4 am baking!!

We've just got a new puppy, and last night was its first night without its mummy :(! So that meant that we had a very noisy night! I ended up having to go down and play around with Trevor/Sam/ Obi (wan-kenobi!) at 4 am.

Once he was back to sleep I decided to bake an aubergine chocolate cake for my aunt and experiment with a samoussa recipe, because us Mauritians love our samoussas :D!

HEALTHY SAMOUSSAS
These are more like a cross between samoussas and Vietnamese spring rolls, but the curried filling does give these an authentic Mauritian touch. Also each wrapper contains about 10 calories as opposed to the usual carb-y /buttery pastry.

• A couple of spring roll wrappers, 'galette de riz' (the type used for vietnamese spring rolls).
• Any filling of your choice (I stir-fried some onion, cabbage and beansprouts in curry powder, delish!)

1. Soak one wrapper in a bowl of water, after about 30 seconds or once softened, place the wrapper on a dry clean cloth.
2. Place a teaspoon (NOTE: I tried with more filling, but this causes the wrapper to tear when baking) of filling in the middle of the circle, trying to shape it into a rough triangle shape. Then, bring up the 3 sides surrounding the 'triangle of filling' and stick them down. You can use the following link for clearer instructions. http://www.cutoutfoldup.com/126-fold-an-equilateral-triangle-from-a-circle.php
3. Place on a WELL greased tray and bake for about 20 minutes on one side, and 10 minutes on the other. Perhaps next time I'll try to pan fry them too.

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Paleo goji berry cookies

Goji berries are known as a 'super-food' and have had a lot of buzz in the health and nutrition field recently. These berries are known for their powerful anti-oxidant properties and help cure many other diseases such as diabetes. They have been enjoyed for over 2000 years in traditional Chinese medicine.

I've always wanted to try some Goji berries but have been put off by how expensive they are! In health shops or health sections in supermarkets they average at around Rs 500 (10 pounds) per packet. I mentioned this to my dad and he managed to get a pack for Rs 130 in Chinatown! Apparently they are used in several soups and chicken dishes by the Chinese population! Beware though, they do taste horrible on their own, very very bitter! However they are really tasty in these cookies and complement the nuttiness of the almonds and sweetness from the honey.

Inspired from today's talk, I've made some grain free, almond, coconut and goji berry cookies.

PALEO GOJI BERRY COOKIES

• 135 g almond meal (ground almonds)
• 65 g flaked almonds
• 75 g desiccated coconut
• 40 g goji berries
• 80 g honey
• 60 ml coconut oil (or nut oil such as macadamia)
• Half teaspoon of Bicarbonate powder
• One tablespoon of water

1. Preheat your oven to 130 degrees Celsius.
2. Mix the coconut, goji berries, almond meal and flaked almonds together in a large bowl.
3. In a small saucepan or in the microwave, gently heat the honey and the oil till warm.
4. In a small dish, dissolve the bicarbonate powder in the water, whisk this mix into the warm honey and oil until it bubbles up.
5. Pour this frothy wet mix into the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. If it looks slightly dry, add some more water until it all comes together nicely.
6. Form little balls and flatten onto a sheet of grease-proof paper or onto a greased baking tray. This recipe should make about 20 or so biscuits.
7. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool (they harden as they cool).

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Low fat diet anyone?

THE NUTRITIONAL FORMULA

Just back from a very interesting talk by Dr Chase Webber. I don't want to write a massively long post about everything he talked about but I do urge you to visit his website www.drchasewebber.com for more info on scientific research and for more nutritional info.
He promotes a "Gatherer-Hunter diet/ Low carb, high fat diet" similar to the Paleo diet, however without the dairy restrictions. He emphasizes the need to limit our intake of carbohydrates to about 10g per meal depending on your body type. So basically, we are talking about a low carbohydrates ketogenic diet ( just googled 'ketogenic' and apparently this diet is used to treat epilepsy aswell! Dr Chase mentioned recent research into helping cancer patients with this diet aswell ).

THE 'LOW FAT' CRAZE?
We have all been brought up to believe and also influenced by the media that a low fat diet is the best, 'If you eat fat, you'll become fat'. This all started in the 1970's, whereby the 'Low fat era' begun!

