CREATIVITY - AND WHY YOU NEED IT IN YOUR KITCHEN

Creativity - without it I think we'd all be dead. Or at least close too. Whether it's painting, dancing, blogging, designing, creating, visualising, or dreaming up far away places... we all do it daily I'm sure.

But have you ever given thought to getting creative with your food? I'm sure some of you have. This is where I see the most distance between someone who eats well, shops for local produce with excitement, flips through recipe books for inspiration, and conjures up new dishes with love and enthusiasm... versus someone who doesn't. The latter person may eat much more take away, or simply PB on toast most nights, if they can be bothered with that.

Are You Stuck in a Food Rut? Here's my tips to get out

 

It happens to the best of us. We start out with great intentions. We are food lovers at heart after all. We crave the healthier food more often, and are happy to give in the some choccie here and there. We get creative in the kitchen, Instagram incredible looking dishes, that taste even better.

What happens when that food spark dulls a little?  

Soul Food

I've come to realise in these past few days that one thing I thrive off, that feeds my soul, makes me smile and fills me with joy is creativity. Maybe not such an AHA moment of sorts, but as I've been trying to finish a bunch of assessments to hit my study goals for May, I feel like all I've been doing is assessment after assessment after assessment... which is true. In and around the health food store, going for walks or runs and whatever else I seem to fill my days with, all I've been doing is assessment after assessment after assessment. Don't get me wrong, I love my studies (Biology has actually been fascinating for me - no joke!), learning new things and going WHOAH when I read something that blows my mind, but it can kinda get to feel a little like ground-hog day.

So as I worked everyday bar one this week, I decided to do a few things differently so as not to get all tied up in stress and continuous worry about the lack of college work that would get done, when I've usually got more than half each week to do it.

I got creative. And more creative. And more. And I loved every little bit of it I feel like my happy pot has been filled up again and I'm ready for more!

I found a few recipes of home-made beauty products from a magazine I kept from years ago and decided I wanted to make some things from it; I'd run out of my mouth wash and it's not cheap so instead I made my own Double-Mint mouthwash. I also made a Stimulating Hair Oil and a Fragrant Hair Tonic.

Double Mint Mouthwash

1 Tbsp dried spearmint
1 Tbsp dried peppermint
180ml boiling water
5 drops tea tree essential oil
3 drops peppermint essential oil
5 drops clove essential oil


- Place the herbs in a bowl. Pour over the boiling water, cover the bowl, and steep for 30mins. Strain.
- Add essential oils, mix well, and pour into a dark glass bottle.
This is only a small amount but shouldn't be kept much longer than a week. For one person you could get away with halving this recipe.

The mints are effective at banishing odour and making your mouth sweet and fresh. Tea tree fights gum disease and is great for receding gums. Clove is both antiseptic and healing. Warning - the mouthwash packs a punch!

The process of making these is what I loved - the creativity of it. I had a spoonful of this herb, a spoonful of that herb in stainless steel bowls, covered in hot water to steep until cool, adding essential oils, straining, adding other things like apple cidar vinegar and pouring them into little bottles and making my own labels!  
I felt like a witch in my spell-concocting kitchen!

And I get just as excited when I make Bush Flower Essences; these babies work a treat if you've never tried them! You can buy ready-made combination bottles at health stores; we sell them they sell themselves. I recently did a course on them and found it incredible, and immediately bought some stock bottles to make my own remedies. I've tried different one's for different things, given some to my partner as well, and love getting feedback on these!

I've made up and taken one for the female-hormonal-emotional-drama-type-escapades (girls - you know the ones), another one I tried for a fungal skin infection, one for a lymphatic boost for my acne, and I'm currently trying a bottle of Five Corners which works well for self-sabotage (I had a feeling that a lot of my efforts in clearing my skin might be in vain due to unconscious self sabotage holding onto the acne I've had for so long; an unknown feeling that I'm not sure how to look at myself without it). When I read more about it I was surprised (although everything is divine timing right?) as it also helps with self esteem and a dislike of ones physical body, bringing about more self love and acceptance. Yes please! Alongside taking this remedy for 2 weeks I've got myself affirmations to say -

So far so good. I'm feeling great and sure other things play their roles but I know this remedy is pulling some strings.
But my blog wouldn't be mine without a mere mention of food now would it!! As you might recall from my last post, I haven't had my camera for a while as I rely on the one in my phone, and my phone was bust at the repair store. I knew I used my phone camera a lot, but I was surprised how much. Still not totally fixed, I can't get onto Facebook from my phone, so can't upload any pics I can now take, onto FB. Argh!! I've got my fingers crossed for the most delicious super-duper inexpensive camera I can one day afford! But I digress - where were we? Ah of course Food! Yesterday evening I decided to come up with some sort of  a-make-do-tabouli for dinner (that is "hey I've got loads of parsley - the main ingredient, but not a lot else...hmmm"). Having 2 massive bunches of parsley I wanted to juice, but realising I had nothing else to juice them with, (good one Christie) I instead made tabouli! And it was so good!


