With best buddies in town and a lovely birthday party to attend, this almond based flan is just the ticket. A celebration of superfoods and traditional ingredients, it’s not for everyday dining yet it will be a sure fire hit for any special occasion. Rich in protein and a little too much sugar – even though I have modified it – so be careful if you too have a hot electric oven as it may burn. I actually baked this at around 170 C and it still browned up too much. You could cover with foil perhaps?
Crust
250g/1 1/4 cups ground almonds
60 grams/1/3 cup GF icing sugar
25 grams/¼ cup light brown sugar
25 grams/1/3 cup cacao
½ teaspoon Murray River salt
¼ teaspoon GF and aluminium free baking soda
6 tablespoons cold organic unsalted butter, in pieces
Filling
4 eggs, separated
100 grams/1cup organic butter at room temperature
135 grams/1 cup coconut sugar
1 cup ground almonds
100 grams bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1/3 cup organic blueberries
Garnish ½ teaspoon acai powder
½ teaspoon icing sugar
Crust
Lightly grease a 25cm/10 inch flan tin with removable bottom
In a food processor or Vitamix, combine ground almonds, sugars, cacao, salt and baking soda. Blitz well
Add the butter and pulse until the dough just begins to come together to resemble rough breadcrumbs
Transfer dough to a clean surface and then carefully press the dough evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the flan tin
Chill for 15 minutes
Preheat oven to 170 C
The velvety luxury of cacao butter and dark organic chocolate
Filling
Separate the eggs. Beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks
In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg yolks one at a time and mix until smooth. Stir in the almonds and melted chocolate. Gently fold in the egg whites
Remove base from fridge and carefully spoon in the filling then place in the oven and back for 15 minuted until the chocolate just starts to set
Press the blueberries gently into the filling in a circle around the tart and continue baking until slightly puffed and set throughout, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool. Cut and serve with coconut yoghurt or organic cream
Our guests at Cabarita Ocean Health Retreat just love this lemon curd that we serve at breakfast. Traditionally made with butter, we substitute with coconut oil for a rich and luxurious texture.
Makes about 250ml
3 organic eggs
1 lemon, juice and zest
2 tablespoons raw organic honey
6 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
In a very clean saucepan, whisk eggs, lemon zest and juice, honey and coconut oil together over a low heat until the mixture thickens into a glossy curd
Strain through a fine mesh sieve and allow to cool
Allow to cool and set before refrigerating
In the Thermomix
Place TM Butterfly in the TM bowl
Place eggs, lemon zest and juice and honey onto the TM bowl
Set timer to 5 mins and temperature to 60 C
Place lid and whisk at speed 1-2 for 2 mins
Add melted coconut oil and continue to whisk for remaining 3 minutes
Strain through a fine mesh sieve and allow to cool
Hope you will enjoy the final episode of Healthtalks TV series 2 where Mel and I double date in the kitchen with some of our favourite superfood smoothie ingredients. Scroll down to watch today’s VDO and click on Nat.
It’s packed full of everything a chef could need for a long hot stint in the kitchen – just like a chocolate tropical holiday!
Rich and energising raw cacao smoothie
Rich and energising raw cacao smoothie
1 teaspoon cacao
1/2 cup blueberries – fresh or frozen
2 Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
1 young Thai coconut – water only, save the flesh for making coconut yoghurt
1 teaspoon coconut butter
1 teaspoon maca powder
Optional 1 tablespoon protein powder – we use a local called Ezy Protein Powder available here and/or
1 handful organic kale, washed and dried
Now me and Clare Bowditch go back a long way – as do most of the rockin’ women posted here. According to CB, I am the “original health coach”. She should know ‘cos she came to me as a patient way back in 2002 for nutritional support. She then wrote the following blessing – the introduction to my eBook The Healing Feeling.
“I had the good fortune of stumbling across Sam Gowing back in 2002, when she gave me a jolly-good dose of both Pilates and “food as medicine” advice. Since then, whenever I’m run down, flat out, over-roasted, or in need to some professional “energy support”, she is the one I call. She always sets me back on the path to good health, and manages to do so in a way that makes food sexy, and exercise delightful. She has a big heart, and this makes her the real deal. I love her way.”
Well, I have to say that the love is deeply reflected. Not only can this babe sing – we all know that – but she’s a fabulous cook too, as you will read below. She is also one heluva dynamic businesswoman with a big, compassionate heart. So much so, she has collated a tribe of holistic, smarty-pants whippersnappers to mentor, nurture and shape into the future of Australian business.
Oh how we love that!
So here’s to you CB – may you rise and shine like the heart that beams within you.
Go you good thing!
____
BOWDITCH’s EVERY-DAY KALE SALAD – by Clare Bowditch
Back in 2011 I made no small secret of the fact that I was coming around to the king of green vegetables: kale. At Christmas for example, I brought one turkey and one kale salad. My Offspring co-star Eddie Perfect implied to a journalist that my my relationship with kale was bordering on obsession. He was right, and a kale/banana/orange smoothie in the morning has indeed become one of my family’s daily rituals (YES, MOST OF MY KIDS LOVE IT! THEY THINK IT’S A MILKSHAKE! I KNOW!!).
Sure, if they find out kale causes cancer, we’re fucked, but at least we lived happy lives.
Exactly why do I love kale? Because once I got over the fact that it looked really green and a little tough, the benefits were SO obvious SO quickly; less illness over winter, more zing in my step, and a strange joy at having put something so obviously great into my life.
What may turn things around for you and kale is this tiny little preparation step that tenderizes the beast and turns it into something that makes you go “Yum”.
And it goes a little like this:
Approx 8 stalks of kale.
one ripe avocado
Himalayan sea salt
Toasted sesame seeds
Olive oil
The secret, my friends, is in the olive oil.
