Time saving tips for meal preparation.

Hi everyone, sorry it's been so long since my last blog post. I tend to update my Facebook page more frequently but have been a bit time poor to write a new post here for a while! Homeschooling 4 boys, helping my hubby run his business, studying and trying to keep fit and active means I'm left with little spare time some weeks.


Anyway, I'm busy in my kitchen whilst I type this and I had a great idea for some this blog, providing some time saving tips to help with meal preparation in your kitchen at home. If you're time poor, wanting to provide your family with the healthiest meals possible and wanting to ensure you've got less wastage in your kitchen then these handy hints may help you out.

1. Plan ahead: I'm not the kind of Mum that plans out meals days or weeks in advance but I do find it helps if I have a meal in mind at the start of the day. Most mornings I do a morning run that takes me past my local shops. It's here that sometimes I gain inspiration for meals and buy the ingredients I'll need if I know I don't have them at home. Other days when I'm out and about (you could do this on your way home from work even) I make a quick stop at my local fish market to grab some seafood for dinner. I also find picking up a simple BBQ chicken can make a good base for many dishes, with an added benefit of cutting cooking time down and you can use the leftover chicken in sandwiches/omelette/fried rice for lunch the next day!
2. Soak your rice to cut cooking time: If you plan on doing a rice dish for dinner just weigh the rice and pop into a container with water covering the rice and leave to soak for the day. This cuts cooking time down, especially when using brown or wild rice (both are much better nutritionally).
3. Prepare extra vegies with dinner for next day's lunch: If you're roasting or steaming vegies for dinner (say for a Moroccan couscous, curry or stirfry) you can do a few extra vegies and keep them aside to add into a salad the following day. Tonight I'm making a vegetarian curry with roasted sweet potatoes, potatoes, parsnips and carrots. I'm saving some of these to combine with salad leaves, chopped herbs, fetta cheese and walnuts for tomorrow's salad! Beetroot are awesome when roasted with dinner and then added the next day to a salad with goat's cheese or fetta and walnuts too. Yum!
4. Never underestimate how quick a soup can be: If you're searching for a quick and easy meal for dinner don't forget that using up any vegies you've got at home or even stopping at your local greengrocer on your way home to pick up a pumpkin can help you to produce a very nutritious soup with minimal effort. See next tip for quick ways to add flavour.
5. Pre-chop flavour enhancers: Chop up your frequently used fresh herbs and spring onions (I separate the white ends from the green thin tops), pop them into a well sealed container and keep them on hand in the fridge. I use these things daily in my cooking to boost the flavour and it cuts prep time down considerably when they're chopped all ready to go.
6. Use leftover pasta: Whether you use traditional pasta, wholemeal or gluten-free (like I use) you can cook a little extra pasta easily with your dinner. Keep it aside and add to a simple salad and even add in a small tin of tuna and you've got a filling and delicious lunch for tomorrow. It changes the meal enough so you're not bored of classic old leftovers the next day! Same can be said for rice too ;)

There's just a few handy hints I use to cut down on quick takeaway meals, to keep our wastage down and therefore save money and to ensure my family are getting healthy meals throughout a busy week!


(Sorry for lack of photo, Blogger is giving me problems)

TREATING WINTER BUGS THE NATURAL WAY! (UPDATED APRIL 2014)

This time last year I bloged about some of the natural ways you can treat yourself if happen to get sick this coming Winter. Let's face it, we're not invincible, but I'm pretty sure majority of us want it over as quick as possible when it does strike. Here's some tips that may help you this Winter.

• Start treatments at the very first sign of sickness. Don't wait til you're flat out in bed cos chances are you'll have no energy to get yourself prepared and end up relying on quick fixes like Panadol or Codral which in most cases in only masking the effects, not helping! Stock up on the following things:

1. Jar of Manuka honey (minimum strength UMF 10+) or raw Bush jelly honey
2. Jar of ground cinnamon
3. Jar of Organic Extra virgin Coconut oil
4. Small vial of pure Eucalyptus oil
5. Pure Vinegar
6. Aloe tissues
7. Good quality Australian or spanish garlic
8. Bag of lemons
9. Plain natural yoghurt
10. Coconut water

• Most illnesses start with a sore throat, especially in young children or those prone to throat infections (I'm in that category being a mouth breather and no longer having tonsils). At the first sign of a sore throat grab yourself a teaspoon of manuka (10+ UMF) or organic raw honey and place into the back part of your mouth, sitting against the throat. Leave it there for a good couple of minutes or as long as you can keep it there for. Swallow slowly and repeat dose when the soreness returns. First 2 days of sickness aim to repeat this at least 3 times a day! Don't forget the old remedy of a warm honey and lemon drink can be wonderful for a sore throat and foggy head too!

