All posts by Genevieve

Moist Gluten Free Chocolate cake

Treats, , , , , , , , ,

Moist Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

With my son’s birthday fast approaching, and children in his class with nuts and gluten allergies, making a birthday cake this year took a little bit of experimentation. This chocolate cake received the children’s seal of approval, with not a single piece left in the box that we sent into his classroom.

Ingredients

  • 50g good quality cocoa powder (sifted)
  • 125ml boiling water
  • seeds of one pod vanilla
  • 70g sweet potato flour
  • 60g rice flour
  • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 150ml coconut oil (or regular olive oil, not extra virgin olive oil – it is too strong tasting)
  • 100ml honey (or use maple syrup)
  • 3 large eggs
  • handful of frozen cranberries (optional)

Directions

  1. Heat the oven at 170 degrees Celsius (340 degrees Fahrenheit).
  2. Sift the cocoa into a bowl. Add the boiling water and stir well to make a smooth paste. Put aside to cool down while you prepare the rest
  3. Measure the sweet potato and rice flour into a separate bowl. Add the bicarbonate of soda and salt and set aside.
  4. In the bowl of a food processor or mixer, add the coconut oil, honey and eggs.
  5. Mix for about 3 minutes until well aerated.
  6. Add the chocolate mixture to the mixture in the foodprocessor or mixer. Mix thoroughly.
  7. Add the flour mixture to the foodprocessor or mixer. Mix thoroughly.
  8. Prepare as springform cake tin of 20-25cm with a base lining of baking paper. Oil the sides of the tin with a little coconut oil.
  9. Pour the mixture into the tin.
  10. Sprinkle over the cranberries or other berries (optional)
  11. Cook the cake for 40 minutes in the oven or until it is still moist in the centre, but cooked through.
  12. Serve warm or cooled down.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Breaks Co-op – Sounds Familiar

 

 

 

 

Lebanese Lamb Burgers on a Portobello “bun” with Sumac Onions

Dinner, , , , , ,

Lebanese burgers with portobello bun

Burgers do not need to be unhealthy snack food. This burger is full of goodness with lamb mince flavoured with Lebanese seven spice mix. Delicious with sweet potato chips cooked in the Air Fryer, and a simple salad.

Ingredients

For the burgers

  • Coconut oil
  • 500 gr minced lamb
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • Handful of fresh mint, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp coriander stalks, finely chopped
  • 2 – 3 mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp Lebanese 7 spice powder
  • 1 tsp of sea salt
  • Freshly grounded black pepper
  • Fresh coriander to garnish, roughly chopped
  • A few salad leaves
  • Olive oil

For the portobello “buns”

For the sumac onions

  • Coconut oil
  • 2 red onions, sliced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
  • Sumac

Directions

  1. To make the burgers, combine all ingredients – apart from the coconut oil, fresh coriander, salad leaves and olive oil – in a large bowl and mix with your hands until everything is well combined.
  2. Wet your hands and form medium sized patties.
  3. Place the patties on a lightly oiled plate and store in the fridge for about 30 minutes so they can firm up a little.
  4. While the burgers are in the fridge, slice the onions and garlic and put aside.
  5. Preheat the oven onto 200 degrees celsius.
  6. Destem the portobello mushrooms and lightly brush them with a little coconut oil.
  7. Sprinkle them with sea salt, pepper and some za’atar spice mix.
  8. Heat some coconut oil in a large skillet and fry the burgers for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, depending on the size of your burger and your liking.
  9. In the meantime, place the portobellos in the oven and bake for around 7 minutes or until a bit soft and tender. Make sure they do not burn!
  10. When your burgers are ready, place them on a plate and leave them to rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
  11. While the burgers are resting, use the same skillet as you used for the burgers to fry your sumac onions. Let the pan cool of slightly, then add a little more coconut oil. Add the onions and cook them for 5 to 7 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add a generous amount of sumac and stir through.
  12. To arrange, place a few salad leaves on a plate and sprinkle with a little olive oil. Place a portobello on the salad leaves and top with a burger. Add the onions on top of the burger and garnish with a few coriander leaves. Sprinkle everything with a little more olive oil, serve with kumara chips and enjoy!

