healthyfood

One great way of enjoying wild rice is having it as a breakfast cereal. It is also an easy way to boost your fibre intake in the morning.

Ingredients:
1 cup of wild rice
3 cups of water
½ cup of soya milk (or any other milk)
½ teaspoon of Cinnamon
Sweetener (optional)

Preparation:
Before cooking wild rice you must always wash it and rinse it to clean it properly. Cook it as normal rice, but use for 1 part of wild rice, 3 parts of water. Add the cinnamon. It will take around 45 minutes. The rice must split; it shouldn’t be hard neither soggy. Once cooked leave it covered for 5 minutes.
Add the soya milk and the sweetener.

This breakfast have dozens of varieties, so you don’t need to make it the same way every morning. You can add fresh fruit, apple or banana are great, dried fruits, raisins and nuts also complement the plate. You can also add your favourite milk, cow’s milk, soya milk, rice milk, almond milk or even cream. The same goes for the sweetener, use your usual sweetener (like Splenda), brown sugar or honey or just leave it without it.
Change the breakfast everyday and have fun. If you are a bit lazy in the morning, leave the wild rice cooked from the previous day and just warm it up before adding the rest of the ingredients in the morning.

Wild rice is not rice at all, but a plant grown and used by the native Indians of North America for its high nutritional value.

Wild rice contains more high quality protein than brown rice and most of the other grains. Wild rice also contains B- vitamins, Niacin, thiamine and Riboflavin, is a good source of calcium, folic acid, potassium and minerals. It also contains small amounts of iron and zinc.

It is an excellent source of fibre, its GI is very low, as it is its fat content. Half a cup of wild rice will provide you with hardly 65 calories, what makes it ideal for those on a calorie restricted diet.

Wild rice has a delicate nutty flavour. It is cooked and served in the same way as white or brown rice, although the amounts of water and time involved may vary. It usually can take over 45 minutes to cook. However its highly nutritional value is well worth it!

This soup is really easy. Try it as it is to get the taste, then you can improvise. The good thing of these soup is that you can use any leftovers or any type of vegetable you have at home; runner beans, sweetcorn, sugar snap peas, green peas, potatoes etc. It is healthy and ideal to do even if you have no time.

Ingredients:
250gr.of firm tofu
2 tablespoons of olive oil
250gr.of noodles
2 cubes of vegetable stock
1 chopped carrot
2 stems of chopped celery
1 very finely chopped onion,
4 very finely chopped cloves of garlic
½ teaspoon of dried thyme
½ teaspoon of dill
1 teaspoon of ground fresh ginger
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh parsley or coriander
salt and (black) pepper to taste ( I usually put 1/2 teaspoon of each)

Preparation:
Fill a pot with 6 glasses of water and take the water to boil. Add the vegetable stock, the vegetables and the spices (everything except the tofu and the noodles) leave to cook for 25 minutes at slow fire and covered.

While the soup is cooking, fry the tofu in a frying pan with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until golden and crispy.

Put the noodles in the soup, the noodles will take between 5-8 minutes (check the package as each brand requires different times). When it is cooked add the tofu, leave for 2 minutes more and serve.

This dessert is quick, easy and even healthier than the average chocolate mousse that you might get at the supermarket or even in the restaurant.

Ingredients:
300gr. of silken tofu
100gr. of dark chocolate chips (preferably more than 70% cocoa)
3 tablespoons of maple syrup or honey
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of brandy (optional)
Preparation:
Place tofu in a blender and blend until smooth. Place chocolate chips in a bowl over water boiling to melt them, if necessary add some water or soy milk. Add the syrup or honey when melted, the vanilla and the brandy and mix all ingredients. Add everything to the tofu and blend it until the mixture is completely smooth.
Serve in cups or bowls and refrigerate for around 4 hours or until set.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
One onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
3 chicken breasts cut in cubes
3 teaspoons of curry powder
2 teaspoons of dry coriander (3 if it is fresh)
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup soymilk
300gr.of firm tofu cut in cubes

Preparations:
In a pan fry the onion until soft, add the garlic, the chilli powder, the curry and the coriander, stir and leave it for 2-3 minutes for the flavours to mix. Add the chicken, coat it in the mix and leave it frying for 5 minutes, add the tomato puree and mix properly, leave for another 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, the tomatoes and soya milk, leave for another 5 minutes. Finally add the tofu and cook at low fire for 15 minutes more or until the chicken is done.

Serve it over brown wholegrain rice for a healthier alternative to white rice.

Making your own tofu is an easy task and it is cheaper than buying it. As with everything, it might take you a few atempts until you get the hand of it, but once you get it you will realise that it is the easiest and most natural things to do at home.

