Christmas is around the corner

Dear audience,

and once again - surprise, surprise! - ever so unexpectedly we find ourselves with Christmas just around the corner.
Most of you will have made plans by now what to prepare for your loved ones, while some of us will enjoy the luxury of "eating out". 
And as every year people came up to me saying they already fill full just thinking of all the things they will "have to" eat during the next days. There are so many healthy, light and extremely tasty alternatives to fatty birds from the oven (if you just start preparing them in baking foil you already avoid a lot of fat) and sauce drenched vegetables. 

Below I give you just two examples of how to prepare vegetables and meat low fat and still indulge in wonderful taste.

Roasted Carrots with Cardamom Butter

(low carb, low cholesterol, high fiber and potassium, low kcal)

 
servings, about 2/3 cup each

Preparation and cooking about 1 hour

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices 

Preparation

1. Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 450°F.
2. Combine butter, oil, cardamom and salt in a medium bowl. Add carrots and toss well to coat. Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast the carrots, stirring twice, until tender and golden, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Roasted Pheasant with Wheat Berry Salad

(low cholesterol, heart healthy, low saturated fat)

 

4 servings, 3 ounces pheasant & 1 1/4 cups salad each

Preparation and cooking time ca. 2,5 hrs

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups wheat berries or pearl barley
• 2 medium Gala apples, peeled and cut into eighths
• 2 cups halved peeled shallots, (10-12 small shallots)
• 1 tablespoon walnut oil or canola oil
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
• 1 3-pound pheasant
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider
• One 4-inch cinnamon stick

Preparation

1. Place wheat berries in a large saucepan and add water to cover them by 2 inches. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; reduce heat, cover and simmer gently until tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°F.
3. Toss apples, shallots, oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Remove giblets (if included) from pheasant. Loosen the skin over the breast and thigh meat and rub the remaining salt and pepper under the skin; place the pheasant, breast-side down, on top of the apple mixture. Roast for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, bring cider and cinnamon stick to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat; discard the cinnamon stick.
5. After 30 minutes, turn the bird over and baste with a couple tablespoons of the reduced cider, stirring it into the apple mixture. Continue roasting, basting with reduced cider every 15 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh without touching bone registers 165°F, 40 to 50 minutes more.
6. Transfer the pheasant to a cutting board; let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Transfer the apple mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the reserved wheat berries and any accumulated pheasant juices. Serve the pheasant with the wheat berry salad.

I wish all of you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a wonderful festive season!!!

Warming Breakfast - Part 2

I just noticed that something went wrong with my post this morning! My internet connection sometimes plays little jokes on me, so here comes the recipe:

You need

1 tsp butter (in Ayurveda they use Ghee, which is clarified butter)
1 cup water
2 tsp Maple Syrup (or honey or any dark, warm sweetener you like)
1/16 tsp Cardamom
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/8 tsp cloves

Heat water, add all the ingredients and boil until oats are soft (usually takes around 4 minutes). I prefer the wholegrain, "harder" oats, they provide more nutrients than the "paper" ones. 

A quick Ayurvedic excursion for the interested readers: Cloves bring heat to the surface, open the pores, and warm the liver. Cloves ground Vata. They have enough power to keep Kapha warm in the winter. A good winter breakfast for all three doshas. Cardamom counteracts the sliminess of oatmeal.

INDULGE! 

Warming Breakfast

Dear readers,

I am often being asked 'What kind of breakfast do you recomend? Should I have bread for breakfast?' Of course a good wholegrain bread is a great source of fibre and healthy minerals, which are contained in the grain.
Personally, I adore bread, especially I must say the fantastic variations of wholegrain bread that you get in Germany and Austria.
All the same I try not to overeat on bread, so I tend to save my daily quantity for lunch or dinner (the latter is not recomended for people, who are trying to lose weight!). So, what is the option for breakfast then?

One of my favourites - which is also a favourite of the Ayurvedic kitchen - is oatmeal (porridge). It is easily prepared, is warming, keeps you satisfied for a long time and you can add anything you like! You can have it salty or sweet and as it is nearly fat free (you can use low fat milk or boil it with water like in this recipe) you can have quite a portion without feeling guilty.

