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

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

Heathly food, clean food, raw food, hippy food, vegan food, organic food, whaaaaaaatever! Whatever you call it, whatever takes your fancy, I just can't get enough of it. 

I've have always been concerned about "eating right" and trying to be "healthy" but this past 6 months or so it has really become a passion of mine. Learning about food and nutrition has become something that I REALLY enjoy. I can watch food documentaries all day and I love spending hours in my kitchen preparing nutritious food. 

I have a special interest in "raw food", to me it's the bees knees and makes me feel so amazing from the inside out and I'm going to share some of my most used recipes on this blog. To avoid preaching I'm not going to ramble on about why I love the food that I do but I will leave you a link to one of my favourite food documentaries if you care to watch it, its even free!

I could easily say that this documentary changed my life…

PREVIEW HERE

WATCH FOR FREE HERE

http://documentarylovers.net/food-matters/

Have a lovely evening all, and if you're in Melbourne I hope you're enjoying the bizarre 36degree rain we are having right now.

Kitty xx

TO TWO TODAY!

Today marks mine and Micks two year anniversary!

I can't believe how fast the time has gone and how much we have done with it.

These past two years has seen me move to Victoria, the two of us move into Melbourne city, our very first house together, our second house together, three beautiful fur babies, our own private tattoo studio and traveling to more than a few countries together. 

I count myself lucky every single day to have such a strong and compassionate man by my side. Mick has been my rock when I have felt adrift in this world and I honestly don't know where I would be with out him. He is my absolute bliss and I love him more every day and I am so proud of him and us for the life we have forged together.

I love you unconditionally this anniversary, next anniversary and the many more to come.

May everyone be as lucky in love as I count myself.

Kitty xx

TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT

As my absence may have indicated it has been quite a busy time around the Dearest house. I don't even know where to start to catch you up on all that has past since I last typed an entry. So…I'm just going to give you the cliffs notes version of my past 4 months.

Mick, Peanut Butter and I are all moved into our new humble abode. It's a very quirky old converted shop. We have concrete floors, pressed tin ceilings, two stories, a spiral staircase, a fish pond and a bigger backyard for our little furry munchkins. Yes munchkins plural. We now have a second furry edition to our family, the squishiest of squish face dogs, Mr Humphrey the British Bulldog came home with us from out latest over seas trip. 

From the first day I met the little fellow, the day we brought
him home & hanging on the couch with big sis Peanut.

We recently journeyed to the ever green north island of New Zealand. Where we attended a tattoo convention before indulging in a road trip holiday around the island. We saw snow capped mountains, geothermal hot springs, geysers, caves and what felt like a million cow and sheep inhabited rolling green hillsides. New Zealand has definitely been one of my favourite holidays so far, everything is so picturesque and there are countless outdoor activities to partake in everywhere you go.

Mount Taranaki, Hells Gate geothermal pools,
road trip view & Huka Falls from the jet boat.

It feels as if the time in between entries has sped past me and I'm already looking down the barrel of the holiday season and it would seem that the Dearest house is already filling up with Christmas cheer. The decorations are up, the candy canes are out and the live Christmas tree is filling the house with the loveliest scent of pine. 

I hope all of you are getting into the holiday spirit however you chose to celebrate.

Kitty xx