Belly-warming detox soup!

Autumn is officially starting to take hold in Sydney. The days are still sunny and warm but the mornings and evenings are definitely getting colder.

And these cool, dark evenings coupled with a little bit too much indulgence over easter (mmmm hot cross buns!!!!) inspired me to cook up a huge pot of belly-warming vegetable soup for the week. 

I cook this up almost every other weekend during winter. Because I work full-time plus now with teaching yoga on the side, it is so great to have my dinner sorted out - a massive batch will last me for most of the week. I just come home, heat it up and I have got a nutritious, warming and filling dinner. 

And because it has nothing but good stuff in it, it is great for those times when you have been eating too many crappy foods and want to detox. Nothing but vegetables and legumes with a little coconut oil and lots of spices! 

And it is stupid easy to make. Like, ridiculously easy.

Ingredients:

- Lots of vegetables 

Can't make vegetable soup without 'em! I don't really have a set recipe for my soup and the veges change each time I make it. Other than that, I just chuck in whatever vegetables I felt like buying that week (or what I can find/ what is on special!). Last week this included carrots, celery, cauliflower, butternut pumpkin, broccoli, zucchini and a leek. 

- 2 brown onions 

- 2 cloves of garlic

- Coconut oil (about a tablespoon)

You can use any oil, but as you will be using it for browning the onions and leeks, I like to use coconut oil because it has a high smoking point so won't oxidise when heated at high temperatures. It is also has many other great benefits that have been written about extensively. Here is a starting point though if you are curious.

- Tumeric (2 teaspoons)

- Chilli flakes (1 - 2 teaspoons depending on how spiky you like your food)

- Cumin seeds (1 heaped tablespoon)

- Vegetable stock powder (3 teaspoons) 

- Dried lentils (3/4 cup)

You can use any kind of lentils that take your fancy - brown, green, red, yellow - it is all good. Or even swap them out for dried beans like navy beans.

- Split peas (1/2 cup)

Make it happen

Chop all the veges into bite sized chunks. If you are going to blend the soup (you can leave it chunky if you prefer), the size of the pieces doesn't matter that much but they will cook quicker if they aren't too big. Finely slice the onions and leeks (if you are using them).

Heat the coconut oil in a really big-ass pot. Once it covers the bottom of the pot, chuck in the onions. Keep stirring them until they go a nice golden colour.

Add in the turmeric, cumin seeds, chilli flakes, leek and garlic. (I just use a garlic crusher on mine but you can just as easily chop it finely with a small, sharp knife.) Keep stirring until the leek goes nice and soft.

Drop in all the veges, the lentils and the split peas and pour in enough water to cover everything with about an inch of water above it. Add the stock powder.

Give it a quick stir, take it to the boil and then allow it to simmer over a low heat with the lid on the pot.

And then you just wait! Leave it on for an hour or so, giving it a stir now and then to make sure it is all looking good.

Enjoy!

Once it is done, you can serve it straight up if you want it chunky or otherwise put it in the blender for a few seconds to make a smooth, thick soup. Add a piece of heavy, grainy bread if you want or just enjoy it as it is.

It will keep in the fridge for about a week and freezes well too. And the best thing is - it tastes even better the day after you make it.

YUM!!!!!

Cleaning up your act

It is 2014! And so far, so good.

If you checked out my last post, you will know that I am not really into conventional resolutions. I'm also not that into extreme diets or restrictive eating to lose weight - even after periods of prolonged periods of pigging out   (aka my Christmas break).

But if you have been slacking off on the diet front, the new year is a great time to get back into healthy eating.

If it's this green, it has GOT to be good.

