Summer berry tarts

Plump, juicy berries are one of my favourite things about summer. I especially love blueberries and their softly sweet sharpness. 

When I was little, we would visit family in America every few summers. We had a great uncle who grew blueberries in his garden, and he would bring us buckets full to the brim with them. We would gleefully dig our hands into the depths of the buckets and stuff fistfuls into our mouths, leaving us with purple stained tongues and fingers. Those blueberry deliveries were always a highlight of our trips.

I've never found berries that taste quite as sweet as those, but these tarts come pretty close.

Berries with benefits

The deep purples, reds and blues of berries offer a clue to their nutritional benefits. Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are all rich in phytonutrients, including anthocyanins. These powerful anti-oxidant compounds are responsible for berries' bright pigmentation, and help protect our tissues from oxidative stress and inflammation. 

In addition to being fantastic antioxidant sources, berries have a low glycaemic index, meaning they can support more stable blood sugar levels. Regulating blood sugar also prevents oxidative stress on tissues and inflammation caused by high blood sugar.

Now for the tarts

For the topping, I've used a mix of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries for different flavours, colours and textures. Blended together, this combination also make a delicious, deep purple filling.

Dates are used to sweeten the crust and filling, while lime zest gives some citrus tanginess to the filling and extra colour to the topping. The oat and ground almond crust provides the perfect crunch to balance the softness of the berries.  Super quick and easy to make, these tarts are a perfectly unfussy dessert, and their rustic (aka messy) prettiness is part of their charm.

The tarts are vegan, and you can make them gluten free by using gluten free oats.

Ingredients

Crust
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup rolled oats
Pinch of himalayan/sea salt
3 medjool dates
2 tbsp coconut oil

For the filling and topping, I used a small punnet each of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries and 1 organic unwaxed lime.

Filling
1 cup mixed raspberries, blackberries and blueberries
1 date
1 tbsp ground almonds
Grated zest of half a lime

Topping
2 cups mixed raspberries, blackberries and blueberries
Grated zest of half a lime 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (fan assisted)

Put the crust ingredients in a food processor and blitz until you have a smooth, sticky consistency that can be rolled into a ball. The mixture will also feel pretty oily, this will help to give it crunch once it's baked.

Divide the crust mixture into six pieces, and roll out each into discs between two sheets of baking paper so they fit your paper baking cups (I used 2 1/2 inch cups). Place the filled paper baking cups on a muffin tin. The mixture might break off a bit, just press back in and fill any holes with your fingers. 

Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, removing when the edges start to brown. Leave to cool.

In your clean food processor, add the filling ingredients and blitz until fully mixed. Put a tablespoon of mixture into each of your cooled crusts and then top with the mixed berries and grated lime zest.

Nut milk 2 ways - straight up almond & cash-pistach

Nut milk is one of the most easy but satisfying things to make. The thought of making milk from nuts might seem strange or difficult at first, but with a couple of simple tools it's a breeze.

You can make plain milks to use everyday in porridge or smoothies, or more fancy versions for something a bit more indulgent. Either way, it goes without saying that fresh homemade nut milk tastes miles better than anything you'll buy pre-packaged. And it contains only the whole food ingredients that you choose; no added sugar or weird preservatives.

It's also fun to experiment with different nuts. My current favourites are almond, pistachio and cashew, as featured in these recipes. Next on my list to try are hazelnuts, macadamia and Brazils - the possibilities are endless!

Not only does nut milk taste amazing, but it's also a nutrient-dense alternative to dairy. As well as being a fantastic plant-based source of protein and good fats, almonds, pistachios and cashews are fibre-rich sources of a number of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, copper, magnesium and zinc. Whether you follow a dairy free diet or not, I urge you to try it. 

In this post I'm going to share the recipe for straight up almond milk and also something a bit more special. My cashew & pistachio milk with cinnamon, cardamom and date is a kind of plant based, wholefoods milkshake. Perfect as a mid afternoon treat or a decadent addition to a weekend breakfast.

The only kitchen tools you'll need for these recipes are a blender and a nut milk bag or muslin cloth to strain your milk. You can buy nut milk bags online or they're stocked in many health food shops. 

Both these recipes call for soaking the nuts overnight before using them. This is to make them more digestible and their nutrients more available for absorption. Soaking nuts also softens them and makes them plumper, improving the texture of the nut milk.

Straight up almond milk

Makes approx 600ml/1 pint

Ingredients

1 cup almonds (soaked)
3 cups cold water
Pinch of salt

Cover the almonds in cold water and soak overnight. Drain, rinse well (removing any skins that have separated from the almonds) and place in the blender with the water and salt. Blend on high speed until the mixture is smooth.

Put your nut milk bag/muslin over a large bowl or jug and pour the liquid through. You'll need to squeeze the bag/cloth really well until only pulp is left behind.

Pour your strained nut milk into an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Cash-pistach nut milk

Makes approx 600ml/1 pint

Ingredients

1/2 cup cashews (soaked)
1/2 cup pistachios (soaked)
1tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp ground cardamom
1 medjool date
2 cups cold water
Pinch of salt

Cover the cashews and pistachios in cold water and soak overnight. Drain, rinse well (removing any skins that have separated from the pistachios) and place in the blender with the water and salt. Blend on high speed until the mixture looks smooth.

Put your nut milk bag/muslin over a large bowl or jug and pour the liquid through. You'll need to squeeze the bag/cloth really well until only pulp is left behind. Now rinse out your blender to remove any bits of ground nuts and pour the strained milk back in with the spices and date. Blend until smooth.

