WHOLEFOODS – Page 3 – KATIE MORGAN

NN DAY 10 – THE CHOCOLATE FIX

Published on November 10, 2014November 12, 2014 by Katie morganLeave a comment

Chocolate is just one of those things that makes us happy. FACT! It’s actually scientifically proven too!! OH YOU BETCHA. Chocolate is a very nutritious source of antioxidants which are good for our inner health, skin, brain function and hormones. Personally I don’t need much more reason than that and that’s why I rarely go a day without some form of chocolate. And why should we?

As someone with an ‘all or nothing’ streak in their body I am not the greatest at self control (or portion size mind you) and the more ‘artificial’ the chocolate… the more addictive it is. Our body gets a taste of the sweet sugar and we simply cannot stop. Ever gone to the pantry to have ‘just one piece’ and ended up demolishing the whole block? yeahhhhh about that!! This is why a lot of health magazines and websites/blog recommend dark chocolate because the higher the cocoa content the lower the sugar and therefore the better it is for us. Lindt dark coconut intense anyone?? YUM or any of the intense dark Lindt range for that matter. Although the lime flavour… hmmmm interesting!!

Here are my 5 favourite chocolate fixes for ANY TIME of the day. Any one of them is going to make you feel all gooey inside and satisfy the chocolatey goodness you are craving without causing a blood sugar insulin spikes followed by a lethargic slum.

1. Banana-choc coconut smoothie (RECIPE HERE FROM NN DAY 08)

2. Luvju organic raw chocolate by the amazing company Loving Earth. Website HERE. YOU HAVE GOT TO TRY THIS!!! I bought a whole box and then some – it was the most exciting (and healthy) delivery package I have ever received!!! Hello work draw!

3. Homemade cacao chia cookies – Recipe to come in the near future! stay tuned!

4. Instant avocado cacao mousse – recipe will be posted in a couple of days

5. Homemade cacao protein balls RECIPE BELOW

CACAO PROTEIN BALLS

2 cups medjool dates (soaked overnight is best)

2 scoops protein powder (chocolate or vanilla)

1/2 cup shredded coconut (plus extra for rolling)

1/2 cup coconut oil

2Tbs honey

2Tbs cacao powder

1/2 cup nuts (almonds, cashews or brazil)

1/2 cup Goji berries (optional – but a wonderful little addition if you have them handy)

Place all ingredients into a food processor or Vitamix and blend.

Roll into medium sized balls and cover in extra cacao powder or coconut if desired. Refrigerate until firm! Can store in fridge for up to 4 weeks and freezer for 3 months! Trust me – they WONT last that long!

2-3 of these sweet chocolatey bliss balls make for the perfect after work or after dinner snack with a cuppa and are completely guilt free!! Happy Baking!!!

REMEMBER CHOCOLATE IS NOT AN ENEMY! IT CAN BE YOUR BEST FRIEND!!!

NN DAY 8 – GROOVY SMOOTHIE

Published on November 8, 2014November 8, 2014 by Katie morgan4 Comments

Soggy spinach? Bruised mangoes? Spongey apples? Brown bananas? PERFECT!! Don’t throw them out. Throw them into a blender instead for the perfect groovy smoothie! They taste delicious and are jam packed with nutritious vitamins, minerals and fiber. Smoothies are a great on the go snack and are super quick and easy to make. And considering most things go into the one blender – there isn’t much mess to clean up after. (Unlike a juicer with its million parts)

If you chose to have a smoothie as a ‘meal’ ie for breakfast, then make sure you add substantial protein and healthy fats to keep you going. A simple scoop of protein powder, a raw egg, 1Tbs LSA, chia seeds or a handful of cashews are bound to do the trick! Cashews, macadamias and other nuts give smoothies a real creamy texture – so why not chuck a few in next time you blend!

To blend or juice? Unlike juicing – where you extract only the water and nutrients from the vegetable/fruit, smoothies include the whole content, fiber and all. When you remove the fiber from the produce, the liquid juice is absorbed into your blood stream quickly. If you are only juicing fruits, this would cause a rapid spike in blood sugar and unstable blood sugar levels can lead to mood swings, energy loss, memory problems and more! Fiber is also filling and without fiber in the juice, some people tend to get hungry again quickly. If you do however prefer a pulp free ‘juice’ over a thick smoothie, make sure you don’t throw out the pulp. Use it to make vegetarian patties, burgers or add it to your next spaghetti bolognaise.

