Simplify My Life

Ultimate Plastic Bag Instructions

2012-01-26T17:55:00.000+10:00

After receiving several hints about preparing some instructions about how I make my plastic handbags, I have done just that here. I hope these instructions might be helpful...

Rhubarb!

2011-11-11T17:47:00.001+10:00

I had a new dilemma to solve when some rhubarb arrived in my Food Connect box as I haven’t had any contact with rhubarb apart from possibly eating some in a restaurant dessert.

But first I wanted to know what I could call it – a fruit or a vegetable - and it appears that I’m not alone in my confusion. Wikipedia tells me that rhubarb is normally considered to be a vegetable, except in the United States which counts it as a fruit for regulation and duties purposes.

Next I wondered if it could be eaten raw and an online search brought up the perfect solution. I varied the recipe by mixing 275g rhubarb, 100g honey and 50g sultanas at speed 5 for a few seconds in the Thermomix.

The tart flavour came through in my taste test just after making it. However the taste mellowed as I sampled the mix and after two days it was delicious. I’ll certainly repeat this performance next time some rhubarb arrives in my home.

Fruity Capers

2011-10-03T19:17:00.000+10:00

Some time ago I took a TAFE course in fruit wine making and adopted the pastime as a belated science project.

Making fruit wine was an interesting process. Peeled and chopped fruit with a combination of fruit juice and water plus other ingredients were placed into a clean bucket covered with a towel. I bought new buckets just to be safe.

Adding the yeast after 24 hours stirred up a lukewarm response in the mix. However, I was rewarded the following day when adding the sugar provided a wonderful explosion of bubbles as the yeast and sugar collided.

The remaining steps were easy. I stirred the mix in the bucket a few times over the next two days and then strained the liquid into a 5 litre flagon with a special stopper allowing the wine to bubble. Extra sugar and other recommendations kept the mix humming along until it was ready to be bottled.

One of my favourite activities each week was decanting the liquid and flushing out the flagon before returning the wine. The TAFE teacher had suggested tasting the mix just to make sure it was progressing normally. After checking the progress of a few wine batches, I would feel a little mellow.

My first attempts featured plums as they were in season and sold at a reduced price when overripe. My fruit man entered into my project with great gusto, calling out as I passed his shop if he had some suitable fruit. Soon I had to decline these offers as my stash of bubbling potions was growing.

It was fun for a while. My favourite blend was mandarin and orange juice. It had a lovely subtle bite to it that suited my palate. However, friends were cautious about trying my wine. While the first batch worked well, some subsequent batches were a bit dubious so I could understand their reticence.

I realised that I couldn't continue with my science project as I enjoyed tasting it too much. Also, midges had taken up residence in my home, no doubt thinking they were in heaven. So I allowed the remaining batches to finish before storing the equipment.

While I am no longer a novice vintner, I am pleased that I understand the wine making process. The teacher discussed how the bubbles in champagne come from a second amount of yeast being added to the bottle before the cork is applied. Now I know why champagne has a greater effect on me than wine.

As a science project, it fitted the bill perfectly and I filled the role by logging the ingredients and steps that I took. As a pastime, it was like any other project that I've taken on over the years. Teddy bears or stuffed leopards reside in my home and those of family and friends. While not as prolific, crocheted rugs and pillows are also out there. The number of ultimate plastic bags is growing. It’s just as well I pulled the plug on making fruit wine.

Fairy Floss?

2011-09-02T19:57:00.004+10:00

No, not really. But it was pretty enough for me to think of that delicious sweet treat that I missed this year by not going to the Ekka. I understand it was definitely there at the I Love Fairy Floss stand, or so Google tells me.

Well, my little treat might be a different colour but it has the right consistency and even better lacks the sugar. Just 200 grams of cabbage and 110 grams of peeled apple were blended with 200g water in the Thermomix. After a hearty lunch today, it was just the right meal to finish the day, and so I got to eat my sweet treat!

PS And for anyone wondering... This soup provided 100 calories, which was fortunate considering the meal that preceded it.

Digital Dilemmas

2011-08-28T09:57:00.000+10:00

With the coming transition to digital TV, I wondered whether my antenna was up to the task. My main TV works in conjunction with a Foxtel IQ box which gives me good reception. However, I haven’t taken on all of the Foxtel packages available so there are some free to air digital channels that I can’t watch.

I have an old TV in my bedroom that I watch occasionally. I had bought two of these TV's in the late 1980's and was impressed that one of them was still operating. Getting digital to work with this TV seemed the ideal place to start.

Installing the set top box was no mean feat. I can understand why people bring in TV technicians to do this job. But I decided to see how far I could go on my own.

As well as acquiring a set top box, I also needed to buy an RF modulator. My TV was so old that it only had the RF connections and not the coaxial cable connectors.

The instructions for the RF modulator said to connect the incoming TV aerial to the modulator and the outgoing cable from the modulator to the TV, with the coaxial coloured cables going between the modulator and the set top box. This seemed strange to me but I set it up this way and found only Channel 31.

I had always thought that white plugs go into white receptors and the same for red plugs and receptors, but apparently not. The instructions for the set top box had white going into red and red into white which confused me. With the cables set up in the conventional way only Channel 31 showed up. Obeying the instructions by swapping the red and white cables going into both the set top box and modulator worked, with ABC and SBS digital channels also appearing.

My Dick Smith store was very helpful during this process. They said that the aerial cable needed to be plugged into the RF modulator, with the remaining cables as I had set them up. My second search for channels looked more promising with all but Channel 7's channels came up.

Again, my local Dick Smith store was helpful. I bought a quad shield coaxial cable to replace the aerial cable connected to the modulator, and then I had all of the channels.

I thought I might have one more challenge to improve the reception on the TV. The quality of the free to air channels was worse except for SBS, possibly because SBS sits on the same band as the channel linking to the set top box. However, the overall quality of the channels was good enough for a TV only being watched occasionally.

I checked online and some people had found that rabbit ears can improve a TV’s picture quality. While the idea of using rabbit ears felt like I was going back in time, web pages were reporting that they are still in demand for people watching free to air digital TV. I tried the rabbit ears that came with my old TV and there was no difference to the picture quality. After purchasing the latest model of an internal antenna, (they don’t label them rabbit ears anymore!), I received a mixed TV reception. The number of channels reduced mostly from Channel 7 dropping out, but the quality of the remaining channels improved. As tempting as it was to keep the better reception, getting all of the TV channels was more important, so I reverted back to using the external TV antenna.

I haven’t yet tried the set top box and new coaxial cable on my main TV in my lounge room. This TV has connectors for the coloured cables so I wouldn’t need to use the RF modulator.

But I’m thinking that I should quit while I am ahead. My second TV is digital ready, albeit with a slightly lesser quality picture, and I am happy to continue with Foxtel operating on my main TV which provides a good picture quality.

So I have answered the question that I started out with. It looks like the external antenna is up to the task and I now have access to all the digital free to air channels. If I had an LG TV, I might be tempted to say “Life is good”!

Cool and Empty Thoughts

2011-07-09T15:26:00.000+10:00

I need a happy thought, one that will send me back to sleep when I wake up in the early hours of the morning.

I have been on a mission for a number of years to work out the magic ingredients for a good night’s sleep. I thought that protein free dinners might have been the answer which I have subsequently proven wrong. I now believe that once we restrict coffee and alcohol to before 6pm then it is a matter of temperature control and de-stressing.

I once used to sleep much warmer than I needed to and sometimes woke up in a light sweat. Now I’m reading online that it is best to sleep in a slightly cool room. This surprises me and yet my experiences over the past few months are proving its validity.

Towards the end of May when I would have been sleeping snugly under a doona, I only needed a sheet and sometimes one or two blankets. Now in July, I only need a light doona and bedcover which is again in contrast with past practice.

When I settle in for the night I ensure that my bedding is appropriate for the weather. I wait for a few minutes to see whether I become too hot or cold and adjust accordingly.

So having cottoned on to the need for temperature control, I’m left with how to de-stress before retiring for the night.

If I go to bed with an active mind, then I experience vivid or unpleasant dreams. Watching comedies or something funny on TV before I prepare for bed generally leads to an easy entry to sleep. A smile on my face works wonders.

Having a happy thought to lull me back into slumber seems like a good idea but I find that if I attach to any thoughts after I wake then I’ll be awake for some time. In the past, I would get up and make myself a cup of tea, after which I was able to go back to sleep. I now believe that this helped mainly because my body cooled down while I was out of my bed.

I have been reading a book by Tenzin Palmo called “Reflections on a Mountain Lake”. Tenzin Palmo is a Western Buddhist nun who lived and meditated in a cave for twelve years. Her book was formed from a series of talks that she gave in the late 1990s and includes a discussion about the value of meditation and how it can help clear the mind.

Clearing the mind is exactly what I need to do when I wake during the night. I have always found meditating difficult. However if I wake during the night I can generally clear the mind and go back to sleep. The only time that I might have some trouble is if I haven’t dealt with any stress I have been feeling, but I’m finding that most times I can ignore any thoughts that might arise and return to sleep.

So now I do three things to enhance my sleeping pattern. The first is to watch something funny to lighten my mind, the second is to ensure that my bedding is just right and the third is to empty my mind if I wake during the night. My new regime is working well for me. I’m sleeping comfortably with a calm and happy mind. This is cool!

Highlights

2011-07-09T13:52:00.000+10:00

Charming thatches of gray have featured just above my ears for decades. I have even joked with my hairdresser about my free highlights. However, since turning 50 these points of interest seem to be spreading their joy.

My family and I have agreed that I am taking after my grandmother in many ways. Considering that her hair turned gray during her 50's, it is no surprise that gray strands are now mingling with my brunette locks.

My grandmother finally accepted the gray tinge after many years of dyeing her hair. I have often noticed women with their natural hair colour emerging along their part. Since two-toned hair is not my idea of a fashion statement, for the past month I have been trying a more natural method.

Google has once again helped me in this endeavour. Many web pages praise the combination of rosemary and sage tea as an effective and natural hair colour option.

It's an easy process. I put a heaped teaspoon each of the rosemary and sage herbs into a cup and fill with boiling water. After the mix has cooled I pour the strained liquid into a spray bottle.

Each morning for three weeks I sprayed the mix onto my hair and then after 10 minutes washed my hair normally. Now I just use the spray once or twice a week for maintenance.

Web pages suggest that the spray will only last for a week and should be kept in the fridge. However I am finding that it can last longer out of the fridge in these cooler months.

I am pleased with the results. If I finger through my hair I still see strands of gray, but after preparing my hair for the day the gray is barely there.

A herbal tea mix doesn’t provide the immediate fix that a salon can but I like the idea of using herbs in this way. My thatched highlights might not be so visible now but how I’m handling this is more sustainable and satisfying.

Chia Seed Gel

2011-06-18T17:37:00.000+10:00

Sprouted seeds or legumes are often recommended as a healthy item on our plates. Soaking removes the enzyme inhibitors that would otherwise nullify some of the enzymes produced in our bodies.

An alternative to sprouting is to make chia seed gel. Chia seeds are touted as a superfood which can be cooked, sprouted or made up into a gel. I like making the gel because it's easy to prepare and can last in my fridge for a week or more.

I mix a heaped tablespoon of chia seeds with 3/4 cup water in a container. The mix needs to be stirred for a few minutes to ensure the seeds don't clump together. Then the lid goes on and into the fridge.

The raw food movement recommends eating "live" food because the enzymes in the food are more readily available. Including chia seed gel in our meals is an easy way to get this benefit.

New plastic bag

2011-03-17T13:50:00.002+10:00

Here's my latest creation with reversed colour schemes on front and back, and on the sides. It is fun playing with different colours. This bag brings lots of admiring looks, including my own!

Earlier bags can be found here and here, and instructions are here.

Simplified Mini Muffins

2011-01-22T18:00:00.000+10:00

I’ve made muffins, pikelets, waffles and bread, and the enduring habit seems to be making mini muffins. My mother has always been a fan and has even started making her own.

My favourite version of this recipe is Sultana Mini Muffins, but in the past sultanas have easily been replaced by coconut, carrot, banana, pumpkin, or any other item that takes your fancy and feels like it would work within a mini muffin recipe! I suspect the variations are limited only by one’s imagination…

I use rye flour because I seem to have developed intolerance to wheat flour but have not yet been diagnosed as celiac. If self-raising flour is your preference, then don’t include the cream of tartar and baking soda.

Sultana Mini Muffins

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Makes 24 mini muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup rye flour

1 1/3 tsp cream of tartar with 2/3 tsp baking soda

1 tsp mixed spice

3 tbsp sugar

--- The above ingredients can be stored together in a container in the fridge for days or weeks before you need them. If you prefer to sift the flour, cream of tartar and baking soda then do this before adding the mixed spice and sugar.

¾ cup sultanas - or other filling of choice: desiccated coconut, grated carrot, banana or cooked pumpkin etc…

1 egg

3 tbsp olive oil

5/8 cup water

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease mini muffin tray(s) – one large tray for 24 mini muffins or two smaller trays for 12 mini muffins each.

Sift flour, cream of tartar and baking soda into a bowl. Mix in all other ingredients until combined.

Spoon mixture into the muffin pans

Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through. In a non-fan forced oven turn the muffin tray s around in the oven after 7 or 8 minutes. Cool in pan(s) for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a plate or wire rack.

This recipe works well for mini muffins and would most likely work for a 12 muffin tray as well.

Vroom Vroom

2011-01-06T14:48:00.002+10:00

My Dad found my first car for me. The seven year old Torana was perfect. I drove this 3 litre, 6 cylinder car around for a further seven years thinking that this was how all cars drove, until water dripped when it rained and my heel started going through the floor.

My next car was a shock to me. A 1.6 litre Gemini had less power than the Torana and the subsequent 2 litre Nissan Pintara felt the same. Both cars over-revved when I put my foot down where the Torana had surged forward. No wonder Toranas were popular with race drivers. Dick Johnson was one of the first to put himself in the driver’s seat.

I fixed the problem with my fourth car by acquiring a Commodore which was fitting as it had superseded the Torana. The car drove like a dream for the next five years after which I traded it in on another Commodore. This time around I kept the car for 10 years and for the last four years ran on dual LPG and petrol.

I was happy to take on lpg and not just because the Government rebate started before I placed my order. LPG seemed like an ideal way to help the environment by using less petrol. An added benefit for me was having two tanks that allowed me to drive further before refueling. I also noticed a drop in my fuel bills which added another tick.

However after 10 years and high mechanical quotes I went back to the drawing board. I had heard good things about the Mitsubishi Lancer both from my brother and a friend. The closest Mitsubishi dealer being within walking distance of my home along with a great special offer helped to seal the deal.

However I still wondered how I would feel once I owned it as 2 litre cars had previously unimpressed me. Naturally I had taken the Lancer for a test drive, but there is so much to think about while getting used to a new vehicle that the test drive becomes a bit of a blur. It was only after I was regularly driving the Gemini and then the Pintara that I worked out I was not happy.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief after picking up my new car and driving it around for a few days. Clearly 2 litre cars have changed over the past two decades. The Lancer has not over-revved despite my lead foot operating sometimes, particularly when driving up a hill or wanting to accelerate on a highway. My petrol bills being consistently less than the combined lpg and petrol bills for my previous car was also good news.

While I must sound like a rev-head, I am saved by my gender as the Urban Dictionary says this is an Australian term for a young male person who owns and is obsessed by an excessively powerful motor vehicle. But I did enjoy driving a powerful car. However in these days of soaring petrol prices and calls to reduce our ecological footprint I feel virtuous driving a smaller engine car and my bank balance appreciates it as well.

Christmas Creations

2010-12-28T17:36:00.004+10:00

Christmas Day was a lot of fun, particularly when my next two plastic bag creations were happily whisked away by my delighted mother and sister.

As is generally the way, these creations have surpassed the initial prototype. Handles bought at Spotlight with a spiffy way of attaching them has given each bag a classy look.

Two big pink bags meant to be filled with clothes and placed outside for collection were instead made up into four squares to adorn the sides of an otherwise white bag. The black printing on the pink bags resulted in interesting squiggles throughout the sea of pink. At the request of my Mum some plastic ends were left partially exposed, just to prove authenticity of course!

Having dipped my fingers into colour, it became the imperative. Family members passed through coloured bags while buying small items over a few days from the local greengrocer resulted in some pretty purple and green bags which were quickly made up into sparkling squares. I even stooped to trolling through the plastic bag recycling bin in Woolworths which scored a handy stash.

While I have a preference for used plastic bags, this went out the door while finishing off my sister’s bag. She prefers colourful objects, no doubt stemming from her artistic talent, and black edging was the best way to go. However, used black plastic bags are hard to come by so some purchased garbage bags were used. I felt a little easier about this when I noticed their “earth friendly bags” tag.

When making up the bags, I joined the 14 squares together in pairs, and then joined two pairs together to make the front and back leaving the remaining pairs for the sides and bottoms. In each case the edges were placed side by side and then a tapestry needle used to loop some plarn (plastic yarn) along the edges.

Then I joined each of the front and back sections to the bottom pair by placing the edges together and securing them by running the tapestry needle up and down through the squares just inside the edge to give a nice finish. The side pairs were also attached to the base by placing the edges together, which ensures that the bag will stand up easily, and looping the thread through the edges. After the sides edges were looped against the front and back edges, the almost completed bag could stand up.

Then I had the dilemma of how to attach the handles. I ended up extending small flaps of 8 rows of 8 treble groups centered on the front and back panels. Each of the resulting flaps were then wound around the handle’s base and secured by crocheting through the top and bottom edge of the flap from inside the bag, which produced a professional finish.

I’ m afraid that my initial prototype is about to be superseded, as much as I’ve enjoyed showing it off. Having seen what I can achieve, I have ideas of what I would like to make for myself and am currently mulling about which colours I’d like in my next creation (or two) with pastels leading the pack. Of course, what I can actually make depends on the colour of the bags that come my way.

I have a yen for a white and pastel coloured bag, and a black bag with colours different to the one I made for my sister. As much as I like the professional look that the Spotlight handles give, I’d still like to perfect a good-looking crocheted handle. And of course, each of my creations has to be different, perhaps not in the basic design but definitely in the colours. I think I’ll be busy for some time to come…

Postscript: A subsequent bag is here and instructions are here.

