Monday Munchies – Green Smoothie Success

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February 20, 2012
food, Monday Munchies
3 Comments

For ages I have been meaning to try a green smoothie as a healthier alternative to a dairy based banana or berry one, mostly to try to increase my intake of leafy greens.

Recent blood tests showed that I am quite iron deficient (which is not surprising considering I have been veggo my whole life ), so as well as a supplement, I am making a big effort to eat greens every single day.

My first attempt at a green smoothie was an absolute failure. My fruit to green ratio was off, the texture was no good and I’m pretty sure using a spinach and rocket mixture was the fatal flaw!

A few twitter friends encouraged me to try again, so I re-read The Wellness Warrior’s Green Smoothie Guide to see what I had done wrong before having another attempt.  I figure if I start off gradually with more fruit and juice, I can slowly wean onto having a majority of greens with less fruit, while I get used to the taste.

For a beginner, I can definitely recommend the following combination – if it wasn’t for the colour you would never know that it was full of spinach!

1 pear, sliced off the core
1-2 kiwi fruit, peeled
Half a bunch of english spinach, washed
Some kind of juice (I used V8 fruit and veggie ‘smoothie’ which is made from the juice of peaches, apples, sweet potato, pear, mango, lemon & carrots, but if you have a juicer you could make your own)
A handful of ice

Throw all the ingredients into a blender and whizz until smooth. Put into a glass with a bit of extra ice and enjoy!

Photos from: my camera

Positivity and Gratitude

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February 17, 2012
life, positivity
9 Comments

As much as I love other people’s blog posts on positivity I never really thought to write one of my own, until I watched a TED talk and started implementing some changes in our lives:  If you haven’t seen it yet, Shawn Anchor’s talk on ‘The Happy Secret to Better Work’ is well worth watching!

Though I was already aware of most of the things that he discussed, I realised that we weren’t actively using any of his ideas on a daily basis, except for maybe daily exercise. Although we are happy and content with life, imagine how happy we could actually be if we set out with intentions to increase our happiness.

Daily gratitude practice:

The first, and easiest, thing that we have implemented is practicing gratitude on a regular basis.  When we first get into bed at night we each come up with 3 things we are greatful for.  I have been writing them down on a scrap piece of paper and putting them in a jar – after only a week it is starting to fill up – just looking at that jar reminds ourselves of how lucky we actually are.

 

Daily Meditation:

The next thing I am thinking of putting into practice is some daily meditation.  At the moment our schedules are crazy busy, but all the more reason why we need some quiet in our days –  all it means is 10 minutes less of facebook or playing online at some point during the day.

I often feel like I am constantly ‘connected’ whether in front of my laptop or on my phone, so it would be nice to have a segment of the day where I switch off, both to electronics and active thinking, giving my brain a chance to stop and just be.

 

Switch off the Negativity & Turn up the Positivity:

If you fill your mind with garbage and negativity, how can you expect to think positively?

For this reason, I rarely watch the news, never watch ‘current events’ shows or horror movies and have recently shifted from reading mostly fashion blogs to more and more health, positivity and inspirational blogs (as well as food blogs of course).

This shift has been a conscious decision to remove things that causes me frustration and focus on things that make me happy, filling my head with positivity from the outside in, as well as from the inside out.  This has also extended to twitter and facebook, where I have resorted to unfollowing and hiding people who use social media purely as a place to vent or complain.

 

So on that note, here are some blogs that I am loving lately, all of which align with my positive vibes and have fabulous articles that have addressed happiness, positivity and gratitude:

In Spaces Between – Rach’s posts are always inspirational and I have never known someone to be so positive!  Keep an eye out especially for her weekly ‘Making Me Happy‘ series, all about gratitude and appreciating what you have!

Dream Delight Inspire – Kimberly has recently published a fabulous post on Balance, which speaks right to me with our crazy uni schedule and non-stop social events.

Sweet Lime and Spiced Tea - These amazing girls are super positive and love to share the positive vibe around – make sure you check out their recent  30 day affirmation challenge.

Emily Levinson – sign up to her newsletter for positivity straight to your inbox!

Positively Present – the name really says it all, this fabulous blog is full of uplifting advice to help you live to your full potential!

