I love a good risotto in Winter. Heck, I love risotto any time of the year. So when fellow Naturopath and gut health afficiando Allison Jones (nice name hey?) shared with me this delicious recipe for a gut friendly (dairy free, gluten free, vegan and potentially low fodmap) risotto made from nutritious buckwheat and beetroot, I just had to nab it to share with you. Tip: Wear gloves when handling the beetroot so you don’t end up with red stained hands!

Want more recipes from Allison? You can visit her page here.

A while back now, I decided to improve my plant-based cooking repertoire. Even though I like to keep my kitchen non-denominational, I like to dabble in different dietary scenes. But, as a lifelong omnivore I was guilty of being very lazy when it comes to making meals from plant foods. All that changed a few years back when I decided to improve my diet and also found a love for recipe development. In the last year I set myself a challenge to improve my plant-based cooking repertoire.

This recipe for Buckwheat Risotto put to good use all of the principles of recipe development that I’d learnt – the need to balance different flavours with a range of complementary textures to keep the palate surprised and content. I’ve now been making this recipe for almost two years, so I’ve had plenty of time to get it just right.

Buckwheat has become a featured ingredient in many of my recipes. I love using it since it’s gluten free (don’t be fooled by its name), with a unique flavour and texture, depending on how it’s cooked. It feels very nourishing and satisfying to eat. It’s also highly nutritious, with a good balance of carbohydrate, protein, minerals and antioxidant plant compounds such as rutin and quercetin.

In this recipe, I’ve paired buckwheat with other earthy ingredients: roasted beetroot, porcini mushrooms, thyme and hazelnut. If you’re not familiar with porcini mushrooms, they’re a veritable umami powerhouse – delivering plenty of that unique savoury flavour provided by the natural glutamate content.

And, because I always look after you, dear reader, I’ve provided both a pressure cooker/Instant Pot option and a stove top option. Everyone wins!

This risotto is perfect in the depths of winter, but also in the transitional seasons. You will certainly not regret making this.

Buckwheat risotto with porcini, thyme, hazelnut and roast beetroot

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan, options for Low FODMAP

Serves 4-6

Pressure cooker/Instant Pot and stove top options (stockpot required)

Equipment: pressure cooker or stockpot, large glass heatproof bowl, baking trays, frypan (if browning the mushrooms), large measuring cup, kitchen knife, chopping board, tongs

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups buckwheat groats
• 15g dried porcini mushrooms
• 3 cups water, divided (pressure cooker option) OR 6 cups of water, divided (stovetop option)
• 1 bunch of thyme
• 1 1/2 tablespoons gluten free miso paste
• 1 1/4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for the beetroot and mushrooms
• 250g white button mushrooms, sliced in half or in thick slices (if browning on the stove) (use oyster mushrooms or canned champignon mushrooms for a low fodmap option)

To serve

• 2 large beetroot
• 100g hazelnuts

Method

The Prep

1. Pre heat the oven to 180C/350F fan forced
2. Boil 2 cups of the water and pour over the porcini mushrooms in a large glass heat proof bowl. Let sit for 20 minutes.
3. Peel and chop the beetroot in to large bite sized pieces, then spray/coat with oil and place into separate oven trays.
4. Place the beetroot and hazelnuts in the oven. Remove the hazelnuts after 5-7 minutes (keep an eye on them to avoid burning). Roast the beetroot for 30 minutes total until a knife goes through each piece.
5. Once the porcini has soaked for 20 minutes, remove them from the liquid and set aside. Transfer the porcini liquid in to a large measuring cup and add any extra water needed to make 3 cups.

Pressure cooker/Instant Pot option

6. Reserve smaller stalks of the thyme and place the rest in the pressure cooker, with the leaves still attached to the stems.
7. Add all ingredients to the pressure cooker (including the porcini liquid and soaked porcini mushrooms) except the beetroot and hazelnut. Place the sliced button mushrooms last, to sit on top of everything else. Alternatively, these can be browned on the stove in olive oil.
8. Cook at high pressure for 6 minutes and then let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes. At the 5 minute point, release remaining pressure.
9. Reduce the liquid in the risotto by selecting “saute” or “brown” on the pressure cooker. This will take between 5-8 minutes and requires occasional stirring.
10. Once the risotto is at the desired texture, remove the thyme stems with tongs, being careful to get all of them out – you’ll need to stir a few times and look carefully to remove them all.
11. Once ready to serve, plate up the dish and then place roasted beetroot, hazelnuts and mushrooms (if browned on the stove) on top of the risotto along with the leaves from the reserved thyme.

