Radiate health, transform your life and enrich your wisdom about natural food and health.

• The Healthy New Year cookery course will develop your repertoire of essential dishes to secure your healthy eating.  
• The professional Pure Cook’s Training Ecourse trains you over 7 modules to style plant cuisine into fabulous dishes, while integrating your learning for greater nourishment for yourself and others. Begins 29 January.

Almond Milk Chia Shake

250g almonds
750ml water
3 tsp chia seeds
sweetner – we like amasake or rice syrup
diced fresh fruit – loving pear currently
optional – vanilla pod/ essence
sprig of mint to garnish

Soak the almonds in water to more than cover overnight.  Then adding fresh 750ml water, wizz up the mixture in a nutribullet or other food processor.  Now separate the milk from the pulp by pushing the mixture through a nut milk bag.  Voila – your own home made almond milk, rich in calcium, iron, vitamin E and more!

I have been making sesame seed milk in the same manner and using a sieve to separate the milk from the pulp.  The resulting milk is also drenched in calcium and iron.

Next fold chia seeds into 1 cup milk and set aside for 20 minutes.  Then add rice syrup or amasake to taste and diced fresh fruit.  Garnish with mint.

Save the almond pulp for my recipe below…

Almond Choco Biscuits

almond pulp (from making the nut milk)
handful raisons
1tsp baking powder
2 tbsp wheat free flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3-4 tbsp rice syrup
2 tbsp plant milk
2 tbsp pure sunflower oil butter

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together.  Using damp hands mould into cookie shapes and place on a prepared baking tray.  Bake in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for 15 minutes.

Radiate health, transform your life and enrich your wisdom about natural food and health.

• The Healthy New Year course will develop your repertoire of essential dishes to secure your healthy eating.  
• The professional Pure Cook’s Training Ecourse trains you over 7 modules to style plant cuisine into fabulous dishes, while integrating your learning for greater nourishment for yourself and others. Begin today.

Welcoming Neha; food psychologist and founder of Guna, the start up which organises organic food workshops across India.  http://gunaorganics.com.  Neha shares one of her lovely peace recipes for a perfect snack.

Wholefood Harmony and Anna’s teachings on macrobiotics have brought immense peace in my life. Being an Indian, I mostly followed a vegetarian ayurvedic diet. However, during my time as a student and professional, and while in England, I found it difficult to manage a balanced lifestyle.  I felt confused whilst shopping for food and preparing meals.

With macrobiotics and the Pure Cook’s Training, I understand the wisdom of plant foods and am able to design healthy and balanced shopping lists, menus and meals. I now conduct workshops in New Delhi.  Anna is a radiant and positive human being who lives her teachings.  I feel very lucky to have met her.

Amaranth Crackers 

1 cup amaranth flour

1 tblsp arrowroot

1 tblsp flax

1 tsp herbs – I like chives

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup water

1/2 tblsp olive oil

Mix dry ingredients together.  In a separate bowl combine oil and water with a fork.  Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, turning the flour.  Mix until a firm ball.  Oil a flat baking tray and roll out the dough until 1/8th inch thick using extra flour to prevent sticking.  Cut to desired shape. Place in oven at 180C for around 8 minutes.  Turn over and put back in oven for another 5 minutes.

]]> https://www.wholefoodharmony.com/amaranth-crackers/feed 0 https://www.wholefoodharmony.com/back-to-school-beany-burgers?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=back-to-school-beany-burgers https://www.wholefoodharmony.com/back-to-school-beany-burgers#comments Sat, 05 Sep 2015 20:59:54 +0000 http://www.wholefoodharmony.com/?p=5917 A much loved creation from my cooking class this week and ideal for the new term.   Delicious hot, these burgers also make a great portable, protein rich meal for office lunch breaks and children’s lunch boxes.

I like using black beans or butterbeans, plenty of toasted seeds and nuts and fresh rosemary.   The recipe uses omega rich flax and calls for baking, but you can also fry if you prefer.

