Exotic Amaranth Slices

Nutty, naturally sweetened healthy sweet slices of chewy heaven ~ gluten, dairy and guilt free !!

 Ingredients

• 2 cups puffed Amaranth
• 2 cups puffed millet
• 150g honey
• 150g agave nectar/syrup
• 1 tablespoon ghee
• 20g raw cocoa nibs
• 20g raw organic unsalted sunflower seeds (optional)
• 20g dry roasted pumpkin seeds (optional)
• ½ cup dried organic apricots, small diced (optional)
• ¼ cup dried organic figs, small diced

Method

1. Generously coat a 21cm square cake tin with ghee or butter.

2. Combine agave syrup and ghee in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 7 minutes, stirring constantly, until the syrup bubbles and starts to caramelize.

3. When the mixture turns golden brown and becomes thick and sticky, add the popped amaranth, millet, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, apricots, figs, cocoa nibs and honey; stir with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are coated with the syrup.

4. Transfer the mixture to the cake tin. Push the mixture into the corners of the cake tin by hand. Let cool and harden. Cut into 16 bars (approximately 2” by 3” squares).

Keep stored in a refrigerator for up to 3 days (if they last that long!)

Spicy Parsnip & Apple Soup

As we are coming into cooler months its really important to think about eating warmer foods that are cooked and moving away from raw salads and vegetables. Our internal digestive fire naturally decreases as the temperature outside decreases so to counteract this warm moist cooked foods in general should be favoured.

I made this dish this month at my Ayurvedic Sangha and it went down a treat! So here's the recipe for you to try out at home.

Ingredients

3 organic parsnips

2 organic apples

6 cups filtered water

1 organic vegetable stock cube or bouillion 

1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

1 tablespoon curry powder

2 teaspoons of roasted caraway seeds or fennel seeds

1 teaspoon  cinnamon

4 bay leaves

Black pepper

Method

1. Peel and chop the vegetables

2. Dry roast caraway or fennel seeds in a fry pan with a pinch or two of sweet paprika.

3. Heat ghee and add curry powder, caraway seeds and pepper in a large pot.  Fry for 2 minutes.

4. Add the chopped vegetables and stir fry for 2 minutes to coat the vegetables.

5. Add water, bay leaves and stock cube to the pot. Stir and bring to the boil.

6. Lower heat, place lid on pot and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until vegetables are soft.

7. Remove from heat. Allow to cool slightly then place all vegetables and one third of the liquid into a blender and blend. 

8. Return blended mixture back to pot and bring back to boil. 

9. Serve with a swirl of coconut cream or grated Parmesan to taste.

Enjoy xx

Home Made Power Boosting Almond Milk

So my Sangha group has asked me to post some recipes of foods Ive been talking about and making for them at my monthly Ayurvedic Sangha Nights! 

This month we spoke about food, nutrition and dispelled some of the myths and legends surrounding fad diets and superfoods. In essence Ayurveda regards all whole foods as essential and "super" and looks more at the state of your digestion! You can be eating a 100% raw microbiotic diet but have a lousy digestion. The consequence of this will be that the goodness of the food you eat will not be digested, assimilated or transported around the body but instead will sit in the Gut and cause the creation of toxins (Ama). 

So people, my advice to you is to check your digestive prowess before taking on any type of new diet or food programme!

 

Almond Milk Preparation

 Ingredients:

 

1 1/2 cups of raw almonds, soaked in water overnight
4 cups of filtered or spring water
3-5 dates (optional)

Method:

1. Soak almonds overnight in water (at least 10 hours). Drain and rinse them thoroughly.

2. Blend 1 ½ cups of the soaked raw almonds with 4 cups of filtered water. You can add the dates if you like your milk with a hint of sweetness. 

3. Strain once to remove any lumpy bits. 

4. Voila !! A delicious, creamy milk that is free of harmful vegetable oil, concentrated sweeteners, and the problems associated with cow’s milk and soy. 

This drink can be stored safely for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

Remember to give the milk a good shake before you use it!

