19 Tuesday Aug 2014
Posted in Natural Health, Vegan
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Photo Post! The stems where cut off this Pak Choi at work, leaves for the juicin’. Look what was inside! A flower. Fibonacci Spiral Power, it is hiding everywhere. I just had to share 🙂
Pak Choi Flower
Xs Aissa
04 Monday Aug 2014
Posted in Chocolate, Gluten Free, juice, Natural Health, No bake/ Raw, Superfoods, Tart, Vegan, yoga
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Chocolate, Gluten free, Juice, Natural Health, No bake, Superfoods, Tart, Vegan, Yoga
Experiments in other people’s raw recipes!
So I was given the generous gift of “Rawsome vegan Baking” by a friend of mine. It is a beautiful book, everything is explained well and concisely. I am not kited out with dehydrators and vita-mixes but there is still a lot I can make or improvise around. One of the great guys I work with was leaving and I wanted to make something. This is always a risky thing to do. To make something for some one using a recipe from a new cookbook (or not cook as the case maybe)!!! It turned out lovely. I made “Avocado Mint Cream Bars with chocolate, two ways” on p.106. My only quibbles were I had to increase the ingredients to fit my tart pan. It says a 9inch square pan or 23cm is fine. I used a 7.5/8inch 20cm round pan and the measurements were definitely short. I had enough ingredients to increase the amounts but it made it a bit stressful. The avocado layer could have been thicker too. It was a little too sweet for me. I often find this though, I should have known to reduce the sweet stuff a little for my palette. Here is a picture
My Rawsome Vegan Life Avocado Mint cream bars
Here is a pic from Emily’s blog of what they should look like! Maybe it was the lack of a proper blender. Either way it tasted nice…even if it was less pretty 😦
The real deal!
http://www.eatgood4life.com/avocado-mint-cream-bars/ Has written up the recipe if you want to check it out. In the original you can use fresh coconut meat instead of a banana. I being blenderless went for the banana option.
Yoga
I went for a more challenging routine today. I had the time, I’m off work today ‘cos it is a bank holiday here. It was good. I was very surprised at what I found hard. About 25mins in there is a pose where you squat and grab hands through one knee and attempt to stand up. The first time doing it you keep your legs in a half bend. I had to come out of the pose! Horror! Horror! My thighs could no take it! (Scotty from Star Trek voice!) But I kept going and attempted the full pose where you straighten your legs. SOOOO much easier. Therefor revealing my need to do more chair poses!
There is precise instruction on options to get into a head stand, also great description of getting into crow. Wish I’d seen the crow one back when I had been attempting it first! I did my head stand against the wall. Though I am getting more confidant and I didn’t lean against it. Glad I did as I wavered and wobbled a bit and needed something behind me! 🙂
And finally juice. Orange that is green JuiceÂ
Colours!
This juice was like a trick. It tasted sweet and citrusy orange but was totally green. Enjoyable for that reason alone, but it tasted lovely too!
orange is green juice
Hope that you try some of these things out! Xs Aissa
03 Sunday Aug 2014
Posted in Natural Health, yoga
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Hey! Sundays seem to be the day that I share a yoga vid. Accidental routine 🙂 This one is really versatile, you could follow the first eight mins just to have a lovely stretch! The instructor gives options along the way, so if you are a rubber band god you will be as satisfied as the mere mortals. It has some of my fav poses- I can’t do a yoga routine without pigeon and mermaid. I also liked the way it flowed from one move to another quite eloquently. I really felt the benefit of the opposing positions, made me realise I do not do enough of them in my normal routine. Guilty face – is there an emoticon for a guilty face? ]-( – nope that is a sad robot. I digress. Here is the video. Hope you like it. Xs Aissa
27 Sunday Jul 2014
Posted in juice, Natural Health, Superfoods, Vegan
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The Juice Fast is off! Sooo usually I feel great when I do a juice day. By yesterday evening I wasn’t “feeling it”. I left my place late and had almost run into town to meet up with a friend and go to the farmer’s market. Delighted to be able to stock up on leaves for juicing and a strange craving for plums! I had a carrot beetroot and ginger juice while there and was treated to a chemex drip coffee! By the time I was home in the evening I was feeling a bit off, not filled with energy and joi d’vivre. I thought the Evening Juice here would be the pick me up. It lasted for a bit, but my tummy felt gurgly I started to feel bit headachy. This is not how I would usually feel on juice. The quick delivery of energy and nutrients normally keeps me satisfied. I had made sure to stay hydrated, I put celery in my juice for salts. So I had a mug of miso soup, a half an hour later I decided my body was trying to tell me something and I should listen to it. So I had some peanut butter before going to bed and decided I would see how I was this morning.
