Welcome to day 18!!!
Food is a beautiful tool in self-care and self-love, and without getting too crazy or dogmatic or obsessed with it, we can nourish ourselves in lively pleasurable ways that support our highest self.
I'm quite excited to get back into the kitchen with you today.
Truly, food is where self care starts.
We can talk about mindset, habits, and rituals- but how many times a day do you sit down and eat?
Food is INFORMATION.
It educates our body and mind day in and day out...
That's why throughout our self care journey, we don't neglect eating highly powerful medicinal foods.
Today we're going there...
We're making homemade coconut yogurt!!!
Coconut yogurt is amazing in so many ways.
It is definitely one of my favorite ways to get some probiotics into the system.
Probiotic rich food is generally more effective than a probiotic supplement.
Here are eight benefits of coconut: (all of which are EXEMPLIFIED when we ferment it...)
1. Coconut is used in modern medicine to help kill the fungi and yeasts that cause candida overgrowth, thrush and diaper rash. (Diaper rash is also due to using toxic diapers, go natural mommas!)
2. Coconut reduces inflammation, helps reduce any irritation that may be caused by hemorrhoids and improves bowel function.
3. Coconut is an anti-oxidant which helps protect the body from free radicals and promotes a youthful appearance and healthy skin.
4. Coconut is used to support thyroid function.
5. Coconut can help your body absorb calcium and magnesium as well as other vitamins, minerals and amino acids. AKA – better absorption, healthier body and strong teeth and bones.
6. Coconut is even know to help prevent tooth decay.
7. Coconut can help you lose weight by speeding up the metabolism function of the body.
8. Coconut promotes healthy looking hair and skin, by providing the body nourishment of essential fats, vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
Come with me in the kitchen, darling.
Useful Tips...
-- Don't blend your coconut meat and water on high WITH the probiotics inside the blender! This can kill some of the live bacteria. Always blend on low or just stir probiotics in.
-- You can add things to change it up! Vanilla bean and cinnamon is always nice. You can even blend up some strawberries to make it strawberry yogurt. Play with it!
Some Resources...
-- I highly recommend the CocoJack! This is the easiest way to open a coconut, and if you like the second recipe, you'll definitely want to get one to make it easier on yourself!
Plant-powered recipe of the day:
ROASTED EGGPLANT PASTA
Ingredients
10oz / 300g gluten-free spaghetti
1 medium eggplant, diced
1 red bell pepper (capsicum), roughly chopped
3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 whole bulb garlic
1 onion, outer skin removed (leave one layer of brown skin, make sure its clean)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning mix, or 1/4 cup fresh herbs (such as basil, thyme, oregano, marjoram etc)
Instructions
1. Place diced eggplant in a glass bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss with your hands to coat. This will draw some water out of the eggplant, and helps to reduce that bitter taste that is sometimes associated with eggplant. Set aside for 15 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 200°C / 390°F.
3. Arrange the eggplant, bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic and onion onto a large glass baking tray (or use a regular tray lined with parchment paper). Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and the dried or fresh herbs.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, giving everything a stir halfway though. Let it cool down for about 10 minutes
5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
6. Once the eggplant, tomato and bell pepper have finished baking, peel the garlic and onion and place everything into the food processor. Pulse a few times, being careful not to over-process.
7. Combine pasta and sauce in a large bowl. Serve, and drizzle with olive oil.
Today's recipe is brought to you by Shae from Hello Wellness. From Shae: At 21-years-young I was diagnosed with celiac disease. My health in a steady decline and with traditional western medicine having no solutions to offer me, I took charge of my own health and entered the embracing arms of holistic wellness.
Today I’m on a mission to make wellness your number one priority. Wellness not just in the sense of drinking green juice and exercising, but also happiness, fun, freedom and peace – because let’s face it, both of them are inextricably linked and essential to living an awesome life.
Paradigm Shifter:
Create conscious intention in each moment.
This is a different approach to setting an intention for your day or your month. This is about setting intentions in each "segment" of your day. Many times a day.
Going into a meal- “I intend to appreciate this and eat slowly and digest it greatly.”
Going into the mall, “I intend to try on the perfect size clothing for me and feel good as I look in the mirror.”
Going into work, “I intend to share my true voice and speak up and share my truth.”
Keep setting intentions for every part of your day.
I learned this trick from Abraham Hicks. Listen in here to learn about 'segment intending.' Essentially, just what I say above. Intending to experience an experience in a specific way...
With super sexy self care and all my love,
Groovy Girl 🦋