Crunchy Spring Salad

10 Friday May 2013

Posted by in Recipes, Salad, Snack, Vegan, Vegetable

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

IMG_0870

I was blessed to have a house full of truly beautiful people and shared dinner with Love.

With our salmon fillets, I made a delightful salad that could possibly be my yummiest ever! I know that when I am honouring how far I have come from how I used to eat in the past, I come alive. There’s an honesty in the way I prepare food and feel the care for myself and others I am sharing food with. It’s changed more recently where I only want to give myself loving food and eat honouring my body.

Ingredients:

Baby cos or baby gem lettuce
Shaved fresh fennel
Shredded coconut
Fresh mint leaves
Avocado
Wakame flakes (or any seaweed flakes)
Chopped toasted almonds
Lemon juice and olive oil dressing
Ground black pepper
Sea salt

Method:

Chop the lettuce into chunks
Finely slice the fresh fennel
Break whole mint leaves in half
Cut avocado into chunks
Roughly chop almonds

In a jar with a lid that seals, make a dressing with 1/3 lemon juice, 2/3 olive oil (you could use macadamia or avocado oil as an alternative), with ground black pepper and a little sea salt. Shake well. Dancing compulsory.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss well so the dressing coats everything well.

Serve on it’s own or with fish or meat.

Divine.

Sarah’s Asian Chicken & Seaweed Soup

02 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in Author inspiration, Chicken, Seafood, Soup, Spicy

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Hello everyone!

I just found this in some notes … a creation from a while ago that is going on the menu for sure!

Pop some skinless chicken thighs (with the bone) into a deep saucepan and barely cover with water.

Simmer with sesame oil, star anise, cinnamon bark, shallots, lemongrass, peppercorns. chilli and garlic … when the chicken is almost falling from the bone … strain the liquid and save it.

Remove the chicken bones then return the liquid to the pot, discarding the cinnamon, star anise, lemongrass, peppercorns etc.

to the pot with the chicken minus the bones … add some more water and add some already soaked and rinsed hijiki seaweed, (or any seaweed, whatever’s in the cupboard!) ..

Ssimmer gently again with some minced lemongrass, coriander and red capsicum …

Serve with a splash of lime juice and a sprinkle of fresh chilli … wow :)

I’m going to try a version with fish and use stock instead .. yummo

Is it really a treat?

30 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Author inspiration

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Man-eating-spaghetti-001

My previous food experiences were usually to override my body’s resistance by shoving more of what was harming me into my mouth so I couldn’t feel. Ouch. You may have different experiences and I would love to hear them. We are all so different and yet so alike!

I used to totally justify my overeating because it tasted so good, or it was Christmas, or it was such-and-such birthday dinner or whatever it was, I made excuses to eat food that I absolutely knew harmed my body. Not to mention the drinking binges that meant that the following day I was crippled with a thumping crippling headache, nausea, vomiting and dizziness. Those symptoms are not really showing me I have loved and caring to my body are they?

Now I know I will have a few comments ranting at these words, but we all know that we have done it before and will probably do it again. I am certainly far from perfect! We all have our Achilles Heel.

While at work last week I was chatting about food with a friend – always on the agenda – and he was describing how ill and bloated he feels after eating pasta. He went on to say that even though he feels sick every single time, he still eats it regularly because “It’s a treat”. It literally takes days for his body to recover.

And another friend today was telling me that she was unhappy at work and started to eat food she knows is not right for her. She would feel sick afterwards and now, after months of that pattern, her jeans are tight and she feels uncomfortable. The conversation went deeper when we started talking about how we absolutely know we are eating for comfort.

Eating the food we know is harming for our body because it’s tasty, or we just want to, just because! And I for one know that when the gluten, dairy and sugar free cake is in front of me, not matter how hard I try, sometimes it’s going to be eaten!

My last blog was starting to explore the concept, just a concept that we need to only really need to eat when we are hungry. Now there’s a concept! There are plenty of reasons why to only eat when we are hungry … but we are over-ruled by our mind that listens to all the advice we are given by research papers, diets and professional people in the field of food. There are a myriad of documents that say we are to have everything in moderation. But what if that moderation, as my friends are experiencing, is harming? Are we simply overriding our body’s natural resistance to that which is harming us? If the ‘treat’ is harming us, then is it really a treat after all?

Divine Herb Soup

28 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by in Author inspiration, Soup, Vegan, Vegetable

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

IMG_0861

My intention was to make a batch of the Herby Fish Chowder – because it is so nourishing. After all, we eat to nourish ourselves right?

But there is a twist in the tale … I doubled the herb content and added fresh spinach instead of fish … here’s how the inspired Divine Herb Soup evolved to be the smooth, multi-layered, simply loving harmony of scent, taste, picture perfect green-ness I have ever had.

Wash and dry 1 cup each of fresh:

Sweet basil
Tarragon
Flat leaf parsley
Dill

Place in a blender with two garlic cloves and a small red chilli and add filtered water to allow it to blend to a smooth paste.

