My wish for you is to Live Better, Strive Harder, Be Bolder, Dream Bigger, Climb Higher and Seek Greater.
My vision is to help people create food that is delicious, easy to make and high in nutrition, so that food once more becomes a vehicle to fuel your body, mind and soul.
This dish takes 5 minutes to make and is a great midday snack or breakfast. It is sweet and salty. The spices aid in the digestion of the snack with some additional heated turmeric to help with inflammation. I took this recipe from Divya Alter’s book, how to eat for what you feel. I added more raisins as I wanted more sweetness and created a simpler mix of spices.
Ingredients
1 tbsp. ghee or sesame oil
½ tsp. black mustard seeds
6 curry leaves
½ tsp. ground turmeric
¼ tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. coriander
¼ tsp. salt
4 cups puffed-rice
¼ cup chopped nuts of choice
½ cup golden raisins
Method
Heat the ghee over a medium heat
Add the mustard seeds, when they began to pop add the curry leaves and toast for a few seconds
Add the spices, salt, rice and nuts
Stir-fry for 5 minutes until the puffed rice absorbs the spices
Turn off the heat and add the raisins
Mix well and serve hot or let cool down and store in an airtight container
‘God’s own country, or a heaven on earth. Place full of mountains, greenery, and streams. Oh Kerala, God created you with utmost care’.
I first read about this type of banana cake in, ‘The covenant of water’ a beautiful book based in Kerala in the early 1900’s. Part of the learnings of the 12-year-old bride is the recipes of the household using the surrounding foraged fruit and vegetables, which includes a lot of coconut and poovan bananas. I looked up this poovan tahini cake as it was called and soon found out about the plethora of varieties of bananas, some of which are tart. Who would have known?!
The original recipe includes yogurt or curd, which has dairy and wheat flour, which I substituted with almond flour. I didn’t add any diary as the type of bananas I used where larger and had more moisture. It was also made in a bread tin and baked for 50 minutes. I made muffins, so lesser time for baking was needed.
I like the addition of tahini to banana bread as it adds some nice nutrition in for the little one. Sesame seeds of which tahini is made, have lignans and phytosterols which enhance the immune response and are said to decrease the risk of certain cancers. The sesamin and sesmolin in sesame seeds are known for their antioxidant and antibacterial properties.
Ingredients
2 ripe bananas, mashed.
3 tbsp. maple syrup
1/3 cup tahini
2 cups almond flour (188g)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 large eggs, beaten.
1.5 tsp. vanilla extract
Sesame seeds, pecans for topping (optional)
Method
Preheat your oven to 350F.
Grease muffin tin/silicone with coconut oil
Combine the mashed bananas and maple syrup until one continuous mixture.
Add the remaining ingredients in and mix till well combined.
Pour the batter into the muffin tin and sprinkle with toppings if using them.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
‘What are those bulb things you are slicing? You’ve never seen fennel? It looks like celery and tastes like licorice’.
Fennel is used as palate cleanser in Italy. It has a sweet mildly aniseed taste that is more interesting to me than celery. I like both to be honest, as does Mr and Baby B. Anything cooling that we can get a satisfying crunch out of. This salad is lovely in both winter and summer. I served it alongside other salads for a BBQ.
Fennel has a great vitamin profile, with a good amount of vitamin C and the mineral manganese. It even has a little calcium, iron, and potassium.
This recipe is super simple and adds a little flair to your meal. It is taken from the recipe book, Green Fire.
Ingredients
3 fennel bulbs
EVOO
1 lemon
Fresh Mint
Sea Salt
Method
Trim the fennel bulbs, discard the stalks (or keep them for stock) and any tough core and cut them in half-length ways. Slice them as thinly as possible.
Place the fennel in a bowl and drizzle on some EVOO.
Grate the lemon zest over the bowl and squeeze half a lemon over the top (this will also keep it from browning)
Add the mint leaves and salt. Toss gently before serving.
Best to put this together just before serving as the salt will draw a little water out if you leave it too long.
