Monday Lunch - Use of the 'natural ceramic pan' =]

Today I started the day out on my computer. I needed to sort my head out as I felt bad that I hadn’t been on it much of yesterday after diverting my attention to attend to one of my projects on my list for ‘tissue paper tracing’; experimenting with different media and techniques to produce something similar to what I envisage in my mind. I did feel pretty productive yesterday but just a bit out of sync of what I would usually allow myself to do. I made my plan for the week first before attending to my email inbox to sort through all of my subscription posts; seeing what inspiration I could gather through various recipients. Not many emails to go through as I had first originally thought I would have. By the time I had read through all of them my mum was now ready to ‘make a move’.

I seem to have caught my eye on another inspiration concept extracted from an email from ‘White Stuff’ to note the trend of ‘wood block printing’ and ‘shibori fabrics’. I wasn’t quite sure what this was referring to so I took the opportunity to google search it and found some lovely inspiration from this blog.

I don't know why but this morning I felt as if society was in a 'rush' and impatient to get to places. For instance, before getting to Aldi we popped up to the postal collection point as mum needed to retrieve a parcel yet returned back to the car to say that they were not able to find it. Not starting well but we then drove to Aldi to have a driver not be helpful in reversing to allow us past. Got to Aldi car park to find it was very busy with all parking spaces taken. Got a space though. People just seemed to be quite slow in exiting the car park. In Aldi I got my groceries but it didn't go without amiss with a couple of shoppers impatiently barging past me to grab an item or two of something without any form of apology. I remained calm though to reassure myself that in terms of Karma, 'What goes around will come around' and so this is just one moment in time which will past but may have its consequences evolved for the persons whose actions were distracting. 

I got my hands on some more seeds too due to the enjoyment from growing my little tomato seeds. To accompany them I am also going to sow 'Rocket' and 'basil' which is hard to buy organic in supermarkets. Afterwards mum asked if I wanted to go to my lovely local 'southville deli' store. As she had asked I took this oppourtunity to visit the store to see whether they had any very popular buckwheat flour in stock - to which to my delight they did indeed. =] £2.13

I noticed when looking around another time that they stock 'Bee Pollen!' However due to the nature of the product in being a really good superfood, it came with a price tag of £6.00.

Bee Pollen Nutrition information 

The shop assistants are so helpful and friendly that it really does bring a smile to my face when I see them every monday morning =] Unfortunatly they were still out of raw cacao powder, so perhaps they will have it next week. Stopped off at the cheapy card shop to noticed that they sold art canvas which was something I have been after. They had a hexagonal one for £1.49 or a A4 thicker depth box canvas for £1.99. I went for the cheaper one as it is for one of my experimental projects. 

Returned home to unpack shopping. Laid out the placemats. Got lunch.

Made one of my normal meals again today of ‘Mushroom & spinach egg white omelette’ with marmite mixed into the spinach and used 2 egg whites. I tried this recipe in the ceramic frying pan which I had bought last week and I have to say that it worked very well. No oil and it cooked splendidly =] I made sure I had cut up the mushrooms into small cubes and defrosted the spinach in the microwave before I had added it to the pan. Mixed the marmite into the spinach and then added this to the pan to cook. Once it looked quite ‘dry’ in the pan and most of the water had evaporated I added the 2 egg whites and left to cook on number ‘5’. Once the egg had turned opaque, I flipped it over and topped with tomatoes. Served with lettuce leaves in a bowl. 

This evening I am in aura of Deliciously Ella's blog and love reading her blog post 'Food Philosophy' - I believe this is the only way I can crack this ED by allowing myself to develop and learn a new way of thinking to create a more acceptable lifestyle - with no strings attached to the past. Its going to take some hard work but I am feeling more determined now than ever before. I've got to do this. I can't go on no more doing what I have been doing for the past 9 years of my life. It will require 'baby steps', taking on little challenges every week, but with the support of the information provided by this lovely 'Ella' I have some hope to hold on to.   

