(Super)food

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So my salad got a bit naughty tonight.

Despite reading all the reports from the WHO on how processed meat is linked to cancer - which was so unsurprising but great to see my news feed blasted with this - I decided to go wild with some chorizo tonight. I don’t know why but there is something about salami that really does it for me - in fact for many years of my childhood I was known among friends as the vegetarian who ate salami. Being vegetarian is not a claim I make anymore but I do still mainly live off veg. Chorizo however is something I really enjoy...every so often.

Oh and it got naughtier when I didn’t soak my chia seeds but just sprinkled them on top!

But overall I felt pretty healthy after eating this and it was fun to make - and tasted great so winning in my books.

Spirals of celeriac, peppery rocket, avocado, tomatoes and feta tossed together with mixed seeds. I really love the earthiness of celeriac teamed with feta  - I didn’t have any black olives but they would be a great addition. Sprinkled with a little lemon zest (because I love that stuff) and I’m lucky enough to have a mother who lives in the South of France who supplies me with hand pressed olive oil on request - so I doused it with that...

EB

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Super Fruit&Nut Chocolate

I love nothing more than experimenting and creating new chocolate recipes. Its a completely selfish pursuit to please my taste buds and give my body a nutritious boost. This one combines raw cacao powder, cacao butter, coconut oil and maple syrup to create the chocolate. The base is loaded with gojis, mulberries, golden berries, chia seeds, pistachios and pecan nuts. But quite honestly you could add in any combination of dried fruit and nuts plus your favourite superfood powders and this would taste divine.

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Maca & Cinnamon French Toast with Caramelised Pear

For lunch today I found myself at fumbling around my kitchen for ingredients to whip up something nutritious & healthy. I had a loaf of sourdough wholemeal bread, 2 eggs and 1 pear...so this was the result! And I can’t wait to make it again! My new favourite ingredient coconut butter provided the pizazz, and the maca brought the flavour of the egg to life. My stomach went singing into the afternoon...!

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Winter Supersalad

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Golden Beet Spelt Risotto with Kale

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Honey & Lemon Carrot Rice with Quinoa

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Super fruit & nut chocolate with raw cacao, coconut oil, maca, ashwanghanda, rhodiola, goji berries, mulberries, golden berries, pecan nuts, pistachios & maple syrup

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Superfood Super treats - from top, left to right - matcha & hemp balls, ‘macamazing’ chocolate truffles, baobab ‘cheesefree’ cake, zingy zen chocolate cups, lucuma caramel chocolate cups

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’Macamazing’ chocolate truffles (dairy, gluten & refined sugar free)

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Baobab ‘Cheesefree’ Cake with a probiotic punch!

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Lucuma Sweet Potato Biscuits (Gluten & Dairy Free)

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Maca & Cinnamon French Toast with Caramelised Pears

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Chocolate Matcha Butter Cups |

It basically came down to the fact that if I coat anything in chocolate, Chris will probably like it. The obvious answer was Chocolate Matcha Butter Cups.

Ok, I think I am going to have to try this recipe. Period. 

For those of you in the dark about Matcha - it’s a particularly potent Green Tea that is credited with giving you a zen-like calm that can last up to 12 hours. This is from a magical little chemical called L-theanine that is naturally contained in Matcha Green Tea. It makes a fantastic substitute for coffee as the caffeine within it is released slowly unlike its rather spiky counterpart. 

Now who out there wouldn’t want to feel a zen-like calm all day long?!NM

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Rhodiola rosea is a Traditional Chinese Medicine and Scandinavian herb touted to promote physical/cognitive vitality. It appears to be proven for reducing fatigue and exhaustion in prolonged stressful situations. Rhodiola is also neuroprotective and promotes longevity in preliminary evidence.

This intriguing ‘superfood’ is currently heralding some really substantive and interesting clinical results. It’s basically an antidote for stress on both a physical and emotional level. This hardy herb is native to barren and arid lands like SIberia where it has flourished when little else stands a chance.

Because of its inherently bitter taste (a good litmus test for health benefits! haha!) add it to raw cacao/chocolate for a delicious and system enhancing boost. I’ve got mine stored up for the fast approaching winter months. NM

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Luxury chocolate truffles and luxury dairy free ice cream alternatives, made in Norfolk, England. Everything Booja-Booja make is organic, gluten free, soya free and dairy free

With the motto - ‘Everyone needs a bit of Booja-Booja now and then’ - I have been enjoying their groundbreaking and innovative treats for over a decade now having discovered them in my student-vegan days.

This was the first time I realised that delicious/healthy/decadent/pudding could all be rolled up into one. I can’t tell you what an epiphany that was for me. I was forever changed. There is very little not to like about this company - their ethics go hand in hand with their commitment to organic, and you can taste this in every mouthful. NM

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Baobab: the 'superfood' of 2015?

The African fruit baobab, packed with nutritional goodness, will be everywhere this year

So I grew up in Zimbabwe eating this nutrient powerhouse straight from the tree, it was like an organic and natural form of sherbet, sour and zingy, and I loved it!

Little did I know just how fantastically good it is for you....

Nowadays, as an urban Londoner and mum-of-two, I use it as a substitute for dairy in my daily bread - the humble oat porridge. This ancient tree bears such an incredibly clever fruit - packed with Vitamin C (6x content of Oranges, it aids the absorption of calcium (twice as much as cow’s milk) while being rich in magnesium (more than spinach) and potassium (more than bananas) its perfect for releasing calcium within the body. Never mind its wonderful hydrating qualities as these nutrients also double up as electrolytes in the body, thus balancing your water distribution in your body and helping everything communicate internally.Wow. That is ancient wisdom for you. 

What can I say - I LOVE LOVE LOVE Baobab!! NM

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Creamy Homemade Coconut Butter

Never buy a jar of the ready-made stuff ever again. So smooth and creamy, this coconut butter feels and tastes like pure frosting!

So I’ve only just stumbled upon coconut butter, and now can’t imagine not having it in my life forever. It’s literally been love at first bite! It is however very expensive, so I’m going to try my hand to making my own and am planning to add it to cacao butter to make a raw white chocolate bar. Heaven. NM.