Find your way to eating delicious and wholesome foods that will help you avoid putting back into your system all that junk you have just got rid of. It’s easy and delicious – lots of fresh, wholesome fruits and vegetables, prepared simply so you keep all of their wonderful tastes and textures. Go and see what your greengrocer has on offer and let your imagination run riot.
Here are some ideas of how to put together delicious meals that will keep your body working well and your energy levels high. Try them out, then make up your own. There’s a whole world of possibilities out there.
bountiful breakfasts
A traditional cooked breakfast of fried eggs, bacon, toast with butter and jam and tea or coffee is definitely bad news. In the first place, greasy food puts a great strain on your liver, which is working hardest to detoxify your body between midnight and midday, and its high fat content will leave you tired and mentally dull. Far better to choose an energizing breakfast such as Live Muesli, or an Energy Shake, or just fresh fruit.
live muesli
This recipe is similar to the original muesli developed by the famous Swiss physician, Max Bircher-Benner. Unlike packaged muesli, which usually contains too much sugar and is rather heavy and hard to digest, the bulk of this muesli is made up of fresh fruit. It will leave you feeling light and lively.
- 1-2 heaped tablespoons steel-cut oats, rye or buckwheat
- a handful of raisins or sultanas
- 1 apple or firm pear, grated or diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh orange or lemon juice
- 1 small banana, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons yogurt (optional)
- 1 teaspoon honey or a little natural stevia to taste (optional)
- 1 tablespoon chopped nuts or sunflower seeds
- ½ teaspoon powdered cinnamon or ginger
Soak the grains overnight in a little water or fruit juice to help break the starch down, along with the raisins or sultanas. In the morning, combine the soaked grains and raisins with the apple or pear and banana, add the orange or lemon juice to prevent the fruit from browning and to aid digestion. Top with the yogurt, then drizzle with honey or a little natural stevia if you like. Sprinkle with chopped nuts or sunflower seeds and spices.
You can prepare countless variations of Live Muesli by using different types of fresh fruit, such as strawberries, peaches, pitted cherries or pineapple, depending on what’s in season. When your choice of fresh fruit is limited, use soaked dried fruit such as apricots, dates, more sultanas, figs or pears.
energy shake
This recipe is delightful and quick – ideal if you have little time to spare in the mornings.
- 8 fl oz (1 cup) plain yogurt
- a handful of strawberries or raspberries
- 1 teaspoon of honey or a little natural stevia to taste
- 1 tablespoon coconut (optional)
- a squeeze of lemon juice
Combine all the ingredients thoroughly in a blender or food processor and drink. Depending on the type of yogurt used, you may need to thin the shake with a little fruit juice. As with Live Muesli, you can vary the Energy Shake by using different kinds of fruit, such as bananas, mango or fresh pineapple.
sexy salads
Most people think of salads as a rather limp affair involving a few bits of lettuce and some cucumber. What I mean by a salad is a taste sensation of fresh, raw vegetables presented beautifully and dressed to kill. The permutations are endless. Go for the freshest vegetables in season and let your creative (and digestive) juices run. Here’s one of my recipes to get you started:
Line a large dish with lettuce or spinach leaves. Then chop or grate a selection of fresh vegetables and fruit such as: cabbage (red or white), carrots, radish, tomatoes, courgettes, cauliflower, broccoli, green peppers, apples, beetroot, cucumber, oranges, grapes. Add a handful of sprouted seeds or beans such as alfalfa, mung, chickpeas or lentils. Dress with a little extra-virgin olive oil, a squeeze of fresh orange or lemon juice, a little curry powder, ginger or a dash or Worcester Sauce, and a little Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder to taste. Top the lot with a handful of sunflower seeds or chopped nuts.
To your basic salad you can add a side-dish of grated boiled egg, a little chicken or fish, or some brown rice or a baked potato. Make plenty of salad and you will find you won’t go hungry.
sweet treats
sorbets
You are supposed to make sorbets with a sorbetiere but I have survived for years without one.
Juice 6 oranges, and combine the juice in a food processor with 2 juicy seedless oranges which have been peeled and quartered. Add enough honey or natural stevia to sweeten and add some nutmeg or ginger if desired. I sometimes add a grated peach for texture. Pour the mixture into a plastic lunch-box type container or empty ice-cream tub, and freeze. Remove from the freezer and leave to thaw slightly for ten minutes. Blend the mixture again, spoon into dishes or empty halved orange shells and serve immediately.
raspberry fruit freeze pie
This is a great basic pie base that you can fill with any fruits and berries that are in season. Here is my favorite:
pie base:
- 1 cup pitted dried dates
- ½ cup almonds
- ¼ cup oat flakes
- 1 teaspoon honey
- a little water
Grind the dates and almonds as finely as possible in a food processor. Add the oats, honey and a little water and blend again. You need to add the water slowly to get the right consistency. You want the mixture to bind but not be sticky, so it rolls into a ball in the food processor. Flatten the mixture into a pie dish with your fingers or the back of a wooden spoon. As a variation you can add a tablespoon or two of coconut.
pie filling:
- 2 bananas
- 2 cups raspberries
- sherry
- honey or natural stevia to sweeten
Peel the bananas and chop them into pieces about an inch thick. Freeze in a polythene bag with the raspberries until firm. Remove from the freezer and blend the fruits together with a dash of sherry and a little honey to sweeten if you like. Pour into the pie crust and serve immediately, garnished with a few banana slices or raspberries.
carob and apple cake
- 1 cup sunflower seeds (or a 2:1 mixture of sunflower and sesame seeds)
- 1 cup carob powder
- ½ cup dried coconut
- ½ cup dried pitted dates
- 3 apples
- ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- apple slices or strawberries to garnish
Grind the seeds very finely. Add the carob powder, coconut and dates. Quarter and core the apples, then blend them in the food processor with the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla essence and allspice. Spoon the mixture into a flat dish and leave to chill for a couple of hours in the fridge. Decorate with apple and/or strawberry slices before serving.
carob fudge
Once chilled, these wonderful fudge balls have the texture of ordinary fudge, and their carob flavor makes them ideal chocolate substitutes.
- 1 cup sesame seeds
- ½ cup dried coconut
- ½ cup carob powder
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
Grind the seeds very finely in the food processor. Add the other ingredients and process again. Form the mixture into little balls and chill.