Stovetop option

6. Add all ingredients to the stockpot (including the porcini liquid and soaked porcini mushrooms) except the beetroot and hazelnut. Add the remaining 3 cups water.
7. If mushrooms are being browned on the stove, do not add them to the stockpot.
8. Reserve smaller stalks of the thyme and place the rest in the stockpot, with the leaves still attached to the stems.
9. Bring to a boil, then remove the lid and cook on high heat, stirring every few minutes. The risotto will be done in approximately 30 minutes or until soft, but slightly chewy.
10. The sliced mushrooms can be browned in some olive oil in a separate fry pan while the risotto is cooking.
11. Remove the thyme stems with tongs, being careful to get all of them out – you’ll need to stir a few times and look carefully to remove them all.
12. Once ready to serve, plate up the dish and then place roasted beetroot, hazelnuts and mushrooms (if browned on the stove) on top of the risotto along with the leaves from the reserved thyme stems.

About Allison:

Allison Jones is a Clinical Nutritionist and Naturopath in southern Sydney. She specialises in digestive health, with an interest in the gut microbiome. Allison is also a a passionate (and obsessive!) recipe developer, creating original recipes that are both nutrient dense and delicious. Find her at bodyelectricvitality.com.au

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This recipe came about from my attempts to make a bit of  healthier version of Lumberjack cake whilst I was pregnant. I love Lumberjack cake, and one morning I was really feeling like it, but didn’t feel like something quite that sweet. I added some pineapple (like in a Hummingbird cake) and used buckwheat and coconut flour to make it a bit more blood sugar and gut friendly. I was quite impressed with myself for how well they turned out. Let me know if you give them a try.

Ingredients

• 1 apple, cored and diced
• ½ cup dates, chopped
• ½ cup boiling water
• 1 tsp bicarb soda

• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¾ cup buckwheat flour
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 2 slices pineapple, chopped
• ½ cup chopped mixed nuts
• 1 cup almond meal
• 3 eggs
• 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out (or ½ tsp vanilla extract)
• ½ tsp each cinnamon and ground ginger
• ¼ tsp each nutmeg and cardamon
• Pinch salt

Topping

• 60g butter
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup shredded coconut (I used finely dessicated because that’s all I had, but this was too fine)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Mix the chopped apples and dates, bicarb soda and boiling water in a bowl. Stir to coat them, cover, then set aside until it’s just warm.

In a large bowl whisk the eggs with the maple syrup then combine the flours, baking soda, salt, spices and vanilla. Fold in the nuts, banana, pineapple and the soaked apple and dates.

Spoon into muffin trays and place in the oven for 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile to make the topping, combine the butter, milk and brown sugar in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until the butter has completely melted and the sugar dissolved. Stir through the coconut. Pour this mixture evenly over the muffins, then place them back into the oven for 30 minutes.

The muffins are done when a skewer inserted into the muffins comes out clean.

Allow the muffins to cool slightly. Serve at room temperature.

The post Lumberjack-ish Muffins appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

Health & Wellbeing Podcast #17

Here is another video and podcast for you – this episode I am joined with Laura Yen (you may know her as Laura Burton, she got married not long after we recorded this!) and we chat about our approach to healthy eating, which is based on naturopathic principles. We discuss things such as a whole food diet, our opinion on the paleo diet and the key principles we recommend for healthy eating.

Want to subscribe to get podcasts automatically? You can do that here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/health-wellbeing-podcast/id1006574743

Laura is a clinical naturopath practicing in St Leonards and Dural. Her key areas of interest are female hormone disorders, digestive health, stress & adrenal fatigue. Through her clinical experience Laura has identified the prevalence of stress in our everyday lives and sees it as the most common cause or exacerbating factor of her patients health conditions. Laura believes that we need to get back to basics and work on our ability to release and manage stress in order to prevent and treat disease.

Last year Laura set herself the mission to reach beyond the walls of her clinics and send her de-stress message out to Australian and New Zealand households through the Burton Health Tea Club. Each month she sends love letters and tea packages to her members to inject joy and excitement into their days and to remind them to slow down, relax and reconnect while sipping on a cup of organic herbal tea.

You can connect with Laura via her website www.burtonhealth.com.au, on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.

