Carrot and ginger - grey day soup

I've realised that I write about soup more than another type of dish, but then that's not surprising really, as soup is truly awesome! For a start, it's hard to go wrong (although I have tasted some really bad ones in my time, so it is possible!), it's pretty quick and easy, and nutritionally it's the best way to retain all the gorgeous vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. And what's best is that you really don't need to add gallons of cream or butter to make it taste good (even though some chefs will tell you otherwise).

For me, it's the vegetable that's the star in a good soup. Oh, and if your carrot or lettuce is looking rather limp and pathetic at the back of the fridge, unsuitable for being seen on a plate by itself, using it up in a soup not only means you have ingredients to hand, but reduces food waste too.

I always thought I was pretty good with minimising waste in our house, but having watched "Hugh's War on Waste', I felt rather guilty as I realised we still do throw out more than we should. I was so shocked to see all those gorgeous parsnips going to waste (just think how much spicy parsnip soup you could have got out of those!!!) and when he took items directly out of people's trolleys at the supermarket that usually get thrown away, it really sunk in. I decided there an then that there would be no more veg wastage in our house. So we've had some interesting, sometimes rather green soups since then!

We had a pre-Christmas gathering at the weekend, and my lovely husband ended up over purchasing on the vegetables. Today is grey and chilly, so soup just had to be made, and as the fridge is rather overstocked with carrots, ginger and fresh coriander, the soup flavour was easy to decide!

Carrots are an amazing vegetable, underrated by many in my opinion as they're so mainstream and reliable. Their vibrant orange colour tells us they're packed full of betacarotene, the precursor to vitamin A which is essential for healthy skin, eyes and helps support our immune system. They also have lots of vitamin C and other anti-oxidants, and their sweet flavour means there's not many people who won't eat a few.

Ginger is also amazing and compliments the carrots rather beautifully. It's fabulous for easing digestive problems and it's phytonutrients can help reduce inflammation and support our immune system, so again great for this time of year when there are so many coughs and colds around. Plus the heat from the ginger just makes you feel warm and cosy from the inside!

So why not try this delicious soup and bring a warm, orange glow to an otherwise chilly and grey day?

Carrot, ginger and coriander soup

1 large onion diced

splash of olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

5 cm long piece of ginger, peeled and grated

1kg carrots, peeled and chopped

2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 bunch coriander, stems chopped

1.2 litres vegetable stock

salt and pepper

almond or soya cream to garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion for a few minutes until it starts to soften. Add the garlic and ginger, stir well then add the carrot and potato. Sauté for a couple of minutes but don't let it burn - add a little stock if necessary. Add the coriander stems and stock, bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes or until the carrots are soft. Cool for a few minutes, then blend with a stick blender, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Serve into bowls and garnish with coriander leaves and a dribble of dairy free cream as required. Enjoy!

Sunny sweetcorn soup

This summer has been lovely, but now autumn has decided it wants a look in and seems to have arrived somewhat early. The air is decidedly cooler and today in particular is looking rather bleak and grey - for Brits, its a typical bank holiday Monday!

Tiny squash coming!

However, the gorgeous, fresh produce that's around at the moment should bring rays of sunshine into anyones life. The hedgerows are laden with berries, fruit trees heavy with magnificent bounty (my apples this year are just huge!) and my tiny little veg patch has been providing us with gorgeous beans and outstandingly flavoursome leeks, whilst I obsessively monitor the growth of some tiny squash.
One vegetable that has been particularly awesome this year is sweet corn - fabulously juicy kernels, so sweet, tender and firm, completely superior to any tinned or frozen variety and great example of seasonal eating.
Sweetcorn has a bit of a bad boy reputation though in the 'dieting' world; higher in calories than other veg as they contain a higher concentration of simple sugars. Nutritionally, though, it's fabulous as it's packed full of phytonutrients and antioxidants that keep your body healthy at a cellular level, along with beta-carotene and some of the B vitamins. But the main benefit is it's fibre content.
Fibre is essential to keep us healthy - not only does it aid the process of digestion by moving things along nicely in the gut (less time for toxins to build up and be absorbed), it releases it's sugars more slowly and actually feeds the gut friendly bacteria to keep it happy and healthy. Processed foods, animal and dairy products contain no fibre, so you need lots of other sources to help things along and stop your gut from becoming stressed and feeble. Which is one reason (of many) why a plant based whole food diet is beneficial to your overall health and well being. And if you can't go the whole hog, then big up your plant fibre intake - your tummy will love you for it!
I love eating sweetcorn on the cob, boiled and seasoned with a little black pepper, with the juices dribbling down my chin in an unladylike manner! However, this soup is another great way of getting all the benefits and flavour of that gorgeous sunny corn, and it can be eaten with slightly more finesse!!
A warming soup for a miserable day in summer - sunshine in a bowl, dairy free and delicious!
Sweetcorn soup

3 sweet corn cobs, nibs cuts off
2 carrots diced
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
3 small potatoes/1 medium diced
sprinkle thyme
1 litre vegetable stock
salt and pepper
Heat a small amount of olive oil (or water if you don't like oil) in a large pan and sauté the onion and carrot gently until soft. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute but don't let it burn. Add the potatoes, sweetcorn, thyme and stock, bring to the boil then simmer for 20 minutes or so until everything is cooked. Turn off the heat and blitz with a hand blender until smoothish. Add extra stock if necessary if too thick. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy. You and your stomach will feel the joy!

