Raw Almond Shortbread House

With Christmas only 5 days away I had to get together our traditional "Gingerbread House". I haven't done one for a couple of years as the kids don't really like gingerbread but they did always love the lollies on it and it looks so nice at Christmas time. To be honest it never really worried me that they didn't eat it as it's not the kind of food I want them to enjoy! But this year I decided to have a go at a raw version and chose the recipe for the Kitz Almond Shortbread cookies for the walls and roof. All healthy with no ginger! The cement is a Cashew Cacao butter cream with agave. The rest is just good ole raw superfoods.. almonds, goji berries, pepitas, apricots, spirulina and coconut with some orange and lemon zest for sparkle. I would have liked the cream to be a bit smoother but didn't feel like having another go at it.
Here it is in all it's glory!! A bit wonky but ok for a rushed rainy Sunday.. :)

Simplicity

I am really enjoying the warm weather, Summer is a great time to enjoy the simple things in life. Fresh air, sunshine, clean beaches, clear water, great running and walking, relaxing, family, friends, pets, gardening.. all of these things are free and bring so much joy. There not complicated, agressive or negative if we handle them properly. Enthusiasm, encouragement and positiveness with friends, family and pets and the sheer joy of our natural environment with the remainder. We are so lucky.

And one of my favourite for summer.. (actually all year!) is the FRUIT.. wonderful, glorious fruit! I am devouring rockmelons, watermelon, mango's, papaya, pineapple, apricots, peaches, kiwi's and more..... it's all just so sweet and hydrating. I am thoroughly enjoying the simpliciy of Fruit! It tastes great, it digests well, it satisfies my sweet tooth and it's easy to get and prepackaged.

Enthusiasm

I can remember where I got this story from but I love. I didn't meet the lady but this is the story as I saw it.
"I met a woman who looks very young for her age. When I asked she told me simply that her secret was enthusiasm. I believe it. That is why people can find falling in love so rejuvenating, - the excitement actually makes the cells more alive. (which is a testament to the power of emotions to affect our health). I think enthusiasm is a little lower key but therefore also more sustainable for the long term. So find the things you love to do and do them with enthusiasm!
I love to do all that I can with enthusiasm.. I love what I do. Work doesn't feel like work. My husband who has been struggling for some time with what his line of 'work' asked me..
If you had all the money you needed, what would you be doing..
I thought about it seriously for a couple of minutes and my answer was,
I would be doing exactly what I am doing now!
I love making and creating genuinely healthy food for everyone in my attempt to help people get away from the destruction being caused by over consumption of highly processed food and what it is doing to our world. It is my passion to help them realise that fresh, natural food tastes so much better, makes you feel so much happier and takes away the drudgery of having to worry about your weight, with good clean food and a little movement your body will naturally be at the correct weight it is supposed to be. You will not feel deprived, to me it is a 'life of Abundance'.. I really want everyone to see and feel that too!
So tomorrow morning.. which will be Monday. I will enthusiastically wake up, make a fresh healthy breakfast for my family.. smoothies, fruit salads and Kitz Granola, lunch and morning tea.. then go for a good run, then get into my Kitz Kitchen to make a large batch of Fresh Herb Crackers.. What a great start to the week.
:)

Kitz Kristmas Kindness..

It's all about enjoying the fun of the festive season.. the tastes, the smells, the socialising, the gathering, the feasting! We have some healthy new Christmas treats we will be getting online and into the shops as quick as we can as we only have 6 weeks to go.. here are some teasers of what is on offer..

   Kitz Kristmas Pudding                        Kitz Almond Shortbread

Delicious Dinners

Zucchini Pasta with Tomato Mushroon & Asparagus

 

Most of us are bought up in a culture where dinner is our main meal. Not only is it traditionally our largest meal of the day but it also symbolises coming together, especially for families. Food is so about so much more than what we put in our mouths. Every celebration, reunion, meeting, birthday, Christmas, Easter and even wakes all happens around food. I think that most of our cravings are related to the ‘when’ and ‘why’ we usually ate something. The smell of bacon reminds us of relaxing Sunday morning breakfasts, donuts of special treats usually centred on a fun time such as a party or outing. Hot bread coming out of the oven and everyone getting excited about having that first piece, then watching the butter melt on it.

 

I am able to admit that I still enjoy those smells but actually can’t even remember the last time I ate any of them. They just don’t appeal to me as food. I explain this to people by saying that I also like the smell of frangipanis and roses but I don’t want to eat them. The smell gives me more pleasure than actually eating them does. Eating them would take the pleasure away and they would actually make me feel quite ill. I find that I am now at a happy place of enjoying the smell, the memories they represent, and I am happy to leave it at that.