Serve immediately or pour into an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Note: It's normal for nut milk to separate a little, just give it a shake or stir if it does. You can use the pulp from straining the milk in energy balls or truffles

Christmas tree salad

It's been quiet on the blog for a while; I've had a busy month and other things have taken over. But I'm excited to be back with the beautifully bright Christmas tree salad. Don't worry, it doesn't contain pine needles.

The holiday period is many great things, but health conscious isn't necessarily top of the list. Food and drink punctuate - and sometimes define - celebratory events with family and friends. Work parties and drinks, Christmas dinner, leftover lunches and new years eve are full of boozy and sugary temptation… and let's face it, canapés, mulled wine, mince pies and your gran's special Christmas trifle aren't exactly bursting with nutrients.

Christmas is about relaxing and enjoying yourself. In every post, I try and get across the point that eating well really doesn't have to feel boring or like denial. Replacing some of the traditional classics with healthier, nutrient rich foods will not only be enjoyable (it's good to shake things up a bit after all), but it'll also help keep your energy and digestion on track and reduce the dreaded January slump where you feel like you've morphed into a brandy soaked Christmas pudding.

So in amongst the prosecco and roasties, why not include the Christmas tree salad to bring some balance. It would make a great addition to the Christmas dinner table, and if you're up for being controversial, it could even replace the roast potatoes and sprouts (or have I gone a step too far?). It would work brilliantly with leftovers and is handy to have made up in the fridge so there's something that's good for you to reach for when you're feeling peckish.

Romanesco broccoli florets are like tiny Christmas trees and pomegranate seeds like little baubles. Aside from looking pretty, their flavours combine really well. The slight bitterness and crunch of the romanesco and kale are balanced by the sweetness of the pomegranate, orange and sweet potato. This salad is rich in magnesium, folate, vitamin C and beta-carotene - these nutrients support immunity and offer anti-oxidant protection. The compounds in the romanesco provide important nutrients for liver function too.

Wishing you a very happy, colourful and bright Christmas x

Christmas tree salad

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

For the salad:
1 head romanesco broccoli
1 sweet potato
8 stalks of curly kale
Seeds of 1 pomegranate
1 large orange
1 cup walnuts
4 small spring onions
1tbsp coconut oil
Large pinch of salt (sea salt or Himalayan pink rock salt)

For the dressing:
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Juice of half a lemon

Pre-heat the oven to 175 degrees.  Chop the sweet potato cross ways into 1cm slices, then cut each slice into quarters. Place in a roasting tin with the coconut oil and a large pinch of salt.  Roast in the oven for 45 minutes, giving the tin a shake every 10 minutes or so to make sure the slices cook evenly.

Remove the kale from its stalks and chop the leaves. Cut the romanesco into small florets. Steam both for 2 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water.

Thinly slice the orange, then cut each slice into quarters. Roughly chop the walnuts and spring onions.

Combine and mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

To assemble, allow the sweet potato to cool a little, then mix with the greens and spring onions in a large bowl. Add half the nuts, pomegranate seeds and orange and mix well, adding the dressing. Sprinkle the remaining nuts, pomegranate seeds and orange slices on top to decorate. 

Drink the rainbow

Juicing is a brilliant way of getting lots of vitamins, minerals and plant nutrients into your body. You'll see from the recipes below that you can pack a lot of fruit and veg into a glass with each juice. Because the nutrients in fruit and veg juices are easily absorbed, they're kind on the digestive system. This makes juices ideal to have at the start of the day or to pep you up when you're feeling sluggish, tired or like you've over-indulged.

There's a big difference between buying a carton of OJ and the kinds of juices I'm talking about here. Not only are homemade juices fresh and without any dodgy additives, but when you make your own, you can choose ingredients that won't cause the same sugar spike that pure fruit juices do.  

The key to making a balanced juice is always combining fruit and veg when you juice - with the focus on including as much or more veg than fruit. Carrots, beets and sweet potatoes that I use in these recipes all work well to add sweetness, and cucumber, watercress and mint are refreshing.

Buying a juicer is an investment, but one that's definitely worthwhile. Juicing is such an easy way to introduce more fruit and veg into your diet, and experimenting with different flavours and combinations can be really creative! You could start with a book like the brilliant Super Juice by Michael van Straten for inspiration.

Just to be clear, I think juicing is a great addition to your diet, but not a replacement for solid food. Juicing removes fibre from fruit and veg, so you need to make sure you're still getting this along with all the other nutrients your body needs from a varied, wholefoods diet.

The three juice recipes here are some of my favourites. Each recipe serves 2.

Green 

Cucumber and mint soothe and cool, while watercress is anti-bacterial and rich in vitamins C and E. Lime adds freshness an extra vitamin C boost.

• 1 handful watercress
• 1 handful mint leaves
• 1 apple
• 1 pear
• 1 lime (peeled_
• 3 baby cucumbers / 3/4 big cucumber (peeled if not organic)

Wash all ingredients. Put the watercress and mint through the juicer, then the lime and cucumber(s) and lastly the apple and pear.

Pink

Beets support the liver and help to cleanse the blood. They also contain iron and folic acid, especially important in pregnancy. Ginger is anti-bacterial and stimulates circulation.

• 2 beetroots (peeled)
• 1 apple (washed and cored)
• 1 thumb of ginger (peeled)

Put all ingredients through the juicer.

Orange

This juice is a beta-carotene party in a glass. Beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant and boosts the immune system as well as supporting eye health and the skin.

• 1 small sweet potato (peeled)
• 2 satsumas (peeled)
• 3 carrots (peeled if not organic)
• Thumb of ginger (peeled)

 Put the satsumas through the juicer first, followed by the other ingredients.