Dahl-ling, if you’re looking for dinner in a tikk-a, hurry up and get some curry!

One of my favourite things to do is travel. I love wandering through towns, exploring the sites and getting to know the ins and outs of different ways of life.

While we currently can’t walk through the colourful streets of Delhi or be amongst the hustle and bustle of the markets in London’s Covent Garden, there’s no reason for us not to explore and experience other cultures. My favourite way to do that is, you guessed it, through my palette. At the moment, I’m loving exploring cultural delicacies in the kitchen at home.

If you’ve taken a stroll through the blog, one thing will be apparent – my love of Indian food. There’s something about it that feels extra special to me.

Some think of Indian food as oily samosas and a stealthy butter chicken; while my mind conjures up an image of the richest, tastiest and most nutritionally dense cuisines.

Spices are the foundation of Indian cuisine and give each dish a full-body sensorial experience unlike no other. Plus, these spices add some serious health benefits.

If spices are the foundation, vegetables and legumes are the bricks of Indian cuisine. Filled with fibre; their vegetable and legume-filled dishes are a warming hug for your insides and a good healthy dose of prebiotic fibre for gut health. Indian food is perfectly hearty, reasonably easy to make and dang right delicious.

Below are ten of the best Indian recipes you’ll find on the blog, now all in one convenient place. You’re welcome.

Chicken Biryani with Turmeric Cauliflower Rice

Of course, I have to start with the beloved dish, chicken biryani. Biryani is a traditional Indian meal that playfully combines Indian spices with proteins, vegetables and rice. While biryani should be consumed with approximately seven bowls of rice, I’ve opted for cauliflower rice for a lighter and fibre-fuelled alternative. Taste buds, here we come!

Green Bean Subji

Maybe it’s the health blogger in me, but there’s nothing I love more than sitting down to a dish that makes me feel like I’m making the right decisions for my health. This dish is exactly that. It’s an exotic, yet simple vegetable dish that will leave you nourished and satisfied. This spectacular subji is based on the humble green bean, but is impressively dressed up with a list of medicinal and flavourful Ayurvedic ingredients like cumin, ginger, mustard seeds, shredded coconut for texture and the freshness of coriander leaves. In minutes your regular bean is transformed into an exotic, aromatic vegetarian dish that’ll really blow your hair back and widen your eyes.

Delicious Lamb Mulligatawny

This dish is a perfect example of cultures uniting to create something beautiful. Mulligatawny is a British soup with Indian origins, just like me! Lamb is one of my favourite meats to cook and goes well with a myriad of spices and tastes. I hope this vibrant and delicious recipe inspires you to take a journey in your kitchen with international aromas and delicacies. 

Vegetable Thoran

One of the simplest and most magical dishes I’ve ever eaten is a vegetable thoran, a dry vegetable curry. Sounds weird, I know, but have I ever led you astray before? All you need to do is temper finely chopped or grated vegetables with mustard seeds and cook them with curry leaves, shallots or onions, freshly grated coconut and spices. You can add any veggies you like. Pre-warning: this dish requires some time and patience, so not for the speed-cutting hearted.

Jolly Good Butter Chicken

It wouldn’t be a jolly good list if I didn’t sneak a butter chicken in the mix. This. Is. The. Best. Butter. Chicken. You’ll. Ever. Eat. My butter chicken is a healthier version of one of my (and many others) favourite dishes and has an oh-so-creamy buttery taste. Dig in.

Broccoli Bhajis

While I’ve started with dishes many of us know and love (and I’m sure some of your food delivery drivers know you love them too!), I’ve always loved going rogue. Bhaji is similar to your average fritter but is a bite-sized and well-loved spicy Indian street food. It can be served atop a meal but has come to be appreciated as a delicious snack or starter.

