Quick and easy tofu kebabs

These are a beautiful contribution to that dinner party that you’re going to, and can wow with the beautiful colours while still being minimal effort to create. Most vegetables can be used as a substitute if there’s something you don’t like so if I encourage you to explore the vast array of vegetables available at the supermarket to switch out between the tofu. Be sure to buy a firm tofu for this recipe, as you’re going to grill it and don’t want it to fall apart. Every time you make a decision to eat more vegetables, not only to you naturally crowd out junk food, but you decide to nourish your body with the wide variety of macro and micro nutrients.

Ingredients:

4 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves

1 red pepper, seeded and cut into bite-size chunks 

1 yellow pepper, seeded and cut into bite-size chunks 

300 g cherry tomatoes

2 large courgettes, cut into 2 cm chunks 

1 red onion, quartered and layers separated 

200 g firm tofu, cut into bite-size cubes 

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup (100%)

1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted 

2 cloves garlic, crushed 

salt and pepper 

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Instructions:

Heat a grill pan over medium heat until it is hot. Tie the rosemary sprigs together with string to make a basting brush. Set aside. You can also cook this recipe over a braai or bake it in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 °C. 

While the grill pan heats up, thread the vegetables and tofu onto skewers, alternating the different ingredients and packing the vegetables tightly together. 

Place the turmeric, honey, chilli, coconut oil and garlic into a small bowl and mix well. Place the skewers into the grill pan. Using the basting brush made with the sprigs of rosemary, dunk the brush into the oil and lightly brush the vegetables every 5 minutes until evenly coated. Cook them for 20 minutes, rotating every time you brush them.

Once the vegetables are cooked and have some grill marks on them, season with salt and pepper and serve. 

-Melissa

Easy vegetable pasta

Comparison is the death of joy and looking at what others are eating, their body shapes and their lives will only make you unhappy and exhausted. It causes you to lose your special shine because you feel less valuable based on a flawed system determining success and worth. You matter, just the way that you are. Gaining health, self worth, good self esteem, energy and happiness in your life is something that you deserve. 

If you want to be healthier then you need to take control of the aspects that you can control. It’s that simple. Don’t overcomplicate things and break your victim mentality through thought swapping. When you hear a negative comparison pop up in your head replace it with something that you are grateful for. If you repeat this three times a day for a week you will start to feel things change. Practice patience with yourself.

Everyone needs a good pasta in their arsenal. Whenever you eat something that is classified as an indulgence such as a pasta, not only can you substitute the pasta with a healthier option, but you can also load it up with as many veggies as possible to keep the balance. Eating more vegetables reduces the risk of chronic diseases and provides the body with vital nutrients to maintain homeostasis.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons coconut oil

• 400 g cherry tomatoes, halved

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 medium-size aubergine, cut into small cubes

• 2 cobs sweetcorn

• 1 cup vegetable stock

• 250 g buckwheat pasta

• salt

• 4 kale leaves, stalks removed and leaves torn

• zest and juice of ½ lemon

• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (or grated Parmesan)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 handful fresh parsley leaves

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Heat the coconut oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cherry tomatoes and sauté for 10 minutes. Add the paprika, oregano and aubergine cubes and stir well.

Remove the kernels from the sweetcorn by slicing down the length with a sharp knife. Add the kernels to the tomato mixture and stir well. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a saucepan of salted water as per the packet instructions. Once ready, drain, reserving ½ cup of pasta water, and set the pasta aside.

When the sauce is ready after 20 minutes, add the pasta and gently mix in along with the torn kale leaves, lemon zest and 1 tablespoon of the nutritional yeast. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of the reserved pasta water.

Serve the pasta in a bowl, drizzled with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice and topped with parsley and the remaining tablespoon of nutritional yeast.

Healing tropical slaw

This slaw is not only packed with flavour, but is also a powerhouse recipe that feeds our own powerhouse, our stomach. In Eastern medicine the stomach area is known as the solar plexus chakra and is associated with the element of earth and emotions of anxiety and stress. High stress levels can shut down our digestive system so it is important to tune into how stress affects our eating behaviours.

The mind and emotions live within yin energy, which is replenishing. In this belief, emotions and earth are sustained by yin energy. Basic metabolic theory shows us how food and air that we put into the alchemy fire of the stomach can magically transform and lead into the ultimate metaphor for the digestive process that is gold. It is this refinement of foreign materials into highly refined energy that is the essence capable of extending life.

