Time to Detox!!

Hey, hey!!

So, I managed to spend most of the Middle Eastern Summer away! Yippee! I have done the odd summer here in Qatar, and it is not too much of a problem, the main benefit are the roads being clear and meeting people you wouldn't normally meet. However this year, I decided to get out!! I was fortunate to spend 2 weeks in Northern Cyprus and then about 4 weeks in my home country! I hadn't seen my family and friends for almost a year (some, over a year!) and I miss them all dearly (even the ones I did not manage to see)

However, everything, healthy eating wise, slipped over the 6 weeks, and my jeans got tighter. I had planned ahead. I packed my handheld blender, I brought foods that were my lifeline, which included dates and quinoa, I shopped at the destinations and stocked up on fresh fruit and veg. I even packed some homemade carrot cake balls, grapes and apples for the plane journey.

I was doing OK in Cyprus, I managed to get out and do a few runs, I swam lengths in the pool, I blended, I froze and I tried to order a salad whenever we went out to eat...my downfall?? Chips and alcohol. I flew back to Doha for 24 hours before my trip to the UK. I was bloated, and a couple of Kilos heavier...bleugh!!

Then 4 weeks in the UK, travelling from one place to another, I was having CEREAL!!! for breakfast and no raw foods at all. It was getting me down, so I started to have a smoothie for my breakfast, I did a few runs, and ate my mums yummy stew...but after having a fab time in the UK, not really paying much attention to my diet, I came back to Doha pretty sick. I was exhausted!! Then one night after eating a heavy cooked meal, I woke to a hideous pain in my stomach, I was dizzy, light headed, the room was spinning (no, I hadn't been drinking) and I ended up being sick a couple of times. The next day was spent in bed. But then after that, I was getting daily headaches, I was STILL exhausted, I had (and still haven't) no motivation for exercise, I was getting cramps in my stomach after eating, I was puffy and I was getting joint ache too, mainly in my wrists. I was concerned for my health, as this was all too familiar to me. I was eating cooked food everyday, they were pretty healthy actually, but was also eating quite a bit of wheat and sugar.

I was just hanging in there really as I was starting a 28 day Clean and Lean Detox programme in a few days time! I'm no major believer in detox's really, but after reading the info a few months ago, I saw it as an elimination programme, that seemed easy enough to stick to as it wasn't about major restriction (I HEART FOOD) so, here's the lowdown...

Week One- Eliminate 3 foods  (a list is given)  I chose Caffeine (o yes, even the coffee had made its way back in my diet...dammit!!) sugar and wheat. Also, introduce green smoothies into your day

Week Two- Eliminate ALL the foods from the list. Keep including green smoothies into your day

Week Three - Eliminate all foods from the list AND do a juice and smoothie fast

Week Four - Introduce the foods back into your diet, one day at a time and report how you feel.

Simples in my opinion.

Anyway, I started on Saturday, feeling pretty rubbish. BUT......... 24 hours later, I was a new woman. I ate 95% RAW on the first day, having a smoothie for breakfast and a huuuge green salad for dinner.
I woke up Sunday and I wasn't groggy, I had a bit of energy!! Then throughout the day, I noticed my joint pain, my wrists, didn't hurt anymore, and they haven't done since!! 48 hours and I have had no more stomach cramps and no more headaches!! I feel sooo much better.

I know, hard to believe right?!! I have no explanation of this, either I was run down, and I coincidentally got better, OR the foods are making my body thrive!!

I'm not sure if I want to reintroduce the foods (week 4) to be honest, I think this HAS to be a way of life for me.

DIY Dehydrating

Ok, so it's taken me a while to get into the mindset of yummy, whole food eating again. I don't think I was doing too bad, but I just couldn't cut the bread and there were a few events where cupcakes were a must, me, mainly making them, and having to taste test at every possible moment....I was just loving all that sugar, meanwhile my ass wasn't!

So my husband does a big food shop and brought home some goodies. The two things I had my eye on was the HUUUUGE watermelon and the Super Raw Carrot Cake Cookies.

OOOOO!!

I was pretty impressed with my husbands efforts, especially as the price had me almost chocking on my cup of green tea!! Anyway, I opened them up and devoured a serving!! Well Done Husband!!

