Sarah Wilson's Simplicious is a must for every aspiring cook, and even the most learned home cooks. It has all of the tips and tricks you need to help re-master the basic art of food preparation.

Far beyond a simple recipe book though, this resource is a text book of how-to's; including practical guides on waste avoidance expressed through tips on how to buy in bulk, freeze, preserve and use scraps to make mouthwatering new meals.

This is a beautiful cooking guide filled with aesthetically gorgeous images reflecting simple, straightforward but innovative meal ideas that are completely free or low in sugar.

One of the key elements about this book is the emphasis on mindful eating and enjoying real, wholesome food for pleasure, rather than perceiving it with stress or fear and it embodies Sarah’s principles of “JERF” (Just Eat Real Food).

I made the Green Scraps Shakshouka with some leftover greens, pesto and eggs and it was delicious. It’s an environmental take on a classic Israeli bubble ‘n’ squeak.  Should have taken a pic but mine looked a bit "fugly".

Sarah has dedicated a whole chapter to leftover mishmashes, featuring an abundance of clever leftover dishes to make the most of your spare ingredients and bits and bobs. Look forward to globe-trotting your way through Bibimbap Pancakes, Green Gumbo, Fridge-door Tonnato, Fish Pie and a wholesome Vegan Quiche.

My favourite bit? Three ways with oily fish...Only another sardine lover would understand my excitement about this!

An overall brilliant cookbook that is generously informative and will inspire people to realise that cooking is a vital practice that saves money, time, your health and the environment.

More information can be found about Sarah here on her blog or you can find her recipe book here.

A lamb roast isn’t quite complete without a dollop of mint sauce. A salad without a drizzle of dressing? I really don’t think so!

Want to turn up the sauciness and flavour of your dishes, and relish in nutrient-powered dollops that take a meal from drab to fab?

If you’ve ever opened your refrigerator and wondered why your jumbo jar of mayonnaise

is still hiding out as fresh as a daisy after six months then there’s a very good reason for that.

Store bought mayo is synonymous for containing emulsifiers, stabilizers and thickeners and life extending additives, difficult to digest for anyone with a sensitive tummy and an added source of sodium and sugar. Yes Mr Kraft I’m looking at you.

Topping your meals with a little dressing not only enhances flavor but can be good for you too. Olive oil, rich in Omega 3’s will help your body better absorb nutrients from your food and garlic with its health boosting properties makes just about everything taste that little bit better.

Wave goodbye to sauces from a science lab and cultivate your meals with wholesome condiments.

Here are eight of my favourite natural food enhancers.

Hollandaise

Makes about 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup)

Ingredients

• 4 organic egg yolks

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon filtered water

• 210 ml (71/2 fl oz) melted organic butter

Method

• Place the egg yolks, lemon juice and water in a blender or mini food processor and blend on low speed for 20–30 seconds.
• With the motor running slowly, pour in the melted butter in a thin, steady stream and keep blending until the mixture becomes thick and creamy. If it becomes too thick, add a few drops of warm water.
• The hollandaise will keep in a sterile, tightly sealed jar in the fridge for up to 7 days.

Tahini and turmeric dressing

For a moreish flavour hit to spark up raw veggies and fish, embrace this blissful dressing. Not only does it boast yummification super-powers, it’s also packed with the anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties of turmeric.

Makes 125 ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup)

Ingredients

• 65 g (21/4 oz/1/4 cup) tahini

• 2 tablespoons wheat-free tamari
• 1 tablespoon turmeric

Method

• Place all the ingredients in a food processor with 60 ml
(2 fl oz/1/4 cup) of filtered water and blend until smooth.
• Transfer to a glass jar and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavours meld.
• This will keep for 4–5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.

Mint chutney

This can be used as a side dressing, but it’s also delicious as a dip. By the way, it will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients

• 2 cups mint leaves
• 1 cup coriander (cilantro) leaves
• 1 shallot, minced
• juice and zest of 1 lime
• 60 ml (2 fl oz/1/4 cup) coconut cream
• 1 tablespoon cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
• pinch of Celtic sea salt
• 1 tablespoon rice malt syrup, or
1/4 teaspoon stevia powder, or 6 drops stevia liquid
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Method

• Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined.

