Skin-boosting smoothie bowl

The skin is super good at showing us when we are low on nutrients or have just experienced a lovely (irony) bout of stress.
Like many other organs of the body, the skin needs a lot of nutrients to remain in tip-top condition.
Here are some of the nutrients that are especially important:

Vitamin C & Zinc - these both help to repair the skin and assist in growing new healthy skin cells
Vitamin A - this one helps to protect the skin and also plays a role in skin repair
Healthy fats - yes, the skin needs fats, fats keep the moisture in and play a protective role
Protein - this forms the main structure of the skin

There are others but as far as making smoothies/ smoothie bowls goes, these 5 are a great starting point.
Here is how to make this skin-boosting smoothie bowl.

 
 

Ingredients for 1

1/2 mug of frozen cherries - for Vitamin C
1/2 mug of frozen blueberries - for Vit c & skin supporting antioxidants
A handful of kale - for Vitamin A
1/2 an avocado - it’s full of healthy fats & skin supporting Vitamin E
3 tablespoons of hemps seeds - for zinc & skin healthy Omega 3 fats - check Good Hemp for hemp seed hearts
1 heaped tablespoon of collagen (optional) - collagen is the main structural protein in the skin, some studies show a benefit to skin health with supplementation, others state it’s increased intakes of protein on the whole that benefit skin health. If you don’t have any collagen powder handy then use a protein powder instead.
1 heaped tablespoon of kefir - I used a coconut kefir by the Coconut Collaborative. Kefir plays a role in gut health which is indirectly linked with skin health.
1-2 dates if you like a sweeter smoothie bowl
3/4s of a mug of milk or milk alternative

Method:
Blend everything using a high-speed blender.
Transfer to a bowl and top with toppings of your choice.

Green mole

I was deep into researching Spanish food for the Ibiza retreat held last April when I stumbled across a recipe for mole.
It turns out the Spanish conquered a bit, leaving their influence on the food culture of whole swathes of South America. I was thankful for this discovery because the Ibiza retreats are fully vegetarian and Spanish cooking is anything but.
Cue hours of South American food research and the discovery of green mole.
Mole, arguably one of the shining stars of Latin American cuisine, is a sauce made from a combination of onion, chilli, nuts, seeds and fruit. It has a rich, sweet and sour flavour profile with a mild chilli kick that forms a flavoursome base for anything that is added on top.
I’m underselling it here, it’s actually super tasty.

Mole comes in MANY varieties. I’m semi reliably informed by an episode of ‘Somebody Feed Phil’ that every family has their own secret recipe.
The one that appealed to me the most during my research was a recipe for pistachio green mole. It’s a half-cooked, half-raw combination finished with lime and balanced with earthy nuts.
Long story short, I ended up reworking the recipe because unsurprisingly, we aren’t into chilli varieties as much as the Mexicans so it was hard to obtain 30% of the ingredients needed for the authentic version.

The end result is a nutrient-dense, amazingly flavoursome sauce that will elevate anything you may happen to throw on top.
For me, the toppings ended up being roasted courgette & leek, black rice, greens, edible flowers, pistachios and a Clarence Court egg (not pictured). BUT, you pop whatever you fancy on top. It goes just as well with proteins as it does with plant-based toppings.

 
 

Ingredients for 4 portions:

1 medium onion, roughly diced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1” piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
2x medium Bramley apples, roughly chopped & the core removed
1 yellow pepper
1 green chilli, roughly chopped, deseeded if you like less heat
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
100g of hemp seeds - I used Good Hemp, available in most supermarkets
1 handful of coriander
1 handful of parsley
2 large handfuls of spinach
2 limes
Sea salt and black pepper
Cooking oil of your choice

For the top:
Black rice, cooked according to packet instructions
4x Clarence Court eggs, hard or soft boiled
4x small courgettes, sliced and roasted
Any soft herbs
A handful of roasted & salted pistachios, shells removed

Method:

Put the grill on maximum heat.
Slice the pepper down each side so it forms 4 flat pieces.
Put the pepper pieces on a roasting tray and put under the grill until the skin on the pepper has charred. This makes the pepper pieces sweet and smokey, adding extra flavour.
Set aside to cool.
Once cool enough to handle, remove the skin from the pepper pieces.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Put the apple pieces on a roasting tray, drizzle with oil and roast until you make the sauce.
Put a saucepan on a medium heat and add a splash of oil.
Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and cook until softened (around 5 minutes).
Add the tomato, pepper pieces and hemp seeds to the sauce. Add a couple of splashes of water and cook for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes have cooked down.
Throw in the roasted apple pieces and cook for another couple of minutes, adding a splash of water if it’s beginning to look dry.
Season well with sea salt and black pepper.
Transfer the sauce to a blender, add the coriander, parsley and spinach and squeeze in the juice of 1.5 limes.
Season again with sea salt and black pepper and blend until completely smooth.
Check the flavour and add more lime juice, salt or pepper as required.

