Tasmanian guide to buying LCHF friendly produce

One of the hardest things I have found with changing our lifestyle has been finding user friendly cafes and shops.  

There is a lot of footwork and internet stalking initially, to find what you want.  

The latter made even more difficult because, lets face it Tasmanian businesses just don't seem to get the internet thing.  They either don't have a website or the website they sent up in 2006 hasn't been touched since then.

So, to help other folk out I have come up with a document.  And, well, being a virgo this is what I do LOL

Because this WOE (way of eating) is relatively new to us Tasmanians the demand on businesses hasn't be high for the products we want.

However, I am not one to shy away from asking.  I figure the worst they can do is say no, and really that doesn't do them any favours does it!

I have been pleasantly surprised with most responses and am pleased to say that most places that I ask for a specific request either agree straight up or at the very least agree to consider my request. 

Only this week I put the challenge out to Conmurra Farm where I buy my meat to see if they would do some paleo sausages.  I asked that they be just meat, fat and seasoning with no filler at all.  They gladly took this on board and sent me a kilo of pork and a kilo of beef with my order to try out!  

And a great price of under $10 per kilo!

You can't get better service than that!

Also, if you are a first time buyer thru the link above you get a discount!

Obviously I can't buy all my food through Conmurra.  

Below is a run down of where I get most of my bits and bobs for the week:

Wholesome House - Mowbray

David and Lee are awesome!  They stock most of what I need and if they don't then they will do their utmost to source it and get it in for you.   

They stock all Ashgrove products, organic seasonal fruit/veg, MCT oil, coconut oil, ACV in bulk, bulk nuts/nutmeal/nut butter, herbs/spices loose, ghee, eggs, sauerkraut plus much more!  

They also have a great range of water filters, which is really important to keeping healthy.  I have a reverse osmosis filter that I bought from them and truly it is the best thing I have spent money on and has paid for itself in no time! 

If you don't filter your water I highly recommend researching the benefits and consider doing it. 

I also try and do my veg shopping at Harvest Market most Saturdays. There are two great stalls there that sell chemical free veg.  They are really reasonably priced and you are supporting local independent businesses at the same time.

I also buy my coffee at Harvest from Ritual Coffee.  Another local small business.  His coffee is great tasting and good quality so well worth the $$$

Steve & Grace's greengrocer out at Youngtown have avocados super cheap most of the time. I got some for 65c each this week!  And, the greengrocer in Mowbray often has cauliflower cheap too.

But to do the leg work for you

I have created a guide to buying LCHF/paleo.  

This is downloadable and printable for you to use.

Obviously it doesn't list every business in Tasmania.  It has many Launceston businesses who were contacted and a few in other areas around the state.

It also doesn't list every item.  I think most people know where to buy eggs or almond meal from.  The products included are the ones I see most people asking about on websites, forums and FB groups.  

If you have a product you find tricky to buy or you know of a business that stocks loads of good stuff then please leave a comment and I can add it to the list.  

I would love to be able to include more businesses out side of Launceston.

Launceston LCHF Buyers Guide

LCHF almond crumbed chicken with blue cheese dressing

My big two kidlets are away with their dad at the moment so I am cooking just for me.  

(if you don't count the bazillion bottles I seem to make)

This is a wondrous thing for a few reasons.

I get to eat what I want!

I can eat when I want.

I never hear negative feedback prior/during or after the meal

Very little washing up.

More for me :)

Don't get me wrong, I do miss them but this is a treat!

This meal was worthy of it's own post it was so amazing

I have been wanting to have a go at crumbing chicken but wasn't sure how it would go without the regular flour/breadcrumb combo. 

I was kinda making it up as I went and hit the jackpot..

If you make it let me know what you think.

INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

Chicken

6 chicken drumsticks (or any pieces you like really)

1/4c buckwheat flour

1 egg whisked with 2 tbs milk

3/4c of almond meal.  (I ground my own almonds but not too fine as I like texture)

Blue Cheese Sauce

1/4c blue cheese

3tbs sour cream

1tbs mayonaisse

1tbs lemon juice

pinch of salt

Coat chicken in flour then the egg mix.  Roll in almond meal and refrigerate for at least 30 min.  

I find this firms it all up and stops the crumb falling off when cooking. 

I oven baked mine but you could fry in coconut oil just as easily.

Pop on lined oven dish and bake at 200c for around 30min or until completely cooked through.

These released just enough juices/fat to help the almonds roast up and become crispy golden and totally delicious.

You could serve with anything you like.  I chose a salad with freshly pod peas, avocado, olives, fetta and greens.