 

Here are some of my favourites:

• Zucchini Pasta with Italian tomato sauce, mushrooms and asparagus.
• Zucchini Carbonara.. made with Cashew cream
• Curry Cauliflower couscous with corn salad 
• Raw lasagne 
• Zucchini Cannelloni with Walnut Spinach filling and Tomato sauce 
• Savoury Italian nut patties with salad and coleslaw 
• Corn Chowder and crackers 
• Raw sushi 
• Raw Burritos.. made Cos lettuce leaves filled with blended salad, avocado and sprouts

Most of these are quick and easy. With the right equipment anything can be put together in a short amount of time. And I always find cleanup to be just as quick and easy when preparing nothing but fresh raw food.

 

I have always followed dinner with a serving of fruit.. I know it’s not what you are supposed to do but as much as I have tried not to do it, it just seems to cause me more grief that good! So I just do it and enjoy it. I sleep much better on a full stomach than an empty one. I do try to finish eating at least an hour before I go to bed. I have tried not to do this but found that I was waking during the night and was not able to go back to sleep. I then discovered that I was hungry!  So now I get my fill and sleep soundly. As I have always said .. Do what works for you. I know many people that eat very little in the evening.. I commend them for that. They are lucky. But I have learnt to embrace and enjoy my own ways and don’t let them bother me anymore.

 

Healthy eating also involves a Happy & Healthy relationship with food.. love it and embrace it, it is not our enemy.. it is there to nurture us! As long as it is good quality, clean, fresh and unprocessed it is your friend.. ENJOY

 

Curry couscous with blended salad, rocket & avocado.

Raw Pizza

Vegie Pasta with Nutballs   

 

 

Luscious Lunch

Now it's taken me a bit longer than it should have to get back here. Not good but I have been so busy. We need double the amount of dehydrators.. so contact me if you have one you would like to sell.. :)

Back to the next main meal of the day.. Lunch! For some this is a fairly substantial meal for others it's more like another snack.. I am more the snack type lunch as I am more of an evening eater. I tried for many years to fight it. We are taught to eat our largest meal for dinner usually followed by a dessert of some sort. Then as we get older we are told to eat a large breakfast, a medium lunch and a small dinner. For me that just doesn't work. It just tends to make me food obsessive where I just want to eat all day and the energy required for digestion zaps me. I just feel extremely unproductive.. I figured it’s just not how I am supposed to eat! But for some it is perfect. I recommend that you go with whatever makes you feel the best and then adjust it to suit your needs as in making healthy meal choices.

Here are some great ideas..

Lunch meals:

• Green smoothie
• Large salad with avocado
• Raw sushi
• Lettuce rollups – lettuce with grated carrot, zucchini, beetroot, sprouts, avocado or Sunflower seeds pate rolled up on a Cos or Romaine lettuce leaf. They are amazingly delicious and so quick and easy.
• Vegetable Pasta with Tomato Salsa and avocado
• Vegetable Bolognaise – Spiralized zucchini, pumpkin, carrot etc with raw tomato sauce and nut cheese. Add a few crackers either crushed up or sprinkled over the top, or just as substitute bread.
• Mixed salad of Lettuce, rocket, carrot, beetroot, cucumber, onion, celery, fresh corn, with a few crushed nuts, avocado and your favourite dressing.
• Sandwich made from crackers filled with tomato, lettuce, and avocado or fillings of your choice.
• Crackers with dip.. Curry almond dip, Sunflower pate, Guacamole, Tomato salsa.. etc.

Beautiful breakfast... delights to wake up too.

Ground Natural Active Almonds pureed with fruit, coconut

& goji berries, covered with Strawberries and Grapes

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I am not really a morning eater but find it easy to have something light like fruit. Waking up early to a new day and heading off to my kitchen window that overlooks the ocean is a favourite part of my day. I make green smoothies and a different type of one of the suggestions below each morning for myself and my husband.. the kids always have a green smoothie. Here are some examples:

Green Smoothie with Mango, banana & Pineapple Bircher
• Green Smoothie
• 2-3 Fruit Salad - V-Slice or mondoline 2 to 3 different fruits into a bowl and mix in a little coconut, ground nuts or seeds or chopped dried fruit. Or just by itself
• Large bowl of Melon
• Pureed fruit with Kitz Granola - place fruit of your choice into a blender, blend until smooth then pour into a bowl and cover with your choice of Granola.

Choci-Jo with pureed fruit,

goji berries and cashews

Fresh grated coconut with grated apple,

 sultanas, Apple Cinnamon & Agave Walnuts.

