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

Stuffed peppers with mint yoghurt dressing

This is a fun and healthy take on an old classic. It is such a hearty dish that always offers a beautiful pop of colour when you add it to your plate. Eating colourful food means more nutrients and health. You can get creative and try it with different spices and serve them as the main affair or as a side. It’s also a great do-ahead dish so you can grab a stuffed pepper when on the run.

Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a side

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

4 medium red or yellow peppers, tops cut off and saved for later, and seeds removed

Dressing

1 cup plain Greek yoghurt or coconut yoghurt

juice of 1 lemon

12 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

2 tablespoons maple syrup or 2 teaspoons unrefined brown sugar

80 g goats milk cheese

salt and pepper

Filling

1½ cups spelt, cooked

1 cup vegetable stock

2 teaspoons coconut oil

2 shallots, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 plum tomatoes, chopped

4 medium-sized courgettes, grated

2 teaspoons caper berries

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

olive oil

1 handful fresh coriander or parsley leaves, chopped

Instructions:

Prepare the peppers and set aside. You want to keep them intact as you will be filling them later.

For the dressing, mix together all the ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Season to taste and set aside.

For the filling, cook the spelt as per the packet instructions, adding the vegetable stock to the water that you use to do so. Once ready, set aside.

Heat the coconut oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic, turmeric and cayenne pepper and sauté for a further 5 minutes, stirring often. If it dries out, add a splash of water to help it along. Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Once the tomatoes have cooked down, remove the pan from the heat and add the courgettes, caper berries, nutritional yeast and spelt and fold through.

Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

Using a spoon, fill the peppers to the top with the tomato and spelt mixture. Drizzle with a little olive oil, making sure the sides get some oil too. Use your hands if need be. Pop the peppers onto a roasting tray and roast them in the oven for 10 minutes. Change the setting to grill and grill them for an additional 10 minutes, keeping an eye on them so that they don’t burn.

Serve with a big dollop of dressing, and a drizzle of olive oil, and top with the coriander or parsley

-Melissa

Ultimate veggie burger & fries

This recipe is a longer cook but oh so fun for getting the children involved. Teaching your children to be kind to animals is our responsibility. They don’t need to be vegan, but growing up with a disconnect to where their food comes from raises adults who are disconnected from the farm-to-table process and who end up buying meat unconsciously. Meat is a privilege and the animal has given its life for it. Teaching your children that these are kind patties that haven’t harmed another being might encourage them to not only learn something new, but to try something new. It may even do the same for you.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Fries

5 unpeeled potatoes, sliced into wedges

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon paprika

salt and pepper

Patties

½ cup uncooked brown lentils

2 cups vegetable stock

200 g fresh or frozen sweetcorn kernals

200 g fresh or frozen peas

1 bunch fresh coriander leaves

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

75 g spelt flour

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Vegan mayo

2 spring onions

½ fresh red chilli (optional)

1 clove garlic

2 heaped tablespoons cooked chickpeas

1 teaspoon English mustard

1½ tablespoons sun-dried tomato paste

juice of 1 lemon

5 tablespoons olive oil

To serve

4 quality burger buns (gluten-free if you wish)

½ head iceberg lettuce

2 plum tomatoes, sliced

2 gherkins, sliced

2 sprigs fresh basil leaves

1 lime

1 avocado, peeled, pip removed, sliced

Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

For the fries, toss the potato wedges with the oil, paprika, salt and pepper in a large bowl until the wedges are evenly coated. Pop them onto a roasting tray and into the oven for 35–40 minutes or until they are golden brown, tossing them at the halfway mark. I drizzle them with a little extra olive oil as they come out of the oven and season with salt.

For the patties, place the lentils and vegetable stock into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 30 minutes until al dente.

Meanwhile, add the sweetcorn, peas, coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper, flour and seeds to a food processor. Once the lentils are ready, remove them from the heat, drain them and allow to cool for 10 minutes and then tip them into the food processor and season with salt and pepper. Pulse until a rough paste starts to form. You don’t want to make it too smooth. Once ready, divide the mixture into four even patties about 2 cm thick. Place the patties on a lightly floured tray and pop them into the freezer to set for 10 minutes or save them in the fridge for later.

While the patties are setting, get started on the mayo. Place all the mayo ingredients, except the olive oil, into a blender and blend until smooth. While the blender is running, add the olive oil very slowly and keep blending until a mayo-like consistency forms. Once ready, set aside.

Heat the oven again to 180 °C.

Heat the coconut oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Cook each patty for 2 minutes on each side. Once ready, transfer to a roasting tray and pop them into the oven. Turn the oven down to 150 °C and bake a bit longer while you assemble the burgers.

