thm

Trim Healthy Mama as a Framework for Life (not a diet)

Trim Healthy Mama can be an eating plan for life. It is flexible and adjustable as in its essence it is an educational framework, not a diet.

Over the last 8 years I have followed the plan somewhat religiously and at other times (often whenever moving house) I have abandoned all healthy eating in favour of convenience – and regretted it. In more recent times, I have been struggling with more health issues (which are in no way a reflection of THM – more so my body, my lifestyle and circumstances) in particular hypoglycemia and worsening fatigue. So I’ve been tweaking my diet to try and stabilise my blood sugar levels. THM is fantastic at helping to stabilise BSL but for some reason my body has decided to revolt.

After several years of eating the THM way and eating off plan on several occasions I have come to learn that *I* can go off plan occasionally and the sky will not fall in. I know that I can eat some off plan items without a negative reaction and both my body and my mind cope just fine.

Labels

Labels can sometimes be helpful in quickly helping others to understand who we are or what we do but they are very ineffective and only partly truthful. I don’t particularly like labels although I do, at times, use them. But in order to be honest with myself and others it is important that I not confine myself to one label. My eating for health isn’t just a blog category, nor a protocol, nor a bunch of rules. For many years I’ve been learning about nutrition and food as medicine. It’s not just a vague interest, it’s a passion! I learn things, experiment with them and either toss the ideas, file them in the deep recesses of my mind or put them into practice. I’ve experimented with primal, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, whole food/plant based, very low carb/high fat and more.

THM as a Framework

Yet THM is and will likely always be my framework. My template. Not a dietary restriction that I must abide by or else. My life is too busy, too full, too rich, too everything to be bound by more rules. yet, without some sort of framework my health would deteriorate into something that leaves me with no functioning life. I need some sort of template in order to function and work towards health.

What This Looks Like

I am careful about the food products I buy. I try not to purchase off plan foods. However, I don’t freak out or pay ridiculous amounts of money just to buy an on plan dressing so I can avoid a seed oil. I mainly eat THM dressings anyway but on occasion I do use a store bought dressing and it may even have seed oils in it. I don’t freak out – I don’t view these foods as good and evil or clean and dirty. I simply don’t eat it often or regularly. I have my own foods that my body doesn’t tolerate, even though they are on plan – quinoa and oats don’t like me all that much.

Some of my best online and offline friends are strict THM/Paleo/GAPS people and they are wonderful people. I’m super glad they still love me. And that they are happy in what they do. I need to be happy too, and for me that, that involves eating off plan occasionally with my beloved or with my family. For that does the heart and soul very good.

My SimplySusan version of THM does not make me feel restricted, deprived. I don’t feel like I am a failing THMer or that I’m doing it wrong because I don’t live in a box with a label on it – I am a child of God who fuels her body for health and pleasure. And that’s okay. Any diet (we all have a diet, it’s not a negative, restrictive word) should not make you feel like a loser, deprived, make you feel you aren’t following the rules, feel guilt, shame or less than as a person. Your identity should not be in a diet, a plan, a lifestyle or any kind of label. My identity is in Christ!

This is the THM plan tweaked for me and my lifestyle. Do I recommend the THM lifestyle for everyone? You bet I do! I wholeheartedly suggest reading and implementing THM to anyone who needs to start improving their health or change their weight. (Notice I didn’t just say ‘weight loss’ – THM is for anyone and everyone). For those with conditions that are aggravated by certain foods like heartburn, leaky gut, digestive issues, etc. then yes! Go with THM. The knowledge you’ll learn will likely blow your socks off! And the plan is so do-able. You’ll learn lots about your own body and also about health and nutrition. After awhile, simply tweak it to suit your needs. Use it as a framework to create your ideal diet. This will be the diet that makes you feel more vibrant, more energetic, more peaceful and stronger. It will be a diet that will nourish your body and mind, that will allow you freedom to enjoy all types of foods, in all types of situations. It will be the opposite of guilt, shame, etc.

Originally written in 2016. Updated 2021.

Deep S meals with THM

A few weeks ago, someone on the THM in Australia group asked about Deep S meals . Here is a brief rundown of what Deep S is and what it is good for.

Deep S = high fat, but with fat from only pure sources with negligible carbs (meat, oils, eggs, etc.)