Sunday Banana & Chia Seed Smoothie... post running drink made for my mum

Banana & Chia Seed Smoothie 

Ingredients

1 Frozen banana
1/2 tbsp Peanut butter
1/2 tbsp Chia Seeds
1 cup semi skimmed milk

Additional: This mixture became too thick and viscous so froze cubes of the mixture into an unused plastic egg box and placed into the freezer. The mixture was thinned out with excess milk and a dash of 'Chocolate Nesquick' (mum did not like the banana taste).

METHOD

1. Place all the ingredients into a small blender and blend until smooth.

Romano Stuffed Pepper with red cabbage

Romano Stuffed Pepper – adapted from the book 'EatForLife'

Ingredients

33g Red lentils, cooked in the microwave till softened
1 Large Red romano pepper, cut in half and deseeded
1 Onion, peeled & sliced
1 garlic clove, sliced finely
1 Tsp Paprika
1/2 Tsp ground coriander
1/4 Tsp Hot chilli powder
1 tsp Turmeric
1 Tbsp Tomato Puree
200g Passatta
1/2 Tbsp Parsley
1/4 Tbsp Thyme
65g tinned tuna in spring water
tbsp Apple cyder vinegar

Method
1. Cook the red lentils; cover with water in a measuring jug and microwave on medium for 5 mins and drain.

2. Place the halved romano peppers into a glass dish with water and microwave on high for low for 2 mins. Place the peppers cut side up on the glass dish.

3. Cook the onions and garlic till softened. Add the spices to the onion mixture and stir for 2 mins.

4. Add the tomato puree, Passatta and herbs. Add the cooked lentils and stir. Warm through and stir through the tuna.  

5. Preheat the oven to 180'C. Stuff the pepper with the spicy tuna mixture and place into the oven to bake for 20 mins.

8. Whilst cooking in the oven, Add the red cabbage to the pan used to cook the onions and add a touch of water. Cook the cabbage till slightly softened and then add the red wine vinegar. Cover and allow to cook through. (I added a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg for sweetness) For the last mins, add the grated carrot and stir through; continuing to cook for a further 5 mins. 

9. Spoon the cabbage onto the serving plate and sit the stuffed pepper on top with a top of lettuce.

Tasty dish which I liked with the red cabbage =]
I had no peppers or green beans to serve it with but it was a nice change without =]

My Sunny Saturday trip to Costco with Mum & Dad...

I woke up this morning to be faced with a specific scenario…. NO BLUEBERRIES! Oh dear, how will I get my antioxidents for this morning? No worries should arise. Just simply breathe and remember ‘I will handle it’. Instead I amended my usual breakfast of fruit muesli and bulgar wheat by substituting the blueberries for the frozen raspberries instead. It was quite a nice change I felt which was practically the same as my ‘usual’ =]

I planned to try out distilling my very own water using the simple tools of:

1. A large saucepan and lid

2. A tuna tin

3. A glass bowl

4. Ice cubes

I followed the instructions via Wiki How on the procedure on how to do this without a special chemistry condenser set which would cost me over £100 to afford =[

I followed the instructions and let it bubble. After simmering for a couple of mins (15) I believe to have collected about 150ml of water into the bowl which I had placed into the saucepan. I let this cool a tad before funnelling it into a clean spray which my dad had let me have from his selling stock. To this water I added around 3 tbsps of Organic aspall cyder vinegar. This was directed through the free people website (http://blog.freepeople.com/2013/10/apple-cider-vinegar-benefits/) as a good organic beauty product to use for the hair.

“Apple cider vinegar is an excellent way to remove excess build up from your hair, whether it’s from styling products or contaminants in your water. This is due to the presence of acetic acid, the main ingredient in apple cider vinegar. In addition, it will balance your hair’s pH level, promote hair growth by stimulating the scalp, treat dandruff, and give your hair extra bounce, body, and shine!

