Sunday, December 30, 2012

THE YEAR THAT WAS 2012.

This year has been Phase two of my healthy lifestyle change. Phase one in 2011 was the shedding of the inital weight I had been holding onto over the course of my child bearing years. It was about building up my fitness levels again after so many years of living a more sedentary life. I gave birth to our fourth son in late 2010, having had the 4 boys in just under 7 years. I began 2011 slowly recovering from my Hysterectomy feeling lethargic, flabby and generally unhappy within myself. My body was showing the signs of stress that the mutiple pregnancies had taken on me.

For others undertaking a lifestyle change either currently or for the beginning of 2013 you may like to use my approach to help you along the way. I have seen my personal lifestyle changes as a 3 Phase approach and I've found this has helped keep me on track along the way.

Phase One is the commencement and starts by making small manageable changes to your diet and everyday routine. Set yourself a realistic goal or small goals along the course of the year. You might like to write them down as a reminder to yourself or just visualise what it is you are hoping to achieve. Some small changes you may want to start with are as follows:

  • Buy yourself a new water bottle with a 600ml plus capacity. Look for BPA free products such as stainless steel or Tupperware plastic.
  • Get into the habit of taking the water with you everywhere you go. Ensure you drink at least 2 full bottles per day, sipping frequently throughout the day.
  • Add a couple of lemon slices to your water bottle which will not only give your immune system a boost and digestive system a flushout but will give your water a lovely fresh, sweet taste.
  • Start every day with a substantial breakfast within half an hour of waking. If you are a cereal fan try swapping for other choices for a few days a week. Great options include natural yoghurt (topped with chia seeds, fruit and a drizzle of maple syrup or honey), banana smoothie or eggs and smoked salmon with tomato or mushrooms.
  • Invest in a good quality Food processor. Many of my recipes are made using a Thermomix but you can manage using your own basic kitchen items if you have a good quality Food processor. Making many of your meals and snacks from scratch means you are in control of the amount of fats, sugars and salt in your diet and can easily substitute healthier options. If you are time poor you might like to invest in good quality storage containers (I am a massive Tupperware fan) so you can make things in bulk and freeze them for time-saving purposes.
  • Invest in a Juice Extractor. Substituting snacks and meals with a healthy fresh juice can be a great way to kick off your new healthier lifestyle. I regularly juice and believe it helps my digestion, clears my skin and gives me energy. I find it especially beneficial when sick or during a busy period like Christmas when I'm burning the candle at both ends a little more than usual. Juicing is a particularly good choice for post-alcohol occasions when the liver needs a rest and assistance in flushing out the toxins.
  • Start walking at least 3 times a week. The amount of time you spend isn't totally important, just getting your body moving and heart rate up will help to gradually build your fitness. Even a 15 minute walk or jog can improve your muscle tone and assist with weight loss. I started walking for around 15 minutes a few times a week early this year and am now able to run/jog between 2 and 5 kms a few times a week. Get aquainted with your neighbourhood, grab some friends to join you for a walk at least once a week and allow yourself thinking time on your walk. I find I come home from my run feeling much clearer in the head from the time I've had alone with my thoughts.
  • Reduce the amount of chemical household cleaners you have in your home. Did you know that pure vinegar can be used in a spray bottle as a multi-purpose cleaner? It is highly effective in killing germs, bacteria and most mould. It is also very inexpensive when compared to kitchen, bathroom and other standard cleaners. You can also add a little bicarb soda to the vinegar to make a paste to clean more stubborn stains in your kitchen, bathroom, etc. Don't forget the best way to kill off salmonella and other dangerous bacteria is by using good old fashioned hot water, dishwash liquid and a scrubbing brush.  You can also add a couple of drops of eucalyptus oil to your cleaning cloth or to a spray bottle of water if you're looking for a lovely smelling home. Wipe your surfaces down first with a spray of the vinegar and eucalypt cloth or spray the eucalypt mist in your bathroom or toilet for a greener, safer option to nasty chemical based air fresheners. Making these changes to our home has together with dietary changes greatly decreased the asthma, hayfever and sickness in our home. Give it a try, I guarantee you won't go back to the chemicals!
Having come to the end of my Phase two (a period of increased exercise, greater control over diet and the return to a healthy BMI) I am now looking to 2013 for Phase three, what I see as the final challenge to my healthy lifestyle change. 2013 is for me about maintaining my healthy weight, keeping myself in optimal health with minimal sickness within the family and toning the last of my trouble spots.

