JULIA EDGELY
HOMEOPATHY
delicious recipes to satisfy and nourish
An important part of a consultation with me is talking about your food and your diet. What you crave gives me a huge amount of information about your health and how your system ticks. It also helps that I love talking about food.
My experience with food, healthy eating and the impact of modern eating on our wellbeing, lead me to include food intolerance testing in our consultation. Identifying foods to eliminate for a period of time, could lead to a break though in your on-going symptoms. Many times, patients have been in shock when discovering what foods can create an imbalance in their body. They are equally shocked when eliminating these items and how much better they feel. Food intolerances may seem like a new trend but looking into ancient healing modalities, you can see dietary changes has always been an important part of the process. It is true there has been a significant increase in people experiencing food intolerances. We have to ask ourselves why? However, investigating modern farming techniques, modern lifestyle and over use of medication quickly answers this question.
There are many different diets out there offering a miracle solution to many health issues. Although, what can work for one person can have a completely different effect on the next. Most diets have their place and throughout your life your eating patterns will and should change. It’s all about the individual, as with everything in homeopathy. We are all so different. Do you crave salt, or do eggs turn your stomach or the idea of red meat break you out in a sweat? These symptoms are of great value to me.
DNA dictates how we look and function. This even goes as far as what foods our body needs and what we crave. Have you ever had an overpowering taste for beetroot or been hungry for no reason and not known what you fancy? These are examples of your body communicating it's needs. The foods we crave could be our DNA needing a certain nutrient at that time. Our food provides the building blocks of our organs, our neurotransmitters our hormones. We really are what we eat. Now the exception to this rule is if you are craving processed or junk foods. I’ll be honest with you, at no stage is your body craving fried chicken. The big brains behind processed food have purposely made it so your body craves more and more. If we are working on your health, overcoming processed food addiction will be addressed.
Eliminating foods can appear daunting at first. I want to assure you that with the right advice and practitioners, it doesn’t have to be. The relief from chronic symptoms makes it all the more worthwhile. The recipes here offer a starting block in your new healthy eating habits. They offer refined sugar free solutions to everday treats, high fibre meals to help heal our intestines and tricks to help include nutrient dense foods into your daily routine, all the while packing a flavour sensation.
Well, I do come from a family of chefs after all …
This tagine is a rich and sweet evening meal or left overs can be incorporated into a lunch Buddha bowl. The apricots for me are the star of the show. They are an often over looked ingredient to eat but offer a great source of vitamin A, non-heme iron and vitamin c to increase the absorption of iron.
This dish freezes well, so great for food and bulk prep!
Chickpea and Apricot Tagine
Serves 6
Ingredients
2 tbsps. olive oil
1 jar 400g chickpeas
1 jar of chopped tomatoes
1 jar of water
1 cube gluten free vegetable stock
2 onions
2 carrots
1 courgette
½ cauliflower
10 dried non-sulphate apricots
1 tsp. seaweed flakes
1 tsp. cumin, gara masala,
½ tsp. cinnamon
Pinch salt and black pepper
Method
In a pot, gentle heat olive oil and begin to slowly fry the chopped onions until soft but not browned.
Add the chopped vegetables and fry gently for 3-5mins with the pot covered.
To the pot and all the spices and stock cube with 200ml of water and the chopped apricots. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, drained chickpeas, chopped tomatoes and seaweed.
Reduce the temperature and simmer for 20mins keeping the pot covered.
Serve with millet, buckwheat couscous (as pictured) or cauliflower rice and garnish with plenty of coriander or parsley depending on preference.
This recipe is a tweak on a well-known brunch dish. Adding a few extra ingredients or swaps can make a huge difference to the nutritional profile of a meal! The seaweed here Dulse, will amaze you with how much it resembles crispy bacon both in flavour and texture. It is a fantastic source of trace minerals. Even better than that seaweed is less heat sensitive than vegetables and so it loses less of its vital nutrients.
