Herbed Chicken Drumsticks - Julie Buckley

A tasty marinade for chicken the whole family will love. Use plenty of herbs and swap around to vary the flavour depending on what is available.

Herbed Chicken Drumsticks

2 Chicken drumsticks per person
Marinade:
A handful each of fresh parsley, mint and oregano 
You can also add other herbs depending on what you like or have on hand such as rosemary, sage, basil, thyme, lemon balm etc - the more the merrier
1 small red onion diced
2 Tbsp Fish sauce
Juice of a lemon
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 small red chilli seeds removed and finely chopped
1 Tbsp tamari
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp sea salt or Himalayan salt

Place all of the marinade ingredients into a blender and pulse until a paste is formed.

With a knife cut slashes into the meaty part of the chicken drumsticks. Place in a roasting dish and spoon over the marinade and with gloves on massage the marinade over the chicken making sure you get it right into the cuts.

Cover the chicken and place in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Pour ½ cup of water into the baking tray to make sure the marinade doesn’t burn. Roast for 30-40 minutes until the chicken is golden and the juices run clear when the thickest part is pierced with a knife.

This chicken is also great on the barbeque but make sure it is cooked more slowly. Always check it is cooked right through and is not pink in the middle.

Healthy Eating

-Julie Buckley (Coach/Chef)
Diabetes Clinic New Zealand

If you know someone who would like to reverse pre-diabetes or Type 2 Diabetes get them to message the Diabetes Clinic here https://m.me/diabetesclinicnz

or visit www.diabetesclinic.co.nz

Using high quality images with your digital marketing

Photo by Igor Miske on Unsplash

“ A picture paints a thousand words”

I believe the original quote was actually 'A picture is worth ten thousand words' as stated by Fred R. Barnard, of Printers' Ink, 10 March 1927.

Anyway, pictures are so important for your website, blogs and social media marketing these days. However, most small businesses cannot afford to get high quality photos for every piece of work they produce that requires an image so what do you do?

1.    Learn how to take great photos yourself. With today’s technology most of us can take a half decent photo using our cell phones. I use an iPhone, but I have seen great images from other phones as well. It is worth taking a lesson or two to get the basics right and then yu have the means to do a fair percent of your own images. Tip: Horizontal photos work best.

2.    Negotiate. I use local photographers from time to time most are willing to negotiate, and it is worth getting some great customises images for your website.

3.    Use www.istock.com to find images for adverts, blogs etc especially when you want something that fits a theme or style you want to use. They have regular specials if you sign up for the newsletter. Images will cost you between $20-$50 but it is worth the investment at times.

4.    Use UnSplash for FREE images (this is one of my favourite image sites). I use this for adverts and blogs. Not the same collection as iStock but cannot beat the value - remember to credit the photographer (this is why they placed the image on the site). Sometimes it is not quite appropriate but try to give them credit if you can.

5.    Use Pixabay for FREE images very similar to Unsplash and you will see images from same photographers. Same conditions apply - credit the photographer if you can.

There are few other sites which charge you a minimal amount to buy ‘Royalty Free’ images and I am sure there will be a lot more soon. look at https://www.dreamstime.com/ as another option to add to your list. The point is there are loads of ways to find great images.

I personally think it is wise to invest but given time constraints and budgets the options above should help you out.

Hope you found this article helpful - if you liked it please ‘like’ my Facebook page and send me a message this will add you to my list of people to notify when I post again.

Happy Posting.

Tony C

Personal Coach / Digital Marketing Specialist
e. hello@tonycuttingdigital.co.nz
m. https://m.me/tonycuttingdigital
w. tonycuttingdigital.com

Zucchini and Feta Tart - Julie Buckley

Zucchinis are abundant in my garden at the moment so are going into a lot of meals. This is a lovely option for lunch or dinner with a green salad. It can also be made without the pastry to make a lovely frittata which could be made in muffin tins for a great breakfast or lunch option.

Zucchini and Feta Tart

Serves 4-6 people

Pastry
3/4c ground almonds
1/2c coconut flour
1/4c coconut oil melted
3Tbsp psyllium husks
1 egg
1tsp sea salt
2-3 Tbsp cold water

Filling
6 eggs
1/2c cream
2 zucchini sliced thinly lengthwise
1 red capsicum, seeds removed and sliced thinly
75g feta cheese
½ tsp sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celcius. To make the pastry mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Mix in the beaten egg and melted coconut oil. You may need to gradually add in enough cold water to help form a stiff dough. Wrap in plastic and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Prepare a round or rectangle flan tin by lightly greasing with coconut or olive oil (mine is a loose bottom tin to make removal easier). Roll out the pastry until 2-3mm thick between 2 sheets of baking paper. Remove the top layer of baking paper and gently flip the pastry over. It is likely to break but patch up any patches or cracks by pressing the pastry together. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool before adding the filling.