Deep S meals contain pure fat with zero carbs. extra virgin olive oils and the natural fats found in meat and eggs, butter, ghee but the queen of them all is coconut oil and MCT oil.

When doing a pure Deep S meal, we do not include some of those S friendly foods that we would otherwise in a straight S meal. Foods such as berries, dairy, tomatoes, onions, nuts, seeds, avocado are not included in Deep S meals. They are great S foods but not Deep S as they contain some carbs.

Deep S meals focus on leafy greens and low carb, non starchy veggies, liberally dressed with superfood oils.

Example: Chicken or Beef on a huge plate of green, dressed with olive oil, a little MCT oil and a tad of vinegar. or a few fried eggs in coconut oil, with a side of leafy greens or okra. See Deep S Salad in a Jar (“Quick Single Salads” chapter in the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook)

THM does allow 1 TB of Parmesan cheese or a light sheep’s cheese such as Pecorino to the salad but don’t go overboard.

Deep-S meals are extremely slimming and can be used after a cheat meal to help rid the damage of excess sugars and starches. A couple of Deep-S meals in a row are the best way to do a THM reset.

Make sure to read Chapter 11, “Higher Learning” (page 90), for an explanation of a Deep- S meal, which is a little different from a regular S.

THM… Finding Your Own Way

The sisters often encourage us to do THM our way. What does that mean?

It isn’t a justification for eating off plan foods. Off plan is off plan.

It doesn’t mean ignoring THM principles of separating fats from carbs, protein centred meals, timing of meals, etc.

It does mean having the freedom of not starving or being hangry. It doesn’t mean counting calories or macros but to be aware of them.

It means the freedom to choose your S, E or FP meals based upon your needs, your wants, your budget, etc. some people need more E meals than S meals or vice versa. Some need more FP. Anything done to excess becomes unbalanced and is not THM any way.

It means not being bound to follow your best friend or popular blogger but instead choose when you will eat and what food category you’ll eat.

It means that you don’t have to like or consume smoothies if you hate them. Substitute nearly anything in place of the word ‘smoothies’. I don’t much care for kale, shakes or oats.

This is THM your way. And THM, unlike most other eating philosophies, has room for ALL types of people!

Your home looks different to mine and they both look different to someone else’s. As they should be.

If you have any questions about doing THM your way, feel free to ask.

THM Hack for QuirkyJo’s Coconut Lemon Chicken Soup (S)

I was having an S day and some of my folk have a cold so this is the perfect recipe to serve for tea. So quick and easy as well. I made a double batch so made it on the stove instead of the Thermomix.

To boost the protein content I added 2 tablespoons of Just Gelatin, like Serene does in her bisque’s.

As this is quite a tangy soup that we love, I also added 2 TB Baobab powder.

Result = Wowsers! This soup tastes even more amazing than before!

Note: I added half a packet of konjac rice noodles ( I LOVE that stuff!) to my bowl and poured the soup over keeping it to an S.

For my menfolk, I added rice vermicelli (but rice works better) to the bottom of their bowl before pouring over their soup, making it is a Crossover for them.

See QuirkyJo’s lovely recipe here: Coconut Lemon Chicken Soup.

Hack for Golden Chana Soup (E)

Hack for Golden Chana Soup

E p 99 THM Cookbook
After our holiday we are a bit tight so we’re eating out of the fridge and pantry, purchasing only small selected, mainly fresh, ingredients until payday. I decided to make Chana Dhal soup because I had all the ingredients.

At the store, I found one of those pre-packed root veggies in a foil tin going out cheap. So I roasted them, threw them in the Thermomix/food processor along with about 2-3 cups of the soup and blended it, then added it back into the soup.

Result = More Veggies = Even More Delicious!

PS: This meal was a straight E meal for me but I added a dollop of butter to everyone else’s meal and the 5yo also chose to add some grated cheese on top – making this a Crossover for everyone else.

Ingredients Trump Numbers

Ingredients Trump Numbers Every Time.

There are lots of weight loss plans and diets. Many of them focus on numbers. Doing the numbers means that I can make a Mars Bar fit if I try hard enough. And I may lose weight doing that… but I will NOT be gaining the health that I could be if I focussed on quality ingredients.

Paleo, WAPF and other such diets focus on food quality but with no guidelines in place many people still over-consume, playing yoyo with their blood sugar levels and put on some weight.

