Lasagne - gluten-free veggie 'lasagne' - pumpkin, eggplant or spinach layers

If using eggplant or pumpkin, slice thinly and griddle gently to cook. Set aside. If using spinach leaves, wash and dry them.

Tomato sauce

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 tin tomatoes plus 1 passata OR 1 passata plus 3-4 fresh tomatoes

1 pinch herbs de provence or oregano

Fry onion and garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil, add herbs, tomotoes and passata with a little salt and pepper and simmer gently for 10 minutes till tasty. Set aside.

Lasagne filling

1 onion thickly sliced

2-3 peppers multi-coloured thickly sliced

1 courgette sliced 

1 large carrot thinly sliced

1 clove garlic crushed

Toss all in olive oil and garlic in an oven tray and roast at 200* for 20 mins until browning but not black!

When roasted, add into tomato sauce and mix.

Assemblage – sheeps cheese and feta to crumble

Put a little olive oil in bottom of a pyrex dish, layer some spinach or eggplant or pumpkin. Next, layer some roasted veg / tomato mix and crumble some cheese, repeat until finished. Top with some crumbled cheese and bake covered with foil for 30 mins at 180*C, uncover and cook for another 5-10 till cheese melted.

Flaxseed (linseed) - a bit of nutrition and gluten-free banana pecan & flax bread recipe

Flaxseeds are a good vegetarian source of omega 3 fatty acids, great to include in our diets especially if our oily fish intake is low. Flax provides alpha-linoleic-acid which has been found protective against cancer. Flax produce a mucilaginous gum like fiber  which can lower cholesterol, protect our heart and also ‘nourish’ our intestinal tract walls.

Flaxseeds are a phytoestrogen and can help balance our hormones especially during peri-menopause and menopause. (YAY!).

Eyes, joints and our brain also benefit from the high fatty acid content of flax and being full of fat and protein, these little wonders can also help balance our blood sugar.

Include flaxseed in your diet! 1-2 tbsp per day is a good intake, blended into a smoothie or ground and sprinkled on porridge or yoghurt or the oil used on salads.

Flax can be soaked in overnight oats or grind them in small batches and kept in the a glass jar in the fridge as they go rancid. You can also buy the oil and use on salads ( doesn’t taste amazing so perhaps make a dressing with it). Buy flax/ linseed oil in small opaque or dark bottles and throw out if unused after 3 months as it will have gone off. It is expensive so commit to using it! Write the date you open it on the label.

You can also sprout flaxseeds: soak them in water for 3-4 hours, drain and put in sprouter, water daily and you should see shoots within 10 days.

Banana, pecan & flax bread       

gluten-free, refined-sugar-free, dairy free

30g butter or coconut oil at room temp

300g / 3 ripe bananas 

220g ground almonds

2 tbsp maple syrup 

1 tbsp lemon juice

Pinch of salt

1/2  tsp bicarb soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

30g flaxseed ground – buy whole and blitz (flaxseed = linseed)

1 tbsp flaxseed to sprinkle

75g pecans chopped

3 eggs

Oven 170*C, line a bread pan with greaseproof paper

Put everything except the whole flax and the pecans into food processor and blend till well combined, add pecans and mix by hand. Tip batter into bread pan smoothing out evenly and sprinkle flaxseeds on top.

Put in oven for 1 – 1 ¼ hours until cooked through. If after a while it looks like it is getting too brown, cover with baking paper.

Enjoy!

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=2ahUKEwjDtoDU2dDnAhV0DGMBHWprC1EQFjACegQIERAG&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.webmd.com%2Fvitamins%2Fai%2Fingredientmono-991%2Fflaxseed&usg=AOvVaw0ZhgPhxd9moJm1GeItcb9z

Thanks to the Hemsley goddesses for the inspiration!

Double dark chocolate Brownie - gluten-free - reduced sugar - dairy free option

Chocolate, and no, I don’t mean Cadburys unfortunately, is full of nutrients. Choose dark, 70% plus organic chocolate (I like 90% to nibble on but don’t try and cook with it) for magnesium to help you relax and antioxidants to give you a boost.

3 eggs whisked with 

200g coconut sugar

175g butter or coconut oil melted and mixed with 

80g cocoa powder

1 drip vanilla extract

1 tsp bicarb

200g almond flour

100g dark choc chips

100g roughly chopped macadamias or hazelnuts

100g frozen raspberries

Mix altogether & spoon into a lined cake tin

Cook at 160*C for 30 minutes – you don’t want to cook till the skewer comes out clean!

