If you want to lose weight more efficiently, you need to eat more to get it done. You may not believe it because it disagrees with the whole concept of dieting, but it really work. The truth is you need to eat more of the good food.

The sizes of the food you eat depend on your total daily calorie allowance. You may stock your metabolism by eating a snack or small meal around every 3 hours. In a day you may eat up to 5 or 6 small meals for instance breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner and evening meal.

It is advisable that snacks should contain between 100 and 200 calories each. You are probably wondering what kind of snacks could possibly contain 100 to 200 calories and at the same time satisfy your taste. You can agree with me that junk food options or any sort of processed snacks can lead to zero nutrition and full of empty calories. You will notice that processed snacks will not satisfy you and it cause a drop in blood sugar levels, which lead to unhealthy food cravings. The only way you can avoid this viscous cycle is to get foods that are naturally low in calories and nutrient dense.

The top 10 Nutrient Rich Snacks are given below:

1. Dried Fruit like prunes, raisins, cranberries, dates and cherries – unsweetened.
2. Popcorn for example unsalted, no butter, margarine or air popped.
3. Veggies such as baby carrots, sugar snap peas, celery sticks and so on.
4. Nuts for instance pine nuts, almonds, cashews, walnuts.
5. Dark Chocolate.
6. String Cheese.
7. Whole grain cracker with Peanut butter or Hummus.
8. Fresh fruit & Berries.
9. Cottage cheese, frozen berries and honey.
10. Smoothie.

Finally, lots of these snacks are great for on-the-go or at your desk at work. Make sure that you develop a very good portion control if you really desire healthy snacks. By the time you have these healthy snacks at your disposal; it will help in avoiding any dietary difficulty.

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Avocado with   ….  ?     Everything )   Some quick and easy ways to use avocado

Avocado Dip – mash avocado with sweet chilli sauce  and use as a dip for nachos or crackers

• Avocado  - mashed on toast with freshly ground black pepper and sea salt from a grinder
• Add a poached egg  topped with sprouts for a more substantial light meal
• Splash a small amount of lime juice over mashed avocado and sprinkle with Gomasio or pine nuts
• Add a splash of olive oil, paprika and pistachio nuts to mashed avo’s
• Top avo dip with sweet chilli sauce with slices of tomato
• Top Avo dip  with thin slices of cucumber
• Mashed avocado with crumbled feta cheese sprinkled with chopped chives on cracker biscuits or Crostini
• Rub Toast or Crostini with crushed garlic before adding Avo topping of your choice
• Lemon infused olive oil is extra delicious with Avo and lemon zest sprinkled on top

There is a never ending  variety of breads to experiment with as a base – you will find your own favorite but half the fun is trying different combinations.

Remember to use freshly ground salt and pepper to bring out the best flavor

Turn the oven on

Grate Parmesan ( if feeling super lazy then buy it grated !)

Spread small handfuls on a greased  oven tray (or covered with baking paper)

- spread out a wee bit rather than “clump” them up

Bake in moderate oven until nicely browned

Let cool then transfer to cake cooler

These will be crisp and delicious and great to dip into dips, soups, crumble over dishes and salads and is superb  with slices  of pear or apple

Try different cheese to see which one you prefer and experiment with the placement of the cheese “gratings” to get the most pleasing effect.  Best with more holes and less cheesy “dumpings” as they tend to be more crisp.

Ingredients:

2 Cups self raising flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1/4 cup chopped parsley,  (optional – add additional herbs of choice like basil)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup cottage cheese

2 Tablespoons melted butter

1/4 cup milk

1 egg

Grated cheese and paprika

1. Put flour, salt, and mustard in a bowl and add chopped parsley and onion
2. Mix cottage cheese and melted butter, add milk and egg and stir into flour mixture to make a soft dough.  Mix with a knife. Turn out onto a floured board and knead lightly
3. Shape into a 3cm thick round
4. Place round o a lightly buttered tray and mark it into six.
5. Sprinkle the top with grated cheese and paprika
6. Bake at 190 – 200 degrees C for 25 – 30 minutes
7. Eat Warm

Great with a green salad, egg dishes, soup, and a great bread to experiment with adding different herbs, spices an is even great with grated veggies in it too like zucchini.

Try it, you will find its a favorite

I made Western, shuddering noises from my home whilst I watched our chickens scratching in the garden.  They are pets too.

His response was fast coming.  You eat chicken though he said,  you are supporting the very industry that keeps chickens caged  in cramped conditions, with no quality of life to end up on a conveyor belt in terror, knowing their turn and their end is coming soon and not being able to do anything about it.    Wouldn’t you rather eat a fresh bird that has led a happy life,  free to roam and scratch at will and when it has to end that end comes quickly, at its own home and it will know nothing about it.

This is how  the conversation went :

Son:  thats where chickens come from you know

Me:   Yes, I know but,  ohhhhahahahhhh  nooooooo

Son:  not wrapped in  plastic out of the fridge :-0

me:   ours just smile and eat

Son :  Dont be so Western   –  they have a great life   not stuck in a battery coop being fed antibiotics until they get their heads cut off watching their mates on a conveyor belt

He’s right.

We do need to know where our food has come from, how it is farmed, how it reaches us, how fresh it is, what is in it, how far has it come, how is it kept fresh until we eat it, how many additives are in it , how many chemicals ?

This raises a zillion questions:

• What is food ?
• What is not  ?
• Is food cultural ?
• Why do some cultures find some dishes delicious and others scorn them ?
• Why are  some forms of life sacred to some cultures and edible to others ?
• How do we know our food source is produced humanely ?
• How do we know it is killed humanely ?
• If we want fresh do we need to look at producing more  of it ourselves ?

