Glimpse into Foodie Friday - week 47 - banana

Today's Foodie Friday ingredient is the humble banana!!

These delicious fruits are a quick and easy hit of carbohydrates, which normalise blood sugar levels, and so are great for sustained energy, workout fuel, and maintaining a good mood and a clear and effective mind. Bananas are a great source of fibre, antioxidants and some important vitamins, such as B6 and C. They can even help prevent and fight some cancers. Due to their no fat, low salt and high potassium combination, they are a fantastic food for maintaining a healthy blood pressure. Bananas also have a pretty neat trick up their sleeve. Due to their low calorie content combined with their ability to be very filling, they have a high satiety index. This means it is fairly impossible to get fat on bananas! In terms of fructose content, bananas are safe for most of us on a fructose restricted diet. This is because the fructose and glucose content is fairly equal.

I use bananas in a lot of my baked treats and smoothies as they are a delicious thickener and a great egg replacement. They are also awesome by themselves, or sliced up with a few shakes of cinnamon on them. It is great to keep some sliced bananas in the freezer so that you always have some to use. Frozen bananas can be used in recipes such as "icecream", smoothies, or defrosted for cakes.


Here is a very simple recipe for you which you can knock up when 3:30-itis hits!!

Choc dipped bananas

1 tablespoon of coconut oil
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
1 tablespoon of cocao
1 banana

Mix the oil, syrup and cocao til combined well. You may like to adjust the ratio to suit your taste preference.
Dip the banana into the mixture. The banana can be whole or sliced.

You may like to eat it as is, runny and straight out the bowl. Otherwise, try setting the chocolate by placing the dunked banana into the fridge or freezer til set to the desired firmness. Keep in mind that the banana may brown slightly. If you are not on a nut or seed free diet, you may like to also smear the banana with your favourite nut butter or tahini too!


Here are some other recipes on my blog which contain banana.

Choc banana quinoa cookies
Nut and seed banana bread
Spicy banana slab
Quinoa pancakes
Choc nut smoothie
Green smoothies

Glimpse into learning to live with chronic fatigue/ PosturalOrthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome/ Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

Now and again, someone stumbles across my blog who is new to dealing with chronic fatigue, or a friend of a friend points them in my direction for advice. This has made me think that it is time to do a summary post about some of what I have learned about dealing with certain issues so far on my journey.

Glimpse into Wellness Wednesday - week 46 - child pose

I have not been able to do as much yoga as I'd like for a while because I have been too fatigued and dizzy, but there is one move that is relaxing and beneficial that I can do when other moves are out of reach. It is the child pose, and it stretches the ankles, knees, thighs, hips and lower back, and relaxes the spine, neck and shoulders. It is calming, increases blood circulation to the head, and massages the internal organs.

Glimpse into Motivational Monday - SELF - week 46

 

Do not compare yourself to others. Use them as inspiration, but do not compete. You are the only person you need to get better than. Acknowledge what your own abilities are right now. Set a goal. Fight with every scrap of "oomph" you have to get to that point. Then set another goal.

You've got this.

Glimpse into reintroducing seeds and nuts on the Autoimmune Protocol

I have been eating within the Autoimmune Protocol now for three months. My gut feels happier on the whole, with less bloating and pain. I don't know that any massive symptom improvement has occurred in terms of my autoimmune conditions, so I am continuing on, though I wanted to try nuts and seeds and see if I could reintroduce them for their health benefits. If nothing else, I have seen the benefits of not sneaking in the odd bite of dairy, or a slice of gluten free bread containing egg for example. I know that I need to avoid the foods I am intolerant to and be strict with that, and then continue to test out the potential benefits of avoiding foods which can cause autoimmune flairs.

Glimpse into Foodie Friday - week 45 - nut free pesto

I posted a pesto recipe on Instagram a while ago, and have also shared the pesto with friends a few times, and I keep getting requests for it to appear on the blog! With it being on my blog's instragram account, I kept thinking I had posted it! So here it is! Thank you for your patience and enthusiasm!

This pesto is nut free, but full of flavour. Make sure you stir it before serving, as the liquid can separate a little and become a tad runny.

Pesto 

1 cup of kale or spinach
2 cups of basil
1/4 - 1/2 avocado
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2-5 anchovies (to your desired taste)
1/4 cup of olive oil (add a few splashes of garlic oil too if you like)
1 pinch of salt


Optional add ins:

* 2 tablespoons of oregano
*1/2 cup coconut milk
*10 olives

Blend all the ingredients. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. Serve with fresh sliced vegetables, such as carrots, cucumber and celery, or through a bowl of zoodles/zucchini "noodles" (or any other way that takes your fancy)!

Glimpse into Motivational Monday - APPRECIATE - week 45

When things get tough and life is not going the way you had hoped, it is easy to wonder what is the point of having dreams and plans. However, the worst thing you can do is to stop working for the way you want your life to be. Do your best to not give into filling your days with wishing for something, and feeling hard done by. No matter how much it hurts, get up and fight for it. Only you can achieve the life you want. At the same time, look around, and be amazed by what you are blessed with. Take in the view on the way up, and be thankful for the journey.