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.
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.
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. 🙂
This is so simple to make and absolutely delicious.
Pre heat oven to Gas mark 5 / 190 c
Ingredients:
1 fillet of smoked cod per person
Gruyère cheese
Fresh dill
Method:
Simply mix some chopped dill with the Gruyère cheese. Spread a layer on to the underside of the cod fillet and roll up. Secure with a stick.
Wrap loosely in tin foil and place on a baking tray. Cook in the centre of the oven for 10 – 15 minutes.
I served this with in season new potatoes, quail eggs from my lovely ladies and pan-fried asparagus topped with parmesan.
A delicious drink that is packed full of goodness and very simple to make.
Ingredients:
Mug of full fat milk
1 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cinnamon / piece of cinnamon stick
1 tsp ground ginger / finely chopped cm piece of fresh ginger
Pinch of black pepper
Method:
Put all the ingredients in to a saucepan and heat gently bringing to the boil. Remove from the heat and if you have used fresh ginger and cinnamon stick – strain the liquid.
Drink and enjoy – I often have this with a piece of 85% dark chocolate.
I love a simple salad of clean tastes. The sweet tomatoes work so well with feta cheese and the combination of sprouted quinoa, mung beans and green lentils add texture and crunch to the peppery rocket.
In the 70’s and 80’s it was trendy to have various pulses sprouting in jars around the house. I remember having jars of alfalfa and mung beans everywhere…along with the obligatory mustard and cress on cotton wool – slightly yellowing and curled at the edges. I did this because ‘everyone else’ did. I did enjoy them but the ‘fad’ soon ended.
Now, all these years on, once again I have jars with sprouting pulses in cupboards and in dark corners. This time however, I do it not only because I enjoy eating them but also because I know the health benefits that eating them brings.
I know that soaking and sprouting de-activates the acids and enzyme inhibitors present in the pulses preventing them from growing until the conditions are favourable. This de-activation then enables our bodies to digest and absorb the vitamins and minerals more readily.
Now I sprout a wide variety of legumes – lentils, chickpeas, quinoa and (of course my old favourite) mung beans, to name few.
Green lentil Quinoa Mung bean
I’m yet to try chia seeds – I’m sure they will but am just not sure how to as when they are soaked they get a mucilaginous coating. Any advice?
So…one week has passed and I have not eaten any meat at all (I have had some fish) and I cannot believe how much better I feel. The sluggish feeling has gone completely.
It has however made me realise how ‘alternative’ diets are still not readily catered for and I wonder if they ever will be. Let me explain what I mean. Yesterday, I spent a glorious day helping out at a function with several people. All the helpers had lunch provided – a picnic. A picnic with standard fayre – an assortment of tasty looking sandwiches, crisps and delicious looking cake. It wasn’t an event ahead of which you would state you are gluten-free, fructose free and meat free – so having helped at previous functions I knew to take my own food.
The point I’m trying to make is that I couldn’t eat any of this ‘normal food’.
When my husband and I go out for dinner it can be quite disheartening when I look down the menu to see only a couple of items that I can choose from and a few more for him because he is only gluten-free..
Now I know, and I’ll say it before you do, that these diets choices I have made are from personal choice not a medical directive so maybe I should suck up and shut up. But, there are millions of people out there for whom a change of diet is a necessity to stay well.
I wonder when the balance of ‘normal’ food to ‘different diets’ will shift?
Jo's food bites. 