'CHEESE POPCORN', THE ULTIMATE KIDS SNACK

This popcorn is an all time favorite in our house. My boys were introduced to this delicious and nutritious home-made popcorn version a year ago at my sister in law’s house. When my boys go to after school care one day a week, I make this popcorn for all the kids attending and they love it. It is such a healthy alternative to store bought cheese popcorn, loaded with artificial flavors and preservatives. So many of the children, parents and educators asked me for the recipe that I thought, why not share it with all of you!

All the ingredients for this delicious popcorn are available at Flametree Foodcoop in Thirroul, if you are a local of the Illawarra Coast)

Ingredients

1 heaped tablespoon of coconut oil

¾ cup of organic popping corn

1 ½ teaspoons of salt Himalayan salt

2 ½ teaspoons of nutritional yeast

1 ½ teaspoons of kelp powder

½ cup (60g) of organic butter or ghee

Method

Melt the coconut oil at medium to high heat in a large pot. Reduce the heat to medium and add 3 corn kernels and put on a lid. Let them pop and take the three kernels out of the pot. Add all the other remaining kernels. Cook, shaking the pot occasionally until the popping slows down. Switch off the heat and leave on the stove until all kernels have popped. Transfer the popcorn into a bowl.

Put the pot back on the hot element and switch on very low heat. Add ½ cup of butter, let it melt and add the salt, nutritional yeast and kelp. Stir well with a spoon to combine and drizzle over the popcorn. Take two tablespoons and stir through the popcorn to combine well.

Medicinal Health Properties

This popcorn recipe is packed with nutrient-dense ingredients that have incredible health properties, making it particularly a healthy, after-school snack for kids. Organic Coconut oil as well as ghee and organic butter aid digestion by supporting a healthy gut microbiome. Nutritional yeast has an impressive vitamin B content and is the essential ingredient for the popcorn, mimicking the flavor of cheese.

Kelp is an amazing cleanser, digestive aid and high in iodine. As many of us use rock salt, which is low in iodine it is even more important to ensure that we receive our recommended daily dose of iodine by adding seaweed sources. Kelp is high in all the major minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and iron as well as a rich source of trace minerals such as copper, zinc and chromium and contains various vitamins such as A, B6, B12, C, D and K.

P.S. Careful, it’s addictive ;-)

CHOCOLATE LOVE

I am not a sweet tooth but from time to time I really feel like a piece of dark chocolate. I crave the bitterness of the chocolate more compared to the sweetness. The chocolate I choose would be dark chocolate (85% to 99% cacao) and I also enjoy raw cacao nibs. They can truly be considered a superfood and is the right choice for an indulgence, if you pick the right product and consume it in moderation.

The study by Roy Morgan Research revealed that in Australia the chocolate consumption has increased from 65.3% (12.5 million) in 2013, to 68.4% (or just over 13.5 million people aged 14+) in 2018, with people eating some kind of chocolate in an average of four weeks.

However, it is important to keep in mind that the health benefits of processed, highly sweetened chocolate are nil and that the health benefits of dark chocolate are numerous and quite impressive. At the end of the day, it really depends on what type of chocolate you consume to facilitate your brain and heart health and protect against disease.

The main benefits of dark chocolate are due to its high flavonoid and polyphenol content, which act as a natural antioxidant. Antioxidants include vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients which are nutrients found in plants that develop to protect the plant from damaging environments. Phytonutrients have been shown to be beneficial in lowering blood pressure, cholesterol and inflammation.1

Antioxidants protect the body against disease and aging caused by free radicals. Free radicals are unbalanced compounds created by cellular processes in the body, especially those that fight against environmental toxins, we are exposed to on a daily basis.

Raw cacao in dark chocolate contains up to four times the antioxidants of traditional cacao powder and has the highest antioxidants value of all the natural foods in the world. Scientists from Cornell University in the US recently discovered that raw cacao contains nearly twice the antioxidant content of red wine, and up to three times the antioxidant content of green tea.

The flavonoids in cacao can prevent fat-like substances in the bloodstream from oxidising and clogging the arteries, and cacao has also been found to help regulate blood pressure and reduce cholesterol while building the immune system.2

The cacao bean is also rich in magnesium, an energy mineral and vital electrolyte, which is associated with calming the body's nervous system.

