The Sweet Life

Everywhere I look these days it seems like everyone is talking about Kale, the new superfood. I use kale a lot with my dinners but had lots left over and needed something to do with it before it went off. I found this delicious recipe and gave it a go!  This loaf is perfect to have with a nice hot cup of tea or even toasted under the grill and served with scrambled eggs and salmon for a delicious breakfast or brunch.  A healthier & tastier alternative to everyday bread from the supermarket.  Ingredients  2 1/2 cups of white spelt flour 2 teaspoons of baking powder 2 cups of chopped kale 1/2 cup of parsley (chopped) A few springs of rosemary and thyme (chopped) A pinch of salt & pepper 150g of feta (crumbled) 1 cup of Greek yogurt 1/2 cup of olive oil 2 eggs  Method 1. Preheat the oven to 180 ℃ and grease (i use olive oil cooking spray) a loaf tin (around 8.5'' x 5'') . 2. In a large bowl combine the spelt f...

I live off this soup during the Winter... well actually throughout the whole year! It is made with Chicken Bone Broth  which means it is super good for you and your gut. Plus it also tastes super delicious! It is very easy to make and full of veggies to help build your immune system over those cold Winter months. Ingredients 6-8 cups  Chicken Bone Broth 2 carrots (chopped into small pieces) 3 celery stalks (chopped into small pieces) 1 onion  (chopped into small pieces) 3 potatoes or/and 1 kumera (chopped into small pieces) 3 garlic cloves (diced) 1-2 cups frozen corn 3 cups kale  (diced) 2 chicken breasts (kept whole) 1 tablespoon coconut oil Salt & pepper Method 1. In a large soup pot over medium heat add the coconut oil. Fry the onion and garlic until soft. 2. Add the chopped carrots, celery, potatoes and kumera and mix together. Fry for 2 minutes. 3. Add the chicken broth to the vegetables and stir. 4. Place the whole chicken breast...

Fermented veggies!!! Another must have to improve gut health. These amazing foods are rich with live, active enzymes and probiotics. The tart flavour helps to stimulate digestive acids. There are many immune-supportive acids in fermented foods. They key is to start with very small amounts in your daily diet and slowly increase. You will need a 1.5 litre preserving jar with an airlock lid for this recipe. Make sure you wash the jar and all the utensils (spoon, bowls, shot glass) using very hot water. You'll also need some muslin cloth (cheese cloth) to bundle up the spices (I got mine from spotlight). Make sure you weigh the cabbage and have enough! I didn't do this the first time and had to find a smaller jar so the 'shot glass weight' would touch the top of the mixture and the lid of the jar to keep the mixture submerged. Get your massage hands ready because 10 minutes massaging cabbage feels like a LONG time, it is amazing how much juice the cabbage releases! Whi...

I prefer the subtle taste of the chicken bone broth  for making soups but I always make beef bone broth to freeze and use in casseroles, curries, sauces and gravies. The beef bone broth adds a delicious flavour to all your favourite dishes while also adding a whole lot of health benefits, bonus! Ingredients 3.5kg meaty beef bones (knuckle, marrow bones, rib or neck bones, soup bones)  3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 onions (roughly chopped) 2 carrots (roughly chopped) 2 leeks (white part only - rinsed well and roughly chopped) 2 celery stalks (roughly chopped) 6 thyme sprigs 1 teaspoon black peppercorns (crushed) 1 garlic bulb (cut lengthways) 2 large handfuls of flat leave parsley (leaves and stalks) Method 1. Preheat oven to 200 ℃. 2. Place the beef bones, onion, carrot, leek and celery in a roasting tray and roast for about 30 minutes until well browned. 3. Transfer the bones and vegetables into the crockpot, make sure you add all the fat and loose...

I've been on a bit of a gut health journey over the past 6 months, listening to podcasts & reading about the importance of gut health. I started to introduce bone broth into my diet and very quickly saw the benefits. I try to include the bone broth in my diet daily, whether that is in soups for lunches, sauces in my dinner or even just a cup of broth for breakfast. Bone broth is exceptionally high in minerals and collagen, glutamine, glycine, and proline which makes it an amazing healing food for your gut. I usually make a broth on Saturday night so it is ready to sieve Sunday morning, then transfer into the fridge where it is ready to scrape off the fat and use on Sunday night. I keep some out to make a soup for the weeks lunches and then freeze the rest in containers and some into ice cubes so they are easy to add into daily cooking (sauces, stir fry, gravy etc). Ingredients 2.5kg of bony chicken parts (I use chicken carcasses) 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar...

This delicious brownie recipe is extra gooey and soft when served heated. I always serve it with vanilla ice cream and wait until it melts over the top of the brownie before eating, yum! The dates give it a yummy chewy texture and a slight caramel taste. Once you have cooled and cut the brownie, store it in a sealed container and it will keep for a couple of weeks. Ingredients 2 cups chopped dates 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 cup boiling water 200g finely diced butter (at room temperature) 4 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups caster sugar 1 cup dark cocoa (sifted) 1 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 250g of Whittakers dark chocolate (cut into small chunks) Method 1. Preheat oven to 160 ℃  and line a slice tin (30cm x 24cm) with baking paper. 2. Put the dates into a large bowl, add baking soda and boiling water and stir to combine. Add the finely diced butter and stir until melted. Leave for 20 minutes. 3. Mash the softened dates with a fork or a po...

This is a delicious granola recipe from Sarah Wilson's IQS book. I love breakfast but i have never been a big cereal eater as i've always known that cereal is loaded with sugar, so I would often opt for a 'healthier' muesli options, but a lot of muesli's are also loaded with sugar (especially fructose - honey, dried fruits etc). After reading IQS i soon realised that fructose is the enemy! Fructose makes us eat more as its a molecule that doesn't allow hormones to tell our brains when we are full and to stop eating. Fructose also converts directly to fat - it's not used straight away as energy but converted directly to fat - see Sarah Wilson's "I Quit Sugar" book for more information about fructose and its effect on your body. You will notice that instead of sugar/honey i am using rice malt syrup. Rice malt syrup (can also be called rice syrup or brown rice syrup) is made from fermented cooked rice. It is only made from rice and water an...