This is a delicious way to enjoy cauliflower. I use my Middle Eastern tahini sauce as a dressing but you could also dress with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and some paprika/smoked paprika. If you like, add some chopped fresh oregano or flat leaf parsley when the salad has cooled. The tahini sauce is also lovely used as a sauce over some simple poached/grilled fish, or as a dip with vegetable sticks. Keeps well in an airtight jar for several days. I like to make the dressing a bit in advance, to let the flavours develop. Eat it warm or cold – it’s all good.
For the salad:
1 medium cauliflower, leaves removed
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 dsp sumac
Freshly ground black pepper
Himalayan/sea salt
2 large handfuls (about 250g) green beans (or runner beans)
For the dressing:
1 rounded tbs light tahini
2 tbs lemon juice and about 125ml cold water OR 150ml home made kefir (lemon juice OR kefir gives the sauce acidity and balance)
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1. Preheat oven to 200C/185C fan
2. Placing the whole cauliflower with stalk downwards, cut in half, and cut out the big central stalk. Then slice each half in slices approximately 1.5cm thick. Slicing (rather than breaking into florets) helps the cauliflower to caramelize deliciously.
3. Place in an ovenproof roasting dish, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle over the sumac, a good pinch of salt and lots of black pepper and mix gently to coat everything evenly.
4. Roast for 20-25 minutes until you can pierce easily with a fork.
5. While the cauli is roasting, boil the kettle. Steam the green/runner beans until they are slightly softened but retain some crunch. Drain and refresh in cold water. This stops the cooking process. Once cooled, drain.
6. Make the tahini sauce. Whisk or blitz together in a mini food processor all the sauce ingredients. You are aiming for a consistency about the texture of double cream. You may need to add more water as you go to achieve this. The tahini will clump initially. Just keep mixing, and adding more liquid if needed.
7. When cauliflower is cooked so a fork pierces it easily, empty it and the green beans, into a serving dish and drizzle with the sauce.
Why this is good for you; Cauliflower is a sulphurophane vegetable. This means that (like broccoli and cabbage) it is rich in sulphur which is crucial for detoxification. Detoxification affects every aspect of our health so if you want clear skin, good energy, mood and to keep clear of any health conditions, these sulphur rich veg are great to eat at least 3 times a week.
Garlic is also rich in sulphur and helps rebalance your gut bacteria in favour of useful micro organisms which ALSO aid detoxification. In fact over 70% of your detoxification is looked after by good gut bacteria – if you have enough quantity and variety of them!! Spices like sumac, paprika and black pepper, used to coat food, help reduce the toxic substances generated by roasting/heating food to high temperatures.
Spices (and herbs) also stimulate our body’s antioxidant defenses to keep us looking and feeling better for much, much longer. Kefir, especially when home-made, is a hypoallergenic milk product that’s really rich in over 30 species of beneficial micro organisms. Did you know that although many of these micro organisms dont survive the acid in our stomachs they still exert a beneficial effect. Research has shown that even heat-killed friendly bacteria do us good when we take them. Who knew! Of course we really also want to grow our own good bugs, which colonise and cling to the walls of our large intestine. There they ferment plant fibres (if we eat a big variety of plants) to make short chain fatty acids. Short chain fatty acids like butyrate are essential for daily repair of our gut. Get your gut health right and you have at least 90% of your health sorted.
I have to say this is the most delicious mayo recipe I have ever tasted. I so enjoyed it with steamed asparagus and a couple of boiled eggs for lunch today. Personally I like using a half and half mix of extra virgin sunflower/sesame and olive oils. Extra virgin sesame oil has a neutral flavour similar to sunflower, in my opinion. Nothing like the usual sesame oil, which is super heat-treated. Dijon mustard, salt and herbs preserve the mayo longer. When its gone over, you’ll know because it will have separated or gone runny. One yolk will bind up to 1 litre of oil so for a bigger batch you only need to increase the other ingredients.
1 medium/large organic egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tbs Dijon mustard, at room temperature
230ml extra virgin (cold-pressed) oil: olive, rape, sunflower or avocado
1 dsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
Himalayan salt
Pepper
Optional: 2 tablespoons herbs to add at the very end: e.g. fresh chopped tarragon,parsley, coriander or chives.
