Tag: real food

My Zucchini Bake or Slice recipe

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Today I’m going to share another recipe. Last night Scott and I got together with a group of friends and I brought along a Zucchini Bake, sliced to share. I received a number of requests to post the recipe today, so here we go.

This Zucchini bake can be made gluten free, it is a healthy meal option and is great for lunch boxes.

The recipe is easy to make and is one way to get children (or fussy adults) to eat vegetables. You can substitute or add different vegetables depending on your preferences. However, I think Zucchini should always be included for the bake to work.

Nutritionally, the Zucchini is one of the very low-calorie vegetables and its peel is an excellent source of dietary fibre. Zucchinis are an excellent source of potassium, and also contain moderate levels of the B-complex group of vitamins.

Ingredients

3 x medium sized zucchinis

2 x medium carrots

1/2 onion or 2 spring onions finely chopped

2 x rashers of bacon finely chopped

(alternatively, I have made this using chicken and also tuna)

1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

1 x tbsp mixed herbs

a little bit of chilli or peppers gives a nice bite

1 x garlic clove – crushed

1 x tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup flour (I use coconut flour)

5 x large eggs

extra grated cheese to sprinkle on the top

 

Method

First preheat your oven to 180c

I use a grater attachment on my food processor to quickly grate the zucchini and carrots. If I don’t have grated cheese, I put  a small piece of cheese in as well.

Put the grated ingredients into a large mixing bowl and add the bacon, onion, garlic, cheese, herbs and mix together.

Add the eggs, oil and flour and mix to combine. Transfer the mix into a baking dish and bake for 40 minutes.

At the 30 or 35 minute mark, sprinkle the extra grated cheese on the top of the slice and return it to the oven.

This bake works really well as a main meal. We cut it into 6 large pieces and serve it with a salad. It also is great as a slice to share , as it tastes equally good cold. Just let it cool a bit before cutting it into squares.

It’s really easy to swap out the meat ingredients or add extra ingredients. Mushrooms and cauliflower also work well. If I add cauliflower, I only put in 1 carrot. The trick is to get the right balance of vegetables and eggs, otherwise it won’t hold together. I have found this out by experience.

I hope that you enjoy this recipe and have fun putting your own spin on it.

 

Until the next post,

 

Live Clean n Prosper

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The body’s defense system and allergies

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Today I thought I would write about the body’s defense system and how it reacts to toxins and allergies.

Scott and I try to eat unprocessed, real foods as much as possible. However, there are times when we are out and have a meal that is not ideal and this is normal in every day life. Moderation is the key.

The issue that I have, is that occasionally after eating some things, I end up with a runny nose for the next hour. Sometimes I wake up with sinus congestion.

Quite some years ago, I always had a runny nose. I would always be carrying tissues with me. I thought it was a hereditary thing, as my grandmother was the same. It was only after going on a low carb diet for a while, that I noticed the runny nose seemed to go away.

I did a bit of research into this and found out that this issue has a name ‘gustatory rhinorrhea’. It was also a relief to find out that this condition is not unusual.

 

So, what is ‘gustatory rhinorrhea’?

 

Quite simply it is a ‘runny nose while eating’. The most common explanations for this is a food allergy, the temperature of the foods or hay fever.  A common symptom of a food allergy is sinus complications. According to MedlinePlus.gov, if you have a food allergy, you can develop nasal congestion, a runny nose and excessive sneezing. The most common food allergies are to fish, nuts, peanuts, soy, wheat, eggs and milk. The runny nose is the result of irritation and inflammation in the sinus cavity from increased levels of histamine.

When you eat something you’re allergic to, your immune system malfunctions and fails to recognize the proteins in the food as safe. The body goes into defense mode, producing antibodies and histamine. These two agents are intended to protect the body from viruses, bacteria and infection. Too much histamine in the sinus cavity leads to a runny nose.

 

This leads to another part in the body’s’ defense mechanism, mucous.

