Potato and leek soup // totally failsafe

My diet is crazy at times, mostly because of the eczema that has plagued me for over four years and the numerous attempts to cure it.

At the moment I'm trialling the "failsafe elimination diet".

I've been on it for a week and its been a slight challenge (although it doesn't come close to being as hard as GAPS). Finding the incentive to make appetizing meals for myself alone has been low. But tonight I took my mothers advice and whipped up a delicious soup! Inspiration came from numerous different sources online that I adjusted to make failsafe. Thanks Google (:

Super quick and easy failsafe leek and potato soup 

Ingredients: 

1 leek, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves
30g butter
5 potatoes, roughly chopped
1 (and a bit) litres of chicken stock
salt
Cream (optional if you're not dairy free)
chives

Method:

Chuck leek and garlic into thermomix and chop on speed 6 for 5 seconds.
Add butter and cook for 5 mins on speed 1 at 100*C
Pop potatoes in and again cook for 5 mins on speed 1 at 100*C
Then throw in the stock and cook for 20 mins on speed 2 100*C
When cooked, purée for 45 seconds gradually increasing speed to 8 (to avoid spillage)
Add salt to taste and serve with chives

That easy! Super satisfying on these cold winter days :) This isnt a sure and fast recipe. Play around and use what you've got.
Traditionally, leek and potato soup includes onion and cream, but with being failsafe I wasnt able to include them and happily didn't seem to notice to much.



xx

R E S T

Recently I have been learning about rest, not simply sleep or recreation, but rest.
Discovering what this looks like is kinda fun/challenging.
I'm learning to lean into God more and seek Him for my strength and joy.

It isn't always easy.

I often fail.

I find myself relying on my own strength and not allowing healthy margin in my life... equalling burn-out.
The great thing about God though is that He is always there when I come to my senses with arms open wide. I have so much to be thankful for!! He is crazy loveable.

This is a beautiful scripture:



Any other form of rest pales in comparison to the rest I find in the arms of God... something I need to remind myself almost daily!
There are numerous distractions that fight for first place in my affections tempting me to strive and become agitated.

Living from a place of pure peace and rest is a goal I want to achieve. Having heros that portray a purity of lifestyle and continually gleaning from their lives is vital. Heidi Baker is one such woman whom I admire greatly.

tips for living in rest:

1. Sleep! Yeah... its the obvious one. Without sleep we physically, emotionally and spiritually are compromised. It'd be hard to live a lifestyle of rest if you dont physically kick back.

2. "Soak" aka listen to soft music and let God love you... could be the Christian alternative to meditating. I do it almost every morning in bed (and yeah sometimes I fall asleep!) All good though.

3. MARGIN. This one is something I'm still learning lots about. My Dad has a Ph. D. in margin! He's brilliant at it. Creating space so there is no room to panic eg. leaving 20 minutes earlier than necessary for an important appointment.

4. Taking time to smell the roses and listen to Jesus. Just yes.

5. Worship. A biggy. Nothing gets me more refreshed, and inspired to stay refreshed, like worshipping the King of kings. He's simply wonderful like that :)


xx

vision

L O V E   T H I S:

Your vision/goals/dreams about your future totally effects the way you live your life now.

"Where there is no vision the people perish..." proverbs 29:18

Wanna live to your full potential? Then set goals, dream whopping/intense dreams and have a vision that goes way beyond what you think is possible. You will find that the way that you live presently will be altered by the dreams you possess. They will motivate you through the hurt of your present pain.

Even Jesus applied this principle.

"For the joy set before him (Jesus) he endured the cross..."  hebrews 12:2

He didn't have a party hanging up there on that tree for all our sins, yet he was empowered and pushed through the struggle of Calvary because he had a vision of what would be waiting for him on the other side: a raw, real authentic relationship with his bride, the church (aka us!).

So basically if you want to be powerful,

Vision is vital.

xx

coconut goodiness // banana and raspberry muffins

I'm currently experimenting with coconut flour.

(coconuts are a not-so-secret obsession of mine)

Its heaps different from what I'm used to working with in baking because of its extreme dryness. Searching google for recipies, I havent been able to find a decent one that is gluten, dairy and sugar free. So I have finally come up with my own variation that I declare is delicious. Here it is:

banana and raspberry coconut muffins 

Ingredients 

1/2 cups coconut four
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
6 eggs
1/4 cup rice malt syrup
100g coconut oil (or substitute with butter)
1 tsp vanilla
1 large over-ripe banana mashed
1 cup raspberries (or your berry of choice)

Method

Preheat oven to 180C  and prepare nine/ten muffin tins with paper pattys.

Combine eggs, syrup, oil and vanilla in a bowl with a bar mixer. 

Then pop in the dry ingredients and wizz until all blended nicely. 

Add the mashed banana and berries and spoon into muffin tins.

Bake in oven for appox 30mins (my oven is a little whacky so not sure of the exact time just keep an eye on them)

Set on a wire rack to cool and them consume. 

That's it! Super simple and scrumptious.

xx

little silver fishes

My newest obsession:

sardines.

Stuffed with protein, omega-3 and vitamin D they are the ideal seafood eats. Plus! because they are small and on the lower end of the food chain, mercury is pretty much non-existent in these little fellas.

These little munchkins are crazy good for you. 

But I hated them at one point.
Why?
The taste. The smell.

Growing up, Dad would eat them straight from the can although Mum has always been revolted by even the mention of the word "sardine". Mumma's distaste for them rubbed off on me and I could not understand how anybody could think of consuming them, let alone enjoying the flavour.

But I have now been converted. Researching healthy dishes, particularly those involving seafood that do not contain high percentages of mercury, sardines kept popping up again and again. Realizing that these little nuggets were packed full of nutrients, I though I may as well give them a shot... and what do you know, I didn't actually mind the taste. Ok, so maybe I didn't die from delight in the overall experience, but they weren't anywhere near as bad as I remembered. (perhaps knowing the absolute goodness they contained helped my taste buds on a little)

They are now an integral part of my diet and I eat them at least twice a week either in salads or with avo on toast.

I buy mine canned in either extra virgin olive oil or simply water. I've found that the slightly more expensive brands to be significantly nicer than the homebrands. I'm keen to buy some fresh to experiment with.

These are one of my favouritest foods at the moment, mainly because of their extreme goodiness for the body, but now I'm actually partial to the taste! I never thought I would admit that.

xx

It Was Never About Them Anyway.

Love hurts.

People hurt me, most of the time unintentionally, but it is hard not to put up walls to protect my heart. Loving without an agenda and forgiving knowing that they can never make it right again is painful.

People are broken. I am broken.

The challenge is difficult, in fact, it is impossible. That is why I need God's strength. He is my rock and my fortress, mender of broken hearts and restorer of shattered souls. There is no situation that is bigger than God. He will heal anything if we let him.

He asks only one thing in return.

L O V E .

Which is illustrated most beautifully by this quote.





Mother Teresa.

Woman of faith, warrior of peace, weapon of love.

xx

make it count

What are you doing?

Time is an unrenewable resource that everyone is give the  e x a c t  same amount of every single day. Some of us use it wisely, others waste it on selfish means.

I want to live to see a better tomorrow.

That means living selflessly and dying to my flesh.

Because I want to ensure that Jesus gets what he paid for at Calvary and I want to make my life count.

xx