ENERGY BOOST: JUICING VS BLENDING

Hey guys,
So Im really starting to love the #juicinglife!
I've been meaning to start juicing for the longest time. Was planning to get a juicer but I realized that I should just work with what I have, which is my blender. Most people think that juicing means blending when in real sense, one needs an actual juicer. Why? Because there is actually a difference between using the two.

Juicing is a process which extracts the water and nutrients from produce and discards the indigestible fiber.
Without all the fiber, your digestive system doesn’t have to work as hard to break down the food and absorb the nutrients. In fact, it makes the nutrients more readily available to the body in much larger quantities than if you were to eat the fruits and vegetables whole.
This is especially helpful if you have a sensitive digestive system or illness that inhibits your body from processing fiber. The fiber in produce helps slow down the digestive process and provides a steady release of nutrients into the blood stream. Jason Vale calls juicing "A nutrient express!"
Freshly squeezed vegetable juices form part of most healing and detoxification programs because they are so nutrient rich and nourish and restore the body at a cellular level.
 
Blending- unlike juices, smoothies consist  of the entire entire fruit or vegetable, skin and all and contain all of the fiber from the vegetables.
However, the blending process breaks the fibre apart (which makes the fruit and vegetables easier to digest ) but also helps create a slow, even release of nutrients into the blood stream and avoids blood sugar spikes.
Smoothies tend to be more filling, because of the fiber, and generally faster to make than juice, so they can be great to drink first thing in the morning as your breakfast, or for snacks throughout the day.
By including the fiber in your smoothie, the volume will increase. Also, you can pack more servings of fruits and veggies into a single serving of juice than you can into a smoothie.

[Extract from the Food Matters website]
 
However if you're doing either of the two, you are on the right path. 

I blended some fruits over the weekend.
I used:-
1/4 watermelon
1 kiwi
1/2 can shredded pineapple
1/2 pawpaw
1 tangerine
2 bananas

The beauty about juicing is that it isn't time consuming. It honestly takes a few minutes to clean and cut up all the fruits and another two minutes if not less to blend/juice.

So I urge you to join me. I have gotten glass jars with lids from Nakumatt that help in preserving the juice in the refrigerator.
That way you can indulge in a glass the next day over breakfast or even carry some with you to work.

On that note, allow me to share a verse that I have started this week with.
 James 1:12 [Blessed (happy, to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor’s] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.]

Have a fabulous new week!

Sweet Pea and Oyster beef with Jasmine rice

Happy new week to you all!
Lets start it of with some chinese food! Yes I love chinese food and I cook it alot. I love experimenting with different spices and creating new meals.
On Saturday I did just that.
I made sweet pea and oyster beef. It was extremely simple and fast and INCREDIBLY TASTY. I was licking my plate and I had two servings and leftovers the next day #dontjudgeme :-))

Oh well here it is so that you can try it too.

Ingredients:- serves 4-5
Beef strips [tenderloin] 400-500 gr
1 red pepper/hoho
1 onion
4 Spring onions
1/2 pack sweet pea
4 garlic cloves
Ginger
Blue dragon oyster and spring onion stir-fry sauce
Dark Soy sauce
Black pepper
2 cups Jasmine rice
Vegetable/olive oil

Start of by boiling the rice. [2 cups rice to 4 cups water] Once it is ready, put aside.

Then chop onions, ginger and garlic. Leave the spring onions for later. Take a sufuria/cooking pot and cook the onions, ginger and garlic with some vegetable/olive oil. 

Chop the sweet peas in halves and the red peppers in cubes and add to the pot.

Follow by adding the meat and cover. 

 After a few minutes, stir and add blue dragon oyster sauce [the full packet] stir and cover yet again.

 

Keep checking and stirring making sure the meat doesn't stick in the bottom.Add the spring onions. After a few minutes you'll notice that as the meat is cooking, it is also releasing some water. You can add 1/2 to 1 cup depending on the consistency you want.

