Switching to healthy eating should not be stressful

If it is you’re probably trying to do too much too fast.

When it comes to making the transition, slow and steady is often more sustainable than fast and furious.

While I’m all for super healthy eating I can tell you I’m still cleaning out my kitchen.

It’s a journey

There are still items in our cupboards and fridge I want gone- I’m pretty drastic about getting rid of everything I think is unhealthy, but it’s a process with my family. And that’s OK because the transition is happening at a pace that allows us to all be on the same page about what we’re consuming. That buy-in from everyone in the household, especially among the grown-ups, matters a lot. I explain to my children why it’s best we don’t eat this or that. And if they do have a sweet here and potato chip there with friends I don’t get all twisted about it- We’re all on a journey.

What about going organic?

Organic food is, hands down, far better- but even if you’re not able to do the whole organic thing at the moment just eating more fresh fruit and veg, bought from a regular store, is FAR better than eating processed stuff that comes out of boxes and packets.

There was a time my husband and I did a coffee enema/juicing detox week where most of the food we used was not organic. At the time we just did with what we had and we still saw amazing results.

The power of starting

Folks sometimes put off healthy eating because they want to do it perfectly in one go. They feel they need to do a drastic sweep of their kitchen and get on the “health” wagon full on. Truth is, if you wait for that to happen you might never do it. Starting small is at least a start. Don’t underestimate the power of just starting.

Small steps matter

It’s taken us a long time to get our kitchen to being about 80-85% cleaned out. Even for us it’s still a process. But just the small changes we’ve made along the way- one change every now and then, has culminated in much healthier living overall for us.

Slow and steady. As long as you’re making those changes- good on You. You and the ones You love will enjoy the benefits of even the slightest changes.

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Delish Curry Lentil Soup

With the days chillying up it’s good to have a few quick and tasty soup recipes up our sleeves.

Here’s my Delish Curry Lentil Soup (feeds 4):

You’ll need:

2/3 Cup of *soaked Lentils (I use orange lentils, You’re welcome to use whichever lentils you prefer)

*1/4 pre-cooked butternut puree

1/2 an onion (grated or chopped)

1 clove fresh garlic (chopped or grated)

Tip of a pinky finger size fresh ginger (grated)

1 tsp Masala spice mix (or according to your taste)

1 tsp Curry Powder (or according to your taste)

1 tsp ground turmeric

Salt to season

*Soak your lentils overnight. To soak, place lentils in a glass bowl and cover completely with water. Cover with a dish cloth and leave overnight. When ready to use rinse the lentils thoroughly.

*Pureed Butternut is one of the ways I thicken sauces for my stews so I usually have some stored in my freezer.  If you’re making your butternut from scratch cook it until soft and then puree a quarter of it for this recipe.

When ready to prepare the lentil soup:

Mix the washed lentils with all the spices, garlic and fresh ginger

Saute the onion

Add the spiced lentil mix to the onion and saute until the bottom of your pot is dry and needs water.

Add 2 cups of water and turn down heat to a low simmer.

When soup is ready add the pureed butternut.

Do you want your soup textured or smooth?

If you’d like your lentil soup textured simmer for 10-15 minutes (or until you feel the lentils are to your liking)

If you’d like a smooth soup cook the lentils for 20 minutes or until very soft and fluffy. If using a stick blender you can blend as soon as the soup is ready. If using a glass blender let the soup cool and then blend.

Enjoy!

A healthy heartburn buster

Ever struggle with heartburn?

Guess what helps reduce heartburn, is super delicious and uber healthy- Yep! Mangoes.

Mangoes are among the most alkaline of foods. Eating them helps neutralise the body’s PH- something you really want happening if you battle with heartburn. Happy munching 🙂

Benefits of going back to our Primitive Eating

Growing up in Zambia I hardly heard of serious diseases like cancer.

