1 just adore the earthy, distinctive flavour of beets. Eaten raw in salads, roasted whole in the oven, blended into soups or thrown into the juicer, they add a rich, grounding sweetness to any recipe. Their colour is like no other and their health benefits many - this is a vegetable not to be dismissed!

Belonging to the same family as spinach and chard, beetroot stems and leaves are similar to their sister leafy greens in colour and quality. Rich in calcium, iron and Vitamins A and C, they can be prepared in the same way as spinach or chard and they juice beautifully. The sweet round root is rich in folic acid, so perfect for expecting mothers, as well being a great source of fibre, helping to slide waste along the digestive tract - especially good if constipation is an issue! The fibre also works in other magical ways by increasing the levels of antioxidant enzymes in the body, as well as the number of white blood cells, which help us fight infection.

For centuries beets have been used medicinally, especially for liver disorders, as they help to stimulate the liver's natural detoxification process. It is in our very best interest to keep our liver's happy, as this vital organ plays such a major role when it comes to a smoothly functioning body. For women, a healthy liver is key to healthy menstruation, as it helps to remove used hormones from the body. If used hormones such as oestrogen don't get removed on a regular basis, it leads to a build up in the blood, which causes oestrogen dominance - incredibly common in women and a major contributing factor to menstrual disturbances and PMT symptoms such as bloating and irritability.

So, get to the market and buy yourself some juicy beets. From June to October they're at their very best making the summer months a great time for experimenting. Try to buy them with the leaves and stems intact making sure they look lively - not limp. And once you have digested all of the above, get making this beautiful velvety, ruby red soup, which will leave you gazing at it in awe for its incredible colour alone! Serve this soup warm and the true sweetness of the beetroot and apple comes shining through but serve it cold and you get an equally satisfying burst of flavour, which cools and refreshes on a hot summer's day. 

On that note, it's time for me to get packing. Tomorrow morning I leave for sunny Greece to host the first Yoga & Feasts retreat of the season with the lovely Jenny Box. Our yogi's will be no doubt be enjoying a bowl of delicious beetroot soup!

Recipe (Serves 4-6)
4 med beets cooked, peeled and diced
1 onion diced
1 clove garlic crushed
1 apple peeled and diced
1 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp cumin seed
700ml water
1.5 tbsp white miso 
1 tbsp tamari 
1 tbsp coconut or olive oil 
Sea salt

Method: Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion,  garlic and a pinch of salt.  Saute until the onion is soft. Meanwhile, dry fry the spices and gently crush in a pestle and mortar. Add them to the onion and mix well. Add the the beets and apple, coating them in the onion and spice mixture before adding the water. Bring to the boil then turn down to simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the white miso and tamari and blend. 

Who says ice-cream needs to be bad for you? In fact based on this recipe, it might even be good for you! What i've learnt when it comes to food is that you can quite literally create anything you like based on great quality, highly nutritious ingredients. Take anything you love to eat, which you know is full of ingredients that do not serve your body well - ice cream is a good example - and think about how you might transform it into something just as delicious and even more satisfying. Well, in this case you don't have to think too hard because i've done it for you. But it's a good exercise and one we that we should all employ more regularly. This is the beauty of cooking. With a few basic rules of thumb and a love of good food, you can create til your heart is content. 

That's not to say you can't have too much of a good thing - as I definitely did this Easter. A whole day spent making ice-cream and my very own handmade raw chocolate left me feeling more than slightly wired and feeling like I needed to escape from the grips of the kitchen. Dark chocolate in general is stimulating due to its caffeine content but it seems that raw cocao may be even more stimulating because all its natural chemicals are presented to us in raw form. This is the main difference between refined and raw chocolate. Whereas refined chocolate has undergone a heat treatment, which destroys many of the naturally occurring and health beneficial antioxidants and minerals, raw cocao undergoes processing using lower temperatures, which keeps its goodness intact. However, raw or refined, chocolate still has a powerful affect on the body and should be consumed wisely and in small quantities. As I write this last sentence I realise just how much I need to listen well to my own advice as I dole it out to others!

And now back to the ice-cream. It is an oozing mass of raw, vegan deliciousness that should not go untried. There's no need for an ice-cream maker or any fancy equipment (other than a food processor), so I suggest you take some time to get (not much needed) to give this recipe a go!

