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 :)

All that jazz

What a weekend! This whole last week has been beautifully sunny (I could say I've been enjoying it so much I didn't bother to blog, but that would be a little white lie). I'm quickly posting this at work 730am, as my Internet at home dies last night just before I got the chance to put this up. So for all you happy readers, here it is.

It's been more than a week since my last post my god! So a run down on all the fun things that have been happening... let's see...

A raw dinner with friends where we enjoyed nachos, big salads, zucchini pasta with a delicious sauce, and of course dessert -

carob pudding with banana sorbet...

and mini choc-orange mousses with lemon creme, banana cones and sorbet ontop!

Thursday welcomed back Crows Nest Markets after the Summer break which was so nice. The local buzz in the air, sunshine, people out and about. There's always a good vibe so I made sure I got up there on my lunch break, made the most of the warm sun and had a good-ol chin wag with Brock (oli).

Friday night was "Pizza Night" at my mum's (every Friday she makes her own pizza and puts her feet up with a glass of red) so I made myself a raw pizza with greens, vegies, pesto, and a nutritional yeast cheesy yummy sauce, with a green salad on the side. Mmm.




Saturday morning I went to Everleigh markets with Lisa, Dad and Gail. I had never been before but had heard alot of positive things so was keen to check it out myself. Set up at Carriageworks in Redfern, it's also where MasterChef is filmed so that was pretty cool.

We slowly wandered around checking everything out, chatting to farmers and sussing out what we wanted to buy. The organics looked AMAZING. There were biodynamic milks and cheeses, stone fruit, organic meats, coffees, fresh juices... falafels, raw crackers, BIG bunches of beautiful flowers, and almost everyone seemed to have either a dog or a baby in tow. That was kinda weird, but pretty cool.

The organics looking super cool in big baskets. Very RUSTIC I thought.

Super fresh cauli's, broccoli, and cabbages.

That afternoon I was swimming at Greenwich with Brock before we later ventured down to Symphony in The Domain. A favourite past time of mine (even though I've only been twice), I had very fond memories as a child. And it was just as magic. I love sitting on a picnic rug nibbling on food listening to wonderful music. Especially the symphony. Brock and I were exhausted and both fell asleep at one point but then I sat bolt upright when I heard the final announcment - and I was most excited (as no doubt the rest of the crowd was) when I heard - "the final song you've all been waiting for - the 1812 Overture" (YouTube it, you'll know it). Canons went off, fireworks lit up the sky, I was using Brock as my drum, kicking my legs on the grass, playing air-piano with my fingers... the music was in me and I felt so alive.

Oh, what about all those bananas we had??
Well I dehydrated some whole...

That were so ooey gooey chewy yummy and warm straight out of my little oven ;)

I dehydrated some sliced... and they make the perfect snack.

I froze dozens and I blended dozens. And of course, ate dozens. As did Brock. Would you believe me if I told you I'm not sick of them? Today I've had 3 banana smoothies and hanging out for banana ice cream in a minute coz it's so hot right now!!

Other than all that jazz, I'm feeling alot calmer from my homeopathics and seem to be doing a little less and chilling at bit more. I barely got the the gym last week (I'm usually there at least 4 times) but I did do alot more yoga which felt amazing. I think I needed to have the power of now - "living in the present moment" ; right here, right now, not the weekend, not tomorrow, not 6 months away but NOW reaffirmed to me, and my yoga on Tuesday did that for me.

I've had my ups and downs of late but all in all I'm pretty good. I know everything will turn out exactly as it should. And that I, along with everyone involved will be happier, healthier people with a big bunch of new learnings! I've had alot of support from loved ones recently due to personal issues and I cannot thank them all enough. I don't think I'd get through my days without them all. To all of, you know who you are, my sincerest thank you's.

Green love and white light to all :)

I'm Going (to do everything I can with) Bananas

Wow what a week! I'm so totally exhausted!


And getting back on the SPIRULINA to keep me going!

A quick one to let you know what I've been doing (and muching away on)...

