Tuesday 23 August 2011

Mind Body Green Posts

I have written some articles for wonderful website Mind Body Green - the go to guide for yoga and wellness! Please have a read and share on Facebook by clicking 'like' if you like it!! :)

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/wc/lauren-burke



Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Monday 22 August 2011

Protein Tahini-Grain Balls

My fridge is filled with containers of cooked beans, lentils, quinoa, brown rice, nuts, seeds and vegetables ready to be thrown together for a wonderful, healthy lunchtime salad!

So as noon rolled around and my stomach began to grumble, I walked over to the fridge began to feel drawn to the grains and lentils I had cooked up yesterday. Over the weekend, I saw some incredible rice balls in a vegan cookbook and have been craving them ever since - but my excitement at the high protein grain container I had brimming with a mix of yellow, red and black quinoa and amaranth was too much to pass up -- so I grabbed a range of ingredients, experimented and what followed was pure protein bliss!!
A Bowl of Mixed Yum!

Ingredients:
1 cup grain of choice (cooked)
1/2 cup lentils (cooked)
1/3 cup tahini
1 carrot, grated
1/4 cup pumpkin, sesame and/or sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dulse flakes
1 tablespoon miso paste


Mix all these ingredients together in a bowl and form into little ping pong sized balls. Heat a fry pan over  medium heat and cook the balls for a few minutes until toasted and heated through.

Serve on a bed of spinach with veggie salad or steamed greens and top with tahini-miso sauce and a sprinkling of toasted seeds

Tahini-Miso Sauce:
1/4 cup tahini
Although the 'balls' didn't last long
when they met with Mr Fork...
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon miso
1 tablespoon ume vinegar

Delicious, healthy and packed with more protein than Vin Diesel!!

And PLUS! I made some extra balls and put them in the fridge and they doubled as a yummy snack straight out of the fridge when I got home from work -- yum :)

Please let me know what you think, it's a new recipe and any suggestions/comments are very welcome! :)

Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Friday 19 August 2011

Gran-oh yeah!-la

The crunch. The nuttiness. The health benefits. The deliciousness. The completely innocent guilty pleasure. Yes my friends, I am talking about granola - or as I like to call it, gran - oh yes please I would love some more of this tasty delight - la. But that's a bit of a mouthful...  What else is a bit of a mouthful is granola! And try and not have to many mouthfuls of this little beauty! Impossible!


Lauren's Nutty Crunch Granola




Dry Ingredients
1 Cup raw Buckwheat Groats (or what I like to refer to as my little Buckwheat Gloats because, let's face it, if I were a buckwheat I would gloat too...)
1 Cup Raw Oats
1 Cup each of your choice of raw nuts -- I used cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts and walnuts
1 Cup of your choice of raw seeds -- sunflowers, pepitas, sesames are all yummy additions!
1 Cup of dried fruits -- gojis, raisins, cranberries -- whatever takes your fancy! My only suggestion is to try and buy ones without added sugar or preservatives!
A touch of real salt

I blitzed these together in my food processor on a low pulse so that they blended together and chopped up but were still in big enough pieces that they could be separated - so depending on how chunky you like your granola chop your ingredients to your desired size!

Then top with...
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup (the real stuff only!)
1/2 Cup almond butter
1/2 Cup oil of your choice -- I used Macadamia oil to echo the nuts and seeds that are in the granola, however any healthy relatively flavourless oil will work fine!

Mix and add more wet ingredients if desired

Spread onto your baking dish, and bake at 180 degrees (Celsius) for 40-60 minutes, depending on your oven.

Remove and enjoy with your favourite milk and fresh fruits... If you can wait that long... Mine never seems to make it to the bowl before I begin gobbling it up...

These crunchy granola pieces also make great snacks! Pop in a bag or container and take them with you as a great, healthy, satisfying snack to keep you powering along in between meals!



Love and light,
Lauren xxx

Super-asana

One a month, my yoga teacher hosts an advanced Vinyasa class on a Friday night -- my favourite night of the month! I got home from uni quite late befor class last night and needed something nutritious to power me through without being heavy on my stomach -- and thus my Superfood smoothie was born!!

Add to your blender:
A good handful of greens (I used spinach and kale)
A cup of your favourite soy, nut, rice or coconut milk
A scoop of Spirulina and wheatgrass powder
A spoonful of Acai berries
A banana (preferably organic)
A cup of berries -- I used some yummy blueberries
A handful of goji berries
A spoonful of almond butter
Two scoops of your choice of protein powder (I used a mix of Sunwarrior Rice Protein and Pea Protein!)

Blitz and serve :)

Jam packed with protein, fibre and more antioxidants than dollars in Donald Trumps bank account -- it's no wonder I was able to master some of the more advanced asanas that I would usually only watch others perform in awe and admiration! And let me assure you it will be the most amazing coloured smoothie you will ever drink in your life! And it tastes even better!!

Please let me know what you think, and any additions you make! :)

Love and light,
Lauren xxx