So if healthy eating is one of your goals for 2014, here are a few tips to keep you on the wagon:

1. Don't try to do it all at once! If you have accumulated a whole bunch of bad habits, don't try to ditch them all at once - you will most likely feel overwhelmed and give up if you do. Pick the worst habit - maybe drinking too much alcohol or coffee or eating too much fried or sugary foods - and work on removing that one first. Once you get a handle on that one, you will feel more accomplished and ready to start tackling the rest of your habits. Just tweaking your diet like this over time can create massive changes that are more likely to last. 
2. Focus on the good stuff. If you only focus on the things that you can't eat any more, you are only going to be miserable. Which means that you will probably not want to keep going. Instead, treat the goal of healthy eating as a positive. Learn new recipes, try new foods, read up on nutrition and how you can use food as fuel and to heal. Get excited about your new path and you will want to keep it up.
3. Don't rely on exercise alone. If you want to be healthy and to feel great, it doesn't matter how much yoga, running or sessions at the gym you do, you won't feel great. Even if you happen to lose weight or you are already naturally thin, if you eat junk, you will feel crap. Your body needs nutrient-dense, whole foods to feel great - so fuel your body with lots of healthy foods, mostly plants, in as close to their natural state as possible. 
4. Be wary of crazy diets. While you are researching health and nutrition, you are bound to come across some weird diet plans. While it is interesting to read up on these and get inspiration and ideas, I would caution against following any one in particular. Especially if they tell you to avoid large, seemingly healthy food groups, like grains or fruit. Sure, you don't want to be eating all the white bread you can find - but there is no reason to avoid brown rice, oats or other whole grains completely (unless of course you have an intolerance or are allergic). And treat any diet that tells you not to eat mangoes or any other fruit with great suspicion (because seriously, if you can't enjoy mangoes in the summertime, what is the damn point?!?). 
5. You don't need pills or special shakes to be healthy. Diet pills and shakes are just short-term solutions and are full of chemicals. You don't need them. If you are eating a balanced diet based mostly on fresh vegetables, whole grains, pulses, nuts and seeds, you will start noticing results and feel amazing.  Also, Eating well doesn't have to be expensive - which might be hard to believe if you take any advice from Gwyneth Paltrow. Sure there are lots of amazing super foods out there that cost a bunch and come with all sorts of wonderful health claims, but they aren't essential to a healthy diet. Want to find health? Keep it clean and unprocessed - it is that easy. 
6. Drink lots of water! But you already knew that one, right?  

When in doubt, make a green smoothie! Filling, yummy and healthy as.

I am sure there are plenty of others but these ones seem the most important to me. Hopefully they are helpful in getting you back on the path of good health. And if you wander off the path at any point? No big deal. Just start back where you left off, remind yourself why it is that you are making health your priority, and don't dwell on the slip. Because slips happen. What matters is what you do afterwards.

Shanti!
xx

Doing what you know you should

I am almost at the end of a 10 day detox. Day 9 in fact. No dairy, no alcohol (neither of which I have anyway), no sugar (eep!) and no caffeine (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!!!!). Plus yoga classes every day (not a big change, but it did mean that I had to go to 6.30am classes to make sure that I didn't miss a day - so, no more sleep-ins and more EEEEEEEEEP!!!!)

So why do this?

Well, at teacher training the other week we were asked to make a couple of lists: one of things that support our wellbeing (stuff like yoga, meditation, eating well, getting plenty of sleep, reading, laughing, practising gratitude, spending time with positive people) and the other of things that don't support our wellbeing (drinking coffee, sleeping in, eating junk, gossiping, procrastinating, negative self-talk, spending time with toxic people).

Seeing all these things written down really got me thinking - given that was so easy for me to come up with these lists, why don't I do more of the things on the first list, and waaaaay less of the things on the second list?

The answer is the same for me as it is for all of us - comfort. Even though I know that sticking with my current habits doesn't make me feel as great as I could feel, I get comfort from them. Like when I am feeling down on myself, so to make myself feel better I decide to treat myself - I skip yoga, eat pizza and chocolate and read trashy gossip magazines until late. Then I sleep in the next morning (again skipping yoga and meditation), drink coffee to stay awake all day and feel even worse about myself. Which is all my fault, because I am stupid and awful and deserve to feel this crappy. Sound familiar? Well it sounds really familiar to me because I do it way too much!

When my yoga studio (the totally wonderful House of Yoga in Redfern) announced that it was launching a 10 Day Push, I decided it would be the kick up the butt I needed to change things up a bit. And change them for the better!

And as I come to the end of the 10 days, I have to admit - I feel amazing! I have been getting up really early, feeling awake all day, eating well, sleeping well, my mood is more stable, I am more focussed, happier, grateful... I seem to be attracting more positive, supportive people into my life too.  All in just 9 days!?!?!