Seaweed Eggs Benedict with
dairy free hollandaise
Ingredients
Fresh Dulse strips, not dried or flaked
Organic, corn feed eggs*
Base of choice – Portobello mushrooms, spinach, sweet potato or if you eat bread, organic whole meal or gluten-free roll
Tanya Maher’s Uncookbook Inspired Hollandaise** See below
Method
First make the hollandaise. (see below).
In a food processor, add all ingredients and blend for a good 3mins, or until the mixture is as smooth as you can get it. Leave in fridge. This gets better and better with time.
Next prepare your base. For the most nutritional value I prefer grilled portobello mushrooms, a slice of baked sweet potato or wilted spinach. These options are more nutritious, less grains are consumed and offer a good wallop of fibre. But choose your favourite base. For a balanced option if choosing a bread base, make sure it’s wholemeal, organic and sourdough if possible.
Seaweed bacon: Cut dulse strips into desired shape. Rinse gently underwater to remove excess salt. In a frying pan, add coconut oil or raw butter. Once hot, add your seaweed strips. With the heat, there will be a lot of sizzling and spitting. Turn frequently so dulse does not burn. To ensure a true “bacon” flavour, make sure the seaweed is crisp and holds its shape. If it’s still soft, you will taste a slight seaweed flavour. Place the fried seaweed on top of your base of choice.
Poach eggs: Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Remove from heat and immediately add a cracked egg into the hot water. Once the egg whites have started to turn white return to heat, reducing to medium. If white foam forms, the temperature is too hot. Leave to boil for 2-3 mins.
Assemble: Remove poached eggs from water, draining the excess water as much as possible. Place on top of your dulse and base tower. Finally, pour on as much, or as, little hollandaise sauce as you fancy! Enjoy your healthier version of a relaxing brunch.
Hollandaise ingredients
250ml unsweetened Almond Cream
50g raw cashew nuts
1/2 clove of garlic
1 tbsp. limejuice
1/2 tsp. rock salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Pinch of turmeric
Dash of truffle oil*optional (make sure truffle oil is pure, organic and is not a synthetic version)
Method
Soak cashew nut in water for 4hrs. Although, this recipe can be done without soaking the nuts, this stage ensures a smooth creamy texture at the end.
In your food processor, add all ingredients, except for truffle oil, and blend for 2-3mins until texture is creamy and smooth. Taste before adding this truffle oil. This gives the sauce a very rich taste but is not for everyone.
This recipe is a fantastic use of falafels, which you may have left over from a previous meal. The tomatoes sauce can be used on its own or with mushrooms for a vegan ragu sauce. The tahini added, gives the sauce a deep rich flavour replacing traditional wine and the tamari boosts the umami flavour of the dish. Tahini is also a fantastic non-dairy source of calcium.
Lentil balls in a tomato sauce
Ingredients
2 medium yellow onions
6-10 falafels (depending on size)
1 jar chopped tomatoes
1-cup water
2 onions roughly chopped
2 springs fresh rosemary
Pinch nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1-tablespoon tamari
1-heaped teaspoon tahini
Method
In a medium sized pot, gently sweat the chopped onion.
Add the tamari, tahini, nutmeg and stock cube. Mix together for 2 minutes until blended and add the water. Simmer for a further 3 minutes on a gentle boil.
Finally add the tomatoes and rosemary and let simmer for a further 20 minutes. This is a chunky sauce, so feel free to blend if you prefer a smoother texture.
5 minutes before serving, taste your sauce and season to your preference add your lentil balls and cover with your sauce.
Serve with rice, your favourite pasta or sweet potato noodles.
It's also fantastic in a sub sandwich on sourdough spelt bread with roasted red pepper and nutritional yeast hummus.
This recipe is so easy to have on hand a can be made with pretty much any vegetable you have in your kitchen. My favourites to add are peas, broccoli and cauliflower and potato. Feel free to use fresh or frozen vegetables. It's hearty, filling and packs a nutritional punch with these few tweaks I’ve made. Fresh ginger gives a slight spice but also makes this a perfect immune boosting dish for winter. The recipe may not be a tradiotnal dahl recipe but many friends I have made it for love this served either as a soup or curry with rice or cauliflower rice.
