Peanut Butter Cups

A VERY yummy treat! And very easy to make, who doesnt love easy! I put the mixture in patty pans and it made 6, so double the recipe if you want more, and make sure coconut oil is in its liquid form by melting in microwave if its a cold day

Ingredients:
Peanut butter filling
3/4 cup of natural peanut butter (can use other natural/home made nut butters too)
1/4 cup of coconut oil
2 tablespoons of agave

Chocolate topping
3 tablespoons of coconut oil
3 tablespoons of cacao
1-2 tablespoons of agave

Method:
1. Mix all of peanut butter filling ingredients together and mix well. Place in muffin tins/patty pans/silicone moulds and pop in freezer
2. Meanwhile, mix chocolate topping ingredients together in a jug and mix well. You will have to work fast if its a cold day as it will harden up pretty quick. Take tins/moulds out of freezer then pour chocolate topping over the top of peanut butter filling. Pop back in freezer, done! :) Hard to believe these are clean, so yummy!

Breakfast Smoothie

Some mornings (like this morning) everything was rush rush and once i have got breakie for the kids, theres no time to make/eat my own! Well this is what i have on those type of mornings :)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of oats
1/2 cup of low fat milk or almond milk (i used homemade almond milk, recipe HERE)
1/2 a banana
1 cup of frozen berries
1 teaspoon of coconut oil
2 tablespoons of greek yoghurt
1 tablespoon of chia seeds
Agave/sweetener, optional
2 scoops of protein powder, optional

Method:
Pop everything in blender and mix! Has a lovely thick consistency, is great! Add more liquid if you want it thinner

 

Clean Lasagne

Another one of my favourites and im actually suprised how good this turned out, was SO yum :)

Ingredients:
500g of lean beef/turkey/chicken mince (i used turkey, love turkey mince in lasagne)
1x onion, chopped
1x capsicum, chopped
1x zucchini, grated
1x carrot, grated
4 mushrooms, chopped
1x tin of organic tomatoes
1x tomato, chopped
Fresh spinach/salad to serve (or if you arent a fan of spinach, add it on top of meat layers)
Low fat cottage/ricotta cheese
1/2 a cup of low fat grated cheese
Herbs of choice (i used turmeric, garlic, oregano and cayenne pepper)
2-3 rye mountain bread wraps (depending on depth of baking tray and how many layers you want)

Method:
1. Cook onions and capsicum until soft. Add mince and separate. Cook until brown.
2. Add tinned tomatoes, tomato, grated carrot and zucchini and mushrooms. Bring to boil them simmer for about 10 mins
3. Set aside for 10 mins. Meanwhile preheat oven to 180 degrees and place 1 rye mountain bread on tray. Spoon meat evenly over, then dollop cottage/ricotta cheese on top, then place another wrap on top. Repeat this as many times as you need, then top the last layer with a wrap and sprinkle grated cheese over the top

 
4. Put in oven for about 15 mins or until mountain bread edges are crisp and cheese has melted. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 mins then serve! Can serve with salad or veggies :)

 

 Jessica xx

Clean Pasta

Pasta is one of my fave meals of all time so thank god you can make it clean! Kids love it, and great for hiding veggies :)

Ingredients:
500g of extra lean beef/chicken/turkey mince
1x onion, chopped
1x capsicum, chopped
1/2 a zucchini, grated
1/2 a carrot, grated 
1x can of organic tomatoes
1x tomato, chopped
Herbs of choice (i used parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper)
1x packet of wholemeal pasta (long or shapes)

Method:
1. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in saucepan and cook onion and capsicum until soft. Add meat and separate into small bits with wooden spoon.
2. Cook until meat is brown and then add tomatoes and tinned tomatoes. Add herbs. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer.

3. Meanwhile, boiled another saucepan of water, and cook pasta as per directions on packet.
4. Add grated zucchini and carrot to meat mix and cook for another minute or 2
5. Serve! Sprinkle some low fat grated cheese over the top if desired, or some spinach, and season with a bit of salt and pepper!

