Food Archives -

Lighthouse Works: Happy Healthy Sunday.

Apr 122013

When Eelke Pollé was working long hours in her 70-hour workweek, she was looking for a detox weekend. But with relaxation instead of rigorous schedules and fun instead of pure fennel* shots. When she couldn’t find it, she did what any woman with a yoga mommy and a business daddy would do: She started her own with her mission “setting up that place where people can come, settle down, and find ‘tools’ to get back into balance and discover their strength.” Eelke and her team of Lighthouse Works set up just that.

Lin and I were invited to Happy Healthy Sunday, which is a lovely Wellness Day that introduces you to a lot of the elements Lighthouse Works incorporates in their detox weekends and yoga holidays. Upon arrival we were greeted by the team, all women dressed in their black and orange Lighthouse Works gear, smiling widely and making me incorrectly guess their ages because they all looked flipping vibrant and youthful. Anyway.

We were supplied with Yogi Tea and chatted a little before Eelke introduced herself, Lighthouse Works and the team behind it and after that we could dive straight unto the yoga mat for our yoga class to start the day with!

Lighthouse Works Yoga Class: Eelke taught the class and did so in a way that everyone could participate and get something from it. She checked for injuries first, then took us through a warm-up, some Sun Salutations (which I love and that are wonderful to do for anyone) as well as other postures. In a lot of the postures she explained what you could possibly do if this was hard for you or what you could try if this was easy for you, making the class great for beginners, intermediates as well as more experienced yogis.

What I loved as well was how it reminded me there is SO much yoga. You can always deepen, extend or change your practice.

And let me tell you what Bikram Yoga gives you: A flexible spine. Some flexibility elsewhere. Inner peace. What Bikram Yoga DOESN’T give you, is the knowledge of all the yoga postures OR the ability to do them. There were several postures where I could not get my ass off the floor if it needed to be — or get my ass on the floor when it needed to be for that matter. I was sore for the next two days, but now feel inspired to maybe try some different classes sometime soon.

Natural Beauty Workshop: After yoga we went straight up to a Natural Beauty workshop. I had no idea what to expect, but Nadine explained a lot about food that’s good for the face as well as show us some easy-to-do facial muscle exercises.

You haven’t seen funny until you’ve seen six women contract their facial muscles as if they’re trying to do an impression of a Pug Jerry Lewis, but honestly: Nadine’s face looks amazing. She told us she faithfully does some of these face-yoga exercises in the morning. Well, okay then If I can look like that, that is WELL worth freaking out my showering boyfriend over.

Juice Tasting: We got to try some of the famous Lighthouse Works juices! One of the juices was a combination of beet and red grape with pomegranate seeds floating in it, which I really liked and recreated at home. Another one was ‘Apple Pie’, a delicious and warming combination of apple, carrot, ginger and cinnamon.

Finally, there was a green one that was really good. They turned it into a game where we had to guess the ingredients and I am ashamed to report I didn’t get a SINGLE one of them right. I mean, WAY off. When the ingredients were revealed (avocado, courgette, lime and orange), I was amazed — and put the ingredients on my grocery list.

At Lighthouse they like to add things to their juices to make them more nutritionally rich or give them a little extra, hence the pomegranate seeds, the spices and the avocado. I like that a lot, I should experiment with that more at home.

Indian Head Massage And Reiki:

An Indian head massage is an Ayurvedic massage of the head, neck and shoulders that combines a lot of beneficial massage techniques and promotes relaxation. It was so nice, you guys. I floated out of there, smelling of almond oil and so relaxed I could have taken a nap.

But I didn’t, because I had actually reached out to one of the Lighthouse Workers who does Reiki. Nicolette, who is a the Reiki Master of the team, had some time in her schedule and I booked an appointment with her. Although the 30 days of yoga helped how I feel on a regular basis, I was still at a point where I could really use someone helping with my energy and general well-being.

Nicolette gave me a 30-minute Reiki treatment (they also have the 60-minute option), but it felt like such a long time. In a good way: I was on that table and it really felt like she had been giving me reiki for over an hour and a half. I could really feel it happening and it made me very emotional. When she was done, and I was ready to get up she looked me in the eye and straight up told me what my energy told her was going on**. It was spot-on.

And I was so open, everything just rushed out all at once, that I just started crying. I mean, Ugly Cry and Pure All The Sadness Type of crying. I’m making jokes, but it was such a moving experience, and Nicolette was so gracious and supportive. She comforted me in such a natural way that I have never, ever experienced from someone I didn’t really know. It was special. Not in the special-needs way, but in the unique-experience way.