It's true - day one was tough. I had headaches and was in a major brain-fog all day. And yes, it sucks when I walk to work and the whole of the city seems to be enjoying delicious smelling coffee. Or when I walk past the cup cake stall on my way to buy lunch. But it has not been impossible. And every day that I stick to the plan, I am supporting my wellbeing and choosing to happiness. Even on rough days, I am in the best possible place to deal with the challenges I am thrown.

Ok - so maybe I am still in the euphoric, honeymoon stage. There is only one way to find out for sure - to keep it all up even after the 10 days are over!!

Wish me luck!
xoxo

Chocolatey goodness!

Happy Easter you guys!

Whatever your religious beliefs, most of us tend to indulge in a bit of chocolate over the Easter break. And I am definitely not an exception! Right now, I am basically experiencing what can only be described as a chocolate coma.

As a vegan, my Easter treats are a little more limited but there are still plenty of dairy-free goodies for me to get my chocolate on. And it just keeps getting easier to buy animal-friendly chocolate too - there are even vegan Easter eggs! Like this yummy Organic Times dark chocolate egg:

Source: www.biome.com.au

Nom!

It is important to note that not all dark chocolate is necessarily vegan - you have to read the label to make sure it doesn't contain milk solids or butter fats. The higher the percentage of cocoa, the more likely it is that it will be dairy free (but this still isn't a guarantee). It is worth searching for though and at least you know that, while you might be being a little bit naughty, at least you are getting a nice dose of antioxidants at the same time!

There is also another issue with our Easter noms that has got a lot more attention this Easter - the use of palm oil.

The use of palm oil is controversial as palm oil plantations have caused the destruction of rain forests in Indonesia and Malaysia, where around 85% of the world's palm oil is produced. This has resulted in habitat loss for a number of endangered species, including the orangutan. You can find out more about this here. Because of its direct impact on the welfare of animals, a lot of vegans avoid palm oil even though it isn't an actual animal product itself.

Palm oil is used in a lot of products - it is usually just listed as a vegetable oil so it is hard to know what you are buying. And this Easter, it was showing up in the ingredients list for a number of brands of hot cross buns - including Woolworths' and Coles' home brand varieties. This received a lot of negative press though so hopefully most people bought their hot cross buns from local bakeries instead.

Baked goods aren't the only thing that can contain palm oil - in the past Nestle has copped a lot of flack for using it in its chocolate.

One way to guarantee that you won't be getting any of these nasties is to make your own. Yes - even chocolate!

I was lucky enough to attend a special Easter yoga event this weekend at the gorgeous yoga studio, House of Yoga in Redfern. After sweating it out through a yummy 90 minute vinyasa class, we all got to indulge in some AMAZING homemade raw chocolate goodies.

I am not exaggerating when I say these were some of the yummiest treats I have ever tasted. I mean it - they were SO. GOOD.

Instead of being made with cocoa (which is what most chocolate is made from) they were all made using cacao. While they might sound like they are the same thing, the differences between the two are very important. Cacao is basically the seed that is used to make cocoa, but that hasn't gone through the cleaning, roasting and processing that cocoa goes through. So cacao is essentially raw. Why does this matter? Well, when it is processed, cocoa loses most of its nutritional value. Even if you eat dark chocolate, if it has been made with cocoa, it won't contain anywhere near the same levels of antioxidants and other nutrients that you get in cacao. In addition to high antioxidant levels, cacao also contains iron, copper, zinc, magnesium and calcium as well as a whole host of vitamins. 

The basic ingredients of cacao chocolate are cacao powder, cacao butter (not actual butter obviously - it is just the fat that comes from the cacao bean) and some kind of sweetener, like honey or agave syrup. The tasty treats that we were served up also had all sorts of amazing ingredients added in - coconut, almonds, dried figs, fresh ginger. All tasty and all super good for you! Win!!

But what if you can't / don't want to make it yourself (or be lucky enough to have yoga teachers that make them for you)? Well, you can buy chocolate made with cacao too so you have no excuses! My favourite is Loving Earth but there are lots of other brands out there and more and more are showing up in the shops as people learn about cacao's amazing properties.

