Wholesome Cook
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the Wholesome Cook Companion The Simple Things I Love Feeding a Family the Bioindividual Way Equipment You Can’t Live Without Additional Uses for Recipes More Kitchen Tips! Extended Glossary Extended Index Martyna Angell About this companion book… Think of this eBook as an extension of The Wholesome Cook cookbook: a collection of notes, tips and material that we just could not fit into the print book. Sure, I could have packaged it all up in easy- to-find posts for the blog, but instead I decided to share those with you, exclusively, as a thank you for purchasing the book and for wanting to make the change to living a wholefood life. I also wanted to include UK and US versions of the glossary, because familiar ingredients makes cooking real food that much easier. Finally, the index has also been extended and now includes a breakdown by diet styles (dairy-free, egg-free, lactose-free, no sugar, nut-free, paleo, vegan and vegetarian), which you can store with your book for quick reference if there are certain foods you need to avoid. Clever, huh? All recipes are refined sugar-free and have a gluten-free option. 2 Plus … I’d love to see what you cook up and how you enjoy the big book: from quiet moments with a cup of tea reading the pages to action shots from the kitchen … share them, tag them. #TheWholesomeCookBook 3 The Simple Things I Love One of the most valuable lessons I learnt during my time at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, aside from respecting our bioindividuality of course, was the idea of primary foods. This is the idea that in order to live happy and fulfilled lives we also need to nourish other areas of our lives: personal relationships, work satisfaction and our spirituality – areas that make us happy and healthy in a more holistic way. Here is a simple list of the things that make me happy – it’s nice to keep a list as a little reminder of the things to be grateful for. 1. Cooking with kids. It’s a wonderful opportunity to teach them about the merits and beauty of wholefood made from scratch. They have an amazing thirst for knowledge and you’d be surprised how keen they are to learn and share with others. Both my stepkids love cooking simple meals for their friends and talking about the healthier choices they make. 4 2. Eggs, because they are tasty, versatile and nutri- tious. They are also extremely good for eye health. 3. Brunches, because they often involve a sleep in, strong coffee, friends, good chats, an occasional indulgence and the aforementioned eggs. 4. Travel, cookbooks and blogging, because they widen my culinary horizons. They can inspire and rejuvenate your thirst for adventure and hunger for good wholesome food. 5. Sourdough, rye especially, because it’s chewy, more-ish and agrees with my gut. 6. My family, because they inspire, support and encourage – no matter what. 7. A quote from best-selling author Sally Edwards: ‘If we’re not willing to settle for junk living, we certainly shouldn’t settle for junk food’. Such a simple but powerful thought. 8. Long walks with Kasha, our Jack Russell terrier, exploring the bush and the beach. 5 9. Homemade pickles and good fish, often together, because they are tasty and real. 10. Making new friends and being kind and generous to the ones we’ve met already. Happy wholesome cooking! Marty x 6 7 8 Feeding a Family the Bioindividual Way You might be wondering how on earth I feed a family of four (or however many mouths you have) the bioindividual way. It’s pretty simple, let me elaborate and give you a few real-life examples. The Way I Eat: Martyna I eat three to four satisfying meals a day most of the time and keep snacking to a minimum. Having said that, every now and again I like a square of dark chocolate or to indulge in a slice of homemade cake or a cookie. My point of difference lies in the timing of those meals. I start my day at around 6.30 am with a small wholefood smoothie, about a cupful, after a morning walk with the dog. At around 10 am I have my breakfast which generally involves eggs with veggies or yoghurt with 9 berries or some type of porridge with various bits (see pages 100–101). Lunch is around 2 pm and is the main meal for me. It’s a habit learnt in Poland where the main meal of the day is consumed between 2 and 3 pm. This is usually a big salad of sorts, leftovers from the family dinner the night before or a piece of grilled fish with some greens. My last meal of the day is around 5 pm and it’s a small supper. Sometimes it consists of grazing on food I’m prepping for the family’s main meal. Sometimes it’s simply a cup of miso soup with a handful of veggies. And sometimes I indulge and have a bigger meal a little later with the family. I love my veggies and make sure that we have fresh or cooked veggies with almost every meal. They are full of nutritional goodness and help alkalise the body, which helps us detox and ward off inflammation, and neutralises the acidic effects of meat, coffee, grains and alcohol. I eat dairy yoghurt and use butter, but I am mindful of the amount of milk I consume because it gives me acne. I consume processed white wheat in things like bread and pasta very rarely, opting for wholemeal, spelt, rye or gluten-free varieties, which seem to agree with me more. Sourdough is a fantastic choice because the grains are partially 10 digested by the fermentation process. I don’t overdo it though. A slice now and again satisfies the cravings. I find rice and potatoes heavy so eat them even less often. I like to indulge a little too. Travel is when I put my mostly clean-eating lifestyle on hold and indulge in the cultural delights on offer. I also won’t say no to chocolate cake at a party, after asking questions about its origins or ingredients. I like fresh cream eclairs and every now and again I crave hot chips. In summer I will happily enjoy an occasional scoop of pistachio or hazelnut gelato. I eat out but do so mindfully. Because of my job, I overeat sometimes. When I do, I like to take a little time out from eating to fast. I listen to my body and on a fast day I eat only once and only when I’ve become hungry, generally in the late afternoon. I make sure to include plenty of vegetables and some fish in my meal. I drink plenty of water and herbal teas. My body feels so much better the next day: light and refreshed. The Way I Eat: Matt ‘Marty keeps me in check and most days I get a healthy home-cooked dinner with plenty of leftovers to take to work the next day for lunch. It works well, because I don’t have to think about what food to buy 11 and what has gone into making it. I know that what she has prepared will nourish me. ‘I love pasta and rice and I find that they work for me very well. I don’t eat much bread, however, because for some reason it does not agree with me. Sourdough is an exception. Generally I leave bread to something like a weekend brunch or a bread-basket treat when at a restaurant. ‘I love cheese and will often have a small cheese board for supper as I like to stay up a little later. Aside from a small portion each of cheddar, chevre and soft brie, Marty makes sure to add a few raw carrot or celery sticks, a tiny bowl of one of her dips and a small selection of wholegrain crackers. I have also grown to love olives, which I often have drizzled with, I am told, extra virgin olive oil. ‘I’m not a big fan of fish, so Marty has devised a few clever ways for me to enjoy it. My favourite is probably the simplest: lemony fish in a bag served with beans and Thai pesto. It’s really good and the house does not smell of fish for hours later. I have also come to love the Grilled Salmon (page 200) and various kinds of sashimi. ‘I’ve learnt to understand more about where our food comes from and how it’s processed. When we eat out at restaurants, I now tend go for grass-fed beef, even if the particular cut is not my favourite. 12 ‘My indulgence? Well, with Marty cooking most nights there are many. Most are actually quite good for me, as well as being indulgent, but if I am to be honest I do like a glass of good wine with my meals, a slice of chocolate cake on occasion, a bowl of hot chips, ice cream and those cheese platters. ‘On weekends our routine changes a little and depending on what sports and activities the kids have on, we plan our meals around them. We also like to go out to try different cuisines with the kids so that they are introduced to a wide variety of foods and ways different ingredients can be prepared. Sometimes we just indulge, enjoying fish and chips by the beach, Chinese food or a good burger with the lot at a local pub.’ 13 Zac on eating more mindfully: ‘When I order at restaurants I’ve learnt to choose grass-fed beef and free-range chicken and pork because the animals get to live in a paddock and not trapped in cages.