Paleo, Italian, Summer Salad

The kids might be back to school and the Sunday evening, sandwich making ritual may have begun but I for one REFUSE to believe summer is over! To make myself feel more summery I decided to experiment with some summer flavours recently and invented my Paleo, Italian Summer Salad.

This is light, tasty, fills you up and takes just minutes to prepare. Even my 'Salads don't fill me up, can I have Chips too?' husband approved of it and said he really enjoyed it. (Spot his chips in the pictures below!)  Here's how you can make it too.

Ingredients:

Chicken/Turkey/Beef (meat optional as always!)

Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Squeeze of lemon juice

Rock Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly chopped Basil, Rosemary, Thyme (I grow these 3 easily and cheaply on my windowsill) 

Sliced fresh mozzarella (comes in a bag of fluid)

Organic vegetables of choice. Here I used:

Rocket

Cherry tomatoes

Yellow and Orange Peppers

Cucumber 

Mustard and Balsamic optional.

Method:

Time allowing, chop your meat and leave it marinade in a few dashes of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, basil, rosemary, thyme. Thoroughly coat all the meat and allow to rest for as long as you have! If you don't have time to marinade just quickly toss the meat in the ingredients and move onto the next step.

Chop all your veggies and arrange as you feel fit on your plate.

On a low, gentle heat in a cermanic pan, cook the meat including oil, herbs and seasoning until fully cooked. 

Slice mozzarella into strips or chunks.

Arrange chicken and mozarella to the side of veggies or on top.

Using any excess juice left in the pan add some balsamic vinegar and a spoon of honey mustard to make a lovely dressing served on the side or drizzled over the top.

Enjoy as is or serve with crinkled oven chips for your husband!

The best thing about this recipe is it's quick and easy to make double portions. I usually make enough for 3 and keep some of everything to the side so I can take it for my lunch the next day. This massively cuts down on waste, time and effort and ensures you have a healthy meal ready to go for the next day.

Prep Time:

5 minutes, more if you marinade

Cook time:

15 minutes or as long as the meat is safely cooked

Dietary Information:
Gluten Free

Wheat free

Sugar Free 

Paleo 

High in protein

Vegetarian - leaving out the meat. Add nuts or more cheese instead.

Olive Oil is full of good fats, Omega 3s and excellent for hair, skin and nails.

Rosemary boosts immunity, increases circulation, aids digestion, is an excellent anti-inflammatory - great for asthmatics - and increases concentration. 

Basil helps clear skin, alleviates stress and worry and boost your mood.

Thyme is a natural disinfectant helping to fight bugs and bad bacteria in the body, lowers blood pressure and helps with coughing.

Enjoy this light, refreshing and satisfying salad anytime of day. And stay strong Jeanies! Summer is NOT over!

Tuesday's Change Week 34 - Roam Free

You might have seen a discussion that started on my Facebook page recently over the difference between battery farmed/caged chickens and free range, organic chickens and the subsequent eggs they produce. I hope you all learned something new and if you missed it let me elaborate here.

Animal rights aside (I won't get into that discussion here!) the health benefits of eating properly reared animals and their by-products are vast. Take eggs for example.

Organic, Free Range eggs have been proven to contain:

• Twice as much omega-3 fatty acids.
• Three times more vitamin E.
• Seven times more pro-vitamin A beta-carotene.
• A quarter less saturated fat.
• A third less cholesterol

than caged or indoor chickens. (Source can be found here)

Now if that's not enough of a reason to buy Organic, Free Range eggs I don't know what is! - Oh yes that's right it's also kinder to the animals!

Female chicks are grown in extremely cramped and dark conditions and fed a processed diet full of hormones, pesticides and antibiotics. Once they reach laying age, they are put into cages less than half the size of an A4 sheet of paper, their feet often become deformed as a result.

Not only is this cruel and harmful it is not healthy for the chickens, their eggs and as a result, for you.

Unfortunately, some large-scale egg farmers have exploited lax definitions of free range chicken and have been able to use this label, even when they only allow their confined chicken out occasionally to concreted areas. See above. 

These are not true free range eggs. For this reason I always buy Free Range AND Organic. 

So your Tuesday's Change for this week is to switch to Organic, Free Range eggs. Eat as many as you like. I often eat up to 6 eggs a day. I have healthy hair, skin, nails, strong muscles and bones and NO my cholesterol is not through the roof. That is an absolute MYTH!

And you don't have to stop here. I urge you to start looking at where all your produce comes from. How are the animals treated? Are there unnecessary and dangerous chemicals being passed on through the food chain to you? 

For my followers in Ireland I know Dunnes Stores do 6 Organic Free Range eggs for €1.99 (just 10c more than their non Organic ones!). For my German followers Rewe do Organic and Free Range eggs again 6 for €1.99.

I know the English Market in Cork has a Chicken stand where the animals are all antibiotic free, free range and live happy lives. They have really competitive prices too! Wherever you live try and find a place where you're sure the chickens are healthy and happy!

My biggest advice is start to looking at where your food comes from. Get to know your suppliers and farmers. Question everything. For your health and those of the animals!

Chocolate Pancakes

I'm a big fan of pancakes. They are quick and easy to make, fill you up with slow releasing energy and taste so good too. I have these as a healthy treat. Maybe on a weekend for breakfast where you have time to sit and savour them with the morning papers or even a good book.

Check out my other recipes here for Paleo Pancakes and here for Oat Pancakes.

