Detox Day Four.

Evening team! How are you all getting on in this oddly muggy weather? I know, I know, us Brits are just never content with the weather... Atleast there's a little breeze today! 

Anyway it's already day four of the five day detox and I've actually decided to extend it a little. I've had a lot of digestion problems in the past and so I think it's taking my digestive system a little longer to sit up and take notice. So I'm thinking I may make it seven or possibly ten days. I'm quite lucky with the hours I work in regards to food prepping, I tend to start work at 3pm so that means I can mooch about packing little lunch boxes for the rest of the day. However when I mean (in about a week, I'm so effing excited) I'm gonna try to prep weekly. So ill let you know how that turns out. A messy kitchen I can imagine! 

Here's the food lowdown!

You guessed it, whole lemon juiced, mixed into a pint of water. Just has got soooo much easier to drink, I actually looked forward to it this morning! Never thought I'd see that day! 

Breakie was:

1 egg scrambled (I like mine still a tad runny)

Large handful of mushrooms, stir fried

2 heaped tbsp of pre-cooked Quinoa 

Quarter of an avocado. Super scrummo!

  
Once I'd eaten that I started prepping my lunch and dinner boxes for work. I say lunch but it was 2.30pm and I'd only just had my snack box before my lunch. This is why it's important to listen to your body, I knew I won't be having my "lunch" until about 5 and dinner at around 9. This may sound late in the day but its all about fuelling your body, everyone is different. Ill be at work 'till 11 so it's perfect for me :) 

For my snack box I made some spinach hummus. 

1 can of chickpeas (made sure to drain and rinse these bad boys, otherwise it messes up the consistency)

60g spinach

1 clove of garlic, grated. 

1tbsp tahini

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

Put it all in the blender and blend until mixed, feel free to add water until you get your preferred consistency. This should make about 4 servings to give you an idea of portion sizes. 

Lunch and dinner is gonna be a selection of raw veggies and pre-cooked quinoa with a dressing that ill whip up while at work. I'll be snacking on berries and almonds. And ofcourse glugging on water or green tea. 

I was very proud of myself for not falling off the bandwagon yesterday so lets keep that up huh? 

Off I go.....

I decided to update this post a little after work. I still stuck to the detox however I feel like there was a constant stream of berries going into my mouth. The last hour and a half of work were incredibly busy and I didn't stop running around. I felt a little unenergised and dehydrated, but no time to drink water. Once I'm home I'm going to have atleast a pint of water before bed. I need to be able to mix it up tomorrow a bit or extended this for a few days is going to be harder than I thought. 

Duck duck MOUSSE....

It's been a while since I treated you peeps to a naughty but nice post, so here you are kids....

Does it get better than guilt free chocolate mousse? 

NO. 

What about guilt free chocolate mousse that you can whip up in less than 10 minutes? 

Amazeballs!

So here's how you get your mitts on the good stuff...grab these things:

2 bananas

1 very ripe avocado

2tbsp of nut butter (not essential) 

3-4 tbsp of cocoa powder

Shove it all in a blender and whizz until smooth. This is why it's good for your avocado to be ripe. Last time I made this mine were a little too tough and have my blender had a bit of a workout. 

I'm a bit of a freezer freak, mines filled with non dairy alternatives and a tonne of frozen fruit. I decided to top today's treat with raspberries. Mmmmm dark chocolate, raspberries and a tv catch up...perfection! 

I'm off to lick the blender bowl. 

Enjoy!! 

Chai seeds, Coconut Milk and Raspberry Compote.

Sorry I've been a little quiet the past few days! I've been rather busy with the new job, which I am LOVING btw! I'll do a little post all about it in the morning!
 
This was my first purely vegan pud I've ordered in a restaurant and I wasn't dissapointed. It tasted a little like rice pudding, with a slightly different texture. I must admit it took me a while to figure out whether or not to chew it. The answer was not. Such a pretty little dessert....

I'll definitely be ordering this one again. While we're on the subject of alternative milks, if like me you're trying to avoid dairy where possible then this might interest you. Non dairy milks have recently become a lot more popular, you've probably noticed a rise in Soya milk, but I have noticed that some people are unsure of the benefits of soy... Some nutrition experts love the stuff, saying it will help maintain a healthy body, others say it can cause huge issues with hormone balances. Due to the confusion surrounding this I am going to try out all the other alternatives first. I noticed in my local supermarket the other day they are now selling Oat, Rice and other non dairy flavoured drinks! This is great news, no falling off the band wagon cos we want a homemade milk shake and Holland and Barrett is closed!!
I'm hopefully gonna get my hands on an icecream maker in the next couple of weeks so I'll be whipping up lots of non dairy treats in time for summer. Yummyyyyy....

Chocolate Truffles

These chocolate truffles are THE BOMB! And I really don't think they could be easier to make. They are so allergy friendly I think I'd marry them if I could.
Dun dun, dundun...

