Yes, I think laying of the baking is a good idea. But before I go into a baking hiatus, here's a little healthy treat I baked for my girls. I got the thumbs up from both.
I will say that this cake is better eaten the next day. For some unknown reason, it's more moist if left overnight.
Zucchini and Carrot Cake
Serves 12 squares
Ingredients
2 cups wholemeal plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup water
1 cup dates chopped
1 cup sultanas
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup grated zucchini
1/3 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed if possible)
1/3 cup almond milk
Method
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined.
In a small sauce pan, add water, dates, sultanas and spices. Heat over medium heat until boiling, cook stirring for another 3 minutes and remove from heat.
In a large bowl, place grated carrots and grated zucchini, make sure you squeeze the liquid out of the zucchini. Pour date mixture over the vegetables, stir until mixed through and leave until it has cooled down.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line a square cake tin and set aside.
Once your mixture is cooled, mix in the orange juice.
Add your flour mixture to the liquid mixture and mix until well combined. Add your almond milk and stir through.
Pour into your lined container and bake for about 40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.
This is a good way to sneak in some vegetables into your snacks and though sweet, it doesn't contain any refined sugar. Double bonus.
I've also made this in a loaf tin and served it toasted with almond butter. OMG, DELISH!!
Now to my juice cleanse. Well, it's not exactly a juice cleanse, more of a 72 hour liquid detox.
I'm currently on the last day and I know I'm jumping the gun by posting before it's over but I have noticed a few things already.
1. It's not that hard to do.
2. I didn't get as hungry as I thought I would.
3. It's a mind thing.
4. Less digestion means better sleep.
I'll start with the first point, a liquid detox means different things to different people. If you look through cyberspace, you'll find numerous liquid detox guides, the important thing is to choose one that suits you.
I decided to do a gentle detox as I've never done one before and I wasn't sure how I'd go having no solid food.
So here's what I did:
On awaking:
Morning liver tonic
500 mls of water
Breakfast:
 |
| Green Smoothie |
300 ml coconut water
1 Tbs chia seeds
1 banana
1 english spinach handful
3 stalks of kale
1/2 avocado
1 tsp spirulina
1 tsp hempseeds
The rest of the day consisted of 6 juices. I chopped and changed to keep it interesting but these are the ones I had. I got the idea from urban remedy.
The juices I made were the green apple alkalizer, supercharged greens, metabolism booster and the calming smoothie.
 |
| Green Apple Alkalizer |
The calming smoothie was so delicious, and you can get the ingredients from the above site or check out my previous post.
Although I wasn't hungry as in my stomach-is-hurting-from-hunger, I did have a desire to chew!! Especially when everyone was eating around me and I could smell the aromas. But I could distract myself and be ok.
The first day was the hardest and I did give in to the chew and had a couple of corn thins :(
But what can I say, you can only try and do the best you can, no point beating yourself up over it :)
And as you know, I can't not have dessert so I made a little chia seed pudding on day two to replace the calming smoothie.
Chocolate chia pudding
Serves 1
Ingredients
2 TBS chia seeds
1 TBS raw cacao powder
1 tsp mesquite powder
1 cup coconut water
1/2 banana
Method
Blend all ingredients together and leave to thicken, about 30 minutes. YUM!
I also made sure I drank water throughout the day, and had a couple of cups of herbal tea.
Although I didn't feel tired, I did make sure my exercise routine was gentle. I did a 30 minute circuit on day 1 and 2 and I'm planning on doing a long walk tonight.
I have noticed that I've been able to get to sleep with no issues for the past two nights, and I've stayed asleep the whole night. I think the stars have also aligned as my girls have both slept without issues for the past two night. YAY!
I can only imagine that because the body is not working hard to digest a full meal, that it actually is able to rest and hence, great shuteye for moi.
Because of the restful sleep, I've been waking up at around 5 in the morning! This has given me the chance to get my exercise out of the way, and even squeeze in some meditation.
I can't say I'll be doing this on a regular basis but I do think it's a good way to kick start your digestion if you have digestion issues.
I expected to get headaches, but I didn't experience any which is good. I take this to mean that my body is not toxic and I have my new way of eating to thank for that. If I wasn't a believer in the benefits of a plant based diet, I am now.
If anything, doing the cleanse has strengthen my desire to keep to a vegan way of eating.
Which leads me to my dinner at Quay tomorrow, I am so excited! I'm sure I've already told you that but just in case I didn't, there it is.
I will post photos of the food they prepare for me at the end of the week, as well as some gluten-free recipes.
If you are doing gluten-free October, or you have any gluten-free recipes, please send me details or post in comments. I would LOVE to see the amazing food everyone else is making.
Sharing is caring!!
Love, peas and mungbeans
xxb
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