Real Food Friday Feast - Homemade Peanut Butter

I am so excited to share this recipe! For weeks now I have been looking for raw peanuts EVERYWHERE without any luck until yesterday when they suddenly popped up at Fruit and Roots. So this is going to be an action blog. I have never tried this before but I am going to type as I do things and record the results. Let's hope all goes according to plan!

What's so great about peanut butter? Firstly, it's yummy! Secondly, it's a healthy treat that kids love and I'm all about getting kids to eat real, healthy foods as much as possible.

What are some of the benefits to eating peanuts?

• Peanuts are rich in energy and contain loads of healthy nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins that are essential to keep you healthy. Included in these are important B-complex vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, and folates. Minerals include copper, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium.
• They're a great source of dietary protein
• Studies have shown that peanuts contain high concentrations of poly-phenolic antioxidants, the main one being p-coumaric acid. It's thought that this can reduce the risk of stomach cancer by limiting the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines in the stomach
• Peanuts are an excellent source of resveratrol, another polyphenolic antioxidant. Resveratrol has been found to protect against cancers, heart disease, degenerative nerve disease, Alzheimer's disease, viral/fungal infections and the risk of strokes
• They're an excellent source of vitamin E. There's about 8grams of vitamin E per every 100grams. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant which protects your cells from harmful free radicals

The thing with nuts is that you can't generally just eat them right out of the bag. Most nuts and seeds need to be soaked properly before you can eat them. Let me explain this a bit. Some seeds WANT you to eat them, like fruit seeds. That’s why fruit is sweet and colourful. They attract animals to them and we eat them, but their seeds aren't digested and leave our bodies still intact. That's how they spread themselves around the world. They actually NEED you to eat them. Nuts, legumes and grains are a different story. They are digestible, so they don't actually want you to eat them or they will be unable to spread themselves around the world. To protect themselves, they are full of anti-nutrients, lectins and toxic enzymes to irritate your colon and block nutrition absorption by any animal that dares to eat them. It makes sense though because they’re a plant. They can’t run away. This is all they've got;)

If you eat nuts, legumes and grains over and over without properly preparing them you are setting yourself up for a world of hurt. To learn how to soak nuts properly, read this post. When you are going to make any nut butter, make sure you prepare the nuts first. That will be your first step. 

Put them in a bowl and cover them with salty water. I usually add a tablespoon or two of salt but it also depends how many peanuts you are soaking. For larger amounts, use 2 tablespoons. Leave them to soak overnight or for about 12 hours. If you have a dehydrator, that will be your next step. Put all the nuts in your dehydrator for at least 12 hours, or until they are all dry. If you don't have a dehydrator, you can turn your oven on VERY low, no more than 50°C, place all the peanuts on a tray and put them in the oven. Drying them can take anywhere from 2 hours to 8 hours so be patient. You don't want to burn them, just dry them. Once you have your soaked, dried nuts you are good to go!

This may sound like a lot of work and you're probably wondering why you can't just go to Pick n Pay and buy some Yum Yum peanut butter. The soaking is part of the "why". The peanuts won't be soaked if you buy a store bought peanut butter. So eating it over a long period of time is going to affect your health. For some people, particularly those who suffer from IBS, it will be immediate and the pain won't be worth it. Another big problem with store bought peanut butters is that you are never sure of exactly what you are getting. 99% of them have added sugar, vegetable oil, salt and transfats plus some nasty preservatives to allow them to live on a shelf indefinitely. Buying Woolies organic peanut butter is far better BUT there is still the soaking issue.

That's why I decided to try it at home. Anything you make yourself is going to be INFINITELY better than store bought products because you know exactly what is going into your recipe and exactly how much of everything is going in. There are hidden calories or toxins so it's far healthier for you and your family.

Homemade Peanut Butter

Ingredients

Raw, soaked, dried peanuts (I used 250grams which made about 250grams peanut butter.)
1 Tbs neutral tasting oil (optional)

Method

• If your peanuts have their skins on and you don't want them, remove them while they're still wet by just squeezing the tip of the nut. The skins will slide off. This will give your peanut butter a lighter colour but honestly, any extra fibre that you can add to your peanut butter isn't a bad thing. I left my skins on!
• Place your peanuts in a food processor
• Turn on and process until the nuts form nut flour (yes that's how you make nut flour! You can stop there if you want to bake with it;)

• Keep a spatula handy and keep processing, stopping now and then to scrape the peanuts off the side of the processor if necessary
• They will start to release oil and you will see more chunks sticking together as the peanuts break down

• Just keep going until you are happy with the consistency

• At this point, you can add what you want. Some people add peanut oil, or some other neutral tasting oil, to make it creamier. Some people like to add some salt. Some even add some chocolate to make chocolate peanut butter! It's up to you. I added a tablespoon of organic coconut oil because it made it creamier. I didn't need to add salt because I'd soaked them in salt beforehand.
• Scoop peanut butter into a jar and store in the fridge for several weeks (because it has no preservatives and will eventually go off)

Look! I made freaking peanut butter!!!

I have to say, I never thought I'd be so excited to accomplish something so small but it's satisfying I gotta say;) That's it! I'm off to make a slice of fresh gluten-free bread with peanut butter and honey!!! Have a super weekend everyone:)

Wellness Wednesday - How to beat the inevitable winter viruses

Yesterday I felt vaguely out of sorts and I was a little concerned that I might have picked up a bug but I studiously ignored it in the hopes that it would just go away. Sadly, when I woke up this morning, it was confirmed by the irritated burn at the back of throat. I had a little viral intruder piggybacking me.

The thing with viruses is that they aren't terribly selective. They will go wherever they think they can thrive. In every case, that will be a nice warm body. Being healthy doesn't exclude you from the selection process sadly. However, the good news is that, if you DO have a nice healthy body, it will create a very uncomfortable atmosphere for any virus and, in all likelihood, said virus will be ousted in just a few days.

I can vouch for this. I had a SHOCKINGLY unhealthy body for many years. It wasn't for lack of trying to be healthy. But I had IBS and, since the health of your colon is directly related to the strength of your immune system, my  immune system was non-existent. The fact that I didn't know any better and kept going to the doctor every time I felt sick didn't help. Being a singer means that I simply can't afford to lose my voice. It's my livelihood. When I woke up feeling like I was swallowing razorblades, I didn't even pass begin or collect R200, I went straight to the doctor and got a script for antibiotics.

Whaaaat??!?!

Yes, there was a time when I didn't know any better;) Thank goodness I eventually learnt. Unfortunately, years of taking antibiotics took their toll on my immune system while simultaneously aggravating my IBS. I had no immune system at all and my body couldn't hold onto ANY nutrients I had in food or swallowed in supplements. When I think of the ten or more vitamin tablets I used to swallow on a daily basis I cringe at the waste of money but what can you do? Life is a learning, growing process;)

These days I have pretty much beaten my IBS. It only flares up briefly if I'm feeling pretty stressed or if I indulge in some kind of food I know I shouldn't have. That doesn't happen often at all because I'm pretty strict with myself. Believe me, it pays off in so many ways that it's worth it. It's taken me a couple of years to "teach" my immune system how to fight again. I started eating the foods I needed and I stopped taking antibiotics and other over-the-counter medications. I went through some pretty horrific bouts of flu in the process, at one point developing bronchial pneumonia. I still refused to take antibiotics or any conventional meds. I wanted my body to learn how to fight on its own.

I know it might sound crazy to most people. Why put yourself through that kind of pain and trauma? Honestly, I did it to get to the point that I'm at now. These days, when I get a bug attempting to dig its claw into me, my body goes, "Howziiiiit?!" and boots it right back out! I feel a bit out of sorts for 3 days max and then I'm good to go. No recurring infection and no memory of ever being sick. It's great!

I remember, back in the days, I was such a regular at dischem that the pharmacists all knew me. There was one in particular who kept saying to me, "Why do you keep getting medication? Just get some echinacea and try sleep it off. It works for me." Firstly, I thought it was quite odd a pharmacist telling me this but secondly, I couldn't comprehend how I would do that. I always felt so awful that the thought of not being able to rid myself of this bug as soon as possible was incomprehensible to me. I also needed my voice back as soon as possible. I was so ignorant about how my body worked and about the effects that conventional medication was having on me that I simply couldn't get my head around what he was saying. Guess I'm a slow learner because it took me a good few years to figure it out but I eventually did;)

If I can, anyone can!