Jessica xx

Clean Nachos

This is one of my fave meals at the moment, and SO healthy! Again, kids love it :) This amount is for 3 people and i had left over mince so halve for less people

Ingredients:
500g of lean/organic chicken mince (lean turkey mince, kangaroo mince or extra lean beef mince can be used too, but chicken is a fave here!)
1x onion, chopped
1x capsicum, chopped
1x tomato, chopped
Half a can of organic tinned tomatoes
Herbs and spices of choice (i used garlic, cayenne pepper and cumin)

Mountain bread rye wraps, cut into small triangles/shapes  (1x wrap per person, more if wanted)
Greek yoghurt and mashed avocado to serve (optional)

Method:
1. Drizzle olive oil in a saucepan, and cook onion and capsicum until soft
2. Add mince and break apart into small pieces.
3. Once cooked add spices (Can add capsicum here if you want them more crunchy)
4. Once cooked through, remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes
5. Place mountain rye 'chips' on tray and cook at 180 degrees for about 4-5 mins or until crispy. Keep an eye on them and dont let them burn, they dont taste very nice burnt!
6. Place 'chips' on one side of plate and mince on other (Most recipes say to place meat on top of chips, but i like the chips to be crunchy, they go limp and soggy after a minute if you place meat on top) Dollop greek yoghurt and avocado on plate also if using. Done! I eat them by getting a chip, spooning greek yoghurt and avocado on it, then a spoonful of the meat, perfect taste/texture! I also sprinkled a bit of sea salt on the chips :)

Jessica xx

Cheese and Vegemite Scrolls

A healthy twist on cheese and vegemite scrolls, great for kinder/school lunchboxes

Ingredients:
Vegemite
Grated low fat cheese
Rye mountain bread

Method:
1. Pre heat oven to 180 degrees. Lay out mountain bread on bench, smear with vegemite and sprinkle with cheese.

 

2. Carefully roll up, making sure end of mountain bread/join is at the bottom.

3. Cut into 3-4cm logs and transfer to baking tray and put in oven. Cook for around 5-10 mins or until cheese is melted and scrolls are golden brown. Time will depend on your oven.

 
4. Remove from oven, allow to cool. Store in air tight containers for 3-4 days, they are lucky to last that long in our house though! They dont look very attractive when cooked, and go a little flat but they are SO yummy!

Watermelon Berry Smoothie

This is a big hit in our house at the moment! Bit of a treat because of the juice, but its still clean and healthy so im not too worried!

Ingredients:
2 cups of frozen berries
1 cup of 100% apple juice
1 cup of watermelon chopped
Handful of spinach
1 tablespoon of chia seeds

Method:
1. Put all in blender and mix!

Clean Pancakes

Again,. you heard right. CLEAN pancakes! :) These are great to have with the kids on a Sunday morning, this batch will make around 10 pancakes, so half quantities if making for less people.

Ingredients:
2 cups of wholemeal flour
1 cup of organic oats (i pulsed in blender for around 20 secs)
2 tablespoons of baking powder
Sprinkle of cinnamon
2 cups of low fat milk/almond milk
1/4 cup of olive/coconut oil
2 tablespoons of agave
2 tablespoons of chia seeds
2 eggs, whisked
1 mashed banana (optional)
2 scoops of protein powder for adults batch if wanted
Topping will depend on what you feel like on the morning! Drizzle of agave, warmed up berries, fresh berries, drizzle of chocolate (use THIS recipe, but halve/quarter the amount, and obviously dont freeze it :p) chopped up bananas ect

Method:
1. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another. Then add wet ingredients to dry and carefully mix.

2. Heat up fry pan with a little bit of olive oil/organic butter. Spoon batter in and flip when bubbles start forming. Cook for another 30-60 seconds and transfer to plate
3. Add toppings of choice. I used warmed up berries for the kids and warmed up berries AND chocolate for mine, lets just say i only ate 2 because it was so filling and rich! May just use a small drizzle of agave next time lol. ENJOY your Sunday xx

How to make your own natural facial/hair products

I have just started trying natural products on my skin/hair as no matter what i used, nothing worked! Im still in the process at the moment, but so far my skin has cleared up compared to what it was! And bonus, its cheaper than buying expensive skin/hair products full of harsh chemicals!

Pimple treatment: Tea tree antiseptic, drop some on a cotton bud, then dab on pimples. Leave on overnight

Toner: Fill a bottle with half apple cider vinegar and half water. Put some on a make up pad and wipe over face. Wait till try then moisturise with usual moisturiser or pimple treatment

Dandruff treatment: Massage coconut oil liberally into scalp 20 mins before washing hair. Wash thoroughly

Frizz/fly aways: Smooth a tiny bit of coconut oil over fly aways to flatten; i really mean a tiny bit, just dab fingertips in oil, rub fingers together and smooth over, too much will make hair look oily

More to be added soon!