To make: Combine 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar with 1 quart of distilled water in a container and mix well.

To use: Shampoo your hair as you normally would, and rinse well. Apply the mixture (a spray bottle works great for this), leave it on for just a few seconds, and rinse with cold water to lock in the shine. Don’t condition afterwards – there’s no need, and doing so may negate the benefits of the rinse. You can use this rinse about once a week.”

I was happy to have tried this out and I look forward to using it on Sunday (BATH NIGHT =] haha).

Next I got myself ready to see on  my calendar I had planned to try out one of my many projects that I have going around in my head – ‘Tissue paper transferring of sketches’. I remembered last week when visiting my Auntie that it was my baby cousin ‘Rupert’s’ 2^nd Birthday this year in May which immediately flicked a light bulb in my mind as to what I could get him for this celebratory occasion. I thought this project might run in line with my intentions to proceed and have its use if it manages to work out. Therefore, I had found an image which I like of Rupert and my Auntie and decided to work on the basis of this and experiment with my ideas. In addition, I have also been thinking of a recent patient I had crossed paths with, ‘Verity’ who I felt was a very inspirational person when I met her in hospital and I wanted to give something back to her. I found two lovely images of her on a photoshoot and wanted to try my idea again for this to see whether it works.

I set up my little station in the lounge and doodled with a fine permanent pen onto tissue paper and then onto some watercolour paper I had. I was in the lovely company of my father and I think it was nice to just ‘Be’ and sit in the lounge with much of my focus on drawing; waiting until my mother had returned back from her morning run with Charlotte as I wasn’t sure whether she had taken her house key. In the end it seems that she had – but no worries about the time issue as I was happy I had managed to get completed 2 images in about 2 hours.

Cleared up my stuff and then got ready to proceed to my next destination ‘Costco’.

On my list, all I was looking for was frozen blueberries and Rouwse Honey.

I immediately went to analyse the cost costco proposes for their Apple Imac desktop computer. £1079.98
I believe this is the cheapest place I am able to buy this product which would complement my, yet to be constructed, new corner desk. 
Coincidentally, I noticed whilst browsing the aisles the appearance of the 'Blendtec' demonstrators. I am also hoping to get one of these in the future some day as I believe their product would be very ideal for me in the kitchen. This product was around £250 but that is not the bundle set that I had found online. Or perhaps I should go with 'Vitamix'?

I got my frozen blueberries and honey for mum and frosties for dad and then headed over to look at the books to which I noted seeing a post by Sarah Wilson to say that her 'I quit sugar' book was available at costco - to which it indeed was! =] I also found one for 'Honestly healthy' which had lovely looking recipes to try to which I noted to follow on twitter. My final discovery which I was happy to stumble upon was the new range of products costco were now offering to traders - 
1. 1.5kg Organic Coconut oil!
2. Organic milled flaxseeds!
3. The chia Co Black chia seeds!

I gather the sense that all of this nutrition research which has been discovered is finally being promoted for consumers to buy as 'the new norm' as paleo diets become more and more popular around the web. Reverting back to clean eating and natural whole products rather than products the manufacturers have pumped full of artificial chemicals which the body responds to as it being 'foreign'. Hence the rise in cancers, allergies and rare diseases! In addition to the fact that 'sugar' has only now been identified as something which should be something to be aware of and promoted as something to limit in the diet - obviously the prime source of fuel for fueling all cancer cells!

But anyhow, I believe this to be a rather positive approach which costco are taking to help local traders sell products worth buying  - health.

Returned home to quickly have lunch and then pop up to my nan's to see Auntie Vikki and Rupert. Tia and Wendy were also present and so I just sat in my normal 'fireplace' spot to listen to what people had been up to this past week and then I couldn't help but do some research on my ipad. I didn't want to be rude, I just can't help it when a seed in my mind is planted and needs to be seen to. I had a green tea offered to me by my nan .

