As Hippocrates said, ´Let food be thy medicine´, a healthy lifestyle starts with healthy nutrition, so your SISters in Wellness share their favourite healthy recipes!  

CHRISTIAN´S FAVOURITE:

Spiced Sweet Potato and Spinach stew

A couple of years ago at home we decided we wanted to cut right back on how much meat we were eating. With a half Spanish household and a lot of Ibearian pork in various guises on our weekly menu we weren´t sure how we would get on. Two years on we have discovered some amazing vegetarian and vegan recipes.

I was introduced to the Deliciously Ella plant based recipes books along the way and this one is one of my favourites. The combination of spices will fill your house with the most amazing smells. Perfect for a cold day by the fire but also surprisingly refreshing and light in summer.

Ingredients:

• 3 sweet potatoes
• 1 red pepper
• x 400g of chopped tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp miso paste
• Salt and pepper
• 400g can of black beans, drained and rinsed ( I used lentils as not keen on black beans)
• 200g spinach
• 250g coconut yoghurt (optional but amazing!)

Peel and chop the sweet potato into small cubes (2cm). Deseed your pepper and chop into a similar size. Place the sweet potatoes and red pepper into a large saucepan with canned tomatoes and 600ml of boiling water, bring to the boil.

As it boils add the garlic, chilli powder, cumin, coriander, miso paste, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to a simmer, put the lid of the pan and allow to cool for about 1 hour, stir about every 5 minutes.

By now the sweet potatoes should be soft. Add the black beans to the stew with the spinach and coconut yoghurt if using. Stir well until spinach has wilted totally. (Or serve the coconut yoghurt on top.

Serve with rice, quinoa or mashed avocado.

If you don´t have coconut yoghurt use Greek yoghurt instead.

NEEL´S FAVOURITE:

The Classic Hummus recipe.

Hummus, I just love it! It´s a delicious Mediterranean spread if you want something different on your bread or sandwiches, but it also works really well as a healthy dip with your raw veggies. Hummus is made from chickpeas, these pulses are real protein bombs. They also contain a significant amount of vitamin B, iron and zinc so pretty healthy all in all! And one of my favourite parts of hummus is that is it is just so easy and quick to make!

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of 400 g chickpeas, drained
• 10 tablespoons olive oil
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 2 large tablespoons of tahini
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 2 teaspoon cumin

For classic hummus, put all the ingredients together with salt and pepper and 3 tablespoons of water in the food processor and blend until smooth; it’s that simple! The more powerful your food processor is, the smoother and creamier the hummus will be.

And then, pimp your hummus with beetroot, delicious!

Maybe not the most obvious combo, chickpeas and beetroot, but believe me, it´s super tasty! Beetroot not only gives the hummus a sweeter taste, it also causes a small detox in your body. These red tubers detoxify the liver and purify the blood. Beetroot therefore make the hummus extra healthy.

Prepare your hummus following the classic hummus recipe and then add 1 small raw beetroot (150 g), peeled and cut into pieces. Blend until smooth, that´s it!

Crispy parmesan garlic Edamame

I don’t necessarily need a recipe to enjoy edamame. It’s absolutely delicious on its own with a dash of sea salt. But there’s no harm in spicing things up a bit with a little flavour, right? This variation is finger licking good. The parmesan and the garlic give the edamame an extra bite, which is hard to resist. In addition to being a decent source of soy protein, edamame is rich in healthy fibre, antioxidants and vitamin K. A healthy snack, low in calories and it is sooooo easy to prepare!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups edamame (raw)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup parmesan (grated)
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 pinch salt (to taste)
• 1 pinch black pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 200ºC. put a baking sheet on your oven tray

In a medium bowl, add parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper, then mix together. Set this bowl to one side. In another medium bowl place the fresh (or thawed) edamame and add the olive oil. Toss the edamame well until they are well coated.

Pour the parmesan cheese mixture on top of edamame, then stir until evenly coated. Spread the edamame on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned to your liking.

Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

MARTA´S FAVOURITE:

Millet and Chickpea salad          

This salad is a complete meal, as it contains a whole grain cereal, vegetable protein and vegetables, all you need in one meal, in addition it is super fresh and delicious both to eat out on a picnic day in the countryside or to take to the beach. I love to make this dish when friends come over because they love it. But beware: The mixture of flavours, the crunchy seeds and celery make this a very addictive salad!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• Millet: 150 ml (¾ cup)
• Water: 400 ml
• Salt: ½ tsp
• Cooked chickpeas: 250 ml. (1 cup)
• Chopped spring onion: 1/4 cup
• Celery: 1 stick
• Spinach: 100 g / a handful
• Fresh mint: 20 large leaves
• Toasted pumpkin seeds: 4 tsp
• Pitted black olives: ¼ cup (approx 20 units)
• Black pepper to taste
• For the dressing:
• Lemon zest: 2 tsp
• Lemon juice: 4 tsp
• Olive oil: 2 tbsp
• Mustard: 2 tbsp
• Garlic cloves: 2

Preparation:

1. Toast the millet in a pan, over medium heat and stirring constantly until golden brown (about 5 minutes) then add water, a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Lower to very low heat for 25 minutes. Then put to cool on a plate or a tray.
2. In a bowl add the spring onion with the salt, mix well and leave it marinading while the millet is cooking.
3. Finely chop the celery, spinach and mint.
4. Put the marinated spring onion, spinach, celery, toasted pumpkin seeds, olives (cut or whole) and cooked chickpeas in a bowl.
5. Add the millet once it is cold.
6. Mix with the dressing: Chop the garlic and mix all the dressing ingredients in a glass.
7. Season the salad with the dressing, add black pepper to taste.

Tips:

• You can substitute pumpkin seeds for any other seed you like, almonds or other nuts.
• Experiment by adding your favourite vegetables, chard, cucumber, rocket, lamb’s lettuce etc…

FEMKE´S FAVOURITE:

King Prawns Oriental Style

Prawns, my favourite food!! Super delicious, light, very easy to make (you really can´t fail with this recipe) and very healthy! Prawns are a rich source of selenium, one of the most effective antioxidants at maintaining healthy cells. They also contain high levels of Zinc, which is important to develop a healthy immune system. Eating prawns helps build strong bones because they contain phosphorous, copper and magnesium. And eating prawns is really no hardship as they are sooooooooo delicious!!

This recipe is perfect for a long summer evening, but also a very good option in winter because of the warming spicy bite!

Ingredients for 3 – 4 servings (depending on the size of the prawns):

• 20 king prawns – raw and peeled
• A pinch of lemongrass, chili and ginger mix
• 4 dessert spoons of hot chili sauce
• 4 tbsp fish sauce
• 8 tbsp coconut milk
• 4 dessert spoons sesame oil
• Red onion
• Spring onion
• Bean sprout
• Thinly sliced courgette
• Coriander & chives
• Lime slices

Instructions:

1. Heat the frying pan and add the sesame oil to stir-fry the red onion for 1 minute, followed by the king prawns. Stir-fry for two minutes and turn prawns when they are starting to go pink
2. Add the lemongrass, ginger and chili, followed by the fish sauce, chili sauce and coconut milk. Also add the courgette strings and bean sprouts. Cook for another 3 minutes.
3. Garnish with coriander, spring onion, chives and lime slices

With so many wholesome options to choose from, eating healthily is not so complicated. Enjoy your meal!!