30 Sunday Mar 2014
Posted in Natural Health, yoga
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I find sometimes I get stuck in yoga routines I like, I guess I see myself making progress in certain positions and it is tempting to stick to this as I can quantify my improvement. But every now and then in effort to shake it up and work on areas maybe I have neglected I search out new inspiration. It was after doing this routine for the first time that I managed to do a proper Mermaid pose, so I went back to it this morning and found it just as great. Hope you like it too! 🙂
X Aissa
29 Saturday Mar 2014
Posted in Gluten Free, Natural Health, No bake/ Raw, Superfoods, Vegan
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It’s the weekend I thought I would break out and have a banana in my breakfast smoothie- I know I know wild behaviour!! I normally have a dessertspoon or two of berries in this which I soak overnight in Kombucha- but is good to vary one’s diet and though I feel bananas are a it too sweet to be having all the time, it really rocks in this! Peanut butter and banana the perfect combination!
I put everything in- in the order of the recipe. They all live in the same cupboard so I just get one down at a time rather than covering my tiny kitchen in superfoods. When I have got as far as the Ashwagandha I give it a good stir and then add as far as your Lecithin and stir again! Then add your peanut butter- tasting some first – just to make sure it is good of course!!
This is packed full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, protein, healthy carbs, healthy fats and a good dash of chlorophyll ( i.e. the green stuff!) for energy. It really sustains me due to the slow release of energy. And it is a yummy start to the day.
Tasty goodness
21 Friday Mar 2014
Posted in Cake, Cupcakes, Gluten Free, Traditional, Vegan
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So there’s a style of coffee cake that seems to be particular to Ireland ( though I’m open to correction on this ) anyhooow my Grandmother made a rockin’ coffee cake and I really wanted to veganize it. I also made it moderately healthier. The Irel Coffee essence mentioned here has been around in Ireland for donkey’s years and is a mixture of coffee, chicory and sugar you can use a good strong coffee extract instead. So here is what you will need…
A mug or cup measures. I tend to just use the one mug for everything, like I’ve said before as long as you use the same mug it will all be in proportion.
A 20cm/ 7.5 inch cake tin and some baking paper to line it.
Dry ingredients
Wet ingredients
Making it
Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F. Prepare your 20cm / 7.5inch cake pan, this size pan makes a low cake. this is perfect if you want to make a two layered cake without the hassle of cutting through cake slices. If you prefer a higher rise just use a cake tin a size smaller.
First a get a bowl and put in your oil, fruit puree, yoghurt and coffee extract. Grab a sieve and sieve the cornstarch, now put your sugar and xylitol into it, I always sieve my rapadura sugar but is hard work sieving xylitol so even if you just sieve out the lumps in the sugar it should be sufficient. If using vanilla extract add it now. Give it all a good whisk.
Get another bowl and put all the dry ingredients into it. Make a well in the centre and pour your wet mixture into this. Gently fold the mixtures together, be nice to it, you just want to get rid of any floury lumpy bits. If you are too rough or over mix you will knock the air out and end up with a dense cake.
Pour (or push cos it’s thick) the batter into your cake tin making sure it is evenly spread. Place in the centre of the oven
After 5 mins turn down your oven to 170C/ 340F. It takes 23 minutes in my Uber fan oven it could take 25 or even 30 depending on your oven. You will know it is done when it is coming away from the sides maybe little cracks are starting to appear ontop, also when you stick with a skewer it should come out dry. You will get to know your oven, like I have to put everything on the right hand side cos the left is too hot.
So you could leave it like this, slice it into fingers and have it with tea or coffee. But to really finish it off it needs to be iced (frosting). Just make sure it has cooled down first!
Icing
This is like a soft royal icing or a butter-cream.
Get a bowl and add your coconut oil and mash it until soft. Add your coffee essence/ extract and mash again. Now add your icing sugar, really get in there to make sure really mixed together, use the back of your spoon to press out any lumps. Now add your hot water, it is important that it is warm, cold water will make the coconut oil re-solidify. Mix to a nice smooth spreadable texture.
Put on your cake and arrange the walnuts to decorate.
Pre- icing, someone had some while I was waiting for it to cool
Here is the finished thing!
So much nicer iced
19 Wednesday Mar 2014
I used to make the odd béchamel in my pre-vegan days. I found the average cream sauce a bit boring- garlic and rich cream I always wanted it to be a bit more interesting. So here is my No cream Cream Sauce with lots of other things in it! I usually try to keep my processed food to a minimum but this does have the odd ready to go ingredient for a speedy dinner! Should take about 30 minutes.
I use a wok to cook this, mainly due to the fact that it easier to toss the spinach in.
I am listing the ingredients in the order they go in to the wok / pot.
Ingredients
You can serve this with pasta or noodles, something the sauce will get all over!
Instructions
Wash your mushroom and baby spinach and set aside.
Put your coconut oil in the wok on a medium high heat to leave melt.
