Quick, tasty and bursting with energy.

Here are a couple of recipes for you. Easy to make. Quick. Very good and won’t give you that saggy feeling after eating it AND you will feel as though you have eaten!

I didn’t actually weigh or measure anything, just threw it all in. You can do the same or follow my measuements. When I need something to eat fast or have other things to do rather than enjoy the food prep I like to throw it all together, no fuss. I used what I had, there are substitution suggestions at the bottom of the post so that you can use what you have.

Falafel.

6 soaked sundried tomatoes chopped small – I didn’t wait for these to soak (I hadn’t planned to make this, if I had I would have soaked them an hour or two earlier). I put them in a cup of warm water when I started then used them as soon as I need them.

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds ground in blender or food processor or with elbow grease with a pestal and mortar.

1/4 cup pistachio nuts ground in blender or food processor or with elbow grease with a pestal and mortar.

1/4 cup hemp seeds

1 hand full of basil, parsley and coriander chopped

1 TBS chia seeds

Juice half a big lemon

1 TBS olive oil

1 TBS tomatoe soak water

1 tsp dried herb de provence

1 tsp ground cumin

Several grinds of black pepper

Good pinch of Himalayan or other mineral rich salt

Mix it all together and roll into balls.

At this point you could serve with the sauce or store in the fridge till later or dehydrate for a few hours and serve warm.

Tahini sauce.

1/2 cup Tahini

Zest of half a lemon

Juice of one lemon

3 cloves black fermented garlic

1 Umboshi plum, stone removed

1/2 cup warm water (or more if you want it runnier, wait until it is blended up to decide)

Dash Braggs

Blend it all up. If you do not have a high speed blender chop the garlic and plum finely or squidge through a garlic press then whisk it all up. Add more water if needed.

To serve

Plate with salald leaves, any salad ingredients you like, drizzle with the sauce, scatter with sesame seeds and nasturtium flowers – or any flowers or fresh herbs, make it pretty!

If you want to stuff it all in a pitta bread or a wrap. Wholemeal is best.

Substitutions

Braggs – pinch salt/ tamari/ soya sauce

Umboshi plum – Dash Umboshi vinigar or leave out.

Black garlic – one clove fresh, remove central shoot

Herbs de provence – Italian herbs, dried oregano

Pumpkin seeds – sunflower seeds

Pistachio nuts – wallnuts/ almonds/ pecans/ mix of all or any of these nuts/ more seeds for nutfree version

Hemp seeds – replace with any of the seeds or nuts

Sundried tomatoes – half a fresh tomatoes and 6 chopped black olives.

Fresh herbs – use any mix of the herbs I used, even just one.

Bon appetit!

First in the battle against the baddies is to gather the goodies

The war against the baddies begins by having the goodies abundantly available so I’ve compiled a shopping list. You will probably have some of it already.

Shopping with a halo 🙂

You can swap things out (not like crisps in place of apples or wine in place of water though), you can religiously follow or just use what I write and eat as a guide. Up to you.

The main thing to remember is if you want to lose weight you need to change something.

If you move more (a lot more) and eat less AND/OR differently consistently you will lose weight, look better, feel better and depending how far you choose to go really make some massive changes to your health.

So here is a useful shopping list. A list of things that you can use for an instant snack, to throw together something quickly to eat, or to take your time to make a meal.

We need to have something easy and fast when we are hungry before we are tempted by fat, salt and sugar laden snacks and quick bites – stodge by any other name!

 

Please remember that if you can buy organic you don’t need to peel your veg ( not even the squash) and you will have a lot more nutrients than you would in non organic. If you are buying local its likely to a bit be fresher.

Carrots, celery, cucumber, onions, peppers, sweet potatoes, a whole squash, courgettes, aubergine, parsnips/swede/celeriac choose which you like.

Apples or pears, lemons (one a day), bananas (at least one a day), berries ( frozen are fine), any fruit you like.

Ginger

Herbal help: fresh coriander, chives, dill, parsley, mint. Dried Italian seasoning, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon – choose your favourites.

Good quality strong cheese ( so you use less of it but still enjoy the flavour).

Eggs

Tinned tomatoes

Tinned or dried chick peas or red kidney beans (your preference)

Really good cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.

Flax oil ( keep it in the fridge)

Ground flax seeds (Holland and Barrett do it)

Chia seeds              ”               “

Apple cidre vinegar (try to get one with the mother – the cloudy bit – in it)

Balsamic vinegar

Oily fish (salmon, mackerel, trout – ask for it in a bag ready to cook and yes it is OK to have the free butter just have one for two fish)

Chicken or another lean meat.

A jar of Miso

Packet of sea weed – Nori sheets work best.

The main meal recipes I suggest for the next few days are;

Fish cooked in the bag (from the fish monger, not the boil in a bag in sauce stuff:) with a big salad and baked sweet potato.

Roasted mixed vegetables topped with an egg or scatter of flavoursome cheese (with optional salad)

Aubergine pizza (its great and good!).

Stir fry (with salmon or chicken or another lean meat of your choice)

A veggie soup for dinner, lunches, snacks, whenever you want something warm, comforting and filling.

Tonight I have chopped up an aubergine, a red pepper, an onion, a carrot, a courgette, a couple of small beetroot and a chunk of the squash ( all organic and so all with the skin on!). Tossed it all in some olive oil, cumin, turmeric, sea salt and pepper and pushed into the oven and it has cooked whilst Ive been writing this. I’m going to sprinkle some extra strong cheddar over it and serve it with crispy sunflower sprout and pea shoot salad with a sweetish dressing.

Tips for life : Move – any which way:  yoga ( there is a type of yoga to suit most people), dance!, gym, team games, swim, walk, run, play around with kids or dogs.
Im loving the Nike Training app (OK loving it is reaching – I love it AFTER I have done it!!) also the ‘7 min WC’ app – I can never find an excuse not to find 7 minutes for that one 🙂

Bon appetit.

More recipes to follow!