This weeks awesome three course meal

 

This week i did a bit of a coconut overkill and have been readily enjoying the various coconut treats I buy or make at home.

While making lunch today I had a serious urge for a curry and decided to put together a three course meal and invite some friends over for some vino, good food and as always amazing company and shared memories.

I felt that this was one of the most successful little get together's i have had in a while and I am actually dying to share my menu with you so i hope you enjoy it and as i did enjoy it in the company of those you love and share many memories while enjoying this hard to forget "crowd pleaser"

Parmesan and Walnut Crusted Tomatoes

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

    4 large beefy tomatoes, cut in half
    80g butter
    80g finely grated parmesan or strong hard cheese
    80g roughly chopped or ground walnuts
    4tbls chopped basil or pesto
    Salt and pepper

Method:

    Preheat the oven to its maximum temperature (you could also use the grill).
    Stab the meat of the tomatoes repeatedly until some of it starts to loosen.
    Place them on a tray and squeeze a quarter of the butter down onto each one.
    Season with salt and pepper and pop them into the oven for 10 minutes or until brown on the edges.
    While the tomatoes are roasting, mix the pesto/basil, the nuts and the cheese together.
    When the tomatoes are done, pour the juice from the tray into the crust mixture and mix.
    Pack the crust mixture on top of each tomato and place back in the oven for another 5 minutes are so. They should go a beautiful golden brown.

Thai red curry

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

    6tbls coconut oil
    8 deboned chicken thighs, cut into thirds
    1 heaped tbls red curry paste
    1 clove garlic, chopped
    1 heaped tbls grated ginger
    1 lemongrass stalk, halved lengthways and bruised
    1 cup chicken stock
    1 cup coconut milk
    2/3 of a cup coconut cream
    2 aubergines, cut into large dice
    4 lime leaves
    125g mange tout or sugar snaps
    1 cup coriander, roughly chopped
    a handful of basil, roughly chopped
    1 tbls fish sauce
    1 tbls xylitol
    the juice of 1 fresh lime

Method:

    Preheat the oven to 200°C.
    Place the aubergine on a roasting tray. Melt 3 tablespoons of coconut oil and drizzle over the aubergine. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes until golden and soft.
    Heat a deep frying pan with 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and sear the chicken so it is nicely browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
    Add the rest of the coconut oil and fry the curry paste for a minute until it just starts to get fragrant. Add the ginger and garlic.
    Pour in the chicken stock, coconut milk, coconut cream, lime leaves and lemongrass and leave the curry to simmer for 10 minutes until it starts to thicken. This may take a little longer, depending on the heat of your stove. You want the sauce to be the thickness of cold coconut cream.
    Add the chicken, aubergines and sugar snaps, and leave it to simmer for a further 5 minutes.
    Take the curry off the heat and stir in the herbs, fish sauce, xylitol and fresh lime juice. If you would like to add a little more salt, add some more fish sauce.
    Serve with caulirice.

Coconut French Toast

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time:5 minutes

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

    2 eggs, whisked
    2 slices banting coconut bread
    2tbls butter for frying
    berry coulis/compote:
    ¼ cup of berries (your favourite)
    2tbls of xylitol
    serve with:
    1tbls berry coulis
    ¼ cup double thick Greek yoghurt
    6 raw, whole almonds, roughly chopped

    Method:

    Whisk the eggs very well and place in a flat bowl.
    Heat a frying pan with the butter to a medium heat.
    Soak the bread in the egg mixture for a few second on either side, so that the egg is sucked into the     bread.
    Fry the bread until golden on both sides.
    To make the coulis/compote, place the berries in a pan with the xylitol and bring to simmer (the berries should release their own liquid – no need to add water). For a compote, leave the berries whole. For a coulis, simply puree the mixture using a food processor or a stick blender.
    Serve the French toast with the coulis, almonds and yoghurt

So whether in the northern hemisphere enjoying the beautifully warm summer or as i am in the Southern hemisphere and waiting out the bitterly cold and wet winter here in Cape Town, South Africa this menu should knock the socks of your family and friends.

