LIFESTYLE I COOKING
New year, new leaf I don’t think too many people these days make New Year’s resolutions as such, but I do think we all take the time to reflect on our year and how we could have done things better. It’s a natural human reaction in all of us. As part of this, our diet usually gets a spring clean. Our climate at this time of year is helpful as it provides us with magnificent fresh produce. Summer salads, grilled vegetables, meat and vibrant vitamin filled fruits are great for helping you to trim up after all the over-indulgence. My one suggestion for this year is to steer away from the usual plain diets, and try instead switching on the reactors in your body that encourage regrowth. We all know the saying “what doesn’t hurt you makes you stronger” and this is true for food as well. Strong tasting foods such as pickled vegetables, hot mustard, chilli sauces, and bitter leaves like rocket and radicchio, not only give an interesting flavour boost to our diet, but they also helps to aggravate our digestive systems just enough to shake things up a bit.
I like to make sure I eat 21 different foods a day, trying to get as many different elements/colours and textures as I can. It’s like a game for me. Stone fruit, cherries, pineapple and citrus have huge amounts of enzymes to boost your immune system. Rocket and stronger tasting green leafy vegetables like cavalo nero, witlof and cabbage have great fibre content and are also high in vitamins and minerals. Fermented foods like yoghurts, kefir, sauerkraut and pickled vegetables are great for gut health. Can I suggest that you find a new salad that that will not only help you get more from your diet, but will also help you to keep on track for the year. Start by picking out new and different ingredients, and look at the way you prepare them. So many vegetables can be eaten raw, but this sounds weird right? The easiest way is to grate and then add them to your usual salad. When I cater for a client, the foods I get most feedback about are asparagus, fennel, cabbage, radish and onion. If these foods are somewhat intimidating, try the dilution method before adding
them in a subtle way. For example, asparagus is fantastic grilled on the barbecue and served with fish, dressed with olive oil and finished with lemon juice. Grated or finely sliced fennel makes a great addition to coleslaw, or a crisp green salad. The same goes for radish and cabbage. If onion is too strong for you, try finely slicing it before rinsing it in cold water for about 30 minutes to take out the strong flavours. Add it to your salad dressing to soak up the dressing and it becomes more delicious to eat. How about ruby grapefruit as a sweet change to orange? And finely grated ginger added to a melon salad adds interest and is a fantastic cancerfighting ingredient that helps in a myriad of ways. So remember to shake it up a little on your plates this year.
Take the challenge and try for 21 different foods a day. See how you go - I bet you’ll feel a difference in no time!
Fennel & Grapefruit Salad Put yoghurt and half of the roughly chopped mint leaves into a bowl, add olive oil and orange blossom water (if using). Season with sea salt and chill in the fridge to let the flavours meld together. Segment or slice the avocado, then the peeled grapefruit over a bowl to catch excess juices. Keeping the avocado together with the grapefruit will stop it from going brown.
• 2 small fennel bulbs • 2 ruby grapefruit • 1 Spanish onion • 1 ripe avocado • 1 bunch mint, leaves picked • ½ cup Greek full fat yoghurt • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil • 1 handful roasted walnuts • 1 teaspoon of Orange blossom water (optional)
20 I THE VILLAGE OBSERVER I NO. 259 I FEBRUARY 2017
Into the bowl of excess juice, shave or grate the fennel and Spanish onion, mix well to cover the vegetables with the juice and add the remaining mint leaves. Lay out over a large flat platter. Dollop the chilled mint yoghurt over the fennel and onion, then arrange the grapefruit and sliced avocado over the yoghurt and sprinkle the roasted walnuts over the top. Perfect with a poached fish dish, roasted chicken or barbecued lamb. A chilled chardonnay would be nice as well!
Bern the Chef is a local caterer who has been in the Lane Cove area for over 15 years. She has worked in many corporate catering positions as well as operating as a small business. Bern loves catering and the freedom that clients give her to do what she does best. Cooking is her forte and Bern loves the classics as well as keeping up to date with the latest food trends.
www.bernthechef.com.au
