dog food

As all my followers will know, Poppy is our gorgeous West Highland Terrier. When it comes to food, Poppy is a typical female and can be very picky. A few years ago, in addressing a common West Highland Terrier skin condition, we put her on a veterinarian Hypoallergenic dog food, which helped to regulate her eating habits whilst also addressing her skin condition. We found that each meal time, we had to entice her to eat her food by adding a few nibbles of either meat or raw vegetables, and you would never dare to add the same thing for more than one meal in a row - how dare you!

Anyway, we take Poppy to a special Westie groomer half an hour away from her home - we figure it is worth the extra travel for a groomer that treats the dogs well and doesn't stress them out. This particular groomer also grooms show Westie's, so we have full confidence that he knows what he is doing when it comes to the haircare of Poppy. On our last visit, he introduced us to a New Zealand brand of dog food he was importing that is so good, I just had to tell you all about it!

It is called Ziwi Peak, and it is the perfect gluten free, dairy free and sugar free food FOR YOUR DOG! We buy the air-dried dog food which comes in three flavours: lamb, venison and venison + fish. As I mentioned before, Poppy has always been a picky eater, but since feeding her Ziwi Peak, she has become a real foodie! As soon as she hears the jar which we store her food in being opened, she comes racing in. We no longer have to add anything to her dog food to entice her to eat, just give her the Ziwi Peak and she is a happy Westie.

The only way I was able to take this picture of Poppy looking up at me was to dangle some Ziwi Peak in front of her, hehe

So what is so special about Ziwi Peak?

1. 1=3...Gently air dried to lock in great nutrition. Their unique, gentle air-drying process preserves the goodness of raw meat, organs and fish. 1 portion of air-dried ZiwiPeak = 3 of raw meat.
2. No preservatives, fillers or carbohydrates from grains. Only natural ingredients go into ZiwiPeak. It's totally free of any nasties, added sugars, salt, glycerines, antibiotics, hormones or preservatives.
3. Over 90% meat content. With over 95% digestibility rating, ZiwiPeak ensures your pet gets almost all the nutritional benefit or raw feeding.
4. 100% of all ingredients from New Zealand. From trusted pastures and clean oceans, safely and conveniently, to your pet's food bowl.
5. Wild-prey diet...A completely  balanced, natural, wild-prey, meat diet.  Exactly what your pet's digestive system has evolved to thrive on.

Some of my friends have complained that ZiwiPeak is more expensive than other brands of dog kibble. And it is, but it is still affordable at around $150 for a 5kg bag. You also no longer need to add anything else to their food to either entice them to eat or in an effort to give them a more rounded diet; just feed them ZiwiPeak alone - they never get sick of it and it provides them with all the nutrition they need! Plus, can you honestly put a price on your dog's health and well-being?

For more information and stockists, go to http://www.ziwipeak.com

broccoli + zucchini bake

Serves 4

Ingredients

red onion, diced

broccoli, cut into small florets

2 zucchini, sliced

celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper

crushed chilli flakes

hot filtered water

1/2 cup rice milk

4 free-range organic eggs

ground nutmeg

handful basil, chopped

Method

1. Saute onions in a frying pan with olive oil until softened
2. Add broccoli and zucchini, season lightly and add a pinch of crushed chilli flakes to taste. Add a dash of hot filtered water to the pan to soften the vegetables, and add more as necessary
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, pinch of celtic sea salt and a pinch of ground nutmeg until fluffy
4. Stir basil through egg mixture
5. When vegetables are softened and slightly browned, place in a baking dish and pour egg mixture over the top
6. Bake in a 180°C oven for about 30 minutes

Notes
If you are not following a dairy or lactose free diet, then sprinkle with cheese before placing in the oven.

thai beef salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup hot filtered water

500g fillet steak

1/4 red onion, finely diced

2 spring onions, sliced diagonally

red capsicum, finely sliced

handful bean sprouts

125g green beans, sliced diagonally

lebanese cucumber, chopped

green chilli, finely sliced

1 cup coriander, chopped

50ml tamari sauce

juice of 1 lime

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Method

1. Cook green beans
2. Cook quinoa in filtered hot water
3. Grill steak with seasoning until medium rare. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before slicing into thin pieces
4. Combine onion, spring onion, capsicum, bean sprouts, beans, cucumber, chilli, coriander, quinoa and steak in a large serving bowl
5. Mix together tamari sauce, lime juice and garlic to make dressing and pour over salad

Notes
Feel free to use more red onion if you like red onion, or try adding a red chilli too if you like really spicy food.

