Ingredients

• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ¼ red onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 3.5 cups Puy lentils
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 4 celery stalks, washed and chopped into small pieces
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon rock salt
• 4 cups water
• Chopped coriander, to serve
• Crushed toasted cashews, to serve (optional)

Instructions

• Soak 1.5-2 cups dried lentils covered in water overnight
• Drain and rinse before using
• Heat oil in a large saucepan
• Once hot, add the garlic and onion
• Cook for a few minutes until starting to soften
• Add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil
• Cover and lower to medium
• Cook for 30 minutes or until the lentils and vegetables are tender
• Season to taste with salt and pepper if required
• Using a stick blender, process to a chunky-style soup
• Top with the coriander and cashews to serve

Storage
This soup once cooled, can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Source: http://nadiafelsch.com/2014/06/20/easy-peasy-lentil-soup/

Thank you Nadia Felsch – we’re loving this recipe already.

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Can you feel it?

There is something spectacular about to happen.

It’s called Winter!!

(Oh and a big, juicy planetary shift this week. The planets are about to throw down some epic awesomeness and you gotta be in it to win it!)

Let me share with you my love of winter… this is coming from a former summer-chasing, winter-loathing Canadian

In the past 6 years, I have chosen to embrace what the Danish call “Hygge”. It’s too hard to explain the pronunciation so just roll with me here… this is all about embracing and enjoying what Winter brings to us.

Getting amongst the coziness, the community events, the warming practices of baking bread, cuddling in woolly knitted jumpers, eating hot nourishing dinners, drinking wine with friends and *ahem* practicing yoga in a lovely warm, cocoon-like studio with a beautiful community of people.

Winter is all about nourishing yourself and restoring your body and nervous system – hibernating if you will.

A positive mind through meditation and being proactive with yoga and other exercise are what’s going to get you through the next few chilly months.

To help you get into the spirit of Winter and keep the chill away as you leave any of my classes you can enjoy a cup of warm mulled cider after Savasana! If you have to run to work, bring a takeaway mug from home with you.

I’ve shared the recipe with you all here too.

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This video should give you all the inspiration and motivation you need…

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Common Dinnertime Challenges

Whenever we all get together, we argue.  How can I prevent this atmosphere from taking over the dinner table?
Some families argue about particular topics, like messy rooms or a recent science grade. Agreeing to avoid those topics during dinner will decrease fighting during mealtime. Other families just seem to argue as a way of communicating with one another. In such a case, you may want to set certain ground rules.

For example, each member has to wait to talk until he or she is holding a particular object, like a seashell, and anyone who raises his or her voice will agree to take a “time out” and calm down before returning to the table. Adults will need to set a good example by trying not to interrupt, and by asking questions rather than arguing with something said.

It’s very important to us that our children grow up with good table manners.  How can we teach good manners and not make the atmosphere at dinner uncomfortable?
If you focus on one priority at a time, you won’t let the teaching of good manners dominate the atmosphere. Focusing on those manners that help build respectful speaking and listening, like not speaking with your mouth full or not talking over anyone, seem like a good place to start. Those manners are ones that parents can also try to improve themselves, which will make kids feel less scrutinized.

My children and/or my spouse are texting at the table, and it drives me crazy.  How can I ask them to stop without driving them away?
You could ask them to try a no-texting experiment for a week or two to see if the conversation and atmosphere at the table is different for them as well as for you.  Or, you could ask that they only use their phones to facilitate conversation, for example, looking up a movie time, defining a word, or settling a dispute, like who won the World Series in 1985.

My child is a picky eater. What should I do to encourage her to try different foods?
The best strategy to prevent picky eating is for parents to model their own enjoyment of foods they are offering their kids at the dinner table. Serving food “family style” in bowls or platters placed on the table allows children to see the adults enjoying a food that the kids can just reach out and try.

The worst strategy is for parents to pressure their kids to eat or to restrict foods. If you want your child to try new foods, you shouldn’t tell them they can’t have dessert unless they eat all their vegetables. Another common mistake is for parents to give up too easily if a child refuses a new food. Researchers have found that children may need eight to 15 offerings of new foods before they decide they like the food. No wonder so many children are deemed “picky eaters” when so many parents give up trying to interest a child in a novel food after one or two attempts.

My children are too young to sit still for long meals.  How can I get them to stay put? 
It’s important to keep your expectations realistic. Toddlers shouldn’t be expected to sit for more than 10 or 15 minutes, and some may be done in five minutes. Better to have a happy, short dinner that you can build on as your child matures, than to make dinner a time with a lot of rules and fights.