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Serves: 4

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

½ bunch kale, stalks removed, finely sliced

½ bunch Tuscan kale, stalks removed and finely sliced

1 handful fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

1 handful fresh rocket, roughly chopped

½ small red cabbage, finely sliced

1 mango, peeled, pitted and cubed

150 g mixed sprouts

50 g sunflower seeds, toasted

50 g pumpkin seeds, toasted

salt and pepper

Dressing

zest and juice of 2 limes

1 tablespoon liquid aminos

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger

½ tablespoon peeled and grated fresh turmeric

6 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

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Place all the dressing ingredients into a blender and blend until combined. Season to taste and set aside.

Place the kale, coriander, rocket, cabbage, mango and sprouts into a large salad bowl. Make sure all the greens are finely sliced as you want the texture to be like a slaw. Cover in the salad dressing and toss well using your hands, gently massaging the kale while you do so. Top with sunflower and pumpkin seeds and season to taste.

Enjoy!

-Melissa

Quick and easy tofu scramble

This fascinating thing happens when you talk about veganism. People become uncomfortable, because in many ways veganism shines a very bright light on being a more conscious consumer. It’s not to say that veganism is the right way of eating, but that bright light, I believe, shines into areas of darkness and pain for others and can elicit an emotive response. If you choose not to be vegan, then why not experiment and try the occasional vegan meal. This recipe is an example of that.

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Serves: 2

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients:

1 teaspoon coconut oil 

3 spring onions, sliced  

1 clove garlic, minced 

1 teaspoon ground turmeric 

1 teaspoon ground cumin 

¼ teaspoon chilli flakes  

1 tablespoon tomato paste 

1 red pepper, seeded and cubed 

1 teaspoon tamari paste

1 handful kale, stalks removed and finely chopped 

280 g silken tofu 

2 slices sourdough bread

1 avocado, peeled and pip removed

juice of ½ lemon

salt and pepper 

olive oil

1 handful fresh coriander leaves

Instructions:

Heat the coconut oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat and add the spring onions. Fry for 3–5 minutes, then add the garlic, turmeric, cumin, chilli flakes and tomato paste. Fry for a further 3 minutes. 

Add the red pepper and fry until soft. Add the tamari paste and kale and fry until the kale has wilted. Add the tofu and break it apart, scrambling it for 5 minutes. While the tofu is cooking, toast the sourdough bread.

When the toast is ready, smoosh the avo onto the slices. Drizzle with lemon juice, top with the tofu scramble and season to taste. Top off with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh coriander. 

Enjoy - Melissa

Grilled vegetable and beetroot flatbread

Cooking is about joy and bringing joy into your life with something that fuels your body is a little act of kindness. Within that joy, I want you to experience play. Play with flavours, play with ingredients, and connect to this child-like quality that is often lost in our day-to-day lives. Start with little steps and then expand by creating your own recipes based on intuition. This recipe is all about play with pink flatbreads and delicious vegetables! Make the flatbreads for this recipe or for your next curry night!

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Serves: 2

Preparation time: 35 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 medium beetroots 

180 g spelt flour or gluten-free flour of your choice

1 teaspoon salt 

2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

juice and zest of 1 lemon

½ cup water 

2 red peppers, seeded and sliced

olive oil

salt and pepper 

3 medium courgettes, ribboned 

Coconut oil

6 tablespoons Greek yoghurt or substitute of your choice

1 handful fresh dill leaves, finely chopped 

1 small handful fresh mint, finely chopped 

1 handful fresh rocket 

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Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180 °C. 

Place the beetroots in a roasting pan and roast for 35 minutes until soft when pierced with a fork. Remove and set aside. (I usually do a bigger batch and save the rest for salad or other meals and snacks.)

To make the flatbread dough, place the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a medium bowl and mix together. Set aside. 

Using a blender, blend the beetroots until smooth, 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice, and the water.

Make a well in the middle of the flour and gradually add the beetroot mixture while mixing until a dough begins to form. Tip the dough out onto a flat surface and knead until well combined. Return to the bowl, cover, and set aside to rest for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, place the red peppers in a separate mixing bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil and season to taste. Toss until evenly covered with oil. In a grill pan over medium heat (the pan must be hot), add the red peppers and grill for roughly 5 minutes until grill marks start to appear. Repeat the process with the courgette ribbons and cook for 1–2 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the vegetables.  

Once the dough has rested, remove from the bowl and divide into four fist-size balls. Roll out the balls of dough on a floured surface until they are about the size of your frying pan base. Lightly rub a little coconut oil on each side of the dough circles. Fry in a medium frying pan over medium to high heat for 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. 
While the flatbreads are frying, mix the remainder of the lemon juice with the yoghurt, dill and mint in a small bowl. Season to taste. 

Once the flatbreads are ready, remove from the heat. Serve with a generous smear of the yoghurt dressing, topped with the rocket and grilled vegetables. Season to taste with a little extra black pepper and drizzle with olive oil. 

Enjoy - Melissa