Category: - Believe In Yourself

Believe In Yourself

Gluten Free Crunchy Salty Crust

10/1/2016

I came up with this recipe for a savoury tart I made for dinner recently and I was very pleased with the result. I had originally planned to use 2 TBS of flaxmeal but I actually ran out so I substituted chia seeds instead and it ended up giving it crunch at the end which I liked. Pecans are higher in healthy fats than cashews so a little goes a long way and a daily dose of heart healthy nuts are especially beneficial for pregnant women. These nuts contain oleic acid, which has been found to reduce the risk of breast cancer.

Mushroom Spinach Olive Tart

9/1/2016

This might not look the most tempting but it makes up for it by being delicious, subtle flavours of olives, creamy spinach with the texture of mushrooms finished off with a crunchy salty crust. I wanted to come up with a crispy outer crust which balances the smooth creamy filling, and it ended up being really tasty so I'll be saving this recipe for other pies and tarts later on. I added olives to this as hubby really likes olives, so you can always omit it and have mushrooms and spinach.

Cherry Tomato Marinara with Zucchini Pasta

2/1/2016

It's summertime in Australia now and the cherry tomatoes are growing in abundance in our garden. One of the easiest and quickest ways to use this is in a marinara sauce. It took 15 mins to make this dish. If you have fresh herbs always add them as this adds to the flavour. I cooked this as hubby had it with pasta rather than zucchini noodles and he prefers it warm, which is why I added onions. If you prefer it raw, omit the onions and just blend the sauce.

Pesto Balsamic Mushroom and Caramelised Onion Pizza

2/1/2016

First meal of the New Year and why not pizza! There's so many options for gluten free bases, I've used flaxmeal with veggies, cauliflower, pre bought and this time almond meal. The result of the one is a crisp and crunchy thin base which goes well with the marinated soft toppings. I used the leftover nacho cheese from the Philly Cheesesteak I made the night before and had enough onions left to put into some soup for the evening. Finished off the afternoon with the new Star Wars so all in all, pretty great start to the year!

Vegan Spicy Nacho Cheese

31/12/2015

Cashews is what I usually use to make vegan cheese, but sweet potato is actually a great base for any sort of thick spicy cheeses. It blends beautifully, adding a creamy smooth texture, and with the spices the sweetness is covered up. They are an amazing vegetable, a good source of vitamins A, C, E and B6, manganese and magnesium. Unlike most starch foods, sweet potato actually improves blood sugar regulation - with their superior fiber content, this means that their caloric energy is used more slowly and efficiently. This cheese can be used for dips but I like it best when I use it as a base to pizzas and rolls. I smother spoonfuls of it onto Philly 'cheesesteaks' and can't can never enough!

Vegan Philly 'Cheesesteak'

31/12/2015

I made this as I had a sweet potato in the pantry I needed to use up, and it's actually a great base ingredient for nacho cheese, and with nacho cheese why not go further and make the vegan version of a Philly cheesesteak! Traditionally they're sandwiches made from thinly sliced pieces of steak, onions and melted cheese in a long hoagie roll originating from Philadelphia. Of course it contains everything I don't eat, so I had to come up with some alternatives, and it was good! Celebrating the last day of the year with some vegan goodies, even my friend Michael, who is a committed bacon lover thoroughly enjoyed it!

Moist Vegan Coconut Caramel Cream Cake

28/12/2015

Sometimes the most random things will lead to an inspiration for a recipe. I'm not a fan of baking but reading a novel where someone had baked a coconut cake I had a craving for one, so I set out to make one that's both gluten free and vegan. The hardest part was getting the flour consistency right, as it's not as easy to a straight conversion when using gluten free flour as each kind reacts differently when heated. Since I react to rice and potato, I avoid those and have come with a combination of sorghum, tapioca and almond flour.

Vegan Sweet Onion Dip

11/11/2015

This sweet concoction can be used as a dressing, dip and spread. The sweet onion mixed with cashews gives it a filling yet non oily texture. Cashews have a wonderful delicate creamy flavour, they have a lower fat content than most other nuts. About 3/4 of their fat is unsaturated fatty acids, which is a healthy fat, helping to lower bad cholesterol and promote heart health and cardiovascular health. It also has a milder taste than other nuts which makes it a great base for most things. This keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks an it's nice to have on hand.

Vegetarian Moussaka with a Cheese Béchamel Sauce

8/11/2015

This dish isn't vegan as it contains goat and milk cheese, however it's still suitable for vegetarians and some of those who suffer from dairy allergies and sensitivities. Goat and sheep milk is different from cows milk, this has to do with a particular protein in cow's milk called alpha s1 casein which people react to, making sheep and goat milk products an alternative. Since my husband is a vegetarian, and gave up cows milk products to make my life easier, I incorporate goat and sheep cheese into his diet quite regularly. I also make a vegan version of this with almond milk which I'll post up in the next week!

Moussaka is traditionally a Greek layered dish made of minced meat, eggplants, tomatoes potatoes with a thick béchamel sauce on top. I replaced the minced meat with lentils which tastes delicious and is a much healthier alternative, so much so that I actually had to double check I didn't accidentally put meat into it when I was serving it. The béchamel sauce is made from a mix of soft goat cheese and hard sheep cheese giving it just the right texture to match the rich vegetable layers.

Buckwheat Soba noodles with Sesame

4/10/2015

The last two weeks I've had crazy cravings for Japanese food, which means looking up menus to see if there are things I can eat, as both vegan and gluten free are hard to find. Apart from edamame beans, and eggplant, buckwheat noodles are a filling healthy Japanese speciality. My favourite Japanese restaurant has got to be Nobu; they have so many vegetarian options, but Edosei in Perth has the best buckwheat noodles I've had. They cook it over a stone stone, so it comes out crispy, slightly charred and with a wonderful taste. Once I had these noodles a few times I was on a mission to find buckwheat noodles to cook at home.

"I am not what happened to me,
I am what I choose to become"
Carl Gustave Jung

I'm Binny, a full time Bikram Yoga teacher and studio owner that lives in Perth, Australia.

I started this blog to share the things I love the best in the world: being healthy and happy, food (especially raw), yoga, traveling and most importantly, learning how to love and be true to myself.

I suffered from severe digestive problems when I was younger, being gluten and lactose intolerant, and developed compartment syndrome and fibromyalgia in my teens. I have lived with constant pain for over 16 years now.

Over the past 10 years, I've shifted to a mainly plant based diet and realised that being well and healthy is a way of life. I have been teaching Bikram yoga since 2011, in the US and Australia. Due to my health issues I've also had a lot of bodywork done as well as explored alternative therapies.

I've become much more aware of myself as a result of all this - physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. Right now I love my life. In my career I love what I do and I do what I love. I have traveled to some amazing places around the world and made lifelong friends. In between working and traveling, I cook up a storm in the kitchen, especially raw desserts, spend time with the people I love the best, which now includes a yoga husband, a mini yogini Estell, and our dog! I try to listen to my body the best I can.

I truly believe that we all have the power and the capabilities to heal our own bodies, to nourish the spirit and seek our own happiness and life's purpose. This my journey...

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