just digging a deeper hole.

Gardening does seem like a pretty weird suggestion instead of dieting right?

 

Absolutely not. Growing a backyard veggie patch will create a very healthy and appreciative relationship with your food. It gets you outside, moving around, connecting with nature while building a spiritual practice and connection. Growing it yourself will make everything taste better, you put your love in and the veggies will love you back! Think of how much more likely you are to actually eat your fresh, FREE, organic produce when it is just outside your door. Not to mention that gardening is a life skill that we should all have and TEACH TO OUR CHILDREN.

Gardening lets you think about food in a completely new and different way, as a living being, that nourishes you. Once you start caring for plants and eating them, it is a natural transition to whole foods. Which is a much more sustainable place to be in. Building a garden is super simple and I show you how right here.

It’s time to change your relationship with food from full of guilt and anxiety, to satisfaction and pride for your home-grown delicious meals.

Talk about nourishment right?

Take In NOT Out!!

Last night I had some friends over for dinner. I wanted to make them something I knew would be very healthy, and delicious, so I made an Indian themed dinner!

I think it is very important to have dinner parties, it gets people together, and for me, since I eat clean, and not very many of my friends do, it helps me to introduce healthy, delicious foods to people who would never make them for themselves. I also get a chance to practice mindful eating techniques, saying grace, appreciating the food first, getting feedback on the flavor and smells. Just getting a conversation going about what you are eating, when you are eating.  Making it a group affair really helps to show people the importance of eating together and experiencing the food.

One problem I keep hearing is, “I don’t know how.”

I have been working in the restaurant industry, for over a decade. I also eat almost exclusively home cooked meals, and love sharing meals with  large groups of people.

That’s why I am creating a dinner party workshop.

I will come into your home and teach you and up to 7 of your friends how to create all the clean eating meals needed for a dinner party. I will leave copies of my recipes we create together, to take home with you. Once we create our beautiful feast, I will leave you to enjoy your dinner party! Instead of spending money on take out, over and over again, learn the skills to make these meals yourself to impress your friends and family. I can’t wait to share the details with all of you.

For now, try out some of these yummy recipes I ate last night!

Cilantro Mint Chutney

Cucumber Raita

Quinoa Chapatis

Squash Chickpea Curry

Squash Chickpea Curry

This curry is spicy and delicious, just a perfect winter meal!

3 tbsp green curry paste

1 onions, finely chopped

4 large stalks lemongrass

6 cardamom pods

1 tbsp black mustard seed

1 small squash (about 1kg) peeled (cut into small pieces and cut the rind off)

1/2 cup wine and 1/2 cup water

1 can reduced-fat coconut milk

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 limes

large handful mint leaves, finely chopped

Cook the onions, lemongrass, cardamom and mustard seed with a couple of tablespoons of water so it doesn’t stick, for 2-3 mins.

 Mix the squash into the pan and coat in the paste, then pour in the water, wine, and coconut milk.

Bring everything to a simmer, add the chickpeas, then cook until the squash is tender, about 10 minutes.

Just before you eat it, sprinkle with mint and the serve with some lime wedges

Cilantro Mint Chutney

Chutney is amazing with curry, but also lots of rice and bean dishes, roast meats, sandwiches, blended with salad dressings, be creative!

1 bunch of cilantro

1 1/2 cups of mint leaves

1 Serrano chile

1/2 teaspoons of sea salt

1 yellow onion, cut into chunks

1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1/2 cup of water

1/4 raw pistachio nuts

This one is easy, put everything into a blender, and blend. Then just pop into the fridge for a few hours and enjoy!

Cucumber Raita

I love, love, love raita!

It is a yogurt based condiment that helps to cool your mouth down when you are eating spicy curry. It is also a great condiment in general, I love having it on hand for spicy food, but also in sandwiches I even top salads with it.

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, finely chopped

2 green onions, finely chopped

1/4 bunch about 25 sprigs of cilantro finely chopped

1 teaspoon of ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 cup of goat yogurt

Just mix all the ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for a few hours before serving

Quinoa Chapatis

Super Simple, Super Tasty

3/4 cup of quinoa flour

1/4 cup of water

1. Knead together until you form a soft dough that stays together in a ball.

2. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

3. Take the dough out and cut into 4-6 pieces

4. On a floured surface roll out chapatis as thin as you can, about 1/8″ – 1/4″ thick

5. Cook in a hot dry pan, when the chapatis start to bubble flip them over, they should start to brown

6. Wrap chapatis in a damp cloth and leave in a warm oven until all chapatis are cooked and serve

Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is eating for reasons other than hunger, stress, boredom, sadness, and loneliness, to name a few. Actual hunger is slowly building, can be ignored for a short amount of time, and you will stop eating when you are full. Emotional hunger comes on suddenly, you feel as if you need to eat right away, and many continue to eat even after they feel full. I talked about this concept of emotional or “mind hunger” in my 10 Day Juice Fast.