So, if you were to TRY this, where would you start? Well, I'll give you some ideas that worked for me.

• Diet: Eating healthy doesn't mean living on salads. That's a terrible misconception. You are not eating healthy to lose weight so it's not about cutting calories. You are eating healthy to keep your body healthy and allow it to fight for itself when it needs to. Your body is amazing. It will always try and make a plan. The problem is, if you deprive it of what it needs most, it will compensate by taking it from somewhere else (because it IS that clever) but that means something else will eventually go wrong. Avoid that by giving it all the necessary tools to fight with. Here are some of them:
• Eat ONLY organic and free range food: If you follow the link you'll have a better understanding of what processed, chemical-laden food is actually doing to your body. I promise it's not doing anything good. Everything you eat supplies the building blocks for your cells. If you supply your body with junk, it will respond by building you from junk. Cells built out of junk are going to be so busy just trying to survive that fighting off a virus won't even enter the equation and you WILL get sick, badly, and often. Give your cells the juice they need to be strong and function correctly, and they will respond by keeping you fit and healthy. That's a guarantee. Read this post to see which veggies are cleaner than others if you can't afford to stick to organic but TRY eat organic, they contain far more nutrients. DON'T compromise with meat, ever. Your health is worth the extra few rands. You'll spend more on a doctor and meds, I assure you.
• Bone broth: If you read the post I have linked to there, you'll know what bone broth is, and how to make it AND why it's so good for you. Just to recap though, bone broth is extremely nutritious. It improves digestion, allergies, immune health and brain health to name a few.
  Fermented foods: Follow the link to learn more about fermented foods and why they are so good for you. The most important thing about fermented foods is that they put all the good bacteria back into your colon, and THAT guarantees you good digestive health. Yogurt is a really good fermented food, and so easy to make. Don't buy the processed rubbish you find at a grocery store. Read the link and make your own. It's so easy, and SO good for you.
• Eat something raw with every meal: I'm not a raw foodist. I'm a real foodist. That means I believe the body needs a combination of raw AND cooked foods. You need to eat something raw with every meal. I'm not just talking raw fruit and vegetables, although a morning smoothie full of them will supply most of your daily requirements vitamin and mineral-wise. I also mean raw, full cream dairy. Pasteurised, fat-free dairy is essentially DEAD food and really not good for you at all. Raw milk is full of all the good enzymes your digestive system needs. Don't deprive it of them.
• Liver: This is a superfood of note. Follow the link to find out all the details. Liver is just so full of goodness it is hard to beat when it comes to vitamins and minerals. Of course, it needs to be free range and Woolies sells it.
• Curries: I posted a curry recipe on one of my real food friday feasts and listed all the benefits of the spices in curries so follow the link and prepare to be amazed at how good they all are for you.
• Garlic: I can't stress how good garlic is for the immune system. It's so easy to get in your body every day by cooking with it so there is no excuse to NOT eat it;) I have IBS so I can't eat it in excess but I make sure to cook with a small amount every day and it's manageable.
• The foods you should avoid at all costs are:
• Sugar: If there is one food that switches off your immune system completely, it's sugar. It's like you've literally flicked the switch to "off" and given the bugs free reign over your body. If you're sick, especially avoid it, but even if you're not, just avoid it or you WILL get sick.
• Wheat and gluten: Do yourself a favour, just DON'T eat them. Seriously, they are so bad for everyone, not just those with a wheat intolerance. They are bad for everyone. I'd avoid grains altogether while you are sick. You will heal faster. Stick to protein, healthy saturated fats and veggies and some fruit.
• Soy: Touted as a health food, you'd be hard pressed to find something MORE poisonous to your system. It is highly processed, GMO and it will completely compromise your immune system. Stay faaaaaar far away.
• Processed foods: This includes pretty much anything in a packet bought in the middle aisles of a grocery store, unless it says organic. If it's made in a lab, it's going to be bad for your immune system, period.
• Any food that isn't organic or free range.
• Some herbs and spices to boost your immune system in preparation for winter. You can also read this post for a thorough breakdown of all the spices that will help you heal and build you up:
• Echinacea: Well known for boosting the immune system and preventing colds and flu or, at least, shortening them.
• Elderflower: As with echinacea, it boost the immune system and has anti-viral properties
• Ginger: This is a wonder root that is FULL of goodness. It has proven to be superior to antiobiotics in fighting bacterial infections, it's great for the digestive system and it's an anti-inflammatory, to name few benefits. Follow the link to find out more about the powerful healing properties of ginger. Drink it as a tea or put a chunk of ginger root in your smoothies.
• Turmeric: If you can find turmeric root, add it to your smoothies to build up your immune system and fight off colds and flu. Otherwise add half a teaspoon to a mug of raw milk to fight infections. Turmeric is a powerful antioxidant and will help your digestive system as well.
• Cat's claw: This herb is an immune regulator which means it will boost the immune system when necessary, and dampen it when necessary. At times, an over-enthusiastic immune system can be a problem. For example, during an allergic reaction. Make sure the cat's claw you use is from uncaria tomentosaand not uncaria guianensis. It will say on the box.
• Tissue salts are something we rely on a lot in our house. They are fantastic for so many things. They restore health from the inside out by helping your body to make better use of the nutrients available from the food you eat. One of the major benefits of tissue salts is that they are very safe and can be used by anyone, including pregnant women, babies and the elderly. Here are some suggestions:
• Calc Phos (Blood and bone tonic): It assists with the digestion and absorption of food and it has excellent restorative powers which speed up recovery and build up those who are prone to illness.
• Ferrum Phos (Anti-inflammatory): If you are already sick, this is a great one to use to fight the infection. It works for any illness ending in "itis". Like tonsilitis and bronchitis. It reduces swelling, inflammation and pain.
• Kali Mur (Mucous decongestant): It's used to relieve coughs and colds, tonsilitis and sinusitis. It's good for ear infections as well.
• Nat Phos (Acidity and rheumatism): This reduces acid in your body and also helps your digestive system. (Check out Natura's website if you need tissue salts for anything else.)
• There are a few alternative remedies you can use as well:
• Colloidal Silver: Read this post for all the info on that one.
• Septogard: This is a natural antibiotic and it's pretty amazing when fighting all manner of infections. You can also take it to build up your immune system when winter starts.
• Olive leaf extract: This is a powerful antioxidant which is also capable of stopping viruses and bacteria in their tracks and can be taken while you are sick, or during winter to build up your immune system.

You have a couple of months to strengthen your body before winter really hits. Take full advantage of them, change your diet and your thinking and let the healing process begin!

Monday Mix-up - My Top Eco-friendly tips - Week 2

In case you missed last week's post, we're doing a series of posts on eco-friendly tips to give people a bit of direction when it comes to making your lifestyle more eco-friendly. If you are pulling a face right now and going, "Why would I want to do that anyway?", then follow the link and read last week's post. It gives you a few reasons why your contribution to helping our planet heal is so vital. Today's tips are well known ones. I'm sure you've heard of the the R's? Reduce, re-use and recycle? Well, I'm going to give you some info about those to help get you started.

Tip number 3: Reduce

Have you ever thought about how much stuff you have? We all love to collect it. If I take the time to REALLY look around my house and consider what's in our cupboards and drawers it actually astounds me how much stuff we can collect. We never seem to have enough space. Yet we've given away so much and had massive spring cleans often over the last 3 years. We don't buy a lot of stuff at all. WE only buy what we need. But I guess you get given stuff by people as well so it's difficult to control. It's crazy how much you can collect over time without really trying. And yet, where does it all go when you don't need it anymore? In the bin.

I used to get taken in by gimmicks. I would see something that was meant to make my life easier and I'd think, "Oooooh, I need that!" I would buy it and take it home, all excited to set it up. But I'd get distracted and forget about it for a few days and it would sit in a drawer or cupboard and eventually I'd come across it when I was moving house and, by then I'd forgotten exactly why I was so excited about it in the first place.

