peach chia breakfast shake

23rd July 2015

Peaches left to ripen on the tree is a kind of sweet bliss, with their golden flesh and rose-like scent…..

Remember these little guys? and this one below, thinking I have something for him! Which I always do.

peach chia breakfast shake

Serves 4 medium/3 large glasses

Recipe slightly adapted from ‘At Home in the Wholefood Kitchen’.

For best results, it is essential to use home-made almond milk and the freshest, ripest local peaches. This shake is very smooth, creamy and subtly sweet, with the delicious flavour of the peaches and a delicate hint of coconut. The chia seeds give it a luscious consistency.

This shake can be transformed into a delicious peach-flavoured chia pudding. Increase the chia seeds to ¼ cup, serve with sliced peaches on top and a sprinkling of her toasted maple-coconut flakes – you will need to buy the book for that recipe.

ingredients

1 Tbsp chia seeds

2 cups homemade almond milk – divided

560 grams/3 – 4 large, very ripe peaches, pitted and quartered

1 Tbsp coconut butter/oil/coconut manna

1 tsp vanilla essence

⅛ tsp cinnamon powder

1 Tbsp honey

preparation

1. Place the chia seeds in a bowl and cover with ½ cup almond milk – set aside to soak for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, so that the seeds are evenly distributed and covered.

2. Wash the peaches, and remove any bruised or spoiled spots. Cut them in half, remove the stone, and cut in half again.

3. Place the pieces in a blender with the remaining almond milk, coconut butter, vanilla essence, cinnamon powder and honey – blend on high for 1 minute, or until completely smooth.

4. Add the chia mixture and blend for a few seconds, until just combined. Enjoy as is, or place in the refrigerator to thicken and chill for 1 hour.

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0

rich & creamy chocolate nut shake

22nd February 2015

right knowledge + right action = good result

~plus I got to spend the afternoon doing silly stuff~

rich & creamy chocolate nut shake

Serves 2

The frozen banana makes this shake rich and creamy. If you don’t like the taste of banana, half an avocado will work just as well. The protein from the almond butter leaves you feeling satisfied and full. The maca powder is rich in mineral content and a natural hormone balancer for both men and women. Raw cacao is full of healthy antioxidants.

If you would like a little chocolate chip crunch in your shake add 2 tablespoons of raw cacao nibs at the end and blitz for 5 – 10 seconds.

ingredients

1 medium frozen banana

2 Tbsp raw cacao or cocoa powder

2 Tbsp almond butter (or any unsalted nut butter)

1 Tbsp maca powder

1 Tbsp maple syrup (or 2 fresh dates)

1 cup almond milk

tiny pinch of Himalayan salt

preparation

1. Place the banana, cacao powder, almond butter, maca powder, maple syrup, almond milk and a pinch of salt in the blender – mix on high speed until you have a smooth consistency.

2. Pour into 2 glasses, sprinkle with cacao powder and enjoy.

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1

easy vegan pancakes

3rd November 2014

I woke to the sound of rain this morning and birdsong…..

and the morning grew brighter and lighter from there…

easy vegan pancakes

Serves 10 – 12 medium pancakes.

If you are using frozen blueberries and you don’t like the bleeding of the fruit, pour the batter into the skillet first and then top with berries. These pancakes can be made plain without the addition of blueberries or replaced with chopped banana, raspberries, steamed apple, or whatever fruit is in season.

I like my pancakes sweet, but if you prefer less or no sweetener, just replace the maple syrup with more nut milk. If the batter is too thick or you prefer thinner pancakes, simply thin it out with a little more almond milk.

ingredients

¾ cup/100g whole-spelt flour

¾ cup/100g white spelt flour

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp fine rock salt

½ tsp cinnamon powder

1 cup/225g almond milk

1 heaped Tbsp coconut oil, melted

⅓ cup/100g maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup/100g fresh/frozen blueberries

preparation

1. Place in a large bowl the flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond milk, syrup, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract, then pour into the dry ingredients and whisk the batter until no lumps remain.

3. Fold the blueberries into the batter.

4. Preheat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. A drop of water should sizzle on the pan when it’s ready. Lightly grease and scoop a spoonful (¼ cup) onto the skillet. The batter should spread by itself into a circle, otherwise, help it gently along with the back of a spoon. Cook until some bubbles appear and the edge looks deeper in colour and firmer.

5. Flip and cook for another couple of minutes until golden. Adjust the heat as needed. Repeat for the other pancakes. Lightly brush the skillet with oil before each pancake is cooked.

