The Breakfast Edit: Brunch special

Being somewhat obsessive when it comes to eating well and eating 3 times a day, weekends, especially Sundays lend themselves to breaking of rules and making of new ones. Take breakfast for instance. After sleeping in on weekends the only logical thing to do when I get up is to prepare brunch. A hearty mix of fresh rosa tomatoes, toasted ciabatta, scrambled eggs with creme fraiche and smoked trout. Serve that with a wedge of lemon for the trout, some freshly squeezed orange juice and some coffee and the day is as good as any. In this house, we take meals seriously, and what better way to do so than to add a hearty brunch option for lazy weekends. How do you brunch?

The Breakfast Edit: Muesli & Co

Another day, another breakfast, well at least for me that's the case. When it comes to meals, breakfast is a must, especially since the boyfriend and I have joined the 5am club which means by 7am I am ready for breakfast. As previously mentioned, breakfast for me is not just about the food, although I will admit its certainly a big part of it, its also a time to connect with loved one's. A lot of what I make is influenced largely by the two men I share a home with (who knew men could have such refined palettes? - KIDDING) No really. The guys know what they want and often aren't afraid to ask for it, which means lots of thinking, planning and hoping on my end.

Breakfast however is a little easier to navigate. Having household favorite's makes my job easier and much faster. One of my boyfriends ultimate favorites is muesli, double thick yoghurt and fresh fruit with a drizzle of honey. I must admit, having not always been a big fan of this sort of breakfast, the more I eat it, the more I love it. And it doesn't hurt that it takes less than 10 minutes to make. Its just a matter of chopping some fruit and serving it up and voila you have a healthy delicious breakfast.

The art of salad bowls & healthy lunching

Part of being HIV positive, or just wanting to live a well balanced life is taking care of your health. Yes, I am sure you've heard this all before but its true. After all whats the point of a going to gym if what follows next is macdonalds and nando's 3 times a week. I mean sure, I am guilty of it too but I try reduce my take away intake to once a week (if that). Thankfully, my boyfriend and I are huge foodies and prefer sushi to macdonalds, (although nothing beats those cripsy chicken nuggets with fries with barbeque sauce to cure a nagging hangover). Nonetheless, as I work from home, Sundays are usually spent making an array of salads (in summer) and soups (in winter) that I can just warm up and eat during the week. This makes for very easy lunching and helps me steer clear of the ever so tempting Mr Delivery menu. This bowl was one of my favorites and defiantly a must try. Having never made chakalaka before a friend asked me to cater for her birthday which was held at our house and there was so much of the stuff left over that I had enough for the week and then some. Also made a couscous salad and my delicious and pretty simple potato salad. Together, the salads creates something tasty and healthy, and no need to think about lunch, which for a foodie like myself can take a few hours. Simple, tasty and healthy. What's even better is that this particular salad bowl can be made for winter too, with the hearty potatoes and chakalaka providing enough bite and carbs to keep you full and you can warm them up.

And because sharing is caring here is a recipe for the best couscous salad around. Of course, as with everything you can alter it according to your taste:

Ingredients:
1 cup couscous
3/4 boiling water
2 spoons olive oil
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
1/2 cup pepper dews
1 cup baby marrow 
1 tsp garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Sunflower seeds (optional)

Cooking instructions:
1. In a hot pan, add 1 spoon olive oil and couscous and stir to coat
2. Add boiling water and garlic to pan
3. When water has evaporated, and couscous is fluffy take off heat.
4. In another pan heat olive oil with herbs (anything goes here), sometimes I like to add some sweet basil. And add chopped up vegetables and saute (until slightly crunchy for about 3/5 minutes.
5. Mix couscous with vegetables and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot or cold.  Salad can last up to 3 days refrigerated.

Bon Appetite 

The Breakfast Edit: Are Oats the new winter staple?

When it comes to breakfast, changing from one routine to another is a little like trying to convince a 5 year old to eat their vegetables, except that this "5 year old" is actually 25 years old and loveeeeees food. So what does one do? Give up? NEVER. Not me. With winter having taken a firm grip over Johannesburg, I started craving warm winter breakfasts, that fed more than the body but also the soul, you know the types? That feel good breakfast that makes you sigh with relief once you've finished eating. Well that's what I was craving. Outside of my favourite breakfast of scrambled eggs on toasted ciabata with creme fraiche and smoked trout with some fresh lemon juice, I wanted something else, something more "old school" if you will. Enter oats. I know, I know its probably many peoples least favorite but for me its one of those feel good breakfasts that warms you up straight to the core.

With my "5 year old" in mind (whom by the way, childlike lay on the office floor screaming "I don't want, I don't want" ha ha, welcome to the craziness of our home). But after some coaxing from my end, I managed to convince him that if he just tried it, I would make him anything he wants the following day for breakfast, and with that simple sentence, the battle was won, at least for now.

As seen above I tried to make it appetizing by giving this old school classic a modern twist by adding 2 spoon fulls of cream, some sugar to sweeten,  a teaspoon of vanilla essence, preserved green figs and some ground black pepper to add a slight bite. I must say, despite my greatest efforts I am not 100% sure I like it as much as the classic served with milk and honey but I will keep trying to perfect this recipe to suite both palates.

We are what we eat....

