Tomatoes are one of nature's true super foods.  They can be cooked in a variety of ways, added to soups, pastas and served up with salads.  If you want to try something adventurous like the Greeks do why not try Stuffed Tomatoes?  An exotic way to incorporate a host of delcious in-season vegetables into one glorious mouthful.

This plump and fulfilling meal can be eaten on its own, with a crunchy salad or as a side dish accompanying your main.

You can devour these cheeky parcels of goodness for breakfast lunch or dinner, they're an anytime of the day delight.

Organic or vine ripened tomatoes are the best to use in this recipe, as they'll not only taste delicious but will create a dramatic and striking effect especially if you want to keep the lids of the tomatoes which you have sliced off and pop them on top like a Top Hat.  The vibrant colours are beautiful together and if you sprinkle on nutritional yeast flakes before you put on their hats you'll get a cheesy, nutty and sweet sensation all in one bite.

Being a high-source of vitamin C, A and B and magnesium, phosphorous and calcium makes tomatoes an extremely nutritive option. They're also a great source of chromium, folate and fibre....who would have thought so much goodness would come from the humble tomato!

If you've never had the pleasure of stuffing a tomato before its quite simple and really alot of fun.

Here's what you'll need...

Ingredients

• 5 -6 large organic tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 garlic cloves chopped finely
• 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
• 1 cup basil leaves
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1 TBS nutritional yeast flakes (optional for sprinkling on before they go into the oven)
• ½ cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
• 3 TBS fresh lemon juice
• 1 TBS lemon rind
• Celtic sea salt and black pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius
• In a little olive oil saute onions and garlic until brown
• Scoop out flesh of tomatoes and set aside

Scoop out the Flesh

• Put all remaining ingredients into a food processor adding olive oil slowly and mix seasoning to taste

Vibrant Green

• Place in baking tray and drizzle with little EV olive oil and sprinkle with nutritional yeast flakes if you have some on hand.

• Place in oven on middle shelf for 20-25 mins until cooked through

Delicious Alone or As a Side

For more gluten, wheat, dairy, yeast or sugar-free recipes visit supercharged.wpengine.com

You can also buy nutritional yeast flakes here.

Happy Cooking 🙂

Lee xo

Splenda Makes a Great Pool Cleaner

Just when you think it’s safe to assume the world has moved on from Splenda, Aspartame and other unpronounceable toxic artificial sweeteners available in your local café or supermarket someone comes along from mid- field and blows that theory right out of the water.

Given the amount of negative press that has been aired for some time now, you would think that health publications whether online or magazines would be aware of the many dangers of consuming these sachets of chemical missiles.

I was flicking through a well-known health magazine recently and saw an article that encouraged women to embrace artificial sweeteners for weight loss. It kind of made me gulp on my dandelion tea and spill a little bit on the magazine itself.

If such magazines, considered vital health tomes for many women and men encourage toxic sugar usage, what chance does the average person have of achieving optimal health?

My mind started to wonder…Is it because they are driven by advertising dollars and editorials tied into ad spend packages and is this what’s really fuelling much of the content that is reported on health websites and in magazines?

If you’re worried about weight loss the only loss that comes from these sugars is the loss to your health not your hips. I would much rather be a healthy size than super skinny and these messages about weight loss and image that predominantly come from advertisers are just unachievable for the average woman. Who wants to walk around looking photo-shopped anyway?  Health is much more important than how you look, its about how you actually feel inside.  Here's my foods to avoid list too.

Artificial sweeteners are just a form of poison and funnily enough, there’s a lot of research to show that they simply make you maintain your viscous sweet craving cycles. By refusing to cut them out, your essentially telling your brain and taste buds to want and like sweets.

Sugar, whether artificial or real will be metabolized in exactly the same way by your body. Put simply, artificial sugars only work to trick your body into thinking it is receiving sugar, thereby releasing insulin. When the ‘onslaught’ of sugar fails to arrive the excess insulin simply promotes fat storage.

For me though, the hideous factor involves what they will do to your body as opposed to what they won’t do.