Back To School Beany Burgers

• Half onion diced
• 1 clove garlic finely cut
• 2 tblsp flax and ½ cup warm water
• 1 cup oats ground into flour
• 1 carrot grated
• 1 cup cooked beans, then mashed – use black beans, butterbeans or chickpeas
• Handful fresh herbs finely chopped – rosemary is lovely!
• 5 tblsp ground nuts/ seeds I like using toasted almonds and toasted sunflower seeds
• 1 tblsp tamari
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• ½ tsp salt

Saute onions and garlic.  Mix flax with water and leave while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.  Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Add salt to taste.

With wet hands form the mixture into patties.  Place on a prepared baking sheet, and bake in the oven at 180C for 15 minutes on each side, until crisp.

Ingredients:
Half pack silken tofu (or regular tofu combined with a little water)
5 tbls sunflower oil
2 tbls lemon juice
2 spring onions or handful chives
1-2 tblsp ume vinegar
¼ tsp salt

Preparation:
Blend all the ingredients in a small food processor.  Adjust flavours to taste.  Enjoy!

Pressed salads are made up of raw vegetables finely sliced and then pressed down to release their water content. This makes the vegetables more digestible and retains the vitality of the vegetables’ live enzymes.

Below is my favourite pressed salad recipe, a sample video from the Pure Cook’s Training course.   Read on for the low down on why these salads are the best for your digestive and overall health.

Favourite Pressed Salad of Beetroot, Apple & Fennel

Good Gut Bacteria Benefit

The act of pressing encourages a slight fermentation, promoting enzymes which aid digestion and support immunity.  In this lactic acid fermentation the good gut bacteria; the Lactobacillus bacteria proliferate and breakdown lactose and other sugars to lactic acid.  The lactic acid that preserves the vegetables and gives them their yummy tangy flavour.  Incidently, lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria.

Lacto fermented foods were eaten as part of the diets of every traditional society. Today Europeans relish pickles and sauerkraut.  The Orient is known for pickled vegetables and kimchi.  In Africa, porridges are made from soured grains.

More Positives of Pressed Salads and Lacto-Fermentation

Digestive Aid

• Reintroduce good bacteria into the intestines
• Aid absorption of nutrients, since the good gut enzymes are harboured.
• Safeguards digestive health and conditions including IBS, ulcers and colitis
• Breaks down fat, so pressed salads are ideal for detoxing and to enjoy with a heavy meal.
• Good for opening the cells and bringing oxygen to them
• Regulate acidity of blood, making the blood more alkaline
• Pressing helps break down fibrous vegetables, making them easier to digest

Drive Health

• Studies show that fermented foods contribute to lower rates of skin problems, asthma and autoimmune disorders.
• The lactic acid helps lower fat in the blood stream, improves circulation and lower high blood pressure.
• Pressed salads aid bodily cleansing
• Protect us from harmful bacteria

Nutrition

• Vitamin content is higher than in raw vegetables
• Rich in vitamin B and C
• Helps absorb calcium
• Help open cells in body and bring oxygen to them

I am delighted to welcome guestblogger Lilian.  Here, she shares her surprises from taking the Pure Cook’s Training and a lovely recipe creation to enjoy this Spring.  Lilian is based in the Netherlands and runs a special exercise academy internationally; www.doinacademy.com.

I have always been enthusiastic about nutrition and energy balance, and I felt it was time to go one step further.  So I attended Anna’s online Pure Cook’s Training. Indeed, though I had already a solid base in nutrition and Chinese medicine, she definitely taught me a lot. And inspired me in trying plenty of new recipes. This enabled me to implement the macrobiotic principles into the life of my whole family, including my little daughter who loves the natural food kitchen.

In January while the course began, my husband felt inspired too and started eating miso soup every morning. A beautiful surprise unfolded – the eczema he had suffered since childhood disappeared within days!