Supercharged Dahl

It’s about to get dahl-icious up in here (how many times can someone make that joke until it gets old. I’m asking for a friend). Dahl is perfect for the meat-free among us, combining anti-inflammatory turmeric, high-fibre lentils, antioxidant-rich garlic and digestive-relieving cumin. It’s a real powerhouse dish that gets better with age. Make this dahl for dinner and you’ll find your family fighting over the leftovers the next day.

Eggplant and Green Bean Curry

I love a one-pot meal. Don't you just love not having to dust off every pot you've ever owned and cleaning up a gazillion dishes when you cook?. This Eggplant and Green Bean Curry is a different and lighter approach to your typical vegetarian curry.  The homemade curry paste lifts the curry into a richly-layered, warming dish that has serious flavour.

Tuna Tikka Curry

If you haven’t realised by now, I kind of like curry. This exotic seafood curry contains seafood, bursting with omega-3 fatty acids which are essential for brain health and function. This meal is also a tri-doshic Ayurvedic powerhouse, helping to balance Vata, Pitta and Kapha, so it’s great for the whole family.

Maharajah Indian Stuffed Peppers

If you’re thinking stuff this, it’s all too difficult, stuff these capsicums/peppers instead! I’ve supercharged these stuffed capsicums/peppers and upped the heartiness with lamb mince, so they’re flavourful and filling. 

If you want one more, taking the grand total to eleven, I have a new special dish just for you from my Ayurvedic cookbook Eat Right for Your Shape. This Indian Chicken with Pomegranate is the star of this show. I’ll admit, there’s a lot of ingredients that go into this chicken marinade, but some things are worth fighting for… mostly chicken; chicken is worth the fight. The chicken is juicy, the pomegranate sweet and your tummy super satisfied.

Enjoy these dishes, and remember, I’m sending you lots of love, health and curry!

Indian Chicken with Pomegranate

SERVES 4

• 1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz) chicken

Optional:

• Baby spinach
• Pine nut
• Pomegranate

INDIAN INFUSED MARINADE

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 2 teaspoons Himalayan salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons brown rice flour
• 1⁄2 onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
• 1–2 tablespoons warm filtered water
• 1 tsp Love Your Gut powder (optional)

Method:

To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients with sufficient warm water to make a paste of spreading consistency.

Rub the marinade over the chicken, ensuring it is completely covered. Place in a roasting tin, cover with foil and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour but preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F).

Remove the foil and roast the chicken for 60–75 minutes or until the juices run clear when the flesh is pierced with a skewer. If the chicken starts to brown too much during cooking, cover with fresh foil. Rest for 10–15 minutes before serving.

Serve warm with baby spinach, pine nut and pomegranate salad. The chicken will be very moist and tender and won’t be spicy-hot.

I'd love you to try one of my Indian recipes and let em know what you think in the comments section below. 

Beauty comes from the inside, and I’m not just talking in clichés here. Our skin acts as a reflection of what’s going on internally. Inadequate nutrient intake, low-quality sleep, and high stress can show up on the skin as acne, early aging, redness or dark under-eye circles. Yikes, that's a lot to look forward to ;).

To ensure you’re doing the best you can to look after your skin, my advice is to aim for prevention rather than cure. My favourite preventative measures for skin health include eating a nutrient-rich diet, exercise, stress management techniques, looking after your gut (hello, love your gut powder and love your gut capsules!) and lots of good quality rest.

When it comes to eating for skin health, I recommend leaning towards an antioxidant-rich diet. Antioxidants protect the skin from free radicals, which can otherwise cause damage and accelerate aging. Stress and overexposure to UV light can destroy antioxidants and increase oxidative damage.

UVA rays are not as strong as UVB rays but penetrate the skin more deeply. Unprotected exposure over time can cause genetic damage to the top layer of the skin, causing damage to cells, premature aging and immune suppression. Both UVA and UVB can deplete and suppress Langerhans and immune cells. UVA and UVB are now considered causes of cancer.

While there are plenty of different antioxidants in the body, carotenoids are one of my favourites to talk about (and eat). Carotenoids are the pigment in fruits and vegetables that give them their gorgeous yellow, red, and orange hues.

