Tag: eat clean

Chai Coconut Milk Chia Pudding

2 Comments

chai chia pudding2

That might sound like a mouthful, and it is… a mouthful of deliciousness and health! “Chia” is the ancient Mayan word for “strength” and these little seeds were prized for their ability to provide long-lasting energy. They provide high nutrition for low calories (almost all of their carbohydrates are in the form of fibre) so this is a great food if you’re trying to lose weight. They are high in protein, fibre, Omega 3 fatty acids, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and antioxidants.

You can sprinkle chia seeds over your breakfast or add them to smoothies, but my favourite way to eat them is by making chia pudding. When you soak these little nutritional powerhouses in liquid, they swell and absorb the liquid. The result is a creamy and delicious pudding. Great for breakfast or dessert… and who doesn’t love dessert for breakfast?!

I prefer to grind my spices fresh in a coffee grinder as the flavour is much more intense, but you could use pre-ground spices if you don’t have whole spices or a coffee grinder.


Ingredients

1 stick of cinnamon (3/4 tsp ground)
1 star anise (1/4 tsp ground)
the seeds of 8 green cardamom pods (1/2 tsp ground)
about 1/5 of a whole nutmeg (1/4 tsp ground)
1/4 tsp Himalayan salt
1 – 2 tbsp raw honey or organic maple syrup
2 cups coconut milk (I make my own but you can use an organic tinned one which contains only coconut and water)
90ml chia seeds
60ml hemp seeds

Method

Firstly, grind the spices until you have a fine powder. Place them in a bowl with the honey and salt and a few drops of the coconut milk. Use a whisk to dissolve the honey, and then add the rest of the coconut milk. Add the chia and hemp seeds and whisk well so that the seeds are well distributed through the liquid.
I normally leave it overnight in the fridge, stirring once before I go to bed. If you’re in a hurry, you could stir every hour or so and it should be ready in about 4 hours.

I layered mine with fresh mango, banana, brazil nuts and goji berries for a delicious and energising breakfast.

Health and happiness!

Love,
Raine

Peanut Butter Nana Smoothie

4 Comments

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

Yes yes, here I am again talking about breakfast, but I can’t help it! I just love breakfast! I also think it’s hugely important to get a good amount of protein intake in the morning, but if you’re vegetarian (and you don’t like eating chicken for breakfast!) you have to find other ways, and smoothies are amazing for that. This one is a great pre or post workout smoothie or simply good to start you off with heaps of energy. It also means you can whip it up quickly and drink it on your way out if you’re in a rush.

You can use homemade peanut butter by simply putting peanuts in a Vitamix and blending until they make a butter, or you can use store bought but it MUST be a natural, organic butter with no added ingredients, just peanuts. I like Meridian.

Ingredients

250ml almond milk
1 heaped tbsp peanut butter
2 dates
1 banana (sliced and pre-frozen)
1 tsp chia seeds
1 tsp flax seeds

Method

Blend and drink!

Happy, healthy thoughts 🙂
Love,
Lauren

Raine’s Favourite Green Juice

Leave a comment

green juice
Drinking green juice on an empty stomach when you wake up gives you a boost of nutrients that will give you energy for the day, heal your cells and fight off free-radicals (the nasty stuff that causes cancer.) I drink one just about every morning, and on the days that I don’t have a juice I can really feel the difference.
If you’ve never had a green or any vegetable juice before it may take you some time to get used to it, but I promise it will be worth it. If my husband can get used to it (and now even love it) then anyone can! On a hot summer morning it’s super refreshing, and in the winter months it gives your body everything it needs to fight off colds and flu.

The general rule is that you should juice your veg but eat your fruit (as is or blended in a smoothie.) This is because fruit is high in natural sugars so you need the fibre in the fruit to prevent a blood-sugar spike.
However, if you’re new to juicing, I recommend that you start off with a little bit less of the really strong tasting stuff (spinach, kale, broccoli etc) and use more of the easy-drinking vegetables (carrot, beetroot, celery, cucumber) along with fruit (apple, pineapple, grapes etc.) As you get used to it you can increase the vegetables and decrease the fruit. After all, what’s the point of making one really strong juice and then never having another?!
Over time you’ll start to enjoy the taste of the vegetables and will only need half an apple, or eventually none at all.

I make juice with whatever fresh vegetables, fruit, herbs and spices (fresh ginger or turmeric, sometimes even chilli!) I have available. I like to mix it up. This is one of my favourite combinations – I love the liquorice flavour of the fennel and it goes really well with the lime and lemongrass.

