Exactly what it says … glass of homemade kefir with a large desertspoon of maca powder added. I topped mine with flaked coconut pieces.
My hubby prefers to have the kefir mixed with a ‘dollop’ of Greek yoghurt – not quite as strong a flavour – before I add other ingredients.
I have really tried to change my view of carbohydrate over the last year. I always believed it to be my foe, my nemesis even, and would try and avoid it like the plague. Each day I would try to keep my intake to below 50 g – 60 g a day – 200 -240 kcal of carbs a day. Each day I would mentally beat myself up if I hadn’t achieved this.I always felt that carbs were the reason I would put weight on and when I severely restricted them…the weight came off. Then I started to think more logically:
I need carbs for my energy needs; I can control the types of carbs I eat.
Government guidelines presently state 50-55% of daily food intake should be carbs – of that 45% complex starchy carbs and non-starchy polysaccharides – fibre and no more than 5% from free sugars. (I know this guideline has been challenged recently because of the rise of obesity – but it is all about eating the right carbs – eating carbohydrate is not just about eating white bread, pasta and potatoes!) The healthy high carb foods I eat include vegetables,legume, whole grains, nuts and berries / low fructose fruits. I avoid unhealthy carbs.
This thought process has enabled me to take back control – with careful food choices I can ensure I give my body sufficient energy sources for its needs. Intake of carbs from refined foods will have a totally different effect on my body than if I get all my carbs from unrefined foods…in other words …if I cook from scratch, opt for foods high in fibre and with a low GI, and just eat real foods I will be eating ‘properly’ and giving my body the nutrition it needs. So this is what I do 🙂
Doing this, and keeping my free sugars to below 5% of my daily intake has improved my health, ensured any excess weight has come off and means I don’t have blood sugar spikes during the day and crave snacks in between meals…and counting calories is a thing of the past!
Recipe testing and experimenting with flavours and balance resulted in these pancakes. Eaten hastily by my husband and number 1 food critic – which I take as a sign he enjoyed them!
Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut milk 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup coconut flour 1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 cup chestnut flour
4 eggs (seems a lot but tried with 3 and the pancakes were very dense)
Method:
Whisk the eggs and then add all the other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spoon out mixture on to a hot griddle and cook till golden brown on both sides.
To complement the sweet nutty flavour of the chestnut flour I served them with Greek yoghurt and then a fruit topping.
Delicous mix of flavours: Smoked mackerel, quail eggs, beetroot, avocado, watercress and rocket covered in crumbled stilton. A really hearty and filling salad.
Ingredients:
1/2 butternut squash de seeded and cut in to cubes
1 red onion sliced in to large chunks
1 yellow pepper de seeded and cut in to large pieces
Broccoli and / or cauliflower
Coconut oil
Butter
Milk
Gluten free plain flour
Cheese e.g. cheddar – grated – some for sauce and some to sprinkle on top
Method:
Prepare the squash, onion and pepper. Drizzle with coconut oil and roast in hot oven until cooked – about 35 minutes. Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into large florets and steam until cooked – but firm.Drain thoroughly. Make the cheese sauce with the butter, flour, milk and cheese. Assemble all the cooked vegetables in an oven proof dish and pour the cheese sauce over the top. Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over the top and bake in a hot oven until hot throughout and golden brown with a crisped cheese top.
I eat it on its own. My husband like to have it with a couple of rashers of grilled bacon placed over the top.
Sauce on top before cooking and sauce underneath after cooking!
Preheat oven to 180c / gas mark 4
Ingredients:
For the cake: For the sauce:
170 g gluten-free self-raising flour 1 tbsp cacao powder
150 g light muscovado sugar 1 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
170 g softened butter Boiling water
4 eggs (3 if using non gf fl)
2 tbsp cacao powder
Method:
Mix all cake ingredients until smooth and put in to an oven proof dish (about 20cm square). Put the sauce ingredients in to a cup and add boiling water and stir. I fill the cup to about 3/4 full with boiling water. Pour the sauce over the top of the cake mixture. Bake in centre of oven for about 30 mins.
Several weeks ago (17th April to be precise) I gave up meat for 4 weeks to see what would happen – would I feel any better, no different or not as good.
Much to my fascination, I have not eaten it since and more amazingly for this carnivore, I have not missed it. In fact, the other day I cooked some bacon for my husband – I thought this would be the ultimate test as I have never been able to resist the aromas of bacon assaulting my olfactory senses. Not only did I resist, but I found the smell decidedly unpleasant. What is happening!
I know when I first gave up fructose I was told it would take 6-8 weeks to recalibrate. Is this the same with any dietary change? How long does it take to make a lifestyle change become habit?
I make sure I eat a balanced and nutrient diet – getting the macro and micro nutrients I would have ingested from meat sources from other sources.
Before writing this tonight I googled, ‘giving up meat for a month’ – it seems I am not alone !! Not such a threshold adventurer after all…but not quite a lemming either. Just another person who wants to try different ways to improve their health. 🙂
Salad: roasted butternut squash, tomatoes, radishes, mixed olives, watercress and rocket mixed with a drizzle of apple cider vinegar, tamari and extra virginity olive oil with beetroot and a pickled cucumber.
Trout portion baked with a squeeze of lemon.
Fresh rhubarb from the garden – sprinkled with light muscovado sugar and roasted until soft.
Buck wheat pancakes:
225 g buckwheat flour 1 large egg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
250 ml milk
Method:
Put the dry ingredients in to a bowl and make a well for the egg. Mix together and slowly add the milk and mix to create a smooth batter.
Jo's food bites. 