Tag: nutrition

Butternut & Sage Pasta

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Butternut & Sage Pasta

This is a quick and easy family dinner – I literally only had 35 minutes to get food on the table, and that included writing the recipe and taking a photo!

I am in love with sage… it’s such a versatile herb and the tangy, lemony flavour really comes out with roasting. It pairs beautifully with butternut, which is high in beta-carotene and vitamin C.

Ingredients (serves 4)

850g butternut (weighed without the skin or seeds)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus some extra
1 tsp himalayan salt
15 cloves of garlic, cut into quarters
big handful of fresh sage
250g gluten-free organic pasta (I used amaranth, but you could use buckwheat or quinoa)
1/2 lemon
2 heaped tbsp raw pumpkin seeds

Method

Cut the butternut into cubes. On a roasting tray, toss together the butternut, olive oil, salt, garlic and sage. Roast at 200 C for about 30 minutes, until tender.

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.

Toss the butternut and pumpkin seeds through the cooked pasta. Add some more olive oil if it looks too dry. Season to taste with lemon juice, himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper. That’s it!

Health & happiness 🙂

Love,
Raine

Tarragon & Grape Salad

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tarragon salad

Growing up my mom used to make a chicken dish with a tarragon cream sauce, using dried tarragon. It was one of my favourites, so tarragon is a familiar flavour to me. But I’ll never forget the first time I tasted fresh tarragon – it was at Angela Hartnett’s London restaurant, Murano. It took me a good few minutes to identify the salad ingredient as fresh tarragon… I couldn’t believe the intensity of the flavour which, while obviously similar to dried tarragon, had a unique note all of its own. It was a feeling of dèja vu.

I don’t often find fresh tarragon in Joburg, but much to my joy, the Organic Emporium gets in a delivery of organic fresh tarragon every now and then. The slightly liquorice flavour pairs very well with sweet, white grapes, of which we have an abundance in South Africa right now.

I had this salad with a fillet of hot-smoked salmon. A perfect hot summer’s day lunch.

Ingredients (to serve 1)

a handful of fresh tarragon
a handful of wild rocket
a few leaves of fresh basil, torn
a handful of white grapes
a handful of cocktail tomatoes, sliced in half
2 spring onions, finely sliced
a handful of sugar snap peas, sliced
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
extra virgin olive oil
pomegranate concentrate (or organic red wine vinegar, or fresh lemon juice)

Method

Combine all the ingredients. Dress with a drizzle of olive oil and pomegranate concentrate. Season to taste with himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Pretty in Pink Valentine’s Juice

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I felt like something pink and sweet on this Valentine’s morning so I made this beautiful juice!

Originally from Persia, the pomegranate has been revered as a symbol of health, fertility and eternal life for thousands of years. I’m always amazed at how nature gives us clues as to which fruit or vegetable is good for a certain part of our bodies. There is something heart-like about a pomegranate when you open it, with its blood-red seeds and white membranes. Pomegranate contains a unique compound called punicalagin, which is excellent for heart health. It lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, and increases the rate at which arterial blockages melt away. The antioxidants in pomegranate also help to prevent stroke and heart attack.

Radishes eliminate toxins, aid digestion and prevent viral infections.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 pomegranate, skin and membranes discarded (you don’t have to spend half an hour picking out every little piece of membrane – just the majority of it!)
3 radishes
1 lime (you can juice the skin)
1 medium cucumber
a few sprigs of mint
1 red pepper

Method

Put everything through your juicer. Add ice if you like.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Leek & Zucchini Fritters

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I had a bunch of beautiful organic leeks and zucchini so I whipped this up for dinner yesterday. It was quick, easy and healthy! No wheat, gluten, dairy or other nasties, and I even baked them instead of frying. I served them with a big salad of corn, watercress, spring onion and tomatoes, simply dressed with extra virgin olive oil and fresh lime juice. A perfect meal for baby and you!

Ingredients

250g leeks
1 tbsp organic virgin coconut oil
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 chilli, finely chopped (optional but highly recommended!)
300g zucchini (courgette), grated
a handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
a handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp himalayan salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 tsp aluminium-free baking powder
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour

Method

Slice the leeks down the length, leaving the root end intact. Rinse them under running water. I find this the easiest way to get rid of the dirt which is stuck between the layers of the leek. Dry them and then slice finely.

