Shelley’s Scrumptious Savoury Slices:

Shelley’s Scrumptious Savoury Slices: 

were named in honour of a friend who liked these so much she  told me she had been dreaming about them ...

They are  great for people on Vegan, Paleo  and Low Carb High Fat diets. They are also relatively low in Fructose (although try not to eat too many Aubergines if you are ona low FODMAPS diet!) and they are suitable for people prone to heartburn-if combined with some lower fat veg/salads etc.

Use them as dippers for guacamole or other sauces or as a bread substitute. They are also a  lovely alternative to crisps/chips.

Image taken from: https://theheartthrills.wordpress.com/tag/aubergine/

Ingredients:

·         1-2 large aubergines

Dressing:

·         ¼ to ½  cup of Water

·         2 heaped tablespoons of seed butter ( I use tahini and/or sunflower seed butter)

·         2 tablespoons of tamari

·         2-4 tablespoons of  oil ( Rapeseed oil is a good option nutritionally but olive oil works fine)

·         1 teaspoon of ume plum seasoning (optional)

·         1 table spoon of allspice or

·         1-2 teaspoons each of :

§      Cumin &/or Coriander

§      Paprika,

§      Turmeric,

§      Thyme &/or dried Basil &/or Oregano

Instructions:

1.        Turn the oven to the DEFROST setting or crank up your dehydrator if you have it. ( I wish!)

2.       Cut 1-2 large aubergines into slices about 8mm thick ( The thinner the slices, the greater the danger that they will get too brittle and paper-like; however, if they are too thick they will feel a bit too raw in the middle.)

3.       Put 2 heavily heaped tablespoons of tahini and/or sunflower seed butter ( 1 spoon of each works well) into a mixing jug. Slowly add water, stirring continuously until you get a nice paste. You can thin this a little to the consistency of cream but no thinner!

4.      Stir the tamari, ume plum seasoning, oil and spices into the seed butter paste. I recommend using 4 tablespoons of rapeseed oil to ensure a good ratio of omega 3:6.

5.       Line some baking or roasting trays with grease-proof parchment paper.

6.      Lay the aubergine slices on the paper and brush with the oil mixture.

Pour ..................................................Spread.........................Check that all slices are well-coated

7.       Any leftover oil can be poured into a jar and refrigerated. It makes a lovely salad dressing (It is particularly nice with my best broccoli salad. Recipe to follow! )

8.      Place the aubergine slice trays into your oven or dehydrator and check every hour.

9.      They take about 2-3 hours in my oven, but check after an hour and then every 20-30 minutes. The “baking” time depends on your oven and how thickly you cut the aubergine.

You want them to look like they have soaked up the dressing and you don’t want them to be too dry and white in the middle. They should look slimy or crispy but not too raw.

Ideally you want to catch them before they get too hard and burnt! Don’t worry if some of them seem too dry and others seem really chewy when you take them out. They will improve a bit after you jar them.

10.    So the last step is to put them in jars and eat them later!

Spinal Tip Two Smoothie!

For anyone who finds pears too sweet/high in fructose.. this variation is for you!

Or indeed for anyone who has squash in the house but no pears,
or
For anyone who wants a slightly cheaper version of the first smoothie...

Popeye images from: 
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles-7/bugs-bunny-vs-popeye-the-sailor-man-757492/  and
 http://cartoonsimages.com/popeye/popeye-and-olive-desktop-backgrounds-free 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of folate rich SPINACH
• 5 cm (2") of Squash/ 1 cup
• 5 cm (2") of cucumber peeled 
• 1 large or 2 small avocados (optional)

 Squash it in there 

 Method:

1. Dunk your spinach in a bowl of water for a few minutes.
2. Meanwhile rinse your squash and steam gently (at a low setting) in a pot with 1/2 cup of water and 5 grinds of salt. ( I use himalayan or celtic salt)
3. As soon as the squash has softened remove from the heat and allow to cool. **

**[If planning to eat this smoothie every day, you might just like to cook several days worth of the squash in advance!  But for the first one it is probably best to try the recommended quantity to see if you even like the recipe! :) ]

Squishy Squashy Spinachy
Smoothie/Juice?

4. Meanwhile lift the spinach leaves out of the bowl into a sieve/colander- leaving any sandy residue behind. Then thoroughly rinse the spinach leaves.

5. Blend together the Spinach leaves, peeled cucumber and cooled squash- including the squash cooking water.

6. Taste this mix- you might find you don't need the avocado as it is quite delicious!

Squishy Squashy
Smoothie Sauce

7. However if you do want something creamier, add in your avocado and blend away. This makes the smoothies much more creamy and if you cut out the water you can use this as a sauce for eating with your favourite crackers or roasted nuts or starchy veg like potatoes or fish like salmon etcetera. I enjoyed some with roasted hazelnuts as shown!

In the Raw:

1. You can use raw squash but it won't taste as lovely and the texture will be less smooth. Remember to add the same amount of slated water though.

2. The raw version is better with the avocado blended in and used as a dip or sauce.

"Triumphing in the Battle of Many Wants PART 1"

OR DOING THE DISHES.... 

Superhero in Me to the Rescue!

The Many Wants:

Right now part of me wants to finish washing the dishes. 

