June 2014 – Supercharged Food

Lemon and Cinnamon Lamb Shanks with a Lemony Gremolata

IQS lamb shanks I shank it up fairly regularly, especially in winter and my slow cooker is my haven for making comfort food. There really is no need to slave over a hot hot-pot when you can bung a bunch of ingredients and seasonal vegetables into your slow cooker in the morning and come home to a deliciously intense flavoursome and fulfilling meal which has been left to bubble pleasantly throughout the day. All ready to love you tender.

There’s a growing need for meals that alleviate any languid moods which often accompany winter’s chilly weather. Dishes that really sympathize with your hard day’s work and give you a big cuddle to make you feel nourished and pepped up again are a pre-requisite.

Slow cooked meals gladly fulfill a multitude of duties for you including lessening piles of washing up. All you need to do is invest a measly five minutes of hasty ingredient preparation in the morning, to reap an evening of hearty deliciousness. I’m a big fan of this slow cooked hot pot recipe and chicken saag and think you will embrace them too, try them out and let me know what you think?

Speaking of slow cooker recipes this week I came across a brilliant new Lemon and Cinnamon Lamb Shank recipe to test out in my kitchen. Hearty lamb shanks respond well to slow cooking and become even more succulent with time. This delicious creation is from my friend and fellow blogger Sarah Wilson who blogs over here.

It’s a delicious nutrient dense pot of yumminess and flavour and comes from Sarah’s brand new book The I Quit Sugar Slow Cooker Cookbook. (more…)

Vegetable Thoran

Keep Korma and Curry On.

India is a controlled and chaotically enriching assault on the senses which has altered my perception on reality forever. I would go as far as to say that it quite literally blew my mind.

There are so many things to love about a place that holds the most wonderfully vibrant and alive cuisine in the world, coupled with an ancient system of healing and what's not to love about the traditional home of downward dog?

So what was my biggest takeaway from India?

I met a myriad of wonderfully genuine and generous people who I felt had a strong sense of kinship and community, perhaps I noticed it more because I could see people’s dependency upon one another. And not just the kind of dependency which involved getting a step further ahead in business or a personal advancement. It was more of a matter of sticking together for the sole purposes of survival. Being immersed in the human element of India and its people gave me an insight and a sense of perspective that can’t be found on a facebook highlight reel.

What did I learn?

I learnt that it’s not about living your dream. It’s about living your purpose. And for me these two things are very different. For some people living your purpose may be enjoying a simple, happy and uncomplicated life engulfed in personal meaning. For others it may mean the difference between a job and a calling. For me it is both.

The external chaos of India compels you to explore your internal world, let go of the extrinsic and live in the intrinsic to be able to cope with all that is happening externally, the people with leprosy, the snake charmers, a herd of cows on the road, bustling and beeping traffic and a lack of sanitation. It makes you try to want to understand more than who you are and what your values are, but what your true purpose on this planet is. For me being in India meant being comfortable with feeling uncomfortable most of the time which helps you to find your purpose sooner.

Speaking of takeaway, the initial reason for my food safari was an urgent craving to delve into the richness and healing properties of Ayurvedic nutrition and cooking and to sink knee-deep in learning about how to eat right for your constitution or dosha. (more…)

Balance Cleanse

I get really excited when every now and then, I find a product which really lives up to it’s mantra. About a month ago, a case of Balance Cleanse landed on my doorstep for me to try out. The premise behind cleanse is that with regular drinking, it cleanses and gently flushes out all the things that your body doesn’t want. I opened the carton and drank it daily and noticed that after about two weeks I started to feel more energized and a lot lighter too!

The ingredients in Balance are spring water which has been gently infused with wild harvested Australian Flower essences. Australian Flower Essences or “bush medicine” is not a new thing, it’s been around for hundreds of years and pioneered by indigenous Australians as a healing remedy.

The four flower essences contained in Balance Cleanse are papaya, she-oak, bush iris and bottlebrush. The hero flower essences are She Oak and Papaya. She-oak has a mild natural diuretic property so it helps the spring water flush through you faster than a regular spring water. The Papaya essence is helpful with digestion and reducing inflammation. The combination of these two essences aid in making Cleanse a good complement to any meal.

You’ve probably noticed too that there are many well-meaning cleanse and detox products on the market but a lot of them are loaded with synthetic ingredients and artificial sugars which I believe somehow defeats the purpose of a cleanse product. What I like about Balance Cleanse is that it contains no sweeteners (natural or artificial), preservatives, colors of flavors and the bottles are BPA free. If you’re looking for a cleanse product to further purify your body along with a good diet I would recommend Balance Cleanse.

You can visit their website here.

Free supercharged recipes delivered to your inbox!