I am still reeling, as well as benefiting. This week I have been in touch with my own energy and emotions a lot more than usual. I know I come off as a touchy-feely person, but I actually bury stuff. A lot. When it comes out, I often get sick on top of it, and that’s what happened this week too: Fever & Migraine. It’s my body’s way of saying “HEY DUMBASS”.

Anyway, enough of the emo-talk. I can honestly say that if you’ve never had Reiki and you’re interested in that, you should try it at Lighthouse Works. I have had some great experiences with Reiki, but I’ve never had such an amazing and cleansing experience as those 30 minutes.

Facilities: As you can see in the picture above, the hotel is absolutely gorgeous. I’ve peeked in the rooms, they were very nice too. In between the yoga class, workshop and treatments we had some great zucchini soup in the restaurant and spent some time in the sauna and steambath – which made us all relaxed and rosy (and very unfit for having photographs of ourselves taken).

Practical Stuff: Should you be interested in this, you can find all the information about the detox weekends here and you can click here to make a reservation. Also, add ”The Self Help Hipster” to your booking and you’ll get an Indian Head Massage on top of your reservation!

From experience I can say that you can also check out the Happy Healthy Sunday and come out of it all relaxed and recharged. Oh, and bring your BFF for an enriched experience***.

*No disrespect to fennel (fans), it’s actually lovely if you mix it in a green drink – straight up will make you pass out in anise-taste terror.

**Yeah, no.

***Because let’s be serious, except for maybe a colonoscopy or something, bringing your BFF always enriches your experience.

Blender vs Juicer: Self Help Hipster’s Verdict.

Food, Health 16 Responses »

Jan 102013

This is a question I get a lot from readers, health-interested acquaintances and people on-line all the time when I mention my juicer, my juices or tweet pictures of my green- or mud colored concoctions:

“Is there much difference between a juicer and a blender? Which do you recommend? Is a juicer worth the investment?”

Short answers to these questions? YES, A JUICER, YES. Here’s why.

I totally like my blender. I like making green smoothies. A blender is multifunctional and I also use it to chop up the pumpkin when I’m making pumpkin soup. Green smoothies are easy on the tastebuds, require little prep time and are therefore a very accessible food to everyone wanted to eat healthy. Hence, green smoothies are great. You can switch things up endlessly. They contain fiber. Things like almond milk, bananas, soy yogurt, dates, avocados make it a heartier meal than green juice.

But. I may like my blender, but I love my juicer. You can rob my kitchen of every single appliance as long as you leave the juicer. Okay, maybe I’ll beg for the Nespresso too, but I’ll beg louder and harder for the juicer. And when people ask me how I got to where I am now I tell them three things: “Law of Attraction, Bikram Yoga, and Green Juice.”

For me, green juice is a key factor to my health, energy and general well-being. It’s instant nutrition and instant energy in a glass. Green juice gives me that amazing mental state, plenty more than green smoothies do. I have less unhealthy cravings, more and more constant energy, better skin (especially now that I’ve added beets to my juices) and just feel really good.

See, when you juice your veggies and fruits, you strip all the nutrients out of the casing, basically. This results in a glass or bottle filled with a buckload of necessary vitamins and minerals, that you can take in in a way that is super easy on your digestive system.

I happily drank green smoothies for about a year until I bought my first (then centrifugal) juicer. It was a 35 euros Tomado that’s no longer available anywhere — probably because it was shit, mine broke every 5 months. A centrifugal juicer is great to start out with and a little cheaper than the slow juicers: I used mine for about two years. When it broke I knew the next one was going to be a masticating juicer, and that’s when I bought the Matstone. Best 230 euros I’ve ever spent. I get a lot more juice, cleaning is less of a bitch and I can now make my own wheatgrass shots, which is awesome.

Yes, it was a (hefty) investment on such short notice, but it’s also a possibility to start saving up for it in the same way some people save up for shoes or designer bags, so that you can eventually buy it. If you save 30 euros a month (by buying one dress less, not going out one time on a Saturday, skipping one downtown dinner), you can have the thing within a year!

And like I said, I think it’s about transitioning. You’re transitioning to a greener version of your diet and yourself, and when you do it makes sense you drink green smoothies for as long as you like, and eventually you can add green juice to your diet. Which I think is a brilliant idea and greatly recommend.

My Thoughts on Rauw & Rawer.

Food, Health, Personal 18 Responses »

Dec 202012

Watch out, I’m totally going to have an opinion about this.

This is about Francis Kenter, the Raw Food Mom, and the tv documentaries about her and her son Tom. In the documentaries, you see their raw food lifestyle and the battle with child protective services that ensued after the media got a hold of this ‘Crazy Person’ and her taking him out of school. Not going to mention it again, but I think homeschooling is a bad idea. Enough on that.