After which, I imagine that the superhero housewife in me will scrub the kitchen, prepare all the vegetables for the next meal, do an inventory of what groceries need to be purchased, go to the shops, come home to sweep all the floors, clean all the sinks and surfaces, sort out the file boxes hidden under a plastic tablecloth behind the shoe-rack etc. etc.

Part of me really, really wants to be that organised and logical and self-disciplined.

And then there is the other voice in my head. The one that says "I feel stiff and sore and the thoughts of cleaning the dishes just heightens every discomfort and makes me feel that the chore I have set myself, is just ones of those tasks you drag yourself through, even though every fibre of your being is saying 'enough already!'"

The first voice has got a heavy dose of ego-like ambition and disrespect in it. The second smacks of fear, anxiety and self-pity.

Virtuous wanting must start with a reckoning of:

•  objective needs and
•  self-respect.

Finding a Resolution: 

So objectively, I can acknowledge that bodies and minds need rest and movement. Feelings of stiffnesss might be best addressed through appropriate stretching excercises 

or adequate sleep- not watching movies and ummm blogging? :)

That said... I don't feel stiff right now, even though I am sitting in a rather rigid pose before my PC. Why not? Because I am in a state of flow- i.e. my mind is creatively engrossed in the task at hand, and the excitement of that process, overrides minor discomforts.

If only I could make the household chores creative and exciting maybe I would be onto something…...

cerebral dish-washing

 So of course, I just googled “creative dish-washing”. Apart from finding some rather artisitic images like the one opposite and several funky dish-washing tool designs, I came across some curious blog entries by women ( no men writing on this topic). 

 I say curious, because one of these women actually seems to sort of enjoy dish washing. She seeks it out when she is stuck for ideas, as she feels that it satisfies a primal need to interact with water and I think the repetitive uncomplicated task relaxes her brain so that ideas can pop-up when she is scrubbing: How-a-sink-of-dirty-dishwater-sparks-my-creativity

Another woman, less enthused by dish-washing for her own sake, enjoys the opportunity it affords for bonding with her little one: Cerebral Dish-Washing

I must admit I have often wished I could borrow my nephews to make dish-washing more fun!!

So what did I end up doing?

In the end, after reading all these inspiring posts I set up the stage to wash my dishes in a funky green basin by Joseph and Joseph- in the living room. You see, I figured that part of the problem was the oppressively mould covered state of the kitchen walls and the hemmed in feeling I get when cramped up in our tiny galley kitchen.

I also realised that I needed the right kind of music to get me into a good rhythm; The trouble was finding the best rhythm. So I have spent some time experimenting with different playlists on my YouTube channel Mood Music. 

I assumed at first that of the Five Rhythms, flow was the one most suited to my personality. Now I am not so sure. More on this in a future  blog post!! For now I recommend you check out some of my playlists or create your own...

Click here for more songs on my Rousing Music Playlist. I am putting it on myself NOW!

Better get back to the housework. 

Whilst I am gone, please share what helps you mentally, to feel happier about housework?

Spinal Tip Smoothie

I have often felt weak in the spine- as if it was not strong enough to support me and my back is tired of remaining upright.

Mostly, I figured that this was due to lack of adequate sleep and rest. However, it often made simple household tasks extremely wearying...

And then a colleague at work mentioned how he needed folic acid supplementation and I started to wonder if I was getting enough folic acid myself. So I looked up the  folic acid content of high folate foods and quickly realised that I was only receiving a small percentage of the recommended intake.

So I invented this smoothie recipe to get my daily folic acid … It also tastes delicious and my spine feels much stronger. (Perhaps the latter side-effect is psychosomatic but I have tried lots of other techniques to improve bone health etc in the past and they did not seem so effective.)

Let me know if it works for YOU!

 RECIPE:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of Spinach
• 1 large or possibly 2 small avocados
• 1 small or half a large pear*, peeled and chopped into large slices &/or
• 5cm of cucumber peeled

 

• Water to get desired consistency.

Method:

1. Soak the spinach for a few minutes in water and clean thoroughly.
2. Rinse the other solid ingredients.
3. Blend the solid ingredients thoroughly so there are no gritty bits of spinach leaf. Add water to the blender if necessary to help blender.
4. Pour thick sauce-like smoothie into a suitable glass or jar. Stir in enough water to get the consistency you like.
5. Enjoy immediately, or put a lid on the jar and refrigerate until desired.

I now start my day the green smoothie way! J

*    Pears are relatively high in fructose and are generally not recommended for people with Fructose Malabsorption problems. However, pears and bananas are the only two types of fruit listed as sufficiently alkaline to be tolerated by those prone to heartburn/reflux- having a PH above 5 according to Dr. Koufman in her generally excellent  (with a few tweaks) recipe book: "Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook and Cure"

I was diagnosed with Fructmal and followed a low FODMAPS diet for around 2 years. However my tolerance of sweet foods began to improve and I seem to be able to tolerate the pears in this recipe well- possibly because the fructose in the small amount of pear is balanced by the low %fructose sugars in the other ingredients giving a favourable overall fructose:glucose ratio for the entire recipe. However, if worried about the fructose content of pears just use the cucumber or a fruit you tolerate better such as a kiwi or a slice or two of pineapple. These are too acidic for the heartburn prone (I have painful proof! L) but ok if you just have lower intestinal IBS!