Red Lentil Dahl
Most of my recipes contain simple ingredients you would use in multiple dishes. Here however going out and buying fenugreek powder is a must and the flavour it gives makes this a super tasty and therefore satisfying dish. It can also be used in many Indian recipes, so it's worth your while investing.
Regarding the measurement for the coconut milk, this can also be done using a carton of coconut milk. It’s all about the proportions, twice the amount of liquid to lentils. If you want to make your dahl less rich, simply use stock or water and a tablespoon of coconut cream at the end.
Ingredients
2 chopped onions
Thumb size portion of fresh ginger peeled and grated
1 tbsp. tahini
1 gluten free vegetable stock cube
I can coconut milk
I can of dried red lentils
1 can water
Spices – ½ teaspoon:
Fenugreek
Cumin,
Madras
Coriander seeds
Garam masala
200g vegetables of choice
Method
In a pan add a dash of oil and gently soften the onions, adding garlic towards the end. Cook for 2mins
Add all the spices, tahini and stock cube with 1 tbsp. of water. Heat until all ingredients come together like a paste.
All at the same time, into the dish add the rest of the water, lentils and coconut milk and bring to simmer.
Once bubbling add your vegetables and leave to cook for a further 20mins or until your vegetables are tender.
Serve as a soup on its own or with an accompaniment of your choice, rice, quinoa and top with yoghurt and coriander.
power soup ingredients
Add these ingredients to your soups or even sauces for super charged nutrition! Trace minerals can be hard to include into our diet but consuming seaweed on a daily basis can offer a solution. Its cal is a fantastic source of iodine supporting our thyroid and breast tissue. Finally nut butter and hemp seeds help to increase the protein content, keeping your blood sugar levels balanced.
hemp seeds
Hemp is a fantastic source of Omega3. Unless you are consuming vast amounts of oily fish and or walnuts, assume you need to up your Omega 3s. See our essential fatty acids need to be in a correct ratio, much like good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. There needs to be balance. Todays eating and lifestyle generally knocks this balance of fats out, leaning towards an Omega 6 dominate. Omega 6 is essential but when left without its Omega 3 buffer, can contribute to inflammation in the body. You see, up the 3s.
Hemp takes as little as 20mins to cook or soaked for an hour in your warm soup. Then, depending on how powerful a blender you have, can be blended without a trace. This is great when feeding some fussy eaters.
Look to add a tablespoon of hemp seeds to your soup either blended or as a garnish on top.
dulse flakes
Dulse, similar to hemp seeds, can also be added to soups as well as sauces without much of a trace. It’s seaweed from North America, which became famous for tasting like bacon when fried. This is absolutely true. Sea my Eggs Benedict post. Sea what I did there LOL
For soups, buy the dried flaked version. If you cannot find dulse at your local health store, you may find mixed dried sea vegetables.
This is just as good but I can’t promise about the taste.
Add about 1 tablespoon per litre of water/soup. Honestly this has no strong fishy taste but can add salt for flavor.
Last year Jamie Oliver came out with his superfoods cooking book and in interviews raved about seaweed for giving him his health burst. Seaweed is full of minerals, some that we hardly consume in our western diet such as selenium. It also contains iodine, a mineral needed by men and women but mostly for women due to breast tissue. You see, iodine, known for its role in thyroid function, also is involved in maintaining health of breast tissue. So if you have the breasticles make sure you are consuming enough iodine.
Add Dulse to your soup, sauces, and stews anything. Honestly you wont taste it!
nut butter
I think I’ve mentioned on here a few times that I love fats, a diet rich in good fats is worth it's weight in gold!
A patient, years ago gave me this tip and not only will it give you a delicious soup but also contribute again to your omegas but also ups the protein content.
I use almond butter but also love tahini and sesame seeds are amazing for your detox mechanism (your liver will love you!). If you have a high-speed blender, feel free to skip the butter part and just throw in the nuts into the mix. They will be blended to a lovely creamy consistency along with your veg.
If you have a nut problem, for example people with allergies or autoimmune disorders, focus on seeds. Sunflower seeds give a lovely creamy texture while pumpkin seeds I find give a lovely savoury texture.