In a life long animal experiment, where the testers were given an “Acceptable Daily Intake” and with the amounts adjusted to recognize the difference in metabolism between humans and rodents, Aspartame was shown to cause large brain tumors.

Indeed, the FDA investigator and Toxicologist employed by Aspartame’s PR firm (usually known for their aptitude in spin doctoring) stated the following:

“The cancer-causing potential of aspartame is a matter that had been established way beyond any reasonable doubt, one can ask: What is the reason for the apparent refusal by the FDA to invoke for this food additive the so-called Delaney Amendment to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act? Is it not clear beyond any shadow of a doubt that aspartame had caused brain tumors or brain cancer in animals, and is this not sufficient to satisfy the provisions of that particular section of the law?”

Other sugar guises include the well-known Splenda, part of the ‘Chlorinated Hydrocarbon’ family, known to cause toxicity in humans. Given that DDT and Chlordane are pesticides that are banned in the US and Splenda sits comfortably aside these chemical substances, why on earth would we be encouraged to consume it?

Nutrasweet has had an interesting history, in 1993 the FDA found over 92 different associated side effects from this little number. These side effects ranged from headaches to autoimmune diseases, blood glucose disorders and even death. Given that formaldehyde is a major component of Nutrasweet, and is also a carcinogenic found in cigarette smoke, it is frustrating to read that mainstream media is still supporting these sugars and encouraging us to use them.

Formaldehyde has also been proven to cause cancer by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Disappointingly, the dangers of these toxins are well documented but have been carefully guarded.  Is this due to the trillion-dollar diet industry?

So how do I inject sweetness into my life you may ask?...

Well…if you’ve been reading my blog for a while you'll know that I use Stevia in my recipes. That’s because it is an all-natural herb, grown wildly in South America, 200-300 times sweeter than sugar, without the affects that artificial sugars have on your insulin. That is, it won’t raise your blood sugar and create a massive burst of energy, followed by lethargy and the need for another sugar hit.  That means that your body won’t go into a state of stress and release insulin and encourage fat storage! More importantly a little goes a long way so it really is economical too.

Stevia is available in a number of forms, including a raw green powder, white powder and a clear liquid. I personally like to cook with the liquid if I have it on hand or the powder now that I have perfected the ratios works well in baking. Like in this yummy recipe for Lime and Blueberry Muffins.

So hopefully I've given you some insight into artificial sweeteners.  And if you’re wondering what to do with those left over Splenda packets … I’ve heard they make a great pool cleaner….

For more gluten, wheat, dairy, yeast and sugar-free recipes visit the website supercharged.wpengine.com

I heart salmon...

In fact you could say I’m a salmon addict. Trawl through the latest research and you’ll find countless reasons why this super fish is one of the healthiest types of fish around. One of my favourite reasons to eat wild caught salmon is the omega-3 fat content which helps to reduce inflammation and reduce the pain of inflammatory conditions. Even if you don’t suffer from inflammation, we all need to increase the amount of heart healthy Omega-3s in our diets and oily fish is one of the best sources for these essential fatty acids (did I mention that they were ESSENTIAL?).  Here are some more healthy fats.

Another reason to celebrate this wonder fish is that, contrary to other common fish varieties; beautiful wild salmon can be eaten without dramatic concern for its mercury content. So there’s no need to be salmon-phobic about heavy metals. Read more about Wild Salmon and Super Foods here.

Above and beyond the obvious health benefits of salmon, its source of Omega 3s and protein content, Wild Salmon has some other unfamiliar but highly beneficial claims to fame.

As little as 110gm of Salmon contains your daily allowance of Vitamin D. Vitamin D, is not abundant in most food choices, and one of the best ways to get a shot is a good dose of sunlight! Given the sedentary nature of the jobs we lead today, a good daily measure of sunshine is usually hard to come by, that’s why many of us have become severely deficient.

It also contains vitamin B-12 THAT wonder vitamin which assists in the prevention of anemia and combats tiredness, anxiety and depression. Canned salmon also has a wonderfully large amount of calcium, due to the fact that the bones are preserved with the fish. Don’t fear these little critters, they literally disintegrate once you mash the salmon! Vertebrae have never been so healthy!