To serve, divide the sauce between 4 bowls and top with the desired toppings.

Proper veggie gravy - It's a superfood

 
 

Ingredients (enough for a Sunday roast for 2)

2 onions - leave the skin on. The skin = quercetin aka the holy grail of phytonutrients
1 stick of celery
1 carrot
280g shrooms - I used a mix of chestnut & mini portobello for a darker gravy - these are a source of l-ergothioneine which is AWESOME for us. It’s basically a super antioxidant
3x cloves of garlic, leave them unpeeled
1 sprig of rosemary
2-3 sprigs of thyme
100ml red wine - once the alcohol is cooked out, resveratrol is left behind. Resveratrol is anti-aging. Yup!
2 heaped tablespoons of flour
Sea salt & black pepper - you’ll need to season everything very well
400ml (approx) of veg stock

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Pop the onions, celery, carrot, mushroom, garlic and herbs on a roasting tray.
Try and nestle the herbs underneath the onions. This will stop them from burning and becoming bitter.
Drizzle everything with rapeseed oil and roast for around an hour until browned.
Put a casserole-style dish on a medium heat and transfer the roasted veggies to it.
Add the flour and cook for a couple of minutes whilst mashing everything with a wooden spoon.
Season really well with sea salt and black pepper.
Add the wine and cook for a minute more.
Pour in the veg stock.
Cook until it has reached the desired thickness, approximately 5 minutes. If it’s too thick, a splash of water will thin it.
Check the seasoning (aka taste it) and season if required.

Here is a video version of the method in case that’s easier:

Muhammara as a salad base

Muhammara is a Middle Eastern dip made with breadcrumbs, walnuts, charred peppers and pomegranate molasses. It is an utterly delicious combination of sweet and sour flavours with a hint of smokeyness from the peppers.
If you are a regular here or follow me on social, you’ll know my love of adding flavour bases to salads. Muhammara is one that I keep going back to.
Here I added crunchy lettuce leaves, chicken, parsley and toasted seeds to that base to create a wholesome salad that is packed with flavour.
Feel free to swap the chicken for eggs, chickpeas or halloumi. The same thing works with other protein combos.

If you are fond of salads, or are totally bored of them and need new ideas, there is a salad guide here: To the 5* salad guide.

Ingredients for 2:

For the muhammara:
1 slice of bread, toasted and left to cool completely
3 red peppers
1 clove of garlic, crushed
50g of walnuts
1 teaspoon each of ground cumin and sea salt
A pinch of chilli flakes
Juice of 1/4 of a lemon
2 tablespoons of olive oil plus a little extra for drizzling
1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses plus a little extra for drizzling
Freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:
2 little gem or 1 cos lettuce
A large handful of cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons of sprouted seeds (like this one, you can find these in most supermarkets on the salad isle)
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, leaves only
3 tablespoons of toasted seeds, I used this one, it’s in most supermarkets
2 chicken breasts, cooked to your liking
Sea salt and black pepper

Method:
1. To make the muhammara, preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
2. Put the peppers on a baking tray or ovenproof dish and roast in the oven for 30 minutes until the skin blackens and bubbles up. There is no need to drizzle oil on top and the peppers should be roasted whole.
Set them aside to cool.
3. Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel them and remove the seeds. Discard the skin and seeds and tear the pepper flesh into strips.
4. Cut the toast into cubes and transfer to a food processor or blender.
Pulse the toast to make breadcrumbs.
5. Add the remaining muhammara ingredients to the blender, season well with freshly ground black pepper and pulse again. Don’t over blend it, it should be chunky, not smooth.
6. Divide the muhammara between two plates, pressing everything down so it is flat on the plate.
7. Drizzle olive oil and extra pomegranate molasses over the top.
8. Divide the salad ingredients between the two plates.
9. Season with sea salt and black pepper and drizzle a bit more olive oil on top if desired.