One last excerpt from my e-Book

STRATEGY FOR CHANGE

Resistance to Change of any kind is inevitable, 

it's our brain's natural response to something new, unfamiliar.

How then do we beat this resistance, how do we overcome it?

All neural pathways in our brain are linked to the emotional 

centre of the brain too. Pathways, patterns and habits built 

over time carry with them their own baggage of integrated 

emotions.  The more developed the pathway, the more 

emotional attachment and intensity there is....

We might intellectually understand the reasons for the change 

and even want to change, but emotionally it is another 

matter to let go!

We have images and scenes from the past, memories of smells, 

sensations, tastes, feelings of love, happiness and belonging, 

as well as nostalgia and yearning for what is known and 

experienced before. 

To give it all up can be painful and very difficult.

However, the beauty of creating sustainable Change is that 

you are not expected to give up what you are attached to!

The idea is to FOCUS on building the new pathway, 

instead of forgetting the old one.

Remember, the old pathway will disappear on its own anyway, 

so why spend time and energy trying to destroy it?

If I tell you – Don't think of the pink elephant, 

what do you instantly think of? Pink elephant, right?

Same way, if someone tells you to forget Pizzas, to give them 

up and forget they exist – what would you begin yearning for?

This is just the way our minds work. Thus the best way 

to get a child to stop bad behaviour, is not to shout at him 

to stop doing it , but to distract him with something new 

and interesting to do instead.

This works very well for resistance on any level. 

Instead of continuing to think negative thoughts which are 

only another form of resistance on the cognitive level, 

we become aware and use positive affirmations instead.

The FOCUS is on what needs to be done, on what is next, 

on what is new and better for us.....

You don't get rid of your old clothes without buying 

new clothes, right? Otherwise what will you wear? 

You have to replace your old clothes with the new ones. 

 

Sometimes, its possible that you are so motivated for

the change, you can't wait – so you chuck all your old 

clothes out and get a whole new wardrobe all at once.

Most of us change our wardrobes one dress at a time though. 

You buy something new, maybe a skirt you fall in love 

with the first time you see it in the shop window. 

Then you buy a new top to go with it, perhaps a new pair 

of shoes and a new bag to complete the ensemble. 

You come home and try it on and you look amazing, 

really fabulous. You discover this style suits you so the 

next time you go shopping you buy some more clothes 

and accessories in the same style.

You keep ADDING IN the new clothes and little by little 

you let go of the old ones, by giving them away to make space 

for your new wardrobe. You might even keep a few old clothes

as you are attached to them and wear them once in a while.

In the same way, we keep ADDING IN new foods that are 

healthier and better for us, one step at a time, consistently, 

till the need for the old empty foods reduces on its own. 

 

The next time you go out for a pizza, instead of eating a 

whole one, eat only a slice or two and add in a delicious 

salad on the side. One of the Italian restaurants in our town 

offers a pizza with the centre taken out and replaced by a salad. 

It is a hot favourite with the health conscious people here. 

What a brilliant idea from a restaurant chain!

You can go a step further and REPLACE the white flour crust, 

yeast risen, processed, fatty and empty calorie Pizza with a whole 

flour flat bread or sourdough risen crust, topped with home made 

sauce, lots of vegetables and greens, a sprinkling of cheese, 

a yummy and healthy Pizza made at home.

REPLACE the old, the inessential, the not suitable anymore 

with something new and nutritious, aligned with your goals 

and even better tasting than what you used to have before.

On this journey, we replace empty calorie empty foods by 

nutrient dense true foods, acidic lifestyle by an alkaline one, 

emotional eating by conscious eating, feeling low and bored by 

cultivating happiness, stagnation and being stuck by flow and 

letting go.....little by little, one step at a time, at our own rhythm 

and pace, with no pressure, no guilt, no stress, no strain.

Thus, we begin to Break the Pattern.  

With constant Repetition and Practice.

RECAPITULATE

Before we move ahead and step into the New World, 

let us go through all that we have discovered and learnt till now.

*The main purpose of food is to provide energy to nourish us.