Jessica xx

Clean and Green Cleaning Products

Im all for clean/green living, but im even more into saving money! The more money i save on 'needs', the more i have to spend on 'wants'! (though shoes are 'needs', right?) I make all my own cleaning products and have saved quite a lot of money by doing so. These are all tried and tested by myself so i promise they work!

*Home made washing powder
Get a large tub (i used an old baby formula tin)
1 bar of laundry soap, grated
1/2 cup of Borax
1 cup of washing soda
Put all in tub and give a good shake, thats it! Use 2 tablespoons per load. It doesnt produce many suds but it does get clothes clean. If you want to give it an extra boost, add a box of bicarb soda to the tub as well.

*Use 1/2 water, 1/2 vinegar in a spray bottle to spray benches, bathroom vanities ect. Wipe off with paper towel (im not a fan of cloths, so unhygienic and spreads germs) The smell of vinegar goes away as soon as you wipe it off, but a few drops of essential oil of choice can be added too

* Use 4L of warm water and a cup of vinegar to mop floors (if using on wood floors, only use 1/2 cup of vinegar

*Clean windows and mirrors with 1 part vinegar and 3 parts water, wipe off with newspaper. For dirty outside windows, hose first and wipe with sponge. Squeegee dry

*Drain cleaner (my fave! Yes, i sometimes get excited about cleaning lol) Pour a cup of bicarb soda down the drain and then pour a cup of vinegar down. Let it fizz for a few minutes, then pour another cup of vinegar down. Let that fizz for a few minutes again, then pour a kettle full of boiling water down. Repeat or use a plunger if needed

* Bicarb cleans nearly EVERYTHING! Mix with water to make a paste and it cleans soap scum showers, sinks, baths, greasy stoves/ovens, inside/outside fridge and more!

* Get that yucky smell and crusty caked on food out of your microwave by microwaving a safe bowl full of half vinegar, half water. Microwave for about 10 minutes, then leave door closed for about 5 minutes so the steam stays inside. Remove bowl and wipe down all the microwave. Vinegar smell will go away not long after!

*Use a cup of vinegar instead of fabric softener, your clothes wont smell but it works great

*Straight vinegar in a bucket is a great stain remover

Do you have any other green cleaning products? Post below!

Jessica xx






 

Do i need supplements?

I dont know much about supplements so i wont be saying much, but here are a couple that i know are great and are VERY good for your health and well being :)

• Fish Oil

• Green Tea Tablets

• A good multivitamin if you are very busy and havent got time to cook perfectly every single meal

• A good protein powder. By good i mean pure whey powder, not the stuff you get from the supermarket, they are often packed with useless crap

What are some supplements you take and why?

Jessica xx

HOW do i clean eat with kids!?

I often get asked how i clean eat with kids. Ive been clean eating for around 18 months, but have only recently started with the kids, and wow, im so glad i did! They are sleeping better, NO tantrums, my eldest is excelling past his age at kinder... I strongly feel this is because they arent fed full of sugar, fat and preservatives! Here are a few tips i tried :) Please note that my children ate pretty good to begin with, no lollies, soft drink or cordial (didnt want their teeth rotting!) so it may be different for your own child depending on what their eating habits are like now, but its NEVER too late to change! :)

• Grate veggies into everything; lasagne, pasta sauce, anything you want
• Try raw veggies if they wont eat them cooked. May sound weird, but my 21 month old LOVES raw broccoli, cauliflower and beans, but wont eat them cooked! My eldest eats whatever i put in front of him so im pretty lucky there!
• Love their chocolate milk? Dont resort to store bought ones packed full of sugar or Nesquick, use cacao powder in low fat milk instead
• My boys would live off fruit if i let them, but if your little one isnt a fan of fruit, make cool pictures with the fruit, or make a little fruit kebab!
• DO NOT let your kids drink cordial/soft drink! Cannot stress thing enough. Nothing in it but sugar. If your child wont drink plain water, fill up his/her drink bottle with water, and put some 100% fruit juice in it. Even do half/half at the start and reduce the amount of juice over a few weeks, 100% juice is SO much better than cordial. My eldest son only has a tiny little dash of juice now, my youngest loves water like mum! Another way is to fill a jug with water, and put different types of fruit in it to change the flavor
• Make your own snacks for their daycare/kinder/school lunchboxes. Even products you think are reasonably healthy are not; fruit sticks, full of sugar. Le snack, unhealthy biscuits, sugar and high fat cheese full of preservatives. Rice biscuits. Covered in salt, sugar, chemicals and white rice used. Store bought scrolls, full of sugar and fat. Store bought muesli bars, cannot even stress how bad these are, sugar sugar sugar. Check out our recipe section under snacks for stuff i make for my boys.

