It’s been sometime since I updated my blog, over two years if I’m not mistaken.
Just thought I’d give a small update. If you see this, drop me a comment and let me know you guys are still around.
So, my recovery has quite frankly, been astounding Allaahumma baarik aameen. Over time I have had some very small changes such as regaining some sensation in various parts of my body (we’re talking about the size of a 5p coin) at a time and I’ve noticed these changes may not even be permanent in most cases, however, it certainly gives one hope that healing is continuously taking place. A lot of the time I choose to not share my small victories as I don’y want to get my hopes up and then be let down. Alhamdulillaah that’s not the case as I actually have my emotions under control and can remain moderate in most, if not all things.
So since 2018, I came to terms with the fact that I may ot actually be physically nor mentally able to home school my daughter which was always my dream. It took me the entire Ramadhaan that year to silently and privately come to terms with that decision. I later that year put her into nursery part time which was great for her social skills as I realised she was much like me since leaving hospital and didn’t like socialising much. In October 2019 I was given back my driver’s licence which gave me the freedom to leave my house independently. I started with very short local journeys of up to 5 minutes. I couldn’t fully be independent as car parks were somewhat an issue as a non-disabled person. Having to park a short distance from where I was going with a distracted 3 year old and often in weather conditions and temperatures that didn’t suit my body was a mission. Thankfully, I was soon given a blue badge which made my life incredibly easy. As much as I never wanted to be labeled disabled it has been an incredible blessing and it is a label I am fully proud of. I’m pleased to be able to represent the disabled community and being from a BAME background I’m in a position to dispell misconceptions and presumptions where possible. In January this year, I got my first permanent part-time job since falling ill and being on maternity leave. This has meant I am able to fund my healthy lifestyle once again and at the start of Ramadhaan this year I went back to being paleo. I went through a week long healing crisis but it helped me hit the reset button. Being paleo whilst having a child is very different to my previous life before I became a mother.
This year I have noticed so many incredible improvements in myself physically, mentally and with my general recovery post stroke. I’m so pleased to share that I maintain a positive outlook on life and would be nowhere without the love, blessings and mercy of Allaah. I am so undeserving yet so grateful. If Covid-19 wasn’t the main situation in life at the moment, i would absolutely love to revisit my therapists in rehab to show them just how far I have come. When I visited in 2018 they were proud of me then. I’m so pleased I was chosen to be a success story, I’m so pleased and grateful I have a second chance at life, to do good and to do better within my capabilites. My excitement and enthusiasm in writing a post after so long has worn me out so I’m going to wrap up here. I’m hoping to keep you guys up to date more often and start sharing my paleo creations all over again. This Ramadhaan I have become a complete banana bread addict, like most in lockdown, my love of yorkshire puddings is stronger than ever and I absolutely love my chocolate waffles, in fact I had one today!
Stay safe, wash your hands, God bless and please keep my daughter and I in your thoughts and prayers. A x
Tag Archives: paleo
Kelp Noodles – Singaporean Style
A while back I came up with an idea which I thought was my own and called it Courgetti Bolognese. Turns out, it’s something many people already make so it’s not exactly unique! I have however, heard of kelp noodles and although it sounded a little strange, the fact that it was a raw food, healthy and neutral in taste convinced me to give them a try. I have made three ‘recipes’ using them. The first was Lemony Prawn Kelp noodles using my Lemony Prawn recipe which I simply made and added to noodles. Then I made Kelphetti bolognese (I just made that up…) and the final genius idea was Singaporean Noodles.
I was inspired by a local restaurant that I used to purchase these wonderful noodles from made using vemicelli noodles. It contained a range of different meats including duck, chicken, beef, prawns, and I think squid. I did attempt to buy some squid for this recipe but unfortunately I wasn’t able to find some.
Ingredients:
Kelp noodles
Sliced Chicken breast/boneless thighs
Thinly sliced beef/lamb
Prawns/Shrimps
Pak Choi
Bean Sprouts
1 medium onion, sliced
Spring onion
(Hot) Curry powder
Finely chopped chilli (optional)
Crushed chilli flakes (optional)
Pinch of salt
Cooking fat of choice
Method:
In a small wok, add a little bit of fat and quickly cook the beef and chicken slices with a pinch of salt and some curry powder. Remove from pan.
Add onions and other veg to wok in the order of how long it takes to cook them just enough. Veg that need more cooking should be added first. Season and add spices.
Add back the meats and throw in the kelp noodles just to warm them through and mix well. Taste and add more spice if desired or any other spices you think it needs. It really does depend on what you like. I tend to add more heat.
Plate up and eat! It’s such a quick and easy dish and you can alter it whichever way you like, add as many meats and veg as you like and really experiment with different spices. Some toasted sesame oil may be nice too but I didn’t have any and don’t really cook with it anymore but I suppose as a small treat it’s okay…
I apologise for the lack in images for this recipe. I have loads of images stored on my phone of recipes I’m supposed to be blogging but due to time constraints and a busy schedule I was unable to post any. Since then I now have a new phone and my pictures are… somewhere…. once I figure out where everything’s gone I’ll edit this recipe and possible future ones if needed and add the pictures inshaaAllaah.