Topped with the blue cheese sauce.

For the sauce pop all ingredients into a blender and blitz until combined, it is that easy.  

Trust me this sauce is amazeballs!

I also had enough for steak the following night.

Please let me know what you think :)

What did Christmas look like at your house??

Everyone talks about how hard it is at christmas time to stay on track with food.  Not to over indulge, eat crap, drink too much etc

I must admit I was in a bit of a quandary of what to do as I was host and knew that not everyone was on board with my food choices.  

I got the children to write a list of what they wanted.  I was surprised as their choices were pretty good:

potato bake (with white potatoes please mum!)

bean and avocado salad

mushrooms

chicken

ham

and cheese in our stockings!

So, I went to work.  The meat and salad side of things were the same as every year pretty much and simple.  All made with good fresh produce (other than tinned 4 bean mix), olive oil and fresh herbs.

I did a cheese plate with cheeses from Ashgrove (and yes the kids did get cheese in their stockings!) along with some naturally leavened sourdough from Apiece Bakery for the bread eaters.

I also got some smoked salmon and whipped up these beauties from Ditch the Carbs!

Salmon and cream cheese egg bites.  They are divine, although next time I will put more salmon in them.

I usually make up small platters for friends and family at christmas time but this year with a newborn in the house I was a little challenged for time and spare hands. 

I did manage to make this pale green christmas that was delicious 

                                                    along with some strawberry truffles.

My boy wanted real trifle (meaning processed cake, sugary jelly and packet custard).   

Um, no.

LOL

He wasn't actually home when I made this and on boxing day I asked him what he thought.  He told me it was amazing and he was so glad I made a 'real' one.  

Imagine his surprise when I told him how I made it!

This 'real trifle' was broken up paleo ginger cake, jelly made with juice, agar agar and passionfruit pulp, fresh berries, fresh mango, quirky's coconut caramel custard and ashgrove cream.

 No added sugars or grains and tasted divine!

Lastly was the request for a raw cheesecake, fast becoming a fave in this household but a treat due to the expense of nuts!

I use the I Quit Sugar recipe for this.  

The texture was quite stiff when making this and I was concerned about it but needn't have been. 

 I made it four days in advance and popped it in the freezer.  

Pulled it out christmas eve and left it in the fridge.  

I swear to god this is heaven in a baking dish!

So, christmas was sugar free, grain free (for me) and successfully low carb high fat.  I didn't feel like I missed out on anything or was deprived and I don't think my kids did either. 

What was your christmas like?

Christmas Ginger Cakes

I think ginger and christmas go together almost as well as Pru and Trude don't you!

As soon as christmas comes around I start thinking gingerbread men, houses and cakes.

Since this is our first christmas doing the LCHF thang I had to give some serious thought to what my baking would be.  

As it is I have cut back seriously on what I am doing as having a newborn in the house has impacted on available time somewhat LOL

As much as I love gingerbread I didn't want to go down the whole wheat/sugar road so I got to thinking about alternatives and decided to play around with my bean cake recipe and see what I could come up with.

The ingredients aren't all that different which is great as I think you could tweak this recipe to suit whatever your taste buds fancy.

Ingredients

400gr tin of white beans

4 eggs

120gr butter (melted)

3tbs agave/honey/maple syrup (treacle would give a more traditional flavour)

2tbs coconut flour

1/2tsp bi-carb

1/2tsp baking powder

1.5tbs dried ginger

1tbs cinnamon

1/2tsp salt

Method

Turn oven onto 200c to heat.

Drain and wash your beans well.  

Blend beans with one egg until smooth.  Add remaining eggs and all other ingredients.  

Blend until well combined.

Now, you can bake this in a ring tin for around 30min but as I am putting some of these into a christmas  hamper for my aunt I thought it best to make them as cupcakes.

If you do this they only took 20min to bake and come up a beautiful golden brown.  

I intend on adding a cashew cream icing just before I deliver them.

And we have a winner........

Congratulations to Kathryn O'Neill

Kathryn has won a copy of Luke & Scott's, 

Clean Living Quick and Easy.

Kathryn left her suggestions on the HCG Closet page on Facebook and Beren very much loved the idea of meatloaf, raw cheesecake and bliss balls.

I thought I should share some recipes for the above.  My latest fave meatloaf recipe is the one from Skinny Mixers.   I mean seriously, who can go past a meatloaf wrapped in bacon!!  

mmmmm

BACON

 This is a super easy recipe, And, although it is for thermomix it can easily be made without one.  