I noted some interesting posts on twitter for 'sign' purposes Feb 5 - March 7th...
36 lessons | Zen habits
Chemistry Picture | Bristol University
Healthiest Cup of Tea | Cosmo
Foods nutritionists reccommend
What foods are in season
Celebrating the hotel breakfast at home

 I have way too many ideas and plans that I find it hard to focus on one at a time. This is very frustrating. @prettygreendaisy

Best foods for your heart

Did you know taking a hot bath gives you endorphens? Add candles, an essential oil and a copy of Healthy for a relaxing Sunday treat. - healthy magazine

Healthy food swaps for a flat tummy

You are what you eat | Free people

98% of the people we asked would NOT put cheap fuel in their car if it damaged the engine. Yet 80% said they make bad food choices daily!?! @greenpowderuk

Yay! We've just heard from @AnthropologieEU that the new Bath store is opening in May!

The key to going all natural | Free People

Always advise: "Avoid packaged, highly processed foods as much as possible." -

Fear Not | Zen Habits

 Working on a project and already have ideas for the second version. The first one ain't even done yet >.< gahh @prettygreentea

'Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.' Charles Kettering

Ruby & Ed - 

Cosy feet

Creating a spring atmosphere | Free People
Desktop calenders | White Stuff
EdibleBristol
Avoid Overeating
Chia Seeds
Enchinea effectiveness
Quotes from powerful female figures
How to talk to a friend with an eating disorder
10 ways to boost confidence
Oil Pulling | Free People

Day 8 - Tomato shoots transferred to bigger pot, sowed some more seeds

I started the day today with a structured list. I had a plan. I had spent most of my Thursday constructing a pair of pyjama bottoms using an old pair of Topshop jogging bottoms as my template for helping me draft my paper pattern. I found an old 100% cotton sheet I had obtained from hospital which I have to say was perfect for using for my toile construction. I set up my work station in the back room with both the ironing board and steam generator iron out along with my much loved sewing machine at the ready. I tried to remind myself to not rush this project, considering how slow my body seems to be responding recently which has at times been frustrating; knowing what it is that I want to do but unable to allow my body to achieve the action that I am intending to perform. However, despite my frustration to do things at a quick pace I have learnt a lot today in terms of learning to accept it is okay to make mistakes during the construction process as it allows you to learn and grow wiser in understanding the ways to make the, what seems to be a ‘disaster’, right. =] It has been quite a different approach that I am use to thinking but one I have found quite useful in hindsight as I believe by accepting that things may go wrong and being okay with this, I was able to feel a touch relaxed. As a result, I managed to complete this project which had been playing on in the back of my mind for quite a while now.

I got my mother to try on my toile which was considered to be a size ‘8’ yet as I watched her put on the pyjama bottoms, I noticed the extremely tight squeeze she had when pulling them up. Oh dear. They do not fit her. Yet, I took this situation as one I can learn from. It was identified that the jogging bottoms I had used for drafting my pattern were constructed from a double jersey fabric which obviously provided to some degree a good amount of stretch, hence the tight fit. In addition, my mother had added that they were too very tight on anyway dispite there stretch. I felt defeated a tad as yet again I got not produce a garment that has actually fitted my mother =[ However, I took this opportunity to try on the pair of trousers myself and found that they were small enough to fit me! =] Perfect! They were also made to the right length and the hem looked fine compared to some difficulty I had found in the past with previous projects. Perhaps if there is any fabric left over from the pair I make mum I could make some myself =]. Therefore, I was highly motivated to follow the pattern I had found free online by simplicity for pyjama bottoms stated XS. Now I know the instructions as to how to construct each piece I may not take half the time in making the toile.

