Oooh, it’s so close! My I Quit Sugar Cookbook is almost here.

bacon and egg cupcakes, photo by Marija Ivkovic

And so I figure I might share this recipe from the book: bacon and egg cupcakes! Yes. Two ingredients + some clever assembling = fun breakfast. Astonishing stuff!

You can watch the video below, which was shot by my good mate Faustina (you might have seen her on The Voice?!) at Rokeby Studios in Melbourne.

While I have your attention, I’ll also point out that

today is your last chance to pre-order the cookbook and get 30% off + a special gift

Just click on the button below to take advantage…

Let’s continue with this Paleo series I started a few weeks back. I’ve written about eating Paleo here and here…. with more recipes for breakfasts here… But I’ve had a few requests for kid’s meals, so here you go: some paleo school lunches, and a CLEVER flower power egg invention! It’s really not that faddish or draconian…more of a way of eating that cuts out processed crap.

photo via apronstringsblog.com

 flower power eggs

Donna and Anne from Apron Strings Blog came up with this pretty and clever idea.

* 3 x capsicums (bell peppers), in red, green and orange

* eggs

Cut the capsicums into 1.5cm rings; place in a non-stick lightly oiled skillet. Now crack an egg in the middle of each ring and cover and cook over low heat until done. If you like your yolks runny, just cook over low heat until whites are done. If you like your yolks firm, break the yolks and then cook over low heat until both whites and yolks are firm.

13 tips for making paleo lunches:

1. Pre-order my I Quit Sugar Cookbook, due out soon! It has a chapter on kids’ recipes, most of which are paleo (ask your kids if they like the sound of coconut popsicles!).  PS, if you pre-order you will receive 30% off, plus a gift. Plus you’ll get the book before everyone else.

2. Make sandwiches with this great Paleo bread from Deek’s bakery. Available online. 

All Deeks products are grain free (including the absence of rice and corn), are additive and preservative free. They are

Slide into your Birkenstocks, tie on your recycled bamboo apron and turn up Steely Dan on the stereo (or tune to Portlandia on ABC)  because today we’re sprouting legumes!

If you were the kid with the mushroom kit or the Venus flytraps on your windowsill that you’d race home from school to just sit and… watch, you’ll love sprouting. If you rather like watching any creation you’ve made grow, you’ll love sprouting, too. So much veiw-able gratification as they do their sprouty thing.

The rest of you? Read on to see why it’s a good idea to try this cooking technique. And scroll below for some recipes. Me, personally, I avoid eating too many legumes: I find them super rough on my guts. Sprouting is certainly the best approach I’ve found for making them a smoother experience.

First, why sprout?

Sprouting kills toxins

Phytic acid, a toxin found in the fibre of legumes, leaches calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc from our bodies. Not great. Sprouting neutralises this nasty acid (as does soaking before cooking). It also inactivates aflatoxins -  potent carcinogens – in grains.

Sprouting increases vitamins

It increases the amount of B vitamins and carotene in the little beady things. Vitamin C is also created in the process.

Sprouting (almost) fixes the farting issue…

….because the complex sugars responsible for intestinal gas are broken down into simpler glucose molecules.

So, I ferment my roots. And I activate my nuts.

One of my mish mash lunches with sauerkraut (and bone broth)

And my guts love me for it. If there is one kooky, “witchy” thing you should try right now, it’s fermenting, or pickling. I’ve been playing around for a few months, making sauerkraut, pickled daikon, and the most lush beetroot relish. I eat a tablespoon or two with as many meals as I can…see some of my suggestions below…and I’ve noticed a tangible benefit with my digestion. Which, for those of you who are interested to know, is crap.

Anyone with auto immune issues, IBS, bloating, sugar cravings or any kind of digestive or allergy issue should truly try fermenting.

Before you start: you might like to make whey. Why whey? It really makes the best fermented veggies. Trust me.  It’s simple, too. Just make my homemade cream cheese. It produces whey on the side, which you can freeze until you’re ready to use.

What is fermenting?

Lacto-fermentation has been around for eons as a health trick – all cultures have a history of fermenting veggies, dairy, nuts, grains etc for medicinal and digestion purposes. The nerdy stuff: it’s a biological process by which sugars – glucose, fructose, and sucrose – are converted into cellular energy and a metabolic byproduct – lactic acid. When the acidity rises due to lactic acid-fermenting organisms, many harmful micro-organisms are killed – so it’s often been used as a preserving technique.

Why the good health rap?

Let’s do this in dot points:

* lactic acid enhances a food’s digestibility and increases vitamin C and vitamin A levels.

