Amaranth breakfast bowl

Simple But Satisfying Amaranth Breakfast Bowl

This super simple recipe doesn’t require much effort, apart from the 20 minute cooking time which is slightly reduced if you soak the amaranth overnight. Amaranth is a pseudograin and glutenfree. Experiment by topping your fluffy Amaranth with stewed or cooked fruit such a blueberries, apples and pears.


Feeling Vata: Amaranth can aggravate Vata’s so this breakfast is probably not for you, however you can experiment with adding some nice oils such as olive or coconut, to make it’s energy more heavy and lubricating. Adding chopped fresh ginger can also help to add a bit of wamth to the mix.
Feeling Pitta & Kapha: Amaranth’s light, acidifying nature is very good for Pitta and Kapha types.


Weekly Recipe

Simple But Satisfying Amaranth Breakfast Bowl

Yield: serves 1

Simple But Satisfying Amaranth Breakfast Bowl

Amaranth breakfast bowl

This super simple recipe doesn't require much effort, apart from the 20 minute cooking time which is slightly reduced if you soak the amaranth overnight.
Amaranth is a pseudograin and glutenfree.
It's very good for Pitta and Kapha types, but can aggravate Vata's.
Experiment by topping your fluffy Amaranth with stewed or cooked fruit such a blueberries, apples and pears.

Ingredients

  • 1 x cup soaked Amaranth (best soaked overnight)
  • 2 and a half cups of water
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon date or maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon coconut aminos (leave out if doing a cleanse)
  • fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Bring one part amaranth to two and a half parts water to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for around 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and the grain is fluffy.
  2. Turn off the heat, then add the remaining ingredients.
  3. Ready!
  4. Top your Amaranth bowl with cooked berries or stewed fruits, or have it on its own with a bit of olive or coconut oil (No oils if you're doing a cleanse).
    Oher topping ideas could be superfoods such as gooji-berries, organic chocolate powder, roasted nuts and seeds, etc.

Easy Peasy Fruity Nut Cake Recipe- Vegan & Gluten Free

This is my go to low fat, vegan and gluten free cake recipe. And as far as cakes go, I think it’s a pretty healthy one too! You get the goodness of fruits and nuts, with only a minimal amount of sugar and fat. Feel free to experiment with the ingredients, and use less sugar than suggested for example. The fruits make this cake already quite nice, gooey and sweet! The winner is: you can use the base of dry ingredients (oat flour, almond meal, etc.) and exchange the nuts and fruits to your liking. For example if you don’t like walnuts, use almonds or pecans, etc. And for the fruits you can simply just use one mono-fruit, like just apples or just plums. I used a mixture of apples, plums, apricots, pears and peaches (all dried). But you can also mix in sultanas, raisins or goji-berries, for example. This cake works as well with fresh fruit instead of dried fruit, so go ahead, be creative, and enjoy!

ayurveda

Feeling Vata: this cake is for you, simply enjoy!

Feeling Pitta: skip the walnuts and use soaked, then roasted almonds instead.

Feeling Kapha: use fresh, astringent apples instead of dried. Choose any of these foods: dried figs, dried or fresh apricots, dried limes, dried peaches, prunes and or raisins. Best to avoid the nuts alltogether and just add in more fruit. Or simply use soaked then roasted almonds or try with charoli nuts. You also do well by adding a thumb-sized knob of ginger (minced) to the cake mix for added fire.

