In my opinion, avocados are amazing, and are best eaten with minimal fuss or seasoning. As well as being absolutely delicious, avos are full of healthy fats, vitamins and fibre.

This little bliss bowl allowed the perfectly ripe avocado to shine, with brown rice, edamame beans, shredded carrot, marinated mushrooms and a handful of my secret weapon; roasted munchy seeds. I drizzled a wee bit of olive oil over the top for some extra flavour.

Not so much a recipe as a suggestion for what to do with those avocados that are appearing in shops at reasonable prices right now. What are you waiting for? Get into them!

 

I am loving all things freekeh right now. Freekeh is an ‘ancient grain’-basically wheat that is harvested young and roasted. It is higher in protein and fibre than that other superfood quinoa, cooks in 10 minutes, and is really tasty and filling!

Freekeh can be used in heaps of ways, but I love to cook it, cool it, boost it with vegetables, and make it a salad.

Here’s a very loose recipe (more a suggestion) for a delicious weeknight salad that also makes a stunning left-over lunch.

Freekeh Salad:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1.5 cups freekeh

2.5 cups water

1 onion

1 garlic clove

3 cups vegetables; I used courgette, corn, capsicum, rocket, broccoli, tomato, avocado and mushroom

Handful of kalamata olives (optional)

Handful fresh herbs; parsley, mint, coriander, chives would all be good

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup toasted walnuts (or any nuts or seeds that take your fancy)

Dollop of coconut yogurt (mine was mango and turmeric flavour, but plain would be fine too)

 

To cook the freekeh, heat the first measure of olive oil in a heavy frying pan. Toast the freekeh in it until brown and smelling good, about 4-5 minutes. Pour in the water, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until soft. You might need to add a bit more water if it all runs out before the freekeh is soft. Put aside to cool down.

Saute the garlic, onions and any vegetables that require cooking in a pan until just soft. Add to the freekeh. Add any raw salad vegetables and the chopped fresh herbs.

To make the dressing, mix the second measure of olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and stir through the salad. Adjust the seasoning as necessary.

Serve with a sprinkle of toasted nuts/seeds and a dollop of coconut yogurt.

 

A few weeks ago I was hit by a double-whammy of the flu, followed by pneumonia. It’s taken 2 courses of antibiotics, lots of rest, restraint and self-compassion to get myself back on my feet, and I still have a long way to go! It’s at times like these that Hippocrates’ quote: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” really rings true. In sickness, the only things that can really nourish us are food, meditation and rest. I’ve been using this time to try to fill up on the stuff that will allow my body to heal, so I’ve looked toward a plant-based diet with plenty of gut-friendly foods. Science still points to these being the 2 most valuable things for our overall health, and who am I to argue with science?

Of course, the family have been eating with me (I’m sure as hell not getting out of my sick bed to cook separate meals!), so my challenge has been preparing plant-based meals that appeal to active teenagers. I definitely nailed it last night with this healthy take on nachos.

Instead of greasy, rancid corn chips, I thinly sliced potato on a mandolin and baked them until crispy. The topping is a truckload of veges; kidney beans, tinned tomatoes, onion, garlic, spinach and grated carrot. Now that I can buy avocados without taking out a small mortgage, I’ve whipped up some guacamole  to take it to the next level. The kids got a sprinkle of cheese on theirs, and let me tell you, there were no complaints!

 

When the kids want tacos, but you want them to eat veges…these tacos have 6 serves of vegetables in them, not to mention plenty of fibre in the kidney beans. Win!

I’m trying to go wheat-free for a while, so the standard lunch of mushrooms on toast or salad wrap is off the cards for now. Searching around in the fridge and my rather sad winter vegetable garden today netted me half a block of tofu, 1 field mushroom and some winter greens. Yep, not looking great, until I remembered that scrambled tofu can be really tasty and a good vehicle for other flavours. Within 5 minutes I had a plateful of goodness which contained 5 servings of vegetables, plenty of protein and some powerful spices just to really get things going, although clearly not enough to excite the dog.

Here’s my recipe for a super-simple vegan and grain-free tofu scramble for one:

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

Half a block of tofu (about 150 grams), chopped into small dice or crumbled

A couple of handfuls of vegetables. I used a chopped field mushroom and a handful of frozen edamame beans, but courgette, bean sprouts, tomato or corn would be equally good.

Handful of spinach leaves, shredded

Handful of rocket leaves, shredded

2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves

Handful of my savoury seeds

1/2 a fresh lime or lemon

 

In a small frying pan, heat the coconut oil. Drop in the spices and cook until light brown and fragrant. Add the tofu and stir fry for 3-4 minutes until brown.

Stir in the vegetables and cook for another minute, then stir through the shredded spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted.

Serve the tofu scramble with a big handful of rocket leaves, chopped coriander, savoury seeds, a good squeeze of lime juice and salt and pepper.

I keep coming across recipes online which use this strange ingredient, so when I saw a spaghetti squash for the first time in my local supermarket I grabbed it! Then spent ages searching for tips on how the hell to cook the stuff.

It turns out that spaghetti squash is just like normal squash, but when cooked it shreds into these amazing spaghetti-like strings and the flavour mellows to a gentle nutty sort of pumpkin taste.

So, armed with this knowledge, I cut my newly purchased spaghetti squash into quarters, seasoned it with olive oil, salt and pepper, and baked it at 200 degrees for about 40 minutes. Once it had cooled down to a manageable temperature, I held my breath and dug into the flesh with a fork. And it really worked! Gorgeous pumpkin strings materialized and within minutes I had a bowl full of perfectly formed squash strands.

So what to cook with it? I guess any sauce that goes well with pasta would work with spaghetti squash-and I fully intend to test that theory! For tonight’s nervous debut though I played it safe with sauteed garlic and shallot, mushrooms, shredded spinach, fresh basil, cherry tomatoes, feta, kalamata olives and a good grating of parmesan to top it off. The verdict? Well, not everyone in the family was completely sold, but everyone’s bowl was licked clean at the end of the meal…so I’m going to give it a tick. Spaghetti squash is never going to pass for the real thing, but that’s not the point. It’s a tasty low calorie vegetable base for meals with such a low GI that it won’t give you cloudy brain half an hour after eating it. It’s full of great nutrients like folic acid, potassium, Vitamin A, and beta carotene, and is an easy way to get one of your 5+ servings of vegetables. It is perfect for vegans and people who eat gluten free. And it’s really filling! Are you sold yet?

I’d love to hear about other people’s experiences with spaghetti squash and welcome any recipe ideas. Sorry family, I think this ingredient is here to stay…