Podcast Breakdown:

0:00 Intro and disclaimer
0:44 Welcome
1:33 The importance of an individualised diet
2:45 Diet wars and fad diets
3:56 The 80/20 rule
6:16 A Healthy diet shouldn’t be about deprivation, rather learning to prepare and enjoying whole foods
8:14 Whole food diet
10:13 Processed foods
13:30 Fruit and juice
17:30 Calorie counting
18:55 Eat for health rather than weight loss and the importance of micronutrients
21:40 Antioxidants and other beneficial chemicals in food, herbs and spices
25:45 Wisdom from traditional diets
27:23 Anti-nutrient chemicals in food and how to minimise their impact on our digestive system
28:30 Our opinion on the paleo diet
31:03 It’s not just what you eat but how you eat
34:23 Plan your meals and try new foods and recipes
37:04 Foods for specific conditions and eating for the seasons
39:28 Short term diets e.g. ketogenic diets
40:36 Health food product deceptions, low-fat foods
42:14 Water
43:35 How to get in contact

The post A Naturopath’s Approach to Diet – Podcast #17 appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

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~Serves 2~

Ingredients

• ½ cauliflower
• ¼ bunch kale (the flat leaf or the curly is fine), finely chopped.
• Handful mint and basil leaves, finely chopped.
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pinch dried chilli flakes
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 salmon fillets

Method

In a food processor, blitz the cauliflower until it turns into a coarse breadcrumb like consistency.

Get out two frying pans, one on medium high and the other on medium heat. Add some olive oil to both pans.

In the medium high heat pan add the salmon fillets (first season them with salt and pepper) skin side down.

In the medium heat pan, tip in the cauliflower. Stir through until it starts to soften then add the kale. Season with salt and pepper and add the dried chilli and cumin. Cover with a lid.

After about 4-5 minutes or the skin is crisp, turn the salmon over.

Cook the salmon for another 3-4 minutes or until cooked to your liking.

Remove the lid from the cauliflower, then add the mint and basil and cook for another minute, then take off the heat.

Serve the cauliflower scramble into bowls and place the salmon fillet on top. Garnish with some cracked pepper and torn up basil leaves.

The post Kale, Basil, Mint and Cauliflower Scramble with Salmon appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

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This soup is great if you’re feeling a bit under the weather and want something light and nourishing. If possible, use chicken bone broth that you’ve made earlier rather than store-bought stock, but that is fine as well.

~Serves 2~

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast, thinly sliced
• 1 zucchini
• 1 small bunch of bok choy, green leaves separated from the stems and cut into inch thickness.
• 1 carrot
• 2 spring onions, green sections diced and the white cut into 1 inch lengths.
• 1L chicken stock
• 1 pinch dried chilli flakes
• 1 star anise
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 thick slices of ginger
• 1 tbsp tamari/soy sauce

Method

Bring the chicken stock to the boil along with the chilli flakes, garlic, star anise, and ginger then reduce to a simmer. Add the chicken and allow to cook for a few minutes.

Spiralise the carrot and zucchini and divide into two soup bowls with the leaves of the bok choy and the greens of the spring onions.

Add the white of the bok choy and spring onions to the stock and cook for a further few minutes.  Once the chicken is cooked through, season the soup with soy sauce to taste. Divide the chicken, the cooked bok choy and spring onions amongst the bowls, the strain the soup into the bowls. The heat from the soup will cook the rest of the veg.

The post Zoodles and chicken in broth appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

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~Serves 2~

Ingredients

• 2 lamb fillets
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• ½ tsp fennel seeds

• ½ cup brown lentils
• 1 large handful of rocket leaves (arugala)
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 handful flat leaf parsley or mint, roughly chopped
• 3-4 tbsp Greek/Natural yoghurt
• Salt and pepper
• Lemon
• Olive oil

Method

Soak the lentils overnight or for 8 hours, then rinse thoroughly. (read why I suggest doing that here)

Simmer the lentils for 45 minutes or until tender, then drain and set aside.

If you have time, dry-fry the spices in the form of the whole seeds then grind up with some salt in a mortar and pestle, otherwise just use the cumin and coriander powder.

Preheat the oven 180°C.

Heat a frying pan to medium high heat, and add a good splash of olive oil.

Coat the lamb fillets with the spices and season with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Cook for 4 minutes on one side, then turn over and place the pan in the oven for 5 minutes, then place on a plate, cover with foil and allow to rest for a few minutes (this should make it medium rare).