People get very fussy with kale, cutting out the stalk in the middle and what not. I usually don’t bother – I just take the beasts, wash them, shake them, roll them up together, and then cut them into fine strips
Then they go into a bowl and (here comes the secret!) pour a generous amound (a few tablespoons) of olive oil over them, sprinkle a good pinch or two of salt, and then massage them gently. Once all the kale is covered in oil, just leave it for half an hour (or less, or more: really, do what suits)
Then just before dinner, chop up your avo, pop it on top, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and voila!
This salad is a basic intro to “How Kale Can Become Your BBF: 101”
Add or subtract whatever you like – slice some carrots, cucumber, or add in a little dulse-flake action. Whatever works for you
Sammy’s version of CB’s kale and avo salad. OK, we used locally grown organic chard, but ya get the vibe!
Here’s a few questions I have for Clare
1. What’s your survival food when you’re on tour? (Either on flights or in hotel rooms)
I travel with great-quality tea including Calmer Sutra wet-chai, a seaweed Gomasio, a cucumber, some Spiral Miso, and Emma and Tom’s Cacao and Orange Life Bar. There have been a number of tours where I have hardly touched any of my snacks and instead opted for chips with gin and tonic, and that’s ok too.
2. What’s your healthy go-to comfort food – either at home or in a restaurant – when you come home?
Moroccan Soup Bar: Just feed my a bit of chick-pea bake, pickles and some steamed vegies and I return to normal.
3. Do you have a secret remedy that keeps your voice in shape?
Pineapple juice before a show. Sage tea when I’m feeling sore in the throat (this is a really, really common prescription that any German doctor will give you if you present with a sore throat).
4. What’s the most obscure rider request you’ve ever heard?
Fluffy pink towels and a carton of Winnie Blue (same rider).
Last weekend my fairy goddaughter Sionach and I hosted a fabulous Raw & Paleo Masterclass in Melbourne. Our small and very exclusive audience loved the food and this dish was one of the raw highlights.
Cauliflower couscous with macadamia nuts and cranberries
1/2 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
1 cup macadamia nuts
½ cup parsley, finely chopped
½ cup mint, finely chopped
½ cup dried cranberries
Dressing
2 lemons, juice of 2, zest of 1
1/3 cup Brookfarm macadamia nut oil
Pinch turmeric
Pinch Murray Darling salt
• Place cauliflower in a food processor and blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs
• Transfer to a mixing bowl and add remaining ingredients
• Combine dressing ingredients and toss through gently
Although it’s not a completely debilitating one, it’s enough to keep me out of the kitchen – ‘cos nobody wants to see a sick chef – especially in a health retreat. So I’ve been tucked up in bed for a few days, just crawling out to absorb some vitamin D today and to make this pitcher of green love for my low immune stricken cells.
Don’t be tempted to put anything too fancy in the mix, just go for the essential nutrients you have on hand.
OK I admit, I did use up the E3Live in mine. You can find out all about that ingredient when you buy my eBook The Healing Feeling here, now!
Here’s what’s in today’s all organic brew:
½ bunch kale, roughly chopped 1 Pink Lady apple, seeds n all, roughly chopped 1/4 bunch mint, roughly chopped 700 ml coconut water – or filtered water 1 teaspoon E3Live 1 teaspoon chlorella powder - I luckily found some kicking around my pantry 1 tablespoon superfood blend – I use this one at home Shakti’s Superfood Blend 1 dessertspoon psyllium husk – or other fibre to help clear the mucous from the digestive tract that may want to proliferate into the lungs
Place all ingredients in a Vitamix blender and process on full speed until completely smooth
Pour into individual glass bottles and refrigerate what you have not yet consumed, or keep in the Vitamix and enjoy within a few hours
Other first aid foods which contain lots of antioxidants:
Green tea- contains natural polyphenols, a powerful group of antioxidants known as catechins, whose major task is to scavenge pro-oxidants and gobble up those pesky free radicals
Spinach, kale and other DGL - Chlorophyll rich Dark Green Leaves (DGL)
Blueberries contain the phytonutrients ellagic acid and resveratrol, known to regenerate liver cells
Garlic is a natural antibiotic, reducing the incidence of common colds. Combining garlic with cayenne pepper will induce a sweating reaction if taken at the onset of the cold
Tomatoescontains the antioxidant lycopeine, an active cartenoid that protects against the oxidants that lie close to the cell membranes. Also allows modulation of the immune system and enables new blood vessels to form
Broccoliaids in chemical elimination; anti allergic properties, antioxidant, anti viral and an antibiotic – who knew?!
Nuts and seeds Just a handful if you’re poorly as the protein will help boost immunity. Not too many though as the fats may aggravate the phlegm symptoms
and….
Turmeric The day before I made a big batch of my famous turmeric tonic which you can find the recipe here and by tomorrow I should be just tickety boo and ready for a brand new week of wellness.
I’d love to hear you favourite remedies. Leave me a comment or two below.
Just pulled this one out from my hat as the planets have aligned to bring me to Melbourne at the end of the month so there’s never been a better time to host an exclusive masterclass in two of the most talked about diets to date - Raw Food and Paleo. I’ll be sharing my knowledge of both styles and also revealing some well guarded secrets from my Surf Spa Food tuckerbox.
Be quick as this class will sell out within days.
Exclusive Raw & Paleo Masterclass Raw Food & Paleo Interactive Class & Workshop
Saturday April 27th 10-3pm
$395 pp LG Kitchen South Melbourne Market Only 10 spaces
This blog celebrates award-winning nutritionist and therapeutic chef Sam Gowing's best organic, Paleo and gluten free recipes showcasing food as medicine using Zen and Chinese nutritional principles with a modern culinary twist.
HealthtalksTV – How to make a Great Green Smoothie