Three Fruit Salad with pureed banana,

 strawberries and Buckies

And for the special Sunday morning treat.. which is something I think we all deserve at the end of a good healthy week.. is my little Flaxcakes with cashew cream, organic apricot and fig spread, agave and bananas.. pile them up like pancakes.. have with a smoothie of freshly blended Mango, pineapple and orange and not only will your senses be delighted but your body will be completly nourished ready for the busy week ahead..

ENJOY  :)

What you think about, You bring about!

How many people do you know .. or you may be one yourself that constantly think of going on a diet.. a weight loss diet.

Just thinking about it brings on all sorts of negitive feelings, deprivation, failure, lack of enjoyment, restrictions, constantly thinking about what you will have next, am I doing it right?.. it just goes on and on. And what ends up happening..you have to do it all again because it just didn't last!

Now, if you tell yourself that you are going to Be 'Happy & Healthy'.. how does that make you feel. I don't know about you, but it makes me feel great. Enthusiastic, motivated, excited, happy, long lasting.. And the truth is, if you eat healthy and do some type of movement.. lets call it exercise! the result will be that you will be 'Happy & Healthy' and your weight will go to where it is supposed to be. And because it is a life time change for the better it will last forever and you will never have to think about the 'D' word again.

So write a list with all your favourite healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and that's the exciting food you are now going to live on.. sounds like healthy fun to me. Tomorrow I will put up some of my favourite healthy meals that make me excited about eating healthy. Enjoy! :)

Amazing Summer time salads

We have some of the best fruit and vegetables available to us in the this country.. I can't believe how lucky we are, or how lucky I am. I am in heaven with a house full of wholesome fresh produce. The choices are amazing and we should all be embracing it.
I have a bad habit of finding something I like and then having that same thing everyday for months on end. Not good.. I'm always very happy doing it but I do think I should be more adventurous. I move with the seasons.. when papapa is in season I eat it in abundance. So I suppose it's not that bad because I am eating seasonally which is the best way to eat. I always have a large salad for dinner including lots of greens with a variety of non sweet fruits such as tomatoes, zucchini etc and I also love mushrooms which are a good source of B12 for me. I have been doing a bit a sprouting lately too. Something I used to do a lot of but stopped for some time as it starting to upset my stomach. Now I have them accassionally and only in small amounts. I just love alfalfa, fenugreek, lentil, mung and pea sprouts. Sprouts are the ultimate Live Food!.. full of life, nutrition and sunfilled energy. It is always my treat when we go away to buy the Crunchy Combo available in the supermarkets.. Other than that I never buy them as you do run a risk of them containing mould.

Alfalfa, mung, fenugreek & lentil with Pea Sprouts below

So getting back to the Salads I made up a beautiful Carrot, Sultana & Coconut salad yesterday for my daughter and her friends.. it was always a favourite of mine as a teenager and in my early 20's, I remember buying it from a little Health Food Cafe in my lunch hour. I just dress it with freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice. If you let it sit for about an hour the flavours combine and it is just a treat.

Carrot Sultana & Coconut Salad

And for dinner I had a amazing Zucchini Pasta salad with finely chopped tomato, mushroom, celery and red onion with a dressing of the same with some fresh garlic, chives, ginger and basil.. it was heaven!!

Followed it up with a small feast of mango's.. about 6 decent sized NT mango's.. what a great night!

Zucchini Pasta Salad

LIVE.. LOVE.. LAUGH

ENJOY!!  :)

More cakes.. more bliss time.. :)

Chocolate Banana & Berry layered Torte

I just love it when there is an excuse to make another gourmet raw cake! The girls are staying in a beautiful appartment right on the beach for Sami-Jo's 21st celebrations and Guess What?  They all love raw food creations.. how good is that! I am having a wonderful time making up stuff for them that they really seem to be enjoying. Wow, even the boys seemed to really like the torte last night. How good is that. We all made sure though that they didn't know what sort of torte it was.. :)

The bottom is a thick cakey crust of walnut, dates and cacao nibs with a hint of vanilla, then a creamy banana cashew layer, followed by blueberries covered with a thick layer of rich chocolate avocado mousse finishing with a Cashew cream top.

For afternoon snack I had made up some raw sushi and in the rush forgot to take a photo of it. It came out wonderful and the girls devoured it. Along with some little Vanilla Fig cupcakes with Creamy Apricot frosting they where all kept well nourished. Pre dinner consisted of Kitz Crackers with Guacomole and fresh sliced tomato.

Vanilla Fig Cupcakes with Creamy Apricot Frosting

It was a fun night. Here is a pic of the girls in the late afternoon before they glitzed up for dinner..

Happy 21st my love!

