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No Food Is Forbidden

Shine Brighter Every Day by Danah Mor is available now! Read on for an exclusive excerpt…

 

No Food Is Forbidden, Unless Your Body Says So

When it comes to nutrition and our health, I like to keep it as simple as possible, to understand the science and the facts, and then make my own conclusions by listening to my body when it reacts with foods or chemicals.

There is no forbidden food,
unless your body says so. We can eat anything we want as long as
our bodies agree. We just need to learn to understand how our bodies communicate. The secret to vitality
is not being obsessed with what you eat or how often you exercise. It’s about getting in tune with yourself and your environment. Most of us are so disconnected from ourselves and nature that we don’t recognize a stomach ache as the body signaling a problem, we don’t know what vegetables grow in which season, how milk or meat really gets into our supermarket, or where our liver is located.

We need to re-tune our mindset and understand that we are an expression from the inside out
and not from the outside in. If our mindset is in tune with nature, we naturally make new choices without feeling restricted. Changing the way we think is the only way we can positively change our lives. When we change our perspective, we suddenly have new desires, different cravings; we no longer want the same things, and making positive choices becomes effortless. I’ve lived through this, and I can tell you how much better it is than forcing a new diet or lifestyle upon yourself. We might have to put in a bit of effort to achieve a new way of thinking, a new mindset, but then it becomes natural, even fun.

If your mindset is in harmony with your essence, you will make new choices naturally without having to sacrifice what you think you need. Instead, you choose what you want. How do we know what we truly want? The connection between our body and our spirit is the foundation of life. Our mindset can allow or interfere with this connection. When our personality is in alignment with our spirit, that is authentic empowerment. The capacity to listen and foster the connection between these two is a secret for true inner joy and happiness.

I have always heard a clear voice in me that sounded humble, generous and real. Then all the other voices invaded my head – what my parents, teachers, sports coaches, and anyone that came into my life thought they should tell me about how to live or even how to listen to myself. Now it’s hard to know which voice is really me. It may be the hardest thing to re-learn, because so much noise has invaded our bodies that it can be hard to know when it’s really us speaking. But taking care of our body relies on our ability to listen to ourselves.

When I was studying Ayurvedic medicine at university in London, we were constantly reminded that our modern medical system separates the body from the mind (forget the spirit). In Ayurvedic medicine, the body, mind and spirit are inter- connected. How you think and express yourself is reflected in your physical body. How you eat and act is reflected in your spirit and mood. Ideally your spirit should shine and be expressed all through your body and into your choices and actions. In every consultation with a client, I often speak about food last because, first of all, food isn’t everything.

Awareness and knowledge are the basis of conscious choice- making. Without awareness and the capacity to think, question, reflect, and make our choices, are we any more than puppets? The decisions you make and actions you take are the means by which you evolve. Each moment, you choose the intentions that will shape your experiences and where you focus your attention.

I’m so excited to share a drop of the wisdom and knowledge of Ayurveda with you, one of the oldest medical systems that exists. Ayurveda, the science of life, introduced me to a world I didn’t know existed; a world of peace and harmony for health and vitality. It is far more appealing to me than the Western medical and nutritional world that seems so obsessive. Ayurveda gave me insight and knowledge that allowed me to see and understand life from a point of view that simplifies and answers so many questions. Considered the mother of medicine, Ayurveda is more than 10,000 years old. It’s a holistic science that takes the whole person into consideration: body, mind and spirit. Every part of our body is connected. Our thoughts and emotions can affect our digestion, just as our physical sensations can affect our mind. If everything is interconnected, our bodies can constantly speak to us through physical signs. It was through the study of Ayurvedic medicine that I learned how important it is to listen to my body, especially when it comes to food, digestion and lifestyle – and how I understood the connection between food and mood. Ayurveda celebrates our bio-individuality, that everybody

 is unique, so we have to learn what diet and lifestyle best fits us.

So, the real secret to vitality is understanding your body’s language and improving your communication with it – on every level.