Trim Healthy Mama gives you the best of both! I simplify it in my own mind to think that the numbers help me to be trim but the ingredients we use help me to be healthy.

We can be trim. We can be healthy. And we can be both! Not all diets, plans or ways of eating offer both – THM does.

Low Carb Milk: THM Friendly (S)

By jove, I think I’ve done it!

You know how I have been on my quest. A quest to satisfy my daily habit. I have tried everything – almond, cashew, coconut, sunflower, flax, hemp and blends but none of them have been able to satisfy me.

Until now. The inspiration came to me while making the instant cookie dough protein bars which are yummy and hit the spot. So I experimented and I still may not fully be there yet but I think so. This has been in the works since mid November and now I’ve learned to tweak it each time I use it depending upon my needs for that time.

I won’t lie, it is calorific. But it is an S and as low/moderate/high in protein as you make it. You can customise the recipe depending upon your budget, taste, dietary needs, etc. Leave out the Sunflower Lecithin if you don’t have it. Use 1/2 TB of WPI and 1/2 TB of Collagen Peptides if you’d prefer. You can even use 1 TB of cream if you find 2 TB too heavy for you. This is similar in composition to a Rich Trimmaccino but I don’t much like the texture or taste of MCT in my beloved coffee. I also tried to make it similar in composition to normal dairy milk… it comes pretty close except my recipe has more protein, more fat and less carbs so quite different really. 🙂

And it texturises just like dairy or soy milk! BUT it isn’t dairy milk! It’s dairy though, just not dairy milk.

As it is the nutritional breakdown is:

Protein: 13
Fat: 12
Carbs: 2
Calories: 164

Susan’s Low Carb Milk

1 cup water
Pinch of mineral salt
2 tbsp of cream (pure, no added sugar)
2 teaspoon Natvia or sweetener of your choice (sweeten to taste)
1/8 tsp Sunflower Lecithin
1 Scoop (30g), 100% Whey Protein Isolate – Natural Flavour

Blend gently to combine in Thermomix, food processor or whatever you use. I then use this was a 60ml shot of espresso to make my cappuccino because this milk froths and textures up beautifully!

Let me know how you go with this recipe. I hope this enables you to enjoy a rich, delicious normal tasting cappuccino occasionally.

Why I LOVE Trim Healthy Mama

You know why I appreciate Trim Healthy Mama even after many years?

Because it isn’t just trim. And it isn’t just healthy. And it isn’t just for me but the whole family. It is Trim *AND* Healthy.

I’m 174cm tall and am not quite at goal weight (so say the experts) but I am very happy where I am at. Because I have been 65kg and I was skinny but not healthy. (That’s why I use the term ‘skinny’ and not trim in this sense). I was dieting all the time – existing on low fat everything, 1000 calories per day and exercising my butt off.

I have been 125kg and felt healthy yet overweight. Too many refined white products – still low fat and even exercising heaps but still no balance.

THM encourages healthy fats, low GI carbs to help me be at *my* trim. The emphasis on real, whole foods help me to improve my health. It is family-friendly which is super important for it to be sustainable. I easily adapt everything to feed my family – everyone one of their unique needs – be it health, weight loss or weight gain. And it complements my own food philosophy – eating real food which is local and seasonal.

THM can be used with every budget, age, condition or allergy. And mostly, I don’t have to deprive myself of treats! Want chocolate? Cookies? Cakes? Drinks? mains? Desserts? THM has you covered! It is an eating plan for life that is affordable, sustainable and achievable in the long term.

It is adaptable for each stage and season of life. Pregnant – no worries! Nursing, menopausal, exercise junkie? THM is adaptable to any age and stage. This is because it provides an educational framework. Sure one could approach it like a typical ‘diet’ filled with all the rules but we all know that diets don’t work in the long term. THM teaches you about the foods and food groups and encourages you to try different things and do what works for you.

Why do you like Trim Healthy Mama?

Typical Meals in my Home

I’m a creature of habit and convenience. I’m a Drive Thru Sue with Purist ideals. I don’t like shakes or smoothies and I’m quite conservative with my drinks. I’ll try about 3 shakes or smoothies per year and gag every time. It’s just not my thing. Coffee is though. Hmm coffee. I also drink chamomile tea, green tea and Good Girl Moonshine – these are regular drinks for me. One of my ‘must-have’s’ is a big daily salad. I just don’t feel ‘whole’ if I don’t have a huge plate of veggies every day.

