January 2016 – Supercharged Food

Healthy Gut + Banana and Mango Smoothie

Now is a great time to look at the health of your gut, especially after ongoing January festivities where holiday over-eating may have left you feeling a little worse for wear.

Gut health is by far the best way to nudge off a few excess kilos gained during the over-indulgent festive season.

If you haven’t already tried it or seen it in stores, my Love Your Gut powder, which is all natural and made from naturopathic grade, organic and fresh water diatomaceous earth is the perfect antidote to seasonal weight creep and will get you back on track.

This all natural food based ingredient will give your gut that little daily spring clean it craves, particularly after a long-winded holiday eating splurge that seems to run for the best part of the new year and beyond.

It’s not just our cupboards that need a bit of tender loving care, our hard working colons do too!

Diatomaceous earth is the superfine fossilised remains of fresh water diatoms, a natural type of hard-shelled algae. For hundreds of years our ancient ancestors recognised algae as an incredible food source, holding magnificent health benefits. But for some reason it has taken us a long time to reap those benefits.

The wonders of algae lie in the silicon makeup. Silica provides an abundance of health benefits, from boosting hair growth, to easing skin problems such as redness, acne and eczema. Slowing down the degenerative break down of connective tissue, to increasing calcium deposits to bone.

Getting sufficient amounts of this super mineral is essential. However, it’s not all in the mineral composition, diatomaceous earth holds many other benefits as it’s anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-any nasties in the form of parasites. It helps with increased nutrient absorption, better immunity and improved waste removal. 

Due to the texture of this natural sediment, it very gently exfoliates the intestine wall, sweeping away all impurities that sit in your gut.

These unwanted toxins block our bodies from absorbing vital nutrients, and therefore decreasing our general well being, energy and happiness.

Once the junk has been removed from your trunk, you will nourish and glow from the inside out. It’s easy to take and tasteless too without any additives. It's also suitable for vegans and is gluten and GMO free.

Simply add a tablespoon to water, juice or a smoothie twice a day before meals and scroll down for my favourite gut soothing smoothie.

Here's a short video about the benefits of Love Your Gut powder, which can be purchased here.

Happy Gut Banana and Mango Smoothie

Serves one

Ingredients

1 frozen banana
½ cup frozen mango chunks
1 cup almond milk or milk of choice
1 tsp Love Your Gut powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder or extract
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp turmeric

NOTE: If you don't have all the right ingredients, you can use our Golden Gut blend and just add mango and banana and milk of choice.

Method

Place all ingredients to a high-speed blender and whizz until combined and smooth
Pour into a tall glass

You can also spice up your mornings by adding this fine powder to one of the gut healing drinks from my Love Your Gut recipe book.

‘Straya Day Lamingtons

‘Straya day is almost here and I’m celebrating the ‘Bush Capital’ with a healthy version of one of our nation’s iconic sweet treats.

Although not being born an Australian, celebrating this day has never felt alien to me and it’s a wonderful thing to have a special day nominated to praise and thankfulness at being able to live in this radiant country.

Marking ownership, community, belonging, love and acceptance are feelings that all Aussie’s and newfound-Aussie’s like myself are able to experience first hand.

And on that note, what better way to celebrate our national birthday than to fire up the Barbie, throw on your swimmers, forget any troubles and rejoice with family and friends with the sun brimming down on us!

Bounding forward with this sense of belonging and togetherness, I’d love you to create some unique national treasures in the form of delicious Lamingtons.

Did you know that these scrumptious chocolaty treats were named after Lord Lamington? However, how they came to be square is a question slightly more shrouded in mystery.

Either designed around the appearance of Lord Lamington’s favourite hat, or made originally from dirt by the Lord’s youngest niece whilst she was making a ‘mud pie’ with a twist in her garden, it has never been officially confirmed, however what we do know is that the Lord’s niece had quite the vivid imagination.

Taking on the spirit of this sprightly little girl and her homemade mud pie, I’m sharing my ‘Straya Day Lamingtons recipe from my new cookbook Supercharged Food For Kids. It’s a print version of my popular eBook.