I've made a conscious effort in the last 2 years to think hard about what I'm buying and, if I can't find several good reasons to buy it, I walk away. Now it's really easy for me to say no. My wallet thanks me and so does the environment ultimately.

Have you noticed that, when you buy something, it's never just ONE thing you end up with. It usually comes with packaging. So you have a box, or some kind of plastic packaging. Inside that packaging, you'll have polystyrene or cardboard or more plastic around whatever it is you bought. Then each  individual component will have its own little packet or box. There'll be some kind of ties around any cables as well. There will also be a pamphlet using loads of paper because it has instructions in every language. By the time you've unwrapped whatever it is you bought, you are left with a bunch of useless rubbish that will ultimately end up in a bin. Next time you are shopping, consider that. Try and buy the food that uses the least packaging. Buy loose vegetables instead of pre-packaged ones. They loose ones are cheaper anyway. Take shopping bags with every time you shop. Keep them in your car so that you don't forget them.

Christmas and birthdays are times when we really go crazy. I have 4 nephews and 2 nieces. It blows my mind how much stuff they end up with on special occasions! I'll admit, it's wonderful making them happy. But aren't we creating more of a "stuff" problem. It becomes less about the look on their faces and more about beating last years puny 5 gifts. They expect more and more, bigger and better and it's hard to keep raising the bar. So we just give them larger quantities and they come to expect it.

I've told my family that, when we have kids, I only want one gift per child, per birthday or christmas, from each family member. Some may think that's cruel but I honestly don't. Kids have the most incredible imaginations. I think a lot of the toys we give them actually hinder their imaginations. Haven't you noticed how a child, surrounded by piles of toys, will usually focus on just one? They get overwhelmed. It's a sensory overload that they can't really take in. So they zone in on one toy and sometimes they'll carry it around with them for weeks. Unless you give them more. But why do you need to give them more if they are perfectly happy with that ONE?

I think it's because we feel guilty. Adverts are constantly bombarding us with things we should be buying for our kids. If we aren't spoiling them, we feel like we're depriving them. I don't think we are. I think we're teaching them how to value things more. And think about how much plastic you are putting into the environment every time you by a truckload of gifts? Most of it will end up going to charity and, eventually, into a landfill and it's not going to go anywhere after that because plastic doesn't biodegrade. It just leeches into the environment and makes it harder and harder to heal.

That's why it's SO important to really think about what you're buying. Is it something you really need? If so, then that's fine. But then you need to pay attention to tip number 6 which is coming up in a bit!

Tip number 5: Re-use

I grew up in a family with 4 kids. Money was tight. When stuff ran out, it ran out until the end of the month and we'd just have to wait for it. That's just how it was. Nothing was wasted. All leftovers were eaten.  Even chicken carcasses were further used to make soup. (Which I still do today. My mom taught me good habits:) Clothes were handed down as they were outgrown. New clothes were birthday and christmas gifts. So were treats. You know what that taught us as kids? Not to take things for granted and not to waste. We really appreciated the things we didn't get to experience often. Sure, I didn't really enjoy wearing hand-me-downs. (unless I'd been jealously eyeing it out in my older sister's closet;) And sometimes you would worry that the kids in your class would notice that your school uniform was used. Silly thing to worry about, really. At the end of the day, as long as it looked neat, why not pass it down? Why add more to the environment that isn't necessary?

Sometimes you can't avoid packaging. For example, I buy my honey in bulk. But I requested it in glass jars because glass is easy to recycle and healthier to use to store things in and it can be used for so much. GLM wants to kill me at times because of the way I hoard containers;) I have a cupboard in our scullery that JUST has all the containers I have collected from all sorts of things like honey, yogurt, my supplies for my cream and soap making etc. I keep them all and I re-use them. I haven't bought a tupperware container for years. I don't need to when I just use all that I collect from food packaging. When I can't re-use containers, or when I have too many, I'll find someone who can. I periodically give glass jars to Gillian at Terre Madre who makes her own jams and preserves. There are lots of people at farmer's markets who will welcome your glass jars. Don't be shy to offer them.

We have a cupboard FULL of gift bags. People are always buying them to put gifts in but really, what's wrong with re-using them if they look fine? We haven't bought a gift bag in over 3 years because we just keep re-using them. When we were young, I watched my dad open presents really carefully in order to preserve the paper. I'm sure lots of families did that years ago. These days, not so much. It's something I carry with me to this day and GLM always laughs at how slowly and meticulously I open presents. Some of it is habit, some of it is the excitement and anticipation and some of it is the fact that I just might be able to use the paper again!

I'm sure you can also find ways to re-use things you buy instead of just throwing it in bin. Reserve a shelf in a cupboard at home to keep them so that you don't start to look like a hoarder. You'll be amazed at how often you end up taking stuff out of that cupboard to use. If it absolutely CAN'T be re-used, you know what the next tip is going to be...

Tip number 6: Recycling

You've heard this before, right? But really, it's just such a mission and life is so busy already and you don't have time to be thinking about washing all the plastic, glass and aluminium rubbish in your kitchen never mind all the "real" dishes you have to wash... The thing is, we ALL have busy lives. There's seldom time to fit everything into one day. Believe me, I get that. But it's funny, once you make the choice that this is how it is going to be it somehow becomes part of your routine without you even noticing and you'll find that it actually doesn't add that much more to your day. No more than the usual washing of dishes.

Maybe right now it IS too time consuming to recycle everything. If that's the case, don't just leave it altogether. Start small, with your excess paper for example. Mondi does a paper pickup once a week. You just need to find out what your day is, contact them and set it up and they will drop off your recycling bags and start collecting from you. Then, when you have a bit more time, start collecting your glass. The glass recycling company makes it really easy to recycle all your glass. Their website will give you locations right in your suburb so you don't have to drive out of your way at all.

What's even better is the Plastics SA website which tells you how to recycle pretty much ANYTHING. Got a bunch of dead batteries? Type in your suburb and choose batteries from the drop down menu. It will tell you where to go. If you have something unusual to recycle and there's nothing in your area, expand your search a bit and you'll find an answer. If you live in Johannesburg it's even easier for you. Contact Mama She's. We used them for 3 years until Pick It Up started collecting our stuff for free. You pay a minimal fee for Mama She's, but R25 a month is really nothing. That's the price of 2 packets of crisps. You throw ALL your recyclables into one bag, which they supply you with, and you leave it on the pavement once a week. They take it away and do all the separating and sorting on their side.

Think about how much rubbish you generate in one week at your house. Now multiply that by several thousand... It's a lot of rubbish, right? And that's just in your suburb. Now think about where that rubbish is going. It's going into landfills. All of that plastic is leeching back into our water supply and messing with our environment and it's a LOT of plastic. You can help prevent that and it's really quite easy to do.

Not pretty, huh?

That's it. Your three tips for today. Don't forget to let me know YOUR tips and I'll put them in a blog post:)

Real Food Friday Feast - How to ferment vegetables

I've posted a few things about fermented foods but they've always been food-specific, like my chilli sauce and my salsa. I know that I prefer specific instructions when I'm going to start preparing any food I've never made before, so I thought I'd dedicate today's post to focusing on a few different foods you can ferment. Once you have the know-how, you can apply it to pretty much any foods.

Firstly, why would you even bother to ferment any foods. Sounds pretty gross, right? It's not nearly as bad as it sounds though. Fermented foods are foods that have been through a process called lacto-fermentation which involves natural bacteria feeding on the sugar and starch in the food, creating lactic acid. The whole process actually preserves the food for very long periods of time. It also creates beneficial enzymes, b-vitamins, Omega-3 fatty acids and various strains of probiotics (The opposite of antibiotics. Probiotics are the good guys when it comes to bacteria.)

