217-224/365 The week that was

I had all the thoughts about continuing my Well being series but I didn't quite get there.  I actually had a few that I wanted to share with you including the first two photos I took. Firstly my bed and a big bowl of delicious strawberries.  I think that they are both pretty self explanatory but I think they are a big factor in maintaining over all well being.  Sleep is something that I am constantly working on and I don't seem to be very disciplined with.  I really should be getting to sleep much earlier than the 11 pm that I do.  I don't know why I don't get to bed earlier, is it the rebellious me that sees it as a great chance to have some more me time, probably and it's also a bit of a bad habit.  The other big key to well being is also an abundance of fresh food.  Food that is as close to nature that means organic and try to eat a rainbow each day.  You will feel better for it and your body will love you for giving it life force.  The rest of the photos are how my days have looked over the past week.  I hope that you enjoy them and that you have all been keeping well.  Thank you all for stopping by and for those who take the time to comment.  I have been trying to reply to each comment so if you have any questions I am happy to answer them there if you like.

121/365 Lunch Date

My Tuesdays are usually very similar, there is always some cleaning and washing, a visit to the gym and bits and pieces needed to be done at home.  But today it got changed up a little with a catch up with a lovely friend over lunch.  I really getting in some time with my friends, I think it is so important for your mental health. How was your Tuesday?

113/365 Baking Day

Today was baking day.  After a morning of shopping, unpacking and cleaning out the fridge and pantry for the new food I often tend to choose simple recipes to make.  On the menu today was Anzac Slice and Gluten Free Quinoa Chocolate Biscuits.  Both recipes I reduced the sugar by a quarter of a cup which didn't alter the recipe in any way and they still based plenty sweet enough. Have you been baking any yummy treats for lunch boxes this week?

32/365 Dinner Doings

It was a bit of a tiring day today and by the time the afternoon came it was slow going.  Tonights meal was vegetarian, a bit of cutting and peeling but mostly quick to cook and wholesome.  The bonus of tonights meal was that with the cool change we had today, it was a perfect dinner to have.  So dinner was made, enjoyed and there was leftovers to freeze, so more for another night.

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Black sesame bliss balls

Afternoon sun

Early evening moon

Molly the cutie

Yellow roses from my love

My new investment

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I was in the mood for some dessert tonight, a healthy treat for the official first day of holidays.

In the latest issue of Nature & Health I found the perfect recipe I had been wanting to try. It was very sweet and filling but knowing how good it was for me I was totally ok with that feeling.  Here's the recipe for you if you would like to give it a try for yourself one day.

2 ripe avocados, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup filtered water

1/4 cup cacao powder

1/2 cup raw honey

2 tablespoons psyllium husk (I omitted this as I didn't have any)

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup melted coconut oil

Place all the ingredients in your blender and process until smooth.  Serve topped with berries or coconut or you could leave it plan. It served a small helping for our family of 4 and left us all feeling quite full.
Enjoy.

And a photo of my little Miss playing intently on her Dad's new toy.  She is growing so much and her little girl face is changing so I've been sneaking in few photos of her lately to capture this time before it's gone.

Wishing you a restful Sunday.

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My morning ritual.  Porridge, oats soaked the night before, eaten with maple syrup, cinnamon and raw milk.

 I've been working a little on the shawl.  I'm up to the picot stitch with only half the border left to go.

We have just 2 weeks left of school so I've bought these little eggs to fill with just a few treats to hand out at school.

 These two did a fun run together this afternoon, I'm very proud of them both.

It was an emotionally hard day today going through my father's clothes, it was just too hard for Mum.....I came home with this vintage treasure of Dad's, the Kodak camera on the right.  And my Nan gave me my Pop's old camera as he no longer uses it.  I have quite a few cameras now, plenty I would say.

Ahh it's Monday tomorrow again already.  May your Monday be a lovely one.