 

Do you have any favourite blogs bursting with positivity and inspiration?  I am always on the search for more so please do share!
What are your top tips for making your life as happy as it can possibly be?

 

Image by Fizzle Out

 

Monday Munchies – Rainbow Fruit Skewers

By
February 13, 2012
food, Monday Munchies, Uncategorized
3 Comments

While thinking of healthy breakfast time snacks to feed my colleagues during a long tutorial, I couldn’t go past rainbow fruit skewers as a fun and easy way to present a fruit salad.

After pinning a couple of different versions to my ‘food food food’ board on pinterest, and a friend seeing the idea and bringing them to a picnic, I finally decided to make my own version.

This really doesn’t need a recipe, just buy whichever fruit is in season and skewer in rainbow colour order.  Strawberries were super expensive so I decided to leave them out, but of course it depends on your location and time of year.

I prepared these the evening prior and kept them in a container overnight in the fridge, and they were just as good the next day so are certainly something that can be done ahead of time if you are entertaining.  Such a good healthy summer time snack!

 

Prize Winnings and Pantry Organisation

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February 10, 2012
life
2 Comments

I came home last week to see a little slip in the door from the postman, and thought ‘Yay! A package! I wonder what that could be…’  I couldn’t put a finger on what it was that I had ordered, but then I remembered that after a bit of a delay over the Christmas period, the prize I won had finally arrived.

When the lovely Catherine from The Spring contacted me to let me know that I had won her competition for $100 worth of items from ‘The Redback Trading Co‘ I was so excited!  I got a beautiful big cast iron pan, and I haven’t used it yet but feel safe knowing that I have it in case I need a weapon in the kitchen.  That thing is so heavy, it could do some serious damage!

My boards on pinterest are covered in mason jar inspiration so I also got some jars in different sizes, but when I originally chose I didn’t have a real plan for what to do with them.

It was only when I attempted to clean out our pantry that I realised how perfect they would be for storing all the things I had laying around in their original plastic bags.  Try to imagine an entire veggo pantry, full of lentils, quinoa, nuts, beans and seeds, without any system of organisation.

Let’s just say it was a nightmare to try to find anything, so of course I was constantly doubling up on ingredients or not being able to find what I was looking for.

Problem solved with these wonderful mason jars.  Now I can see everything clearly and keep track of the level of our staples, without opening a myriad of bags.

This system is particularly ideal for storing things we buy in bulk from Flannery’s, to get them out of the original paper bag.  The only think that could maybe improve these jars is if I paint the lids in chalkboard paint so that they can be labelled with their contents.  Maybe that can be a DIY idea for my next holidays.

I am particularly fond of these ‘mini’ mason jars.  They are the ideal size for some dried fruit or nuts, but would make the sweetest little candle holders or be perfect for some kind of decorating project.

In other prize-winning news, I am so excited to have been voted a Garnier Ambassador, so thank you so much to any of you that voted!  The greatest part is that they will be donating $1000 towards our University Medical Society Wellbeing program, which means exciting new events for the medical students.

I am hoping to make the ‘Wellbeing Cookbook’ a reality, as well as organising some nutrition workshops, as this is an area that I really feel is lacking in our education.

It also means I will be trialling and reviewing some Garnier products – would you be interested if I shared some of my reviews on Fizzle Out?  I am already obsessed with their BB cream thanks to Rach’s recommendation on In Spaces Between so I would love to share if I come across any other awesome products at their attainable price range.

Have you done anything with your pantry that has made it easier to use on a daily basis?  I am always looking for tips so would love to hear about it!

 

Photos from: my camera

Mason Jars from The Redback Trading Co, via The Spring

Monday Munchies (on a Tuesday) – Morning Routine

By
February 7, 2012
coffee, Monday Munchies, the list
2 Comments

Ok, I’m just going to come out and say it…

I’m Jasmine and I’m a coffee addict.

Since we purchased our coffee machine set-up, there has barely been a day when I leave the house without having a coffee.  I know that there are many people who can’t handle the taste of coffee, but this has never been a problem for me, in fact – as much as I enjoy the effect of caffeine, I also enjoy the taste.

