Tag: food

Raw Chocolate Orange Christmas Pudding Bites

img_2454I put a picture of these on Instagram as soon they were ready so as to have a record of the ingredients until I had time to write them down – it was a very busy day in terms of administration, phonecalls etc – and I very swiftly received a message saying ‘early!’ So I’m holding back this post for a couple of weeks, I don’t want to spook the horses (but as I write, we are only 5 weeks away and preparation is everything!)

We’ve used leftover almond nut pulp, but you can use alternative milk pulp or if you have a nut allergy, use ground sunflower seeds or similar, it will alter the flavour slightly . (See How To Make Almond Milk for the nutritional benefits of almonds).

These are healthy raw treats, full of vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, fibre and protein and contain no refined sugar.

Some people may find the golden berries a little tart, you can substitute for more gojis or dried apricots. See also Choco Almond Truffles for a sweeter version with coconut and maple syrup.

Ingredients

1 Cup Almond Milk Pulp, squeezed dry (or any other nut/tiger nut pulp or ground sunflower seeds)

1/2 Cup Raisins

1/4 Cup Goji Berries, soaked in a few drops of the orange juice*

1/4 Cup Golden Berries*

1/4 Cup Dried Mulberries*

Juice and zest 1 1/2 small Mandarin Oranges

1 Tbsp Cacao Powder*

1 Tbsp Melted Raw Cacao Butter (4 Pulsin’ Cacao Butter Buttons)

Blend all of the above in a food processor until it will come together and roll into balls.

Roll into balls and place in the fridge to firm up while you prepare the topping.

For the raw chocolate topping:

Melt approx. 1/3 bar of Pitch Dark or Orange Raw Chocolate*

with 2 Pulsin’ Cacao Butter Buttons (about 1 Tsp melted)

and a squeeze of the remaining mandarin orange

(do this in a bowl over a pan of hot but not boiling water)

Dip the balls in the melted chocolate and top with a goji berry moistened with a drop of orange juice.

Leave to set and keep in an airtight container in the fridge.

*https://www.therawchocolatecompany.com/

http://www.pulsin.co.uk/

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Muslim-Owned Restaurant Offers The True Spirit of Christmas.

This is another example of compassion and kindness and reading it brought tears to my eyes: a Muslim-owned restaurant is offering a free meal on Christmas day to anyone who is homeless or elderly, stating that ‘no-one eats alone on Christmas Day!’

Kindness Blog's avatarKindness Blog

A Muslim-owned restaurant in London is offering a three-course meal to homeless and elderly people on Christmas Day so that “no one eats alone”.

Shish Restaurant, in Sidcup, is asking local residents to spread the word of its offer and has put up posters saying “We are here to sit with you” on 25 December.

The restaurant urged people to share its plan through social media – where the initiative was widely praised.

Vicky Lanfear wrote on Facebook:

“This is the most selfless gesture I have ever seen and they should be recognised as a pillar of the community.”

Suzannah Harris added:

“What a lovely gesture; a restaurant that gives something back instead of merely seeing Xmas as a time to cash in. Will definitely visit in the new year if ever in the area.”

Linda Leach wrote:

“There is still kindness in this world. Amazing people.”

The FREE three-course…

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Long time, no see …

img_2602A quick post to apologise for lack of (hopefully) inspiring posts: we are metaphorically and literally running around like headless chickens trying to regain some sense of control over our living space so that we are prepared for a lovely surprise visit from the two family smalls tomorrow. We weren’t expecting them until Christmas Eve and have unwittingly turned their bedroom into something resembling a packing warehouse and their play room into Santa’s grotto, and so we have to try to clear it all away before they discover their presents a little on the early side!

Their bedroom is full of boxes, big and small, from all the parcels that have contrived to arrive all at once this week – some as part of a project we’re working on (can’t say more than that, walls have ears and all that), some awaiting returns labels, and some containing presents. The playroom has rolls of Christmas paper, cards in various stages of completion, wrapped up gifts strewn around and half-completed projects.

We are also in a quandary: is it too soon to put up the Christmas decorations for them, should we wait until Christmas so they get the full effect for their special visit (we don’t usually see them at Christmas and this year my mum will be meeting the youngest small for the first time too).

Then there’s food to prepare. Always a head-scratcher, this one. Littlest small won’t eat anything resembling a vegetable but will eat fruit and porridge till it comes out of his ears (sometimes literally!), older small will eat most things on her day but on others may decide she’s not in the mood and would rather be playing.

