HEALTHY COCONUT MILKSHAKE!
With yesterdays leftovers I made myself a great milkshake this morning....

Recipe:
-Coconut milk
-1 fresh peach (bio)
-1 banana, ripe
-juice of one lemon

Just add all the ingredients into a blender and serve into large glass...don´t forget to drink it freshly made as all the vitamins will go away! This makes a great start of the day..lots of vitamins and good fats for good energy!
Have a lovely and healthy day.
Love, E

NICE AND FRESH  COCONUT MILK SOUP...

The other day I woke up thinking Autum already dug in but it was still quite warm..I bought  ingredients to make myself a nice hot Autum soup but being warm as it was I ended up doing the "raw version" which tastes as lovely as the hot version...

Coconut milk gives this rich and creamy sensation with a nice aroma as well which for those who do eat dairy products don´t really get from adding cream to soup recipes....coconut milk is very rich..it has saturated fats which one might think..oh..maybe not that good...well guess what..it is GOOD FOR YOU...our body needs saturated fats..just not as much as we take in, that is a fact, as they tend to accumulate specially in our arteries and heart...but nevertheless, do take them in small amounts....

This soup is a good example how you can eat your coconut milk.....

For this simple recipe I used:

-1 zucchini

-1 4-5 little mushrooms

- Tiny piece of fresh ginger

- juice of one lemon

- Half a tin of coconut milk

-1 cup of fresh mineral water

- Olive oil, extra virgin, few drops

- Salt and pepper to taste

- Sprouts and lemon zest for garnishing.

For the raw version of this soup, I chopped the zucchini in slices as well as the mushrooms. I grated the ginger on top of the other ingredients, add the coconut milk, water and lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix all together well. Put into fridge and let cool down at least for 20-30 minutes.

Serve in plates or small glasses as you prefer and garnish with a few drops of olive oil, sprouts of any kind (I used alfalfa) and lemon zest. Enjoy!

AUTUM IS COMING...

It´s 14.58pm...and for October...it´s already quite cold which is not that normal in the South of Spain.....I was craving for some nice and healthy snack but still something to take this feeling away...I had some salmon in the fridge....wild salmon of course.....animal protein, fish in this case...which I eat ever so often...max once a week to make sure of my vit.B 12 intake (only present in animal protein and necessary for the body) makes you produce warmth inside so quite suitable for this time of the year....

I believe I have already spoken of the nutritional value of fish?? well....I choose wild salmon as I know from a fact from when I was a researcher and I was studying the toxines in marine mammal blubber, muscle and fish being the cause of it.....salmon is the least contaminated fish there is...at least when it comes to Mercury, present in nature from debris breakdown but also caused by industrial releases into the sea....Mercury accumulates in the muscle of fish....the bigger the fish, this is the higher in the food chain, the bigger the concentration of mercury as it accumulates more from eating all the little fish...tiny species like sardines don´t accumulate as much so they are better to eat....try avoiding the larger fish like  shark (although not sold  normally here to eat, thank God!) , sea bass, sword fish and Tuna , this last one...is a very endangered fish, specially red tuna, so more reason not to eat this poor guy..... I am living at this moment in Tarifa, the most southern point of Spain, here you find the most traditional way of catching the red tuna, called "Almadrabas"...they use nets in which they make labirinths in order to catch the fish and this way they make sure the fish gets confused with all the nets and can´t get out anymore....to this we have to add the fact that marroccan also fish here the red tuna and to complicate things more,Japanese boats come and stay for around two months and catch the most tuna for their sushi making..I guess I need not say more why we need to cut down on eating this poor fish? The last article I read about the Tuna population said that since the 1970's the red tuna declined about 90% of their population.....this is terrible news...you can imagine, me...animal lover...nature lover...sea lover...how it makes me feel...of course I do not eat Tuna and I hope after you have read this ,you won´t either ....:-)

Ok..going back to the fish protein...and why I still eat fish....at least well selected fish and only once a week...is because it´s a very healthy source of high quality proteins and also and very important, a great source of essential fatty acids, specially omega -3 very important for the general health...nervous system....it´s also a natural antiinflamatory  so, for people who suffer of chronicle degenerating diseases it´s great to calm down the symptoms....also very important for pregnant women as it helps in the development of the brain tissue in babies.....
And you might be thinking...what about the toxins? mercury??? Yesss...there is mercury in all fish...as I mentioned before..eat the small sized fish, not the babies..I mean the smaller type of fish....in the other hand, fish also have a lot of Selenium in them, this is an essential mineral very important for us..for the metabolism as it takes part of many metabolic reactions among many other things....Selenium seems to counteract the effect of Mercury by binding it...so...this could explain why fish that have high levels of Mercury don´t get intoxicated with it....:-)
Things we can do to avoid getting Mercury absorbed in our bodies is to take suplements of Selenium and also take Ascorbate, wich is vit. C, which seems aswell to help detoxify Mercury from the body.

