Cooking: good food tips, links & ingredients

[Tessa]

Hi everyone..
I thought maybe we could all share any healthy drinks we know of, if people have juicers we could share those recipes/ideas as well. Even if its not always doable as an alternative, its good to give our bodies some healthy cleansing either way. I also thought that so the section doesnt get too long, we could just edit our posts whenever we think of something instead of adding a new one each time? (less pages to go through)

So here is my first one:
Beetroot, fantastic liver cleanser Beetroot juice can be bought in any supermarket in a carton, i drink it often. Warning! The effects are noticeable after only a couple of hours...so dont be shocked when things that dont normally appear purple....do appear purple, this is normal and means its working...

Alternatively for juicers:
Fresh beetroot, fresh ginger, fresh orange juice. I am not one for measuring i just go by instinct, but i guess 2 beetroots are enough and 1 inch of ginger.
Cube the beetroot, add half to the juicer, then add the roughly chopped ginger, then the rest of the beetroot. Squeeze an orange and add to the beetroot/ginger liquid. Enjoy!

To be continued.........

[sue]

Hi Tessa, your recipe sounds a wonderful cleanser for our poor overworked livers. I'm going to get myself a juicer. The biggest dilemma I face when not drinking is of course to continue with a social life which occasionally means going to the pub/club/party etc. I'm so used to drinking alcohol when out, tea/coffee at home as well as water but whats a good (non childish) soft drink thats not full of sugar, tastes good and doesn't require an explanation as to why I'm drinking it? Any ideas anyone?

[Tessa]

Hi Sue
how about a virgin mary? nobody would know if its a virgin or a bloody mary....unless they are standing next to you when you order. Another idea is to say you have taken an aspirin for a headache and dont want to mix it with any alcohol. Or....if you are in a place that does cocktails, pick one from the non-alcoholic section, taste just as good, i like anything with cranberry as thats not sweet at all. Not sure why anyone should have to explain why they arent drinking alcohol....do you feel that you will be asked lots of questions if you arent drinking and just want to avoid that? If i think of any other "excuses" or drinks i will let you know!
Tessa

[sue]

Hi Tessa,
Thanks for your suggestions. Not keen on tomato juice but love cranberry. Have totally lost touch with soft drinks they serve in pubs, can you get cranberry?
You're right we shouldn't have to explain why and what we're drinking but after years of people seeing you drink alcohol and then suddenly not, questions are bound to be asked. People feel comfortable when you're your "normal" self!

[Tessa]

Hi Sue
I am not sure if you can get Cranberry in the pubs in England, but i would think so...maybe the others know. If people dont feel "comfortable" when you arent your "normal" self, too bad is all i can say. This is something you are doing for yourself and not them, so let them think whatever. They will soon get used to it and wont even notice after a while. How did your saturday night go btw? Did you manage to keep occupied?
Tessa

[Tessa]

yummy marshmaiden, thanks....just my kinda cookin
will post some tomorrow
thanks

[sue]

Hi Tessa,

You sound like a very confident person, and although I agree, "who cares" what I'm drinking, in certain situations it can be awkward, for me anyway. I think we all have to deal with so called difficult situations in our own way.
Didn't deal with my demons last night, drunk a bottle of wine and went to bed, still anxious. That doesn't normally happen. Slept for a few hours then woke feeling really anxious. Does anyone else get that really anxious feeling in the middle of the night when you know (or think) everyone else is peacefully sleeping? Not even sure what I'm feeling anxious about........ spooks, bogey men, the thought I might die in the night and nobody will find me for a few days. All totally unrealistic; feelings I don't have when my 9 year old daughter is there (as if she could save me from any/all of the above).

[Tessa]

Thai Green Curry Chicken

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 very thinly sliced yellow pepper
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
Chicken breast cut into strips, as much as needed for however many people you are cooking for.

1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup/240 ml/8 oz chicken broth, chicken stock cube is fine (add more if the liquid seems to be too little towards the end)
1 1/2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
4 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro/coriander
¼ cup (4 tablespoons) thinly sliced green onions (spring onions)
Hot fresh chili can also be added, as much as you like, but optional.

Cooked basmati rice

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and 1 tsp of the ginger, sauté until fragrant, 1 minute. Add chicken, sauté until golden, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer mixture to a bowl.

