Tag: polyphenols

Pomegranate & Fennel Salad

Leave a comment

Pomegranate & Fennel Salad

Pomegranate always makes for an impressive addition to any dish when you have guests. These beautiful little ruby-like jewels are bursting with flavour and packed with health. Over 8000 years ago they became one of the first cultivated fruits, and ever since have been a symbol of prosperity and abundance in many cultures.
They are rich in vitamin K, potassium and antioxidants – specifically punicalagin, a polyphenol unique to pomegranates, and anthocyanins, which are responsible for giving pomegranate juice its rich red color.

Ingredients (serves 3-4 as a side dish)

1 medium-sized bulb of fennel
1 pomegranate
2 handfuls baby spinach
1 handful fresh mint
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp organic maple syrup or raw honey
Oryx Desert Salt to taste

Method

If you have a mandolin use it to finely slice the fennel. Alternatively a sharp knife will do the job with a bit more effort!
Cut the pomegranate in half, and gently remove the arils (seeds), trying not to burst them. Discard any bits of white membrane, and add the arils to the fennel.

If the spinach leaves are large you can roughly chop or tear them, otherwise leave them whole. Remove the mint leaves from the stems and roughly chop them. Add to the fennel and pomegranate.

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon and maple or honey. Pour over the salad. Season to taste with salt and toss thoroughly.

Health & happiness!

Love,
Raine

Butternut Squash & Ginger Soup

1 Comment

Butternut Ginger Soup

Another warming soup for another cold London day. You can probably tell by all my recipes how much I love butternut squash! Butternut squash have a lower glycemic index than potatoes and are high in fibre so great for the metabolism. They’re packed with Vitamin A and potassium, are low in calories (low GI) and high in Vitamin B Complex which I need lots of for my nerve problems caused by long-term arthritis. They are also high in polyphenols (like acai berries and blueberries) which are great anti-oxidants. An all round brilliant vegetable! I added ginger, firstly because I like to take advantage of the detox affects of ginger but also because it gives it a great kick. The two flavours really go nicely together – my mum taught me that! I of course added turmeric, as I do to everything that is yellow, for some anti-inflammatory action.

Ingredients

1 butternut squash
1 large sweet potato
1 onion
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup almond or coconut milk
1 tsp freshly shaved ginger
1 tsp turmeric
Salt & pepper to taste
Half tsp coconut oil
Handful of pine nuts (optional)

Method

Peel and chop your vegetables. When that’s done, heat the oil in a large saucepan and when hot, add the onion and cook for one minute. Then add the butternut and sweet potato and coat in the oil, 30 seconds should be enough.

Add the stock and almond milk, along with the rest of the ingredients and keep at a high temperature until it starts bubbling then turn down to low, put on the lid and let it simmer for an hour.

Once all veggies are soft, use a handheld blender to blend (or put it in a food processor if you don’t have a handheld) and blend until smooth. Add salt & pepper to taste. Decorate with pine nuts, a great accompaniment for this soup!

Enjoy!
Love,
Lauren

Strawberry Banana Acai Smoothie Bowl

Leave a comment

Strawberry Acai Bowl2

You’ve probably seen my Acai Berry Smoothie Bowl and this one is not dissimilar, I just used slightly different ingredients.

I try to open a few acai capsules into my breakfast every few days because the acai berries have been tested to hold more polyphenols and antioxidants than pretty much any other food. You get polyphenols from other berries, especially blueberries, but acai berries have them in an abundance never seen before. They are indigenous to the Amazon in Brazil and have only recently become public knowledge – great for us! Polyphenols make us happy and also help us prevent and beat degenerative diseases such as cancer and autoimmune diseases. Polyphenols also make your skin look and feel incredible so including them in your diet as well as using them as a beauty product will help not only your inner health, but your outer health too! Acai berries are also rich in fatty acids omegas 3, 6 & 9 which is all you need for that anti-inflammatory boost.

This really is so easy to make guys, so ditch the cardboard-like, sugar-filled, store-bought cereals and have this yummy creation for brekkie!

Ingredients

1 cup strawberries
1 heaped tbsp almond butter
2 dates
2 tbsp Coyo coconut yoghurt (optional but makes it extra creamy)
3 acai berry capsules, opened and sprinkled in
1 probiotic capsule, opened and sprinkled in (optional but great for gut health)
3 tbsp almond milk
2 bananas, one pre-frozen and one fresh

Optional toppings:
Granola
Nuts
Seeds
Fruit
Goji berries

Method

Simply put all the ingredients into your food processor or blender, except for the fresh banana, in the exact order as they appear, and start blender on a low speed and increase gradually. Once creamy pour into a bowl and top with anything you like such as nuts, seeds, goji berries, fruit, granola – the world is your acai bowl!

