Healthy Chocolate Cake
Ingredients: Cake 1 2/3 cups wholemeal spelt flour 2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp bicarb soda 3 1/2 cups pitted dates, divided 1 cup pineapple chunks in own juice, drained 1 banana 1 cup unsweetened applesauce 1 cup diced beetroot 3/4 cup diced carrots 1/2 cup diced zucchini 3 tbsp cacao (raw chocolate powder) 1/2…
Banana Goji Coconut Muffins
Ingredients: 1/2 cup goji berries 1 cup boiling water 3/4 cup wholemeal spelt flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp bicarb soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 cup rolled oats 1/4 cup date sugar 1/4 cup dessicated coconut 3/8 cup oat milk 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (I make mine in my Thermomix by…
Healthy Easter Eggs
One of my kids’ favourite rituals is our annual Easter egg hunt. I make Easter eggs out of dried fruit, nuts and cacao (raw chocolate), and wrap them in foil. I hide the eggs either inside or outside the house (depending on the weather) and then set the kids loose to find them! Ingredients: 50…
Coconut oil: beyond the hype
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, you’ll know that coconut oil is being heavily promoted online and in popular books, as a ‘health food’. Self-styled health gurus wax lyrical about its content of medium chain triglycerides (a fat that doesn’t make you fat), antimicrobial properties, stability when heated, and…
Why vegan?
When people ask me why I eat a vegan diet, I explain that it’s a very personal decision, but it was informed by 3 factors: My health, and my family’s health. I have a pretty dreadful family history: both sides of my family are littered with cases of type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart attack and…
The low-down on legumes
In the previous post I explained why everyone should be eating legumes, every day. Problem is, most people have no idea what they are or what to do with them. So here’s the legume virgin’s ultimate primer. 1. Where do I buy them? You’ll find a range of canned legumes in supermarkets, generally next to…
Learn to love legumes: they love you back
Legumes – the dried pea, bean and lentil family – are the Superman of the nutrition world, but their profile is more like Clark Kent’s. In fact, the question I get asked the most when I advise my clients to eat legumes, is ‘What’s a legume?’ (The second most common question is ‘How do I…
Oils ain’t oils
I am frequently asked by clients, ‘What about olive oil? Shouldn’t I include it in my diet? Isn’t it heart-healthy?’ Recently many have been asking me the same questions about coconut oil, thanks to a slew of websites and popular books touting its (alleged) benefits. I will keep the science to a minimum here so…
Thai Pumpkin Soup with Coriander Pesto
Ingredients: Coriander Pesto 2 bunches coriander, roots trimmed (a few leaves reserved for garnish) Zest and juice of 1 lime 2 garlic cloves Soup 1 onion, chopped 1 tbsp grated ginger 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste (recipe below) 1kg pumpkin, peeled, cut into small cubes 2 cups (500ml) vegetable stock (I use 1 tbsp…
Sweet Potato Vegie Pie
Ingredients: Pie filling 1/2 cup yellow split peas/channa dhal 750 g sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2 cm dice 20 g palm sugar Shake each of cinnamon, coriander, cardamom and cumin 1 cup water 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 onion, diced 1 cob corn, kernels stripped off 1 head broccoli 1 zucchini, diced 1/2…