I woke up today to finish off hemming the toile for the XS PETITE pyjama bottoms and then continued to XS SIMPLICITY paper pattern. I started this project this morning from 9.10am – 13.00pm to which I had completed all except the hem which I had planned to continue after lunch as I felt my little brain getting a tad tired and frazzled – not recommended if I am to avoid any mistakes in the project. Therefore I cleared up the bits of thread scattered around the back room and made my way to the kitchen to attend to my second task of the day – ‘Transfer my tomato seed seedling to a bigger pot’. The sun was shining brightly this afternoon which was lovely and uplifting – definitely a feeling of spring in the air – at time of ‘new growth’ so to speak =]

Tomato shoots – day 8

This didn’t take me too long to complete despite the thoughts in my mind telling me otherwise that this was just going to be ‘too exhausting’ and ‘time consuming’ – but it wasn’t. And I felt better for getting outside and taking a slight ‘breather’. Done.

Tidied the kitchen – all clean =]

Got my normal Friday lunch with both apple and orange and attended to look at the next thing on the agenda for the day. ‘Make Lemonies’ for my family as I know they liked them. However I couldn’t help but notice the bananas I had left in the wired basket in the corner of the kitchen – Ah Ha, perhaps it may be a good opportunity to try out the ‘Banana Bread’ recipe my mum seemed quite keen to try. Plus it was nutritionally acceptable whilst classed as ‘grain-free’. I got ahead to make this new little recipe.

I had a bit of time and completed the rest of the errands...

# Clean out the rabbit

#Hoover the house (kitchen, backroom, hallway, lounge)

#Finish hemming mum's trousers ready for her to try on later

#Make the drawstring for the trousers

#Make Supper

#Bath night

#Waitrose shop online

#Blog!

Heard that my brother has a job interview in London this weekend which is promising =] This could be perhaps due to the retrogrades returning back to normal over the next coming days? I am so happy for him as I understand that on an emotional level things have been hard for him recently. I wish him well but what will be will be =]

Wow, well I have to say today was a very productive day yet I somewhat feel not like my normal self =/ My head hurts with all the questions but with no energy to answer them like I am usually able to do =/ 

Banana Coconut Almond Bread - Grain Free

Banana, Coconut & Almond Bread – Inspired from the 'Anja's Food For thought' site 

Ingredients

3/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup coconut flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3 eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons coconut oil, liquefied
2 ripe bananas, mashed 
2 tablespoons honey

45g chopped dates
60g chopped walnuts

Handful desiccated coconut

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 175C. Line a regular 1lb loaf tin with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, sift together almond meal, coconut flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Whisk in mashed banana, date syrup/honey and coconut oil. 
Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir until  no longer lumpy. Stir in chopped dates and walnuts. 

3. Transfer batter to prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle desiccated coconut. Bake for 40 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack.

The Verdict

“It tastes lovely Bee, although I imagined it to taste more banana-y”

“Very good recipe though, nice taste and quite a nice texture.”

Overall I believe this to be a rather acceptable 'Grain-free' recipe which could be favoured by all people and not catered specifically for a selected niche. =] 

Braised cabbage salad

Braised red cabbage and baked spicy cabbage segments – Inspired from the 'Drizzle & Dip' site 

Ingredients

1 onion, sliced
1/4 Red cabbage, sliced
1/4 red cabbage, segmented
3T Red wine vinegar
1T Apple cyder vinegar
1/4 veg stock cube, crumbled and dash of hot water
1t cinnamon
1t nutmeg
1 orange, segmented with juice

1t cumin
1t smoked paprika
1t mild chilli powder
chilli flakes

2 carrots, sliced
1 celery stick, sliced
1 courgette, julienne and sliced
handful frozen green beans

METHOD

1. Heat a saucepan and cook the onion with the cabbage and stir fry quickly. Just as the cabbage starts to wilt, add the seasoning, veg stock cube and water and vinegars. Keep stirring and adjusting as necessary.

2. Add the segmented orange and heat until warmed through.

3. combine the spice mix and sprinkle over the segmented red cabbage pieces. Place into the 180'C oven for 20 mins and cook through.

Served with sliced carrots, celery, courgette and green beans.