Susie Thomson-Bowen 2020

'Caramel' date cake - gluten-free refined sugar-free

100g butter at room temp

250g pitted dates (around 300g dates with stones)

200g ground almonds

20g coconut flour

Pinch of salt

1 ¼  tsp bicarb soda

½ tsp ground nutmeg
3 eggs

Crème fraiche or yoghurt ‘brassé’ to serve

Oven 170*C, line a brownie pan with greaseproof paper

Soak dates in 200ml boiling water for 10 minutes. Put in food processer and blend till smooth. Add in all other ingredients and blend till well combined. Spread evenly in brownie pan.

Bake for 35 minutes and then cover with baking paper to prevent it going too brown and cook for another 20 minutes till skewer comes out clean. 

Enjoy!
Thanks to the Hemsley goddesses for the inspiration!

Dark chocolate quinoa shards with gojis, mulberries & almond flakes

Ingredients:

225g dark chocolate – around 70%, chopped

50g quinoa

Handful of gojis

Handful of dried mulberries **

Handful of flaked almonds

Pinch of salt

**I used these as I couldn’t find dried raspberries or strawberries, either will do

We need to pop the quinoa to prevent it breaking our teeth! Pour the quinoa into a large pan and put over a fairly high heat shaking it the whole time to prevent burning, you will see and hear them popping, remove from heat.

Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie and combine with the popped quinoa.

Spread on a sheet of silpat or non-stick paper till a nice even layer but not too thin, maybe 5mm and sprinkle the berries and nuts over, pushing the big bits in slightly. Sprinkle a tiny dusting of salt.

Set in the fridge for 30 minutes and then break up into shards.

Enjoy!

The inspiration for this came from Erin @ Well plated, thanks Erin! https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=puffed+quinoa+and+chocolate+heart&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Gluten-free Bacon mushroom & spinach quiche - using buckwheat flour

Gluten-free quiche – bacon mushroom & spinach (20cm)

Pastry

150g buckwheat flour

90g butter, cold and cubed

20 ml cold water

Filling

75g lardons

6 mushrooms sliced

½ onion sliced

3 bricks frozen spinach, defrosted

75g grated cheese

3 eggs

50ml cream

1 clove garlic

S & P

Combine the flour butter and water in the food processor and blitz until combined. Roll out between cling film and push into quiche plate making the sides all nice and neat. Fork it and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

 

Blind bake base at 200*C until cooked through, it might crack on the bottom so try to patch it up best you can. Meanwhile, fry off the lardons adding the onion and mushrooms till coloured and tasty.

Fill the quiche base mixing in the spinach and cheese and season well.

Bake in the oven for around 20-30 minutes until cooked through but not too much.

***the base is a bit crumbly but we’re going for GF not aesthetics! If you want a vain quiche, use half-half buckwheat and spelt wheat flour, it will still be low gluten. I will try adding an egg to the pastry next time.

Vegan on the ridiculous?

Thanks for the inspiration Sarra :)

Obviously this isn't true but finding decent sources of protein when you are vegan is trickier than when on a 'normal' omnivore diet. Plants contain protein but much lower amounts than animal products so we need to choose wisely and vary our plant intake to make sure we are getting all the 'essential' amino acids our bodies need to grow and flourish; these amino acids are called essential as our body needs them to survive but cannot produce them. Amino acids are the little building blocks we make into proteins which we need to perform practically every function every day.

Good sources of protein for vegans are shown below. 
You want to aim for 40-60g protein intake per day

Add caption

Vegans & B vitamins:

If you are vegan or thinking of it, be careful to plan your meals to maximise your protein intake and also think about supplementing with B vitamins particularly vitamin B12. Ask your doctor to check your B12 levels periodically especially if you are feeling a drop in energy or brain fog, common inB12 deficiency.

Gallego-Narbón, A., Zapatera, B., Barrios, L. and Vaquero, M.P., 2019. Vitamin B 12 and folate status in Spanish lacto-ovo vegetarians and vegans. Journal of nutritional science, 8.

happy hummus - your gut will love all this good fibre!

It is always handy to have a healthy snack available so you don't reach for crap instead! This hummus will keep in the fridge for a good 5-7 days and you can freeze a batch to pull out when you can't be bothered washing up the food processor.