Add coconut milk, broth and curry paste to pan. Stir until smooth. Add the basil, some of the cilantro (fresh coriander) and the remaining ginger. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until sauce thickens. Return chicken mixture to pan. Add yellow pepper and chili (optional). Simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the cilantro (fresh coriander) salt and pepper.

Serve on top of rice, and sprinkle the green onions (spring onions) on top.

[Tessa]

Salmon marinaded in soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Very quick and very healthy

Salmon filet, not steak (enough for the amount of people you are cooking for)
Ginger (fresh)
Garlic (fresh and crushed)
Lemon
Soya Sauce (not the very dark one if poss.)

Ruccola salad (Arugola in English I think?) and any other mixed salad.

Cut the filet to the size you want for each person, put in a marinating dish. Pour over lots of soya sauce (approx. half a cm) then spread the crushed garlic on top, and ginger slices. Add ground pepper on top. Leave to marinade for 10 to 15 minutes.

Put the salad in a big bowl; pour on olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add some sliced grapes or raisins.

Take salmon out of marinade and fry until cooked. 2 – 3 mins on each side. I usually leave the skin on the bottom, and get it nice and crispy. Pick out some of the ginger/garlic while frying it if it’s getting too brown. Just before the salmon is cooked, pour over the marinade sauce and leave to cook for a couple of minutes. Now pour some lemon juice. I also add a bit of honey, but that’s optional.

Fill each plate with lots of salad, and place the salmon filet on top with the remaining sauce.

[sue]

Hi Jaycee,
The symptoms you describe are exactly what I'm feeling and I know what you mean, they don't appear when I haven't been drinking (well not in the middle of the night anyway). Thats another story, when I'm on my own in the house I feel really anxious so need a drink to get over that. Its a catch 22 situation sadly!

[sue]

Hi Jaycee, Not participating in the challenge right now. Have to really psyche myself up for that plus seem to have a few social things going on at the moment but best wishes to all involved. Thought I'd sussed it out a week or so ago after reading Allen Carr's book on Stopping Drinking, managed to stay sober on Saturday night too but it was awful. I was so anxious that decided I'd need to sort my head out first as I didn't want to go through it again. When I wake in the night I tend to lay there hoping to go back to sleep. I have a 9 year old daughter so I don't want to wake her by moving around. Mostly I do go back to sleep but I keep waking up until morning. When I don't drink, apart from the first hour, I'm usually fine. Maybe its time I found myself a non-alcoholic man!

[changing]

A vegetarian dish that is also appreciated by confirmed meat eaters:

(for 4 people)

8 small courgettes
4 tomatoes
20 pitted black olives
bunch of spring onions
large mozarella
cream or creme fraiche (if you're trying to lose weight/reduce cholesterol use reduced fat creme fraiche - it works just as well as the other stuff)
mixed herbs, salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees C

Slice the courgettes in two and place them in a (fitting) oven proof dish. Dice mozarella, tomatoes and olives (small dice) and slice spring onions - mix and spread over courgettes. Add salt, pepper, herbs and bake for about 30 minutes. Great with baby new potatoes and a green salad.

[Tessa]

This is that remedy I have mentioned on other posts which is great if you have a cold, and it really did minimise mine a lot. I didnt spend one day in bed which i normally would have, at least 2 days normally. It is recommended to take a tablespoon a day in order to prevent colds as well. I only just started taking it and am pretty sure i wouldnt have caught this cold if i had been taking it longer. I like the taste, but might not be the case for everyone, so honey or tomatoe juice, anything really, can be taken with it.
FIRE CIDER
Ingredients
1 liter Apple Cider Vinegar
8 tablespoons Horseradish root grated (over here we get it freshly grated in a jar at the supermarket)
2 tablespoons of Garlic chopped
8 tablespoons of Onion chopped
8 tablespoons of Fresh Ginger chopped
1 tsp Cayenne
Directions
Place all ingredients in a liter jar and cover with Apple Cider Vinegar.
Cover tightly.
Steep for up about 2-3 weeks.
Strain into clean jar.
How to Use Your Fire Cider?
~ Drink it straight or diluted in a bit of water or tomato juice.Start out with a tsp or so to test your tolerance level.
~ Rub into sore muscles and aching joints.
~ Soak a clean cloth in Fire Cider to place on a congested chest.
~ Mix with a bit of honey to ease a cough.