Green smoothie and blue skies

The spring weather is just beautiful. Blue skies, birds tweeting, bluebells in the woods and new life sprouting out everywhere. I'm so fortunate to live near the countryside, but pretty close to town as well. It takes only a couple of minutes to be out in the fields and woods.

I used to go to the gym to exercise, but have gone right off it now. In India, there wasn't really an option, as it was either too hot outside or too chaotic and polluted on the crazy roads. Since coming back, though, I've just not wanted to go back inside. Maybe it's just my 'hippy tendencies' that make me want to convene with nature, but there's so much more than just burning calories by exercising outside.
For a start, it's visually stimulating - I get to see real life rather than garbage on a TV screen or someone elses backside (sometimes a good view!). I catch snippets of conversations, people deep in discussion, men at work - all carry my imagination off in random directions piecing together what their story might be. Then there's the "morning" calls and "beautiful day for it" comments from dog walkers and fellow runners - as humans we need to interact; it helps us realise we're not alone.
And then there's trees. Maybe I lived deep in a forest in a previous life, but I find trees so soothing. Nurtured by nature; I always feel so good once I've been out through some woods, even if there is still lots of mud to navigate.
Research studies have concluded that exercising outside is really beneficial to our mental and physical well being - trials show that people feel more revitalised, positively engaged and have increased energy as well as have reduced levels of anger, confusion, tension and depression.   Mother nature provides once again.
As I was beginning to struggle near the end of my run today, I remembered an article I read earlier in the week about this incredible guy called Scott Jurek (http://scottjurek.com). He's an ultra-marathon champion who does crazy things like run 165 miles in one day. Made my 10km look more than pathetic! Why this stuck in my mind is that he's a vegan, eating a plant based whole food diet - 5000 calories a day of it when training hard (that's a lot of beans!).  So much for vegans being fey and wimpy (although don't think anyone would say that to Serena Williams' face!).
Once back home, I needed some instant energy, especially as I had gone out early before breakfast and run further than I meant to. So I whizzed up this green smoothie; it definitely hit the spot. Spinach is packed full of beta-carotenes, folate, manganese, magnesium, iron and a whole range of other B vitamins, to name a few. I added the lemon juice to help the absorption of these goodies in the gut. Flaxseed is a fabulous plant source of omega 3 fats as well as protein to help cells repair and cinnamon is a great anti-inflammatory, so should help with some of the inevitable post run aches. On top of all that, it just tastes great, and as everything is all whizzed up and broken down, starts getting absorbed and hitting the spot pretty quickly.
Next time, I'm going to drink this before I go out for my run!

Running green smoothie
1 banana
200mls almond milk
couple handfuls baby spinach
1 tablespoon flaxseed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
squeeze lemon juice
Bung all the ingredients into your blender and whizz until all the spinach is fully broken down and blended into a vibrant green. Dairy free and delicious - enjoy!

Sweetcorn salsa with polenta triangles

Fresh, seasonal vegetables are definitely the best - for flavour as well as nutrients. Wednesday is always an exciting day for me as it's the day my organic veg box arrives on the doorstep (sad, but true!!). Unless I have a stock pile of one particular vegetable, I never check to see what's coming so it's always a little surprise to see what gorgeous goodies are going to be on the menu for the next week.