Ingredients (serves 2)

A big handful of kale or spinach
6 baby fennel or 1 large bulb
3/4 of a large English cucumber
2 limes
a knob of ginger (not too much if you’re not used to it)
a knob of turmeric (optional – great anti-inflammatory properties)
a stick of lemongrass
a handful of white grapes, or 1 – 2 apples
a few leaves of mint

Method

I highly recommend a slow, masticating juicer over a centrifugal juicer, as it preserves nutrients and gets maximum juice out of your ingredients, especially when it comes to leafy greens. (But juice from a centrifugal juicer is better than no juice at all!)
The money you spend on a quality slow juicer, such as an Oscar or Hurom, will be well worth it and will save you in doctor’s bills in the future.

When juicing in a slow juicer, always do your leafy greens first and don’t try to shove too much in at once – give the machine a chance to do its thing.

You can also check out Lauren’s Favourite Green Juice.

Health and happiness!

Love,
Raine

Raw Caramel

3 Comments

photo.PNG

Creamy, gooey, sweet caramel… it must be unhealthy, right? Not this one! And it’s super easy to make too – no more standing over the stove forever to get your caramel just right. This goes wonderfully with No-fry Chocolate and Maca Pancakes, drizzled over slices of apple, as a centre for raw chocolates or just by the spoonful!
I like to make up a batch and keep it in a glass jar for whenever I might need it. Keep refrigerated in very warm weather as it will melt and separate, otherwise in the pantry is fine.

Ingredients

50g organic virgin coconut oil
70g raw almond butter
100g runny raw honey or 85ml organic maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
1/4 tsp Himalayan salt

Method

Place all the ingredients into your blender and blend for a couple of minutes. You want everything to melt together into a creamy consistency, and the mixture will change colour as you do this. It’s important to blend for long enough, as opposed to just mixing everything together, to get the right consistency. If it doesn’t look right yet just keep on blending!

Health and happiness.

Love,
Raine

No-fry Chocolate and Maca Pancakes

1 Comment

Choc Maca Pancakes

I can’t think of anything better for Sunday breakfast than a stack of pancakes! And with this recipe they’re completely guilt-free.

This is basically a variant of the Plain Buckwheat Pancakes – I’ve added raw cacao and maca for a delicious malted chocolate flavour. Maca gives you increased energy and is said to help relieve the symptoms of PMS. It has a malted flavour which pairs very well with raw cacao.

Both maca and cacao are aphrodisiacs, so why not start practicing this recipe now for Valentine’s Day?  😉

I find it tedious to stand in front of the stove frying up batches of pancakes, so I decided to try baking them and it worked really well! Of course you also have the added benefit of not having fried them in oil – while coconut oil is the best choice for frying, oils are always healthiest in their raw state.

In this version I used almond flour simply because I have so much (as a by-product of all the almond milk I make) but you could substitute it with buckwheat flour, as in the original recipe.

Ingredients (this makes enough for my husband, my toddler and I – about 12 pancakes)

4 tbsp flax seeds, ground in a coffee grinder (you could also use chia seeds)
150ml water
1 cup almond flour
1 heaped tsp aluminium-free baking powder
1/4 tsp Himalayan salt
3 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tbsp maca powder
1/2 tsp organic stevia leaf powder (or 1 tbsp organic maple syrup or raw honey)
1 1/2 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork to a puree
1 cup almond milk or other dairy-free milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C.
Combine the ground flax and water to make your flax “eggs.” Refrigerate for 15 minutes while you make the rest of the batter.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cacao powder, maca powder and stevia. Add the banana and almond milk and use a whisk to combine well. Add the flax “eggs” and whisk again. The flax is quite gluey so make sure you get it mixed in really well.

Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Place a heaped tablespoon of the batter onto the paper and use the spoon to spread it out into a neat circle, about 1 – 2cm thick. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
Bake for about 20 – 30 minutes until they have risen, browned and are cooked through.

I served these with fresh raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, pomegranate and my Raw Caramel.

Health and happiness!

Love,
Raine

Gluten-free Zucchini & Buckwheat Pizza

Leave a comment

photo-2

My son went through a phase where he wanted to eat nothing but pizza. It was driving me crazy (processed white dough, sugary tomato sauce and processed cheese? Not good enough for my boy!) so I came up with this wheat, gluten, sugar and dairy-free recipe using buckwheat and zucchini (AKA courgette or baby marrow.) I was worried that he wouldn’t like it because buckwheat flour has quite a strong flavour but both he and my husband love it! I have since started using buckwheat flour for many recipes.