Breakfasts

Nourish Me Proats (carb-fuelled)
Alpine Sproutedtoast with ham, tomato & hummus (carb-fuelled)
Sautéed Zucchini & Mushrooms with a poached eggs, bacon and collagen tea (fat-fuelled)

Lunches

Soup with ryvita’s or on plan bread (carb-fuelled)
Soup with Swiss Bread and Greens Salad (fat-fuelled)
Popeye’s Power Soup, chicken-free version (fat-fuelled)
Sautéed Veggies in Butter/Coconut Oil, sprinkled with Nutritional Yeast (fat-fuelled)
Salmon fillet with Sautéed Lettuce and Mushrooms (fat-fuelled)
Superfood-Loaded Salad with boiled eggs – lettuce, spinach, capsicum, cucumber, tomato and a dressing (fat-fuelled)
Left Overs from previous night’s tea

Dinners

African Beans with Rice (carb-fuelled)
Chana Dahl Soup or other Lentil Soup (carb-fuelled)
Trim Mac Salad (fat-fuelled)
Small tin of sugar-free Baked Beans with fruit and a collagen coffee (carb-fuelled)
Chow Mein which is similar to Egg Roll in a Bowl (fat-fuelled)
Stir Fry Chicken with Veggies (fat-fuelled)
Eggs Purgatory (fat-fuelled)
Usually tea is a form of animal protein with lots of veggies. Just enough fat or carb to make it yummy.

Snacks

Ryvitas x 2 or Rye Cruskits x 4 with hummus (carb-fuelled)
Carrot/Cucumber/Capsicum/Broccoli Sticks with Hummus (carb-fuelled)
Fruit (Winter strawberries, kiwi fruit and mandarins are beautiful) with Aquafaba Meringue (carb-fuelled)
Handful of Nuts or Nut Butter with Cucumber (fat-fuelled)
Skinny Chocolate (fat-fuelled)
Popcorn with spray of olive oil and sprinkled with Nutritional Yeast (carb-fuelled)
Yogurt (coconut if DF) with nuts and seeds (fat-fuelled)
Muffin in a mug (fat-fuelled)
Dark Lindt Chocolate
Fruit with 1 TB hummus or fruit with a collagen tea (carb-fuelled)

If you look closely enough you may notice something missing is a little sparese: milk. More specifically dairy products. I have been dairy free for more than three months and really enjoying it. Going dairy free has opened my imagination and I’ve been eating more veggies than ever before which is a good thing. Dairy has always been my weakness. I never dreamed I could live without it but it’s a mindset. I knew dairy wasn’t helping with chronic sinusitis and the arthritic symptoms which are a part of fibromyalgia. And it wasn’t helping with weight loss either. Dairy doesn’t need to be fattening but when one has a weakness as serious as mine, when dairy becomes a part of every meal and snack then it isn’t going to remain a good thing for long.The main thing I’ve missed is Parmesan Cheese. I know it’s a good food but my inability to have parmy cheese in the fridge for longer than 2 hours is simply wrong.

What is your food weakness?

2021 Edited to add: I am no longer dairy free, I include Chobani yogurt, all the cheese and dairy milk because I simply don’t want to live without dairy in my life. 2021

Homemade Cashew Milk

Regular readers and friends will know about my search for a dairy milk replacement that I can tolerate. I can’t stand Almond Milk unless it is combined with coconut milk but even then I don’t really like it, I just manage to tolerate it. So I kept experimenting and have found Cashew Milk to be something I can enjoy. Although I suspect I might also like this with macadamia nuts or brazil nuts but cashews are a little cheaper. But do you know the best thing about this milk? It doesn’t need straining! Wahoo! The secret is in the soaking. By soaking for only 2-6 hours it doesn’t need to be strained but if I soak longer than that I don’t like the un-strained texture so squeeze it through a nut milk bag or new paint strainer bag.