Thinly slice the zucchini with a mandolin or vegetable peeler into thin strips and roll up. Stand the zucchini rolls on their ends and scatter the red capsicum and crumbled feta over. Beat together the eggs and cream with the salt and pepper and pour evenly into the pastry case over the vegetables.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the filling is puffed and golden and set in the middle.

Healthy Eating

-Julie Buckley (Coach/Chef)
Diabetes Clinic New Zealand

If you know someone who would like to reverse pre-diabetes or Type 2 Diabetes get them to message the Diabetes Clinic here https://m.me/diabetesclinicnz

or visit www.diabetesclinic.co.nz

Save time using Buffer

If you run a number of Facebook accounts I personally recommend using Buffer. You get Three Social Accounts for FREE or if you are like me I run ten Facebook Accounts through their business paid service.

This definitely saves previous time if you are posting on a regular basis.

However, in some cases you will want to post different content at different times. This is important as the algorithm will recognise multiple posts and may ask you to reset your password and check your accounts.

The best way to avoid this is to schedule your posts for different times of the day. Yes, it takes a little more time but doing this through Buffer you will still save a lot of work.

One of the big benefits of upgrading to the business account is you can use your own url shortner (I use Bit.ly) rather than the buffer link shortner which sometimes gets blocked.

Final Tip of the day

When using Buffer please place your links before the final text.

e.g. after your link add some more text like ‘ thanks for taking the time to read my post - I hope you found it interesting’. Also ensure the Buffer setting is not ‘Link from image’

Why?

Thereis a chance the post on a Facebook page will drop the link from the bottom of the post . It will allow people to link from the image but not everyone will understand to do this.

Hope you found this helpful

NB: Remember the rules seem to change each month so watch what is happening. It is still worth while using tools like Buffer to save time and make life a lot easier for you.

Happy Posting.

Tony C

Personal Coach / Digital Marketing Specialist
e. hello@tonycuttingdigital.co.nz
m. https://m.me/tonycuttingdigital
w. tonycuttingdigital.com

Are supplements necessary?

Photo by Angel Sinigersky on Unsplash

Do I take supplements or should I be trying to get what I need from food?

Nutrition surveys tell us that more and more people are not meeting the bare minimum recommended daily amounts (RDAs) of more and more nutrients. Common examples are magnesium, selenium, zinc and vitamins A, C and D. Government response is often to drop the RDAs further!

Ideally we get our nutrients from real food. The quality of our food has changed dramatically so it is no longer as simple as this. Our depleted soil, the types of seeds, processing and additives are all not helping. Sugar depletes nutrients from the body, as the body works to handle it, but brings nothing to the party in return, a ‘minus-sum game’.

Chemicals are disrupting our chemistry, overworking our elimination pathways and provoking the immune system. Sometimes the body will need a therapeutic dose of something and additional supplement support may be appropriate. Fish oil is a good example for the diabetic person. The body tries to tell us that it needs something additional - this message is often met with a medication! Which of course can also cause negative side effects.

It is interesting to note that the 60 mg or so of vitamin C is in an apple, with all its cofactors, equals the effect of around 1500 mg of “pure” vitamin C in the body. So you can see that eating real food is important. Nature is designed perfectly but the marketers have got too clever!

So the definitive answer is YES you are most likely going to need some help from supplements. generally a change in diet is essential for most people. Supplements will help us all.

If you feel you need help please feelf ree to reach out the a Health Coach at the Diabetes Clinic. Contact us via our Facebook page via messenger.

https://www.facebook.com/diabetesclinicnz/

Have a healthy day

Tony Cutting
Blog written on behalf of the Diabetes Clinic.

www.diabetesclinic.co.nz

Lettuce Lunch Wraps - Julie Buckley

This is a versatile recipe where you can use up leftovers from your fridge or whatever vegetables you have on hand. Iceberg lettuce or cos lettuce leaves work well for the wrap

Ingredients
1 cos lettuce washed, remove thick stems 
Leftover cooked chicken, ham, bacon
1 ripe avocado sliced
2 tomatoes sliced
½ cup roasted capsicums drained
1 cucumber thinly sliced
½ cup sprouts
Smokey almond hummus:
½ c ground almonds
1 Tbsp tahini
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 clove garlic crushed
¼ c water
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
2-3 sun-dried tomatoes in oil finely chopped

To make the hummus combine the ingredients together to make a thick paste using half the water initially then add a little more water to make it more spreadable if needed as the almonds soak up a lot.