Stack and serve with coconut whipped cream, more fresh blueberries or simply with pure maple syrup.

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4

fresh oat milk

26th April 2014

I have been making oat milk lately, as buying almonds and hazelnuts for making nut butter, and then making nut milk, can become quite expensive.

In minutes, you can produce plant-based milk that is fresh and delicious, rich in nutrients and enzymes. The soy, almond, rice, oats or hemp ‘milk’ sold in boxes contain synthetic vitamins to “enrich” (such as Vitamin A Palmitate, calcium carbonate, Vitamin D2, etc.). These have shown to actually deplete your body of the vitamins it needs and actually keeps your body from ingesting the naturally-occurring vitamins in the almonds/oats/coconut in the milk. These kinds of milk are very nutritious by themselves without the added isolated vitamins. Also, the extremely high heat processing in making these store-bought milk renders the contents ‘dead’ and quite hard to be utilized by the body.

Oat milk is high in fibre and iron. It also provides many important vitamins and minerals including manganese, potassium, phosphorus, many B Vitamins, Vitamin E, and Vitamin A.

Oats have long been known for their warming thermal nature, sweet, soothing and restoring. Oats also have skin clearing properties and drinking oat milk has been known to clear acne and improve the overall health of the skin, as well as strengthen and repair the hair.

I use the left-over oat pulp mixed with a little warm water for a face and body scrub in my morning shower, as it rejuvenates and relieves dry and itching skin (a pitta imbalance); leaving my skin feeling soft and silky.

fresh oat milk

Oat milk has a very soothing oat flavour which I like, but it does have a pasty texture, unlike regular nut milk. Because of this, I am less likely to drink it straight, but it’s perfect for a green smoothie or using in baking or pouring over porridge. If you would like the milk creamier, you can experiment with adding less water. This ratio below was my favourite.

ingredients

1 cup organic whole oat groats

4 cups filtered water

You will also need

1 piece of nut bag/muslin for a fine sieve

1 large glass container

pre-soak

1. Place the oat groats in a bowl, cover with twice the amount of water and leave to soak for 6 -8 hours or overnight.

preparation

2. Rinse well and place in a blender with 4 cups filtered water – blend on high for 1 minute.

3. Place the nut bag or cloth over a wide-mouth jug and pour the blended mixture into it, strain the milk until only the pulp is left. Use your hand to squeeze out the last of the milk.

4. Pour into a sterilised glass jar.

Homemade milk does separate, so be sure to give your milk a very good shake before using. The milk keeps for about 3 days in an air-tight container in the fridge.

References:

‘Earthly and Divine’ by Eva Cabaca

‘Healing with Whole Foods’ by Paul Pitchford

https://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-benefits-of-oat-milk-and-how-to-make-it-yourself.html

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2

green smoothie

27th February 2013

What makes this green smoothie so good is the wide spectrum of amino acids, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, chlorophyll, fibre and enzymes that will give your body the health, energy and strength it needs. The blending helps breaks down the cellular walls of the leafy greens, enabling our bodies to assimilate all these nutrients.

I try to not use the same leafy greens every day, rotating the greens daily or every few days. Mixing up your leafy greens will ensure that you are rounding out all the different vitamins each green carries. Plus, each different leafy green contains small amounts of alkaloids, so when you switch them often, you are giving your body a chance to work on the different alkaloids equally.

Rotate your leafy greens according to the family.

Crucifers: kale, collard, arugula (rocket), cabbage, bok choy, radish greens, mustard greens, broccoli

Amaranth: spinach, chard, beets

Asteraceae: dandelions, leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce

Apiaceae: parsley, cilantro, anise, celery, chervil, dill, fennel, parsnip

Poaceae: wheatgrass

green smoothie

Serves 4 large glasses

This recipe originated from Anna. When I lived in Israel, I would receive a call most mornings to say that my smoothie was ready and waiting for me. The green smoothie was a distant memory until I found the recipe tucked away giving it life again. I believe it came from Donna, who on one of her trips to Israel, went around one morning to Anna’s kitchen to learn the secrets of the green smoothie and came back with this delicious recipe. We have been enjoying the green smoothie in the afternoon, when the children get back from school, needing a pick-me-up.

