Kedgeree - Winter Recipe I

It's officially freezing here in New Zealand. Rain galore! Although, I do love to snuggle up in bed with a steaming cup of tea when it's cold out. Sadly, I have to write a thesis, so it's more like snuggling up to my computer at my office with a steaming cup of tea! I've started to experiment some winter recipes and came across kedgaree and I was intrigued.

 
Kedgeree is a rice and fish dish from the colonial Indian times that has been adapted by the Brits into a delicious traditional breakfast. It's beautiful smokey and spicy flavours are perfect for a cold winters night. This dish is basically fine by itself, but you can have it with a salad or steamed vege's. I grilled some asparagus and beans. I also got some Greek yoghurt and added a tablespoon of lemon, which was perfect with this dish!

Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:
250g white rice
200g haddock fillets (or any flaky fish)
1 onion, chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
4 cardamom pods, crushed
2 Tsp unroasted curry powder
1 thumb-sized ginger, crushed
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 Cup green beans
2 fresh bay leaves
2 hard-boiled eggs, cut in to quarters
Half a lemon
A bunch of coriander
250mL greek yohurt

Method
1. Cook the rice. While it's cooking, prepare the other ingredients
2. Boil water in a shallow pan. Add the fish, 1 bay leaf and half the cardamoms. Cook for 10 minutes, drain the water and cool. Once cooled, flake the fish in to a bowl
3. Saute onions in a separate pan in some olive oil. Once clear and golden, add chilli, cardamom pods, curry powder, ginger and garlic. Mix in the green beans. Cook for about five minutes, until cooked.
4. Add the cooked rice in to the pan and mix till all the ingredients are evenly combined
5. Enjoy with a side of vege's, salad or yogurt!

Hope you guys enjoy this!

Peace,
Cha

Very Berry Fruit Salad

So I woke up late this morning and felt like a fruity day - hence the very berry fruit salad. I'm someone who absolutely loves breakfast and feel weirdly incomplete without it. Skipping breakfast is a bad habit to fall in to. You're likely to snack on junk through out the day if you miss breakfast, resulting in weight gain.

In NZ, berries are hard to get a hold of, unless it's peak summer time. I usually have frozen berries and munch on them as a snack. But today, for some awesome reason, there were fresh blueberries and strawberries in the fridge yay!

Aren't berries just the best? They're packed with anti-oxidants (inhibits oxidation which causes free radicals to damage cells in your body), chrologenic acid (helps control blood glucose for those with diabetes), vitamins C, A and E and some B-complex vitamins, dietary fibre, manganese and very low in sodium, cholesterol and fats! All of this packed in these tiny delicious berries - how awesome is that?

If you can't get a hold of fresh berries, try frozen ones. They're just as amazing! Also perfect for quick smoothies and to top your morning cereal, porridge or just simple have it as a snack :)

Keep it real,

Cha

PS. Have you guys read Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri? It's a bunch of cool short stories. You kind of forget you're reading at times - I'm hooked!

Winter Weight II

Morning people,

I'm just writing a follow up post to Sha's. I think we all find winter a drag - not only is it flipping freezing, but that horrible weight gain that comes along with it too. All I know is I eat, eat, then I eat some more

Reason for this over consumption? In a scientifically speaking nut shell, we eat to keep ourselves warm. The more food we eat, the more insulation (fat stores) we have to keep us warm. What happens when winter is over? Weight gain *sigh*

So what can be done? The golden question. Yet, we all know the answer - exercise and clean eating. Easier said than done though, eh?

Woke up to this beauty

Here are some tips that I find helpful:

• Exercise. Wake up a wee bit early and hit the gym. Not too long. About a half hour or so. If you're a runner (and it's not raining/hailing/snowing!), why not enjoy the beautiful morning outside? If not, try some yoga at home.
• Eat clean. Winter makes you stuff your face with lots of junk food, so now that you know that, you can go a bit easy on yourselves. Instead of junk food, try hot home made soups with fresh bread, casseroles and stews with lots of vege's and stewed fruit for dessert.
• Goals. Try and set goals for this winter. For example, you may just want to maintain your weight, or lose 1-2 kgs / month. Keep it simple and realistic. If it helps, keep a food journal and note down any feels and cravings you have and record your daily exercise.
• Motivation. Yes it's hard, we realise this. But just think - in six months you will be fit, healthy and ready to take summer with bells on (while everyone else is regretting their winter diets!).

If you guys have any cool tips, comment below :) We will be posting up some yummy winter recipe ideas for you guys to try at home, so watch this space! 

Keep it real,

Cha

Winter Weight

*Peep*

Hi people,

After finally shaking myself off the summer sun and welcoming the cold by insulating myself with warm thick layers clothing and possibly packing a few layers of fat, I've finally decided that there is life in the internet, and not just outdoors. Hence, me blogging.

Okay, I lied. I'm always in front of the computer.

I have a burning question, okay, possibly not a burning question, but a gnawing curiosity.  How much do people gain over autumn/winter? And what is the normal range of weight gain during winter? I always gain weight during winter, and I know why I do. Lack of exercise and having lots of merry-making ;). But why do I gain so much over winter? One winter it was 10kgs. Even though what I eat is quite possibly similar to the people around me? I guess some people may say it is not a big deal since I can shed them off when the warmer days arrive. But for 6 months or more, I'd be lugging them around everywhere I go.

So this year, I am going to maintain my weight or even try to lose some. My strategy would be maintain my 3  times a week exercise regime, drink lots of warm water, have a healthy diet.

Let's see how it goes.

So much for my personal self-introduction.

Warm Dunedin

Signing off,
Sha 

Hello all!

Hello people,

This is our first attempt in blogging about food, nutrition and science, because we love our food, and we love to share our knowledge as well!

So why did we choose to create this blog?

We found ourselves talking about food and nutrition related stuff everytime we get together. During one of our nerdy talks (over some yummy Mac's beer!), we discovered that many nutrition related blogs often give out wrong information.

This blog is an attempt for us to debunk any misconceptions out there related to nutrition. Although we're not the big fella's in the nutrition field, we have sufficient knowledge compared to an average Joe giving advice on nutrition.

So, hope you all enjoy our blog and feel free to comment and ask questions :)

Sha & Cha

<3