Sep 15, 2011

Does your lymphatic system need a boost?

I've been in the kitchen all day creating and tasting new recipes (10 or 11 in total!!) I've had a BLAST! I'll have to shoot some mouth watering piccies and get the recipes up here for you guys PRONTO!

In the meantime, I've recently done two different posts for Tera Warners website. If you missed the last one you can find it here - it'a all about KELP.

And the more recent one is about a little herb called Cleavers; great for your lymphatics. Check that one out here.

Sep 11, 2011

High Carb Start to the Day

Fancy a high carb refreshingly delicious start to your day?

Brock was off early this morning for a long ride through the Blue Mountains with a mate of his so I did the good girlfriend thing and got up to make him brekkie. I had bananas and dates in mind for the carbs, but he also wanted celery and ginger...

WOWZA!


I made myself one after he left...

5 small bananas
6-8 medjool dates
1 stick of celery
3 tiny slices of ginger
Filtered water


Enough for one hungry chika! Blend and serve. Sweet banana and date. Refreshing lift and cleansing sensation from the celery. And the ginger is the ZING!

If you know your body isn't so keen with alot of carbs by all means tone it down but this combo is a sure fire winner! Every cell in my body was grinning from ear to ear :)

Sep 4, 2011

Quite possibly the best salad I've had out...


Happy Fathers Day!! (ps. how amazing does that salad look? Give me a sec and I'll spill all...)

This morning I was up early, had coffee with Dad, sweated it out at yoga with the boy, met a girlfriend for a few apples (me) and a steak sandwich (her) over chit chats, saw my cousin, picked up my fruit n vegie box, made an awesome salad, went for a walk with mum, visited my sister at work, washed the car with the boy, hot shower, made dinner, and now blogging! Phew; I'm exhausted!!

And so very very happy that I am now on college holidays! 2 weeks off!!! YAY! And with this amazing weather we've had so far... couldn't be happier :)

So how'd the celebrations begin? Well with food and sunshine of course!

On Friday night I went to Yulli's on Crown Street which I had never been too, had heard alot about, and always wanted to get too so I was very excited.  No yummy piccies to make you drool over sorry but they do have a vegan menu to choose off, and alot of options in that! I got a pear and orange salad with a dressing of who-knows-what buy my god was it delicious!


And yesterday I drove to the Northern Beaches to see my beautiful baby sister who has been house sitting so I hadn't seen her all week. We ventured down to The Healthy Chef in Avalon. This place is owner by Teresa Cutter who you may or may not know of. She writes for Womens Health magazine alot and does TV appearances here and there. A really inspiring lady who advocates organic fresh produce. Easy. Simple. Delicious.

"Teresa has combined her knowledge on food, diet and exercise to specialize in developing healthy recipes for people who love food, who love to eat and who have made a conscious decision to maximize their health and well-being."

So like I said she also has this cafe - and it's somewhere I had wanted to go for sooo long it had gotten ridiculous. So Lisa and I went! I was jumping out of my skin with excitement!

The menu is extensive and everything sounds delicious...
oatmeal power porridge with banana chunks and a little honey, pear and blueberry crumble, fresh salmon, big brekkies, zucchini fritters, sweet treats, amazing smoothies, organic juices, aromatic coffee and teas, even fresh coconuts!

Lisa and I couldn't decide whether to share a big smoothie or not to being with, so when surprised me with this super duper delicious mango, strawberry and apple smoothie (aka"Antioxidant") my taste buds got a real treat!


Lisa then ordered the special poached eggs, tomato, avocado, rocket, pesto stack thingy that looked amazing. And I orderd the Detox Salad - OMG..

Salad leaves, baby spinach, broccolini, avocado, roasted walnuts, pumpkin seed, ground flax seed, wakaeme + goji berry. The fiber in the salad will fill you up and the acid in vinegar (acetic acid) helps suppress the appetite. Served with side of apple balsamic + olive oil. Packed with Omega 3 + iodine + protein + antioxidants to help protect our immune system and facilitate weight loss.

Sound amazing? You betcha! It's that damn fine salad you saw earlier - 


A decent sized bowl! Thank you! Someone finally knows how to make a proper sized salad!


Super cute presentation, the first thing that got me giddy before anything even touched my lips was the wooden board it was served on, with olive oil and vinegar for my own use (another plus - sometimes you get nothing and other times you're eating the salad with your dressing, not the other way around!!).I was in Heaven!

Then, of course, a raw truffle to go. Without knowing what was in it, I tasted coconut, maybe vanilla... Lisa got apricot... whatever it was it was divine! I think they change them up every now and then. Anyways, always gotta try new ones I see! Market research I like to call it :)

Then we walked up to the peninsula for some sunshine,bliss, and happy healthy banter.


We spent the rest of the afternoon cruising round the nooks and crannies of the northern beaches, checking out million dollar views, fresh sea air, what I termed "creative spots" and of course, singing to Lady Gaga.


So I am so happy I can now say I have delighted my taste buds at The Healthy Chef and will definatley get back there whenever I can! Ooh another plus is a cool organic fruit and veg store only 2 or 3 doors up with loads of produce!

Detox Energy Salad

150 g mixed leafy greens
1 bunch broccolini or asparagus lightly steamed
1/2 avocado
10 g pumpkin seeds
10 g sunflower seeds
10 g walnuts
20 g goji berries
40 g wakaeme seaweed (rehydrated in cold water for a few minutes)
10 g ground flax seed (linseed)

Arrange the salad leaves into serving bowls. Lay over the broccolini, seaweed, avocado and sprinkle over the seeds + goji berries.
Serve with your favorite dressing. I like to make a lovely green parsley, lemon + mint salsa verde which goes perfectly with this salad. For a complete meal and added protein top with fish or grilled tempeh.

Enjoy. Serves 2