• Once the illness has attacked your throat it's most likely going to move onto your nose. Make sure you have a box of soft tissues and a bottle of pure eucalyptus oil. Place a drop of the oil onto a tissue and sniff regularly. To ease a stuffy nose place a few mls of the oil into a bowl of steaming hot water and place your head over with a towel covering. Inhale sitting over the bowl for at least 10 mins and repeat this twice daily. Be careful not to open your eyes over the bowl as it will sting!

• Whilst you're at it with the Eucalyptus oil, grab a clean cloth, moisten and add a couple of drops of the oil to the cloth. Wipe over all surfaces you commonly touch, such as door handles, bathroom tap handles, computer keyboard, phone, etc. This will help prevent the spread of germs to other people in the family. There's nothing worse than just starting to feel better and then having to play nurse to your children or husband!

• Once the illness has moved to your head and chest you're usually in the last phases but it's at this point you may feel your worst! If you feel a cough coming on add a little ground cinnamon to your manuka honey on a spoon to dissolve in your mouth!

• You can make a very simple home-made chest rub by adding a teaspoon of pure Eucalyptus oil to approx half a cup of coconut oil. Stir together and store in an airtight container in a cool pantry cupboard or in the fridge to keep it fairly solid. This chest rub is petrochemical free, inexpensive and easy to make up once you have the basic supplies on hand. You'll find similar products at the chemist but majority are vaseline based which is derived from petrochemicals. Coconut oil is a less harsh base for your skin, especially for young children or those with sensitive skin.

• One of the best things you can do when are sick is stay at home and get plenty of rest, plenty of water, drink small snacks throughout the day (grapes, mandarins, crackers with nut spread are all handy food to stock up on when you start to feel run down). You're not a superhero if you go to work whilst sick, chances are you're going to be less productive and run the risk of passing to other work members which means they'll just end up passing onto their family too. If you spend a day or two keeping yourself as well as can be you'll find you recover much quicker and have less severe symptoms.

• Eat loads of garlic! Boost your immunity now in the lead up to Winter! Add garlic to all your food and if you can handle it lightly crush it and eat a clove every few hours. Choose fresh Australian or spanish garlic (purple/biege in colour), not the Chinese ultra white variety. The extra white garlic looks more pure and fresh but in actual fact it is bleached to look that way!!

• If you happen to come across a nasty tummy bug in your household I can't stress highly enough how important it is to clean all surfaces that may have come into contact with the person who is sick. We use a spray bottle filled with a small amount (5ml) of Eucalyptus oil, half pure white vinegar and water. If you can try and keep the patient away from the rest of the family. Set up a spare room if they normally share a bedroom with someone. Provide them with books, magazines, movies, etc and keep them in bed for at least 24 hrs after they've thrown up.

• For tummy bugs: Administer fluids in small increments. A glass of coconut water with a teaspoon of Manuka honey dissolved (warm slightly to dissolve easier) makes a terrific natural electrolyte drink. Whilst still vomiting only give one sip every 5 minutes. You can increase this as the vomiting reduces. Once starting to recover you may also find that 2 tsp of plain natural yoghurt a couple of times a day will help to restore the good gut bacteria. Using this method we often avoid all 6 of our family members coming down with a tummy bug. When someone does get sick (which is sometimes unavoidable with 4 boys aged 3-10 yrs) we usually find that they recover within 12-24 hrs using these steps. I avoid giving the boys any food for at least 6 hrs after vomiting, increasing slowly up til the 24hr mark.

• I choose to use Homeopathic remedies to treat myself and the family on occasion. I'm aware that Homeopathy is not everyone's cup of tea. I can tell you that in the last 2 years our family have not taken a single panadol, nurofen, strepsil, codral, in fact no conventional medication besides Ventolin for asthma as required. I use the following Owen Homeopathic pills in small doses when the body needs a little help recovering: Aconite for a mild sore throat/cough/headache, Belladonna for a harsh sore throat/cough/headache, Gelsemenium for a runny nose, Nux Vomica for an upset tummy. These are a just a few of my collection of natural homeopathic remedies. The only real side effect I have noticed is that taking 4 or more Aconite or Belladonna at a time can cause slight drowsiness. I only give one pill at a time to the children for this reason. Keeping our stock of remedies costs us no more than $200 per year which includes the occasional use for Hayfever related causes (4 of the 6 of our family members have Hayfever). Prior to switching to this type of treatment we were spending close to $1000 per year on both prescription and over the counter medications. Our medicine cupboard resembled a Pharmacy!