Lacto-fermentation is nothing new. It's been around for centuries. It was commonly used to preserve food because fridges weren't readily available. Food could be stored for months, even years, using this process. An amazing side benefit was the fact that it made these foods even better for you. These days you still find loads of foods pickled in jars and sold at grocery stores but, unfortunately, in the interest of big business, it is too costly and time consuming to properly ferment foods. That is why the pickles you find today, like beetroot and gherkins, are literally dead food by the time they reach you. They are all preserved in vinegar, which is too harsh for anything to survive in. They're also loaded with sugar and preservatives. Lacto-fermentation isn't a lost art though. It is still practiced a lot in countries like Germany, where sauerkraut is extremely popular, and Korea, where kimchi is consumed with every meal.

The amount of probiotics in the average western diet has declined so dramatically as to be almost non-existent. Milk is now being pasteurised so no-one drinks it raw anymore (except us!), store bought yogurt, which might as well just be pudding it's so loaded with sugar and very little live bacteria, has replaced homemade yoghurt and vinegar based pickles have replaced lacto-fermented foods. Instead of nutrient rich foods full of enzymes and probiotics that our great-grandparents ate, the average diet today consists mostly of sugar-laden, scientifically created, dead foods.

Here are some of the benefits of eating fermented foods:

• They contain probiotics: Eating fermented foods and drinking fermented drinks like kefir and kombucha, introduces good bacteria into your body and improves the balance of bacteria in your digestive system, which is often upset by bad diet and antibiotics. It's also been proven that probiotics help slow or reverse some diseases, improve bowel health, aid digestion and strengthen your immune system.
• It improves your absorption of food: Having a lot of good bacteria in your colon and digestive enzymes, helps your body absorb more of the nutrients in the food you eat. This is especially beneficial if you are eating a clean, organic, real food diet, AND eating fermented foods. You'll find that your body absorbs a lot more nutrients from the food you're eating and you won’t need as many supplements and vitamins as you used to, because you’ll be absorbing more of the live nutrients from the food you eat.
• Economical: Eating organically can get expensive if you don't know where to shop, but fermented foods definitely make it more affordable because you can buy veggies in bulk and ferment all of them so they last you for months. You can make your own whey at home for the price of a litre of milk, and then all you need is a good mineral salt, water and the veggies. Adding these foods to your diet also cuts down on the number of supplements you need, which helps your budget AND lowers possible future medical costs.
• It preserves food easily: Most foods you buy in jars will last a month at the most in the fridge but fermented foods last for months (although they're so yummy they will be gone much sooner than that;) Lacto-fermentation allows you to store food for longer periods of time without losing the nutritional value.

I'm going to start with an easy food like cucumbers because everybody loves gherkins, right? Gherkins are just pickled cucumbers and they are so easy to make. The only ingredients you need are a good mineral salt, water, cucumbers, lemon juice and whey. When I say whey, I don't mean the kind USN sell at Dischem! I mean the liquid kind that is a by-product of making cheese from raw milk. Sounds complicated but it's actually so easy. The trickiest part of this whole recipe, is finding the raw milk. If you have a farmer's market near you, you will find it easily. If you don't, and you live in Johannesburg, you can go here to order it. You won't find raw milk at any grocery store. Woolies organic milk is better than your average milk but it's still not raw. It's pasteurised and heat treated. 

Once you find raw milk, making the whey is simple:

• Pour the milk into a glass bowl, cover with a cloth and leave for a few days. Keep an eye on it from about day 2 if it's summer, day 3 if it's winter. 
• It will start to curdle and separate, into curds and whey (Remember little Miss Muffet;) 
• After it's completely separated (about 4-5 days), get another glass bowl and put a dishcloth over it. (use one that you don't mind getting dirty!)
• Pour the contents of your other bowl, onto the dishcloth.
• Grab all the corners of the dishcloth and gather them together so that the solid curds are inside the cloth. Tie a knot in them and then leave the whey to drip slowly out of the dishcloth, into the glass bowl beneath it. (I tie piece of string around the knot of the dishcloth and then tie it to one of my cupboard handles in my kitchen and leave the bowl underneath it on the counter for about a day to slowly all drip out.)
• The liquid in your bowl will be the whey you will use for your fermented foods and the solid stuff in the dishcloth is actually cream cheese! It's delicious and exceptionally healthy and tasty as a dip or a spread.
• Pour your whey into a glass jar and place in the fridge. It will keep for a few months. If you find you won't use it often, put it in a container in the freezer.

Now you have whey! As for the other ingredients, it's easy to get your hands on himalayan rock salt. It's sold at every grocery store. Your lemon juice needs to be from an actual lemon, not a squeezy bottle. They are full of preservatives which you don't want in your fermented veggies. Woolies sells organic cucumbers at a really good price.

Now you are ready to go!

How to Ferment cucumber

You will need:

A large glass jar

2 Tbs mineral salt

1 Tbs whey

1 Tbs lemon juice

About 1½ cups sliced cucumber

Fresh dill (this is optional)

Boiling water

Method

• Pour the boiling water into your glass jar and leave for about 10 minutes. Put all utensils you will be using in the jar too. This is to kill any bacteria that may be competition for the GOOD bacteria that will be in your jar once fermentation starts.
• Make sure your cucumber is washed before you slice it
• In a glass jug, add your salt to boiled, cooled water.
• Stir until it is dissolved
• Put the cucumber into your glass jar and push it down to get as much as possible in
• Add your dill in between the pieces of cucumber
• Pour your whey and lemon juice in over the cucumber
• Pour your salty water solution over the cucumber, making sure it completely covers it, but make sure to stop about 15mm from the top of the jar
• If the cucumber floats to the top, which usually happens, I take a spinach or kale leaf or even a lettuce leave and fold it up and make sure it covers the cucumber completely and pushes it down even if the leaf isn't covered by water
• Cover the top of the jar with a piece of cloth (I use an old stocking or cheese cloth. I've even been known to use a tissue;) Whatever works!) This is just to seal the lid nice and tight.
• Put the lid on over the cloth and make sure it's tightly sealed
• Leave it somewhere out of direct sunlight but warm-ish, in your kitchen or pantry (if you're lucky enough to have one) for about 4-7 days. I usually leave mine on top of the fridge because fridges tend to give off warmth
• You'll notice after a few days that bubbles have formed in the liquid. This is good. It means it's working. The longer you leave it, the more beneficial it will be
• After 4-7 days, put it in the fridge to stop the fermentation process and eat some with every meal if you can

This method can be applied to pretty much any vegetable. I often do carrots. I'm not a carrot fan but this makes them yummy! You can also play around with the herbs and spices you add to your vegetables. I can't resist adding cayenne pepper to all of them. Cinnamon is really nice with carrots as well. I've often done baby marrows. Cabbage also works well. You've heard of sauerkraut I'm sure? Well, this is one way of doing it. Next week I'll blog about the traditional method used to make it. I've been making it often lately and I'm completely addicted to it!

Good luck!

Wellness Wednesday - Eating and exercising for your body type

We are all uniquely different and, once we hit puberty, our bodies take on the shape they will pretty stick with for the rest of your life. You may be perpetually skinny no matter what you eat. You may gain muscle after only 3 weight sessions or you may gain weight simply by looking at a chocolate! Whatever your body type, it will impact how you need to exercise.

Ectomorphs

Ectomorphs are typically skinny people. They have a very high metabolism and seem to be hungry all of the time and yet, no matter what they eat, they never seem to gain weight. They have narrow hips and shoulders and are typically small-boned. They have no curves to speak of and they struggle to build muscle mass or gain any body fat.

How they should eat and exercise

If you are trying to exercise to gain a bit of muscle, it's not going to be easy! You're just not genetically predisposed to it unfortunately. But it can be done if you put in the effort. Here is what you need to focus on:

• Go heavy with the weights but keep the repetitions low. Rest for at least 2 minutes in between sets and preferably use free weights as these force other muscles in your body to work as well
• Allow your body 48 hours recovery between gym sessions
• Limit the amount of cardio you do. Yes, it's good for you, but it's only going to make you lose more weight. Do shorter sessions and less frequently.
• Food-wise, you need to eat A LOT and often. If you don't, you won't build muscle. Eat good quality protein, healthy fats and good quality carbs. Don't stint on the carbs either. You can afford to eat as much as you like and, if you want to gain some weight, they will help. Things like sweet potatoes and white potatoes and all other vegetables. When you eat protein, avoid the lean pieces of meat. Go for the chicken thigh, or the fatty fish like salmon. Have a glass of raw, full cream milk after dinner as well.