*Empty calorie foods are those that are high in calories but 

lacking in nutrients. Instead of giving us energy they take it 

away from us, leaving us sick and tired.

*The more acidic food you eat, the more acidic food you 

will want to eat.

*At times we eat to avoid boredom, emptiness or emotional 

pain. We feed instead of feeling.

*Your body is a juicer.

*The cause of most diseases is imbalance created by

toxicity, acidic waste festering  inside your body 

instead of flowing out.

*Change begins the moment you step out of your comfort zone.

*It takes 3 to 6 weeks of regular practice to break old patterns 

and create new ones.

Let us go through all the steps in our Strategy of Change once again:

1. Awareness of our present state of health and fitness.
2. A deep desire to change from an old way to a new way way of nourishing ourselves.
3. An understanding of our brain biology and the change process.
4. Focusing on what needs to be done next.
5. Adding in the new, reducing and letting go of the old.
6. Replacing the old by the new, one step at a time, at our own rhythm and pace.
7. Breaking the pattern to create lasting change by constant repetition and practice.

Time to move forward in our journey and step into the New world now.....

THE NEW WORLD

You are what you eat, drink and think.

Pudina Aloo, Stuffed Zucchini Tempura, Dill & Spring Onion Rotis, Spinach & Parsley Dal

Green spaces grow and emerge, 

around me and inside too, 

I breathe and I rest, 

and watch the old turn into new......

Dill and spring onion rotis, pudina aloo, spinach dal,
zucchini flower tempura, goats yoghurt cucumber raita

Our Patio Garden

Zucchini Flowers

Stuffed Zucchini Flower Tempura

Zucchini flowers, stuffed with a mixture of creamy goats cheese,
basil and thyme, sea salt and black pepper - coated with a batter
made with gluten free flour blend, cayenne pepper, sparkling
water - then deep fried in mild olive oil.

I don't remember the last time I made any deep fried food,
but these zucchini flowers were totally worth it :-)
Trevor liked them so much, I'm making again tonight!

Dill, lots of it!!! and some Marigold too :-)

Gluten free rotis, made with a blend of Jowar (sorghum)
Rajgiri (Amaranth) and Besan (Chickpea) Flours.....
Added sea salt, ajwain, lots of dill and spring onions,
and spread some coconut oil when cooked.....

Mint from our herb patch, my favorite herb :-)

Pudina Aloo ( Mint and lemony Potatoes)

Boil potatoes, keep aside.
Green paste - blend fresh mint, fresh coriander,
dessicated coconut, lemon juice, water,
sea salt and ginger.
Heat oil, fry cumin seeds then add coriander powder,
garam masala and turmeric, add the paste,
stir fry for a few minutes
and then add the boiled potatoes and cook for a few
minutes till the paste starts drying and coating
the potatoes.
Squezze some lemon juice, serve hot with
rotis and raita......

Dinner outside in the patio, summer pleasures :-)

Apologies for the lack of precise recipes,
I'm just not too well these days, so do my best
with cooking, photographing and blogging.....


Keep it Simple.

Be Creative.

Taste and Play.

Find your Own Way.

Trevor's Pappadum Samosas and Green Smoothie

I've made pappadum samosas many times before,

they are always a favorite at our home, 

I usually fill them with spicy potatoes and peas, 

but Trevor made a filling of spinach, onions and crumbled cheese.

These samosas are easy to make and quite healthy,

no need to make dough and no need for deep frying.

Trevor whizzed up a delicious green smoothie too,

lifted me right out of feeling unwell and blue :-)

1 Onion finely sliced ( Trevor used a red onion)
1 bag of young Spinach leaves roughly chopped up
1 teaspoon of garam masala
feta - crumbled up
a pinch of sea salt (as feta is quite salty too)
packet of Pappadums
olive oil

In a spoon of oil fry the onions till they are transparent
and keep aside to cool.
Chop up the spinach leaves and mix with the onions,
add garam masala, sea salt and tofu.
Gently mix this together. Keep aside.

Preheat the oven to 180 C and lightly
spray and baking tray with oil.

