Red Velvet Oatmeal

11 05 2013

This has no oats in it, maybe I should have called it Noatmeal…. You can probably use oats if you want. I don’t, I want vegetables for breakfast. Moving on. So, how do you get the red velvet color without nasty food coloring? Beetroot of course! What else!? This tastes like chocolate pudding, it’s amazing.

Few hot tips for new players…
1. Beetroot stains like a ba$tard so do NOT wear white whilst preparing this.
2. No matter how you try, it will end up all over every surface in your kitchen & look like a massacre has occurred.
3. Your hands probably won’t be normal-colored for days after so just factor that in if you have a hand-modeling job coming up or some such occasion. Obviously, not my problem- I have massive man-sized hands that no one should want to photograph.

Cauliflower is from the same family as broccoli and cabbage, it contains many essential B-complex vitamins and loads of vitamin C. Cauliflower contains several anti cancer phyto-chemicals which have proven benefits against prostate, breast, cervical, colon, ovarian cancers. Beetroot contains loads of folic acid which is essential for normal tissue growth, it contains mineral silica which helps the body absorb calcium & decrease the risk of osteoporosis. It is also a great source of antioxidants & provides potassium, magnesium and iron as well as vitamins A, B6 and C.

1/2 cup grated beetroot
1 cup ‘riced’ cauliflower (chop raw cauliflower into chunks, pop it in the food processor and pulse a few times until it has the consistency of rice)
1 cup coconut milk (or milk of your choice)
1 tbs ground flaxseeds
1 heaped tbs raw cacao
OPTIONAL 1 heaped tbs protein powder (flavorless, vanilla or chocolate)
Stevia, maple syrup or coconut nectar to taste

In a small saucepan add beetroot, cauliflower & milk & bring to the boil, reduce heat & simmer for a few minutes. Add all remaining ingredients & stir well to thicken. Spoon into a bowl, top with berries, cacao nibs or a drizzle of coconut cream & dig in.

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Categories : Breakfast

Carrot Cake Porridge

9 05 2013

This is similar to my Oat-Free Oatmeal recipe. This is part of the no-eggs series of recipes, you can read more about my NO EGGS HERE. Yeah, it has zucchini in it but don’t have a meltdown, you can’t even taste it, it just adds goodness.

Zucchini is low calorie and a great source of fibre. It is rich in vitamin A, flavonoid and poly-phenolic antioxidants such as carotenes, lutein and zeaxanthin. These compounds help scavenge harmful oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species from the body that play a role in aging and various disease process. Carrots are full of beta-carotene which helps to reduce the risk of cancer, low in carbohydrates and full of vitamins C, K and B6. Health-promoting minerals found in carrots include potassium, calcium and manganese.

1/2 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup grated carrot
1 heaped tbs protein powder (vanilla or flavorless)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch cloves
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup coconut milk (or milk of your choice)
1/2 cup chopped nuts & seeds (whatever you like)
1 heaped tbs ground flax or chia
Dash stevia (1 tbs honey or maple syrup as an alternative)
Coconut to serve (optional)

Add the zucchini, carrot, spices & milk to a small saucepan & bring to the boil, reduce to simmer & add all remaining ingredients. Cook for a few more minutes until all heated through and it has started to thicken. Pour into a bowl & eat cold or warm. Top with some coconut yoghurt, strawberries, poached pears or grilled figs would be delicious too!

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Categories : Breakfast

Carrot Cake Breakfast Bars

9 05 2013

I’m not sure if you are up to date with my latest body experiment but I had my food allergies tested to try & get to the source of my dodgy gut. Result are in and it’s a pretty dire outcome, though it could be worse…. I could be allergic to bacon or coconut. I will share the whole saga in another post but dairy in all forms is a massive one (adios whey protein), almonds (that’s pretty annoying), mushrooms & bananas & pineapple (not ideal but I will cope), sugar cane (who cares), wheat/gluten (no surprise & don’t care). There are more, but they are the main ones. Then comes eggs. My biggest SADNESS is EGGS!!! I freaking love eggs, I eat them all the time, every day for breakfast at least (perhaps my problem). BUT, it is ok because, if it is going to make me feel better then I am all over it. No eggs for at least 4 mths then we will reintroduce & see how we go. Until then I need some new breakfast ideas.

These protein bars are low carbohydrate, I have snuck some veggies in there to keep me from getting scurvy, high in protein & have some healthy fats as well. I freeze mine as individual bars for the days when I need brekkie or a snack in a hurry. See eggs, I don’t need you.