Before joining the masses who all have loud and obnoxious opinions, I watched interviews with Francis, the first documentary ‘Rauw‘ and finally the second documentary ‘Rauwer‘. I also watched de Planteneter‘s review of the whole thing, which is especially excellent and if you want to listen to someone normal who talks in a reasonable, constructive way about this whole thing, I recommend you watch his review.

I am not overestimating the importance of my opinion. I am just trying to construct it.

Let me start by telling you I totally have some reservations about Francis. I would never dispute the love she has for her son: It’s clear to me that she wants him to be the healthiest he can possibly be. She thinks raw food is the way. She’s not entirely wrong in that.

She does her research when it comes to food and health, and preaches there is lots of good stuff in the raw food lifestyle. So far, so good. I love raw food and know the benefits of a (high percentage) raw food diet, so I’m inclined to be on board for a large part of it.

However, I don’t like extremists, and I don’t think Google qualifies as a degree. She finds a lot of her material on-line and that’s great, but Google finds what you want it to find. A raw foodist will find 46 articles why cooked food is bad. A meat eater will find 46 articles why you should have meat every once in a while. You know what I mean.

Me personally, I am totally allergic to her method: The radical black-or-white approach, her way is the only way, harshly reprimanding other people about what they are doing. Blegh.

See, I dislike vegans who tell meat eaters they have no heart: It makes me want to have a cheeseburger. I dislike Christians who tell me I am going to hell: It makes me want to curse, steal a Bible and have some sex before marriage. I dislike raw foodists who claim their way is the only way and that every cooked food is going to give me cancer.

And the funny thing is, I am totally on board with raw food, alkalinity/acidity, all that jazz! I just don’t want you to fucking start with me on how I should be living my life. So when Francis starts telling everyone and their mother how horrible cooked food is, how sugar is the devil and how meat and dairy gives us cancer, I think a) it’s not that simple and b) I want a cupcake, a steak, a cigarette and a deadline (stress is also a big factor in getting sick).

I started to get a little worried when I saw the way she talks to Tom about food. It creeped me out. She also lost major points for me when she started comparing cooked foods (meat and dairy) with cigarettes and heroine; if we were in a debate, she would have lost based on faulty reasoning. Giving a child some organic meat or milk is not the same as handing them a needle or a smoke when they’re 14.

That being said about how I feel about Francis and how she does things, the other party is in no way objective or innocent. The first doctor exclaims his growth curve is like a severely malnourished child, and I’m sorry, I think she got a little carried away with making good sound bites for the documentary. That good sound bite has been blown out of proportion by the Child Protective Services and everyone who watched the documentary. He is NOT a malnourished child. I totally acknowledge the possibility that he has a legit growth deficiency in comparison to his peers (but remain doubtful about the nutrient problem), that comparison is insulting. Tom was a happy kid before this whole media mess, and he totally eats.

Let’s not forget people, Tom does like raw food. Planteneter hypothesizes he should maybe eat more, and that could be the case: I really wouldn’t know. I know his diet may be mainly raw and maybe not versatile enough, but he likes to eat and he admits in the documentary that he sometimes eats cooked food now.

Francis, although in my opinion too rigid in this area, is objectively giving him a choice. Tom just doesn’t really know what he wants. Isn’t that understandable? All these conflicting things he hears are throwing him for a loop. His mom and raw foodists all over the world want him to be a beacon for raw food and how good it is for you. Child Protective Services and an entire fucking nation want him to rebel against his mother. Which will ultimately mean he’d be taken away from her and put in foster care. Jeez, talk about pressure.

It seems to me he’s just going through the motions of this whole circus he has been gotten into and from the latest news I gather he feels really horrible about the whole thing. Poor kid.

My main conclusion is that I don’t dig Francis’ method and that yes, Tom might need more freedom in his diet. Flexibility and experimenting for the win.

But the way everyone has taken a run with it is crazy. More importantly, I think that all this media coverage and the things that are being said about his mom is probably worse for him than all the green stuff she is making him eat.

And come on people. Let’s not forget that while the entire Dutch society is making a big deal out of this, there are thousands of kids who are overweight and underfed at the same time, with Red Bull for breakfast and microwaved pizza for lunch. But that issue is probably a little too mainstream.

My Daily Foods In Winter.

Food, Health 16 Responses »

Dec 092012

I’m not a big winter fan. I don’t like snow. I don’t like wearing a million layers to stay warm. I am baffled by how crazy grocery and present shopping gets in December. Oh, and there is something in my auditory brain regions that makes me violently reject any Christmas song, especially Mariah Carey’s.

