How lucky?

You don’t need no fancy tricks
Painted eyes or glossy lips

I love you just the way you are
Hope you don’t mind my beat up car

You don’t need to change your dress
You don’t need to change your shoes

Don’t try to hide your natural looks
Forget about the cover let me read the book

Don’t get me wrong I like them heels
But the way I feel is the way I feel

You don’t need to change your dress
You don’t need to change your shoes

Go ahead be wild and free
you don’t have to shave yo’ legs for me.
…


(Shave Yo’ Legs by Keb’ Mo’)

My man loves me first thing in the morning, when my hair’s looking crazy and I probably have drool at the corner of my mouth. He loves me in my workout gear, when I’m a sweaty, red mess. He loves me when I rock make-up, a dress, and high heels. And he also loves me when I can’t be bothered putting on make-up or doing my hair. How lucky am I?

He gave me somewhere to stay (live…?!) when I found myself between houses. He got up to make me breakfast when I was running late for a course. He supports and encourages me in my endeavours. He's proud of me and doesn't mind people knowing it. How lucky am I?

Less than a week after we started dating, he already knew me well enough to buy me the BEST. CHRISTMAS. PRESENT. EVER…

(What? I really wanted one!)

And then when that wasn’t going to arrive in time, he bought me the second best Christmas present ever, based on a passing comment I made. A juicer. How lucky am I?

Bear. That’s how lucky. So this one’s for my Bear…

Date night cupcakes

We went on an awesome date night on Saturday night. We were going to go see a movie, but we got the time wrong, so we grabbed smoothies and headed up One Tree Hill. My smoothie was A.Mazing! Coconut, banana, honey and almond. Sooo good. These cupcakes were an attempt to replicate the flavours. They ended up more banana-y and less coconut-y than I intended, but they still taste pretty damn good!

Cupcakes
100g butter, softened
1/4C honey
2 eggs
1/2C almond meal
1/4C coconut flour
1/2C coconut cream
1 tsp baking soda
2 large bananas
1/4C almond butter

Icing
100g butter, softened
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp almond butter

For the cupcakes
Beat butter and honey well, until butter turns pale.

Add eggs, one at a time, and beat slowly until just combined.

Add almond meal and coconut flour (1/4C at a time) alternating with coconut cream, stir with a wooden spoon after each addition. Add baking soda. Stir.

In a separate bowl, mash bananas and almond butter. Stir this into the cupcake mix.

Spoon mixture into cupcake cases (in a muffin pan). Bake at 180 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

Cool cupcakes for 5 minutes in pan before removing from pan and placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

For the icing
Beat ingredients together. Freeze or refrigerate to harden before icing cupcakes.

Once cupcakes are completely cool, ice. I suggest keeping them in the fridge so that the icing doesn't melt...if there happens to be any left!

Spicy meatballs with sunflower butter sauce

This was the first meal I cooked for Bear. He stuck around, so it can’t have been too bad…


Meatballs
500g beef mince (although pork or lamb mince would also work)
1 egg
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp grated ginger
¼ cup chopped fresh coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Salt & pepper

Sauce
¼ cup sunflower butter (you can get this at Huckleberry Farms, or Ceres Wholefoods)
1 cup coconut cream
½ cup water
1 red chilli, finely chopped


For the sauce
Put all ingredients into a saucepan and heat, stirring frequently, until boiling.


For the meatballs
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Shape into meatballs.

Brown meatballs in a frypan. Add sauce to meatballs. Stir, cover, and simmer 10 mins or until meatballs cooked through.

Serve over chopped red cabbage.

Notes:
Last time I did this, I used cauliflower rice which was great, but cauliflowers are now $6 each!! We had half a red cabbage that needed using up, so I figured I’d try using that. It was also really good!

I also used a casserole dish last time, but that’s currently packed in a box somewhere! It was probably slightly better than done in the frypan. Brown the meatballs in the dish on the stovetop, add the sauce, cover & bake at 150 degrees for 15-20 mins (I think!).

Inspiration. Where do you get yours from?

Inspiration.  It fuels my creativity. It motivates me to be the best version of myself. It drives me.

At CrossFit, I get inspiration from the people around me. The CrossFit women, who I aspire to be as strong as, as committed as, as driven as. Bear, who pushes himself to be better every single time. The personal battles that each individual fights when they push through a WoD. So I utilise this; I channel this. I watch the more experienced CrossFit women in their workouts and in competition; I workout behind Bear where possible, because his efforts inspire my efforts; and I remind myself of the battles that others are fighting, when I feel like my one is just too hard.

In life, I am inspired by my friends and my family. My father, who has battled back from serious illness and major heart surgery; who now enjoys all the activities he used to before his illness. My mother, who carries on like a trooper, supporting us through all our crises; who, at almost 61, is still prepared to give water-skiing a go, and now even CrossFit; and who is a demon in the kitchen. My gorgeous aunt and cousins, who still grieve their husband/father but have found a way to carry on and find happiness in life. My grandparents, who have experienced so many trials and still remain strong, independent, and committed to their family. My friend, who has battled cancer three times, and still faces life head-on, positive and motivated. Bear, who has had 18 months of battles, yet constantly amazes me by his self-awareness, his concern for others, and his strength. I could keep going – the list is endless – but you get the idea…

In the kitchen, I am inspired by recipes I find on the net or in recipe books; by my Cuisine magazines (generously gifted to me by my brothers); by meals eaten out at restaurants or at friends’ places; and by dishes that my Mum makes.

This recipe was inspired by the homemade tomato sauce that Mum used to make. I remember going out to the ‘countryside’ to get the tomatoes, the big preserving pot bubbling away on the stove, and the incredible smell wafting through the house. I remember pouring the sauce out onto the newsprint paper that Friday night fish and chips came wrapped in. I remember the tomato-shaped container that it was always kept in. And I remember the family time that was associated with it.

Obviously I don’t really eat fish and chips anymore, but nothing beats a tasty tomato-based sauce. I especially like hickory sauce. So I have tried to adapt Mum’s original recipe to incorporate primal eating and a smoked hickory flavour…

Hils’ Smokin’ Hickory Sauce

2kg tomatoes*

500ml red wine vinegar

40g rock salt

½ tsp cayenne pepper

2 cloves garlic

500g apples

3 large onions

3 tbsp liquid smoke

½ cup maple syrup (if you want to be strict paleo, you can leave this out, but maybe reduce the salt)

In a muslin bag:

            ½ tsp black peppercorns

            ½ tsp whole all spice

            15g whole cloves

            2 star anise

Cut tomatoes, apples & onions. Put all ingredients into a large saucepan. Boil 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Use a stick blender or food processor to mix.

*Thanks to Nikki & Josh for the homegrown organic Roma tomatoes!

Inspiration. Where do you get yours from?

Paleo Pancakes - update!

For those who've been waiting for confirmation of the almond meal quantity in the paleo pancake recipe (thanks Alex for the reminder!)...half a cup is good! If you're cooking for more than 2 (or for 1 or 2 really hungry people), I would suggest doubling the recipe.