Fry the leeks in the coconut oil until they start to caramelise. Add the garlic and spices and fry for a few more minutes. Stir in the grated zucchini and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and add the herbs and salt. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180 C.
Whisk together the eggs and water. Stir into the leek and zucchini mixture. Add the remaining ingredients. On a roasting tray lined with baking paper or silicon mats, spread a heaped tablespoon of the batter into a neat circle. Repeat until all the batter is used up. Bake for 25 minutes until golden and cooked through.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Lauren & Raine

Raw Chocolate Hearts with Maca Caramel Centre

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Maca Caramel Chocolates

With Valentine’s Day just a week away I’m sure chocolate is on everyone’s mind. So I thought I’d show you that it doesn’t have to be unhealthy or “fattening.” Chocoholics round the world rejoiced when the experts started saying “chocolate is good for you.” But some of you may have been confused by this statement… after all, chocolate is full of sugar, right? So how do you get all those amazing benefits of raw cacao without the toxins of refined sugar, dairy and other additives such as emulsifiers and thickeners? Raw chocolate!

This was one of my favourite discoveries when I started this lifestyle… and it really is simple to make. By omitting all the bad stuff, and keeping the raw cacao at low temperatures so that you don’t destroy the nutrients, you’re giving your body one of nature’s most nutrient dense foods. Raw cacao is rich in anti-oxidants, is good for cardiovascular health and fights cancer. It also contains phenylethylamine, which is a mood enhancer. That explains the “feel good” effect of chocolate! 🙂

What is the difference between cacao and cocoa? Cocoa is what you probably grew up with… it is made from cacao beans but has gone through processing which means a loss of nutrients. To get the full benefits of the cacao bean, and a high-quality chocolate, make sure you only buy organic raw cacao products.

My chocolate recipe uses raw cacao paste as well as cacao butter. If these are not available to you, or you first want to see what this is all about before spending money on those products, you can make raw chocolate using coconut oil and raw cacao powder.

Maca is a root grown in Peru, which comes from the radish family. It has been revered for over 2000 years for its ability to provide stamina, mental clarity and aid fertility. It is believed to be an excellent aphrodisiac, particularly when paired with raw cacao. It has a bit of an odd taste (I must admit at first I didn’t like it!) but adding it to my raw caramel is a good way to start… the result is heavenly!

Ingredients

1 x Raw Caramel recipe
2 tbsp maca powder

Chocolate recipe #1:

75g raw cacao paste
25g raw cacao butter
30ml runny raw honey or organic maple syrup
1/4 tsp organic stevia leaf powder (alternatively, use 60ml honey or maple)
pinch of himalayan salt

Chocolate recipe #2:

90ml coconut oil
90ml runny raw honey or organic maple syrup
125ml raw cacao powder

Method:

Add the maca powder to the caramel ingredients when blending. Set aside.

For chocolate recipe #1, place all the ingredients in a glass or stainless steel bowl which can fit over a saucepan. Bring some water to a simmer in the saucepan, and set the bowl over it. The trick with chocolate is to only ever use gentle heat, and to heat all the ingredients together. If you try to melt the cacao over direct heat, or add cold honey to it once it’s been melted, it will seize. Use a whisk to stir the chocolate until everything is melted, well combined and glossy.

For chocolate recipe #2, place the coconut oil and honey or maple in a glass or stainless steel bowl which can fit over a saucepan. Bring some water to a simmer in the saucepan, and set the bowl over it. Gently melt the oil and honey, using a whisk to combine. Remove from the heat and add the cacao powder, using the whisk to combine well.

Fill your heart mould with chocolate one third of the way. If you don’t have moulds, ice trays work just as well. Place in the freezer until set. Now use a small spoon to drop some caramel onto the set chocolate, trying to avoid the sides of the mould.

Maca Caramel Chocolates 2

Place in the freezer again for a few minutes to harden, so that pouring more chocolate over the caramel doesn’t melt it. If your chocolate is no longer pouring consistency, heat it gently again over the simmering water. Fill the moulds with chocolate so that it pours around the caramel, and covers it. Place in the freezer again until set. These chocolates do need to be kept in the fridge as they can melt at room temperature, especially if you’ve made the coconut oil version. I keep mine in a glass jar, and they can last up to a month (at least, that’s the longest mine have ever lasted before being eaten!)

I hope these will put you in the mood for Valentine’s Day!

Health & happiness.

Love,
Raine

Chocolate Kale Chips

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Technically I cannot take credit for these delicious little miracles… it was my son’s idea! The last time I made a batch of Kale Chips I added a bit of cayenne. He was not very impressed and asked why I put fire in them 🙂 So I asked him what flavour he would like next time and he said chocolate! At first I laughed, and then I started thinking it might actually work. The end result surprised even me… they are so moreish, and you just happen to be eating greens!

Ingredients

150 – 200g kale, weighed after removing the tough centre stem (I’ve used curly kale but you can use any variety)
90g natural peanut butter (I like Jozi’s Nut Butters which you can buy at The Organic Emporium)
2 tbsp organic maple syrup
1/2 tsp organic stevia leaf powder (or double up on the maple syrup)
60ml raw cacao powder
1/4 tsp himalayan salt
60ml water

Method

After removing the tough centre stem, tear the kale into pieces about 5cm square.