But, you gotta work with reality (some of the time anyway), and so I try to make at least a couple of my million layers fashionable, think lots of happy thoughts when shopping and I have declared Adele and Lana Del Rey perfectly acceptable alternatives to Christmas music.

Anyway. Winter is weird on me when it comes to what I (want to) eat. I’m eating like a trucker at the moment and my appetite and cravings are all over the place. I still eat some foods from my daily foods list but there is lots of new, extra cravings. Salads are a distant memory; I eat lots of bread, preferably right from the oven. I want warm things. Preferably spicy and rich and with a million calories.

Oh well. Another thing I have to try to work with, so let’s do it. There is lots of hot and healthy options that taste great, after all. Suggestions are very welcome, because I have a lot less variety than I would like.

Before I go into my food as it’s been the past month, I’m going to mention the whole cooling versus warming foods. This is according to Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine teachings but it’s also very common sense. I mean, really.

In summer to stay cool, you should eat foods like cucumber, lemon, mint and apple, have lots of salads. For winter, it’s good to eat less salads and eat more cooked foods. It’s also better to eat and drink things with warming qualities: Foods like beets, (sweet) potatoes, carrots, but also bananas and avocados, and herbs like ginger, cinnamon and cumin too. ’Warm’ stuff. I’m not too strict with it, but this is how I try to incorporate that in my daily diet:

Green Juice: I can’t not drink it. I love the taste and the easy way of getting energy and nutrients. This is my green juice that I’m more in the mood for in winter: Beet, carrot, spinach, broccoli stem, celery with orange juice and ginger.

Tea: I drink cinnamon tea, the Yogi Tea classic, orange peel tea and Lipton’s Russian Earl Grey. I drink Lipton’s Green Tea with jasmine. And I still put ginger in the garlic press to mix with raw honey and a little lemon juice every morning too.

Breakfast: What I do most mornings is chop some banana and kaki fruit, cook some buckwheat or quinoa and add some chia seeds and almonds. I drink orange juice or aforementioned green juice with that grain-concoction.

Fruit: Thanks to Manfred, I’ve been on a real tangerine kick for the past month and I eat kaki fruit (vitamin C!) and bananas in between meals. I also snack on dates with my tea. That’s definitely new. It’s the almond-situation all over again.

Lunch: I only have a salad once a week with these temperatures, and when I do I add cooked grains (quinoa) or vegetables (broccoli). Most of the time though, I have some home-made soup or eat bread with avocado and sprouts or goat cheese. I occasionally change my sandwiches up with tuna salad or peanut butter.

Dinner: I make curries (veggie or salmon) pretty much every other night. I also cook a lot with pumpkin and sweet potato, with lots of spicy stuff. I am personally responsible for the curry paste shortage in my supermarket and there is a mean-looking adjuma pepper that I use teenytiny bits of for most of my cooking. Nice and spicy.

How about you guys? Any new foods you eat more of now that it’s winter — I bet the tangerine kick is familiar? Recipes you make now that it’s this cold outside? Let me know because I’m guessing I’m going to need some more recipes to make it through winter. Now, I’ve put on Family Guy, using our new Nespresso machine (LOVE IT) and enjoying the smell of our Christmas tree. Have a lovely Sunday, pretties.

My (Almost) Daily Foods, Part II

Food, Health 17 Responses »

Nov 132012

The first post about my almost daily foods has been quite a while ago now. Since seasons change, people change and daily foods change, an update was in store!

Some aspects of my food are still the same, while others are different or more season inspired. Take a look at the foods I eat now that it’s fall:

First up is the kale infused green smoothies I now have pretty much every morning. Before work, before yoga, before sitting at the dining room table to write. Now that kale is in season, I buy it every week. I juice it but also use it to make this bad boy. It has replaced the raw cacao pudding you saw in the first post about my daily foods!

It consists of almond milk, rinsed kale (as much as I’m in the mood for), a banana, some lemon or lime juice, chia seeds and a frozen soft fruit like raspberries or blueberries. If I’m feeling the superfood vibe I add maca-, lucuma and/or hemp powder.

Recommendation: Make this with frozen cherries and raw cacao. Delicious!

I still eat salads for lunch. My standards pretty much still consist of cucumber, sprouts, (baby) tomatoes and avocado. I regularly add bell pepper or zuchini and I keep salads interesting by alternating the following optionals: mozarella, goat cheese, pine nuts, hemp seeds, salmon. Favorites of late are nori sheets, feta and pumpkin seeds.

I started to eat yogurt again for both protein and probiotic reasons. I used to eat yogurt every morning and evening when I was little and came to miss it! The difference is I now eat mostly soy yogurt (unless we’ve run out; then I’ll have regular), organic cereal, chia seeds, raisins and dried fruits like cranberries or goji berries (I know people who are into food combining are probably in hysterics right about now. ).

