Day 175:Make your own Vol 5– Homemade pesto

This is one of the simplest things to make. You can add it on lots of food e.g. pasta, egg, as pizza topping. I use this on everything and like to make lots to last me a while.

all you need; basil, garlic, pine-nuts,olive oil. Source: Womansday

 Makes 2 cups

½ cup pine nuts or almonds

3 cups firmly-packed basil leaves or parsley

1 cup finely grated Parmesan

1-cup extra-virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves

½ teaspoon sea salt flakes

2 Easy steps

• Heat a small frying pan on medium. Toss nuts over heat for 1-2 minutes until golden. Transfer to a food processor.
• Add all remaining ingredients. Process until well combined and a coarse paste is formed. Season to taste with pepper.

store in tiny leftover jars.

All the ways you can have this.

With pasta

Source: simplyrecipes.com

On eggs

Pesto on deviled eggs

pesto on scrambled eggs

Pesto and pizza

incase you still had any doubts about making this

The uses are endless so why not go make your self a HUGE batch 🙂

 

For more make your own Here

Day 168: Low carb recipes- cauliflower pizza crust

Every low-carber must have this recipe. The cravings for pizza can hit at any moment and when you have to watch your carbs, this is a great arsenal to have.

It’s quick and simple to make and marvelously delicious.

 

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese*

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp crushed garlic

1/2 tsp garlic salt

Olive oil

 

 

• Chop cauliflower into chunks and place in food processor. Pulse until the cauliflower is riced. You can also use a cheese grater and you will get the same results
• Place the riced cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl, add 1/4 cup water, and microwave for 6-8 minutes, stirring half-way through.
  
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with some oil.
• In a medium bowl, combine the cauliflower, mozzarella cheese and egg together and stir until well incorporated. Add the oregano, garlic, and garlic salt. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and shape into a 9-inch circle. Brush the crust with olive oil to help it brown in the oven.
• Baked for 15 minutes, until the crust is browned and cooked through the middle.
  
• Remove from oven and add your topping. Do not overload your pizza. Place in oven until the cheese is melted.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 161: Carb-cycling for Vegetarians shopping list

Hitting the grocery store today. after I get back I will be working on and will share.

Protein 

Tempeh

Quinoa

Textured vegetable protein (TVP)

Mature soybeans

Tofu

Eggs

 

Dairy
almond/ soymilk

Mozzarella cheese

Cottage cheese

Yoghurt

 

Vegetables

Eggplant

Zucchini

Cauliflower

French beans

Broccoli

Snap peas

Cabbage

Cucumber

Spinach, Swiss chard and kale

Asparagus

Lettuce

Mushrooms

Squashes

Things to avoid: potatoes, carrots, and beetroot)

 

Fruit (These are only be eaten on your high carb days)

Banana

Watermelon

Mangoes

Cherries

Cantaloupes
pineapple

(These can be had on your low carb days)

-Berries (straw, black, blue)

-Apples

-Avocado

-Lemons

 

Nuts

Peanuts

Almonds

Cashews

Day 140: Make your own Vol.4- Homemade yoghurt

Why make your own yoghurt you might ask. Well

• It tastes better
• It’s better for you (no preservatives, sugar or chemicals added)
• It’s less expensive

• You control what goes into it.

 

Your will need

1. 4 liters/ a gallon of milk (1 gallon of milk=1 gallon of yoghurt. You can change this depending on how much yoghurt you want to make)
2. 1 heaped tablespoon fresh yogurt, (check the label to make sure it has live, active culture — most yoghurt at the store does.
3. 2 large pots (one has to be bigger than the other to make a type of double boiler. The larger pot should have a lid)
4. I plastic or metal spoon
5. A candy thermometer

Steps:

 

–       Make a double boiler by putting the smaller pot into the larger on and add water half way up the bigger pot

–       Put the milk into the smaller pot and put the thermometer at the rim of the pot.  Boil the milk to 185⁰ but if you do not have one, your milk will have reached the desired when it forms a film at the top and begins to froth like a late. Stir frequently

–        Cool the milk down to 110⁰  . You can let it cool at room temperature or put the put in a sink of water

–       Once it gets to 110, add your 3-4 tbsp. spoons of the yoghurt.  Stir well to ensure the live yoghurt is well mixed and place in a warm are. You can use a heating pad. Or I just place mine in a warm oven switched OFF and leave it for about 6-7 hrs.

