Super smoothie bowl

Published on March 13, 2015 | Posted by Clare Garcia

Posted in: DF, Featured, LF, S, SF, Uncategorized, V, WF

I’ve been having green shakes most mornings since January and am now a convert. They’re quick (I put most ingredients into a hand blender jug the night before), deliciously creamy and clean tasting and have done wonders for my digestion, skin, energy levels and reducing bloating. I stick to a base recipe, swapping in extra ingredients for energy, detoxing, immune boosting or alkalising. Tip: Avocadoes transform shakes into creamy sweetness, are a great source of unsaturated fats and are loaded with skin soothing vitamin E; I rarely sub these out.

Feeds 1

INGREDIENTS

150ml coconut, almond or brown rice milk – I like Rude Health
150ml coconut water or sub 50/50 milk and water
100ml water – leave this out if making a smoothie bowl
50g / 1/4 cucumber
50g / 1/2 banana, frozen if possible
1 good fistful of curly kale or spinach
1/2 avocado

Optional extras:

1 dsp parsley – for cleansing the liver, flushing out toxins and water retention.
1/2 tsp maca – for energy
1 kiwi (I chop the ends off but keep the skin) – 1 kiwi contains more than your RDA of Vit C!
1/2 tsp spirulina – for antioxidants, magnesium, iron, B vitamins and calcium.

METHOD

Put all ingredients in the order listed above into a blender and blitz. I use a stick blender for speed and minimal early morning washing up.

Drink from a glass or transfer to a bowl and top with Almond, orange & cranberry granola and / or bee pollen.

TIP

The beauty of green smoothies is that, once you have the fruit to veg ratios sussed, pretty much anything goes. Swap ingredients depending on what’s in the fridge, in season, your hunger levels or dietary requirements.

Nut butters and milks are filling and protein packed, although OD’ing probably won’t help your waistline; I tend to use more coconut milk. You can add a scoop of whey (sweet and inoffensive) or hemp (dairy free but possibly not to everyone’s taste – grainy) protein powder for a low fat hit that fills you up all morning.

I like Pulsin protein powders as (I’m told) they don’t skimp on the quality of ingredients.

The Anti-diet: Breakfast like a king

Published on February 4, 2014 | Posted by Clare Garcia

Posted in: DF, LF, S, SF, Uncategorized, V, WF

… and supper like a pauper. This is not an old wives tale. In actual fact, for many of us Brits consumed with work, breakfast is a coffee, and lunch a sandwich that can be eaten On the Go. The evening meal is our chance to blow all those daily-banked calories. You have the entire day to burn off breakfast; supper sleeps with you.

I‘ve counselled several baffled friends over their growing girths in spite of having abstained all day in anticipation of their man-sized pasta dinner with The New Boy. See last week’s Moderation tip (Side plate eating).

It’s like this: When you starve yourself, your body thinks it needs to conserve energy, goes into hibernation mode and so burns less calories. When you finally eat, your clever body stores (yup, stores) any fat as a back-up in the eventuality you’ll deprive it again.

Eating breakfast tells you you’re awake and kick starts your metabolism. Eating smaller meals (stopping when you’re comfortable as opposed to undoing a button), 3 – 4 times a day makes sense to your digestion. Let it do its job and it will reward you.

Breakfast like a king with Roast banana, bacon & maple syrup sweet-corn fritters and this week’s super healthy and energising juice recipe: Beetroot, carrot, kiwi & ginger.

For more Anti-diet tips click on the Tag on the right or type Anti-diet into the Search box at the top of the page.

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Beetroot, carrot, kiwi & ginger juice

Published on February 4, 2014 | Posted by Clare Garcia

Posted in: DF, LF, S, SF, Uncategorized, V, WF

I’m going to level with you: making veggie juice is a faff and your kitchen will resemble a war zone. I think it’s important you’re armed with the facts. For this very reason (and in the interests of keeping my job) I make a 3 ltr batch at the weekend, freezing 250ml bottles for morning shots. On the plus side, it’s quite therapeutic, systematically feeding mounds of goodness into a machine which instantly produces an elixir of health. And my skin and energy levels are rejoicing.

Makes: 3 ltrs

Ingredients

1.4kg carrots, sprout end removed
2kg apples / 18 apples, halved
14 kiwi, rough end removed
300g ginger, chopped 2″ pieces
500g beetroot, halved with stalks removed

Method

Soak fruit and veg in water with a tablespoon of vinegar for 10 mins to remove any wax and chemicals. Line the juicer bin with a bag for slightly less mess; this way you can throw the waste straight into the rubbish. Give or take…

Most veggies can go in your juicer whole, I tend to remove the particularly tough bits and drop veg into the feeder in stages as my juicer appears not to be fully up to the task.

Kiwi is an addition I wouldn’t do without; it adds body and a tangy smoothness that brings everything together. It’s also packed with Vitamin C.

Keep beetroot till last, unless you want red dye on EV-ER-Y-THING. Pour juice through a sieve to remove any pulpy foam.

Decant into bottles and keep in the fridge for a day or freeze.

Juicers don’t come cheap:

At least not the decent ones and if you find this is something you’re into, you’ll soon feel compelled to invest more pennies into an uber version. Amazon has a wide selection, including the following:

Sage (by Heston Blumenthal) Nutri Pro was recently recommended to me on the basis it does’t heat up. Think Cold Pressed, which preserves the ingredients’ nutrients, apparently. If it’s good enough for tech chef Heston…

Breville have lots of middle of the road options to start you off.