Aubergine and Red Pepper Dip

2 medium sized eggplants

I large red pepper

1 red onion

1/2 punnet of rosa tomatoes (optional)

2 cloves garlic

1 Dessert spoon lemon juice

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon of of olive oil (I use the Woolworths olive oil spray)

Roast aubergine (eggplant), red pepper, onion, rosa tomatoes and garlic together at 200 c for about 20 to 25 min until soft and starting to caramelize.  

Pop into a food processor (with the blade attachment) and add salt, pepper, dessert spoon of fresh lemon juice, pinch cayenne pepper and whiz a few times. (I didn’t make it too smooth, kept a rough texture)

Delicious with raw veggies or quartered pita bread. Perfect as a starter or served with a barbecue in summer.

A Passion for Paddling.

To begin this story I have to digress a moment. My two daughters have been dragging me, kicking and screaming into the 21st century. They have very patiently coached – and are continuing to coach me – in the art of social media. They have got me blogging, tweeting and “facebooking”.

Most of my 50 something year old friends don’t get twitter. “I don’t understand it, who is interested if I have am having coffee or lunch” are the type of comments I get all the time. I silently agreed with them but persisted with tweeting and I am finally starting to “get it”.

Through my daughters and because of NoMu’s fabulous product range I started “following” – as in Twitter following, not stalking – Paul, from NoMu. In one tweet he generously offered to take the Goldberg Girls out for a paddle and to act as our guide.

We took him up on the offer and met one Saturday morning at Three Anchor Bay. We donned our life jackets, were giving a paddle, shown how it should be used and then seated in double kayaks were pushed into the water. It didn’t require any skill. The kayaks are wide and stable and there is little danger of capsizing. That was it, 5 minutes and we were off.

After initially concentrating very hard on my paddling, I relaxed and looked up to see the natural beauty of the Atlantic coast. We passed Signal Hill, Lions Head and then the 12 Apostles came into view. Table Mountain stood majestically in the background. It was magnificent. Paul kept up the chirps and didn’t give me any time to even consider that I may be feeling nervous. When we didn’t talk, the only sound was a splash as the paddle hit the water. We paddled out to a rig that was anchored in the bay. After what felt like a very short time but in reality turned out to be 2 hours we glided back onto the beach.

Not only was I hooked, my daughters were too. Over the next few mornings, when I was out walking, I kept staring at the sea – I felt like an addict who hadn’t had a fix – I wanted to be in a kayak.

I simply had to go again, so I took out a monthly membership to paddle with Kaskazi Kayaks the local kayaking company. I have been out four times since. When I was out with my daughter we spotted a seal lolling on his back in the water and using his fin to “scratch” his nose. The following week my husband and I saw 3 pods of dolphin. They swam on either side of us while we sat watching, quietly in our kayaks. It was inspiring and such a privilege to see.

I have a history of being “lazy” when it comes to sport. Other than swimming I never really enjoyed sports at school and found every conceivable way to get out of PT and extra mural sports. I found using machines at gym mind numbingly boring and kept having to rejoin because my membership kept expiring. This changed when I rediscovered my enjoyment of swimming. And now with just a few days to go until I turn 54 I find it remarkable that I have discovered a new and unexpected passion for paddling!

Sunday is my birthday and I’ve decided to celebrate in a slightly unconventional way. Rather than going out for dinner as we usually do, Kathy, my best friend since Grade 1 (Sub A), her husband, daughter and my family are going out for a paddle – hopefully we’ll see some dolphins – but even if we don’t I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing.

Besides what’s on my doorstep, I found an international paddlesports magazine on the internet with articles on Raja Ampat, Indonesia, the Vltava River, Czech Republic and sea kayaking the Quirimbas, Mozambique. I have never heard of any of these places before and I may or may not get to them but there is a whole new world to be discovered and adventures to be had and that makes me feel so alive.

So for the “lazy” person I always believed I was, I am now out early in the morning at least four times a week, either walking, swimming or paddling. The fact that all three are excellent forms of exercise is the cherry on the top.

The moral of the story, rather than struggle with doing something you hate or exercising because you think you should, try new things, be open to new experiences, conquer your fears because you never know what passion you may find. And by the way thinking you’re too old, isn’t an excuse!

Soul Snacks – little bites of inspiration

 

 

“You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You’re on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”

Dr Seus – “Oh, the places you’ll go”

 

Soul Snacks are inspiring cards to nourish your soul, keep you motivated and help you achieve your goals.

 For more information click here. 

 

Forget New Year resolutions & Ditch Diets that Start on Mondays.

Forget New Year Resolutions

Before the end of a year everyone starts talking about what their new year resolutions are going to be, then after new year everyone tells you about the resolutions that they’ve set and asks you about yours. Every single health magazine has at least one article about resolutions, twitter is full of resolution tweets. By week 5 or 6 they’ve faded, been forgotton or failed. That is until next year.

I think it’s time to change our thinking. I think we should toss New Year’s resolutions out of the window as well as diets that start on Mondays. Rather let’s have an ongoing goal to change one thing at a time. It should be ongoing, one week rolling into the next, month after month, year after year, regardless of the day, date or year.

If you want to lose weight decide on what one thing you’re going to change and do it. If you want to lead a healthier lifestyle, decide on the one thing you want to change and start. When you’ve mastered that one change select the next one. Small changes, big impact. Forget New Year’s resolutions and ditch diets that start on Mondays. Start now, don’t wait.

The Zen of Health.

Feeling overwhelmed with everyone talking about resolutions?  A healthy lifestyle is about simplicity not complexity. 

Here is my take on the Zen of Health   

Have faith –

• in yourself and in the process
• that if you keep doing the right things often enough you will get results

 Be mindful of –

• how you treat your body
• what you put into your mind and body
• what you want to achieve
• the choices you make and their impact on your life

 Apply wisdom –

• Be your own guru – no-one knows you better than yourself. You know your strengths, weaknesses as well as what motivates you and what triggers your bad habits.
• Know that it’s ok to go off track – apply the 80 /20 principle i.e. make healthy choices at least 80% of the time
• Leading a healthy lifestyle is not about complexity – it is about simplicity.
• Apply wisdom, logic and common sense to offers of quick fix remedies and promises of easy and fast weight loss solutions.

 Be authentic –

• do what you say you are going to do
• talk less and do more

 Focus on –

• what you are trying to achieve
• one thing at a time
• making healthier choices more often
• the present – not on yesterday or tomorrow
• where you put your attention and energy
• leading a healthy energising lifestyle – not on weight loss
• simplifying your life and removing the clutter
• finding balance by feeding your mind, body and soul

Work on one change at a time. Small changes, big impact.