veggie cooking cheat sheet

Loving this veggie cooking guide from KidSpot – print it off and stick it on your fridge!

going loco for coconut water

The coconut water industry is at an all time high, with the little bottles of tropical goodness being sold almost everywhere, from cocktail bars and petrol stations, to my local gym.

I didn’t realize how big the coconut water craze was until my recent trip to Hawaii, where I was amazed by how many shelves upon shelves of coconut water there was there– every size and flavor combination you could think of – and this was at America’s equivalent of Safeway/Coles, not a fancy wholefoods-esque type shop.

Coconut water is generally known for being incredibly hydrating and packed with potassium (it has the equivalent of 4 medium sized bananas!) but is also has many other nutritional perks including being low in fat and kilojoules and contains electrolytes including sodium, calcium and magnesium which explains why it’s such a popular choice to have after exercising.

When I was in Hawaii, I noticed that coconuts trees lined many of the coastal roads and coconuts littered the ground. Locals  had even warned us not to stand to close to the coconut trees as they can give you pretty nasty head injuries if your unlucky enough to have one fall on you. On our road trips along the islands coast we were pleasantly surprised to see locals slicing coconuts on the roadside for a fee of $5US. I had hoped to stumble across one of these roadside stops and was lucky enough to find this local the day before we had to fly out of the island. It was incredibly delicious and ever-so-refreshing as the day was very muggy from tropical downpours that drenched us (many times) that day.

Here’s a short clip I filmed on how to crack a coconut open, BYO machete though! (Sorry about the muffling sounds that the microphone picked up during the clip!)

Much love,

Aimee x

my new favourite snack…kale chips

I just wanted to write up a quick post about a recipe I’ve recently been loving that I stumbled across on Melissa Ambrosio’s website, The Path to Wellness. At first I was a little hesitant to try it as I had no idea what baked kale would taste like – but I’m totally converted and it’s now my go-to snack when I’m getting peckish.

I’ve made the chips a few times already when I’m having a craving for a snack that’s healthy, savoury and salty. In the past I’ve also sprinkled parmesan and chilli flakes on top before popping it in the oven, although I found that grated parmesan seems to be a bit heavy and doesn’t melt quick enough as the kale cooks very quickly and burns easily. Tip: keep an eye on it!

The chips in the photos below are the plain type with sea-salt.

Tell me,

Have you made them before?

Did you add any flavours to it? What did you try?

Much love,

Aimee

x

fats: the good vs bad

Fats often get a bad rap and often the first things when people think of fats are kilojoules and gaining weight. Many people avoid fats for these reasons although removing fats from your diet altogether can actually lead to a deficiency in vitamins that are found in particular foods containing fat that leaves skin feeling dry and dull and your energy levels at a low. Fats are a concentrated source of energy and provide the body essential fatty acids which the body can only obtain from food.

Some fats are beneficial and deemed as ‘good fats’ and other fats are more damaging to your body and are deemed as ‘bad fats’. The good types are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, and bad types include saturated fats and transfats.

What are these I here you ask?

Well, monounsaturated and saturated fats are not essential nutrients for the body, although they can be used by the body to make energy. Most people in the Western diet consume too many foods that have a high proportion of saturated fats found in meats, cheese and butter, as well as trans fats which are found in many takeaway foods and baked goods, which in excess, can raise the amount of bad cholesterol in your blood that can contribute to serious problems down the track like hyperlipidaemia, high blood pressure and Type 2 Diabetes.

The Australian Guidelines suggests that the daily amount of fat in the diet is less than 30% of the total kilojoules you consume per day, with saturated and trans fats to provide no more than 10% of the total fat intake that is consumed. Whilst it is important to incorporate some of the ‘good’ sources in your diet, you also need to limit the ‘bad’ sources to avoid consuming to much of them that can be damaging to your body.

Mono and poly unsaturated fats are deemed as ‘better’ fats as they lower the amount of bad cholesterol in the blood by essentially picking up the cholesterol deposits in your blood vessels and carrying it back to your liver which reduces the amount of cholesterol that can clog your arteries which ultimately lowers your risk of heart disease. Unsaturated fats can be found in nuts, seeds, margarines, olive oils and fish.

You may have heard of fats called omega 6 and omega 3. These are both polyunsaturated fats which are found in different food sources. Omega 6 fats are found in large quantities in corn, safflower, sunflower and sesame oils. Omega 3’s fats are found in oily fish, spinach, linseed, pumpkin seeds and walnuts. Unless you go out of your way to eat the foods rich in essential fatty acids, there is a high likelihood that you aren’t getting enough good fats in your diet.  The recommended ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats is 1:1, which is difficult to manage as omega 6 is easier to concentrated in smaller quantities.

Patrick Holford author of The Optimum Nutrition Bible recommends consuming a tablespoon of omega-3 rich seeds 5/7 days of the week, a tablespoon of cold pressed seed oil on salads and veggies each day, pumpkin or almond seed butter on bread, cold-water carnivorous fish twice a week and a fatty acid supplement in the form of fish-oil, evening-primrose oil or linseed oil once a day to obtain the perfect balance of essential fatty acids.

It’s not hard to get the right about of good fats in your diet, you can add a spoon of seeds on top of your salad, yoghurt, veggies, anything – think creatively!

Much love,

Aimee x

References:

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT. 2012. The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating [Online]. Available: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/healthyactive/publishing.nsf/content/eating.

HOLFORD, P. 2004. Optimum Nutrition Bible, London.