 

The fluid around all your cells is called lymph fluid. It moves waste products through various lymph channels and nodes. Your lymph is more active at night while it orchestrates housecleaning.

When your lymph is clogged your body looks for alternative ways to get rid of trash. Plan B is making mucous out of it. Lots of mucous in the morning is a sure sign of a problem. Regular drainage during the day or after eating a meal, are other signs of trouble.

This is why when we contract a virus, like a cold or flu, we suffer primarily from a runny nose. The body is doing its utmost to get rid of the trash, by creating mucous.

Personally, through the process of elimination, I have found that usually most processed wheat products trigger this immune response. This was 1 of the contributing factors to change our way of eating.

I continue to find it fascinating, how our bodies heal themselves.

 

Till next time,

 

Live clean n prosper

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A healthy snack recipe – Cacao Fig Balls

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Today I’m going to share a Cacao Fig Ball recipe that is both yummy and nutritious.

 

Recently I was talking to a Nutritionist about the importance of calcium in the diet as people age. I asked if there were other calcium rich foods that we could incorporate, apart from the more commonly known dairy foods and greens.

Some of the foods that she recommended were Dried Figs, Sesame seeds or Tahini and Kale.

I decided put together a ball recipe that would include the figs and seeds to make a calcium rich snack.

 

I’ve decided to call these Cacao Fig Balls.

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Ingredients

8 x dried figs (or 100 grms – depends on how juicy they are)

20 x dates (or 100 grms depends – on how juicy they are)

½ cup unsalted Pistachio nuts

2 tbsp Sesame seeds.

½ cup fine shredded coconut

4 tbsp raw Cacao powde

30g Cacao butter – melted

1 tbsp Coconut oil – melted

1 tsp Vanilla essence/paste

+ ¼ cup fine shredded coconut to roll balls in

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Method

 First, put the pistachios into your food processor and quickly blitz to break them up, followed by the figs and dates, then pulse till crumbly and sticky.

Add coconut, cacao and Sesame seeds then pulse till combined.

 I then added the vanilla, cacao butter and coconut oil and mix till combined.

Now the mix should look crumbly, however, if you scoop out a teaspoon full it should press together.

 I used my tablespoon-measuring spoon to scoop out the mix and pressed the mix into shape.

 This mix made 21 balls. Some of which I artfully displayed on my trusty board to photograph.

 

 Now for some nutritional information,

 It seems that figs’ are a member of the Mulberry family!

 It turns out that apart from Calcium, dried figs are an excellent source of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants

 Dried Figs are full of minerals like copper, potassium, manganese, iron, selenium and zinc. 100 g of dried figs contain 680 mg of potassium, 162 mg of calcium, and 2.03 mg of iron.

 Furthermore, research studies suggest that figs help lower blood sugar levels and control blood glucose levels in type-II diabetes.

 

Now, about Sesame seeds.

 It seems that the Sesame plant is a tall annual herb and the seeds are one of the first oil seeds known to humankind.

 Sesame is among the seeds rich in quality vitamins, and minerals. They are an excellent source of B-complex vitamins such as niacin, folic acid, thiamin (vitamin B1), pyridoxine (vitamin B6), and riboflavin.

 The seeds are incredibly rich sources of many essential minerals. Calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, magnesium, selenium, and copper especially concentrated in sesame seeds.

 Sesame seeds are also valuable sources of dietary protein with fine quality amino acids that are essential for growth, especially in children. Just 100 g of seeds provide about 18 g of protein.

 

The dates also contribute health benefits to this recipe.

 Dates contain antioxidants known as tannins. Tannins are known to possess anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and anti-hemorrhagic (prevent easy bleeding tendencies) properties.

 They are also an excellent source of iron, potassium and minerals like calcium, manganese, copper, and magnesium. (Facts source – http://www.nutrition-and-you.com)

 

I have previously written about the health benefits of raw cacao, so I won’t go there.

 So, all these ingredients come together to create a great tasting snack that is very good for you.

 

Till the next post,

 

Live Clean n Prosper

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