Sore knee

2010-12-26T19:47:00.001+10:00

I hope you enjoyed your Christmas as much as I enjoyed mine... until I slipped and hurt my knee earlier today. Fortunately I have only hurt my knee which is sporting a few blue/purple bruises and is therefore not broken. I have also just noticed a blood spot in my eye similar to the one I got when I fell off a horse when I was much younger. I am able to walk almost normally around my home and outside, just needing to support my knee during significant movements.

I slipped on a wet patch of concrete and in the split second of going down wondered what this would mean for me. Since being diagnosed with marginal osteoporosis four years ago, every fall becomes an issue. I have now fallen twice since the diagnosis and both times have survived without a break.

My doctor felt that my breaking a bone in my ankle back in 1990 meant that I had a predisposition to osteoporosis. To me at the time, I was under severe stress in my then current job .But being a very loyal creature as under the Chinese horoscope my year of birth means that I am a Dog, I needed the opportunity that a broken foot gave me to step back from my work situation so that I could clearly look at what was best for me, which turned out to be leaving the job I was in.

I am not so sure what the message is from this current fall. I have been fortunate that there is no significant break and have already resumed normal life, minus long walks and tip-toeing over wet ground. I have piles of things to read after becoming preoccupied with work-related end of year tasks, contributing to a campaign to save the park that I live opposite and making two presents that I am sure to blog about in the next day or two. Perhaps the message is for me to chill out right now and catch up with life in general. After all, it still feels a lot like Christmas...

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T08:09:00.000+10:00

Merry Christmas to all.

Mushroom Chicken Cacciatore a la Thermomix

2010-12-15T14:56:00.007+10:00

I enjoyed the Mushroom and Chicken Cacciatore meal so much that I have just made a modified version in the Thermomix. The original recipe can still be found at the Courier Mail Q-Weekend website by clicking on QW Inside and then clicking on Food, and right now it is on page 8.

The condiments below don’t include salt as the Thermomix stock concentrate already has salt in it. I’ve worked out that I can store my stock concentrate in a pyrex container in the freezer as I can easily scoop some out on a spoon. I have previously found that frozen jam can be scooped out in the same way if it is made with equal quantities of fruit and sugar. It looks like stock concentrate made with a significant amount of salt has the same properties.

It tasted lovely even though the tomatoes lost their form and became part of the stock. Next time I’ll reduce the number of tomatoes and increase the amount of zucchini or capsicum. The rest of the stew ended up in the freezer with the meals being much more stock than chicken and mushroom. But that’s fine. I’ll enjoy eating it and won’t mind using a spoon to lap up the last few mouthfuls.

I have just read the Thermomix forum and found a recipe for Chicken Cacciatore along with some great suggestions on how to reduce the resulting liquid. Next time I'll try cooking the meal on Varoma temperature and steaming vegetables in the Varoma basket.I'll choose the vegetables carefully as 15 minutes cooking time seemed perfect with this meal and some vegetables require a longer steaming time. Probably vegetables that can be eaten raw like pumpkin, carrots, broccoli or cauliflower would be best.

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic

1 onion peeled and quartered

Olive oil 30g

300g chicken thighs diced

120g mushrooms diced

3 roma tomatoes chopped

1 zucchini diced

200ml water with 1 tsp Thermomix stock concentrate

Condiments to suit : pepper, herbs eg oregano, rosemary or dried Italian herbs
Optional: Diced vegetables for steaming eg pumpkin, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower

Preparation:

Chop garlic and onion in Thermomix bowl for 5 seconds on speed 7

Add oil and sauté for 3 minutes at 100 deg C on speed 1

Add remaining ingredients and position the Varoma basket on top if vegetables are being steamed. Cook for 15 minutes at 100 deg C or Varoma temperature (if veggies are being steamed) on Reverse speed soft.

Raw Hummus

2010-12-14T15:06:00.003+10:00

Hummus is always a pleasant addition to a nibble or a meal. This raw version based on a recipe from the book “12 Steps to Raw Foods” by Victoria Boutenko can make a nice side dish or stand as a meal on its own. It is deceptively simple to make and perfect as summer takes hold.

My first attempts to sprout chick peas always ended in failure. But then I was set straight at a demonstration by Roar Food. Instead of rinsing twice a day as I have always done for other legumes, I needed to rinse at least 3 or 4 times a day. Just to be on the safe side, I rinse whenever I notice the jar on my sink.

So once the chick peas have been sprouted, making the hummus is easy. Just blend the following ingredients on speed 4 (just under medium speed) in the Thermomix for 15 to 30 seconds:

Chick peas sprouted for 1 to 2 days
Tomato
Basil and other available greens
Condiments to taste - garlic, salt, lemon juice

Food Matters

2010-11-26T17:24:00.006+10:00

I’ve been travelling along comfortably for a while now, enjoying my breakfast of fruit with some cooked brown rice or quinoa, a large salad at lunch time with some cooked beans or chick peas, and a cooked dinner. I enjoy eating bananas as a snack, and have a vague memory of mentioning that I also enjoy a cappuccino – be it cow’s milk or alternatives such as rice or oat milk – just about every morning.

My Mum and I saw the movie Food, Inc. recently which reminded me of all the reasons that I avoid processed food, minimise the amount of animal protein in my meals, and endeavour to grow some greens and tomatoes to contribute to what I eat. There were parts of Food, Inc. that were somewhat confronting, but as I had previously watched the Fast Food Nation dvd which had similar themes, I knew what I was in for.

Then I noticed the Food Matters dvd at Wrays Organics and on the spur of the moment decided to buy it. I could be forgiven for expecting something similar to Food, Inc. or Fast Food Nation as both movies look at the food that we eat and what happens to that food before it reaches our plates.

But Food Matters is different in that it looks at how the food we eat affects our health. The dvd indicates this with the subtitle being a quote from Hippocrates: “Let thy Food be thy Medicine”. A significant part of the movie is taken up by discussing the importance of raw food, which I was more than happy to listen to after having spent a few months towards the end of last year romping through most of the recipes in Thermomix’s Rawlicious booklet.

I’ve had a lot of input since I first started playing with this little booklet. I’ve dabbled with what could be the standard raw food diet which includes nuts and seeds and even tried sprouting grains unsuccessfully. Then I moved on to the 80/10/10 diet with a high fruit focus and one meal including a large salad. Now I’m seeing members of my family following the Paleo diet which advocates a significant amount of animal protein along with fruit and vegetables (excluding root vegetables). I can see benefits in all these ways of eating and have started to incorporate more fish or organic meat into my diet to see if this makes any difference to my overall wellbeing.

I can’t help wondering why this isn’t easier. My grandmother lived till she was 90. She cooked most meals and had a few processed foods along the way in the form of shop-bought biscuits and cakes, but these foods didn’t form the major component of what she ate. It’s also possible that the ingredients in these products back when she was eating them might have been a bit more natural than what they are now.

The most significant advice I’ve heard from the FoodMatters dvd is to have 51% or more raw food at each meal. I’ve easily been doing this for my breakfast and lunch over the past six months, but have definitely failed the test at dinner time as I’ve recently become accustomed to eating my dinner cooked.

Actually, I should probably ask 51% of what! Is that 51% of the weight of the food I’m eating, or 51% of the calories? I could use this as a delaying tactic but have decided to go with the recommendation provided with the 80/10/10/diet which looks at the percentage of calories.

Most of what I have for dinner comes from the Food Connect box that I pick up each Tuesday. I believe that potatoes are the only item from Food Connect that can’t be eaten raw, so have good reason to think that it wouldn’t be that hard to meet this 51% criterion. It’s just my dinners that I need to reconsider and my cooked dinners that might be the hardest habit to change. The phrase “What to eat” has never been more pertinent.

Carrot and apple salad; Muscle cramps and animal protein

2010-11-19T23:08:00.005+10:00

So what do you do if you have a couple of carrots, a big green apple, some sultanas waiting to be used in the fridge and some shallots also waiting for their moment in the spotlight?

I’ve been exceptionally lucky as we head into summer. Many of the veggies that have been growing on my patios over winter have not yet given up the ghost. Loose-leaf cabbage is still holding on as are the two trays of celery that I erroneously trimmed down to soil (or should I say pebble) level a couple of months ago. In the process I removed what I thought were old stems only to realise now that all I needed to do was trim and dispose of the old leaves, and not the whole plant. I’m noticing as we move into the warmer months that the celery leaves are not as damaged as they were during winter months. However, it’s still too early to say for sure, but I’m hoping that I might be crowing about the celery I’m growing (with limited sunlight on the north-facing patio) for weeks to come.

It’s the same with the shallots which have contributed to my meal tonight. In the past few weeks when I first harvested shallots, I pulled the whole shallot out, roots and all. And then I noticed how the other shallots in the clump of four or five were destabilised by the removal. Since then I have just cut off the shallot close to “ground” level. And hallelujah! The shallots have reinvented themselves and thrown up shoots some inches high in place of their former selves. It’s really very helpful that I can grow some of the veggies that I’m happy to eat. Shallots are timeless, and fit just about any dish that I would like to include them in.

So tonight I deviated away from my normal practice of peeling everything and instead washed and trimmed the ends of the two carrots, and washed and cored the apple. Then the carrots and apple were chopped a little more in the Thermomix on speed 4 (just under medium speed) for 6 seconds. Three tbsp of sultanas and two chopped shallots (minus dried stems destined for the garden compost pile) made it onto my salad in their natural state.

I’m surprised that this all worked out so well. A dinner plate full of raw vegetables would normally freak anyone out and I felt inclined in that direction until I taste tested the mix. Then I settled quite happily into munching my way through my meal. What made it unusual was that I ate the entire chopped apple with the skin still on, and same for the carrot which was no real feat as carrot skins are much less intrusive in the mouth than those crunchy apple skins. Of course, carrot and apple have been linked together in other ways. Combined with celery, they make a healthy juice.

I’ve always known that I have a sweet tooth and tonight proved the theory again. Carrots are known to have a sweet taste despite them being a vegetable. And the carrots that I enjoyed tonight from my Food Connect box certainly proved the theory. An apple is a fruit and therefore naturally sweet while sultanas as dried fruit again played to my natural preferences. It’s the shallots that should have dissuaded my taste buds but I remember reading somewhere (and sometime soon I hope I’ll work out where) that combining shallots with a salad – or even better in my mind with a combined fruit and vegetable salad – is a very beneficial thing as the onion-type presence of the shallot enhances the salad and makes the nutrients in the meal more available.

Of course, what I’ve missed out on tonight is a significant source of protein. Fortunately, I’d like to think that I handled that requirement at lunch time with a toasted sandwich with some ham on it. You see, I developed a theory a few day’s ago that if I don’t get sufficient protein (and my apologies to veganism as I’m thinking animal protein), then I might suffer from muscle cramps in my legs overnight – at least, that was my experience after two or three days where I basically forgot about eating some significant protein. Early one morning, I just had to bound out of bed to walk on my legs and dissuade the sharp cramp from sticking around.

So I googled “muscle cramp animal protein” and the first page that I clicked on confirmed my theory. One symptom of protein (and calcium) deficiency (either from not eating or not digesting protein (protease deficiency)) is muscle cramps, which is a direct indication of calcium or potassium deficiency.

Of course, for someone who has focused on being as vegetarian as possible, this comes as a bit of a blow. However, muscle cramps have occurred so often over the years, while in parallel my concern about not getting enough protein has increased exponentially. So it looks like I’ll be eating more animal protein into the future. I’m trying to work out if this will become a problem but it doesn’t feel like it. And if I happen to forget about the animal protein then I’m sure I’ll get a quick reminder soon after with a quick jab in my leg which will set me back on the right path.

Raw food?

2010-11-16T08:19:00.004+10:00

I like the concept of “4 Raw Ingredients”, but I’m not quite sure how practical it is when I am really using only raw ingredients.

I know I have taken many photos of raw food over the past year after some very comprehensive recipe testing, and some of these would fit the condition of up to 4 ingredients. But I can’t help wondering how important this condition is, particularly considering that it’s a personal condition that I’ve imposed on myself.

I feel good after a raw meal. There is an overall feeling of balance and it would be hard for me to qualify this feeling any further. But if I were to test this overall feeling by eating something that is not in congruence with the other items that I had eaten, then I’m sure there would be a riot inside me.

I can reliably say after testing my body’s response to a minimal amount of alcohol after a completely raw meal that this is not something that anyone else should try. If anything, my body has responded violently with the minimum or worse of shakes and a feeling that there certainly would be worse to come if I were to test my body further. Not that I’m a masochist or anything like that. I suppose I like to know where all of me is at on some issues.

Tonight I’ve taken the easy option of a salad with the eminently suitable items of lettuce, carrot, beetroot (and yes, both are raw), tomato and avocado.

I avoided technology such as the Thermomix that sits on my bench and chopped up all of the ingredients for this dish with my naturally (not) superior chopping skills. Then even though I had gone past the magical number of 4 items I shook some salt and pepper over the avocado. I’m hoping in this single action that I’ve created my maximum number of items that I’ll be tempted to make up into a dish.

This was delish. However I am conscious that I either need to gain my proteins from animal proteins or eggs (and the myriad of other sources including grains and legumes), or else just ensure that at least one of my daily meals includes enough protein to keep me going into the next day. In this case, I had eaten a lot of macadamia nuts and sultanas before I started making my dinner, which no doubt satisfied any need within me of a more substantial meal.

So an hour after I finished my dinner my stomach was quite happy with what I had just eaten. I wish I could report that my stomach always feels like this, but unfortunately I can’t. So I’ll just need to continue playing with the food that I collect in my travels to determine what really works best for me.

Hiccups

2010-11-03T20:57:00.002+10:00

Today I got the hiccups just after I had enjoyed my lunch. I tolerated them for a little while, thought briefly about getting annoyed with them, and then said to myself, “Okay, that’s enough”. And the hiccups stopped. Now I want to know why. If I can work out what I did right here, then I can do it again.

Alternative ways of handling the hiccups had popped into my mind before I fixed it, or was it the universe responding to my request. I like both reasons so perhaps I’ll never know how…

I’ve read (somewhere that I can’t remember where but will try to find it) that one solution is to find a mirror and stare at your eyes in the mirror and the hiccups will stop, which they have sometimes in the past. I didn’t think to try this today as I was right in the middle of a task and didn’t want to stop my train of thought.

Another remedy is to have someone nearby plug your ears with their fingers while you drink a glass of water. Well, fat chance when there’s no one else around. But even when I have tried it out with my version of flexible limbs, which I really don’t have, this idea doesn’t really work well.

Well, whatever I or the universe did today worked as there’s been no sign of those pesky hiccups since.

Mushroom Chicken Cacciatore

2010-10-31T18:08:00.011+10:00

I live opposite a park and have been envious when barbeque smells waft in my direction. Tonight I reckon my neighbours might have been thinking exactly the same thing about me.

My brother has sometimes mentioned the meals that he makes for his family and they always sound great. After he had taken step by step photos of a Mushroom & Chicken Cacciatore meal, I couldn’t help asking if I could post his photos here.

The recipe was provided in last weekend’s Courier Mail Q-Weekend magazine. I was able to find it here by clicking on QW Inside and then clicking on Food. I’ve been lucky to find the recipe on the first page that comes up, but as we move into the new week and beyond, the recipe will move onto later pages. Fortunately the web site keeps past recipes so it should be possible to find the recipe for some time to come.

So here are my brother’s step-by-step photos…

Naturally I tried it out for myself and bought all of the major ingredients while substituting for some of the others. Dried Italian herbs catered for the dried oregano and fresh rosemary while the reduced quantity that I made with 360g chicken breast meant that 200ml dry white wine along with a teaspoon of stock concentrate was plenty for the dish. I had no tomato paste or capers in my fridge but plenty of tomatoes to fill the gap.

I was sold on this recipe just after I cooked the diced chicken as all the smaller bits had disappeared long before it was time to add them back into the pan.

So here is my version of this recipe… As I’ve said once or twice in the past, this one is a keeper!

Cats!

2010-10-26T20:16:00.003+10:00

Don’t get me wrong. I like cats. Friends have cats and I’m happy for them to park on my lap occasionally.

It’s the cats that live close to my home that I’m a bit dubious about. I just wish they were less fastidious about their own yard when deciding where to perform their, well, you know what…

I became a little fond of my neighbour’s cat when I saw it lying in my backyard lapping up the sun or once in a while sitting outside my back door. Under those circumstances I was happy for it to frequent my yard. It reminded me how my grandmother fed a neighbour’s cat that regularly appeared at her back door.

But I made an error of judgment. An old camellia plant died and I bought a mandarin lime plant along with some potting mix. I put the old soil underneath the bark in my backyard and provided the perfect spot for a few neighbourhood cats to visit.

The first time I saw my neighbour’s cat using my backyard the cat added insult to injury by turning its behind towards me. The second time I snapped a twig on a tree which was enough for the cat to jump over the fence. It didn’t help when I noticed a black cat visiting as well as another cat with a similar lighter coat to my neighbour’s cat. The idea of three cats appreciating my backyard didn’t sit well.

I checked Google and most web sites suggested moth balls as the best feline deterrent but somehow the local supermarkets hadn’t picked up on this concept. The best I could find was moth balls enclosed in plastic containers. The phrase “nanny state” came to mind but I persisted in my efforts to find unencumbered moth balls.

I found some in a discount store and bought a pack to test out this theory. I noticed the warnings on the back of the pack as I placed the moth balls around the area being frequented. The warnings played on my mind and internet searches confirmed that moth balls can poison cats and dogs. I felt a little relieved over the next week when I noticed moth balls sometimes metres from where I had placed them. Perhaps the cats were playing ping pong with them! I have since read that Government regulations prohibit them being sold unless packed in a child safe encapsulated format.

Soon afterwards I watched a Better Homes and Gardens episode that discussed the benefits of placing orange skins around the garden to deter feline visitors. It seems that cats sniff around an area to work out whether they’re comfortable doing their business. Cats don’t like the smell of citrus so the garden will be cat free.

