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.

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 a truly cleansing meal, join our Cleansing Soiree on Sunday 11 March.

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

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.

The recipe uses water sautéing, an effective and nutritious alternative to using oil, and a great method to enjoy while you cleanse your body and manage your weight!

Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
Pinch sea salt
1 carrot
one third daikon white radish
small strip kombu sea vegetable
4 shitake mushrooms
half inch root ginger
few green beans
1 tbsp shoyu
spring onion

Preparation:
Cook the brown rice with the water and a pinch of sea salt for 40 minutes or until tender.
Meanwhile water sauté your vegetables by bringing an inch of water with a small strip of kombu sea vegetable to the boil in a pan.  Now add the carrot, daikon, shitake mushrooms, green beans.   Turn the heat down and cook for 8 minutes until the vegetables are tender.   Make 1 tbsp ginger juice by grating the ginger and squeezing the gratings.   Add a dash of shoyu and ginger juice towards the end of the cooking.  Prepare a serving of rice and arrange the vegetables and yummy cooking liquid on top.  Garnish with finely sliced ginger and spring onion.

If you fancy a bit of healthy eating inspiration or maybe you want to provide healthy veggie food at a social function, then Wholefood Harmony offer food and health coaching, cooking workshops, events and catering.

Using organic, vegetarian and macrobiotic ingredients, they also run a Love Food Nourish Life cooking course…

Read the full article, delicious recipe and cooks tip here

Pear & Cranberry Crumble

2 pears cut into small chunks
2 cups cranberries
3 tblspns Rice syrup
Dash water/ apple juice

Topping:
1 cup oats
1 cup flour (any flour – eg. plain white/ wholemeal or rice flour)
handful raisons
Few tblsp ground almonds
4 tblspns sunflower oil
5 tblspns Rice syrup.

Combine all the dry topping ingredients.  Now fold in enough oil and rice syrup so the mixture begins to clump together and becomes wet.  Arrange on a baking tray and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  Bake until crumble begins to go golden.

Meanwhile heat the cranberries and pears in a pan on the stove.  Add a dash of water or apple juice and rice syrup.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Now arrange in a baking dish and add the crumble on top.  Bake in the oven for a further 20 minutes.  Cover the dish with tinfoil if your topping is already crispy.

I contributed to Bella’s feature “Stay In Sparkling Shape” for Christmas.

Break The Sugar Spiral
“I recommend rice syrup – it’s used by the body more slowly so you won’t get the blood sugar highs and lows you get with normal sugar.  Use in your Christmas baking instead of sugar or squeeze onto foods,” recommends Anna Freedman, Food and Health Coach for Wholefood Harmony.  Try Crazy Jack’s Rice Syrup, approx £2.49 for 300g, available here.

Cut Down On Salt
“Eating too many salty foods means your body will naturally desire sweet foods to balance out the salty tastes.  So try to limit your salt intake (and opt for sea salt rather than table salt because it is higher in minerals) and get balance with foods bursting with natural sweetness instead of dipping into sugary treats – roasted root vegetables and fruit are great,” says Anna.

Read the article and my expert tips for healthy eating over the festive season here.