Here are some strategies that have been helpful to families with young kids:

• Make clear that “meal sitting” is different from “school sitting.” So, for example, everyone might wear PJs, or you might play music during the meal.
• Give your kids ice pops made with fresh juice after they’ve eaten their meals:  It will take young kids about five minutes to finish one pop.
• Invite your child to stir a pot, crumble the cheese, set the timer or choose a menu from two choices offered.  Having a hand in making the meal creates pride of ownership, and that may make them stay at the table longer.
• Avoid having a revolving door at the dinner table. If your child wants to leave the table, allow this only once or twice. After two departures, the child should know that dinnertime is over. This is different from forcing a child to sit, but takes away any positive reinforcement derived from leaving the table.
• Present each part of the meal as a course, for example, peas as an appetizer, pasta with pesto sauce as the main course and orange slices for dessert. Maybe your child can help clear and bring on each course so that you are harnessing a child’s activity in the service of the meal. For example, “While you’re up, would you get the water pitcher?”

How do I keep my teenagers interested in family dinners, when there are so many activities pulling them away?
You may be surprised to learn that when teenagers are asked about the importance of family dinners, they rate them very high on their list of priorities. So, you should assume that your kids want to have dinner with you. If they don’t, start by asking what would make dinnertime more pleasant for them.

Here are some strategies that have been helpful to other parents with teenagers:

• Agree that dinner will be off limits for discussing conflicts—no talk about homework, whose turn it is to take out the trash, a recent D on a math quiz or how late the curfew should be on Friday night.
• Offer to make a new meal based on your teen’s interests—if he is studying South African history or Indian literature, check out epicurious.com and search for recipes by country.
• Invite your kid to make a course or part of the meal, particularly something fairly quick (but special and dramatic) that will elicit oohs and ahs from the rest of the family. Popovers, banana flambé, and fruit smoothies all do the trick.
• Create a weekly dinner ritual when your kids’ friends are invited to dinner or to dessert. For example, on a tired Sunday night, friends could be invited to come over and make sundaes.
• You might also ask your teen to choose music for you to listen to during dinner. This will also give you something to talk about that is likely of great interest to your child.

Source: http://thefamilydinnerproject.org/resources/faq/

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Ingredients

• 500 grams zucchini, grated
• 250 grams sweet potato, peeled and grated
• Pinch of sea salt
• 3 eggs
• 2/3 cup almond meal
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 2-4 tablespoons coconut oil (for cooking)

Method

Add grated zucchini and grated sweet potato to a colander, add a pinch of sea salt, mixing through the zucchini and sweet potato. Let sit for at least 15 minutes, then squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible.

Add to a large bowl with the remaining ingredients (except the coconut oil), mixing thoroughly.

Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to a medium fry pan on moderate heat. Using a soup spoon, scoop out a heaped dessert spoon of the fritter mixture and place in the fry pan and flatten a little. Place as many as you want in the fry pan, making sure the edges don’t touch. (I made my fritters around 6-7cm diameter).

Cook for a few minutes on each side, until lightly golden and drain on paper towels.

Then repeat until you use up all the fritter mixture. You may need to add more coconut oil in between batches.

Source: http://www.becomingness.com.au/blog/zucchini-sweet-potato-fritters

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Recipe (Serves 2)

Dressing

• ½ lemon juiced (approx. 2 tbl)
• ½ orange, juiced (approx. 1/4 cup)
• 1 tbl maple syrup
• 1 tsp mustard
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ inch ginger, finely grated (optional)
• 1 tbl olive oil

Salad

• 2 bunches of red radishes, finely sliced (on a mandolin if you have one)
• 1 bunch of radish greens, finely chopped
• 2 shallots including greens, finely chopped (US-folk: scallions)
• 2 supremed oranges

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the dressing ingredients – except the olive oil, then whisk in the oil slowly until smooth. Toss the salad ingredients in the dressing and serve immediately. To reduce spiciness, allow to marinate for 20 minutes prior to serving.

For the most part, I’m a fan of exceptionally simple salads. Focusing on 3-4 star ingredients means you can throw a salad together in minutes (my kind of cooking, during the week)!

I adore making punchy dressings and oscillate between:

Routinely making a couple (in the blender) on weekends in bulk quantities for the week ahead;

Spontaneously grabbing an empty jar and shaking 1-2 days worth of ingredients together as needed, or;

Combining an individual serving of dressing ingredients in a large bowl and whisking them before adding my salad ingredients.

The perfect Winter side salad

Wait until Winter before indulging in this one, when delicious new season oranges abound and ginger and radishes are also at their peak. Eating seasonally is less expensive, tastier and much better for us – and the planet.

These foods are high in antioxidants and powerful antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory compounds, offering immune boosting effects right when you need them – flu season!

Don’t overlook radish greens – a functional food

The recipe is taken from my e-book ‘Free Nutrition – halve your food bill, double your nutrient intake’ and is a delicious way to include more radishes in your diet – greens and all.

