• Easy Salads/ Health/ Healthy Food/ Immune System/ LCHF diet

    Nutritious Comfort Food for Winter

    Nutritious Winter Food

    Quick and easy nutritious comfort food for Winter that is also cheap!

    Even in Winter I like to eat salad and this one is super tasty and gives plenty of healthy fats and nutrients to boost immune system.

    SARDINE HOT SQUASH SALAD

    Nutritious comfort Food for Winter

    Ingredients are

    • crunchy lettuce plus fresh herb leaves
    • cucumber
    • mini tomatoes
    • avocado
    • optional celery or fennel
    • tinned sardines in olive oil
    • roasted squash or pumpkin still hot and scooped out with ice- cream scoop just before serving
    • sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds or pine nuts
    • dress with Virgin Olive oil or avocado oil

    Stuffed Mushrooms

    I love mushrooms for boosting the immune system so here is a lovely supper treat

    Nutritious comfort food for winter

    Make the filling by frying these chopped ingredients

    • tomato
    • red pepper
    • onion
    • Pancetta  or streaky bacon
    • plus the chopped stems from the large flat mushrooms

    Fill the mushrooms. top with torn Basil leaves and soft cheese or a coconut cream cheese alternative. Bake in oven 200C for about 15-20 mins. You can also pierce some extra tomatoes and roast them in the same pan.

    I love these served with some cooked Romanesco – if you have never tried it give it a go. It is similar to cauliflower but with a firmer texture and more nutty flavour. My son, who has never liked cauliflower, loves this.

    nutrious comfort food for winter

    Slow- Cooker Hot Pot

    A Winter Staple that makes life easy.  I just add cheap cuts of meat (preferably on the bone) and whatever vegetables I have plus some good organic stock and leave it to cook for at least 4 hours. Normally one pot full will last us for two days – so I get to have a day off from cooking 🙂

    This one was lamb shank with carrots, parsnip, courgette and potatoes plus Rosemary and Bay leaves.

    Get creative and add spices, herbs, or fruit – apricots with lamb and Moroccan spice or chicken with preserved lemons…..my favourites!

  • Easy Salads/ Healthy Food/ Nutrition and Cancer

    Fabulous Easy Salads

    Easy Salads

    My favourite Easy Salads are packed with nutritional goodness, tasty with hot or cold food and very easy to prepare in advance. Eating your 5 a day is super easy with salads like these – even in winter.

    Red Winter Salad

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    Mix together lambs lettuce, quartered pre-cooked baby Beetroot, quartered Radishes, toasted pumpkin seeds and pomegranate seeds. It can be eaten as it is or topped with a favourite dressing like Honey mustard or a soft cheese. It is full of vitamins and antioxidants and tastes wonderful even on its own.

    Quick and easy Pepper and Sweetcorn Salad

    Quick and easy pepper and sweetcorn Salad

    A large jar of Roasted Red Peppers, a large tin of sweetcorn, season well with sea salt and black pepper and top with grated Parmesan cheese and Rocket and/or  Basil leaves.  A dressing of olive oil and a touch of balsamic vinegar just gives it an edge. If you have any left over try stirring in some cooked pasta for an instant lunch.

    Winter Coleslaw

    Winter Coleslaw Easy Salad

    Finely slice half a white cabbage and place in a bowl with 50 ml of white wine vinegar or rice vinegar, 2 finely chopped spring onions, sea salt and black pepper. cover with a plate. Finely slice half a red cabbage and place in a bowl with some sesame seeds, lemon juice, sea salt and black pepper. Peel and grate about 4/5 large carrots and 2 dessert apples then mix with some lemon juice. Then make a dressing with a large pot of natural yogurt (sheep or Goats milk yogurt is good if you are intolerant of Cows milk), 4/5 crushed garlic cloves, zest and juice of 2 lemons, a handful of chopped Coriander (Cilantro) leaves, and stir in 3 tbsp of Tahini paste. Top with smoked Paprika and sliced or chopped Spring onions. You can drain the white cabbage of any liquid that has accumulated and then mix all the other ingredients together but if you want it to look decorative for a party you can layer the vegetables as I have done and then top with some of the dressing but serve the remainder in a separate bowl for people to add to their own taste.

    Although this easy salad will take a little longer to prepare than the others it is possible to do all the prep and leave in separate bowls in a cool place and then construct it in a large bowl about 2-3 hours before use and it will not spoil due to the lemon and vinegar stopping the discolouration or oxidation. Any leftover shredded cabbage and carrot could be placed in a mason jar with sea salt and vinegar and left to ferment for a few days and this provides plenty of probiotic gut friendly bacteria to develop. Enjoy!