I use my Vitamix blender as it has a very powerful blade. If using a normal blender, I would peel the lemon and apple. There are so many recipes out there, and there are limitless possibilities. This one is my favourite combinations.

ingredients

1 large green apple, quartered and cored

2 large Medjool dates, pitted

2 Tbsp dried unsweetened cranberries

½ lemon, peel and all

1-inch chunk ginger, chopped

½ avocado and/or ½ banana

a handful of sunflower sprouts or mung beans sprout

small bunch of parsley

a generous mix of greens (spinach, kale, rocket, chard, lettuce or radish leaves, arugula,….)

1½ cups almond milk or nut milk of your choice (nut milk in the carton is pasteurised to keep the shelf life long, so therefore it has little nutrients. It is much better to make your own)

1 cup unsweetened apple juice

preparation

1. Place all the ingredients in the blender. The blender will be quite full.

2. Blend until creamy and smooth.

3. Pour into glasses and enjoy!

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1

“I am happy!!” almond sunflower hummus

18th May 2010

This recipe was inspired by a raw food book called “I am Grateful ” – Recipes and Lifestyle of Cafe Gratitude by Terces Engelhart. All the recipes in this book and on the menu in their cafe have self-affirming names like “I am adoring”, “I am loved” or “I am fulfilled”. This hummus is “I am Happy”. Terces says, “The Cafe Gratitude menu allows you to start practising saying something new and affirming about yourself by simply placing your order and encouraging customers to order what they want in life. Then, when the servers bring their food and drinks, they place them down, saying, ” You are adoring, “You are loved,” or “You are fulfilled,” and, of course, “You are happy!”

So when you make this hummus, say to yourself, “I AM HAPPY!!!” What a great way to approach food. The book was a present given to me by Anna when she returned from a trip to California. She said the food in this restaurant was amazing, joy-filled and delicious. There is also a recipe using the left-over almond pulp and finely chopped pine nuts. This mixture can be used in nori rolls instead of rice. I haven’t tried this yet, but it does sound delicious, even more so by adding sprouts, avocado and grated carrot.

You can be creative and add all sorts of things to this hummus to give it a different colour, taste and texture.

almond sunflower hummus

Makes about 1½ cups

ingredients

½ cup sunflower seeds (soaked for at least 4 hours)

¼ cup almond pulp from making almond milk ( If using whole almonds, soak overnight with the sunflower seeds and peel before grinding)

1 medium zucchini (about 1 cup of sliced zucchini rounds)

⅓ – ½ cup raw tahini

zest & juice of one lemon

1 tsp grated fresh turmeric

1 tsp cumin powder (cumin seeds, dry roasted and then ground roughly in a mortar & pestle)

¼ cup almond milk/water

2 Tbsp fresh coriander

salt & pepper to taste

preparation

1. In a food processor, process the almond pulp and soaked sunflower seeds until roughly ground.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and begin again to puree the ingredients, adding the almond milk until you reach a creamy texture (or one you desire).

3. Taste the hummus and adjust any desired ingredients – lemon juice, cumin, olive oil.

4. Drizzle with olive oil, dust with more cumin, and sprinkle with hot paprika.

‘Can you see the source of happiness is being happy?’ …Cafe Gratitude…

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2

almond milk

17th June 2009

Making almond milk is very easy and so delicious. You only need a high-speed blender, a cheesecloth or a nut milk bag.

If you use soy milk, rice or almond milk in the box, you will never go back to using them again after tasting homemade almond milk. Nut milk is rich in protein and, depending on your choice of nuts and seeds, is also high in vitamins and minerals.

I prefer using just almonds, as their qualities are less heating than most other nuts and seeds. Almonds have a warming nature and sweet flavour. Almonds are 20% protein and are rich in Vitamin E and magnesium and contain calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.

You can use almond milk anywhere you use regular milk. I use it in my porridge in the morning, making chai tea and smoothies. It is also great served warmed with a bit of maple syrup, cinnamon and a few drops of vanilla essence.

almond milk

Makes 1-litre

When making nut milk, it is essential to soak the nuts or seeds overnight. I always have a batch of already soaked and drained almonds in the freezer for instant nut milk.

ingredients

1 cup raw almonds

3 – 4 cups filtered water

pre-soak

1. Soak the almonds overnight, drain and rinse well.

preparation

2. Place the nuts into an upright blender, pour in water, blend on high until the nuts are completely broken down.

3. Pour your milk into a nut milk bag or a cheesecloth and squeeze out as much of the milk as possible. I sometimes blend in a few dates and add a few drops of vanilla essence for sweeter milk.

The milk keeps for about 3 – 5 days in an air-tight jar in the refrigerator.

You can save the nut pulp to replace flour when you bake or add it to your morning porridge or use in a savoury hummus.

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