Post Eid Clean Eating

Eid Mubarak!

Hope you had an excellent Eid with your families. If your Eid was anything like ours, then you probably over indulged in halwa, biscuits and lots of meat meat meat. One of the most exciting things is the lamb Shuwwa that our family has on the second day of Eid. Its absolutely great, but then we definitely feel the need for a healthy eating streak to compensate for the over-indulgence. Not to mention all the fried foods that accompanied breaking our fast in Ramadhan and the sweet cravings that followed.

We've decided to have salads every night post-Eid and we've done quite well at sticking with it. Thanks to pinterest there's always a new or creative salad to try out. The winning salad this week was the Shrimp Quinoa Superfood Salad.

Quinoa is a protein and fiber rich gluten-free whole grain, cooked pretty much the same way as rice and can easily be part of breakfast, lunch or dinner. This low GI carb is considered to be a superfood packed with antioxidants and is one of the more popular super foods - at the moment - we all know how quickly the celebrity foods get de-listed. Qunioa is a low glycaemic index (GI) carb , so takes longer to break down and keeps you full and sustains energy for longer. 

 

 

I got this recipe from Iowagirleats.com, here's the recipe . The lemon vinaigrette goes really well with the quinoa and the combination of savory and fruity ingredients was really enjoyable. 

 While looking out for healthy recipes, I also decided to try out zucchini noodles, also known as "zoodles", which are cooked similar to pasta recipes, replacing the pasta with zuccini. The concept sounded pretty interesting so I decided to give it a try. There are several different tools out there for getting the perfect shaped zoodles. I just used what I could find in my kitchen, a grater and veggie pealer. The grated zucchini seemed more mushy whereas the pealed slices seemed to have a better texture. I threw my zoodles on a pan with some pesto sauce, sprinkled some parmesan over it and added some pine nuts.  It actually looked pretty good.

However, it miserably failed the taste test, and turned out to be quite bitter. I don't think I'll be trying this out again and will just stick with my usual whole wheat spaghetti.

 

I like coconut in my food...

We all have silly moments that we remember many years later.

I remember during one of my master's classes we were asked to go around introducing ourselves and  mention something special about ourselves. For some reason, I could not think of anything at all that was special about me when it was my turn to introduce myself. So the professor continued on and said that she would come back to me (as I wishfully hoped she would just forget coming back to me - and didn't bother giving it much thought).

Contrary to my expectation, she caught me off guard when she came back to ask what I thought was special about myself. The person right before me mentioned that he was allergic to strawberries, so my thought process went directly to food and all I could think of was " I like coconut in my food.." Lol, I ended up feeling really silly and had my friends laugh at me about that to this day.

Well fast forward 6 years later, and not only do I still love coconut in my food, its the up and coming superfood! Yay, coconut!

From coconut water, to coconut milk to virgin coconut oil, its all good stuff! My husband isn't a fan of the aroma of coconut oil when I stir fry my veggies because it confuses him since he typically associates coconut oil with a greasy head. MMM, I love it.

Although it contains saturated fats, majority are in the form of lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid said to reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase good cholesterol (HDL). Other claimed benefits include antibacterial, antimicrobial and antiviral properties.

I like including coconut milk with its other fatty friend the avocado to make smoothies, here's one of the blends I enjoy. 

Avo-coco smoothie 

1/2 cup coconut milk (canned or whatever form you prefer)

1 avocado

1 cup crushed ice

water to blend

sweeten with honey

toss in some frozen banana chunks if you like

Blend to desired sweetness and consistency and enjoy!

For more info on coconut benefits http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html