–       After 7 hrs. Stir your yoghurt well. Note- there will be a cheesy smell and a greenish liquid on top. Have no fear.

–       Portion out your yoghurt into containers with lids. Cover them and chill overnight. Refrigerating will thicken the yoghurt and this can keep for up to 10 days.

Yum.

–       Enjoy.

Is it worth going through all the trouble. absolutely. This is great for breakfast or a snack.

 

 

 

Day 133: Flying healthy.

 

Heathrow, London

Airplane food is gross. Unless you are flying first class which I don’t. So since I will be on a plane for about 7 hrs, I have decided to carry my own snacks and stay away from the food.

Some simple things to remember while flying:

-First don’t go to the airport hungry. Eat a big lunch or if your flying late at night a dinner.

-Make sure your foods don’t have gels or liquids in them

 

Here are some of the things I will be taking with me.

Strategy

• A protein: Greek yoghurt (you have to buy this at the airport- The terrorists have won)
• One fruit or veggie: sliced apples and carrots in a Ziploc bag
• One whole grain carbohydrate: I’m going for a bag of popcorn
• Nuts and seeds: homemade trail-mix; some almonds, raisins, peanuts and pumpkin seeds. (Make sure you carry only as much as you can eat. Some places don’t allow you to carry seeds and fruits into the country)
• Water (have to buy this after you go through security or carry an empty sigg water bottle and fill it up at a fountain- frugal much?)
• String cheese
• Protein bars, Luna bars or cliff bars

 

 

I know that sounds like a lot of food but I equate flying to eating, sleeping and watching movies. I love flying its like a mini vacation. I eat and watch as many movies as I can.

And don’t just sit around waiting for your flight. Walk around and get in some miles.

 

Day 98: Food Friday-quick low carb, high protein; Thai egg and zucchini lunch

I think I will devote my Friday blogging to food. I will try and have a new recipe or interesting food fact to aid in weight loss.

I’m a veg and I’m try to live a relatively low carb high protein existence and its damn near impossible. I put up a few easy vegetarian recipes earlier this week and they are all pretty high in carb (not by too much but still up there)

This week I feel gassy, bloated and my stomach feels like I am carrying twins. I think it might be all the chickpeas I have been eating. I am thinking about doing a cleanse just for one day.  But still haven’t decided what.

 

Anyway Today I got my insanity and 30DS in the mail. I put on my workout clothes and decided to watch through the Insanity and see what I am in for. I did the Max cardio circuit and it was a killer. Edit* I only did the 10 minute warm-up and I was ready to pass out.  I watched the rest of the DVD and tried out a few of the moves here and there just to get used to them. After going through it, I have decided I need to get my fitness level up before I can tackle this series.

I will do the 30 days Shred for 30 continuous days and after I can do that without much trouble, I will be ready for Insanity.

After the workout, I need a quick meal that would be filling and low in carbs. I only had some eggs in the fridge and the chickpeas (which I am not touching again for at least a month.)

Here is what I came up with.

 

Thai egg and zucchini fry-up

Ingredients

2 eggs boiled

a small zucchini ( finely julienned)

Thai stir fry paste: basil garlic and chili (use any paste you have)

Tbsp. of olive oil or vegetable broth (I’m trying to cook without oil so I use the broth)

Half an avocado (optional)

 

1. put oil/broth on a pan
2. Add the zucchini and a tbsp. of Thai paste.
3. Cook it down for a minute
4. Chop boiled eggs and add them to pan
5. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and cook for a minute
6. Serve with avocado

 

Julienned zucchini

Thai Spice. Yum

Chop up the eggs

cook up the egg and zucchini for about a minute

serve with avocado

This meal is pretty simple and quick. You can even make it quicker by having boiled eggs handy. It is absofreakinlutely delicious.

 

Calories 288

Protein 13g

Net carbs: 2g