I’m happy to report that scattering orange and mandarin peel segments does keep my backyard free. But I’m also guilty of lapsing into a false sense of security after weeks of not seeing cats in my backyard. When I check my backyard occasionally and notice small sections of exposed soil I scatter some more citrus skins around. Since I can't feed these skins to my worm farm I consider this an ideal way to recycle them.

A few years ago a gardener tidied up my backyard by placing black plastic and bark. Over time the black plastic slowly broke down leaving bare patches, or should I say cat heaven! I realise that a more permanent solution would be to replace the black plastic and bark or else change the back section of my garden to have beds protected by mulch. That’s just what I need – a new project! But if the end result is that cats will once again visit only for recreational use then it will be time well spent.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

2010-10-25T18:06:00.005+10:00

I’ve enjoyed making coconut chicken from Thermomix’s Budget Busters cookbook, and the fast chicken curry recipe from the Everyday Cooking recipe book always works out well. But I wanted to try making a chicken meal without coconut milk.

I remembered a sweet and sour pork recipe from the Woman’s Day “Cooking for Slimmers” cookbook and adapted the coconut chicken recipe to work with these new ingredients. The key difference I noted about the sweet and sour recipe was that no corn flour was used to thicken the sauce which suited me as I’ve always enjoyed the consistency of the meal.

There are a few differences between the pork recipe and my chicken version. While I would have preferred to use a freshly cut pineapple, I took the easy option of a small can of pineapple pieces. A roma tomato supplemented the quarter piece of capsicum that I had.

The resulting meal with some brown rice was yummy and will certainly be on the menu again.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

3cm piece ginger – 3 cloves garlic – 1 onion halved –chop for 2 secs speed 6

30g oil –sauté for 3 mins Varoma speed 1

1 tsp sugar – 3 chicken thighs (330g) cubed bite-size – cook 4 mins Varoma Reverse speed 1

1 tbsp soy sauce – 225g tin pineapple pieces and juice –1/4 red capsicum and 1 roma tomato chopped– cook further 9 mins 100deg C on Reverse speed 1

Serve with rice or steamed vegetables.

The Ultimate Plastic Bag

2010-10-21T07:13:00.012+10:00

This swish looking number will complement any day-time wear with its shiny white veneer and practical trim size. Made from strips cut from plastic bags, this bag is not just functional. It helps the environment as well!

I have always had a crafty project on the go. Two unfinished tapestries have spanned decades but I will get back to them. I really will!

My latest craze involves the plastic bags that make their way into my home. I read an article in Grass Roots (Issue 185 Feb/Mar 2008) that described making garden hats by knitting strips from plastic bags. When I noticed a small stash of plastic bags accumulating in my cupboard I decided to test out the theory.

For my first plastic project I made crocheted squares reminiscent of the granny rugs that I have made in the past along with cushions in the same design. Some plastic bags with an elongated shallow shape turned out to be a perfect fit. From each bag I ended up with a long strip of plarn (plastic yarn) that was enough to make up a 7 row square with some left over to help finish off the bag.

It turns out there is an art to cutting a plastic bag into strips. I cut diagonally into the top edge of the bag and proceeded to cut one long strip circling around the bag until I reached the base of the bag. Then I used that long strip to make the 12cm crocheted square that was perfect for the bag I wanted to create.

In addition to this technique there are web pages suggesting folding the bag lengthwise and cutting into strips. These strips can be looped together and then crocheted as normal. This did not suit me as it felt too bulky for the small metal crochet hook that I use.

Another technique is to fold the bag lengthwise after trimming off the handles and base and then cutting strips almost all the way across while leaving a narrow margin. Cutting diagonally across the narrow margins results in a long strip like the one that I achieved. This is the technique that I will use for plastic bags such as those available from the supermarket.

I look at these plastic bags now with new eyes and am really happy when I receive new ones. Each piece that I receive leaves me wondering how I can make use of it. My family is so impressed that I have already received two requests for Christmas or birthday presents.

I have read on the internet that this past-time can become addictive. If this is true then I suspect plastic bags are about to undergo a revival. However I won't be rushing to buy more plastic bags as the benefit with this little project is using up those second-hand plastic bags that we all have in our cupboards. So for me if it is not used plastic, then it is not for me!

Postscript: I have now completed two more plastic creations that I have blogged about here with a subsequent bag here, and instructions are here.

Tomato Glut; More Pesto; Baked Beans

2010-09-29T20:59:00.007+10:00

Finally a tomato glut! It’s been a rare sight last year and this but it’s nice to know it can still happen. While I also get tomatoes in my Food Connect box, the tomatoes in this bowl have all grown on my upstairs patio.

I’ve also had the biggest bunch of tomatoes in the five years I’ve been growing them. Including the two I had already harvested this bunch had eleven tomatoes on it. I’ve found the Father Tom tomatoes from Floriana have been particularly productive and this bunch just goes to prove it.

Tonight I’ve had the pleasure of working out how I’m going to use them. Homemade baked beans sprang to mind and I also decided to include some tomatoes in the kale pesto I had been planning to make tonight. The remaining tomatoes will go well on my lunch time salad so I’m sure this glut won’t become a burden.

So I decided on a triple whammy! I made the kale and tomato pesto followed by cooking homemade baked beans and then finished off by making my dinner for tonight – all in the Thermomix and only washing it after my dinner had come out. Now that’s what I call efficiency!

I made the pesto the same way as last night except that I added 120g tomatoes to the mix. Adding the tomato gave a new dimension to the overall taste that was quite okay so I’ll probably continue adding tomatoes to pesto in the future. As much of the pesto as possible was placed into the ice cube tray leaving a small quantity in the Thermomix bowl to supplement the next item on the list.

Navy beans were on my shopping list today but since they weren’t available I picked up some black-eyed beans instead. I prefer navy beans as once I’ve cooked them up into baked beans they look just like the canned variety available in the supermarket but with a superior taste of course.

This afternoon I had covered the black-eyed beans with water in a saucepan and boiled the beans for 5 minutes. Then once the heat had receded I boiled and then topped up the water in the saucepan and covered it. An hour or two later I tested the beans and found they had finished cooking and were perfect.

The absorption method really works for me when cooking quinoa and these black-eyed beans. However with both brown rice and chick peas I have found that after the absorption time I need to refresh the water and cook them a little longer to achieve a good result.

Instead of using tomato paste or sauce I processed 350g chopped tomatoes in the Thermomix for 10 seconds on speed 9. Then I noticed the downside of keeping the remaining pesto in the bowl as the normally red mix had turned brown.

I followed a modified version of the Molasses Baked Beans recipe in the cookbook “America’s Best Slow Cooker Recipes”. A chopped small onion was added to the mix with 4 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp dry mustard, half tsp salt, 1 tbsp molasses and a sprinkle of black pepper along with the cooked black-eyed beans and then processed for 15 minutes at 100 degrees C on reverse speed soft.

The pesto’d (some tarah slang) baked beans tasted very nice. After placing most of the mix into pyrex dishes I then added the ingredients for my stir-fry dinner into the Thermomix which along with a fried egg finished off my marathon cooking effort. Now there’s just a few more dishes for me to deal with and then I’m well and truly done for the night.

Pawpaws

2010-09-29T17:47:00.001+10:00

Back in the good old days when water was plentiful and sprinklers not restricted, I looked out my back window and noticed a tree with green fruit hanging on it. A pawpaw tree had taken up residence in my backyard with no effort on my part.

An automatic sprinkler system had been installed which provided the regular water supply that pawpaws require. I read on the internet that pawpaws also needed a supply of lime so perhaps the tree growing right next to the concrete base of a fence post was no coincidence.

Eating the first pawpaw was a real treat. It tasted as good if not better than any I had bought from the local greengrocer. The rate at which the fruit ripened and how often I was first to harvest the fruit meant that I had pawpaws trickling through my kitchen at a manageable pace.

I achieved a 50% success rate in rescuing the pawpaws before the crows found them. The biggest challenge was finding the right time to pick the fruit. The crows seemed to swoop just after the skin started turning orange. Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t always be vigilant enough to beat them to the fruit.

I didn’t mind the crows getting some of the bounty. In the past, half eaten mangoes had occasionally appeared in my backyard. As the pawpaws ripened, I noticed increased interest from the crows so I imagined they were responsible for the arrival of the tree as they had no doubt plundered the pawpaw tree in my neighbours’ yard.

As the tree forged upwards, I used a bucket hanging off a hook at the end of a long piece of dowling to dislodge the pawpaws from the tree. It was a bit tricky sometimes and must have provided entertainment for my neighbours as it often took more than a few attempts. In return the crows amused me with their antics as they wrestled the fruit from the tree.

After enjoying pawpaws from my backyard for three years, it became difficult for me to reach the fruit. So I took the advice of friends to have the top of the tree lopped off just above a branching point with a dry can placed over the top of the trunk so that water wouldn’t seep in and rot it.

The tree branched out with new growth but no more fruit arrived. Water restrictions appeared and the sprinkler was turned off. One day I looked outside and the tree was leaning towards the fence so I called the tree lopper in to cut it down. It felt like an undignified end for a very productive tree. But I know which fruit tree I would grow in my garden again. Pawpaw of course! Plus I know exactly where I would plant it.

Kale Pesto

2010-09-28T20:56:00.004+10:00

I scored a huge bunch of kale in my Food Connect box today. Rather than risk not getting to it quickly enough and thus wasting it, I have included some in an onion, eggplant and parsley stir fry which I enjoyed with a fried egg. Then I made some kale pesto.

I found a recipe on the internet which I have basically followed. I thought it was a nice, easy recipe to follow and have only just noticed that it is for kids – which is fair enough as most of the pesto recipes I have found have been easy to make. And having watched the kids on Junior MasterChef, I know they could run rings around me so have no qualms about following this recipe.

I finely chopped a clove of garlic which went into the Thermomix bowl with 2 cups of kale, ½ cup of macadamia nuts, ½ teaspoon of Himalayan Salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. This was processed on speed 6 for 10 seconds. Half of this mix will supplement my lunch over the next couple of days while I have placed the other half into the freezer.

With half of the kale still waiting to be used, I will buy some pine nuts tomorrow and then make some more pesto. This time I will freeze the pesto in an ice cube tray as I have done in the past with lemon juice. Then I can pull one or two pesto cubes out at a time which will make things much easier.

If I am really on the ball tomorrow night, I’ll remember to make the pesto first and then make my dinner in the Thermomix so that my dinner will get some pesto flavour. I love getting multiple meals out of my Thermomix. It makes washing it afterwards so much more worthwhile!

Goodbye Desk

2010-09-20T18:03:00.003+10:00

All I seem to be doing lately is saying goodbye to things which have spent an extraordinarily long time with me.

The first cab off the rank is a large custom made desk. Twenty-three years ago I decided I needed a desk and my second bedroom seemed the obvious place to put it. An office furniture company measured and installed an L-shaped custom made desk that fitted across the width of the room with the wing butting up against the filing cabinet.

A friend very kindly built a storage unit with pigeon holes for stationery. The desk and storage unit were so large that I had ample opportunity to scatter all manner of papers and other effects that sometimes sat in the same spot for years.

This desk suited me very well until I needed to have someone occasionally working with me in my home. At first I continued working in my upstairs second bedroom while she worked on my small dining table but this wasn’t a long term option as I soon needed to have a second person working with me as well.

I looked around my home wondering how I could handle this and a friend solved my problem by suggesting I get a bigger dining table. I felt a bit sad about letting the incumbent table go but its replacement with almost double the table space enabled three of us to work comfortably.

However there was a downside. I had taken horizontal measurements of the new table to ensure it would fit into the available area but forgot to check the vertical measurements.

It turned out that the new table was a few centimetres higher than the old one while the new chairs were a few centimetres shorter than the previous ones. Being short as I’ve mentioned in the past, this setup didn’t suit me so I bought some round foam pieces along with some cushion material which the local dressmaker made up into cushions. Once I perched some soft thin cushions on top of the foam cushions, I had solved my problem.

I continued using the custom made desk as I was operating two notebooks – one located on the desk held emails and financial details while the other on the dining table was used for clients’ work. Then when I changed computers I decided to use one notebook as the internal computer which holds emails, financial details and current clients’ work, while the other computer would only be used when I visited clients. A benefit of this change was a reduction in the amount of electricity that I would use on a daily basis while the downside was that I would need to copy over any relevant data to the second notebook when visiting a client.

After I made this change, I found myself exclusively using the dining table for my work. The only function for the desk upstairs was to hold the Bigpond modem which felt like a huge waste of space. As I had accumulated a lot of stuff on the desk and in the filing cabinet and shelves, I then shredded a lot of paper and delivered boxes of paper to Shred-X for them to shred as well. Some stuff was dumped, some pieces delivered to the opshop while even more was placed into a store room in my garage and then I was ready to organise removal of the big items.

I phoned various organisations to see if anyone wanted the custom made desk and heard that the desk was too big with one of the sections being 2 metres long. I was disappointed about this as I try to recycle wherever I can. So my builder took the desk apart and dumped the pieces.

An opshop truck picked up the single bed which will be replaced by a double bed, a laptop table and an office chair of the same vintage as the custom made desk – which I was told would be dumped as the fabric had started to fray.

Then my electrician shifted my internet access from coming into my home at the back bedroom to coming in to my dining area. This has always been handled by cabling on the outside wall and with the latest change might have caused problems with the gate outside. So I followed up a persistent thought of going wireless although I knew I didn’t want full wireless access through the mobile phone network. When I checked out Bigpond’s broadband options I found there was a combined wi-fi and ethernet modem that would work for me. So I visited the Telstra shop and bought a Home Network Gateway Modem and followed the setup instructions. I had thought that wireless within my home might not work upstairs but fortunately internet access upstairs or down is just fine.

A byproduct of this exercise is that I’ve started clearing stuff from around my dining table. Extra cables that I had connected to a switch have been put away. I’ve rearranged what sits on or near the table and no longer need power boards which has partly occurred because it has been a while since someone has been here working with me.

This has felt like a long term project – or perhaps I couldn’t give enough focus to move through the process quickly. Fortunately there’s not much more to do. Now I’m just waiting for the double bed to arrive. Funny thing is that all this activity has stirred up a desire to rid myself of other stuff that I don’t really need. Problem is there are lots of other things that I need or want to do. It feels like a conflict of concepts. But since I really want to lose some stuff, I’m happy to find the time!

Pineapple Salad

2010-08-23T20:08:00.005+10:00

Yummm. It might seem like an unusual dinner but I had some pineapple, carrot and sweet potato that I wanted to use up before picking up my Food Connect box tomorrow.

Pineapples are very juicy. I had enjoyed half of the pineapple chopped up with my lunch and as a mid-afternoon snack. The remainder formed the basis of a chunky souped up salad comprising just three ingredients: 320g pineapple, 210g carrot with 120g sweet potato. I processed these items on speed 6 in the Thermomix for 6 seconds.

Naturally there was some chewing involved but the sweetness and liquid nature of the pineapple made it very easy to eat. I added some chick peas just to make sure I was getting enough calories.

After having eaten almost a whole pineapple over two consecutive meals I couldn't finish off the last of the mix as the amount of pineapple I had eaten was affecting my tongue and gums. So the remainder will make it on to my lunch plate tomorrow.

Trying this combination reinforced in my mind that I can mix just about anything together into a soup, salad or combined meal. This combination would make a great side salad option in a buffet.

Raw Cauliflower and Carrot Soup

2010-08-15T19:50:00.007+10:00

I visited the Thermomix Forum and noticed a comment about the Cream of Cauliflower soup recipe in the Rawlicious recipe booklet. I had been thinking about steaming some cauliflower for my dinner but decided instead to make a raw cauliflower and carrot soup with avocado.

The following ingredients were processed in the Thermomix bowl for 20 seconds on speed 8:-

160g cauliflower

100g carrot

20g olive oil

20g lemon juice – half a lemon

375g water

Dash or two of shoyu sauce

Dribble of honey

The mix was warmed to 37 degs C for 4 minutes on speed 1 and then poured over some avocado chunks with some shallots added on top.

I tasted the mix before adding the shoyu sauce and honey and felt that the lemon had contributed too much, but after adding these extra ingredients enjoyed this soup enough to eat the second bowl that the quantities provided. I might leave out the lemon juice next time. Since carrot has a sweet taste perhaps I don’t need to add the shoyu sauce and honey to compensate for the lemon juice. It turned out to be a slightly chunky soup as I had processed the mix on speed 8 rather than 10 which I was happy with.

I’m pleased that I made this soup as I have been mulling about eating more of my food raw. After trawling through the Rawlicious recipe booklet and moving on to playing with aspects of the 80/10/10 diet, I had gone back to cooking my dinners while including a cooked grain in my breakfast and a cooked legume in my lunch.

I recently watched the “Food Matters” dvd which includes a focus on raw food. One of the speakers recommends 51% or more raw food each day saying that this quantity of raw food will mean that the body won’t react to the remaining amount of cooked food. I might already be at or above this percentage as I eat a fair amount of fruit earlier in the day. However the final comment that I noted from the dvd was that an 80% raw food diet is healthy.

Another comment that I was interested to hear was that two handfuls of raw cashews would give me the therapeutic equivalent of a dose of Prozac. I’ve never considered taking Prozac and prefer to stay away from taking heavy duty drugs. But the next time I’m feeling stressed, as I’m prone to be occasionally, I’ll dig into the cashew supply to check out this theory. Much better to eat nuts than go nuts!

Magnetic Hematite Bracelet

2010-08-11T14:14:00.003+10:00

The spring cleaning has continued and for a few days it was justified, as we enjoyed temperatures 11 degrees C higher than the average which generally occurs during spring. In my culling I came across a magnetic bracelet that I had bought I can’t remember how many years ago. I put it on and have been wearing it on and off over the past few weeks.

I slept well some nights and not so well others, which led to me wondering what the difference was. I realised that the nights when I hadn’t slept so well were nights when I didn’t wear the bracelet during the night, while I enjoyed a refreshing night’s sleep when the bracelet remained as if glued to my wrist.

So the scientific part of me wanted to know if this was what really happened. I left the bracelet off and was then awake for at least an hour during the night. I kept the bracelet on and barely stirred during the night. I’ve found a web site that confirms that these bracelets provide more restful sleep.

