Five Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Diet 💫

Let’s start at the beginning – with breakfast - non-breakfast eaters (you maniacs) just skip along. Porridge is my go-to breakfast, it’s minimally processed, low in fat, no added sugar and it’s so easy to pimp! You can add fruit, (frozen berries are brill), spices (I’m a sucker for cinnamon - helps lower blood sugar), seeds and if you’re looking for a little more protein in your diet you can add a spoonful of protein powder.

Seeds! Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, linseeds. Full of protein, fibre and healthy fats. I always keep a jar of sweet seeds (dry pan toast first and then add maple syrup and cinnamon and/or mixed spice) for porridge and yogurt and a jar of savoury (dry pan toast first, then add tamari /soya sauce) for soups, stews etc.

Bread, pasta, rice – you know this one - switch the refined whites for wholegrain. The wholegrain versions are lower in sugar and higher in fibre, which we need for good digestion aka keeping things regular.

Stir Fries – remember the eighties when the answer to every vegetarian option was a stir fry? Well it’s time to get wokkin’ again (I just use an ordinary frying pan but can’t resist a pun). Stir fries are a quick and easy way to cook up a load of yummy veg AND include chilli, ginger and garlic – fantastic immune system boosters. A bit of soya or tamari sauce and you’re ready to go. They can even make kale edible (super nutritious but like eating thistles right?)

Stews, curries and soups – ‘tis the season for them. These are another way to up the veggie intake. I always start with a bit of olive oil and sauté onions, garlic and whatever is in the fridge that works well chopped e.g. celery, leeks, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, chilli, once they’re soft I either use tinned plum tomatoes or vegetable stock. I’ll add in 1-2 tins of beans, definitely will add in herbs (so good for you – they weren’t used for remedies for nothing ya know), maybe peas, wholegrain pasta, brussel sprouts (Stop that! I won’t hear a word against them). Use your fabulous imagination. These are perfect for batch cooking and freezing.

Buon appetito!

Not Your Regular Bread

Way back in July – ok it was only the month before last but it already seems like ages ago – I spent a week at Kaliyoga, the most wonderful yoga retreat, in Puglia, right in the high heel of that beautiful boot that is Italy.

I will most definitely do a blog on the retreat, I’ve started it a couple of times but either ended up in a daydream or downward dog.

One of the many high points of the retreat was the food.  The most delicious vegetarian and vegan delights which totally tantalised the tastebuds on a daily basis.  (Yes, I love alliteration almost as much as I love yoga retreats.)

The queen of the kitchen at Kaliyoga is Alessandra, this woman has more health and wellness qualifications than you could shake a celery stick at.  As well as overseeing all the culinary goings on at the retreat,  she also offers a weekly food workshop to the guests, which of course I signed up for. 

The most beneficial part of this for me was learning how to make the ‘Life Changing Loaf of Bread’, which was a very popular staple at meals throughout the week.  Even more importantly, I learned that it was really easy to make – seriously – it’s a step up from a mud pie and it’s awesome.  It’s wheat free, full of nuts and seeds and even has psyllium husks, definitely not your ‘regular bread’, more so ‘keep you regular bread’. 

I have made it several times since I came back from Italy and think I have perfected it now, it takes less than 15 minutes to prepare and less than an hour in the oven.  The recipe originally comes from the My New Roots blogger; holistic nutritionist and cookbook author Sarah Britton.

I like to slice it up and stick it in the freezer.  All summer I’ve just extracted a slice or two for lunch, toast it, dice it and put it on a salad.  It’s a taste and texture sensation!  I don’t think it has changed my life, but it has definitely changed my lunch.

The Life-Changing Loaf of Bread
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
1 cup / 135g sunflower seeds
½ cup / 90g flax seeds
½ cup / 65g hazelnuts or almonds
1 ½ cups / 145g rolled oats
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
4 Tbsp. psyllium seed husks (3 Tbsp. if using psyllium husk powder)
1 tsp. fine grain sea salt (add ½ tsp. if using coarse salt)
1 Tbsp. maple syrup or agave (for sugar-free diets, use a pinch of stevia)
3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil* or ghee
1 ½ cups / 350ml water

Directions:
1. In a flexible, silicon loaf pan combine all dry ingredients, stirring well. Whisk maple syrup, oil and water together in a measuring cup. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix very well until everything is completely soaked and dough becomes very thick (if the dough is too thick to stir, add one or two teaspoons of water until the dough is manageable). Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Let sit out on the counter for at least 2 hours, or all day or overnight. To ensure the dough is ready, it should retain its shape even when you pull the sides of the loaf pan away from it it.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C.
3. Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan, place it upside down directly on the rack and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing (difficult, but important).
4. Store bread in a tightly sealed container for up to five days. Freezes well too – slice before freezing for quick and easy toast!

*I found ‘odourless coconut oil’ recently and would definitely recommend that.

https://kaliyoga.com/yoga-retreat-italy/

https://www.radiantlyalessandra.com/about

https://www.mynewroots.org/site/2013/02/the-life-changing-loaf-of-bread/

Hearty Healthy Minestrone Stewp!

Easy to make – hearty and healthy – eat it straight away, it tastes even better the next day or freeze it!  Approx ten minutes prep time and around 30 minutes to cook it all up.

1 x chopped bell pepper
1 x chopped onion
1-2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 x chopped carrot
Dessert spoon of olive oil
1 x tin of tomatoes
1 x tin of borlotti beans (or kidney, cannellini, butter beans)
Handful of chopped green beans
Half cup of frozen peas
Cup of wholemeal pasta (I used wholemeal spelt)
1 x half litre of vegetable stock – I recommend Marigold bouillon
1 x squeeze of tomato paste
Handful of basil leaves
Heaped teasp of mixed herbs
Half teasp of chill flakes

Using a medium to large saucepan, heat the olive oil and sauté the pepper, onion, garlic and carrot until soft.  Add the tinned tomatoes, (I also added in some chopped fresh tomatoes here that were getting soft).  Add the veggie stock, green beans, tomato paste and herbs – If you’re using fresh basil tear the leaves instead of chopping them – better for the release of flavour. Allow everything to come to the bubble! Add the pasta, peas strained beans reducing the heat, allowing the soup to simmer, stirring occasionally. After 20-30 minutes – check the pasta & green beans, once they’re cooked you’re ready to go.

You can vary this recipe to your taste - an opportunity perhaps to use up veggies from the fridge – e.g. add chopped celery to the sautéd vegetables or use diced potatoes or sweet potatoes instead of pasta.  Add more chili if you like a real kick. Use different types of beans. Add more stock to make it more soupy – I like a lot of bite in my soup so it’s more like stew.

Grated cheddar (or parmesan) makes a tasty garnish.
Toast pumpkin and /or sunflower seeds on a dry pan and add tamari or soya sauce to taste.  Once these cool they make a lovely crunchy topping. 

If there's any left store it in the fridge, it tastes even better the next day, an ideal recipe for batch cooking.