With the reduction in consumption of fats and animal proteins, people swapped to higher intakes of grains, carbohydrates and sugars.However, since then, there has been significant evidence to show that obesity and diseases such as diabetes have increased drastically in countries such as the US.  This is because most of the negative information about fats was based on theory/belief or simple correlations vs fact. For instance, Ancel's '6 country' study  which was a 'cherry picked' graph, conveyed the message that a high fat diet was directly linked to high levels of heart diseases. However, the study left out countries such as France or Greece whereby although high levels of fat were consumed, lower levels of heart diseases were observed. The underlying message of the presentation was therefore as opposed to watching your intake of fat, enjoy your nuts, seeds, meats, eggs and dairy products but rather, watch and limit your intake of carbohydrates and sugars.

Anyways, you can read up about all of this, do your own research and make up your own opinions about fats and carbs, but one important point from this talk was that calorie controlled diets, fad diets, and silly crazes such as juice diet are all useless in the long run as a sustainable diet plan.

Another surprising point Dr Chase pointed out was the in Mauritius, only about 34% of the population are of a normal weight, leaving the other 66% as either overweight or obese, not surprising according to this diet, as our diets here tend to be made up of carbs: rice, faratas, dholl puris, dupain frire etc....
Now off to try to perfect some almond goji berry biscuits :)
Xx

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Coconut oil

Just a quick post about coconut oil. I've recently started using coconut oil in all my baked goodies and snacks. I've read a lot about coconut oil and its benefits and here is a little extract:

'White and solid at room temperature, coconut oil is slower to oxidise and less damaged and chemically altered by heat than other cooking oils. So it's arguably the healthiest oil to fry with.

Coconut oil is one of the best sources of heart-healthy medium-chain fatty acids, notably lauric acid, which enhances the immune system through its antiviral and antibacterial effects. These acids also stimulate metabolism, and some research suggests they can aid weight loss.'

500 g of cold pressed organic coconut oil costs about 10 pounds in the UK, I did manage to find a cheaper industrially refined type in Asian stores in Manchester for about 3 pounds.
I still need to look around for a cheaper substitute in Mauritius, but for now I've been using "Dr Bronner's Magic 'All-one' FAIRTRADE & ORGANIC, coconut oil" for about Rs 390 for a 14 fl oz jar, I do have to say that this stuff smells amazing!! They sell this one in Store 2000, Labourdonnais fruit shop and in most supermarkets' healthy food section, I'm sure shops such as Quartier Gourmet in Quatre Bornes must stock some up too (although you should probably give them a call and double check!)

COCONUT WATER
Coconut water is such a fitness craze in the UK at the moment! And it is crazy that a small 200 ml bottle of it costs about 3.50 pounds, when we can get it in abundance in Mauritius! Coconut water contains enzymes that help to detoxify and repair the body and contains electrolytes that are essential for proper hydration. Apparently coconut water was used as a plasma substitute in the war times!!

Now off to a nutrition talk by Dr Chase Webber N.D and will find out what he thinks about all these new fitness crazes :)
Xx

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Healthy take on Chicken kiev

Sadly, I don't have a proper picture of this one when I made it :(, but I had it the next day with salad, you can see it on the furthest plate, the little brown crunchy looking thing right behind the bread!!

CHICKEN KIEV
Filling, per chicken breast:

• 1 tsp light cream cheese
• Half teaspoon of pesto
• Some minced garlic (optional)

Topping, for about 5 breasts:

• Beaten egg 
• A couple of tablespoons of whole wheat flour
• A couple of tablespoons of cooked quinoa
• Black pepper and paprika

1. Make a horizontal cut across the chicken breast to create a 'pocket' for the filling.
2. Mix the filling ingredients together then stuff the pocket with about a teaspoon of the filling, do not overfill as it will overflow whilst pan frying.
3. Mix the cooked quinoa with a tablespoon of flour and some pepper and paprika to season.
4. Once all the breasts are filled, dunk the top side into the plain wholewheat flour, followed by the beaten egg and then into the quinoa mix ( press down firmly so that the quinoa sticks to it).
5. Pan fry the chicken breast crust side down until crispy. I then cooked them in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes till cooked through but I suppose you could cook them just as nicely on the frying pan on a low heat.

Felt like a little something sweet before bed and got inspired by 'Reese's peanut butter cups', Mmm they're my fav!