My go-to cheesecake recipe of late is the one from Luke & Scott's Clean Living Cookbook.  

This book is amazing and jam packed with awesome recipes.  I mean, my dad who is an old school meat and three veg kinda man LOVES this cheesecake!!

Lastly, from the same book comes the bliss balls.  

Now, I often will just chuck a range of nuts/seeds/fruit etc in the mixer, blitz and roll up but my kids love these ones.  

So, for a healthy treat this is what I make.  

Don't forget you can get Luke & Scott's books at all good stores or online thru amazon.  

So, even if you didn't win this time around you don't have to miss out!

Salted Caramel Chia Pudding

Sooo, I got to thinking. 

My kids love my caramel smoothie made with cashews and dates.  

So, what if

just 

WHAT IF 

I could turn that magic into pudding!  

I know, right!

Eat that baby right outta the pot!

I played around with proportions but finally got it right.

SALTED CARAMEL CHIA PUDDING

Ingredients

200ml milk of your choice (I used cashew)

3 medjool dates

1/4c cashew butter

1/3c chia seeds

1/2tsp sea salt (you can use himalayan but I prefer sea salt for sweet stuff)

Directions

Blend dates, cashews & salt together until pulpy then add milk and blend until smooth.  Pour into container and stir through chia seeds.  Refrigerate overnight or for at least 6hrs.  

We had this with berries but also great out of container, standing at fridge (so I have been told :P)

Also, don't forget to take a look at how you can win a copy of Scott and Luke's new awesome recipe book!!!!

Quick look!! A recipe book up for grabs!

I promised and I have delivered!

I have up for grabs a copy of this great book!

I am loving this.  

Not only does it have some great recipes perfect for summer, such as:

Chargrilled Lamb kebabs with coconut dressing

Barbecued pork belly on skewers

Green Mango salad

and paleo doughnuts!!!!!!  (I know, right!)

It also devotes the first half of the book to exercises.   

Luke and Scott share their knowledge to help you gain muscular strength and fitness from home or at work.

There is a large range of exercises to work on all your body.  Each one has an easy and hard version with clear instructions and a page of photos for you to follow.

You can follow Luke at:
www.trainerluke.com
www.facebook.com/thebondiPT
www.instagram.com/trainer_luke

Or Scott at:
www.scottgoodingfitness.com.au
www.facebook.com/ScottGoodingFitness
www.instagram.com/scottyfit

I am not one for the gym so I was really excited when this came in the post and wasn't JUST a recipe book.

So, how do you get yourself a copy???

Simply leave a comment telling me what your fave paleo/low carb high fat/primal meal is, come visit me over on facebook and share the love!

My son the foody will choose his favourite meal suggestion on 12 December so we can have your copy in the post before christmas.

It is that easy!

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This competition ‘is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.’  A copy of Clean Living Quick & Easy was supplied to me for review and a copy to give away by Luke & Scott and Hatchett Australia.

Open to residents of Australia only.

Question time with Luke and Scott

In my journey of reaching and maintaining good health I have come across some great people, recipe books and speakers.  I am loving the path I am on and love being able to share what I have learnt with others.

When I received a copy of Clean Living Cookbook by Luke & Scott 

for my birthday I was rapt.  

I have said previously what a fabulous book it is, filled with amazing recipes.  

I have since got their Paleo Sweets book (OMG!) and their Paleo Breakfasts book,both of which I would thoroughly recommend.

But, I wanted more.  I emailed the guys and told them how much I appreciated their books and asked if they would like to answer some reader questions.   These guys are awesome and very kindly agreed to not only a question/answer session but also a give away of their newest book Clean Living Quick & Easy.  

How great is that!!

So, to get the ball rolling, here are the answers 

to your questions.

1. Were you eating a paleo diet completely before MKR or did you develop more afterwards?

Luke: I was eating what I considered to be healthy, but certainly not paleo. It was a great and exciting learning curve for me once the show finished, as I really wanted to regain my health and look and feel my best, so I 100% completely embraced paleo upon completion of filming. My physical and mental transformation was quick and really quite exceptional. 

Scott:  Prior to MKR I was paleo but arguably not as purist as i now am.  My understanding of nutrition has evolved over the last 2-3 years and so has the foods I include and don't include in my diet.

2. Many sporting people will insist on eating carbs for energy.  What are your views on this?

Luke: I have trained my body to use ketones for energy. Which in its simplest form is when our body uses fat as energy as opposed to carbohydrates. If I need to exert myself in an intense way and need more of an energy burst, I will make smart carb choices such as a banana or some berries for the added boost my body needs. At the end of the day, you need to listen to your body and do what works for you.