Yep… I am one of those that loves coffee flavoured ice cream, tiramisu and anything coffee related.  I blame my mum, I think the coffee loving has been passed down in her genes!

And seriously, any med students reading this who don’t drink coffee, you need to deal with that and learn to like it quickly!  There is nothing quite like the morning boost of coffee to get a massive study day started (and I’m sure it will be incredibly useful when we are expected to stay awake throughout a night shift).

Loving our new Bodum glasses that I got for Kris for Christmas.

Usually, the coffee making duties come down to my personal barista, Kris - but more recently I have been pestering him to teach me, so that I am able to make myself a coffee when the need arises.  I think he enjoys the morning routine of grinding, tamping, extracting and frothing, so it can be a little frustrating seeing me struggle trying to learn to do it, but I am slowly getting the hang of it, even if my art still isn’t up to scratch.

Pretty close to a rosetta…

But it didn’t quite work – I need more practice!

So… here is my trick for when my latte art isn’t up to scratch:

A bit of cocoa on top makes it all look better!

What do you think?  Can I cross it off my list of 27 things before I turn 28?  I don’t have much time left!

Photos by: Kris

January Photo a Day Challenge

By
February 1, 2012
life, phone-ography
1 Comment

When I came across Fat Mum Slim’s January ‘Photo a Day’ Challenge, I thought it would be a fun little thing to participate in and a really good way to get in the habit of taking more photos with my phone.  Though I usually have my dSLR on me, it is a nice reminder that I am constantly carrying a camera in my phone and it is so great to have a little collection of photos from the month gone by.

 

 

 

 

If you are interested in a photo challenge that takes very little time out of your day, check out Fat Mum Slim’s list for the February ‘Photo a Day’.  Join in with the hashtag #febphotoaday on twitter or instagram.

Photos from: my phone
Photo challenges from: Fat Mum Slim

Monday Munchies – Meal Planning

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January 30, 2012
food, Monday Munchies
6 Comments

This week on Monday Munchies I don’t have a recipe to share, but rather I want o discuss how meal planning has changed the way we eat and shop.

Living off little to no income is a difficult feat, particularly while trying to do what is best for your body and general health and wellbeing.  It seems to me that the most common challenge with my uni colleagues is how to eat healthy and nutritious food without spending an absolute fortune.

Now I am probably not the best person to give advice on this, considering that we spend a sizeable chunk of our meagre income on grocery shopping, but I would say that we eat incredibly well, and will not go without things our bodies need (like fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts etc) for the sake of saving money.

The most important thing to me, is that after spending so much money on food, that it is all eaten and enjoyed, not forgotten about in the fridge and thrown in the bin.  That is why we find meal planning so important.

I start each week in front of the internet, armed with cookbooks, and surrounded by my collection of delicious magazines.  I usually start by looking through my bookmarks folder and pinterest for any recipes that have caught my eye throughout the past few weeks, on the myriad of cooking blogs and ] websites that I frequent.

We have a fun meal planner that I got from Kikki K, which is magnetised to the fridge once it has been filled out.  It has space for breakfasts, lunch, dinners and snacks, but I usually only fill in the dinner section, and sometimes snacks to remind us if we have fruit to eat.

If you prefer a simple meal planner, this  cute one is available for download over at ‘This Week for Dinner’, so you can print it, laminate and use it over and over.

Image from: This Week for Dinner

Of course there are also apps available for iphone and android that will do both meal plans and shopping lists, if you prefer to have things in an electronic form.

Once our meal planner is filled in, I start on our shopping list.  A magnet shopping list that lives on our fridge is a recent addition but has made shopping much more efficient.

Now, as soon as we run out of something it is written on the list… meaning less trips to the grocery store, less money spent and no wondering if there is anything we have forgotten.

Each week there is a usual shopping list for things like milk and bread, fruit, salad veggies, lemons, garlic and other things we must have on hand at all times.  Otherwise, I try to check the pantry to make sure I am not doubling up on ingredients, that we have the spices required for my chosen recipes, check that we have all essentials (eg. laundry detergent, shampoo and TP), and then add all the fresh ingredients that we need to our list.

