Have you heard of coeliac disease? No? Maybe gluten intolerance? Ah yes, one of those fashionable allergies everyone is talking about at the moment. People keep asking me “Do you really have this, has it been diagnosed by a doctor? You know you should watch out for such and such symptoms and then get tested”.
Congee, rice porridge, milk rice or milk rice soup. Last weekend, I participated in a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and yoga workshop and learned much about the healthy properties of rice and since then, I’ve cooked some type of rice dish every single day. Today, I would like to introduce to you a Thai breakfast soup called chokh and an Ayurvedic lemon and rice soup.
This sweet potato and quinoa salad is ready in no time. A bright and colourful taste explosion which, when filled in a jar, is the ideal snack on the go and which features baked sweet potato, warm quinoa and fresh baby leaf spinach as well as a bit of sweetness courtesy of pomegranate seeds and honey. Enjoy!
Have you ever heard of Congee? It’s a super healthy Asian breakfast soup from Ayurveda and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) kitchens with a tradition going back thousands of years. Congee strengthens the Qi, the life force. It doesn’t employ our digestion at all because the rice is boiled for hours with ten times its weight in water until it literally falls apart. Congee actually means “water rice”.
Banana soup! This might sound bizarre – but it tastes amazing. Bananas are a favourite curry ingredient in Indian cooking and sweeten dishes ever so slightly. They contain potassium and magnesium among other nutrients and they can strengthen our nerves and improve our mental capacity.
Turmeric is one powerful spice. It packs energy, taste and is healthy to boot. Used in my millet milk, it also looks amazing – this is the famous Golden Milk. Turmeric has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, it supports digestion and the production of gastric juices, gives your metabolism a kick and balances your entire system.
Breakfast is my absolute favourite meal of the day. I look forward to it the second I open my eyes and it’s usually something healthy which gives me enough energy to face the challenges of the day. I really lay it on thick on the weekends though – it’s a celebration of the best meal of the day. Sometimes however you don’t really have that much time to eat in the morning. That’s when muffins come into play.
Pancakes are pure happiness! If you really want to score brownie points with me, surprise me with pancakes. In the morning. Or for lunch. Or dinner. I can put a bunch of those away every hour of every day. There is absolutely nothing better than a small fluffy piece of dough in a pan drenched in honey or maple syrup and garnished with sundry yummy toppings!
Lentils are the ideal way to stay fit and slim, making this lentil and curry soup the perfect and healthy start to the New Year. The protein level of legumes like lentils is around 20% and their calorie content is relatively low. In addition, because they are a high fibre vegetable, lentils are also brilliantly filling.
I’ve been asked frequently what the inspiration was for my second cookbook. The concept from the beginning was a series of books, all based on the LCF principle I’ve developed. Super Bowls was one my priorities, for the very simple reason that I just love eating fragrant food out of bowls with a spoon.
Happy 2017! What are your New Year’s resolutions? My 2017 will be all about mindfulness and deliberation, with a healthy diet of course, which is an ongoing habit. Many people start the New Year with many virtuous plans like losing weight and starting a healthier lifestyle and often, the word DETOX comes up.
Precious Moments There aren’t many extraordinary moments in our short little lives. The ones we remember for a long time can be counted on one hand: the first day at school, the first kiss, meaningful victories, the first time we had sex, the birth of a child and maybe being able to see one celestial body moving in front of another in a lunar or a solar eclipse. What all these moments have in common is that they are rare and unique, and that is what makes them precious.
