CANDY CANE BARK RECIPE

If your not someone who likes to make complicated seasonal treats, this is a recipe for you! It's really basic and simple but definitely still delicious! 

Ingredients:

200g Cooking Chocolate

50g Candy Canes

Method:

1. Melt your chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring in between.

2. Crush your candy canes either using a hammer and sandwich bag or a mortar and pestle. 

3. Pour your melted chocolate into a lightly greased baking tray and sprinkle your candy cane on top.

I used dark chocolate because I love the combination of bitter and mint but this recipe would taste delicious using white or milk chocolate  

I hope you enjoyed this recipe :)

RUDOLPH BISCUITS RECIPE

Ingredients:

Butternut Snap Biscuits 

Chocolate Writing Frosting 

White large Marshmallows

White small Marshmallows

Pretzels

Jaffas

Method:

1. Use your chocolate writing fudge to squeeze a dot at the bottom of the cookie. Place a large white marshmallow on top.

2. Squeeze another chocolate dot onto the top of the marshmallow to help adhere the jaffa.

3. Use your chocolate writing fudge to draw two dots above the marshmallow. Stick two mini marshmallows on top of these dots. Squeeze another dot on each of the mini marshmallows as eyes. 

4. Take your pretzels that have been cut into half and stick them above the eyes using the writing fudge. 

I hope you enjoyed this Christmas recipe!

Thanks for reading:)

CHRISTMAS ICE RECIPE

Ingredients

300g (3,1/2 cups) dessicated coconut

300g (2 cups) pure icing sugar, sifted

Pinch of cream of tartar

1x390g can sweetened condensed milk

Red and green food colouring

Method

1. Line the base and sides of a 19cm (base measurement) square cake pan with non-stick baking paper. 

2. Comine coconut, sugar and cream of tartar in a bowl. Stir in condensed milk.

3. Divide the mixture among two bowls, adding green colouring into one and red colouring into the other.

4. Put one colour on the bottom of the pan and the other colour on top.

5. Place in the fridge for 1-2 hours to harden then slice it up as desired.

 I hope you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for reading :)

HEALTHY HABITS: KALE CHIPS RECIPE

Ingredients:

Kale

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Method:

1. Thoroughly wash and dry the kale. Ensure that it is extremely dry otherwise it won't crisp properly.

2. Remove the Kale leaves from the stem and break them up into smaller pieces the size of chips. 

3. Add some olive oil and sea salt then mix it up with your hands in a bowl. 

4. Place the kale pieces on a baking tray covered in baking paper, make sure not to cover them with each other otherwise they won't crisp properly.

5. Bake for about 10-20 minutes on 180 degrees but it does depend on your oven so keep checking them because they burn pretty easily.

Watch my recipe below :)

Click here to read more about Kale, 

Thanks for reading!

HEALTHY HABITS: SUPER FOOD- KALE

 

We often hear about these "super foods" which apparently contain properties which are the key to success in a healthy eating plan. I have decided to join the hype and begin experimenting with these super foods to see what I think about them. I have written about Chia seeds and Goji berries and this time I will be talking about Kale! What they are, how they benefit you, what they taste like, how you eat them and if they are worth it.

What is it?

Kale is a type of cabbage which has usually green or purple leaves.

What are the benefits?

* Diet and Digestion, one cup only has 36 calories and no fat so it's a great diet food. It is also packed with fibre, making it great for digestion.

* Super high in antioxidants because of it's large amounts of carotenoids and flavonoids.

* Anti-inflammatory due to all of their omega-3 fatty acids.

* The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities work together to prevent cancer.

* Lowers cholesterol due to the high fiber content.

* Glucosinolates found in kale aid in the body's detoxification process.

* Contains Vitamin K, A and C.

What does it taste like? How do you eat it?

It tastes very bitter and plant/garden like by itself so the best way to eat it is by mixing it into smoothies, blending it into soups or making chips out of it (watch my recipe here).

Is it worth it?

Kale can get pretty expensive costing $20 a kg but it's fairly light so a bunch usually only comes to $3 or $4. Considering it's so dense in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals it is cheap for what it contains and all of it's benefits. I would say it is definitely worth it!

 

Go out and try some! Don't be discouraged because of the taste because you can mix it into so many different things and not even taste it but still get all of the nutritional benefits.

Thanks for reading!

 

 





HEALTHY HABITS: FEED YOURSELF!