Homemade Cashew Milk

Serves 7

1 cup Raw Cashews
6-8 cups of water
Pinch of salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Optional Ingredients

1 TBS Hydrolyzed Collagen (Great Lakes green can)
1 Doonk Stevia Extract (A doonk is a THM measurement for 1/32 of a teaspoon)
1 Doonk Glucomannan Powder
1 tsp Sunflower Lecithin

Options:

In fact, everything except the cashews and water is optional. You do not have to include the collagen, stevia, vanilla, lecithin or gluccie.
When making this into a hot chocolate or latte or smoothie, the fat count can be increased by adding 1 TB of MCT oil, if desired.

Method

Stay with me here, it’s long and complicated. Not.

Soak the cashews for 2-8 hours. Then, drain excess water and plop into the Thermomix or good blender with the other ingredients. Blend, blend and blend again. Fire up the latte machine and marvel at how quick and easy it all is.

Green Matcha Yogurt

Over the years I have put some weird tasting stuff in my body. Even though I have mellowed and settled a lot in this area (thanks to THM) I am still susceptible to subjecting my body to obscure sounding and weird tasting foods. That’s not to say that I like the taste but I’m drawn to the health benefits. Chlorophyll, spirulina, chlorella, maca, bee pollen… the list goes on. I’ve not found them easy to ingest, rather it’s a chore I do in the name of health.

So it with great surprise that I have found Green Matcha Powder quite easy to take! And for a latte lovin’ gal such as myself, I do not prefer it as a Green Matcha Latte rather in my yogurt. A side note: The THM authors make a mean looking Green Matcha pudding here.

What is Green Matcha Powder and Why Would Anyone Put It In Their Body?

Organic matcha from Little Tokyo image I could go on… but I’ll leave that to those more knowledgable. But quickly…
Matcha is premium green tea powder from Japan used for drinking as tea or as an ingredient in recipes. While other green teas are grown throughout the world, matcha is unique to Japan. It is the heart of the Japanese way of tea and has been celebrated in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony for hundreds of years.

Matcha Green Tea Powder is:
Rich in powerful anti-aging antioxidants
Full of cancer-fighting catechins
A natural mood enhancer
An energy booster
Unparalleled nutrition in a single serving – one cup of matcha is equivalent to 10 cups of green tea!

Follow the links…
Matcha Source – matcha benefits. About Matcha…

Where To Buy Green Matcha

I sourced this beauty from Little Tokyo, a small specialist store in the Adelaide Central Market but even my local Tea Emporium stocks it so I’ll be buying local from now on. It can be purchased online but I encourage you to look locally.

Here is my daily Green Matcha Yogurt

Start with this basic Fuel Pull version then add S/E ingredients if desired.

½ cup blueberries
½ cup no-fat or low-fat Greek yogurt
1 scoop WPI (I used 20gms)
½ – ¾ tsp Organic Green Matcha Powder
THM Pure Stevia Extract to taste (or equivalent THM sweetener)
1 tsp Vanilla Paste

Method
Sift matcha powder over yogurt and blend well. Then add berries, stevia, vanilla and other (S or E) ingredients. The matcha must be sifted else it will clump and be inedible. Honestly, just believe me on this one.

Optional Ingredients for a Satisfying Snack

Ground flax
Coconut flakes
Chia seeds
Nuts
Choose low fat Greek yogurt

Optional Ingredients for an Energising Snack

Choose kiwi fruit, apple, mango or fruit of choice
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 tsp chia seeds

Use this recipe as an introduction to green matcha powder. Feel free to mix it up and create your own tastes.

Do you use Matcha in your THM lifestyle? I’d love to hear more about your ventures with it!

Coconut Pancakes with Blueberries & Vanilla Cream {S}

Coconut Pancakes {S}

I’ve been following trim healthy mama style of eating for a year and a half. Using coconut flour was new to me, until about a year ago. It can be temperamental. It doesn’t follow the normal rules of baking/cooking. But don’t let that scare you – simply follow my easy peasy recipe and you will be nom nom noming on some delicious coconut pancakes for breakfast or lunch. Please note that this recipe doesn’t have a load of protein. You could add half a scoop of Whey Protein Isolate (WPI) if you wanted to… or you could have a Fat Stripping Frappe (FSF) for morning/afternoon tea.

I’ve found that my body functions best when I have {S} breakfasts. If I do have an {E} breakfast, it is usually only a very small serve. E breakfasts seem to affect my blood sugar levels in a way that makes me slightly dizzy, light-headed and feeling spaced out. But a gal can only eat fried eggs, boiled eggs, omelet, scrambled eggs and frittata so many times before it becomes monotonous, eh? Enter… Coconut pancakes!