Raw Chocolate and Berry Ice-cream
1 cup cashews
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract 
Pinch of salt 
1 cup mixed berries (defrost if using frozen)
1/2 cup raw cocao 
1 tbsp raw cocao nibs (optional)
2 tbsp coconut butter 

Method: Soak the cashews in a bowl of water for at least 2 hours. Drain and place in the food processor or blender with all the other ingredients except the raw cocao. Whizz until the mixture is very smooth. Once its as smooth as possible, take out half and place in a plastic container ready to go on the freezer. Add the raw cocao to the other half and whizz again to mix through. Taste, adding a little more raw cocao and/or maple syrup as you desire. Finally add the raw cocao nibs if using and remove the mixture to another plastic container. Place both in the freezer for 1 hour before either mixing through well with a spoon or placing once again in the food processor. This helps create a smoother consistency. Allow to defrost for at least 15-20 mins before serving as its nicer soft, rather than straight from the freezer. 

Spring is definitely in the air. The weather feels warmer, we're blessed with the odd blast of sunshine in between the grey spells and the daffodils are emerging all over the place! I just love this time of year. It feels as though everything is coming out of hibernation and there's a sudden pace of energy, which is faster and lighter than it was in the colder months. 

In ancient eastern philosophy spring is associated with the Wood element, the season to plant seeds for the future and determine our direction for the year ahead. In the body, the Wood element is associated with the liver and gall bladder, the organs of clear vision and strategic planning. When in balance these organs help us to make decisions easily and move forwards towards our goals on a clear a path. But when the energy through these organs is blocked, it can leave us feeling stuck giving rise to irritability, frustration and anger. 

The liver is the second largest organ in the body and has many roles relating to digestion, immunity, metabolism and the storing of nutrients. It acts as a reservoir to store blood and it creates a smooth flow of energy or Ki throughout the whole body. It nourishes the tendons creating flexibility, as well as the eyes ensuring good vision. It also creates strength and evenness in the nails. Emotionally, the liver governs expression, so when our liver energy is moving well, emotions are easily expressed but when the liver is blocked it can be the cause of stiffness and pains in the muscles, as well as premenstrual tension or painful menstruation. 

The trick is to know how to work with the liver and not against it and the way to do this is through the food we eat. The liver loves foods with an opening quality, which makes sense given that spring is all about opening and moving after the hibernation of winter. Such foods include naturally fermented pickles and vinegars, lemon juice and citrus fruits, green vegetables, radishes, sprouts, leeks, chives, lighter grains such barley, wheat and rye and vegetable proteins such as mung beans, haricot beans, cannellini beans, tofu and tempeh.  Lighter cooking styles are also favourable such as steaming, blanching stir-frying or pickling, as well as the selection of lighter desserts such as stewed fruits and jellies. 

What we don't want to do is stock up on foods, which congest the liver including too much meat and eggs, hard cheeses, bread or flour products, as well excess oil, alcohol or sugars. Keep things light and nourishing with plenty of vegetables, lighter proteins and grains and small amounts of good quality fats. This way your liver will say thank you and will keep you feeling energised, creative and in full pursuit of your goals and aspirations! 

To get you in the spring time step and inspire you with a liver enhancing recipe, here is one of my favourite soups to get you started. The combination of peas, coriander and chilli is a great way to move your energy upwards and outwards, while the coconut nut milk provides a rich, smooth quality which is comforting but light and uplifting. Sometimes I eat this soup for breakfast, which might sound a little strange but i'm a big advocate of soup in the morning. Its warming without being heavy, so actually its the perfect way to start the day especially at this time of year. I hope you enjoy this recipes as much I do. 

Pea, Chilli and Coriander Soup (serves 4)
1 tbsp coconut oil 
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 green chilli 
4 cups peas
1 x 400ml can coconut milk 
500ml water 
2 tbsp fresh coriander 
Salt and Pepper 

Method: Heat oil in a saucepan and add the onion, garlic and chilli. Season with salt and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the peas, coconut and water, bring to the boil then turn down to simmer for 5 minutes. Add the coriander and blend. 
 
Variation: For a purer, more sattvic version, omit the coconut oil, garlic and onion. Simply add the peas to a saucepan with coconut milk and water and continue as above. 


