New Start - July 2nd 2012

It's been about 6 months or so since my last visit to my blog and I have decided to kick start it back up again.

This morning I woke up and decided enough was enough (I know it's not the first time you've heard me say this) however enough is enough for now...........

After suffering with a few illnesses over the last few weeks/couple of months and also after being diagnosed with Diabetes (just on the borders of being a Diabetic but still enough to shock me), I decided that it's time for me to take control of my own life, afterall if I don't, who can right?

After my last batch of illnesses, what with anxiety, stress and ear ache, I got up this morning thinking that I need to really do something about addressing these issues, not only mentally and spiritually, which I am on the right path way for but need to step it up but also physically in terms of watching what I eat, how much I eat and also starting some sort of fitness programme.

So, after waking up at 6am, brushing my teeth and calling in for my morning skype meditation session, I got the impulse to go swimming (it's been about a month since I last went swimming).  I packed all my clothes etc and made my packed lunch and went to head out of the door and couldn't find my goggles.  I searched high and low but nothing.  I couldn't go swimming without my goggles because I was having issues with my eyes so couldn't risk going 'eye naked' however this did not deter me.

I took off my swimming suite, put on my tracksuit, grabbed a bottle of water and headed out of the door for a walk at 7am.  I walked around the neighbourhood for 30 minutes, got back home at 7.30am and did some floor exercises for a further 15 minutes including some stretches before heading for the shower.  IT FELT SO GOOD.  Not simply the fact that I did some exercise, but simply that I didn't give in at the first hurdle.

Breakfast consisted of a whey protein shake mixed with water, soya milk and a banana which was yummy (pictures will come tonight when I get home).

Lunch was lentil rice and salad.

So for now this is DAY 1 and I will keep you posted on my progress both in terms of food, health, fitness and wonderful new recipes so keep tuned in.

Tasty Dish....

It's been some time now since I last wrote on my 'Food Blog' but I'm back after a few intense weeks of activity, both serious and fun.

This tasty dish I tried a long time ago in a restaurant topped with goats cheese, however this is my own version and it tastes fab.  This is in preparation for my lunch tomorrow.  I hope you enjoy it.

Curry Couscous


1 cup 'giant' couscous
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup mixed frozen veg
1/2 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp olive oil

Boil the couscous until tender and then add all the other ingredients.  Drain after about 10 minutes and let the ingredients cool down.  When ready to serve, add some finely chopped coriander and lemon juice and ENJOY........ ;0)

Saturday Chill into Sunday Smooth

Well the weather is definitely getting much colder.  Last night saw the chill begin as we sat and watched the fireworks out by Bedford River.  Although the displays were beautiful, the chill didn't quite let you relax into a comfort zone.  None the less, being wrapped up warm and having fed well previously on my delicious take of a 'Nut roast' and veg, I was well satisfied.  I hope you enjoy this recipe....

And a close up, served with roast potato and steamed veg and delicious home made gravy with some cranberry sauce mixed in.  This is a great meal at Christmas time.....

Recipe - should make 2 loaves for a crunchy texture or 1 loaf for a more 'meatier' texture


60g cabbage, shredded
125g mushrooms sliced
125g soya mince
4 tbs olive oil
125g walnuts ground (roughly so you get a nice crunch if desired)
125g breadcrumbs
125g peanuts ground (roughly so you get a nice crunch if desired)
2 tsp fresh parsley chopped
1 tsp mixed herbs
Salt and pepper to taste
60 g mature cheddar grated
125mg milk (soya or normal)
1-2 tsp of tomato puree (optional although I used it in the above recipe)

Fry the cabbage, mushrooms and soya mince separately in the oil.  Mix all the ingredients in a bowl to form a soft mixture.  Add more milk if needed.  Place in 2 greased loaf tins and bake at 180oc/Gas mark 4 for 1 hour or until golden brown.

Serve with vegetables as desired.

