A healthy start to the week
Mondays should take on a new meaning when you don't have to go out to work, but strangely enough, I still find myself getting up when the alarm goes off at 5.45!
There is however, less urgency in the morning routine and a sort of smug satisfaction in knowing I have the day ahead to do pretty much as I please.
Strictly speaking it's not true as this morning I had to view some DVD's I made with a view to editing them before publication.
I have made some training DVD's before, but this time I am working with a client who is struggling to manage her unhealthy relationship with food. It was really interesting watching three hours worth of recordings that were made several years ago. I was struck by how much younger I looked. I know- it's vain- but all I can say is that the past five years must have been tough!
The client's main problem with food was that she found it very hard to give herself good, healthy food or take the time and trouble to prepare good food for herself. Because she had been a single parent where money was tight, she often ended up going without food for herself in order to provide things for her children. We explored how this was the appropriate thing to do when her children were young, but possibly less important to go without good food now that her financial situation had changed and her children were adults. There seemed to be an underlying assumption that her needs were less important than others. I have to say this is such a common theme in my work with people struggling to manage their weight. For preparing and eating healthy, good food is very much about putting your own needs to the for.
I am very conscious of what I put into my body. And, because I value my body and want to maximise its life, I have no desire to feed it things that do it no good. It is a bit of a puzzle that anyone would choose to cause damage to themselves intentionally day after day unlesss they a) wanted to harm themselves or b) were unaware of basic nutrition.
As a therapist, much of my role would be working with the former.
I had promised a friend that I would bake a carrot cake. I wanted to make one that would keep well and wasn't too rich. I hope you like this recipe.
CARROT CAKE
175G/6OZ BROWN SUGAR
3 EGGS
175ML/6FL OZ SUNFLOWER OIL
140G/5OZ GRATED CARROT
100G/4OZ RAISINS
GRATED ZEST OF 1 ORANGE ( save the orange for frosting)
175G/6OZ SELF RAISING FLOUR
1 TEASPOON BICARBONATE OF SODA
1 TEASPOON GROUND CINNAMON
1/2 TEASPOON OF GRATED NUTMEG
Heat oven to 180degreesC.
Oil and line a 18cm square baking tin with baking parchment.
Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside
Tip sugar into a different large bowl, pour on the oil and eggs. Mix thoroughly. Add carrots, raisins and orange zest.
Add the dry ingredients and mix well. The mixture will be quite sloppy.
Pour into tin and bake for between 40-45 minutes until it feels firm and springy when you press it in the centre.
Cool it in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool.
FROSTING
Mix 175g with enough orange juice to create a smooth icing. It should be the consistency of single cream. Use a teaspoon, drizzle the icing over the top of the cake. Leave to set before cutting into slices.
By the time I'd finished, there was only enough time to make a veggie curry for supper. A quick hunt through the fridge for some different veggies; Butternut squash, a sweet potato, a couple of carrots left over from the cake making. All these chopped into mouth sized pieces, added to an onion which I'd chopped and fried in a spoonful of oil until it was starting to go golden brown..
To that I added some spices;- tumeric, ground coriander and to give it a bit of a punch, a dessert spoonful of Pataks Madras Curry Paste, and a couple of chopped tomatoes. I remembered that we had some frozen cauliflower florets still in the freezer, so I threw them in the pot too. ( about 6 in total). Then I added a couple of spoons of water, and let them cook together for about 25 mins while I cooked the rice.
towards the end of the cooking time, I added some spinach leaves that were lurking in the fridge. A handful of coriander to garnish, and hey! A mouthgasm!!! ( and low in fat so healthy too)
There is however, less urgency in the morning routine and a sort of smug satisfaction in knowing I have the day ahead to do pretty much as I please.
Strictly speaking it's not true as this morning I had to view some DVD's I made with a view to editing them before publication.
I have made some training DVD's before, but this time I am working with a client who is struggling to manage her unhealthy relationship with food. It was really interesting watching three hours worth of recordings that were made several years ago. I was struck by how much younger I looked. I know- it's vain- but all I can say is that the past five years must have been tough!
The client's main problem with food was that she found it very hard to give herself good, healthy food or take the time and trouble to prepare good food for herself. Because she had been a single parent where money was tight, she often ended up going without food for herself in order to provide things for her children. We explored how this was the appropriate thing to do when her children were young, but possibly less important to go without good food now that her financial situation had changed and her children were adults. There seemed to be an underlying assumption that her needs were less important than others. I have to say this is such a common theme in my work with people struggling to manage their weight. For preparing and eating healthy, good food is very much about putting your own needs to the for.
I am very conscious of what I put into my body. And, because I value my body and want to maximise its life, I have no desire to feed it things that do it no good. It is a bit of a puzzle that anyone would choose to cause damage to themselves intentionally day after day unlesss they a) wanted to harm themselves or b) were unaware of basic nutrition.
As a therapist, much of my role would be working with the former.
I had promised a friend that I would bake a carrot cake. I wanted to make one that would keep well and wasn't too rich. I hope you like this recipe.
CARROT CAKE
175G/6OZ BROWN SUGAR
3 EGGS
175ML/6FL OZ SUNFLOWER OIL
140G/5OZ GRATED CARROT
100G/4OZ RAISINS
GRATED ZEST OF 1 ORANGE ( save the orange for frosting)
175G/6OZ SELF RAISING FLOUR
1 TEASPOON BICARBONATE OF SODA
1 TEASPOON GROUND CINNAMON
1/2 TEASPOON OF GRATED NUTMEG
Heat oven to 180degreesC.
Oil and line a 18cm square baking tin with baking parchment.
Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside
Tip sugar into a different large bowl, pour on the oil and eggs. Mix thoroughly. Add carrots, raisins and orange zest.
Add the dry ingredients and mix well. The mixture will be quite sloppy.
Pour into tin and bake for between 40-45 minutes until it feels firm and springy when you press it in the centre.
Cool it in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool.
FROSTING
Mix 175g with enough orange juice to create a smooth icing. It should be the consistency of single cream. Use a teaspoon, drizzle the icing over the top of the cake. Leave to set before cutting into slices.
By the time I'd finished, there was only enough time to make a veggie curry for supper. A quick hunt through the fridge for some different veggies; Butternut squash, a sweet potato, a couple of carrots left over from the cake making. All these chopped into mouth sized pieces, added to an onion which I'd chopped and fried in a spoonful of oil until it was starting to go golden brown..
To that I added some spices;- tumeric, ground coriander and to give it a bit of a punch, a dessert spoonful of Pataks Madras Curry Paste, and a couple of chopped tomatoes. I remembered that we had some frozen cauliflower florets still in the freezer, so I threw them in the pot too. ( about 6 in total). Then I added a couple of spoons of water, and let them cook together for about 25 mins while I cooked the rice.
towards the end of the cooking time, I added some spinach leaves that were lurking in the fridge. A handful of coriander to garnish, and hey! A mouthgasm!!! ( and low in fat so healthy too)
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