Tamari Pumpkin
Seeds
Great over salads, Buddha bowls or on their own as a snack! This recipe can be adapted using different seeds and herbs. My taste buds love pistachio and paprika which reminds me slightly of chorizo and is great to top your salad.
Pumpkin seeds are a fantastic source of zinc, vitamin E and offer a good quality source of protein
Ingredients
1tablespoon olive oil
60g pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons tamari
Seasoning options;
¼ tspn zaartar,
Pinch salt & pepper,
1/4cumin
Pinch paprika
In a saucepan, add the oil and over a medium temperature, heat until the oil just begins to bubble.
While the oil is heating; add all spices and tamari together in a small bowl
While the oil Once this happens immediately remove for the heat.
Add all the pumpkin seeds at once. If the oil is slightly too hot already the seed will begin to pop all at once. Its best to avoid this to prevent he seasoning from burning. If this happens, wait a moment to return the pan to the heat.
Return the pan to the heat and wait until the seeds gently begin to pop.
Add to the pan the tamari and spice mix, stirring quickly to coat all the seeds.
Once it appears the tamari has been absorbed, remove the pan from the heat and serve immediate. Alternatively, add to an open jar and leave to cool before sealing to be used at another occasion.
Buddha bowls seem to be all the fashion but unlike most trends that come and go, I think this one is here to stay. This dish, although not a specific recipe, offers a fine balance of flavours and textures meaning it is a very satisfying dish not just for your taste buds but also for it's nutritional balance. It’s a simple meal and at the end you feel not only saited but also chuffed you have taken in a good meal of vegetables. A handy recipe to have on hand, you can use up leftovers from previous meals for packed lunches both for kids or offices.
Master Buddha Bowl Mix
Here is a master mix but feel free to mix it up depending on your taste buds
Master Recipe
Handful of leaves of choice – salad, spinach or roquette
Extra flavour: mix your leaves with some herbs such as mint and coriander.
Handful of chopped vegetables, cooked or raw
1 tablespoon for fermented foods such as kimchi
¼ avocado (or half if you are focusing on calorie dense meals)
2 tablespoons of leftovers – this is the best bit, any left over can be used whether it's a curry, pasta sauce with beans or even falafels.
Toppings: hummus, coconut yoghurt, chia and hemp seeds and 1 tbspn fruit of choice. The fruit sounds strange but adds another flavor profile along with the savory for further satiety.
Dressing of choice
Options
Tamari and lime
Tahini and orange juice
Tamari and linseed oil
A great recipe to have, either all prepared in the fridge to assemble when you want a quick bite or for a friendly dinner party when food intolerances may be an issue. This dish is both dairy and gluten free. It can also be easily adapted to be Deadly Nightshade free. These vegetables include peppers, tomatoes, aubergine and potatoes. Simply swap the peppers for sweet potato. Protein of choice can also be added to the cooked peppers. My favourite is black beans.
Fajitas
Serves 6 portions
Ingredients
1 large head romaine lettuce
2 bell peppers sliced
4 scallions
Spices cumin, paprika, chipotle, salt and pepper
1 large red onion
2 tbpson orange juice
1-tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Pinch salt generous
2 avocado mashed
1-cup cashew nuts
1-cup water
½ teaspoon salt
1 dash mine juice
1 teaspoon white miso (optional)
Start by preparing your pickled red onion. Finely slice the red onion either by hand or in a machine using the appropriate blade. Transfer to a dish with a lid and add orange juice, vinegar and salt. Seal and give a decent shake. Set aside while all other components are assembled. The longer the onions are left the tastier the pickled flavour.
Cashew Sauce (sour cream)
In a powerful blender, food processor or nutribullet, add in cashew nuts, water, white miso, salt and lime juice. Blend until all smooth and transfer to a jar to be stored in the fridge. This makes a fairly thin mixture. Feel free to reduce the amount of water for a thicker consistency.
