WELLBEING RESET DAY: THE FOOD

We love healthy and tasty food!

We plan our food seriously for our wellbeing reset sessions. All of our food is fresh, gluten free and full of protein. I have been refining some of the snacks so ready to share the recipes.

I promise to keep adding more upon request!

Seedy protein crackers

Finally, I am providing the seedy almond crackers! These are packed with protein, omegas and flavour.

Enough crackers for snacks for 8 people

MAIN BITS

200 g almonds (chopped into fine bits)

100 g mixed seeds (chopped into fine bits

Dried herbs (such as Herbs de Province or Italian seasoning)

1 egg

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp water

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp bicarb of soda

STEPS

• Preheat oven to 180c
• Make sure that all the dry ingredients are chopped finely
• Add in salt, bicarb, water and coconut oil
• Mix well
• Roll mixture into 2 different balls
• Use 2 different baking trays
• Line baking tray with parchment paper
• Roll out the mixture with parchment paper on top (use rolling pin or bottle of wine if you don't have a rolling pin)
• Roll the mixture to a 10 mm thickness (needs to be thick enough for dipping)
• "Score" (i.e., make little lines with a knife) the mixture so you can break them into rectangles
• Bake at 180c for 20 minutes
• Let cool and then break apart into pieces

Beetroot feta dip

I have finally found a recipe that tastes delish! I'm sure you will love it too! Just wear black clothes when you are prepping this as beetroot turns everything purple.

Beetroot and garlic are rich in antioxidants and known for lowering blood pressure, by dilating the vessels, just like the sauna!

INGREDIENTS

2 medium cooked beetroots (not the kind soaked in vinegar)

200 g feta cheese (or a whole packet)

2 tbsp cream cheese

2 medium garlic cloves, chopped (TIP: rest the garlic for 10 mins to release "allicin" to maximise antioxidant and antibacterial compound)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp olive oil (good quality extra virgin)

1/2 tsp salt

STEPS

• Bring a pot of water to boil with some salt
• Place the beetroot into the boiling water for 10 minutes
• Allow beetroot to cool and pull off the skins
• Throw it in a blender along with all the other ingredients
• Blend until smooth

Healthy dark chocolate

These are great little treats. Dark chocolate is a great source of magnesium (good for muscle recovery and sleep!). I'm just going to wing it with this recipe so you might want to experiment as well.

Makes 12 chocolates

MAIN BITS

1 large bar of dark choc (70% or higher)

10 dates pitted, chopped roughly

Handful of unsalted pistachios, chopped roughly

Pinches of sea salt

Silicon mold for chocolates (like a small ice cube tray)

STEPS

• Place the chopped dates into all the cubes of the mold
• Break chocolate into bits
• Melt chocolate. I boiled a pan of water and melted it in a steel bowl, scooping out with a small spatula
• Cover the melted chocolate with the chopped pistachios
• Crumble a bit of sea salt on each chocolate
• Put in the fridge for an hour (it forms quickly)
• When ready, pop out the chocs out of the mold and enjoy! The dates make it taste quite caramelly)

Cranberry pecan kale quinoa salad

We have run 4 wellbeing reset days and this salad is everyone's favourite. It's gluten free, vegetarian and vegan, which ticks A LOT of boxes. Please note: We only serve this salad on full day retreats :)

Rich in fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and anti-inflammatory deliciousness

8 servings

MAIN BITS

1 cup dry quinoa

1.5 cup water

1 bunch of kale, 3 cups-ish, I prefer cavolo nero, as you can easily remove stalks

1 cup dried cranberries

LIGHT LEMON DRESSING

3 lemons, juiced

6 TBSP avocado oil or light olive oil

2 tsp cider vinegar to taste

1 small clove garlic, peeled and minced

Salt and pepper

CANDIED PECANS

2 cup chopped pecans (the smaller the better)

2 TBSP unsalted butter

4 TBSP brown sugar

salt

STEPS

I try to make parts of this salad in advance. There are 5 components to this salad:

Quinoa, kale, cranberries, dressing, candied pecans (the best bit)

I do 3 things in advance:

1. Cook the quinoa with the quinoa and water, let it cook down
2. Make the dressing, put it all in a jar and shake it
3. Candy the pecans: Sautee the unsalted butter, add the brown sugar, then pecans. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, constantly stirring until the brown sugar melts and the nuts are smelling roasty. Cool on a baking sheet on parchment paper. Make sure they are separated as much as poss.

An hour before serving the salad:

• Put the cold quinoa in the main salad serving bowl
• Rinse the kale in very warm water, leave for a few minutes to soften the leaves. Put over the quinoa
• Add the cranberries
• Add the pecans
• Pour the dressing on. Put half on first, mix the salad bits. Taste it. See if you need more. Some people don't like overly saturated salads so just ensure the leaves are well coated without drenching.
• Prepare to receive compliments; don't let it go to your head, but it's hard not to feel proud of this creation. It's great in both winter and summer.

Sweet Potato Quiche

This is one of my desert island meals. My friends request it, mainly because of the cheesy sweet potato base. You can add any veggie combo. I am just putting my preferred players in here: Broccoli, sun dried tomatoes, black olives. But the original recipe from my friend Helen was spinach.

Sweet potato provides complex carbohydrates for sustained energy, fiber, and high levels of Vitamin A. Eggs/cheese, protein. Broccoli is a cruciferous veg (nutritional powerhouse so you get a lot of bang for your buck with this particular choice).

QUICHE CRUST

400g sweet potato

50g cheddar cheese grated

1 egg

Salt and pepper

QUICHE FILLING

150g broccoli (or any vegetable)

Chopped sundried tomatoes (optional)

Chopped black olives (optional)

6 medium eggs

100g cheddar cheese grated

STEPS

• Preheat your oven to 170c (180c if not fan assisted)
• Grate sweet potato on top of a clean tea towel (you can leave skin on or not). Use the tea towel to squeeze the juice out of the sweet potato
• Grate 50g of cheese and mix it together in a mixing bowl with the squeezed sweet potato and 1 egg
• Next grease your quiche/cake tin and then use your hands to push the sweet potato mix into it until there are no gaps (save a little of the mix to patch up any holes that appear after it’s been baked)
• Pop in the oven for 20 minutes. 
• Chop broccoli into small bits
• Whisk the eggs and milk in a mixing bowl. Add veggies/sun dried tomatoes/olives in, along with the 100ml of grated cheese
• Pour your filling into the sweet potato crust and bake for 30-40 minutes (until golden on top).

Protein brownies with sweet potato and black beans

These are delicious brownies but it can be a bit of trial and error getting the consistency right. I cook them the night before and gently reheat them to make them gooey. These are so full of protein and nutrients, it could almost count as your "five a day".

Makes 8 hearty servings but you can cut them smaller and serve more people, especially before going into a yin yoga class. But you can have as many brownies as you'd like...

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups sweet potatoes peeled, cooked and cooled
• 2 cups black beans soaked/cooked (or a tin can will do)
• 3 medium eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup cacao powder
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 half of a large DARK 70% chocolate bar broken into bits
• A bit of flaky sea salt for topping

STEPS

• In advance, you can prep the sweet potatoes and black beans.
• When ready, preheat oven 175 C
• Then blend the sweet potatoes and black beans
• Whip the eggs
• Mix the other ingredients with the aforementioned ingredients
• Bake for 30 mins, check with toothpick. It should come out clean but I kept baking it and it still was a little gooey. But after refrigerating it overnight, it seemed fine when I gently warmed it up.