I have worn necklaces sporting a hematite stone in the past as I wanted the grounding energy from the crystal. I’ve read on the internet that it also enhances inner peace which I’m more than happy to welcome more of into my life. The more I read about this crystal, the more impressed I become as hematite can also benefit our blood vessels.

My Mum has also had difficulties sleeping during the night and I found another magnetic hematite bracelet for her. It was only $5 which was a bargain, but with it being so economical I couldn’t help wondering whether it would do the same job. So naturally I had to test out this new bracelet.

I made sure it was magnetic by placing it near a small piece of metal and found all was well in that area. Since the bracelet is made of the crystal hematite, I sat it on an amethyst bed for a few hours to clear it of any energy it had taken on. Then I wore it during the afternoon and left it on during the night. I’m pleased to report that I had a good night’s sleep.

My Mum has been wearing her new bracelet for the past few nights and slept soundly each night. She’s amazed at the difference a bracelet can make.

I’m an eternal seeker of insomnia cures. I felt like I had found the Holy Grail when eating protein free dinners led to sound sleep, but this hasn’t stood the test of time. I’ve slept more soundly for more than a week now simply by wearing this bracelet. The solution to an age-old problem has become crystal clear – well, to me at any rate.

Vegetable Lentil Soup

2010-07-18T13:57:00.009+10:00

I bought a slow cooker some years ago and then promptly ordered two cookbooks from Amazon. One of the cookbooks has since been passed onto Lifeline for their next Book Fest while over time I have developed some preferences from the other.

Of course, having become a Thermomix advocate means that I’ll do my best to convert any recipes I find in a competitive cookbook to work even better by using the Thermomix. And that’s exactly what happened when I decided to cook a modified version of a recipe for Spicy Vegetable-Lentil Soup from the cookbook “America's Best Slow Cooker Recipes” which I worked out could no longer be obtained from Amazon but is still listed there.

I started out thinking I’d make this lentil soup in the slow cooker, but as I perused the ingredients and instructions, I realised this was a perfect candidate for a conversion. Naturally I replaced some ingredients that I didn’t have on hand.

I washed half a cup of red lentils and set them aside. Then I processed 1 inch ginger and 1 clove garlic for 5 seconds on speed 7. I pushed the ginger and garlic down into the lower section of the bowl and then added a chopped onion along with ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 Granny Smith apple peeled cored and diced(90g), 2 medium carrots peeled (370g – well maybe they were large!) and a chinese bok choy chopped (50g). The mix was again processed for 5 seconds on speed 7. Half a tablespoon of Thermomix stock concentrate, ½ teaspoon curry powder and 600ml water were added along with the soaked red lentils, and then I set the Thermomix onto 20 minutes at 100 degrees C on speed 1, after which the mix was blended at speed 6 for 10 seconds.

Hmmm... to be honest, what I’m really thinking is ... Yummm... It’s been a while since I’ve made this soup and when I have in the past, it has always been in the slow cooker. From what I remember, I previously blended the soup at a higher speed which gave it a creamy consistency. This time around, I’ve deliberately blended it at a lower speed so that the consistency of the lentils will show through. I really enjoyed eating this soup. It tasted delicious and I promptly went back for some more.

This made a lovely dinner after which I promptly set a new resolution to troll through this cookbook to see if there are any other recipes that I’d like to convert to the Thermomix.

Soapnuts

2010-07-14T20:07:00.001+10:00

I used Drive laundry powder for decades. Gosh, you can probably guess how saying that makes me feel! As I became more environmentally aware, I changed over to Planet Ark’s Aware laundry concentrate which is an environmentally friendly choice, and have happily used this option for a few years.

But I kept reading about soapnuts in Grass Roots magazines and finally saw a packet at the Biome shop in Paddington. I bought it and put it on a shelf for many months, as you do, and then when I finished the latest Aware packet, decided to be brave and try the soapnuts.

I placed two soapnut cases into the small muslin case provided which was then placed into the washing machine basin along with my first load of sheets and pillow cases. It’s hard to judge the difference between soapnuts and washing powder as you hang the sheets out but if I sniff the sheets and also the towels from the second load after they’ve dried, they smell just fine.

Apart from wanting to try a truly natural option for washing my clothes, I also liked the idea of just putting two soapnut cases into the muslin bag and being able to use the contents in the muslin bag for the next few or more washes. This compared favourably to the slight cough that developed if I breathed in while scooping laundry powder into my washing machine. The laundry powder was so fine that it tended to float near enough for me to have a reaction.

I really like these soapnuts. According to the website, soapnuts are a 100% natural cleaner which grows wild in the Himalayas and has been used for centuries in India, China and Nepal.

Well, even though it’s taken me some time to test this out, I’m a believer after just one washing day. What’s even better is that these soapnuts are incredibly versatile. They can be used to make up a liquid concentrate for cleaning, shampoo, glass cleaner if vinegar and extra water is added, and the list goes on. The liquid concentrate can even repel ants by spraying it where the ants enter the home.

This is a great find. I’m going to have a lot of fun finding other uses for these intriguing nuts.

Brush Turkeys

2010-07-12T20:22:00.004+10:00

I wish I could say that I grow all the vegetables and fruit that I need, but I can’t as I live in a townhouse in an inner city suburb with limited space both inside and out. However, I am fortunate in having two balconies that face north which enable me to grow greens and tomatoes throughout most months of the year.

There is also a backyard which is covered mostly by grass along with an area at the very back covered by black plastic and bark. I keep looking at both wondering when will I do something more productive with them, but accept that there are time and wildlife issues, along with other issues that I need to either deal with or work around.

By wildlife issues I mean the brush turkeys that have taken to visiting my backyard in the past year, along with a neighbourhood possum that has often emitted its guttural sound just to let us know it’s around. That’s not to mention the birds that insist on ripping off young tomatoes from the plants on my balcony at least once a year, only to chuck half-eaten green tomatoes over the railing.

I think I’m getting the measure of the birds as I’ve started using my mini green bags to hide and protect these new tomatoes and for the past week it has worked. I’m hoping that all I need to do is be vigilant when fostering these new charges.

I know I can’t do much about the possum except to remove temptation as much as possible. I’m just grateful that it hasn’t worked out there is anything worthwhile on my patios, so please don’t mention it! I’ve even shushed myself when I’m out on one of my patios late at night.

The brush turkeys have tested me over the past year. I’d like to say that I didn’t mind the male brush turkey redistributing my bark last year when he thought he could move most of it out of my backyard (protected on all sides by a 1.5 metre fence), or else from the front garden bed on the opposite side of the driveway across 15 metres of concrete driveway in front of three townhouses. Yes, I’d like to say that I was okay with this, but &**#%#^$*&%* unfortunately I can’t! While trying to deal with this, my mother was cooing about visiting after the baby brush turkeys had arrived. She even nicknamed him “Hugh” after, well, I can’t imagine who…

So I was somewhat amused when a few of Hugh’s girlfriends visited to inspect his progress. He ended up with a miniature pile at a corner that my fences provided which turned out to be a very brief prospect for him.

I genuinely wish I could report a happy ending here as I soon worked out that it wasn’t my backyard that Hugh wanted to establish a nest in. It was actually my neighbours’ yard. There was a lovely pile of soil and other stuff and Hugh even visited regularly to test the temperature. But as there was no way of knowing whether there really were any young ones, my neighbours brought in earthmoving equipment and started major development changes to their block. Part of those changes that I had agreed to meant that sections of the fence surrounding my backyard came down and both the nest that Hugh had built in my neighbours’ yard along with the miniature nest in my backyard disappeared. I noticed him visiting along with occasional forays from his girlfriends for a while later, but I thought they had given up on my backyard.

So close to a year on, I have noticed a female brush turkey coming in to peruse the state of my backyard. While I have sometimes felt sympathetic to their plight, and even considered bringing in mulch to assist them in their endeavours (which was before I read on the internet that the nest they need to build is much larger than anything I could handle in the limited space in my backyard), I can’t see my way clear to provide them with a nest. My mum accepted this last year and after initially wanting me to help them, then discouraged me. But I can’t help wondering who will be there to help them? I live opposite a park and you would think they could find everything they need there, but obviously not. My mum has been involved in the environmental movement for some time and has often bemoaned the displacement of wildlife by the explosion of us. Goodness knows where this will lead us.

Being short

2010-06-18T19:54:00.002+10:00

I’m short. I realise the politically correct term is vertically challenged but I’m sure it’s okay for me to use the word “short” about myself.

I noticed this aspect of my body at a fairly young age which wasn’t from comparing me to my brother and sister. Since they were both older than me I thought it was fair enough that they were both taller than me. I got the hint when I lined up with my class mates according to height for school photos each year as I was always close to if not at the end of the line.

Things didn’t change after I finished school with my adult height being 5 foot 2.5 inches which is just over 158 centimetres. Not that any of this has ever been a big problem for me, if you’ll pardon the pun. But I have noticed over the years that a slight crick develops in my neck when I’m standing chatting in a group as I generally need to look up.

My limited stature seems to be reflected in my feet. I have small feet and Google hasn’t helped me by finding the politically correct term for this, which is a first. The closest I could find was “hard to fit feet challenged” which sounds like a mouthful.

I have had a lot of fun finding shoes to fit my sizeably challenged feet which is the best term I can come up with. Most shops stock women’s shoes from size 6 and above while I need size 4. There are a few shops around Brisbane that sell shoes for my size but I can’t always find the colour or style I’m looking for. Fortunately I found a shoe factory called Trambas at Capalaba who make a variety of styles of shoes at my size which helps a lot. I’ve also cottoned onto replacing the soles of shoes if that’s the only part that is breaking down. I pay a fraction of the cost of similar new shoes and my old shoes come out looking brand new.

I know the easiest solution would be to shop in the children’s section and I was given a startling reminder of this recently. Somehow I entered into a conversation about being short with small feet and ended up measuring my feet against those of my friend’s granddaughter who turns 9 soon. If only out of ego I have to mention that my feet are wider than hers but we have the same length foot. At this stage I am taller than her but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before she shoots above me as all of my nieces and nephews did some years ago.

While googling I found a Yahoo question that clearly resonates with where I’m at: “Is it true that if you have small feet you’ll be short?” My personal experience along with the answers seem to indicate yes, with one person saying that it is to do with nutrition or lack of it – but please don’t mention this to my Mum as she would strenuously deny it – and another person suggesting that it can be related to ethnic origins and the sizes of our immediate family. I prefer the second thought not just because I don’t wish to offend my Mum but also because I can see from looking around my family that this explanation fits better. While my Mum has been a similar height to me, my sister and brother are both some inches taller.

I have accepted being short mainly because there’s no point fighting an inherent characteristic of my body. However I sometimes rail against it particularly when I want to change a light bulb hanging from a high ceiling. But then I remember the quaint little saying ‘good things come in small packages’ and all is well in the world.

Spring Cleaning

2010-06-08T17:48:00.001+10:00

I’m obviously out of sync with the seasons as at the start of winter I seem to have a yen for spring cleaning.

First cab off the rank has been the plethora of books I have scattered around my home. I love to read books and in years gone by I have often bought a book, read part of it and then placed it on one of my bookshelves after my attention diverted to a new topic.

With my increasing interest in “greening” my lifestyle I have discovered the joys of my local library and now always check to see if a book that I want to read can be borrowed which for the most part it can. The need to return it by the due date means that I generally read it all rather than thinking that I can finish it off later which I never do. Sometimes I’ve even donated books to the library particularly if they don’t currently have the book that I’ve just bought and read. I also have a local secondhand book store that I acquire books from and have accumulated a small balance by supplying books I’ve bought previously.

So after scanning through my bookshelves I did pretty well ending up with four green bags of books that I took to my secondhand book store. They kindly accepted half of the books and then the rest were delivered to the Lifeline store. Lifeline puts on a huge book fest each year and I felt pretty good being able to return some books that I had bought early last year. I’ve just noticed that the book fest is being held in Brisbane next weekend and it would be nice to think that my contributions were provided in time for this upcoming show.

It was great fun trolling through my bookshelves to see which books to keep and which to pass on. I really felt like I was being ruthless even though I haven’t yet pined for a book that I gave away. Perhaps I reached the perfect point of only giving away those books that I don’t need to see again.

It’s a great feeling knowing that books can be recycled in this way. It’s almost as if they have multiple lives as they move from person to person inspiring, informing or entertaining as they go.

Perhaps this is why I don’t like the idea of digital books even though it’s a far more sustainable option which matches my background in computing. I have sometimes read ebooks on my Palm hand-held computer, but I found the Palm screen way too small for reading and the rechargeable battery in the Palm too limited with my having to recharge the battery after 30 minutes of reading. I much prefer the feel of a book in my hands. But I do realise that later versions of book readers such as the IPad just released would be far superior.

The best part of passing on so many books is that I was then able to shuffle the remaining books around to new locations in order to empty out some shelves in my second bedroom. Letting go of things, be they books or other possessions, is a cathartic process which feels amazing as the level of “stuff” reduces. I’m enjoying this process.

Simplified Raw Soup

2010-06-07T21:21:00.004+10:00

I’ve just had a raw meal in the form of a beetroot, corn and pumpkin raw soup. It feels like such a long time since I’ve dabbled with raw soups but I’m so pleased I have.

I know I’ve pretty much discussed raw soups in the past but I couldn’t help putting up my prescription for a pleasant tasting raw soup. It’s so simple that it could well be my shortest post.

300g veggies/fruit plus 200g orange juice and/or water blended in the Thermomix for 30 seconds on speed 8. Or for non-Thermomix speak, blend just under high speed for 30 seconds.

I think I’m right! It is my shortest post even including my non-Thermomix conversion – well, up to this point at least! I’ve often thought that a quick meeting is a good meeting and I know my brother influenced me in this thought so I’m all for providing a post that is a quick read!

But wait! I’m sure you won’t mind if I post the photo of my dinner tonight. I made it just as I mentioned above with a couple of variations...

Just to be really precise which I suspect is embedded in my nature, I blended 60g beetroot, 110g corn niblets and 170g pumpkin with 190g orange juice and 30g water in the Thermomix bowl on speed 8 for 20 seconds. I added 60g water as the soup was too thick for me and blended again on speed 8 for 10 seconds and the consistency felt right. After plating up, I added some chopped shallots for taste as well as aesthetics.

Naturally the beetroot made its presence visually felt and past experience indicates that this presence will be kinaesthetically felt over the next day or two as it moves through my body. But I don’t mind as beetroot has long been recommended to me as a good source of iron which I was sometimes lacking during my earlier years.

This soup had a lovely light taste and I really enjoyed eating it, and I certainly plan on returning to raw soups in the not too distant future.

So much for the short post! I do try to write short and sweet to reduce writing and reading time. After all, reducing is the first step in that all important mantra – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

The Paleo Diet; Osteoporosis

2010-06-02T20:17:00.001+10:00

Over the past few years, I’ve been reading about what we are meant to eat. The 80/10/10 diet book first looks at what we would eat in nature without the use of fire, containers, tools or refrigeration and reaches the conclusion that we would be frugivores, living primarily on fruits with the addition of tender greens. Another book that I’ve had on my shelf for years is “The Yeast Connection” which mentions the “cave man diet” as a basic elimination diet that avoids any and every food eaten more than once a week.

An interesting take on the question of what we eat has been to compare us with our next closest living relatives being two chimpanzee species and gorillas, with the DNA of gorillas being 98% to 99% identical to that of a human. After writing the international bestseller “Easy Way to Stop Smoking”, Allen Carr later followed up with his book “Easyweigh to Lose Weight” in which he considers what wild animals including gorillas eat.

Now I’m reading the book “The Paleo Diet” by Loren Cordain which looks at what our Stone Age ancestors ate. The book recommends eating lean meats and fish, fresh fruits and non-starchy vegetables. I like the fruit and vegetable focus of the diet, particularly considering my interest in the 80/10/10 diet which has a high fruit and green salad focus.

I’ve only just started reading this book and already I’ve found information relevant to me. There’s a helpful discussion on osteoporosis. It seems that one of the greatest benefits of fruit and vegetables is their ability to slow or prevent osteoporosis. A group of scientists found that the people who ate the most fruits and vegetables had the greatest bone mineral densities and the strongest bones. This is good news for me as I’m currently eating lots of fruit and vegetables which will help my bones after being diagnosed with marginal osteoporosis in recent years.

The author then makes the point that it is not only how much calcium we take in that is important, but also about how much calcium we excrete. If we take in a low amount of calcium while excreting a low amount of calcium then it is possible that we will be in what is called “calcium balance”. But if we load up on foods or medications high in calcium but lose more calcium than we gain, then we will fall out of calcium balance. From what I’ve heard on a number of occasions, the more acidic our diet is, the more calcium we’ll lose from our bones in order to balance our body.

I can see good points in the Paleo diet, particularly with the focus on vegetables and fruit. But I can’t help wondering about the sustainability of a diet that includes a significant amount of lean meats and fish. Plus overall I feel much more comfortable focusing on fruits and vegetables with a small serving each day of brown rice or quinoa with my breakfast along with some chick peas with my salad while eating an egg or some fish perhaps once or twice a week.

I’m so glad that I continue to examine alternative ways of eating as all of this input helps to finetune how I’ll structure my meals into the future. However I suspect this is an ongoing journey that I’ll be on for a long time to come.

Water

2010-05-21T19:55:00.002+10:00

I‘m embarrassed to admit there was a time when I bought bottled water. I used to love the stuff, believing that it tasted better than my tap water. Even worse, I did this for many years. It would make it better if I could say the yellow recycling bins arrived in the middle of this infatuation, but I can’t say that for sure.

Then, even worse, I moved onto distilling tap water. I thought this was the ultimate. I’d been trying to work out which water to drink and a natural therapist suggested I drink distilled water for a while. Naturally some part of me heard forever, but it’s likely it was never intended to be a permanent fixture.

It probably helped that my Mum was using her own personal distillery, so I bought one as well. My Dad kept asking if I was sure distilled water was so good for me and I kept saying yes, but gradually the doubt crept in.

The final nail in the coffin occurred when I was in a dentist’s waiting room a few years back and I read an issue of Wellbeing. An article discussing water mentioned that sprouts grown in distilled water lose minerals because distilled water attracts it out of them.