I'm back at work and although it was a quiet week due to some people still away on holidays, we were still pretty busy and I was still on my feet unloading orders and what not for 8hrs a day, whilst still going to the gym before work and meeting up with people after work... everything adds up and starts to take it's toll. But I figure it's good to feel this now so I can get back on track with what I know works for me, in order to get everything done, still have time for me, and feel rested. Breathe Christie.

Ok... so I went out for dinner with my cousin Bernie and our girlfriend Carla one evening which was so nice. Girly gossip is always good :)
I went shopping Thursday evening with my beautiful baby sister Lisa, and caught up with Heidi from college Friday arvo for a long catch up over beautiful herbal tea.

And today I spent the whole day with Maya at Taste Organics Raw Cafe. AND SOLD OUT OF EVERYTHING! It was crazy busy. Both Maya and I were admittedly exhausted and not overly enthused as we usually are each month, but then BAM! And it didn't stop. We had people waiting for table ALL DAY LONG! That has never happened!

All Chocolate Lovers Dream's - GONE!
All Coconut Pie's - GONE!
All Roundtable Salads - GONE!
All Moonlight Shadow's - GONE!
All organic fruit and vegies juices - SOLD OUT!
Green smoothies - so good with the warm weather we had today.

And the surprise this month was Strawberry Cheescake - all GONE!


Other than that... Brock ventured up to Queensland last week to do a few things and see a few people and came home with this -

Locally grown lady finger bananas that are delicious! And then for some crazy reason, Thursday morning at the wholesaler, he comes home with this -

Coz we need more!! With a cheeky grin kinda knowing we didn't really need them all, but as they were so cheap, like a kid in a lolly shop, he couldn't resist. But I am excited to be able to freeze, blend, dry, and simply eat these babies for the next few weeks!

STOP PRESS! It's now Saturady afternoon/evening and markets are over for the week so any leftover produce is ours. I'll give you one guess what the man comes home with -


So if my calculations are correct, 9-10 boxes of bananas at roughly 13kgs each... about 129KGS OF BANANAS at our place right now. Well I'll definatley be getting creative this week!!

Last week however, whilst I was staying at mum's for a few days I made RUM AND RAISIN ICE CREAM with left over dried fruits I had, and a nice big SPLOSH of rum, mixed into a quick ice cream recipe I found. OMG! HEAVEN!

Yesterday I whipped up a loaf of buckwheat bread and a few raw bread rolls (by 'whipped up' I mean I made it up, nothing spesh, presuming it couldn't end up too bad) -

Here's my little buckwheat loaf -


And my sweet-cinnamon-banana-cacao-pecan rolls. I wanted to use dried dates but couldn't find where I put them when I brought them home the other day... until of course I finished making them and then found them in my wardrobe, in the bag with all the new clothes I bought!

The verdict - not nice. I think my buckwheat had been out too long coz it's been a little warmer the past couple of days so it tasted a bit funny. My bread was very dry and crumbly also. But I haven't given up. I'm determined to make a better bread - next time using a different grain (or grainS), adding more liquid and different nuts and seeds to spice it up a bit!

I invented (yep it's my claim to fame) a new AMAZING salad topper - the ULTIMATE in flavour combos - coconut oil, nutritional yeast and dulse flakes which totally rocks my world! OMG! Ontop of shredded kale, mung sprouts and juicy red tomatoes. WINNER! I've had at least one plate of this everyday :)

I've been munching away on PURPLE CARROTS at work with hommous and other vegies...

One of the latest and greatest "superfoods" I see in magazines, the humble little purple carrot tastes much like the regular orange variety, only a subtle difference. Much much higher in antioxidants though due to their colour (think blueberries, blackberries and the like), for me they just make an interesting colour variation on my plate!
I'm all about different colours = different vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.

Loading up on wholesome smoothies for all the energy I've needed this week -

this one is my work-brekkie-smoothie and was made from oat milk, frozen nanas, rice protein, hemp protein, acai, maca, cacao, and spirulina (I found out I'm low in IRON so I'm pumping up on the greens and the spirulina so I'll be sure to let you all know how I am on my next blood test in about 5months time... aside from that I'm itching to tell you all the AMAZING things about everything else in my smoothie but I'll save it for another time).