Mesomorph

Mesomorphs are naturally athletic. They are usually big boned and, even if they don't exercise frequently, tend to have defined muscles.They find it just as easy to put on weight as they do to lose it. They're also naturally strong. Mesomorphs have the best body type for body building. Remember though that women very seldom build muscle the way that men do so don't be scared of that. You will become more defined but you won't get big.

How they should eat and exercise

• Because mesomorphs have a natural strength, they can do compound exercises (exercises that work multiple muscles) quite easily. Things like deadlifts, chin ups, presses and squats are great for them.
• Their natural strength also allows them to handle higher volumes of both weights and cardio. They recover faster after a session and can handle gymming within 24 hours. 4 weight sessions per week and about 3 cardio sessions will be pretty easy for them.
• If you are aiming to lose muscle then lessen the amount of weights sessions, do lighter weights and higher reps and focus a lot more on cardio.
• Food-wise, you need to focus on eating good quality protein, healthy fats and good quality carbs. As long as you stick to the healthy options, you shouldn't gain any body fat, and even if you do, you'll lose it very quickly with a few gym sessions.

Endomorph

Endomorphs are solid and generally soft. They gain fat very easily. They usually have a shorter build with thick arms and legs. Their muscles are strong, especially the upper legs. Endomorphs have a very slow metabolism and struggle to lose body fat but they gain muscle really easily. Unfortunately those muscles won't be very well defined because endomorphs carry more body fat than other body types.

How they should eat and exercise

• Because endomorphs have a much slower metabolism than other body types, anything that will rev it up is a good thing. Lifting medium weights at higher reps of 12-15 with very little rest in between sets will help there.
• Doing supersets is especially beneficial. This means doing sessions literally back to back with very little rest time, like a super circuit. Crossfit is excellent for endomorphs.
• Food-wise, you need to focus on eating good quality protein, healthy fats and VERY LITTLE carbs. I'd go as far as to say avoid starches and grains and just eat vegetables. Keep fruit to a minimum as well because they contain lots of sugar. Endomorphs need MORE healthy fats than any other body type. It will help your body push out the unwanted body fat. Remember to keep portions to a minimum.

If you're confused about your body type, you may be an in-betweener. I'm an ectomorph and a mesomorph combined. It's not always as cut and dried as this and that's ok. All you need to do is combine the needs for the two body types when you exercise and eat. If I hadn't taken such an interest in body building, I would very likely be classed as an ectomorph. People used to think I was anorexic when I was younger because I was so skinny! Fortunately, the bit of mesomorph in me allowed me to gain some muscle but it was NOT a fast thing. It took me years. A lot of that had to to do with my diet. Now that I have got my diet right, my body holds onto muscle far easier but it's always a work in progress.

Once you start to exercise more regularly, you will begin to see what works for you and what doesn't as your body starts to take on the shape you want it to. You can then modify your routines to suit you. Always remember that your body shape is about 80% diet and only 20% exercise but don't use that as an excuse NOT to exercise;) It's not about losing body fat as much as it is about being healthy AND, if you do want to change your body shape, diet alone will never achieve that. You will stay the same shape, only smaller. You must do some weights to really see results.

Happy to try and answer any questions so feel free to ask! Good luck:)

Monday Mix-up - My top eco-friendly tips - Week one

My mission, over the next few Mondays, is to try and get as many people as I can to start adding more eco-friendly habits to their daily lives. YOUR mission, if you choose to accept it, is to start reflecting on what you do, or don't do, to contribute to helping our planet heal. If you're already doing something, good for you. Now is the time to find another 3 habits to get into. If you aren't doing anything, I am going to give you 3 suggestions every Monday for the next few Mondays and you can pick and choose what you want for the week and make sure that you and your family implement at least one of them a week. Of course, if you want to do all three I will totally applaud you:)

Why would we even want to do this? I mean, aren't there enough people in the world doing something about it? Why should I bother? I'm just one person, right? Well, yes, you ARE just one person. But your reach and influence spreads over into many other lives so, technically, even though you are just you, you have family, friends and acquaintances who are going to be influenced by the things you do. This will apply even more so if you have kids.

Even if it is just little old you, you still have so much power in your hands. Most people don't realise how significant their contribution, however small, actually is. In case you aren't familiar with the Starfish story, here is a reminder below.

See what I'm saying? Personally, I can't think why the old man would even question the woman's actions. Wouldn't it make more sense to get in on the action and start saving the starfish too, on account of the number of starfish and the many miles of beach and her just being one person? Unbelievably, this attitude is pretty universal. That is why there are only a small handful of people who are actually doing their bit and far more people who aren't. Yes, it does sometimes feel frustrating to be one of the few. When I see my neighbours rubbish bins, on rubbish day, FILLED to the brim with recyclables DESPITE the fact that we now have a FREE service coming to collect all of our recyclables, I want to tear my hair out. I have to remind myself that it's not something within a lot of people's grasp. If you have lived one way for so long, it is really difficult to change.

But, with understanding comes responsibility. In other words, once you have an understanding of why things need to be done, you have a responsibility to do them. If you continue to ignore them, that is negligence. It's no longer ignorance. If you don't want to feel responsible for our planet, stop reading right now before you know too much to ignore it.

At least I warned you;) The fact is that our planet IS being harmed daily and it IS getting to the point from which there will be no return. The reason WE should be so concerned is because the earth has been around for millennia. WE haven't. Whole species have been wiped out but the earth still remains. In other words, it's humankind that will be wiped out by climate change, not the earth itself. The earth will eventually recover and some other species will become dominant. I can only hope it will be a more symbiotic relationship than humans have with the earth. Right now, we are more parasitic. We take and take and take and very few of us actually give back. Sounds harsh but it's the truth. Sit with that thought for a while and it will be hard to refute it.

So, back to the point of today's blog: what can YOU do to make a difference? It's actually ridiculously easy because you can start as small as you want and work your way up. Something happens when you start to become aware of the world around you, it opens up your mind even more and, before you know it, you are changing EVERYTHING and you are wondering what on earth took you so long.

Tip number one: Don't waste food

Did you know that South Africa generates 9 million tons of food waste PER YEAR?! It seems unbelievable to me given the amount of starving people in the world and yet, there you have it. There is absolutely no excuse for it and that is why it is number one on my list. I know people who simply REFUSE to eat leftovers, pointblank. I honestly can't figure out what could go so wrong with something you cooked between last night and this morning but, as soon as the sun rises, that food is no longer acceptable. What also happens is that people start a health kick, buy up the whole fruit and veggie section, and then cook one healthy meal with it before they start to make excuses about why macaroni cheese just sounds so much nicer and, before you know it, those fruits and veggies are going into the rubbish bin. It happens far more often than you realise.

We never waste in our house. The meal I cook for dinner one night is good enough for lunches for the next 4 or 5 days as far as I'm concerned. If I don't feel like eating it, I'll freeze it and it will be dinner or lunch some other time. I finish every fruit and vegetable in my fridge between breakfast smoothies, lunches and snacks. If I can see that something is going off I will either pop it in the dehydrator and dry it so that I can carry on using it or I will ferment it because fermenting foods makes them last forever.

How can you avoid tossing too much food? One way is to shop weekly for perishables and only buy enough to last you that week. Make sure to store them properly in your fridge. Don't leave them in their original plastic containers. Transfer them to ziplock bags and get as much air out of the bag as possible to prevent them spoiling more. Store all your leftovers properly too and, instead of buying a takeaway lunch, pack the leftovers for lunch the next day. You will be saving loads of money, helping your waistline and avoiding waste. If something is going off and you really don't want to eat it, put it all in a bag and give it to a homeless person at a robot. There are so many people who will be grateful for that. Don't think that you will insult them by giving them your leftovers. So many people are living below the bread line and fruit and vegetables are a luxury they simply can't afford, even if, in your mind, they are too old. Don't throw it in a bin, EVER. Please?