Pay particular attention to the type of canned salmon you buy and ensure its Wild. Most ‘Atlantic Salmon’ has come from farmed sites, where fish are crammed together and fed an horrific concoction of soy protein, corn, antibiotics (the fish are bound to get sick in such tight confines!) and even pigments to ensure what we see looks like the real deal ‘pink’ or ‘red’ salmon.

To keep this pate together gelatin is my go to ingredient. Gelatin is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless thickening agent, which when dissolved in hot water and cooled, forms a jelly to hold other ingredients together.  Supercharged with nutrients the truth is that it’s essentially a cooked form of collagen which helps to repair skin, hair and nails.

Gelatin is 35% glycine, an amazing anti-inflammatory compound, particularly good at healing and soothing the intestinal lining aka gut and digestion issues. Gelatin is also a great source of arginine, a well-known component to many ‘fat loss’ supplements.  Here's some more info about the wonders of gelatin. So why spend fortunes on expensive amino acids that help regulate the metabolism, when we can find them in nature?

All of the pate ingredients are readily available and not cost prohibitive (yay!) so why don’t you create a little salmon variation in your diet and served it up as the French do?

Enjoy with gluten free bread or crackers or crunchy kale chips.

Ingredients

• 1 can salmon (415 gms)
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon rind
• 1 TBS chopped fresh dill
• 1 TBS gelatine
• 1 small red onion chopped
• 1 TBS fresh parsley chopped
• 1 TBS capers (rinsed and drained)

Here's how to get smart

• Remove any bones from salmon and drain but reserve the liquid
• Place salmon, lemon juice, rind and dill into a food processor and blend until combined
• In a saucepan on a medium heat sprinkle the gelatine over 2 TBS of the reserved liquid until the gelatine dissolves
• Add to the salmon mixture, stir in the onion, parsley and capers.
• Refrigerate until set

For more gluten, wheat, dairy, yeast or sugar-free recipes visit supercharged.wpengine.com

Lee 🙂

A little preparation on a lazy weekend afternoon can prevent a massive guilt trip midweek if you’re tempted to reach for a mid-morning or afternoon snack. If you’re in a hurry and start to feel your energy levels slipping away, an easy alternative would be to pop something convenient and devoid of nutrition into your mouth. But making sure everything you put into your mouth counts is a great way to fill your body with nutritious foods and enjoy the benefits that they bring.

This scrummy Berry and Nut Muesli Slice will give you the best of both worlds, with its sweet and truly nutritious qualities. While many snacks are synonymous with trans-fatty, sugar laden treats, there’s no reason you can’t create healthy ones.  The great thing is that having a healthful snack in between meals helps manage your blood sugar levels and hormones. Insulin in particular can increase your ability to store fat especially if you skip a meal or allow yourself to get too hungry. No one wants to start gnawing off their own arm or reaching for an instant snack full of processed and artificial ingredients that will only make the immune system have to work twice as hard to process and leave a trail of toxic substances for your body to try and eliminate..

Healthy made over muesli slices, using only the best, most nutrient dense foods are the perfect mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack. If you’re wondering what’s in every mouthful, these scrumptious treats contain a truckload of nutrient-rich ingredients to keep you full and will undoubtedly satisfy the cheekiest sugar craving. Let’s take a look at some of the ingredients:

Almonds: Keeping recipes low in sugar, which is the Supercharged Food philosophy, naturally means that it’s best to use foods which are low in carbohydrates. (Remember just 4 grams of carbs equates to 1 tsp of sugar in our body…yikes!) The wonderful thing about almond flour is that it’s high in protein, manganese, potassium, copper, and vitamin E, as well as heart healthy monounsaturated fats. If you’re using a quarter of a cup of almond meal, this contains 15g fat (1g saturated), 5g carbs (3g fiber, 1g sugar), and 7g protein. Nutrient dense deliciousness in one single slice! Here’s a tip when cooking with almond flour; if you’re planning on replacing wheat flour with it in a recipe, just make note that you may require more eggs to provide more structure.