I try not to go to the shops more than once a week so I tend to sometimes go a little overboard, particularly when it comes to quantities of fruit and veg, but there are things that I know I can buy plenty of that will always get eaten (or can be turned into a tasty treat – eg. sweet potato mash, stewed apples, roasted pumpkin to put atop salads etc).  Other things I buy from time to time just never seem to get eaten – I have completely given up on buying green beans as we throw them out more than we end up using them.

Of course, that will be different for every household and depending on the time of year.

If you want to give meal planning a try, here are a few tips to set you up for success:

  • If you usually eat out or have takeaway on the weekends, factor that into your meal plan
  • Be flexible, you can change days if you don’t feel like what you have planned on a particular night
  • Plan for leftovers if you are making a large meal (or put the left overs in the freezer)
  • Think about the weather and fruit and veg in season – if that means going to the farmers markets before meal planning then do so!
  • Don’t forget to account for breakfast, lunch and other snacks
  • Plan meals that use similar ingredients in the same week – eg. if you usually have left over sour cream after tacos, plan for a soup that you can top with sour cream
  • Plan for a couple of ‘easy meals’ that you can make in a short time without following a recipe, for evenings that you might be tired after a busy day
  • Share your meal plan on ‘This Week for Dinner‘ or look at the meal plans of others for ideas

 

Some of my favourite sites for inspiration and recipe ideas:

taste.com

My New Roots

101 Cookbooks

Green Kitchen Stories

Pinterest

Yotam Ottolenghi’s column

Whole Foods

Chef websites, including: Jamie Oliver & Donna Hay 

 

Do you ever plan your meals?  What is your strategy for minimal trips to the grocery store and less food waste?

 

Brisbane and Gold Coast Blogger Meet Up

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January 27, 2012
life
2 Comments

Last week I had the pleasure of heading along to Stingray to meet up with some lovely Gold Coast and Brisbane based bloggers.

Organised by the lovely Rach and Jas & Claire, the meet up was an opportunity to catch up with some local ladies, put faces to names and finally meet some ‘internet friends’ in real life.  I promise, it was no where near as nerdy as it sounds!

With Claire and Jas from Sweet Lime and Spiced Tea

With Rach from In Spaces Between

I dragged Kris along as my personal photographer, but I think he enjoyed being the ‘token guy’ and chatting to the girls a little too much (and was having a few technical difficulties with his camera) so we only have a few photos to share.

Liss from Daydream Lily and Ally from Unknown Pleasures

With Catherine from The Spring and Jo from August Empress

It was such a fantastic night and really highlighted all the things that I love about blogging, and it was so inspirational meeting the amazing ladies that are out there creating their own little space online while juggling blog commitments with their ‘real’ lives.

I am already looking forward to the next catch up!  If you are interested in coming along to the next one, join the facebook page to stay up to date with what the ladies are planning.

 

Thanks to Stingray for having us and to the girls for organising!

Photos by: Kris Blucher

Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce

By
January 25, 2012
food
3 Comments

Waking up to the sound of raindrops on the roof and a cool breeze through our bedroom window, I knew that this break from the scorching summer days would call for two things…  TV and comfort food.  Now, days later, when the rain has not given up, we are hoping that it will stop before we have a repeat of last year.

Rainy days are perfect for baking or any other cooking project that takes longer than usual dinnertime preparation, so I decided it would be a good chance to use my new pasta maker and ravioli cutters and invited some friends around for dinner.

While flipping through an old italian cookbook, I found a perfect recipe for pumpkin ravioli with sage butter sauce, but altered it a little to add goat cheese to the filling.  The pumpkin and goat cheese combo works perfectly within these soft pillows of fresh pasta, and the simplicity of the browned butter and sage allows the flavour of the goat cheese to shine through.

Picking a big bunch of sage from my herb garden is so satisfying, as it isn’t a herb I use too regularly, but just love it in combination with pumpkin.

Our wonderful friend Kylie was on hand to help out and to lend a hand as unofficial photographer – which made things so much easier than trying get rid of all the flour so that I could take a photo.

