On island a group of teachers have clubbed together in solidarity with food, wine and tales of amusement from our classrooms. As 4/6 are English we have brought our home 4,800 miles to Grand Cayman by carrying out a monthly (well if our calendars allow) Come Dine with Me.
Set by the latest contestant, Jenna from Cape Town, the theme this month was South Africa. As it was, she was the only one not to prepare a South African dish!
When the theme was posted on our WhatsApp group I was overjoyed! Yes, I finally get to recreate my foster mum's dish. As a teen babotie was always served as Susan's specialty. A family recipe she bought over from Zimbabwe. I was so proud to share this amazing dish with my island friends.
Typically babotie (bab-or-tee) is made with mutton or minced beef but as I'm in the early stages of vegetarianism I decided to experiment with the recipe by using lentils instead.
I made mine for a dinner party but this recipe will serve approximately 4. If I'm honest, I never follow recipes stringently. I see how things go by using a handful here, dolop there or just a pinch more.
INGREDIENTS
250 g lentils (I soaked these overnight in order to remove phytic acid)
1 large onion, diced
1 large fresh tomato, diced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons chutney
1 large handful raisins
40 g sliced almonds
3 large carrots
For the topping
3 eggs
100 -150 ml almond milk
A few bay leaves (Arranged strategically on the top :-)
DIRECTIONS
After soaking rinse lentils until water runs clear.
Cover lentils with water and pre-cook for 30min (you may need to top the water up from time to time).
Drain lentils.
Preheat oven to 150C.
Saute onion and tomato.
Add curry, tumeric, salt and pepper.
Cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add raisins, almonds, carrot, chutney, onion and tomato to lentils.
Mix and place in baking dish.
Shake up topping ingredients and pour over lentils.
Place in oven and bake for 1-1/2 hours (egg topping should have risen all the way to the middle.
At IIN there is a focus on 'primary food' and how this truly feeds us. Primary food is more than what is on your plate; it focuses on healthy relationships, regular physical activity, a fulfilling career and a spiritual practice can fill your soul and satisfy your hunger for life. When primary food is balanced and satiating, your life feeds you, making what you eat secondary.
Susan's face, Emma, Davina, Me & Karen (Jenna had scrambled before the rum came out).
Come Dine with Me definitely feeds my 'Primary Food'.
Next month is back to me hosting...and its on my birthday! Hmmmm what theme shall we tackle this time?!?!?
If I haven't done so already, in months to come I will be badgering a lot of you to become my health hungry guinea pigs. Continuing my nutrition studies from CNM to IIN I am experimenting more and more with my dietery and cooking habits. My affair with juicing started in 2013 after a visit to Switzerland to see the beautiful and super duper healthy aunty Sian...but after returning I bought a blender! Oooops, I hadn't quite understood the difference between juices and smoothies.
After hours of research on forums and blogs sites I eventually bought myself a Philips juicer and spent a mini fortune on organic fruit and vegetables - whoa...such a rainbow of colour! Then came the decision of 'Which juice diet is the best?' I decided to go with a fellow Londoner, Jason Vale. I started the 7lbs in 7 Days plan and breezed through the cleanse no problemo. Then after the most indulgent holiday with an ex we both decided to give Jason's 3 Day Detox a go. Who needs a time machine when you can rid yourselves of the all inclusive meals, daily pistachio gelatos and countless bottles of Malbec. Hiccup!
Oh gosh; This was not easy!!! The headaches and exhaustion were horrendous. Research shows that headaches are normally a sign of the toxins in your body being released. I must've been bunged up to the brim!
Giving my GIT (gastrointestinal tract) a rest was my main agenda, however, I do feel that a sustained detox for the body is synonymous with a detox for the mind and soul and that was also what I was searching for.
Here are a few reasons why juice cleansing is the biz!
A fresh juicing detox heals and builds the body. With fasting, our bodies pass through successive stages of cleansing, energising and regenerating that happen in no other way. Fasting is Nature's pathway to physical, mental and spiritual renewal.
As we eat a regular diet, we store energy from the calories we consume. So, for the first two or three days of a fast, the body runs on glycogen, which is glucose stored in the liver. After this energy is depleted, the body switches to rapidly burning its own fat through a process called ketosis. This, in turn, creates stem cells, which have an amazing ability to promote profound healing throughout the body. Fasting gives your digestive organs the signal to reset and switch from digesting to detoxing. After years of eating three meals a day, we all store up toxins from processed, dead foods-and even from whole foods treated with pesticides and herbicides. Every day of fasting allows the digestive system to push a little farther and cleanse a little more. And fasting with juices gives your body the energy it needs to sustain this process.
Even one day of fasting stimulates neurons in the brain. And if you go beyond two or three days, the brain actually forms new neural networks-your brain literally grows. Not sure if the second point is true, but it makes sense.
So...it was decided. A juice detox was what I needed.