Ranch dressing

Makes 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients

• 50 g (13/4 oz/1/3 cup) raw, unsalted cashews
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon rice malt syrup
• 125 ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup) almond milk
• 1 tablespoon tahini

• 1/4 cup parsley leaves

• 2 teaspoons chopped chives
• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 1/4 teaspoon sugar-free mustard

• big pinch of Celtic sea salt

• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

• Soak the cashews for 2 hours in filtered water. Rinse, drain and pat dry.
• Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to the desired consistency.
• This dressing will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Vinaigrette

Makes 205 ml (71/4 fl oz)

Ingredients

• 125 ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup) apple cider vinegar
• 80 ml (21/2 fl oz/1/3 cup) cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon wheat-free tamari
• 1 teaspoon rice malt syrup, or sweetener of your choice

Method

• Place all the ingredients in a jam jar and shake until well combined.
• This will keep for 4–5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.

Homemade tomato sauce

Hello Tomatoes. There are so many reasons to splurge on this wonderful, voluptuous food. Whether it’s a fruit or a vegetable is irrelevant — just pass me the sea salt and cracked pepper.

Surprisingly uncomplicated, this sauce can be used as a foundation for bolognaise, stroked upon a gluten-free pizza base or plopped over scrambled eggs. Extended simmering will thicken up the sauce and give it a more intense and robust appeal, melding the flavours together.

Supercharged tip

Here’s how to skin tomatoes... Flick the kettle on and place tomatoes in a medium-sized bowl. Using a sharp knife, carefully make a slit down one side of each tomato. Once the kettle has boiled, pour the boiling water over them, ensuring they are all covered, then let them relax in the water for a few minutes. You’ll notice that the skins will start to peel off. Strain the water from the bowl and allow the tomatoes to cool. You’ll now find it super easy to skin them.

Makes 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red capsicum (pepper), very finely
• chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) tomatoes, skinned and chopped (see tip below)

• 3 tablespoons sugar-free tomato paste (concentrated purée)

• 6 drops liquid stevia
or sweetener of choice
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 1 tablespoon chopped mixed basil and parsley

Method

• Heat the olive oil in a deep, heavy-based frying pan. Add the capsicum, garlic and onion and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, about 6–8 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, stevia, salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the sauce is thick.
• Stir in the basil and parsley and taste for salt and pepper, adjusting if necessary. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
• You can now strain the sauce through a sieve if you prefer a smooth tomato passata (puréed tomato) sauce. This will yield about 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup).
• The tomato sauce will keep in the fridge in a sterile, tightly sealed jar for up to a week. It can also be frozen for up to a month in small containers, to thaw as needed.

Caesar dressing

Authentic in flavour and taste, this is one of the quickest, easiest recipes I can think
 of — and knowing that it’s super healthy is an added reason to whip up a batch of this thick, creamy and wickedly good dressing. It’s not just limited to Caesar salads — try plonking it on sandwiches, pizza bases or use it as a marinade for chicken.

Makes about 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup)

Ingredients

• 1 organic egg

• 3 tablespoons light olive oil or macadamia oil

• 3 anchovies, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

Method

• Place all the ingredients in a mini food processor or blender and whiz until smooth.
• The dressing can be stored in the fridge in a sterile, tightly sealed jar for up to 7 days.

Lee’s jam jar dressing

This dressing is the perfect accompaniment to any kind of healthy salad or mixed leaves; I love it so much I use it on almost every meal — even drizzled over side vegetables such as green beans, and as a marinade when baking roasts. Splashed over salads and vegetables, the healthy oils and lemon in the dressing help absorb all the food nutrients into your body.

Makes 375 ml (13 fl oz/11/2 cups)

• 250 ml (8 fl oz/1 cup) extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 1 small garlic clove, crushed

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method

• Place all the ingredients in a jar and season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Screw the lid on tightly and shake! It’s as simple as that.
• The dressing will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.

Add some dressings and condiments to your meals and let me know your favourites!