The 10 Golden rules to living a healthy results driven Banting lifestyle

10 golden rules of Banting 

1. Remember: this is not a high protein diet. It's a high fat, medium protein, low carb way of eating

2. Choose real foods that look like what they are, and cook them from scratch

3. Fat is not the enemy. Enjoy it!

4. Eat only when you are hungry; eat until you are satisfied - then stop

5. Don't eat when you're not hungry. You won't die if you occasionally skip a meal you don't feel like eating.

6. Stop snacking. You won't need to - it's just a habit.

7. No sugar. It's an addiction, and it's probably best to go cold turkey. But if you need to make it a transition, substitute with Stevia, Zylitol or Erythritol - NOT artificial sweeteners.

8. No grains of any kind

9. No (or very, very little) fruit. Think of it as a sweet rather than a health snack.

10. Embrace eggs. They're healthy, satisfying and very good for you.

Banting Winter warmer meals

As a lover of food, family and the company of good friends I often find myself entertaining for a mixed group of tastes and diets. I find that at times it is almost impossible to factor every one in.

How ever i have also found that this combo is always a winner and can be done as a vegan option with very little alteration to the ingredients. So i hope you enjoy these delightful dishes in the company of your family and friends this winter.

*Remember that all your Banting breads and luxury brownies can be purchased directly from the selfiebanting.blogspot.com website I will be posting all details A.S.A.P.

Banting Bread

ingredients

    1/4 cup coconut flour, sifted
    1/3 cup almonds (ground up to flour like consistency)
    1/3 cup sunflower seeds (ground up to flour like consistency)
    1 cup ground flaxseed
    3 teaspoons baking powder
    1+1/3 teaspoons bicarb
    1 teaspoon sea salt
    1/4 cup xylitol
    4/5 large eggs (needs to equal 1 cup of eggs)
    1/2 cup full fat yoghurt
    1/3 cup milk
    2 tablespoons olive oil
    1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
    pinch of salt and a sprinkle of seeds for top

Directions

    Preheat oven to 170*C.
    Lightly spray loaf pan with oil.
    In a medium bowl, mix first 8 dry ingredients together with a whisk to help break up any lumps.
    In a small bowl, beat eggs, yoghurt, milk and olive oil together; stir in vinegar.
    Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Dough will be thick and slightly sticky and will become fluffy.
    Scoop dough into greased loaf pan.
    Top dough with some seeds and salt
    Bake for 55 minutes  (lightly cover with foil if top browns too quickly)
    Let sit in pan for 5 minutes; remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
    Slice using a bread knife or sharp serrated knife.

Spicy courgette hummus

ingredients

    400gsm courgettes (cut into chunks)
    2 cloves of garlic
    olive oil
    salt
    1/2 pack of washed coriander
    jalapenos (quantity dependant on your preferred spiciness)
    60ml lemon juice
    60ml olive oil
    2T tahini

Directions

    Preheat oven to 200*
    Toss the courgettes and garlic in the olive oil and salt
    Pop them in a roasting tray and roast for about 30-40 minutes (until they are all mushy)
    Remove the garlic from their skins
    Add garlic, courgettes, lemon juice, olive oil, tahini, coriander and jalapenos to blender and blitz until smooth

    Banting enchiladas

    ingredients for the “enchilada wraps” (serves 2)

    4 egg whites
    2t coconut milk

directions for the wraps

    Beat the egg whites with the coconut milk
    Heat a frying pan to medium/hot
    Pour 1/4 the mixture into the pan and swirl around until it is coating the bottom of the pan
    Put a lid on the pan, and let it cook for about 1 minute
    Lift out with a spatula

ingredients for the enchilada sauce

 2 chicken breasts, seasoned
    1 tin chilli tomatoes (or normal tomatoes if you prefer)
    1t honey
    1T cajun spice
    salt and pepper
    few drops of smoked tabasco
    olive oil / coconut oil

directions for the sauce

    Heat a pan to medium/hot and fry the chicken in a little olive oil/coconut oil for about a minute per side (just to brown it a bit)
    Add the tomatoes, honey, tabasco and cajun spice
    Reduce heat to medium and put the lid on and leave to simmer for about 15 minutes (just check your chicken is cooked)
    Remove chicken from the sauce and shred it between 2 forks
    Mix the shredded chicken with the sauce