Bring the egg and mustard to room temperature in advance (chilled eggs/Dijon will leave you with a runny, disappointing sauce!).
Mix the egg and mustard with a stick blender or whisk and while whisking add the oil slowly in a thin stream (this is essential). The mayo should start to thicken. Many food processors now have a cap on top that has a small hole for this purpose.
Continue whisking and adding until the oil is used up and the mayo is set.
Add vinegar/lemon juice. Mix some more and season with salt and pepper and whatever herbs you are using.
Let the mayonnaise rest in the fridge before serving – this allows the flavour to develop and the mayonnaise to thicken further.
Why this is better for you: As you’ll know if you’ve been a client of mine, omega 6 oils in the form most people eat them, are toxic. Omega 6 oils like sunflower, rape, safflower, sesame, canola, soya and “vegetable oil” are heat treated to give them a long shelf life. This makes their chemical structure change to one that interferes with metabolic functions as they are incorporated into our cell membranes in EVERY tissue of our body. They are used as cooking oils, and to make bread, cakes, biscuits and confectionary and of course in ready meals, to give them a nice mouth feel.
So if you’d like to avoid or reduce chronic health conditions, swapping out your heat-treated nut and seed oils for healthier options is a winner. For food prep use either extra virgin olive oil or (never cooked) extra virgin nut/seed oils like sesame, sunflower, rape, walnut and hazelnut. Commercial mayonnaise is ALWAYS MADE WITH REFINED OILS (if you find one that’s not, do let me know so I can tell everyone!). Bottom line, we are all deficient in these life-giving untreated, never heated, omega 6 oils. DID YOU KNOW that mustard can be a powerful tool against eczema (dermatitis)? A study a few years ago showed that eating mustard daily prevented eczema in mice. Who knew??
I love this and invented it one weekend a few years ago when I saw beautiful ricotta on sale. Now I see it seems to be “a thing” on the internet. Quantities are to serve 2, as usual. If you use frozen berries and you forget to thaw them overnight first, just put into a pan and warm with about 1 dessertspoon of xylitol or around 5 drops of steviaor some erythritol/xylitol and warm gently, covered, until thawed. Allow to cool a bit before using.
2 mugs (about 200g) (THAWED OVERNIGHT) frozen or fresh organic raspberries or strawberries (personally I love frozen cos when you thaw them you get lots of juice)
4 small slices 100% wholemeal gluten-free bread (if you eat gluten, 100% wholemeal spelt, wheat or rye sourdough is great with this)
100-150g tub super-fresh ricotta cheese (NOT salted ricotta)
1/4 tsp vanilla powde or vanilla extract (make sure its extract not essence if you want to be gluten-free)
Stevia drops, erytirotol/stevia or xylitol to sweeten
1. Mix the vanilla powder/extract into the ricotta and add stevia/xylitol/erythritol to taste.
2. Toss your berries (with any juice that came out) with stevia/erythritol/xylitol to sweeten to your liking.
3. Toast your bread, divide the ricotta between the 4 slices, piling on top, and spoon over the berries and their juice (if any).
4. Enjoy for a leisurely breakfast.
Why this is better for you Ricotta is rich in protein which keeps you fuller longer than if you just ate toast with fruit or jam for breakfast. The protein stops your blood sugar from soaring too high too quickly, which would cause inflammation and accelerated ageing. Protein slows digestion so this is a slow-burn energy breakfast. Slow burn meals are really important if you want to be well long-term and be the best body shape for you. Strawberries (and raspberries) are really rich in vitamin C and polyphenols which help keep every part of our body young-looking, springy and strong – from your skin to your arteries and intestines. Do go for organic if at all possible. Xylitol, stevia and erythritol have NO effect on blood sugar – this is good news for all of us, not just people with diabetes.
This recipe is super-easy. It’s what I make when I come home late and want dinner on the table in 15-20 minutes.
For 2
2 salmon darnes/fillets/steaks, ideally wild or organic A large clove of garlic, peeled and crushed Tamari Sauce (see “larder & shopping” for where to buy)
1. Brush fish on both sides with the sauce, smear with the garlic. 2. Grill on medium heat for around 5 minutes flesh side up and 1-2 minutes skin side up until very slightly browned (watch it when grilling the skin side, it goes from not done to burnt very quickly).
