Would you buy it if it was full price?

Somehow you have ingested a chocolate bar that you just brought at the supermarket, and it’s almost dinner time. Were you even hungry for it? Were you craving chocolate? Can’t remember. How did this happen? And why?

 

Let’s back track. You were shopping for dinner after work and you were going along perfectly fine with the protein, green veg, quinoa and some herbs all in the basket and then suddenly this picnic bar jumps out at you 50% OFF! That’s a saving of $1.25. I am saving money, ok I will do it.  BAM they got you.

 

Supermarkets are smart. They know how to trick us. Place unhealthy items at the end of the isle just as we are about to finalise our shopping, and these temptations are put in front of us everywhere!  Not once have I seen a banana at the checkouts. And let’s face it, we probably never will -L

 

So I ask you, would you have purchased this chocolate bar if the sign was not a specials sign, but rather just the normal price? Or better still, in its normal chocolate isle and not in front of the checkout? Probably not.

 

So how do we avoid this?

 

There are a couple of tactics I like to share to help people avoid having to make these decisions:

  • Online shopping. You can create your shopping list as you need things, and then just collect when you are ready. No need to enter the shop, no need to walk past all of their temptations.

 

  • Avoid shopping when you are hungry. It’s just way too hard to make all of the right decisions when you are starving because you missed lunch because you were too busy.

 

  • Practice walking past and NOT making the purchase when you are feeling really strong. Like just after a workout when you are empowered by the endorphins. Or when you are wearing a really tight dress. Or when you are on a first date. (Are you going to the supermarket on your first date??? )

 

Over time, you will avoid the temptations, if you want to of course, and not put an extra $1.25 into Cadbury’s bank account, but rather choose the banana in the fruit section.

 

I am never going to condone you eating a chocolate bar, everything in moderation. But I just want you to be sure you are eating it because you want to rather than because you think you are saving money -J

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Ferraro balls

This recipe has landed in my inbox from one of our trainers, Jemma. Thanks for sharing Jemma.

It’s super easy and healthy. The good fats and sugars from the dates gives this beauty a nice smooth taste.

If you don’t want to use the dark chocolate, you could melt some cocao and cocao butter and roll the balls in that.

1 cup pitted dates soaked in boiling water for 5mins then drained.

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

1/4 cup cacao powder.

Blended in food processor.

Roll into balls.

Melt 1/2 cup dark choc

1 Cup crushed hazelnuts

Dip balls in melted choc and roll in crushed hazelnuts

Chill in fridge

 

Thanks Jemma!

 

Enjoy

 

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Flavio’s Italian Cake

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So the real name of this cake is “Castagnaccio” but we all know it as the cake Flavio’s mum made, and the cake Flavio ate every day she was here! ha ha If you were lucky enough to try it, well it was amazing. (Thanks for sharing Flav!)

 

250g chestnut flour

700ml water

100g mix of raisins & cranberries

70g pinenuts or sliced almonds

 

 

Add half of the water to the flour and mix using a whip, let it rest for 2 hours.

 

Then add the other half of water mixing with the whip.

 

Add the other ingredients now and back at 180 degrees for 45 min

 

Enjoy!

 

 

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Classic Salmon with leek topping

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My mum brought up this recipe when she came to stay recently, and I have to say, I am always a little scared when she brings recipes. We are from the country and she is happy with old school cooking … all of the time! So I am always  a little nervous about how healthy or not so healthy her recipes are. But, I was willing to give it a try and, well, thanks Mum!

I am all for butter. There are so many benefits to butter. The good stuff is full of vitamins, especially vitamin A (great for your skin!), loaded with Vitamin D which helps you to absorb calcium and heaps more. So if you can tolerate dairy, this is for you. Otherwise, you could use Ghee.

Ingredients

Serves 3

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/5 cup white wine vinegar

1 shallot, finely chopped

80g butter, cut into small cubes

2 baby leeks, trimmed, washed and finely sliced

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 salmon fillets

 

Method

Bring the wine, vinegar and shallots to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, 15-20 mins.

Reduce the heat to low and slowly whisk in the butter until the sauce is smooth. Stir in the leeks and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat oil in pan and cook the salmon to your liking.

Transfer to a plate once cooked, and lather in the sauce.

Serve with fresh greens.