About Lebanese seven spice powder
Lebanese 7 spice powder is a blend of allspice, black pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, group fenugreek, and ginger. All of these spices are readily available in most supermarkets.

If you are unable to find it in your asian food store, then we have also included a recipe for Lebanese 7 spice mix for you to make yourself

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Beirut – The Rip Tide

 

 

Sweet Potato Leaves in Coconut Sauce

Dinner, , , , , , , ,

Sweet potato leaves in coconut sauce

Sweet potato leaves are not a very common ingredient to find outside Asia. Try looking for them at your Asian food stores, otherwise you can substitute for spinach in this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 400 gr sweet potato leaves
  • 1 red onion, finely sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 3 cm fresh ginger, chopped or grated
  • 1 tsp ground fenugreek
  • 2 tbsp coconut aminos
  • Salt and pepper
  • Handful of kaffir lime leaves, shredded
  • 400 ml coconut milk
  • 200 ml water
  • Coconut oil

Directions

  1. Cut of the stems of the sweet potato leaves.
  2. Wash the leaves and steam the leaves with a small splash of water for 1 minute.
  3. Transfer the leaves to a bowl of ice cold water to stop the leaves from cooking.
  4. Drain the leaves and set aside.
  5. Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan and fry the onion, garlic, ginger and lime leaves for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
  6. Add the fenugreek and fry for another minute.
  7. Season with the coconut amines and add the coconut milk and water.
  8. Add the sweet potato leaves and simmer until the sauce has thickened a little.
  9. Season with salt and pepper and serve with coconut rice or rice.

About sweet potato leaves
Sweet potato leaves are primarily eaten in Asia and Africa, but can be found further afield in Asian food stores or sometimes in your supermarket. They can be substituted with Spinach where you are unable to find sweet potato leaves.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Zee Avi – Zee Avi

 

 

Lamb Tenderloins with Basil Mint Sauce

Dinner, , , , ,

Lamb tenderloins and mint sauce

The basil mint sauce has a pesto like consistency and is delicious on lamb, or with sweet potato chips. It avoids the Parmesan cheese of traditional pesto, but is still very tasty.

Ingredients

  • 500 gr lamb tenderloin
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • Handful of fresh mint leaves
  • Handful of fresh basil leaves
  • Juice of half a lime
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • Olive oil

Directions

  1. To make the sauce, put the mint, basil, lime, garlic, olive oil in a blender.
  2. Season with salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and set aside.
  3. Season the lamb with salt and pepper.
  4. Fry the tenderloins in a large frying pan to your liking.
  5. Let the meat rest for a couple of minutes before serving with the basil and mint sauce.

Makes an easy diner with sweet potato chips and a quick salad.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: French for Rabbits – Spirits

 

 

Courgette and Tahini Lime Dip

Condiments and Dips, , , , ,

Courgette and tahini lime dip

This is an easy to prepare dip which goes well with cucumber, carrots and celery sticks for an afternoon snack.

Ingredients

  • 2 Courgettes
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • Handful fresh coriander
  • Couple of mint leaves
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • Juice of half a lime
  • Splash of olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp tahini

Directions

  1. Put all ingredients in a blender end blend until smooth.

Nice as a snack with cucumber, carrots and celery sticks.

About tahini
According to Wikipedia, Tahini is made from sesame seeds that are soaked in water and then crushed to separate the bran from the kernels. The crushed seeds are soaked in salt water, causing the bran to sink. The floating kernels are skimmed off the surface, toasted, and ground to produce an oily paste.

Because of tahini’s high oil content, many manufacturers recommend refrigeration to prevent spoilage. This is particularly true among makers of raw, organic tahini, who will often prepare their tahini at low temperatures and ship and store it in refrigerated cases to maximise quality and shelf life. Used in middle eastern cooking, it has a peanut buttery flavour.