Fill a large bowl with water.
Take a pappadum and dip it in the water to make it wet.
Cut it in half with a scissor.
Take a big spoonful of the spinach and feta filling
and put it in the center of the half pappadum.
Fold one side and then the other side to make a triangle.
if the pappadum dries up then wet your hands and run
them over the pappadum, keeping it moist all the time.
Quickly press the wet corners and hold till they stick together.
Dip your finger in a small bowl of oil and run it over the corners
to help the edges stick even better.

You have to work fast while making these samosas,
as the pappadums dry out quite quickly.
Put the samosas on the baking tray and bake for ten minutes
on one side, then for five minutes on the other.
Keep checking as depending on your oven, this can take a
little less time or a little more.

Nothing cheers me up like a Green Smoothie does,
so Trevor blended a frozen banana and a handful of
frozen grapes with a big handful of romaine lettuce
(you can use any other greens, spinach, kale, etc)
added a spoonful of hemp seeds for super protein,
3 seedless dates, half a tray of ice cubes and some
water.....YUM

He served it along with the samosas and a green herb
salad with cherry tomatoes, all freshly picked from our
patio garden.....

Trevor is from Ireland but his heart belongs in South India
just like mine does - his dream would be to live right next
to a Kerala restaurant and eat appams with meen curry
for lunch and dinner.....

An Excerpt from my ebook "Eat Right, Be Light"

CHANGE

Change begins the moment you step out of your comfort zone 

and face something new, something unknown. Any time you come 

across or experience something you haven't before, something

that stretches your mind beyond what it is used to – it will move you 

out of your comfort zone. At that point a window will open and 

you will glimpse a new possibility.

“The only constant is change”

And yet, very often, most of us resist change. 

We hold on, cling on, grasp on to the known and the familiar, 

feel safe and secure in the nest we have built and tend to believe 

that the way it is, will be the way forever. Change is a law of nature 

and nothing remains the same. Everything moves, adapts, transforms 

and the more we resist the natural flow, the more we suffer.

BREAKING THE PATTERN

However, resistance to change is natural. What you know, believe, 

and are habituated to doing, has created a pattern in your brain. 

When you try to break that pattern and create something new –

understand that you are setting yourself up against your brain biology! 

To consciously make this change you need an awareness of how it all

works, what you are really up against and how you can go beyond and 

Break the Pattern.

Believe me, you definitely can.

When we keep having the same thoughts, doing a task the same way, 

repeating the same behavior over and over again – we create a neural 

pathway in the brain. Over time this pathway becomes a big, wide
highway that is well lit up. An easy, old familiar road, where we feel
safe and comfortable driving to our destination.

Then we get impacted by a new idea or experience – and a new
pathway is created in the brain – a tiny alley, a narrow lane, badly lit
and not very inviting. But it goes somewhere different, somewhere
we'd like to go and explore.

A New World.

Being in this restricted alley is definitely not comfortable,
it doesn't feel very secure either and even though the world on the
other side sounds fascinating, we wonder if it is worth it?

We give it a try, we go for a walk through that alley, we look around 

and it’s interesting. We come back and think, we'll go again
another day. Then we take the familiar road to our daily destination.

Maybe we go back once or twice to the alley, but the pull of our own 

bright highway is very strong and so, little by little, we forget the alley 

and the New World we had glimpsed.
We remain in our old and known one.

What we don't realize is that The Brain is a Magical Place.

If you persist and continue to spend time in the alley every day, 

better still a couple of times a day, then after a few days the
alley starts to transform. It begins to expand, becomes wider,
cleaner andeven begins to light up. And then suddenly, after around
3 weeks or so – it becomes a nice, wide road where you can take
your car and drive straight into the New World.
In 6 weeks it transforms into a brightly lit, safe highway. 

You have broken the pattern and created Change.

As the new neural pathway is being built in your brain,
something incredible happens at the same time. The old highway
that you knew and felt comfortable with begins to transform too.
The more you take the new path, the more the old one narrows and
slowly begins to resemble an alley. It loses its light and its shine
and begins to fade away. It doesn't disappear altogether,
nothing ever does in your Brain. In fact, nothing ever disappears 

in the Universe, it only transforms.

