GREEN MONSTER SMOOTHIE WITH CHOC CHIPS BLIZZARD

On the weekend a magical letter arrived in the post. The kind of letter that makes you go weak at the knees and brings tears to your eyes. It took me by surprise even though I knew it had to arrive

REVIEW ANJUMS QUICK AND EASY INDIAN COOKBOOK

ABOUT THE BOOKS:

Overview
This is a review of TWO different cookbooks both are by Anjum Anand.
1) Anjums Quick and Easy Indian (Fast, effortless food for any time and place)
2) Anjums Indian Vegetarian Feast

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING MAG FEATURE

Im excited to share that I am in the July issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine SA.

SPROUTING 101

 

In the past I bought sprouts at the store/shop in the salad section and added them to my salads, randomly and when I felt like buying them. Since then I have tasted some really delicious take-out raw food dishes which seemed to contain A LOT of different  kinds of sprouts with all kinds of delicious patties and salads. While chatting my husband asked "why don't we sprout?" and from then on I was hooked on the idea....Why hadn't I considered it before?

I read advice online and started with 3 jars and some mesh/tuille fabric. I also drove my husband crazy because our drying-up rack for our dishes became the home for the jars of busy sprouting seeds thus causing chaos in the washing and drying of our dishes and trying to keep the kitchen clean.. (hehehe.) - causing chaos in the kitchen seems to be my special something.
So after several days of searching for a second drying rack - I wanted a fold away one, which is currently impossible to find in any stores where I live we went straight to the source and just bought a kind of expensive (but so worth it) sprouting rack. Its perfect and our sprouting journey continues full throttle.

WHY SPROUTS
The enzymes in sprouts is much higher than in other uncooked, raw foods because the sprouts are alive.

• The vitamin content in sprouts is higher - yay more vitamins!

PEPPERMINT AND DARK CHOCOLATE COCONUT ICE CREAM

So browsing the internet for amazing food you don't expect to find this! eeeek!
Clearly Im not the super adventurous type when it comes to food.... Are you?

GREEN GODDESS DRESSING

With the crazy busyness of studying plus work and family life I haven't been able to get to cook and photograph many things in the day time. Hence the lack of recipe posts -sorry. I think about it often and check in here and on facebook to say hi and answer comments etc...

I will be back - one day ;) kidding , Im still here just lurking in the background.
Studying is going well and Im getting close to the end, about 5 - 6 weeks and Im finished -Eeek!
I will be studying 2 other short courses after that but much less work load so life will ease up a little - yay!
I have LOVED studying, I never thought I would like it that much but now Im sad to finish. Life always has ways of flipping things on its head and surprising us.

CHOC MINT SMOOTHIE

It's official choc-mint smoothie for the WIN! I think I'm addicted to these. And they're dairy-free, and refined sugar free. So they're healthy and delicious - what not to love?!

The flax helps the smoothie thicken and has fiber which is great for your digestive system. Plus the green veggies are great for vitamins and anti-oxidants. The avocado makes it silky smooth and you won't even taste it- PROMISE! 

Love the Change

 

Life has this way of changing and growing - if you let it.
Often we are stubborn and fight it all the way. We don't want to give up the sugar or the dairy or we simply blame the other person for our anger - cause it was definitely their fault for causing us to lash out! But whether they instigated it or not we still need to take responsibility for our actions or behavior. 

Studying and a Survey

So studying is fun, interesting and a little scary.

Scary because parts of my course push me past my current boundaries... to do things like... make an on camera video eek! Of the many things Im learning in the business section of my course I have

Energy Oat Bars

So creating the life you want starts with making positive choices everyday. One of them being what you chose to put into your mouth (pep talk to myself here too). These aren't THE perfect health bar ever created but they are a great alternative to many other sugar laden sweets that you can buy in the store. If my kid or husband wants to munch on sweets I feel better having a batch of these in the

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

I can't believe that its almost Christmas -  2 sleeps and it'll be here. As much as I love Christmas (and I really love it!!!) I can't wait to put my feet up and have some time with my family.

Im not perfect (but Im willing to try)

So as you may or may not know Im studying health and nutrition. Its been an eye opener.
I thought I knew so much about health and what are good foods and what are bad foods etc...
but it turns out that if you go right down to the basics, like the very core of food, it's structure as a plant etc I realized that there are NO GOOD FOODS OR BAD FOODS!

There are ONLY foods that nourish your body and foods that don't.

And yes it really can be that simple!

As I go down this journey and discover things I thought there may be others like me who would like to make themselves healthier. Im really not perfect and I definitely don't know it all BUT Im willing to learn.

BUTTERNUT PIE AND THANKSGIVING

 

I've never had pumpkin pie before in my life so I'm really not sure if what I created is anything close to what its supposed to be like. I really wanted to try and make it... so I read loads of recipes and the common thread was pumpkin, sugar, eggs and milk plus cinnamon, spices and a pie crust (duh)!---BUT I wanted it to be minus the dairy and mounds of sugar And I really like butternut so I subbed that for pumpkin. So in the end I think I really created a vegan, dairy free variation of "a kind of pumpkin pie?"...  I suppose it could maybe be called South African Butternut "thanks giving" pie

This one time I gave up coffee and dairy --- Going Dairy Free

Recently I have given up dairy and caffeine- crazy right!
If you've looked through my blog or followed my tweets or instagram you will know how strongly I LOVE coffee! and dairy! So here is why the change....

Some Background
In 2007 I was diagnosed with PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) And although I was told by the doctor it was cysts on my ovaries affecting my hormones etc... I wasn't told much about how to look after my body regarding food and lifestyle. I was told there were some medicines I could take like metformin because I could be pre-diabetic and another medicine that I can't remember now. But that

Betty Bake in Print Media

Betty Bake in Wellness Magazine October issue

So lately this blog (www.bettybake.co.za) has been in two print media publications.
To say that I am beyond happy would be a huge understatement! I am thrilled and can't stop smiling, the chocolate has been broken out (the dark and healthy decadent kind) and all is happy and sunny in betty bake land.

HAPPY ALMOST FRIDAY

So when you are reading this it maybe thursday or it maybe friday... or another day. But for me I am  happy knowing that the weekend is almost here (klinks glass- cheers).
Sometimes we look for almost anything to cheer us up or to find a positive spin on our day or week...
Its the little things that make us smile - that block of chocolate or cup of coffee. The thought of time

WIN Le Creuset with Cuppa For CANSA

Hold a cuppa for CANSA and you could win a beautiful Le Creuset flan dish and a teapot to the value of R900

Life behind the computer screen

Grab a coffee , lets chat...

Because there haven't been much blog posts up (sorry) doesn't mean I haven't been staring at the computer screen alot (think square eyes).
I have been spending way to much time in front of the computer- but for good reason. Partly because I have a job online doing a little social media for 1 company and the other reason is that I recently started studying (online).
I am enrolled and studying Health and Nutrition for 6 months (only been 3 weeks so far),

The Hungry Collection v2

Only great nourishing food.Sweet and awesomely healthy foods from around the web. Foods and treats I could definitely make and feel good about.

I hope you like it to....

For the Love of Baking by Sarah Dall (GIVEAWAY AND REVIEW)

photograph from www.sarahdall.co.za

If you love to bake, then this is the cookbook for you!