Many people confuse ‘spices’ with 'spicy', its such a common misconception that spices equal 'hot'. Adding spices to food adds a real depth of flavour - some spices have grounding properties, some are warming, where as others add colour and in some cases are used for preserving, they offer so much.
Many spices have healing properties too - turmeric and ginger are renowned for their anti-inflammatory benefits and adding pepper to turmeric makes the curcumin up to 2000% more bioavailable. Cinnamon is another great spice that is known to lower blood sugar levels & is such a wonderful grounding spice too.
I am obsessed with cold water swimming - and living in Ireland beside the Atlantic ocean, its pretty chilly swimming here all year round. The freezing sea water is so refreshing & life affirming.
I still have to brace myself before each time I go in to the water and do all I can to bypass the instinctual urge to run to the safety & warmth of land. That’s part of the thrill though. The minute you’re in the sea and you can control how you react to the cold water enveloping you, you start to relax and breathe through it.
There's the most wonderful euphoric feeling released when you swim in the cold sea, an incredible natural high that releases those powerful endorphins. It's also a great way to transdermally get your minerals and a turbo boost of negative ions. I still don’t like getting out and trying to warm up the numb extremities though!
So to help me through this bit, I love to have a lovely warming breakfast or lunch ready to eat after a swim. If it's not a big bowl of warm porridge, I love something with lots of warming spices and a Spicy Moroccan Hummus always hits the spot. I love to serve this with coconut flour flat bread and a thick, creamy Greek yogurt with fresh mint. The perfect food to fire me back up and thaw me out… mind you hummus is always a gorgeous comfort food at any time!
Ingredients
2 garlic cloves, roasted 1/4 olive oil 1 can (240g drained) chickpeas 1/2 cup tahini 5 fresh mint leaves juice 1 x lemon 1/4 pine nuts
½ tea spoon ground paprika ½ tea spoon ground cumin 1/4 cup fresh coriander
½ tea spoon ground black pepper 2 table spoons water salt to taste
Method
1. Add the garlic whole to a frying pan and fry gently on low heat until softened. Add the pine nuts and toast for a minute or two then add the ground spices and fry until aromatic
2. Remove from heat and let cool down and then put the garlic, pine nuts and ground spices in to a processor along with the tahini, chickpeas, coriander, mint, lemon, olive oil, black pepper, salt and whizz together. Add the water if necessary to loosen and continue to whizz until you have the desired consistency.
3. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with crudités, flat bread or pitta.
My blog is all about healthy eating on a low or no sugar diet.
There are so many benefits to cutting down on excess sugar, including weight loss, increased energy levels, clearer skin, better sleep and well as reduced chances of getting a whole host of illnesses. I have a video you can watch below, and I have also written a blog here outlining some of the positive health benefits - 17 Amazing Things That Happen When You Quit Sugar.
There are lots of blog posts on this website full of tips and advice on cutting down on your sugar intake and if you would like to take part in my 21 Day Sugar Detox you can sign up here.