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Superman Smoothie for reaching super heights!

Posted by 2 · March 29, 2011

Nothing really beats a day out in the sun!

..accept maybe a road trip, great company, tree climbing, a picnic and exploring new places.

Yep that certainly is one good day out and one I'm still buzzing from a week later.

That's me, Aya, Kyle, Elliot and a very sweet self timer.

We left London early on Saturday morning to be at Go Ape high ropes course for a 10am start.

The whole tree swinging and climbing circuit takes about 2 hours to complete, but be warned- just as you're getting really confident with all the Tarzan techniques, the course suddenly comes to an end. So make sure you sneak past your instructor's gaze for another cheeky round before giving up your harnesses.

You hear enough about Elliot and I :), so meet Aya Davis, my beautiful friend and amazing woman behind Pura Vida Food.

If you haven't heard of Pura Vida, it's a Raw Living lunch delivery service around London and now offering postage service throughout all of UK.

Her food is to LIVE for, completely scrumptious and super nutritious. 100% raw of cause and highly recommended by me!

Meet Kyle Vialli of kylevialli.com- the super energy charged man behind organising Europe's best and biggest Vitality events.

If you haven't heard of his next event Vitality, Longevity & Genius Conference (with David Wolfe, John Demartini and a secret surprise speaker)- where have you been my friend?

It is not until November, but early bird tickets are available only until 4th April, make sure you get yours asap! Aya, Elliot and I will be there too, along with another 1200 people. CAN NOT WAIT!

Our day only kept getting better, exploring Windsor, Royal Holloway University, Virginia Water and even more tree climbing. Apparently real monkeys don't need no harnesses...

We certainly worked up quite an appetite for our picnic. Lunch never tasted so good! Check out what we had...

This week's recipe: Superman Smoothie.
Is it coincidence that when I wrote our initials on each bottle,
it spelt TEAK- strong hard wood tree!

Samosas from Pura Vida food delivery

Aya's amazing Jerusalem Artichoke salad

A selections of Raw Chocolates from my upcoming book

SUPERMAN SMOOTHIE

1 whole pineapple, shaved and chopped
2 mangoes, meat only
1 Tbsp Spirulina powder
1 Tbsp Chlorella powder
1 Tbsp Wheatgrass powder
water

-Put all ingredients into a blender in that order
-Cover with water
-Blend
-Mmmmm

3 comments

Tag:
Smoothies+Drinks

The Calcium Question plus Almond Milk & Superfoods Smoothie

Posted by 2 · October 22, 2010

It has been nearly one month since my last post. Shame on me! Shame especially because I have been planning to post this important information on Calcium in Dairy, Soy and Nut Milks ever since I spoke about it at this year’s Festival of Life event.

[Festival of Life is the largest annual Raw Vegan event in Europe and this year there were 68 presentations and workshops from amazing inspiring speakers, 100 eco vegan stalls and an uplifting conscious dance party]

I was overwhelmed at how many turned up to my lecture and when there were not enough chairs, were even willing to stand or sit on the floor for the entire duration. And no wonder- Calcium seems to be THEE topic at the moment with Dairy consumption going up, but osteoporosis not even budging to decrease for a moment. In fact its getting worse, much worse.

I was glad to hear David Wolfe also speak in depth about this issue at his ‘Best Ever You’ Event when he was in London just last week. That's me with the Nutrition Superstar himself...

THE CALCIUM QUESTION

Truths, Myths and Facts about Dairy, Soy and Nut Milks

WHAT DO I NEED FOR STRONG BONES?

Calcium as you’ve all heard, but that is part of the solution
Bones are made of 12+ minerals, not just one
Osteoporosis is defined as ‘loss of minerals from bones’, not ‘calcium deficiency’
The right calcium- supplements are NOT the answer. In fact if you heard David Wolfe speak of bad calcification, you already know that by taking calcium supplements and eating calcium ‘enriched’ foods, you’ll build up excess of it in your system coupled with mineral deficiencies and imbalances that will cause plaque in arteries, thyroid hormone resistance, kidney stones, gallstones, osteoarthritis, obesity, Type 2 diabetes and the list goes on.
Vitamin D- important to absorb the calcium, now all we need is the sun (pleeease London)
Exercise- the more the bone is stressed, the more calcium is absorbed from the bloodstream, the more rigid structures are formed in bone cells creating the bone matrix and the stronger the bone gets

SO DAIRY MILK THEN?

