Since writing this blog my interest in anything food related has increased, be it recipes, the dangers of trans fats, the psychological and emotional relationship we have with food...... it is such a vast and interesting subject and of course one which affects us all.
Julia Child famously said: 'I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate.' I think a large majority of us eat without giving thought to anything other than our appetite.
Self confessed 'sugar monster' Ella Woodward was one such person, living on a typical university students diet, she was struck down by an illness that doctors were unable to diagnose. After being hospitalised and having undergone months of gastroenterology tests she was referred to a neurologist who diagnosed postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, which affects the autonomic nervous system.
Inspired by a book she had read about self healing, Woodward became a vegan and made her diet gluten, dairy and sugar free. Having had no cooking experience Woodward embarked on a diet where she started to create recipes by experimenting with different flavours. She eschewed all processed foods including tofu sausages and quorn burgers and enjoyed using ingredients such as buckwheat, brown rice flour and quinoa. Her recipes are full of ingredients such as sweet potatoes, avocados, courgettes, pumpkin seeds.......a thousand people a day download her sweet potato brownie recipe!
But here's the thing, after six months of her regime Woodward was significantly better and in September came off of drugs entirely. She is now a glossy, glowing advert for her lifestyle and doctors are setting up trials based on her diet for other sufferers.
We already know that the modern processed diet has caused a surge in cases of diabetes, but what other diseases and syndromes our future generations will encounter (due to a processed diet,) we can only wait and see. Woodward ate herself well, how many of us are eating ourselves unwell?
Of course I'm not advocating to my readers that they go to such extremes, crikey I feel blessed if a reader cooks from scratch a couple of times a week because they've been inspired by some of my recipes. But I do advocate the use of fresh produce and free range meat (in moderation) where possible, and I do feel we should be making a connection between food and the inner person. As I've quoted before: 'the best marker of a healthy diet is whether food is cooked by an individual or a food corporation.'
One of my favourite chefs is Gennaro Contaldo and I regularly refer to his cookbook Passione, given to me by my mother. His recipes are simple but enticing, this next one is a doddle.
Pasta with tuna, fresh pesto and green beans
Recipe
For the pesto
75g fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons pine kernels
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
200ml olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Place pine kernels, garlic and salt in a mortar and grind to a paste with a pestle
Add a few basil leaves and some of the olive oil, grind and stir
Continue until you have used up all the basil leaves and half of the oil and the sauce has a silky consistency
Add the remaining oil and the Parmesan, mix well
300g pasta
20 green beans, trimmed and cut in pieces
1 tin tuna in extra virgin olive oil, drained
Extra Parmesan to serve
Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil, add the pasta and green beans
Cook until the pasta is al dente and the beans are tender, drain
Add the pesto and tuna to the pasta and stir over a low heat for 2 minutes
Serve onto warm plates and sprinkle with Parmesan
If you dont like tuna replace it with 4 small new potatoes, scrubbed and cut into quarters, cook the potatoes with the pasta and beans
Alternatively, if you don't like pesto replace with a large handful of rocket, add to cooked pasta with tuna and allow to wilt, season with salt and pepper and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Three nice and simple variations which are tasty and economical and beat ready meals any day!
'Would you pour sand into the petrol tank of your car? Of course not, your car was meant to run on petrol. Well your body works in the same way. It was meant to run on good food, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and lots of water.'
- Tom Giaquinto
Love Donna xxxxx
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