1 cup grated carrot
1 cup grated zucchini
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated (you could use a tsp or ground ginger instead)
2 cups mixed nuts/seeds (choose whatever you like)
1/2 cup protein powder (vanilla or flavorless)
4 tbs ground flax or chia mixed with 1/4 cup water (or 2 eggs)
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup nut butter, coconut butter or seed butter of your choice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Pinch salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup coconut (optional)
1/2 tsp stevia powder (or 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup)

Preheat oven to 170C. In a bowl (or I used a food processor) mix zucchini, carrot, coconut oil, water, nut butter, ginger & flax, chia mix or eggs and combine well. Add the spices & protein powder & stevia (or honey) and mix again. Add all remaining ingredients and blend to just combine. Line a cake tin or loaf pan with baking paper and pour the mixture in & flatten out. Bake for about 20-30 mins until cooked, sprinkle with a bit more cinnamon, allow to cool before slicing into bars. These can be stored in the fridge or freezer.

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Categories : Breakfast, Cake & Biscuits, Snack

Sweet Potato Muffins with Coconut Crumble

20 04 2013

When I went to the markets this morning I bought the worlds biggest sweet potato, it weighed almost 2kg. Well I don’t know whether it is ACTUALLY the worlds biggest, I didn’t check the Guinness Book Of Records, but it probably is. Luckily I had The Fitographer with me to be my packhorse and carry the loads of food I kept purchasing. Marry a strong man ladies, that is my advice, they are very useful.

Inspired by the always talented and lovely Sarah from Ingredients of a Fit Chick, I used her sweet potato muffin recipe and added a few bits of my own. If you haven’t visited Sarah’s BLOG you really must, she loves coconut almost as much as I do so in my eyes that makes her an awesome chick. We’d probably be besties if we lived in the same country. She also has heaps of great recipes and does loads of cool things. You’ll like her.

Wet Stuff
1 cup sweet potato, steamed & puréed/mashed
2 tbs coconut oil/ghee, melted
3 eggs (use flax-eggs for vegan alternative)

Dry Stuff
2 1/2 scoops (90g) of whey protein powder (vanilla or flavorless) (use vegan protein if required)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2-3/4 tsp stevia powder (depending on how sweet you like it or 1/2 cup honey/maple syrup)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla powder (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

Topping
1/2 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup almond meal (or coconut flour if you want to keep this nut-free)
Dash stevia (or 2 tbs maple syrup/honey)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup egg whites

Preheat the oven to 160C. You will need 3 bowls. Mix all the dry ingredients well in one making sure you get rid of any lumps. Mix all the wet ingredients in another bowl until smooth. Mix all the topping ingredients together in a small bowl until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until completely combined, try not to overmix this. Spoon this mixture into muffin/cupcake containers so they are about 3/4 full. Spoon the topping onto the top of each muffin and press down gently. Bake for about 10-15mins. They will continue to set a bit as the cool. Don’t overcook them or they will taste like cardboard. Remove from oven & allow to cool slightly, I chucked a blob of ghee on mine while it was still warm. So delicious. Coconut butter or nut butter drizzle would be amaze too. This made 12 cupcake sized muffins. You can freeze these or store them in an airtight container in the fridge…. That’s if they last that long, they taste best fresh out of the oven.

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Categories : Breakfast, Cake & Biscuits, Snack

Smoked Salmon Scrambled Eggs

2 03 2013

Breakfast for dinner, breakfast for dinner!! The last few weeks, Trav & I have made a point of having breakfast food for dinner at least one night a week. I have no idea why, we are just being weirdos (just like you Mango-hating weirdos). Last week it was Carrot Cake Pancakes, tonight SSSA- or smoked salmon scrambled eggs. Seriously this was good gear!!! This served the 2 of us.

Now let’s talk about eggs…. In a world full of misinformation about nutrition, most people mistakenly think that the egg yolk is the worst part of the egg, when in fact, the YOLK IS THE HEALTHIEST PART OF THE EGG!

By throwing out the yolk and only eating egg whites, you’re essentially throwing out the most nutrient dense, antioxidant-rich, vitamin and mineral loaded portion of the egg. Yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids (EFAs). In fact, the egg whites are almost devoid of nutrition compared to the yolks. Even the protein in egg whites isn’t as powerful without the yolks to balance out the amino acid profile and make the protein more bio-available. Got it? Just eat your yolks please.

Handful of finely chopped kale (you know I love to sneak this into things)
4 shallots, finely chopped
2 big handfuls of chopped mushrooms
2 tbs chopped fresh dill
220g smoked salmon (or whatever the nearest packet size is)
8 large free range eggs, lightly whisked
1 tbs coconut oil

Heat the oil in a large frypan & add shallots & mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are almost cooked. Add eggs and kale and scramble how you like to. When the eggs are about 1/2 cooked, add smoked salmon & dill and mix through gently. Finish cooking. Eat.

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Categories : Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Snack

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