For the “cheese” I use Yum Universe’s dairy and soy-free recipe for Vegan Ricotta (why improve on perfection?!) It’s a super easy recipe made from cashew nuts.
My husband prefers dairy cheese so I use organic cheddar from grass-fed cows. Sometimes for my son I’ll use a bit of cheddar and some goat’s cheese, as goat’s milk is much more digestible for humans than cow’s milk. He also enjoys the vegan cheese though.

Ingredients

For the base:

1 cup buckwheat flour
3/4 tsp Oryx Desert Salt
1 tsp baking powder (try to use aluminium-free)
1 tbsp chia seeds, ground in a coffee grinder
1 egg (farm-raised)
2 tbsp olive oil
a bit of water
160g raw zucchini

For the sauce:

Olive oil for frying
1 medium size onion, chopped
3 big cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tin organic tomatoes
1 fresh medjool date
1 or 2 leaves of basil
1/2 tsp Oryx Desert Salt
about 1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Method

Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and ground chia.
Break the zucchini into chunks and place into a food processor. Blend into fine crumbs, scraping down the sides if necessary to get all the bits the same size. Alternatively, use a grater.
Beat the egg and olive oil together, along with 1 tbsp water, and then add the zucchini.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients. You may need a little bit more water, but make sure to combine everything well before trying to add more. It will seem too dry and then suddenly it will come together into a dough. This is a very sticky dough, so be careful not to add too much water! Place in the fridge while you make the sauce.

Fry the onion in some olive oil until softened. Add the garlic and fry for a few minutes until it starts to caramelise. Add the tin of tomatoes and the date. Turn down the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for at least 30 minutes. The longer it simmers the more the flavour will develop.
Place the sauce in the blender, along with the salt, basil and lemon. Blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. The trick with a good tomato sauce is getting the correct balance between sweet and sour, so don’t be scared to add a bit more lemon or another date if you think it needs it! This sauce freezes very well so I often make a double batch and freeze half for a day when I am in a rush. You could also use it as a base for a pasta sauce.

Preheat the oven to 200 C.
Oil a large baking tray liberally with olive oil. I find it best to make smaller pizzas so that the base cooks evenly and gets nice and crispy on the edges. So use about 60 – 80g of dough per pizza – one is enough for a child, two for a hungry man.
Place your weighed dough on the tray and sprinkle with buckwheat flour (so your fingers don’t stick.) Gently press the dough out with your finger tips until you have a round of thin dough.
At this point I often finely grate some fresh carrot over the base for added veggies. Then cover the base with your sauce. (If using the vegan cheese it helps to make a little “lip” around the edge of the dough and sauce, to stop the cheese running off.)
Now add your toppings. In this photo I’ve used kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes (I use organic, sulphur-free ones which I soak in hot water for a few minutes to soften), onion, basil and avo. Add avo and fresh herbs only after cooking. Other good toppings are caramelised onion, sautéed mushrooms, smoked salmon & rocket… use your imagination!
Now top with your cheese. If using the vegan cheese, simply blend all the ingredients until smooth and then pour directly onto the pizza (rather than heating in a saucepan as the recipe states.) The cheese will thicken as the pizza cooks in the oven. If you have any leftover cheese you can heat it in a saucepan and refrigerate in a jar.

Bake in the oven for about 15 – 20 minutes until crispy around the edges. Yum!

Health & happiness…
Love,
Raine

Zucchini & Cauliflower Gluten Free Pizza Base

Leave a comment

pizza

Mmmm pizza! It’s taken a while and a few failed experiments but I’ve finally mastered the gluten free pizza base and here it is… I had it in my head that I wanted to make the base with courgette (zucchini) and cauliflower, so if your kids (or husbands!) don’t like veggies you can always hide it in this base, although I do think it’s good for kids to see their veggies so that they learn to love them and not have to have them hidden when they grow up 🙂 This isn’t a vegan recipe, but it is suitable for vegetarians. Raine will add her gluten and dairy-free pizza shortly!

Ingredients

For the base:
1 large cauliflower
4 courgettes
2 eggs, beaten (if you don’t like using eggs use 2 tbsp flax seeds with 6 tbsp water, mixed and left to set for 20 mins)
Half cup ground almonds
Quarter cup parmesan cheese
Quarter cup grated cheddar
Salt & Pepper
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp ground basil

For the sauce:
1 tin of tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground basil
Pinch of salt

Topping:
Cheese, grated
Choice of vegetables

Method

Preheat the oven to 180. Chop up the courgette and cauliflower and steam together for 7 minutes. Once ready, line a colander with a thin dish cloth and empty the vegetables into this. Then you need to start wringing out all the moisture. Keep wringing for as long as possible until as much moisture as possible has left the vegetables and they look almost dry. Once you’re confident this is done, put in a food processor and blitz quickly – it doesn’t need to be completely blended.