Carotenoids are potent antioxidants that help neutralize free radicals and create glowing skin. Carotenoids are a fighting nutrient, or more specifically, a phytonutrient, a ‘plant chemical’. There are over 600 different carotenoids in the body, including beta carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Provitamin A carotenoids may be the ones you’re most familiar with, as they’re converted into vitamin A; essential for growth, immunity, and eye health.

Carotenoids are abundant in some of the most delicious fruit and veg around, including sweet potatoes, carrots, yams, pumpkin, tomatoes, spinach, kale, and oranges. Carotenoids are fat-soluble compounds, meaning they’re best absorbed with fat. It’s time to face the fats; we need good fats!

So next time you're wondering about how to spruce up a plant-based dish, drizzle some olive oil on your veggies, or just eat good fats whole by enjoying an avocado or sprinkling nuts and seeds on your soups and salads.

Adding more carotenoid-rich foods to your diet can be a surefire way to supercharge your skin health. If you’re wondering which carotenoid to pick, at the moment I'm going through a carrots phase. I carrot live without them 😉

Heirloom carrots are probably one of my favourite sights when gathering seasonal produce. I love their spirally little bottom roots like tendrils, luscious green tops, and the remarkable amount of colour they can add to a dish.

When it comes to cooking, they’re such a treat to roast, and this recipe preserves their full form and flavour, elevating them with caramelized rice malt syrup. I've added Golden Gut Blend for it's anti-inflammatory ability, it also includes cinnamon which is anti-fungal, antioxidant and anti-bacterial making it useful against acne and skin blemishes. 

This is the perfect dish for lunch or dinner on its own or as a side. Enjoy these beautiful carrots. 

 Th-th-th-that's all folks! 

Sweet Lemon Thyme Roasted Carrots

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 90 g (3 1/4 oz/ 1/4 cup) rice malt syrup
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsps Golden Gut Blend or Love your gut powder  (optional)
• 6 lemon thyme sprigs
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) heirloom or baby carrots, peeled and trimmed

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
• Combine all the ingredients except the carrots in a small bowl and stir well.
• Spread out the carrots in a large roasting tin, drizzle over the dressing and toss to combine.
• Roast for 25–30 minutes, until the carrots are cooked through.

Today I have a great dish with vegetables and kidney beans- not kidney-ing you!

It’s my mean bean casserole. You’re welcome.

It’s time to free your pantry and crisper from lockdown. Just use any vegetables you have in the fridge or lying around, also adding lemon and tamari for flavour and some stock and mixed herbs will supercharge your taste buds. If you like it hot add chili, cayenne or paprika.

The kidney beans have meatiness and will absorb up all the aromatic spices and herbs. This is your dish your way so make it vegan by adding vegetable stock or add chicken stock if preferred.

I hope you love my rock n roll casserole. Enjoy it with the whole family because it will really jazz up dinner.

By the way, this dish freezes well, so double the recipe and have it the next day or next week.

You can watch a video about how to make it here.

Vegetable and Bean Casserole

Serves 4-5

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 brown onion, chopped
• 1 red capsicum, chopped
• 1/2 pumpkin coarsely chopped
• 2 zucchini’s chopped
• 1 small cauliflower chopped
• 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbs mixed herbs
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¹/₂ tsp ground coriander
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 3 tbs tamari or soy sauce
• 400g can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• Handful chopped kale
• Season to taste with salt and pepper

Method

Chop onion and garlic and all vegetables

Heat olive oil in a deep casserole pan or saucepan

Add garlic and onion into the pan and stir and cook on a medium heat for a minute

Add red capsicum into pan and soften it down cook for a couple of minutes

Add vegetables into pan and stir them well

Add the mixed herbs, cumin and coriander into the pan and stir again

Slowly pour the stock in and stir again and ensure vegetables are evenly distributed and covered with the stock

Add squeezed lemon and tamari and stir

Add your kidney beans now and stir again gently

Now place your chopped kale on top, turn it down to medium heat and place on the lid

Cook for about 20 mins or until vegetables are tender or to your liking

Give it a shot and let me know what you think in the comments below.