Make-Do Tabouli

1 bunch flat leaf parsley
2 small tomatoes
1/2 red onion
1/2 lemon (squeezed)
drizzle of garlic infused olive oil (I got lazy here; you can use fresh garlic and oil of your choice)
sea salt to taste


Chop parsley until fine. Throw in a medium sized. Dice tomatoes and onion. Add them to the bowl. Squeeze lemon juice over, drizzle oil, sprinkle salt. Voila!

I added this to a bowl of kale and sunflower sprouts I had and enjoyed it in front of the fire at mum's place whilst the others ate spaghetti bolognese.

And then with cravings for some sweeties and there being nothing to have (according to them - meaning no ice cream), I pulled a few things out of the pantry and made fudgy chocolate balls, and sweet halva balls. No pics of these I'm afraid as they got demolished too quickly! Sometimes the experience of eating something far beats waiting for a happy snap! And again I got some creative juices going and had another smile on my dial :D

On another note though, I finished all my Biology assessments yesterday!! I had 21 in total and they have taken me since last October to complete and I am so so happy to say they are all done! YAY!! I've still got a few Nutrition assessments to do, and then 2 exams before I jet up north but know they will all get done.

But I've gotta dash up the road now to grab some things with mum. I've got a few surprise announcements up my sleeve; I'll save them for a rainy day, so stay tuned! All very exciting!! I hope all is well out there in blogging land with you all! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekends :)

NOURISH: VALENTINES RASPBERRY TARTS

Have you ever been excited to get creative in the kitchen when you're feeling down, and then putting all your LOVE into what you're doing, even when you're not exactly sure what it is you're doing, to later have everyone try your creation and be WOWed by it?

Ok, so possibly a very lengthy way to ask that question, but still... have you?

It's a strange thing I think - when I'm emotionally feeling like shit (pardon my language there), I get in the kitchen and somehow manage to find so much joy and love that fills my being from top to toe and comes out into what I'm making and getting messy with, which is then tasted in the food. It tastes AMAZING! Just like an Italian mamas spaghetti - always beats the fancy expensive restaurant version doesn't it?

I decided to get in the kitchen on Sunday afternoon coz I was feeling really flat, upset, sad, and lonely. Depleted of any joy really, and I wondered when was the last time I actually got in the kitchen and got my hands dirty? I couldn't remember!! When I'm not feeling happy and can't decribe it any better than just being FLAT it's a sign to get creative. It's what my soul needs. It's where I get rid of the blah energy and bring in loads of bounce and fun! Dancing around to Bruno Mars (addicted to his new CD), hips-a-swingin, birds on the window sill, the kitchen was mine!

So that's exactly what I did. I had an idea of what I wanted to make, but wasn't totally sure so just went with it... and by the end I had these babies -

Banana Choc Fudge Cookies

Top-of-my-head stuff that turned out awesome. Above we have the before shot... and below is the aftermath once having spent a couple of days in the dehydrator.

Chewy, delicious cookies perfect with friends in the afternoon (right Jess?)

And then Valentines Raspberry Tarts.

And what made me smile the most - when I took them into work and over to my cousins and posted them on facebook, I had everyone asking for the recipe! It was actually really nice! Coz again, it was top-of-the-head-stuff! Sure I got inspiration from here, there and everywhere but essentially these are my babies! Looked yummy. Tasted yummier. And they had me feeling yummy.

So here it is;

The Base/s:

1/4 cup ground oat groats

1/2 cup ground cashews

1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil

1/8 cup agave syrup

good pinch of sea salt

Throw it all into a big bowl and mix really well.

The rest of it:

1.

1/3 cup medjool dates, pitted and chopped

few tbsp warm water

Blend these together, adding enough water in tiny tiny bits until it belnds nicely.

2.

3/4 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)

good squeeze of lime juice

Blend this until smooth, and then push it all through a sieve so that all the tiny seeds are seperated and you're left with nice runny smooth raspberry sauce.

3.

1/4 cup ground cashews

1/4 cup coconut oil

good pich sea salt

tsp vanilla

Blend all these together until smooth.

Putting it all together:

Decide if you want mini tartlets or one big one - and then using wet fingertips, spread your base onto the bottom of whatever you choose to use (silicone moulds, muffin tins, etc). Pop in the freezer to set.

Blend all the filling ingredients together (once you've done each individual step). Grab your bases and start spooning the filling ontop. DO THIS QUICKLY as the coconut oil will set on the cold bases pretty quick. Shake and bang your tarts on the bench so that they even out and become smooth ontop.

Decorate with goji berries, cacao nibs, fresh berries, whatev!

Store in the freezer and eat whenever you need some lovin!!

So there you all go. Unleash your creativity, roll up your sleeves, and SPREAD THE LOVE!

Or try your hand with some raw chocolate... DAVID WOLFE IS HERE! I'm so excited I can't tell you! Tomorrow night is his first lecture here in Sydney and I'm BUZZING so much I feel like I'm on drugs!! CACAO perhaps? Then there's more lectures all weekend and the highly-anticipated RAW CACAO ECSTACY DANCE PARTY!! Wait for those pics hey!! Watch this space! :)