Some great ideas for using discarded fruit and vegetable peel, from natural cleaners to moisturiser to crisps and pot pourri! Plus follow Constance’s road trip across Europe as she and her husband leave their home during a Grecian summer – very brave decision.
Author: thejuicenut
Vegan, raw foodie, juice nut, writing somewhat wryly about health/nutrition/wellbeing with a little creativity on the side. pearsnotparsnips@mail.com
what is the most eco sugar?
This is a follow-up post on the sustainability of various sweeteners from boingghealth. I’m relieved to see coconut sugar and maple syrup up there with a decent score, they’re the only sweeteners I use on occasion. I prefer to use dried fruit. I’m not a fan of stevia and Xylitol but even I was surprised at their low scores.
Rocket (Arugula) Salad with Sweetcorn, Walnut Slaw, Crisp Red Apple & Lemon Tahini Dressing
This is quite possibly the final salad photo I’ll be posting for a while – not that I stop eating salads as soon as Autumn appears, far from it, but I don’t think you’ll be wanting to read about them when the central heating’s on! (I realise of course some of you will be in the summer season, but no doubt you’ll be off to the beach for a barbie or spending your time in the pool or by the river, playing with children, partners or pets, or reading a book in the garden, so again won’t want to be reading about salads – no envy at all in those words, honest!)
I don’t eat mayonnaise which is often the default dressing for cole slaw, this one has a lemon and tahini dressing.
If you have a nut allergy and want to avoid the walnuts, you could use alternatives to give a bit of a crunch, perhaps roasted chickpeas – see Crunchy & Spicy Roasted Chickpea Nibbles
I love adding crisp or tart fruit to a green salad, sometimes red grapes, or slices of kiwi, this time slices of a crisp red apple. The fruit not only adds a contrasting flavour but also extra nutrients and can often tempt a child for instance to try a salad they would otherwise turn their noses up at.
There is protein in the walnuts, tahini, sweetcorn and leaves, while rocket (arugula) is believed to have cancer cell-inhibiting properties and along with spinach is rich in B vitamins, Vitamin K (essential for bone health), Vitamin C, and minerals.
Ingredients
Rocket (Arugula) and Spinach Leaves to line the plate, washed even if prepacked.
Thinly sliced Cucumber, washed and peel left on, layered on the leaves.
Sweetcorn arranged around the outside.
Slaw
Finely shred washed light green crisp Cabbage and Carrot into a bowl.
Finely chop a Spring Onion and add to the bowl.
Mix some Tahini with a little Lemon Juice, depending on your taste, and water to the desired consistency.
Mix into the slaw, reserving some to drizzle over the finished salad.
Add Walnut pieces, Pink Himalayan Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Place the slaw in the middle of the leaves.
Thinly slice the Apple and sprinkle with Lemon Juice.
Arrange around the salad.
Drizzle more Tahini Dressing over the salad.
Copyright: Chris McGowan
Ten Things I Gave Up For Minimalism
This is such an inspiring post, I had to reblog it. A lot of stress in our lives comes from the need to surround ourselves with stuff, keep up our appearance, do a job that makes us miserable and so on. Imagine letting it all go! I have made some inroads in some of these categories – being vegan for instance – but I am so guilty of the Just in case part! And I am the worst at keeping things for sentimental reasons. And I can’t stop buying crockery!! Great blog.
Apricot & Cacao Fudge Bites
I recently discovered that the bag of sweet apricot kernels had been open for some time and really should be used up. We made some sweet apricot kernel milk and then used the pulp to make these bites.
You can of course use any nut or seed milk pulp – a good alternative would be almond milk pulp – but it may behave and taste slightly differently, so you may need to make some other adjustments.
Please ensure you buy Sweet Apricot Kernels if you wish to follow the recipe and not the Bitter ones, which are often used in traditional medicines, taste bitter (!) and can cause nausea and a whole string of other effects.
Sweet Apricot Kernels look like a slightly smaller almond and have a similar taste. They contain Vitamin E and Iron.
Cacao powder contains many vitamins and minerals especially magnesium, which many people are deficient in, and is a natural mood enhancer and energy booster.
Ingredients
1 Cup Pulp reserved making from Sweet Apricot Kernel Milk
3/4 Cup Soft Dried Apricots, chopped
1/2 Cup Sweet Apricot Kernels,*chopped
1/2 Tbsp Chia Seeds*
1/2 Tbsp Cacao Powder*
Juice of a small Satsuma
1 Apple, peeled and grated
1/4 Cup Cacao Butter Buttons** – about a dozen, melted (or solid cacao butter)
1 Tsp Maple Syrup (optional)
Desiccated Coconut for sprinkling
Method
Add all the dry ingredients to a food processor (including the pulp) and pulse several times to break up the apricots and sweet apricot kernels. You still want a bit of bite, the sweet apricot kernels need to be roughly chopped rather than ground, so don’t overdo it.