In the past when doing juice days I would wake up feeling energised, clear headed and a little hungry. I would have water and a giant juice with fruit in it. I woke up with a crampy tummy and generally feeling unwell. So juice fast is off. It is disappointing to not be able to see something through that you have planned for. I am doing this for my health, to support my body. I may have an idea in my head but my body was not on board with it. If I am coming down with something and I need to be nourished with solid nutritious foods that is what I will have. I am still strictly off gluten and sugar, which is a good idea anyway. Sugar feeds bad bacteria, gluten doesn’t suit me very well. I think it makes my period pains worse too!
I am currently sipping a green juice and I will share last nights and todays juice recipes with you now!
evening veg juice the before shot
Evening Veg Juice
This has a light sweetness due to the beetroot and wheatgrass. Overall it is pretty savoury though. Take it easy on the cabbage if you are new to juicing. It is pretty strong stuff. In past I have done up to four leaves of red cabbage in juices. Since I was feeling a bit delicate I just did two. It is very good for you if it suits, rich in l-glutamine which can be good for the gut.
Evening juice the after shot
I had my Not so smooth energy smoothie for breakfast, made with frozen berries. Yummy. I had a green juice this afternoon, fruity and lemony, it is pretty good, if I don’t say so myself! 😉
Green as Irish grass!
Green lemony Juice
Tasty, lemony, sweet and sour bright green juice.
The weather is dependably changeably here. The rain is a bit disappointing after a week of glorious sun. But you can see the blue is trying to come out again.
Rain
Hope all is well with you guys. I’m off to have an avocado salad for dinner! Xs Aissa
26 Saturday Jul 2014
Posted in juice, Natural Health, Superfoods, Vegan
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I am doing a vegetable juice fast today. It is all about providing my body with easy assessable nutrients and removing processed foods. With hectic stress-y bits going on recently I have ended up making the odd unhealthy choice food wise. I want to give my digestion a rest but not go without important vitamins and minerals. By juicing with a cold press masticating juicer the nutrients are preserved. When the fibre is removed your body easily absorbs the liquid form. I am going to do veg juices today and maybe add some fruit juice in tomorrow.
If you have not fasted before maybe don’t yet! Do a day where you just eat vegetables- but like tons of vegetables! See how you feel doing that. If you have blood sugar issues or underlying medical conditions has a chat with your natural or medical practitioner first.
That all sounds wonderful- but I am also a caffeine addict! Though it goes against all that is healthy and SOOO not part of the juicin’ rules I had coffee this morning!! Organic ,direct trade coffee, and I made a fatty coffee. I put a spoon of organic coconut oil (rich in MCTs medium chain tri-gylcerides) poured my coffee on top and added some organic cinnamon. I waited an hour before doing my juice as I did not want the bold coffee mixing with the good veg juice! The only time I do not have coffee is when I am sick, it is actually one of the first signs that I am not well but ….. I will try very hard to have no coffee tomorrow…dun dun dun. If my relationship with my partner seems in danger I will use that to justify my addiction and have a coffee 😉
Organic Veggie Splender
SO here is this morning’s Super Charged Veg Juice
*organic ginger as non organic can have been irradiated!
Super Charged Veg Juice- super tasty too!
No fruit but still lovely and sweet because of the beetroot and red pepper. Red peppers can have up to thirteen times the vitamin C as an orange! It delivers B vitamins, tons of vitamin C, potassium, vitamin K, nitric oxide. It from the green energising chlorophyll and the fantabulous superoxide dismutase from the nutrient packed wheatgrass. Coriander is great for the digestion and there is some evidence to say it helps your body get rid of heavy metals. That is to say vegetables are good for you!!!
Will keep you guys updated. Think this juice is one of my favourites so far, hope you try it out! Xs Aissa
13 Sunday Jul 2014
Posted in Natural Health, yoga
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I followed this routine yesterday and I about to do it again.It sent me about my afternoon limber and in a good mood! If there is synchronisity maybe one of you guys will be doing with me! It’s a lovely energising routine with lots of sun salutes. In fact being no attention span girl,about half way through I couldn’t take a repeating them again I did a few of my own favourite poses in between. At the end I did a head stand against the wall,child pose, a shoulder stand that brought me down into corpse pose-savasana. In the last yoga video I shared there is a good advise on how to do safe head stand. I really liked the way she included the variations of regularly poses all in one go, esp. pigeon. Hope you get as much out of it! Xs Aissa
13 Sunday Jul 2014
Posted in juice, Natural Health, Superfoods, Vegan
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I am lucky I work in a shop that sells lovely organic veggies. There is also a few wonderful organic farmer’s markets in Dublin. I am going through a phase of being struck by the beauty of fruit, veg and flowers. We have long winters here in Ireland and maybe I am just appreciating the green and growing things of summer! Perhaps my inner hippy is fighting its way up through my cynical crust. 😉
A friend shared this great link and I have been passing it on as it’s very informative.