Goji Berries: Apart from being pretty in pink and delicious, Goji Berries contain 18 types of amino acids and all 8 essential amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks for protein, which in turn is vital for some very important functions in your body. To put this into perspective it helps keep your skin glowing or hormonal glands in check, your nails intact and your hair ultra-glossy with mountains of  va va va voom!

Another attribute of Goji berries is their rich source of carotenoids, (more beta carotene than carrots can you believe?!) of all known foods or plants on earth! They contain 500 times the amount of vitamin C, by weight, than oranges making them the second most potent source of vitamin C on earth. To round it all out Goji berries score an astronomical 23,500 on the ORAC scale (Blueberries are a mere 2400).

Seeds, despite the small packaging, pack a nutritional punch. Pumpkin seeds, or pepitas, are packed with iron, zinc, calcium and magnesium. These four important minerals are arguably the most important minerals our body requires. Magnesium is used in nerve and muscle function, making it an excellent mineral to help calm tired and wired minds. Calcium, as we know, is integral to bone health, iron is necessary for the generation of new blood cells, which promotes the circulation of oxygen throughout the body. No wonder if you’re iron deficient you have a tired mind and body! And finally zinc is necessary for protein development.

Sunflower seeds are an excellent source of Vitamin E, a fat-soluble antioxidant that helps fight free radical damage. They are also a wonderful source of Linoleic acid (an essential fatty acid), dietary fibre, protein and minerals such as magnesium and selenium. Sesame seeds are a rich source of manganese, needed for bone development and copper which assists in the production of connective tissue proteins, collagen and elastin (helping us achieve hot and healthy skin). Sesame seeds contain a unique antioxidant called sesamin, powerful anti-carcinogens which may assist with respiratory health.

Apricots are an excellent source of beta-carotene, potassium, iron, calcium, silicon, phosphorus and vitamin c. If you’re wondering about the difference in organic dried vs. conventional apricots, non-organic apricots are treated with sulphur dioxide, which stops the fruit from oxidizing and losing its vibrant orange colour. Sounds ok, but this chemical process creates sulfites, which is a common trigger for asthma in some sufferers. Deceptive as it is, it’s much better for your health to get those darker brown organic dried apricots that haven’t been processed or tampered with or better still dehydrate your own so you know exactly what in them.  You can find out more about dehydrating here.

Now that you’re skilled up and raring to go the only other thing you need to remember is just to make sure that your baking powder is aluminum free and now you are ready to make your own tasty treats.

Berry and Nut Muesli Slice
(makes 12-15 slices)
2 cups almond flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ cup goji berries
8 drops liquid stevia
½ cup mixed seeds, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame
¼ cup pistachios roughly chopped
¼ cup dried apricots, cut into 2.5 cm pieces
Pinch Celtic sea salt
1 large egg

Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Line a baking sheet with baking paper
Combine baking soda, fruit, nuts and seeds, sea salt and almond flour in a bowl
In a separate bowl beat egg and add liquid stevia
Mix wet ingredients into dry
With hands form the mixture into a dough
Shape dough into a rectangular shape about 2 cms thick
Cut dough into slices
Bake for 15 mins

For more gluten, wheat, dairy, yeast and sugar-free recipes visit supercharged.wpengine.com

I'm spirulina besotted ATM. Totally in love with an earthy green nutritious and immune boosting micro salt water plant.

So what is this green stuff that is so big in Japan?

Technically its a single-celled microalgae which thrives from water and sunbeams. It contains every vitamin beginning with the first five letters of the alphabet as well as iron, calcium and magnesium, selenium, phosphorous, zinc, potassium and chronium. Spirulina is a rich protein source, complete with all essential amino acids in perfect balance as well as a boost of B12, chlorophyll, beta-carotene and other natural phytochemicals. If you're looking for an alkaliniser of the body, this is your go-to-guy.

The trouble is that many of us are consuming convenience and processed foods on a daily basis, which can raise cholesterol and weight levels, and inevitably contribute to digestive health challenges.  Bombarding yourself with over-processed foods which are extremely taxing for the body to process just contributes to fatigue and exhaustion.