 

On friday night, travelling home from yoga class I had the funniest tube journey, which still makes me laugh when I think about it. Sitting there quietly in the midst of rush hour madness, I was flicking through my new cook book, The Green Kitchen, which i'd just been given as a belated birthday present by the lovely Jenny Box (Yoga & Feasts partner in crime). The book is based on the well known blog - Green Kitchen Stories (http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/) - which is full of tales from a beautiful vegetarian kitchen in Sweden. Sitting next to me on the tube was an Italian woman and sitting opposite us were her two Italian friends. They were all chatting away in Italian and I wasn't taking much notice until the woman beside me starting peering over my shoulder, making oohs and ahhs sounds, as I turned each page. She looked at me and smiled and in a broad Italian accent she said ''i'm Italian, we love food. This food looks great''. Next thing I knew she was relaying the contents of each page to her friends opposite and so began a fully fledged foodie discussion - italian style! Some recipes got an approving yes, while others a definite no, which then led onto discussions about dinner that evening, the kind of pasta they were planning to cook, which wine they might drink and so it went on! The volume of the discussion meant that everyone around us was involved, whether they liked it or not. But for the most part, I could see that people found the whole thing highly entertaining - it was absolutely brilliant.  As I neared my tube stop, I said my goodbyes and as I looked around, I could see alot of hungry faces wondering what they too were going to eat for dinner that evening! 

I wanted to share this story because it is such a simple reminder of how easily we connect over food. No matter the nationality, language or location, food is a never ending source of discussion. It was well and truly one of the funniest, most enjoyable tube rides home. So my chickpea and chestnut falafels are inspired by this event, as well as my new book, as they are adaptation of a recipe from the book. The combination of chickpea and chestnut works so well - i've now discovered - and this combined with a good kick of thyme makes for a set of flavours, which are soft and warming. Energetically speaking, chickpeas and chestnuts have an energy which moves downwards and outwards in the body, relaxing the lower organs, offering up a sense of comfort. They are earthy foods, so they feel nourishing and loving, just like getting a big hug! Chestnuts are different from other nuts in that they are low in fat and have a high starch content. They're also far less mucus forming than other nuts, so work well with a more cleansing diet, especially where an element of richness and strength is also required. They're a great source of folic acid, just like our friends the dark leafy greens and they're rich in fibre, as well iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc. 

What's lovely about this recipe is that the falafels are baked, not fried, so they feel lighter and more energising compared with a deep fried version.  I finished them off by rolling them in semi-ground pistachios, which added texture and a vibrant green colour. Once baked I ate them smothered in tahini and goats yoghurt dressing, along with a colourful salad of grated carrot, red cabbage, a little blanched kale and toasted sunflower seeds. Equally, you could put the falafel in a pitta bread or even wrap them in a cabbage leaf. Whatever you decide to do, they are sure to soothe and satisfy the senses! Enjoy!

Recipe (makes 12)
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 cup cooked chestnuts
1/4 cup chopped parsley 
8 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1/2 of 1 red onion diced 
1 tsp cumin 
1/2 tsp baking powder
1.5 tbsp olive oil 

Method: Pre-heat the oven to 200c. Place all the ingredients in a blender and whizz until the mixture comes together and is almost smooth. You want to leave a little texture, as they taste better this way. Remove from the blender and form into 12 balls. Meanwhile, place the pistachios in the blender and whizz but stop before a powder forms. You need some texture here too! Finish by rolling the balls in the pistachio crumb, place on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, turning half way. Serve with tahini and yoghurt dressing. 

Tahini Yoghurt Dressing
1/2 cup organic goats yoghurt
2 tbsp tahini 
1/2 clove garlic
2 tbsp lemon juice
Sea salt to taste 
1/4 cup water

Method: Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, or alternatively whisk by hand in a bowl.  

I have to say that I absolutely love making granola and this combination is one of my favourites. The only problem is when there's a jar of it around it doesn't seem to last too long - it's so incredibly moreish and dangerously delicious!

Rather than just using plain oats in my granola, I like to mix it up a bit and add in other grains -  in this case buckwheat, which is actually not a grain at all and has no relation to wheat despite its name. It is in fact a fruit seed, which belongs to the same family as rhubarb and sorrel but it looks like a grain, acts like a grain when cooked and nutritionally speaking is similar to other grains, in that it contains high levels of B vitamins, iron, magnesium and calcium. It is also high in flavonoids, especially rutin, which provides the body with antioxidant support. Flavonoids are a type of phytonutrient or compound found in plant foods, which help protect the plant against environmental challenges. When we eat plant foods, the phytonutrients get to work on us providing us with the protection we also need from the many environmental challenges we face! 

Energetically speaking, buckwheat is more yang, meaning it has a more contractive nature. In fact it is thought to be the most yang when compared with other grains. With its slightly sweet flavour, it is strong, warming, contractive and activating. It cleans and strengthens the intestines, improves circulation to the hands and the feet and reduces high blood pressure. Because of its warming nature, it is a wonderful winter food as it helps us to store energy deep in the body. If we look at buckwheat in terms of the five elements, it is classified as a water food. The water element relates to winter and water foods tend to have an energy which travels deep into the body. Water foods also counteract the energy of fire foods, which have a more upward dispersing energy. Therefore, for someone with high blood pressure for example, we can begin to understand how a more contractive food like buckwheat would help.