Hence, sometimes when you think about it, or something reminds
you of it, then it fires up instantly. Your thoughts switch a light on
in that alley and for old time's sake you take a walk down memory lane.
As long as you visit it rarely, once in a while, it will not impact your
new life in the New World. But if you go back, again and again,
you will be drawn to it more and more and it will begin to pull you
back to your old life and the Old World.

So you see, it all depends on you. You can choose to step out of your 

comfort zone, create new neural pathways in your brain and install 

the desired change in your life. All you need to do is to repeat the 

new behavior until it becomes a habit. It takes 3 to 6 weeks of regular

practice to break old patterns and create a new one. 

You can re-wire your brain and change your life.

There are a few things that will help you to do this. 

Let’s take a look at them. Let us build for ourselves a 

Strategy of Change  that will take us from our old habits of eating 

to new and healthier ways of nourishing ourselves......

Green Feast - Herby Hummus, Emerald Juice and Raw Lime Pie

"We keep the outside of our bodies clean, 
we take care of our hair and skin, 

we nourish it with conditioners and creams.... 

How clean and shiny are our Cells?

How clean and nourished is our blood?

How clean and healthy is the environment in our body?

What do we consciously do to insure that our cells,

our blood, our internal body environment is clean 

and nourished, just as the outside of our body is?

That is the essential question to ask ourselves 

if we want to stay healthy, fit, vibrant and happy."

from my ebook in progress - "Eat Right, Be Light"

Fresh Herbs from our garden :-)
Coriander, Mint, Basil and Thyme

Herby Hummus :

1 can of Chickpeas

2 tablespoons Tahini

2 tablespoons Pumpkin Seeds

2 cloves of Garlic

Juice of 2 Lemons

A big handful of Fresh Herbs

1/4 cup extra virgin Olive oil

Sea Salt to taste

Blend all the above ingredients in 

a Food Processor till well combined.

Garnish with :

A drizzle of Olive Oil

Orange Juice

Cayenne pepper

Serve with :

Romaine Lettuce instead of crackers,

Marinated Olives and roasted Red Peppers,

Oranges and Pumpkin Seeds

Green and Black Olives

marinated in a sauce of garlic,

sun dried tomatoes, sea salt,

and sweet paprika.....

Emerald Green Juice

Cucumber, Celery, Pear, Mint, Ginger, Lime Juice - Fresh, Light and Delish

 

Raw Lime Pie

Crust :

1 cup ground Almonds

1/2 cup dessicated Coconut

1 tablespoon Agave

a drizzle of Coconut Oil

Process all these ingredients together
till they stick together and form a ball.
You can even mix them with your hands.

Firmly press a layer of crust on the pie shells and keep aside.

Filling :

1 Avocado
1/2 Banana
2 tablespoons Agave
Juice of 3 Limes
1 tablespoon Coconut Oil

Process all the filling ingredients in a high speed blender
till smooth. Pour the filling into the pie shells and freeze
for a couple of hours and Serve.

Rich with good fats, beautiful combination of Avocado, Banana and Lime
One of my favorite Pies, tart and sweet at the same time :-)

I am on a Green Liquid/Juice Feast right now - today is Day 15,

so everything was happily devoured by Trevor and Saatchi,

apart from the Juice which was for me.

Spring is here - Alkalize and Go Green

Add one kind of Greens or another 

to whatever you cook, whatever you eat.

Green smoothies, green juices, 

green vegetables and fresh green herbs!!!

Up your daily Green intake

and fill yourself with Vitamins, Minerals

Antioxidants and Nutrient Dense True Foods

Keep it Simple. Be Creative.

Taste and Play. Find your Own Way.

Roti Pizza, Herb Souffle and Berry Verrine

Last weekend we had some guests,
for Sunday brunch and chitchat,
A couple with a girl and boy,
filling our day with fun and joy.....
The boy said - only pizzas for me,
the girl said - I want eggs and cheese,
the woman wanted light and fruity,
the man said - I'll have all three!!
I did my best to add some zest,
some spice and nutrient density,
something fresh, something green,
the results are here for you to see.......
We cooked together and it was fun,
the kids were curious and interested,
in beating eggs, in rolling rotis,
in putting together the berry verrines....