Best of luck this Winter! We've already encountered a mild cold a few weeks ago this but luckily our natural remedy approach meant we managed to keep it to only a few family members and with little disruption to our normal lives. Take care xx

RAW CHOCOLATE AMARANTH SLICE

Every now and then I come up with a new recipe that is so good to I decide I should blog it for easy reference, as opposed to just putting it on my Angie's Healthy Kitchen Facebook page. This is one of those!

If you've made my Choc goodness balls before and enjoyed them then you are bound to love this raw slice recipe. It's even easier to make as you won't need to spend any time rolling the balls. You just push it into a rectangle tray and pop it in the freezer to set quickly.

This slice uses Amaranth, a gluten free grain that is super charged with protein! It has more protein per gram than wheat or oats and roughly twice as much protein as rice. It contains lysine, a crucial amino acid, it is high in calcium, iron, fibre and is very easily digested in the body. Amaranth is lower in carbohydrates than most other gluten free grains, including brown rice. In short, if you haven't considered eating this powerpacked grain then give this slice a try to start yourself off.

TM=Thermomix
FP=Use a food processor instead of a TM

RAW CHOCOLATE AMARANTH SLICE

Ingredients:

60g Puffed Amaranth
50g Shredded Coconut
80g Sunflower seeds (any seeds can do also, think sesame, pepita, etc)
80g Raw almonds (substitute for other nut or various seeds for nut free)
50g Raw Cacao powder (can opt for 30g for less chocolatey flavour)
120g Raw Cacao butter (or coconut oil if preferred)
120-150g Raw Honey (depends on how much a sweet tooth you are)

• Melt cacao butter first (I use the TM for this on Temp 80 for approx 2 mins)
• Add almonds into TM or FP and roughly chop to desired size (I blitz mine for 3 secs on Spd 4)
• Add remaining ingredients and process for approx 10 seconds or until the mixture combines.
• You'll know when it's well mixed as it will stick together and the sound of the machine changes!
• Line your tray with baking paper and push the mixture into a small rectangular dish (a slice sized baking tray is perfect) and pop in the freezer to set for at least 30 mins before serving. Make sure it's pushed down well so it will set hard into a slice.
• Pop out onto a chopping board and slice widthways and then lengthways into small squares and they are ready to serve.
• Keep in fridge or freezer in airtight container.
• Enjoy!

These would keep well in a kids lunchbox alongside a frozen water bottle or frozen popper juice. Just tell your children to eat it first lunch so it doesn't soften too much ;)

Apologise for the photo, I will put up one of the slice when cut up next time. My kids ate all the slice on the weekend and I didn't get a chance to take a pic of it after being put in the freezer!

NEW PRODUCT REVIEW - POWERSTART SMOOTHIE MIX

Last year I was fortunate enough to meet with a very helpful Naturopath by the name of Jason Olderoy who operates his business under the name Vital Longevity. He recommended I give his new product a try and suggested it could help give me a natural boost in energy levels and also possibly alleviate my hayfever symptoms that were very much troubling me on a daily basis. I figured it was worth giving his Powerstart breakfast alternative a go and haven't stopped using it since!

Within a few short weeks I noticed my allergy symptoms (both asthma and hayfever) were steadily improving. My need for the multitude of medications and remedies lessened to the point where I no longer need to take the Claratyne, Rhinocort and Visine eye drops I had taken daily for years on end. Not only that but I honestly felt amazing. As I further improved my overall diet the Powerstart remained part of my daily diet and still does to this day. For more information as to how I include this in my diet you can refer to my previous blog post here > http://angieshealthykitchen.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/going-gluten-free-my-healthy-breakfast.html

Exciting news is that Jason has created a new product that I've been able to try out just as it's being released. It's called POWERSTART SMOOTHIE MIX. Just like the breakfast alternative it's been designed to complement a healthy diet and provide important antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that may be lacking. It also contains Bee Pollen which is the component I believe has helped me immensely with my Hayfever and asthma symptoms. The ingredients of this mix are Bee pollen, goji berries, astragalus, withania, maitake, colostrum, cinnamon, cocoa, fig, carob and date.

I tried this smoothie mix today and gave some to my ultimate taste testers ( my 4 sons) and we all thought it was delicious. This is what I put the smoothie mix with:

2 Tbsp Powerstart Smoothie mix
500 mls Unsweetened almond milk (can use any milk)
50 mls Dark organic agave syrup (can be substituted for honey, maple syrup)
1 Tbsp pure organic Vanilla essence
1 tray of ice cubes

I whizzed this in my Thermomix on high speed for approx 30 seconds. You could use a blender or even a smoothie shaker bottle.