What I love about buckwheat is that it can be used in many different ways. It makes a delicious and deeply satisfying porridge, especially when mixed with oats and raisins. Eaten raw and sprouted, it feels lighter and more energising and works well in salads, especially in the cooler months. For a nice combination of grains, it goes well with quinoa, adding a warming quality to a more cooling grain. And of course my granola, here it works a treat! Although, I shall end this piece with a word of warning. Delicious as granola may be, it's dry and crunchy nature makes it hard for the body to digest. First thing in the morning it doesn't give our bodies the kick start they need where something softer, more warming and more digestible is a better option. I like to add a sprinkling of granola onto my porridge, that way I get the lovely crunch but I know I have a breakfast that's easy to digest. Perhaps we should see granola as more of a treat, to be added as a sprinkle or eaten as a little snack in the afternoon. Whatever you decide be warned - it is irresistible!

Recipe (makes around 8 cups)
2 cups of buckwheat (soaked for at least a couple of hours or overnight)2 cups jumbo rolled oats1/2 tsp salt3 tbsp coconut oil1/3 cup maple syrup (or half maple syrup, half rice syrup)1 tsp cinnamon 1 cup cashews (or almonds & cashews)
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup goji berries
1 cup coconut pieces
1/2 to 3/4 cup raw cocao nibs 

Method: pre-heat the oven to 180c. Drain the buckwheat and rinse until the water runs clear. Place on a baking tray and allow the buckwheat to dry out in the oven for about one hour. Meanwhile, mix together the oats, nuts, seeds, cinnamon, coconut pieces and salt. Remove the buckwheat from the oven and add to the oats. Heat the coconut oil over a low heat, add the sweeteners and then pour this over the whole mixture. Turn the oven up to 160c, spread the granola mix on the baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, turning it after 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the goji berries and raw cocao nibs and allow to cool before placing in a jar.

I just can't get enough shitake mushrooms and black beans at the moment, it's like my whole body is craving that earthy mushroomness and the deep satisfying richness of creamy black beans. I blame the weather, which here in London is positively horrendous. From one minute to the next you just don't know whether there'll be rain, hail, sleet, snow or sun. Its ludicrous! The only answer is to delve into the glorious goodness of food, which never ceases to bring me everlasting minute to minute happiness. 

This weekend I woke up starving and took myself off to the farmers market where, among other delights, I bought a beautiful array of winter greens - kale, mustard leaves, tatsoi, spinach and rocket. If there's one thing I really love its that combination of greens, which creates such a wildly delicious kick of flavour. Dark greens, as we well know, also pack a punch when it comes to goodness - they're full of incredible nutrients including Vitamins A, C and K, as well as calcium, iron and lots of antioxidants. 

Already sitting in the fridge I had some fresh shitake mushrooms and a bowl of black beans, which I had gone to the trouble of soaking and cooking - knowing that a week's supply would be needed! Now coming to the end of that week's supply, it was time to use them up in the brunch of all brunches. This is the perfect time of year for eating black beans, as they deeply nourish the kidney energy, which needs extra looking after throughout the winter months. The kidneys are our store houses, the home of our Ki or life force energy, so we do well to nourish this organ carefully. If our kidney energy is low we become easily exhausted, the immune system can't cope and we get sick. So, the answer is eat more black beans! As for shitake mushrooms, well I just can't praise them highly enough, not only for their flavour but also for their goodness. They're packed full of vitamins and minerals, many of which are not present in vegetables. They're a great source of B Vitamins needed for a healthy immune system and brain function, they're rich in fibre, zinc, phosphorous and magnesium, they contain Vitamin C and calcium and they have an almost full spectrum of amino acids. No wonder shitakes have been used as a medicinal food across the East for over 6,000 years. Originating in China, dried shitakes were renowned for their energising powers and were used to cure anything from measles to stomach aches, headaches to bronchitis and many more illnesses. More recently, shitakes have been the subject of many scientific studies, which have shown them to have a powerful effect on blood cholesterol, thus helping to fight heart disease. They have immune boosting properties, which may contribute to the regression of cancerous tumours and viruses and they also have potent antibacterial qualities. I'd say we'd all do well to incorporate a few shitakes into our diets from time to time!! 