Happy breakfast!
Love,
Lauren

Roasted Butternut Squash with Garlicky Spinach

1 Comment

12

When you first go vegetarian or vegan, it can be a bit stressful, especially if you are short of time. That’s because we’re so used to being able to ‘stick a steak under the grill’ or ‘put a chicken in the oven’ or ‘grill a chicken breast’ and so on and so forth. I got stressed about it myself when I first went fully veggie this time last year, which is why I try to come up with EASY vegetarian meals. I still have to cook meat for my husband, so it would be a hell of a lot of work if I was making highly intricate meals for me along with his meals. What I try to do is either a variation of whatever he’s having, or something simple, especially during the week when it’s all rush rush rush. But on nights like last night, he is more than happy to be part of vegetarian night because the food is so good!

I love butternut squash, I probably cook it in some variation at least once a week (by the way, speaking of butternut squash, you must try Raine’s Butternut Gnocchi!) Butternuts are high in fibre, low in calories and high in Vitamin B Complex which I need lots of for my nerve problems caused by long-term arthritis. They are also high in polyphenols (like acai berries and blueberries) which are great anti-oxidants. An all round brilliant vegetable!

Ingredients

1 butternut squash (half per person)
1 small bag of spinach
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Himalayan salt

Method

Preheat your oven to 180. Cut the ends off the butternut and cut it in half, lengthways. Place it on a baking tray and bake for about an hour.

Take it out the oven after an hour and remove the seeds with a spoon – they should come out really easily now – and throw them away. Drizzle a little olive oil and salt over it and put back in the oven for half an hour.

9

Meantime, cook the spinach by heating 1 tsp of the oil in a saucepan. Once it’s hot, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add the spinach, in small batches, along with some salt. It wilts to nearly nothing so a whole bag will end up just about filling the holes of the butternut. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes (should be less) for the spinach to be ready. Leave to the side, remove the butternut halves from the oven and fill the holes with the spinach. Serve on its own or with any accompaniments you choose. I served it with my vegan falafel, homemade tahini and some avocado.

14

 

Peace and Love!
Lauren

Acai Berry Smoothie Bowl

2 Comments

xAcai bowl

Oh hello breakfast! I don’t know about you guys, but breakfast is by far my favourite meal of the day. I’ve never been the person who can go out the house without breakfast and wait until lunch. Since I started eating plant-based, unprocessed, wholefoods, breakfast has become a lot more fun! Because nothing I cook has any refined sugar, I can actually have dessert for breakfast! (Parfaits, nana ice cream etc).

I’m mad about the acai berry so today I decided to make a totally scrumptious acai bowl. Acai berries have been tested to hold more polyphenols and antioxidants than pretty much any other food. You get polyphenols from other berries, especially blueberries, but acai berries have them in an abundance never seen before. They are indigenous to the Amazon in Brazil and have only recently become public knowledge – great for us! Polyphenols make us happy and also help us prevent and beat degenerative diseases such as cancer and autoimmune diseases. Polyphenols also make your skin look and feel incredible so including them in your diet as well as using them as a beauty product will help not only your inner health, but your outer health too! (I will post a recipe for a face mask using acai capsules soon). Acai berries are also rich in fatty acids omegas 3, 6 & 9 which is all you need for that anti-inflammatory boost and also makes it great for babies as they need their omegas in high amounts. Your babies will just love the sweet, creaminess of this – mine did!

I wanted to make this bowl really thick and creamy. It’s almost like a smoothie in a bowl but creamier, so a bit like dessert! I hope you love it as much as I do…

Ingredients

½ cup raspberries
½ cup blueberries
1 cup strawberries
2 dates
1 tbsp almond butter (you can use any nut butter)
2 tbsp almond milk
4 Organic Burst acai capsules, opened and sprinkled in
1 probiotic capsule (optional) (opened and sprinkled in)
1 frozen banana (chopped and frozen the night before)

Method

Simply put all the ingredients into your food processor or blender, in the exact order as they appear, and start blender on a low speed and increase gradually. Once creamy pour into a bowl and top with anything you like such as nuts, seeds, goji berries, fruit, granola – the world is your acai bowl!

Enjoy!

Love,
Lauren