Weekly Recipe

Easy Peasy Fruity Nut Cake Recipe- Vegan & Gluten Free

Yield: 1 x Ø 26 cm cake tin

Easy Peasy Fruity Nut Cake - Gluten Free & Vegan

Easy Peasy Fruity Nut Cake - Gluten Free & Vegan

This is my go to low fat, vegan and gluten free cake recipe. And as far as cakes go, I think it's a pretty healthy one too! You get the goodness of fruits and nuts, with only a minimal amount of sugar and fat. Feel free to experiment with the ingredients, and use less sugar than suggested for example. The fruits make this cake already quite nice, gooey and sweet! The winner is: you can use the base of dry ingredients (oat flour, almond meal, etc.) and exchange the nuts and fruits to your liking. For example if you don't like walnuts, use almonds or pecans, etc. And for the fruits you can simply just use one mono-fruit, like just apples or just plums. I used a mixture of apples, plums, apricots, pears and peaches (all dried). But you can also mix in sultanas, raisins or goji-berries, for example. This cake works as well with fresh fruit instead of dried fruit, so go ahead, be creative, and enjoy!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 x cake springform (I used one with a diameter of 26 cm)
  • 1 cup of roasted walnuts, roughly chopped (or nuts of your choice, pecans and almonds work well also)
  • 1 cup oat flour
  • 1 cup almond meal
  • 2 x tablespoons psyllium husks (or you can use ground flaxseed instead)
  • 3/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 2 x teaspoons cinnamon powder
  • 2 x teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 x teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 x teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 and a 1/2 cups plant milk (I find oat milk works best)
  • 2 x tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 x teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 300g dried fruits containing apples, pears, apricots, peaches and plums - roughly chopped (or use fresh fruit instead, mix it up as you like and with the fruits that you love). 

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven at 180˚C fan bake. Line the base of a spring-form baking tin with baking paper and lightly grease the sides with olive oil.
  2. Sift all dry ingredients (apart from the walnuts and chopped fruits) into a mixing bowl and stir well.
  3. Add plant milk of your choice, olive oil and vanilla extract, fold through, but make sure you don't over mix.
  4. Add toasted walnuts and chopped dried fruits, fold through and transfer to the prepared cake tin.
  5. Bake for 25 minutes, then open up the oven and cover the cake with foil if needed, bake a further 10-15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean (total cooking time of 35-40 minutes).
  6. Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from the cake tin and serving.
  7. Dust with icing sugar or make a nice vegan frosting!

Notes

  • Make your own oat flour: as its not always easy to get gluten free oat flour in the shop, I always have plenty of gluten free oats at home that I order in bulk online. Then when I'm baking I simply put a cup or two in my food processor, blend on high for a few minutes, and voila: gluten free oat flour at the ready! If you don't agree with oats, buckwheat flour is a good alternative.
  • Try adding sultanas, raisins, goji berries or make a fresh berry cake or apple cake!
  • Avoid over-mixing the batter to prevent the cake from not rising well.


Warming Turmeric & Cauliflower Broth

Weekly Recipe

Warming Cauliflower & Turmeric Broth

Yield: 1 Large Stock Pot

Warming Turmeric & Cauliflower Broth

Warming Turmeric & Cauliflower Broth
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, diced
  • 5 tsp yellow Lupin Miso (I don't use Soya products as I strongly believe these increase inflammation in the body). You can omit this ingredient and just flavour more with salt, pepper, stock, and coconut aminos or lupin sauce.
  • 1 tsp anisseeds
  • 1 fingerlong fresh root of turmeric, minced
  • 1 inch fresh ginger, minced
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 200g brown button mushrooms, chopped
  • quarter head cauliflower, chopped into florets
  • 1 medium zuchini, chopped and diced
  • 1.5 litres vegetable stock
  • 6 tsbp cocos aminos
  • 3 tsp powdered turmeric
  • one chicoree head, sliced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • brown rice noodles (I use king soba noodles)
  • juice of 1 and 1/2 lemon

Instructions

  1. To a large stock pot, add the shallot, ginger, the fresh turmeric, garlic and aniseeds (ground in pestle and mortar). Add half a cup of water, and stirr occasionally, cooking on low heat until the shallot and garlic become fragrant and translucent for a about 5 minutes.
  2. Stirr in the lupin miso and cook for another 2 minutes.
  3. Stir in the chopped mushrooms and keep cooking on low heat for another 5 minutes, stirring occassionally.
  4. Stirr in the chopped zuchini and cauliflower and cook for another 2 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add the vegetable stock to the mushroom mix, stirring well.
  6. Add the cocos aminos and the turmeric powder.
  7. Bring to the boil, then lower heat to a simmer.
  8. Simmer for 15 minutes, lid on.
  9. Add the chicoree and simmer for another 5 minutes, plus add salt and pepper to taste.
  10. In the meantime boil the rice noodles according to instructions in a seperate pot.
  11. Stir the lemon juice into the broth and let it sit off the heat for 1 minute.
  12. Ladle the broth into bowls and serve with the rice noodles.
  13. Voila!


