Wholefood cooking made simple

Whole food cover

The relationship between the food we eat and our health is becoming more and more obvious to people — you are indeed what you eat.

A new recipe book out on the shelves looks at whole food and has some simple recipes for wholefood eating.

Author Bronwyn Tan discovered some positive, passionate women sharing their wholesome lifestyle and diet through social media. She has gathered together stories about these women and a collection of recipes and put them together in this book Whole — Recipes for simple wholefood eating.

Looking through the book brought the realisation a meal can be delicious and nourishing even when based around a handful of ingredients.

Below are a couple of recipes from the book. We picked the courgette one because soon they will be readily available in gardens and cheap at markets.

The broccoli one was chosen because Gisborne company LeaderBrand grows the best broccoli on the Poverty Bay Flats and it’s also a nice, cheap vegetable.

Courgette CakesThe lemon balm completely makes this dish! If you aren’t lucky enough to have it in your backyard, try basil or coriander. But do your best to track it down — ask your mum, your gran or your best friend’s cousin’s aunt if you have to — it’s that good!

Ingredients:

2 courgettes, grated

1 cup lemon balm, finely chopped

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

½ cup (60g/2.1oz) Parmesan cheese, grated

¼ cup (30g/1.1oz) ground almonds

2 eggs, beaten

Juice of ½ lemon

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Olive oil, for cooking

Directions:

Place grated courgette in a cheesecloth (or clean tea towel) and squeeze to get as much liquid out of it as possible.

In a large bowl mix together the squeezed courgette and all the remaining ingredients until well combined.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Once oil is simmering, add spoonfuls of mixture and fry until golden-brown on each side and cooked-through (about 3–4 minutes each side).

Plate up and serve.

Serves 2 (Makes approximately 8 cakes)

—Recipe from Healthyself

Raw Broccoli Salad with Smoky Tempeh BaconThis is really two recipes in one because both the raw broccoli salad and the smoky tempeh bacon strips are so versatile. The tempeh strips have a deep smoky, salty flavour — perfect for any dish that is traditionally designed for bacon.

SALAD

1 head broccoli

Handful of olives

Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

Bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

DRESSING

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

Sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

SMOKY TEMPEH ‘BACON’

Ingredients:

250g (8.8oz) pack organic tempeh, sliced lengthways into 1–2mm slices

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tsp liquid smoke

¼ cup (65ml) apple cider vinegar

½ tsp ground cumin

Big pinch of chilli flakes

2 Tbsp tamari

1 Tbsp coconut oil

Cracked black pepper

Directions:

Using a food processor or a knife, chop the broccoli into fine florets and place in a large bowl. Add olives, tomatoes and coriander.

Mix all dressing ingredients in a jar and drizzle over salad.

To prepare the smoky tempeh ‘bacon’, melt the coconut oil in a medium-sized pan over low heat, then add all remaining ingredients, except for the tempeh.

Stir well, then immerse your tempeh strips in the marinade. Ensure all strips are well-coated and simmer the tempeh gently until they are a rich brown and no liquid is left in the pan. Be careful not to let the sauce burn.

Set aside tempeh strips to cool slightly (they get crispier as they cool) before adding to the raw broccoli salad.

Serves 4

— Recipe from Health Yeah!,The relationship between the food we eat and our health is becoming more and more obvious to people — you are indeed what you eat.

A new recipe book out on the shelves looks at whole food and has some simple recipes for wholefood eating.

Author Bronwyn Tan discovered some positive, passionate women sharing their wholesome lifestyle and diet through social media. She has gathered together stories about these women and a collection of recipes and put them together in this book Whole — Recipes for simple wholefood eating.

Looking through the book brought the realisation a meal can be delicious and nourishing even when based around a handful of ingredients.

Below are a couple of recipes from the book. We picked the courgette one because soon they will be readily available in gardens and cheap at markets.

The broccoli one was chosen because Gisborne company LeaderBrand grows the best broccoli on the Poverty Bay Flats and it’s also a nice, cheap vegetable.

Courgette CakesThe lemon balm completely makes this dish! If you aren’t lucky enough to have it in your backyard, try basil or coriander. But do your best to track it down — ask your mum, your gran or your best friend’s cousin’s aunt if you have to — it’s that good!

Ingredients:

2 courgettes, grated

1 cup lemon balm, finely chopped

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

½ cup (60g/2.1oz) Parmesan cheese, grated

¼ cup (30g/1.1oz) ground almonds

2 eggs, beaten

Juice of ½ lemon

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Olive oil, for cooking

Directions:

Place grated courgette in a cheesecloth (or clean tea towel) and squeeze to get as much liquid out of it as possible.

In a large bowl mix together the squeezed courgette and all the remaining ingredients until well combined.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Once oil is simmering, add spoonfuls of mixture and fry until golden-brown on each side and cooked-through (about 3–4 minutes each side).

Plate up and serve.

Serves 2 (Makes approximately 8 cakes)

—Recipe from Healthyself

Raw Broccoli Salad with Smoky Tempeh BaconThis is really two recipes in one because both the raw broccoli salad and the smoky tempeh bacon strips are so versatile. The tempeh strips have a deep smoky, salty flavour — perfect for any dish that is traditionally designed for bacon.

SALAD

1 head broccoli

Handful of olives

Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

Bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

DRESSING

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

Sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

SMOKY TEMPEH ‘BACON’

Ingredients:

250g (8.8oz) pack organic tempeh, sliced lengthways into 1–2mm slices

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tsp liquid smoke

¼ cup (65ml) apple cider vinegar

½ tsp ground cumin

Big pinch of chilli flakes

2 Tbsp tamari

1 Tbsp coconut oil

Cracked black pepper

Directions:

Using a food processor or a knife, chop the broccoli into fine florets and place in a large bowl. Add olives, tomatoes and coriander.

Mix all dressing ingredients in a jar and drizzle over salad.

To prepare the smoky tempeh ‘bacon’, melt the coconut oil in a medium-sized pan over low heat, then add all remaining ingredients, except for the tempeh.

Stir well, then immerse your tempeh strips in the marinade. Ensure all strips are well-coated and simmer the tempeh gently until they are a rich brown and no liquid is left in the pan. Be careful not to let the sauce burn.

Set aside tempeh strips to cool slightly (they get crispier as they cool) before adding to the raw broccoli salad.

Serves 4

— Recipe from Health Yeah!