I purchase the Powerstart range from Flannery's foodstores but they are stocked throughout many other health food stores. Like the Vital Longevity Facebook page for updates on when this product will be released to stores!

THE MANY BENEFITS OF COCONUT WATER! Tropical smoothie recipe!

Chances are if you haven't been hiding under a rock this past year or two you've heard about something called Coconut Water? Of course the name pretty much gives away what it is exactly, water from the coconut!

Coconut water is the nutrient dense liquid found in the centre of a young green coconut. It should not be confused with coconut milk or cream which come from the coconut meat of the plant itself.

If you haven't started including coconut water into your diet here's some reasons why you should really consider doing so:

• Coconut water is naturally loaded with electrolytes. It is great to drink particularly in warmer seasons when your body requires more hydration through increased perspiration. Those who participate in sports or physical activity of any description during Summer should be aiming to replace lost fluids via the use of a good electrolyte drink. Forget Powerade and Gatorade and get onto the real stuff!
• Coconut water contains only a small amount of fats but they are the healthier mono-unsaturated fats which can actually help to lower your cholesterol
• It contains potassium, magnesium, calcium, sodium and phosphorus.
• It can provide your body with a good boost of energy as it contains a natural form of glucose that your body easily recognises and processes

Here's a delicious smoothie recipe using Coconut water that you may like to try:

TROPICAL SMOOTHIE (Makes approx 4 serves)

1 x 330ml Tetra pak Coconut water
Approx 250 mls organic almond milk (or any milk or more coconut water)
2 large bananas
1 kiwi fruit (or passionfruit or a few strawberries)
3 tbsp Natural yoghurt
3 tbsp organic raw agave, raw honey or maple syrup (omit/reduce if you prefer less sweet)

Process altogether in your Thermomix or blender.
Add ice before processing if you prefer it icy cold!

BRING ON SPRING!

It's that time of the year again when the trackies and jeans get pushed to the back of the wardrobe and you start pulling out the shorts and swimwear. If you're anything like most of us this is usually a reminder that there's no hiding underneath the baggy jumpers anymore and the time has come to whip that body back into Spring/Summer shape!

My best advice for this month is to start slowly, ease yourself back into focusing on your body and wellbeing. If you're anything like me it's easy to get a little depressed if you find your Summer wardrobe a little tight or if you're looking a little ghostly. Think about this for a moment. Winter was 3 months long. Perhaps you slipped into comfort eating even before Winter hit? It might realistically take a month or two to get things back on track and that's fine.

Here's some simple things you can do to kickstart yourself back into Summer mode. Along with a little sunshine each day (essential for Vitamin D and consequently Calcium absorption) try keeping a record of your progress throughout this month. Get started with these tips below and I'll be back early October to give you the next set of things you can do to feel confident enough to get back into your swimmers come Summer, if not before ;)

2L Water: The first thing you should focus on each and every day is drinking 2 Litres of water. Water is essential for the overall function of your body and to assist the body in removing toxins effectively from the body. For more information on the importance of keeping your fluids up you can read an earlier blog post of mine here >> http://angieshealthykitchen.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/staying-hydrated-angies-sugar-free.html
You can easily keep track of the amount of water you are drinking by measuring the quantity of your drink bottle (if unknown) and calculating how many refills you'll need per day. Each time you refill just place a tick in the water column for that day. Easy!

2 Serves of Fruit and 5 serves of Vegies per day: Eating 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables helps to provide your body with the essential vitamins and minerals you need to keep healthy. Eating a good variety of fruit and vegetables protects you against disease, assists in warding off cancer, maintains a healthy immune system, provides you with dietary fibre for a healthy digestive system and can help sustain your appetite for effective weight management.

It's important to understand what constitutes a serving size when referring to fruit and vegetables. Examples of one serve are a small apple, a banana, an orange, a small carrot, half a dozen mushrooms, half a capsicum, a small tomato, a handful of corn kernels or legumes such as red kidney beans.

It's easy to incorporate this into your daily food intake if you are choosing fresh wholefoods for most your meals and snacks. You could opt to eat a piece of fruit for morning and afternoon tea and you'd have your 2 serves of fruit done without even thinking about it! Choosing a cooked breakfast with tomato, mushrooms and avocado is another easy way of bumping up your quota. You could load up an omelette, soup, salad, stirfry or pasta dish with an extra vegie or two than what you would normally use. Tick off your weekly planner each time you eat a serving of fruit and vegies so you can easily see how many more servings you need towards the end of the day. It could be enough incentive to whip up a guacamole dip or a fresh fruit salad for dessert if you know you haven't quite reached your daily goal!

