why do we eat?

Not many people think about what food is. and why we eat. everyday.
Is it because you are hungry?
because it looks good?
because everyone else is eating?
or
maybe it is time to eat?

eating is one of the most basic requirement for our survival. We need to eat in order to live. There is no other ways around it.
But in a country like Australia, where there are overflow of foods and different options it is so easy to forget this basic reason.
Do you eat to live? or Do you live to eat?

To find out the purpose of living and achieving my own personal goals and dreams my health is very important. I believe what we eat can support the health of your body and mind in so many ways.
Of course it is not just foods or diet that are cause of unbalances. How we live- our desires, how we treat others and ourselves, how we think- can all have an effect on your health.
It corresponds with all that we receive in our lives. If the results are not desirable for you, you can make better choices so you can change your health and awareness for the better.

Besides from what you are eating, how you eat cause different effects in how you feel.
Even the most nutritious and delicious food can seem tasteless if we are rushing or not being aware of where that food is coming from and thanking for it. the enjoyment of good food and company can create such a joy in our lives.

When people eat for their desire for an instant pleasure they often overeat and overlook where the food comes from. What we choose to eat reflects so much of our ideas and values because it is a message that we are sending to the world around us, affecting many things including all the living things on earth and our environment.

spring cooking class

We had a spring cooking class yesterday in brunswick. What a wonderful way to spend one afternoon, meeting new people, creating meals together and enjoying it together.
It is such a basic simple pleasure but I don’t get to do it often enough. Even just sitting down to eat and really taking the time to chew, tasting the flavours and enjoying every mouthful. Also having the time to think about how that meal has effected you physically and mentally. Always feeling like you should be doing something more important or get to somewhere you have to be.
It it also a good opportunity to motivate ourselves to keep believing yourself as well as learning and growing.

thanks you to those, who came to share their time with me and hope to see you soon!

Our menu yesterday was

vegetable bake with coconut millet and mung bean topping
stringy root vegetable salad with thick almond and curry dressing
Spring green salad with sweet and sour apple dressing
and of course a dessert to finish off with

raw chocolate mousse cake

everyone got the recipes for dishes we created and I think the first think they will be making will be the mousse cake :-)

I am still planning a lunch or dinner (for hopefully this year, before it gets too hot...) and maybe we should do dessert cooking class.....???

rejuvelac

Rejuvelac is one of the best things you can take to assist your digestion.
It is super simple to make and makes a good refreshing drink, full of friendly bacteria for healthy intestinal flora, as well as you can use it to ferment things, such as bread, and cheese.
There are different recipes out there but one that I used this time was

Ingredients
2 cups spelt grain (other grains such as rye, wheat, millet work too.)
10 cups water

that's it!?
Yes!

-soak the grains and then sprout them till little tails appear. Rinse twice a day.
-cover with 6 cups of fresh water, cover then let it ferment for about 2 days. It should have a bit of bubbles but doesn't give off off smell.
I made cashew cheese with it.

my garden produce

I have been pretty slack. well... I sort of have an excuse with a broken arm and all.. and also it has been cold I haven't been doing much in my garden.

many of the vegetables I have planted a while ago are ready! It is so good just to go into your garden and pull them out as much as you'd like. washing them with water from my rain water tank, dreaming of a self sustained country living.... (preferbly somewhere warm..)

another lunch...

All raw lunch today...

sprouted let lentil dip served with basic crunchy flaxseed crackers and soft celery crackers
sunflower and coriander pesto
avocado rubbed cabbage and sauerkraut salad

realfoods

thanks to Real foods at RMIT. Real fit food demo was on last Tuesday and great to see so many people turned up for it. Great work, lucy.
I have been supplying some lunch there and for the tuesday event they were kind enough to let me supply some bento boxes which were all raw.
-Almond and flaxseed burger with cashew and sunflower seed cheeze paste on mizuna and sprouted quinoa salad
-Almond and vegetable curry served on herb salted cauliflower rice with sweet and cayenne spiced chutney
-fluffy coconut rice with vegetables served with marinated brown mushrooms and creamy avocado and beetroot salad. topped with tangy almond and coriander pesto.

I also had brown rice sushi.
Fillings change everytime but examples...

curry spiced baked tofu, cabbage and mushroom drizzled with creamy mustard sauce
Avocado slices with sweet carrot chutney, asparagus shoots and coconut
slow baked tempeh with tamarillo and apple chutney and caramelised onion

etc...

meals on this cold day

no mango and banana smoothies for me today!
it felt so cold this morning but glad to see the sun in the afternoon.

definately a warming soup for breakfast
quinoa and kudzu soup with mochi crotons.
all the ingredients have warming quality. especially ginger, kudzu and mochi with immunity boost from chopped garlic.




a bit warmer this afternoon.
people ask me if I have much bread. I try to avoid mainstream bread. Maybe sourdough bread now and then but usually if I have a craving for a slice or two I might make essece bread with sprouted grains or bread that made of fermented grain instead of starter that uses flour, which I had for lunch today. millet and brown rice was fermented for 3 days and turned into a dough with kudzu and mesquite and millet flour and kudzu. the dough was steamed this morning (steaming is not as contracting as baking)

the bread was topped with tahini and my raw dehydrated crunchy onion rings

catering for RMIT real cafe

if you live, work or study near RMIT melbourne, I have started catering a couple of times a week at real cafe at RMIT. At the moment its Mondays and Wednesdays or thursdays
As you know my menu changes everytime, depending on what's available and season etc.
today...

Brown rice sushi with slow baked tempeh, caramelised leeks and tamarillo and apple chutney
cashew cream, avocado and grated carrot and beetroot
purple sweet potato with chick pea and arame with creamy mustard coconut butter dressing
brownies
raw pudding with apple and raisin
coconut macaroons

my lunch today

today's lunch

A glass of kale juice with sliced picked ginger
purple and red sweet potato salad with sprouted chickpea and arame, dressed with garlic balsamic dressing.
quick purple cabbage salad with olives and nuts
pate from yesterday as well as cashew mayo

tasty....

today's raw lunch

Weather is warming up at last! I do love seeing the sun come out after the long winter..
As I said before spring is a good time to detox all the heavy foods that you may have been indulging over the cold months. Raw cooking (or uncooking) is beneficial for assisting the process.

here is my lunch today. 100 percent raw for a fun of it.
buckwheat and sunflower crackers
cumin spiced almond and vegetable pate
kale salad with citrus dressing
grated beets and carrot
saurkraut