Tip number two: keep a water bucket next to your sink to save water

This is so easy it's ridiculous. Get a big container, like an old whey protein container for example. If you have an old bucket, that will work too. Keep it next to, or as near as possible, to your sink. Whenever you need to run the hot water for a while to get it warm, instead of letting the excess water run down the drain, put a jug under the tap and catch all that excess water and pour it into your bucket. The same applies to the cold water. Sometimes, in summer, if you run the cold tap it comes out boiling hot initially. Catch that warm water in a jug and add it to your bucket. You will be very surprised at how quickly that bucket fills up!

Use that water to water your indoor plants, wash your floors, put in your steamer if you have one, wash your hands with, boil eggs with and even water some of your outdoor plants too if you have too much water. My bucket is permanently full so I always have excess water to water my plants and do all of the the above things with. Just by doing that, you are saving litres and litres of water. Other ways to add to that water are, for example, if you boil eggs, pour that water back into your bucket to reuse. There's nothing wrong with it. It's boiled. That kills everything. It will cool in no time and you can use it to water your plants again. You will be saving some money on your water bill AND you'll be helping your planet so it's a win-win. Try it. It takes about 2 weeks to form a habit. This is a really good one to form!

Tip number three: Switch off lights when you aren't in a room

So simple and yet so hard for a lot of people to remember. We only have the big lights on in our house when we really need to see something in a room, and they use energy saving globes. We have little lights with energy saving globes for anything else. A light left on in a vacant room is like cooking a whole meal and then leaving it to go bad without ever eating it. It serves no-one and it ultimately wastes, whether it's electricity or food.

By all means, have security lights. Put a sensor on them so that they are only on when necessary. But if you are in your lounge watching TV, you don't need a light on in your kitchen. At the end of the day you can look at it as saving yourself money. Whether it's globes or your electricity bill, it's going to end up costing you. The added bonus is that you'll be helping the planet inadvertently and it's something that's so easy to do. If you are forgetful like me, write a little note and stick it on the light switch so that you'll remember when you switch it on, to turn it off. As I said, it will take 2 weeks to form the habit so the notes won't be there forever.

There you go, the first 3 tips in my eco-friendly tip series! I look forward to hearing how successful you were with them and I would also love to hear YOUR tips. I will happily add them to my blog if you share them with me!

Real Food Friday Feast - Avocado Chocolate Truffles (yup, you read right!)

Who doesn't like chocolate truffles?! The problem is chocolate truffles don't like most of us;) Unless they're made from scratch, by you, and you know every ingredient in them, you are likely eating a whole bunch of badness in every sinfully delicious mouthful. Even if they're made from scratch, by you, let's face it, they're loaded with sugar and not a whole lot of goodness. But what if you could take that mouthful of all things "not nice" and turn it into something that's, not only delicious, but also GOOD for you?

Now that I have your attention... ;)


Enter the humble avocado. Not everyone's favourite (although I can't figure out why!) but certainly something that your body would welcome. They are so full of goodness.

Did you know that the avocado is actually a fruit and NOT a vegetable as most people think! Unfortunately, they're a fruit that very few kids enjoy eating. It's a pity because these are the kinds of things you want to be getting into your kids bodies. Here are some benefits to eating avocados:

• Healthy brain: Dr. Daniel G. Amen, author of "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life" considers avocados to be one of the top brain-healthy foods when it comes to preventing Alzheimer's Disease. Avocados combine brain healthy omega-3 fatty acids with natural vitamin E, which has been clinically proven to prevent Alzheimer's disease from progressing and even reversing it in its earliest stages.
• Healthy heart: Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fats that boost heart health and help lower blood pressure. Avocado's monounsaturated fats also contain the phytonutrient beta-sitosterol, which is clinically proven to lower LDL and triglyceride blood levels while raising HDL. The Vitamin B6 in avocados and the natural folic acid from their high amount of folate help regulate homocysteine, which is a harbinger for bad heart health if it's high. The natural vitamin E and the master antioxidant glutathione are also recognised heart health boosters.
• Pregnancy: Folic acid is commonly recommended for pregnant women to help the foetus develop properly. But synthetic folic acid is not ideal and, in fact, a lot of researchers now believe it causes more harm than good. They recommend using natural folate for its folic acid content instead. Folate also reduces stroke risk which is another good reason to eat it naturally.
• Eye health: Avocado contains the carotenoid leutein, an antioxidant that specialises in protecting the eyes from oxidative stress damage which leads to poor vision, cataracts, and macular degeneration.Blood pressure: Avocado has a higher potassium content than bananas. That, coupled with omega-3 and oleic acid, lower blood pressure.
• Anti-aging: Avocados are one of the few foods that contain large amounts of a master antioxidant called glutathione which supports the liver and the nervous system. It's responsible for replenishing and recycling other antioxidants in the body and it's vital for a strong immune system
• Digestion: Nutrients and enzymes in avocado reduce inflammation in the stomach and the mucous lining of the small intestine's. This also improves the body's ability to absorb carotenoids and nutrients. In a study where half of the participants ate salads with avocados and half without, all of those who ate avocado absorbed five times the amount of carotenoids than those who didn't. Carotenoids include beta carotene and lycopene. Beta carotene is a precursor to vitamin A, and lycopene is a compound that reduces stroke and prostate cancer risks.
• Cancer: Studies have shown that avocados can help protect against prostate and breast cancers

If those don't convince you, I don't know what will! But I guarantee that if the flavour of avocados is still enough to put you off, these will help you get all the goodness into your system without having to actually taste them. And you'll love everything mouthful!

Something to add here, quickly, is that you will need powdered sugar for this recipe BUT, before you rush off and buy that awful, processed castor sugar, let me tell you how to make your own powdered sugar really easily.

You will need:
1½ cups of your sugar of choice (xylitol, organic brown sugar or coconut sugar)
1 Tbs of corn flour or arrowroot powder (Make sure it's not GMO. It should say on the container if it isn't but it won't say if it IS actually GMO! This is actually optional but it doesn't give it a more powdery consistency)

Method:

Place ingredients in a high speed blender and blend for 30 seconds to a minute until you are just left with power.
Leave the lid on until the dust settles or you will have a white film all over everything around you;)

Now that you have the powdered sugar, here is how to make the truffles.

Avocado Chocolate Truffles (Makes about 12 medium-sized truffles)

Ingredients

1 large ripe avocado
¼ cup + 2 Tbs raw cocoa powder (OR half slab dark chocolate instead of the extra 2 Tbs cocoa)
¼ cup powdered sugar (plus a bit extra to roll them in)

1 Tbs raw honey (this is optional. Some people will find them sweet enough without it but if you need more sweet, add this)
2Tbs coconut oil
¼ cup ground almonds or pecan nuts or walnuts (or your favourite nut of choice! These are optional as well) Make sure they are properly soaked and dried.

Method

• Puree the avocado in a food processor until it's smooth
• Add sugar, honey, coconut oil and cocoa powder and mix until blended
• Place mixture in the fridge for about 30 minutes until the mixture has hardened a bit
• Get your hands dirty by picking up some of the mixture and rolling them into balls (this is where the kids could have a lot of fun!)
• Roll each ball in some of the powdered sugar followed by the ground nuts
• Enjoy!

You can also free free to add some of the nuts to your avocado mixture if you are big nut fan. These truffles are great for anyone who is lactose intolerant and the great advantage is that each truffle is only about 42 calories. Not bad for a sweet treat;) You can add some variety and roll them in grated chocolate, or grated dried coconut or absolutely anything else you feel like for that matter. They won't make perfect balls so you can pretty them up by placing them in some small cupcake liners if you want.

These treats are the perfect size to pop into your sweetheart's mouth tonight as you celebrate Valentine's! Have a wonderful, love-filled day:)

Wellness Wednesday - Why you don't exercise.

I know there was a time when I didn't exercise but I can't really remember what it was like;) When the very first Health and Racquet club (remember them?!) opened up in Westville years and years ago (probably about 20 years now...), my older sister begged my parents to invest in a family contract. It was some ridiculous price like R2 600 for a family of 5 for 10 years! It's no wonder they didn't last...