Ingredients:
100g of oats
1 large free range egg
250ml of water or milk
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of Chia seeds
1 tablespoon of Honey
2 teaspoons of 100% Cocoa Powder e.g. Bournville or Green and Blacks Organic

1 teaspoon of Coconut oil for cooking

Optional: replace some of the oats for the same quantity of Protein Powder.

Method:
Blitz the oats in a blender (or handheld) until they form a coarse powder.
Beat the egg, honey and milk/water together and fold in the oats until they are well mixed. 

Add in Chia seeds and 100% Coco and mix well.

I did all this in my hand held blender in the one jug which saves on wash up!

Fry in a ceramic pan in Olive Oil or Coconut Oil on a medium heat and flip once the underside is cooked.

Enjoy with a variety of healthy toppings!

Prep Time:
Less than 5 minutes!

Dietary Information:
Wheat free

Sugar Free (option to also leave out honey)
Can be made gluten free using gluten free oats
Good fats
Vegetarian
Oats are proven to lower cholesterol, be a good source of energy and high in fibre.
Eggs are full of protein, high in vitamins and minerals and great for your hair, skin and nails.

Chia seeds are full of protein, antioxidants and make you fell full for longer.

Cinnamon helps to lower your blood sugar and burn fat more effectively. 

100% Pure Cocoa Powder is packed with anti-oxidants and helps lower LDL cholesterol (the bad kind).

Storage Instructions:

These can be made in advance and when cool stored in a sealed container or frozen. These are a handy, high energy snack that can be enjoyed on the go with no mess or sticky fingers!

Serving Suggestions:
Enjoy sweet or savoury with your favourite healthy toppings such as:
Melted dark chocolate
Butter and lemon
Coconut cream
Fresh fruits
Cinnamon and raisins with a drizzle of honey
The world is your oyster. Get creative!

Tuesday's Change week 21 - Chia Seeds

This week's change is a tasty one! Chia Seeds. Start adding them to your daily meals or shakes. You won't regret it!

Why should you start eating Chia Seeds?:

I mean there isn't much more I can say about that is there? The benefits are immense and they take on the taste of the food you add them to so they can taste how you want them to!

I get my Chia Seeds in my local health food shop and some large suprermarkets also stock them. If it's something you want to invest in for the long haul you might be better off buying in bulk. I got some here and they are Organic. They may seem expensive but they go a long way and last for ages.

Here are some suggestions on how you can add them to your diet:

- I often add 1/4 cup of chia seeds to my Oat Bread, Recipe here

- You can add them to your breakfast or make my Choco Berry Granola, Recipe here

- Add them to soups or smoothies, they act as a thickener.
- Add them to your eggs in the morning.
- They go great in rice dishes especially risotto.
- They are great to bulk up cupcakes and buns like my Carrot Cake Breakfast Muffins, Recipe here
- Use them to thicken mousse like my Paleo Chocolate Mousse, Recipe here
- Use them to make puddings. There are some great recipes here.
- Sprinkle them on salads.
- Have them with some yoghurt in the morning

So there you have it. Lots of ideas and yummy recipes to add to your routine.

As always any questions just ask!

Nutrition for Dummies

There are various models for nutrition, various diets or lifestyles that people follow or live by. Some differ quite a lot in their make up, others are very similar. Some are fat loss orientated, some are performance related and some are health focused. There is no one diet that suits all people. We are all so different.

So where do you even begin to process all the information and chose a path for your own diet? We are bombarded with advice from the media and friends 'Oh try this it really worked for me' or 'Lose 10 pounds instantly with this new product'

Let me help break it down for you. 

Remember the food pyramid in school? I think everyone remembers learning that. Well forget it! And forget it quickly! The food pyramid was based on flawed studies which were heavily marketed by the food industry who absolutely do NOT have your health at interest. Unfortunately $$$ are their primary focus and so they can not be trusted. We are more unhealthy now as a nation than we ever were before. We have more disease and more weight issues than 60+ years ago when this idea was introduced.

                                                    Check out this book that was written about it.

So welcome to a new way of thinking. And it’s much easier than you think. All you have to remember is 3 things. Fat, Protein and Carbohydrates. That’s it. Nothing else. These are called Macronutrients and should make up the bulk of your diet.

When eating any meal (including breakfast, as this is where most people tend to slip up) just make sure that your plate has all 3 elements combined. Good fats, lean ethical protein and clean carbohydrates. I will be doing a follow up post with examples of what each element is and where best to source them so keep a look out for more information. Also keep your eyes peeled for tasty recipes I'll be uploading.

So we have our 3 building blocks now, so what about quantities? I try to stick to this rule. There is no weighing or measuring and you’ll always have this tool to hand… because…it is your actual hand! How handy is that? (I'll get my coat)

For each meal try and eat a hand size portion of clean carbohydrates, ideally a variety of vegetables (this should make up about half the plate). Eat a palm size portion of lean protein. And a thumb size portion of good fats. Simples.

 P.S this is not my hand! I would never hold a chicken breast like that (eugh can you say Salmonella?!), yellow wrist bands are so not my style and I don't eat peas.

Even if you don’t adopt this rule straight away start to look at what you are eating, do a little check to see how close to or far away you are from this simple rule. If you find your meals are unbalanced and not meeting this simple rule and if you are not happy with your physical appearance and performance then maybe it’s time to change things up! This nutrition lark can be scary and baffling but just taking 30 seconds before you eat anything to become more aware of what you are eating is the first step on the journey of optimal health.