Now that I have a juicer that can handle herbs, kale and wheatgrass my juices are meaner and greener than ever. I drink 0.5-1 liter of green juice pretty much every day. I even learnt to love the taste of cilantro (combine with lime) and parsley (combine with tomato) in my juices. That’s saying quite something because my friend, those are some strong effing herbs.

I FINALLY figured out how to eat almonds. Long overdue: I know they’re superhealthy but I just find them so bland and boring. I would try to eat them plain but always ended up going ‘ugh’ or falling asleep. I do like eating them in this magical almond-fruit combo.

So now I combine them with frozen fruit, chia seeds, some dried fruit and raw cacao nibs; I often bring this to work as a snack. The goji berries soak in the juice of the raspberries or blackberries and the chia seeds make it a nice sticky little package.

Okay, you will just have to envision the end result yourself but lately I’ve been getting into beets. More specifically, beet juice: It’s a great detoxifier and works wonders on your blood. So lately, I’ve thrown 1-2 beets together with carrot- and lemon juice and drink it. It’s my go-to juice in the afternoon.

And of course, I still eat more bananas than an average monkey-family, drink lots of green tea and my indulge foods are still present. Less brownies, more cupcakes though. Alice in Cakeland has stolen my heart, quite rightly so as you can see from the picture. Cutest cupcakes ever.

Tell me, what do you eat almost daily? Since variety and lenience are integral parts of my healthy lifestyle, I’m almost looking for (not so) healthy inspiration. Let me know in the comments. In the mean time, I got a cupcake to kill. Kisses!

The David Wolfe Lecture: Raw Food & Aliens!

Food, Health No Responses »

Nov 072012

At one point during the lecture, David Wolfe started talking about mushrooms coming from outer space and alien abductions. In front of me sat a barefoot guy in a kaftan and a guy with an enormous face tattoo, who I would later identify as Jericho/Genesis Sunfire and take a picture with.

Um, yeah. I like to think of myself as open minded, but at that particular moment my mind closed. My old ‘normal’ self just called out to me in confusion and shock. “THIS is your life now?! WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON?! And WHY are you not rolling your eyes while being madly uncomfortable?!”

Well, old self: I like to learn, I like having an open mind and come on, this is all super hilarious and fascinating at the same time. (Now keep quiet or I’m shutting you up with more green juice, reiki and self help books.)

Anyway, Sabine had been fangirling about David Wolfe for as long as I can remember, so I jumped at the change to be her date to his lecture. For those of you unfamiliar with my food tactics/antics, let’s go over that one more time in a nutshell. I am not a raw foodist, I do eat a high percentage raw food. Because it’s natural and healthy. I don’t believe in government conspiracy theories, but I am pretty sure the government doesn’t give a shit about my health. I have to do it myself and that’s fine.

Anyway, David? Mad cute. Amazing skin. Energy to spare. Driven, brilliant and quite possibly a little crazy – all the best people are. What I loved most about David Wolfe’s lecture were his sound bites. Every few minutes or so he would just say something amazing. Behold:

“You set a goal, you get a goal.”

“When you have an identity change, your reality changes. I see it all the time. The unhealthiest person in the family decides they are now the healthiest one in the family and that’s what they become!”

“The subtle energy of your food becomes your mind – Vedic Teaching”

“If you want to succeed, double your failure rate.”

“If you’re green on the inside, you’re clean on the inside. You deodorize the inside.”

“When you’re dealing with conventional foods, you’re dealing with that level of consciousness. If you don’t want to deal with that level of consciousness in your reality, you have to change your food.”

“You should build your immune system like a bodybuilder builds its muscles.”

“Food and health are a big part of success.”

“It’s not going to happen accidentally, you know?!”

“Wherever you are, whatever you understand, do that.”

“Get out of the all-or-nothing psychology”

“Your reality is going to correlate to your thoughts.”

“The idea that after a high comes a low? After a good day or night comes the hang over? Let it go. Clear it from your system, delete it from your hard-drive. It doesn’t have to be this way. Just go from Best Day Ever to Best Day Ever.”

I really enjoyed listening to him because of these quotes, in this way he is super inspiring. He can turn something on in you. I would have liked to hear more about raw foods and its practicalities, he skated over that pretty quickly. Then again, David is probably in too deep to really go where the Newbie Raw Foodists want him to go and I should have read his books beforehand.