It took me a few days to get through the bag, it wasn't like the normal bag of crisps or cookies, which would leave me wanting more. A few from the bag was enough and satisfied me! YAY

But I couldn't get past the price, and reckoned I could recreate this, especially as the ingredients were 5 simple things, all of which were stocked in my cupboard/fridge! So off I went into the kitchen to mix something up! 

Here is what I did-

1 Cup Shredded coconut

1 Cup Sesame seeds (I did not sprout these)

1 Medium Carrot- peeled and grated

20 Dates (I used Khalas, these are smaller then Medjool)

Nutmeg

Cover the dates at room temperature water for 5 minutes ( I find them easier to pit and blend if soaked) meanwhile, peel and grate the carrot then measure out the coconut and sesame seeds into a bowl and mix together.

Pit the dates and add to a food processor and blend until the dates loosen up a bit and are chopped (they will probably clump together and roll into a bowl- thats fine) add the carrot until mixed well. I used real nutmeg so cracked open the shell and grated the seed part into my mix, I used about half the seed (but I looove Nutmeg) I then poured in bit by bit the mixed coconut and sesame seed, and used until I thought I had reached the correct consistency.* 

It looked like this!
 I was very impressed at how alike they tasted to the shop bought one!! :) Go me...

I rolled the mix into balls,  flattened and placed on a baking tray.

Ready for the Dehydrating process to start!

I used half the mix to dehydrate and the rest I rolled into balls and put them in the fridge (they weren't there long..) 

I've never dehydrated before, I have read in the past that you can use your oven for this purpose although most serious dehydratists (is that even a word?) buy a Dehydrator. 

So why Dehydrate? And What is it? Well its a process that involves 'dehydrating' a food instead of 'cooking," in order to retain all of its beautiful enzymes that cooking kills.  So after doing a bit of research, it seems the temperature for dehydrating is about 105 Degrees Fahrenheit.

I'm currently using my oven, on the lowest setting and using a thermometer in the oven to help keep on track. I seem to be fluctuating between 100 and 120 degrees fahrenheit, and it seems the more air flow you have the better. I dont have a fan assisted oven, so have left the door open a few times to see if that helps...it's a bit of an experiment as it is the first time I've ever done this, they are still in the oven after being in there for 10 hours already!! YES thats right, I forgot to mention that Dehydrating is a lengthy process!! I'll let you know how it goes!!

xx

*Note -I measured what I had left of the coconut and sesame mix and had just under a cup, so the measurement above is a little wrong (remember approximation girl here!!)  I think I would try half a cup of each plus a little extra next time!

So far...

Ok, its been a few days! ! And my quest for better eating is going ok.  I have still not green smoothied yet but have managed a good ol banana and date icecream for breakfast everyday so far. I would happily live on this! I'm back using the spiraliser, which is proving a little life saver and have been spiralising beetroot and courgette.  I've been eating this with a big salad, I also made a potato salad the other day, vegan, no mayo, this worked great and tasted good too ( sweetcorn,  peas, spinach, jalapeños salt and a dash of olive oil) cutting out the artificial sugar is going well, but I think I need a fridge full of raw chocolate balls for whenever I get a craving. ..hmmm...thats actually a good idea. ..ok so I'm off now to do just that.
I shall leave you with a picture of my di net the other night...I had made the veggie burger myself...below are the Ingredients-
1 grated carrot
3 grated potatoes
2 cans of chick peas,  mashed
1 cup of sweetcorn
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine ingredients,  make into patties and pop them into a frying pan with a dash of olive oil...cook until done turning halfway
I'd just like to make a note that when I do these again I shall cook and mash the potato first, combine ingredients. ..I think they will hold together better that way!

May madness

Ok..so this is going to be short and sweet....
May came and went in a flash...I've been busy not really achieving a lot but busy busy with coffee mornings, birthday parties, play dates, more birthdays, swimming lessons,  music classes, the occasional gym session, yoga session and a quick getaway to Munich....phew...you get the gist.
Besides having some awesome vegan meals in Munich (more on that at a later date) I've lost my mojo...my diets all over the place and I'm carbed up on bread and crackers.  Ive had a couple of IBS moments, which were horrendous, so I know my body is in need of detox and I'm uber bloated and tired!
So tomorrow it starts. 21days more raw! Time for green juices, smoothies,salads and fruit, out goes sugar, bread and all other junk! I need my energy back!! I shall update on here as much as possible.