Food acts as a drug to comfort or to numb feelings. An emotional eater often has feelings of overwhelm, emptiness, and dissatisfaction. They have an unhealthy relationship with food, and many emotional eaters struggle with diets, unable to stick to the rules.

Mindful eating is the process of putting intention behind they way you eat. Slowing down and savoring your food. This is so important for people who emotionally eat, because it forces you to slow down and think about what you are eating, and gives your stomach time to tell your brain you are full. Plus it builds a healthy relationship with food! Being curious and learning about your body and it’s needs is an excellent way to stop emotional eating once and for all.

Here are some ways to mindfully eat:

Start slow incorporate a few at a time

5-15 seconds be grateful for your food. For where it came from, who grew it, and yourself if you made it.

Center your energy in the middle of your body to aid digestion. Place your hands on your belly and breathe deeply and slowly.

Set an intention before to have a relaxed meal.

Light a candle.

Chew your food. 25, 50, try 100 times per bite. The more you chew, the more saliva is produced which actually create a chemical reaction that helps to break down your food more. In turn making it easier to digest and you will get more nutrients from less food.

Put your fork down between each bite.

Use chopsticks.

Use all your senses, notice how the food tastes, smells, looks, feels inside your mouth, and even how it sounds when you chew it.

Be curious, ask your body how it feels when you are eating

Ask, Am I still hungry? Slide your plate to the side and wait 10 minutes and check in, if you are still hungry, keep eating.

Save your food, keep leftovers in the fridge for the next day or later if you want.

Bean Chili

I just had one of those “I don’t have any food” moments, you know, opening the fridge 74 times, rummaging through every cupboard. With no luck, or so I thought. I revamped a bean chili and it was amazing!!

What you need:

2 cups of dried beans
1 bay leaf
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato puree
1 onion
6 garlic cloves
2 1/2 tablespoons of dried jalapeños (or 3 fresh)
2 cups of stock
ground cumin
chili powder
garlic powder
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast (optional)
juice from 3 limes
1 cup chopped cilantro

Soak white beans overnight (to be honest I used white, but use any dried bean you have, it will work the same)
Rinse beans off, cook in new water with a bay leaf, until tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Keep in mind you set a timer and walk away it’s not that long!

After cooking, strain and set aside.

*the soaking, rinsing, and cooking with a bay leaf will make the beans easily digestible also lessening your chance of gas, who knew right?*

Chop 1 onion and 6 garlic cloves, cook in a little bit of oil, or your homemade butter I know you tried out from last week 😉 Cook until tender about 3-5 minutes.
Add a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes and a can of tomato puree, the jalapeños, stock, and season with chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder to taste. I used a fair amount, keep adding and tasting until you think it tastes like chili. Add in 4 cups of cooked beans, or all the beans depending now how much is left over. Add the nutritional yeast, if using and let simmer for 25 minutes.

Then add your lime juice and cilantro, and take off the heat, and enjoy! This is a great meal to toss in the freezer, take as a packed lunch, or heat up and have with eggs as a breakfast!

 

You can see in the picture I topped this with avocado and cilantro pineapple chutney

Cilantro Pineapple Chutney

This chutney will change your perspective on condiments, if you already love them you are in for a treat!!

I really believe in cooking plain. NOT eating plain. Here is why: it’s faster to prepare, easier to recycle into new DIFFERENT tasting meals,  and everyone at the table can create their own taste sensation. That means no more cooking 4 meals. Which means more time for you and a happy healthy family!

What You Need:

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, finely diced

good chunk of ginger (2″), finely diced

2 spicy peppers (I used dehydrated jalapeños)

1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 a fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, diced

2 green apples, peeled, cored, diced

1/2 cup of finely chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

 

How You Do It:

1. cook onion over medium heat, use WATER instead of oil. Add 1-2 tablespoons at a time so the onions don’t stick. Cook for 7-8 minutes.

*this is how you fry with water, I keep a glass of water and a tablespoon by the stove and add as I need to*

2. Add the ginger, garlic, hot peppers, ground cumin, and cook for another 4 minutes.

3. Add the pineapple and apple to the pan, and remove from heat.

4. Stir in cilantro and salt and pepper.

 

 

Creamy Roasted Garlic Sauce

I must confess…

I LOVE GARLIC!

Lucky for me, it is amazing for your health!

Garlic has so many healing properties, antiviral, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and it tastes so good. It is also great for cold, flus, chest infections, digestive disorders, and fungal infections because of its healing abilities.

Since it is currently winter, and everyone and their brother is getting sick, I made creamy roasted garlic sauce.

So simple

I roasted 6 heads of garlic and one shallot, until they were soft, about 30 minutes. Squeeze them into a blender with 1 cup of almond milk a pinch of salt and pepper and blend!
Just pop in the fridge for a few hours to thicken up, this makes enough to freeze for later too.

At my house we use this as a dip, to add in eggs, add to other sauces, the list is endless. I find this a great condiment to have on hand I go through it like crazy!!