There are several clues as to why Dairy should be the LAST resort, but there is even MORE scientific proof

Clue #1- We are the ONLY species that drink milk from another species. Have you thought of that before?
Clue #2- We are also the ONLY species drinking milk past infancy. Lovely
Clue #3- Dairy consumption is on the increase, but so is Osteoporosis
Clue #4- Dairy is the largest industry in the world bringing some serious cash to the economy, would our governments then ever tell us the truth?

It's true that cow’s milk is very rich in calcium and other nutrients- it is afterall designed to build a WHOLE COW. But we share no anatomical similarities with a calf and have no evolutionary relationship with it either.

We also tend to drink Dairy pasteurised and/or homogenised! This process kills many vital nutrients, makes it difficult to absorb any minerals and allows for less hygienic environments to live stock.

I’m not done :) Most calcium in dairy is wrapped in casein (used in industrial glue and pain thickeners). To split casein and get to the calcium we need rennet. This enzyme is produced in stomachs of young mammals, but as for humans- only for the very FIRST month of our lives!

SO HOW ABOUT SOY?

Oh dear. There are now so many problems arising from cow’s milk, that Soy is what's made itself known as a ‘healthy’ solution. Then isn't this interesting..

Fact #1 HIGH LEVELS OF ANTI NUTRIENTS
Phytic Acids in Soy block body of minerals, such as magnesium, iron, zinc and CALCIUM.
There are many enzyme inhibitors slowing protein digestion, causing growth problems and digestive issues
Cooking doesn’t help, as soy is very resistant to heat and only long fermentation will reduce the anti nutrients content (ie. Tamari, miso and netto are OK)

Fact #2 PHYTO-ESTROGENS AND FLAVONES

Flavones block the thyroid function
Phyto-estrogens closely mimic estrogen in human body, affecting levels of testosterone and impairing reproductivity
One glass of Soy milk has been shown to have the same amount of estrogen as EIGHT birth control pills

Fact #3 NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION
99% of soya bean are genetically modified and have the highest percentage of contamination by pesticide of all foods

Fact #4 SOY IS EVERYWHERE
Most products in supermarkets are made of soya and corn (they feed this to cows too!)
Most fish get farmed and fed soya/inverted corn syrup
Commercial chocolate has lecithin, which comes from soya beans

THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!

And it's brighter than ever! There are many many foods that have calcium in a more bio- available form than Milk AND will give us even more nutrients and minerals, that are needed for healthy bones...

SEEDS- Sesame seeds have the highest calcium content in the seed world, as Calcium is found in tough, hard things, like shells. Also sunflower seeds

NUTS- Many kinds, like Hazelnuts and walnuts, but mainly Almonds and Brazil Nuts

GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES- especially Collard greens, Kale, Turnip greens, but not so much Spinach, as it is very high in oxalic acid that binds with the calcium and makes calcium less available

SEA VEGETABLES- Nori, Kombu, Agar-Agar, especially Wakame

VEGETABLES- especially fibrous vegetables, Cabbage being the richest source, and Broccoli

FRUIT- Figs, Olives and Apricots

And of cause I won’t just leave it at that without giving you a recipe too, so I thought I will make a video on how to make your own Nut Milk from Almonds, as I ran out of time during my Festival of Life lecture to demonstrate this...