This year, the sweetcorn has been amazing - swollen, juicy sweet cobs so packed full of flavour that just boiling and eating straight off the cob with a sprinkling of black pepper is usually all that's required. But at the weekend, I decided to zing it up a bit, and went for this fabulous sweetcorn salsa.
Since my son has stopped eating wheat (to help deal with his terrible eczema), I have been experimenting with wheat free options. Whilst wheat free bread is readily available in the supermarkets, I'm not convinced about relying on it as a major food replacement due to the horrendously long list of ingredients on the packet, as well as the horribly expensive price tag! Polenta, or cornmeal, is a pretty new to me. Whilst in India, I went to a number of different cooking demonstrations, including some at our local Italian restaurant, Toscano's; Italian in India may seem a little odd, but they serve up gorgeous food, some of it with an Indian twist (spicy!). One of the dishes was polenta triangle covered with bread crumbs and then deep-fried. Unfortunately, the breadcrumb covering meant I couldn't try the complete dish (yeast!), but apparently it was gorgeous, with the crispy crumbs complementing soft, creamy polenta inside.  For lunch, they served me just the polenta triangles lightly pan fried, and I was surprised to find they still tasted delicious and had a good texture.
I've been meaning to try this for myself ever since, and I finally got around to it at the weekend. Polenta as a basic food stuff is pretty good for you, although being dried and ground it probably isn't a whole food product. It's cornmeal, so seemed to go well with the sweetcorn salsa.
The rich yellow colour of corn means it's carrying great amounts of beta-carotene and caroteninoids as well as a good dollop of vitamin C, B6, iron and magnesium. It has a reasonable amount of fibre and apparently it can help support the growth of friendly bacteria in the intestines, which is great news. In the States, a lot of corn is GM, so check where it's from, or buy organic.
Polenta dishes can be transformed from relatively healthy to high fat junk - it's what you add to it that makes all the difference. It does take about 20 minutes to make and then a couple of hours to set, so if you haven't got time, you can buy ready made in packs, but there's added preservatives and salt, so beware! I wanted to keep mine simple, so I just added vegetable stock (yeast free of course) and some dried herbs; this give a lovely, subtle flavour.
This dish is a fabulous light lunch or a great plant based, dairy free, wheat free starter that is packed with both taste and nutrients - give it a go and see what you think.
Polenta triangles
1 cup polenta
5 cups vegetable stock
1 tspoon dried herbs (I used oregano and parsley)
Bring the vegetable stock and herbs to the boil in a large pan then slowly pour in the polenta, whisking all the time. Cook, stirring continuously, until all the stock is absorbed and the mixture becomes really thick and creamy (about 20 minutes or so). Line a medium sized baking tray with greaseproof paper and pour in the mixture, spreading it out to the edges. Place in the fridge to set - 1-2 hours.
Once set, take the polenta out of the tin with the greaseproof paper and cut into squares, then triangles. Heat a dash of olive oil in a large frying pan and toast both sides for a few minutes until slightly coloured.
Sweetcorn salsa

2 sweetcorn cobs, husk removed
dash olive oil
2 avocados, diced
4 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
1-2 red chillis, deseeded and chopped
large handful coriander leaves, chopped
4 tbspoons lime juice
salt to taste
Heat a dash of olive oil in a griddle pan and toast the sweetcorn on the cob, turning regularly, until slightly browned. Leave until cool enough to handle, then cut off the cobs with a sharp knife. Prepare the tomatoes, avocado, chilli and coriander leaves and put in a bowl with the sweetcorn. Once your polenta triangles are ready, add the lime juice and salt, and serve. Enjoy!

Simply Tasty Tomato Sauce

Tomatoes play a major role in my everyday food.  As creamy sauces are generally off the menu, tomato based ones are always the tasty option, and very easy to make. I've already posted about the nutritional wonders of tomatoes (see http://www.foodiesensitive.blogspot.in/2012/10/tasty-tomatoes.html); just to add that tomatoes are fabulous for your hair and skin, repairing sun damage and helping you look vibrant and younger, just like sweet potatoes!

Tomatoes are packed full of beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A. These protect your eyes, skin and hair and can help to reverse cell damage done by carcinogenic substances and toxins that come from our food and environment. Beta-carotenes are also anti-inflammatory and so can help reduce chronic pain caused by inflammatory conditions, although like aubergines, tomatoes are part of the nightshade family which some sensitive souls are allergic too. It seems in the world of food intolerance and allergies, anything and everything can cause problems for somebody, somewhere.
But for those who don't have a problem, tomatoes are amazing and really should be included as part of a plant based diet as often as possible.
The tomato sauce in Tomato Power is made by simply roasting fresh tomatoes with some garlic and olive oil, then blitzing them together to create a delicious, flavoursome sauce. Living in India, beautiful, fresh, vibrant tomatoes bursting with flavour were available all year round. Back in the UK, tomatoes are really seasonal and those available in the supermarkets tend to be lacking in lustre and taste. So tinned tomatoes are the only option, which is a shame as much of the wonderfully high potassium content is lost in the tinning process. However, adding in other fabulously nutrient-dense produces like celery, carrot, garlic and basil helps to counter balance some of these loses.
A word of warning if you're eating out and choose a tomato sauce based dish - check whether the chef has used butter instead of oil. As butter creates a richer flavour, it's more common than you think. I've left a restaurant many times thinking I've eaten a dairy free dish, only to be struck by a headache or migraine later on.
This sauce is really easy and the one I used for my sweet potato stack. Best cooked over a low heat, the flavours are intense and can by used as a sauce for pasta, vegetables, bakes etc or watered down with vegetable stock to make delicious soup. Make a large batch and freeze some, so you've always got a quick, easy dinner to hand.
Tasty tomato sauce

1 medium onion
1 medium carrot
2 large stick celery
1 -2 cloves garlic (depending on size/taste)
olive oil
400g tin chopped tomatoes
handful basil leaves
salt and pepper
Finely chop the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Heat a glug of olive oil on a gentle heat, and lightly saute the onion until it begins to soften, the add the celery and carrot. Continue cooking on a low heat for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, keeping the heat low, and cook for a few minutes, making sure it doesn't burn. Add the tinned tomatoes, stir well and simmer until everything feels soft and well cooked. Turn off the heat and add the torn basil leaves and season to taste (not much salt as the tinned tomatoes are already a little salty). Cool a little then use a blender to blitz it to a smooth sauce. Use straight away, or reheat when ready - and enjoy!!!