Wish me luck!! Xx

Blender Blunder!!

My beloved blender died a few days ago...r.i.p blender...it served me well for 2 full years, its just unfortunate that it was no longer able to keep up with the abuse that I threw at it. It was used daily, and in the beginning I would use it to make smoothies using soft fruits like blueberries and bananas. Towards the end of its life however, I was throwing in frozen bananas and other frozen fruit, I could hear the blender struggling until one day, on a sunny afternoon in Doha, the bottom of the blender split. It was the end. Im without a blender and have had to use a handheld device in  temporary replacement until we decide what to do. Hubby jokingly thinks I destroyed it on purpose in order to get a blender upgrade! Cheeky!! Especially as I recently went to a Thermomix demonstration, which, by the way, looks like an amazing piece of German equipment!! I have however heard amazinng stuff about the Vitamix. O what to do *sigh*

In other news... I have some sort of throat infection. Probably lovingly given to me by my little man. He's had conjunctivitis and an ear infection so we have been house bound for a few days. Anyway, not really wanting to load myself up on parecetamol, I decided to try and take a more natural route.  I've read many times that cinamon and honey in warm water is supposed to be good for the throat.  I have been replacing the honey for lemon, it tastes very pleasant. I've also been making fresh orange juice and watermelon smoothies, all of which give temporary relief. I'm hoping that this will fight the infection ASAP as we have little family getaway next week :-)

TTFN folks xx

Spirulina

I woke up this morning to hear of the devastating news in Boston. Since having W, I often get emotional when hearing such terrible news, probably because once you become a parent there is a silent shift, all of a sudden your life becomes valuable, you have someone to live for. So since learning the impotance of life, I am often left with a heavy heart when others gets taken so needlessly!! And today was one of those days...
So to take my mind off the world news I distracted myself and thought I would try a new 'superfood' in my smoothie. Spirulina!! I have seen this food floating around in the raw food world, heck, even my mamma is using it in her smoothies and tells me how good it makes her feel!! So hubs brought me some back after a UK trip he had a few days ago.
So here is the low down..spirulina is a green blue algae formed mainly in open water ponds. It is what gives the pond that greeny colour. It is called spirulina as it grows in spirals. It is thought that it is so nutritious that man could live on only this and water. It contains all 8 amino acids, iron, zinc vitamin b12, copper, iodine and magnesium. If you are sensitive to iodine then it is advised to avoid this product. It is also a blood, liver and kidney purifier, hence the increased energy when you take this product! So you can understand why this is labelled a superfood.
My plan was to make a cacao and banana softserve with spirulina. And thats exactly what I did.
First of all, the product comes in a powder, I opened the packet and a plume of green dust came out of the packet and the smell was quite overwhelming...I decided it best to just put a small amount in the smoothie. ..half a teaspoon will do!! Wow...it was a very overpowering taste. Quite earthy...but the colour was amazing, such a beautifully bright green colour (before I added the cacao). However, tomorrow I will add less spirulina and take it slow, just until my taste buds get used to this new taste.

In other news. W came home from nursery having eaten all his breakfast and lunch!!  Wohoo...it's been a while since he's eaten everything and at home he has been refusing food, especially his porridge, so I shook up his food slightly (maybe he was sick of porridge). So for anyone stuck for ideas here is what I gave him-  for breakfast he had quinoa, mixed with soya yogurt, blueberries and coconut palm sugar.  For lunch he had avocado with a squeeze of lemon and little bit of salt sandwiches, nut free raw balls (the nursery is nut free) that cosisted of ground sunflower, pumpkin, flaxseed and goji berries, coconut flakes, cocao, raisins and coconut oil. He also had a small bag of dried fruit. To be honest I didnt expect him to eat the sandwiches!! But Wohoo...he did!!
And so to finish off my distraction day I decided to make more raw balls without using any oil!! And I did it!! I wanted a strong flavour...and I did that too!! Here is the recipe..
1 cup of raisins
1/4 cup ground nuts or seeds (I have been using linwoods mixed seeds and goji berries)
1/4 cup cacao
Knuckle of ginger (or as much as you like...this was my strong flavour that I wanted)
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Mix the raisins well. Add all the other ingredients until well blended and then roll into balls. ..simples. ...

Gluten Free Day

Hey all.