For this warming version of porridge you need:

The meditation of running is magnificent and unique. All comes down to yourself, it is just your body and your mind. Your body pumping endorphines starts telling you 'I am happy now that you are using me" so concentrate and your mind starts feeling happy as well. Your body moves, your thoughts float...an experience close to trance!

Ayurvedic nutrition

Dear audience,

being back to Sri Lanka and to one of the best-known Ayurveda hotels on this island also brings me back to get involved with Ayurvedic nutrition once again. The concept has interested me since many years, it is very natural as it divides people into 3 constitutions (Vata, Pita, Kapha) and thus also our food, so you basically eat what balances your natural body type, that is the one you were born with. During our lives this body type (so called Dosha) often gets imbalanced; this mainly also by not eating the right food.

Ayurveda is a 5000 year old sience that has its origins in India and states that food is the main reason for illnesses - if you eat the wrong food - and that the right food can heal your body.
Each person's metabolism works in a different way, that is why there can be no generalization (like "chicken is good for everyone").

Ayurveda still has the largest compilation of medical literature in the world. I personally favour a combination of this ancient wisdom based on endless years of studying and modern clinical observations.

What is a fact is that if you listen to your body and only eat food that you feel does your body well, you will be much more energetic and healthy, less prone to illnesses, food allergies, infections, viruses and more balanced and powerful in your daily life. Ayurveda also promises a long life; it is not magic, but the basic science of taking responsibility and empower yourself definitely works.

There is a lot more to Ayurveda, this was just a mini introduction to answer the basic question I am being asked continously "What is this Ayurveda all about?".

Furthermore, Ayurvedic dishes are very tasty as they combine a lot of herbs and spices, whereas each of them has a benefit itself, and this cuisine for sure only uses natural ingredients.
So, whether you are in favour of the Ayurvedic concept or not, you will surely like the easy to prepare recipes I will present you with!

Today I would like to start with a very simple, but delicious

Potato Leek Soup with Fennel Seeds & Red Pepper Flakes

For the Ayurveda interested: this is a Tridoshic meal, so it is good for Vata, Pita and Kapha.

You need:

4 potatoes
1 tbsp Fennel seeds
 
6 c Water 

1/2 tsp Mineral Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
2 tbsp Sunflower or other high quality vegetable oil
1 cup leeks
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (Chili)

Preparation

Heat 4 cups water. I added some organic vegetable stock for taste. Meanwhile, skin the potato and chop. Add to the water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, slice the leeks. Strain the potatoes after boiling for ten minutes, saving the water. Add 2c cool water to the potatoes (to cool them for the blender) and blend. Pour back into the hot liquid and return to a boil. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer on low heat for twenty minute.

Enjoy!

I am back!

Dear readers!

I am back! Yes! And this time for good, promise! Please forgive my inexcusable absence, but with getting a puppy and moving once again to a foreign country I have been really busy in the last months. 

Now I am settled back in to good old Sri Lanka (which actually is very new now what with end of the civil war, highway recently opened and a lot less rubbish flying around) and it is time to get back into nutrition and to presenting you my latest creations and/or tips.

I would like to start with something very simple, a platter of crudites with two excellent salsas (Cream of Avocado and Tomato Salsa), with also your healthy dosage of protein provided. This makes a light, easily prepared dinner and if you avoid having toasted bread with it (like we had...) you will just feel great and balanced after having enjoyed this platter.

You basically need for 4 persons any vegetables you love to eat raw like:

-1 cucumber, 1 carrot, 1 turnip, 100g champignons, 250g cherry tomatoes, 100g soy sprouts, 4 stalks celery, 1 bunch radishes and 2 hard boiled eggs

Further you need for the
Creme of Avocado
1 garlic
1/2 lemon
1 big mature avocado
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 tbsp yogurt
1/2 bunch dill/fennel herb


Tomato salsa
1 onion
1 garli
1 red chili
4 mature tomatoes
2 tbsp ground hazelnuts
1 tbsp vegetable oil of good quality
1/2 tsp sea salt
a small amount of pepper
1 tbsp red wine vinegar (I used Aceto Balsamico)
1 tbsp honey
a small amount of chili powder


Prepare the salsas, they both should be mixed in a blender. Arrange the raw vegetables nicely on a big platter, add the quartered eggs and serve everything together. 

Enjoy! And I will be back very soon!