The super-food is also a great source of sulfur which is associated with strong nails, shiny hair and a healthy liver and pancreas. According to Dr Gabriel Cousens, this is due to cacao's mono-amine oxidase enzyme inhibitors (MAO inhibitors), which are associated with weight loss and maintenance.3

However, it is important to not indulge too much in this superfood. Cacao is very powerful on the central nervous system and over-indulging can aggravate it as well as interfere with calcium retention.

After talking so much about cacao and chocolate, it’s time to enjoy some.

Click here to access my favourite heavenly brownie recipe, full of health promoting ingredients. Enjoy!

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Recipe Copyright 2019 Doctor Verena. All Rights Reserved

Images: Amani Lindsell, TWP The Womens Pic Website, Facebook, Instagram

Styling by Belinda Elliott

THE MAGNESIUM CONNECTION

Magnesium is a vital nutrient being necessary for cellular health and over 300 biochemical reactions in our bodies. Due to magnesium being involved in so many physiological functions, you can quickly become low in magnesium especially if your diet is not high in magnesium rich foods. For example, magnesium is necessary to turn vitamin D into its active form so that it can turn on calcium absorption. This means, to absorb calcium we require vitamin D. To convert Vitamin D into the correct form we need magnesium. Thus, we essentially need magnesium for calcium absorption, not just vitamin D. (1, 2)

Magnesium is required for the following major functions:

• Nerve function

• Protein synthesis

• Neurotransmitter release

• Energy metabolism

• Blood sugar control

• Blood pressure regulation

The majority of your body’s total magnesium is stored in your bones, muscles and soft tissues while only about 1 percent is concentrated in the blood. Low levels of magnesium have been associated with a number of conditions, including  hypertension, migraines, Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, heart disease and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The healing properties of magnesium and uses of magnesium-rich food include:

1. they calm nerves,

2. harmonise various mental and emotional imbalances,

3. relax functioning of the muscles

4. soothe erratic changes such as migraines

5. create better flow in digestion

6. overcome the fast-cycling blood sugar imbalances in diabetes

7. ability to strengthen the structural aspect of the body by reducing soft-tissue calcium and calcified plaque to counteract conditions such as:

• chronic fatigue syndrome

• fibromyalgia

• Chronic fatigue

• Anxiety & depression

• constipation

• arthritis

• osteoporosis

• hormone imbalances & PMS

• Heart attack

• Type 2 diabetes

How to increase your magnesium intake:

So the best way to ensure that the daily magnesium intake it high is to consume unrefined and unprocessed, plant based whole foods such as legumes (beans, fermented soy products (e.g. miso, tempeh), peas and lentils, vegetables, especially the green variety, and most whole grains, nuts and seeds. Those wholefoods work synergistically as they do not contain isolated forms of nutrients but combinations that work together the way they are meant to. It is important to consider that they should be organically sourced or from farmer markets as their produce will have a higher magnesium content due to the higher magnesium content of their soil. Additionally, for optimal utilisation and absorption of magnesium, anti-nutrients (e.g. phytic acid) in the recommended plant sources, need to be removed through proper food preparation techniques such as soaking or roasting (=activation).

My Top 5 Magnesium-Rich Foods are:

1. Cacao powder and cacao nibs, are one of the highest plant-based sources of magnesium.

2. Green leafy vegetables and herbs: Kale, spinach, chard (They have magnesium in the centre of their cell) and parsley

3. Brown rice

4. Pumpkin seeds

5. Almonds

Cacao Smoothie

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup of pitted dates or medjool dates

• 2 frozen bananas

• 400ml of coconut milk

• 2 cups of almond milk (activated and sugar free)

• 1 tsp of cinnamon

• 2 tbsp of cacao powder

• 1 tbsp of almond butter (= optional)

• 1 tbsp of collagen powder

 Topping

• Cacao nibs

• Cacao powder

• Cinnamon

• Chia seeds

• Desiccated coconut

• Bee pollen

• Almond butter

Method

Put the dates into your blender and blend for 30 seconds at high speed.

Add all the other ingredients and blend for 2 minutes at high speed.

Sprinkle with your favourite topping. 

Recipe Copyright 2019 Doctor Verena. All Rights Reserved

Images: Amani Lindsell, TWP The Womens Pic Website, Facebook, Instagram

Styling by Belinda Elliott

A HEALTHY, FAST, EASY & DELICIOUS TREAT FOR BUSY POEPLE

This recipe is one of my favorite cakes for a special occasion just because it is so delicious with the additional benefit that it is super easy to make.