Peel and chop your leek- don’t use the green bits that are really tough. Chop your five cloves of garlic remove the greeny yellow bits in the centre, they are hard to digest and don’t taste great.
Put your yellow mustard seed and cumin seed in the pan. Add the black pepper. Leave to sizzle a bit.
Now add the leek, sauté until soft ( a few minutes ) and add your finely chopped garlic.
Keep and eye on your wok/ pot whilst chopping and throwing your mushrooms into the wok. I do the first half in biggish chunks  ( chopped in 4 or 6) and the second half I finely chop so it gives lots of flavour to the sauce. Leave these cook for a bit- so they have started to shrink and they have given off some of their juices. You can turn the heat down to medium.
If you are having pasta or noodles you could put them on to cook.
Now add your spinach- do half first, tossing it everything else. When it has wilted a little add the rest and toss again.
Add your oregano. Mixing it through your ingredients.
Add your pinto beans, mix thoroughly and let everything cook for a minute or two so the beans are heated and some more of the water has evaporated off.
Now add your carton of oat cream and your basil paste or leaves.
*a note on the cream- the reason I use oat so I don’t like to use too much soya unless it is fermented .As long as it is an unsweetened pouring cream it should work though.
Add more black pepper. You could add a little sea salt at this stage but the basil paste I get has so sea salt in it so I don’t.
The final ingredient is ground almonds- these give a lovely richness to the sauce and also help thicken it. Turn the heat off and get your pasta/ noodles ready – you can add the pasta to the sauce if you like. Because my partner has regular whole-wheat ones and I tend to be having gluten free ones we pour the have yummy sauce over them on the plate.
it’s tasty try it out!
18 Tuesday Mar 2014
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I’m always a day late with “days”. Twitter got it first. Had a green drink on the night. Wheatgrass, celery and green apple
Posted by Aissa | Filed under juice, Natural Health, Vegan
17 Monday Mar 2014
Posted in Natural Health, Vegan
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I am still vegan- this is not a tea made of lungs. Turns out my juice is not a cure for the cold. So next step in the epic immune system battle is to clear my lungs. Just what you all want to think about this morning- Aissa’s yucky lungs. But it is a drink I have found good in the past so I thought I would share. The herbs should be available from a good health shop.
* a note on ginger- I know it can be hard to always eat organic- but I recommend making an effort with the ginger as non-organic stuff can have been irradiated.
If you have a teapot that can take loose herb that is perfect to use, you can just put everything into that (except the garlic). I use a little stainless steel tea ball for everything- bar the garlic. If using lemon put this in at the end.
Using a teapot – pour your boiled water straight in and put a lid on the pot and leave brew for 10-15 mins. In my giant mug- I put a saucer on top and let it brew for the same amount of time. It should then be cool enough to drink- it is then time to add the garlic.
Sip the drink and for extra benefits eat the garlic at the end!If you don’t finish the drink – do not be tempted to drink the intensely infused left overs later- the garlic and ginger and turmeric get very intense and too spicy- I speak from experience – make fresh if you want to have a second cup.
I am not a doctor but I can certainly say what these foods have been used for and have worked for me in the past. Since they work they may have counter-indications so if you are on medication do double check you are good to go with the ingredients.
The mullein should not be used if you are a smoker- it helps clear and open the lungs- not advisable to the put smoke into them after that!! But perfect if you have just given up as it will help clear them faster! You often find mullein in natural cough bottles.
The marshmallow will help soften and break up mucus ( Yep I said it MUCUS!)- demulcent- anti-inflammatory.
Ginger,Turmeric and cayenne are warming and good for circulation and naturally anti-inflammatory and wonderfully full of anti-oxidants
The garlic is amazing- good for circulation, it contains “allicin” and is anti-bacterial, anti- fungal and anti- viral but doesn’t kill your good bacteria. It is also the reason you put the garlic in at the end. Alot of the allicin would be lost by the heat of the boiling water. the ginger also contains allicin.
The thyme is a demulcent and anti-bacterial. It tastes strong so not everyone loves it.
The lemon has vitamin C and will also balance the flavour a bit. I find the whole concoction tastes a bit like sweet diluted broth- not bad is what I’m trying to convey!!!
If you look the herbs up they do tons of other things too!
Will add a pick of the brew later! Tis later-> Pic added!
Made in jar so you can see the pretty!
X Aissa
15 Saturday Mar 2014
Posted in juice, Natural Health, Vegan, yoga
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Hey guys, I am down with the flu…. I’m trying not to be too disappointed in my immune system since my partner had one in January that I managed not to get but he got one again and apparently twice in 8 weeks and my immune system was like “Are you kidding me? I can’t work under these conditions!”  I was searching you tube for “yoga while sick” but anything beyond a child pose was a bit of an effort!! 🙂 Yoga with a fever is maybe what I should of searched- there was one instructor saying doing gentle twist and stretches in bed can be good- maybe that is an idea.