‘The advantage of the cauliflower is that if all else fails, you can always cover it with melted cheese and eat it’.
My little one loves broccoli (for now), but he won’t touch cauliflower, so I have been thinking about ways of sneaking it into his dinner. I make a mean turmeric rice (thank you grandma) for which I add a few pieces in and they turn yellow which disguises them. This recipe for pasta sauce made from cauliflower seemed to also work, as a pasta sauce, a dipping sauce, and a soup. Add the herbs and or cheese to your preference to change it up or make it more adulty.
Ingredients
1 tbsp. EVOO
3 garlic cloves, pressed.
3 cups cauliflower
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. onion powder
¼ cup plant milk, unsweetened
1 tbsp. basil/parsley (optional)
½ cup cheese (optional)
Method
In a large pot, heat the oil over low heat, add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Add the cauliflower and broth and raise heat to medium, so that the mixture is gently simmering.
Cook until the cauliflower is tender, c. 8 minutes.
Once cooked, transfer to a food processor, add the rest of the ingredients and puree till smooth
Mix into the pasta and top with herbs or blend into the sauce if you don’t mind the color mix.
This recipe is adapted from Dr Mark Hyman recipe. It’s great for adults and kids a like. They are grain free muffins, made of almonds, so make for a great breakfast or satiating snack. The almonds, apples/pears and sunflower/nut butter provide these muffins with fibre, protein, healthy fats, iron, and vitamin E. The fruit also provides pectin, a prebiotic that feeds your gut bacteria.
Ingredients
3 eggs
¼ cup sunflower butter (or other seed/nut butter)
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 apples/pears, coarsely grated with peel
2.5 cups blanched fine almond flour
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. cardamom
¼ tsp. Himalayan salt
1 tsp. coconut flakes (optional)
Method
Preheat oven to 350F and layout 12 cupcake holders in a muffin tin
Add the eggs, sunflower seed butter and vanilla extract into a bowl and whisk to combine
Add the apples/pears to the mixture and stir to combine
Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add to the wet ingredients
Divide the mixture evenly amongst the 12 muffin cups and sprinkle coconut flakes on top if using
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
The layout of the downstairs of our new house is the kitchen, the living area and a playroom. We don’t use the living room much for living, as we haven’t switched the TV on since Baby B was born, so it is really a gateway area for ball games and an access area to the kitchen.
My little one loves to run around in a big circle (yes, he is running now) and end up in the kitchen for a bite of whatever I am making. Since I spend so much time in the kitchen, he thinks that is the place to be and of course there are many tools to be played with and cupboard’s to try and open.
I haven’t been writing much, as my recipes on the day to day are not new and, in my viewpoint, not too interesting. However, a friend of mine reminded me that one person’s trash is another’s treasure and so here we are.
This is a recipe that I made to fold leftovers into, but it can be eaten on its own as a lush vegetable curry. My little one loved it, which is something to be said for my ultimate food critic (everything instantly gets an ohhh or eeek) and decided that this was the day to eat everything using his hands as spoons (a fun clean up when the food has turmeric in it).
Ingredients
2 tbsp. ghee or olive oil
1 large shallot, diced
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp. turmeric
½ tsp. ginger powder
1 cup peas
1 cup green beans, chopped
1 can coconut milk
Optional protein add in (leftover tofu/salmon/chicken)
Method
Heat the ghee/olive oil over a medium low heat, gently cook the shallot till soft, add the garlic, ginger powder and turmeric and a tablespoon of water and cook until the turmeric darkens slightly, c. 30 seconds
Add the vegetables and toss in the mixture for a minute or so
Add the coconut milk, stir and let the vegetables cook on a simmer till al dente, c. 8 minutes.
If you are adding an additional protein, add now and cook in the sauce. I like to add leftovers to this sauce as it is a good way to use them up
Yes, the waffle recipes are back! I have made this one the most recently as Baby B takes them to school with him. They are also great to take with you when traveling in the car. My mum wanted to learn how to make these, so I gave her the recipe to follow to see how easy it was to follow, and she made them perfectly. She is a great cook, but these were her first waffles, so there is something in that.