Music to go with it…
Kraak & Smaak – Plastic People

 

 

This is water

Mind, , , , , ,

Taking a boat out to the Secret Gili Islands, Sekotong, Lombok I

This beautiful film reminds us of how mindfulness can have an impact every single day. Whether standing at the grocery store, driving in heavy traffic, or listening to our children complaining, we all have a choice to make. To go into auto-pilot and experience the knee jerk negative impulse that curses through our body – irritation, frustration, wishing we were somewhere else – or to be mindful and experience the situation in a different light.

By choosing to look at things differently. By choosing to use your imagination for positive effect, rather than allowing the default setting to stay engaged. By choosing to look at life positively instead of allowing the glass to stay half empty in those every day, mind numbing situations; we can change the way we experience them. We can change our every day existence.

Enjoy the visuals created by Patrick Buckley of the 2005 commencement speech of David Foster Wallance to Kenyon College.

 

https://vimeo.com/68855377

 

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Embracing vulnerability

Mind, , , , , ,

Brene Brown the gifts of imperfection

Over the last year I have started reading books to challenge the way I see the world. One which still resonates with me is “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown. She also has two excellent Ted Talks (links below).

Imperfection is a gift
Brene is a shame researcher who discovered through her research that the key to living a whole hearted life is to embrace vulnerability. Being a strong Texan woman, this realization lead to her breakdown / spiritual awakening. That you need to acknowledge, own and embrace your weaknesses in order to grow and innovate was simply too confronting to a woman who wanted to smack weakness out of the ball park.

Vulnerability is courage not weakness
However, the core of her research outcomes is the preposition that vulnerability is not weakness, and in fact that vulnerability is the most accurate measurement of courage. Only through emotional risk and exposure to uncertainty can come new ideas. This means that vulnerability is at the core of creativity, innovation and change. Without vulnerability we cannot dare greatly to create something new.

In the book Gifts of Imperfection she offers 10 guideposts to wholehearted living
Cultivating authenticity – letting go of what people think
Cultivating self compassion – letting go of perfectionism
Cultivating a resilient spirit – letting go of numbing and powerlessness
Cultivating gratitude and joy – letting go of scarcity and fear of the dark
Cultivating intuition and trusting faith – letting go of the need for certainty
Cultivating creativity – letting go of comparison
Cultivating play and rest – letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self worth
Cultivating calm and stillness – letting go of anxiety as a lifestyle
Cultivating meaningful work – letting go of self doubt and “supposed to”
Cultivating laughter song and dance – letting go of being cool and “always in control”

Embrace your imperfections, be the best you that you can be
This isn’t a book to make you feel bad about or discover your imperfections, but rather to stop worrying about what people think of your imperfections and start embracing the best person you can be. In other words, to let go of who you think you are supposed to be, and embrace who you are.

To learn more about Brene Brown you can watch her Ted Talks:

 

 

 

 

Or buy her books on Amazon:
Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, I thought it was just me (but it isn’t)

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Kale Chips with Parma Ham, Cumin and Sea Salt

Snacks, , , , ,

Kale chips with parmaham, cumin and sea salt-2

Kale is a superfood, but one I always found a little “super freaky”. It was something that health nuts ate, until we experimented with it, and made these chips. Now we even have our son snacking on kale chips.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven on 170 degrees Celsius.
  2. Cut the stalks from the kale leaves and tear the leaves into bite size pieces.
  3. Place half the the leaves on a baking try.
  4. Sprinkle with half the cumin, some sea salt and half the parma ham.
  5. Before you put the kale into the oven, sprinkle with a splash of coconut oil.
  6. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, turning the leaves every so often to bake them evenly.
  7. When the first batch is done, transfer into a large bowl and bake the second batch.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: William Fitzsimmons – Gold in the shadow

 

 

 

 

Sago and Coconut Porridge with Fresh Fruit

Breakfast, , , , ,

Sago and coconut porridge with fresh berries-4

One of the most difficult things we found in adapting to our new lifestyle was “what to do with breakfast?” I mean, how do you do breakfast without toast or muesli? As a child growing up my mother used to make a sago pudding. It was a rich and creamy treat, and I thought we must be able to adapt it into a breakfast porridge. This has become our go to start of the day.