Heat a griddle pan on high heat. Coat the asparagus in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then place onto the griddle pan. Turn a few times so they are cooked evenly.

Mix the lentils with the juice of ½ lemon, a good glug of olive oil and some salt and pepper, then mix through the rocket leaves and herbs.

Serve the lentils onto the place. Cut the lamb fillets into thick slices and arrange over the top of the lentils. Serve the asparagus on the side along with a good dollop of natural yoghurt and a lemon wedge or cheek, and sprinkle over some salt and a crack of black pepper.

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UPDATE 16/10/15: ONE DAY LEFT!

Ermagerd. This is a frickin amazing offer that I just had to share with you guys: A wellness bundle with some absolutely awesome ebooks in there. I see a lot of bundles of these sorts of things come and go, but this one has such a good combination of ebooks from authors who I regularly recommend that I just had to share it.

There are books with vegan, paleo, gluten free recipes and eating plans for improving overall health, hormones, weight and fertility, guides to reducing stress and more.

To put how amazing this offer is in perspective, each of these ebooks would be worth around $10-$30 but you’re getting 35+ of them for only $44.95. It’s valued at $450, and even better when you purchase the bundle there is a donation to charity in it as well.

This is being sold as an affiliate program, which means that if you purchase through this page by clicking on the picture of the link below it, I get a small profit. But you know what, this package is so awesome that it’s not the reason I’m recommending this.

It’s only available for the next ten days!

Click here to view more details

P.S. If you love this bundle as much as I do an want to share, you can be an affiliate as well. Just email Irena at yourperfectbundle@gmail.com and let them know I referred you.

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If you can’t have or don’t want to have regular rice, this is an awesome substitute. It tastes great, it’s easy to make and good for you as well. Yay!

Ingredients

• ¼ cauliflower per person
• ¼ onion per person
• Oil, salt and pepper and spices to your taste

Method

1. Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat.

2. Finely chop the onion and sauté until soft and translucent

3. Blitz the cauliflower in a food processor or grate, and dump into the onion. Stir through to coat in the oil and mix the onion through, then cover and cook for 5 minutes until the cauliflower is soft and translucent. Uncover and stir through again, season with salt and pepper and whichever seasoning you’d like (I usually add cumin and coriander powder, or Chinese 5 spice, whatever goes with the meal you’re serving it with), turn the heat up a little and stir frequently, it is done when the cauliflower starts to turn golden.

The post Cauliflower ‘Rice’ appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

I don’t often eat plums outright, and so when I had some plums (and incidentally a lot of oranges) leftover from a savoury dish that were getting a bit old I decided to make something them into a cake.  Whenever I bake cakes they never get finished, so I wanted to make a small cake that was relatively healthy.  I was very impressed with how this cake turned out, it was moist and had a pleasant combination of sweetness and tart.  As a result of it’s deliciousness, it was gone within 2 days.

This recipe has been adapted from a recipe from River Cafe Cook Book Easy.  Quantities have been reduced to make a smaller cake (will serve 4), and coconut flour has been used instead of wheat flour (quantities have also been adjusted for this, as coconut flour has a different absorptive capacity to wheat flour) .

Recipe:

Filling

• 2-3 very ripe plums.
• 30g caster sugar
• Juice and zest of one orange
• 1 vanilla pod

Cake

• 75g unsalted butter
• 75g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 10g coconut flour
• 1 -1.5 tsp baking powder
• 50 g almond meal

Topping

• 30g butter
• 25g brown sugar
• zest of one orange
• 50g flaked almonds

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C

1.  Halve and stone the plums and put in an ovenproof dish with the sugar, the orange juice and rind.  Slice the vanilla pod lengthways and add to the dish.  Stir through, then bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod into the filling and discard the empty pod.

2.  Grease a 20cm round spring-form tin, lined with parchment paper, with extra butter.

3.  Soften the butter and beat with the sugar until light and fluffy.  Separate the eggs, and beat the whites until soft peaks form, and then combine with the sugar and butter, then beat in the yolks (this provides extra fluffiness that the coconut flour needs, as it can often get heavy).

4.  Fold in the flours and baking powder, then pour into the tin.  Pour the fruit filling over the top, poking the fruit and juice in occasionally.  Bake in the oven for half an hour.

5.  For the topping, finely grate the orange rind.  Melt the butter and stir in the sugar, zest and flaked almonds.  Spread this over the half-baked cake, lower the heat to 160°C and bake for a further 20 minutes.  Cook the cake in the tin.

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