Here's the good part:
Raw
Gluten Free
Vegan
Dairy Free

....CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES!
I am rather excited about these, they're delicious, I've had two just while writing this up and I won't apologise! (to you, myself or my digestive system)
The girls have tried them, it resulted in smiles and arm flapping, I find this response to be universally good through all ages. Not to be confused with confusion faces and arm flapping, that's a whole different story. :P
You'll notice I haven't even told you anything about the actual truffles yet, that's because they're o quick and easy you'll be done before I can say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
For a recipe with NO SUGAR in it I am bouncing with energy. OK, OK, I'll share the secrets.

INGREDIENTS:
4 tbsp shredded coconut (I had chunks in my cupboard and grated them)
15 medjool dates
2 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp cacao powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon (add more to taste)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 mint leaves finely chopped (this can be swapped out for any flavouring you prefer)


METHOD:
Put it all in the blender

Blend for a couple of minutes until its one big ball.

Scoop it out into a fridgeable container and leave for 10 minutes in the fridge. At this point I had to try some, and that's when the excitement began.

After the 10 minutes bring it out and make into little balls, you decide the size. 

Now just roll them in cacao powder. I love cinnamon so rolled mine in both, you could mix it up a little and try ground almonds, more coconut, mint, chilli powder if you're a crazy cat, even rock salt would work.

Stick in the fridge for another 20 minutes, and they're ready to eat. I would happily eat them in any state ;)

Feel free to thank me later.     
 

  

Watermelon Sorbet

As you know, the other day I went to a local fruit and veg market and got very excitable, coming home with arms full of summery fruit. It's not very sunny today so I decided to make a little sunshine of my own.

I mentioned in a previous post about how to cut out the crap in your diet (you can read it here) that you should make your own naughty food. OK, OK, it contains sugar, but its ten times better than you gorging your way through a giant tub of vanilla ;) And besides you have to be naughty sometimes. If you're like me you'll be really good for two weeks then get in bed with Ben and Jerry and be a VERY naughty girl. Instead I would rather have some tasty homemade treats stored away. They taste just as naughty as that two-some but they won't result in you falling off the cliff and tumbling into heaps of sweety wrappers and icecream tubs. So lets get making.

INGREDIENTS:
1 average sized watermelon (4lbs or 6 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp lime juice
1 radio station with your favourite tunes

METHOD:
I would suggest making this recipe when you have the whole day off and intend to make other treats too. The actual prep doesn't take any time at all, but you have to refrigerate it for quite a long time and check on it quite often. So get cosy in your kitchen, you're here for the long haul guys!

Turn on radio.
Chop the entire Watermelon.
Remove all the seeds.
Dance.
Put the sugar and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil, turn down the temp and simmer for 5 minutes.

This is my measuring cup for my recipes.  I feel it deserves a special mention...

Now take off the heat and leave it on the side to cool (this is when I would start making something in the meantime)
Now just transfer into a fridgeable tub and whack it in there for an hour.
Once your hour is up it's time to blend the watermelon, now I found that there was a ridiculous amount of liquid sloshing about when I was doing this so I blended it in bits.

 Next you have to sieve it, I won't lie to you this part of the process took so much time I think I may have lost some of my marbles in the process! 

 Once that's all done it's time to whisk the sugar syrup that you made earlier into the Watermelon and then put it into metal containers to be frozen. 
You're at the home straight now, all you have to do now is stir the frozen outer edge into the centre every half an hour until the consistency is just right! Here you can see it's nearly done....

 Mine has just reached that stage now and I just tasted a little bit. Oh its like a summery party in your mouth!

Now all I need is some sunshine and my girls!

Chocolate Brownies

Yesterday I made Gluten Free Brownies, as my first attempt at a "No Flour" recipe I think it went ok. It was also the first time I'd used LactoFree milk, Canderel Sugar Alternative, and gluten free rolled oats. As I tell you about the recipe I am going to alter it slightly so it is better! If like me you like your brownies naughty and gooey then I would suggest cooking them for only 15 minutes as opposed to 20. I would also suggest being quite generous with the Canderel, its slightly confusing as it says on the packet to use a tenth of what any recipe says for standard sugar. I think because I used Bournville Dark Cocoa Powder it needs more. I also decided to add Dates to mine. I LOVE DATES! Hit me with any Dates recipes you have! 

(amended) Ingredients:
180ml of milk (lactofree, soy or almond are fine)
64g of cocoa powder (I would now suggest milk chocolate)
180g low fat yoghurt (if you can get bio, do)
43g wholegrain rolled oats
1 egg
64g sugar (I would suggest about 12-15g of Canderel)
1tsp baking powder
90g Dates (optional)

Method:
Sling all the ingredients in a blender, blend til smooth and then pour into a greased baking tray. I would suggest a small baking tray, as this doesn't make a huge amount and I'd rather have thick brownies.

Not bad for a first timer....