So after following House of Vegans, Kirstiie's (www.houseofvegan.wordpress.com) gluten freeness on facebook, and reading about the positives that have come from eliminating gluten, I decided, on a whim to give it a go for 24 hours. I got my son (who shall be named W) involved too. Although he is only 20 months old, he seems to have major buddha belly at the end of the day. I understand that it's quite normal...but seriously,  it's huuuuge. I just wanted to trial it and see if elimination changed that. Also, I think he is possibly prone to allergies as he was covered in eczema at 6 months old.  He was put on a dairy and soy free formula and the eczema cleared almost immediately. He eats dairy now...but he wont drink milk on its own and refused it from 12 months...I see this as some sort of unspoken message that he was trying to tell me something. I'd like to add that W has a raspy chest all the time. I don't know whether this is because of desert living, sand in the air, which is heavily polluted (Qatar's air pollution is six times over the permissible limit) or whether it is something else, it doesn't really effect him on a day to day basis, but I don't like to hear it :( .

I had planned to cut out dairy from his diet for 24 hours too.

I also appreciate that 24 hours is probably not long enough to see major results and I am sure there is some sort of detoxification process that comes with it. But I just wanted to see if we could actually achieve 24 hours without too much trauma.

So being quite underprepared for this last minute decision, my first challenge was breakfast. It came as a smoothie/soft serve type of breakie. It consisted of frozen bananas, strawberries ground seed and goji berry mix and water, all thrown into the blender. The frozen bananas make like a soft ice creamy/frozen yogurt type of texture. It went down well...so far so good.

We then went shopping, to get a little bit more prepared, and we came back with LOADS of stuff. Gluten free muffin mix, gluten free bread mix, flours, falafels cereal. I was pretty impressed with myself and thought this was going to be a breeze!!

Lunchtime!! Brocoli and chickpea soup with a side serve of grilled Polenta. I really enjoyed the lunch. I'm not too sure about polenta, but it was edible. W spat the whole thing out and refused to eat any of it!! Grrr

Grilling Polenta!

Dinner, went even better...not!! I made a goooorgeous roasted pepper and carrot humus and put it on top of a baked sweet potato. I thought this was going to be a winner as it was all very sweet tasting....nope, spat out and refusal to touch any of it!! In a desperate attempt to make sure W went to bed on a full tummy, I made him a bowl of gluten free puffs (like rice krispies) with almond milk, topped with coconut palm sugar....he had 2 bowls!! 

Roasted Pepper and Carrot Hummus

By the end of the day, we were both fed-up, tired and grumpy!! This wasn't the flowers in your hair,  running through fields with the long grass running through your fingertips type of day that I had imagined... bundles of energy, lot's of laughs...nope, instead it was hard work, lot's of tears, and not a lot of fun...and to top it off I felt bloated!! O dear!!

So here is what I think went wrong!

First of all, W was teething, this became more and more apparent during the day, with his rosy red cheeks, and when this happens he's not really interested in food, especially cooked food.

Secondly, this was day 2 of Daddy being away. He always gets irritable when Daddy isn't home (does this happen to your kids?)

Thirdly, we had a couple of days of very early wakings (4.30...WHAAAT!!?) probably because of his teething, so we were both VERY tired.

and Fourthly, W just WOULD NOT take a nap that day. He was adamant and I was too tired to fight it in the end, so he had been up for waaayyy too long, and this also makes it harder to get anything inside of him!! 

I think I had basically set my expectations really too high for this little man and to have expected such a dietary change so suddenly was a little unfair. I also timed the change awfully. Tiredness, grouchiness, teething all contributed to the bad day we both had. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed everything I made (it was all from scratch!) but had circumstances been different, then maybe it would have been easier.  I also forgot to mention that during the day, I gave W some cheese as he was tugging at my leg going 'cheese, cheeses, cheese,' and as he hadn't eaten much I decided to give him some.

On the positive side, I had noticed that W wasn't raspy, even though it was a windy day and sand was blowing everywhere...there was no rasp!! So that is something to think about!! 

So, today has been 2 days since the DAY! And although, I have pretty much remained gluten free, I have decided that I will make slower changes for the rest of my family, for example, tonights dinner, Sweet potato curry with Quinoa...although W spat it out and only had about 2 mouthfuls, it's a step in the right direction. I, however, am trying to keep going,

although I did have a small piece of bread today...ooops!!