Inspired by one of my personal favorite bloggers Garance Dore, I thought we might start off with the most obvious, FOOOOOOOD. Partly because I love food but also because I think its important to have some frank discussions about what we put into our bodies and why. Over the years I've felt my eating habits change and with that my perspective on food and my body have changed too. I am in no way an advocate for diets of any kind but I am pro healthy eating. And before you argue that eating well costs too much, consider this: currently at home fruit and veg for a week for 3 cost about R200.00..Yes just R200.00. That is supplemented by a heavy dose of chicken (about 4 times a week), red meat (once a week) and eggs.

Here are my answers to questions I think we should all be asking ourselves....

What do you eat on an average day?
Breakfast: I like to alternate my breakfasts, mainly because if I ate the same thing over and over again I think I might just cry...no seriously. Usually my weekday menu looks a little something like this; muesli, fresh fruit, yoghurt and honey twice a week, pancakes once a week and some variation of an egg dish twice a week which can be anything from scrambled eggs, creamy mushrooms, rosa tomatoes and toast or an omelet. On weekends I usually go with the flow, I wake up later than usual so it mostly turns out to be some sort of brunch. My boyfriend is obsessed with my creamy scrambled eggs on toasted ciabatta, with creme fraiche and smoked trout drizzled with some lemon juice and some rosa tomato's and fresh herbs on the side so I try to make that on weekends for brunch.

Lunch: As I work from home, lunch is usually last nights left overs, if not something from the cafe down the road from my house. i am not a huge salad alone girl so I cant say I have much of it on its own, usually it has to have something else to grab my attention.

Dinner: Dinner is usually when I cook for my boyfriend and our friend who lives with us. cooking for two men is no small feat. They are both extremely picky and love food so I always have to bring my A game. Mondays however I put my foot down and force them to eat meat free meals. From creamy cheese spinach pasta to salmon. And the rest of the time I make some variation of chicken. I love making my famous butter chicken curry and creamy mushroom chicken with rice. I dont like red meat too much so we only eat it about once a week. And of course most meals are accompanied by wine, glorious wine.

Snacks: I love snacking but I don't like chocolate, weird I know. So snacks for me are usually protein like eggs with a slice of toast or fruit.

Do you have a food philosophy?
I don't know if its a philosophy so much as it is a lifestyle choice. Since being diagnosed I have tried many things to keep healthy. The great thing is that it wasn't much of a change from my normal diet it just meant being more aware of what I eat. I love food so I cant claim to follow any sort of diet or eating plan, even the paleo plan seems cruel to me and you can eat good food on that. I just eat what ever I want with a huge dose of fruit and veg. And since discovering green juices when my mom made them for me when I was very sick I love to have them a few times a week.


How is this different to the food philosophy of your parents?
My adoptive mother has always been so great about healthy living and eating. So with her everything had veg and fruit. I mean she started me on juicing when I was very sick when I was first diagnosed before juicing ever became cool. So I follow that way of eating which is everything in moderation and with lots of veg and fruit. My biological mother had a different food philosophy though. I guess she knew a little less about nutrients so my diet back then was very much maize and meat. I did however get my love for cooking from my biological mother Paulina who was a great cook. She made a lasagna to die for and always made the best meals. The funny thing is though that when I was about 4 my biological mom met my now adoptive mother and my adoptive mother asked her about my red hair. I had like red red hair. It was kind of funny. My mom thought because I ate three meals a day that was fine but my adoptive mom Deseree told her that she needed to incorporate more fruit and veg into my diet. I guess that's how the journey of all of us began, with my red hair.

How do you fit food into your lifestyle?
For me food is an important part of my life, I mean its how we fuel our bodies so for me food is important part of my lifestyle. My favorite weekly trip is to the Carriera food market in randburg to do the weekly shop. Nothing makes me happier than finding great in season fruit and veg. Eating and cooking is a way I communicate with the world, how I say "i love you" and how I cure most of my ailments.


Do you eat at your desk ? Do you check your phone while eating ? Or do you always have company ?
Sadly working from home 75% of the time means I often eat at my desk. I check my phone and computer all at once and I know its terrible but it comes with working from home but every now and then I'll stop and enjoy my food. Dinner is ALWAYS an event though so I try not feel so bad about lunch at my desk. 

When your jeans get too tight, what’s your solution?
Try to cut down on carbs or switch my jeans for a skirt or dress, ha ha. Seriously I mean there are other more accommodating clothing items that don't include jeans.

Do you exercise ?
What either than sex? ha ha. Yeah I try to. My boyfriend and I are currently going to gym 3 times a week which is great, but lets see how long that lasts, he he.

The one food you can’t resist.
There are so many. I mean ribs, mango, french fries....the list goes on.

Any book you’ve read / documentary you’ve watched that changed your point of view on food?
Not really. And I once attended a vegan convention and watched some horrific stuff. I'm not into scare tactics. I think we should eat what we want but be conscious etc. I think showing people these really gross/scary videos isn't helping.

Anything you’ve learned about eating well ?
Portion control. There is a fine line between eating for fuel and eating out of greed. Eat until you are full. 

How do you feel about your body?
It changes. I mean I love my ass, back and legs no matter what size, the rest I struggle with. I think it depends on the day, but mostly I am happy with it. Its my body after all and as my mom always says its the only one I have. It will always be a work in progress but that's ok.

Any strange food/eating habits? 
Not really. I think the strangest thing is just how much I love food. Its a pretty intense love affair, sometimes when the food is really really good I even do a food dance...like I said, intense.