Favourite recipe: Thai noodle salad

Do you have recipes you go back to over and over because you are guaranteed a happy feed? This recipe for a Thai (inspired) noodle salad is on high rotation at my place. It's particularly good in summer when my appetite plummets (too hot to eat) and it's got all the salady-y goodness without the depressing need to eat leaves dressed with vinegar.

Ingredients:

• Green beans (150, trimmed & halved)
• Cherry tomatoes (250g, halved)
• Lebanese cucumber (1, cut into 2cm pieces)
• Red onion (1/2, thinly sliced)
• Mixed lettuce leaves (2 cups/ 60g)
• Mint leaves (1/3 cup, coarsely chopped)
• Vermicelli noodles (120g)
• Coriander leaves (1/3 cup, coarsely chopped)
• Unsalted, roasted peanuts (2 tbsp, chopped)

For the dressing:

• Soy sauce (1 cup)
• Fish sauce (1 tbsp)
• Sweet chilli sauce (2 tbsp)
• Lime juice (2 tbsp)
• Sesame oil (3 tsp)

This recipe is from a Weight Watches Programme Cookbook. (Sorry I can't find a link to the book online. No, I'm not part of the programme but the book has amazing quick and healthy recipes and it was $10 so I had to buy it). The original recipe is with 400g lamb leg steaks (cooked to your liking). I often substitute this with chicken breast (cooked in the oven, with a sprinkling of paprika). Very often I omit the meat altogether. The salad and noodles taste great on their own.

My notes:

• I don't add the lettuce - I find it doesn't really go with the recipe
• I often substitute peanuts with roasted cashews and/or sunflower seeds. Tastes just as good. 
• I leave out the sweet chilli sauce (I don't like it) and add some chopped fresh chilli instead. 
• The coriander should be optional (I don't always use it - herbs are expensive!). The mint is needed for the flavour though

What to do:

• Cook lamb, chicken or other choice of meat to your liking. Slice it up into bite sized pieces.
  Boil or steam beans until just tender. Drain and refresh under cold water.
• Cook noodles as per packet instructions. Drain well. Using scissors, cut noodles into 6cm lengths (easier to eat and you don't get stuck with a never-ending noodle slurp)
• Place meat, beans, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, lettuce and mint in a large bowl. 
• Whisk together soy, fish and sweet chilli sauces with lime juice and oil. Add 3/4 of the dressing to the meat and veggies mix. Toss.
• Add remaining dressing to noodles and toss well to combine.
• Divide noodles among bowls, add meat and veggie mix and top with nuts and coriander.
• Eat and go yum!
  

This recipe serves 4. 

Some pictures from my latest attempt -

The veggies, chopped up and waiting to be dressed.

The dressing

The finished product

Yummy, fresh veggie goodness

Yoga in my living room

I've been trying to do more yoga at home lately. To relax and most importantly, to stretch and to prevent my lower back from seizing up as it does sometimes.

I do a Dynamic Flow Yoga class at the gym on Monday evenings. It's intense and a really great workout. To further supplement it, I've taken to YouTube and following workouts on the doyogawithme channel.  I'd love to join a proper yoga studio but it's just not practical at the moment so YouTube does just fine.

YouTube is great for yoga practice. There are so many videos for different levels. I invested in an HDMI cable ($4.95, thanks eBay!) and just hook it up to the TV so I don't have to squint at the screen.  I highly recommend it.

I did the sequence below on Sunday afternoon in my living room as I felt very tight and needed a gentle, guided stretch before the intense Flow Yoga class on Monday.  I found Melissa's video very soothing. She gradually takes you through the poses, all the while reminding you to be conscious of your breathing. Her voice is gentle, soft and doesn't rush you or push you to do anything you aren't comfortable with.

I will definitely be doing this stretch again as it's gentle and ideal for days when all you want is to stretch those aching muscles and prepare for hard work the next day.

7 life lessons from my mumma

I'm having a "I miss my mumma" kinda day. This in turn has made it a reflective kind of day. So many things about the way I live now is because of life lessons taught (read: ingrained into my system) by my mum. They sure didn't seem like pearls of wisdom back in the day but in retrospect, mum's always right isn't she?

Source: jackandfriends.com via Radhika on Pinterest

1. Read

Reading has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. As kids, my mum went out of her way to take us to the library every few weeks and took an active interest in the books we read. She was always reading a new book and we had a bookshelf packed to the rafters. Reading opens your mind and introduces you to worlds you've never seen before, she always said to us. She couldn't be more right.

2. Eat your breakfast

In my school days, I liked to get every last minute of sleep possible and if that meant skipping breakfast, I'd give it a shot. But mum wasn't having any of it! You don't go to school without your breakfast and a glass of milk. Today, I know how important a meal breakfast is and my tummy is growling as soon as I'm out of bed.

3. Don't slouch
I was very self conscious as a kid because I was a beanstalk while my friends were still catching up. I slouched, trying (in vain) to look shorter and fit in with my classmates and cousins who were yet to catch up. Mum took every opportunity to tell me I was being silly and being tall wasn't a bad thing. She was  always annoying us to sit straight at the dinner table and being all superior-like with her ramrod straight posture.

Fast forward to the present day and I wish I'd listened to her more. I am Slouchy McGee at my desk very often and this gives me terrible back pains. I'm trying to consciously work on my posture more but should've just listened when I was 10!