* it produces a stack of helpful enzymes as well as antibiotic substances.

* lactic acid promotes the growth of healthy flora in the intestine

* fermented foods are rich in vitamin K2 – a known cancer fighter

* it cuts the sugar content of foods quite dramatically (the same process sees wine end up as pretty much fructose-free)

* plus all you IQS kids:  it helps you beat sugar cravings!

Some might not call this cooking. Some, of course, might.

Regardless, I do like to challenge myself to prepare food with the least number of steps and ingredients as possible, and using everyday things around the supermarket aisle. Life is smoother with less. And with ingenuity.

I thought these might inspire you to come up with your own. In the spirit of simplicity, I’ve reduced the instructions to a haiku poem (remember these are the haiku rules: three lines of up to 17 syllables and use of a season word). Feel free to supply yours below…

1. Cheesy poppadums

* poppadums

* Parmesan cheese, grated

A chickpea ‘dum

cheese flutters like snow flakes

hit microwave for twenty

Heard of the alkalising diet? It’s not really a diet…it’s a way of eating. It entails leaning towards foods that help to alkalise your body. I like to lean. As opposed to doing a violent about-face with my eating. Essentially, diseases – like cancer and AI – can’t exist in a fully alkalised system. The closer you can get to this utopic state, the better you’ll be. Simple.

Alkaline Sisters' kale salad, recipe below

I’ve done this before, when I was 21. I had Grave’s disease at the time. After three months of eating acid-free (nothing from a can, no deadly night shades – mushrooms, potatoes, tomatoes – etc), I was fixed. Seriously. I avoided radioactive iodine treatment, put on weight again and got on with my life.

This post has been updated:

Where does this sit with my eating today? And where does it fit with Paleo eating? As per my post last week, my take on Paleo eating is this: I eat a stack of vegetables – mostly greens – dairy in moderation, and eggs and meat in moderation as well. This still fits with an alkaline mentality, but is not strictly an alkaline diet. But I don’t stick to any diet, I choose my own way. The main thing I take from the alkaline diet is lots of vegetables, especially green ones, no sugar, no processed foods, no trans fats. Which is also Paleo in it’s thinking.

I thought I’d get The Alkaline Sisters to share a bit of a 101 and some recipes. Jo grilled Julie recently:

Why should we be alkalising our bodies?

Alkalizing or ‘balancing the pH of your body’ will provide your body with a level of nutrition that it can use to maintain optimal health.

it is vital for our survival to maintain a blood pH of 7.365

There are other varying pH levels within our body that also need to be maintained, but have greater fluctuation, like our urine. They reflect quite directly the food we consume.  A poor diet is very taxing on your body as it has to constantly maintain homeostasis, which it undergoes at all times, struggling to obtain alkalizing nutrients from organs and bones thus depleting their necessary stores.

What does too much acid do to our bodies?

A prolonged acidic diet will eventually make small incremental changes to our blood, making it more acidic. Even the smallest variation in our blood = big problems. An overly acidic body provides a perfect breeding ground for bacteria & disease.

bacteria & disease, especially cancer cells, cannot thrive in an alkaline body 

Immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis – which is an acid build up in the joints, an imbalance of the pH of the blood – can be relieved if not resolved.

How to eat alkaline – in a nutshell?

Enjoy lots of alkaline foods and minimize acidic ones.

80% alkaline, 20% acidic foods each day is ideal

unless you already suffer from disease, then one needs to super alkalize until you resolve the issue.  Our bodies were designed to heal themselves, but can only do so when they are provided with wholesome nutrients that will nuture this process.

Is it more than just food?

Those of us who eat incredibly healthy may still lead very stressful lives, which constantly leaves our bodies in a fight or flight mode of stress. This hormonal response was designed for us to deal with sudden short occasions of stress as in our ancestors when they encountered dangerour situtations ie a bear or a tiger to tackle or run from.  This fear also causes our bodies to secrete acidic fluids that then need to be balanced.  Getting a handle on your stress will make a huge difference to your health.

Activities like yoga, meditation, long walks, pampering baths, quiet reading and healthy relationships is the other half of the battle in maintaining a healthy body for a life of longevity, free of disease

What are your top five tips for alkalising?

• Veggies, veggies and more veggies!  Veggies are whole foods minus the extreme sugars that feed disease, and are packed with the nutrients from the soil- that are meant to be transferred to our bodies via our crops.  Choose organic to be sure that you get the maximum nutrients possible, as organics pack 25% more nutrients