GF Comfort Food

Some of you will hate it with a passion, some will tolerate and others of you will love this dessert however no matter what you feel about it there is no denying that Sago is a economical and easy gluten free ingredient!

Sago is one of those things that has been around for centuries and used in many cultures and yet ignored completely by most of us due to the horror of having it served up night after night as a dessert.  Personally I’ve only just discovered it for my own use a year or so ago when themselves asked me what it was and then wanted to try it.  It be sure you need to have a love for carbs as there is little else in Sago (it is starch extracted from a plant) which for me makes it a perfect ‘healthy’ comfort food!! A little does go a long way for me though as the whole texture thing can be a bit much 🙂

Here are two simple recipes (one from Edmonds Cookbook and one from Olwen Anderson) for you to try if you want an economical, easy and tasty gluten free, refined sugar free and diary free dessert over the upcoming cooling nights.

Sago Pudding – Edmonds recipe

3 Tablespoons Sago Pearls (you could also use Tapioca Pearls)

1 Tablespoon Honey

1 teaspoon vanilla Essence

2 cups Rice Milk (Vitasoy rice milk with chickpea gives a slight custard taste)

-Mix all in a in an oven proof dish

-Cover and bake at 150 C for 2 hours.  Stir regularly during the cooking especially in the first hour.

-Best served warm

Coconut and Sago Dessert – Olwen Anderson recipe

As taken and adapted from Olwen Anderson’s website – this is a 1/2 recipe of what she had

3/8 Cup Sago Pearls

1 Cup Coconut Milk

1/2 Cup Water

Honey to sweeten as desired

– Mix Sago, coconut milk and water in a pot and leave to soak for 30 mins

-Stirring constantly bring the mixture to the boil and cook for 10 mins.  You will need to stir to prevent sticking as the mixture gets very thick very quickly.

-Taste and add honey sweeten to your taste.

-Yum warm or cold 🙂

Hope this finds you enjoying your day.

Arohanui

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz

 

Exploring the comfort zone.

So as I mentioned in the last post we have been all over the place with things – namely our health.  Much of the roller-coaster has been me adjusting to working a few nights a week doing reflexology and the flow on effects of that.

My reflexology room.

I have been a little stressed to say the least in stretching myself to have clients while juggling everything else. There has been a bit of guilt too over not being present of the family and at the same time there is also the question of ‘do I really want to do this?’  I love what I do, (reflexology and naturopathy) it is just the small sacrifices that need to be made in order to achieve my dreams.  The rushed bed times, the juggling jobs, the watching the clock, the missing out on evening conversations and having my mind in yet another space.  It seems that the idea of working in your business enough to get an income is quiet difference from the reality and how that reality impacts on the family!

End result?  I lot of eating on my behalf to try and squash all the emotions swirling around and a lot of pent up stress which has flowed onto the family causing us all being a bit unwell and all over the place.

My ‘comfort’ nut brownies which are now sugar and wheat free.

There is something to be said for ‘comfort’, it feels good and makes the world feel better.  Not just the comforts of a home, loving family and friends or money but also the comfort of staying safe, secure and not extending too far.  These last three can however often prove to be a double edged sword.  While being safe should be about making good choices, weighing up options and thinking things through before moving ahead, for me it often is about eating.  Somewhere in my subconscious I have equated food with comfort, security and safety. Somewhere in my subconscious I have equated moving ahead as a risky business, far too risky to do without a lot of food or other stimulants and there in lays the double edged sword and I know I’m not alone.

I understand that my sub conscious thinks it is doing me a favour, honestly I do, it is just that it is kind of exhausting.  Thankfully I have left many of my vices behind me so the food I scoff is relatively healthy and thankfully I am now aware, yay EFT and Bach Flowers :), of what I am doing.  With moving forward with the business and actually having clients I have been slipping back into bad habits and searching the cupboards a lot more than usual in a bid to feel a little safer!  The thing I notice, now that I am aware of my actions, is that these ‘sub-conscious safely’ habits of mine end much faster than they used to and also that I am much more aware of the unwanted after effects.

Thank goodness for my Bach Flower Remedy kit!!

In being more aware of my actions I realise that they are exactly that, ‘actions’, not ‘me all the time’ just the actions I take when I am stressed.  I don’t know if I will ever rid myself of them and sometimes I wonder if I ever should, I mean they are part of my safety check after all and we all need a safety check of sorts.  When I begin to search the cupboards now though I know something is up and that I am at the outer limits of my comfort zone.  It allows me to take a step back, not from the cupboard always 🙂 , and think about what is happening.

So maybe from now on I will be a bit kinder to myself and my vices and realise they are trying to convey a message to me rather than sabotage my life.  Maybe in being a little kinder to them they will be a little kinder to me in visiting less frequently.

Hope this finds you exploring your own safety measures a little less harshly and resting easy with them.

Arohanui

Y