Pasta dough (make in advance as it requires minimum 30 min rest):

300g ’00′ flour

3 large free-range eggs

1/2 teaspoon of salt

  1.  Sift the flour into a large bowl (or onto a clean countertop) and add salt
  2. Make a well in the centre of the flour and crack eggs into it
  3. Mix well with your hands or a mixer with dough hook
  4. When the dough comes together, knead for approx 5 min or until smooth, adding flour or a tiny amount of water as required to get the dough to the right consistency
  5. Wrap in cling film and allow to rest for a minimum of 30 min
  6. In the meantime make the filling (as per instructions following)
  7. Cut your dough into 4 equal pieces
  8. Keeping the remainder tightly wrapped, take one piece and put it through your pasta machine, starting at the widest setting and continuing onto the narrowest (or you can use a rolling pin but it won’t get as thin or consistent)
  9. Cut shapes with ravioli cutters (or a ravioli wheel or knife, making sure the shapes are consistent

My pasta making skills still aren’t perfect, but I love the process of creating something from practically nothing.  It is amazing to see the pasta come together after starting with flour, eggs and salt.

Ravioli cutters make the whole process easier, making sure the two pieces match up and giving a guideline of how much filling to put in.  I still find that my pasta becomes sticky after being filled, meaning that I get holes in my ravioli and lose the best part in the cooking water, but I imagine with practice it will get easier and easier.

Filling:
1 butternut pumpkin
salt and pepper
sprinkle of nutmeg
goat cheese (I used fromage de chevre)
75g butter
bunch of sage leaves, torn roughly
  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
  2. Cut pumpkin into quarters or large chunks
  3. Bake until tender (about 30-40 min)
  4. Remove from oven, allow to cool and mash pumpkin flesh, seasoning with salt, pepper and nutmeg
  5. Add a teaspoon full of pumpkin and a dollop of goat cheese to the top of each side of ravioli
  6. Use a mixture of flour and water as ‘glue’ and run it around the edges using your finger
  7. Put the top on the ravioli and press edges together to seal
  8. Cook in boiling water for approx 2 min (fresh pasta is much faster to cook than pre-made)
  9. Meanwhile, add butter and torn up sage leaves to a pan over low-medium heat.  Allow to brown but watch closely to ensure it doesn’t burn.
  10. Drain cooked pasta and top with sage butter sauce

Serve with a rocket, feta and pear salad, drizzled with balsamic glaze,  to add a fresh and crispy texture to contrast the rich and soft pasta.

Ravioli cutters available at Wheel and Barrow

Photos from: my camera

 

Monday Munchies – Healthy Banana Bread

By
January 23, 2012
food, Monday Munchies
5 Comments

As much as we try to convince ourselves that banana bread ‘must be healthy because it has fruit in it’, unfortunately that is often not the case – as well as banana, those delicious slices are also packed full of white flour, refined sugar and butter.

After Ally tweeted a photo of her perfectly browned banana bread, I saw a ripe banana taunting me and remembered a recipe I bookmarked a while ago from Honest Fare.  The original recipe is gluten free and dairy free but did contain white sugar, so I substituted that for honey and added some extra nuts to create the ideal ‘healthy option’ for me.

This isn’t your typical light and fluffy banana bread, but rather is quite a dense, moist, brownie-like consistency.  It really hits that sugar craving without being as naughty as other banana bread recipes.

HEALTHY BANANA BREAD


3 ripe bananas

2 eggs

1/4 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup almond meal

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup pecans

Slivered almonds for topping

  1. Preheat oven to approx 160 degrees C
  2. Place bananas in food processor (or use potato masher) with eggs, honey and cinnamon and blitz until smooth and the mixture is light and fluffy
  3. Add the almond meal and baking powder and blitz briefly to mix
  4. Add the pecans and blitz to cut up a little but leave in big chunks
  5. Line a loaf pan with baking paper (or grease well) or use cupcake liners if you prefer (just reduce cooking time).
  6. Pour mixture into loaf pan and top with slivered almonds
  7. Bake for ~45 minutes or until the top is browned and a skewer comes out clean
  8. Leave to cool slightly before removing from pan
  9. Serve sliced (left overs are amazing crisped up under the grill)

Note: during baking it will puff up and look like it is rising but will settle when removed from the oven into a dense, moist cake.

Recipe adapted from: Honest Fare

Photos from: my camera