Scott: Generally speaking we fixate on carbs being the source of our energy for training and sport. The fact of the matter is we can perform exceptionally well on a ketogenic diet, I would say that if you training volume include considerable amount of high intensity training then some safe starches are fine.

3. Will your sweets book come out in hard copy?

Luke: All of our books will be released in the same format as the others in the Clean Living Series. We look for uniformity across the brand. One day down the track we might bring out a massive hard copy collection. You will have to wait and see.

Scott: Our next book FAST FOOD has heaps of amazing sweet recipes, all of which can be made in no time, with little fuss.

4. You use a huge amount of seafood in your current book.  Will the next book have more land animals?

Luke: Yes, you will see lots of land animals ranging from grassed beef, organic free range chicken to free range pork, and of course, lots of different varieties of sustainable seafood choices.

Scott: It's not deliberate to include more seafood vs land animals, I guess it just works out that way.  We do try to keep the sources of protein as varied as we can and include some cheaper cuts to keep budgets low.  We feel its important that if you do choose to eat meat then you should respect the animal and eat nose to tail. 

5.  You seemed a bit reluctant to use high fat in MKR.  Do you still follow this principal as strictly or have you changed your views?

Luke: We were very reluctant to use bad quality food sources, but have always been really excited to use good quality fats that come from meat, avocados, nuts and seeds. On the show we really wanted to reflect making the healthier choice with the options on offer. And we certainly steered away from sugar.

Scott: I don't recall being reluctant to use fat - we often spoke of the benefits of eating full fat over reduced fat products.  Im a huge advocate for the high fat diet; we have lived in a world where saturated fat has been the bad guy for 40-50 years and now the tide is slowly turning which is good news for health.  The sooner we pull away from vegetable oils and trans-fats the better off we'll be. 

6. Will you be doing a book tour with the next book?  How about a visit to Tasmania?

Luke: We will be doing a series of pop-up restaurants around the country. Melbourne and Sydney are first of the block and we will announce more dates to follow. We love being able to reach our fan base and connect with people who really embody our clean living lifestyle.

Scott: We would absolutely love to come to Tasmania to do book tour.  Tasmania is one of my favorite places to visit and boasts some of the best scenery I've ever seen.

7.  Eating a paleo inspired diet isn't the norm for most people, particularly those who are active. What prompted the shift from a high carb diet to this for you?

Luke: In fact, we have seen the opposite to this statement. We have seen that highly active people are more so switched on to how they fuel there bodies and what effect food has on their performance. It is sometimes the supermarkets and advertising campaigns in health and fitness magazines that tell a different story that we still need high amounts of carbs to function. To me, it seems the healthier more active people are the more educated and informed, because they care.

Scott: The shift came from listening to my body and witnessing the telltale signs of a high carb diet - lethargy, mood change and energy dips.  The shift was also a consequence of reading as most as i could around the subject - arming myself with as much info to make informed choices around nutrition.

8. What are your thoughts on electrolyte replacements such as Hydralyte during sustained physical activity (eg 4+ hours of cycling, tri, ironman etc). Do you have any ideas on alternatives?

Luke: My choice is always to go natural. Coconut water is natures superfood sports drink, 100% natural and so good for you. A way better option.

Scott: Its imperative to ingest some form of electrolyte replacements during sustained exertion, otherwise performance will be impaired and diminish.

9. What are your thoughts on the HCG Protocol and the concept of reaching leptin sensitivity.

Luke: Not my specialty thanks x

Scott: My thoughts are that we should shift our focus from weight management to health.  Once we start eating for health then our weight will naturally revert to its optimum.  Forget quick fixes, fads and short cuts - food should be enjoyed with an eating plan which has longevity and one you can sustain indefinitely.  I encourage people that are hoping to lose weight to eat real food, minimise their intake of carbs/sugar and embrace a high fat diet.

Thanks to both Luke and Scott for helping out here and their generous offer of donating a copy of their latest book for a competition.  

Keep your eye on this space

 if you 

would like to win your own copy.

Recipe porn

Who doesn't love a bit of recipe porn!  

All you kind folk out there who purchase through my advertising link can rest in the knowledge that my commission gets well spent!  Not that I get much mind you.

Yup,, I have been stocking up on recipe books that are supportive of my low carb/high fat lifesstyle.

I thought I would list a few good ones. 

 I know that if you can't get your hands on a copy to flick through before purchase it is hard to know whether it is worth buying or not.

And, well I am sure you will agree that some books can be expensive.