Lee xo

And here is the final result. Delicious! Make it for yourself and let me know what you think.

Today I’m going to introduce you to gelatin-rich liquid gold.

Heralded as a staple in cultures across the globe, bone broth is a key ingredient in gut health and can be enjoyed as a healing elixir, soup, or a welcome addition to casseroles, and slow cooking.

While generally made from chicken or beef bones, my supercharged version is nourishing and comforting and provides similar nutritional benefits to traditional gelatin-rich recipes, but with the comforting flavour of lamb to add variety to your gut healing repertoire. It’s a recipe taken from my new book Heal Your Gut.

Rather than ditching the trimmings and bones from your next lamb roast, keep them stored in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer and pull them out when you’re ready to make this healing soup. Lamb is a versatile ingredient, and, if prepared correctly, one of the healthiest meats you can eat. In addition to their love of olive oil, the good health of many Mediterranean populations has been partially attributed to their love of lamb.

Lamb is high in tryptophan, an essential amino acid that regulates the control of serotonin, one of the key brain chemicals involved in regulating your mood, and making you feel calm, relaxed and sleepy, three things I’m sure we could all use more of! Because your body can’t produce tryptophan on it’s own, including plenty of tryptophan-rich foods in your diet is helpful for a contented disposition.

Incorporating lamb in your diet will help you build a strong immune system, due to its generous antioxidant content. Lamb is rich in a very highly absorbable form of zinc, important for strength, hormone production, cardiovascular and bone health. When slow cooked as in this recipe, the succulent, slightly smoky flavours of the lamb are drawn out and absorbed by the fork-tender vegetables. The result is comfort food perfection and a helpful meal to heal and seal the gut lining.

Lamb bones in particular house a variety of powerful nutrients that become released when they are slowly simmered in water. Among these nutrients, bone marrow provides the raw materials for building healthy blood cells and a strong immune system. It seems our grandparents were onto something feeding us bone broth to combat the common cold.

Want gorgeous skin, hair and perfect posture? Other valuable nutrients in bone broth include collagen, gelatin, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, glycosamino glycans, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium. Known as “beauty nutrients” these components combine to promote beautiful skin and hair, as well as help the body maintain proper structural alignment.

Bone broth is also one of the best foods to consume for those suffering digestive issues, as it is rich in glycine and proline. These two nutrients are essential for connective tissue function – they literally heal and seal the gut, making this broth essential for those suffering chronic inflammation or auto-immune issues.

When creating your Lamb bone broth, try to use a variety of both large and small bones, as each have unique health benefits. Larger bones (such as the humerus and femur of the arms and legs) contain more bone marrow and can be beneficial for those with anemia, lung and immune disorders. Smaller bones contain more gelatinous materials, and are especially beneficial for promoting digestive health. This is why bone broth fasts are often recommended for treating leaky gut syndrome or Candida.

To get the most health benefits from your broth, look for grass-fed lamb. Conventionally raised animals are often fed a diet of inflammatory genetically modified grains, which contain herbicides, pesticides, and often contaminated with a range of heavy metals that can further weaken an already sensitive stomach.

In this recipe I’ve added another digestive aids – coconut oil – to increase the healthy anti-inflammatory fat content, and to promote nutrient absorption. There’s a reason a number of vitamins A, E, D and K are labeled “fat-soluble”. In order for your body to absorb these nutrients, you need to eat them with a healthy fat. Coconut oil adds a luxurious, creamy texture to any dish, it has also been found to be superior in aiding the absorption of antioxidants and other nutrients from the foods it is partnered with. It is also rich in lauric acid, which converts in your body to monolaurin, a nutrient found in breast milk that strengthens immunity. When choosing a coconut oil, look for an organic oil that is unrefined, unbleached, and made without heat processing or chemicals.

Make a large batch of this versatile broth over the weekend, and then store any leftovers to use throughout the week. It freezes brilliantly and can be placed in ice cube trays for convenience. You can use the liquid from this broth as a stock base in a range of dishes, or enjoy the soup as is. The longer it is left to sit, the more the tastes of the onion, garlic and bay leaf will meld and develop, and the more aromatic and flavoursome this dish will become.