ALMOND MILK AND SUPERFOODS SMOOTHIE

For the essentials
Blender
Cheese cloth/ Nut Bag/ Stockings

Jug

For the Milk
Almonds (soaked overnight)
Pure Water
Optional: pitted dates, sea salt

For the Superfoods Smoothie
Nut Milk (from above)
Peaches
Strawberries
Lukuma Powder
Purple Corn Flour
Maca Root Powder

-Follow the 4:1 ratio and use 4 Cups water to 1 Cup Soaked Nuts. Decrease the water amount for a creamier milk

-Put nuts and water in the blender

-If using, add dates (about 2 per one cup of nuts) and pinch of sea salt

-Blend until smooth and strain

-Have straight from glass, on your cereal or any way you usually have your milk, but if you are making the Smoothie, return strained milk to the blender
-Add superfoods, then peaches and strawberries
Note: some people find Maca too overpowering, so use about half a teaspoon per cup of Smoothie

And here's the YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM1BMm-bpYA&t=32s

REFERENCES
'The Calcium Lie: What your doctor doesn't know might kill you' by Robert Thompson and Kathleen Barnes
'The Whole Soy Story: The dark side of America' by Kaaila Daniel
'The Hidden dangers of Soy' by Dianne Gregg
'The Optimum Nutrition Bible: The book you have to read if you care about your health' by Patrick Holford

23 comments

Grow Sunflower and Snow Pea Shoots

Posted by 2 · July 21, 2010

I am currently reading Anastasia by Vladimir Megre... again.

If you've read this book, you will understand why I would be reading it for the second time. Also if you've read this book, there are many many other things you will too understand. If you haven't yet read it, please do yourself a favour and make it your next. And do it soon.

[Tideaway at Shoeburyness, Southend-on-Sea]

This is Anastasia on gardening...

"Every seed you plant contains within itself an enormous amount of information about the Universe. Nothing made by human hands can compare with this information either in size or accuracy. Through the help of these data the seed knows the exact time, down to the millisecond, when it is to come alive, to grow, what juices it is to take from the Earth, how to make use of the rays of the celestial bodies- the Sun, Moon and stars- what it is to grow into, what fruit to bring forth. These fruits are designed to sustain Man's life. More powerfully and effectively than any manufactured drugs of the present or future, these fruits are capable of counteracting and withstanding any disease of the human body. But to this end the seed must know about the human condition. So that during the maturation process it can satiate its fruit with the right correlation of substances to heal a specific individual of this disease, if indeed he has it or is prone to it.
"In order for the seed of a cucumber, tomato or any other plant grown in one's plot to have such information, the following steps are necessary:
"Before planting, put into your mouth one or more little seeds, hold them in your mouth, under the tongue, for at least nine minutes.
"Then place the seed between the palms of your hands and hold it there for about thirty seconds. During this time it is important that you be standing barefoot on the spot of earth where you will later be planting it.
"Open your hands, and carefully raise the seed which you are holding to your mouth. Then blow on it lightly, warming it with your breath, and the wee little seed will know everything that is within you.
"Then you need to hold it with your hands open for another thirty seconds, presenting the seed to the celestial bodies. And the seed will determine the moment of its awakening. The planets will all help it! And they will give the sprouts the light they need to produce fruit especially for you.
"After that you may plant the seed in the ground. In no case should you water it right off, so as not to wash away the saliva which is now covering it, along with other information about you that the seed will take in. It can be watered three days after planting.
"The planting must be done on days appropriate to each vegetable (people already know this, from the lunar calendar). In the absence of watering, a premature planting is not as harmful as an overdue planting."
According to Anastasia, the seed is thus able to take in information about the person who plants it, and then, during the cultivation of its fruit, it will pick up from the Universe and the Earth the maximum amount of energies needed for a given individual. The weeds should not be disposed of completely, as they have their own appointed function. Some weeds serve to protect the plant from disease while others give supplemental information. During the cultivation time it is vital to communicate with the plant. And it is desirable to approach it and touch it during a full moon at least once during its growth period.
...Anastasia maintains that the fruit cultivated from the seed in this manner, and consumed by the individual who cultivated it, is capable not only of curing him of all diseases of the flesh what so ever, but also of significantly retarding the ageing process, rescuing him from harmful habits, tremendously increasing his mental abilities and giving him a sense of inner peace. The fruit will have the most effective influence when consumed no later than three days after harvesting.
...The fruit of plants grown like this will be distinguished from other plants of the same species not only in taste. If analysed, it will be seen that they are also distinct in terms of the substances they contain.
When planting the seedlings, it is important to soften the dirt in the excavated hole with one's fingers and bare toes, and spit into the hole. responding to my question "Why the feet?" Anastasia explained that through perspiration from one's feet come substances (toxins, no doubt) containing information about bodily diseases. This information is taken in by the seedlings. They transmit it to the fruit, which will thus be enabled to counteract disease. Anastasia recommended walking around the plot barefoot from time to time"

Sprouting is ever so slightly different, because you are working with literally hundreds of seeds all at once and there is a soaking process too, so in this particular case, here is my day by day interpretation and instructions on..