Peppers
In a frying pan with a tablespoon of oil, gently fry your sliced peppers and scallions, just until they are tender but still have a slight bite. This adds to the texture of the overall dish and means the veg have retained some nutrition. Once tender, cover with your spices and fry until all vegetables are coated. Sprinkle with fresh coriander
Assemble
Take a large leaf from your head of romaine lettuce. Remove the hard stalk end.
Fill with your warm pepper mixture, and cover with all your toppings. My favourite combinations go peppers, mashed avocado, red onion and finally cashew cream! If your leaf in not over filled, fold over like you would a wrap and enjoy!
Mango Salsa
I love a mango salsa and make this if I’m serving my fajitas at a bbq.
1 mango peeled and sliced
1 medium red onion
2 plum tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
Fresh coriander and
Dash lime juice
Mix all together in a bowl and serve alongside all the fajitas components.
A fantastic sticky and chewy treat to have at home and can be stored in the freezer. The type of treat that sticks to your teeth just like caramel, thanks to the sweetness of the dates. An easy to prepare recipe that is practical to have on hand to help eliminate refined sugars from the diet.
Sugar free Chocolate peanut butter treats
Dates are a fantastic and versatile ingredient to have at home. They are full of minerals and contain enzymes that help prevent and eliminate parasites and worms. Peanut butter is also a fantastic source of protein. If you are sensitive to peanuts or are not a fan, almond butter can be substituted. Raw cacao is used for its nutritional properties adding to the overall nutritional value of this handy treat. Vanilla is helpful when reducing sugar as it can trick the tastebuds into thinking what you are eating is sweet.
Ingredients
10 pitted dates (not medjool)
1 ½ tablespoon peanut butter or nut butter of choice.
1 ½ tsp. raw cacao powder
Pinch of Himalayan salt
Optional: vanilla paste
Method
In a small bowl, combine the nut butter, chocolate and salt until you have a smooth paste.
Slice your dates lengthways if they are not already.
Into the hollow of the date, spoon in a small amount of the chocolate mixture.
Serve immediately or wrap individually in greaseproof paper and freeze for future use. Can be stored for 2 months in freezer.
2 ingredient Chocolate Mousse
A practical recipe to have on hand, and a perfect use, of an otherwise wasted valuable ingredient. Aquafaba or chickpea water from a jar of chickpeas used in a previous dish such as hummus can be used in a variety of recipes sweet and savoury. It also acts as a fantastic binding agent and as it can be stored in the freezer, is practical to have on hand if you ever run out of eggs or do not consume eggs in a recipe. The recipe here uses store bought organic dark chocolate, which usually contains a little raw cane sugar so no further sugar is needed. Some people have asked me if the chickpea water is not too salty to taste? I have made both a chocolate mouse and mango mousse using aquafaba. Both times the recipes worked out great with no salty flavour.
Ingredients
100g grams of organic dark chocolate
100ml chickpea water (or 9 tablespoons)
Method
Over a bain marie, gently melt your chocolate.
Once melted remove from your heat and set aside.
Either with a hand whisk or in a machine using a whisking attachment, gently start to work the chickpea water. This can take from 10-15mins until a stiff white texture is obtained exactly like whisked egg white.
Take one or two tablespoons of the chickpea fluff and using a metal spoon, fold into the melted chocolate.
Once these first two spoonfuls have been mixed in well, add the remaining chickpea fluff from your whisking bowl. Fold all in gently until fully incorporated.
Distribute this new mixture to your container or serving bowl of choice and cool in the fridge for two hours before serving.
This recipe is super light compared to a standard chocolate mousse making it perfect for a dessert after a meal and transports easily for a handy snack at lunch.
Cranberry and Rose Jam
Cranberries are a fantastic source of vitamin C and A. These berries also help maintain dental health and can aid in preventing kidney and bladder stones. In this recipe I have used dried, sugar free cranberries for an all year option. Dried fruit can be an concentrated form of sugar. To help, feel free to soak the cranberries over night in the water used later in the recipe to rehydrate. Agar Agar is another star of this recipe. An alternative to gelatin, this seaweed offers fantastic prebiotic properties and as a source of soluble fibre to help maintain gut health. Rose may feel like a decadent ingredient to add but it does have health benefits when consumed which surprises people. It is anti-inflammatory, helping with sore throats and digestive issues. It is also known to help with breathing. As with its essential oil counterpart, rose water will help enhance and improve mood, making it an ideal breakfast food and an alternative to coffee if you should get out of the wrong side of bed in the morning.