So I returned to drinking bottled water, but was circumspect about what I was drinking as I continued to check out other options. What changed my mind was reading that most of the bottled water we drink is just filtered tap water.

Since then I’ve dabbled with a portable reverse osmosis kit which I found a little too cumbersome, plus I didn’t like the idea of the amount of water being wasted. So I continued with the Brita on tap filter that I had been using on my kitchen tap for some years until our government started adding fluoride into our water.

I realise there are differing opinions about the inclusion of fluoride in town water, and I respect others’ choice in this matter. For me, I prefer to filter out the fluoride and believe that I’ve reached the best position for me by having a ceramic Durand Water Filter system that does just this.

If you’ll excuse me grumbling for a few minutes, I’m disappointed that I need to worry about finding good water to drink. But I realise that I live in an imperfect world.

Fortunately in the midst of this soliloquy, I remember my dalliance with the 80/10/10 diet. Since I’m still following 80/10/10 at roughly 50%, I am getting a certain amount of water from the high level of fruit that I eat, with the added benefit that most of the fruit is organic. This takes a huge load off my mind as I only need to supplement a small amount from my ceramic system.

Miracle wrinkle fix?

2010-05-18T18:44:00.001+10:00

I know I’m only just over 50, but I seem to have noticed a few wrinkles that seem to be settling too comfortably on my face. If I pull the skin surrounding my nose and mouth back towards my ears, I can certainly see how cosmetic surgery came about. But I made a decision a while back that I wouldn’t do any unnecessary surgery, so a few nips and tucks around my facial orifices or on my forehead are out of the question.

Under normal circumstances I would decide to be comfortable with who I am no matter what. But the face is the piece of us first presented to others around us, and I suppose I’m the same as everyone else in wanting to present the best me possible, at least most of the time.

So I have dabbled by rubbing Nui coconut oil into the questionable parts and when I felt that wasn’t helping then by using some moisturiser gifted to me by a friend. Application of the coconut oil seemed to soften one particularly deep-set wrinkle while the others just seemed to be sitting on the sidelines watching. The moisturiser made incremental improvement.

I’ve dabbled in various areas over the years, including aromatherapy and growing herbs, so I have a few books on these topics in my bookshelves. When I flicked through “Fragrant Pharmacy” late last year, I found a reference to pawpaw being used as a facial mask. So whenever I have eaten pawpaw since then, I have rubbed the inside flesh of a piece of pawpaw skin all over my face. It certainly felt adequate as a face mask, but the results didn’t eventuate.

When I had a few minutes to spare last week, I flicked through two herb books and found a reference in the first edition of “The Herb Book”, written by John Lust and published in 1974, suggesting that “Egg-white mask, used as is or beaten, tightens and tones skin”...

Whenever I’ve cracked an egg throughout the past week, I’ve rubbed any remaining egg white onto my face. The first sensation is that my face feels tight which lasts for a little while and then disappears when I smile or move my face. I don’t mind the tight sensation disappearing as I’d rather my face be able to do what it wants to do naturally. But what I’m noticing is that there are small changes in the wrinkles I’m concerned about.

I know I’m not the first one to notice the benefits of egg white. I’ve googled “egg white face mask” and have found a site supporting its use as a facial mask with some people suggesting that lemon juice or honey be added to the mix. A second web site supports the use of egg whites as a face mask while commenting that its use for tightening the skin provides a temporary fix. Even so, the slight changes I see when I use it are enough for me to continue with my experiment.

Now if I can just remember to use the remaining egg white or pawpaw skin on my face every time I have either at hand, then that truly would be a miracle!

Uninvited guests

2010-05-13T20:36:00.000+10:00

I used to be so precious. A tiny little grub in my broccoli would result in the entire broccoli being shunned. Fortunately I’ve moved past that stage.

With my increasing awareness of environmental concerns, lettuce leaves nibbled by little friends make it into my salad all the time. And if I happen to find the little friend then I enjoy a little workout. I’m developing my underarm throw to send such little critters out onto my backyard lawn. My theory is that the many birds that visit my backyard will find and enjoy them in the way they do. Who am I to stand in the way of nature operating as it should? If not then the least I hope for is that it’s too far for them to find their way back onto my patios.

However tonight I was shocked to find a very large caterpillar in the corn cob I’ve kept in my fridge for a few days, even though this isn’t the first time one has sheltered in a cob. Surely the cold temperature would be enough to handle the problem for me, but as it seemed to be alive I enjoyed some further throwing practice.

I’m sorry now that I didn’t take a photo of my temporary friend as it was a pretty impressive specimen. It’s amazing that anything can live in my fridge for days. I’ll have to check my fridge settings as I always thought that the point of refrigerating any produce was to kill off unwanted guests.

But please don’t tell Buddha. I really relate to Buddhism and am happy to follow as much of their philosophy as possible. I understand that some Buddhist groups do not kill animals and so I’m working towards this aim as much as possible.

However you’ll have to excuse me as I’ve just noticed another little guest crawling near my bookshelf. I really don’t understand how Buddha expects me to turn a blind eye to cockroaches, flies or even pesky ants when the rain is around. I think I’ll plead temporary amnesia.

Nut Cracking

2010-05-11T19:15:00.006+10:00

Once again, Food Connect has provided me with a conundrum - pecan nuts in their shell, which again is a first for me…

I immediately thought of a kitchen utensil that I’m pretty sure didn’t have “nutcracker” on its label, but nevertheless rose to the challenge. With a deft touch on the second nut, I managed to reap a perfectly shelled pecan nut – well, almost, after I extracted out a few remaining tough bits.

Third time around, I used my bottle and lid opener (my memory was returning) and again with a gentle touch managed to receive two perfectly edible pecan halves.

I’m so pleased that Food Connect is providing nuts in their shells. I have been reading that it is better for our health if we extract nuts from their shells before eating as we will receive more of the nutrients, and now I’m receiving unshelled nuts in my fruit box.

I have never been a lover of pecan nuts, and not surprisingly I can’t understand why! But in the brief time I’ve been cracking these pecan nuts and nibbling on broken halves, I have developed a taste for these nuts.

Perhaps I’ve been influenced in the past by packs of salted cashews or peanuts. Or maybe I needed to buy a real nutcracker to assist me, which I might still do. Whatever the reason, now I’m finding that I really enjoy these nuts even without the automatic addition of salt.

I believe the 80/10/10 diet plan has influenced me for the better as I’ve reached the point of adding fresh fruit to my salads rather than sugar, honey or molasses, plus I’m now happy to eat nuts as they are, once I shell them.

You’ll have to excuse me as I have some delicacies to devour, followed very quickly by some nut shells to dispose of…

Deconstructing Dinner

2010-05-09T18:06:00.003+10:00

I always enjoy listening to something as I drive. In recent times I have become an avid 4bc listener but for the most part I prefer to listen to mp3s downloaded from the internet.

Technology has always helped me but it looks like it has taken me an extraordinarily long time to cotton on to the easiest way to listen to mp3s, and more importantly find podcasts that I would be interested in.

In years gone by, I cut many mp3 files on to cd and then somewhat reluctantly graduated to a Sony device that pedantically restricted me to tracks according to criteria that I could never work out.

I noticed that I could access mp3s through ITunes but I decided against it. It’s not that I dislike Apple, but more that having already bought a Sony device, I felt uncomfortable about buying another device when I had one that worked most of the time.

But I finally lost faith in my Sony device when the latest downloaded mp3 file would not play and hence an IPod came into my life.

In the past few months I have subscribed to podcasts and thought that was cool. Whenever the IPod’s battery runs out, I plug it back in to my notebook and the latest offerings from my subscriptions are downloaded at the same time the battery is refreshed. It’s all so easy I wonder why it took me so long!

So of course I became more adventurous. After a month or two of synchronizing Itunes, who wouldn’t be wondering what other delights exist in the depths of its files. A favourite podcast is The Moth, which provides a free Moth story each week involving someone telling a personal story live in front of an audience without notes. These stories are always positive, funny and touch a cord somewhere within me.

I’ve also dabbled with raw food podcasts after my interest was kindled by Thermomix’s Rawlicious booklet, and I continue to search the ITunes store to see what else might be there.

During one such search I found a Canadian podcast that truly resonated with me. I started listening to “Deconstructing Dinner” as a podcast through ITunes which only provided later versions of the radio shows and became so interested that in the past week I’ve downloaded all of the earlier shows as mp3s and have started listening from the first broadcast.

As their website says, “Deconstructing Dinner” has been created to discuss current food issues and allow listeners to make more informed choices when purchasing food for the kitchen or at restaurants.

It feels like there’s no topic that “Deconstructing Dinner” won’t feature. They have roamed from conditions animals are raised in to genetically engineered food, ventured into schools to hear students discussing their interest and concern about foods provided to them, with many more topics in between. The most moving and inspiring episode that I’ve listened to so far is about a farmer who was accused by Monsanto of growing their seeds on his farm and the ensuing legal battle.

I’m hooked on this show because it’s delving into important topics including those that are nearest and dearest to me right now. This show is a keeper.

Helpful food

2010-05-07T20:30:00.002+10:00

My neighbours’ cat came into my yard and started sniffing my grass and I remembered the propensity for cats and dogs to eat things from the garden that would help them in the same way animals in the wild do.

That night I made a soup for my Mum and when there was a little bit of cabbage left over I happily hoed into it and even nibbled some cabbage that had aged a bit. And the same thing happened the next night. I wondered what was in the cabbage that I really needed...

It turned out that cabbage has a high nutritional value. Problem was that cabbage provided so many nutrients that it was hard for me to work out what I was low on.

I was also chopping broccoli either to put into my Mum’s soup or else to be steamed for my lunch. Strangely enough, I nibbled on a bit of broccoli on the side of my plate but I certainly didn’t hanker after it.

I know I don’t really need to check out how good fruits and vegetables are in terms of providing minerals and nutrients as I saw this clearly when I logged my food intake into Nutridiary.

However I think there might be more to cabbage than meets the eye but since nothing I’m reading rings true for me right now, I’ll just have to keep looking...

Changing Tastes; The Pineapple Reaction; Custard Apple with Banana

2010-05-04T20:54:00.007+10:00

With my recent emphasis on fruit my tastes seem to have changed. I used to enjoy my salads with honey, brown rice syrup or molasses drizzled over the top. But now it tastes too sweet. I’d much rather drizzle fresh orange juice onto my salad, or even lime or lemon juice which surprises me as I’ve found the more acidic fruits much too acidic for me.

I’m pleased that my tastes have changed as it feels so much healthier when I’m enjoying fresh fruit with my salad rather than high sugar content foods like honey and molasses.

This surprises me a lot as I have always seen myself as a sugarholic. I bought sweets with my pocket money in primary school and then graduated to barley sugar or butterscotch lozenges in high school – a habit that unfortunately endured for many years after school finished. My favourite afternoon snack after school was Arnott’s Mint Slice biscuits. So I always thought my sugar habit was permanent. Fortunately time has proven me wrong.

However, as I continue to receive at least one pineapple in my fruit box from Food Connect each week, I have noticed my tongue being much more sensitive to pineapple so I’ll be pleased when the pineapple season finishes. A month ago I could eat the pineapple flesh minus the core quite easily but now I’m finding it harder to bear.

So today I made a dressing from half a pineapple, half an avocado and some shallots and then let the dressing sit for 10 minutes before eating it. Mixing the pineapple in with the other ingredients made it much more palatable and I barely registered any discomfort on my tongue.

I first noticed a reference to this pineapple effect in Brisbane Organic Growers’ April newsletter. An article mentioned that eating too much Monstera Deliciosa has the same effect as eating pineapple. So I asked what the effect was and heard that it affects the tongue, which didn’t surprise me as I had noticed a slight effect which has increased since then.

I’ve found other people with this problem via Google along with an explanation. Pineapple contains bromelin which breaks down proteins and is used as a meat tenderizer, so it’s no surprise that too much of it can affect us.

It is early days as I still need to test out my theory as I receive more pineapples, but the fact that I experienced minimal discomfort after eating pineapple made into a dressing gives me hope I’ve found a way to continue enjoying it.

In addition to a pineapple which will help with my research, I also received a surprise in my boxes of a custard fruit and since it felt like it needed to be eaten quickly along with a couple of bananas that I received, I decided to comply tonight. Now I don’t want you to think that receiving Food Connect fruit (or veggies) needing to be eaten straight away is standard practice, so I’ve included a photo of all the other bananas I received today along with the two that contributed to my dinner along with the custard apple.

Now I have to say upfront that I have rarely eaten a custard apple, and the reason I say rarely is that I think a friend might have given me one I don’t know how many years ago and from memory I really enjoyed it. But it’s not a fruit that I would pick up at the fruit and veg shop to take home with me. So in what has become a tradition with this blog, I believe I have a new fruit to try.

So I did the pressure test to make sure the custard fruit was ripe – it works with all fruit, doesn’t it? Hmmm, the consistency of pear but with its own unique taste. Thank you Food Connect for connecting me with this delicious fruit. So what I hadn’t already consumed merged very nicely with two bananas. I’m just sorry it took me so long to appreciate this new fruit.

But I keep looking at the custard apple seeds. They remind me of bean seeds as they are just the right size and shape. Of course, they have no relation to beans but am I really meant to put them out through the general rubbish system? Not that I have a problem in putting seeds out – many lemon, lime and orange seeds have been sent out without a blink of an eye. But these custard apple seeds are so pretty – matching the lovely taste that it’s taken so long to wake up to.

Unfortunately I’m reading on the web that the kernals are toxic so there’s nothing I can do apart from send them to the general rubbish bin. It seems such a pity but since I don’t have space in my backyard to grow a tree that aspires to rise to at least 4.5 metres, I just have to accept that the seeds go out with other fruit and veggie scraps. In the meantime, I’ll certainly enjoy any custard apples that make their way into my Food Connect boxes.

Compromise

2010-04-29T17:01:00.005+10:00

Well, this has been fun! I’ve quite enjoyed dabbling in various ways of eating, not that I’ve finished with experimenting. Since each of the different ways I’ve tried to date has been relevant and useful, I have decided to incorporate little bits of each.

I have restructured the meals that I have when at home and trialled this new plan over the last few days. This plan is pretty close to what I was eating before I dabbled with 80/10/10 which has influenced me to start breakfast and lunch with fruit.

So breakfast consists of 4 pieces of fruit followed by some prunes and then some cooked brown rice or quinoa with some more chopped fruit.

I’m back to making my mini-muffins and I have two at morning tea and enjoy a soy, rice or oat milk cappuccino when I’m out.

For lunch I start with a piece of fruit and then have a large salad with some sprouts and cooked chick peas or beans.

For dinner I basically do as I please and combine together some vegetables perhaps with some fruit from my Food Connect boxes by blending, chopping or occasionally steaming or stir-fry. I avoid any animal protein at dinner-time as I’m consistently finding that restless sleep occurs in the early hours of the morning, plus I generally finish eating by 7pm at night as I believe that eating any later will also interfere with my sleep.

Since it’s very easy for me to lose weight particularly when I’m eating predominantly raw fruit and vegies, I recently entered what I had eaten for breakfast, morning tea and lunch into Nutridiary and found that I had consumed close to my day’s quota with dinner still to go, so I don’t need to worry about getting enough calories.

There are other elements of my new program that I am checking out. I have wondered whether cooked vegetables at night-time would affect my sleep, and after enjoying some cooked onion, eggplant and mushrooms with a fried egg last night, I’m pleased that I woke once and went back to sleep easily. However I woke again at 5.30am and that was an early end to my sleep. I believe the egg might have caused this result so I still need to check out the influence of cooked vegies separately.

I have been limiting coffee to mornings for some time now and limiting animal protein to lunch-time as much as possible. As I continue experimenting I need to remember that being stressed about a particular issue might contribute to my inability to go back to sleep.

I’m developing finely tuned radar for which foods suit me from how I sleep at night, whether my teeth or gums are sensitive, how my hands and knuckles feel and whether my sinuses remain clear. I just have to remember to vary my diet by one food at a time.

I continue to be indebted to the 80/10/10 diet book as adding more fruit to my diet and especially to my breakfast sustains me through to lunch-time where previously I was flagging. There is a series of meal planners in the book with recipes for each season of the year which is a wonderful source of ideas for how I can use the vegies and fruit I receive from Food Connect.

I consider 80/10/10 is the ultimate way to eat. I’m sad that I have difficulties with my teeth and gums when I eat a lot of fruit and disappointed at how much I enjoy cooked meals when dining out or cooking the occasional dinner. However I’ll be interested to see how I continue on from here as I remember the disinterest I had for some dinners I made and suspect that occasionally I’ll be very happy to adhere to 80/10/10 for the day.

Protein Free Dinners

2010-04-27T21:06:00.009+10:00

It might sound strange but I’m starting to think that protein-free dinners could be one of the ingredients in the recipe for sound sleep. And if protein-free dinners are not possible then the next best alternative suggested here and here is to finish eating two to four hours before bed-time.

I’ve been fascinated with food while being perplexed about my sleeping patterns over the years. In earlier times I would go to sleep, have a strange dream and wake soon after. Fortunately that hasn’t happened for a long time.

But I hadn’t moved past the stage of being awake for an hour or two in the early hours of the morning until I started dabbling with the 80/10/10 diet. I read how others on the 80/10/10 diet were sleeping more easily and also occasionally experienced this myself. I’ve also read references in various books about digestion of the night-time meal taking place in the early hours of the morning which started me thinking and experimenting with what I was eating for dinner.

I’ve found a web site that agrees with me. The Rose Nutrition Centre suggests fruits, juices or shakes for breakfast, then animal protein along with non-starchy vegetables for lunch followed by vegetables and starches for dinner. I can see that I’ll be reading information from this site in more detail.

So far in my experimenting at dinner time, I’ve found that I’ll surface and then go back to sleep after including cooked chick peas, or else I’ll wake and take five to ten minutes to go back to sleep if one or two eggs are eaten. I sleep straight through the night if only fruit and vegetables constitute my dinner. And that’s even if I imbibe a glass of wine which I ensure happens before 6pm.

I’m surprised that eggs at dinner time don’t have a greater effect on my sleep but I suspect that eggs don’t interfere with digestion as much as significant animal protein such as meat, chicken or fish – at least this is my experience.