Coconut Pancakes

Coconut Pancakes with Blueberries & Vanilla Cream

Serves 1 (with 2 pancakes)

1 egg
1 TB coconut oil
1 Tsp Natvia or other plan approved sweetener
pinch of sea salt
1 TB coconut flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
40ml coconut milk (to cut about 8grams of fat content of this meal you can use unsweetened almond milk instead)
1/4 – 1/2 cup blueberries (as many as you like but to keep this as an S do not exceed half a cup)
40 – 50 ml cream or Greek Yogurt seasoned with 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract and a pinch of Natvia

Mix egg, coconut oil, Natvia, salt, coconut flour and coconut link in a blender, stick blender or magic bullet. Set aside.
Gently heat blueberries in a little water until thawed or nice and syrupy. Add a sprinkling of natvia. Set aside.
Combine cream, vanilla and another sprinkling of Natvia. Set aside.
Heat a non stick fry pan, with a teeny little of coconut oil or butter. You only need a smidgen. Pour in half of the pancake batter and gently cook through. Flip to cook the other side. Repeat with remaining pancake mix.
Serve on a plate, topped with syrupy blueberries and vanilla cream.

Easy peasy and yummy in my tummy.

A new, Australian, online store to source all those ingredients!

I have purchased from iHerb.com and their shipping and prices are good… but there is an Aussie mama, who is also a THMer and she has opened an online THM type store called Aussie Mamas. Go check it out!

My Journey with Health – Loose THM style

Over the years I have written at length about my journey with health and fitness. It has been an ongoing battle for me and I have often felt like I was paddling a canoe upstream.

I’ve tried juicing, green smoothies, lots of raw foods, coconut oil and more. I’ve read and tried BodyTrim, Jenny Craig, Dukan Diet, The Maker’s Diet, Nourishing Traditions, Eat Fat to Lose Fat, Changing Habits Changing Lives, and then some!

I know that many carbs and grains do not sit well with my family – but how to know the difference between them? How to prepare meals for the whole family when I’m the one one who needs to limit those carbs? We lived on pasta, rice, flour products, potatoes, rice and bread for years. Especially when you’re a one-income wog family like we are.

Everything is permissible, but not everything is helpful.
1 Corinthians 10:23

It’s been 12 months now. I have lost 10kgs although weight loss has been an unexpected bonus. My motivation was health. And I’m happy to report that I have indeed experienced an increase in my health. Physically I am much stronger now than what I was 12 – 18 months ago. My blood sugar levels are a lot more stable now whereas they had been starting to cause some issues with light headedness, fatigue, vision, etc.

How?

Trim Healthy Mama!

I am not a purist. I own and use a microwave occasionally. I drink milk in my latte. I still forget to eat regularly. I don’t combine my fuels correctly. In fact, I am only on the THM between 70 – 80% of the time. I can do fine all day but then eat a crossover (combining 3 fuel sources at a meal) which will inhibit weight loss. I don’t use many special ingredients although I have easily learned how to swap some ingredients for better alternatives.

I eat lots of chocolate that helps to raise my metabolism and heat my body. I eat [THM] chocolate muffins for breakfast. In fact, the more chocolate and muffins I eat regularly, the more weight I lose and the better I feel! I eat meat, chicken, veggies, fruit, cream, cheese, yogurt, nuts, seeds and more! I’m eating more calories than I ever have before. Anywhere between 1600 – 1800 per day! I tell you, the 1980’s have a lot to answer for (and none of it good) with the low fat, aerobic exercise only craze!

I’ve noticed that I naturally eat more on some days than on others but it all evens out over the course of a week. There will be a day or two where I simply don’t feel hungry and/or I’ll forget to eat. But boy, I make up for it the next day. This isn’t good practice for those with CFS, AF, Thyroid issues or BSL fluctuations but the stronger I get the more I cope with it – in fact, my body seems to like it. So I am mostly THM with a little bit of [natural] Intermittent Fasting thrown in.

Now of course, I have my Therminator so I’m trying to create THM meals in the Thermomix. Hmm, I’ve had a few meals that need improvement, that’s for sure.