We spend a lot of time discussing what to have, trying to make sure we have their favourites only to discover those have moved over to the detested list and they’ve moved on to something else. Last time we were sure we were on to a winner with pizza, older small’s favourite, but neither of them ate any – older small actually preferred the salad! And younger small doesn’t like chips (fries)!! What child doesn’t like chips?? Husband makes them from scratch and is very proud of his oven chips, the older bigger ones gobble them up. Nope, smallest small only wants cheese and grapes, banana if you’re lucky – but he does love the Aduna Baobab bars* (and I happen to have just had a delivery), and they like my raw treats, so not all is lost.

It’s so hard fitting in two meals into such a short 6 hour visit, we end up spending most of the time preparing food, eating food, clearing away food, washing up and then there’s just enough time to read a story or two and we’re onto the next meal and then they have a bath and it’s into the car and off they go!

We spend such a lot of time and energy trying to get it right, but never really succeed. The teenage ones much prefer takeaway and so that is what we usually do for them and I cringe at what my followers would think of me, a vegan health and well-being blogger paying money for some of the most disgusting ‘food’ on this earth, which they wolf down with big grins on their faces while all I can think about is how many chemicals and processed unmentionables are being stored up for future health catastrophes! They, of course, think it’s hilarious and enjoy watching me squirm. (They eat healthily at home but regard visits here as opportunities to cut loose and have ‘treats’!)

Anyway, that’s our week so far. I am so tempted to put up all the lights etc. because I love to see the little ones’ faces, but I think HB will put his foot down and since he is the one who has to do it all, I have to acquiesce. Besides, there are only so many hours left before their visit and the grotto still isn’t sorted, we don’t yet know what food to prepare, the house needs cleaning and toddlerising, my back is shouting for mercy, oh, and I’m in the middle of a soup and juice plan!

I can’t wait to see them.

Wish us luck!

PS Here’s a link to a Guardian newspaper article on Aduna and the impact on local African economies of their market for baobab fruit, traditionally picked by women.

*https://aduna.com/

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Half-Price Juicers 24 Hours Only!

A quick post: I don’t like this Black Friday mayhem but if you are thinking of buying a juicer for yourself or someone else, Jason Vale has a Half-Price Sale on selected appliances from Midnight tonight (GMT) for 24 hours only. (UK ONLY)

See my reviews Juicemaster Retro Super Fast Juicer: Review and Which Juicer? – Where to Begin?

Juice Master

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Vegan Gluten-Free Tiger Nut Loaf/Bread Mk III

img_2467This is the second post describing our quest for a moist, tasty gluten-free loaf that doesn’t sound like a lab experiment or dry out and break up after the first day. If you’d like to read the original post first, click here.

I rarely eat bread and I rarely miss it, but just ocasionally I get a craving for it. I buy some new product that maintains it isn’t like any other gluten-free bread, costs the earth and inevitably it is such a disappointing experience, I go back to being bread-free. On Sunday, we decided to have another go at making a tiger nut loaf.

We have been using BBC Food’s Dan Leopard’s recipe as a guide but mixing up the flours for more flavour and nutritional content. Which flours we used tended to be those we had in at the time.

In our previous, second, attempt, we only used 1 oz of Tiger Nut Flour as the original had a much larger amount and had been a little too grainy. We also decreased the amount of water from the first loaf which spread too much.

This time, we used the much finer Tiger Nut Powder from The Tiger Nut Company (they ship overseas) and made it the main ingredient – by accident as it turned out since my husband thought we were out of cornflour but of course I later found it on a different shelf at the back of the cupboard, as you do! We substituted the cornflour with gluten-free self-raising flour bought for another recipe. As it happened, it was a lucky accident, because this loaf turned out to be the best yet.

We also decided to bake it in a loaf tin this time to stop it spreading so much and produce a deeper loaf.

It turned out to be tasty, firm, moist and still fresh the next day. And the next.

We sliced it up and put half in the freezer while a third was wrapped and kept in the bread box. On the third day, I got some out of the freezer to have with soup and to see how it had stored. Once thawed, it seemed just as fresh. No need to toast it.

I also tried a slice from the remainder of the loaf that had been wrapped and kept in the bread box. It too was still fresh enough to spread peanut butter on without having to toast it. This is a big deal in the world of gluten-free bread! You always end up having toast because it’s so dry.

