Keeping it real

Let’s face it… as women we tend to overthink things. And with the constant stream of health and wellbeing information being pumped through the veins of the media it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with life-preserving changes we ‘must make today’!
 
We all at some point have made a commitment to ourselves to eat more of this or less of that because of advice in an article that’s come across our Facebook feed or coffee table.
 
Holistic nutrition specialist, Dr Libby Weaver adds to the mix with her Registered Reader Programme. In her latest cookbook, Dr Libby’s Real Food Kitchen, the Australasian health guru invites her readers to sign up to receive news and updates on her endorsed health and wellbeing messages. 
 
However, where Dr Libby differs is the simplicity of her advice…
 
“A lot of people aren’t good at eating less,” Dr Libby explains. “Telling people to eat less sugar or less carbs leaves them feeling overwhelmed. More often than not they know they should be eating less of these foods and if they could have done it on their own they would have.
 
I don’t ask people to focus on eating less - I ask people to eat more real food.
 
Vegetables are game changing for our health. Our diets should be based on vegetables and then we should add small amounts of other foods. I try to help people see that nutrition is not rocket science. When it comes to food, nature gets it right – it’s human intervention that gets it wrong.”
 
With an extraordinary ability to relate to all demographics, from all walks of life, Dr Libby is a dynamic and highly experienced presenter.
 
With a background in biochemistry and a natural ability to break down even the most complex of concepts into layman’s terms, Dr Libby’s health messages are globally relevant, which is why her holistic approach and unique form of education is embraced by audiences across the world.
 
Her PhD examined the biochemical and nutritional factors in children with autism, and her findings have since changed the way the condition is treated in Australia and New Zealand.
 
Armed with abundant knowledge, scientific research and a true desire to help others see their own light and beauty, Dr Libby empowers and inspires people to take charge of their health and happiness.
 
Dr Libby’s Real Food Kitchen excludes anything that takes away from people’s health including refined, processed and artificial foods and preservatives.
 
“These things are relatively new to the food supply and we don’t really know the long term consequences of eating them.”
 
With the assistance of Chef Cynthia Louise whose work focuses on foods as nature intended them to be, 90 breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, drinks, snacks and dressing recipes were carefully concocted using only real food.
 
“I love anyone who is contributing to the overall level of wellness to the planet. Cynthia is a genius and I don’t say that lightly. As an example – when we came up with the idea to do a banoffee pie - she had never eaten or even seen one. I explained the basis of the banana and toffee dessert to her and the first time she made it, it was off the charts extraordinary (see for yourself in Dr Libby’s Real Food Kitchen page 254). I love anyone who uses real food where normally processed ingredients or packet food would be used.”
 
The recipes, including Corn Fritters with Avocado Salsa and Leafy Greens and Curried Egg Salad (shown below) were designed for ease of preparation as one of Libby’s main goals was to educate people that real and nutritious food does not need to be time consuming.
 
“People simply need to learn how to use them. If anyone gave me the excuse for unhealthy eating being time I would say they don’t have time to be sick! It’s much easier to maintain and improve your health than have to rebuild it once it crashes.
 
Since it’s nutrients that keep us alive, when we live on processed food for too long we don’t get the essential nutrients that are the very basis of our cellular health. 
 
I’ve had 25-year-olds say to me ‘I feel tired because I’m getting old’ – they’ve got to be joking! They’re simply not nourishing themselves with what they need for optimum wellness. I’m here to offer support and to show people how easy it can be to eat healthy.”
 
www.drlibby.com
 
 
 
Why Dr Libby Weaver loves farmers’ markets:
 
Unless we grow all our own food it’s nearly impossible to police the soil that our food is coming from. Dr Libby Weaver is a big fan of farmers’ markets for a number of reasons:
 
1: You get to pay the person that did the hard work. It’s great to support local farmers. You can have a chat with the makers and find out exactly how the produce is grown – synthetically or naturally.
 
2: At a farmers’ market the food hasn’t travelled that far. Reducing our carbon footprint is great for the environment.
 