MY TWO FAVOURITE SMOOTHIE RECIPES BELOW – THE GREEN GODDESS AND THE BANANA-CHOC COCONUT

GREEN GODDESS SMOOTHIE – serves 1

1 frozen ripe banana (doesn’t have to be frozen but it makes it more creamy if it is)

1 cup frozen mango or pineapple diced

1 handful of spinach or kale

1TBS chia seeds (extra for topping)

1TBS LSA or protein powder

2-4 Medjool dates

2tsp vital greens or spirulina powder

1/2 cup milk (almond, dairy, coconut or soy)

1/2 cup coconut water (add extra if desired based on texture)

BANANA-CHOC COCONUT SMOOTHIE – serves 1

1 frozen ripe banana

2TBS shredded coconut (extra for topping)

2TBS cacao powder

1TBS chia seeds

8-10 cashews or macadamia nuts

2-4 Medjool dates

1/2 cup coconut milk (can use almond, dairy or soy)

1/2 cup coconut water (add extra if desired based on texture)

HAPPY BLENDING UP THESE GROOVY SMOOTHIES !!!

NN DAY 5 – GRAB ‘N’ GO SNACKS

Published on November 5, 2014November 12, 2014 by Katie morgan2 Comments

(above) Lunch box packed for the flight back to Perth last week – all the goods!!

If there is something that I excel at in life… it is snacking! Road trips, aero plane flights, weekend escapes, movie dates… you name it, I’ve got the snacks covered. I am honestly like a child. The only way to keep me happy is occupying me with food. When it comes to planes, boats and cars I blame this on my motion sickness. For some reason the only way to keep the nausea away is by eating. Literally as soon as I finish chomping my last mouthful, the motion sickness sets in. So that’s why I always have food handy!

And my draw at work. Well that is another whole kettle of fish. Unlike the limited space of a woman’s handbag my draw is STOCKED full of the essential snacks to keep that HANGRY feeling away. Nothing gets me in quite a rage like being so insanely hungry that it turns to anger. Admit it – we have all been there.

Here are my 5 favourite grab-and-go snacks kept on hand to avoid the “hangry” stage;

1. Rice cakes with nut butters, fruit, cottage cheese or avocado. (photo sourced from @mb_motivation)

2. Banana and handful of nuts/trail mix

3. Protein bars or homemade muffins (banana date muffin recipe HERE)

4. Carrot sticks with hummus

5. Medjool dates with peanut butter or almonds

Try and combine healthy fats, protein and carbohydrates into the one snack for optimum nutrition. That’s why you cant go wrong with the above snacks!!

13 TOP FOODS FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Published on September 18, 2014September 18, 2014 by Katie morganLeave a comment

With so many fad diets circling social media and the health and fitness industry it is hard to know what to eat. It certainly doesn’t help that the ‘gluten free’ diet is becoming a bit of a fashionable trend and people are focussing more on what NOT to eat, than what TO eat!

The amazing fitness health queen Lorna Jane stands by her quote “STOP DIETING – START NOURISHING” and proves this with some delicious and nutritious recipes in her latest cookbook Nourish – if you haven’t already got it, go and buy it now!! It’s a goodie.

Here is a list of the 13 top foods for weight loss; in no particular order these amazing wholefoods are simply designed to kick start your metabolism and burn that unwanted fat whist you munch. See how many you can fit in your day!!

Apples
Beef
Eggs
Bananas
Oats
Brown rice
Blueberries
Chili
Avocado and Olive oil
Chicken
Peanut butter
Greek yoghurt
Almonds

How many did you mentally check off in your head? Or how many of you took one look at the list and felt like a dog with his tail between his legs?

Want to know how can you achieve all of these foods in the one day? SIMPLE – I would say that I easily consume 90% of this list EACH day… Chili is finally growing on me but that would probably be my least consumed. Side Note: Have you had that chili hummus dip? With the big red blob in the middle… fair to say the hummus part contains no heat AT ALL but that red bit… ouch it is 100% chili/ harrissa paste so either stir the whole thing up before you scoop or avoid the red like the plague unless you have a cucumber and glass of milk handy! I’m just going to stick to the plain or beetroot hummus thanks!