                                      happy hummus

450g chickpeas, can or soaked and cooked at home

1 fat clove garlic

1 dessertspoon tahini

juice of half a lemon

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

15g coriander leaves and stalks

blend all till smooth adding water to desired consistency (I like it rough!), a little salt and pepper to season

serve drizzled with olive oil and batons of crudities: carrot, celery, red pepper, broccoli or a seed cracker like I did.

therapy:

soluble fibre: chickpeas, garlic, tahini, crudities

prebiotic: garlic

antimicrobial: garlic, turmeric, olive oil

vitamin c: lemon (also acidifies digestive tract), broccoli, red pepper

anti-carcinogenic: turmeric, cumin, coriander

*organic where possible

Happy hormones: balance your day from the start....
3 breakfast suggestions for hormonal balance

If you are like me, you start off the day with great intentions and it is all downhill from here, so I like to make a good effort with my first meal of the day.

Eggs? Unfertilized please!

Poached egg on top of a slice of tempeh (fermented soybean ‘cake’) or rye bread garnished with broccoli sprouts, avocado and cherry tomatoes.

 Seedy sheep! Sheeps’ milk yoghurt topped with pomegranate seeds, chopped brazil nuts & LSC ( *)

*mixture of ground linseeds, sesame seeds & chia seeds; can be ground in advance in high powered blender or coffee maker and kept in a glass jar in the fridge for a week or so

Get your (overnight) oats!

Soak 1/3 cup of wholegrain oats in soy milk in a glass jar overnight with a teaspoon of linseeds and a few almonds. In the morning, top with a spoonful of yoghurt, strawberries and raspberries. I used frozen mix berries here.

NB. If you are worried about your hormone balancing or think you are at risk of hormonal driven diseases or indeed are suffering from hormonal issues, please speak with your nutritional therapist before going overboard on processed soy products.

Some consider phyto-estrogenic foods harmful in some cases and others consider them beneficial. In fact, phytoestrogens can be adaptogenic; raising or lowering your hormonal levels according to your needs.

Choccie Chia ‘mousse’

Easy peasy; 10 mins to prepare; makes 6-8 small puds

Ingredients

• ½ cup chia seeds
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ cup coconut oil soft or melted
• ¼ cup maple syrup (add more if needed)
• 1 small handful of chopped curly green cabbage, stems removed
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Instructions

mix chia seeds with 2 cups of filtered water and set aside for 30 mins till a gelatinous mass has formed

Rinse cabbage leaves

Put everything into food processor together and blend on high until a nice moussey consistency is formed

Spoon into little bowls or cups and top with seasonal fruit and dust with cinnamon / cocoa mix.

Cooking oils.......health or hazard?

Cooking oils:  health & horrors      

Heating, smoking & re-using our commonly used oils

We were all convinced to swap butter and lard for the new ‘heart healthy vegetable oils’ in the 80s but what boll*ks!

There are many oils on our supermarkets shelves these days and it is hard to know what to buy. More importantly, how do we use them? Can we cook with them? Which ones are best? Simply…….

AVOID:

Vegetable oils are ‘hydrogenated’, chemically treated and often bleached to be palatable for consumption; these are fake and harmful to health particularly when heated: soybean, corn, canola, safflower, sunflower, palm, peanut, vegetable, veg shortening, margarine and all ‘fake’ butters. These can be carcinogenic and have no known health benefits. 

SAFE to heat:

Organic avocado oil, grass-fed butter & ghee, organic virgin coconut oil and lard / duck fat / chicken fat are all good to cook with BUT don’t let them smoke. As well as changing the chemical composition of the oil getting it that hot, the smoke is also toxic and carcinogenic. Never re-heat and re-use oils.

Eat RAW:

Extra virgin olive oil is best raw (but can be cooked to 140*C/ 150*C without changing its composition). Nut and seed oils; walnut, sesame, macadamia, almond, flax and hemp are all highly nutritious containing vitamin E and omega 3s in varying proportions and should be eaten raw.

SUMMARY:

Oils & fats have been given so much bad press in favor of a higher carb intake over the last few decades, we now know it is ‘fake news’!

We should eat a good nutritious dose of fat with each meal be it nuts and seeds on our salad, sardines or avocado in our salad or good old olive oil dressing our salad. susie@nutritionaltherapy.rocks 2020

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1612-202X/aa7d3e/meta

https://thechalkboardmag.com/dr-hyman-good-fat-bad-fat