This is a fab meal, pretty paleo (if you do dairy) or easily adaptable to be so. Add whatever meat or veges you have, toddlers pretty much all love it so it’s a great way of cramming concealed veges in and so flavourful for adults too. Super high protein. If you don’t do dairy swap the cream for coconut cream or milk, and the butter for coconut oil.

This meal may or may not have come from Reuben dropping an entire carton of eggs on the floor and every single one of them cracking

I want to say thanks to Waitrose for making these awesome lamb sausages, I have a mega hard time finding decent sausages in this country (no offence but I hate pork sausages) and found these at the deli counter, only 1.50 for 5! Score. Cheap meal. Well… 7 free range eggs aren’t the worlds cheapest but still.

7 lightly beaten/mixed eggs
1/2C cream (or milk, coconut cream, whatever)
5 lamb sausages – thanks waitrose
Onion
Garlic
Carrot
Thyme
Capsicum or Red Pepper sliced finely
Butter

If you have an oven proof skillet/frypan now is the time to use it. Other wise you will have to bake your fritatta in a cake pan like me which makes more evil dishes!

Fry off chopped onion, garlic, carrot and sausages in a knob of butter. Add remaining ingredients and mix together. Put into your oven safe dish and bake at 200C for about 20 minutes until the edges are puffed and golden.

ENJOY .. with some healthy spinach leaves x

This

Cake

Is

AMAZING.

I try and eat paleo all the time (that’s another post in itself), and it makes me so sad because I love cake. So much. Until now everything I’ve tried to bake that loosely conforms to the “rules” of paleo has tasted either like a bit of a brick or a combination of wallpaper and baking soda. So pretty much I used to just give up and make evil refined sugar cake.

This cake is AMAZING. So satisfying thanks to the dense almond flour, the coconut gives it a real good crumb, the perfect amount of sweetness (once you eat low carb for a while then you will start to find regular baked goods way too sweet) and best of all made with completely natural ingredients with no refined carbohydrates or nasty vegetable fats. And so easy! One bowl – well two really because you have to melt the butter in something but just whack everything in and mix. You don’t even have to worry about over or under mixing. I actually prefer this to my all time favourite, white sugar and white flour packed banana cake recipe. CRA-ZY.

I’ve adapted this recipe from Paleo Gourmet

3 cups almond flour
1/2 cup desicatted coconut
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp raw honey *this amount is up to you. 2 tsp won’t  be enough for some but I recommend starting with it and seeing how you go.
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
80g very dark chocolate chopped or chips (we use lindt 85% or 90%)
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4c raisins or sultanas (optional)

 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees/180 celcius.  Line a 8″ square tin with baking paper.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Mix in the eggs, melted butter, honey, chocolate bits, raisins and vanilla. Add the almond flour, coconut, salt, and baking soda. Mix everything really well.

Bake for 20 to 35 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and springs back to the touch.

I’ve calculated the nutritional info as one cake makes 12 servings which are really very generous servings.

Each piece has 9g of protein, 25g of fat and only 7.5g of sugars. If you’re into calorie counting (you shouldn’t be) – 322 calories per serve. And those sugars are coming from fruit and a touch of natural honey, nothing else.

*Disclaimer – I know a lot of people will consider bananas to be not paleo and yes they are high on sugar/starch, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend eating a ton of them but they are a far better alternative than sugar or any sweetener ever in my books.

Over 2kgs. I am the queen of gaining the last 5kgs, losing it, then gaining it.. getting pregnant etc etc I feel I should document how I do it.

I figure I’d quite like to lose 6kgs before we start TTC (trying to conceive) again. It’d be nice to start from “my ideal” place.
Also my ideal health. I’ve been feeling less than 100% basically since I stopped breastfeeding Reuben and my diet went down the drain like you can’t even imagine. My post-shower-crazy-itching is back with a vengeance which I can only assume is down to too much refined carbohydrates (basically what my diet consists of right now). My skin is not good and there’s only so much makeup you can put on to hide it. I’m just sick of being not 100% with how I feel and how my clothes fit, and not doing anything about it.

I feel like I kind of forgot that no one was gonna do this for me, and it’s a bit ridiculous that I have all this knowledge and experience on what to do and how to do it to not just dominate it. It’s getting me down dwelling on it. What a loser.

So lets do it!

Starting with tomorrows breakfast: 2 eggs, salad and beans! Whatever kind of beans you feel like. For me – it’s whatever happens to be in the cupboard, in a can . A cup of black coffee, and lot of water.

And then, for snacks/lunch/second lunch/whenever:
*more eggs
*hemp protein shake (spinach/berries/yog/water)
*frozen fish either pan fried or oven baked
*sachet of tuna (flavoured)

I’ll update with my actual diet tomorrow. But for now, its past midnight and I’ve got washing to hang out. Time for bed.. nighty night. Please share with me what’s worked for you if you’ve lost weight, or if you are happy with your body, how do you keep yourself happy with your body? xx

This is a mildly spicy flavoursome pie. Based lightly on B’stilla it is slightly time consuming but very much worth it for a lazy Sunday.

Loads more pictures and step by step recipe by clicking on “more…” below.