I hope you’ll enjoy my gut healing broth. It’s comfort and nourishing food at its finest!

You can find the Heal Your Gut print book here or the eBook here.

Supercharged Lamb Bone Broth

 # Supercharged tip

You can make bone broth in a slow-cooker. Cook on low for up to 24 hours, topping up with filtered water if they reduce too much.

Think before you throw out the trimmings and bones from your next lamb roast. Lamb broth provides similar nutritional benefits to a gelatine-rich beef broth, but with the comforting flavour of lamb to add variety to your soups.

Ingredients

• 60 ml (2 fl oz/1/4 cup) extra virgin coconut oil
• 1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) lamb marrow bones

• 2 litres (68 fl oz/8 cups) filtered water

• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves

• 1 onion, peeled and quartered
• 
1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• Celtic sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
• Place a flameproof casserole dish on the stovetop over medium heat and melt the coconut oil. Add the bones and stir to coat. Add the lid and transfer the casserole dish to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until bones are browned.
• Transfer to the stovetop, cover with the filtered water and add the remaining ingredients, including seasoning. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to as low as possible and simmer for 4–6 hours. Add a little more filtered water from time to time if necessary.
• Remove from the heat and allow to cool, then strain and refrigerate until the fat congeals on top. Skim off the fat and store the stock in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer, or freeze in ice-cube trays.

If you’re looking at striking a balance with your digestive health, this is a must have tea variation that I discovered last year during my Indian adventure. It’s one of my favourite natural medicinal aids I’ve included in my latest book Heal Your Gut and in the HYG four-week online program.

Jeera Vellam is a traditional Ayurvedic tea and Indian household staple beverage, which is consumed on a daily basis by many people. In South India and Egypt in particular, a large pot of Jeera Vellam is usually prepared in the morning and sipped throughout the day. It often replaces drinking water, as tap water cannot be consumed due to heavy pollution and must be boiled carefully.

Jeera is Hindi for cumin, while vellam in this context means water. According to Ayurveda, India’s 5,000-year-old approach to health, agni is the metabolic energy that helps the body assimilate nutrients, eliminate waste, generate warmth, and transform physical matter into energy. At the start of the day, agni is said to be quite low, and Ayurvedic practitioners recommend an easily digestible meal that is warm yet light, followed by a shot of Jeera Vellam. In India, this beverage is also commonly consumed as a shot after main meals and/or after celebrations such as weddings and dinner parties (where guests have indulged in heavy meals) to aid digestion.

Originating in Egypt, cumin seed is one of the most popular cooking ingredients used throughout the Middle East and Asia. The strong flavour, vibrant colour and tepid aroma of cumin has made it an indispensable spice in many Indian and Middle-Eastern dishes, such as curries, marinades, samosas, rice-based meals and even in teas and beverages.

However, these little seeds have a lot more to offer in addition to their vibrant taste and aroma. Traditionally, cumin seeds have been hailed as an effective aid to digestion, and recent research confirms that this may be due to cumin’s ability to stimulate the secretion of pancreatic enzymes, compounds that are necessary for digestion and nutrient assimilation. Cumin seeds have also been found to speed up metabolic function.

This Jeera Vellam recipe is also good for promoting liver and stomach health, as the antioxidants present in cumin seeds and ginger promote excretion of toxic substances from your body, while also controlling the regular activities of various vital internal organs. The longer you allow the cumin seeds to soak in the water (if you have time, overnight is preferable), the more this drink will facilitate the production of bile in the liver that may aid with symptoms of reflux, bloating, abdominal gas, and diarrhea.

My digestive aid is even useful in treating acute iron deficiency that is caused during anemia, as cumin seeds are a rich source of plant-based iron. As additional iron is essential for maternal and fetal health during pregnancy, Jeera Vellam is commonly prescribed to pregnant and lactating women in remote Indian villages where medical forms of iron supplementation may be unavailable. (more…)

image via pinterest

When you’re trying to heal your gut from a lifetime’s worth of mistreatment, it could be from a result of antibiotics, incorrect diet, disease, stress, or a combination of these factors, it can be really frustrating when all of your hard work and dietary changes fail to improve your varied, unpleasant symptoms.

