Zain's Recovery to Wellness

Today's Eat-Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook guest blogger is none other than Zain Jamal. She has a beautiful website full of fitness, yoga and Eating-Clean recipes where she shares her personal journey through recovering from anorexia to a place of wellness. She has also shared with us a delicious Island-Style Meal. How delicious! Try it at your next backyard barbecue. 

Zain prepares my yummy Tri-Color Pasta Salad

Although always athletic, my adoration for fitness and health intensified after I nearly lost my life in a four-year battle with anorexia nervosa.

During my years of recovery, I experienced a near 50lbs weight gain, fell into patterns of binge eating, body dysmorphia, emotional eating and tried every diet, cleanse, workout and magic pill on the market to find balance and reach a comfortable weight, only to attain fleeting success followed by cycles of perpetual weight gain, over-exercising, anxiety and depression.

It was during this desperate time when I discovered Tosca’s Eat-Clean Diet books, which gave me immeasurable insight into the importance of proper nutrition, using food as fuel, macronutrient balance, and what a real portion size actually looked like. I never had to diet again and what’s more, I could enjoy foods that I once coined as ‘bad’ such as carbohydrates and healthy fats! I learned that I no longer had to eat tasteless, unsatisfying meals and that this lifestyle would actually help me attain the physique I desired!

Eating five to six meals a day and exercising portion control as Tosca described, helped me to break the destructive binge/restrict cycle and enabled my body to reveal true signals of hunger and satiety again.  I returned to a healthy, balanced weight, regained my vitality and my hair and skin glowed. It was the beginning of a life-long romance with Tosca’s Eat-Clean Diet books.

I am so excited for the Eat-Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook, as I have been a spiritual vegetarian for twelve years, having learned much of what I know from my Indian heritage, yoga, and study of Ayurveda; however, I am just starting to dabble in a pescatarian lifestyle for health specific reasons and am looking forward to expanding my horizons with these delicious recipes.

I have spent the last several years rebuilding all aspects of myself as a woman, athlete, fitness model, yogini, nutritionist and Eating-Clean recipe chef through my own learning from the Eat-Clean Diet Series and under the guidance of my coach Fatima Leite Kusch, WBFF Pro. I would love to welcome all of you to follow me on my blog, Twitter, Pinterest pages for inspiration, clean and delicious recipes and fitness information.

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing a number of Tosca's recipes from The Eat-Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook on my website via fun videos like this one where I have prepared some of my favourite recipes to celebrate this amazing opportunity with my friends and offer them the chance to sample a few of Tosca’s incredible recipes. Stay tuned & in the meantime you can enjoy my favorite Clean meal below...


Zain’s Island Style Macadamia Nut Crusted Prawns (or Tofu) with Coconut Rice and Roasted Pineapple, Mango, Saffron Salad 

Indulge in succulent, tropical tastes with one of my favourite signature meals that can be made to suit any pescatarian, vegetarian and/or vegan!

Servings: 2
Time: approximately 40 minutes

Note: This meal works wonderfully for athletes and competitors; however, it does call for servings of honey as well as fruit so if you are monitoring your simple carb intake due to on-season training, swap the honey for the sweetener of your choice.

Ingredients
Prawn or Tofu Skewers
8oz Fresh Jumbo King Prawns OR 175g Organic Extra Firm Tofu (Cut into 1” Cubes)
1” Fresh Ginger (minced)
½ Cup Light Coconut Milk
3-5 Drops Braggs Seasoning
1/16 Tsp White Pepper
1 Tbsp Honey
30g Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
12 Large Macadamia Nuts (Unsalted)
Cooking Spray (I use Canola)
*Note – ½ Cup Pineapple and ½ Cup Mango from below amounts will be used for the salad once BBQ’d, I made two skewers with just fruit and the remaining ones combined fruit and prawns or tofu.
1 Cup Fresh Pineapple (Cubed and amount divided)
1 Cup Fresh Mango (Cubed, I used Ataulfo variety for sweetness, amount divided)

Macadamia Dipping Sauce
2 Tbsp Macadamia Butter
5-6 Drops Braggs
¼ “ Fresh Ginger (minced)
¼ Clove Garlic (minced)
½ Tbsp Honey

Coconut Rice
½ Cup Brown Basmati Rice
1½ Cups Water
Pinch Himalayan Crystal Salt
¼ Cup Light Coconut Milk
1 Bay Leaf
1 Packet Stevia/Splenda OR ½ Tbsp Agave Syrup

Salad
2 Belgium Endives (de-leaved, remaining finely chopped)
2 Spring Onions (finely chopped)
4-5 Leaves Radicchio (finely chopped)
¼ Red Bell Pepper  (finely chopped)
2 Sprigs Cilantro
Juice of 1 Fresh Lime
½ Jalapeno (minced)
Mango pulp remaining from seed
1” Cube Pineapple
Pinch Himalayan Crystal Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/16 Red Chili Powder (optional)
Pinch Spanish Saffron
½ Cup BBQ Pineapple (finely chopped, from divided amount above)
½ Cup BBQ Mango (finely chopped, from divided amount above)

Directions
1. Marinate prawns (vein removed) or tofu in coconut milk, ginger, white pepper and Braggs seasoning for at least 30 minutes (I find marinating overnight gives best results).
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and fire up grill (or pan). Soak and rinse rice.
3. Bring soaked rice to a boil with bay leaf and pinch of salt.  Cook for 20-25 minutes or until tender then add coconut milk and sweetener of your choice.
4. On sprayed baking sheet, toast macadamia nuts and coconut flakes for 7-9 minutes or until golden. Removed from oven and blend lightly in magic bullet or food processor until the mixture resembles chunky breadcrumbs.
5. Soak wooden skewers in water for a few minutes before using; prepare skewers with marinated prawns or tofu as well as cubed fruit, discard remaining marinade.
6. Coat grill or pan with cooking spray and place skewers to cook on med heat for 2-3 minutes on each side until prawns appear red and cooked and fruit slightly golden.
7. Meanwhile, finely chop vegetables and peppers for salad and set aside.
8. For dressing blend remaining mango pulp from seed, lime juice, pineapple chunk, salt, pepper, chili powder and saffron in magic bullet or food processor, leave to chill.
9. Once skewers are ready, remove ½ of the fruit and slice finely, allow to cool, then add to the prepared salad ingredients.
10. Paint prawns or tofu with honey (I actually use a paint brush here) and roll in the
macadamia nut /coconut crumbs until fully and thickly coated.
11. In a small, sprayed sauce pan, sautee ginger and garlic on med heat.  Lower heat and add macadamia butter, honey and Braggs seasoning.
12. Plate the meal and drizzle salad with mango/saffron dressing.  Enjoy!!!