Lee x

The appetite for posting and consuming stunning photos of food cooked at home and in restaurants is at an all-time high thanks to Instagram or insta-gratification as I like to call it. Can you believe that more than 500 million people love to snap, upload, storyboard, swipe up, down and comment on this social photo app across the globe, with three-fifths of these using the app daily to take snapshots of their lives.

Given that you’re here on the Supercharged couch with me, it’s likely you're as keen as mustard about food as we are. That’s why we’ve pulled out all the stops to create an ‘Instagram 101’ article for those of you who want to shout loud and proud about their culinary talents, flavoursome photos and random sprinkling of salt from a great height on ‘the ‘Gram’.

Natural light can really make your dishes shine

It doesn’t matter whether you are taking snaps from your kitchen or a restaurant, the success of most Insta-foodies relies heavily on soft natural light. Many Instagrammers will only take photos of their food in daytime when the natural light is plentiful. If you're visiting a restaurant, ideally you should request a table close to a window or door to enable light to flood across your dishes.

Natural light is especially effective at allowing colorful dishes and ingredients to shine. Take my roasted vegetable stock as an example, which benefits from natural light kissing the darkened pot and bringing all those delicious vegetables to life.

Don’t over-edit your photos

There is a tendency with some Instagrammers to go heavy on the filters of their food photos. In fact, some of the filters can spoil the quality of the images instead of enhancing them. Instagrammer @theboywhobakes recommends avoiding using your smartphone’s flash too as it can also create an artificial appearance to your dishes. Photo editing apps like VSCO are said to be very effective at giving you the control you need without your feed becoming too staged and force fed. If you tend to over-edit your photos, consider using one of the simple resizing apps that allow only cropping pictures and almost nothing else. A photo of your dish taken in natural light and copped carefully might be all you need to make a good picture! Also try an instagram story maker.

Get inspiration from photographers of other still objects

Photographing still objects or people doesn’t have to be difficult. There are photographers who manage to capture the essence of various hobbies and industries that don’t require people jumping around or moving fast like professional athletes. Take poker for instance, which by its very nature is a sedentary pastime. Poker photographers make the pilgrimage to Las Vegas each year for the World Series of Poker, with ‘Sin City’ considered the mecca of this pastime among the poker fraternity. They manage to capture the essence and drama of poker tournaments often through anticipation and timing. By understanding how each player displays emotion after winning and losing hands, it’s possible to use their tendencies to anticipate the perfect shot of elation, resignation or downright despair.

Don’t stress about making your photos too perfect

Food looks at its most delicious when it is served and presented authentically. Whether it’s oozing with sauce or dripping with juice, make sure your photos demonstrate all aspects of your dish. This can certainly make your meals appear more wholesome and genuine, particularly if it’s home-cooked fare. If there’s a lot going on the plate, be sure to give it room to breathe. Try not to overcrowd it with other accessories like crockery and table decorations – let the plate do the talking. A picture is worth a thousand words after all!

Snap what you like, not what you think will get likes

A trap that many food Instagrammers fall into too easily is trying to take shots of food that they think their target demographic will like, not what they like. What really builds Instagram followings is authenticity. Although magazines like Elle recommend that you focus on meals that work aesthetically for Instagram, many users will be able to see through this insincerity. People will follow your feed if they see passion and love for what you cook and devour. Eat and create the food that you find delicious, not what you believe others find tasty. Be original with your feed. The last thing you want is to be a carbon copy of someone else.