BUT HOLD ON! How was this possible living on an island? Nearly all food in Cayman is imported or the scare locally grown produce either difficult to get a hold of or costs an arm and a leg. That night I looked for someone to offer an answer to my dilemma. I turned on my laptop and found that many of my island friends had Facebook liked Drink Fresh Juice.
Immediately I sent over an inquiry for the detox and was emailed a reply within minutes. Everything was very straight forward; I selected my intensity, start date and delivery time - high intensity for me. And that was it!
Taddaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! That weekend I had a double batch of juices and shots delivered to my door.
6 juices (Mean Green Veg, Green Veg, Master Cleanse, Apple Cucumber, Apple Carrot & Ginger and Super Green Veg) and 3 shots (Aloe, Ginger and Lemon.)
Day 1:
Good start. Before tasting my 1st juice I did a full 90 Primary Practice. I went through to the kitchen and saw what had been delivered. Whoa, that's a lot of juice, even for a double batch (Saturday and Sunday.) By the 2pm I was starving. As I sat at my laptop my gaze would shift over to the fridge, and boy it was superimposed beacon! Gosh why am I feeling like this? I had only gone without whole food for a matter of hours. I had done juice diets before no problem so what was happening with my body now. Then I started to realise that perhaps after 9 months of being on island and eating from the fridge and cupboards willy nilly I had developed an unhealthy habit of boredom grazing! Gone were the days of rushing up escalators on the underground, sprinting around Hampstead Heath and basically having a social diary consisting of a liquid diet. I decided to take my mind and salivating mouth away from the house and off to Spotts Beach. I read a chapter of my book and then I was DONE! This was the part of juicing I remembered all too well. The NEED to sleep! I passed out for a solid two hours until the pitter patter of rain rudely woke me up. Off home I tottered for more school planing, a movie and an early night. Day 2: At IIN there is a focus on 'primary food' and how this truly feeds us. Primary food is more than what is on your plate; it focuses on healthy relationships, regular physical activity, a fulfilling career and a spiritual practice can fill your soul and satisfy your hunger for life. When primary food is balanced and satiating, your life feeds you, making what you eat secondary. Today was testament to this belief. I woke up early and decided to venture of to Bliss Yoga for their 8am hot yoga class. This was perhaps a mistake as I was starting to feel a bit woozy and and so asanas were slightly more difficult than usual; by the seated sequence I was missing out the second sets and taking an extra few breaths in Savasana. Afterwards I returned home for a green juice and aloe shot then decided to go to the beach :) Steph and Antoine also joined. Being in the sun, chewing the fat, then bobbing up and down to the waves of the ocean 'fed me'. My soul was nourished. I had been there 5 hrs and my hungers pangs hadn't surfaced. After having rather a little too much vitamin D I wondered home to chill with The Staple Sisters and a few other Motown classics. Yet another film was selected for the evening :) BUT no headaches nor naps required. I was just left with the feeling of pure nourishment from my 'primary food'.
Day 3:
My 7am delivery arrived on time and I packed up the my car with my day's 'lunch'. Having regular snack and lunch breaks with the children meant that I drank my juice at just the right intervals - perfect to keep the hunger pangs away. I felt focused all day and even made it through staff meeting with no trouble...up until the treats were revealed. Strength got me through this though, I said goodbye and made an escape to my car focusing on the juices waiting in my fridge at home.
Day 4:
I woke after a full 10 hours sleep! I did not feel good! My body was stiff, my head was groggy and I felt hot, faint and exhausted all day. I decided to listen to my body and tried to take things as easy as one could with a class on 5 year olds - Roll on 3pm! By the end of the day I managed to muster up the energy and put to use the good intention I had set this morning of getting my arse to the gym. I managed a 30 minute Kayla Itsines HITT workout. The workout was a struggle but knowing I had 2 more juices waiting for me made every squat well worth it!
Day 5:
Another 10 hours sleep I woke up and felt much lighter. I hopped onto the scales and I was 135 lbs!!! I have not weighed that since being in London :) and in actual fact weight-loss has not been a goal off mine on this cleanse. Still, what a nice surprise.
All day I felt good, in fact full up beans! I was a little sad that this was my final day of the juice cleanse. The guys at Drink Fresh Juice saved the best till last - The Beet Gingerade!!! This made the whole 5 days worth it! In the evening I decided as my tummy was no longer an issue and I was slightly lighter I would give another evening Mysore practice a go. Who knows what my body would be capable of.
So 2 days later how do I feel? Drink Fresh Juice advise to slowly incorporate whole foods back into your diet. I started the morning with a banana, chia, flax and blueberry smoothie and in the afternoon a celery, green pepper and tomato soup. As yummy as these were I felt bloated all day, it was a horrid feeling. My stomach has now shrank to a size that is better suited for my body so I know that I must now limit my portion size.
My practice those 5 days was incredible:
Not having that pot belly get in the way made a lot of difference to all those twists and forward folds.
The cleanse gave chance for all the toxins in my body to be flushed out therefore making my joints feel more lubricated and mobile.
A fab 5 days which I will definitely be doing again...post Christmas perhaps.