There were some things I found helpful. Even the somewhat technical stuff about beet juice being a methyl donor (not to be confused with ‘meth donor’) and how hormones can turn bad. My favorite part was when he completely knocks down the calcium-myth and explains it’s actually silicone and magnesium you need for building bones. Which you can get through hemp and raw chocolate. Sign me up.

He’s funny though, very engaging. Flamboyantly posing her and there, dancing around, telling anecdotes about parties with Woody Harrelson and saying things like ‘kinda trippy’ every once in a while.

But mad cute David started to lose me when he started orating about mushrooms coming from space and alien abductions being real. Sorry. I really don’t know what to do with that information. I am not on that level.

I was inspired, though. Throughout and after. I’m interested in finding out more, which is why I am borrowing his books from my yoga teachers to make even more sense of it all. I am more interested in the practicalities and benefits of raw food than the deep stuff and David’s perspective on a lot of different things.

His ‘Have The Best Day Ever’ mission and mentality, wanting to fit three lives into this one lifetime, promoting natural raw foods, superfoods and superherbs. I can’t deny…there is something about the guy! It works!

I love that I had the opportunity to see him in the flesh and I will always remember my first lecture with David fondly. Space Mushrooms and Alien Abductions Stories included.

Magazijn’s New Issue: The Art Of Eating!

Food, Health 1 Response »

Oct 262012

Editor Renee Audier of ‘Magazijn’ met years ago when she launched her on-line magazine with Mascha van der Spek, we had coffee, she interviewed me (lol I felt so famous) and I wrote my first article for her. I absolutely adore Renee; she’s smart, fun to have coffee with and she has one of the best qualities I could ever ask for: She lets me write in English. Bless. For the past three issues I’ve been one of the main writers, and every time it’s launched I am increasingly happy with the pictures, the texts, and the care that goes into it.

This is the bit that I have written for this issue; if you scroll to page 30 you can read my article ‘The Art of Healthy Eating’, where I discuss the fact that healthy eating can be so effing confusing and how I personally try to work though all the conflicting messages and General Clusterfuckery.

This is the rest of the content and it is worth the browse. You can check out Chicks Love Food, the Raw Foodist, poetry, the interview with Richie Culver and the most ah-mah-zing photographs throughout the entire issue. Enjoy!

My Health Food Hacks.

Food, Health, Uncategorized 4 Responses »

Oct 242012

A little help in the Healthy Eating Department can never hurt, right? I agree, maybe eating healthy is a little harder than just slapping a slice of cheese on a sandwich and hoping for the best, but it’s not atom-splitting or anything. Especially when you add a few tricks it’s even easier than you originally thought. These are things I do to make my healthy lifestyle ~~a little~~ a lot easier to maintain!

I prepare most of my food for the next day the night before. The salad (sans dressing), the snack, the juice and sometimes even the breakfast. I either have to go to yoga, get dressed and look presentable or snooze it up in Manfred’s Cuddle Deadlock. I make the food for the next day either while I’m cooking or straight after dinner. Yes, it’s a time investment and you may miss the first half of [Enter Tolerable Comedy Show Here], but it pays off.

Because of that, I assess how much and what food I need the day before. I know that if I work out, I’ll be hungrier so I add some ‘oomph’ by adding a big bottle of juice or even a smoothie. If I have a long day, I throw in an extra banana. This has helped me so much in terms of accurately calculating what foods to have on me and has decreased my need for extra snacking or buying extra food.

I never have the same salad two days in a row. I know myself. That’s just begging for an eventual Health Food Rebellion. So I make sure to switch it up a lot in terms of ingredients. I’ll post a few different ones sometime.

I make snacks in bulk. I usually do this with raw cacao blobs or bits, but I know of other people who do it with granola bars and somewhat healthy cookies. That way you can just grab one whenever you’re on the go and have to get something to eat real quick.

I also cook in bulk; I am Left Over Queen. A few weeks ago I bought a large pumpkin slice that was too much for me to finish in one meal, so I only used half of it and saved the rest ‘for another time’. Of course, life gets in the way: You go out to eat, you eat in but are in the mood for other stuff, etc. Next thing you know the remaining pumpkin is no longer suited for consumption. I’ve come to the conclusion it’s better to prepare it all at once. So what you have a few extra portions! Those are great for when you eat alone or when you want a warm lunch. In other words: I make too much, and by doing so I always have some food ready as well as prevent ingredients from going bad.

I picked this trick up from my reader Elise: I now buy my soft fruits frozen. Soft fruit is often the most expensive and the most likely to spoil quickly; the frozen fruit is an excellent option in terms of price and expiration date, while still containing vitamins and what not. Now I always have some raspberries or blueberries around in the freezer, without worrying it will go bad and without my wallet blowing her Rape Whistle.