 

Enjoy x

 

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Pumpkin hummus with cauliflower topping

I wasn’t sure how this was going to go down to be honest. But when my husband (fuss pot 010) said it was a thumbs up, I was pretty chuffed!

We had this with a slow cooked garlic stuffed lamb. The meal was wholesome, fresh and lots of colour.

The pumpkin is great in winter as it is packed with vitamin C, helping to ward off the cold and flu.

This recipe comes from the cookbook Community and it’s a must try. Simple. Healthy. Winter warmer. And delicious!

Serves 4-6

 

Ingredients

2 cauliflowers (about 2kg) cut into florets

4 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

500g cooked butter beans (about 2 cans), drained

1 cup flat parsley chopped

1 cup coriander leaves chopped

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

 

Pumpkin hommus

750g butternut pumpkin peeled and cut into 2cm pieces

2 tbsp tahini

1 garlic clove grated

1 tsp sea salt

1-2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp natural yogurt (I use natural coconut yogurt)

Pepper

 

Method

Pumpkin hummus – place pumpkin in saucepan with a splash of water and salt. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15-20 min., Don’t let it run out of water.  The pumpkin is ready when it is soft and falling apart. Let cool

Combine pumpkin, tahini, garlic, salt, oil, cumin and lemon juice and whisk to make smooth. Stir in yogurt. Adjust seasoning but adding more salt and pepper, oil or lemon as you need.

Roast the cauliflower in the over until dark brown. Coat it in olive oil with salt and pepper and roast at 180 degrees.

Heat a pan and add garlic, cumin, coriander and salt and cook for 10sec to release the flavours. Then add the butter beans and stir to coat in the spices. Cook for 5-6 minutes, shaking the pan often until the butter beans go crispy on both sides.

Combine the cauliflower and butter beans with the herbs. On a large dish, spread out the pumpkin hummus, then spoon the cauliflower mixture on top and then top with pumpkin seeds.

Enjoy

Janet x

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Orange and Turmeric Cake

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Another stella recipe from Sofie Van Kempen. This chick knows how to make some seriously yummy and low sugar food!

I am in love with this cake. It leaves you feeling light and satisfied. I have orange trees at home so I was over the moon to be able to use my own, fresh oranges for this one.

So easy to make and it doesn’t need any icing, it’s good on it’s own. Of course I had a piece fresh out of the oven, and it’s just too good warm!

And in Winter, we need more turmeric to help ward off the colds and flues. So this cake is an all round winner 🙂

 

Servings: 16-20  // prep time: 10 minutes, cooking time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 whole oranges
  • 2 cups almond meal
  • 1/3 – 1/2 cup honey (depending how sweet you want it)
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tsp turmeric (fresh or ground)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence or powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 170’C and line a cake/slice tin with baking paper, set aside.
  2. Boil whole oranges in a pot on the stove for 1 hour, drain and allow to cool.
  3. Blend oranges in a food processor, then add eggs, honey, vanilla, turmeric and blend again.
  4. Mix through almond meal and baking powder until combined.
  5. Pour batter into tray it will be quite wet and place in the oven.
  6. Bake for 35-45 minutes in the oven until golden brown. Check with a skewer.
  7. Allow to cool in the tin and store in the fridge for up to a week.

NOTE: this is a moist cake (don’t you love that word) so expect it to come out a little wetter then usual cakes. Also you could try flax eggs as a replacement for ‘egg’ in this recipe.

 

Enjoy 🙂

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Chicken soup to kick the common cold

This soup is fully loaded with all things necessary to send your cold packing! Seriously, so much goodness in one bowl. And delicious too. You can make your own chicken stock (which I do and it’s so easy using the slow cooker), but if you are buying it, choose organic in the fridge section 🙂

Garlic, ginger and turmeric are all good for reducing inflammation. Garlic also is full with Vitamin C and B6 which help with increasing energy  –  something you need more of when you are feeling low from the cold.

Enjoy this one this winter 🙂

 

Ingredients

2 litres of chicken stock

2 cups shredded chicken meat (extracted from stock making recipe)

1 1/2 cups finely chopped celery

1 1/2 cups finely chopped carrots

2 – 5 cloves garlic minced garlic (a garlic crusher works a treat)

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

1 teaspoon finely grated turmeric

1 cup (loosely packed) finely chopped parsley

1/2 cup (loosely packed) finely chopped fresh coriander

1 can green lentils, drained and rinsed (optional)

generous seasoning of sea salt

 

Method

Add the finely chopped celery, carrots and a dash of olive oil to the bottom of a cooking pot on a medium heat. Let it simmer for 3-5 minutes or until the vegetables soften.

