Although today is a Monday, it’s Wellington Anniversary day, so a public holiday. @sift666 has gone to visit his mum, and all is quiet and Sunday-feeling. I still had lots of work to do, however, so not much time was spent in the kitchen. But there are some recipes and tips to share.
Since I came off the water fast, I’ve been having four smallish meals a day. As it’s summer, I got back onto some raw veges and salad as soon as I could, and that’s what I have for lunch. Today I’ve got a bit of a sore gum, and can’t get excited about chewing lots of hard carrot. So I’m making spiderman salad.
Spiderman salad
This idea came from one of the late, great Leslie Kenton’s books. To get raw veges into her children, she would zizz them up and call them Spiderman salads. I must be still a kid at heart, as they’re my favourite too.
The first things to go into the mini food processor (a NutriBullet would be good for this job as well) are the hard veges. Today that was:
A small carrot, peeled and chopped
Half a small beetroot, peeled and chopped
I pulsed them a few times before I added the rest. Then I added:
A chunk of telegraph cucumber, peeled and chopped
Half a small apple, chopped
A few herbs (parsley and garlic chives) fresh from the garden
Some cos lettuce leaves, roughly chopped.
A few more pulses, and doesn’t it look pretty?
Usually I would dump it into a bowl at this point, still with some texture. But because my gum is sore, I’m going to pulse a few more times and get it finer. Maybe we could think of it almost like a raw vegetable sauce?
On top of that went about 100gm cooked chicken, and a drizzle of balsamic salad dressing. See my salad post for how to make that.
After I took the photo, I mixed it all in together, so the dressing was mixed through.
It was so tasty and easy to eat, though I still made sure to chew it, to get it digesting well.
Kitchen tip – best way to use a can of coconut milk
After a bit more work, I needed a late arvo snack, and I’ve been making “mylk”shakes with coconut milk. Trouble is, I only need a small part of a can, and I want to make sure the rest keeps for several days. So here’s what I’ve been doing.
Shake the can really well before opening it, then if needed, mix it more once opened. Pour it into an ice cube tray, and freeze it. Once the cubes are fully frozen, store them in a zip lock bag. A 270ml can of Ayam brand coconut milk makes 15 cubes, and is enough for 5 “shakes”. There, how easy is that?
Choc berry mylkshake
Ok, I’m ready to make my shake. Out of the freezer come:
3 coconut milk cubes
50gm frozen organic blueberries
They go to one side, while I mix up the non frozens:
1 cup filtered water
5 drops liquid stevia (English toffee flavour) – normally I would use a natural sweetener like honey, but I’m still off all sugars, even good ones
1 scoop bone broth protein powder (or whatever type of protein you like)
1 teaspoon natural vitamin C powder, from whole foods
1 heaped teaspoon raw cacao powder
1 raw (grass fed) egg yolk (did I mention I seem to be ok on eggs again now, yay?)
After a quick blitz to mix those together, in go the frozens for some serious blending and frothing.
Glass, pour, straw, drink…
If you’re wondering what I do with the egg whites, sometimes I save them for grain-free bread, like my Carrot Cashew Blender Bread or Carrot Almond bread. Last nights dinner was a Paleo cottage pie with pumpkin topping instead of cauli. The egg white got whipped into the pumpkin layer, which made it a little fluffier.
Coconut snack bar
After some more work, and a phone call with my sis about some online study she wants to do, jeepers, it’s 7.30pm! But I want to get this snack bar made, so off I go. While I’m gone, check out my previous posts about coconut snack bars – Healthy Homemade Chocolate and Fudge – Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Fruit & Nut bar.
Both the above links tell you how to prepare the creamed coconut, so I won’t cover that again.
Today I’m going to use the whole jar and make two different combos. So into the food processor go:
500ml creamed coconut, softened
100gm coconut oil (already liquid in today’s heat)
100 gm cacao butter, melted
I’m tipping it into two bowls. To the first one I’m adding:
15 drops Valencia Orange stevia
15 drops food grade essential oils (a citrus blend)
1 teaspoon dehydrated lemon rind
Into the lined tray it goes, and I’m sprinkling a few pieces of cinnamon coated coconut chips on one half.
The second one is a simple chocolate mix:
25 drops English Toffee stevia
2 heaped teaspoons raw cacao powder
Right. Into the fridge go both trays and I’ll make myself some dinner.
Dinner for one
A very simple dinner for just me.
A fresh salmon fillet, sprinkled with sea salt and baked in the oven for 10 mins
About 1/3 head of broccoli, steamed and topped with salt and lemon juice
Followed by 3 or 4 fresh strawberries from our garden
Then add some pics to this post, clean up the kitchen a bit, and it won’t be far off bedtime.
Thanks for keeping me company :-)
Check out @woman-on the-wing’s #makeithealthy project
Images by myself, @sift666 or from Pixabay, unless otherwise stated.
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