DARK CHOCOLATE COATED BANANA PEANUT BUTTER BITES

These are really satisfying but I didn't use any sweetener in the chocolate topping, unless you do like very dark chocolate (i.e 90% cocoa), I would definitely add honey in my next lot!

• Banana
• Peanut butter
• 1 tsp coconut oil (makes the chocolate harden when frozen)
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 to 1 tsp honey

1. Slice your banana and pair the slices up ready to be filled.
2. Top one slice of banana with a dollop of peanut butter and then sandwich it together with another piece of banana.
3. Melt your coconut oil in the microwave for a few seconds, add in your honey and cocoa powder and mix till it turns into a delicious choc topping.
4. Now roll your banana PB sandwiches into the chocolate sauce and place on a plate ready to be frozen. These harden after about 5- 10 minutes.

Enjoy!
xxx

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Let it drip!

Just did 20 minutes of Bob Harper's "Inside out method" DVD I bought off amazon. It really is great and gets you sweating in no time at all! It is a strength DVD, no jumping around crazy cardio, but sets of squats, lunges, push ups etc using hand weights. Definitely worth getting if you're not a member of the gym and would prefer to exercise in the comfort of your own home.

Wasn't really feeling like a savoury dinner so made up some oaty crepe/tortilla type pancakes for din-dins :)

OATY CREPES/TORTILLAS
To make 2 crepes:

• 4 tbsp of oat flour (grind up quick cooking oats in a blender to a fine powder)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp yogurt
• Cinnamon
• Quarter teaspoon of baking powder
• Milk, just a few tbsp to get the right consistency.

1. Mix the oat flour, cinnamon and baking powder together.
2. Make a well in the flour mix, break in the egg and add the yogurt. Mix until well incorporated.
3. Now slowly add enough milk so that your mix is of a runny consistency.
4. Pour the mixture onto a hot WELL GREASED pan and shape into a circle, leave to bubble up and cook for about a minute, once ready, flip and cook for a couple of seconds on the other side.
5. Top and fill with anything of your choice :), I filled mine with peanut butter, chia seeds and sliced banana and drizzled the top with honey.

These are very filling and not as fluffy as normal crepes as they are not made with refined flour or oil, you could add a tbsp or so of coconut oil for a slightly fluffier crepe.

xxx

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"I know how to be patient, and anything is possible."

Just back from a girly morning of stretching class, shopping and sushi lunch :). Started off with a stretching session at the School of movement with Natacha Jarousse. I expected a Yoga/Body Vive style class like the ones I attend at the Aquatics Centre in Manchester, however it surpassed my expectations!
I really do feel so relaxed and at peace! Most of my knots and sore tensed up muscles from weight lifting seem to have disappeared, I'm really quite surprised by how much of a difference a single class can make!
Today's mantra followed something along the lines of "I know how to be patient, and anything can happen", the class focused on the emotional cortex, anxiety and determination and ended with a bit of meditation.

Ok I'll stop blabbing on about it now, but I do think that the class highlighted the importance of not only eating well and exercising to be healthy, but also meditating and positive thinking for mental health and relaxation. Please check out Natacha's website, it has some great nutrition tips and gives details about classes in Labourdonnais Mapou and Moka. Someone at the class mentioned that they had actually been on my blog and were going to try my chilli recipe! :)

Also, I've been making the boys packed lunches for the past week and a staple snack has been my sweet potato hash brown egg muffins.

SWEET POTATO HASH BROWN EGG MUFFINS

• Peeled and grated sweet potato (1 fist sized potato made about 4 muffins)
• Onion
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• eggs, preferably NOT large (1 per muffin)

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. 
2. Drizzle a hot pan with olive oil and fry the chopped onion until soft, add in the grated sweet potato and fry for about 5 minutes until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper if you want.
3. Press down your potato mix into well greased muffin tins, forming a sort of nest ready for your egg. Make sure that there aren't any holes in your nest for the egg to seap through.
4. Carefully crack an egg into each nest, and bake for 20-25 minutes (20 for a softer yolk).

NAUGHTIER VERSION: Crisp up some finely chopped up bacon and add to the sweet potato mix, or beat up your egg and add bacon to that before you bake the egg muffins.
HEALTHIER VERSION: Just use egg whites in the sweet potato nests.

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