Ingredients

  • 300 ml of water
  • 75ml sago pearls
  • 50ml grated (desiccated) coconut
  • 100 ml coconut milk
  • 2 bananas, sliced
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • Fresh fruit, like strawberries, blueberries, mango, papaya

Directions

  1. Combine the water, sago pearls, coconut, coconut milk and banana in a little sauce pan and bring slowly to the boil. Keep stirring as it will quickly stick to the bottom of the pan.
  2. As soon as the porridge has reached its desired consistency – after 5 to 10 minutes – take the pan of the heat and transfer the porridge to a bowl.
  3. Sprinkle over the cinnamon, top with the fruit of your choice and add a little splash of coconut oil for some extra creaminess.

About sago
According to Wikipedia, Sago is a starch extracted from the spongy centre, or pith, of various tropical palm stems, especially Metroxylon sagu. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Moluccas, where it is called saksak, rabia and sagu. A type of flour, called sago flour, is made from sago. The largest supply of sago comes from the East Indies. Large quantities of sago are sent to Europe and North America for cooking purposes. It is traditionally cooked and eaten in various forms, such as rolled into balls, mixed with boiling water to form a paste, or as a pancake. Sago is often produced commercially in the form of “pearls”. Sago pearls can be boiled with water or milk and sugar to make a sweet sago pudding. Sago pearls are similar in appearance to tapioca pearls and the two may be used interchangeably in some dishes.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Norah Jones – Good morning

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keeping a journal

Mind, , , ,

Dalai Lama journal and pen

Shortly after I started my wellness journey, I picked up the advice to start writing a journal and capturing my progress and thoughts for the day. Over time this has evolved into a daily practize that I just don’t skip. It is a way to chart my journey, capturing what I eat, seeing my progress, – through peaks and recovering out of troughs – and it is also a way to release my thoughts for the day before I go to bed.

A journal as a release for stress
I have long had problems with sleeping, but I have found that I sleep better when I release whatever is in my mind before I go to bed onto the pages of a notebook. It is a great way to organize my thoughts, and to ponder things that are happening in my life.

The journal will not talk back to me or judge me, and over a series of days I can write down and explore different ways I could approach something that is giving me stress, or think through a problem. Sometimes I just release frustrations, without looking for a solution.

A journal of hope
I have also discovered that it is a great way to continue to maintain hope that I will be healthy long term. I am so conscious of how I feel each day through having to write it down, that I can see progress in a way that I couldn’t if I wasn’t being so diligent in capturing it. This also helps in my food journey, I can see how eating better is affecting me positively, and that helps to keep me on course.

A journal as a conscience
My journal has become my conscience. I don’t like writing in it that I haven’t done anything by way of exercise for the day. I capture classical exercise – going for a run, doing yoga – but also playing football with my son, walking around the neighbourhood, walking my son to school. I also capture my meditation practize here.

My journal has also become my conscience for food. I write down absolutely everything that I eat, even if I cheat. But I don’t like having to write down that I have cheated, so I don’t like to cheat.

My journal template:
I find it easier to stick to following a template for my journal. Habit makes it simpler to see patterns, but to also not have to think about what I will write about, just how I felt and what I did.

Date:                Hours of sleep:
Exercise (including meditation):
Breakfast:
Supplements (if you take any):
Medicine (if you take any):
Lunch:
Snacks:
Dinner:
Stress /10    Pain /10    Energy /10
How did you feel today?:
Thoughts for the day:
What am I grateful for today:

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