It won’t resemble your average thin white sliced that you can make into sandwiches – homemade glutenfree bread is often the consistency of, say, a more dense madeira cake  – but I love it topped with yeast extract,  tahini, nut butter, avocado, banana, salad – or often a combination! We found it easy to spread and handle, it wasn’t as delicate as some gluten-free bread is.

This is such a nourishing, nutritious and satisfying loaf. It has so many good things in it, protein, calcium, healthy fats, fibre, probiotics and prebiotics, B vitamins – I could fill the page! And it doesn’t have anything artificial in it or need a chemistry degree to understand the label.

Here’s the new, improved recipe – watch out nearer Christmas when we hope to produce a fruity tiger nut loaf.

(All measurements are approximate, you may need to adjust to suit your own tastes or your oven).

Ingredients

25g – 50g (10z – 1 3/4 oz) Organic Golden Linseeds

450 mls (16 fl oz) Warm Water

2 1/2 Tsps Quick-acting Yeast

1 Tsp Sugar

80 mls (3 fl oz) CoYo Plain Coconut Yogurt

100g Self-Raising Gluten-free Flour

100g Organic Chickpea or Garbanzo/Besan Flour

250g Tiger Nut Powder

1 Tsp Salt

50g (1 3/4oz) Organic Psyllium Husk Powder

50 mls (1 3/4 Fl oz) Organic Raw Virgin Olive Oil

A little extra olive oil and flour

Method

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4

1. Warm the linseeds on a tray for about 10-12 minutes, until they darken slightly (the toasted seeds will release a sticky gluten-like substance when mixed with the wet ingredients, and they give the loaf a wheatgerm-like flavour).

2. Switch off the oven.

3. Mix together the water and yeast, then stir in the yogurt and seeds. Set aside.

4. Mix together the flour, tiger nut powder, salt, sugar and psyllium husk powder in a large bowl.

5. Pour in the yeast mixture and olive oil and mix well until it resembles a smooth thin batter.

The liquid will turn into a sticky dough within a few minutes as the linseed, flours and psyllium husk powder become gel-like.

6. Once the mixture is firm enough, knead it for 10 seconds on the worktop to mix everything again, then place the dough back in the bowl, cover and leave in a warm but not hot place for 30 minutes.

7. Place the dough into a non-stick or lined 2lb loaf tin and brush with the extra olive oil, cover and leave it to rise for about 30-35 minutes.

8. Heat the oven to 240C/465F/Gas 9

9. Make some diagonal cuts across the dough with a sharp knife, sprinkle with a little cornflour and bake for about 40 minutes, or until rich golden-brown in colour.

10. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Here are the three loaves to compare:

 

Latest on the left, second attempt in the middle and first on the right. The middle one was good, but I think the latest is the most successful.

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Happy Anniversary To Me – & A Big ‘Thank You’ To You!

img_2202Today, we are 1.

I’ve just received a message from WordPress, it seems it’s a whole year since I registered and tentatively, nervously began blogging. I had no idea what I was doing or if I was doing the right thing. It had been suggested a couple of times some time before that I write a blog, but I couldn’t imagine what I would have to say that was of any interest to anyone else.

Two things changed. I had been contributing recipes to The Raw Chocolate Company  blog for a few months when my son suggested I set up my own blog and I had also completed a couple of courses in raw nutrition and naturopathic nutrition. Now I felt I had something to say! I hoped I could pass on the knowledge and experience I had gained through decades of researching food and health. So many people are struggling with lifestyle health issues, perhaps I could help in some small way?

I have always needed to write, even if it was just a letter or a journal entry. I loved the old days of Compuserve where I was a regular contributor and in some instances Section Leader of various forums. I loved writing amusing anecdotes about our family as well as helping people with problems of one sort or another. Perhaps a blog could be an amalgamation of all that.

When I first wrote my About page, I was focused on juicing and raw food, providing health and nutrition advice, answering readers’ questions and so on. I categorically stated this wasn’t going to be a food blog as such and I wouldn’t be posting recipes other than juices!

Well, who knew!! Here I am a whole year later, and my blog is chock full of recipes! I quickly found they were the posts that garnered most views – people are obsessed with food photos, just take a glance at Instagram! – and I tried a different tack of including the health and nutritional information within these posts.

Therein lies the dilemma for many new bloggers: do I write what I want to write about or do I provide the content people want to read?