Another easy way to get a dose of cacao is in powder form - I add it to my green smoothies to turn them into perhaps the healthiest chocolate thick shake EVER. You can also use to make up a hot chocolate - definitely something to keep in mind when it gets colder.

So, even though Easter is practically over for another year, you can totally justify getting your chocolate on all year round so long as you make sure it has been made with cacao (oh and, you know, blah blah moderation blah) aaaaaaand you can feel good about doing it! Yay cacao!!!!

So - vegan, huh?

I get asked all the time why I follow a vegan diet. So here is a blog post that I wrote on that very topic for a friend's blog. I have also added some photos of some of the very yummy food that I get to eat as a vegan.  Enjoy!

It is not something that I actually like to bring up in conversation. Especially if people are eating. But, one way or another, it comes up and there is no avoiding the awkward silences, the defensive comments, the jokes, the lectures...

Yes – it is true. I am a vegan. 

But I don’t get why that makes other people so uncomfortable – I mean, I am the one with the 
restrictive diet but I'm not complaining! Other people though can have a really big issue with it.

Satay tofu sticks on roasted vegetables

The first thing people usually want to know is where I get my protein from. Or my iron. Or my calcium. Or my B12!! I usually just point out that being a vegan or even a vegetarian actually requires you to be very focussed on what you eat and what your meals are made up of and that I definitely think more about these things now than I did as an omnivore. Then I ask them how their B12 levels are. And then they usually move on to a different line of questioning. Like...

“Aren’t, you wearing leather shoes though? You know the cows don’t just donate their skin for you to have a pair of boots. They killed the cow that they came from. In fact, you should thank me for eating the rest of it.”

Kale salad with pesto dressing

Ok. It is true. I own leather shoes. Handbags. Belts. I even have a pair of leather gloves. But since going vegan, I haven’t bought anything made from animal skin. This is going to sound pretty bad but it is the single hardest challenge that I have had to face since becoming a vegan. No more cheesecake? Fine. No more Christian Louboutins? Are you FRICKING SERIOUS???

In my heart of hearts though, I think it is worth it. But no - I did not throw out all of my existing shoes and bags away because I just think that would be worse. And instead of replacing them when they wear out, I will just get them mended. And when my favourite leather shoes can’t be fixed anymore? Well, hopefully I will be earning enough to replace them with a pair of Stella McCartney heels. So don’t bother calling me a hypocrite, alright? Because I am fine with my decision. And also, if you do, I am going to tell you exactly where the beef came from to make your burger and, if you have any humanity at all, it will make you cry like a baby.

Raw vegan brownies - these are super tasty and incredibly easy to make - check out the recipe here

People also like to tell me that I am wasting my time. That I can’t make a difference through my choices – everyone else eats meat and they will just cancel me out. In fact, some delightful people have offered to eat all of the meat that I don’t eat so that the world isn’t affected. These are usually the same people who don’t believe in climate change and who think that refugees are all criminals though so I tend not to bother with them much. Basically, while it might be true that I may not make much of a difference to

the world by being a vegan, I feel better knowing that I am not making things worse either.

Finally, there are those people who just cannot imagine a world without meat. “Don’t you miss it?” they ask, their eyes wide with concern and confusion. “What else is there to eat? Do you just have side-dishes?” Well, sometimes, yes - all that some restaurants offer me to eat are hot chips or a plate of “greens”. But that is ok – I mean it is still food and at least I won’t be starving. If it is up to me though, I will be eating something pretty awesome – curries, soups, stirfries, burgers, pasta, cakes, chocolate – everything can be made vegan. It just takes a little more effort to find it or you have to make it yourself. 

But it all tastes great and I never feel like I am missing out.

Almond butter and jam sandwich cookies - seriously nommy

At this point in the conversation, I usually remind people that their steaks are getting cold and we get stuck into our meals. They seem happy enough to continue what they are doing and I probably haven’t changed their views on what they eat or anything. But I like to think that something might sink in. And even if they just eat a little less meat than they currently do, we will all be better off.

Greening my diet

My biggest vice is probably that I drink a lot of coffee. I love coffee.

I mean, I really love coffee. I probably have at least three proper barista-made coffees a day.

