The lime juice brings out a vibrant red colour to the red onions, and coupled with the fresh green and tasty puy lentils, makes an ideal salad for this time of year.
The dish was very much enjoyed at our recent Early Summer Kitchen and Plant Proteins workshops.

Ingredients:

1 cup puy lentils

2 cups water

bayleaf

1 red onion – diced

2 cloves garlic

Juice of 1- 2 limes

Dash Sesame oil

1 inch strip Kombu sea vegetable

Directions:

Bring the lentils to the boil with kombu, water, bayleaf and garlic.  Cook for 30 minutes and add a dash of shoyu towards the end.

Saute the red onion and add lime juice during the cooking.

Arrange the watercress around the edges of your serving bowl.  Add the lentils to the centre and top with the red onion.

Food waste was the topic.  The Fabian Society launched their report to debate our collective responsibility on food waste.

Supermarkets must be the most visible offenders.  The tale of bread crust waste in factories emerged, such that your store bought sandwhich reflects the buying into of a staggering 17% of bread loaf wastage.

How about the vast individual household food waste?  This stands at a third of all food, but reduces to a fifth if the discarded teabags are omitted from the analysis.

Internationally, 30% of food is wasted.  And we need to feed 1 billion more people in the next decade, well by 2025.

We certainly need a sustainable and resilient food system.

There was agreement for a long term strategy.  A collective approach with consideration to the many stakeholders.  A strategy that embraces all facets of the wider food agenda – waste, sustainability, environment, nutrition and health.

Wholefood Harmony stands for all these values in the larger food landscape and I am most excited to be a part of this progressive food activity.

• Through our classes and workshops, we mitigate against food waste and inspire health.
• We empower you towards the fundamental art of cooking, teaching novel recipes that can be recreated with ease, enjoyed today or reinvented tomorrow.
• We uphold the use of sustainable ingredients, grown locally and free from packaging.
• We fully respect the environment and natures’ seasonal offering.
• Nutrient rich and balanced meals are our speciality.
• And healthy food is our expert wisdom which we love to share.

A lovely fresh, zesty recipe ideal for sunny weather.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

250g quinoa

500ml water

Zest and juice of one lemon

1 tblsp shoyu or tamari soy sauce

4 radishes finely cut

Handful sunflower seeds

Pinch sea salt

2 spring onions finely cut

8 mint leaves finely cut

Preparation:

1. Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh sieve.
2. Place the quinoa, water, lemon juice and shoyu in a pan and bring to the boil.
3. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the quinoa is tender.
4. Toast the seeds in a pan on low heat, stirring occasionally for 6 minutes or until the seeds turn golden.
5. Place the quinoa in a salad bowl and fold in radish, sunflower seeds and half the lemon zest.
6. Season with sea salt.
7. Serve garnished with spring onion, mint and the remaining lemon zest.

Vegetable Heaven
Go for as many servings of vegetables as you can. Green vegetables and sea vegetables are ideal for cleansing. They are abundant in antioxidants and phytonutrients? Their fresh, nutrient rich quality will flush away any accumulation from your body.

Souper Soups
Broth like soups are perfect as part of your detoxifying menu. Enjoy clear soups with plenty of veggies and sea vegetables, ginger and the powerfully cleansing shitake mushroom.

Zesty Detox
The sour taste and pungent flavour are great for cleansing. Use the citrus flavour of lemon and lime and enjoy ginger and mustard for that opening, pungent quality. Ginger penetrates deep inside the body activating movement and flow. The sour and fermented sauerkraut is another essential cleansing ingredient to stock up on.

For plenty more tips and truly cleansing meals, join our Love Food Nourish Life Course.

“I feel cleansed already!” Fiona, Detox Class January 2012

Amico Bio is my favourite vegetarian, organic, Italian restaurant in London.  Infact it’s the only one!

Now alongside their beautiful Italian menu, they are also serving tea…

Enjoy the Tradition of Afternoon Tea at Amico Bio

One of the greatest pleasures in life is taking time out for afternoon tea. Chef Pasquale Amico has been working hard on a thoughtful afternoon tea menu that embraces this wonderful British tradition and has given it an Italian, vegetarian slant.

Book now and enjoy his scrumptiously presented, Italian-style sandwiches, small bites, cakes and scones with a glass of Prosecco and a choice of tea from Amico Bio’s selected tea range.

Served every day Monday to Friday from 3 – 6pm

http://www.amicobio.co.uk/

Buckwheat Pancakes

Quarter cup buckwheat flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 and a half tbs sunflower oil

1 cup rice milk

Quarter tsp sea salt

2 tsp baking powder

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Put the rice milk in a separate bowl.  Heat the oil in the pan and stir the oil into the rice milk mixture.  Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix leaving the batter a little lumpy.

Heat a little oil in a pan and put a laddle full of batter into the pan.  Cook for a few minutes until bubbles appear, now using a spatula turn the pancake over to cook on the other side for a minute or so.

Serve sweet with rice syrup and lemon juice or delicately cooked pear.
Serve savoury with scrambled tofu.

1.00pm: Energise Your Eating

Find out how to energise your eating and discover pure food which will expand your health. In this inspirational session you will:

• discover how to integrate natural foods in your eating style

• learn the art of balancing ingredients for perfect nourishment
• explore a holistic recipe of ingredients for a delicious cleanse

Anna Freedman is a qualified Macrobiotic Cook and Health Coach and set up Wholefood Harmony to inspire health through delicious natural cuisine.  Wholefood Harmony offer Cooking Workshops, Food & Health Consultations & Coaching and Personal Cook Services.

Booking required, please contact the library.

Anna Freedman from Wholefood Harmony discusses Super Foods on Radio 4, Gardeners’ Question Time.

Anna talks about Super Foods at the Amico Bio Restaurant in London.

Also on the panel are Bob Flowerdew, organic gardener and radio and televsision presenter,  and Dr Geoffrey Webb, nutrition writer and consultant from the University of East London.

Hear about:

• Kale
• Butternut Squash
• Daikon
• Alfalfa Sprouts

Tune in Friday 3rd February at 3pm and Sunday 5th February at 2pm.  The programme is available to listen to here on bbc iplayer.

More information about the Retreat Days and next dates are available here

www.thetaichiroom.co.uk

1.  Dine Regularly
Eat routine meals at a similar time each day and try to avoid snacking between meals.  Eating regular meals is crucial to prevent becoming very hungry suddenly and grabbing quick processed snacks and sugar fixes.

2.  Protect Your Sleep
Strive to eat at least three hours before going to bed.  Sleep restores your energy for the next day.  Feeling fresh and alive during the day will lessen any need for quick energy bursts from less healthy foods.

3.  Buy Sugar Free
Find sugar free alternatives and good quality e number free goods.  Enjoy pure, fresh and wholesome ingredients to facilitate your detox.

4.  Purify With Plants
Plant ingredients are perfect for cleansing and weight management.  Go for abundant servings of fresh, leafy green vegetables.  Try to include the less fatty legumes and grains in your diet.  Chickpeas, lentils, adzuki and black beans are great lean beans.  Among the grains, oats carry the most plant oils so be sure to alternate your morning oats with other cereals for a healthy weight reducing breakfast.

Find out about the magic of certain detoxifying ingredients and learn to create a favourite One Pot Detox Feast in my recipe post here.

For a weekly cleansing three course meal meal, tips, support and more read about our Love Food Nourish Life Cooking Course beginning 17 January.  For a tailored food plan and personal support, see the Food & Health Coaching and Kitchen Impact Classes we offer.