I also didn’t intend including any personal information – it took some time for me to pluck up the courage to even include a profile pic – however, after some months I was itching to return to family anecdotes, I really enjoy writing those, but I have to ration them and reign myself in because in the olden days of Compuserve, my family were either too young, too old or just not interested in forums so I was quite safe in the knowledge that no-one would ever read them. It’s all very different now! Every time I take a photo I hear a moan: Oh no, it’s not going on your blog is it?!

Today, twelve months down the line blogging takes up most of my thinking and writing time. I’ve also expanded to Instagram, Twitter and Facebook too, I am slowly taking over the world. You can’t get away fom me!

imageI want to say a big ‘thank you‘ to you all for giving me a reason to  do this, for all your kind comments and encouragement, with a particular thank you to those of you who have been here since the beginning when it was all a bit clunky and earnest at times.

Here’s your opportunity to give some feedback and let me know if there’s anything in particular you want me to include or you want to ask me about. Any constructive criticism? Do I post too often, for instance? Are the topics too diverse or too similar? Too many smoothies?

I realised recently that I tend to assume people know what certain items and terms are, so if there is ever anything I mention that you don’t understand, please ask me to explain.

I thought it might be fun to revisit one of my earliest posts: Pears But No More Parsnips: In Which I Confront My Parsnip Phobia! It explains in a light-hearted manner the origins of my blog title. It might give you smile.

Enjoy the video!

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Spooky (but healthy) Halloween Treats!

img_2294These were a very last minute flash of inspiration, there was tiger nut milk pulp* to use up (but you can use nut milk pulp or rolled oats) and a family visit coming up, so something had to be done and pdq!

They are very fruity, soft and squishy with a very slight tartness due to the Bramley apple and lemon juice, offset by the sweetness of the carrot, raisins and mulberries.

All ingredients are organic, vegan and glutenfree and the only possible ‘nut’ allergin is the pine kernels used to decorate (which can be omitted), however I believe pine kernels are seeds rather than nuts. Tiger nuts are of course tubers, not nuts.

These are healthy treats, no refined sugar and won’t have the kids bouncing off the ceiling or in a funk next morning. They are full of vitamins, minerals, protein, healthy fats and micronutrients.

All measurements are very approximate!

Ingredients

1 Cup Raisins

1/3 Cup Chopped Dried Sulphur-free Apricots

1 Cup Tiger Nut Milk Pulp (you could use any nut milk pulp or swap for ground oats moistened with a little apple juice, but the taste and texture will be a little different)

1 /2 Cup Grated Bramley Apple (or any tart apple)

1/2 Cup Grated Carrot

1 Chia Egg (1 Tbsp Chia seeds* soaked in 3 Tbsps Water, stirred frequently for about 10-15 minutes until they swell)

1 1/2 Tsps Baobab Powder (we use Aduna)

1 Tbsp Melted Cacao Butter (we used 4 Pulsin’ cacao butter buttons)

1/4 Cup Desiccated Coconut

Good Squeeze of Lemon Juice – watch out for the pips!

Place all ingredients in a food processor, pulse and stir down as often as it takes for the mixture to come together and roll into balls.

Make small balls and decorate with cacao powder* or coconut for hair, goji berries*, dried mulberries* or pine kernels for eyes and mouths and slightly squash the sides or tops to distort the ‘faces’ a little.

Place them in petit fours cases and put them in the fridge to firm up.

Happy Halloween! 🎃😱

img_2290

*Nut & Seed Milks & Smoothie Recipes

The Raw Chocolate Company

The Tiger Nut Company

Aduna

Pulsin

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Stop food companies from putting our kids at risk | Union of Concerned Scientists — Our Green Nation

Incredibly, there are no FDA limits to the amount of sugar allowed in so-called ‘healthy’ foods in the US.

 

Science in Action Demand Honest Health Claims on Foods Loaded with Added Sugars The FDA currently has limits on the amount of cholesterol, fat, and sodium that can be in foods bearing health claims, such as “healthy.” But there is no such limit for added sugars! Overconsumption of sugar has been linked to serious health…

via Stop food companies from putting our kids at risk | Union of Concerned Scientists — Our Green Nation

Khaki Kiwi Coconut Smoothie!

This smoothie turned out a bit differently from how I’d envisaged, on one of those mornings when things don’t quite go to plan – read more about it in One of Those Days …

The bananas were still very green, despite having been on the windowsill for three days, so I decided to use avocado, kiwi fruit and some cocount milk left over from the previous night’s curry.  Some romaine lettuce and a little wheatgrass powder, would, I thought produce a vivid green smoothie vibrant with health and nutrition, begging to awaken my sleep-starved body. What could go wrong?

