Quinoa, preserved lemon, sesame and beetroot salad. Photo / Babiche Martens
Fresh, flavourful, health-giving ingredients will add some pep to your step.
This is the ideal time of the year to start to spruce up for summer. In the cold months of winter we are all drawn to comforting foods which, as the weather starts to change, can work to leave you feeling sluggish. Looking for lighter, healthier options should be priority
right now. That's why today I've created recipes that scream with flavour, texture and fresh vitamin-fuelled ingredients that will have you feeling well and bursting with energy.
The first recipe uses quinoa - a name that people always find hard to pronounce (it's keenwa) - a gluten-free wholegrain that can be boiled and used like rice or, cooked first then toasted in a pan for more flavour. I have paired it with all the goodness of fresh ginger, shredded raw beetroot, lemon and sesame for flavour. It's a delicious salad and would be even more flavoursome if you add grilled salmon or shredded duck meat.
It is so good to see ripe avocados in the stores right now, all so full of flavour. Avocados contain mono-unsaturated fat and because of their rich buttery texture can be used in cake recipes and also instead of butter on toast. (My favourite quick breakfast on the run is, in fact, avocado and tomato on marmite toast with plenty of salt and pepper.) They are full of fibre, potassium, vitamins B and E, and folic acid which adds up to a supreme vegetable. Today I've combined avocado with crab meat for a fresh and tasty salad.
Crab meat is high in vitamin B12 and folate. Crab meat has become more readily available and not nearly as expensive as it used to be. Ideally you would catch your own and dig the sweet meat out from the claws.