I always try to buy from local book stores but sometimes my finances just don't allow that and I do have to look elsewhere.  My usual online go to is fishpond or book depository.

Here is my top ten in no particular order:

I was given this one by a friend for my birthday.  If you only buy one recipe book I would say this is it!   I am loving the healthy recipes. They are not only sugar free and 'paleo' but also easy and taste great.   Our fave recipes are the chicken burgers and the Moroccan Lamb Skewers. 

They also have a paleo sweets ebook which is only a few dollars and also awesome.

Watch this space for more from Luke and Scott as I will be interviewing them and 

offering a fabulous giveaway very soon.

After hearing an interview with Tori on ABC radio I just had to have her book.  It does not disappoint!   Some great healthy grain free recipes. 

Faves from this are the Moroccan Lamb & Chickpea burgers and the Lentil 'meatballs'. 

A good friend put me on to this book a long time ago.  She writes about food so beautifully.  You can hear her passion in her words and I love her stuff.  Not a huge amount of recipes but gorgeous writing and ideas to lessen food waste and to utilise all your veg and meat.

 OMG!  this one is brilliant!!   Pete Evans is obviously a name everyone knows at the moment and this book is his latest.  

Another old fave of mine is the Moosewood.  I have had this for years and it has some wonderful vegetarian (look away paleo fanatics LOL) recipes.   It has an awesome baked bean recipe that I have used many times.

I know so many people who have this book and swear by it.  It has so much info packed into it on nutrition and food for medicine.   THe bone broth recipe is fail proof and it has loads of hearty and nutrition meat based recipes that I love.

A new one to my flock.  My friend Christina from over at Joy of the Home had this and I got to flick through it.  I was so tired of the same old 'tomato, onion, Worcestershire sauce' recipes for the slow cooker.  This is refreshing and has some amazing recipes for soups, main meals and desserts.

Ahhh, Quirky Jo has been known on the interwebs for sometime.  She cooks amazing,healthy meals with her thermomix and the hard copy print book does not disappoint.  Now, I don't have a thermomix but do have a bellini.

I really love her raw sweets and for basics like the nut milks/butters and smoothies she is great.  

My current crush!  This is a bit like a Stephanie Alexander's cooks companion but  simpler in my opinion.   Definitely not paleo but a beautiful range of recipes none the less.

Ahh, who doesn't love Hugh!   My favourite recipe from this book is his pancake one.  Yes, made with flour!!   I buy einkhorn flour from Changing Habits and make these for the kids about once a fortnight.  The recipe NEVER fails and I am pretty crap at making pancakes!

He also does an amazing spinach & bacon frittata and an equally great spicy lamb burger.

 

These are just a few of some of the fabulous recipe books that are out there.  There are loads of online blogs and ebooks too but I will save those for another post.  

What are your fave books??

Leave a comment with your recommendations!

Oregano chicken zoodles

I am pretty sure I have said this before but I will say it again:

Sometimes the simplest things are simply the best!

This is a great phase 2 recipe but for outside of that phase you can fry that chicken in loads of fat!!

While I was making this I had a 25ltr pot of bone broth simmering which was handy for creating a sauce for this dish. 

 (Although, for phase 2 I would recommend only a little amount due to the fat content)

This week I ordered a vegetable spiraliser. 

I had previously bought a small hand twisty one on ebay but found it didn't work very well and tended to squish the zucchini to pulp.   

A friend bought one the same as this one in a local Perth store and I was totally jelly!    

Hunted around and most online were around the $100 mark.  WAAAAAY out of my budget so I was rapt to find this one for $24 from PurpleSpoilz.   

It is exactly the same as the expensive one but loads cheaper.  Delivery was nice and fast too :)

So, needless to say zoodles, carradoodles and appoodles are all the go here!

Anyway, back to the dish.  As I said, nice and simple so ingredients are few:

100gr chicken

1c zucchini ( I go with half a medium zucchini pre zoodle)

sprig of fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp of dried if you don't have fresh)

S&P

stock or water to create a sauce

Steam your zoodles lightly and put aside.

Cut your chicken into bite size pieces and fry in a tiny bit of water with the oregano.  Once nicely browned and cooked through season with S&P and add your zoodles.  Continue to fry until a crust starts to appear in your pan, then add your water/stock (just a couple of tbs) and stir to get crusty bits off pan.  This will add colour and flavour to the sauce.  Let simmer for a bit for the sauce to reduce and thicken up a bit.

I love oregano, particularly with chicken and this works so well. 

For anyone not in phase 2 then go sick with any added veg you want, don't limit your chicken amount and slather butter on your zoodles!