Wholefood Baking

If I had to sum up the approach I like to take when it comes to our diet it would be to provide my family with foods that are organic and whole, as close to nature as possible.  When I choose a meal or a bakery item  I do my best to ensure that the ingredients I use have the least amount of processing possible.  I'm certainly not perfect and my family love sweets and cakes with icing on the top so I try not to be too strict all the time because long term I don't think it works. Food is for nourishing our bodies, as well as for enjoying and having fun with too. I wasn't always like that, over time through reading, courses and family health I have been guided along this path. I know not everyone feels the same about food and that's ok we are all different when it comes to our choices with food but for me it's something that I have become very passionate about. When I do come across people who hold the same values I love to follow  their journey and am always inspired to try new things and learn more about whole food cooking. Recently, through one of my favourite bloggers, Nikki, who is passionate about healthy food eating, I found Jude Blereau. When reading through her blog posts I discovered she was publishing a book on whole food cooking and I just knew I had to get one of them.  Just last month my local organic shop advertised her book and a book signing/information evening so I signed up straight away.  It was such a wonderful couple of hours being around like minded people, listening to Jude's food beliefs so similar to my own, eating delicious food from her book and having time just to myself was bliss.  I recently tried one of her biscuit recipes and it was delicious and I thought I would share it and perhaps you might like to try it too.

Almond, coconut and maple syrup biscuits

1 cup unbleached white spelt flour

1 cup wholemeal spelt flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

a pinch of fine sea salt

½ cup roasted almonds (skins on) or roasted hazelnuts (skins removed), finely ground but not too fine

100 g dark chocolate, finely chopped (optional)

125 ml maple syrup

125 ml coconut oil (must be liquid but not too cool or it will set)

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180℃.  Line two baking trays with baking paper.

Place the flours, baking powder, salt, nuts and chocolate (if using) into a bowl and whisk together to evenly distribute the ingredients and break up any lumps - the nuts, especially, can tend to stick together due to their oil content.

Place the maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract in a small bowl and whisk together.  Add to the dry ingredients and mix until it comes together.  

Scoop up 1 heaped teaspoon at a time, roll into a ball and place on a lined tray. Gently press to flatten slightly.

Bake for  12-15 minutes or until golden at the edges.  Remove from the oven and cool on the trays for 5 minutes before gently moving to a wire rack.  

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to 2 weeks.  Be sure not to store them in the fridge as this will harden the coconut oil and damage the texture of the biscuit.

I hope you enjoy these biscuits too, perfect with a cup of tea on these cold nights.

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Cooking in the kitchen

a simple slow cooked meal last night, chicken goulash  with brown rice (recipe at the end of the post)

making pineapple coconut slice

trying another recipe from the whole food workshop I'm doing with Heather, Apple and Oat Breakfast Cake

a simple, healthy lunch of cooked quinoa, chopped tomato, mint, a splash or two of apple cider vinegar and cracked black pepper.

Chicken Goulash

700g boneless, skinless chicken thighs ( I used 500g of chicken breasts)

1 onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

2 green capsicums, seeded and sliced

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

½ cup tomato passata

1 marjoram sprig

125ml white wine

250ml chicken stock

½ cup sour cream or creme fraiche

1 tablespoon cornflour

1 small handful flat leaf parsley (I don't have any growing at the moment so I add this)

Trim the chicken of any fat and cut each thigh into quarters.  Put the chicken pieces, onion, garlic, capsicum, paprika, tomato passata and marjoram in the slow cooker.  Pour in the wine and stock.  Cook on low for 4 ½ hours, or until the chicken is tender.

Combine the sour cream and cornflour in a small bowl.  Stir into the chicken mixture in the slow cooker.  Cook for a further 5 - 10 minutes, or until thickened.  Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and stir through the parsley.  Serve the goulash with rice.

Almond Milk

Last week I started the Wholefoods Workshop with Heather from Beauty that Moves and have been wanting to make one of the smoothie recipes she gave us but first I needed to make some almond milk.

So last night I put one cup of almonds into a glass bowl and covered them in water, you could add a couple of dates too if you would like to add sweetness.  Drain all of the almonds and give them a rinse.

Put into a blender with 4 cups of water, blend until all the almonds have been processed to resemble milk. At this stage I also added a little bit of maple syrup for sweetening as I didn't have any dates.

Over a bowl strain the milk through some muslin and squeeze to get out all the milk. You'll be left with some homemade almond meal and some delicious homemade almond milk it's as simple as that.  I also found this recipe here too.

This afternoon we'll have a smoothie the girls have been looking forward to giving it a try and with the left over meal I'm going to make a crumble as a treat for Valentines Day.

I hope you are enjoying your Valentines Day♥