Roti Pizza

Rotis (Indian flatbread) :

1 and a 1/2 cup Wholewheat Flour
1 and a 1/2 cup Amaranth (rajgiri) Flour

You can use only wholewheat flour if desired.

Salt to taste
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
Water as required

Add the salt to the flours and mix well,
Add the oil and rub it in the flour till crumbly.
Add half a cup of water and knead the dough,
add more water if required and knead till you get
a firm yet pliable consistency of the dough.
Divide the dough into balls and dust with flour,
roll into thin 6" circles.
Place the roti on a heated griddle or non stick
frying pan and cook on both sides till
brown spots appear on the surface.
Cook all the rotis at once and keep aside.

Pizza Topping :

Green Pesto (with basil, coriander,pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil)

Sun dried Tomato Paste

(You can use any sauce or a combination of pastes
you desire - homemade spicy onion and tomato
sauce works very well too)

Tomatoes, finely sliced

Green and Red Peppers, finely sliced

Grated Cheese (I used Emmental Gruyere)

Spread the pesto and sun dried tomato paste

on one side of the roti.

Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, 

cut the roti into quarters/4 pieces.

Place roti onto a baking tray (you can do two 

or three pizzas at a time, depending on how

many fit on your baking tray) and top with

the finely sliced tomatoes and peppers.

Sprinkle some sea salt on the veggies, then top

with the grated cheese, then sprinkle some pepper.

I have an Aromatic six color pepper mill, it adds 

something special every time I use it :-)

Grill the roti pizza in your oven or grill

for about 5 to 8 minutes, till the cheese melts

and the rotis become crisp at the edges.

It feels wonderful to eat a pizza without using white flour

or yeast or too much cheese!!! It is light, delicious

and easy to make. The kids loved it and so did the adults :-)

Herbs and Goats Cheese Souffle

  

Souffle :

5 Eggs
1/4 cup Milk (I used unsweetened, natural Soya Milk)
Goats Cheese - small pieces
Scallions / Spring Onions, very finely chopped
Fresh Herbs, finely chopped
A pinch of Nutmeg
Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.
Whisk the yolks with the milk, add salt and pepper,
spring onions and herbs and mix well.
Whisk the egg whites till foamy and rising,
then add to the yolk mixture and gently fold in.

I used a silicon souffle mold, but you can use
muffin molds or even ramequins for the souffle.

Put a piece of goats cheese into each mold,
pour the egg mixture to half height and bake
in the oven for 8 to 12 minutes, till the souffles
have risen and are cooked.

I served them right away with a fine herb and
red pepper salad with lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper,
as well as Trevor's Nut and Seed Irish Soda Bread.
One day I'll manage to get the recipe from him and post it!!!

I believe these kids will definitely be back
for another meal, if only for the Verrines.
They were amazed and fascinated with the concept
of serving food in glasses, they Oohhed and Aahhed
and just couldn't get over it!!! It was wonderful to
see their enthusiasm and excitement, and to get
them interested in creating their own healthy desserts too!

Berry Verrines

Verrine no 1 :

Goats Milk Yogurt / Blueberries / Raspberries /

Yogurt / Strawberries / Dessicated Coconut

Verrine no 2 :

Coconut Milk / Blueberries / Raspberries / 

Brown rice cake pieces / Mango and lemon curd /

Cashew nut

Verrine no 3 :

Goats Milk Yogurt / Raspberries / Cashew nuts /

Blueberries / Yogurt / Dark Muscavado Sugar /

Dessicated Coconut

I am eating mostly alkaline foods right now,

preparing for a long liquid feast coming up 

this week - so although I made all this food

for Trevor and my guests, all I ate from this meal

was a coconut milk and berry Verrine, along with

a Green smoothie that I served as a Welcome drink.

It was the first time that my guests had ever tasted

a Green Smoothie and to say they were surprised

(very happily though) by the color, taste and idea, 

would be an understatement!

I felt quite satisfied when the kids asked their Mom

to make it for them at home too!!! :-)

Keep it Simple. Be Creative.
Taste and Play. Find your Own Way.

