Flu fighting

I've been sick with the flu for the last few days and have been resting to the max. Sleep is the best. Today I sat outside in the sun for a while, it's warmth and light just always makes me feel happy.

I also made a smoothie this afternoon, it was a real random one today with everything I could find I put in. Thought I'd try some parsley in there too for the first time since we always have some growing in our garden.

Avocado, coconut oil, parsley, banana, rock melon, orange, hempseeds, flax seeds and some green powder. Was lovely and so was drinking one with hubby who loved it too.

Here are a few of my friends.

-Thieves Essential Oil Blend by Young Living. My lovely aunty in Tasmania got me into these when we were there, I love it. I take a drop onto my tongue. It's antibacterial and supports immune system.

-Amla berries. Contain naturally a lot of vitamin C. It's a wholefood vitamin c source, not synthetic or isolated.

-Awesome green powder, has probiotics and enzymes in it. The digestive system plays a huge role in our immune system so good bacteria is important.

Creamy basil dip

Yesterday one of my beautiful friends came over and she is also real food loving chick. We have lots of basil growing in our garden so I made some of this basil dip to put on our sandwiches. It is seriously yummy and makes any sandwhich delicious:) And its green, I love bright green things. The key is to make it taste just how you like it. Not tangy enough? Add more apple cider vinegar. More sweetness? Add some more honey. Too sweet? Add some more salt.

1/2-1 cup of Cashews or Macadamia nuts

3tbls extra virgin olive oil

2tbls raw apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

1 tsp raw honey

1 garlic clove

Himalaya salt, black pepper, chili powder

Handful of basil leaves

Mix everything in the blender with a tiny bit of water until a smooth paste. If too runny add more nuts and if to thick add a bit more water.

Mineral makeup and mini health conference

Yay, I just got some new mineral makeup in the post from organicbeautyworld.com. I love the Inika mineral makeup, it's 100% mineral makeup with only a few ingredients and that is all you need! It lasts for a long time too, it took me way over a year to use this little container. When I threw out all my makeup the other year in pursuit for something without nasty chemicals I started researching all about real mineral makeup and came across Inika. I'm the type of person that will reasearch the best possbile options and I like to know all my ingredients! I never trust companies who decide on my behalf what is safe. The skin absorbs everything and so I like to be real careful what I feed my skin:)

On Sunday I also spontaneously went to listen to Philip Day speak at the rsl club here in Dee Why. He has written heaps of books on health and is a raw foodie person. I loved it so much!! I had been praying that I would get to go to some health conferences here while in aus and this was my first little touch. I was so inspired and excited just listening to how passionate he is about what he believes and he was real funny too. I admire his boldness in speaking out against the big food companies, health systems, drug companies and basically lots of other things that you know you are picking a fight with if you decide to address what they are up to. I was just reminded once and again how wonderful the human body is! We are error correcting systems with all these amazing, complex cells working in our body. And so that's why I want to feed my body with the right fuel and give it everything it needs as it capable of healing itself. Quality food is so important:)

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well. "

Psalm 139:14

Banana Bread made with almonds

I made banana bread twice this week and even put a few pieces into the freezer for a nice surprise some day when we want something yummy. I had a lovely friend over and so I made one loaf to share with her with a cup of tea and then yesterday I decided to make another loaf because, well, just because I wanted to! And you would never guess this recipe is grain free, the texture is just wonderful and like real banana bread. I'll also post another banana bread recipe that I recently tried with soaked spelt flour. We just love banana bread and so it's fun coming up with healthy options that don't have white flour, refined sugar and other things our bodies don't really like:)
This banana bread recipe is based on Teressa Cutter's recipe. She runs The Healthy Chef cafe in Avalon which is our favourite cafe to go to! I made a few of my own adjustments to this recipe. Coconut oil is my fav for cooking as it can stand high heats in cooking and so I use it in this recipe. Also I just love coconut oil! Cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil does amazing things for your health. I use it in smoothies and on my skin and hair too. I'm a big fan of getting lots of good quality healthy fats into our diet.
Usually I make this without any added sugar and then put some raw honey on top once its out of the oven. Today I had some rapadura sugar on hand and thought i'd make it a special sweet version this time. It's so yummy with some butter on top.

2 cups ground almonds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
3 bananas
1/4 cup rapadura sugar
2 tbls coconut oil
1tbls lemon juice + 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda

I blend the whole almonds in my blender with the flax seeds into a fine consistency which is super easy. You can also use almond meal. Put into a bowl and add cinnamon.
Mix the bananas, eggs, rapadura and coconut oil together. I do this in my blender too so it is nice and smooth. Then add the lemon juice+bicarb soda to the banana mixture. I do this at the last minute because the lemon juice activates the bicarb.
Mix banana mixture into ground almonds and flax seeds. Pour into a bread loaf tin thingy (or whatever you call it) that has been oiled with coconut oil and sprinkled with almond meal. I bake mine in the oven for about 45mins- 1 hour and check with a fork when it's done. If it starts to brown on the top I put some foil over it.
Take out of the oven and wait until it has cooled down a bit then tip out of tin.

Raw cacao and date balls

These are so easy to make you have to try. And all you need is a food processor and maybe 5 minutes? These are quick to make! I have a cute little food processor that was super cheap and works great for just what I need.

Dates are naturally so sweet there is no added sweeteners in this recipe, yay! And raw cacao powder is amazing. Normal cocoa powder in shops has been processed and heated at high temperatures. Raw cacao powder on the other hand is full of antioxidants, magnesium and gives you a kick of energy. You can find it health shops or online stores like iherb.com.

You can't go wrong with making these, I don't have any set amounts of the ingredients. Just go with what I think is good and add more of something if I want. Tasting along the way is my secret to all the things I do. I start with about 8 pitted dates, a small handful of nuts and probably a tablespoon of raw cacao powder. Other great additions are lucuma powder (another great superfood from south america) and goji berries.

Dates
Nuts (cashews, almonds, walnuts.. whatever you want!)
Raw cacao powder
Coconut

Take the pits out of the dates and mix everything in the food processor. It will be a sticky mixture, so sometimes it helps to crush the nuts first if you want a less chunky texture. Roll into balls and then roll in coconut. Keep them in the fridge.