The macrobiotic way goes hand in hand with my vision on health and wellbeing, which I share as a Do-In teacher and teacher trainer on a daily basis. Do-In is an ancient, yoga-like, art of movement which has its origins in Chinese medicine. If you’d like to try it out, here’s a link to an article I recently wrote, sharing the essential meridian stretches.

Spring Green Parcels with Shitake Mushroom & Kohl Rabi

Serves 6

dressing:

1. Start preparing the dressing:
   Warm the sesame oil, add the garlic and after a minute the ginger.  Cook for one more minute. Turn of the gas, mix the miso with the lemon juice, Tamari, and some water to get a good texture, add the lemon zest and stir. If preferred add some more lemon juice or rice vinegar to taste.
2. Now prepare the filling:
   Warm the sesame oil, add garlic and mushrooms, cook for a minute. Then add the carrots, kohlrabi and a dash of water.  Cook for five minutes. Add the sesame seeds and the tamari. Mix the miso and lemon in a bowl. Add to the pan, together with the shiitakes.
3. And for the greens:
   Steam the green part of the bok choi leaves. To fil them, place one leaf at the time on a plate, add a tbspn of the filling and fold and roll the leave into a nice little package.
   Serve with the dressing.

Radiate health, transform your life and enrich your wisdom about natural food and health. The professional Pure Cook’s Training Ecourse trains you over 7 modules to style plant cuisine into fabulous dishes, while integrating your learning for greater nourishment for yourself and others. Begins 25th April. Enrol today.

By Guestblogger Carlota Ribeiro Sanches,

Carlota shares one of her yummy recipes from her final cooking project on the Pure Cook’s Training.

I wanted to create a menu that could be used daily, using organic seasonal vegetables, easy to prepare, with a lot of different flavours and textures – rich and wholesome dishes that would contain all the nutrients necessary for a balanced meal and diet.

Also, since I have been focusing on ways to substitute refined sugar, I intended to make the dishes slightly sweet to prevent any unhealthy sugar cravings!

The chickpea cakes were one of the best accidents I ever had. I was going to make a chickpea and beetroot hummus, however I didn’t have any beetroot at home so I decided to use sweet potato instead.

The chickpea cakes are lovely and soft and the easiest thing to make.  The recipe also generated the sweet taste that I was craving.  I knew my chickpea cakes would prevent me from looking for unhealthy sugar.  The recipe includes many natural sugars that are slowly released into the bloodstream and help ensure a balanced source of energy – now I wouldn’t feel sluggish or tired after eating, and I have found a great snack to eat in mid-afternoon.

I added dried oregano to add something of my cultural background, this time related to Portuguese cuisine. Dried oregano is very aromatic, and combined with the toasted sesame gives the cakes a more exciting feel, both in texture and flavour.

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato
• 1 cup of cooked chickpeas
• Sesame seeds
• Sea salt
• Dry oregano leaves
• Cumin powder
• Cayenne pepper

Preparation method

• Peel the sweet potato and bake it in the oven until very soft
• In a food processor mix the chickpeas, the baked sweet potato, a pinch of salt, 1 tea spoon of cumin powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper. The mixture should be soft but dry enough to make the cake shape.
• When the mixture is ready shape the dough into cakes, round and flat is a good option, and sprinkle them with toasted sesame seeds.
• When the cakes are ready place them in an oven tray to toast, leave for about 10 minutes. The outside should be toasted and the inside tender and soft.
• When ready add more sesame seeds if needed and some dry oregano for flavour.

I really enjoyed thinking about something that could be seasonal, beneficial, balanced, exciting but easy to prepare; something that I could share with others. I also wanted to add a personal touch to it, using ingredients that we hadn’t used in the cooking classes.

The experience made me want to learn more, research and overall cook even more. There are so many important things, details to creating and preparing a dish that it makes it a very powerful and wonderful challenge.