Raw Vegan Detox

  

For the last few weeks,

I've been cleansing and cleaning,

inside and out, in body and feelings......

A shower of juices, a scrubbing with nuts,
a soaking in smoothies, restoring my gut......
Shiny and glowing, my skin sings a song,
eyes are bright and clear, all day long.....
Getting ready for spring, for flowers to bloom,
to dance and swirl, in every corner and room.....

 Juices :

Ruby red Oranges + Ginger

Carrot + Ginger + Lemon

Cucumber + Pear + Mint

Celery + Apple + Lime

  

Salad :

Avocado, cherry tomatoes, greens,

hemp seeds, walnuts and raisins

  

 Salad Dressing :

Juice of 1 Orange

Juice of half a Lime

1 heaped teaspoon Tahini

1 heaped teaspoon Hemp seeds

sea salt, cayenne pepper to taste

a drizzle of Honey or Agave

Blend all the above ingredients till smooth.....

This dressing was so tasty that I could have had it all

on its own, forget the salad!! :-)

 

 Raw Zucchini Pasta :

Not zucchini with pasta,

but zucchini as pasta :-)

Peel the zucchini with a peeler

and then continue peeling

and you will get thin tagliatelli

kind of shaved zucchini.

I eat this with Raw Pesto

and cherry tomatoes.....

  

 Raw Vegan Pesto :

Basil, Parsley, Pine nuts, garlic,

lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt.

Blend, taste, adjust, enjoy

with Raw Pasta......

 

 Raw Wraps :

These wraps were made using the pulp 

from the Juices I make every morning.

To 1 cup of pulp, I add half a cup 

of ground flax seeds and 1 tablespoon

of raw pesto - mix all together

with half a cup of water or so.

Spread the mixture in 6" rounds

with offset spatula and

then dehydrate for an hour,

flip and dehydrate for another

half an hour or so.....

Filling :

cucumber, red pepper, avocado

and cashew cheese cream (cashew nuts,

garlic, lemon juice, sea salt,

nutritional yeast)

  

 Raw Vegetable Pilaf:

I used whatever vegetables I had in the fridge - carrots,

cauliflower and courgettes - processed them into tiny bits,

quite coarse......added garam masala, cumin powder,

sea salt, orange zest, finely chopped dates, tamarind,

fresh coriander, cashew nuts, olive oil......mixed it all

together and then warmed in the dehydrator for a couple

of hours - allowing all the flavors to blend together......

Oh yes, I also added some carom seeds, in India we call it

ajwain and it is helps to digest cauliflower :-)

  

Almond, Coconut and Blueberry Cookies :

A cup of ground almonds, a cup of dried coconut, 2 teaspoons

of hemp seeds, 1/2 teaspoon of green stevia powder, a handful

of sultanas and a cup of blueberries pulsed in a blender till it

half mashed and juicy.........add a drizzle of coconut oil and 

a sprinkle of cayenne pepper then mix it all together.......

Make round cookie shapes from this dough and dehydrate

for a a couple of hours - flip and dehydrate the other side for

another hour or so and the cookies are ready.....

The stevia, sultanas and blueberries were more than enough

to sweeten this cookie and I was very happy to see Trevor 

enjoying them.....he rarely gets a treat of this kind unless 

I make it for him with berries and stevia.......

He is diabetic and does not eat even natural

sweeteners like honey, agave or dates.

 

Homemade Hazelnut and Cashew Butter

with Cacao and

Cayenne pepper

 

My friend Hanane makes this gorgeous flavored Water,
it is a truly brilliant idea - I love it!!!
You can put anything from fruits to herbs, ginger,
lemon and even spices.....Classy for sure :-)

And now I make it too, almost every other day!

Notes :

Raw Food, the what, how, why,

the benefits and detox, all of it,

is better explained by my friend and 

fellow blogger Kristen 

so please visit her over here 

for more information.

I am also blogging
 my Raw Food for 21 days
challenge, on my other blog
so you can have a look if you are
interested in knowing more
about my experience :-)

Keep it simple. Be Creative.

Taste and Play. Find your Own Way.