Cut the buns in half and add a dollop of mayo. Top with lettuce, sliced tomato, gherkins and basil. Add a squeeze of lime. Place a hot patty on top and close the bun.

Serve with the fries and an extra dollop of mayo for dipping!

-Melissa

Angala - a place to rest and reconnect, Franschhoek

At the foothills of the Franschhoek mountains sits a perfect space perfect to disconnect to reconnect. It's a wellness space that will make you feel held and is a stone's throw away from the main town of Franschhoek. Angala, A luxury wellness destination that will leave you recharged.

Angala is situated a mere hour from the centre of Cape Town and a beautiful drive through wine country and the surrounding cape fold mountains.

The hotel is tucked away in the most magnificent greenery and surrounded by gardens that immediately leave you feeling connected to mother nature. The space is well thought out, and the best part of the hotel is the incredible hydro facilities that surround it.

The rooms are country elegant with pure comfort at the forefront of the design. From heated bathroom floors, fireplaces for cold winter nights, and king-size beds; the rooms are built with luxury and comfort in mind. The rooms are fitted with a minibar and tea station enticing you to start your day with the perfect cup of coffee in bed.

Breakfast is served in the main hotel and is a selection of fresh fruits, homemade granola, and yoghurt. The granola was a home run for me, striking the perfect balance between crunch and sweetness.

The resident chef makes magic in the kitchen and not only is the hot breakfast that follows utterly delicious (my favourite meal of the day) but dinner is marvellous too. You will need to let them know in advance if you are planning to join for dinner. It takes the effort out of stalking the surrounds for food which allows you to further sink into the comfort of Angala.

As I mentioned earlier there are numerous hydro facilities on the property which include an eco pool and a hot tub too. You can opt for hot and cold water submerging and then find your way to the sauna for a final detoxifying sit. The property also offers a steam room. If relaxation is on your mind then ordering 'in' a massage is an option available to you with a professional massage service that will be set up in your room.

This means you can just flop around like a happy little fish from one amazing spa activity to the next, all in the comfort of a boutique hotel experience. Sign me up!

The service is incredible, and nothing is too much trouble for the staff. If you are celebrating an anniversary or simply looking to decompress from the city then all you need to do is communicate it to the hotel staff and they will take care of the rest.

Angala is a 5-star wellness destination that will leave you in a complete state of bliss and I can’t wait to find my way back.

-Melissa

Salad jars for on the run

Finding a daily routine is important and will set you up for success. Why? Because routine offers us structure and when achieved it creates a positive and healthy headspace. For example, bringing in routine when making work lunches means you will have healthy meals at work that don’t leave you stressed or in the queue at the coffee shop ordering something sugary and unhealthy. Find a routine that works for you both morning and night and schedule it into your time management. Honour this and see how things change over the space of two weeks. Setting time aside for yourself is important in achieving health goals. Why not try setting ten minutes aside every evening to meal prep these salad jars for work and tune into your energy levels for the week. You might find that your 3PM slump disappears with a nutritious lunch rather than a sugar crash. Other suggestions on routine are to try and bring in five minutes of meditation in the morning and a bit of light exercise. At night why not create a wind down routine such as switching off technology, having a hot bath, reading a book with chamomile tea and preparing for bed? Carving time out for yourself allows your body to heal.   

Salad jars are a great way to make sure you have food on the run. Being prepared is a critical part of healthy eating. You can take them with to the office, or pack them for the beach. If you’re going to be out and about where you won’t be able to find healthy meals on the go, these are perfect for you. Putting them in jars and layering the ingredients appropriately means the leaves won’t wilt and the ingredients will stay fresher than if they were placed in a Tupperware.

Serves: 1

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Dressing

zest and juice of ½ lemon 

½ red chilli, finely chopped 

1 teaspoon honey 

1 tablespoon tahini 

3 tablespoons olive oil 

Salad

½ cup chickpeas, cooked 

½ cup quinoa, cooked 

1 handful baby spinach

¼ cup red cabbage, finely chopped 

1 tablespoon kimchi 

1 small handful fresh basil leaves, finely chopped 

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds 

Place all the dressing ingredients into your salad jar and mix well with a fork. 

Layer the salad on top of the dressing, starting with the chickpeas and followed by the quinoa, spinach, cabbage, kimchi and basil. Finish off with the pumpkin seeds. Do not shake the jar as you don’t want to incorporate the dressing until you’re ready to eat. Seal the jar with the lid and store it in the fridge overnight. Before serving, shake the jar to combine all the ingredients. 

You can play around with different fresh combinations and get creative making lunch at work healthier and easier. 

-Melissa