Now for the recipe. This really was so easy to make and what a nutritious and satisfying brunch I got to enjoy! I smothered my sourdough toast with some homemade parsley and sunflower seed pesto, which just added another layer of delicousness into the equation. It also makes it that bit more filling. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Recipe (serves 2)
2 cups fresh shitake mushrooms sliced thin
1 cup oyster mushrooms left whole or halved
2 cups kale 
2 cups mixed greens (tatsoi, rocket, mustard leaves, baby spinach)
1/2 cup cooked black beans (approx 1/2 a tin) 
3 sprigs thyme leaves picked 
1 tbsp sesame oil
squeeze of lemon
sea salt 
1 tsp shoyu 

Method: Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan and add the mushrooms with a sprinkle of sea salt and the thyme leaves. Saute until the mushrooms are nice and soft but don't allow them to disintegrate, you want them to keep their form. Add in half a cup of blackbeans along with the shoyu and saute for a couple more minutes. Meanwhile, blanch the kale in boiling water for a couple of minutes until tender. Drain and add to the mixed greens. Then add the whole lot into the frying pan, allowing them to semi wilt over a gentle heat. This should literally take a minute or less. To finish, squeeze over a little lemon and add more shoyu if needed. 

Parsely & Sunflower Seed Pesto 
1 cup parsley leaves fully packed
1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds
juice of 1/2 lemon 
sea salt to taste 
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil 

Method: Place all the ingredients in the blender. Whizz but leave some texture. This pesto is nicer with a little crunch. 

This is absolutely my favourite bread at the moment. Every time I make it, I love it even more and every time I make it for others they adore it! That makes it an all round winner! The original recipe was actually for corn bread, which cookery teacher and friend Robin Van Crevald shared with me ages ago. I came back to it recently but made a few adjustments and came up with this combination of quinoa and coconut, which works a treat. 

For those of you who object to using eggs, you could replace the eggs with chia seeds, which make an excellent alternative binding agent. However, I do find that you just don't get that same lightness, which is unique to the way eggs react in baking. And while we're on the subject of eggs, perhaps i'll briefly discuss their pros and cons. 

From a nutritional standpoint, eggs are wonderful for their high quality protein and amino acid profile. They're also high in Vitamin D, Vitamin A, Vitamin B12 and iodine, which makes them a pretty potent little food. Recent research also suggests that we should no longer be fearful of the high cholesterol in eggs, which it seems does not directly affect the bodies cholesterol levels. Instead it is saturated fat we need to be aware of, which does have a direct affect on cholesterol. So how does this information get interpreted? Well, we're now being told we can eat as many eggs as we like!

But this information is also misleading. We all know that anything in its extreme is likely to have repercussions. And that certainly goes for eating too many eggs. Energetically speaking, eggs are one of the most powerful foods that exist. In yin and yang terms, they are extremely yang, which means they have a more contractive energy in the body. They are more warming and they send energy downwards and inwards, as opposed to yin foods, which are more cooling, sending energy upwards and outwards. Excessive consumption of foods that are either too yin or too yang leads to imbalance and imbalance is the root of ill health or dis-ease. So by understanding the energetic nature of foods we can begin to understand what kind of affect they might have in the body. Always we are trying to create balance, it is the body's natural way to want to create balance. So as much as possible we want to keep more extreme foods to a minimum. Depending on our condition and health needs, an overconsumption of eggs or other very yang foods may result in us feeling overly tense or uptight. It can also result in cravings for more extreme yin foods such as sugar and alcohol, as the body tries to restore balance. 

But lets get back to the eggs we're using in our bread recipe. As I mentioned eggs are potent foods, both nutritionally and energetically. Therefore they are to be used with caution, depending on what your health needs are and what foods you're preparing and why. I tend not to eat too many eggs unless I really feel the need for that strong contractive energy, which I feel immediately. But in baking, from time to time, a couple of eggs dispersed throughout a loaf is not going to negatively affect me. It will only enhance my delicious loaf of bread! 

I hope that's not too confusing! See it as a little introduction to food energetics. Combining the nutritional knowledge with an understanding of food energetics makes for a much deeper understanding of our own health needs. Enjoy this beautiful cake like bread. Toast it for breakfast and have it with a little goats butter or enjoy for lunch with a bowl of soup!

Coconut & Quinoa Bread (approx 12 slices)
 
100g spelt flour
200g quinoa flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tblsp honey
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 organic eggs, lightly beaten
280ml coconut milk
¼ cup chopped dried apricots (optional)
Sprinkle of desiccated coconut

Method: Preheat oven to 180c. Grease a loaf tin with a little olive oil or line the tin with baking parchment. Sift flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Stir together eggs, olive oil, honey and milk and add this to the flour mix to form a smooth batter. Pour into loaf tin and sprinkle desiccated coconut on top. Bake for 40-45 mins or until a skewer comes out clean from the middle of the bread. Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.