The Femme Files

Pumpkin Crisps!

A recipe – and don’t we LOVE recipes!

Well at least I do anyway- particularly ones that require minimal ingredients and allow me to mentally recall the inventory that is my current bare fridge and realise that, “Yes – I have all those!”

Last night, I attended a scrumptous launch for the cook book Supercharged Food. And boy was the food anything but sausage rolls and party pies. I have to say though – my hands wouldn’t stop gravitating to the Oven Roasted Pumpkin Chips. They were devine! Needless to say I was the girl at the food table devouring the bowl rather than making small talk. Woops.

When I managed to retract myself from the aformentioned bowl I asked Lee Holmes – author of Supercharged Food- to give me the recipe. Although I had my pen and paper ready, they were not necessary. Two ingredients – a little time and you have the makings of the coolest chip since Kale.

Get ready to eat a whole pumpkin in one sitting – I kid you not.

Oven Roasted Pumpkin Crisps

1/2 Small Pumpkin

Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Brushing

Preheat the overn to 150 degrees celcius. Cut the pumpkin into two or three chunks, then peel. Using a mandoline or the slicing blade on your food processor, cut the chunks into very thin slices, about 2 mm thick. Dry the slices on paper towels.

Place the pumpkin slices in a single layer on two lined baking trays. Brush with Olive Oil and sprinkle with a good pinch of sea salt. The salt helps draw moisture from the vegetables, so let them sit for 5 minutes before placing in the oven.

Bake the pumpklin for 25 minutes or until crisp.

Remove from the oven to cool completely. The slices will crisp as they cool. Keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Makes lots!

 And if  you want to find out more about Lee Holmes’s Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Dairy Free recipes..head on over to superchargedfood.com.

Detox Smart not Hard

Given the nature of our business here at Hypoxi – it goes with the territory that our studios are usually a hive of information on the latest fad diet and “must-eat” superfood for lasting weight-loss. Detox’s particularly at this time of year – are big on everyone’s to do list. I have to admit – each and every time I hear these words being circulated by our hard working clients – I want to cringe.

Coffee as Medicine

At Hypoxi, we are often asked about our thoughts on coffee for our clients. Given that caffeine is the most common stimulant consumed worldwide then it is only natural that we field this question more often than not.

First and foremost, beyond the fact that your skim latte tastes so dam good we all love to rely on it for its ability to decrease fatigue and increase our mental alertness. Furthermore, it also increases heart rate and relaxes the airwaves, which is why some asthmatics like to consume it therapeutically.

From a positive perspective, your coffee ritual can boost your workout and provide that spark for you to work harder. This is particularly effective for endurance based workouts, where increased mental alertness allows you to last longer. Additionally, consuming caffeine increases your heart rate thereby encouraging your body to push its heart rate potential. That being said, all the studies I looked at were rather inconclusive thereby suggesting that once again, it is really up to the individual as to whether caffeine helps or harms them when exercising.

From a less than optimal perspective, caffeine consumed regularly can decrease the efficacy of serotonin and activate the release of dopamine, a major neurotransmitter that provides feelings of enjoyment and motivates us to push through certain tasks. This is a potential positive although it does make the stuff highly addictive…like any drug.

Another factor to think about is sleep quality. As caffeine affects sleep quality in some people and sleep quality affects your hormones and controls your appetite, your afternoon coffee can prevent you from reaching your best body and optimal performance level.

Furthermore, because your morning coffee blocks adenosine in your body and adenosine functions as the ‘breaks’ on your central nervous system, once you quit, your body accumulates the surplus adenosine. This results in headaches, shakiness and upset tummies, all common complaints of people withdrawing from caffeine. Doesn’t sound too pretty right?

And for those precious people who are sensitive to caffeine (of which there are many) caffeine can leave you running to the bathroom as it aggravates your gut and encourages diarrhea. Given also, that caffeine is a diuretic it also may leave you rather dehydrated which we know is a recipe for disastrously limp skin.

So what’s our answer?