Given that I otherwise have a pretty clean diet that is free of all animal products and I don't drink at all anymore, I tend to give myself a break when it comes to coffee. It isn't like I am an intravenous drug user or anything - I just consume a whole lot of caffeine.

I have in the past made numerous attempts to give my lovely coffee. I have tried going entirely caffeine-free and replacing it with dandelion tea and assorted other herbal teas. I have tried replacing it with green tea. I have tried to just have it now and then as a treat. All of these attempts have done is given me a nasty headache and an even nastier attitude. It was not pretty.

At the moment, I am in a happy place where I try to only have normal coffees before lunch time. If I want one after that, I'll have a decaf (which I don't think is that awful to be honest). And right now, this is all that I am willing to do. I figure that this should at least ensure that the caffeine has enough time to leave my system so that I won't be overstimulated when I go to bed.

Recently, though, I have been reading more and more about the importance of balancing your body's pH level by including more foods in your diet that have an alkalising effect on the body. For example, this article on MindBodyGreen sets out a rather scary list of the negative effects that having an overly acidic diet can have on the human body.

I always take these types of lists with a grain of salt mind you - they are often based on scant or skewed research and tend to over-state the results - but there is a growing volume of literature which ties negative health consequences to acidity. And certainly enough for me to take stock of my own diet.

And wouldn't you know it? Coffee is a pretty god damned acidic. But, more surprisingly, so are a lot of other foods and beverages that I consider to be healthy and regularly consume - like nuts. And jeez - purified water!?!

I am not that keen to toss these things out of my diet. If I try give up coffee again, I am likely to lose friends and, quite possibly, my job. Also, let's face it, as a health-conscious vegan, my diet is already pretty limited. So, instead, I am focussing on including more of the foods that are on the other end of the pH scale and will have an alkalising effect on my body. Thus, hopefully, bringing my bod into a lovely balance.

If you look at the super-alkaline end of the spectrum shown in the article I mentioned before, you will notice lots and lots of green things - spinach, seaweed and the like. As much as I would love to say I can happily gorge myself on these foods, in all honesty I can't. I don't mind having them with things, but find it hard to get excited about them as the main event.

And that is where the amazing green smoothies come in!

Green smoothies are basically an easy way to sneaking greens into your diet (as well as a few choice other wonder-foods if you like) by whizzing them together with some yummy fruit and ice. You may have already seen lots of recipes for green smoothies - they are a pretty popular thing for health and food bloggers to post about at the moment (and don't forget the millions of photos on Instagram of green goop in recycled jars). The great thing about the green smoothie is that there are so many different ways to make these blended beauties. You can just keep experimenting with different ingredients until you come up with the concoction that best floats your boat.

So I figure - why don't I just add another green smoothie recipe to the blogosphere? So here it is - the green smoothie recipe that is currently rocking my world:

• Medium-sized banana - frozen and chopped into chunks
• About one cup of baby spinach leaves
• The same again of kale (if you can't get kale, just double the amount of baby spinach)
• Half a mango
• One scoop each of ground chia seeds, LSA mix, green powder (like wheatgrass, barley grass, spirulina etc) and protein powder (I use pea protein but you can use whatever you like - just try to avoid anything with added flavouring because it can mess with the taste of the smoothie - and not in a good way)
• A tablespoon of tahini
• A splash of almond milk (or whatever milk takes your personal fancy)
• Enough water and ice to get it to the right consistency (gluggy but still able to be poured

If you really like sweet things, you might want to add a sweetener like stevia or agave syrup. I personally think the banana and mango make it sweet enough so I don't bother.

The method could not be simpler - bung it into a blender, press go and, when all the bits have become one liquidy awesome mess, press stop and pour it into a big-ass glass. Et voila!

I am actually having one of these for dinner most nights because it is hot and I am crap at preparing real food for myself - especially after work. Most normal people would probably say to have it for breakfast though.

I should also note that this is my summer recipe. Once the mangos go out of season, I will start to substitute the mango and ice for blueberries and cacao powder. Granted, this looks more like a mud smoothie than a green smoothie thanks to the cacao - but it tastes like a really rich chocolate thick shake so - win! 

I am always tinkering with the recipe so I don't get bored too. Would love to here any variations on the green smoothie that you guys might have - just leave your recipe in the comments! 

xox