Summer Ice Blocks

Jacinda cooling-down on a hot afternoon

Ingredients:

A can of coconut cream

1 banana

one of the following options: cocoa, berries, pineapple, avocado

Method:

Blend everything in a blender and pour into ice block moulds

Oven Cleaning With Only Baking Soda and Water

It requires time and effort for me to source good quality foods and grow organic vegetables in my garden, so the last thing I'm going to do is undo it all by cooking in an oven full of toxic residue left behind from commercial oven cleaners.

A couple of years ago, I switched to using homemade cleaning products. There may be numerous toxins in our environment that I have no control over, but even though this is the case, I prefer to keep them out of my home as much as possible. Homemade products often work out cheaper, especially when compared to boutique 'eco friendly' products, and remove all risk of little fingers getting into highly poisionus substances when I'm not looking.

Cleaning the oven is usually being a task I dread, however the simplicity of this particular method was surprising.......

Things you Need:

A spray bottle filled with water

A shaker filled with baking soda

What To Do: 

Spray the water over the walls and bottom of the oven

Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda throughout the oven

If there are any dry patches, dampen with a little more water

Leave for Several hours

Wipe clean

Happy Valentines Day Paleo!!

Bacon Roses anyone?!

10 things I love about Paleo

1. Eating lots of fat...mmmm!
2. Freedom from sugar addiction
3. Freedom from snacking in between meals
4.  Its good for the planet (less processing and packaging)
5. Having big BBQ's with friends
6. Getting creative in the kitchen (even if it means a few weird dinners!)
7. Hardly ever getting sick
8. Being able to eat heaps of food and lose weight....at the same time!
9. Having so much energy that I must train, or something dangerous may happen.
10. Smiling and nodding while talking to someone who's just realised all of the above and can't stop talking about it!!

Fridays, Out and About on the Web.......

We had a blast Stand Up Paddle Boarding at Takapuna Beach

Training on Gymnastic Rings..... On Santa Monica Beach.....in the 1930's

I've been really inspired by this BBC series lately

and 

Rush Hour in Holland

Getting Organised

All Ready for the week....

There is no hiding it. Eating wholefoods takes more effort than processed food. It may need to be washed, sliced or cooked and the dishes washed afterwards. This takes time and effort in an already busy week. 

Lately, I have got myself into the habit 'food prepping' as much as possible on the weekend. All I do is slice up all the vegetables into containers, blend up some 'cauliflower rice' for dishes such as my Pork Fried 'Rice' and pop some chicken drumsticks into the oven for an hour, so we have a decent source of meat on hand for a quick lunch or snack. 

My reward is then reaped Monday through to Friday, by being able to throw some goose fat, eggs, pre-chopped spinach and mushrooms into a pan for a quick breakfast or grab some chicken drumsticks, celery and almond butter within seconds if I need to.

Frozen Berries + Coconut Cream = Yummy Dessert!

I'm not even going to call this a recipe since it's more like, well.....mixing a couple of things together! 

All you need is a can of coconut cream that has been in the fridge for a few hours and some frozen mixed berries. Pop it all in a blender then serve (if it's too runny just add more berries until it looks like ice cream!)

Easing the Teething, Naturally.

Poor Lucy, she has been cutting teeth this week. It's been a painful experience for her with all the classic symptoms of swollen gums, red cheeks, nappy rash, general grumpiness. 

I always like to try my best to keep her away from anything unnatural, she's only 9 months old and this means that any chemicals or harsh ingredients will effect her more strongly than an adult. So, here are a few ways we have gotten through the week....

1. Amber Beads: I don't really know for sure if these work, or if it's just a placebo effect. Apparently the naturally occurring oils have anti-inflammatory properties and these are released when the amber is warmed up against the skin.
2. Cold vege slices:  Cucumbers, capsicums and celery are nice and cold for sore gums.
3. Cornflour: And nappy-free time for nappy rash.
4. Soft rubber toys: to chew on.
5. Weleda teething powder
6. Extra sleep time: I've just been going with the flow here, teething is hard work so an extra little nap has been needed some days.

P.S any other natural teething tips out there??....I may need a few more up my sleeve for when the next ones pop through!