Lay a sheet of baking paper on your board and arrange lettuce leaves overlapping if they are not large. Spread a layer of almond hummus or a good quality mayo over the leaves leaving a good border free for wrapping. Add the cooked chicken or ham and vegetables down the middle of the leaves. Using the baking paper roll the leaf wrap up tightly and secure with toothpicks or string to hold tight. Cut in half and enjoy.

Healthy Eating

-Julie Buckley (Coach/Chef)
Diabetes Clinic New Zealand

If you know someone who would like to reverse pre-diabetes or Type 2 Diabetes get them to message the Diabetes Clinic here https://m.me/diabetesclinicnz

or visit www.diabetesclinic.co.nz

Salmon salad with Tahini and lemon dressing - Julie Buckley

Salmon Salad with Tahini

There is nothing that says summer more than fresh colourful salads. The more colours in your salad the more nutrients you are eating. This salmon and vegetable salad is dressed with tahini and lemon dressing and is a complete meal.

Use what you have on hand in your garden or fridge. Bacon and chicken are both great options instead of salmon and vegetable options are limited only by your imagination.

Salmon salad with Tahini and lemon dressing

Salad greens - enough to cover your plate or platter
400g salmon fillet skin on and pin bones removed
2 zuchinni cut into bite sized pieces
2 carrots cut into even size pieces
1 red onion peeled and sliced into wedges
1 red or yellow capsicum cut into large cubes
1/2 avocado sliced or diced
4-6 eggs soft boiled
100g green beans
100g cherry tomatoes halved
1-2 Tbsp olive or avocado oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dressing
1/3c extra virgin olive oil
1/3c apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic crushed
1 Tbsp Tahini
The juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 Tbsp maple syrup (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut all of your vegetables into even sized pieces. Line a baking tray with baking paper and lay the zuchinni, carrots, red onions and capsicums in separate lines on the baking tray and drizzle with a little avocado or olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes until just tender. Leave to cool while assembling the remaining ingredients.

Place the salmon fillet onto a baking tray and drizzle with avocado oil, the juice of half a lemon and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the centre is just cooked. Leave to cool before cutting into chunks or flaking with a fork.

Blanch the beans in boiling water for about 30 seconds then refresh in cold water to stop them cooking further. Peel and halve the boiled eggs.

To make the dressing blend all of the ingredients together with a stick blender.

To assemble place a bed of lettuce onto your serving platter. Place lines of your cooked and raw vegetables and the salmon and eggs in rows over the top of the salad. Alternate colours where possible. Drizzle with the dressing just before serving.

Healthy Eating

-Julie Buckley (Coach/Chef)
Diabetes Clinic New Zealand

If you know someone who would like to reverse pre-diabetes or Type 2 Diabetes get them to message the Diabetes Clinic here https://m.me/diabetesclinicnz

or visit www.diabetesclinic.co.nz

Facebook tips for business owners

If you are using Facebook to help promote your business here are a few more tips for you that will help you get a lot more engagement and success.

1. Post great content - I have said it before and will reiterate this one again. Make your content worth ‘liking’, ‘commenting on’ and most of all worth ‘sharing’. Good content gets engagement and the more your post is seen by the Facebook algorithm as something people are engaging with the more it will allow you to reach.

2. Be great at Replying - Reply to comments and messages as promptly as you can. Again Facebook provides recognition for this and will reward you with more views.

3. Place links in comments - Facebook does not like you linking away from your page. So simply placce the link in a comment under the post to avoid the penalties and get more reach.

4. Build your partners - Businesses who work together by ‘liking’, ‘commenting’ and ‘sharing’ each others post will get a far bigger reach than a business who ‘goes it alone’.

5. Post video - video is king, second to mulitple images then a single great image. Remember to leave the text to the text section and leave your images nice and clean.

6. Ask for Engagement - At the end of a great post don’t be afraid to ask for ‘likes’, ‘comments’ and ‘shares’.

7. Structure your post - A great heading or ‘Hook’ which is seperate from the main body of text encourages people to read on. A seperate call to action paragraph at the end encourages readers to take the action you would like. Space is the key here give each section space before starting the next.

8. Write posts specifically for engagement - You may want to run a competition or specifically ask people to provide comments. Make your intention clear and see the difference in your results.

Well, I hope you found this blog useful. If you did please ‘like’ my Facebook page and send me a message. ocne in my message system you will recieve regular tips on everything digital to help you and your business.

https://www.facebook.com/tonycuttingdigital/

Until next time

Tony C
Personal Coach / Digital Marketing Specialist
e. hello@tonycuttingdigital.co.nz
m. https://m.me/tonycuttingdigital
w. tonycuttingdigital.com