When
planning any meal, it is a good idea to include valuable phytochemicals in
the dish. What are these?
Flavonoids and isoflavones are both major groups of
phytochemicals, naturally found in plants that give you strong antioxidant activity.
You
will find these in both fruit and vegetables,
and these are associated with reductions in cancer rates and heart disease. So
why not make every meal a feast and include these health allies!
Sally-Ann
suggests these tips to make
increasing the phytochemical content of your diet a little easier.
*
Increase
your intake and serving sizes of vegetables
* Snack on fresh or dried fruit instead of
sweets
* Include beans in your stews, soups and
pasta
*
Flavour your food with herbs and spices, such as ginger, rosemary,
thyme, garlic, parsley, basil and chives
* Add vegetables such as mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, garlic and onions,
along with herbs when making an omelette
Add sautéed onions, mushrooms and peppers to whole-grain dishes such as
rice, barley, millet, couscous, or buckwheat
*
Try hummus as a healthy vegetable dip
*
When preparing raw vegetables salads, try to include asparagus, red
peppers, zucchini, broccoli, sweet potato sticks, cauliflower, onions,
garlic, carrots and celery.
DELICIOUS
QUINOA & CHICKPEAS
Serves 2 (* Wheat Free
* Sugar Free * Diary Free * Vegetarian *)
Quinoa
is a nutritious, high-protein grain grown in South America and to be
found at health stores.
1
cup quinoa
2 cups water
half a chopped small fresh chilli
herbal seasoning
1 chopped onion
cumin, garam masala, allspices and herb salt
1 - 2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tin chickpeas (or better still, your own ore-soaked and cooked)
Rinse
the quinoa very well. In a medium sized saucepan, add the water and
chilli to the
quinoa with seasoning to taste. Bring to the boil; reduce the heat,
cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until all the water is absorbed
and the grains are transparent.
In a separate pan gently fry the onion
and garlic in the olive oil. Add a pinch each of cumin, garam masala,
herb salt and allspice. Sauté until aromatic, about 2 minutes on low
heat. Add in tomato purée and mix well. Add rinsed and drained
chickpeas and heat through. Drain
the quinoa mixture and add to the chickpea mixture. Heat gently. Serve
on its own or with a fresh tomato salad.
EGGS
ON FIRE
Serves
2 - 4 (* Wheat Free
* Sugar Free * Diary Free *)
Make
sure you use organic eggs
6
- 8 organic eggs
4 tbsp water
¼ tsp herb salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
6 spring onions, finely chopped
2 - 3 fresh red or green chillies, seeded and chopped
1 tsp finely grated ginger
¼ tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves (or 1 tsp dried)
1 ripe tomato, peeled and diced (optional)
½ tsp ground cumin
tomato wedges and coriander sprigs to garnish
(Serves 2 - 4)
Beat
the eggs until well blended. Add water, salt and a good grind of black
pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pan and gently cook the
onions, chillies and ginger until they are soft. Add in turmeric,
coriander leaves and tomato and fry for a minute or two. Stir in the egg
mixture and ground cumin. Cook over a low heat, stirring and lifting the
eggs as they begin to set on the base of the pan. Mix well, and cook
until the eggs are a creamy consistency, they should not be too dry.
Turn onto a serving plate with tomato wedges and coriander.
FLATBREAD
WITH GREENS & YOGHURT-FETA TOPPING
Serves
4 (* Wheat Free
* Sugar Free * Diary Free * Vegetarian *)
Wheat-free
flatbread? And with healthy green vegetables!
500
g wheat-free pizza dough * See Cook’s Notes
500 g mixed greens – spinach, Swiss chard, beet greens etc. washed and
trimmed but not dried
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves chopped garlic
freshly ground black pepper
2 cups crumbled organic feta cheese
1 cup thick plain yoghurt (get organic if you can)
2 lightly beaten organic eggs
Heat
oven to 180ºC. Place the dough on a flat baking sheet. Wet your fingers
and spread the dough out. Set aside. Warm olive oil in a large
skillet, add garlic and sauté quickly. Add the greens and stir for 30 -
40 seconds. Remove from the heat, cool slightly and spread over the dough,
pressing down to make ‘dimples’.
Sprinkle generously with pepper and
bake for 6 minutes. Meantime, mix together the feta, yoghurt and eggs.
Pour this over greens and bake for a further 8 - 10 minutes until golden.
Cool on a wire rack for five minutes. Slice on a cutting board and serve
with a green salad.
