Sea salt, cinnamon & smoked paprika macadamias

We all know that nuts are good for us. They are rich in minerals, have high levels of vitamin B and are full of 'healthy fats'. 

However nuts, legumes, seeds and grains contain phytic acid, or enzyme inhibitors which basically stop the seed from sprouting and growing into a plant! When we eat raw nuts or legumes which haven’t been soaked we are also eating the enzyme inhibitors, which prevents our own enzymes from breaking down the food in our digestive tracts, inhibiting absorption of vitamins and minerals.

This is why some people feel very heavy and bloated after eating handfuls of raw nuts.

The best way to eat nuts is to buy them raw and activate them yourself.

Activating refers to long soaking and then drying out the nuts. This method breaks down the enzyme inhibitors. They are also more crunchy!

To make regular activated nuts, simply soak in water overnight. In the morning rinse the nuts and spread on a baking tray and place in the oven on the lowest temperature possible for 12 - 24 hours until they are completely dry.

This recipe is a simple variation.

Sea salt, cinnamon & smoked paprika macadamias.

Soak 2 cups of macadamias in clean water for 7 hours or overnight.

Drain and rinse.

Sprinkle a desert spoon of celtic sea salt (or any high quality sea salt), a desert spoon of ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika over the nuts and coat well.

(I sometimes also add a sprinkling of coconut sugar which is delicious! - up to you)

Turn the oven as low as it goes.

Place the macadamias a baking tray and dry in the oven for 12-24 hours. Turn occasionally.

Leave in the oven until they are dry and crisp.

Store in an airtight container.

Coconut Bread with Coconut Butter Icing

Coconut Bread with Coconut Butter Icing

After many years of getting such a bad rap, coconuts are now one of the superstars of the health food world. Their high percentage of saturated fat was the main reason they were considered unhealthy. 

However these same medium-chain saturated fats are the reason you should include coconut in your diet. Coconuts contain lauric acid, an essential fatty acid that enhances the immune system. They also contain calcium, iron and magnesium. The nourishing fats keep you full and can help to keep sugar cravings at bay. Hopefully you are all well and truly past the 'low fat' phase and embrace the nourishing fats in coconuts.

And of course - health benefits aside, eat them because they are delicious!

Coconut oil is ideal to cook with, as it has a high smoke point and doesn't change structure with heat. I often use this one. It is fair trade from Papua New Guinea and a the jar is very handy to re use once you've finished it.

Using coconut flour results in a more rustic, dense texture as opposed to light and fluffy. It soaks up a lot of liquid and little bit goes a long way. Coconut flour is simply dried and ground coconut pulp left over from making coconut milk. 

I sweetened this one with brown rice syrup, but you could use coconut sugar or honey (but remember heating raw honey means you lose it's health benefits). You could even leave out the sweetener and use it more as a bread than a sweet loaf. This would be delicious toasted and served with butter, ghee or coconut butter.

The icing is based on coconut butter. This is simply shredded coconut blended into a paste. You can use the coconut butter alone, but I added a little coconut cream to make the texture a little more smooth. It doesn't really need to be sweetened as it already has its own sweetness. However add a little raw honey if you prefer it sweeter. If it's cold, the icing will set slightly which is nice!

Coconut bread

3/4 cup of coconut flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder 

1/2 cup of coconut oil

6 eggs. Use free range from pasture fed hens.

1/2 tablespoon of brown rice syrup or coconut sugar

A pinch of salt

Coconut butter icing

A bag of shredded coconut

1/2 cup of coconut cream or coconut milk

Seeds of a vanilla bean or a small pinch of vanilla powder

Some raw honey to taste if desired

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Place the coconut flour and baking powder into a bowl and combine.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, coconut oil, brown rice syrup and salt.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Pour into a loaf tin lined with baking paper and cook at 180C for about 40 minutes.

While the loaf is cooking, make the icing.

To make the coconut icing, you need a pretty strong blender. A high speed blender like a Vita-mix is ideal. It will still work in a regular blender but will take a little longer and may not be quite so smooth. It is still delicious with a bit of a rough texture.

This works best to use the whole packet of shredded coconut in the blender as it needs to be quite full. Set the blender at its highest speed and blend until it has become a creamy consistency. It could take well over 10 minutes so be patient!

Once smooth enough for your liking, add the coconut milk/cream, vanilla and honey (if using) and whizz again to combine.

Once the loaf has cooled a little, pour the icing over and serve.

Flat bread

I made flat bread to serve with hummus at my two yoga weekends in July. I had a few requests for my recipes so here's the first.

These are very easy to make and hard to get wrong. It's so nice to cook from scratch; make them with a friend so you can have a good chat while you knead, and you'll have a nice big batch for storage!

Flat bread
1 cup organic wholemeal flour
2 tablespoons of olive oil (I sometimes use sesame oil)
Sea salt or celtic salt
Warm water
Sea salt and seeds, herbs and spices for sprinkling

Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Add oil and mix well with your hands for about 5 minutes until it resembles bread crumbs. Slowly add the warm water, mixing well in between until it's nice and squishy. Then knead the dough for around 15 minutes or as long as possible.

This is good strengthening for your wrists, and quite therapeutic!

Break off a small amount of dough and roll out until it's flat. Use extra flour or water as required.

Next sprinkle with sea salt and your choice of seeds, herbs or spices. Some options are caraway seeds, black sesame seeds, poppy seeds, za'tar, dukkah, nigella seeds to name a few. I use the rolling pin to press them down so they stick.

Bake in the oven at 200C for around 15 minutes or until golden and parts of the bread puff slightly.
You can store these in an air tight container for some time.