I can appreciate that it looks a little like tar, but take my word, it tastes amazing and is super dooper to get you up and buzzing in the mornings.

And I'm back taking some herbs to cleanse my intestinal tract, and others to help with my hormones (and clear my skin - yay) so they're making me feel good and helping to get gunk out of my system too. Great start to the New Year, even if it has been a little chaotic.

A Sunny Friday Round Town

Friday morning was my first day off all week - and to be my only day off. My cousin has recently returned from ITALIA so we decided to meet up for chit chats, and I remebered this cool little Asian tea place in Chatswood where there is a beautiful little garden out the back.

We were the only people there for a while so it was beautifully quiet. The weather was so warm, the SUN WAS SHINING, and after narrowing down the extensive menu to what we thought sounded best (and then of course checking with the waitress), this is what we got...

Mine is a Roselle and Plum Icey tea, and Bernadette's was a Japanese Green Tea ice cream slushie thingy... Perfect in the sun. Cool. Refreshing. Different. And Delicious :)

We sat there BASKING in the sunshine, playing catch ups and laughing, doing what girls do best :) And then I had to head off for lunch with Brock - on the roof of our apartment, again, BASKING in the sunshine, before a few hours at college. But not before a banana - or TWO.

Check it out! LOVER BANANAS! The shape of two bananas inside of one banana peel. I've never seen one like it it was AWESOME!


Peeled it open it they weren't actually stuck together like I was secretly hoping for.


So I got Brock to share it with me - although being the banana fein I am, I did pretty much eat both after he posed for my photo :)


Then to top my day off, Friday night I was at home alone after college and a long week at work, so made myself a DELICIOUSLY BIG salad...

On a bed of rocket, kale and salad leaves I had cucumber, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, avocado, and mushies, sprinkled with lecithin, dukkah and drizzled with flaxseed oil. Yummo!


But hang out for the dinner date I had this evening...

Until next time...

Green Love and White Light :)

Lazy Saturday In

Wanna whip up something SCRUMPTIOUS and quick?

Last night Borck and I opted for a lazy night in having both worked long weeks, all we wanted to do was put our feet up and watch a DVD on the couch.

So before we both raced off (again) for our days full of errands, more work, gym sessions, sunbaking, voting and more, I sliced and diced a bunch of vegies and made a super fast-easy-peasy-lasagna.

I wasn't going by any recipes so I used eggplant (that admittedley had been marinating for a couple of days in the fridge), zucchinis, red capsicum, and tomatoes. Then in the blender I threw in a few tomatoes, a bunch of basil, one MASSIVE russian garlic clove, a bit less than one onion, and some chilli. That was my sauce.

I love the thought of eating RAW garlic (think anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-bacterial) and RAW onion (think beautifying-rich SULPHUR) but unless it's thrown into a yummolicious sauce (that both you and your partner will eat together hehe) it's a little tricky to get it down.

Then I layered it all in a large dish and added some nutritional yeast flakes for a tasty cheesy addition - and a pack of B vitamins. I'm not so much a fan of the heavy nut-based raw cheeses that could go with a lasagna, so usually opt for the lighter easy-peasy-vegie one instead.


It was so good coming home knowing dinner was waiting for us both after 2hrs at the gym that was SO GOOD yet tiring.
The avocado ontop soothed the buzzing chilli hit in the sauce, and with a great big side of english spinach, it really hit the spot on the couch curled up with a DVD.




But no lazy Saturday night is complete without dessert...


Frozen bananas in the blender, then a quick choccie sauce of cacao, coconut oil and agave that when poured ontop turns into ICE MAGIC... sprinkled with coconut flakes, sliced bananas, cacao nibs and AMAZING Loving Earth coconut-ginger-cinnamon-activated-walnuts. YUM!