Serve with:
Steamed green or runner beans drizzled with fresh lemon juice or a large salad of mixed leaves, cherry tomatoes and sliced red onion drizzled with my home-made mediterranean or Asian salad dressing or a little fresh lemon juice and a glug of extra virgin olive oil. These accompaniments are suitable for a paleo (stoneage) or ketogenic eating diet.
If you don’t want to lose any weight you could also add a medium steamed or baked sweet potato (just scrub, slice and steam with the skin on for extra nutrients) or some baby boiled white potatoes. Carbohydrates (grains, potatoes, sweet foods) are weight gainers.
Why this recipe is good for you: Oily fish is a great source of omega 3 essential fats needed for weight management, beautiful skin and good brain function. Eating fresh rather than tinned fish is best because the plastic lining of tins contains bisphenol A (BPA). Fats in the food absorb BPA. BPA is linked by numerous studies to sex hormone imbalance (eg PMS, low libido, endometriosis, fibroids) and life-threatening diseases of the breast and prostate. Greens are a rich source of magnesium, which helps the liver clear natural and man made toxins from the body. common symptoms of magnesium deficiency include stress, wheezing in asthmatics, and sluggish bowels.
I love to eat a variation of this vitality-boosting salad for lunch most days. For a packed lunch put all the veggies including the garlic in a large lunchbox, store the dressing in a glass jar separately and put the fish or other topping in a glass or non-toxic container until ready to eat. The great thing about this is that because it doesn’t overload you with carbs (bread, grains, potatoes etc) you don’t tend to get that after-lunch sleepiness. For a change from tuna try a couple of boiled eggs, a cup of cooked butterbeans or beans (mixed with pesto and garlic) or a serving (80-100g) of smoked salmon or leftover roast chicken. Keep it interesting by changing around the types of leaves and the topping.
For 1:
Topping:
80-100g (half a large tin) tuna in spring water (or brine if you can’t get in water)
Salad:
1/2 a red/yellow pepper, de-seeded and sliced or cut in chunks
1 large vine tomato (cut in wedged) or 8 cherry tomatoes (halved)
1/4 red onion, sliced thinly
1/4 small cucumber or half a small courgette, sliced
A few black or green olives
2 large handfuls leaves (choose from baby spinach, lettuce, rocket, chicory, endive, watercress, landcress, pursalane, baby chard, flat leaved parsley leaves)
2 dessertspoons of home made extra virgin olive oil based dressing (see recipe on this blog)
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
Optional: half a cup of freshly grated raw beetroot or carrot
Optional: half a ripe avocado, cubed
1. In a large bowl mix all the salad ingredients with the dressing until everything is coated and glossy.
2. Pour out onto a plate, top with the tuna and enjoy.
Why this is great for you: Did you know that eating lots of different plant foods every day is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. My guideline to patients is to try for 25 different plant foods (fruit, veg and beans/pulses) in the week. Each plant colour and type contains a different range of nutrients. Purple fruit and veg for example, contain proanthocyanadins, while orange and red plant foods contain carotenoids and green ones contain lots of magnesium. These are just some of the nutrients that help give you flawless (and young-looking) skin and hair, help repair and maintain your digestive system and keep you free of inflammatory conditions like eczema, asthma and digestive disorders like gastritis and colitis. Different plant foods feed different good bacteria to help you stay at your peak fitness and wellbeing. So its not just about eating large quantities of veg (half your plate at lunch and dinner) but large variety too. How many colours of fruit and vegetables can YOU eat today?
Because I am an indolent cook and destalking thyme is a pain I leave the thyme leaves attached to the sprigs. They usually fall off in the cooking and then you only need to fish out the denuded twigs. I don’t do this with rosemary – the leathery leaves go everywhere and the texture isn’t good – so I chop the rosemary finely.
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
1 mugful of bite size chunks of root veg: choose from Swede or white turnip, Jerusalem artichokes or (for people NOT on SC diet) potato or sweet potato.
1 large carrot, sliced
1 large stick celery, sliced
1 tsp each ground cumin and coriander
½-1 tsp cayenne pepper
400g can butter beans (drained) or soak (overnight) 200g dried butter beans in water and boil til tender.