Add the rest of the ingredients except the desiccated coconut.
Alternately pulse and mix on low for a couple of seconds, scraping the mixture down if necessary, until the mixture can be squeezed together to form a ball. Again, don’t overdo it.
If it’s too wet, add some more chia or other seeds, or a few ground sweet apricot kernels. If too dry, a few more drops of juice.
Roll into ball and then in the coconut. Makes about a dozen, depending on size and how many times you ‘test’ it!
(This one’s for you, K!)
*http://www.therawchocolatecompany.com/
Copyright: Chris McGowan
Lemony Avo Pine Nut Spread
This arose out of necessity: there was a mini avocado in the bowl with the bananas that had been there all week and I fancied avocado salad, surely it must be useable by now? The avocado had other ideas. It was so hard, we could have played cricket with it! So, not to be completely outwitted, it was peeled, stoned and chopped and placed in the Braun grinder/chopper with some chopped spring onion, a good squeeze of lemon, some pine nuts, a splash of virgin olive oil, some pink Himalayan salt and some ground black pepper. (All the ingredients were organic).
It was lush! It really worked. I had some with the salad and the rest on some Nairn’s Gluten-Free Oatcakes. Loved every bite.
Avocados are such a versatile fruit and it has been said that you could practically live off them (with water), they have so many essential nutrients for the human body. They are good for your skin, heart, and brain too, with Vitamin E, protein and essential fats. I have avocado in some form every day, often blended into a juice.
(If you want it a bit thinner just add a little more oil and lemon – or persuade your avocado to get a wriggle on with its ripening timetable!)
Copyright: Chris McGowan
Vegan Black Bean & Walnut Veggie Burger
Greg over at Pleasant Peasant Cuisine, is a lifelong vegetarian and is on a quest to find the perfect veggie burger. He has several great recipes on his blog. We too hanker after a good, tasty burger, but ours is even more difficult to find as it has to be vegan, gluten-free and nightshade-free, so no egg, wheatflour or tomato. We also need it to be simple, quick and uncomplicated!
Greg has used kidney beans, tofu and seitan, but we decided to try and devise our own version using black beans, which we’d never had before. We enhanced the protein content of the beans with organic chickpea flour to hold it together, chia seeds instead of egg, and walnuts to give it some bite and texture, as well as sweetcorn for a little colour.
Everything was thrown into the food processor and pulsed to bring it together, then shaped and cooked in a little coconut oil in a frying pan.
Black beans are often used in cajun and creole cooking and are good for vegetarians and vegans alike as they are high in protein and fibre:
1 Cup of cooked black beans provides 1/3 of a day’s protein requirement + 15g of fibre – US dietary guidelines recommend 21-25g per day for women and 30-38g per day for men.
They are also a good source of Vitamin B1 (thiamine) which, along with the other B vitamins, helps convert carbohydrates to glucose for fuel to provide energy and also helps metabolise fats and protein.
Black beans contain magnesium – important for relaxing muscles, good quality sleep and elevating mood – as well as iron.
So, on to the burgers – you thought I’d never get there, didn’t you?!
As always, the measurements are appoximate, it was a case of let’s try this and see how it goes and if it’s not enough add a bit more! Everything was organic and gluten-free. If you want a bit more colour or spice, you can add chilli powder or flakes or paprika or different herbs.
Ingredients
1 Cup Cooked Organic Black Beans (we used tinned, strained and rinsed)
1/2 Cup Walnut Pieces
1 Tbsp Chia Seeds* in 1 Tbsp Water
1 Cup Frozen Sweetcorn, defrosted
1 Onion, chopped
1/2 Stick Celery + leaves, chopped
1/2 Small Carrot, shaved
1 Clove Garlic, pressed
A good splash of Tamari
1 Tbsp Cumin Seeds
Pinch of Pink Himalayan Salt + Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Dried Miso Soup
2-3 Tbsps Chickpea Flour + extra for shaping & frying
Put everything in the food processor and pulse a few times to bring it together, don’t overdo it you want some texture not a purée! Test to see if you can squeeze it together. If it’s too wet, add a little more flour.
Dust a board with some flour and shape the mix into burgers.
We managed 4 good-sized ones and a smaller one.
They are quite soft, so handle gently and use a fish slice to lift them into the pan and flip them over.
Melt a little coconut oil in a large frying pan, but not smoking.
Cook on a medium heat turning a couple of times until done.