Cook’s
Notes: WHEAT-FREE
PIZZA DOUGH
225 ml lukewarm water
15 g active dried yeast
175 g rice flour, plus a little extra
1 tsp organic honey
75 g potato flour
50 g tapioca flour (or use a coffee grinder to make your own flour)
25 g dried soy milk (sugar free and GM free)
1 tsp Xantham gum (available at health stores)
½ tsp seasoning
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ tsp aluminium-free baking powder *
1 organic egg
Dissolve
the honey in 150 ml lukewarm water, stir in the dried yeast and set
aside. Combine flours, dried milk, baking powder, Xantham gum and
seasoning. Whisk
together the oil and the egg and slowly stir into dry ingredients. Stir
the yeast mixture into the dough and mix until smooth. Transfer to a
rice floured work surface, knead well and divide into 4 equal pieces.
On
a sheet of greaseproof paper in a baking tray, flatten one piece and
repeat with remaining pieces to make 4 rounds. Cover and set to rise,
this takes about 15 minutes. Bake at 200ºC for about 8 – 10 minutes.
Add toppings of your choice and bake for a further 10 – 15 minutes
until base is crispy and toppings are bubbly. Serve immediately.
*
ALUMINIUM-FREE
BAKING POWDER
Essential for all gluten free baking.
125
g rice flour
50 g bicarbonate of soda
50 g tartaric acid
Mix
this all together and sift several times. Store in a glass screw top
jar.
OMELETTE
WITH EVERYTHING
Serves
2 (* Wheat Free
* Sugar Free * Diary Free * Vegetarian *)
1
- 2
organic eggs/person
Fridge leftovers – sweet potatoes, regular spuds, grilled salmon,
tomatoes, sweet corn – anything which would taste nice in an omelette!
Chop large vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
Add a handful of chopped fresh herbs, parsley, coriander, or whatever you
have growing outside your kitchen door (or 1 tsp dried herbs)
Herb salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place
the vegetables in a pan with some olive oil and cook until warmed (oven
medium heat). Beat the eggs and season with ground pepper and herb salt.
Pour mixture over the vegetables and allow the egg to sink to the bottom
of the pan. Cook over low heat until almost set. Grill the top of the
omelette (still in the pan) under the grill in the oven. Cut into
squares or slices and serve with hot rye toast or a green salad.
POTATO
AND SPINACH BAKE
Serves
4 (* Wheat Free
* Sugar Free * Diary Free * Vegetarian *)
1 kg potatoes, cut into 2 cm pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
225 g curly kale, or spinach or green cabbage
2 chopped spring onions
fresh grated nutmeg
herb salt and ground black pepper
4 large organic eggs
75 g grated mature cheese (optional)
Cover
the potatoes with cold water and bring to the boil. Boil for five
minutes then turn off the heat and leave for 15 minutes. When soft,
drain the potatoes and mash well. Shred the kale, spinach or cabbage and
lightly cook in olive oil until just tender but still crisp. Drain and
mix this into the potato with the onions, butter, nutmeg and seasoning.
Spoon
the mixture into a shallow ovenproof dish and make four hollows. Crack
an organic egg into each hollow and season well. Bake for about 12
minutes at 190°C or until the eggs are just set, then sprinkle with
cheese if you are using cheese.
GARLIC
AND GINGER FRIED RICE
(* Wheat Free
* Sugar Free * Diary Free * Vegetarian *)
Another
recipe to make your own – quantities depend entirely on your taste and
can be increased or decreased depending on the contents of your pantry.
Serves as many as you cater for!
You
need a really hot wok for this dish.
extra virgin oil
chillies
garlic
ginger
cooked Basmati rice
handful chopped fresh herbs or 1 tsp dried
herb salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Gently
fry the chilli, garlic and ginger until softened in the hot wok. Add the
rice and mix well. Fold in the chopped parsley, coriander, spring
onions, dried tomatoes. Season
to taste.
When
you first decide to become healthier it’s difficult to know what to
eat and how to prepare it. Leading Edge Nutrition Centres are committed
to sound nutrition whist still making meals interesting and tasty.
The
book 'Nutritious' explores a
few ways you can improve your health by giving you a
basic outline of how to eat more healthily, guidelines
to help you in the transition to a healthier lifestyle, and a
variety of healthy recipes from soup to sweets.
'Nutritious'
Published by Storm Books
by Sally-Ann Creed and Jill Fraser Halkett
Leading
Edge www.sallyanncreed.co.za
Storm
Books
P.O. Box 540 Constantia, 7848
Tel: (021) 794-3052 Fax: (021)
794-0635