My Mum was complaining about a bad night’s sleep after eating some tinned fish with a salad. I mentioned my theory to her and she’s been testing it out by eating vegetable soup for her dinner and she hasn’t had a problem.

I realise this wouldn’t be easy for some people. I know I’d find it difficult when dining out at night time and the ideal response would be to select a vegetarian meal. But in the tradition of rigorous research I suspect that I’ll sacrifice my sound sleep by requesting a fish meal in order to further test out my hypothesis. See, there is no end to what I’ll do for my blog!

Postscript:

Over the past few months I haven't always found that protein free dinners guarantee a good night's sleep. I have just added a new post with an alternative strategy for disjointed sleep which seems to give a better result.

Confliction; Broccoli and Orange Dressing

2010-04-22T20:39:00.005+10:00

I am feeling very conflicted because I like and understand the concepts behind the 80/10/10 diet. The only time my finger knuckles now hurt is after I’ve had a day or two of cooked food. Plus I feel pretty good after eating fruit for most of the day. However I’m noticing that a few of my teeth at the gum line are starting to feel very sensitive, and my concerns remain about overloading my worm farm and my freezer with fruit scraps, even after having just unloaded all my freezer problems to my general rubbish bin.

I also like the concepts from Dr Edward Howell’s book “Food Enzymes for Health and Longevity” who denotes taking enzymes sprinkled on cooked meals to help our body digest the cooked food without using up too many of our body’s enzymes, but also says that if we eat raw food then we should be okay. Dr Howell maintains that we are born with a supply of enzymes in our body and these enzymes are used up more quickly when they need to digest cooked food.

But one thing that bothers me is that Dr Howell, along with raw food web sites, suggests purchasing enzyme capsules to take when eating cooked foods, which my processed food radar picks up immediately. Perhaps I’m making it difficult for myself by wanting to get food enzymes from fresh, raw food rather than a capsule.

I have noticed how important it is to eat foods that can co-exist in my stomach. If I eat a salad at night-time as recommended within the 80/10/10 diet and then eat more fruit because I haven’t had enough fruit for the day, then I notice how loudly my stomach complains.

Fortunately I haven’t ever moved onto a 100% raw food program. I have always included one or more cooked foods each day, which I’m starting to think has been a good move on my part.

I know of people who were raw foodists, then macrobiotic, followed by vegetarian/vegan and since then have relaxed their stance while others eat raw food for two meals a day and cooked food for the third. On the internet I find stories of people on exclusive raw diets giving raw food the thumbs up while others discuss health problems.

When I consider eating programs that cover exclusive groups of foods, I remember my grandmother who dined on a mix of cooked roasts, soups and stews along with salads, fruit and staples like bread and biscuits. She lived to a glorious age 90 with only minor health hiccups along the way. And I can’t help wondering why I can’t do the same as long as the ingredients that I use are a similar quality to the ingredients from her day.

It seems to me that there might not be a silver bullet; a one size fits all diet that would make us all healthy. Because we come from diverse backgrounds and are each built differently in some way, perhaps we can only decide what works for us as individuals, and perhaps you’re saying “duh” –which I would quite understand.

I have called this post “Confliction” and have found a definition which is denoting struggle between opposing forces for victory or supremacy. This meaning makes a lot of sense to me as I have felt like I’m in the middle of a struggle between eating raw foods and cooked foods. But I think the real title should have been “Moderation”. As long as we eat individual foods in moderation, and aim for the food to be the best it can be eg organic or pesticide free, perhaps it doesn’t matter what we eat. We need to give ourselves and our bodies enough time to reveal the effects of what we have been doing, and also accept that if there is a problem, even something as simple as tooth sensitivity, that we can change what we’re doing to address the problem.

I’m so pleased that I’ve maintained an “anything goes” mentality through all of this. I remain interested in raw foods, vegetarianism and being kind to animals, but when push comes to shove I will always choose what is ultimately in my best interests rather than what fits a particular food regime.

Only problem is, I’m still trying to work out what is in my best interests. Fortunately, I consider this as a good thing as it gives me plenty of little side alleys to duck down to satisfy my curiosity about what works for me.

But in the raw spirit that I’m happy to maintain for most of the time, I’ve made a meal inspired by the 80/10/10 diet book : blend 140g broccoli florets and stalks with 210g orange juice and then spoon over a lettuce, celery leaf and herb mix.

This dressing looks so frosty and festive that I’m disappointed I didn’t make this on March 17^th as it would have made a perfect dish for St Patrick’s Day.

Sleeping Patterns; Food Enzymes

2010-04-20T08:38:00.007+10:00

As I was still emptying my fridge of 80/10/10 non-compliant foods, I decided to conduct an experiment. With a tin of sustainably fished tuna and another of similarly fished salmon, I wanted to know if eating this fish might affect my sleep.

I decided to conduct this experiment after I had enjoyed the best sleep that I’ve had for I can’t remember how long – from 10.30pm to 6.30am where I stirred briefly but went straight back to sleep – which just happened to be the night following my last post.

The next day I ate similar food to what I had posted including some quinoa for breakfast and a cappuccino, except that my night-time salad comprised lettuce and tomatoes from my Food Connect box along with the tin of tuna. I had a fitful night’s sleep waking just after midnight and again at regular intervals after that.

The following day again I ate similar food including the quinoa for breakfast and the cappuccino, but this time my night-time salad included some extra ingredients from my patio including basil, mint and parsley along with the tin of salmon. And I had a similar night’s sleep waking just after midnight and a few times afterwards.

To be fair, in the past I always enjoyed a half or a third of such tins on a meal, so perhaps what I ate each dinner was really too much for my system. But what I ate was no more than what I would have eaten if I had gone out for dinner.

Anyway, the following day I ate again in a similar way but with no fish at dinner time. My sleeping pattern that night was from 10.30pm to 4.30am and then 5.30am to 6.30am, and since then I have enjoyed a couple of nights sleep going through to 6.30am – but only after days with no animal protein. So I’m reaching the position that eating fish at night-time might affect my sleep that night. But I still need to check how eating fish earlier in the day might affect me.

The timing of meals and eating has become another item to investigate. I have read on the internet that it’s best to finish eating by 7pm at night, but there are some people who finish by 2pm in the afternoon. As I trawl the web right now, I’m reading that 5pm is a good time too.

I rather like the idea of finishing eating earlier in the day. I understand the concept of food needing time to move through the stomach and also that we need to finish eating at least a few hours before bedtime. So I’m working towards making my last meal for the day as early as possible and in the meantime ensure that it is earlier than 7pm.

This afternoon I’ll be collecting two boxes from Food Connect – a Family Fruit box along with a Mini Mixed box. My first order from Food Connect was the Mini Mixed box which was enough for me at the time. Since I’m now predominantly on the 80/10/10 program with its fruit focus, I believe I can handle both boxes but will use up some of the vegetables in the mixed box by making soup for my Mum. However I do wonder whether eating all this fruit is sustainable. If we all decided we wanted to eat this way then I’m sure the farmers wouldn’t be able to cope, or perhaps over time their focus would move away from other crops onto fruit. So I am mulling about how I’ll proceed into the future.

Just to make things more complicated, I’ve become fascinated with Food Enzymes. As I keep trawling the internet and the local library for information on raw food, the word “enzymes” keeps appearing, and finally I’ve found a fascinating book that can explain it all to me.

"Food enzymes for health and longevity" by Edward Howell, published in 1994 and based on a book by the same author first published in 1946, is recognised as a classic and provides ample evidence of how important the enzymes are that we are either endowed with at birth or that we assimilate when we eat raw food or take enzyme tablets.

The part that I’ve appreciated reading the most is that eating raw food is very helpful to us because after we’ve eaten some raw food the enzymes are still intact in the food and help to predigest it, thus leaving our body’s enzymes free to do other important work. However cooking food at a significant temperature destroys the food’s enzymes.

I’ve been reading the book while helping to see my Mum through withdrawal symptoms from the heavy duty drugs that she has been on for shingles. Note to self: in the future, if I am experiencing significant pain and believe I can handle the pain, don’t take heavy duty drugs as withdrawal from them can be challenging.

My Mum went through a fasting phase because she didn’t feel like eating anything, and then she started feeling so nauseous that she needed to go into hospital. It just so happens that a section in the Food Enzymes book explains what she might have been going through.

It seems that most people who fast go through what could be called a healing crisis where they feel nausea and vomiting. Because we eat so much cooked food, the enzymes in our bodies spend most of their time helping to digest the food we eat. When we fast, the body’s enzymes can now work on healing our body by repairing and removing diseased tissues through the various elimination means.

The book appears to me to be more oriented to medical practitioners as it discusses research conducted in the same or similar fields. However, there are sections at the beginning and end including two interview dialogues along with a summary of the salient points that helps to explain the reasoning in the book. So I’m very pleased that I borrowed the book from the library.

However it didn’t give me the definitive guide for a healthy way of eating that I’m looking for, despite being very happy on the 80/10/10 diet program, as the main recommendation for people on cooked food seems to be taking enzyme capsules. So I’ll continue trolling the web to see what other ideas might come up about what appears to be a very important topic.

From week to week, I never quite know what little snippets of information might catch my attention and influence what and how I eat. I feel like I’m on a treasure hunt, with good health as the prize.

Mixed Messages

2010-04-07T18:48:00.006+10:00

Clearly I don’t know where I’m at right now. One minute I love the 80/10/10 diet and the next I’m ready to step away from it. And if I’m confused then I can only imagine what anyone reading the past few posts might be thinking…

But moving on to being predominantly 80/10/10 is such a big move that I’m happy to forgive myself for feeling a bit uncertain about staying on it. However, the hands that drive me to the organic food stores and reach inside my bag for my purse don’t seem to have the same problem. Perhaps it’s the lovely fresh feel of ripe fruit or maybe my stomach is dictating what it would prefer! I’m not sure but I do sense that regardless of my worm farm still being swamped by what I provided two weeks ago and the rapidity with which my freezer fills up with fruit scraps, some part within me seems to be perfectly happy to continue, and so I’m going with the flow.

I do notice the difference between where I am at right now and where I was at just a few weeks ago. Over Easter, I cleaned out 5 tomato tubs and the accompanying connections when one month ago I could only handle cleaning out 2 tubs. Admittedly towards the end of my 3 hour marathon I was starting to falter. However that still doesn’t take away from what felt like a significant increase in energy.

I’ve stopped logging everything I eat in Nutridiary. Instead I aim to eat 400 calories of fruit at each meal, which this morning was handled by eating 5 prunes and then a rock melon followed by 3 small apples accompanying some quinoa. Later in the morning I enjoyed a soy cappuccino.

For lunch I had some persimmons followed by a mandarin, while I started my dinner early by enjoying 7 mandarins mid-afternoon followed by a large plate of lettuce, celery, tomatoes , parsley, mint and lime juice a while later.

Even though I’m not logging my intake every day, I’ve just decided to check how I’ve gone today. Even with the inclusion of the cooked quinoa and the soy cappuccino, I am well within the 80/10/10 diet guidelines but have eaten 81% raw foods today. So I’m nowhere near being able to use the tag of 80/10/10 rv which means that I’m complying with the 80/10/10 guidelines and also am eating raw vegan food. But at least I have something to aim for!

I think I’m doing too good a job in getting enough calories as today’s intake has far exceeded the amount I believe I need to maintain my weight. Fortunately if I exclude the soy cappuccino and cooked quinoa then I’m just under my daily quota. I’m not worried about being over the quota today as twice in the past week I’ve been under the quota, so today is a good opportunity to make up the difference. But what I’m pleased to see from checking out today’s consumption is that when I move off the cooked grains and cappuccinos I’ll know how much I need to eat to meet my caloric requirements.

For the moment I’m still holding on to the grains. I used to love cooked rice with milk and honey as I was growing up and this transformed into my preferred breakfast of cooked brown rice with a piece of fruit. It’s such a pity that brown rice is a grain and therefore frowned upon within the 80/10/10 diet. Otherwise it would be a perfect food for me to eat as it fits the 80/10/10 guidelines.

Unfortunately I keep reading that grains are not good for me as they are not easy to digest. I still have some brown and basmati rice in my fridge along with the quinoa that I recently cooked and once I finish these off, I don’t plan on buying any more.

I’m starting to settle into a pattern with how I’m sourcing my fruit and salad items. This week for the first time I have bought a family size box of fruit from Food Connect, which amuses me as anyone looking at me would wonder where I would fit it all. But fruit is such an easy food to devour that I know there won’t be a problem at all. In fact, in addition to the family size fruit box, I have also bought additional kilos of persimmons and mandarins, along with an extra rock melon and some figs. For my night-time salad I have taken on a kilo of tomatoes and two lettuces. I picked up the family sized box of fruit with the extras on Tuesday and by my reckoning I’ll be buying more fruit by Saturday if not before.

The best part is now that we’re past the summer months I have moved back into growing veggies on my patio. In the past couple of weekends I have planted out 5 new tomato plants along with a tray of snow peas and 2 trays of both lettuce and celery seedlings to complement the 2 trays of herbs that I’ve managed to keep alive over the summer. One of the herb trays has mint in it so I have an excellent example of how mint spreads out to fill the available space. In sympathy for the basil that is in the same tray as the mint and fighting to keep its space, I have planted some extra basil seedlings in the parsley tray. I’ve set myself a goal of controlling the mint’s growth, but I’m not sure who’s going to win.

So it looks like I’m set to continue on my predominantly fruit journey. I do feel a bit sad that I’m not using my Thermomix quite as much as I was, but it proves to be very helpful when friends or family visit or when I need to provide a few meals to my Mum as she recovers from shingles. I have also noticed that Douglas Graham has included recipes in his 80/10/10 Diet book that would suit being made in the Thermomix that I really must try in the near future.

I must say it feels strange to be on predominantly fruit. When I’m dining out it’s hard to find a meal that is acceptable under 80/10/10, so I have decided on two options. If I’m out for breakfast or brunch then I’ll have scrambled eggs on toast. I know, I know, totally against the 80/10/10 guidelines but an easy way to handle things and also an opportunity for a little break. For lunch or dinner I would have some fish on a green salad which is also against the guidelines but again I don’t mind having a break occasionally.

I judge how my journey with raw food or more specifically 80/10/10 is going by how well I sleep. When I’m being “good” – and I’d consider the fruit, salad and extras I’ve had today as being “good” - I pretty much sleep right through for 7 hours or more. When I’m not, I’ll wake up in the early hours of the morning and find it difficult to get back to sleep. I’m enjoying this journey because I feel like what I’m doing is starting to make a real difference to how I wake up in the morning and how much energy I have during the day. I think this lifestyle is a keeper!

To be 80/10/10 or not...

2010-03-29T19:02:00.002+10:00

Have you ever seen something that you know is really good and would provide wonderful benefits but when you looked at it some more you wonder whether it’s the best fit for you…

I’m starting to feel that way about the 80/10/10 diet. Actually I feel funny when I write the word “diet” because this feels more like a lifestyle than a diet. While listening to the Raw Healing Patch radio show on Blog Talk Radio, I also heard them mention the word “lifestyle” as well in relation to “80/10/10”, so I’m not alone.

I’m not playing with this way of eating to lose weight as I’m slightly underweight and while some people who might be following the 80/10/10 diet aspire to or are super-fit athletes, I don’t fit into that category either. I’ve just had a fascination with food for some time now.

What concerns me most is the amount of fruit that I need to buy to sustain this lifestyle option, and also the amount of fruit/vegetable waste going out through the general rubbish bin.

I’m chowing through 1.5 to 2 kgs of fruit a day along with a significant quantity of greens where I’ll blend a whole cos lettuce or some silverbeet leaves with other ingredients to make up a green juice. I’m buying extra fruit every second day if not daily just to keep me going.

I’ve completely stymied my worm farm by feeding them way too many fruit and vegetables scraps that are taking them longer than a week to get through, so now I’m putting out my general rubbish bin much more often.

But on the positive side, I do feel really good when I am predominantly 80/10/10. Over the weekend I planted out 4 punnets of lettuce seedlings and then went back to get the same number of celery seedlings and didn’t have a problem with getting them all out onto my patio all in one day even though I needed to wash out 4 trays and the accompanying perlite pebbles. And then I weeded part of my backyard as well. I was a bit surprised at how much energy I had on the day.

It’s not that I can’t handle the way the diet works. I’ve always liked numbers so it’s no surprise that three weeks after I started dabbling with the 80/10/10 diet, I’m still logging my progress on the Nutridiary web site.

Seven days out of the past ten, I’ve met the 80/10/10 requirement and on those days have been 79% raw or better. The remaining three days were weekend days when I was with family or friends, so perhaps this was no surprise also.

While I’m considering whether/how I’ll continue with the 80/10/10 diet, I’ve started reading another book. What feels like many years ago, I read about Food Combining and found the concept very interesting. I even had a food combining chart on my wall that my sister had given to me. But I never really took the principles on board.

Since the 80/10/10 book recommends following the food combining rules, I’ve borrowed the book “Food Combining for Health : Get Fit with Foods that Don't Fight” from the library and all of a sudden I’m starting to understand what it’s telling me, particularly since I’m going through it. This book helps to explain what happens when I break the rules, which I tend to do.

I really thought that I had given the chart away but I’ve just checked in my store room and it’s still there! This is great news as I suspect that I’ll end up with what I consider are the best bits of the 80/10/10 diet along with some concepts from the China Study book while ensuring that I follow food combining rules. This feels like I’m making it a little complex right now but I’m sure I’ll end up with something that suits me and my worm farm while being able to minimise how often my general rubbish bin goes out. I can’t wait!

Meal Dilemmas

2010-03-18T19:57:00.001+10:00

It’s too early for me to judge but I’m starting to think that the 80/10/10 diet could be the real deal.

I’ve had a dilemma with breakfast for some time now as I would always feel hunger pains soon after a breakfast of cooked brown rice or quinoa with a piece of fruit. After moving on to eating 360+ grams of fruit for breakfast I no longer have that problem.

I’m also eating fruit for lunch which feels a little strange as I used to enjoy my lunch-time salad but again a similar quantity of fruit seems to sustain me very well throughout the afternoon.