Once blended, add to a bowl with the eggs, ground almonds, both cheeses, salt, pepper and herbs and mix well.

Smooth out onto a baking-paper lined baking tray (or a stone pizza base if you have one!)

pizza base

Put in oven and leave for around 30-40 minutes or until you can see it browning.

While it’s in the oven, make the sauce by adding all ingredients to a saucepan and simmering on low. Cut the vegetables at this time too. I used red pepper, onion, mushroom and some leftover cauliflower.

Once the pizza starts browning slightly, add the sauce and vegetables and continue baking for another 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft.

Take out the oven, slice, serve and wait for the compliments!

Love,
Lauren

Mung Bean Sprout & Corn Salad, with Asian Dressing

Leave a comment

mung bean sprout & corn salad

On Wednesday evenings I do an ashtanga yoga class, so I need to have a lunch with enough protein and carbs to keep me going, but still light enough not to weigh me down. This delicious salad delivers exactly that!
Protein from the mung bean sprouts, seeds and nuts; healthy carbs from the corn and brown rice; and the dressing has a beautiful nutty flavour from the sesame oil.

Ingredients

2 cups organic baby salad leaves and/or herbs
2 handfuls mung bean sprouts
1 cob of corn, boiled in water and kernels cut off the cob
1/2 cup cooked brown basmati
small handful fresh coriander, chopped
2 Israeli or “mini” cucumbers, sliced
10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 tbsp raw pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp raw sunflower seeds
1 tbsp raw sesame seeds
handful raw cashew nuts

Method

Toss all the ingredients together with my Asian Dressing

Love,
Raine

Protein Packed Breakfast Parfait

Leave a comment

breakfast parfait2

Tell me this doesn’t make you hungry just by looking at it! I’m in heaven right now eating my breakfast… mostly because I love that I can basically have dessert for breakfast!

So let’s start from the bottom: the bottom layer is my homemade maple and pecan granola, followed by raspberry coconut chia pudding, then some puffed quinoa pops, then my homemade healthy nutella, followed by Meridian Foods natural organic peanut butter, then some more granola sprinkled on the top. This is basically just one big jar of plant protein. I had a bit of this then went for a 45 minute power walk with the dogs. The cacao, quinoa and peanut butter are packed full of protein and the great thing about chia seeds is that although they contain carbohydrates, most of their carbohydrates are not digested by the body as carbohydrates but as fibre, so it speeds up the metabolism and gives you energy at the same time. They are also loaded with anti-oxidants and omega-3 fatty acids; gram for gram, chia seeds contain more omega-3 than salmon…

Ingredients

Homemade granola – click on link for recipe
Raspberry chia pudding – click on link for recipe
Quinoa pops – store bought
Homemade healthy nutella – click on link for recipe
Miridian Foods smooth peanut butter

Method

Simply layer away and enjoy!

Love,
Lauren

Raspberry Coconut Chia Pudding

1 Comment

Chia Pudding with raspberries

Chia seeds are the ultimate health food. Although they contain carbohydrates, most of their carbohydrates are not digested by the body as carbohydrates but as fibre, so it speeds up the metabolism and gives you energy at the same time. They are also loaded with anti-oxidants and omega-3 fatty acids; gram for gram, chia seeds contain more omega-3 than salmon, and they are just an excellent source of protein.

Being a vegetarian doesn’t just mean you don’t eat meat but eat everything on the side, you have to make a conscious effort to know about where to get your protein from and this was a learning curve for me but I make sure I get all my protein from plant-based sources and believe it or not, these sources of protein are actually absorbed better by humans than protein from meat. So chia puddings are the way forward!

Great for baby breakfast!

Ingredients

2 tbsp chia seeds
The creamy bit from 1 can coconut milk (must be the original kind, not light or lower fat) I find the Blue Dragon brand to have the creamiest cream.
5 or 6 raspberries
1 tsp agave nectar (optional)

Method

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl, making sure to get an even coating of the chia seeds. Cover with cling film and leave in fridge overnight. If you like it sweet you can add the agave, if not, you can omit this.

Enjoy on its own, as a yoghurt, with granola or as a dessert.

Love,
Lauren