 

All about Almonds

Almond milk is a great source of manganese, magnesium, vitamin B2 and E, tryptophan, phosphorous and copper. 

Almond milk is a powerhouse due to its many health benefits. It is an antioxidant, has anti-ageing qualities and is great for hydrating and rejuvenating the skin from the inside out! 

Almond milk has also been shown to reduce the risk of diabetes and several cardiovascular diseases. It also plays an important role in weight management and energy production. 

What are you waiting for........start milking your Almonds today !  

Blessings xx

“Gluten Free” Quinoa Cake - Chocolate Frosted Ginger and Orange Cake

Sangha Nights - cake indulgence!!

I made this for my Ayurvedic Monthly Sangha night this month and it went down a treat! Everyone loved it so much that they all asked for the recipe. I used a basic cake recipe and then Ayurveda-sised it and spiced it up a little to get a moist yet light and tasty treat that everyone can eat. The quinoa flour in this recipe is a great replacement for plain flour and is gluten free. The fresh ginger really boosts the digestive fire making this cake easy and quick to digest and light on the stomach.

Try it out for yourselves its real easy to make. Feel free to experiment with different flavours too: lemon rind; crushed nuts; rose water essence; ground cloves; shredded coconut; chopped dates; sultanas; raisins; dried cherries etc

Ingredients:

1 cup agave syrup
3/4 cup quinoa milk
185g ghee (or organic butter)
2 and a 1/2 cups quinoa flour
2 organic free range eggs
1 cup natural castor sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1-2 inches of grated fresh ginger (great for digestion)
grated rind of 1 orange
1 teaspoon orange essence
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/3 cup hot water

Chocolate Frosting:
100g dark 70% chocolate
125g ghee (or organic butter)
1 and 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 organic free range egg yolk

Method:
1. Pre heat oven to 150 degrees
2. Line a cake tin with baking paper
3. Gently heat agave syrup and milk in pan and leave to cool to room temp
4. Cream together the ghee and sugar in a large bowl (can use electric mixer or by hand)
5. Add the eggs one at a time
6. Beat until mixed well
7. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients and the cooled syrup mixture and the water
8. Pour into the cake tin
9. Bake on 150 degrees for 1 hour to 1 1/4 hours in middle of oven. Cake is ready when you lightly press it on top and it bounces back
10. Remove cake from oven and allow it to stand for 10 minutes.
11. After 10 minutes remove baking paper and turn cake out onto a wire rack to cool

Chocolate Frosting:
1. Break up chocolate slightly by banging packet onto a hard surface
2. Place chocolate in a glass bowl and gently melt the chocolate by placing the glass bowl over a pot of boiling water
3. When melted switch off the heat and allow the chocolate to gently cool (but not reset hard)
4. While the chocolate is cooling cream together the ghee and sifted icing sugar until light and fluffy
5. Beat in egg yolk
6. Beat in the melted chocolate
7. When cake is cooled spread top with chocolate frosting
8. Cut into slices and enjoy

Keeps for 2-3 days


Happy cooking !!

Want to get into a new year fitness regime? ~ get into something old..

 

The Ancient Art of Ayurveda

When it comes to New Years resolutions, and lets face it we all make them (albeit mostly in secret to ourselves just in case we don't make it), you cant go far wrong with taking on a little bit of what our ancient ancestors knew about life balance health and well being.

I'm referring to the ancient medical science of Ayurveda (science of life).  Ayurvedic holistic medicine was born some 5000 years ago in ancient India. It is the oldest science of self healing known in existence and is still the primary health care regime offered in India and other Eastern cultures today.  Ayurveda is the less well known sister science of Yoga.

Why I hear you ask would I want to adopt an ancient health regime? Well, believe it or not, all modern medicine is based on the precise and universal knowledge afforded by Ayurveda.