I spend a fair amount of time on instagram and some of the girls I see on there promote these awful diets of cake, chocolate, sausage rolls and chips all because it fits into their "calorie budget" for the day! It has inspired me to blog all about FEEDING YOURSELF! Your body needs nutrition to survive and nutrition is not something you get from cakes and chips. You need to have a balanced diet incorporating fruits, vegetables, protein, wholegrains, seeds and nuts (pretty obvious I thought) so I don't understand how some people survive on these diets of doughnuts and ice cream and I can't imagine what it's doing to them and their health. It's not the junk food that's so horrible because I eat cake, chocolate, ice cream and chips but I eat them as part of a healthy diet alongside fruits and vegetables and as a treat. Living on a junk food diet is almost as bad as the girls who don't eat at all as a diet because both ways your body isn't getting the nutrition it needs and deserves. The message is that "people need to stop worrying about the calories and worry more about what is the food that makes up those calories" because being skinny and unhealthy living on diet coke and chocolate is in a horrible position compared to being fit and healthy living on a balanced diet of fruit and vegetables. When your healthy you are at a lower risk of developing diseases and conditions, you have more energy, your happier and fitter.

The best way to loose weight is to eat, sounds crazy but a plate full of fresh fruit and veggies is more effective in helping you loose weight than an empty plate. If your familiar with the term "starvation mode", it's a state that your body goes into when it thinks it's starving and what it does is when you do finally eat it takes all of that food and stores it as fat compared to when you eat normally your body just takes what it needs and burns the rest off. Our bodies still think in a "hunter and gatherer" mentality where our body assumes that if it's not getting food there isn't any or there is a famine and once it does get food after starving it stores it all in case there isn't going to be anymore food for another long period. So in short, not eating makes you fat.

Don't limit or count calories, as long as your eating well and healthy foods you shouldn't have to worry about counting everything that goes into your body. Especially because calories don't take into consideration nutritional values like protein, carbohydrates, fats etc. For example, for 250 calories you could eat a chocolate bar or a yoghurt, apple, egg and some nuts. Which is going to fill you up more? It's pretty obvious which is the better lifestyle choice.

You are what you eat and drink! I think the picture really sends the message but basically if you eat crap, your going to feel like crap and if you eat healthy your going to feel healthy. It's as simple as that, how you feel and look depends on what you eat and drink.

I'm sure most of you understand all of this but I just really wanted to contribute my part to the "Feed Yourself" revolution because it's something I really believe in. If you are living an unhealthy lifestyle, it's never too late to change and start making small steps in the right direction! 

"There is no diet that will do what eating healthy does"

Thanks for reading :)

HEALTHY HABITS: WHAT I EAT IN A DAY

The best way to know what I'm eating day-to-day is to follow me on instagram! I always post food photos of my meals pretty much everyday so if your really interested follow me there, my username is "JordyDanielle".  Otherwise here is a basic idea of the types of foods I eat most days when I'm not eating out for meals (if you want to know what I eat at fast food places then click here).

Breakfast
1. 2 egg whites onion omlette, half a piece of toast with natural peanut butter and yoghurt.
2. 2 egg whites, avocado on toast, sauteed spinach and tomato slices.
3. 2 egg whites onion and tomato omlette with avocado toast.
4. Mango, banana, carrot and celery smoothie.
5. Rock melon and blueberries.
6. Fruit Parfait (read my recipe here).
7. 2 scrambles egg whites and chia seeds (read about them here) on wholemeal toast with a side of strawberries and kiwi fruit.

Lunch
1. Capsicum, baby carrot, tomato and green leaf mix salad topped with Greek yoghurt.
2. Chicken, capsicum, radish and green leaf mix salad.
3. Tomato, lettuce, carrot and cheese salad wrap.
4. Avocado, tomato and spinach salad with Chobani Greek yoghurt and iced tea.
5. Greek Salad (green leaf mix, Spanish onion, cherry tomatoes, olives and feta cheese).
6. Garden Salad (cos lettuce, carrot, tomato and cheddar cheese).
7. Asian Salad (green leaf mix, crunchy noodles and sweet chilli sauce).
8. Sushi! Any type of sushi (that isn't seafood) is great for lunch!

Dinner
1. Nachos (corn chips, red onion, guacamole, Greek yoghurt and salsa).
2. Poached egg with a Greek salad (green leaf mix, Spanish onion and tomato).
3. Soup (chickpeas, celery, carrot and leek). Watch the recipe here.
4. Cos lettuce, boiled potatoes, vegetarian bacon, boiled egg and mustard.
5. Burritos and tacos with beans, lettuce, tomato, capsicum and guacamole.
6. Roasted herbed potatoes with grilled chicken and salad.
7. Grilled chicken salad with chickpeas, spinach, tomato and radish.
8. Homemade hummus, mashes pumpkin, fried cabbage and grilled chicken wrap.

Snacks 
1. Corn thins with avocado and tomato with a side of cucumber.
2. Apple, kiwi fruit, tomato and blueberries.
3. Apple, kiwi fruit and yoghurt.
4. Fruit salad (grapes, watermelon, banana and grapefruit) and salad (carrot, cucumber, celery and croutons).
5. Kiwi Fruit and Strawberries.
6. Fruit salad (watermelon, pineapple, kiwi fruit and strawberry).
7. Cruskits with cucumber, avocado and tomato.
8. Pear, Apple, Orange and Strawberries with yoghurt.