3: The food is as close to picking as possible. Often the food that is brought to the markets has been picked 1-2 days earlier or even that morning. The fresher the food is from picking the better it is for us.
 
4: I go to the Britomart farmers’ market on Saturdays. There are a few guys there who don’t spray their produce. From a health perspective, antioxidants should be present in our coloured plant food. Those antioxidants are critical for human health, longevity, prevention of degenerative diseases and anti-aging.



 
Curried Egg Salad
 
Ingredients:
 
Dressing:
 
2 1/2 cups raw cashew nuts
 
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
 
1/2 garlic clove
 
Pinch of salt and ground black pepper
 
2 cups water
 
1 teaspoon maple syrup
 
 
Salad:
 
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
 
400g rocket
 
1 apple, finely sliced
 
1/2 cup raw pecans
 
1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
 
 
 
Method:
 
1. Make the dressing first. Place all of the ingredients in a high speed blender and process until smooth and creamy.
 
2. In a bowl combine the eggs with as much or as little dressing as desired. Toss through the remaining salad ingredients. 
 
 
Serves 4
 
Cooking time: 15 Minutes
 
Freezer friendly dressing
 
As this recipe makes 2 1/2 cups of dressing, excess can be frozen in a BPA-free container for another time. 
 
 
 
Nutritional information:
 
I absolutely adore the combination of curry and egg and this salad is a modern take on an old classic. I love having nuts and seeds in my salads as they provide additional crunch and nutrition. Pecans in particular are such a nourishing nut – they contain more than 19 vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, B and E, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and zinc, and they contain the anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats. 
 
 
 
 
Corn Fritters with Avocado Salsa and Leafy Greens
 
Ingredients:
 
coconut oil to fry
 
1 small uncooked sweet potato or kumara, grated
 
3 organic corn cobs, kernels removed
 
salt and pepper
 
1 bunch of coriander, finely chopped (reserve the leaves)
 
3 spring onions, finely sliced
 
1 bunch of leafy greens
 
Fritter Batter:
 
11⁄2 cups besan (chickpea) flour (see glossary) 
 
1 teaspoon baking powder
 
1 cup filtered water
 
50ml good quality olive oil
 
2 teaspoons cumin powder
 
Avocado Salsa:
 
2 large ripe avocadoes
1 teaspoon cumin powder
salt and pepper
1⁄4 cup reserved freshly chopped coriander leaves 
 
juice of 1⁄2 a lime
 
– Place all the ingredients for the salsa in a bowl and mash. Taste to adjust seasoning. Serve with the fritters and leafy greens drizzled with a little dressing. 
 
Balsamic Maple Dressing:
 
25ml balsamic vinegar 
 
20ml maple syrup
 
– Combine the two ingredients and mix well
 
Method:
 
1. Heat a little coconut oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Lightly sauté́ the sweet potato and corn kernels for 3–4 minutes until tender but not brown. Season with salt and pepper.
 
2. Turn off the heat. Add the chopped coriander and spring onion to the pan and stir through, tasting to adjust seasoning if needed.
 
3. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set aside.
 
4. To make the batter place the flour, baking powder, water and olive oil in a high- speed blender and briefly blend to form a batter. Scrape down the inside of the blender as required. 
 
5. Stir the prepared vegetables into the bowl, then add the cumin. Mix well, taste, and adjust seasoning if required.
 
6. Heat a little coconut oil in a frying pan on medium/high heat. Ladle 1⁄3 cup of batter at a time into the pan and cook until the surface is pitted with small holes and the underneath has started to brown. Flip the fritter to cook the other side.
 
 
 
Serves 2–4
 
Nutritional Information
 
Perfect for a relaxed brunch, these corn fritters are bursting with flavour and when combined with greens and avocado salsa they form a nourishing twist on an old classic. Gluten-free besan flour (made from chickpeas) has a higher protein content than other flours. The Real Food Kitchen Corn Fritters are a feast for the senses!


Recipes republished with permission from Dr Libby's Real Food Kitchen by Dr Libby Weaver and Chef Cynthia Louise. $49.95 available from http://www.drlibby.com/product/real-food-kitchen-paperback/ comments powered by Disqus