250 g tomatoes, chopped (fresh or tinned)
Large handful fresh thyme sprigs
6” sprig fresh rosemary, destalked and finely chopped (or you can leave the whole sprig in and then spend ages picking the annoying leathery leaves out when everything’s cooked)
150ml vegetable stock (For SC diet add 1/2 teaspoon additive free Vegetable bouillon powder such as Dr Coy’s to boiling water). If you don’t need SC diet-friendly use Vecon vegetable bouillon powder or Kallo vegetable stock cube.
5 juniper berries, lightly crushed
3 tbs fresh parsley, finely chopped (you can chop and keep in the freezer for easy use)
Add the oil, onion, garlic, potato/Jerusalem artichoke/turnip, carrot, celery and spices to a heavy bottomed saucepan or casserole, give everything a stir to mix with the oil and spices, put on the lid, and sweat for 5-10 mins until the onion is translucent but not brown. You might need to add a splash of water to stop everything browning.
Add the cooked beans, tomatoes, thyme sprigs, rosemary, stock, juniper berries, bring to the boil, cover with a lid and gently simmer till the vegetables are cooked.
Garnish with parsley.
Serve with:
Steamed broccoli or a green salad dressed with a little olive oil and lemon juice
Optional extras (for people NOT on SC Diet) choose one:
Quinoa grains – 11% protein so great with a beany dinner. Its protein keeps added to the bean protein keeps you fuller for longer. Cook in twice its volume of boiling water in a covered saucepan – around 8-10 mins until it looks bobbley.
Brown rice (add a little turmeric to the water before cooking for a lovely golden colour)
Why this is good for you: Beans are a rich source of magnesium which you need for calm, sleep, clear skin, proper muscle and liver function and much much more. Stress, refined foods (sugar/white grains), alcohol, stimulants and smoking rob magnesium from your body. Millet is also rich in magnesium.
Fresh thyme, rosemary and spices are rich sources of phytochemicals (also called polyphenols or bioflavonoids). These are natural antioxidants many times more powerful than vitamins and minerals. Phytochemicals help reduce inflammation. This helps prevent or relieve conditions like heart disease and any condition with an -itis – arthritis, dermatitis, bursitis etc. It doesn’t help with work-itis, which I used to have in my old job!
I like to soak my muesli the night before because it makes grains, nuts and seeds super digestible and more filling. Unsoaked grains contain phytates which impede your mineral absorption. Making your own muesli is great because you can use the nuts and seeds you prefer. Commercial muesli is often high in dried fruit, which just gives you too much carbohydrate (sugars) at one sitting. It can also load up on cheaper ingredients like wheat flakes, instead of better-for-you oats. I love to add a heaped teaspoon of ground ginger and 2 of Ceylon cinnamon when making the muesli because I love the antioxidant punch of spices which keep you healthier and younger looking for longer.
When I have early clinic I often make Birchner muesli. I put half a mug of muesli in a wide glass screw top jar, grate an organic apple in, add lots of kefir/yoghurt and mix it up, sometimes with a few drops of stevia if I am feeling like something sweeter or am using sour berries. Instant brekkie the following morning. Yum…
Luxury Muesli
3 cups gluten-free (or normal, if you tolerate gluten-contamination) jumbo oatflakes or porridge oatflakes
½ cup walnuts, broken into quarters, halves or roughly chopped
½ almonds, coarsely chopped
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup hazelnuts or Brazil nuts, coarsely chopped
½ cup organic whole chia seeds or linseeds (also known as flaxseeds)
½ cup chopped unsulphured apricots
½ cup dessicated coconut or large coconut flakes
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight jar.
Serve ½ mug of this muesli with natural yoghurt, milk of your choice and a cupful of chopped fruit – apple, pear or berries.
If you need more sweetness, use a few stevia drops from health stores. Its a plant extract that’s much sweeter than sugar but without calories and negative health effects.
Birchner Muesli
Soak ½ a mug of this muesli in a bit more than double its volume of home made kefir or yoghurt overnight (for dairy free use almond or coconut based yoghurt – if it’s very thick you might need to add some non-dairy milk).