Ingredients:
1 cup of soya beans
3 cups of water
1 yoghurt
1 lemon (the juice)

Preparation:
Soak the beans overnight. Blend the beans and extract the milk passing it through a fine cloth. Heat the milk and leave it to boil for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally (follow the complete milk instructions here ).
Once the milk is done, low the temperature and add 1 cup of yoghourt and the juice of 1 lemon, stir slowly (don’t beat or whip) until the curd is solid. Remove from the heat, cover and leave it to settle for 10 minutes, without moving or stirring.

Pass the curd through a fine cloth to separate the whey. Fold it in the cloth and put it in a plastic container with holes in it put a weight of 1 kilo for several hours to obtain a firmer more solid tofu.

Tofu is a soft food made from soya milk similar in appearance and texture to cheese.

Tofu is an excellent source of protein being ideal for vegetarians. Half a cup of tofu contains 10gr. of protein and only 94 calories, 5gr.of fat (although there are low-fat versions) and cholesterol free. It is very rich in Calcium, only half a cup provides 22% of the recommended daily dose, and it’s also rich in B-Vitamins in iron.

There are three main types of tofu: Firm, soft and silken.
Firm tofu is used mainly in stir fry and grill (mainly in recipes where it is important to hold its shape).
Soft tofu used mainly for soups.
Silken tofu is a creamy product similar to custard. Used for blending and puree type of dishes.

Tofu doesn’t have a strong flavour and it is well known for absorbing any flavour from the food that is cooked with. If you cook it in a stew it will take this taste, if you blend it with chocolate powder and sweetener you will obtain a sweet filling for any pie or to use as a dessert.

Its consistency and ability of absorb any taste makes tofu a very versatile food to add to any sort of dishes.

Ingredients for the meatballs:
200gr. of ground turkey
1/2 cup of cooked barley (for instructions on how to cook barley click here )
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1 egg
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Fry the onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until soft, add the garlic and the parsley, leave for 2 minutes more. Add the cumin, a pinch of salt and pepper and stir for 1 minute for the flavours to mix. Take out of the fire and mix in a bowl with the cooked barley, the turkey and the beaten egg. Make small balls and leave in a tray in the fridge until you need them.

Ingredients for the stew:
1 small onion (very finely chopped)
½ big red pepper (very finely chopped)
2 garlic cloves (very finely chopped)
1 teaspoon of finely chopped parsley
1 cup of sliced carrots
2 cups of sliced mushrooms
3 potatoes peeled and chopped in cubes.
1 tablespoon of tomato puree

Preparation:
(At Moderate to low fire) Fry the red pepper until a bit soft in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add the onion and fry until a bit soft, add the garlic and chopped parsley, leave for 2 minutes. Add the sliced carrots and mushrooms leave for 5 more minutes. Mix 1 tablespoon of tomato puree and stirr everything for 1 minute more. Cover with water with enough space to add the meat and still be covered.

Add salt to taste to the water, when the water boils add the meat and leave for 20 minutes then add the potatoes and leave covered for 20 minutes more or until the potatoes are cooked.

Ingredients:
1 onion (very finely chopped)
1 clove of garlic (very finely chopped)
2 chopped carrots
1 stick of celery (sliced)
3 cups of sliced mushrooms
1 potato cut in cubes
5 cups of water
1 cup of barley
Vegetable stock (optional)
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Preparation:
In a big pot put the water to boil with a bit of olive oil, add the vegetable stock. When the water boils add all the ingredients and some salt to taste. Cover and leave it to cook at slow fire for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Add one cup more of water if the water goes down or you see that is too thick and you would like it more watery.

Note: Vegetable stock in cubes, powder or homemade is optional, some people will like some deeper taste, however because of the slow cooking I find this soup a tasty recipe, very low in calories and the kind of comfort food you would enjoy having in a cold night in front of the TV.

This recipe is really easy. It only needs cooked barley and mix all the ingredients. You can cook enough barley for several days and add it to different salads, it will make different plates, quick and nutritious for several days of the week. To cook barley you have to add 3 portions of water for 1 portion of barley.

Ingredients:
1 cup pearl barley
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup finely sliced onion
2 sliced tomatoes
1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Boil in a pot 3 cups of water with some salt (to taste) and add the barley, when the water boils again cover it and leave it at low fire for 45 minutes until the water has been absorbed and the barley is cooked. Leave it aside to cool down.

Mix in a bowl the sliced mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and feta cheese with the barley. Sprinkle with chopped oregano and coriander. Add finally the salt, olive oil and lemon or vinegar (to taste). Mix well all the ingredients.