The 'Sunday smooth' is to enjoy the lovely left overs for breakfast ;0)

Enjoy

Happy Thursday

Well another week is nearly over although a new day begins and a new week will soon begin so we need to begin with positive and good vibrations.

I have been extremely busy over the last few weeks and have valued the importance of eating right to keep energy levels up as well as keep the body and mind fully charged by meditation and feeding them both with goodness and nutrients.  In addition it is also very important not to forget to hydrate the body by drinking lots of still, room temperature water.  This also helps to cleanse the body and flush out toxins where needed.

Although the weather is still quite warm(ish) and pleasant, I have been preparing and eating a lot of soups as this not only warms the body, but gives the body the vitamins from the vegetables that it so desperately needs.  So below you will see 2 of my lovely and favourite soups for this time of year.  One is my mums lovely recipe for the famous Russian soup, Borsh and the 2nd is my favourite version of the Carrot and Coriander soup.  I hope you enjoy.  Until soon...........

Borsh (Russion Cabbage and Vegetable Soup

Ingredients - 4-6 servings
2 medium potatoes cut into medium bite size chunks
1 medium size green cabbage (savoy is good for this dish) sliced
2 stalks of celery sliced
2 medium carrots sliced
1 green pepper chopped into small pieces
3 bay leaves
1/2 can of chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp of tomato puree
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all the above ingredients into a big saucepan with about 3-4 pints of boiled water.  Bring it to boil and then turn the heat down so the ingredients can simmer until the vegetables are nice and tender.

Serve with a little cream or yoghurt on the top and some toasted rye bread.

Carrot and Coriander Soup

Ingredients - Serves 4


1 kilo of carrots sliced
2 medium size potatoes
1 red pepper sliced
1 stalk of celery
1/4 tsp of cinnamon for added flavour
Salt and Pepper to taste


Add the above ingredients into a large saucepan with about 2-3 pints of boiled water and bring to boil.  Once boiled, turn the heat down so the ingredients can simmer until the vegetables are nice and tender.  At this point, add 1/2 cup of finely chopped coriander and then blend the whole mixture until nice and smooth.

Serve with a little cream/cottage cheese (this gives the soup an added creamy flavour).

ENJOY!

Delicious Pumpkin Soup & Mushroom Curry

Good morning all, well it's been a few days since I have last written and it's been quite a fun filled fully loaded type of a week.  We are now into a new week and with winter coming our way and not least Halloween to kick start it all off I have 2 wonderful delicious recipes for you to try at home.

The important thing to remember is that we want to eat as much foods as possible that are in the 'easily digestible' category and both of these are because the ingredients are well thought out.

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients (for 4 servings):
3 cups of pumpkin chopped into chunks and boiled in 2 pints of water with
1 medium sized potato chopped into chunks
2 stalks of celery including it's leaves finely chopped
1 medium carrot chopped
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil all the above ingredients and once all vegetables are tender, blend with a mixer.
You can serve this with some yoghurt and finely chopped coriander and with some warm toasted rye bread.

Mushroom Curry

Ingredients for 4 servings:
200g of mushroom, finely chopped
1 medium potato
1/2 can of chopped tomato
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 cups of spinach
1/2 cup of yellow split lentils (cooked in water and add once completely cooked and tender/almost mushy)
1/2 cup of finely chopped coriander
2 tsps of curry powder home blend (Turmeric, Red chillies, Cumin, Coriander, Asafoetida, Amchur, Salt, Fenugreek, Nutmeg)
1/4 cup coconut cream

To start, in a sauce pan (non stick), add 2 tbsp of olive oil and then add the potatoes.  Start frying and then turn the heat down, cover so they cook (for about 10 minutes).  Then add the mushrooms and tomatoes and turn heat up a little and let all the ingredients start to fry and cook (heat not on too high).  Add the curry powder and mix well.  Once all the vegetables are cooked add the lentils, spinach, coriander and mix well.  Once the curry is cooked, add the coconut cream at the end.

