STRESS LESS MAN

What a journey this year has been so far. Allowing health to become one of my top priorities has had such an immeasurable impact on every part of my life. Not just health in terms of the food and exercise but mental health as well.

Modern society looooooves stress. Sometimes it feels as if stresses are the blocks our society is built on. Work deadlines, busy schedules, relationships, lack of sleep, not taking time for ourselves. Stress has become such a normal part of our lives that its so easy to forget how damaging it can be. I should know. I am a self professed stress head. If I am inhaling or exhaling I am probably stressing about something. To say it was taking its toll on me would be putting it mildly.

Don't let stress pull you into the darkness.

BUT, I'm working on it, and I've been working on it for a while now. Things have been shifting in my life for some time and I feel that the fog is lifting I am finally starting to find true balance & some inner peace. Putting the brakes on my run away stress mobile has been a big part of that, and I have a whole handful of wonderful people in my life that help me. 

Take some time out just for you.

So if you are like me and even the simplest of tasks has your mind and your stress mobile running a million miles an hour please take heed. Find even the smallest time out in your day where you can be completely relaxed, wether its a short walk in the crisp morning air to start your day or finishing your day with a cup of tea and a good book for half an hour. Make sure you take some time to yourself to recharge your batteries, you might not know they're running low until you completely run out.

Be kind to yourself,

Kitty xx

EAT DESSERT FIRST

So I love desserts. I have a huge sweet tooth. It's no secret that I could eat a whole block of chocolate or a tub of ice-cream in one sitting. These cravings were one of the first things I looked to satisfy in a healthier way. There are literally trillions of scrumptious healthy sweet options out there that I now love even more than the old dairy and sugar loaded foods I used to.

I said I was going to post some more easy raw recipes, I didn't intend to straight away, but I made these last night and thought why not! So here's another recipe! This is one little sweet treat that I like to whip up and keep in the fridge to nibble on whenever the sweets monster strikes. They are super quick, super easy, super nutritious and SUPER delicious.

COCO CACAO BALLS

raw. vegan.

ingredients 

1/2cup of medjool dates 

1/4cup almonds

1/4cup walnuts

2tbs raw cacao powder

1/4cup shredded coconut (plus extra to roll the balls in at the end)

1tbs chia seeds (black or white)

1-2tbs goji berries 

pinch of orange zest (if you fancy it)

NB you could also add a tbs or 2 of protein powder if you wanted to, just add an extra date to help it hold together if it becomes a bit dry.

method

blitz all the ingredients in a blender/food processor/thermomix until they look like this.

roll into balls squeezing as you roll to help them hold together.

roll balls in the extra shredded coconut.

store in the fridge or freezer if you would like a harder consistency.

And that's it! Easy peasy.

Enjoy!

The recipe yields a little bit more than this but Mick managed to get to them before I had a chance to take this photo. They are so yummy even the most stubborn of eaters (cough, Mick) will love them.

Kitty xx

HOME IS WHERE THE HOME GROWN IS

It is a huge dream of mine to have a home garden full of edible produce. I have spent many an hour day dream of thriving raised garden beds, bountiful fruit trees and trellises jam packed with peans and beans. 

The problem with this dream is that I am practically a black thumb. I have never had any luck with plants not even cacti, so I decided to start small with my edible garden.  For a few moths now I have been growing (very successfully I might add) my own potted herbs, HAZAAR! After the herbs were growing well I added a few heirloom tomato plants and set them up in a wine barrel. 

Today I am SUPER excited to announce that my tomato plants have had little tomato babies that I had the pleasure of harvesting this morning. It was only 2 ripe tomatoes as I have had some troubles with evil caterpillars that seem determined to stand in the way of me growing organically. But none the less here they are and I am proud as punch!

TA DA!

I tasted the little beauties and they were so sweet and delicious I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. After tasting them, I made them into one of my super easy go to raw lunches that I though I would share…

ZOODLES & COODLES WITH TOMATO RAWCE
raw. vegan. 

for the zoodles & coodles

1/2 a zucchini

1x purple carrot

1x orange carrot

Either use a spiraliser (which I don't have) or peeler to make "noodles"

for the rawce

2-3 tomatos (I used 2 additional cherry truss tomatoes because they're so little)

1 TBS tahini

fresh herbs of your choice (I used basil, rosemary & sage from my garden)

pink salt and pepper to taste

Quarter your tomatoes and place all ingredients into your food processor or blender.

Mix until desired consistency (I like mine a bit chunky like a salsa)

Put the zoodles and coodles in a bowl and top with the race, and thats it!

I will be adding a bunch of my favourite raw recipes this year, I hope you'll try them at home and I hope you will enjoy not only the way they taste but also the way they make you feel.

Kitty xx

SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GOODNIGHT 2012

Mick and I rang in the new year watching the fireworks from the Swanson Street bridge in the city after a delightful late picnic in the park with friends of ours. We may have brought far too much food that we unnecessarily lugged all the way through the city, and we may have had only a weak stream of light from a park lamp to eat by but it was a lovely quiet way to reflect on the year that was. It was strange to look back and think of how much really happened, I am so proud of my little family and what we have achieved.

Standing on the bridge at midnight, in the mass of people that were unsuccessfully being told to move along, there was almost a tangible energy in the air. It was as if every person looking up at the fireworks was filled with a sense of promise. The promise of a new year, a new start and a clean slate. This is a feeling that I generally don't understand, but this year somehow felt different, I think I got swept up in it under the rumbling sky of cascading lights. At midnight I too felt brand new, like everything from 2012 had washed away leaving nothing but the pristine, untarnished 2013. 

So to the year ahead I say, "Howdy, nice to meet you, I'm going to make you my bitch." 

Kitty xx