Acquaint yourself with your phone’s photography features

Before you start spamming your Instagram feed with dishes, make sure you understand the full power of your smartphone’s photo functionality. Get to grips with using exposure and focus with your lenses and start to have fun with the kind of backdrops that can help your food sing on-screen. It doesn’t matter whether it’s tablecloths, tiled floors or textured wallpaper, it’s all about investing time and energy in creating the perfect environment for your food.

Enjoy creating and sharing your images!

Lee xo

One of the first steps to good gut health is to learn as much as you can about your unique relationship with this integral body part and its systems.

Today I’m sharing a fantastic educational e-course offer that I’m super proud to be a part of.

The Gut Health Super Stack is an in-depth e-course that brings together some incredible resources that will help you to not only get great results but also assess your own gut health needs, and give you access to stress management tools in a supportive private online community.

Our gut is the center of all health and well being, both physical and mental. For centuries medical experts in Japan recognized gut health as the core to health and vitality.  Called both onaka, ‘honored middle’ and hara, the ‘center of spiritual and physical strength’, the large intestine has long been venerated in the far east as the location of the soul.

And now, both Western medicine and the food industry are catching up. Studies on the gut microbiome are proving over and over just how much a healthy, balanced gut biome can change one’s life for the better. Which is why more and more people are turning toward the holistic benefits of nourishing their gut microbiome.

A healthy microbiome contributes to...

• Improved digestion. A healthy gut is filled with a diverse and balanced group of bacteria needed to fully absorb and transmit nutrients to the body to maximum effect.
• A strengthened immune system. A healthy gut is the frontline defense against ingested pathogens. It competes for nutrients and starves harmful pathogens, which protects your body from bacterial overgrowths which can lead to illness and inflammation.
• Improved mood and cognition. The gut microbiome is connected to the brain via the gut-brain axis, a 24/7 biochemical communication. Gut bacteria make 90% of our serotonin which regulates emotions. A healthy, diverse microbiome enables the effective release of neurotransmitters from gut microorganisms. Research suggests a healthy gut can contribute to improved mental health and help with depression and anxiety.
• Bone health. Studies show most Americans do not get enough calcium in their diet. A healthy gut microbiome can help increase absorption of calcium.

As if that's not enough, research shows that an unbalanced or non-diverse gut microbiome has a proven connection with obesity. Other studies have linked a balanced and diverse gut microbiome with sustained and healthy weight.

If you’re keen to access new material and get your gut health on the right track, the Gut Health Super Stack includes a hand-curated collection of premium tools and resources.  It’s a diverse collection of everything you need to start and maintain your gut health journey, including a vast array of assessment tools, troubleshooting blueprints, recipes, meal plans, nutrition guides and stress relief methods and it includes my very own Heal Your Gut book.

Whether you’ve tried gut health before, or you’re just starting out, this collection of resources will open the way to the benefits of a clearer mind and elevated mood, better resistance to illness, a stable and healthy weight, and an abundance of energy.

With the Gut Health Super Stack, you’ll be able to:

• Assess your gut health needs with personalized self-assessment tools
• Eradicate the harmful pathogens that cause chronic health issues
• Know which foods will heal you and which ones cause inflammation
• Use a powerful acupressure routine to boost digestion and strengthen immunity
• Maximize nutrient absorption and stabilize your weight
• Discover proven solutions, make educated changes, and take back control of your health
• Seal your gut so it no longer leaks harmful microorganisms into your blood
• Access over 90 anti-inflammatory recipes to heal and nourish your gut

Interested? Here’s a sneak peak at what’s inside...

• Get lifetime access to 14 premium gut health e-courses, where world-class experts show you how to revitalize your body and mind with nutrient-rich meal plans and recipes, beat chronic inflammation, shift stubborn weight, and get on the fast track to health
• Download and keep forever 3 gut health bestsellers where you’ll discover the secret to sealing a leaky gut (for good), how to reduce the pain and discomfort of IBS and IBD, and how to reverse chronic disease
• Get the answers and support you need from exclusive gut health leaders and communities prepared to help you every step of the way
• Kickstart your life with a transformative gut health training program proven to boost your health in just 28 days
• Get instant access to a comprehensive series of gut health master classes, revealing journals, and investigative workshops to launch you on your journey to optimal health at a pace you decide.