Does this mean we need to keep a few Goats and a Water Buffalo in the back garden in case we fancy a steak or two and want to be sure of the food source ?   Should we learn how to kill our own food ?  If we all had to kill our food, then a lot of us probably would  be vegetarians.

Perhaps the Buffalo example is a teensy bit extreme !

We can all watch what we buy, look for organic, farm produced produce,  grow more of our food,  even sprouts are a start and micro and salad greens can be grown in containers in even  the smallest apartment and provide a healthy boost to everyday food.

Chicken ?   I’m still thinking on that one ………..

Would he eat his cat ? I think not.

Green hens eggs from an Aracana Hen are quite varied in color – they lay blue and green eggs and bluish green depending if they are crossed with another variety and are said to have lower cholesterol.  Inside they are similar  to normal hens eggs but the ultimate in novelty factor !  Eggshell color is determined by  pigments when eggs are being formed, everyone knows the white and brown eggs but blue and green eggs are a bit of a rarity.

In the case of an Aracana hen the  pigment called oocyanin is responsible for the green-ish blue color and is a product of bile formation.

A very rough guide to egg color in cross breeds :

Blue X Blue                                              = Blue
Blue X White   (eg, Leghorn)                     = Blue
Blue X Brown                                          = Green
Blue X Dark Brown                                   = Olive Brown

Emma Peel, Chief Executive of Egg Production

Fresh Organic Produce - the life force of your body

This is Emma Peel,  chief exective of Egg Production !! Regular as clockwork she delivers a completely balanced meal completely enclosed in its individual hygienic case.  Things that are good for you have simple names, they are not shrink wrapped, dosed in additives and sprayed with chemical concoctions.  They arrive without ornate packaging, without expensive advertising if you discount the proud cacklings of the hens as they announce their most recent achievement in the form of an egg !

Consider for a moment how  Emma Peel, would have spent her days,  trapped  in a small cage the size of an A4 sheet of paper had  she had been raised in the Poultry industry,without  access to sunlight, fresh air and unable to scratch around or forage and do what hens do.  I invite you to consider this when you purchase eggs next time  and ask yourself is there really any comparison between  fresh organic eggs and mass produced poultry industry ones ?

Healthy Urban Kitchen Cookbook

Yes, fresh is best, local markets, farmers markets and simple food, preferably collected or  dug up right in front of your eyes is the sustainable way to go.   How much will a packet of Cheezels will enhance your life force  ?

How far will Chicken Nuggets sustain you ?  How much energy will a hamburger provide and more importantly, how much of a taste sensation will some woolly, cardboard tasting snack give you ?

Healthy Urban Kitchen Cookbook

Yep, things that are good for you do have simple names, like eggs, fruit, milk, vegetables and yes, even carrot – how simple is that ? I have a “recipe” for you today, take one carrot, pull it from the ground, eat it, that’s it !    I bet you it will be the sweetest carrot you have ever eaten !

Carrot and Raisin Salad

• 2 large grated carrots
• Large handful of raisins
• 2 Tablespoons olive or salad oil
• orange juice or lemon juice from one fruit
• pineapple pieces ( fresh if possible)

Gently stir the whole lot together

Serve garnished with coriander, chives, parsley or what ever herbs take your fancy.

Consider the Lilies ...

Beautiful, symbolic, photogenic but could they be food ?

Check out the latest ideas on Chef-a-G0-Go’s blog here

Consider the Lilies ...

The beautiful Lotus is a multi purpose and sustainable  food source that is very versatile, from lily seeds to Lotus root there are more ways to serve it up than you can poke a Lily stem at.

Monk Style Mixed Veggies – Vegan

This recipe is a wee bit longer than usual but well worth it so give it a go

• 50gr/2 0z dried tofu sticks
• 115gr/4 oz fresh lotus root – or 50 gr/2 oz   dried lotus root
• 10gr/1/4 oz  dried wood ears
• 8 Dried Chinese mushrooms
• 15 ml or 1Tablespoon veg oil
• 75 gr/ 3 oz  canned straw mushrooms ( just use what mushrooms you can find-  button mushrooms  are OK – don’t stress which ones )
• 115 gr/ 3 oz  baby corm
• 30 mls 2 TBS light soy sauce  ( I use Tamari)
• 15 ml/1 TBS dry sherry
• 10 ml/2 tsp  caster sugar
• 150 ml   or 2/3 cup vegetable stock
• 75 gr snow peas (mangetouts, trimmed and halved)
• 5 ml/ 1 tsp cornflour
• 15 ml/1 TBS water

To Prepare and Make

• Soak Tofu sticks, dried lotus root, for one hour ( no need if fresh)
• Soak Wood ears & other dried mushroom in separate bowl as they only take 15 mins
• Drain both well
• Heat oil, stir fry wood ears, chines mushrooms and Lotus for about 30 seconds – don’t overcook
• Add tofu, straw mushrooms ( or button mushrooms) baby corn, soy sauce, sherry, castor sugar and stock
• Bring to the boil, cover, lower heat and simmer about 20 mins
• Stir through the snow peas, cook uncovered 2 mins
• Mix cornflour to a paste with water and add
• Cook until thickens and serve

I quite like to mix and change this around to suit what is available as we prefer what is in season and what is on hand and you can experiment with other ingredients.  This is also great with lily buds either instead of Lotus root in as well.

Love Good Food  ?  More Vegan Recipes

If you have never tried Lotus root I invite you to give it a try. Go on, extend your taste buds, but I am assuming you haven’t already tried it aren’t I  ?

Check out the latest ideas on Chef-a-G0-Go’s blog here

Link to More Lotus Seed Ideas here