Goals for 2014

I want to continue with my current eating plan but I want more:

More regularity with meals
Even better quality of foods
To do more S meals during the day with the main dinner meal being an E or a Crossover
To regularly do T-Tapp and/or walk

All in all, I’ve had a good year health-wise. It’s the first time in a very long while that I can see, feel and touch hope. But now I want more. I want to be fitter, stronger, healthier. And I have the tools now to do it.

AhmoCoco – Almond & Coconut Milk

Almond & Coconut Milk

AhmoCoco? Have I gone mad? What am I concocting in my kitchen now?

After my successful attempt at making a latte from homemade almond milk I knew that I wanted to try and thicken it with natural ingredients. I considered using oat milk and that would certainly raise the protein amount per cup but it would also add a few more carbs – not what I want. I thought also thought about incorporating flax milk and that is certainly is on my to-do list.

However, my son-in-law, who is a Personal Trainer and certified Holistic Lifestyle Coach gave me the idea of adding in some coconut milk. And so my AhmoCoco was born!

Same ingredients as my Almond Milk except I added 1/2 cup of Coconut Milk. Textures it beautifully. And if I don’t have any coconut milk in the cupboard or fridge then I will simply add 1/4 cup of dried coconut to the almonds for soaking and make as usual.

AhmoCoco Milk

1/4 cup almonds
3.5 cups water or coconut water
2 medjool dates or 3-4 dried dates
½ tsp vanilla
Pinch celtic sea salt
Stevia Extract (Nunaturals Pure Extract Powder or NOW Stevia or Nirvana Choc Flavoured Stevia Drops)
1/2 cup coconut milk

Soak almonds and dates in water overnight.
Drain and rinse almonds and dates.
Put into blender with coconut water. Blend.
Add salt and stevia to taste.
Place tea towel or nut milk bag over bowl and drain/squeeze. Pour liquid milk back into the food processor, add the coconut milk and give a quick whizz. Season to taste.

Notes:

Left over almond pulp can be used in cakes, muffins, breads or dehydrated and processed in food processor as almond flour.
The addition of coconut water gives this milk an extra boost of nutrient goodness.
If coconut milk is unavailable, simply add some dried coconut to the almond/date mixture , soak overnight and complete the recipe as usual.

My Easy Almond Milk Latte

courtesy of abigrace.com.au

I can’t believe how much my palate has changed since eating according to TrimHealthyMama. THM has been a bit of an adjustment at first, but it gets easier. One thing I simply couldn’t let go of was my daily latte. I love my milk! I tried to make almond milk, but it was quite yucky to me. I bought almond milk in a carton from the supermarket. Just as yucky. I let it go and resigned myself to just doing THM but with milk consumption.

What’s wrong with milk?

Real, raw milk? Nothing per se, except that it is liquid carbs… carbs and fat combined together in liquid form. Liquid carbs are the most potent fat promoting form. Whilst raw whole milk may be a healthy superfood it is best for for growing children, pregnant women who don’t need to watch their weight, or husbands who have a high metabolism. Sadly, for the rest of us, in today’s modern world, it only fattens us up.

Which makes my morning tea latte a crossover meal. Too many crossovers inhibit weight loss. Yet I haven’t been doing THM for weight loss. I’ve been following THM for the sheer health benefits. The science behind it just makes sense! My health has improved nearly 90% and I’ve only been doing THM since early January. And, having said that I am only adhering to THM principles for 70 – 80% of the time. In the spirit of honesty I will admit to eating take-away foods more than once a week. Which means huge crossovers. Despite that, I have lost 6 kgs since the beginning of the year. But honestly, I have not been trying to lose weight but gain health. Now I am losing slowly though, I have been motivated to be a little more adherent to the weight loss part of the THM plan. And that means giving up my daily (make that twice or thrice daily) latte.

And so I made Almond Milk again.

Would you believe it? I actually can tolerate it now! How…is beyond me. But to prove it I have made my homemade almond milk and had my local barista (thanks AbiGrace) make me my afternoon latte. It is nowhere near like cows milk to work latte art with and as a barista she taught me how/why and wherefore that the milk could not be textured in such a way as to produce the same artistic pour… but for right now I am not concerned with that. Protein and carbohydrates (as opposed to dairy milk which has protein, fat & carbs) are what concerns me.

courtesy of abigrace.com.au

What do you think?