The two most serious illnesses I came across as a child was my mom’s best friend’s sister dying from diabetes; Then when I was about 7 years old, we experienced the first member of our family being diagnosed with HIV.

We heard of High Blood Pressure here and there- most of it was stress related. But things like cancer and all the many terrifying diseases we hear of now- they weren’t as common back then.

Today though 10% of Zambia’s population is battling cancer.

Diabetes there is through the roof and High Blood Pressure has become far more common than it ever was.

Just recently I spoke with someone from Nigeria and they told me that

the number one killer among men in Nigeria now is Prostate Cancer.

The disease that’s most prevalent among the entire Nigerian population i.e. men and women is High Blood Pressure.

High Blood Pressure also remains the number one killer among women in South Africa.

We have to ask:

What changed?

We know our environment is far more polluted now- however Natural Health Doctors are telling us that what we eat and drink play a far bigger role in our health than the air we breath.

Growing up, the vegetable English Giant Rape, which is in the Kale family, was a staple. We had it at almost every meal.

Kale

Today the rest of the world’s calling Kale a super food- something we ate as part of our daily meals for thousands of years.

And that’s just it- most of us in Africa grew up eating what many people around the world are only now beginning to appreciate as “super-foods”. Yet we in Africa have abandoned the kind of eating that sustained us throughout our history- and traded our once wholesome eating for junk.

We’ve ditched the now popularised “super-foods” we ate daily for crap like highly processed white bread- processed meats, toxic pastas- deep fried everything and foods saturated in rubbish fats and sugars-

That is not progress-

It’s health complications just waiting to happen.

As a kid I remember most people would go home for lunch.

Lunch was a cooked meal with a variation of: dried beans, veggies, pap…

For many people meat was expensive and was eaten only once in a while.

Today lunch, for many people across the continent, is the fast food of choice for the day; With a massive serving of sugary drinks, deep fried things and foods from sources we don’t even know… many of us are eating sick animals packed with antibiotics and all sorts of hormones-

It’s no wonder we’re battling so many illnesses.

Our bodies cannot function properly eating like this.

I know how overwhelming it is to make major changes- so how about we just start with the little things…

When it comes to our health just going back to our primitive way of eating is an amazing start to healing our bodies.

One of the dictionary’s definition for “primitive” is unsophisticated.
Well let’s look at what our “sophisticated” way of eating has brought us- Is it really worth it?

#HannahsBodyDetox   hannahviviers.com

Delicious steamed chicken recipe

even if you don’t have a steamer

Ever wonder how to make super delicious, forever moist chicken?

Steam.

Cooking with steam ensures food stays juicy and moist- it’s also healthier way to cook.

For this recipe You’ll need:

Organic Chicken Strips

Your favourite spices for chicken

How to:

Spice your chicken with your fave spices.

I like using fresh rosemary, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper, ground cumin and a touch of cayenne pepper.

Marinate your chicken in the spices, garlic and lemon juice for at least 30 minutes.

Season your water as well with the spices of your choice; You can be heavy handed with the spices in the water.

If, like me you don’t have a steamer, use a steel colander.

Ensure your pot is smaller than the bottom of your colander so the colander sits high above the pot.

There’s no need to pre-heat the seasoned water.

Place the chicken strips into the colander.

Turn your stove on to a slightly above simmer setting and cover the chicken with a lid.

Keep an eye on the chicken strips.

Turn the strips regularly to ensure they’re evenly cooked and are all ready at the same time.

You’ll know your chicken is cooked when it’s an opaque white when you cut through it.

Remember cooking this way will be slower than using direct heat: 10-15 minutes should do.

Do not taste the chicken without cutting through it first- raw chicken can be very dangerous.

Once the chicken is an opaque white when you cut through it, it’s cooked.

I like my chicken well done so even when it’s cooked I let it cook a little longer.

As long as you keep on eye on it, the chicken should remain juicy and moist.

Serve with a medley of steamed veggies or salad.

Enjoy!