I wanted to make a compote to go with this and some cashew cream, but didn’t have time, so expect those recipes to come. I’ll be creating these for a delivery menu, so if you live near me and are interested let me know.
Ingredients
1.5 oat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
¾ cup oat milk
¼ cup coconut oil
2 eggs
2 tsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Method
In a mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients
Add the two together and let sit for 10 minutes to let the oat flour absorb the liquid, whisk again
In the meantime, preheat your waffle iron
Add ½-3/4 cup per waffle to the waffle iron
When the waffle iron stops giving off steam the waffle is done, if you want crispy waffles, leave a little longer. I batch and freeze so I don’t do this, as I pop them back in the toaster before serving
‘I said to the almond tree, speak to me of God, and the almond tree blossomed’
I love this recipe as it is naturally gluten free with lots of healthy ingredients and an antioxidant bonus from the raw cacao. It is gooey and chocolatey, without having dairy or chocolate. Great for a sophisticated adult dessert or a children’s lunchbox (my juxtaposed life).
Both almonds and coconut are nourishing to the tissues according to Ayurveda, like an internal moisturiser.
Taste testers, Mr. B and Baby B both liked them, with Mr. B wanting some vanilla ice cream over the top.
Ingredients
1.5 cups almond flour
¼ cup raw cacao
¼ cup desiccated coconut
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup almond milk
4 tbsp. maple syrup
Method
Grease a muffin tin with coconut oil and pre-heat the oven to 325F
Mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. Combine the two and mix till well combined and there are no lumps in the mixture
Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin (I used an average 12 muffin, muffin tin)
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched
‘If you don’t eat well, you won’t be able to think, sleep or love well’
My little one has been quite ill recently, having spent a couple of days at school and contracted a few bugs at the same time, including RSV. Over the last few weeks, have been trying to make sure he eats food that helps his tummy (these tend to be bland BRAT – Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast) but that he can taste, as he is super congested. The biggest issue has been making sure he drinks and eats enough during the day, as he very quickly lost his appetite.
These pinwheels are outside of my wheelhouse, as they use store bough puff pastry, which is not gluten free. This does help with the ease factor for other mothers out there, as the pinwheel concept is a great one for sneaking veggies into fun looking snacks and there are endless permutations and combinations that can be done. They can also be made and frozen, so are good for batch cooking, They’re also great as canapes, so adults and kids can both delight. Mr and baby B both approved.
Ingredients
1 puff pastry sheet, thawed
1 tsp. EVOO
1 shallot, small dice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1-pound baby spinach, chopped
4 tbsp. vegan cream cheese
Method
Lay the puff pastry sheet out on a floured surface
In a frying pan heat the olive oil, on a low medium heat add the shallot and a punch of salt. Cook till soft. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
Add the spinach and turn over with tongs until wilted
Add the cream cheese to a bowl and mix in the prepared spinach mixture
Spread the mixture onto the puff pastry
Roll up the puff pastry
Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm and preheat the oven to 400F
Line a baking pan with parchment
Once the pastry is firmed, cut into ½ inch wheels and place on the parchment, spread apart (will expand in the oven)
Bake for c. 25 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp
‘The delicate sweetness of just picked vegetables, is always worth savoring’
I made this dish for the wider family on thanksgiving, alongside a number of other veggie dishes. This was the only one that was eaten, as apparently you don’t need to eat veggies on thanksgiving unless they have marshmallows on them. It is an addictive dish with a nice crunch from the beans and breadcrumbs, a salty element from the cheese and a kick of garlic. It goes well with so many different dishes and I have also served it with pasta for Mr and Baby B.
Ingredients
1lb fresh green beans
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1oz pecorino or hard vegan cheese, grated
½ cup GF breadcrumbs
Method
Blanch the beans (boil hot water, add a pinch of salt, add the beans for 1 minute and then rinse them in cold water).
Heat a tsp of EVOO and add the garlic, sauté for 30 seconds, add the breadcrumbs and then the beans, stir fry for 2 minutes until well combined