1. HOW TO GROW SNOW PEA SHOOTS
2. HOW TO GROW SUNFLOWER GREENS

[My Organic Peas and Sunflower Seeds from Aconbury Sprouts]

1. The only difference between the sprouts is that Peas need double amount of soaking to Sunflower seeds, so to plant both at the same time (if you are sprouting both), start by soaking the peas at night for 24 hours and then sunflower seeds in the morning for 12 hours.

Anastasia (P.87): ''As the feet perspire, toxins come to the surface, removing internal diseases from the body, and these must be washed away to cleanse the pores... In pouring the remaining water onto the beds, you are giving supplemental information to the microorganisms and plants about your current state of wellbeing.

...Only after receiving this information can our visible and invisible world around you work out and pick up from the Universe and the Earth everything it needs for the normal functioning of your body"

2. Elliot soaks his feet in hot water at night and when it starts to cool down to about 40 degrees C, he would put 1 Cup of Pea Seeds in that water to leave for 24 hours. I repeat the process with 1 Cup of Sunflower Seeds in the morning to leave for 12 hours.

[Day 1- seeds placed in a dark spot to germinate]

3. Drain off the water to another container to use again.

4. Fill the seed tray (33cm x 22 cm) half full of compost. I place the seed trays with drainage holes over trays without any, so I don't have to worry about over watering.

5. Sprinkle the soaked seeds on top of the compost and spread evenly.

6. Sprinkle with some of the drained water and leave in a dark spot.

[Day 2- watering twice a day]

7. Keep at room temperature for 3 days, watering twice a day, as it is important to keep the seeds, hence the compost moist during germination. Do not over water.

[Day 3- You can clearly see the sprout tails now]

[Day 4- Replaced to a light spot]

8. On the forth day, place the tray in a light place, away from drafts and the lighter, the better.

Tip from Aconbury Sprouts: "You can slow or speed the growth of both the snow peas and sunflower greens by manipulating the temperature. Fresh air and sunshine is what they like best, but in cold weather you will need to keep them indoors on or near a windowsill. In hot weather it is better to protect the plants from direct sunshine."

[Day 5- Green Shoots are now appearing]

9. You may like to manually pick off the black shells from the Sunflower Shoots here, as some shells are really hard and don't snap off on their own, stopping the greens from growing

[Day 6- Sunflower Shoots are much more speedy]

[Day 7- Sunflower Shoots are nearly ready]

[Day 8- Sunflower Shoots are now at optimum nutritional value]

10. After 7-11 days, the plants will be approximately 7-10cm high. This is when they are at their optimum nutritional value, having transformed maximum light energy into chlorophyll, making the leaves a bright green.

11. To harvest, cut a small bundle of shoots with scissors about 1cm above the compost surface.

This is when I start to add my sprouts to salads, smoothies, wraps and general snacking:

SUNFLOWER GREENS ON DAY 9

SNOW PEA SHOOTS ON DAY 11

Buy Anastasia (the book) from here>>

Buy sprouting seeds from here>>

5 comments

Flight of the Conchords for Pina Colada

Posted by 2 · May 27, 2010

Dear Bret and Jemaine,

I love you.
You make me so happy.
Thank you for last night.
It was magical.

Love,
Your biggest fan
xxxTanya

No, but seriously- how good are Flight of the Conchords live? I can't even believe I said good! They were hiiilarious. Fully awesome; choice; mint; primo; mean; sweet as bro. That's pretty much all the kiwi slang I can come up with, although I am sure there has to be another word that stands for 'best ever'! Surely. Kiwis?

