 This yummy dessert is dairy free, gluten free, and can be made refined sugar free, depending on which dark chocolate you use. It's easy to make, soooo delicious to eat, and packed with fabulous, nourishing fats! Serves 2, prep time 10 mins Flesh of a whole ripe avocado 2/3 of a tin of coconut cream (the fatty part and a small splash or two of the liquid) 3 heaped tablespoons of cocoa or cacao powder OR 100g melted dark chocolate (melt in a stainless steel bowl over a pot with 2cm boiling water) 2 tablespoons of maple syrup or honey 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste -Combine all the above in a blender and blend until smooth. -Taste and add more honey or maple syrup if needed (only likely if you are using cocoa rather than melted chocolate). If it needs thickening, add a little more coconut cream fat. -Scrape the mix into ramekins, tumblers, or pretty small cups. Refrigerate for two hours. -Garnish with grated dark chocolate and serve. Some lovely possible additions are chopped fresh cherries or boysenberries, chunks of dark chocolate, and layers of cream (not dairy free). For a special treat, I like to add all three!
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 I could eat this Italian-inspired soup again and again. Nourishing, delicious, full of lovely seasonal veg, and comforting in cold weather. The chicken can be left out and more cannellini beans added to make a hearty vegetarian soup.
Serves 2, prep time 60 mins (including making sourdough croutons if desired) Olive oil 5-6 large potatoes (organic if possible – potatoes can be heavily sprayed with pesticides) Sea salt and ground black pepper ½ large white onion 1 large leek Good handful cavalo nero Few cloves of garlic, roughly chopped Fresh thyme sprigs 1 tin cannellini beans (use 2 tins if making vegetarian version) A few good handfuls of shredded or sliced roasted free range chicken Optional extra: Pre-made sourdough croutons – simply cube the end of a stale loaf of sourdough and bake in the oven for 20 mins with olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt.  Contrary to what you may have heard in some circles, bread is not the devil's food, and nor are grains (though if you are allergic to gluten or don't tolerate glutinous grains, you have my understanding...feel free to skip this recipe and check out my gluten-free recipes instead).
Seldom is a single food outright bad - the problem with some so-called bad foods often lies more in how the way we are preparing them has changed so dramatically, and to the food's detriment. And in the way we are now over-consuming these modern, non-nourishing versions (refined sugar anyone?) Many modern food production processes that have emerged over the last 50-odd years have left certain foods - particularly grains - highly processed, devoid of nutrients, harder to digest and in questionable genetically modified forms. This is especially true for bread. So what if we returned to making bread the way our great grandmothers would have made it?  This warming soup uses in-season vegetables and is lovely to come home to and heat up after a busy day. High in vitamin C, it is a tonic for those feeling stressed or burnt out.
Serves 2-3, prep time 40 mins, you will need a good blender or food processor 1 red onion, chopped Few cloves of garlic, chopped roughly 1 medium-sized butternut squash, organic if possible 2 medium to large-sized sweet potatoes, organic if possible Ground cinnamon Ground sea salt and black pepper  The season of colds, scratchy throats, coughs, runny noses and sneezing is near. Here's a home remedy to relieve a cough, scratchy throat and cold symptoms and help you sleep better while recovering. Best of all, it's made from things you have in your kitchen cupboard.
To make Honion... (sounds like 'onion') Get a clean, empty glass jar. Get some honey - raw honey is ideal, the benefit of unpasteurized, raw honey is that it contains antibacterial and antiviral bee propolis. Place 6-8 tablespoons of honey in the jar (more if you have a household of snuffly people). -Finely chop one small brown onion and 6-8 large cloves of garlic (organic if possible). -Chop up a thumb-sized chunk of fresh turmeric or measure out a half teaspoon of powdered turmeric. -Measure out a half teaspoon of cayenne powder. -Add all of this to the honey, stir and put the lid on the jar. Leave in a cool, dark place. After the mix has sat for an hour or so, Honion can be taken by the teaspoon every time your throat feels scratchy or sore, you feel 'chesty', congested or are coughing. You should feel some relief after taking Honion, and it can help you get to sleep if bedtime or night time coughing occurs. When taking Honion for a few days, add more honey, onion and garlic to the mix to top up. CAUTION: Do not give raw honey to infants under the age of 1, owing to the risk of botulism (a rare yet potentially fatal illness caused by bacterial spores). Infants under 1 year of age do not yet have the immune capacity to fight a botulism infection. Always remember to rest, rest, rest, and drink, drink, drink water and herbal teas to support recovery from a cold or flu, too. |