Served with a watercress or babyleaf and rocket salad, we added sprouted mung beans (more protein), and cumin spiced sweet potato oven chips (fries) with a piquant cashew ‘cheese’ sauce (see here for recipe),
*
Do visit Greg, his blog is full of improvised, unusual and colourful recipes and beautiful photos (click on the link at the top of this post).
*http://www.therawchocolatecompany.com/
Copyright: Chris McGowan
how ‘good’ is coconut sugar for farmers?
Coconut sugar is often viewed as a healthier and more sustainable form of sugar production, but how healthy is it for us and for the producers? @boingghealth is doing an interesting series of posts on the subject of eco sweeteners.
Blended Purple Carrot Memory Juice*
As promised in Ever Had Purple Carrots? here is a recipe using purple carrots and carrot greens. I’ve called it the Memory Juice because the anthocyanins that make fruit and veg purple are believed to help with improved memory, among many other benefits. Click the link to find out all about why you should not turn your nose up at differently coloured vegetables or discard your greens.
All ingredients are organic, so the peel is left on. If using non-organic or waxed lemons, peel them thinly so that you retain the pith where the micronutrients lie.
If you’re new to beetroot and not sure, you can peel them so they won’t be as earthy but you’ll lose a lot of nutrients.
Ingredients
2 Purple Carrots, washed, peel left on
1 Small Beetroot, ditto
2 Apples
A Small Handful of Carrot Greens, washed and cut up (they contain protein and are rich in magnesium, potassium and calcium)
1/2 Lemon
1″ Ginger (anti-inflammatory)
3″ Broccoli Stem (also a good plant source of calcium and B vitamins)
1/2 Celery Stalk
Juice all the ingredients, placing the greens, lemon and ginger in between carrots and apple to help them through, put the celery through last so it doesn’t block up your juicer.
Blend the juice with 1/4 Ripe Avocado to make a thicker, more satisfying juice and add more protein and essential fatty acids, good for the skin, good for the brain.
Look at the rich colour – your friends could be forgiven for suspecting you’re stocking up for the next vampire convention!
*Disclaimer: it’s not really purple but the carrots are!
Copyright: Chris McGowan
Ever Had Purple Carrots? They’re Even Better For You Than Their Orange Cousins (Juice Recipe Included)
These purple carrots occasionally turn up in our Able and Cole organic veg box, they come all dressed in their green finery and not a bit goes to waste.
Purple carrots are every bit as healthy as our standard orange varieties but come with the additional benefits contained in their purple hue, the same ones that make blueberries, for instance, a superfood.
Purple carrots originated in the Middle East thousands of years ago, before the orange ones from Turkey.
They contain the usual Vitamin A and Betacarotene of their orange cousins but up to 28 times the anthocyanins – the phytochemicals that give them their purple colour. These phytochemicals are antioxidants and anti-inflammatory and along with the usual carotenoids, they are believed to help promote good vision.
Blue- and purple-coloured fruit and vegetables are also believed to help improve memory, protect against heart attacks, help control weight and blood cholesterol as well as improve glucose tolerance.
Here’s where it’s really interesting though: researchers at the University of Queensland discovered that purple carrot juice may help in reversing the negative effects of a high fat/high carbohydrate diet.* The juice was low in carotenoids compared with whole raw carrots and they deduced that it was likely the anthocyanins that made the difference in increasing glucose tolerance, as well as cardiovascular and liver function. They noted also that the soluble fibre in purple carrots helps lower blood cholesterol and blood glucose.
Carrot greens are generally discarded, but you could benefit from adding some to a juice or snipping them into a salad, soup or stew. (NB I use organic carrot greens, which I know have not been sprayed, there are no known official warnings about sprayed greens, but please wash all vegetables and leaves thoroughly).
They contain protein and are rich in calcium and potassium, magnesium (in which many people are deficient) and vitamin K which is necessary for good bone health.
Carrot greens also contain up to 6 times more vitamin C than the roots.
(We find they need using within 2 or 3 as they soon wilt and start going yellow).
Watch out for a juice recipe using purple carrots and carrot greens, coming soon. For now, here’s my Purple Morning Glory using purple instead of orange carrots – it’s such a vibrant colour! (I love ginger and am used to a lot, but use your discretion and begin with a thin slice! It is a wonderful anti-inflammatory and along with the vitamin A and C in the fruit, this is an excellent juice if drunk regularly to help prevent and ease the symptoms of colds or other chronic ailments).
https://www.abelandcole.co.uk/
*http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/health-benefits-eating-purple-carrots-18228.html
If you are at all concerned about using any information in this post, please consult your doctor.
Copyright: Chris McGowan
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