[yep we sat right at the back]

'The band' performed at Wembley Arena yesterday and made me miss New Zealand so much. Omaha Beach, Coromandel, Piha, Pauanui, Whitianga, Maraetai, Long Bay Beach, even Eastern Beach! I think I may have just named all the beaches. I think I am having beach withdrawal symptoms. I think I need to get to a beach really soon. Really soon!

Not only beaches either, for some peculiar reason I could not stop thinking of fejoas. My Lord, did I salivate at the thought. I could almost smell a fejoa, thinking about this fruit so much. And I decided as soon as we step foot on NZ soil for a visit in January, that is the first thing I will be eating.

For now though, there is the next best thing.. and I did not fluff around getting to the local vege markets for a one handsome ripe pineapple and one heavenly young Thai coconut, because together they make one outstanding Pina Colada!

PINA COLADA

1/2 Pineapple

1 young Thai coconut (jelly meat and water)

To slice pineapple:

1. Twist off the crown

2. Chop pineapple in half (deal with half at a time)

3. Skin with a sharp knife

4. Chop into quarters lengthwise

5. Cut the core out

6. Slice into whatever sizes your blender will take

To open a young coconut:

1. If it doesn't already look like mine in the picture, then you better get your nice local vege market man to carve it, or you may strugle with just a kitchen knife.

2. Shave skin of the top of coconut to reveal the shell

3. Tap around the diameter of the top of coconut with the cleaver edge of large knife, until you find a soft spot

4. Force the sharp end of the knife under the ‘cap’ you’ve created, turn upright so the water doesn’t pour out and pop the cap off. Coconuts have circular grain

5. pour water into blender

6. scoop all the jelly meat out and add to blender with pineapple

Blend. And then forget about everything

2 comments

Green Protein

Posted by 2 · May 24, 2010

Iceland was the trip we booked and paid for months ago. Then its volcano decided to put on a bit of a performance, which instantly made it world famous, but we were sure by the time our flights were up, this subject wouldn’t even be brought up in conversation. Maybe we shouldn’t have been so confident- our flights were cancelled at short notice.

Totally set on going away, we dove into last minute holiday research, but it seemed as though all airlines were suffering such a loss, they were trying to make up for it by charging ten times more on available routes. Then Ben and Felicity came up with the best idea and I discovered my new favourite destination!

A mere two hour drive and a short ferry ride from London- Isle of Wight was stunning! Centuries old cottages, hay roofs, beautiful coast, acres upon acres of farm land, picturesque gardens and fresh air- lots and lots of fresh air. It is one thing you starve for when living in a big city, so I couldn’t care less about being greedy and made sure to satisfy that hunger with every deep breath over the weekend.

So then, what is the best food for a road trip? The same food that is the best for absolutely any kind of trip and the one I can’t go a day without...

GREEN SMOOTHIE
• Green smoothie is the most nourishing, alkalising, energising, refreshing and satisfying choice
• It keeps well for 3 days in the fridge or in a chiller bag for a road trip
• It is full of chlorophyll, molecules of which are known to closely resemble our blood cells, so every sip is like a healthy blood transfusion.
• It provides protein in the form of individual essential amino acids, which are easier for the body to utilize than complex proteins
• It contains lots of fibre for elimination, since we are not getting rid of the pulp like when juicing
• It is super fast to blend up
• It’s addictively tasty

I went through all my photos and couldn’t believe I had none of my favourite food! Not even an average one! I guess I have been seeing it everyday for years now, that it didn’t occur to get it on file. Well I could always rely on my parents, so mum to the rescue and I get a whole selection of the photos turns out she has been taking..

And my top 3 Green Smoothie recipes:

My everyday favourite
(Yields 2)
1 ripe mango
2 Kiwi fruits
2 stalks celery
½ cucumber
Handful Kale leaves
2 cups water

Missing NZ Spirulina
(Yields 2)
½ ripe pineapple
1 banana
1 pear
1 apple
1 Tbsp spirulina powder
2 cups water

Love Smoothie
(Yields 2)
1/4 watermelon
2 ripe plums
2 ripe nectarines
2 stalks celery
1/3 head romaine lettuce
4 mint leaves
1.5 cups water

Chop up fruit. Blend all ingredients. Love this day!

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Tag:
Smoothies+Drinks

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