15 LichField Road556835 Singapore
So I am French ! And considering living a life without eating any bread seems impossible to me ! I am attending nutrition courses and we had recently a lecture about grains. Some diets recommend not to eat any and it seems some people are really reactive to the proteins they contain (not only the wheat gluten). This scared me a little and I turned grain free for a few days… But actually as rightly explained in my course, food is bio individual and we all react differently to what we eat. In my case, I have figured that eating less gluten definitely helps me digest better and feel better, but I can not imagine skipping bread for the rest of my life, or at least at this stage of my life 🙂 However I try to enjoy only the best, eating sourdough organic bread when I chose to eat real bread. And of course I have banned white loaves or baguettes and any industrial baked stuffed. And when I decide to go gluten and / or flour free I bake myself some loaves like this one, which are super yum and so nutritionally good ! Of course it doesn’t taste like bread (no yeast or levain, and no flour) but it’s got a crust, a dense moist inside with some chunky seeds bites so it definitely recalls some nordic bread loaves and works really well with savory or sweet toppings. Don’t mention to your kids it’s made with lentils, they won’t taste them 🙂 and play with the different grains ratio if you want to have more / less buckwheat or quinoa, or millet flavor. You can also add a little spices like cinnamon, and some nuts or raisins if you want to twist it a little. Recipe below, super basic, just remember to prepare it the day before to soak your legumes, grains and seeds. This is actually super beneficial from a nutrition standpoint as it activates them by removing their physic acid external coating. Phytic acid prevents them from germinating and has been proven to diminish nutrients assimilation ! So don’t skip this part !
Ingredients for one loaf
- 100 g coral lentils
- 140 g buckwheat or millet or quinoa (or combination of all those, which I prefer)
- 70 g Sunflower seeds
- 70 g Pumpkin seeds
- 10 g chia seeds
- 10 g Hemp seeds
- 4 tbsp Psyllium powder
- 250 ml water
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Soak all your seeds and grains the day before in filtered water.
- In the morning, rinse them well and drain them
- Preheat your oven to 160°C fan forced
- Mix your psyllium with 125 ml water and let it rest for a few minutes
- Transfer your seeds and grains to your high speed blender and add your psyllium and all the other ingredients.
- Mix to blend well and break some of your seeds but ensure you keep some bits and texture. Once done add additional spices / raisins / nuts if using any.
- Transfer to your prepared tin layered with baking paper and top with additional seeds
- Put in your oven for min 1h and 20 / 25 min. Check, it should be gently golden on the top and your toothpick will come clean when checking doneness.
- Let it cool down in the tin before transferring out and wait it’s totally cool to slice.
- Enjoy!
Yes salads can be pretty, healthy, nourishing and very tasty ! The one I am sharing with you today is super well balanced, combining, good GF carbs, legume proteins, veggies, sheep dairy, lots of herbs and a healthy fat dressing. It can be satisfying as a main on its own but feel free to add some more protein if you have a busy/ sporty day and a few more greens as a side salad to have a complete lunch. It can be easily adapted if you don’t have sorghum, don’t worry (replace with quinoa, farro or millet) and also switch for a vegan cheese alternative if you eat plant based. I rarely eat dairy nowadays, but feta can bring that special twist I want sometimes. If you do use feta, ensure it is real one made only with goat and sheep milk, please ! as there are so many bad ones on the market !
The only time consuming step is the lentils cooking in the recipe, so ensure you cook more and keep some for some lentils burgers patties/ falafels / a nice dahl / another salad…. in coming days.
Recipe below, serves 6 as a main / 8 as a good side !
200 grs uncooked Puy lentils
200 grs shorghum
300 grs cherry tomatoes quartered
100 grs persian style soft marinated real feta (or marinated tofu for vegan alternative)
2 red onions diced
2 large garlic cloves crushed
20 grs chopped parsley / 20 grs chopped chives / 20 grs thyme
70 ml lemon juice
100 ml extra virgin olive oil
salt and cracked pepper and roasted pepitas to top
Rinse and cook your lentils. Do the same with the sorghum.While they are cooking prepare the lemon dressing, mixing garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and a bit of salt.
When your grains and lentils have cooled down, put them in your serving bowl, add the cherry tomatoes, the onions and pour over the dressing. Finally add the feta and the herbs and top with extra salt/ black pepper and roasted pepitas. As simple a that !
This is the kind of soup we love at home: full of flavor, nourishing and enough as a main meal as it contains a nice amount of protein using red lentils. I will usually add some kind of flat bread and a side leafy green salad to make a complete meal, and if we don’t go vegan, top the soup with some goat cheese instead of coconut yogurt . Even when you live in a tropical country it is so nice to have a warm hearty soup some days ! Hope you try and like it 🙂
INGREDIENTS (Serves 6 large bowls)
- 400 grs chopped pumpkin
- 200 grs red lentils
- 175 grs chopped carrots
- 3 chopped celery stalks
- 1 chopped large yellow onion
- 9 cm piece ginger roughly chopped
- 3 chopped garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 650 ml vegetable stock (ideally homemade or low sodium). Adjust according to consistency desired
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
DIRECTIONS
- Put vegetables, onions and ginger drizzled with olive oil and a little salt on a baking tray in preheated oven at 200°C.
- Bake for 30 minutes (check after 25 min it doesn’t get to brown)
- In the meantime, cook the rinsed red lentils in your thermomix or in a large pot covered with a lid, with the stock, garlic, spices and vegetable stock.
- Cook for 20 minutes, then add half of the coconut milk and mix.
- Add the roasted vegetables (start with only half of the ginger and try before adding the rest, as I love ginger but you might want a bit less 🙂 and the rest of the coconut milk and top with some more stock or water until you reach the consistency you want. Adjust seasoning (salt, pepper and maybe ginger)
- Blend until smooth texture and serve in bowls topped with coconut yogurt, fresh herbs (cilantro, thai basil, ..) roasted seeds, chili flakes, a drizle of olive oil….
Note: if you don’t plan to eat it all, pour in a container and keep in fridge for up to 3 days or in freezer for 2/3 months.
I have enjoyed so much French and mediterranean food while on Holidays.. I had almost forgotten I how much I love Asian food.
An today we were all craving for a curry type of dish. I didn’t have much fresh veggies in my fridge so I did this easy dahl recipe that requires really basic staples you will surely have in your cupboards.
If you want to invite the sun on your table and enjoy a comforting easy to make hearty healthy curry, give it a try.
Recipe in the link below.