Thats all ive got for now, you just have to be determined to change their habits, they will thank you in the long run and grow up to be fit and healthy! Anything in my recipe section has been tried and tested by myself and the kids so they can ALL be fed to adults and kids :)

Jessica xx

Ingredient Substitutes

I often get asked daily, what can i use instead of sugar/white flour/pastry ect, well here is a list stating what you can use as a clean substitute :)

White flour --> Rye flour, wholemeal flour, coconut flour, almond flour/meal
Sugar (liquid form) --> Agave, liquid stevia, organic maple syrup (make sure its real maple syrup, not the flavored sugar liquid)
Sugar (dry form) --> Stevia, date sugar is a good substitute for brown sugar
White pasta --> Wholemeal pasta, 'Slim' pasta
White rice --> Brown rice
Milk chocolate --> 85% dark chocolate, or make your own HERE
Cocoa/drinking chocolate --> Organic cacao
Honey --> Agave
Pastry/Lasagne sheets --> Rye mountain bread
Soy sauce --> Tamari

What other substitutes would you like to see, comment and i will try my best to help you !

Jessica xx

Home Made Oven Baked Bread

Nothing more delicious than home made bread! This recipe is for oven cooked bread, but you could use a bread maker too. Here i make rye bread, but you could substitute the 200g of rye flour for wholemeal flour, add seeds/oats/nuts/raisins/cheese, whatever type of bread you want to make!

Ingredients:
800g of baker's flour
200g of rye flour
1 tablespoon of dried yeast (or the sachets)
2 teaspoons of salt
600mls of lukewarm water
Around 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Method:
1. Carefully mix all ingredients with a wooden spoon. Place on floured bench and kneed for around 15 mins or until smooth and elastic (can use big electric mixer if you have one too)
2. Place back in bowl and put damp tea towel over it. Let it rise for 3-4 hours or until double its original size.
3. Carefully push dough back using a wooden spoon (not too much) and let rise again.
4. Carefully take dough out of bowl and divide into 2 loaves (or you can have one large one) Put tea towel over again and let rise
5. Pre heat oven to 210 degrees, and place empty tray in for 5-10 mins to heat. Take trays out and put loaves on. Spray insides of oven with a bit of water to keep bread moist.
6. Bake bread for around 30 mins, or until it sounds hollow when the bottom is tapped. Remove and let cool down! And of course test some nice warm bread :p

Jessica xx

Grocery Shopping Tips

Do you have NO idea what so ever what to look for when doing the groceries? Here are a few tips to help you at the supermarket

• Bread/bakery section: Rye, rye, rye! Buy rye bread and rye mountain bread wraps (these can be used in place of pastry too) If you or your kids dont like rye, wholemeal is fine too; i personally LOVE it, and make my own. Steer away from white bread/wraps, donuts, cakes, pastries ect
• Fruit & Vegetable (and nuts) section (or fruit/vegetable shop): BEST section! Load up your trolley with every type of fruit and vegetables in season. Buy organic if you can afford it. Sweet potatoes instead of white. Nuts are great in cooking and as snacks as they contain GOOD fats. Steer away from salted ones. Dried fruit is a no no! Full of sugar
• Meat & Deli section (or butcher): Make sure all meat is as lean/low fat as you can afford. Im not a big meat eater but i personally buy all my meat from Coles; extra lean/5 star ones. Sausages are a no no unless they are kangaroo ones. Organic chicken is best.
• Frozen/fridge section: When buying yoghurt, make sure its natural/greek. Dont buy kids yoghurt or other flavored ones, they are full of preservatives and sugar. Greek yoghurt has a pretty boring taste, but can be flavored with a whole heap of yummy clean foods/flavors. Dips are a no no, full of crap too (I will be posting up how to make clean dips soon) Always buy low fat block cheese/cottage cheese/ricotta/cheese spread. Frozen chicken nuggets/schnitzels are a no no, full of low quality meat (Will also be posting on how to make clean nuggets/schnitzels soon) seafood and fruit/vegetables that have been snap frozen are usually pretty good, but fresh is always best. I personally use frozen peas, beans and berries as we dont use enough before they go off. Frozen cakes/ice cream/pasties/pies/dim sims ect are a no no.
• Health food section/shop: I shop at Coles so im not sure what other supermarkets health food sections are like, Coles is ok but they dont have much, i personally go to our local health food shop. It will depend on your budget/tastes to what you buy here, but i personally buy quinoa, rye flour, agave, apple cider vinegar, coconut butter/oil, chia seeds, green tea tablets (or green tea, i take the tablets as i dont like the taste of green tea) fish oil tablets (a MUST!) and cacao... thats all i can think of off the top of my head, you can buy nuts/flours and more there but i find the organic/simple range at coles is fine, especially when on a budget :)
• Other sections: Tinned fruits are usually ok if they are in natural syrup, but again, fresh is best. Spreads are 95% of the time a no no! FULL of sugar. My boys still have Vegemite. If buying peanut/nut butter, buy from health food shop or Coles have natural peanut butter in the health food section, other one is full of crap. You can make your own nut butter too but nuts are expensive and it takes AGES to make, so its cheap enough to buy :) Sauces; NO! Wholemeal pasta and rice, not white. Tuna in brine/water, not in sauce or oil. If you or the kids drink juice, only use 100% juice, and dilute around 1:15 in water. Still has sugar, so its better to not have it but a little bit wont hurt. Energy drinks/soft drinks/cordial, no! Most biscuits are a no no, try to look for wholemeal, but still check for sugar (Will be posting clean biscuit recipes soon) Wholemeal rice cakes, not white. 85% dark choc or make your own HERE. Chips, no!