Try to use caffeine when you need it as opposed to making it a part of your daily ritual. Use coffee as the stimulant it is prior to exercise but never have a coffee post workout. Having put your body into a state of stress through exercising, your top priority post exercise is to calm your levels of stress and dampen your cortisol response. Caffeine will definitely NOT do that!

What are your thoughts? Think coffee is a necessary evil in our busy schedules?

What is apparent is that the more coffee you have the less you will actually see the benefit from it, so aim to treat coffee therapeutically rather than as a given daily necessity.

What 12 Cosmetics do you use Daily?

Given that our skin is the largest organ in our body I have a rule with my cosmetics, if I wouldn’t eat it I wouldn’t put it on my skin. (Yes as my boyfriend likes to think I am a healthy sustainable snob….but someone’s got to be right?) I have touched on this before with ‘The Story of Stuff’ but I still feel this is a topic most women still appear to turn a blind eye to. This eco infused rant has been largely prompted from the recent spate of Christmas gifts given to me by generous, well intended colleagues and or clients that have been met by me with ABSOLUTE appreciation but also devastation that expensive face creams, lotions and potions are considered a step towards beautiful skin. On average woman use 12 personal care products a day, which although seems a lot, is highly doable if you include, moisturisers, cleansers, toners, foundations, lipsticks, lip balms etc etc. As an aside I might also let you know that men use on average 6 products per day….they are not exempt! If each product contains a dozen or more chemicals than: The Average woman exposes herself to over 167 chemicals on her body and face during her daily beauty regime  Which is all very well as some chemicals are natural BUT Out of 80,000 chemicals used in beauty/personal care products in Australia ONLY 200 OF THEM ARE TESTED FOR SAFETY! Ok so if those stats don’t freak you out or you still feel nonchalant about the whole “let’s go organic in our skin range” rant have a look at what these common ingredients have shown in more than a handful of studies. Phthalates –  Neuro-developmental Disorders and Tumors Parabens  - Genital Abnormalities BHA – lowered sperm count.  My best piece of advice would be to log onto the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep  site, which has a highly efficient database of ingredients and products that allows you to see how potentially toxic each product or compound is. As a person who is more inclined to the humanities spectrum of learning (i.e devoid in all maths and science skills) they present a product rating system that REALLY helps you see exactly how pure and natural an element is. I would also be wary of the rampant green washing that occurs within the cosmetic industry. Just because it says organic or all natural doesn’t mean it’s clean and pure. Petrol can be organic and all natural, so to can alcohol be. The regulation of Australia’s cosmetic industry is rather flexible and thus labelling on most products can be used regardless of whether the said item has any of the aforementioned virtues.  So where to from here?  Why not make your own? (Cue the groans from domestic rebels, which I will have you know I am very much a part of)  I love oil cleansers but if that’s all too hard Australian company Planet Eve Organics have the most beautiful Oil Cleanser. Even if you think your skin is too oily, harsh cleaners are not the antidote! Otherwise a beautiful body wash made out of your own desired essential oils is also amazing! Like lavender oil? Throw it in! Can’t stand the floral aromas? Use Orange Oil instead. Get my picture?  And do you know what the best part of this is? I have been able to return to the kitchen and indulge in my love of ‘cooking’ and not let it add centimetres to my derriere.  Alright, I know sometimes you read articles where you can ‘Make your own vegetable soap’ and you just want to laugh/yell expletives with how inane some people are. I mean honestly, who makes their own soap today? Seriously though, these recipes, plus the plethora of EASY ones I have found on the internet are testament to the fact that DIY beauty products are a cinch.  After therapeutically ladling batches of my coconut milk soap into ice cube trays this weekend I know how much more satisfying this is than licking the bowl clean of Christmas cake batter (that being said….I did do both over the weekend)   Above and beyond all this DIY shenanigans, make an effort to learn about the products that you are inevitably consuming via your skin. You deserve to detox your inside and out this New Year!  If anyone has any other wonderfully easy recipes please share them. As a rule of thumb, no more than five ingredients please…anything else is a headache!