Cook for another few minutes. Uncover and add soy sauce for the color and mushroom flavor. Be careful not to add too much [precisely 3-4 tablespoons] and a dash of black pepper and salt if needed. [Note: that the oyster sauce and soy sauce are already salty] At this point you don't have to cover. Allow to cook a bit more and allow sauce to thicken.

Once it is done, remove from heat.
Also note that you can add the red pepper and sweet pea after the meat and not before if you want your veggies to be a bit crunchy like they make them in chinese restaurants.
VOILA!!!
Serve with jasmine rice and enjoy!

Simple, tasty and fast too!!!
I recommend the soft part of the cow meat for this recipe [tenderloin] since I didn't have to boil my meet before for it to soften. The butcher recommended that part and even cut it up in strips for me and it cooked fast and was very tender.







Also I'll have you know:-
-I'm up to 6000 + pageviews-thankyou Jesus! and thankyou all for following and trying out my recipes.
-I'm now on Youtube, you can subscribe and check out the video here: CookingwithJaz

-I am officially on twitter on this account (@cookingwithjaz)

-I am also on facebook on this page "cooking with jaz"

-If you want to be featured on the "GUEST AND RECIPE OF THE WEEK" email me on "cookingwithjaz@yahoo.com"

-If you have tried any of my recipes, do tag me or send me the pics on any one of my social media pages

My CALCIUM BOOST on a Saturday morning!

Hello good people!
I absolutely love Saturday and Sunday breakfasts because of how much time I have in the morning!!
Recently I realized that I haven't been taking any calcium in my system so I opted to make a smoothie this morning for that calcium boost.
I used 1 glass cold milk, 3 kiwis, 2 frozen bananas and 1/2 cup apple juice.
1 word: winning!!!
This was sooo yummy and so refreshing!

Look out for more juicing recipes this week.

Have a lovely Saturday guys!
This is the perfect smoothie to get you up and going!

Sincerely,
Jaz.

Also I'll have you know:-
-I'm up to 6000 + pageviews-thankyou Jesus! and thankyou all for following and trying out my recipes.
-I'm now on Youtube, you can subscribe and check out the video here: CookingwithJaz

-I am officially on twitter on this account (@cookingwithjaz)

-I am also on facebook on this page "cooking with jaz"

-If you want to be featured on the "GUEST AND RECIPE OF THE WEEK" email me on "cookingwithjaz@yahoo.com"

-If you have tried any of my recipes, do tag me or send me the pics on any one of my social media pages

OVERCOMING MY FEAR OF MAKING PASTRIES: Part 1: PIZZA

Hey everyone!
Yes that is the heading of this post!
Yes I am a trained chef yet for the longest time I have dreaded anything that has to do with baking. Its a miracle that I even started a cupcake business #truestory :-)
I have chosen to overcome my fear of making pastries and I started by making pizza. I had made homemade pizza countless times before but I had always made the toppings but bought the dough ready made from supermarkets. So yesterday I put on my big girl shoes and decided to make the dough myself. Seems silly but this has been a lifelong fear, I guess every David has a Goliath to conquer. So yes let me take you on my journey of overcoming the fear of making pastries a day at a time. I yearn to make croissants and pies without second guessing myself. Yes it can be done!
This is my tale.

Exhibit A: PIZZA with many toppings!
The beauty about pizza is that you can play around with it. If you get the dough right, you can put just about anything and thats exactly what I did.

Ingredients:- [makes 4-5 mid-sized pizzas]
For the dough 

 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons dry yeast
2 cups warm water or 1 cup hot and 1 cold
Vegetable oil
 2 teaspoons
1 teaspoon sugar
Clear film








So for this recipe, its all pretty basic.
Take the dry yeast and mix with the warm water. Stir it in well and add the teaspoons salt and sugar. Then sieve the flour and put in a bowl. Mix in the water and knead it all well with your hands. Add the about 2 or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil to make sure it isn't too sticky. Once that is done put in a greased bowl and cover with clear film or on a greased sheet of clear film and wrap it well. Put it in a warm place. I put mine in the microwave right after having heated a cup of water. Leave it for 45 minutes until the dough rises.