Stay tuned for an upcoming blog where I will provide you with even more tips on increasing your good health and well-being! Thanks for following along in the short time I have been blogging with you so far and I look forward to hearing all your own stories of vitality in the new year!



Tuesday, December 25, 2012

PREVENTING POST-CHRISTMAS PIGOUTS!

Hi everyone,

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas spent with family and friends! I had an awesome day, spending time with my loved ones at my Mum and Dad's home. The aircon, pool and great company kept us all happy and there sure was more than enough food to go around! I was still a little cautious with my choices but then I am one of those crazy people that get excited when there's more than 3 salads to choose from!

If your family is anything like ours chances you were loaded up with left-overs to take home and you're now at Boxing Day wondering what on Earth you are going to do with half a kg of ham or a kilo of prawns!

One of the best 'healthy' choices you can make with most Christmas leftovers whether it be turkey, chicken, prawns or ham is to make yourself lots of tasty salads! There's minimal fuss, limited dishes to wash up afterwards and that way you're eating your proteins with lots of good healthy greens and vegetables. All you need to do is pop into your greengrocer and grab some salad leaves, cherry or standard tomatoes, cucumber and whatever other choices take your fancy. Don't forget to grab some lemon to make an easy dressing and some chilli too if you don't mind a bit of heat in your dressing!

Here are 2 of my favourite home-made salad dressings that you can use with most salads. The lemon dressing is particularly good if you're making a prawn or fish salad!

LEMON & CHILLI DRESSING

2 small chillies (omit if you don't like heat or use only 1)
Juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp of coconut oil (grapeseed or light olive oil will work)
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste

Process chillies in your Thermomix or Food processor
Add the other ingredients and mix on low speed or shake in bottle
Store in cupboard in well sealed bottle or container.

SWEET BALSAMIC DRESSING

2 tbsp of White wine vinegar
4 tbsp of Oil of your choice
2 tbsp of Balsamic glaze
2 tbsp Agave syrup
Salt & pepper to taste

Add ingredients together and mix well in a bottle.
Store in cupboard in well sealed bottle or container.

Another healthy option for using up leftover proteins is adding them to a variety of chopped vegetables (pre-cook heavy vegetables like potatoes), adding either a watered down pasta sauce or white sauce, covering with a sprinkle of low fat cheese and bake in a moderate oven for approx 20 mins or until the vegetables soften and the cheese looks golden and bubbly.

A yummy take on this using prawns is add a little smoked salmon (if desired), capers, diced potatoes and green beans with a white sauce mixed with a little low-fat sour cream and topping with the cheese to bake.

Today so far we've had a prawn salad with the chilli lemon dressing and tonight we're having home-made sushi with the rest of the prawns. Tomorrow I am making a ham, cheese and vegetable omelette and another salad!




Monday, December 10, 2012

EATING HEALTHY ON THE RUN!

Some of the best laid healthy eating plans can be thrown off course just simply from passing the good old golden arches at a time when your hunger pains are screaming out to eat anything in sight. Drive-throughs were once my friend, a quick and easy meal or snack on the run or something to use as a bargaining tool to quieten the kiddies down when on the road. The biggest problem with places like Maccas, KFC, Red Rooster and the likes are they make it TOO easy to stop and grab a quick fix.

Once you start crossing off the drive-through off your list of go-to places for dinner or a munch on the run you start asking yourself, where else could I stop and grab something quickly that will satisfy me for a bit? Instantly you're getting yourself out of what I think of as the 'danger zone' and into places you can make far healthier choices from. I use drive-through now on a very rare occasion and find the less I eat of those foods the less I feel I want or need them. Once you break the habit it's easier not to see it as a temptation, that goes the same for all unhealthy foods!

Here are a list of some of your other options you could make if you find yourself desperate to grab lunch, dinner or a snack on the run:

  • First, it goes without saying taking a piece of fruit or a little container of dried fruit and raw nuts is a really smart choice. Pop into your handbag or car console and it's there when you need it.
  • Stopping at a fuel station these days doesn't have to be a bad choice but beware there are temptations everywhere. Go in with the mindset that you are going to buy a piece of fruit, a yoghurt, a packet of rice crackers or even an Up and Go drink and forget the lollies and ice-creams calling out your name.
  • Sushi can be a really healthy and filling option. Try the tuna, salmon, avocado or skin-free chicken rolls as a healthier choice but even 1 or 2 of the others is a far better choice than a big mac or nuggets!
  • Subway are a good choice but if you are gluten free or low gluten most people don't seem to know that you can get a salad made to your liking in a decent sized bowl. Adding in some skin-free chicken or lean ham and asking for only a dash of dressing (or none at all) will add flavour and fill you up for at least a good couple of hours.
  • Stopping by a BOOST to grab a low fat smoothie or fruit/vegie blend juice is a great way of adding to your fruit/vegie daily requirement whilst keeping you going til lunch or dinner.
  • Sumo Salad have some amazing lunch options and there seems to be a growing number of them in many Food courts these days. They not only have salad, but you can also grab a healthy pasta dish packed with vegies, fruit salad and yoghurt, even mini bread rolls filled with healthy choices.
  • Stopping into your greengrocers for some grapes, cherry tomatoes, apples, etc to snack on can be a great choice for not only yourself but also your kids if you have them. We often take a lunch box with us filled with fruit for a snack on the go.
  • If you're in the mood for some chinese look no further than some of the soups. Chicken and sweetcorn soup is very filling, not to mention nutritious. It's also cheap and is also usually ready to go quite quickly.
  • Japanese usually has a number of healthy options that won't break the bank either. Things like rice-paper rolls and sashimi can be nutrient packed, tasty and easy to eat on the run!
At the end of the day fast food places can be handy and have their place in our lives, it just doesn't have to be as prominent as what they are today. What's wrong with just using it as an infrequent visit coming home late from a christmas party or an easy stop whilst on holiday or a long roadtrip? Believe me I know it's not always easy removing the drive-through from your normal routine each week, heck I live one street from Maccas, but the sooner you remove it from your eating options the sooner you'll get your healthy eating back on track!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

STAYING HYDRATED & ANGIE'S SUGAR FREE CORDIAL

With the warmer weather upon us it really is time to keep the fluids up. I'm sure you've all heard to drink 2L of water every day. Not only is it important for good organ function but new research is proving that drinking plentiful supplies of water can play an important role in helping to improve your metabolic rate. The easiest way to ensure you're getting enough water each and every day is to take a water bottle with you everywhere you go. I've been doing so ever since I was a young girl and suffered some kidney issues and now if I forget to take my bottle with me it's like I left a leg at home!

In addition to water you can try some other refreshments to keep it a little more interesting. Try adding a couple of slices of lemon to your drink bottle for a nice change. Drinking lemon water can help to boost your immune levels, assists your liver to digest fats more efficiently and helps to release toxins from your body.

I am a massive fan of juicing regularly and found this particularly helpful in my earlier days of losing weight when I was trying to cut my meal portion sizes down. Back when I was 30kgs heavier than now I would juice first thing in the morning and store in the fridge for drinking during the day. I would start with a light breakfast, drink a large glass of fresh vegetable/fruit blend juice for morning tea, have a light lunch, another glass of juice for afternoon tea, then dinner followed by one last juice at night if I was looking for a late sweet snack. A good juice for those starting out is 1 bag of apples, 3 carrots, 2 celery sticks, 1 peeled lemon and one thumb sized ginger piece. That should make enough juice for 1-2 people per day. When drinking fresh juice you can reduce your 2L water goal down a little as fruit and vegetables generally have a high water content to them.

A new family favourite here for Summer is my Sugar Free cordial. This cordial is really nothing like store-bought cordial, in that it has no added sugar, is high in vitamins and minerals, is thirst quenching and immune boosting! You will need a juicer to make this and whilst I use my Thermomix (TM) for pureeing the berries you can do this in your blender or food processor (FP) without a problem.

ANGIE'S SUGAR FREE APPLE-BERRY CORDIAL

1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries (strawberries will work too)
2 bags of apples (1 kg bags)
2 lemons (peeled)
1 thumb sized piece of ginger
Agave syrup (to taste)
Stevia drops (in addition to agave if you wish, to taste)

Start by processing your berries in your TM or FP.
Place the apples, ginger and lemon through your juicing machine.
Add juice to pureed berries in the TM or FP and add a good splash of agave syrup (stevia too if you wish).
Give this a quick whiz on a low setting.
Pour into an air-tight container and add equal quantity of water to the juice concentrate.
Taste test and add a little extra agave if required.
Don't forget to give the container a good shake before serving each time.

Don't be scared to try your own flavour combinations. I served this to friends today and they all loved it. One friend suggested it would be great to add to sparkling mineral water to make it a little extra special for special occasions.






Sunday, December 2, 2012

MAPLE ROASTED MACADAMIA NUTS

Have you ever bought those honey roasted nuts from the shops? Have you read the back of the packet? Not only do they add sugar to them but they also add things like preservatives and anti-caking agents. I bet most of you didn't realise how easy it is to make something similar at home in your oven, in less than 30 mins!

