Small steps food series
Breakfast
A Grain-Free Breakfast
The Paleo diet has gained a lot of momentum over recent years.
And it’s made the news for some good reasons. It has helped many people heal ongoing health issues. You have probably seen a lot of the success stories people like Pete Evans share on their Facebook pages. How amazing is food for healing!
It can be rather alluring, hearing all of the benefits. And I think that’s why so many people are experimenting with it. We all want to feel vibrant and healthy and glowing! Paleo promises that, and so it has become a trend.
It effectively cuts out a lot of the food that can aggravate our digestive system (grains, legumes, dairy, refined sugar and processed food). But it's not one size fits all, people do it differently and there are many individual interpretations going on out there. I guess, at its core, it really just goes back to basics and cuts out a lot of the crap! #alwaysagoodthing
My take on food is not based on rules and theories of what works for other people. It is based on a genuine curiosity of what makes me feel good, experimentation and joy. Oh - and EASE! I’m happy to admit that I strive for food to be simple.
Recipes to try
This recipe is via the fabulous Jen Shaw of Barefoot Kitchens. View the recipe on her blog here.
Ingredients
1 sweet potato, diced (into small 1-2cm pieces)
1⁄2- 1 cup of diced bacon
1 green apple, diced
1 small diced onion (optional)
Good frying oil (butter, coconut oil, lard)
Instructions
1. Prepare ingredients and place in a bowl.
2. Make sure your sweet potato pieces are nice and small so they cook evenly with apple. (The apple will cook a lot faster so if your sweet potato pieces are big cook sweet potato on it’s own for a few minutes before adding apple)
3. Heat oil in a pan and fry ingredients, keeping an eye that nothing burns. Remove and serve with a freshly cooked egg or on it’s own.
This recipe is super yummy and so flexible! It is my favourite cereal version, and best of all, there are many ways to tweak the recipe depending on your preferences.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups raw cashews
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pepitas
1 1/2 cups of coconut flakes
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbls pure maple syrup
Zest of 1 orange
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Mix all ingredients together and spread thinly on two lined baking trays.
2. Cook in oven at 125 degrees for 40 minutes (it's all I needed but you might need longer).
3. Remove from oven and let cool.
4. Once cool break it apart and add 2 cups puffed buckwheat (totally optional but I find it helps it go further).
5. Mix it all around and keep it in a glass jar.
Serve with yoghurt, fresh berries, as a snack on the run, on top of a smoothie bowl - the options are endless!
Ingredients
1 head of broccoli uncooked and chopped into small florets
1 mango cut into cubes
1 avocado cut into cubes
1/4 purple cabbage sliced thinly
handful of almonds
handful of pepitas
splash of balsamic vinegar
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Dice and cook bacon in a fry pan.
2. Put all ingredients in a bowl and stir so that the avocado and mango make things a little mushy.
Use up leftover meat and veggies from the night before in an omelette or simply reheat them in butter and crack an egg in the pan to bring it together.
A short watch
This interview with Jules Galloway - Naturopath is a cracker. I tried to whittle it down, but I just couldn’t. There is so much valuable information in this interview that I left it in its whole form (sorry - not a quick watch - but a worthwhile one!).
I love her down-to-earth approach - that even although she eats paleo (grain-free), she has super suggestions for people who don't NEED to or WANT to eliminate gluten from their diets.
One of my favourite things that she says is that eating a good breakfast, starting the day off well, means that you are 1/3 down in having an awesome day of eating. I LOVE THAT! It means that straight up, we can give ourselves a pat on the back for taking a small (but actually a really big!) step.
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