Serve with some cooked brown basmati rice or warm plain naan bread.  You can also serve with yoghurt.  For vegetarians it's always nice to add some extra protein so, as you can see from my picture, I have added some toasted cashew nuts for that added flavour and crunch.

Enjoy.  Have a wonderful Tuesday and til soon........Warmest of wishes ;0)

Baked Tofu and Mini Pizzas

A very good morning to you all......it is now mid-week and only a couple days left until the weekend.

The weather is turning colder now and it is a great time to start thinking about making soups.......I will post some delicious recipes and pictures soon so watch out.

For now, I just wanted to share with you a couple of wonderful recipes my mum has been making and preparing for me, especially last night, when I got home late from work and she prepared a beautiful array of lovely dishes.

Baked Tofu Burgers


1 pack of firm tofu (250g) mashed with a fork
1/4 cup cooked white rice
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
2 small ripened avocado - mashed with a fork
1/4 tsp turmeric
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and separate into 10 small balls and make into burger shapes as above.

Roll in brown or white bread crumbs.

On a flat oven tray, spray some olive oil and place burgers on top.  On top of the burgers you can spray additional olive oil.

Leave in the over on 200c for about 15 - 20 minutes.

This is a healthy version of this recipe.  You can however shallow fry the burgers in a frying pan if preferred.

Mini Pizza's


1 kilo plain white flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white suger
2 tsp yeast
1/4 cup of olive oil

Mix all the above in a bowl with approx 1 1/2 - 2 cups warm water.  Mix until the mixture does not stick to the side of the bowl.  Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour.

Once ready, portion into about 8 - 12 balls (depending on sizes of pizza that you want) and flatten to shape.

On the top, you can use a mixture of what you like.

What my mum used is:

1.  Mix of coloured peppers (fresh and chopped), fresh tomato and some parsley with a squeeze of lemon for added flavour and zest.

2.  Sesame seeds with mixed herbs

Both taste great and you can play with different varieties........ENJOY

The weekend

This weekend has been nice although not quite as relaxing as I had hoped but it's all been in what I hope will be  for the good of my future ;0)

It's nice having my mum around and of course, as always, taking great care of me.  Nothing beats the love of a mother, the great food she cooks and the companionship.  Anyway enough of the sentiments.

We have enjoyed a lovely array of wonderful dishes of which a couple I have attached below so it can tease and play with your taste buds.

Saturday - with the start of the cold weather, cold frosty mornings and the need to buy a scarf before heading to Cambridge for the day and helping out at Inner Space, mum made a lovely tasty Russian soup which I am sure you have all heard of called Borsh.......(cabbage soup).  We added some cream on top and a rustic roll and it tasted sooooo good when I returned late from Cambridge feeling chills up and down my spine.

Ingredients
2 cups green shredded cabbage (savoy)
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup celery
1 cup chopped potatoes
1 can chopped tomato
6 tbsp tomato puree
4 bay leaves
2 tbsp dill weed (dried or fresh)
3 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp black pepper corns
Salt to taste
2 pints of boiling hot water
Simply add all the ingredients in a large pot and let it boil until all the vegetables are nice and tender.
Serve with a tbsp of double/singe cream and some bread/toast if desired.


Today, Sunday, whilst I got busy working away, mum cooked a delicious Persian dish - Aubergine Stew.

Ingredients


2 medium aubergines (sliced and fried in a little oil).  For a healthier option you can spray with olive oil and grill until nice and tender making sure you don't burn it.
1/2 can chopped tomatoes and 2 tbsp of tomato puree
200g of firm tofu, cut in small cubes and gently fried in 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp of turmeric, salt and pepper to taste.
Herbs:  1 tsp turmeric, a pinch of saffron, salt and pepper, 1/2 tsp cumin powder

Once the aubergine and tofu are cooked, in a saucepan add the herbs and oil and tomato (chopped and puree) until it gently starts simmering and then add the aubergine and tofu.  Turn the heat down and simmer.

Serve with white basmati rice.

YUM YUM

Well another week is almost over and until the next week kicks in, enjoy your Sunday... Til soon ;0)