Coming back to what I made for lunch...this is a lovely sandwich...I used whole grain gluten free bread, added some olive oil on top..then salmon slices (as many as you wish) , for some acid I added some cherry tomatoes, also give great color to the dish.. and some cut chives and salmon eggs for garnish....this is a healthy snack to accompany with some salad if you wish...I had no time for a propper lunch as I am working at the same time so no salad pics this time..sorry...promise to post more soon....;-)
Bon appetit!!!

BREAKFAST ANYONE???

Ok, so maybe chocolate mousse is not the healthiest thing to eat for breakfast...but...what if the mousse was 100% veggie and no sugar? yes...I believe in healthy food and healthy living...I also believe that one part of being healthy is enjoying life..therefore..taking things like chocolate that make you happy should always be in your menu..that´s why I made sure I was eating chocolate the healthy way.....this mousse is really delicious and healthy at the same time...don´t believe me? here´s the recipe:

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE "THE VEGAN WAY" :

-1 ripe avocado (bio)
- 2 tbs Cocoa powder with no sugar
- 2 tbs agave nectar or organic honey
Mix all together in the mixer,add more of the cocoa or agave nectar for more sweet taste if you like...
Serve with a sprinkle of toasted nuts like pine nuts or almonds.

And if this was not healthy enough...why not add some delicious bio fruit to it? In this case I've used good mango and peaches , great fruits that are rich in betacarotenes...these great antioxidants to fight against our daily free radicals!
Enjoy!!!

GREEN BROAD BEAN PATÉ WITH ALFALFA SPROUTS

So...I was hungry yesterday evening and I remembered I had these great fresh beans in the fridge...plus that my sprouts were all ready to be used ..so I decided to make myself a nice toast to calm my hunger!
Oh boy how good was that!!
Beans are packed with Lecithin and choline...both very important in the production of catecholamines....ok...don´t stress...the word is more scary than the actual thing....neurotransmitters....these help in neuron (nervous cells) comunication.....diseases like Alzheimer and Parkingson..benefit a lot of these components reducing the symptoms...
It also has a lot of healthy fiber helping the intestines to do their job right! Folic acid is another important substance (vit. B9)....good for pregnant women and for a healthy brain in general.....:-)
Although..very healthy...be carefull not to eat too many if you don´t want your belly to be full of gas....still..if you do choose to eat a lot..you may want to take some cumin...this will help reduce your gas accumulation...

Alfalfa sprouts not only give you this lovely earthy flavour but also is very healthy as it is in it´s "sprout" form...it´s packed with nutrients that are easier to digest....it has a lot of chlorophyl which aids in blood cell regeneration so it´s very uselfull for anemic people.
The high concentration in digestive enzymes makes this sprout a great source of intestinal goodness, helping in the process of digestion. The high levels of water (90%) and very low fat ,  makes it very suitable for weight loss programs.

This recipe is very easy to make, in five minutes you create a healthy toast that will fill your tummy with goodness!

-400g green beans
-1 garlic clove
-Olive oil,extra virgin , this is up to you how much you add, I usually add about 3 tbs.
-Lime juice ( 3tbs)
-Sea salt , a pinch

Ad ingredients into a blender until you get a nice smooth paste.
Spread on a toast of your liking...I love to eat these lovely crunchy rice toasts....and on top ad your lovely alfalfa sprouts! Enjoy!!

NUTRITION AND HEALTHY FOOD PREP WORKSHOP AT D'OLIVA

Last night I had the pleasure to do one of my workshops at the shop D'OLIVA, speciallized in great spanish extra virgin olive oil and great spanish wines.....all participants showed a lot of interest in learning about the nutritional fact of the food presented yesterday..which were three kind of healthy dip sauces to eat with raw veggies for starters and seconds were delicious "foodrustic style" california and spring rolls.....we had a great time learning and eating...we also had the chance to learn about two ecological great wines from the shop...it was a splendid night which will soon be repieated....in October..we will post the dates very soon!!!!

BULGUR...GOOD SOURCE OF FIBER....

This is a type of wheat hall grain used in many dishes like tabouleh salads or even cous cous dishes...it is a great source of fiber, helping great bowl movements and is great for diabetic people as it has a low glucemic index.

It also has a high concentration of minerals like Iron, good against anemia among other problems, Manganese, wich helps bone, connective tissue growth and sexual hormone production.
Other minerals are also present like Copper, Zinc, Magnesium , Potassium and Phosphorous.
It has a lot of vitamins specially of the B-complex so it´s good for maintaining good brain health aswell as for a good digestion as it helps break down fats, proteins and carbohidrates.
Also very important for good hair, nails and skin´s health in general.
It´s a great fiber source therefor good for great bowl movements and it has a low glucemic index making it a very suitable grain for Diabetic people.
People with celiac disease should be carefull as this grain is a type of wheat and therefor can give problems.
Here below I show you an easy salad recipe with bulgur for these last summer days...enjoy!!

BULGUR COLD AND CRUNCHY SALAD:

-1 Carrot cut in little cubes
-2 Celery stems cut in cubes
-1 half ripe tomato
-1 small cucumber cut in cubes
-Vinagrette: lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt , pepper and poppy flower seeds to sprinkle on top.

Mix all toguether and serve very cold....BON APPETIT!!