My recipe below can be altered to whatever nut you prefer and you can use any type of liquid sweetener you prefer. My favourites are maple syrup and agave. Don't forget some sweeteners are lower in calories, higher in nutritional value and stronger in flavour so you use less of them. You can read more about natural sweeteners HERE if you haven't previously read my sugar alternatives post.

MAPLE ROASTED MACADAMIA NUTS

INGREDIENTS:

Raw Macadamia nuts (preferably organic)
100% pure maple syrup (preferably organic)
Himalayan Salt (or table salt)

Preheat oven to 160 degrees
Line a baking tray with baking paper
Spread out enough nuts to cover the tray
Drizzle your maple syrup over the nuts (use a slotted spoon for a more even drizzle)
Sprinkle a little salt over the nuts
Roast in oven for 10 mins then drizzle a little more maple, a little more salt & stir the nuts around
Roast for a further 20 mins but keep checking regularly to avoid burning.
You will eventually get to know your own oven and how crunchy you want the nuts
When nice & brown remove the nuts from tray, leave to cool on a wire rack (with baking paper underneath still)
When cooled down then transfer to a container and you can shake the nuts to separate them more if need be.

These are a family favourite and never seem to last longer than a day or two here!





HEALTHY HOME-MADE GOURMET DIPS!

Christmas is just around the corner which means lots of parties and family get togethers. One of the best ways you can help bring along something to share and control what it is that you're snacking on is by making your own home-made dips to take along. Sure it seems easier to just grab a dip from the supermarket aisle but have you ever considered just how nutritious that dip really is?

Many of your store bought dips can be high in fat, high in salt, sugar or contain very little of the foods that keep you feeling full for longer. If you are really time-poor and do need to grab one of those dips your best choices are either Low fat Hommus (high in chickpea fibre, low in saturated fat, rich in protein and folate, garlic is great for immune boosting qualities) or Low fat Tzatziki (high in protein and calcium from the yogurt, low in saturated fat, garlic for immune boosting qualities) but it really doesn't take too much preparation to make your own fresh, healthy dips. Here are some of my favourites to make at home:

If you are not using a Thermomix (TM) then I recommend using a good quality Food processor (FP). You should get a very similar result!



SMOKED SALMON DIP

INGREDIENTS:

100g Smoked salmon
250g tub low fat cream cheese
2 tsp capers
2 tbsp low fat natural yoghurt

Whiz your salmon first until finely chopped (Speed 6, 3 seconds if using TM)
Add cream cheese, natural yoghurt and capers
Whiz again until desired consistency (Speed 5, 15 seconds if using TM)
If you would like it smoother and runnier then just add extra yoghurt but I prefer mine quite thick to stick to my crackers/cheese. (This tastes awesome with the Fantastic Sweet chilli rice crackers.)
Serve with low fat crackers/rice crackers.

This dip provides a great source of calcium, a boost of vitamins and minerals and high Omega source.

GUACAMOLE DIP

INGREDIENTS:

2 ripe avocadoes (close to over-ripe is good)
1 large or 2 small tomatoes
1 garlic clove (if desired)
Juice of half a small lemon
1 tbsp low fat natural yoghurt
Sprinkle of Himalayan Salt (or table salt)
Sprinkle of Cracked black pepper (if desired)
Hungarian sweet paprika (1/2 a tsp is about what I use)

First process your tomato and garlic in the TM or FP and drain off excess liquid.
Squeeze half a small lemon.
Scoop out avocado flesh and place into TM or FP with all other ingredients.
Whiz on a low speed for a few seconds or until desired consistency.
Try not to overprocess too much as this is best served slightly chunky.
Best served with low salt corn chips. I love Flannery's own brand of corn chips, nice and big for scooping but low in salt and no added flavours/colours.



CASHEW TOMATO DIP

INGREDIENTS:

1 garlic clove
100g raw organic cashews
100g Semi-dried tomatoes
30g or 3 tbsp Coconut oil (or olive oil)
20g or 2 tbsp White wine vinegar (or lemon juice)
Sprinkle of parmesan cheese
Sprinkle of himalayan salt (or table salt)
Sprinkle of cracked black pepper (if desired)

Crush garlic clove or chop in TM for 3 seconds first.
Add all remaining ingredients into your TM (Turbo twice for chunky or 3 times for smoother) or into your FP on high until desired consistency.
This tastes great with low salt corn chips or rice crackers and/or served with carrot/celery sticks.