Combine the rest of the ingredients with a whisk and pour over the kale. Use your hands and “massage” the chocolate sauce into the kale, making sure to cover each piece with that chocolatey goodness.

Spread the leaves out on dehydrator sheets, and dehydrate at 45 C overnight.
Alternatively, spread out on a large baking tray (you might need 2) lined with baking paper. Set your oven to 100 C and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. This allows moisture to escape so that you’re drying the kale, rather than just baking it. They’re ready when they are completely dry with a light, crispy texture. Done in the oven these won’t be raw, but still healthy and delicious!

Store in an airtight container and consume within 2 weeks. If you have high humidity you should use them faster, before they go limp. These are so good though, I’m willing to bet that they won’t last very long! 😉

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Raw Kale Chips

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Kale Chips

This might not sound so appealing but trust me, they’re delicious! Even my 3 year old son loves them 🙂 Things like this always excite me – you get to eat something salty and delicious, and yet you’re getting in all the wonderful nutrients of kale.

Kale is among the most nutrient dense foods of the world. It is loaded with powerful anti-oxidants, is a good source of vitamins A, C and K and beta-carotene, lowers cholesterol and fights cancer. All this for very few calories, so it can help you to lose weight too!

I make my kale chips in a dehydrator, but you can still make them if you don’t have one. Simply lay them out on a baking tray lined with baking paper and put your oven on 100 C. Prop the door of the oven open with a wooden spoon. This allows moisture to escape, so that you’re drying the chips rather than just baking them. They won’t be raw, but it’s still a far cry from high-saturated fat, high-salt, processed potato chips.

Stay tuned for my Chocolate Kale Chips!

Ingredients

150 – 200g kale, weighed once you have removed the tough centre stem
70g raw nut butter (almond, cashew or macadamia – whatever your preference)
45ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
45ml water
1/2 tsp himalayan salt
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)

Method

After removing the tough stem, tear the leaves into pieces about 5cm square and place in a large mixing bowl. In this photo I have used dinosaur kale (cavalo nero) but you can use any variety.

Use a whisk to combine the rest of the ingredients and pour over the kale. I find it easiest to use my hands and “massage” the dressing into the leaves, making sure that each leaf is well coated.

kale chips 2

Spread the leaves out on your dehydrator sheets, making sure that none of them are clumped together, as these will dry into chewy lumps, not individual crispy pieces. Dehydrate on 45 C overnight. Store in an airtight container and consume within 2 weeks. If you have high humidity you may need to eat them faster before they become limp!

kale chips 3

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Baobab & Melon Nice Cream (African Superfoods Part 1)

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Baobab & Melon Ice Cream

There’s a lot of hype about Central and South American superfoods, but here in Africa we have some amazing plants too! I think it’s important to both be proud of your country & heritage, as well as to support locally grown and manufactured products. Over the next few weeks I want to do a series of posts on various African superfoods. For those of you in other parts of the world, I hope it will be interesting and informative (most of them are becoming more well known and popular in health circles so you should be able to get hold of them.) For fellow South Africans, I hope this will encourage you to make use of our beautiful continent’s bounty 🙂

baobab tree copy

According to African legend, long, long ago the first baobab tree sprouted beside a lake. As it grew, it surveyed the other trees and admired their colourful flowers, their tall, straight trunks and their beautiful green foliage. One day the little tree was tall enough to see its own reflection in the lake. It was dismayed at the sight! Its trunk was short and fat, its leaves were sparse and dull and its bark looked like the wrinkled hide of an elephant. The tree implored the Creator to change its appearance, but its request was ignored. Day after day, it watched the beautiful trees, compared them to its own reflection, and cried to the heavens. One day the Creator had had enough, reached down and unearthed the tree. Turning it upside down, the Creator replanted the tree with its branches in the earth, and its roots in the sky. From that day on the baobab tree was silenced, and as penance has served animals and humans with good deeds ever since.
Source: http://www.ecoproducts.co.za

These beautiful trees are grown in 32 African countries, and are revered by many tribes, even worshipped by some. The fruit is a highly nutritious food source, the seeds provide oil (I used baobab oil during and after my pregnancy to prevent stretch marks) and the fibre in the bark is used to make fishnets, cord and clothing. The trunks are a good source of timber and are often hollowed out and used for shelter, grain storage or as water reservoirs.

Baobab powder has recently become a very popular superfood, and for good reason. The powdered fruit contains 3 times more calcium than milk, 4 times more vitamin C then oranges, 6 times more potassium then bananas, 5 times more anti-oxidants than blueberries, a whopping 16 times more fibre than pears, and 5 times more magnesium than avocados. Its sweet-tart flavour makes the perfect addition to this quick and easy vegan “nice cream.”