I have read many articles published this year from renown and not so well known so called medical practitioners and health gurus from across the globe. To my surprise there is nothing new in what is being churned out.  To make matters worse, the "advice" being offered is generic at best and ill informed at worst.  In contrast to all other health & fitness regimes that are being offered in today's modern society, there are none that considers you as a unique individual. Ayurveda on the other hand treats people as individuals and looks at what is going on as a whole for that person physically, mentally, in relationships, career-wise and spiritually. Not only that, but it seeks to "root out" the cause of any disease or imbalance and cure this as opposed to modern medicine which simply treats symptoms with artificially manufactured drugs.

If you really want to make a change to your fitness levels, your body shape, diet, emotional well being, stress levels, and overall mental and physical health then look no further than Ayurveda.

Here's my top tips for getting into shape this 2012!! 
   

EXERCISE

* Type
Sorry folks but its not one size fits all. We are not all built to run or jog. We are not all built to cycle or swim. We are in fact unique!  How is that for a medical revolution.

The real trick to getting the best out of your exercise is to “know your body type” !!

Check out the 'whats my dosha' questionnaire  to get a general idea of your unique body type.  Once you have a feel for what your body type is, then take a look at this table for examples of the best exercise for you:

Vata's:  speed walking wearing lots of layers to get up a sweat! trampolining, dancing, Hatha, Yin or Iyenga yoga (dont overdo it Vatas take it nice and easy)

Pitta's: team sports, water sports, swimming, hiking, jogging, mountaineering, rock climbing, Yin yoga (avoid overly competitive sports)


Kapha's: trekking, basketball, water sports, dancing, rowing, active sports, bikram yoga, Asthanga yoga (get up off the sofa and get into some heavy duty exercise)


*How

So now you know what exercise suits you best but that's not the end of the story.

The key to making all exercise effective is to sweat!  Yes that's right! Getting a good sweat up during exercise is the secret to weight loss, boosting metabolism, improving digestion and energy levels, boosting your immune system etc etc.....

So a good 15 minutes of sweating as often as possible will have more effect than hours of exercise where no sweat is formed.

DIET

Yes you guessed it...not one diet fits all !!! That's why fad diets work for some people but not everyone.

* Food - what to eat
A specific food programme according to your body type and any current imbalances is the only way to shed those pounds and keep them off for good without dieting at all.

With my individualised Ayurvedic food programmes you will learn what food types to favour and which to steer clear of to allow your body to fully and naturally detox and shed those unwanted pounds. Its not about the number of calories you have a day.  You can have 2 people eating exactly the same things and still weigh differently.  Its about what foods will increase or decrease your metabolism and the strength of your digestive fire (agni)

* How To Eat

Slowly! Chew eat mouthful until it becomes liquid before swallowing. Why? its simple, this starts the digestion process much earlier which in turn lessens the work for your stomach. This has the effect of increasing your metabolism and your body can properly digest the food you eat and transform it into energy and waste materials rather than storing it as fat and toxins.

When eating do nothing else.  Avoid watching TV, staring at your computer screen, working, walking, driving (yes Ive seen this with my own eyes) or doing anything else whilst eating. Your body cannot digest and do another activity at the same time. So if you eat and continue other activities you will not be able to properly digest your food.

* When to Eat

Lunch should be the largest heaviest meal of the day. Why? Because this is when the sun is at its peak in the day. This translates to the time of day when your body is at its peak in terms of digesting and metabolising food. Later in the day the body slows down.

* Avoid artificial stimulants

I get quite horrified at the amount of self medication that goes on in our Western so called 'modern' society.  I'm not just talking about sleeping pills and over the counter antacids (which only serve to mask symptoms of an underlying imbalance and go now way to fixing the actual problem) but also things like coffee, alcohol, fizzy drinks, sodas, sugar loaded 'health drinks', high energy drinks etc etc.

If you wake up feely groggy and start your day on coffee or energy drinks to get going, then you put your natural body balance out of whack. If you do this consistently, the body eventually becomes too confused to be able rectify the problem and naturally get back to normal balance. Ultimately this will lead to dis-ease be that physical, emotional or mental.


I offer personalised diet, fitness and health programmes at my clinic in person and by Skype. Contact me direct for all bookings:


p/ text: + 61 2 423550668

e: initiate.ayurveda@gmail.com