My awesome lunch

I made an absolutely nutritious and delicious lunch today and I had to share the recipe because it's so simple to make. I made Kichadi and Zucchini Shak.
To translate, kichadi is a mixture of rice and split mung beans, and zucchini shak simply means zucchini curry. I made the kichadi using brown jasmine rice as a healthy alternative to white rice. Jasmine, like basmati, are considered to be high quality long grain rice. Long grain rice is lighter and fluffier and has lower starch content than short or medium grain rice. I used brown rice as this unpolished type is very high in vitamin, mineral and fiber content unlike it's polished white counterpart. Mung beans further add to this meal's nutritious value as they are not only loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber, but they are an extremely high source of protein and are easy to digest.

For the Kichadi, I mixed together the rice and mung beans (1 cup rice;1/2 cup mung), and rinsed the mixture several times with cold water. I added the mixture along with 2 cups of water (1 cup rice: 2 cups water) to my rice cooker and added 1/2 tsp turmeric, sea salt, a pinch of asafoetida and 1/2 tbsp of olive oil. 40 minutes later, it was ready. So simple!

While the kichadi was cooking, I prepared the zucchini shak.

Ingredients:
1 medium white onion; chopped
1-2 cloves garlic; minced
1 tbsp finely chopped or grated ginger
1 hot pepper; minced (optional)
1 chopped tomato
2 tbsp tomato paste
1-2 zucchini, cut lengthwise and diced
1 tsp cumin/mustard seeds
1/2-1 tsp each cumin and coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric
Pinch of asafoetida
1/4 cup finely chopped almonds
Olive oil
Sea salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan and add the cumin and mustard seeds. Once they've started to pop, add the onions and sautee until they're lightly browned.
2.  Next add the tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, ginger, hot pepper and the powdered spices (cumin, coriander, turmeric and asafoetida). [Optional: Add a bit of warm water if you want it to be gravy-like - and in that case you can add a bit of corn flour/starch as a thickening agent]. Reduce heat if creating gravy and/or stir and cook the mixture for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the zucchini and chopped almonds and mix thoroughly. Reduce the heat, cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the zucchini is cooked and tender.

And there you have it, a mega healthy and very well-balanced lunch. Bon Appetit!

The Royal Breakfast

You don't want to skip your morning breakfast..especially if you want to lose weight!
We should all be starting our day with a high energy, well-balanced breakfast - And by high energy I mean filling ourselves up with a mix of carbohydrates and protein first thing in the morning to fulfill our body's initial energy demand. To support weight loss, the heavier and heartier you make your morning meal, the less likely you'll overeat throughout the day and eventually you'll get accustomed to eating smaller portions as the day turns to night. You'll further speed up weight loss if you stick to meals that are rich in protein and complex carbohydrates (like vegetables) throughout the remainder of the day. Protein takes time to digest so you'll feel full for a longer period of time.


Breakfast really is my favourite meal of the day because it's the one meal of the day where I don't worry so much about the number of "calories" I'm taking in. That doesn't mean I eat candy and chocolate bars for breakfast. But I know that a meal high in both carbs and protein will be high in calorie content. So I don't let that notion bother me. I simply feast away!

So, what are some examples of high energy, well-balanced breakfasts? I'll tell you what I eat in the mornings and I'll post some pics. You'll then understand why I truly love my royal breakfast.

My latest craze is the 'torpedo' -
What it is: 1 whole wheat tortilla smothered with almond butter, topped with 1 tbsp of ground flax seed and 1 tsp of oat bran, all wrapped around 1/2-1 sliced banana. I sometimes have this meal with a small glass of freshly squeezed orange juice (vitamin C) and/or a pot of white tea (high in antioxidants).
The tortillas I use not only taste delicious but are very healthy. They are extremely high in fiber and low in fat. I normally alternate using tortillas with a slice of toasted whole or sprouted grain Stonemill bread.
The torpedo is my favourite meal to eat after a morning workout, especially a morning run. It's high in protein (almond butter) and carbs (banana, wrap/bread) and it's balanced with heart healthy omega 3's (ground flax) and fiber (oat bran; wrap/bread). It's delish and it fills me up!

 

My other regular 'weekday' breakfasts include a yummy mix of high protein, high fiber cereal topped with sliced bananas, berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, dried goji berries), sliced almonds and/or sunflower seeds, 1 tbsp ground flax, 1/4 tsp matcha green tea powder and 1 cup of unsweetened original almond milk. Again this meal is accompanied by either a glass of fresh OJ or a pot of herbal tea.

If the time permits, I blend all of the above cereal ingredients (excluding the cereal) + 1 tbsp of either almond butter or natural peanut butter into a smoothie - and that's what I call my dessert breakfast.

If I'm running out of ingredients I'll sometimes have one slice of toast topped with almond butter and jam and half of a grapefruit. Alternatively, I'll have a handful of almonds and whatever fruit I have in my kitchen. Even if I'm only having fruit, I always make sure to top the fruit with ground flax and oat bran.

On the weekends my latest brunch feast includes free run eggs scrambled with onions, garlic, peppers, chilies and mushrooms alongside tofu (extra-firm) scrambled with the same veggies and spiced with ground cumin, turmeric and low sodium tamari. This is a meal very high in protein. If I only prepare one dish (eggs or tofu) then I'll normally have one slice of toast with my meal. I also sometimes top my eggs off with 1 tsp of nutritional yeast which is high in both protein and B vitamins (namely B12) and is a healthy alternative to cheese with a nutty flavour. I also sprinkle nutritional yeast flakes onto soups and plain popcorn.. yum!