If i have missed anything or you have any questions please comment below :)

Jessica xx

Eat Clean RIGHT NOW!

Always wanted to try clean eating but have no idea where to start? Seems to hard? Well i have put together some tips to help you start on your clean eating journey :) Clean eating definitely does not have to be bland at all, you just need to learn what to cook and how to cook it!

• The day before grocery day, throw out ALL processed foods and biscuits/sauces full of sugar and preservatives, they are SO bad for your body! If the ingredients list has 20 ingredients and half of them are things you've never heard of before, chuck it! If its white bread/rice/pasta, chuck it too! Cheap fatty meat can hit the bin too.
• Grocery shopping time! If you are just starting out, leave the kids with Dad/Nanny/a friend and take your time doing the groceries, looking at ingredients. May be time consuming and frustrating at 1st, but your body will thank you in the long run! As above, if it has a bunch on ingredients that you have never heard of or is full of numbers, dont buy! Check out my shopping tips HERE
• KICK that sugar addiction to the kerb! You will be very suprised what contains sugar; dont be fooled by 'low fat' options, they sometimes contain more crap that the normal items! 
• Eat every 2-3 hours, it will speed up your metabolism and your body wont crave crap as much
• Drink LOTS of water, around 2-3L a day. This is very important as it makes you fuller for longer and is great for your skin.

Jessica xx

Clean Chocolate

Yes. You read it right :p CLEAN chocolate! You dont have to eat like a mouse or a rabbit to lose weight and be healthy! While i dont recommend you eat a kg of this, its a nice clean treat!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup of coconut oil
1/2 cup of organic cacao
1/4 cup of agave
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon of sea salt

Method:
1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Make sure all the clumps are gone.
2. Either pour into silicone moulds or pour/spread over a tray lined with baking paper, and pop in the freezer overnight or until fully set (i find they are fully set after around 3 hours but it will depend on your freezer)
3. Remove from mould/tray and store in the freezer in containers.

I personally like it better laid out on the baking paper, you just break off shards when its set and eat. Since these are very chocolatey and rich, the ones in moulds are a bit too much for me. But in saying that, im not addicted to chocolate, so if you are, they may be for you :p

Jessica xx

Overnight Oats

If you haven't tried overnight oats, you MUST! :) They are so creamy, and since the oats have overnight to soak up all the liquid, your tummy digests them easier.

Ingredients
1 cup of organic oats
1 cup of water/low fat milk/almond milk - whichever you choose is up to you; i use milk but if you are trying to cut back/lose weight, use water :)
3 tablespoons of greek yoghurt
A handful of berries of your choice, frozen or fresh is up to you, i use frozen mixed berries
Half a banana, chopped (you could use a full banana but i find it overpowers everything too much)
A tablespoon of chia seeds
1 sachet/teaspoon of Stevia (optional)

Method:
1. Place all ingredients apart from chia seeds and Stevia in a clean glass jar. Put on lid, shake a little and put in the fridge overnight (or around 12 hours)

2.  In the morning/after 12 hours, spoon into bowl and mix together well. Sprinkle chia seeds and Stevia over the top and put in microwave for around 1 min 30 secs or until warm. You could also eat this cold, but i find it tastes better warmed up, and lovely on these cold winter mornings :)

Jessica xx