But, as clueless as I was, I joined my sister at the gym and we struggled our way through learning the various machines and exercises and I discovered a real passion for it! I liked how it made me feel and I wanted to learn more about it. Learning more was essential because the fitness industry is always changing and growing. What we thought was the be-all and end-all a year ago, is SO last season today;) I eventually did what I'd wanted to do for so long and I started studying to be an exercise scientist.

I love helping people realise their fitness potential. I just knew that, without the necessary knowledge, I couldn't train people properly and people were inclined to say, "Yeah... ok.... and then do their own thing anyway." That's what finally prompted me to study. The problem is, I have all this knowledge and yet people STILL don't seem inclined to take my well-intentioned advice. They either continue doing what they've always done, or they will find every excuse in the book NOT to exercise at all. They'll hop onto the next diet fad, convinced that that's what it will take to get those extra pounds off.

Since we've been following a traditional, real, organic, free-range, chemical free diet, and exercising as often as we do, I feel absolutely great and I struggle to get my head around why a person would choose the path of inactivity and bad nutrition when it's so obviously a route to disease and decrepitness. People all around us are sick, or getting sick or just tired and feeling unwell. Yet still people choose the, so-called, "easier" path of bad nutrition and lack of movement. Why is that?

There are many excuses and reasons for it and I'll tell you a few of the common ones. Then I'll tell you WHY they are still not good enough excuses!

• I can’t afford to go to a gym - Here's a newsflash: You don’t have to join a gym to exercise. I know everyone keeps telling you that. Of course they would. They want to make money. Believe it or not, gyms didn't exist a few decades ago and yet people were leaner and healthier than they are today. Why? Because they walked, they ran, they MOVED their bodies. You don't need fancy machines to exercise. You only need your own body weight. You've heard of a stomach crunch? A push up? A squat? All of those can be done on a lounge floor WITHOUT any fancy equipment. If a squat using your own body weight starts feeling too easy, do a jump squat. I dare you to try 12 in a row and tell me it's too easy!
  
• I'm pregnant OR I've just had a baby - Being pregnant is a big change, there's no doubt. And the old-fashioned way of thinking that pregnant women need to be careful and not over exert themselves is just that: old-fashioned. In fact, NOT moving could have dire consequences for you. You will start to get high blood pressure, you will retain water everywhere, your back will hurt even more, your balance will be off and you may even succumb to gestational diabetes. The actual birth itself will be extremely difficult due to your lack of fitness and your recovery AFTER the birth will be slow. There's a very good chance your body will hold on to the weight you gained and you will gain more. If you've just had a baby, by all means, take a few weeks to recover. It's a traumatic event on the body. But millions of women have given birth and their lives haven't ended. In the old days, they'd be up and cooking and cleaning within a few days. You need to get back in the saddle as soon as you can. If you don't want to leave your baby, exercise at home while they nap. Get your spouse to watch them while you go to gym. Believe me when I say you will cope far better because you will feel more energised. As someone who specialised in pre and post natal exercising, I have a small idea of what I'm saying;)
  
• I have health issues - Yes, and it's highly likely that those health issues started BECAUSE of poor nutrition and lack of movement. Sitting around like a couch potato lamenting the fact that your legs are in pain isn't going to actually fix things. If you can't move yet, start by changing your diet. Cut out gluten. It's not always the cause but 9 times out of 10 it is. I can't tell you how many people will actually stand there and say to me, "I just can't cut bread and pasta out of my life. I would be starving all the time!" Funny, I eat gluten-free bread and pasta and I don't remember going hungry at any point... No matter what your health issue is, exercise and a good diet will always help fix it, unless you are completely infirm or grievously injured. Even then a good diet will help your body heal faster. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, orthopedic problems, osteoporosis, these are all very real, scary problems to deal with but I promise you, exercise is STILL possible and WILL help heal you. There is always something that you can do, even if you are in a wheelchair. There is a member at our gym in a wheelchair with muscular dystrophy. Yet he comes to gym and exercises ON HIS OWN. If he can, anyone can.
  
• I don't know how to exercise - I'm sorry... you don't know how to walk? That's basically what THAT is saying to me. Walking is exercising. It may not give you the body you fantasize about but it will certainly heal a lot of pains. For anything else, there are personal trainers everywhere. Sign up for a few sessions and learn the ropes. If you can't afford that, google is your friend. The world wide web is at your fingertips. This one is really no excuse.
  
• I'm worried about getting big muscles - Honey, if it was THAT easy, we'd all look like Madonna... I've been gymming for 20 years. Do I look like a body builder? Far from it. It's really hard to build muscle if you are a woman. We're not genetically predisposed to it. You would need to be obsessed, use plenty supplements and follow a very specific diet. You won't get big muscles but you WILL burn body fat.
  
• I gymmed for a while but saw no results - There are two problems with this one: Firstly, you are exercising for the wrong reason. You should be exercising to stay healthy NOT lose weight. Secondly, it's a true story that weight loss is 20% exercise and 80% diet. If you thought it was going to be that easy to just get a "perfect" body, you were wrong. It takes hard work to get the body you dream about. Instead of gymming for that reason, gym because it energises and revitalises you and makes you feel healthier. The weight loss will happen when you aren't obsessing about it.
  
• I don't like feeling stiff when I exercise - Well, if you haven't exercised for 10 years, your body is going to find all the movements very unfamiliar. That's why you can't walk into a gym and start doing walking lunges and jump squats right off the bat. You need to ease your body in. Start with the toning circuit and very light weights and work your way up. You shouldn't need to push yourself to the point of agonising pain to see results, unless you are a body builder. If you can see that pain as something positive it might also help. Pain means you are going to be stronger and your bones will also get stronger. Something essential for women who fear osteoporosis.
  
• I'm going through menopause - Menopause is a part of life, not a disease. It happens to every women in varying degrees. It shouldn't stop you from exercising and, in fact, exercise and a good diet will HELP your symptoms. Even a brisk walk around your neighbourhood with a friend is better than nothing.
  
• I can't seem to maintain, I keep losing momentum - If you start a gym programme with high expectations, and you fail to see the results you want, of course you are going to want to quit. If you don't know what you're doing, or you are getting too sore after a session, it's enough to make most people lose interest. Don't go to gym expecting a miracle right off the bat. Set yourself small, realistic goals. For example, instead of saying, "I want to be able to see my bicep muscles by the end of the month," start by saying, "I want to be able to comfortably do 12 bicep curls with 4kgs by the end of the month." It's a definite that you are going to get stronger, but it's not a guarantee that you'll actually SEE those results yet. Having visible muscle has everything with to do with how much body fat you carry and that comes down mostly to your diet, NOT exercise.
  
• I don't have the time - Who does? GLM gets home from work at about 6.30pm and we arrive at gym at 7pm and gym until 8pm. Then we still go home, feed our 6 cats and then make dinner and feed ourselves. By that stage it's 9pm and the next day is work again. There IS actually time to exercise if you decide to make it a priority. The times that you get home from work and sit on the couch and say you're too tired to exercise? That right there is the REASON you are too tired to exercise. Exercise gives you the energy you need to get off the couch and get stuff done. We live in a crazy, busy, demanding world. Without exercise, I don't know how I'd keep up. Get yourself moving and you'll be amazed at how much more you get done.

Those are just some of the excuses I've heard. If you know anymore I'd love to hear about them. If you are guilty of telling yourself, or someone else, any of these, take a long hard look at yourself and realise that the only thing that stands between you and good health, is you.

Monday Mix-up - Are you dairy intolerant?

Back in the days when I was still suffering badly from my IBS, I was told to stay away from dairy (among other things). The problem is, I was still eating things that were aggravating my condition. I just didn't know it at the time. That made it hard to tell what was actually causing me problems and what wasn't. That meant I had to stay away from all dairy, all the time.