4. Bananas are your friends
I've always been a fruit and veggie eater but I absolutely loathed bananas. If forced, I'd eat them only if they were at their perfect stage of ripeness, not too hard, not too soft. Squishy bananas made me want to throw up in my mouth. But mum never failed to tell us how good bananas were for you and I never failed to roll my eyes at her.

With the wisdom that only age can bring, I know now bananas are an excellent source of nutrients and are my favourite pre and post-workout snack and is the best way to stave off Hangry. Funnily enough, bananas always make me think of mumma.

5. Make up doesn't make you beautiful
This wasn't an active lesson as such. My mum never really wore much makeup. Her daily routine involved her compact powder, a touch of lipstick and the traditional Indian red bindi. And she looked beautiful. So I learnt that sure makeup helps, but it isn't essential to making you beautiful.

6. Drink water
Going to bed? Bring a bottle of water. Shopping trip? Bottle of water. Sit down to dinner? Bottle of water - check. My mum is obsessed with drinking water and I never understood it. A bottle of water is like an extension of her arm - always there when she needs it. Surprise, surprise - I do the same now. Never leave the house without water.

7. Mum knows it all
Finally, the most important life lesson of all - always listen to your mother. But whhhyyyy?

"Because I said so!"

Weekend treats

Normal people make rum balls at Christmas time, I made protein balls...as a present for J. And he loved them. So yesterday I made some more.

When I say protein balls, most people make a face that says "I can't believe you eat that tasteless shiz". But I actually really like them. They taste good (well, some of them do) and they're so filled with protein-y goodness...mmmm. The problem is they can become an expensive habit at $4 to $5 a packet so I figured the internet would have a solution to this. And the internet did not disappoint.

I found Teresa Cutter's website and this recipe for protein balls. They are absolutely yummy and so addictive! 

These are my protein balls from yesterday:

My tips for the recipe:

1. I used almond meal instead of whole almonds. (laziness)
2. I added pepitas and sunflower seeds to the mix.
3. Last time, I rolled the balls in sesame seeds, cocoa and quinoa flakes as I didn't have dessicated coconut. 'twas yum!
4. If the coating doesn't stick to the balls, wet your hands a little bit when forming the balls. This will help the coating stick better.
5. Instead of spreading the dessicated coconut out on a plate, I put it in a bag and threw the balls in one at a time and tossed them around. I find this coats the balls much better.

My green smoothie

I am also VERY into smoothies right now. I have a little Sunbeam stick blender that cost me all of $40 to buy and I reckon it's one of my best investments in kitchen equipment. It was really hot on Sunday so I didn't feel like a thick, heavy smoothie. So I tried my hand at a "green" smoothie for the first time. It was delish!

Ingredients:

1. Flesh from 1 grapefruit
2. Flesh from 1 lime
3. Handful of mint leaves
4. 1 banana
5. Handful of spinach leaves
6. Honey (if you'd like a touch more sweetness)
7. 1 scoop protein powder (optional)

Simply blend all ingredients together.

Green smoothies seemed a repulsive idea to me before but I actually really like them now and definitely recommend them. It's a whole new way of eating spinach, that's for sure.

#NaBloPoMo: In which I get a tad defensive

I exercise. A lot. Many of my friends don't understand it. They tell me "but you don't need to lose weight."

But when did I say anything about losing weight?

Exercising for me is not fuelled by the need to lose weight but by the fear my heart will stop pumping one of these days and I will fall off the face of the earth. You see, poor cardiovascular health is a multi-generational inheritance in my family. Fear is a pretty strong motivator. Also seeing the definition in my quads and shoulder muscles is an added bonus. ;-)

Obviously, eating is also part of the big "Beat the Impending Heart Attack Plan". I eat healthy, very healthy. (There, I said it) I look at the back of packets to see the fat content, % of sugar, artificial ingredients etc. I buy the wholegrain / low fat/ less sugar version of most foods. I eat "hipster" food like quinoa, buckwheat noodles, rye wraps and stoneground 85% wholemeal bread. I cook at least 5 times a week, if not 6 - mostly because I struggle to find healthy takeaway food that doesn't cost the moon and the stars.

This is where most people start rolling their eyes because this "healthy eating" translates to living off salad and veggies only. This is followed by feeling sorry for me and my deprived food choices and very often even judging me as vain.

But I don't understand it. If you know me even a little bit you will know how much I LOVE my food and live for it (see my Instagram for proof) so why do you feel sorry for me? Healthy eating is more than salads. Because food is so important to me, I cook really delicious meals that are also healthy. I have an emotional relationship with food so I always cook food I enjoy eating so please, don't worry I'm not depriving myself. I just know how to cook food that will not clog up my arteries and kill me.

I'm aware that I sound a bit like a privileged whinger banging on about health, fitness and other buzzwords. But I'm not. I don't normally talk about my fitness or my food with people because you see it's no one else's business. I don't try to get anyone to think the way I do and don't judge anyone for eating differently or for choosing a different lifestyle. But a few things have happened lately that have made me feel very…judged. So I figured I'd vent and defend my choices because hey you know what? It's my body so these are my choices and I'll get sexy thigh muscles if I want them dammit!

*This post is part of the November NaBloPoMo blogging challenge.