When you ingest spirulina, particularly the natural powdered form in smoothie or shake, your body will almost instantly feel a rush of energy  because the powder is naturally and easily digestible. So you're literally infusing your body with nutrients and banishing that sluggish feeling.

Instead of reaching for an instant snack between meals Spirulina Balls can fill the gap naturally and provide nutrients to fuel your body and a boost if your energy levels are flagging. They don't take long to make and will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.  Now get making!

Spirulina and Sesame Balls

Makes 12

•  1 TBS spirulina powder
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1 cup chopped mixed nuts such as pistachios, almonds, cashews, brazils, hazelnuts
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 5 tablespoons almond nut butter
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 8 drops liquid stevia
• extra sesame seeds, for coating

Place spirulina, nuts,  almond meal, and sesame seeds in a food processor and process until combined.

Now add the almond butter, tahini and stevia and continue to process until mixed together and ready for rolling.

Divide the mixture into 12 equal parts then roll each one into a ball using the palms of your hands. Set them aside.

In a bowl place the sesame seeds and roll the balls through to evenly coat them.

On a flat tray place the spirulina balls in spaced apart and refrigerate for 30 minutes until set.

Enjoy!

For more gluten, wheat, dairy, yeast and sugar free recipes visit supercharged.wpengine.com

Move over blah blah salads. I have to share this salad with you.  For a healthy spin, combine any raw vegies in this kaleidoscopic feast for a completely balanced meal. It's easy to throw together and deliciously super healthy.

If you're wild about salads then abundant fresh vegies are the best for this dish so add as many colour combinations as you like for an energy boosting meal.

The  Tahini and lemon dressing tastes so much better than any other pre-packaged dressing you would buy in the grocery store and it literally takes a nano second to prepare. Once you've made your own dressings it's really hard to go back to store-bought ones which more often than not contain sugar, citric acid, additives and preservatives and send you on an unnatural high!.

Tahini is produced from either hulled or unhulled sesame seeds.  For this dressing I used the hulled variety as it has a less intense and mellower flavour. Tahini has many added health benefits being high in vitamins E, F and T, as well as vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B15, biotin, and choline.  B Vitamins help to play an essential part in the functioning of the body as they promote healthy cell growth and division, including that of red blood cells, which will help prevent Anemia.

Tahini is a rich source of vitamin A and methionine and contains lecithin, which reduces the levels of fat in the blood and is an environmental toxin protector.

If you're wondering what minerals tahini contains, it's a fantastic source of copper,  magnesium, zinc, potassium, iron, and phosphorus, and is an excellent source of calcium too. Copper has been reported as being very good for rheumatoid arthritis sufferers and helps reduce some of the symptoms of pain and swelling.

Tahini should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge but remember to bring it to room temperature before using.

Here's how to make this delicious dish.  Add your own ingredients, the options are limitless. Enjoy.

Rainbow Salad with Tahini and Lemon Dressing

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 cups mixed greens
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 small beetroot sliced thinly or spiralised
• ½ cup purple cabbage shredded
• 1 red pepper, cut into chunks
• 1 carrot sliced thinly or spiralised
• 1 yellow pepper, diced
• 1 medium cucumber cut into chunks
• 1 Avocado cubed
• Sprinkle of pumpkin seeds
• Handful of bean sprouts
• 1 TBS sesame seeds to garnish

Place all ingredients into a bowl and carefully mix together

Tahini and Lemon Dressing

Ingredients:

• ½ cup tahini
• 1 TBS lemon juice
• ¼ cup filtered water
• 5 drops liquid stevia
• 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste

In a bowl blend all ingredients until it becomes a smooth paste.  Add more filtered water if required for desired consistency. Serve immediately. For a cheesier dressing add 2 TBS nutritional yeast flakes.

If you are a soy lover, this salad can be garnished with fresh organic tofu which has been cut into squares, marinated in wheat free tamari for 5 mins and fried in a small amount of coconut oil on all sides until crispy.

Rainbow Salad, yummy yummy.

For more gluten, wheat, dairy, yeast and sugar-free recipes visit www.supercharged food.com