This very delicious raw vegan cheesecake is dairy free and grain free. It is a nutrient dense wholefood as all the ingredients are used in their raw and unprocessed form and frozen to set, which makes it a raw cake. This is a big advantage as the cake can be made far in advance of the occasion and leftovers can be kept fresh in the freezer as well.

The nuts used for this raw cake are rich in protein and consist of 80% unsaturated fat, fiber and key minerals such as iron, magnesium, calcium and zinc. To benefit from the nutrients in the nuts and enhance their digestibility it is important to activate them to reduce the level of anti-nutrients. Phytic acid is one of those naturally occurring chemicals, an enzyme inhibitor interfering with the body’s ability to absorb key minerals. Eating large amounts of nuts can be challenging for the digestive system and may result in flatulence, bloating, heaviness or nausea. Activating the nuts through soaking is an easy solution to neutralising the enzyme inhibitors and to increase their digestibility.

ACTIVATION PROCESS

Soaking is a very easy and fast process. You need to cover the chosen amounts of nuts with water (preferably filtered) and add 1 teaspoon of salt for every 1 cup of nuts. Almonds should be soaked for 12 hours, cashews for 3 hours and all other nuts for 10-12 hours. I like to soak the nuts overnight which makes it easy to have them ready for use on the next day. Once soaked, discard the soaking water, wash the nuts well and rinse. You can then use them in cooking or put them in a dehydrator (12-24 hours) for drying and storage.

I created this little habit of a soaking station on my kitchen bench where I soak all my nuts, seeds, legumes and wholegrains that I want to use the next day. Being organised and prepared really helps me with making healthy food choices and assist in using the correct food preparation techniques to maximise our nutrient absorption.

Once nuts and seeds are soaked and rinsed well they can be dehydrated at a low temperature to preserve the enzymes, which are destroyed at high heat. Just choose the lowest temperature setting on your oven (115-120 degrees Celsius) would be ideal.

You can also use the activated nuts to make nut milk by using 1 cup soaked nuts per 4 cups water and blending well in a high-speed blender for a few minutes, then strain the mixture through a nut milk bag or m a cheese cloth and voila.

RAW RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

½ cup of activated walnuts

½ cup of activated almonds

1 cup of activated macadamias

1/2 cup of pitted dates

1/4 cup of desiccated coconut

“CHEESE”

3 cups of activated cashews

3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup of virgin coconut oil

3/4 cup of raw (unpasteurised) honey

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

1/2 tsp of salt

RASPBERRY SAUCE

1 1/2 cups of frozen or fresh raspberries

1/2 cup of pitted dates

METHOD

Soak all the nuts for the recommended period of time (see above under “Activation Process”). I soak all the nuts overnight, except for the cashews, which I soak 3 hours before I start making the cake. Once soaked, discard soaking water, rinse and drain the nuts.

Sprinkle the base of a round 20 cm diameter baking tin with desiccated coconut.

Process macadamias, almonds and walnuts together with dates for 10 seconds at the highest speed in a food processor (Thermomix speed 7).

Distribute the crust evenly onto the base on top of the desiccated coconut, which will prevent the bottom from sticking. Use a wet tablespoon to prevent sticking and press the mixture evenly down. Transfer into the freezer.

Make the 'cheese' by discarding the soaking water from the cashews, draining well, followed by blending the cashews with the lemon juice, coconut oil and raw honey, vanilla and salt until smooth (Thermomix 20 sec/speed 10).

Get the baking tin from the freezer and pour the cashew mixture on top of the crust and distribute evenly. The air bubbles can be removed by shaking the baking tin slightly.

Place in the freezer for 5 hours or overnight.

Blend the dates with the raspberries and place evenly on top of the firm cheesecake.

Put into the freezer for another 2 hours to set. Take out 30 minutes before you want to eat it so that it can become a bit softer. My boys for example also enjoy it straight out of the freezer. It is more like an ice cream cake then. You will find your preference.

This cheesecake can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Recipe Copyright 2019 Doctor Verena. All Rights Reserved

Images: Amani Lindsell, TWP The Womens Pic Website, Facebook, Instagram

Styling by Belinda Elliott

REFERENCE

Gupta, R.K., Gangoliya, S.S. & Singh, N.K.. (2015). Reduction of phytic acid and enhancement of bioavailable micronutrients in food grains. J Food Sci Technol. 52(2):676-84. doi: 10.1007/s13197-013-0978-y.