Heat oven to 180 degrees. Remove oven trays and grease them with olive or vegetable oil.
Once the 45 min are up, take it out of the clear film and divide it in 4 to 5 pieces. Then one by one roll them out on a flour-dusted surface. Take your time. Make sure it doesn't stick to the surface then carefully place it on the greased oven tray. You can then put the toppings on it from here.

The toppings:-
You can put just about anything on pizza. If you're a vegetarian you can put all kinds of veggies like red peppers, onions or courgettes and if you're a carnivore any kind of meat or ham.

I opted to make four types.
-Sweet corn and tuna
-Beef and mushroom
-Ham and red peppers
-Throw it all in pizza

I made a pretty basic tomato sauce that I used on all of them. You can always use other sauces i.e barbecue sauce on the meat pizza and a creamy mushroom sauce on the tuna or chicken pizza.
All in all you can put just about anything.

Ingredients:-
6 tomatoes
Mozarella cheese
Cheddar cheese/edam cheese
Half a pack brawn/ham
Red pepper
2 onions
1 courghette
1 pack mushrooms
Oregano
Basil
Parsley
Black pepper
Mince meat 100 gr
Royal umbrella shredded tuna
1 Can sweet corn
4 cloves garlic
1 packet tomato paste

For the sauce:-

Grate the six tomatoes and chop the garlic. Heat garlic with vegetable/ olive oil. Once they begin to brown slightly, add the spices -half a teaspoon oregano, basil and parsley and a dash of salt, black pepper and stir well. Follow by adding grated tomatoes. Make sure to stir well. Add the packet of tomato paste and continue stirring. After a few minutes, you will notice that the sauce is a beautiful dark red. Remove from heat once the sauce has began to thicken.

Wash the mushrooms since they are almost always filled with dirt when you buy them in the pack. Slice up the onions, mushrooms and the courgette. Cut up the red pepper and the ham.

Sautee the mushrooms and chopped courgette separately with a little bit of oil and some salt.

Cook the mince meat with a little bit of oil and some salt to taste.

Be careful not to put too much salt on any of the toppings since cheddar cheese is very salty.

Leave peppers and onions raw.

Grate the cheddar and mozzarella cheese.

Once the dough is rolled out and on the greased tray, place your toppings. Play around with them. Make sure to start with the sauce always and to finish off with the mozzarella cheese.
I made the tuna pizza with sweet corn, the sauce, tuna, courgette, the cheddar, the mozzarella and onions.
I made the beef pizza with the sauce, onions, mushrooms, the cheddar, the mozzarella and the minced meat.
I made the ham pizza with the sauce, onions, red peppers, the cheddar, the mozzarella and the ham.
The last pizza was just a mixture of everything!

 Bake for about 11-12 minutes. Make sure to monitor the pizza well because I noticed that anything longer than 12 min for me and my pizza would get very hard.

And vuala!! 

Enjoy!

I'm planning to have a "make your own pizza" dinner with my friends. That way I plan on making different toppings and the dough then everyone comes and creates their own pizza.

You can always use peperoni, cooked sausage, chicken, etc. Don't feel limited!

Viva Italy!!!!!!! They created pizza so that must be a pretty awesome place!

Also I'll have you know:-
-I'm up to 6000 + pageviews-thankyou Jesus! and thankyou all for following and trying out my recipes.
-I'm now on Youtube, you can subscribe and check out the video here: CookingwithJaz

-I am officially on twitter on this account (@cookingwithjaz)

-I am also on facebook on this page "cooking with jaz"

-If you want to be featured on the "GUEST AND RECIPE OF THE WEEK" email me on "cookingwithjaz@yahoo.com"

-If you have tried any of my recipes, do tag me or send me the pics on any one of my social media pages