In a large saucepan gently saute in olive oil:

1 finely chopped large brown onion and finely chopped 1 large fennel bulb with a little cracked black pepper and a pinch of mineral sea salt till soft. I finely chopped them because I didn’t want to wait too long for them to cook!

Add 1 cup of filtered water after 5 minutes so it starts to steam through.

Add the divine herbs and allow to simmer till soft.

Add three cups of washed fresh spinach leaves and wilt.

Add more water if needed before blending – I felt like a thick, hearty soup so the water at the end was simply to get the hand blender moving around.

The flavour is quite extraordinary in this soup. My flat mate, Jinya, and I were speechless for a moment – it is so nourishing it felt like my body was singing. Jinya actually was singing. It was a moment to cherish. The singing and the Divine Herb Soup.

Enjoy, with Love, Sarah

Fennel, Coconut & Mint Salad

26 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by in Author inspiration, Recipes, Salad, Vegan, Vegetable

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

IMG_0818

The sun has been shining in London and we had a barbecue to celebrate!

Here is my contribution …

In a large bowl toss together finely sliced fennel, baby gem or cos lettuce leaves with lots of shredded coconut and fresh mint leaves.

The dressing is lemon juice, olive oil, pepper, sea salt and vanilla powder.

Simple recipe with so much flavour!

Coconut & Almond Truffles

26 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by in Author inspiration, Dessert, Snack, Vegan

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

IMG_0820

I had a lovely lunch last weekend with Alex and we were discussing how much sugar impacts on how much we eat. We’ve both had a similar experience – by reducing sugar we have reduced the craving for more food.

It’s like sugar runs another program in my brain that overrides my ‘satisfied’ belly. We have both found that by cutting down on sugar of any kind, the feeling of ‘enough’ could truly be felt and over-eating is no longer a driving force at meal time.

Inspired by this conversation, I’ve created a ‘sweet treat’ that is lovely to offer when  friends come over for a cup of tea. You could also box them as a gift! You can increase the amounts to make more, depending on how many you want to make.

Ingredients:

150g coconut manna (melted either by microwave or bain marie)200g almond butter (or another of your choice)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
A small pinch of mineral sea salt
1 teaspoon carob powder (optional)
1 tablsepoon of honey (optional)
half a cup of dessicated coconut

In a large glass bowl mix together all ingredients to a smooth, lump-free, thick paste.

Refrigerate for half an hour, stirring at 15 mins to ensure it hardens evenly.

When the mixture is firm enough to hold into balls, use two teaspoons to mould small truffle sized balls and roll them in the dessicated coconut.

Store in the fridge. They hold their form for a while outside the fridge, but if you are in a warm climate, serve straight from the fridge so the coconut manna doesn’t melt!

I also tried these with blanched almond butter, vanilla instead of cinnamon and no carob and they are divine :)

Enjoy!

Simple Vegetable Supper

20 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by in Author inspiration, Breakfast, Recipes, Snack, Vegan, Vegetable

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

IMG_0814This week was really busy at work. I have started to integrate into a new department to take over from a lady who will be going on maternity leave in three months. So in addition to my usual work, I am picking up more tasks and spent Friday focussed and busy.

I love being busy so it wasn’t exhausting or stressful. When I got home at 7.30pm, I was hungry and tired, so I wanted to have something super nutritious and light that would send me to sleep in harmony.

In a large fry pan I melted some coconut oil.

Add thinly sliced onion and fennel.
Once that has cooked for a few minutes, I added about 1/3 cup of my fish stock so they would soften and absorb lots of flavour.

Then I added some finely sliced Chinese cabbage, spinach leaves, juice of half a lemon and some red chilli.

It is served here with wakame sprinkles, shredded coconut and half an avocado.

This would be great for breakfast too – you could serve with a fried egg on top.

I really enjoyed it and then watched a little Masterchef Australia to get some tips and tricks!!

Enjoy your weekend everyone :)

Love Sarah

Herby Fish Chowder

13 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by in Breakfast, Seafood, Soup

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

IMG_0809This recipe is adapted from one I had recently in Norway with Eva. It’s so nourishing and simple to make.

Ingredients:

1 red onion
2 teas turmeric
Whole red chilli (medium heat)
4 garlic cloves
2 cups fresh herbs – Tarragon (essential), Parsley, Dill, Oregano, Thyme (whatever you feel to use)
1 big fennel bulb (or two medium)
1 400ml tin coconut milk
600g cod loin
Water and/or fish stock

Process:

In a blender, put around 2 cups of fresh herbs – I used tarragon, parsley and thyme (no stalks)
Add garlic and chilli
1/2 cup water to blend into a fine paste consistency

Cut and prepare onion, fennel and fish into cubes

Boil the kettle

Sautee onion in olive oil till soft
Add turmeric
Add fennel and fresh herb paste
Add 1/2 cup boiled water (or fish stock) just half the depth of fennel
Simmer 10 mins

Add fish and coconut milk
Simmer 10 mins

Blend all at the end to a smooth, thick consistency

Swap water for stock if you want
Pepper and salt if you want

Tips:

Use the water to rinse the herb blender so you get every grain of green goodness
Don’t put the herb stalks in, the paste becomes a little too stalky

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 134 other followers