Do You Know What Your Favorite Foods Look Like While Growing?
Yesterday I was at the farmer’s market and I was given this beautiful garlic flower! I had some of the little buds in a salad last night. Delicious garlic chive like taste. Intense and sweet.
Beautiful garlic flower
On friday at work I had to buy this beetroot, because it was so alive looking! Full of antioxidants and even helps lower blood pressure. It is part of the juice recipe below.
Brilliant Beetroot
Magic MIx
The inspiration for this was – I have theses organic things I will juice them. A “Magic Mix Juice!”
*organic ginger as non organic can have been irradiated!!!
I put my herbs and wheatgrass into the masticating juicer first. Reason being I find leafy bits some times get stuck. The rest will push the important wheatgrass through.
For some reason this was very lemony. Think I got a intensely lemony lemon. A ristretto lemon?
Antioxidant anti-inflammorty digestive juice!
Love the red tone from the beetroot, love the good bacteria from the water kefir! Xs Aissa
09 Wednesday Jul 2014
Posted in Fermentation, juice, Natural Health, Superfoods, Vegan
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Sunshine special
The sun was in and out here all day. I was coming home from work and paused to turn my face to it. I had the ingredients for my juice in my bag and I thought Sunshine Special! Perfect. The sun has gone in now and the clouds are massing. I will have to be happy with the glow from my juice instead.
Sunshine Special
*esp organic ginger as non-organic is sometimes irradiated!
I don’t have oranges that often- bit acidic. When I have the want though… nothing else will satisfy. This juice is really refreshing and thirst quenching. It is packed full of vitamin c , tons of antioxidants, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and good for the digestion! Tastes lovely too. I added a shot of wheatgrass to our juices, I shared! The wheatgrass was lovely in it.
Lovely, colourful bonanza of organic goodies! Xs Aissa
yum yum yum
03 Thursday Jul 2014
Posted in juice, Natural Health, Superfoods, Vegan, yoga
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soooo greeeeennnnn!!!
I practiced a yin yoga routine this evening. It was what I needed. Had a bit of an odd dislocatey moment at the start, but managed to put myself back together! 🙂 It is more of a mental challenge to stay in poses for a longer time. I am such a fidgeter and my attention span is that of…. some creature with a low attention span. A butterfly? Seems insulting to butterflies. I digress. The Yin was good, really increased my flexibility.
Here is the “little juice that could” (I think that is a Thomas the tank engine reference). Felt energised after my yoga but this zapped me up another level. Nutrient packed, which has a lot to do with the wheatgrass. Alkalising, anti- inflammatory,good for the digestion and your immune system. Hopefully good for helping repair over stretched dislocatey bits too!! 😉
Power Shot
Taste wise its a good one! The cucumber lightens and freshens that strong wheatgrass flavour. My lemon was lovely and ripe so it was sweet and sour at the same time. Turmeric floated on the background with the oregano as slightly earthy. The mint was the hero though, made it really refreshing!
Hope you try it. Xs Aissa
little bowl of fabulousness
P.S. i accidentally liked my own post! Weird that I can even do that! Don’t know how to undo it. I just thought I’d mention it incase you guys think it is a bit of an odd thing to do.
22 Sunday Jun 2014
Posted in juice, Natural Health, Superfoods, Vegan
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There was something especially refreshing about this juice. Might be because I had an afternoon attempting to dehydrate myself into Aissa Jerky. The peas and lemon and mint made it taste bright and sweet. Give peas a chance…? blush. Had to be said.
sunshine sunday juicy goodness
Peas Please JuiceÂ
*I use all organic in my juices but if that is not possible do try and have the ginger organic. Non org can have been irradiated.
Peas please juice in the herbs
This makes a lovely juice. Bright green and chirpy. Perfect for a sunny evening, or a dull cold one really think it would cheer me up in winter too! 🙂 Good for the digestion and immune system. Deliciously healthy. Xs Aissa
VeganEtcetera 