Filling:

2 tablespoons olive oil
5 shallots, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
700g/1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs or breasts
1/4 cup chopped golden raisins/sultanas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Phyllo:

1/2 cup slivered almonds/cashews
3 tablespoons powdered/icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
10 sheets (about 17×12 inches) fresh phyllo pastry or frozen, thawed
1/2 cup (about) unsalted butter, melted (for brushing)

For filling:

Heat oil in heavy large frypan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Mix in cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, and saffron; stir 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over; stir 1 minute. Add chicken stock; bring to simmer. Sprinkle chicken with salt; add to broth mixture. Gently simmer chicken uncovered until cooked through, reducing heat if necessary to prevent boiling, about 20 minutes. Stir in raisins. Set pan aside until chicken is cool.Stir in cilantro and parsley. Season filling with salt and pepper. Cool filling.

For phyllo:
Finely grind nuts, powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and cinnamon in mini processor.

Stack 10 phyllo sheets on work surface cover with plastic wrap and damp kitchen towel.

Brush pie dish with melted butter. Place 1 phyllo round in pie dish, brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Top with another phyllo sheet, brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Repeat stacking with 3 more phyllo sheets, butter, and almonds. Just leave the edges overhanging. Brush with butter. Spoon filling evenly over. Place 1 phyllo sheet on top of filling. Brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Top with another phyllo sheet, brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Repeat with 2 phyllo sheets, butter, and almonds. Top with remaining phyllo sheet. Fold edges over towards the middle of the pie. Drizzle more butter over top. Cut 4 slits through top phyllo stack to allow steam to escape.

Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet. Bake uncovered until phyllo is golden and filling is heated through, about 40 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Cut into wedges.

most people underestimate the importance of protein in their diet. Protein is a vital part of a healthy diet and has way too many benefits for me to bother typing out, but a large benefit of making protein part of every meal is that protein requires more energy to digest and makes you feel “full” for longer.

1 medium banana
10 feijoas
30g whey protein isolate (or your protein of choice)
ice

peel the banana and add it to your blender. add the flesh of the feijoas, and blend until smooth. add the protein powder, ice and a spash of water. blend until ice is crushed and smoothie is thick.

You probably can’t tell from all of the other posts on my site that I am actually a gym junkie. I love working out/lifting and eating clean, and one has to when on evenings and weekends etc there are piles of caramel brownies and other such evil food lying around at home. Eating clean during the day is my idea of moderation and helps me keep my weight in check.

Anyway to help me in my goal of high protein meals I like to have protein bars lying around in case the urge for chocolate strikes. I was so excited when I drove to work this morning (first day of a new job) and saw that a few doors down from my new workplace was Real Nutrition! I have ordered from them before because they have my favourite protein bars (Doctor’s Carbrite) at the cheapest price I have found in New Zealand.

I was even more excited when I jumped on their website and saw they sell a mixed box. So in my afternoon break I wandered down the road and walked in. What an awesome experience, why can’t every shopping experience be like this one was! They were helpful, friendly, understanding and just amazingly helpful. I picked out my own 12 bars of mixed flavours and a 2 month supply of their multivitamins. I sound like I work for them but really I was just so thankful for a nice shopping experience that seems to be the exception these days.

If you are looking for Protein bars or supplements, or I am pretty sure they even do nutritonal consultations, check them out www.realnutrition.co.nz

Ok so this is a little embarrasing because I have to admit that I have only just discovered Mountain bread. I can’t express my love for it in a non creepy way but it really is one of the greatest things to happen to me food wise in a long time ha ha. I lovvvvve wraps/tortilas all that kind of stuff, but I always restrict myself from eating them because most of the brands you buy have around 200 calories and 20-30g of carbs.

These have 60-70 calories (depending on which type you get) and around 10-13g of carbs. ZOMG. So good. So my stand by dinner is:

1 piece of mountain bread
100g (approx) of chicken or 2 tenderloins
Iceberg lettuce shredded
Carrot grated
Shallot grated
Fresh herbs (parsley, corriander)
Capsicum or tomato

add mustard, shredded cheese (tiny amount) or sour cream and roll up. OM NOM NOM. Bring on healthy dinners/lunches/whatevs.

It has taken me a long time to get up the courage to make hummus after a disastorus (read: garlicy) experience a few years ago. This however, has brought back my faith in my hummus-making-abilities. It was even worth the walk in the 100% humidity sweltering heat to pick up some garlic. No more $4/tub supermarket hummus for us! Yum.

If you are not used to using dried chickpeas, I guess you could use canned but dried taste so much better and not to mention are so much cheaper. Just soak them overnight in a saucepan with lots of water, rinse and then cook for about an hour or until they are quite mushy. I like to peel my chickpeas before making hummus but I think I may be in the minority with this. Infact next time I will try without peeling .. what a rebel.

2 cups soaked cooked chickpeas
2 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup sesame seed paste
1 lemon or more worth of lemon juice to taste
salt
pepper

blend garlic, sesame and salt. add 1/2 cup water and blend until smooth.
add chickpeas and blend until desired consistency is reached, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Protein Pancakes

2 tablespoons Whey Protein Isolate
50grams Cottage Cheese
20 grams Rolled Oats
0.5 Banana
1 Tablespoons Self Raising Flour

Mix all in food processor until smooth. Add 2 Tablespoons water or however much to get to desired consistency.
Cook and enjoy…

271 cal
2g fat
25g carbs
3g fibre
37g protein

Makes 3 nice sized pancakes.

Split a pita bread and add your toppings!! This way you don’t get the calories of a thick pizza base but the goodness of all the toppings mmm.

I substituted Tomato Paste for a mix of yoghurt and mango chutney, then added

Bananas
Red Pepper
Tandoori Chicken (leftovers from the previous night)
Fresh Corriander
Red Onion
And then a sprinkling of parmesan.

Cook for 5 minutes or until brown under the grill and top with a spoonful of yogurt or chutney and leafy green salad.