Is nutrition a need or a want?

An excellent article from Matt Walsh - a must read!

"Everyone’s got something to sell, and very few of them are selling anything you need. So, to compensate, the peddlers pull out their shotguns and blow giant holes in your psyche. Then they convince you that they’ve got the perfect thing to plug the gaps."

Read the full article here:http://themattwalshblog.com/2013/11/02/dear-daughter-youre-beautiful-regardless-of-what-the-media-tells-you/

It begs the question of what we really need in life…love, health and nutrition, a good environment (built and natural) and education perhaps. What do you think?

cauliflower paella

Serves 4

Ingredients

onion, diced

red capsicum, diced

3 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 cauliflower, diced in food processor

3 garlic cloves, crushed

3 teaspoons smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3/4 cup hot filtered water

1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt

bay leaf

cracked black pepper

1/2 cup artichokes, diced

400g tin diced tomato

1/4 cup olives, sliced

juice of 1 lime

parsley, for garnish

Method

1. Saute onion in olive oil
2. Add capsicum and celery until softened
3. Add cauliflower and stir for 3 minutes
4. Add garlic, paprika, turmeric, cayenne pepper, water, bay leaf, salt, pepper, artichokes, tomato and olives
5. Bring to the boil, and reduce to a simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed
6. Serve with lime and parsley

Notes
A paella without rice?! Who knew cauliflower was such a great rice substitute. This vegetable-packed meal tastes even better the next day! I love to heat it up in the oven to caramelise it further until the top is slightly crunchy.

kitchen scale

I am in love with my new kitchen scale - a retro styled Anna Gare Lucy Mechanical Scale 5kg/20g in the vintage white and blue colour.

I am quite a lucky girl when it comes to kitchenware as my mum works in the kitchenware section of David Jones (for those of you not in Australia, David Jones is one of the large department stores here). I had been researching all the different types of kitchen scales, both digital and mechanical, trying to evaluate the best functioning and most aesthecially pleasing product.

My mum soon informed me that some digital scales are "designed" to last a specific amount of time. My best gauge of whether to buy a product, is to ask my mum how often that product gets returned in their store. As it turns out, digital scales are returned more often than mechanical scales. In addition, mechanical scales are cheaper than digital scales - or at least cheaper than the ones worth buying as I hear the really cheaper digital ones aren't very good. I purchased this Anna Gare one for $49.95.

It now sits in my kitchen, performing its task as would be expected, whilst looking pretty. Highly recommended!

sausage, vegetable + bean stew

Serves 4

Poppy cooks...

1. Cook
   1 packet of sausages and set aside.
   
   
   
2. In a large pot, saute
   1 onion, diced in
   olive oil.
   
   
   
3. Add
   300g carrots, cut into bite sized pieces,
   300g potatoes, cut into bit sized pieces,
   1 tablespoon garlic, sliced,
   1 teaspoon cumin,
   1 400g tin of cannellini beans,
   500ml chicken stock,
   1 cup water and
   1 bay leaf; and bring to the boil.
   
   
   
4. Reduce to a simmer; then add
   2 cups pumpkin, cut into bite sized pieces,
   2 tablespoons parsley, chopped and sliced sausages.
   
   
   
5. Cook until vegetables are tender and season with
   black pepper.
   
   
   
6. Remove bay leaf before serving and garnish with extra parsley.

Notes
If you have a large dutch oven, you can cook the sausages in it and use it for the remainder of the recipe, which will incorporate the flavours from the cooked sausages into the dish. It also makes this a one-pot-wonder!