***

Shine Brighter Every Day is available now.

A Look Inside Shine Brighter Every Day

Shine Brighter Every Day by Danah Mor comes out on May 12th, and today we’re sharing a little peak inside. Read on to hear from nutrition expert and Ayurvedic practitioner Danah about how awesome our bodies are, and get a flavour of the book. 

 

If we knew how amazing our bodies were designed to feel, we wouldn’t think twice about our choices. 

How do you explain to someone driving a car from 1970 that the ride doesn’t have to be uncomfortable, smell like petrol, or constantly break down? It’s likely they’re just happy their car gets them around. And even if it doesn’t cost much to get it fixed, they will take some persuading to change to a newer model! 

Most of us have become accustomed to disease, pain and discomfort in our bodies and minds. We are happy enough to have a body that simply gets us around, rather than making an effort to see how we could improve things for ourselves. Sometimes, even, we don’t want to leave our comfort zone of discomfort and disease; we prefer not to know and just stick with the disease. 

Shine Brighter Every Day is about improving your quality of life, preventing disease, and manifesting the best version of yourself. It unlocks a lifestyle, a way of thinking – a state of being – that is in tune with your body, inspired by the unwritten laws of nature, cutting-edge modern nutrition science, the ancient wisdom of Ayurvedic medicine and my own personal experience. I’m urging you to have the courage to be interested and try a few little steps to see how your body responds and thanks you. 

You can only feel as good as you think you can. 

When I was around thirteen, I lost a large portion of my vision, and this has given me a new perspective on life. Ultimately, it has shown me how many things are possible. Life is what you make of it. It’s not what you have – it’s what you make of what you have. I can’t change my condition. But by perceiving my condition in a different way, I was able to overcome bigger barriers than most of us can imagine and as a result build a life that I love living. I did this by not focusing on my problem and what I couldn’t see, but rather focusing on what I could see. And I realized that I actually see much more than many people. I realized just because we have ears, it doesn’t mean we listen, and just because we have eyesight, it doesn’t mean we look. The curiosity to look without projecting an illusion is harder than I ever imagined. Looking without expectation, with courage to see the truth, is one of the hardest things I have come to learn. Your willingness is your biggest asset; wanting to be or do anything is the beginning of truly becoming the driver of your own life. 

 

Shine Brighter Every Day is published on May 12th, and is available to preorder now.

How to Make a Sourdough Starter

So you’ve got a little bit of time, and you’d like to make some bread. You love sourdough, but everyone talks about these mysterious ‘sourdough starters’ and you don’t have one of those.

Well, fear not! It is actually very simple to make a sourdough starter, and Chris Young, author of Slow Dough: Real Bread is here to talk you through it. All you’ll need is a bit of patience.

A plastic container with a lid is convenient for storage because if your starter gets frisky, the lid
will simply pop off, whereas a glass jar with a screwtop or metal clip seal could crack or shatter. The amount of flour you use isn’t important so we’ve started small, as instructions that tell you to throw portions of your starter away just seem wasteful. Please keep to the 1:1 ratio, though.

Daily: days one to five (ish)

30g/1oz/3½ tbsp rye flour

30g/1oz/2 tbsp water (at about 20°C/68ºF)

On each of the first five days, put equal amounts of flour and water into your container, mix, close and leave at room temperature (about 20°C/68°F) for 24 hours between each addition.

For the first few days, the mixture might seem lifeless and could smell vinegary or even a bit “off”. Don’t worry about this, as it should soon start bubbling and the smell will develop into something yeasty and maybe even floral. 

Day six (ish)

Once your starter is bubbling up nicely, you can use some to bake a loaf of Real Bread. Typically, this might be anything from four to seven days after you started, but could take a little longer. If it’s not bubbling by day six, keep repeating the daily flour and water addition until it is. Don’t worry if you end up with a layer of brownish liquid. This is just gravity working its magic and is normal. Either stir it back into your starter or pour it off. If your starter hasn’t been used for a while, the second option is probably better as the liquid (sometimes known as “hooch”) will have started to become alcoholic, which can slow the starter down and may also lead to less desirable flavours in your bread.