Ingredients

350g melon, weighed without skin or seeds
2 bananas
3 tbsp baobab powder (I use EcoProducts)
1 – 2 tbsp raw honey
1/2 cup almond milk

Method

This requires some forethought, in that you have to freeze the melon and banana overnight (or you could freeze when you have it and use whenever!) I used canary melon, but you could also use spanspek (aka cantaloupe) or honeydew (aka musk melon.)

Place all the ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth and creamy, using your tamper to mix as you blend. The amount of honey required depends on the sweetness of the melon. I had a melon that was not very sweet, which is why I decided to freeze it and turn it into ice cream. You may have a melon so sweet that you won’t need any honey at all, so sweeten to taste.

This will serve 2 people as breakfast or 4 people as dessert. If you have any left over you can freeze it again. It won’t be quite as smooth and creamy, more like a sorbet, but still delicious.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Cauliflower & Tahini Soup

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Cauliflower & Tahina Soup

I love cauliflower, especially as a purée, because of the beautiful smooth texture it blends into. This soup makes use of that, and the addition of tahini makes it even creamier!

Cauliflower contains sulforaphane, which has been shown to kill cancer stem cells, thereby slowing tumor growth. Researchers believe that eliminating cancer stem cells may be the answer to fighting cancer. It is also packed full of anti-oxidants and phytonutrients, is good for your heart and your brain, and has anti-inflammatory properties.

Sesame seeds (the main ingredient of tahini) are high in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. Need any more reasons to make this soup tonight? It’s simple to make and takes no time at all!

Ingredients (serves 4)

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, sliced
6 big cloves of garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 whole star anise
a head of cauliflower (about 500g) cut into florets
one potato (about 200g) peeled and cut up
1 litre water
1 tbsp organic vegetable stock paste or powder
3 bay leaves
the juice of half a lemon
1/2 tsp himalayan salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/3 cup organic tahini
pomegranate concentrate (optional)

Method

Fry the onion in the olive oil until it caramelizes. The more colour you get on the onions, the more flavour you’ll be putting into the soup. You want them to look something like this:

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The trick is to keep it on a medium heat and stir every now and then. If you feel that they may start to burn, add a few drops of water and continue. You could brown them even more than I’ve done here, I was just in a rush to make supper!

Add the garlic, cumin and star anise. Fry for a few more minutes. Add the cauliflower, potato, water, stock and bay leaves. Simmer until the cauliflower and potato are tender. The smaller (and more evenly-sized) your pieces of cauliflower and potato, the faster they will cook.

Remove the bay leaves and star anise, then pour everything into your blender. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until completely, 100% smooth. The measurements I’ve given for lemon, salt and pepper are just a guideline – use your taste!

I’ve served it with a drizzle of pomegranate concentrate – the sweet tartness balances the soup beautifully.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Simple Chia Pudding with Berry Compote

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Chia pudding

I keep trying to spread a message about breakfast… it really isn’t very hard to make nutritious, delicious, simple breakfasts for the whole family in order to be able to bin the horrible processed cereals. It can be very daunting when embarking upon this lifestyle, we think it’s going to be really hard but making this chia pudding was no harder than making a bowl of cereal or porridge. If you just change one thing at a time, make breakfast your first change, the kids will love these ideas – just check out all our other breakfast options!

It isn’t baby led weaning-friendly but if you’re happy with spoon feeding your baby / toddler, this really makes such a nutritious breakfast.

“Chia” is the ancient Mayan word for “strength” and these little seeds were prized for their ability to provide long-lasting energy. They provide high nutrition for low calories (almost all of their carbohydrates are in the form of fibre) so this is a great food if you’re trying to lose weight. They are high in protein, fibre, Omega 3 fatty acids, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and antioxidants.

You can sprinkle chia seeds over your breakfast or add them to smoothies, but this is just another great way to eat them. When you soak these little nutritional powerhouses in liquid, they swell and absorb the liquid. The result is a creamy and delicious pudding. Great for breakfast or dessert… and who doesn’t love dessert for breakfast?!

Ingredients (one portion)

2-3 tbsp chia seeds
1 small cup almond milk
1 tsp organic natural maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla essence

For the compote (completely optional as you can top the pudding with whatever you like):
4 strawberries
4 raspberries
6 blueberries

Method

The night before you want to eat this, simply mix the chia seeds in a bowl or glass or jar with the almond milk, maple and vanilla (both the latter are optional also, but nice for a bit of sweetness and flavour), cover and leave in the fridge overnight. When you first mix it, it will look like it isn’t absorbing but in the morning you’ll see how the seeds have swelled to look almost like passion fruit seeds (don’t worry, they’re much softer than passion fruit seeds).

Add the fruit to the blender and blend until smooth. Top the pudding with this and add any nuts, seeds or fruit you fancy!

You can also try Raine’s Chai Chia Pudding (a mouthful yes but the pudding works so well with the chai spice flavours)

Health and Happiness,
Love,
Lauren