There are heaps of almond milk recipes on the Internet… I can’t lay claim to liking them all. Not at all. Some are lower in carbs than others. Some are too watery, too weak. I like my almond link to be thick and creamy but not overpowering with its nuttiness. For now, this recipe is the one that suits me just fine. I may tweak it as I go along. In fact, I already have an idea up my sleeve to increase the protein levels.

Almond Milk

½ cup almonds
3.5 cups water
2 medjool dates
½ tsp vanilla
pinch celtic sea salt
Stevia Extract (Nunaturals Pure Extract Powder or NOW Stevia or Nirvana Choc Flavoured Stevia Drops)

Soak almonds and dates in water overnight.
Drain and rinse almonds and dates.
Put into blender with water. Blend.
Add salt and stevia to taste.
Place tea towel or nut milk bag over bowl and drain/squeeze. Use liquid as milk!
Left over almond pulp can be used in cakes, muffins, breads or dehydrated and processed in food processor as almond flour.
Yummo!

And it tastes okay. Actually, it tastes mighty fine! I had 3 latte’s yesterday so it must be okay to keep me going back for more!

Addendum: This recipe is not THM plan approved. Not at all. It is simply that I am enjoying this whilst also following the THM eating plan between 70 -80%.

Skinny Chocolate

After much trial and error I have finally tweaked the Trim, Healthy Mama (THM) recipe to [my] perfection!

Recipe

4 tsp up to 1/4 cup xylitol, ground OR 1-3 TB Homemade Sweet Blend (see recipe below)
A few shakes of NuNaturals Pure Stevia Extract Powder (do not add if using Homemade Sweet Blend)
1/4 cup pure cocoa
1/2 cup coconut oil
1Tb cream (or cream cheese will also do the trick!) – *optional
¼ tsp. of salt

*Optional additions: coconut, berries, chopped nuts, berries, peanut paste, etc. Maybe even a squirt of Nirvana Stevia Chocolate Drops.

Note: I have the handy dandy shaker that came with the NuNaturals Stevia. I open the lid to only have the powder come out from three little circles. I then give the Stevia about 3 gentle shakes. However, it’s all personal taste learned through trial and error.

A Serving Size is about one third of this mix at each sitting.

I only buy pure cocoa. Cacao is too expensive for me, and I don’t particularly see much difference between it and pure cocoa. Simply check the back of the packet for the ingredient list to ensure you have pure or 100% cocoa. Some producers add all sorts of sweeteners and fillers to their cocoa so you don’t want this.

If you want to know what Trim Healthy Mama is, pop on over to my Nutrition Coaching website and have a look around.

If you want to read more variations on the THM Skinny Chocolate recipe, see the THM Pinterest board.

Addendum 11/03/2015: I was finding my own Skinny Chocolate tweaks to be missing the spot… and then I stumbled across a homemade sweet blend that does the trick perfectly.

I tsp. THM Pure Stevia Extract
1 cup erythritol
1 cup Xylitol

Blend together in processor or bullet. Use spoon for spoon.

Broccoli & Lemon Soup

In the cooler months there is nothing better to warm cold bodies than a nutritious soup before the main meal or for lunch. I’ve also found that a healthy soup before the main meal tends to fill us up more thus we don’t eat quite as much, which is a positive. This dish is a favourite in our home. It is high in Vitamin C and even those that don’t like broccoli will love it.

Broccoli & Lemon Soup

Yield: 8 x1 cup serves
Time: 20 min

5 cups water (1250ml)
4 chicken stock cubes, although I use whatever I have on hand- vegetable stock powder usually.
600 grams chopped broccoli (stalks and all)
1 large coarsely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2tsp fresh or 1/2 tsp dried sweet basil
freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp lemon juice
grated rind of half a lemon

Method

Bring water and stock cubes/powder to the boil in a large saucepan. Add broccoli, onion, garlic, sweet basil and pepper.
Return to the boil and simmer for 10 min.
When cool enough, puree in blender (or stick blender) and adjust the liquid until it equals 8 cups.
Reheat and add lemon juice and grated rind.
Serve with a slice of lemon on top.

Nutritional Information Per 1 Cup Serve

Calories: 45
Protein: 2g
Fat: 1g
Carb: 7g
Fibre: 3g