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Hello, I have moved my blog.

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Hope to see you there.

Juls x

Perfect Pesto

I went to the Farmers market this morning, which by the way is my idea of a perfect Sunday...LOVE IT!!  Anyway I got my hands on a lovely bunch of fresh organic basil and decided it was pesto time.

So here it is, my recipe for fast and fabulous pesto. 



Fresh basil, minutes from the farmers markets smells delicious

Ingredients:

1 bunch of basil
80gm Pine nuts (you can also use walnuts)
50gm Parmesan cheese
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup of cold pressed olive oil
salt & pepper


Method:

Pre 'wazzing'

Place all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz on high until you get desired consistency. 

You may need to occasionally scrape down the sides of processor to make sure that everything mixes well.

Spoon into glass jar (for some reason it just stores better in glass) making sure that you don't leave any air pockets (tap jar on counter top). 

Then pour a little olive oil on top and seal jar.

Store your pesto in the fridge.

This won't last long . . . . trust me.

It can be used in lots of delicious ways. 

I am going to be using mine this week on my slightly tweaked version of 'Very Vege Lasagne' from one of my favourite new blogs Farmer K's Kitchen.

Enjoy xx

Food really does matter!!

I recently watched a couple of documentaries that quite literally scared the hell out of me, The Beautiful Truth and Food Matters. Woah!! Talk about eye opening.  You see I have a love affair with food that varies from super healthy to super bad.

One of my biggest vices, until recently, was crisps.....oh I could smash a large bag of them in minutes, lick my fingers and then wonder if there was a second packet.  That is until I learned that they are loaded with MSG....that's right nasty MSG, they just call it something else on the packet (check out this link Truth in Labeling). Ever wondered why you can't stop at just one or two handfuls?  MSG is a flavour enhancer that actually turns off receptors in the brain that tell you "I have had enough", it makes you want  more...and more....and more.  My other weakness....sugar, in particular chocolate.  Luckily I have found,  Loving Earth, an amazing Australian company based in Melbourne.  They truly make the most delicious raw chocolate and are a hub for all your superfood needs.  Take a look at their website and get ready to drool, you will be hot footing it to your nearest health food store to stock up.

Anyway as a result of watching the doco's nothing  processed has passed my lips since Saturday.  I  have spent a lot of time making the effort to cook everything from scratch.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks all lovingly prepared with quality ingredients (organic/pesticide free where ever possible).  I also downloaded a great IPhone app called Chemical Maze.  It helps you to decipher preservatives/additives etc so you know what you are putting into your mouth.  I went through my pantry and did quite the clean out.

My goal is to continue educating myself about nutrition, preparing healthful foods and making small changes day by day so that this new way of eating becomes a way of life.  I have no doubt that I will fall off the wagon along the way, but I will get straight back on because this means a lot to me.

Here are some pics of this weeks cooking.

Almond Milk

This is a super powerhouse of goodness if you aren't a fan of regular milk or soy.  I have been buying it fresh made at a local farmers market but it is sooooo expensive.  After reading a few different websites/recipes I decided to give it a go myself.  Success!!  It is absolutely delicious and super easy to make.

Health benefits of Almonds

• Almond nuts are rich in dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals and packed with numerous health promoting phyto-chemicals; the kind of well-balanced food ensure protection against diseases and cancers.
• These nuts are rich source of energy and nutrients. They are especially, rich in mono-unsaturated fatty acids like oleicand palmitoleic acids that help to lower LDLor "bad cholesterol" and increase HDL or "good cholesterol." Research studies suggest that Mediterranean diet, which is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids helps to prevent coronary artery disease and strokes by favoring healthy blood lipid profile.
• The nuts are an excellent source of vitamin E; contain about 25 g per100 g (about 170% of RDA). Vitamin E is a powerful lipid soluble antioxidant, required for maintaining the integrity of cell membrane of mucus membranes and skin by protecting it from harmful oxygen free radicals.
• Almonds are free ingluten and therefore, are a popular ingredient in the preparation of gluten free food formulas. Such formula preparations are in fact healthy alternatives in people with wheat food allergy and celiac disease.
• These nuts are packed with many important B-complex groups of vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, and folates. These vitamins functions as co-factors for enzymes during cellular substrate metabolism.
• They are also rich source of minerals like manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium. 

Equipment:

Blender
Nut milk bag
Bottle/Jug for finished product
*you can buy nut milk bags online from a wide variety of suppliers/retailers, they cost around $15-$17

Ingredients:

1 cup insecticide free or organic raw almonds
Water for soaking, plus 3 cups of cooled boiled water
Pinch of Himalayan Rock Salt (or celtic sea salt). 
(I found that the above ratio of ingredients makes approx 1ltr of milk)

Recipe:

1. Soak the nuts overnight in enough water (plus pinch of Himalayan rock salt) to cover them.  Soaking the nuts activates them.  Activated nuts are easily digested and more nutritious than raw or roasted nuts. Raw nuts contain enzyme inhibitors that make them difficult to digest, inhibiting our body's ability to absorb nutrients.
2. In the morning rinse the nuts thoroughly.
3. Place them into a blender and add 1 cup of water and blend until finely ground, then slowly add the remaining 2 cups of water and allow to blend for around 1 minute.
4. Place nut milk bag inside a bowl or jug that is deep enough for the bag.
5. Pour contents from blender into the nut bag and then simply gather the top of the bag together and squeeze to remove all the liquid. 
6. Tah dah....you have just made your first batch of almond milk.  It might sound time consuming but it literally took me about a total 5-10minutes and tastes amazing.

You may wonder what you can do with the pulp that is left over, well some would just throw it away but you can also freeze small portions  for later use in smoothies to boost protein or you can make a yummy hummus, check out this great recipe from one of my favourite blogs My New Roots.

Let me know if you give it a go and how it turns out for you.