Tag Archives: healthy eating

Easy Healthy Recipes, Health Tips & Raves!, Lovin' for the Fur kids

Have Your Juice and Eat It Too!

October 14, 2014 Stephanie Carrington Leave a comment

From detoxing, cleansing or just to get that extra vitamin boost-juicing is all the rage these days! Almost everyone has some kind of juicing gadget at home or has heard of or tried some sort of juice detox. As I mentioned in my previous post….I tried two! :p

After my awesome cleanse experiences I decided to start juicing at home regularly…..until the day my juicer decided to clonk out on me. So my search in getting the best juicer in the market began! Apparently slow juicers are then best kind to get as it’s said that they provide you with more of the fruits and veggies that are juiced, providing you more flavour and most importantly, more vitamins and nutrients. But this comes with quite a hefty price tag! So I made sure I did ALL my research and trials, which took about a month, before heading out and finally settling on the one I got. I love my new juicer and I now juice almost everyday! 🙂

There’s so many different tasty combinations we can experiment with to ensure we get our daily recommended dose of fruits and veggies. The options are endless! Now, I don’t know about you but after juicing I feel if I had to throw the pulp away. Feels so wasteful! So I did some experimenting, as I do, and found a couple useful options when it comes to the pulp left over from juicing! Below are a couple recipes using leftover juice pulp. You can also freeze whatever pulp you don’t use for another time. Yay! No more wasting!!! 🙂

Vegetarian Lentil Chilli Soup

1 cup of juice pulp (mine was beetroot, celery, carrot, apple)
1 cup dried red lentil (thoroughly cleaned)
2.5-3 cups vegetable stock
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 chopped green chilli pepper
2 tablespoons chilli powder
1 chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic-minced
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
pepper & salt to taste

Heat oil in a sauce pan and sauté onion until translucent
Add remainder of ingredients except salt and pepper and simmer for around 15 min or until lentils have softened
Add salt and pepper to taste
Dish up and serve with a dollop of greek yogurt

Lentil and Veggie Patties

1 cup of juice pulp
1 cup of cooked lentils
2 eggs
1 Tbs flaxseed meal
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs sesame oil
pepper to taste
chopped fresh coriander (optional)
1 Tbs of coconut oil

Mix all ingredients except coconut oil together in a large bowl and set aside for a few minutes
Heat coconut oil in pan and place a large spoonful of the patty mix onto the pan
Heat thoroughly on both sides (about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown)
Repeat this with remainder of patty mix (makes around 5-6 patties depending on how big you make them)
Dish up and serve with a nice green salad or with a slice of cheese and have it as a burger! Yummy!!

You can even use the juice pulp as a treat for your fur kids. Cobey loves his with a bit of chlorella and a drizzle of flax oil! Yummy! 🙂

Health Tips & Raves!

Cleansing……The Juicy Way!

May 10, 2014 Stephanie Carrington Leave a comment

I was always into making smoothies as a quick on-the-go meal and felt they were more filling compared to juices. I would juice occasionally and really only on weekends or on days I wasn’t working as my previous juicer was such a pain to clean. So you can say I wasn’t soooo into it as everyone else was and I didn’t see fit to only consume pure liquids for consecutive days. I’m well aware that a glass of freshly squeezed juice is packed with loads of vitamins and nutrients and I’ll have one in between meals or with my meal…..it’s just that I felt there were other ways you can keep the body healthy, without having to deprive it from solids. Well, I was wrong!

I got offered to try out a couple of different juice cleanses earlier this year and I thought why not give them a try to see what the whole rage was about. Both of the cleanses were for three days with six bottles of juice for each day (so thats 18 in total!!). Three days worth of fresh, organic juices were delivered to my doorstep the night before I was to start my cleanse with thorough instructions to ensure the process went smoothly. As I have quite a healthy eating habit, during the cleanse I didn’t have much of a problem with cravings and to my surprise I didn’t suffer too badly with hunger either. It was the act of chewing and the different textures of solid foods that I missed the most. Believe it or not, the three days went by quite smoothly, although I have to admit I did slip in a salad or two. Shh….dont tell! :p However, at the end of each cleanse I felt great! Refreshed, rejuvenated with an extra bit of energy!

The two different juice cleanses I tried were equally great and each had their perks! The first one I tried was Hic’ Juice. The juices came in 6 large glass bottles, each numbered from 1-6 so you just had to follow the order of the juices as they were numbered each day. You are encouraged to drink plenty of water and herbal tea in between and ‘chew’ your juice which I thought was a bit weird but apparently this helps in digesting the juices. The bottles were HUGE so there wasn’t an issue of getting hungry…..actually sometimes I felt so filled with liquid I would have to wait awhile to finish the juice. Overall the juices were quite tasty. My favourites were the popeye smoothie and nut milk.

The second one I tried was from Beauty Cleanse. The 6 juices for each day came in plastic bottles that were slightly smaller than those from Hic but the juices were still quite filling and I especially loved the creamy nut milk! These juices weren’t numbered and you are to pick and choose which you wanted to have. Again, you are encouraged to drink plenty of H2O and herbal teas. My 3 day program came with a couple of organic herbal tea sachets and supplements to aid in the cleansing process. They offer a ‘cheat sheet’ in case you suffer from a major case of the munchies which suggest nibbling on celery sticks.