Add your stock to the cooking pot, together with the chicken meat. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes or until vegetables soften further.

Add the garlic and spices and simmer for another minute or so. Season generously with sea salt. Remove the pot from the heat and stir through the coriander and parsley. Serve immediately.

Frugavore’s tip: After removing the meat from the bones you can make another batch of stock by covering the bones with water, adding some thyme, celery, carrot and onion and simmering for a further two hours on the stove-top. Use this as a base for your next batch of soup.

Time saver: As a short-cut you can buy ready made stock and use chicken breast or leftover roast chicken. However, using a whole chicken is more economical and also provides leftovers for the next meal.

 

A good one for all the family

J

https://www.goodfood.com.au/recipes/coldbusting-chicken-soup-20140625-3asfo
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Winter weight loss tips

Winter is almost here. The days are getting shorter, the mornings are darker and colder and it’s difficult to get excited about green salad and outdoor training sessions.

Unfortunately, the cold weather can lead to bad habits including comfort eating, missing your early morning training sessions, or just generally doing less incidental exercise.

The sunshine and warm weather is motivating but the plummeting temperatures in winter means healthy choices are harder to make.

Exercise

Is hitting the snooze button for 10 or 12 reps the only exercise that interests you on a cold winter morning? Try changing things up with one or all of the following:

Sleep in your workout gear. Yes it actually works. I have many clients who swear by it. It may sound a little kooky but it could mean the difference between hitting the floorboards, or hitting the snooze button.

Buy some new winter active wear. This is a simple but effective motivator. Everyone likes to show off their new gear at the gym.Consider something bright and brilliant to lift your mood and motivation.Feeling good in your active wear is half the battle.

Become a night owl. Do your training at night rather than first thing in the morning. You can head to the gym straight after work. This will help you to avoid the temptation of going home to sit on the couch in your PJs. The big bonus?You can sleep in on those super cold mornings.

Join a challenge or a program. This is a great way to meet like-minded people who can cheer you on and make training fun. Also the accountability is much higher when you are working towards a common goal. At Achieving You we have extra programs in winter to keep you motivated. Visit www.achievingyou.com.au for more details.

REMEMBER. Moving warms you up.Get out there and brave the cold. After a few minutes you will be warmed up and ready for a good session. You can reward yourself with a hot cup of tea and some couch time when you are done.

Eating

Comfort food can be healthy.Skip on the heavy carbs and choose slow cooked meals. You can add lots of garlic, ginger, turmeric and other herbs to ward off colds and flu. You can view our recipe page to check out some of my favourite winter warmer recipes. Remember to keep a check on your portion sizes. This will help you to stay on track.

 

Janet x

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Super healthy and simply Dahl

You are going to love this!

For a few reasons:

  • It’s simple and quick – put it on, bath the kids and it’s ready
  • It’s packed with all the goodness to keep the colds and flus away this winter
  • It’s a one pot meal!

So you know I love turmeric. It has amazing healing powers, anti-inflammatory and gives a great orange curry colour. This recipe is originally from Nat Jones but I changed it a little (surprise surprise!) and added chickpeas instead of lentils, and added the turmeric because? Well, why not!

Such a great winter warmer without all the calories.

Enjoy x

 

Ingredients:

1 onion finely diced

1 tsp olive oil

1 clove of garlic micro planed

knob of ginger micro planed

knob of turmeric micro planed

chili to taste

1 tin chickpeas

2 cup chopped pumpkin – diced

2-4 tsp curry powder

6 cup stock

2 tbsp coconut cream

Coriander togarnish

 

Method

Heat oil and add garlic, onion, ginger, chilli and saute.

Add remaining ingredients except chickpeas and then place a lid on and bring to the boil.

Simmer for until pumpkin is half done and then add chickpeas. Continue to simmer until chickpeas are soft.

Serve on quinoa, buckwheat, rice etc and add coriander on top.

Total cooking time is about 45 minutes.

Ta-da!!

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