Please note these meal plans are based around what I consume daily. Different people require different levels of nutrition and portions to suit their physical activity and goals. I eat 3 meals, 2 snacks a day, drink 1 coffee on arrival to work (and then fight myself all day for a second until the coffee shop is shut) and have an after dinner treat 2-3 times a week!

Below I have constructed two examples of a simple one day meal plan that incorporates all of the 13 top weight loss foods: Try it one day this week… you won’t go back!

EXAMPLE ONE:

Breakfast:

Overnight soaked blueberry oats topped with a banana and dollop of Greek yoghurt

Mid-Morning snack:

Flat white

1 apple sliced and 1-2Tbs peanut butter

Lunch:

Grilled chicken, avocado, almond and feta salad. Health blogger, nutritionist and wellness coach Jess Sepel from ‘The Clean Life’ has an amazing recipe worth trying. http://www.jessicasepel.com/recipes/lunchdinner/alkalizing-salad-with-zatar-chicken/

Mid-Afternoon snack:

Handful of almonds/trail mix

2 boiled eggs

Dinner:

Beef mince chili con carne served on brown rice with steamed greens and diced avocado on top. My fave recipe for this is by Teresa Cutter; The Healthy Chef – check it out…. http://www.thehealthychef.com/2012/04/chilli-con-carne/

After dinner cleanse/snack:

Piece of fruit with a couple of slices of cheese (apple/cheddar or watermelon/ feta are some good combos)

Medjool dates are also the perfect sweet to fight those cravings. Otherwise have a piece or two of dark chocolate to give your body an antioxidant boost!

EXAMPLE TWO:

Breakfast:

Green brekkie smoothie; 1/2 large frozen banana, 1 cup frozen blueberries, ½ cup oats, 1 raw egg (you honestly cannot taste the egg and it ups the protein content) big handful of spinach and milk

Mid-Morning snack:

Flat white

175gms Greek yoghurt topped with seeds/nuts or granola (I am all about the toppings/textures and the crunch factor)

Lunch:

Thai beef salad with rice noodles

Great recipe by nutritionist Katherine Rothwell on the Eat Fit Food blog here:

http://www.eatfitfood.com.au/_blog/Eat_Fit_Food_Blog/post/meal-of-the-week-thai-beef-salad-with-rice-noodles-cashews-sesame-seeds/

Mid-Afternoon snack:

2 brown rice cakes with 1-2Tbs peanut butter and ½ large banana sliced (leftover from brekkie)

Slice of warmed banana bread with 1-2Tbs peanut butter, 1/2 large banana with chia seeds and cinnamon (This is a serious fave – pictured as the feature image) recipe for banana bread by The Healthy Chef here: http://www.thehealthychef.com/2013/01/gluten-free-banana-bread/ perfect when you have those funky looking brown bananas lying around and even better to bake, slice and freeze!

Dinner:

Chicken and red apple curry with almond couscous

Simple weeknight curry recipe from Clean Eating Magazine here: http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/recipes/chicken-curry-with-almond-couscous/

After dinner cleanse/snack:

Avocado raw chocolate mousse; simply mash/combine 1 avocado with 2 Tbs honey and 1Tbs cacao powder for instant creamy mousse; Serves 2)

It is THAT simple. There you have it – 13 weight loss super foods in the one day all designed to target fat loss, not to mention taste delicious.

There are so many different combinations of these foods that you can incorporate into your daily eating plan…Eggs for breakfast, yoghurt dolloped on or in your next curries, peanut butter in your stir fry or avocado in your smoothies. Get creative!

Your body requires a balance of carbohydrates, good fats, proteins and fibre to thrive and get the best results.

“Fail to prepare – prepare to fail”

EATING KALE AND LIFTING KETTLEBELLS

Published on September 13, 2014September 17, 2014 by Katie morgan4 Comments

I guess everyone has their favourite things, happy places and things that get them excited. Everyday my love for fitness, nutrition and living a healthy life is growing. I am forever stalking Instagram pages, reading and buying all the new clean lifestyle and wholefood books hitting the shelf (I will get to my faves and worthwhile buys another time) and researching about what it is that makes our body function at its best.

So… why eat kale and lift kettlebells?

Continue reading “EATING KALE AND LIFTING KETTLEBELLS” →