Home Away From Home

Good evening! It's Friday night and I'm staying in (nothing unusual for those that know me) as its FREEZING COLD! Well actually, I'm having dinner at Dad's place with Lisa and Gail and blogging at the same time :)

I trust you have all had a FANTASTIC week! I know I have. I've been house sitting all week at my cousins place and I'm loving having a place all to myself :)

My week has been filled with working everyday at either the health food shop or the coaching centre... I've had dinner with Brock a couple of times, been soaking buckwheat, made brazil nut milk, ducked home for my long Tuesday gym session, bought fresh organic kale on Monday, yummy organic bananas on Thursday from the markets I so love to visit...


...I've made sure to make the MOST of my new location by venturing down to Sydney Harbour for my daily runs. The weather has been chilly but the afternoon sun is perfect for a run, but these pics I took later one evening. And this first one is from my favourite lookout...






And I made sure I passed the Throttle Shop on my way back round to check out the FERRARI'S... and found a black Scaglietti. Mmmmmm :D


Aside from that, I've been a little lazy with my eating so have no mouth watering photos to share except the left over of my Spiced Carrot Soup I made from the Potluck last week -


...and a quick cacao banana bowl with maca, lucuma, protein and chia seeds topped with coconut, cacao nibs, goji berries, sultanas and sunflower seeds for brekkie one morning


Other than that I've been munching away on a really basic coleslaw I made (I LOVE cabbage - here's another mouth watering pic), green juices for brekkie still, heads of broccoli at the markets, BANANAS I bought on Thursday, whole carrots, miso soup, and a new recipe for buckwheat muesli that is AMAZING! I might share sometime in the future ;)

Oh and how could I forget... I FINALLY BOUGHT A DEHYDRATOR ON EBAY! I'M SO SO SO EXCITED!! You'll hear all about it as soon I'm back home PLAYING with it!

I'm up. Now what?

Breakfast for me has always been my FAVOURITE meal of the day. As a kid I'd tuck into cereal or toast with vegemite. In high school I went through a banana smoothie phase where I couldn't seem to get enough. Travelling overseas I looked forward to food regardless of what it was! And now my tastes are changing again.


When I first went RAW I was eating fruit of course. I'd have a few pieces cut up like a fruit salad. Then as my stomach got used to it I found I could eat alot more. And further on I grew accustomed to a MONO meal of fruit for breakfast, finding this easier on my digestion first thing. And with that, brekkie was more often that not 8 or 9 bananas straight up, half a red papaya, or 3-4 mangoes in Summer (Oh my God the memories...DROOL). Then I got hooked on throwing bananas in the blender and adding a bunch of yummy things to BOOST me up ready for the day!

Most recently I've been having juice - GREEN JUICE. I've spoken about the benefits of JUICING here before so I wont go into it again, but I will say that over time our tastes change as do our emotions, circumstances, schedules, and the weather.

And so here we are now in Winter down under in the Southern Hemishpere, and each morning I find myself struggling to decide what I feel like. For whatever reasons they might be, I'm finding that of late I'm not hungry for my usual favourite meal of the day!

However, I wanted to suggest a bunch of ideas that I like to have for brekkie as a RAW-ie to add some inspiration to your day, and some excitement to your next breakfast! Some of my fav's are:

Raw buckwheat or oat groat porridge with all my favourites mixed in and added ontop for an easy filling comfort-food-winter nomnom.


or a quick "run-out-the-door" version, and one for later on


A quick and easy miso soup with some seaweed. Great on the mornings I've gotta be up real early, out the door pretty quick, and it's FREEZING.


Banana bowls... ...or a variation of them


Superfood smoothies


Nut milk Smoothies - this one is with cacao and bananas


Or just plain simple tasty nut milk...


...which would be great alongside some raw bread with nut butters or tahini


Another tasty treat (if advance preparation has been thought of and done of course) is gRAWnola


so so good :) crunchy. chewy. like toasted muesli. a good jaw workout this one


And for those special occasions...

Blueberry Flax pancakes drizzled with agave


Cardamon Flaxjacks with fresh fruit



What's your favourite breakfast yumminess?