SUPER FOODS

There is a big hype about super foods at the moment, well I am lying there has always been! But the market is growing, brands are competing and people are on an endless mission to uncovering that big fat secret of eternal HEALTH.

I am going to guide you through the properties and benefits of the hyped super-foods on the market today, along with a user-friendly yummy recipe to go along. But I also want to take you on a journey on my personal favorites that are readily available and wont break the bank. My big belief is that health should not cost much, be easy and quick. So with those three selling points lets start this series of the hyped up Super-foods and work our way down to my favorites!

Lets start off with Chia Seeds. 

Chia seeds are tiny black seeds from the plant salvia hispanica which is related to the mint. This plant grows natively in South America. Chia seeds were an important food for the Aztecs and Mayans back in the day. They prized them for their ability to provide sustainable energy in fact, “chia” is the ancient Mayan word for “strength. Despite their ancient history as a dietary staple, only recently did chia seeds become recognised as a modern day superfood. In the past few years, they have exploded in popularity and are now consumed by health conscious people all over the world.

To sum it up, despite their tiny size, chia seeds are among the most nutritious foods on the planet. They are loaded with fiber, protein, Omega-3 fatty acids and various micronutrients.

At the Olive Retreat we have a little hidden away station that we like to call “the poop station” this is where we serve little aids that help your body along to get rid of nasties. Chia seeds are particularly good and are amongst the ingredients!

Enough about that, here is a super easy, tasty, Chia recipe.

Overnight CHIA Pudding Makes 1-2 portions

• 2 tbs of Chia seeds
• 200 grams of almond milk (click my version)
• Pinch of vanilla bean (I like to use the powder, the real powder its supposed to be brown – the seeds themselves NOT THE WHITE STUFF)
• Pinch of Morning spice mix (recipe)
• 1 tbs Organic Raisins – non-sweetened

 

Topping

Chop up fruits of the season OR I love raspberries or blueberries

 Method

1. In a small mixing bowl add all of your ingredients and mix well. Let it stand for 10-15 minutes and mix again. By this stage you will see that the seeds have started jellifying. That’s when you can put them in a jar or glass and stick in the fridge over night. The reason I ask that you pre-mix in a bowl is so that they jellify evenly and don’t just end up in the bottom of your jar/glass.
2. In the morning you will see that those tiny seeds have soaked up all of that almond goodness are plump and ready to eat.
3. Top off with your favorite fruit, arrange nicely, you deserve to have a beautiful breakfast. Remember we eat with our eyes first.

Enjoy xx

Cherry Almond & Orange Cake – Gluten free

Made this Cherry Almond & Orange cake the other day inspired by the lovely lagallette its lovely to have on its own or in combo with for example breakfast like I did! I made some changes to the original recipe to fit gluten-free peeps and also used cherries because they were in season.

Ingredients

1 dl almond flour

2 dl cup buckwheat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 dl coconut oil, melted

2/3 dl almond milk

2/3 dl Agave syrop

1/3 dl orange juice

Zest of 1 orange

2 tbsp Orange Water

1 cup cherries – used them because they are in season, but you can use plums, raspberries, peaches – your imagination is the limit!

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
• I use good durable silicone cake moulds – that way you don’t have to grease proof tins or worry about the cake sticking.
• In a large bowl, combine the almond, buckwheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cardamom and orange zest. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond milk, melted coconut oil, agave syrup, orange juice and orange water combine.
• Mix the ‘wet’ mixture with the ‘dry’ mixture until smooth.
• Pour the batter into the mould (20cm) smoothing all the way out to the edges before putting your cherrys on the batter and pressing into the cake.
• Bake for 30-35 min or until the centre of the cake springs back to the touch.

Voila Done,

Let it cool and enjoy.

x

Pancakes with Almond, Orange & Vanilla Cream & Lemon Figs

Pancakes

70 % Buckwheat flour

15 % Rice flour (wholegrain)

15 % Corn flour

1 tsp Baking powder

Pinch of salt

Orange juice (from 1  real orange)

Filtered water

Method

Mix all ingredients together until you have an airy mix and you can see little bubbles appearing. the mix is supposed to be a thick “American” style pancake batter. In a hot pan add olive oil OR coconut oil and fry pancakes until golden brown. turn when bubbles start appearing. Stack up drizzle maple syrup, top off with almonds, Voila!

Topping

Maple syrop

Flaked Almonds

 Raw Jam

Mashed fresh Figs

Lemon

Method

Mash, marinate in Lemon = Serve.

Almond Cream

Almonds (handfull)

Half an orange (with peel)

Vanilla pod

Filtered water

Method

In a blender  (I use Vitamix) put approximately a cup of blanched almonds, half an orange with peel and all, a vanilla pod and filtered water just covering the almonds. Blend until smooth paste, if you want it more “saucy” add more water.

Serve with pancakes & enjoy!

You deserve it xx

Chocolate Hazelnut Treat

My fantastic 99% chocolate was gone! I normally want a little something sweet, chocolate tasty after a meal. So this is what I made for 1 person;

• 1 big tbs of organic hazelnut paste from Monki (or grined your own)
• 2 ts good cacao
• 1 ts agave syrop

So pure, so organic, so deliciously simple!