This happened:

image

I got a little carried away, adding blueberries and açaì powder. It came out khaki and looked less than appetising! And so thick I could probably use a knife and fork to eat it!

It tasted much better than it looked, however – the ugly duckling turned out to be more like a swan, so smooth as it glided down my throat – so let’s start again and pretend I knew what I was doing!

image

This brunch in a glass is brimming with antioxidants, minerals, protein and healthy fats. It came out very thick, so you may want to add more liquid.

Ingredients

Half a ripe Avocado

(you can freeze the other half if you remove the skin and stone and chop it up, useful for smoothies or guacamole). 

1 Kiwi fruit, peeled

2 large Romaine leaves, washed and chopped

1 Tbsp chopped Sweet Apricot Kernels* (you can use almonds)

2 Tbsps Shelled Hemp Seeds*

2 Tbsps Coconut Milk

1  or 2 pitted Medjool Dates

Handful of Blueberries

1 Tbsp Açaì Powder *

1 Tsp Wheatgrass Powder

Glass of fresh Apple Juice + a little filtered water

Blend and eat with a spoon – or a knife and fork!

The only video that could possibly illustrate this recipe is the great Danny Kaye’s The Ugly Duckling, however it’s been removed from YouTube due to copyright issues 😕

*http://www.therawchocolatecompany.com/

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Magnesium: Are You Getting Enough?

Do you remember those old adverts for Milk of Magnesia, sold in attractive cobalt blue glass bottles? It was sold as a remedy for indigestion and constipation.  Indigestion is a common complaint these days and is just one of many symptoms of magnesium deficiency – along with constipation – a deficiency that can occur through consuming a highly processed diet based on refined flours and sugars. This happens in two ways: firstly, the refining process strips the whole foods of their magnesium content and secondly, magnesium is stripped from the body in having to process all those refined foods.

Do you also recall the age-old advice to have a drink of hot milk at bedtime to help you sleep? Milk is one source of Magnesium, an essential mineral which helps your muscles relax and therefore helps promote a good night’s sleep. (There are many plant-based sources too and I’ll provide a list below and see also my Magnesium-Rich Hippy Hippy Shake).

Did you know low levels of magnesium can be a contributory factor in mild depression?  A couple of handfuls of cashew nuts is said to have the equivalent effect of one dose of Prozac on mood and mild depression due to the high levels of magnesium, tryptophan and B6? (This is the subject of some debate, please do not stop taking medication without consulting your doctor).

image

So, Could You Be Deficient?

Many people are considered to be deficient in magnesium and you may be too even if you consider that you eat reasonably healthily. Our soils are more depleted of natural magnesium nowadays and we often lead both physically and psychologically stressed lives – stress being a major factor in magnesium depletion in the body.

We drink more caffeine and phosphates in fizzy drinks which both increase excretion of magnesium and bind to it, which prevents absorption of this important mineral.

Certain medications increase excretion of magnesium via the kidneys, for example, diuretics, heart and asthma medications and birth control pills, while alcohol is also a diuretic.

People over 55 years old tend to eat less and have less efficient digestive systems, so they may be particularly prone to deficiency.

Symptoms of Magnesium Deficiency include:

Muscle cramps, Poor Sleep, Anxiety, Fibromyalgia, Headaches and Migraines, IBS, Irritability, Palpitations, Chronic Pain, Chronic Fatigue, Acid Reflux, Constipation, Bloating.

Magnesium deficiency is considered a major factor in causing Chronic Inflammation, believed to be the cause of many of today’s chronic conditions. Magnesium also aids bone health as it improves Calcium absorption.

Are you getting enough?

The Recommended Daily Allowance for Magnesium is currently around 300mg for women and 400mg for men, but this is considered by many to be on the low side and it is expected that these will be increased in the near future.

The following is a list of Magnesium-rich plant-based foods:

Green Leafy Vegetables

Wholegrains

Nuts – especially Cashews

Potatoes

Garlic

Sunflower Seeds

Hemp Seeds

Kelp

Millet

Figs

Dates

Avocado

Beans

Hard Tap Water.

See my magnesium-rich Hippy Hippy Shake recipe!

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It is best to get your magnesium from food sources rather than supplements.

NB Some medications interact adversely with magnesium eg thyroid and diabetes medications as well as some antibiotics. People with kidney damage should also avoid magnesium supplementation. Do not reduce or stop any medication without consulting your doctor.

Copyright: Chris McGowan