CLEAN YOUR STUFF IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOU USE IT. Can’t stress this enough, because it’s better to spend 10 minutes rinsing and washing everything straight after than it is to spend 40 minutes on it the next day while cursing and hating your life.

And that’s pretty much it. Basically it involves more planning than unhealthy eating, but you’d be surprised how quickly you’ll get used to that! After you’ve done it a couple of times, it’s very normal. Oh, and when Magazijn‘s latest issue pops up on-line, you can also go read my article ‘The Joy Of Healthy Eating’, I’ll add the snippit later. Cheers lovers, have a good Wednesday!

The Self Help Hipster Kitchen.

Food, Health, Juicing 13 Responses »

Oct 122012

After my holidays and throughout busy September, my usual healthy lifestyle took a kick to the groin. I had less time, had my mind on other things and that’s when Accidental Anarchy happens: I had a lot less green juice, went back to bread while I had been eating salads for lunch and basically had more processed and unhealthy stuff.

I was too busy to notice (and then I got sick…Coincidence?) and had a little helper to keep me from feeling the negative side effects, but I missed the clarity and energy of eating very healthy. I now have more time and energy to reinstall my usual Healthy Lifestyle so that’s what I’m doing, and I started by taking a good look at my kitchen.

First up, the appliances from left to right:

The blender: Funny that this thing has been in the back of my cupboards for months, but since my beloved food processor is currently residing in Lin’s kitchen after a raw pasta-marinara date last week I got out the blender and have been using it most days for smoothies. My current favorite is this one, although I add lemon juice and frozen raspberries to give it more taste. Also, it has replaced my coffee maker. I think it’s a smart move. Less caffeine confrontation.

Slow Juicer: I love this thing so much. Not only does it juice like a dream and is it much easier to disassemble and clean, you can prejuice. You don’t have to drink it straight away but can keep it in the fridge for 1-2 days. It saves time to make juice in bulk and then clean it up instead of making three different juices three different times and then clean the entire thing three separate times too. (I got a couple of questions about this thing when I bought it, it’s a Matstone and it comes from this website. I think it’s great.)

Citrus Fruit Squeezer: I drink hot water with lemon juice, grated ginger and a little bit of apple cider every morning and when I’m not juicing I find it easier to use this regular ole’ squeeze machine.

Automatic Kettle (?): I drink a lot of tea during the day, so I honestly couldn’t imagine living without this machine. I mostly drink green tea and fresh mint tea, but I do like the apple-cinnamon, jasmine-green tea and Russian Earl Grey by Lipton.

These are basically some of the superfoods I (can) use every day, except the raw cacao because that makes ~~people~~ me a little manic.

Chia Seeds: They give my every smoothie and yogurt-treat a wonderful texture, are full of fiber, omega 3 fatty acids, calcium, magnesium and iron. Plus, they are very neutral in taste and when you soak them in water they take up 9 times their own weight, which is excellent for hydration. Have I mentioned how much I fucking love chia seeds?

Lucuma Powder: It’s a sweetener that’s very low in sugar and high in nutrients, and so I add half a teaspoon here and there to yogurts, smoothies (the ones that need sweetening) and desserts.

Hemp Powder: Since I’m not the biggest fan of beans, tofu and other protein-rich vegetarian/vegan foods, I often worry I don’t eat enough protein. This is purely protein, all vegan and can be added to all smoothies and juices. I’m not the biggest fan because it makes things taste ‘hemp-y’, but it’s bearable.

Raw Cacao Powder: Highest in antioxidants, chockfull of nutrients (magnesium and chromium are through the roof) and let’s not forget, delicious. I don’t have it every day anymore, but occasionally I make a delicious dessert with this.

Maca Powder: The small container with the white lid contains maca, a pretty damn potent powder that works your hormones (in a good way), which consequently benefits your mood, energy and libido. If you have problems with your skin and think it’s probably due to hormones, it might be an idea to start adding a tea spoon of maca to your diet for a month and see if it helps!

Spirulina Powder: Seaweed powder and another source of protein for this often-protein-deprived person. I add it to juice and have come to love it. Taste The Ocean.

This is stuff I add to my salads to add a little ‘oomph’. There is only so much spinach a girl can eat without wanting the taste of something more, and I believe you can’t live on cucumber and lettuce alone: If you’re going to eat salads for lunch, you have to dress them up nicely. Doesn’t need much explanation but from left to right…

Hemp seeds: Rich in healthy fats, but more importantly, delicious.

Nori sheets: After Nettelie (check her Nadelunch recipes) tweeted about it, I tried and fell in love. I rip up a nori sheet and sprinkle the bits over my salad. Works especially well when your salad is all greens, has an avocado in it and some raspberry vinegar dressing. Amazing.