Please click here to see everything that is included in the super stack.

The value of the pack is $2700 but it's going to be offered at $49 for the next 7-days to the 21st April 2020, so it's really good value.

Let me know what you think of it.

Happy gut health!

Lee x

The kitchen in most houses is the social centre of the home, and now more than ever, with more people self-isolating, it’s really coming into it’s own. It’s the one communal area of the house that is getting a lot more contact and foot and hand traffic.

Please indulge me for getting on my soapbox here for a moment.

I’m the kind of person you’ll always find in the kitchen at parties! As a self-confessed fastidious clean freak, along with many others, when you think about it, this really is our time to shine… and wipe, and rinse and spray and get-into-the-nooks and..... well you get my drift here.

If you think about your kitchen as a germ crime scene, then let’s make the most of our time at home, make it fun by snapping on the gloves, arming ourselves with anti-bac spray and getting all CSI on it!

Covid-19 is, in many ways a contact virus. It cannot only spread via person-to-person transmission, but also via the surfaces and objects we touch. One of the ways to stay on top of things is to anoint a Coronavirus Czar. Someone that no one likes to mess with at home, who’s across all the latest information and can be really motivating when it comes to setting and following Covid-19 kitchen rules. The kind of family member who enjoys organisation, cleaning and anti-bacterialising and cannot sit through an entire episode of hoarders without getting twitchy.

At this moment, there is no current evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted through food. Having said that, extra care should be taken with hygiene to reduce the risk of food born illnesses.

Importantly, you want to try and stay in good health at times like these and keep your immune system strong. You can read more about immunity here.

The World Health Organisation suggests that if you’re eating meat then cooking it well is best. All raw meat can contain microorganisms and bacteria that can cause food poisoning. This can help prevent cross-contamination.

Keeping your fruit and vegetable intake up can be challenging during lockdown. If you’re cutting or grating fresh produce such as tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries, a study shows that viruses such as Norovirus and Hepatitis A can be transferred from contaminated produce and onto knives. If you’re planning on using the knife again to cut another ingredient, it would transfer the virus from the knife to another food source. This highlights the importance of cleaning knives between uses to prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen.

Here are my twelve tips to good hygiene practices when preparing and handling food:

• Wash your hands before handling any food, and even when you are touching and preparing raw and then cooked foods
• Wear durable nitrile gloves when cleaning your kitchen, handling chemicals cleansers, and disposing of waste products. 
• Clean your knives between use
• Ensure you’re cooking meat thoroughly
• Use separate chopping boards for uncooked meats and vegetables
• Cover your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing. Then re-wash your hands
• Avoid contact with other family members in the kitchen if they’re showing any symptoms
• Think forensically! Regularly clean and sanitise workbenches and equipment, clean frequently touched surfaces such as door handles and light switches. Don’t forget all the knobs and knockers and handles, the ones on the stove or where you pull out your drawers
• Use clean utensils for eating and drinking, maybe try and have your own set and use those
• Use a hand sanitizer
• Pop a note on the fridge explaining that everyone needs to wash his or her hands before and after dinner!
• If you recycle, empty the food waste bin more frequently to avoid build up which could attract pests
• And finally, walk the perimeter with your disinfectant spray gun and squirt with abandon

Coronavirus is destroyed by hot water, so if you're using a dishwasher, set it to above 60 degrees and use sanitisers in the kitchen and that should do the trick.

If you do happen to have an upset stomach or food poisoning, our Love Your Gut powder  and Capsules are anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-parasitic and will help to gently cleanse the gut and remove bad bacteria, heavy metals, waste and toxic substances.

Happy Cleaning! And by the way if you need them and are keen to make your own cleaning products, you can find some cleaning recipes over here.