Had enough of Christmas food ads already? Let’s plan ahead and make sure to include some healthy home-cooked dishes amid the festive frenzy. I recently had some verydelicious mulligatawny soup at a posh Indian restaurant and decided to recreate it (particularly as I’ve just been at a conference where the health benefits of lentil soup were being promoted). At the same restaurant, I had some amazing spiced roast potatoes, so decided to recreate those too, with a healthy twist. And, as always, let’s kick off with a seasonal juice recipe.
Winter boost juice
If you’re partying a lot – be it the office do or a family dinner (or, of course, both), it’s a good idea to juice a lot as well. Fresh cranberries are in the shops now, grapefruit is in season and it’s always good to top up with pure pomegranate juice.
Serves two
Three red grapefruit, peeled and segmented
One carton fresh cranberries
Two inch ginger root, peeled and chopped roughly
Pure pomegranate juice
Juice the grapefruit, cranberries and ginger, pour into two glasses and top up with pomegranate juice.
Swede and Leek Mulligatawny soup
Serves two to three
Parsnips, swedes and turnips are in season and are a great source of fibre, vitamin C and antioxidant phytochemicals, while leeks are prebiotic, which support the health of the gut microbiome.
Half a swede chopped (or substitute turnips, parsnips)
One large leek, chopped
One large onion, finely chopped
100g or so of lentils (reduce or omit for a thinner soup)
Two inch piece of root ginger, grated
Four cloves of garlic, chopped
One tbps. curry powder
500ml (or more to top up) vegetable stock
Tomato puree
Cook the swede, onion, garlic, ginger and leek in coconut oil until soft and add the curry powder and lentils. Cook for a further five minutes, then add the stock. Simmer until everything is soft then add tomato puree to taste, liquidise (add more stock if too thick).
Turmeric and rosemary roasties
Serves two
Serve with a roast/Christmas dinner or in wedges with dips for a buffet.
500g roasting potatoes, whole, halved or cut in wedges
One tbsp. turmeric powder
One tbsp. chopped rosemary
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Boil the potatoes till tender, drain and shake them around a bit in the pan. Heat one tbsp. coconut oil in a saucepan. Toss the potatoes with the turmeric and rosemary in the oil till coated. Cook in a foil lined tray in the oven for 30 minutes or until they’re crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.
Next time: It’s a citrus New Year…