What's Cooking In Jane's Kitchen

 

 

 

 

 

Spring is here! Time to get in shape!

 

 

 

 

 

Spring is always a good time to clean up and shape up for the summer! Lots of fresh fruit, plenty of vegetables, raw, lightly steamed, or grilled  and a definite break from sugar, butter, cream, white flour and LESS SALT!

Brown whole meal bread, brown rice, chickpeas, lentils are all healthy, but take a break from Alcohol and Caffeine and take plenty of exercise and  get plenty of sleep. You may be doing all this already, in which case well done, but most people, have a soft spot somewhere, so now is the time to freshen up!….Chocolate, not until after Easter!

If you want to go all the way, don’t mix Proteins with Carbohydrates at the same meal and eat fruit until 12.00 mid day. Have your main meal in the middle of the day and a light salad or vegetables for dinner. Give dairy products a rest too, they just clog up the system especially milk, but low fat yogurt is always good for you and a little  unprocessed cheese, with your vegetable is delicious. Use loads of fresh herbs to give things taste, and lemon juice, Dijon mustard, but be very careful on the quantity of olive oil. 1 tsp of olive oil in your dressing and a tbs of yogurt makes an excellent alternative.

If you are Fasting for Easter, you will know your regime, so you can get ideas from the below recipes and adapt them accordingly.

Every one knows their own personal requirements and limits. This is just a suggested regime which I do every year and suits me. If in any doubt consult a specialist first. There are a million regimes out there, this is more a healthy way of eating.

Through out this month I will be posting recipes for energy cleansing and health, here are some basics to get you started.

 

 

Here is an example of a daily meal.

8. a.m. Breakfast : Fruit salad and orange juice.

or Brown bread toast and honey and green tea ( no butter or sugar, a teaspoon of honey if you like.)

or 45 g Alpen sugarless Muesli with a little low fat milk or Porridge. (Quaker Oats.)

11. a.m. A Granny Smith Green apple or other apple of your choice.

2.0 p.m Grilled Fish or Chicken or Beef with vegetables. ( no potatoes and limit beetroot and carrots and the lovely avocado to twice a week. )

5.0 p.m. 1 heaped tbs each unsalted almonds and raisins.

Or an apple.

8. p.m. Any vegetables or salad or mixture of the two, or brown rice with vegetable.

You can have with your vegetables, yogurt or a little unprocessed cheese.

You can make a dressing with a little salt, pepper, mustard, lemon juice and 1 tsp olive oil and freshly cut herbs and 1 tbs yogurt.

If you want fruit with your meal, eat it 1/2 an hour before, as it is absorbed better this way.

Drink water in between meals, rather than with your meal.  1.5  liter per day minimum.

 

Emergency snack: Finnish, whole wheat crisp wafers!

 

Exercise : 1/2 to one hour per day. A brisk walk, costs nothing and fills your lungs with fresh air.

 

 

Breakfast

 

 

Alternatively Strawberries and Raspberries and a Sanguine orange juice.

Or Mixed Fruit Salad, Raspberries, Blueberries, Pomegranate, Mandarin segments, mint leaves and Verbena leaves.

Cut up your fruit salad just before you want eat it, so that you don’t lose the vitamins.

 

 

Alternatively, if it is a cold morning begin with Porridge ( Quaker Oats. ) Place 2-3 tbs of oats in a bowl, pour over a little

boiling water, mix well and allow to swell. Sprinkle with raisins. if not on a cleansing regime, this is made with hot milk

Greek Honey or Canadian Maple Syrup and a pinch of salt. You can also heat it up in a saucepan.

Oats are also very good for the digestive tract. You can accompany this with a hot cup of herbal tea, Camomile for example or  fresh

Mint Tea is very refreshing. I just pluck a few mint leaves off my mint bush and put them in the tea-pot.

 

 

Valencia Orange.

Sanguine, blood Orange.

 

 

Squeeze your orange juice just before you want to drink it, so that you don’t lose the vitamins.

Now doesn’t that just start your day off full of color and sun shine and goodness!

 

 

Snack :  3 hrs later : A nice crisp green apple, or other apple of your choice. Remember only fruit until mid-day. This cleans out the system and doesn’t weigh the body down digesting a heavy breakfast. You can have a bowl full of any fruit you like, but only include bananas if your very hungry.

 

 

 

 

Lunch : 3hrs later : Any Fish, Chicken or Beef, grilled or roasted or in the case of Fish, steamed, together with any green vegetables of your choice. ( If you are fasting for Easter: Calamari, Octopus, Prawns. recipes coming up next! )

 

Grilled marinaded Thai Fish: See under “Fish” in Index.

Marinade.

Kerala Fish: See under “Fish And Seafood” in Index.

 

 

Vegetables.

Seskoula/Silver-beet/Swiss Chard. Easy to clean, boil in a little water, drain and dress with oil and lemon.

N.B. Remember all vegetables grown above ground are cooked in boiling water. All vegetables that are grown

underground, potatoes, carrots, for example are placed in cold water and brought to the boil.

Small Cabbages/Giant Brussels Sprouts. Clean and boil, salt pepper a little olive oil.

Bean Salad. Top and tail, boil until just tender, drain. Dress with salt pepper and a little olive oil.

Cucumber Salad. Peel cucumbers, cut into sticks, dress with yogurt vinaigrette. ( Salt ,pepper, 1 tsp dijon, 1 tbs yogurt,

chopped mint leaves or chives. 1 tsp olive oil.  Normally one would add 1 tbs of olive oil.)

Beetroot Salad. Wash beet tops and bottoms thoroughly, place tops in boiling water . Cook until stalks are tender.

Remove and drain, then add bottoms to boiling water, until they drop off  when pierced with the tip of a knife. Peel and slice over leaves. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.

***Remember Beetroot, Carrots, Tomatoes, Red/Yellow peppers have more sugar in them!

 

 

Snack 3 hrs Later : 1 heaped tabs raw Almonds and 1 heaped tbs Raisins.

 

 

 

Dinner 3 hrs later :

Cold Roast Chicken.

Add Avocado.

Add coriander leaves and asparagus tips.

As an alternative add carrots.

Add Broccoli. Drizzle with dressing made from Dijon mustard, yogurt, salt pepper, lime zest, lime juice finely grated ginger,

1 tsp olive oil.

Add fresh red chili if you like your salad hot!

Mix well.

Lunch and dinner are interchangeable, if family only come home in the evening, but the best is to have a light supper,

because you sleep better and you burn up the calories better in the middle of the day. The above salad, because it has

chicken in it, can be a main lunch meal. Instead of chicken you can add Beef or fish. Eat Fish Meat or Poultry

only once a day or not at all. For example you could have a substantial brown rice lunch and salad or vegetables in the

evening.

Raspberry, lettuce and coriander salad for your evening meal with vinaigrette.

Just delicious!