Serve with a grated organic apple/pear or 1 cup mixed fresh or frozen berries
As a yoghurt/kefir substitute you could use half water half cloudy apple juice to soak. This isn’t as good because it contains no protein and raises the (natural) sugars in the meal. But if you cant bear milk, yoghurt or kefir of any type with muesli (like my husband) what the hell…
A note about dairy sensitivities: If you are mildly dairy-sensitive (you get symptoms but don’t have any major autoimmune health condition) you might like to try home made kefir. Kefir is a fermented milk product where the bacterial cultures have digested both the lactose (milk sugar) and casein (milk protein). I find that with any other dairy product, I immediately get a stuffed nose and throat, but not with home made kefir. You might be the same. Yay!! fully fermented home made kefir has over 20 varieties of beneficial bacteria to help your health. Even when good bacteria are killed by your strong stomach acid they still have a huge metabolic effect on you. How amazing is that…
This is is a super simple recipe I concocted today, inspired by a Nigel Slater recipe. Its ideal for a one-person dinner, or for a family. The mustard and lime lift the richness of the oily fish and are amazing for you too.
For 2:
2 fresh mackerel fillets
1 dsp coarse grain mustard
1 dsp fresh lemon or lime juice
Generous pinch black pepper
Pinch Himalayan salt/sea salt
1/2 tsp dried tarragon if you have it
A little olive oil to grease your roasting tin
To serve:
2 cupfuls sliced carrots
4 cupfuls broccoli florets
1. Heat your oven to 200C and while it is heating steam your vegetables and keep warm.
2. In a little bowl mix the mustard, pepper, salt, citrus juice and (if using) tarragon.
3. Oil your roasting tin, lay the fish skin side down, slather with the mustard mix and bake for 12-15 minutes. When the fish is done, it will no longer be translucent and the point of a knife or skewer will go through it easily.
4. Enjoy.
Why this is good for you: We all know that omega 3 oils from wild mackerel are great for our brains and hearts. But did you know that having enough omega 3 affects every cell in your body – from helping you avoid diabetes (or get rid of it if you have it), to helping your body react efficiently to all your horrnones. Eating more oily fish is a no-brainer. Mackerel is one of the best oily fish as its always wild so its leaner and cleaner. Mustard is a spice and is powerfully antioxidant. It even helps prevent eczema breakouts. If you want a healthy brain and body for many many years to come, get the spices in to your everyday eating. Spices AND herbs (like tarragon) pack a powerful antioxidant punch to lower inflammation and help you age agelessly. And they liven up your plate. What’s not to like!
This is a recipe I love. We eat it Christmas day with a simple salad of watercress and lambs lettuce. Instead of doing what the recipe says (wrapping everything in foil while it cures) I use a glass box with plastic lid to keep everything compressed during 5-8 days or curing. Much less fiddly. Lime zest/beetroot are optional but give an amazing taste and a lovely deep pink colour. Before you start, freeze the salmon for at least 24 hours to help kill any parasites. The salt, pepper and dill in the cure and the mustard in the sauce also help kill any unwanted visitors to your tummy!
For the cure:
1 large side of salmon, organic if possible, cut into 2 roughly equal shape pieces
Zest of 1-2 organic limes
1 large bunch fresh dill
115g sea salt/Himalayan salt – flakes or fine it doesn’t matter
50g coconut sugar (use brown sugar if you don’t have coconut)
75g xylitol or erythritol (from health shops)
15g freshly ground black pepper (coarse is OK)
Optional beetroot – 1 raw, grated (cooked might work too)
Tinfoil
For the sauce (to serve with the fish on the day):
1 tbs chopped fresh dill
1 tbs English mustard powder (if you don’t need gluten-free you can use ready-made English mustard from a jar)
1 tsp coconut sugar, erythritol, xylitol or brown sugar
1 tbs virgin (cold pressed unrefined) sunflower/peanut/rape/sesame oil
2 tbs kefir*, creme fraiche (for dairy-free use unsweetened additive-free soya yoghurt)
1 tbs white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
*home made fully-fermented kefir is usually tolerated by people with dairy sensitivity
1. For the cure (5-8 days before you want to eat the fish)
Roughly chop the dill and mix thoroughly in a bowl with the zest, salt, sugar, xylitol/sugar, lime zest, optional beetroot and pepper. Lay out a sheet of foil about four times the width of a salmon fillet. Spread a quarter of the pickling mix over a fillet-size area on one side of the foil with a good 15cm/6in margin for folding over.