Radiate health, transform your life and enrich your wisdom about natural food and health.  The professional Pure Cook’s Training  Ecourse trains you over 7  modules to style plant cuisine into fabulous dishes, while integrating your learning for greater nourishment for yourself and others.  Begins 31st January.  Enrol today

Seasons not only have a great impact on soil and crops but they also have a profound impact in our minds and bodies.

Chinese ancient traditions say that we are greatly influenced by the changes in climate and therefore should respect and live according to them.

We adapt naturally to each season but preparing for these changes can make these transitions more balanced and harmonious.  Choosing and cooking your food according to the seasons can be a  great way to take on this process.

Now is the time to store fuel, food to get all the energy to embrace the long and cold winter.

Pickling is a very easy and accessible way to store food during the Winter.  You don’t need many ingredients and it won’t take much of your time.  This year I have made pickles for the first time using cucumbers grown in our now stripped and empty polytunnels, some of our own shallots and some purple carrots that I had got in my own vegbox.  This made all the content in my jars look bright pink in just two days of fermentation.

I used a very simple recipe that I received while attending the Pure Cook’s Training at Whole Food Harmony. Basically you just need to boil one liter of water with two tablespoons of salt.

While the water comes to a boil cut all the vegetables and place them in jars.  Season your future pickles with herbs such as thyme or rosemary, you can use vinegar, lemon, garlic as well, or even cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Take the water of the heat and let it cool down to a lukewarm temperature before pouring it into the jars. After pouring the water close the jars as tight as possible and leave them to ferment for at least one week.

The list of the benefits of fermented foods it’s a long one  – they can be a great contributor to a healthy digestive system helping the formation of healthy bacteria, like for example Lactobacillus acidophilus, into the intestines, they also help the absorption of nutrients into the blood and regulate the levels of acidity in the stomach and intestines. Also, pickles can contribute to breaking down fat after heavy meals.

I wanted to make my pickles pungent and sour so I added garlic, ginger, rosemary and vinegar to the vegetables.  The sour flavour in foods will help in digestion to improve the dissolution of minerals, it can also serve as a solvent to break down protein and fat. As for the pungent aromatic flavour, this can be used to stimulate blood circulation and as a protection for the common colds so closely related to the season.

In celebration of this epic moment, we hold a gathering complete with musical fun, party food, little people and large parents alike.

I know the prerequisites for my party food prove challenging.  Pleasing both children and adults, being scrumptious and sweet yet sugar free, and surpassing any expectations.  Above all,  the collection of dishes had to be swift to prepare.  I only had the evening prior and morning of the party day in which to assemble the bulk of the spread.

I go for a buffet of dishes to delight all ages.  I take time to deliberate my menu choices.  I want sweet and savoury items that people recognise, yet are prepared with a healthy edge.

What follows is my menu of home-made dishes which did indeed excite, delight and nourish all members of our party.  I am thrilled to add that I received plenty of exclamations of wow and no post tea hyperactivity was exhibited at all!

Sugar Free Toddler Tea Party Menu

Savoury dishes:

• Open sandwiches with toppings of humous, guacamole and more
• Spring rolls of avocado, cucumber, carrot and brown rice vermicelli noodles, complete with dipping sauce (these disappeared first)
• Kale crisps
• Crudites of rainbow coloured carrots, cucumber, celery and more served with humous dips

Sweet things:

• Fruit kebabs and fruit platters
• Apple rings with peanut butter, dessicated coconut and raisins
• Peanut chocolate sauce (made in minutes by whizzing oat cream, peanut butter and cocoa)
• Coconut oat cookies
• Raw chocolate brownies (another fast blend of ground almond, raisin, coconut and cocoa)
• Salted caramel popcorn (I coated the popcorn with an assembly of coconut butter, maple syrup and pinch of salt, and this went down a treat!)
• Sugar and dairy free cakes of banana, carrot and date.
• Ginger Birthday Cake with a delicious icing (all sugar and dairy free!)