Gut Healing Turmeric & Mushroom Curry Soup

Get stuck into a bowl of bubbling, warming, yellow-goodness
and enjoy the healing powers of turmeric, ginger and shitake mushrooms.

This healthy but yet tasty yummy broth will help your body fight bacteria and inflammation, boost your immune system,
and to keep those pesky bugs at bay (always good in a corona crisis!).

Weekly Recipe

Gut Healing Turmeric and Mushroom Curry Soup

Yield: One Large Pot of Broth

Gut Healing Turmeric & Mushroom Curry Soup

Gut Healing Turmeric & Mushroom Curry Soup

Inflammation calming, immune-boosting, gut healing yellow turmeric curry soup.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp sesame oil (leave out if on a cleanse, or if this is your evening meal, leave in).
  • half a shallot, chopped finely
  • 1 tsp anisseed
  • 1 tablespoon thai yellow curry paste (try and find a curry paste without added fats, maltodextrin, natural or unnatural flavourings, etc.)
  • 1 thumb size knob of fresh turmeric, sliced finely. If you haven't got fresh, use 2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 thumb-size knob fresh ginger, minced
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds, grind small in a pestle and mortar
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 stalks of celery, chopped
  • 1 bok choi, chopped 
  • 1 zuchini, chopped
  • 200g shitake mushrooms, fresh or dried (important if dried: soak at least for 5 hours beforehand. If you can't get hold of shitake, brown button mushrooms work as a replacement)
  • toasted sesame seeds to garnish
  • 1.5 liter vegetable stock
  • 6 tbsp cocos aminos or lupin sauce, or both, depends how strong you like your flavouring.
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • juice of 1 lime (if you haven't got limes lemon juice works ok as well)
  • handful of fresh coriander, chopped
  • gluten free brown rice noodles, cooked to your liking
  • toasted sesame seeds or toasted nuts of your choice to garnish (leave out nuts and seeds if on a cleanse)
  • spinach or other leaves to garnish

Instructions

  1. Grab a large stock pot, and add about 3 tablespoons of water to the bottom.
  2. Add the sesame oil and place cooker on a low heat (skip this step if on a cleanse).
  3. Add the chopped shallot, minced ginger and chopped garlic. Mix well with the oil and the water. Add the yellow curry paste. Keep heat on a low setting and cook for 5-10 minutes, until onion is translucent and onion and garlic flavourful.
  4. Add the anisseeds, turmeric, thyme and fennel and mix in well. Up cooker to a medium heat and cook for another 5 minutes stirring frequently.
  5. Add the sliced celery and zuchini, stirr in well with the onion spice mixture and cook on medium heat for a few minutes.
  6. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
  7. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
  8. Add mushrooms and cocos aminos. Cook for another 10 minutes.
  9. Add the sliced bok choi, the lime juice and half of the coriander and cook for another 5 minutes.
  10. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Depending on what you used (cocos aminos, lupin sauce, or both), taste the broth and add more of what you feel is needed. I usually can't get enough of the cocos amino taste so I always add a bit more of that at the end.
  11. Serve the soup over gluten free brown rice noodles (or any other asian style noodles of your chosing), sprinkle with the rest of the coriander and top with sesame seeds, nuts or chilli flakes.
  12. Enjoy!

Gooey Apple and Cinnamon Cupcakes

Sometimes you just need something that satisfies you.
Something that is sweet, tasty, and if possible, has that gooey, tasty sensation to it.
Something that, when you put in your mouth, reminds you of autumn, of your mum’s home baked apple cake,
of gardens and of late summer blooms.
Something that when you eat it, gives you that warm fuzzy feeling,
that peaceful feeling that everything is ok.

