TODAY’S GREEN MANTRA: An 80/20 Alkaline Diet will aid me in my transition away from excessive
dairy, meat and fish consumption, keeping my body and my planet in better
balance
Day 27 / 365
Before I started understanding the circular story behind my food and how seasonal
eating played a its part in that tale, I had decided to try to return to my
vegetarian roots by way of the alkaline eating.
My sister-friend’s (sister-in-law’s) dad had switched to an alkaline diet after
being diagnosed with Cancer, he was the one to first introduce the idea to the alkaline way my sister-friend’s wedding
to my eldest brother and it made an impression after he shared with me that he believes this way of eating has saved his life and continues
to. The Alkaline diet is known in the medical community to boost the
effectiveness of certain types of chemotherapy treatment, it’s also known as a
preventative measure too.
Eating an 80/20 Alkaline Diet is one way to reduce your dairy, meat and fish
consumption to a level the planet can handle, and a level that is ideal for
your body.
Balance is key in all things, and the pH level in our body is no different.
Alkaline-forming foods include most fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts, seeds and
herbal teas. When we eat enough alkaline-forming foods each day it allows our
body to have access to minerals such as calcium, phosphorous and magnesium,
which helps it run nicely. In contrast, acid-forming foods, which includes most
grains, meats, dairy products, fish, processed foods…and pesticides …
creates a different environment entirely. When we’re eating too many
acid-forming foods (and not enough alkaline-forming foods) our body is forced
to pull the minerals it needs from our bones, teeth and organs, instead, which
will eventually compromise the immune system, causes fatigue, and make us
vulnerable to viruses and disease.
As I’m not the most creative cat in the kitchen, I bought both of Natasha Corrett‘s Honestly Healthy cookbooks which give you heaps of incredible recipes
that give you recipe options which perfectly replace your cosy (acid causing) favourites
in favour of alkaline-forming ones instead.
To simplify the seasonal and alkaline eating methods, I downloaded this
Alkaline Diet Food Chart which I then highlighted in 4 colours to indicate the
seasonal availability of my ideal food list ready for me. I then converted it
to a pdf and saved it in my iBooks for easy access in the market (because I’ve
got the memory of a gold fish!)
One of my favourite winter recipes from both the cookbooks combined is one of
their lentil bakes, which you can add or take away from depending on your
preferences. I often add roasted beets to mine and use regular goat’s cheese
(as I can’t find goat’s cheddar in France), but it is a great winter recipe to
use as a base for dinner munching and you don’t need to be a foodie genius to
add to it or pull it off.
– PUY LENTIL AND GOAT CHEESE BAKE –
from Honestly Healthy by Natasha Corrett
[Ingredients]
- 125g (4oz/scant ²/³ cup) Puy lentils
- 100g (3½oz) butternut squash, diced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 200ml (7fl oz/generous ¾ cup) coconut milk
- 80g (3oz) goat’s Cheddar, grated / vegan cheese
- 40g (1½oz) flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to garnish
- ½ red chilli, finely sliced, to garnish
- Watercress or Spinach, to serve
- Roasted Beetroot (if ya want)
[How To]
- Place the lentils in a small pan, cover with water, bring to the boil, then
simmer for 10–15 minutes, until al dente. Drain and set aside. - Place the diced butternut squash on a baking tray (cookie sheet), drizzle
with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and bake for 10 minutes, until nearly
tender. Leave the oven switched on. - Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a pan and sauté the garlic until
softened. Stir in the lentils and squash with 50ml (2fl oz/scant ¼ cup) of the
coconut milk and leave to simmer for 5 minutes. - Pour the mixture into an ovenproof baking dish or 4 individual ramekins,
pour over the remaining coconut milk and bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle over the
grated goat’s Cheddar and return to the oven to melt the cheese. - Serve with some watercress and sprinkled with chopped parsley and the sliced
chilli if you like a bit of heat.
[Honestly Healthy]
sources: Alkaline Sisters, Honestly Healthy, NCBI,
photo: pinterest
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