Headaches, bowel irregularities, fatigue, energy depletion, skin eruptions such as hives and rashes, all these things could be the result of just about anything and it’s hard to know where to begin.

You may have experimented with specific diets such as the low FODMAP, GAPs, Paleo, Veganism or quitting a certain ingredient in an attempt to rid yourself from your inexplicable symptoms.

In the case that you’ve failed to see any improvement, a low histamine diet may finally give you the answers that you’ve been desperately searching for.

What are histamines?

Histamines are neurotransmitters that are produced during any allergic response. Histamine’s role in the body is to cause an immediate inflammatory response and serve as a warning sign to your immune system, notifying it of any potential attackers. It’s this inflammation that gives you the swollen, puffy eyes or skin breakouts when you experience an allergic reaction. This may explain why doctors prescribe anti-histamines when you present with a food or seasonal allergy.

Histamines are essentially important chemicals that communicate messages from your body to your brain and a component of the stomach acid responsible for breaking down the foods you eat. Importantly from a gut-health perspective, histamines can be absorbed from histamine-containing foods. They can also be produced by bacteria in the gut.

What is histamine intolerance?

In healthy people, the production of histamines is balanced out by an enzyme called diamine oxidase (DAO), which breaks down the histamines and ensures they are never given the opportunity to accumulate in the body. But some people have a deficiency of DAO, so histamine levels are able to run wild.

Impaired methylation can also be a cause of histamine intolerance. Histamine N-methyltransferase enzyme (which, like DAO, is also involved in histamine breakdown) requires methylation to function efficiently, and so compromised methylation will cause a decrease in the breakdown of histamine and allow levels to accumulate. When this happens, it can cause headaches, lethargy, irregular bowel movements, itchiness and leave you feeling, rather miserable.

While this is normal and part of the body’s natural immune response, if there’s a prolonged period where you don’t break down histamine properly, you could develop what’s known as histamine intolerance.

Because it travels throughout your bloodstream, histamine can affect all of your bodily systems, including your gut, skin, brain, lungs and cardiovascular system. This explains why it may cause such a wide range of problems.

The most common symptoms of histamine intolerance include: headaches, increased arousal, hypertension, vertigo/dizziness, body temperature and bowel irregularities, anxiety, nausea, cramps, flushing, difficulty breathing, hives, fatigue, tissue swelling, and irregular heart beats.

How do I test for histamine intolerance?

If you, like most, are reading the broad range of symptoms associated with histamine intolerance and thinking to yourself “that’s me!” as you tick each one off in your head, then rest assured that less than one percent of the population is actually histamine intolerant, so there’s a very good chance that you’re all good! However, this doesn’t mean you might not be sensitive to high histamine foods, in which case knowledge is power.

There are a few options available to you when testing for histamine intolerance. You can ask your doctor to have a DAO test to determine whether your DAO levels are normal or low, indicating a potential histamine build up.

However, since other enzymes can also degrade histamine, this test isn’t a foolproof method of diagnosis. Another method is to get a skin-prick test done, however again this may give conflicting results.

Women face even tougher challenges when testing for Histamine intolerance, as levels can fluctuate during different phases of the menstrual cycle and during pregnancy and breast-feeding .

Bearing all these challenges in mind, to date, the best method that doctors apply for diagnosing histamine intolerance is an elimination diet where histamines are entirely removed from the diet for four weeks. This is then followed by a reintroduction challenge. While this may seem simple enough, again there are a few complications associated with the elimination diet.

What is involved in an elimination diet?

The biggest source of histamine in food isn’t actually the food itself, it’s the bacteria on the food that naturally produce histamine as part of their metabolic process. So, while we often hear that fermented foods do wonders for gut health (and they do), for those with histamine intolerance this is anything but true. In fact, even leftovers can occasionally have enough bacteria present to trigger symptoms.

If you’re intending on doing an elimination diet remember to seek professional advice from your health care practitioner.

Foods that are high in Histamine and that should be entirely avoided on the elimination diet include:

(more…)