Spicy Carrot & Lentil Soup

- A few sticks of celery

- 1 lb carrots

- 150 g of lentils (red ideally)

- 1 can canneloni beans

- 1 litre of water mixed with a veg stock cube

- 150 ml of milk

- 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds

- 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes (if making this for kids just use a sprinkle)

- 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil

Gently fry the chilli and cumin seeds in a saucepan. 

Add olive oil

Cut up and peel and wash the celery and carrots, drain and rinse the cannelini beans

Add milk and stock

Boil for half an hour on medium then low heat

Blend the soup

Season with salt and pepper

If it's too thick add cup of water per serving when you heat it up again.

Add a dollop of sour cream and serve with naan. Enjoy! So healthy.

Spinach Oat Pancakes

This recipe is from my talented friend Jessica who runs Pilates Happy Hour.

These amazing pancakes are such a healthy and delicious breakfast for toddlers...that can be frozen for super efficiency.  Best thing about them is they don't leave lots of crumbs so are not messy. They also can be served on their own as they are so tasty so super easy.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cups oat flour
• 1 Tablespoon ground flax seed
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup yogurt 
• 1 cup fresh spinach leaves, rinsed

Instructions

1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.
2. Place the banana, egg, milk, yogurt and spinach in a blender or Vitamix and blend until combined (this won’t take long).
3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until just combined.
4. Pour onto a griddle or greased pan (use coconut oil or non-stick spray) and cook about 90 seconds on each side (or until slightly browned). 
5. Serve up or let cool completely and store in the fridge 3 days or the freezer for 4-6 weeks. What's great is you can just throw them in the toaster from frozen for snacks on the go.

Check out her site and her version of this recipe.

http://www.pilateshappyhour.com/2014/09/01/healthy-spinach-pancakes-kids/

Cooking Kale - Making it Delicious!

I am not a big fan of Kale and after several massive fails in the taste/texture arena after steaming and boiling i resigned to hiding it in pies and soups.

A friend shared this recipe with me the other day and now I am a convert. Seriously...

So superfood me up!

Half a cup of olive oil
Quarter cup lemon juice
Red pepper flakes
Crushed garlic
Fresh grated Parmesan

Divide and shred the kale.

Mix oil, lemon juice, red pepper, little bit of garlic together.

Put on kale. Massage kale.

Then grate Parmesan.

Serve. Delicious.

Thanks Tor Langmead!

Lentil Salad with Asparagus, lemon and lots of herbs

Lemony Lentil Salad with Asparagus and Spring Herbs

 

Recipe adapted and photo from Willi Galloway, DigginFood.com, Portland, Oregon

Makes 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

1½ cups French green lentils, rinsed and picked over ½ pound asparagus, trimmed
1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts
4 scallions, white and light-green parts only, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed or finely chopped
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
Squeezed juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons finely chopped dill fronds
½ cup crumbled feta cheese

Start to Finish: 45 minutes

DIRECTIONS - I made this last night so have made a few changes/suggestions.

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the lentils with 6 cups water. Bring the water to a boil and simmer the lentils until tender, about 20 minutes (don't over do these). Drain the lentils and transfer them to a large bowl. 2. Meanwhile, in a large pot fitted with a steamer basket, bring 1 inch of water to a boil. Place the asparagus in the steamer basket to steam for a few minutes (recipe states 5 but it was too much)  - you don't want to overdo them. Run the asparagus under cool water, then slice into 2-inch pieces and set aside.
3. Add the walnuts, scallions, garlic, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt and pepper to the lentils. When the lentils stop steaming, about 5 minutes, mix in the reserved asparagus and the parsley, dill and cheese. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Delicious and one can only begin to imagine how good for your body!!  I served with med veg couscous and prawns in garlic, using the garlic oil to drizzle over everything, and with an indian naan. Sound odd but it worked and was a very fresh and light summer dinner!

Moroccan Couscous With Saffron

Moroccan Couscous With Saffron

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 cups peeled butternut squash, cut into 1/4” to 1/2” cubes
• 2 cups yellow onion, large dice
• 1 1/2 cups carrots, cut into 1/4” to 1/2” cubes
• 1 1/2 cups zucchini, cut into 3/4” cubes
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Fine sea salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat couscous
• 2 scallions, white and green parts, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place the squash, onion, carrots and zucchini on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.
3. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once with a spatula about midway through.
4. While the vegetables roast, bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a saucepan.
5. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the butter, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, cumin, saffron and salt to taste.
6. Cover the pan and steep for 15 minutes.
7. Scrape the roasted vegetables and their juices into a large bowl, and add the couscous.
8. Bring the vegetable broth back to a boil, and pour over the couscous mixture all at once.
9. Cover tightly with a plate and allow to stand for 15 minutes.
10. Add the scallions, toss the couscous and vegetables with a fork, and serve.

Toxicity and what we can do?

I went to a really interesting seminar last night given by Tamara Sachs on 'How to be Healthy Living in a Toxic World'. I learnt some horrifying truths about the chemicals that surround us and that are absorbed into our bodies and then I heard some wonderful advice on how to equip and strengthen our bodies to deal with them.

The bottom line is we must limit our exposure to these chemicals and toxins and fill our body with all the fruit and vegetables that we can. It really is the anti-oxidants that help fight the free radicals, and we should be incorporating as much as possible into our diets.  The daily recommendation for fruit and vegetables in our diet from the government used to be 5 a day. This has gone up to 9-13 a day. If you are trying to detoxify your body then you need more!

In any case the seminar was given by Juice Plus which whilst I hate being sold to, I'm grateful they gave me the opportunity to learn more about toxicity and how we can arm the body to fight toxins.

New fuel on the detox cooking diet after this - incorporate even more vegetables and fruit into every recipe!! If anyone has any good veggie filled recipes please do add them. 

Also - quick note - some fruit & vegetables it is worth buying organic some of the time sometimes its not - e.g. spinach go organic, kiwi fruits don't bother. Check this website www.ewg.org for good information on farming practices and pretty much anything to do environmental issues.

Butternut Squash Gratin with Onions and Sage

Butternut Squash Gratin with Onions and Sage - Serve with a good lean steak and green beans

 1/4 Cup olive oil
3 Cups thinly sliced onion
4 Thyme sprigs
2 Tbspns chopped sage
Salt & Pepper
5 Cups of butternut squash
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated cheddar or gruyere
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

[Tip- I don't like peeling butternut squash I prefer to slow roast the butternut squash for an hour and leave to cool before - then the skin comes away much easier. Cuts down on the cooking time later too.]

Heat half the oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the onion thyme and sage - cook until onions are lightly caramelized.  Season well with salt and pepper. Spread onions in the gratin dish.

Toss the butternut squash cubes in flour. Add rest of oil to skillet and add the butternut squash and let the cubes brown a little. If you have pre-roasted the squash a quick sear will suffice here. Add the parsley and salt and pepper. Layer the squash over the onions in the gratin dish. Cover with the cheese and add the milk.

Cook for 15 minutes then add breadcrumbs and bake until the top is browned and the liquid fully absorbed.

Serve with a lean grilled steak and green beans. [This was a recipe adapted from Deborah Madison Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone - Great book!!]