2. Place one piece of fish, skin side down, on top of the pickle mixture and cover with slightly more than half of what is left. Place the second fillet on top, skin side up, to make a sandwich. Scatter the remaining pickle mixture over the skin. Wrap up the parcel tightly, tucking the ends and edges in underneath the fish.
3. Put the package on the tray and place a similar size tray, or a plank of wood on the top. Weight it down, with a brick or two or anything else handy (the contents of the fridge?). Turn the package daily for at least five days, and no more than eight. Do not discard the pickling liquid that oozes from the package unless it threatens to spill over the side of the tray.
4. At least one hour before you wish to serve the fish, combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a jar and shake well together. Leave to stand and shake again to emulsify before serving.
5. To serve, unwrap the gravalax and wipe off any excess pickling liquid. I like to scrape off the bits of dill and beetroot and give everything a quick wipe but you don’t have to. Slice fairly (but not too) thinly then serve with the sauce and a green side salad (I love watercress and lamb’s lettuce with this). Unused gravalax can be re-wrapped in clean foil or airtight glass box and kept in the fridge for up to five days.
This dessert is a delicious but fantastic way to help regulate your immune system by feeding your good gut bacteria. Sweeten it if you like with some stevia drops. The reason for the skin is it provides more polyphenols (immune-supporting plant compounds that lower inflammation in your gut). If your apples are not organic give the skins a good scrub. In the Autumn, I like to make up a ton of this and bottle it in sterile jars to keep in the larder. A dollop on your morning porridge (grain-free if you’re on the SC diet), or eat with some natural coconut or dairy yoghurt. You decide. I also use it for apple sauce for duck or pork. If you’re wanting some every day divide into ramekins and store in the fridge for up to a week. Ceylon cinnamon preserves it.
For 6 servings:
A tray of Bramley (cooking) apples (about 600g), organic if possible
1/2 cup organic raisins/organic sultanas
A little water
2 tsp Ceylon/Sri Lanka cinnamon (plain “cinnamon” is cassia, which doesn’t have the health benefits and in very large amounts cumulatively over time is toxic).
Inulin, honey or (if you must) 100% pure stevia/xylitol or erythritol to sweeten
1. Wash the apples and grate off some of the skin. Put skin in a saucepan with a little water.
2. Peel and slice the rest and add to saucepan. Add a splash of water, cover and stew gently until the apples soften and fall apart into a puree. This usually takes around 15 minutes. This part is important because it releases the pectin, an important prebiotic fibre which feeds your healthy gut bacteria.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in 2 heaped tsp Ceylon cinnamon.
Why this is good for you Would you like your immune system to be in perfect balance? Protecting against infections and also avoiding/getting into remission from autoimmunity, inflammatory conditions or allergies? These days, lots of us have health conditions where our immune system is out of control. Allergies, asthma, eczema, colitis and Crohn’s, autoimmune hypothyroidism are just some examples. Stewed apple may be one of the most perfect foods for helping your good gut bacteria grow in order to dampen down an out-of-control immune system. In treating inflammatory bowel disease a daily serving of stewed apple is as powerful as prednisone, a steroid medication. Naturally we need LOTS of different plant foods in our week to foster a wide variety of good bacteria. But stewed apple is a great start, especially if you are someone who can’t tolerate raw fruit at the moment.
When you stew COOKING apples you liberate pectin. Apple pectin encourages growth of the friendly bacteria akkermansia mucinophilia. The clue is in the name. These critters nibble the mucus (yes, I know, yuck!) in your bowel, keeping it trimmed so there’s the right amount. This is important in helping get rid of GI infections and helping nutrient absorption.
Apples naturally contain sugar so it’s better not to have huge amounts of this – just the equivalent of one medium apple is the amount you want as a dessert, otherwise you are overloading with sugars. Too many sugars, even natural ones, slow down your liver function and immune system and feed health-sabotaging bacteria in your gut.