Fill the wraps with your enchilada chicken mix, top with fresh guacamole, jalapenos and a little more enchilada sauce

*Because I am dairy free at the moment I made cashew nut sour cream by blending 1 cup of soaked (for 4 hours) and drained cashews with 1/3 cup water, 1t lemon juice and 1t honey

chocolate brownies

1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup cocoa
3T xylitol
1t baking powder
1/2 t bicarb
1/2 cayenne pepper
3 eggs
100ml cream
60ml melted butter

Preheat the oven to 180*
mix all the dry ingredients together
stir in the wet ingredients spoon into cupcake dish
bake for 10-12 minutes

*All recipes taken from the Banting cookbook

The benefits of H20

In one study in women, a fluid loss of 1.36% after exercise did impair both mood and concentration, while increasing the frequency of headaches
According to two studies, drinking 500 ml of water can temporarily boost metabolism by 24-30%
The researchers estimate that drinking 2 liters in one day can increase energy expenditure by about 96 calories per day.
It may be best to drink cold water for this purpose, because then the body will need to expend energy (calories) to heat the water to body temperature.
One study showed that dieters who drank 500 ml of water before meals lost 44% more weight over a period of 12 weeks, compared to those who didn’t.

Pecan nuts

Rich source of energy, (690 calories/100g) and contain health benefiting nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins that are essential for wellness.
The nuts are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids like Oleic acid and an excellent source of phenolic antioxidants. Regular addition of pecan nuts in the diet helps to decrease total as well as L.D.L or “bad cholesterol” and increases H.D.L or “good cholesterol” levels in the blood.
Pecan nuts are rich source of many phyto-chemical substances that may contribute to their overall antioxidant activity. Research studies have been suggestive of that these compounds help the body remove toxic oxygen-free radicals and thus, protect the body from diseases, cancers, as well as infections.
Pecans are an excellent source of vitamin-E (provide about 25g per 100g).  Vitamin E is a powerful lipid soluble antioxidant, required for maintaining the integrity of cell membrane of mucus membranes and skin by protecting it from harmful oxygen-free radicals.
The nuts are very rich sources of several important B-complex groups of vitamins. These vitamins work as co-factors for the enzyme metabolism inside the human body.
The nuts are also a rich source of minerals like manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium.

Almonds

According to the FDA, almonds may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Almonds are rich in magnesium, which is critical in preventing heart attacks and hypertension.
It’s effective in reducing bad cholesterol and preserving healthy cholesterol, which plays a major role in heart health.
Almonds may also promote gastrointestinal health and even combat diabetes.
The high fiber content of almonds gives them pre-biotic properties, which contributes to health in the gastrointestinal tract

Pea protien isolate

Numerous nutrition experts agree that pea protein is one of the most perfect proteins for human consumption. It has health benefits that surpass both animal and other vegetable proteins. Here’s why.
It’s one of the most digestible sources of protein available. (Between 90 and 97% digestible.)
Of all the protein supplements available, it produces the least allergic reactions. Whey, egg, and soy protein supplements produce allergic reactions in part of the population.
Pea protein powder is produced in a very beneficial way. The result is that it does not produce flatulence or stomach discomfort because it lacks the complex plant sugars found in whole peas. The protein is first treated with enzymes that begin the breakdown process.
Pea protein contains an ideal combination of essential amino acids for enhancing sports performance and helps revitalize your muscles when you exercise. The branched-chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine present in pea protein help maintain your tissues during heavy exercise. The glutamine and lysine that is found in pea protein helps balance nitrogen levels in your muscles.seed contains both the soluble and insoluble types.