Chocolate Velvet Torte for my babies 21st

I can't believe it.. my first born has turned 21! What happened, it all just went so fast. The great thing is she just love raw food especially the desserts so I can always have fun making her a raw cake for her birthday. Forgetting that I had an appointment yesterday afternoon I left myself half and hour to make this cake for her, no time to get a recipe so with an idea in my head off I went. And. YEAH! she loved it so much she said it was the best cake she has ever had. She wants me to make another for her dinner party on Friday night.. but I have bigger plans for that. Will post how it goes. :)

This cake has a crust with raw cacao nibs in it giving that rich choc taste with a tiny crunch and a smooth velvety chocolate filling made with avocado then covered with blueberries.

21 today!

Some new stuff and specials for the festive season

Great ideas for Kitz Living Foods products

With all the fun of Christmas about to happen I want to make sure everyone can have a great time and join in the festive fun which includes eating delicious food.. just don't tell your friends and family it's good for them.. funny thing that isn't it how some people feel that the only way you can get enjoyment out of food is if it is, well.. I would call it processed rubbish!!

But not all of us, I know that you guys are all like me and love feeling great! The only way to stay like at is to eat a fresh healthy diet, gets lots of fresh air and movement, live in the moment and to enjoy our friends and family.

I have always wished for health and happiness.. because to me with that I have everything! It means that the rest of life is great. Remembering to thoroughly enjoy the simple things in life is such a blessing. Things like a super sweet rockmelon that reminds me of caramel, and good run where I have an abundance of energy and just want to go for it, peace and quiet to recharge my batteries, waking up early to prepare green smoothies and fresh healthy fruit salad granola's for my family then us all sitting down to enjoy it together, dinners together with great conversation, treks out into the country to do a nature walk or a 10km canoe trip to a lovely location for lunch.. these are that things that fulfill me.. :)

So to help keep everyone on track with delicious snacks for this special time I am going to be offering some great special on the Kitz Living Foods website plus some one offs special runs of some new products I want to make for everyone to enjoy..

Chunk Special

This week it is the Chunk special with choc chip goji, pineapple pepita and almond, fig and macadamia and the banana, date and walnuts all for the price of just 3, buy for and get one free. There are also the new Almond choc chunk cookies with the chocolate cream filling which have nearly run out.

Chocolate cashew cream filled almond choc chunk cookies

Fresh air, family and fun

We've just spend a wonderful couple of days away from civilization with 2 of our kids.. the eldest and the youngest.. oh and our new pet bird.. Maggy.. she's a baby Magpie that fell out of a tree in our back yard, her brother never made the fall.. he's now deceased.. :( So we have been hand feeding Maggy and she is going from strength to strength.

Looking back over Lake Lilly toward the reception and the communal kitchen

First thing we did was go for a swim, that's Craig diving off the diving board. Jordi was great at it doing back flips and all sorts of tricks. Sami-Jo even braved it and jumped off.
The cabins are nice a neat with just a bathroom a queen bed bunks for the kids. With the little verandah over looking the lake it's just perfect. We were a bit disappointed that we didn't have our own kitchen but after going down to the communal kitchen and putting our food into the cool room we realized it was going to work out quite well. We were the only ones there except for 4 WWOOFer's (Willing workers on organic farms) so we had the outdoor kitchen to ourselves.
Hassana is an organic farm stay with cabins and permanent tents. They do individual, family or group bookings.. I would love to do a raw food weekend for a group. Will put it onto the Kitz Living Foods website when I organise it as it will be a weekend for anyone and everyone.. learning, sharing and enjoying fantastic raw food.
Activities include, swimming, canoeing, walking, Katapult (medieval game) farm tour of the organic vegetable garden, chickens (collecting eggs), paddocks etc.

On our way back to our cabin - the middle one on the hill

Craig sitting on the deck of the Sauna on Lake Lilly before breaky.

On Friday after breakfast we did a 10km round trip up the river in canoes to the Art Gallery at Murwillumbah for lunch. After getting our act together with the paddles it was a great morning. Fantastic scenery, great weather and good company all in a quite serene environment.

We tied the canoe's up under this bridge then walked to the Gallery

Walking up to the Art Gallery

That afternoon I rode one of the farm bikes down to Stockers Sidding to check out the local art shop which has beautiful local pottery, knitting, woodwork and handmade jewellery.
Then before dinner we went to have a look at the Glow Worms in an old disused railway tunnel at the end of the valley. It was a eary but beautiful place and the glow worms showed up really well just as it was getting dark.

Walking out of the tunnel

Old disused Wood and Stone house in the Valley

Maggy - Day 1

the Happy Campers!

xx