Dinner was also a dilemma for me as I had grown tired of the options of steamed veggies, stir fries and soups. Now I start dinner with some fruit followed by a green smoothie including a whole cos lettuce or 3 large silverbeet leaves with some fruit and then finish off with a salad including tomatoes, capsicums and other items.

At least that’s the plan and for the most part I am sticking to it, but I have persisted with my daily habit of soy, rice or oat milk cappuccino and anything goes when I’m out with family or friends.

I have read that when eating predominantly fruit with a big salad at night time you don’t need to drink water as you’re getting enough from what you’re eating. I’ve tested this out and it’s certainly happening for me.

In the past, I have generally woken at least a few times during the night and have had difficulties getting back to sleep. A friend suggested that I might be dehydrated so I tried drinking more water during the day and particularly before going to bed but the pattern of waking up stayed.

When I’m eating close to the 80/10/10 diet, I might wake once during the night and then easily go back to sleep. In the past week I’ve also had one night where I went to sleep at 11pm and slept through to 6.30am which I thought was brilliant.

If I stray a little too far from the diet in a given day then I’ll drink a small amount of water just to balance things out but for the most part I’m rarely reaching for a water bottle.

I thought I’d find the quantity of fruit and vegetables that I need to eat a little overwhelming but it doesn’t seem to be fazing me at the moment. That could be because I’m not sticking to it 100% as I have had some cooked chick peas, tinned salmon or steamed whiting fillets with night-time salads. In the past week I have ranged from 40% to 90% raw and for two days out of seven I have met the 80/10/10 guidelines of a minimum of 80% of total calories from simple carbohydrates such as fruit and vegetables and a maximum of 10% from fat and 10% from protein.

But I can understand why some people might have a problem with eating this way. I really felt like something different this afternoon so I cooked some brown rice and had a few tablespoons with some honey. Then I was quite happy to go back onto the program for my evening meal.

Daily greens

2010-03-11T18:26:00.004+10:00

Bless Thermomix’s Rawlicious cookbook!

I was a little overwhelmed last night as I ploughed through the 180g cos lettuce along with the other ingredients of the salad I had made. So today I’ve been wondering how I can handle the need for a significant percentage of daily calories from greens under the 80/10/10 diet.

I bought some silverbeet and as I pondered how to use it, I remembered the recipe Beet my Nana Smoothie from the Rawlicious cookbook and have just made it up. I varied the recipe by using 3 silverbeet leaves and 4 small bananas and drank it down quite happily.

It looks pretty much the same as the last time I made it, but this time it has solved a problem for me.

This is so much easier than eating a whole lettuce. It looks like I might have finally cottoned on to the idea of daily green juices!

The 80/10/10 Diet

2010-03-10T20:47:00.003+10:00

I’ve almost finished reading the book “The 80/10/10 Diet” by Douglas Graham and have trialed the diet today by eating according to the 80% carbohydrate, 10% fat and 10% protein rule.

I like this way of eating. I’ve had a sweet tooth since I was a young child and I’m finding that I have no noticeable sweet cravings when I eat a significant amount of fruit. Who would have thought it would be so easy to fix that problem!

If there’s any downside it is the huge volume of food that needs to be eaten from fruit and vegetable groups in order to fulfill the 80% carbohydrate requirement. Fortunately it makes it easier that foods that we call vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers are actually fruits, so they and others like zucchini and squash can be eaten as often as preferred. Greens are also very important for their mineral content and I need to ensure that I have a significant amount of greens each day.

So here is what I’ve had today:-

Breakfast

5 prunes

300g pears with 105g bananas

Morning tea

Rice Milk Cappuccino

Lunch

190g pineapple, 75g tomato and 320g pears

Snack

100g bananas

Dinner

170g pineapple and 180g grapes

135g pineapple, 180g cos lettuce, 150g tomatoes and 150g capsicum

This amounts to over 2kg of food which is a phenomenal amount for me, however I must remember that this volume is replacing the bread and cooked grains, beans and chick peas that I have been eating.

I have tallied all of this on the Nutridiary web site which tells me that that the foods that I have eaten today fall within the 80/10/10 guidelines, even including the rice milk cappuccino. However, drinking the cappuccino has meant that what I have eaten today hasn’t been entirely raw.

I do wonder how I’ll go eating this way into the longer term. This week I ordered a fruit box from Food Connect rather than a combined vegetable and fruit box, and I placed additional orders for some lettuce and tomatoes. Next week I’ll do the same again and also request some celery and cucumber. But what I receive from Food Connect won’t keep me going the whole week so either I’ll need to buy extras from organic food stores or else increase the size of the fruit box. There will be heaps more food scraps going into my worm farm and I’m wondering whether it will get swamped.

But overall I feel pretty good after a day of following the 80/10/10 diet. And being 91% raw – it’s a pity about the cappuccino! It will be interesting to see if I lose interest in this daily habit of cappuccinos as I continue playing with eating this way.

I’m having lunch with friends tomorrow and will aim to have a salad but won’t be too worried about whatever I end up eating. I still consider that I’m transitioning into this way of eating and even if I adopt it as my preferred eating regime there will always be times when I lapse. However from what I’m reading, my body will let me know what it thinks about the lapse, so perhaps it won’t happen too often.

New Season Ginger

2010-03-03T19:31:00.005+10:00

In the past months I have experienced many new things including real ginger (as compared to the dried powder variety). But it seems not all gingers are the same. Food Connect very kindly included some new season ginger and even more kindly mentioned in their newsletter that it needs to be kept in the fridge as it doesn’t have bark and so can dry out easily.

I have generally found real ginger to be quite strong and so haven’t used up a piece very quickly. But this new season ginger seems to be a bit more subtle and I’ve included some finely chopped ginger on both my lunch-time salad and my evening meal and ended up enjoying both. This isn’t at all like me as I have shied away from ginger in the past but now I seem to have found a variety that sits well with me. A web site suggests that for thousands of years, ginger has been used to aid digestion, nausea, menstrual cramps, and flu symptoms, and it's also traditionally been used to treat arthritis and heart conditions. I am really pleased about this as I’m concerned that my sore knuckles could be a precursor to arthritis.

In the same way, I’m pleased with the path that I’m on and what makes it even more comfortable is that I seem to be treading a path already taken by others, even though my path is happening much later…

In 2005, Steve Pavlina wrote about reading “The China Study” which at that time was one of the top 500 selling books at Amazon, with a 4.5 star rating. If I’m reading its current sales rank correctly then it is much lower in the list but still with its 4.5 star rating and it seems to have remained very topical as I have noticed this book mentioned often in blogs or articles that I’ve been reading lately.

One of his most telling statements was that when he ate a whole foods vegan diet (as opposed to a more junky vegan diet that includes refined or processed foods), he could eat as many calories as he wanted and not gain weight. I must remember that I can and most likely need to eat much more as I experiment with this way of eating.

Another interesting comment he made was that many people now recommend giving up dairy before giving up meat as dairy products are among the most unhealthy garbage you could possibly want to put in your body. I’m now 3 days into giving up dairy as I’m no longer drinking cow’s milk cappuccinos and it has been some time since I brought a carton of cow’s milk into my home. It’s too soon to know how well this is working out but I’ll have a better idea a little further down the track.

At the end of 2007 Steve announced he would kick off 2008 with a 30-day trial of eating a 100% raw vegan diet. He mentions his experiences with raw food diets in the past and also about reading books and listening to audio programs from long-term raw foodists, including Dr. Douglas Graham who has written “The 80/10/10 Diet” book. I found that Steve's final post at the end of the 30-day trial made interesting reading.

It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one going through this process. Changing one’s eating habits can be challenging particularly when they emanate from deep-seated, long-term patterns. The best part is that trolling the web shows me that there are definite personal rewards for taking the time to work out what’s best for me.

Basil Pesto

2010-03-02T21:16:00.007+10:00

I really enjoy getting my Food Connect box. With the vagaries of weather and other conditions on the farms, one can never be sure that the items in the box will match up with the list published on their web site. But even when it does, I still get surprised as I pull the goodies out.

Basil was on the list today and I was delighted when I saw the lovely big bunch even though I’ve been growing it on my patio over summer. You see, I’ve become so used to the cut-and-come-again approach that I’m always just cutting off leaves.

A few years back I planted basil and tomato in the same pot and then completely forgot that the basil was there. One day I noticed how prolifically it had grown but when I tried to make pesto in the Vita Mix that I had at the time, it just didn’t work. So I haven’t really bothered trying again until now.

This time around the Thermomix has helped me to produce a credible basil pesto based on a recipe from a brand new raw book I received today called “Raw Food Made Easy – for 1 or 2 people” by Jennifer Cornbleet. I didn’t have any pine nuts so I replaced it with sunflower seeds which didn’t break down as easily as the pine nuts would have. But I really enjoyed this pesto and was still licking my lips after I had washed the dishes.

I also received the book “The 80/10/10 Diet” by Dr. Douglas N. Graham and have checked to confirm my recollection that his book recommends a low-fat diet and weaning oneself off salt amongst other things including garlic. He very kindly includes an FAQ section on his website that explains his reasoning.

So three of the five ingredients of this pesto are not recommended which is really sad because it tastes so nice. I think that’s a big part of why we eat the way we do, as items like salt, garlic and oil merge together so well into an almost addictive taste. It will be interesting to see where I head as I read through the 80/10/10 book – or as some people call it, the 811 diet.

I believe I need to change what I’m doing as I have sore knuckles on my fingers and a ring that used to fit onto the middle finger has now been relegated to the index finger. This could be considered a precursor to arthritis which won’t happen to me as I’m quite happy to change what I’m doing if I need to.

I’ve decided that I’ll move towards the recommendation in the book “The China Study” to follow a whole foods, low-fat, plant-based diet as a stepping stone to the 811 diet. A whole foods diet excludes meat, poultry, dairy and eggs, so I am now having cappuccinos made from soy, rice or oat milk instead of cows’ milk. I still have some eggs in my fridge so once I’ve used them up then I won’t buy any more. This will only be difficult when I want to make muffins or bread but I have read about egg substitutes and will experiment with incorporating them.

In the meantime I’ll take my time to read and consider what I’ll do about the 811 diet. The good part about all of this is that there is no timeline for change which means that I can feel my way along this path and enjoy the journey.

Red Cabbage, Corn and Apple Soup

2010-03-01T19:36:00.003+10:00

Note to self: if you want a pretty cabbage, corn and apple soup it would probably be better to use a white cabbage rather than a red cabbage.

Ah well, it’s always easy in hindsight but perhaps I’m judging the dish too harshly as beauty (or otherwise) is supposed to be in the eye of the beholder.

Actually I enjoyed this dish as I ate it. I kept thinking that if this were a beetroot soup I’d be very happy with the result, so perhaps that’s the answer. I must try a beetroot and red cabbage soup, or perhaps red cabbage with sweet potato (red or orange) would work.

I deliberately used as few ingredients as I can. With my Mum slowly recovering from shingles and various other things happening at the moment I’m finding that I’m not interested in trying out recipes with an extended list of ingredients. So I’m very happy to potter along seeing how well a few ingredients mesh together into a soup, which is just as well as I sometimes read a book that recommends minimising the use of condiments.

So this soup included:-

Niblets from a corn cob (100g) with some kept out for garnish

Red cabbage 100g

Green apple 85g

180g water

The vegetables and fruit were blended together for 30 seconds on speed 8 and the extra corn niblets added afterwards. As I ate the dish I also included some recently cooked chick peas just to finish things off nicely.

So many raw options!

2010-02-28T19:32:00.009+10:00

Wow! When I look at some of the raw food blogs that I find on the web I become so inspired!

One blog that I particularly like because there are fabulous photos of raw food is called “What The Hell Does A Vegan Eat Anyway?” and they have a Raw Food Wednesday tradition.

If I didn’t have a basic aim to simplify my life then I’d be elbows deep trying to repeat their dishes.

I’m starting to wonder whether tending towards the simpler/easier way of doing things could very easily become boring but I know within myself that I need to continue on my own path. So I still seem to be on the journey of trying to work out how I can best approach a raw food regime, and just know that it is important to allow things to happen in my life at the appropriate pace.

I was idly googling one day, looking for a comparison between the raw and vegan diet, when I found myself at a discussion on a 100% raw vegan diet that effectively said that the author felt better on 100% raw and was recommending it as the way to go. But I didn’t feel inclined to move in that direction.

Then a couple of weeks later I found a blog that explains why a high raw diet is very helpful. The most compelling point that I read was that elephants, bulls and buffalos get their protein from eating plants. So I couldn’t help asking why we couldn’t. As this blog points out (along with similar messages from significant books such as “Diet for a New America” by John Robbins and “Diet for a Small Planet” by Frances Moore Lappe - both permanently on my bookshelf), protein can be found in all natural foods ("natural" as in unrefined). The blog goes on to say “Vegetables and fruits have protein. Nuts, seeds (especially hemp seeds), algae, as well as higher protein greens and sprouts, which have up to 50% of their calories from protein, can satisfy even the higher protein demands of pregnant women, athletes, and people trying to gain lean muscle mass.

In between I have been reading the book “The China Study” by T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas M. Campbell II. This book in part describes the findings from a survey of diet and death rates from cancer in more than 2,400 Chinese counties that provide a lot of credible evidence to support the recommendation to eat a whole food, plant-based diet, while minimizing the consumption of refined foods, added salt and added fats. The most compelling statement I read in relation to cancer was that “nutrients from animal-based foods increased tumor development while nutrients from plant-based foods decreased tumor development”.

So you would think after reading all of this information that I would really know what I want to do! And I think I do because I found another book!

I visit Wrays Organics at Newmarket each week and a month or two ago I noticed a store copy of the book “The 80/10/10 Diet” by Dr. Douglas N. Graham. I flicked through it and while it looked interesting none of it gelled with me. Then in the past week I found an excerpt of an interview with Doug Graham on the web and all of a sudden I started hearing a lot more in it. So I went back to Wrays Organics late last week and flicked through the book again and then happily placed an internet order for it.

The basic premise of the 80/10/10 diet – apart from it being a raw food diet - is that a minimum of 80% of your calories will come from simple carbohydrates, a maximum of 10% from protein, and a maximum of 10% from fat. This works out naturally if 90 - 95% of your calories come from sweet fruit, 2-6% from leafy greens, vegetables and non-sweet fruits, and 0 - 8% from nuts and seeds. This is generally accomplished with two or three large fruit meals during the day with a large salad in the evening.

The emphasis here is on measuring calories and it has been a long time since I last measured calories. However, once I receive the book then I’ll buy a calorie counter or else find a web site that can help me. Actually a couple of web sites with such counters have been recommended to me so it’s only a matter of time before I fix this problem.

I really like the concept of this way of eating. At the start of this weekend I was so tempted to just jump into it and start doing it but caution prevailed as it must and I have decided to finish off things in my fridge that might not work with it. Then once I receive the book, I can read it thoroughly and then work out how I incorporate it into my life in the future.

So in the meantime, I have made an Almond Dip based on the recipe Almond Pate Style Dip in the Taste of Vegetarian Thermomix cookbook.

I soaked 60g almonds and after they had been soaked noticed their lovely sweet taste which combined very well with half a tomato and a third of a small onion both chopped. The mix was blended with a teaspoon of olive oil for 10 seconds on speed 5 and then consumed with some zucchini matchsticks as an entrée. When I ran out of zucchini matchsticks I instead added some sultanas which really hit the spot.

Raw sweet potato and apple soup

2010-02-23T19:27:00.000+10:00

I reckon apple goes with most things in the same way that avocado merges in very nicely with soups or salads.

So tonight I have made a raw sweet potato and apple soup using ingredients of 160g peeled sweet potato, 60g apple, 50g tomato with 210g water blended in the Thermomix on speed 8 for 30 seconds and dished out with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Later I remembered some cooked chick peas and they merged easily into the mix.

The sweet potatoes contributed to a very pleasant tasting dish while the apple gave the soup a nice sweet slant. All in all, I was very happy to eat this for my dinner.

Raw Broccoli Salad with Beetroot Dip

2010-02-20T16:47:00.002+10:00

Sometimes I feel like I’m in an episode of Ready Steady Cook. I had some broccoli, a beetroot, a tomato and some lemongrass along with other ingredients that I keep in my fridge and pantry.

Fortunately I found a Raw Broccoli Salad recipe that would fit the bill along with some raw beetroot dip made along the same lines as the beetroot hummus from earlier this month.

First in preparation for the beetroot dip I covered 30g of pumpkin seeds with water in a sprouting jar and set it aside.

Then I made the broccoli salad. I milled some lemon grass, a small piece of ginger and a clove of garlic for 15 seconds on speed 9. Then sprigs of parsley and basil from my patio were chopped for 2 seconds on speed 6. Two cups of broccoli florets, 1 tsp of cumin seeds, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 lemon ice cube from the freezer and 1/2 tsp salt were added and chopped for 4 seconds on speed 4. The mix was placed in the fridge to allow the combined ingredients to soften the broccoli.

An hour later it was time to make the beetroot dip. I rinsed the pumpkin seeds and placed them along with 65g peeled beetroot, 60g tomato and 1 lemon juice ice cube into the Thermomix bowl and processed on speed 4 for 5 to 10 seconds. At which time I noticed the difference between chick peas and pumpkin seeds as the pumpkin seeds kept their shape while previously the chick peas had gracefully merged into the hummus. Perhaps I need to soak the pumpkin seeds overnight rather than just for 1 hour… After tasting the dip I knew that I was quite happy with the taste of it but I still tried blending again at speed 5 and repeated at speed 6 which gave me what I thought was a better looking dip.

When I tasted the broccoli salad I decided that it was too salty so I combined the salad and dip together very nicely for my lunch which didn’t end up being entirely raw as I added some cooked chick peas.