[Tessa]

Hi Fiendish
thanks for the links, I had a quick look and they look great. I will move the recipes thread over here.
Tessaxx

[Tessa]

Carrot and coriander soup
Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced
450g/1lb carrots, sliced
1 tsp ground coriander
1.2 litresl/2 pints vegetable stock (bouillon is fine)
large bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped (or fresh basil, either one is good in this soup)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onions and the carrots. Cook for 3-4 minutes until starting to soften.
2. Stir in the ground coriander and season well. Cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Simmer until the vegetables are tender.
4. Whizz with a hand mixer or in a blender until smooth. Stir in the fresh coriander or basil and serve with bread.
Tessa xx

[Tessa]

Chicken with Peppers

Chicken breast filets
2 yellow peppers
2 red peppers
Onion
Broccoli
Bow tie pasta (farfalla)

Preheat oven to 180 Celsius
Slice up the peppers.
Cut each filet in half. Slice the onion. Put all of that in a roasting dish (the deep one that you do roast chicken in). Then mix up in a jar 1/3 cup olive oil and 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar. Pour over the meat and pepper and onion, stir it well. Put in the oven at 180 degrees for around 40 mins, until the chicken is cooked.

In the meantime, cook some broccoli (frozen is also fine) and the pasta.

When the chicken and peppers are done, slice the chicken up into bite-size pieces. Throw chicken back in the roasting dish, then throw in the broccoli and pasta, mix up and add some dried basil or fresh if you have it. This is a meal in itself, so salad is all you need as a side-dish. It also freezes well after.

[Tessa]

Chicken with carrots, courgette and coconut milk.

Ingredients:
1 Onion
1 inch stick of fresh ginger
carrots (you can add any veg of your choice here)
courgette
Chicken filet
Coconut Milk

Preparation:
Chop the onion, ginger, carrots (sliced fairly thin and about 2 inches long), courgette (cubed), and slice the chicken (2 inch thin slices).

Place the chicken slices in a bowl. Add salt and pepper, some oil to bind the spices, add any sort of asian spice you have. 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp tumeric, and any other spices you like. if you like it a bit spicy then add a little chili powder. Mix and leave.

Fry the onions and carrots and ginger for about 5 minutes. Then towards the end add the courgette. Add the chicken pieces, fry on a medium heat. After about 5 minutes of frying, once the chicken gets more-or-less cooked through, not completely, add a can of coconut milk. Stir and then leave on a low/medium heat to cook through, with or without lid. Cook until the sauce gets slightly thicker and the chicken is cooked through. Usually takes about 15 minutes. Taste to see if it needs more salt.

Serve with either boiled potatoes or rice, add fresh coriander or parsley or basil to the sauce once served.

[maryrose]

Hello everyone!! How are you all doing this week? Keeping strong I hope.

I find that when I drink, I eat comfort carb city foods like mash, wedges, roasts..all very tasty but a bugg*r on the waist line! However if Im not drinking, I eat so much less, opting for really healthy fish and fresh green veg. weird aint it.

My chosen tipple when not drinking alcohol has to be all of the strong herbal teas you can get now, like 'Spicy Tension Tamer' ( ) or licorice, fennal, Choco, etc. They really help with the cravings, if you drink enough!! Also dandelion tea is great for liver detox, tastes minging at first, but just like after a few mouthfuls of cheap plonk, its fine! I buy lots of these from H&B.

Smoothies are always a winner too! Yum yum yum.

Love, lots of it, xx

[hamster]

Hi Darcy

I think this is the origional thread Tessa created - good to have it bumped.

Come on peeps - lets have some of your best recipies and heathy spices tips

Julie

[Tessa]

Brilliant, thanks Julie and Darcy....I shall get started with a few tips asap, but am feeling a bit lazy tonight!! Will for sure add some tomorrow though.

But for starters, this is an excellent liver cleanser: Juice of one lemon, 1 Tblsp of olive oil, sprinkling of cayenne pepper. Mix well and drink. It really does do a good job and after a while the tongue goes all nice and pink

Tess xx