Anyhooow the point being when one (i.e me) is not well sometimes we don’t have much of an appetite, but of course it is the time when we need to be eating as well as possible so our body has all the nutrients it needs to fight infection and heal. I believe juicing is a good addition to your diet esp. in these cases. With the fibre removed your body can take the nutrients up easily and quickly. I have a masticating juicer, which means the juice is pressed and no heat is used so more nutrients survive. I decided to make one I thought would be good for my flu/ cold/ cough evil disease from the black pit!
Organic Juice
Look at that amazing beetroot colour!
So a good hit of vitamin C, the celery for salts like potassium incase Im dehydrated, turmeric and ginger are both warming and anti- inflammatory. Beetroot might give me a bit of energy and dilate those compressed blood vessels around my sinuses with its ability to increase nitric oxide!
Getting a good dose of various vitamins and minerals which is a good thing even if I haven’t found the cure for the common cold!!!
XX Aissa
11 Tuesday Mar 2014
Posted in Biscuits, Cookies, Gluten Free, Vegan
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Lemon Poppy seed Cookies-Â naturally gluten free and of course vegan.
I made tiny little biscuits this weekend. I like to make them small but with an intense flavour.
Dsp = dessertspoon Tsp = teaspoon
Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F. Line your baking tray.
Apart from the poppy seeds combine your dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the centre to prepare for the wet stuff!
Mash your coconut oil with your maple syrup or raw agave and lemon extract. Add your lemon juice give a quick stir and pour into the dry ingredients.
Now fold in your poppy seed pixie dust! ( o dear !)
Mix, get your hands in there and form a ball of dough. If a bit dry add more lemon juice.
.
Roll out to a scant 1cm( 1/4 inch ) thick.Cut out your desired shapes. I did tiny abstract shapes about 1cm X 1cm (1/4 inc X 1/4 inc ).
I baked these ones for 10 mins- I turned the tray half way through and it made 60 that’s sixty tiny biscuits / cookies! I baked a tiny bit bigger square shaped ones in the past and didn’t open the oven and they took 8 mins.
You will notice by the pic  that even though I insist they are Pixie Cookies- they kinda look like pretty dog biscuits!!!
X Xs Aissa
Tinnie tiny pixie biccies
09 Sunday Mar 2014
Posted in Natural Health, yoga
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Spring morning Yoga
So I am just after a great few of hours of yoga- and I wanted to share with you because I am high on the endorphins and still all with the “world can be okay if you spend two hours or more just thinking about stretching” 🙂
I always like to have something antioxidant rich and chlorophyll filled before I start- a shot of wheatgrass or maybe a cup of barleygrass with a dash of maca and some gogi berries or blueberries- bit of energy and protect your cells!
I did my usual routine the fresh air and sunshine coming in my window- bird a tweetin’- cats lying on the rooftop taking in the heat, felt a bit like a cat myself, discovering new flexibility! I really enjoyed two videos and I thought i would share.
The first is real yin – open hips, holding poses for a long time really relaxing into them. She is super smiley- but knows her stuff!
The second one I think is a nice one to follow that. It’s long, intense at times, but it really works on the whole body.
Hope you enjoy them too.
xAissa
08 Saturday Mar 2014
Posted in Biscuits, Cookies, Gluten Free, Vegan
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Made these up a while ago, think you might like them. When I say made up I mean the recipe not that they are imaginary biscuits…. I even have a pic this time to prove it!
Remember I just use the one mug all the time for all my cup measurements- so if you do not have cup measures do not worry as long as you use the same mug all the time everything will be in proportion!
If using vanilla extract instead of powder put it in with the wet stuff
  Dsp= dessertspoon Tsp= teaspoon
Cookies on a plate
slightly soft focus – it was a plan, soft edges like a 1980s video for an overwrought ballad
Pre heat your oven to 180C/ 350F fan, even if not a fan oven I would be inclined to not go higher than this, just give them an extra maybe 3 mins. Line your baking tray.
You will get about a dozen biscuits (Ireland)/ cookies (North America) based on the above amounts.
Mix, mash the wet. Start at 3dsp of milk, hold back on the fourth spoon, you may or may not need a spoon later.
Mix the dry ingredients as-well
Add the dry to the wet.  Mix – you really need to get in there with your hands and squeeze and mix so the fats are taken up into the dry really well.
If you are having problems getting it to hold together this is were you add your extra splash of milk. Remember you are combining ingreds not stirring a soup.
Cut out your shapes – I have done small hearts about 1 inch by 1 inch (like 2.5cm X 2.5cm) You could do trees!
Took 10mins at 180C / 350F in my Uber fan oven- need to keep an eye on them though.
The ones in the pic I clearly didn’t roll out – I put a tsp of dough per biscuit and just flattened them on the baking tray and squashed them with a fork to make even- I had preheated my oven for longer and they took 9mins!
I have experimented with the levels of buckwheat flour- I find if you go over a third of a cup they start to taste a little on the bitter side.
Close up baby- lightly browned edges- that’s what ya want.
VeganEtcetera 