I think I could safely say I’m having difficulties in letting cooked grains, beans and chick peas go. I’d like to say I’m working on it, but in the meantime would you believe I have weighed what I eat over an average day which comes in roughly at 1 kg of food, and have worked out that I can safely call myself a raw foodist – who is someone that eats 75% or more raw food - if the only cooked items in my day are the cooked grain (100g) with my breakfast, 2 mini muffins (35g) for morning tea, some cooked beans or chick peas (50g) with my lunch, and some more of the cooked beans or chick peas (50g) with my dinner. I can’t see myself managing this when I’m out for lunch or dinner, or visiting family or friends, but this is certainly do-able for the much of the time. I suppose time will tell…

Buckwheat Tabouleh

2010-02-17T19:58:00.007+10:00

I already regularly sprout seeds and beans along with chick peas and I have recently become interested in soaking and sprouting grains after attending the Brisbane Organic Growers meeting earlier this month. Graham Sait from Nutri-Tech Solutions spoke on the decline in human nutrition over the past three generations. My ears perked up when he mentioned raw food and after subscribing to his newsletter read that we were supposed to eat a large percentage of raw food. It seems earlier cultures soaked or sprouted grains and he suggested we do the same to get rid of phytates and enzyme inhibitors.

So being curious about how well grains sprout, I decided to try the Buckwheat Tabouleh recipe from Thermomix’s A Taste of Vegetarian cookbook which includes buckwheat soaked overnight with tomato, cucumber, some herbs and a few extras. And then I noticed on the web that buckwheat is not a grain. But I soldiered on and after chopping for 3 seconds on speed 4 in the Thermomix and then spreading over a bed of alfalfa and lentil sprouts, the mix provided a nice light raw lunch.

The consistency of buckwheat after soaking was quite pleasant and edible and has now become a breakfast option that can be combined with some fruit. And so it made me wonder which of the other grains or rather grain equivalents might be suitable for soaking or sprouting. I have tried sprouting the occasional grain in the past and found the result to be too chewy but I’m willing to try the alternatives particularly considering my interest in raw foods.

But as I mentioned buckwheat is not a grain. Wikipedia tells me that “despite the common name and the grain-like use of the crop, buckwheat is not a cereal or grass. It is called a pseudocereal to emphasize that it is not related to wheat. ” and I have italicised this and other Wikipedia quotes in this post.

Quinoa is the same, being a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. I currently cook quinoa to enjoy with fruit for my breakfast, but just out of curiousity I have tried soaking it to see how it turns out. What I particularly like about quinoa is that it contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source...unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine).

I decided to test Wikipedia’s suggestion that only 2–4 hours resting in a glass of clean water is enough to make quinoa sprout and release gases. I tried some soaked quinoa after 4 hours and I’m pleased to report that I could see sprouted tails on the quinoa – and I realise that it’s probably hard to see the same on the photo below after I had added some chopped banana. I added some honey after taking the photo and I was more than happy to finish off my dish.

So since I’ve moved off talking about grains, I can mention that I regularly soak 1 tbsp of Chia seeds with ¾ cup of water and stir for a minute or two to make sure the seeds have separated properly and then store the mix in my refrigerator, using a few teaspoons of this mix each morning in my grain and fruit breakfast. I found the idea on the web and unfortunately didn’t keep the link. However, I have found a new link that explains the process here under the heading of How To Make Chia Seed Gel. I’ve also ground chia seed occasionally and have noticed that chia seed can also be sprouted.

After all of this I haven’t forgotten about my interest in working out how to successfully soak or sprout grains. I have found another web page supporting the soaking or sprouting of nuts, seeds and grains. It seems that this softens them, removes harmful enzyme inhibitors, and enhances their nutritional value prior to eating so now nuts will go into my list of things to play with.

PS In the spirit of being honest, I just have to mention… There was an eggplant in my Food Connect box yesterday and unfortunately I’ve developed the habit of enjoying slices of eggplant cooked in my frying pan along with some onion rings, some chopped mushrooms and a fried egg. Yes, yes, I realise it’s most likely against the idea of a high raw diet and I’m really sorry to say I did really enjoy it and will no doubt have the same tomorrow night and then I promise I’ll be back on to predominantly raw meals for the rest of the week… Have I ever mentioned that I do guilt very well???

Raw Strawberry and Cabbage Soup

2010-02-15T18:57:00.003+10:00

This really hit the spot - a lovely cool soup at the end of a particularly hot day. It’s the night before I pick up my next Food Connect box and I had some cabbage in the fridge and a punnet of strawberries in the freezer. What better way to use them both than to combine into a summer soup!

200g strawberries with 100 g cabbage along with 20g mint and basil were blended together in the Thermomix with 200g water. A sprinkle of mint leaves adorned the top.

Snake Beans; Raw Beetroot and Chocolate Pudding; Beetroot Hummus

2010-02-11T21:03:00.007+10:00

You know, I’ve been growing beans for the past few years and while I’ve heard of snake beans, I had never seen a photo of them. So when they appeared in my Food Connect box this week I was completely bamboozled. These things looked like beans but were unlike any beans I’d ever grown or seen. So I rang Food Connect and they very quickly filled me in. Now that I know what I’m working with, some sliced snake beans have contributed very nicely to my lunch-time salads.

Another item in my box this week has been a beetroot. Considering my interest in becoming more raw, I just couldn’t see my way clear to cook it. So I googled beetroot and found a recipe for raw beetroot dip that looked really nice but had a long list of ingredients. Perhaps there really is something to the popularity of the “4 Ingredients” books.

Then I remembered that I had soaked some chick peas overnight with the thought of enjoying them on my salads. Perhaps a beetroot hummus would work. I knew I had already made a raw hummus some time back and figured that it would be easy to add some beetroot to it.

But dessert was tugging at my brain cells and I kept thinking of the beetroot and chocolate puddings that I had made. So I decided to experiment but not with all of the beetroot so I sliced off a small section of the beetroot for later inclusion in the hummus. It probably goes without saying that a little bit of beetroot goes a long way.

It had been a while since I had bought chocolate, but I just happened to this morning. Even better it was Rawganic chocolate so my experiment would be completely raw.

I also knew that I needed some sort of binding agent as the beetroot and chocolate on their own would probably be too crumbly. Banana or avocado seemed like possibilities and I decided to go with banana.

I grated 100g peeled beetroot in the Thermomix on speed 8 for 5 seconds, scraped down the sides and then repeated the step.

I added 30g raw chocolate and grated it in on speed 8 for about 10 seconds.

Then I added half a banana and blended it in on speed 7 for 20 seconds.

The remainder of the banana decorated the final dish.

I really enjoyed this. The texture of the beetroot and chocolate mix wasn’t smooth but quickly melted in the mouth. This will be a quick way to satisfy dessert cravings in the future and certainly goes into my list of how I can use beetroot when I receive it in the box.

So I still had a small piece of beetroot to use up and I had planned it for the hummus.

I placed 65g of the chick peas sprouted for 1 day, 35g peeled beetroot, 75g tomato and 1 lemon juice ice cube into the Thermomix bowl and processed on speed 4 for 5 to 10 seconds.

This all went down very well. Well, to be really honest, it wasn’t as good as the beetroot and chocolate dessert from earlier in the day but for a dinner option it certainly presented well. I tossed up adding some basil but thought that the beetroot would overshadow anything I tried to add so stayed with these basic ingredients.

After I had enjoyed the beetroot hummus on bread and with zucchini sticks, I then retrieved some tinned fish and avocado from the fridge and enjoyed both with the rest of it.

Dinner Options; Raw Zucchini and Corn Soup

2010-02-10T20:08:00.004+10:00

So what does one eat for dinner... My standard response in the past would be a stir fry, steamed vegetables or soup. But now I’m looking at how I can become predominantly raw, as in 75% or more raw food most days as compared to the 50% plus raw I do at the moment.

So I’ve just found out that someone who eats 75% plus raw food is called a raw foodist. I’ve had a few labels in the past and I do give some thought to the label that might be assigned if I move in a particular direction. And I can say I am comfortable with a label of raw foodist if I meet the criteria.

I imagine that the easiest way to meet the criteria would be to start most meals from a perspective of it being a raw meal and then allow the occasional non-raw addition to the meal. Or snacks in between meals might be non-raw like the precious mini-muffins that I make for my Mum and myself.

So tonight following on from my success with the raw cabbage and apple soup, I have made some Raw Zucchini and Corn Soup.

I put chunks of zucchini, niblets from half a corn cob, a small tomato, a small apple peeled and cored and a thin slice of onion which amount to 360g into the Thermomix bowl. A dash or two of tamari along with 210g water was added and all blended together for 30 seconds on speed 8. Some sesame seeds were sprinkled on top for aesthetic appeal.

I keep meaning to warm any raw soup I make to 37 degrees C which is acceptable under a raw food program. But I forget and then I find that I’ve really enjoyed the soup as is, which is exactly what happened again tonight. While the apple was the only common ingredient between tonight’s soup and the Cabbage and Apple Soup made the other night, the consistency of the two soups are very similar. I suspect that the types of vegetables used in both soups are very similar. There was a little bit left over after filling my bowl which I happily finished off.

So now I’m considering how I could continue replacing my standard dinner options of a stir fry, steamed vegetables or cooked soup. What I’ve come up with so far are salad, soup or a whole food such as a mango or some grapes.

It’s becoming clear to me now that raw soups are fairly easy and can be basically made up from whatever ingredients are available at the time - or should I say that raw soups are fairly easy to make in the Thermomix. I’d like to think that I can make up an appetising salad after a few years of including salad greens and tomatoes from my patios into my regular lunch-time salad. I’ve included the idea of a whole food or fruit because this idea was mooted by Victoria Boutenko in her book "12 Steps to Raw Foods".

It will be interesting to see what dinner options I’m actually using in a month or two’s time...

Raw Cabbage and Apple Soup

2010-02-07T13:38:00.002+10:00

After enjoying the cooked cabbage soup, and receiving the thumbs up from my Mum who has made her own variation of cabbage soup in the past, I decided to try a similar combination as a raw soup.

I milled 2 dates for 15 seconds on speed 7. Then I added sprigs of mint and basil along with 100g cabbage, a small apple cored and 130g water and blended for 30 seconds on speed 8. A sprinkle of mint finished the bowl.

I really enjoyed this. It probably helps that I like eating cabbage raw, which I was doing as I cut the cabbage into chunks. Perhaps that explains why there wasn’t enough, which I’ll fix next time by including more. The cabbage and apple melded together very nicely. I won’t worry about the dates in the future as they seemed superfluous and the soup would have been smoother without them.

All in all, I consider this a successful lunch, albeit as an appetizer as I didn’t make enough and even with more of this soup I would most likely supplement with another small dish.

Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup, Simplified Soup and Jam

2010-02-05T08:30:00.010+10:00

My Mum isn’t well. She has overdone things for not the first time. After pulling out sliding wardrobe doors to put some new shelves inside, an annoying pain developed in her hip. Just to confuse matters, some blisters developed on her left foot which happened to be the same side as her hip pain. Perhaps something had bitten her on the foot while she was outside. As a result her foot was throbbing. She was able to move around her home on a pair of crutches, but even then her speed was snail’s pace.

In the past similar problems with her back have been easily fixed by her chiropractor. But after getting an all clear from a back x-ray and as the pain became unbearable, she finally agreed to visit the doctor. After a brief examination the diagnosis was shingles in her foot with referred pain moving up to her hip. Unfortunately the diagnosis came long after the 72 hour timeframe within which anti-viral medications can be taken to help clear up the disease.

So my Mum went into hospital for just over a week and has now returned home. While she’s a little more mobile than she was, she is still dealing with the pain – particularly just after she’s been on her feet too long. She’s starting to hear this as a message to slow down.

One way I can help my Mum is to provide some meals and fortunately I have the Thermomix to help me. So I trolled through my recipe books and some blogs that I often visit and found the perfect comfort food – Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup a la Thermomixer.

This time around I have been very obedient and made it according to the recipe, well, with just one variation. I’ve made a note to self to not add any additional salt as I have used Thermomix Stock Concentrate with its strong salt content in lieu of the chicken stock. This soup tasted delicious, in fact enough for me to chow down a second small helping, and I’m sure my Mum will like it as well.

But I had a remaining dilemma. Last week I made some soup which Mum really enjoyed. I modified the pumpkin soup recipe from the everyday cookbook by replacing carrot with potato.

When she heard that I had some cabbage she decided that next she’d like some cabbage soup. So again I trolled through the books and blogs and found a recipe in the Taste of Life book by Julie Stafford for a cabbage casserole. Since I still wanted to make a soup, I borrowed the main ingredients of cabbage, onion, apples and potatoes and used them in a simplified version of the pumpkin soup recipe.

I peeled and cut 1 onion along with 700g of cabbage, potatoes and apples into chunks, and then chopped in the Thermomix for 15 seconds on speed 7. Then I added 1 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp stock concentrate, 500g water and a pinch of sugar and cooked the mix for 20 minutes at 100 degrees C on speed 1. For 15 to 20 seconds, the mix was blended by increasing from speed 1 to 9.

The resulting soup was an unusual consistency and equally unusual but very appealing taste. My Mum says she has made cabbage soup in the past so it will be interesting to hear her comments after she has tried it.

I’m going to keep trying different ingredients using this simple soup recipe. I have a feeling that when the different vegetables or fruits complement each other then the soup will work, which is why I borrowed this cabbage combination from an existing recipe.

I also use a similarly simplified jam recipe which has produced tomato, apple and now peach jam. To be honest, what I make is probably more like a sauce than a jam as I’m not concerned about whether the jam has set. I tend to put it onto my salads or waffles when I make them, so the consistency isn’t a major issue.

After I’ve peeled and de-seeded the fruit, I weigh it as it goes into the Thermomix. Then I puree the fruit for 30 seconds on speed 7. After scraping down the sides, I add an equal weight of sugar and then blend the mix for 10 seconds on speed 7. Then the mix is cooked for 40 minutes at 100 degrees C on speed soft.

After it has cooled, the jam goes into the freezer and because I have used equal quantities of fruit and sugar I can take spoonfuls out of the container straight out of the freezer. So I never have any concerns about the jam going mouldy.

Making jam like this might not be to everyone’s liking, but it certainly works for me.

Stir Fry Part II and Buckwheat Kasha

2010-01-21T19:46:00.011+10:00

After my last post, I realised I had more to say even though stir fries are standard fare and my only claim for originality was that I had one ingredient that was unfamiliar. However I really enjoyed the combination of tastes that my stir fry produced.

But then I started to wonder… Where was the need to add honey or sugar, or some sauce that would complete the meal, which so often comes to mind with most stir fries that I make? For some reason after taste testing my meal, whatever part of my mind that controls the tastes that I must have to enjoy a meal was remarkably quiet!

I just happened to be reading a macrobiotics book over the last couple of days. And it repeated what I have also read in other books in the past. We need to include 5 tastes in a meal for it to be really satisfying. This book “Aveline Kushi’s Introducing Macrobiotic Cooking” by Wendy Esko listed the five ingredients: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and pungent or spicy. Now I would have been quite happy to accept these – and in a sense I wish I had - but being a little pedantic, I googled “tastes of meal” and found a site more than happy to list the tastes that a person might notice – and they were sweet, sour, salty and bitter – but where was the fifth one? I found lots of historical references on the site explaining the fifth taste including the Japanese introduction of “umami” being the Japanese equivalent of delicious or yummy. And then the site mentioned that a fifth taste was revealed recently for when when something is really, really yummy in a non-sweet, sour, bitter or salty way. And in honour of a chemist named Kikunae Ikeda who first called this ingredient “umami”, this is exactly what they’ve named it.

I’m so pleased they cleared this up for me as this could have sent me on a wild goose chase trying to find the fifth taste. I’ve decided that I won’t make things too complicated and so have accepted “umami” as the fifth taste and am hoping that “umami” is similar to the fifth taste mentioned above of pungent or spicy.

I had already thought the previous night that perhaps the various tastes of each of the vegetables and the one fruit along with the homemade baked beans in my meal all complemented each other enough to satisfy the five tastes needed. Perhaps I’m ready to acknowledge daikon’s true participation in the meal.

So last night I combined onion, silverbeet, daikon, eggplant, green apple, cabbage and slivers of a half sheet of nori in a Thermomix stir fry. This time I decided to include some tamari sauce and I certainly enjoyed the final result, even though I did wonder later how I could forget to include some protein such as fish or else some beans or chick peas.

As I kept reading Wendy Esko’s book, I found a recipe that I could try – Buckwheat Kasha. From what I’ve read, toasted buckwheat is known as “Kasha”, although there are other varieties of kasha that use other grains. Anyway I decided to make this kasha, and needless to say, I did it in a completely different way to how Wendy Esko suggested as I really wanted to use the Thermomix.

I roasted some buckwheat in the Thermomix for 10 minutes at 100 degrees Celsius on speed 1. The buckwheat was then placed into the basket with some cabbage and carrot matchsticks sitting on top, and then steamed for 20 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 2.

I then added some salt as suggested in the recipe, a smattering of parsley and later sprinkled some tamari sauce, and I enjoyed it, although next time I’d aim for less buckwheat and more vegetables.

Cooking this kasha reminds me of a time when I used to add sultanas to the rice that I was cooking. I wonder whether I was making kasha without knowing it…

This was an interesting experience and I plan on trying some more kasha recipes to see which ones work for me.

Stir Fry

2010-01-19T20:28:00.009+10:00

I know, I know. This looks unusual. I have just made this stir fry using some ingredients that I didn’t get to in the past week and adding in some that I have just received in today’s Food Connect box. I’m thinking that a stir fry on a Tuesday night might become a regular feature for exactly this purpose.

There are some fairly diverse ingredients in this stir fry (spot the one that is new to me)… onion, silverbeet, daikon, eggplant, green apple, avocado and homemade baked beans. This all worked out really nicely for my dinner.

Okay, I haven’t seen or heard of daikon before but fortunately I found a site that let me know that it is a substitute for radish. Now that might be a good thing for some people but I have never been enthusiastic about radish. But I did the brave thing and chomped on a sliver as I chopped it up for my meal. Fortunately, it doesn’t have a very strong taste and so I ate the sliver fairly easily although it still isn’t my favourite taste. However, it contributed to the meal along with the other ingredients.

The web site tells me that daikon can be used in just about any type of dish that, well, I can think of… Saute daikon along with carrot as a side dish, add to soups or stews, or else add to salads, coleslaw or smoothies. Ah! It has raw potential! I must remember that.

I’m starting to notice that Food Connect is going to continue introducing me to new foods in the same way that Rawlicious did, which I don’t see as a bad thing. Who knows – perhaps I might get to like daikon raw, and then it might be time to try radish again…