These days my diet is so clean that I can usually pinpoint exactly what is giving me grief and that's how I know for sure that dairy is usually the culprit if I am feeling sick or sinusy. I am very strict with my diet but, now and then, I run out of my milk and so I sneak a bit of GLM's to have a mug of milky rooibos tea (which I LOVE!) I buy raw cow's milk for GLM and raw goat's milk for myself but, because mine is more expensive, it tends to run out sooner and that's when I give in and think, "Surely such a little bit will be ok..." Nope. It's never ok but the tea is usually worth it;)

You may be wondering why, if I can't have dairy, can I have goat's milk. That's a good question that has a couple of answers. Milk contains a type of sugar called lactose. You may be familiar with the term "lactose intolerant". Well, just because a person is lactose intolerant, doesn't mean that they are dairy intolerant. Goat's milk actually contains a lot LESS lactose than cow's milk. That is one of the reasons I am able to drink it. Secondly, goat's milk has superior digestibility in comparison to cow's milk. It's more completely and easily absorbed. That means it leaves less undigested residue behind in your colon. The problem with that residue is that it literally ferments and that's what causes the uncomfortable symptoms of lactose intolerance.

What are those symptoms? They include bloating, pain or cramps in your stomach, gurgling or rumbling sounds in your stomach, gas, loose stools or diarrhea, throwing up, excess mucous, moodiness and irritability. If you experience that after drinking a glass of milk, it doesn't necessarily mean that you are lactose intolerant. It could be anything causing it really. BUT, if you experience it every time you drink a glass of milk, it's likely that you are lactose intolerant.

Lactose intolerance happens when people stop making lactase, the digestive enzyme that breaks lactose down into glucose and galactose for easy digestion. A lot of people stop making lactase around the age of four or five. The reason for that is because the body realises that there is no more breast milk on a daily basis and there is no more need to expend energy producing more lactase. Without lactase, lactose is instead metabolised by bacteria, which can cause all the symptoms listed earlier. Lactase production is actually genetically pre-determined. If you come from a long line of ancestors that drank milk on a daily basis, you are more likely to possess the gene need to maintain lactase production. If you don't, you will very likely be lactose intolerant for the rest of your life.

Sometimes it's not the lactose in milk that is the problem. 1 in 10 people are allergic to the protein in cow's milk. You may know it as whey but it's also known as casein. Allergies give very different reactions to intolerances. You will know straight away if you are allergic. Most food allergies illicit more or less the same symptoms: severely plugged sinuses, itchy skin, hives or rashes, hypotension, diarrhea, vomiting, an elevated heart rate and difficulty breathing. Intolerances are harder to pinpoint. Some of the symptoms are similar to, but milder than, an allergy. For some people, it manifests as constipation. For others, diarrhea. Still others get tingly fingers, joint pain, and a foggy head. The symptoms usually take longer to appear which makes it really to point an finger at one particular culprit.

If you suffer from any of these symptoms on a daily basis, it may be worth cutting dairy out of your diet for about 4 weeks. That gives your body a chance to get rid of it all and fix up the symptoms you have been having. If nothing changes, it's likely something else that's causing it. You may need to have some tests done to determine causes.

If you find that your symptoms disappear, the next step is to determine if it's ALL milk or only cow's milk. Start by introducing goat's milk into your diet. Woolies has a good range of goat's milk products these days. Give your body a week or so and see where things stand. If you are fine with that then it's likely simply cow's milk that you can't have. However, sometimes people CAN handle cow's milk of it's raw. So that would be the next step. Buy a bottle of raw cow's milk and give that a try for a week or so. Milk bought from a grocery store is pasteurised and homogenised and there are many reasons to avoid drinking that.

Quick science lesson! Homogenisation is a process where milk is raised to high temperatures and agitated and filtrated to break down the naturally occurring fat molecules that would otherwise separate and rise to the top of the milk to form cream. The process of homogenisation stops the separation from taking place and gives store bought milk its smooth appearance which most people have come to prefer. It also gives the milk a longer shelf life making it easier for manufacturers to transport it over longer distances, and also for consumers to have longer-lasting milk, once it's opened. The problem with this process is that it kills off all of the many healthy enzymes in milk. But a much bigger problem is that the process of breaking the fat globules into such small pieces is now a leading cause of arteriosclerosis and heart disease. It's been listed as one of the top three causes of heart disease, along with transfats and chlorinated water.

Sometimes, just drinking milk in its real form is enough to make your body understand what to do with it. You'll find raw milk at farmer's markets and, if you're in Johannesburg, you'll find info on a supplier here. 

These days, thanks to finding goat's milk, I drink milk every day of my life, after going about 10 years without it! Before you assume that you can't touch milk every again, explore your options. It's such a valuable part of your diet, particularly in its raw form, that everyone should have it in their diets.

Real Food Friday Feast - Chocolate custard: Sweets for your sweet;)

Valentine's Day is coming up soon. It's not a day I used to celebrate because, even if you DON'T really celebrate it, it's still not pleasant to get your heart stomped on a few times ON the day;) But it's also not been a day I really acknowledged due to the fact that it's just so over-commercialised. A lot of the meaning has been lost in the amount of money being spent filling the world with more useless waste. I just think that Valentine's Day should be happening every day if you love someone:)

The origins of Valentine's Day seems to trace back to an ancient Roman celebration called Lupercalia held on 15 February. Lupercalia honoured the gods Lupercus and Faunus, as well as the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. The festival involved a huge feast, but it also included the pairing of young women and men. Men would draw women's names from a box, and each couple would be paired until the next year's celebration.

The pairing of these couples set the tone for what we now know as Valentine's Day but the actual name came about when a priest named Valentine, a romantic at heart, disobeyed Emperor Claudius II's decree that soldiers should remain bachelors. Claudius believed that soldiers would be distracted and unable to concentrate on fighting if they were married or engaged. Valentine defied the emperor and secretly performed marriage ceremonies. As a result of his defiance, Valentine was put to death on the 14th February. He was named a saint after his death and, as christianity moved through Rome, the priests moved Lupercalia from 15th February to 14th February and renamed it St. Valentine's Day in honour  of Saint Valentine.

I don't know if you've ever tried to book a table at a restaurant on the 14th February but, unless you book months in advance, you are going to be disappointed! Here's my suggestion: surprise your sweetheart with a delicious, home cooked meal complete with red wine, candles and a yummy chocolate dessert (because nothing says I love you like chocolate;) The nice thing about being at home is that you can decorate how you want, make your Valentine their favourite meal AND you can drink a glass of wine without worrying about driving. There's also the added advantage of privacy... ;)

These days, custard is NOT what it used to be. It used to be made from real ingredients. Now you buy a tub of custard powder and mix it with milk and it is full of things you really don't want to be eating. Artificial colours and flavours being the main things to avoid aside from preservatives and loads of sugar. It's so easy to make from scratch and it tastes SO MUCH BETTER!

So, here is a yummy, decadent, creamy chocolate dessert which will go equally well on a slice of cake OR on your Valentine! But I will leave that to your imagination;)

Chocolate Custard

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (you can find the REAL one at Dischem)
2 Tbs raw honey
1/4 teaspoon unrefined mineral salt (himalayan rock salt or sea salt)
3 egg yolks
85 grams dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (Woolies has a delicious, organic dark chocolate)

Method

• If you don't have a double boiler, half fill a pot with water and place a smaller pot inside it.
• Pour the cream into the small pot and warm it for 3 or 4 minutes
• Mix in the vanilla extract, honey and salt. 
• Keep mixing until all the ingredients combine
• Put your egg yolks in a glass bowl and spoon a bit of your cream mix over them and mix them up (this is called tempering the eggs and you need to do this so that the yolks don't cook as soon as you put them in the hot cream mix)
• Pour the eggs into the pot
• Stir continuously for 2 to 3 minutes
• Stir in the chopped chocolate and continue stirring until it melts and combines with the cream and eggs
• It will thicken enough to coat the spoon
• Spoon the custard into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap so it doesn't form a skin
• Refrigerate or serve straight away!

To make it even more Valentine-y, you can serve the custard in a heart-shaped dish;) Just a thought?

This, served along with your Valentine's favourite meal is BOUND to ensure they remain your Valentine for as long as you want;)

P.S. I CAN say that my belief in Valentine's Day has changed drastically since I met my GLM! While every day truly IS Valentine's Day, she has also definitely given the actual day new and special meaning for me:) Yay us!