Getting children involved in the making of food is an enjoyable way to bond after a busy day or week of school, not to mention a pleasurable way to get hands on and have fun and just relax in the kitchen. Ok, maybe not relax completely but it sure will be entertaining! Minus the clean up 😉

With your children learning the ways of the quantities, measuring and mixing, their hard efforts don’t go a miss, a little reward of licking the bowl (we all do it!) will be sure to place a wide grin on their chocolate smeared faces!

So let’s grease those paws and pans and get baking to celebrate our joyous day.

Happy Australia Day everyone 🙂

‘Straya Day Lamingtons

Makes 12

Ingredients

6 large eggs
2 tablespoons rice malt syrup
1 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla extract
55g (2oz) extra virgin coconut oil, melted
60g (21/4 oz/1/2 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
180g (6 1/4 oz/2 cups) desiccated coconut

Icing

110g (3 3/4 oz/1/2 cup) extra virgin coconut oil
45g (1 1/2 oz) coconut butter
55g (2 oz/ 1/2 cup) cacao powder
60ml (2 fl oz/ 1/4 cup) almond milk
90g (3 1/4 oz / 1/4 cup) rice malt syrup
pinch of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F)
Grease and line a 20cm (8 inch) square cake tin
Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs with the rice malt syrup and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Beat in the coconut oil, then gradually beat in the coconut flour and baking powder until smooth.
Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

To make the icing, stir all the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth.
Spread out the desiccated coconut on a plate.
When the cake is cool, slice into squares and dip each square into the icing, coating well.

Roll in the coconut, ensuring all sides are covered.

Refrigerate to set the icing.

The Lamingtons will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Eat Right for Your Shape Video

I've put together a little video for you, it's just me, no filters, no makeup, no spicy effects or souped-up editing.

I'm feeling relaxed at home in my kitchen and I'm talking about my new book Eat Right for Your Shape. I hope you'll like it!

This book takes a fresh look at the ancient healing system of Ayurveda and applies it to the way we eat and live.

It's been cooked up in the Ayurvedic kitchens of Kerala, where I spent time last year studying Ayurvedic nutrition and cooking and getting my head around the doshas and supercharged ingredients.

If you want to learn more about the book and see photos of the recipes you can go here.

Or you can click on the video below to hear me talk more about my philosophies behind the book.

If you'd like to buy a copy click here and you'll receive The Renewable Table eBook as a gift.

Ten Foods to Fight Fatigue and Boost Energy

Feeling sluggish and lacking in energy? Sitting at your desk with heavy eyelids and blurred vision?

If the mid-morning craving cycle or 3pm slump has got you beat and you need to fight your fatigue fast here are ten smart foods to help boost your energy and rev you back up to speed.

Keep these foods in the fridge at work and mix them up when you’re in need of a helping hand to recharge your batteries and avoid the energy roller-coaster.

WATER

Without water there would be no life. Sorry to sound so gloomy! But water is undeniably the most essential substance on earth and is essential for human to function on a daily basis. Water is needed to help carry nutrients and oxygen to cells, both of which if are in low supply can lead to fatigue and nausea. On average its recommended adult women have about eight cups of water per day and men approximately ten cups per day. Some great ways to ensure you are getting enough water into your diet is having a glass regularly using filtered water, for a filter check out a whole house water filter or carrying around a reusable water bottle.

SALMON

Salmon is jam-packed with omega-3 fatty acids which have been found to help lower cholesterol, potentially reducing your risk of heart disease. Not only is it great for the heart, salmon is high in protein, vitamin B6, niacin and riboflavin. Don’t worry if you don’t have a clue what these last few are but basically they help to convert food into energy- giving you a healthy wake up call when you think you are going to fall asleep at your desk. Keep some in your top drawer at work or a home-cooked piece in the fridge. My Salmon Chowder is easily transportable in a thermos. (more…)

Supercharged Food for Kids Print Book

Getting kids to eat food that is good for them doesn’t have to be the Mount Everest of parenthood!

Today I’m celebrating the release of my book Supercharged Food for Kids in print form, which is a new and updated version of my popular eBook, and in it I’ve turned my attention to those who need the best nutrition – our kids!

I’m sharing a quick and simple Chocolate Popsicle recipe from the book for all of the ice cream guys and girls. It’s creamy, chocolaty and tastes scrumptious.

As a mother myself, wholefoods chef, and former English teacher who’s spent years helping kids grow academically, I’ve created a book that I hope will inspire and help families make better food choices.