And what better way to give into this craving, than with these pretty much guilt free, goeey apple and cinnamon cupcakes?!
Low in sugar, fat, gluten free and vegan, and plenty of apples for your 5 a day. What’s not to like?

Of course I have added plenty of spice again:
cardamom and cinnamon to help you stabilize your blood sugars, to calm you and to nourish you, every little ‘gooey’ bite at a time.

Enjoy!

Yield: 12

Gooey Apple & Cinnamon Cupcakes

Gooey Apple & Cinnamon Cupcakes

Delicious and gooey apple and cinnamon cupcakes, vegan & gluten free

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 oat milk ( or other plant milk of your choice)
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinnegar
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 8 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 and 1/2 cup ground almonds
  • 2 cups gluten free flour blend (I use Bob's red mill)
  • 2 heaped tsp gluten free baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate soda)
  • 3 tbsp apple sauce home made or store bought
  • 3 medium size apples, diced and cored
  • 1 tbsp flax egg

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius .
  2. Make the flax egg: add 1 tablespoon flaxseeds to a small bowl and add 3 tbsp warm water. Mix well. Put to one side.
  3. Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan.
  4. Once melted, mix the oil, the milk, the vinegar, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, ground almonds and apple sauce together in a mixing bowl.
  5. Add the flax egg and mix well.
  6. Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
  7. Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry.
  8. Add the apples and carefully stir in.
  9. Transfer the mixture between muffin cases in a muffin tin.
  10. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
  11. The cupcakes should still have a very soft and gooey consistency. I usually eat one fresh and warm (mhmmm, so good) and place the rest in the fridge, they will harden a bit more and keep for up to a week.

Notes

Dust off the Cupcakes with some icing sugar or top with a nice vegan frosting.

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

12 cupcakes

Amount Per Serving Calories 212Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 25mgSodium 19mgCarbohydrates 30gFiber 4gSugar 24gProtein 1g

Please note that nutrition information is based on averages and can therefor not always be accurate.


Cardamomy Nutty Choc Chip Cookies – vegan, gluten free – YUM!

Ok, I have to admit… I have an addiction… it’s a bad one, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop:

I confess: I am addicted to cookies.
Yes, you heard right: C O O K I E S!
There’s just nothing better than sitting down in the afternoon,
after you’ve done most of your day’s work, making yourself a
big milky chai tea and dipping a fat big
choc chip cookie into it, while you sit back and R E L A X!

As I love incorportating herbs and spices into my foods for healing purposes,
and simply because it makes everything taste just so much better,
these little munchkins here (see recipe below)
are spiked with delicious cardamom and satisfying cinnamon goodness.

Get baking and enjoy!

Picture credit: SJ Baren

Weekly Recipe

Yield: 14

Cardamomy Nutty Choc Chip Cookies- vegan, gluten free

Cardamomy Nutty Choc Chip Cookies- vegan, gluten free

Delicious nutty cardamomy choc chip cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 2 cups glutenfree oat flour
  • 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup dairy free chocolate chips
  • 2 tsbp plant milk of your choice, I used oat milk
  • 3 tsbp plant oil, I used olive oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180 C degrees.
  2. Combine all the dry ingredients plus spices in a bowl and mix well.
  3. Stir in the wet ingredients and form a dough. It'll probably be quite dry at first, so keep stirring (or kneeding with your hands) until a dough is formed. If the dough is too crumbly, add a little bit extra of the milk, until you have a nice smooth and sticky cookie dough consistency.
  4. Once the dough is nice and sticky, form dough balls. You should get about 12 - 14 cookies out of this mixture, or less if you form bigger cookies.
  5. Cover a baking tray with parchment paper and place the cookies with tray in the oven. Bake for about 20 min.
  6. The cookies will still seem a little soft when you take them out. Let them cool for a least 10 minutes on the tray before you touch them.
  7. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information


Amount Per Serving Trans Fat 0g

Please note that nutrition information is based on averages and can therefor not always be accurate.