Ingredients
100g dried cranberries sugar free
1-cup water
1-pitted date
1 level tsp. agar agar powder
40ml rose water
Method
In a small pan, heat up the water to a gentle boil.
Once boiling add and stir quickly the agar-agar powder in until it is fully dissolved.
In a powder blender/mixer or nutribullet, add the remaining ingredients followed by the agar agar mixture and blend until smooth.
Transfer to your container of choice and place in the fridge to chill for two hours before serving.
The consistency of this jam is slightly more structured and holds its shape compared to standard jam, however it spreads like a dream.
Store in the fridge and consume within one week.
This decadent sounding jam is sugar free and gives another flavour to a dish. It can be used as a jam on your bread of choice or used to top a warm bowl of porridge in the morning.
A super light and low sugar treat to have at home. The aquafaba meringue makes great use of a valuable ingredient, which would be otherwise wasted. Xylitol makes an excellent sweet alternative and in recipes you only need a small amount. Research has shown it to be beneficial to dental health.
Vegan refined sugar free Coconut Somethings
Ingredients
130ml chickpea liquid (aquafaba)
1/4-teaspoon guar gum
100g xylitol*
100g fresh desiccated coconut
Method
Heat your oven to 150C conventional.
In a food processor using the whisking attachment or with an electric whisk, whip the chickpea liquid to stiff peaks. This can take 5-10mins.
Add in guar gum & xylitol until you cannot hear the xylitol crystals against the bowl. You will get a marshmallow, shiny consistency.
If using a machine, remove the meringue into a separate bowl and fold in desiccated coconut until it is all blended with the meringue mix.
Spoon smallish drops onto a greased or baking paper covered baking tray and bake for 20mins.
After you have eaten about 5, you’ll wish you never found this recipe
* xylitol is a sweetener made from the sap of a birch tree. It comes in granulated form. Studies have shown it to have little or no effect on our blood sugar levels making it an excellent sweetener for baking. It’s also used on the ketogenic diet. However, there is always an issue when it comes to sweeteners. These can cause digestive irritation if used in excess, meaning you may need the loo quickly if you have eaten too much. I personally find it sweeter than conventional sugar, so I use a lot less. Feel free to reduce the amount in the recipe!!!
A healthier take on a classic that takes us back to childhood. This recipe is not only fantastic for those eliminating animal proteins, its perfect for dairy protein allergies and lactose intolerance. Although no refined sugar is used, honey and maple syrup should still be used in moderation.
Vegan Coconut Bars
Ingredients
100ml Coconut Cream
180g Honey or Maple syrup
250g vegan butter or coconut oil
250g grated coconut meat
180g chocolate
Method
Over a VERY low heat (we want to keep all the goodness) melt together the cream, syrup, oil/ butter. Leave to bubble for about 5 minutes. Test this time as it can change for different sweeteners. Leave it for too long and you have a VERY chewy bounty bar.
Once you have reached the required thickness (it’s not really thick, but you’ll see what I mean) remove from the heat and add in the grated coconut meat. The mixture might seem a little dry, any more wet and you have very greasy bars at the end, as the wet comes from the oils.
Place this into the mold you have (I use a square Pyrex dish with cooking paper), and press down you will see the mixture keeps it shape and no flakes. Place this in your freezer for about an hour.
Next melt your chocolate, either adding a knob of your vegan butter or the coconut oil to make the chocolate nice and smooth.
Remove your bar filling from the freezer and cut into whatever shape tickles your fancy. The squares may be hard to cut, being frozen and all, but they keep their shape better when dipped into hot melted chocolate.
After covering the bars in chocolate, place on some grease proof paper and transfer into the fridge when all the bars are coated!
In about 30 mins, they are ready to enjoy