Supercharged Food for Kids is my mission to change the way children eat so we can build stronger, healthier and brighter kids.

The book features simple to make recipes to help parents deliver the right nutrients needed for kids to sustain their energy levels, keep their mood up, concentrate and perform at their best.

I believe in the 80/20 rule: try to give your kids healthy options 80% of the time and you're doing well.

In the book I offer numerous tips on how to sneak wholefoods into everyday meals and Supercharged Food for Kids features healthy versions of family favourites, swapping an ingredient or two to make them more nutritious.

You won’t find any low-fat foods here as manufacturers often compensate for the loss of fat with large amounts of sugar and additives. I use good fats which are an essential component of a child’s diet required for healthy development and brain function.

From breakfast (think savoury breakfast muffins, chai coconut pikelets and French toast) to lunch (zucchini slice, mini salmon frittatas and gluten-free pita pockets), dinner (veggie-packed lamb meatballs, cauliflower mac + cheese, and Mr Tomato heads with tuna) and the ever-important before and after school snacks (Tamari nibble mix, “zoo poo”, and cacao bomb crackles).

You'll discover lots of lovely and stress free ideas for the school lunch box – delicious sandwiches, wraps, pizza, pasta, nuggets muffins, energy and treats – and advice on how to eat for allergies and intolerances, which so many parents have to navigate around.

Supercharged Food for Kids is full of resources to help establish positive eating habits for your kids that they can maintain for their rest of their lives.

Also I’m so excited to share the happy news that my sixth cookbook in the Supercharged Food series, Eat Right for Your Shape is available for pre-order here too! Eat Right for Your Shape takes a fresh look at the ancient healing system of Ayurveda and applies it to the way we eat and live. This book has been cooked up in the Ayurvedic kitchens of Kerala, where I spent time last year studying Ayurvedic nutrition and cooking.

PRE ORDER either of these books now for delivery in late January and you’ll receive a free copy of my Renewable Table eBook as a gift.

Chocolate popsicles

Makes 4

Ingredients

2 bananas
65 g (2¹₄ oz/¹₄ cup) nut butter
60 ml (2 fl oz/¹₄ cup) additive-free coconut milk or coconut water
2 tablespoons cacao powder
1 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla extract
¹₄ teaspoon stevia powder or your sweetener of choice (rice malt syrup/honey etc)
4 ice block (popsicle/ice lolly) moulds and sticks

Method

Whizz all the ingredients in a food processor to combine.
Pour into the ice block moulds and add the sticks, then freeze until set.

Happy cooking 🙂

Lee xo

Eat Right for your Shape

I’m so excited to share the happy news that my sixth cookbook in the Supercharged Food series, Eat Right for Your Shape is available for pre-order here.

Eat Right for Your Shape takes a fresh look at the ancient healing system of Ayurveda and applies it to the way we eat and live. This book has been cooked up in the Ayurvedic kitchens of Kerala, where I spent time last year studying Ayurvedic nutrition and cooking.

Originating in India, Ayurveda presents a holistic approach to feeling well and living in harmony with yourself and your surroundings. It is a union of the mind, body, senses and soul.

Through nutrition, yoga and meditation, it focuses on treating the individual as a whole rather than a specific issue or disease, so that you can achieve balance and good health, not only in your physical body, but also in your mind and spirit.

Immersing myself in Ayurveda and its philosophies inspired me write a practical based book with an emphasis on balance and self care.

In this book, I’ll show you how to apply Ayurvedic principles to your life. I cover eating habits, digestion, daily routines, yoga and meditation.

One of the starting points  is establishing your own particular dosha or constitution to enable you to tailor the principles and recipes to suit you. There’s a comprehensive questionnaire in the book to help you do this.

Following that is a chapter on basic yoga poses and breathing exercises unique to you to help pacify your dosha or shape, and I’ve included over one hundred and twenty delicious and nourishing recipes that correct your doshic imbalance, in order to create harmony, weight management and health.

In the book I offer a wealth of practical advice to eat right for your own dosha or shape.

I believe that this is more than just a book about losing weight and eating right for your shape. It has been the hardest book I've ever written but it’s the one I’m most proud of. (more…)

Happy Gut Banana and Mango Smoothie

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