Exercise: Using 30 minutes as a target for your daily exercise is a good start. Don't forget that this 30 minutes can be broken down into 2 or 3 sessions throughout the day to fit into a busy schedule. You could take a 10-15 minute walk before or after work, take your dog for a walk, join a Zumba class with a friend, take a swim at your local pool, go for a bushwalk on your work free days. Regular exercise is the key to increasing your fitness levels and helping to tone up your body for Summer. If you're working up a sweat and getting that heart rate up you're doing yourself the world of good!

Quite often we get so caught up with the 'rules' of a healthy lifestyle that it can seem impossible to maintain. Those people who have spent many years living a sedentary lifestyle and reaching for convenient foods over good, fresh, wholesome food can easily become accustomed to thinking a change towards a healthier way of living is far too daunting. It can be easy to feel like a failure if you have a set-back in the early stages.

One of the best ways to see real results in the way you feel and look is to make small changes gradually over time. This isn't a competition, there's no medal for first place. Forget about the facts and figures, especially in the beginning. Take a front on photo for your own personal records, take your weight if you wish and then forget monitoring and measuring every few days. Start with the basics that I've outlined above, drink plenty of water, eat your daily quota for fruit and vegetables and incorporate at least 30 minutes of exercise into each and every day. If you do just these things to begin with you have given yourself the best start. You can build on those changes each month until it's all just automatic. There's no use wasting your time following a program that gives you great results initially doing something you know you can't maintain long term. We all know people who have done exactly that and what happens when the momentum stops? They end right back up where they started! Make simple changes that become lifelong healthy habits and you will never feel like you're fighting a losing battle.

I'll be back towards the end of September/early October to give you a follow up with some more simple steps you can add to your daily life. Please excuse me if I'm a little quiet this month as I've got a few assignments due (I'm currently studying Nutrition). Enjoy the warmer weather, I know I will.

HOMEMADE RAW CHOCOLATES AND DAIRY FREE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE DIP

There's loads of raw chocolate recipes going around on the net these days but neverthless for those of you that haven't given it a go at home I thought I'd add my little version here for you!

I supervised the boys make these today at home. For those of you who don't know me personally, I homeschool my 4 boys (aged 3, 4, 8 and 10). This was a nice teamwork activity which involved measuring (Maths), reading (Language), discussing melting temperatures (Science) and using our Thermomix (Technology).

You can make this recipe at home with or without a Thermomix. Grate the cacao butter manually with a grater or using a food processor and *melt it in a metal bowl held over another bowl of steaming hot water to replicate the methods I used in my Thermomix. The ingredients will all remain the same!

HOME-MADE RAW CHOCOLATES

Ingredients:

125g Raw Cacao butter (bought from health food stores)
20g Raw Cacao powder (more for darker, richer flavour)
50g Natural sweetener of your choice (try agave, maple syrup or honey)
a pinch of salt

Method:

Cut cacao butter into small pieces and place into Thermomix (or use grater, FP)
Place in TM on speed 6 until finely grated.
Melt at 37 deg setting for approx 3-5 mins on Speed 2-3. (*or melt as per above instructions)
(You may need to increase the temp in TM on a cooler day, set in 1 min increments to be sure you don't heat too high)
Once completely melted and in liquid form add your sweetener and salt.
Mix on low speed for a few seconds til well combined.
Add Cacao powder and mix well for approx 30 secs on Speed 3.
Pour into chocolate moulds or baking paper lined tray. You could also dip strawberries into the chocolate and leave to set on a baking paper lined tray.
Place into fridge for at least 30 mins and check before removing from mould.
Leave in sealed container in the fridge until ready to serve or eat straight from the fridge!

Options: Once you have added the main ingredients using the method above you can opt to add chopped nuts, dried fruit, a drop of natural flavours or even a little liqueur for an adults only twist.

HOME-MADE DAIRY FREE MOUSSE DIP

Use as little or as much of the raw chocolate mix (as above) as you require and add to coconut cream.
I used approx half of the choc mix and 100mls of coconut cream to serve with fresh fruit for 5 people.
Add a little more sweetener if you wish it to be slightly sweeter.

Whip in TM on speed 4 for approx 2 mins or until light and fluffy.
It will thicken more at room temperature.
Use as an addition to your favourite dessert, for a dip with strawberries, bananas or marshmallows or just eat as a dessert alone!

These are yummy and healthier than store bought, sugar-laden products but remember treats are still meant to be eaten in moderation! Enjoy ;)

Note: One batch of raw chocolate made approx 30 bite sized chocolates (like the ones above) and a shared serving of dairy free mousse dip.