Juice cleansing isn’t just for the unfit or for those trying to lose weight…..even if you live a healthy lifestyle and have healthy eating habits, we sometimes just need to give our digestive systems a time out from having to constantly break down the food we eat. Whether it be juicing at home or signing up for a program, just like how we need a vacation to get away from our busy work schedule…..our bellies need some chill time once in awhile as well. It could be for five days, three days or even just for a day….give it a try-your insides will thank you and you will be able to see that from the outside! 😉

Easy Healthy Recipes

Oh So Gooooood Chickpea Muffins! (Gluten-free)

May 4, 2013 Stephanie Carrington Leave a comment

Ok, so these muffins are so amazingly yumms that they have been a real hit in my house! I’ve made them 3 times in the last 2 weeks and every time I make them they’re gone as soon as they come out of the oven! They’re SUPER easy to make and are packed with protein, fiber, and a whole lot of Goodness. They’re great to have as breaky on the go, a quick snack between meals or even for lunch…..pretty much any time of day and guess what- every single ingredient is totally good for you!! PLUS, its so moist, savoury and absolutely delish! Here’s how to make it…..

What you’ll need:

1 can of chickpeas (1.5cups)
1 cup of chopped fresh spinach
2 carrots – shredded
4 egg whites
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp greek yogurt or cottage cheese (optional)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cumin (optional)
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt

What you have to do:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Blend chickpeas with olive oil and yoghurt til smooth
Add egg whites to chickpea mixture and continue to blend
Add baking powder, cumin, salt and pepper to the mixture and blend
Finally add in chopped spinach and shredded carrots to the mixture
Spoon mixture into a muffin tray
Place in oven and bake for around 20-25min depending on your oven

That’s it!!! Super easy right? You can also make it with just shredded carrots or just chopped spinach- totally up to you. You must MUST give this a try! It’s great for the whole family. So ENJOY!!!! 🙂

Health Tips & Raves!

Healthy at the Food Court

April 9, 2013 Stephanie Carrington Leave a comment

Food is a huge part of any culture, especially here in Asia and more so here in Singapore. In Singapore, it doesn’t matter what time it is, you are surely able to find some place that is open that will help satisfy any sort of food craving. This is one of my favourite things about this tropical cosmopolitan little island.

One common thing that you will find sprawling all over country are food courts or hawker centers that offer various types of cuisines and dishes at very affordable price. Curries, fried rice, noodles, stir fries, prata…..the choices are endless! Although those yummy indulgences are always oh so tempting and great to have once in awhile… but the unfortunately, having them too often will do some unfriendly things to your waistline and potentially your health overtime. Not to fret…..there are definitely healthier options! My FAVORITE…..Yong Tau Foo! YUMMMMM!

With such a large selection of fresh greens, veggies, different kinds of tofu along with other tasty add-ins, you can easily create a healthy, guilt-free bowl of goodness in a matter of minutes. Obviously you still have to be smart about your selection and steer away from the deep fried goodies and the laksa broth, but some fresh greens, tofu, seaweed and a handle of rice noodles in clear fragrant broth will definitely do the trick. You have a choice of having the items you choose being blanched in the broth and served ‘dry’ with or without noodles and soup on the side or all combined together in one big bowl.

The great thing about food courts or hawker centers is that you can choose different dishes from different stalls and enjoy it all in the same place. Sometimes I will order a dish from a different stall, whether it be a bowl of pho or steamed dumplings, which normally do not come with much veggies. So I will select a bunch of fresh greens from the Yong Tau Foo stall and ask to have it ‘dry’ with the broth on the side so that I can up my veggie intake of my meal.

Whether it be with soup, noodles or to add some extra veggies to another dish, go check out the Yong Tau Foo stall next time you make a visit to the food court. It is a super easy and convenient way to stay healthy without having to put a hole in your wallet!

Health Tips & Raves!

The Awesomeness of Daikon!

February 19, 2013 Stephanie Carrington 1 Comment

Whenever we go to a Japanese Restaurant and order a plate of sashimi it will most likely come on a bed of beautifully shredded white Daikon (Japanese radish). Sure it may be to make the dish look ‘prettier’, but the reason goes beyond aesthetics. There’s an incredibly smart, scientific, and healthy reason behind it!

Daikon radish has LOADS of health benefits!! Oh gosh, where to begin? How bout I list the awesomeness out for you….

First of all, it’s super low in calories so you can eat as much as you want without a worry.
It’s super high in antioxidants and vitamin C.
It helps in preventing cancer by fighting free radical damage
Aids the liver in eliminating toxins
It combats bacterial and viral infections (which is probably a reason why it comes with sashimi)
It is an anti-inflammatory
It is a natural diuretic (awesome for the kidneys)
It has enzymes that help our bodies digest proteins, fats, oils, and carbohydrates

Pretty cool right? The Japanese aren’t the longest living people in the world for no reason. They eat smart! So next time you order that sushi or sashimi plate why not nibble on that bed of shredded daikon? Your body will thank you for it! 🙂

Now daikon isn’t just to have whenever you’re satisfying your Japanese food craving. Here’s a quick recipe you can whip up easily at home!

Daikon salad