Sunflower seeds: Not my favorite, but add a little bit of bite and crunch.

Pine nuts: My absolute favorite. I don’t even roast them, I eat them plain.

Walnuts: I use these whenever I’m eating a salad with goat cheese or with lots of sprouts.

Pumpkin seeds: Always a nice touch.

These are the things I usually use to make desserts or raw cacao treats.

Raw Cacao Powder: Obviously. Easiest way to use this is buy blending it with a banana or two and maybe some almond milk for a chocolate shake.

Cacao Nibs: nice and crunchy. They’re quite bitter but once you hopped the Raw Cacao Train, you will soon learn to love them. I’d sprinkle them on a brick and eat it.

Coconut oil: Superhealthy (and great for beauty tricks) and can be used to make solid chocolate as long as you freeze it or store it in the fridge.

Figs: The little bag in the front are dried figs with a little bit of powdered sugar. I got them from the guy at the herb stand and they’re very good. I eat them as snack.

Cacao Beans: Jeez Louis, I thought cacao nibs were bitter but these are another thing entirely. I hardly ever use them because they are SO strong, but when I use them I first crush them and add them to something that is already quite sweet.

Coconut Butter: Excellent for solid chocolate, and can also be used on bread and in other recipes.

Cranberries: My favorite dried fruit, ever. I like the half sour, half sweet of them and add them to whatever.

Almonds: I never eat almonds as a snack — I’ve tried but I’ve come to the conclusion I just find them bland and would rather eat other things. I use these to make almond flour or almond butter.

Goji Berries: Nice in terms of taste but they’re very hard and dry, I usually let them soak before I use them. I add these to smoothies and yogurts.

And now for the category “I Have This In My Cupboard, So Why Don’t I Use It?!”

AlkaGreen Powder: Basically a green powder with all the good ones in the mix: Wheatgrass, barley grass, spirulina, chlorella and a whole bunch of other good stuff. This is particularly awesome to add to (orange) juice. I hardly ever use it. Should use it.

Quinoa: Superhealthy grain! WHY don’t I cook with this more often!?

Carob: The superfood sister of raw cacao, but is less potent and comes with less ‘drug-like’ effects. It’s very sweet, has a caramel type taste to it and is excellent to use for desserts. Perhaps I should.

Chick peas: Pretty much the only legume/bean-type thing I actually enjoy up until this point. I should make more chickpea burgers, hummus and chickpea curries. Note to self.

And now I’m going to my new favorite store and get more kale and wheatgrass. More greens to freak out Manfred, hooray. Have a good Friday!

RAW Vitamins In Town: Garden of Life!

Food, Health, Review, Uncategorized 3 Responses »

Sep 272012

A while back I received this interesting little gift: a raw multi-vitamin by Garden of Life. Color me intrigued.

Apart from the occasional calcium- or iron-supplement, I don’t take anything anymore (I tried but I find you can’t say this without sounding like a fomer junkie). I have in the past: I took multivitamins, calcium, Vitamin C, and some herbal things. The works. But as my diet changed, I dropped the pills and decided to pay more attention to getting my nutrients mostly through food.

Because that’s the thing with vitamin supplements. It’s a well known problem that the vitamin supplements are ‘foreign’ to our body, which makes it harder to digest and leaves a lot of the vitamins and minerals unabsorbed. This has to do with bio-availability. It’s very nice that something has a 2313% of the recommended daily dosage but if it just passes through your system it’s not going to do you much good.

These vitamins are supposedly very bio-available because they haven’t been overheated, and they come with enzymes and probiotics, making it easy for your body to process.

When I came back from my holiday, I started taking a Raw Multivitamin everyday. My diet wasn’t as stellar as it was before I went on vacation: I didn’t crave green juice (so didn’t drink it), started drinking coffee again and then my juicer broke (so I couldn’t drink it), and so I basically boosted myself with the vitamin for the time being.

I liked it: It really felt like a boost. I had hardly any negative health effects from more processed foods and I was still energetic without green juice, which is a big deal for me. Usually I notice bad dietary habits in my energy and general well-being fairly quickly but now I felt pretty great. Whereas no vitamin will ever be able to replace the true benefits and power of a healthy diet, the RAW vitamins were definitely more effective than usual vitamins.

I think the RAW Garden of Life Vitamins tick off on all the awesome boxes: Purely plant-based, organic, unheated and packed with enzymes, raw. This way your body can actually process the nutrients.

So for those of you who are still gulping down regular vitamin supplements? Sweethearts, it’s time to ditch the bio-availability zero and get with the bio-availability hero.

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