Raw Fudge Treat
I cannot take credit for this recipe at all. In fact, I was just inspired by the raw fudge purchased from Planet Organic. Figured I’d make that extremely clear before they sue me or something
Now the picture on their website just shows a chocolate slab and the ingredients list a mix of nuts, seeds and fruit. Anyway, I didn’t read the description before I bought it, just saw it was suitable for my dietary needs and thought of it as a good, yet incredibly expensive treat. £4.49 for a 70g piece of ‘fudge’??!
Anyway! I tasted some the day it arrived and it was my first encounter with raw cacao. Tasted brilliant. The next day, it was finished.
So I wanted more fudge and thought it’s too soon to do another order now, too expensive and I’d have to wait a few days for it to arrive. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a patient person maashaaAllaah but if I need food now, I need it now. I’ve only been this way since changing my diet to clean stuff so it’s all good alhamdulillaah, at least it’s not bread I crave!
So, the reason why you’re all here, le recipe! It’s quick, easy and oh so yummy. Absolutely high in calories due to all the good fats so if you calorie count please click the little cross on the top of your browser now .
This recipe made a 7″ round slab which was about 1cm thick, just to you have a rough idea or how much it yields and for once I’m gonna attempt to measure what I added.
Ingredients:
For the base –
Handful of Brazil nuts
2-3 Dates (I didn’t add these as I only have ajwah dates at the moment)
2 Dried Figs
Small handful of Sunflower seeds
Small handful of Raisins
3 dried Apricots
Sprinkle ofSesame seeds
Sprinkle of Desicated Coconut (I added this instead of dates)
I guess you could even add pine nuts or pumpkin seeds. Whatever you have laying around really!
For the ‘fudge’ –
Approx 1/2 cup of Coconut oil
Approx 1/3 cup of Raw cacao powder NOT cocoa powder, I’ll blog about cacao Vs cocoa
2-3 tablespoons of Honey (I used Sidr Honey, it was all I had)
Method:
I used a small kenwood food processor so the amount of my ingredients was based on this.
Blitz all the base ingredients together until roughly – finely chopped but not mushy. Taste it to make sure you like it. Tip it into the tin and pat down with a spatula or off-set palette knife. I used my hands at first but it was too sticky so was getting stuck to my hands instead.
Add fudge ingredients to food processor and blitz until nice and smooth, remember to taste it. If it’s too bitter add more honey, just a bit or if you want it more chocolately add more cacao. It looks very wet but don’t worry, all the initial ingredients are solid at room temp so it will set again once you pop it in the fridge. Pour fudge onto base, spread out and leave to chill out in the fridge for at least 15-20 minutes I think. I wasn’t timing, I just went to check once I was bored and it happened to be set.
Remove from tin and apply generously to face. WOAH! When I say apply to face I mean your mouth, this isn’t a face mask peeps. Store it in the fridge and make sure you eat lunch/dinner before going back for more cos you will quite easily polish it off. Seriously.
And now some pictures for you to drool over in the meantime…
Base squished into place
Blizted fudge mixture
Fudge mixtured plonked onto base
Fudge mixture smoothed out – looks plain and boring…
… That’s more like it! Bit of decor
Chilled and out the fridge, removed from tin but still on tin base
Side view of fudge on tin base
If someone gives you baklawa, feed it to your gluten munching family and keep the tray for times like this
Cut into generous portions hehe
Take a piece and hope noone notices… let’s all focus on the crack on the tray instead and solve that mystery instead of the “who took the fudge?” thing
You’re hungry now aren’t you? Go make some fudge!
Coconutty Choc Chip Cookies
As promised (a very long time ago) here is the recipe I used to make some chocolate chip cookies. It’s not my recipe but it is pretty cool and from fastpaleo.com. When you make them they’re quite soft but don’t be fooled, they do go harder once cooled. I stupidly thought they needed a little longer in the oven so mine had a lovely tan… some were a little over tanned… oops… ANYWAY!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup coconut oil/butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon coconut cream
- 12 squares quality dark chocolate
Don’t ask me how much 12 squares of choc is, to any woman I reckon it could even be the equivalent of 12 bars!! I just chopped up some choc and added what I thought looked appropriate
Method:
Chuck it all into a bowl and mix. I never follow instructions properly and everything turns out alright so unless the method matters, this is what I do.
When it’s all mixed, pat it out into round discs and place on a coconut oil greased baking tray. Pop it in the oven on gas mark 4 for 10 minutes.
Edit: The second time I made these I didn’t have enough chocolate so I added a tiny bit of cocoa powder. Came out well! Oh and my cookie dough is speckled looking because I add vanilla bean powder instead of extract
Cookie dough
Cookie dough hand moulded into cookies and placed on a tray
Baked cookies!
Cooled (and eaten) cookies. Totally worth the lack of stress and ease
Gluten Free Salafi 