In the book I suggest that radish greens are not only edible, but are arguably the most nutritious part of the plant. And whilst radishes themselves are well-known for their anti-diabetic and anti-cancer properties, thisstudy suggests that radish greens have the same anti-tumour effect (destroying breast tumour cells and inhibiting the growth of new ones). Other studies have looked at hypertension.

So, time to start utilising those greens! You can find several recipes in my book.

What I love about this recipe

• The addition of citrus helps to cut through the spiciness of the radishes, especially if left to marinate for 20 or so minutes prior to serving.

• You get to ‘supreme’ oranges! A very simple technique (albeit a little juicy) that removes the orange segments from their surrounding pith. Never tried it before? This might help.

• You can save the orange peels to make your own natural vitamin C supplement! (Blog post coming next week).

Tips

• Try to buy organic radishes if possible, to reduce pesticide residue. (Did you know that fermenting non-organic produce is another efficient way to tackle pesticides? There are more and more studies confirming this.)

• Only use radishes with bright green leaves. Don’t bother including them in the salad if they’re wilted or yellow. Use celery leaves or continental parsley instead.

• Radish leaves are generally fairly sandy, so make sure to soak them and rinse well prior to using.

• Add any leftover greens to your smoothies, soups or broth.

Source: http://stirringchange.com/radish-citrus-salad/

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You’re eating well and reaping the benefits, but are you getting as much possible goodness out of your dinner as you can? Take the nutrition of your evening meal to the next level with our simple and easy tips!

1. Make your own salad dressing

That way you’ll know exactly what’s in there! No chemicals, preservatives, artificial flavors or stabilizers needed! Adding a dressing made with an oil to your salad or vegetables also helps you absorb more of the fat-soluble nutrients. Check out these healthy homemade salad dressing ideas to get you started. [And this week’s Winter Salad Dressing Recipe by Georgia]

2. Serve your lunch at the same time

If you tend to go back for seconds or eat a little more than you should, set aside the leftovers into portioned containers before you even dish up your dinner. That way you’ve prepped your lunch for the next day or two, and won’t be tempted to keep eating!

3. Feature vegetables

So often vegetables are thought of as as side dish, but we say make them the focus of your meal! Load up your plate with vegetables and add the extras from there.

4. Mix up the method

Avoid microwaving and boiling, instead, opting for steaming, slow cooking, or pressure cooking. You’ll retain more nutrients and avoid the dangers of cooking with a microwave – find out more here!

5. Cook with heat stable oils

Vegetable oils and extra virgin olive oil struggle to maintain their integrity when faced with high heat. When they become unstable, they produce volatile compounds that are dangerous to our health. Opt for more temperature stable oils including avocado, macadamia, coconut, and almond oil. Keep the extra virgin olive oil for cold dishes such as salad to get the most benefits! For more information, click here!

6. Eat a lighter meal

Many of us eat our biggest meal at night, when we don’t need as much energy. Rather than having the heaviest meal at dinner, try eating like a King at breakfast, like a Prince at lunch, and a Pauper at dinner. This will give your body more time to properly digest your food, and use up the energy those meals provide throughout the day.

7. Make it with broth

From time to time, use broth instead of oils with the technique known as a wet sauté. Use twice as much broth as you would have oil and enjoy all of the nourishing benefits! Need a recipe? Try our vegetarian Potassium Balance Broth.

8. Cut the carbs in half

If you’re fond of having a pasta or rice dish, use less grain and add in more vegetables! Rice? Make half rice, half cauliflower rice. Pasta? Have half spelt or whole grain pasta, half zucchini noodles. The meal will be easier to digest, reducing the burden on your gut before bedtime!

9. Spice things up

Ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, turmeric, and chili pepper are all easy additions to your dish, bringing a delicious flavor, and a fat-burning boost to your metabolism! Sprinkle over roast vegetables and salads, add to curries, coat fish before baking, or roll peeled, boiled eggs in them. We love this Eggplant and Green Bean Curry!

10. Scrub your vegetables

Don’t peel them. Scrubbing removes any loose dirt and debris, whilst still retaining all the nutrients found in and close to the skin of the vegetable. Plus it adds extra tummy-filling fiber to your meal!

Source: http://foodmatters.tv/content/10-ways-to-make-your-dinner-healthier

About the Author

James Colquhoun, filmmaker of Food Matters and Hungry For Change and founder of FMTV. Along with Laurentine ten Bosch, James founded Food Matters, giving people the tools (films, books, website, TV) to take charge of their own health. Food Matters is an internationally acclaimed widely popular documentary about the medical and healthcare industries. His latest documentary, Hungry For Change, reveals how the diet and processed food industries are the enemies of permanent weight loss, vibrant health, and natural living.

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