Caring for Your Starter

• Each time you use some of the starter, simply replace with an equivalent quantity of flour and water – this is usually known as feeding or refreshing. You also need to refresh on the day before a baking session.

• When refreshing, feel free to experiment with different ratios and total amounts of flour to water: a looser starter will ferment more quickly than a stiff one; refreshing more often or adding a large refreshment will dilute the taste and acidity.

• It’s a living thing (well, technically billions of living things) so get to know it. The acidity, flavour, aromas and speed at which starters work vary, so learn what’s normal for yours.

• Give it a name. You can’t call yourself a proper sourdough nut if you don’t – though I know some people strongly disagree with me on this one!

• Forget it. Unlike other members of your household, your starter will be forgiving of neglect. Though it will be happy to help you bake bread once a week or even daily, your starter can be left untouched at the back for the refrigerator for weeks or even months. The yeast and bacteria populations will decline over time but enough will live on in a dormant state. The longer you leave it, the longer it’ll take to “wake up” though and it might need a few days of refreshments before it’s up to full vigour.

• Unless you are using your starter every single day, keep it in the fridge, which will slow it down and reduce the frequency at which you need to refresh it. You just need to remember to take it out and refresh it the day before you intend to make a loaf.

 

To Convert Your Starter to Wheat

Although you can use the rye starter for wheat breads, you might prefer to convert it by replacing the rye flour in refreshments with wheat flour (white or wholemeal/wholewheat) until it is all wheat. Alternatively, you can use wheat flour from the word go: again, wholemeal/wholewheat will give you a better chance of success. Whether you keep separate rye, white wheat, wholemeal/wholegrain wheat, and even other starters on the go, or just one, is up to you.

Slow Dough: Real Bread is available now as an ebook or in hardback

6 Key Ingredients in Indian Recipes

The Easy Indian Cookbook by Manju Malhi comes out next month, and we decided to take a look at some of the beautiful ingredients which Manju introduces in more detail at the beginning of the book. First-time cooks often find the number of spices and ingredients used in Indian cuisine to be quite daunting – but the simple truth is that preparing an Indian meal is very straightforward. Mastering just a few basic techniques and becoming familiar with some of the essential ingredients will strip away the mystery and make preparing Indian food less time-consuming, much more satisfying and incredibly rewarding.

YOGURT (DAHI)
An essential ingredient in Indian cooking, yogurt is a staple for many vegetarians and many homes in India still make their own practically every day. There are countless uses for yogurt but the main ones are making yogurt drinks and chutneys, such as raitas, and using yogurt as a souring agent, a thickening agent, a meat tenderizer and a flavour enhancer.The yogurt in India comes from buffalo’s milk and is thick and rich. Greek-style yogurt and natural unsweetened yogurt are the nearest substitutes.

 

BAY LEAF (TEJ PATTA)
The type of bay leaf used in Indian cooking is the leaf of the cassia tree. These leaves are long, thin and light green in colour, with a mellow, spicy aroma and a sweet taste. In Indian cooking, the bay leaf is used as a flavouring in meat and rice dishes and it is an important component in the Moghul style of cuisine. One or two dried leaves are sufficient to scent a dish and they can be removed easily before serving.

 

CURRY LEAF (KARI PATTA)
These small, shiny leaves, about 2.5cm/1in long, are used whole in Indian cooking, much like bay leaves. The leaves, which have a citrus scent, lend a dish a distinct curry aroma. Curry leaves are generally heated in oil to release their flavour. Once heated, they look shrivelled and crispy. Fresh curry leaves can be stored in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge for up to 1 week.

 

DRIED BEANS
After lentils, dried beans are the second-most common pulse consumed in India. They need soaking and the longer you store them, the longer you need to cook them because they toughen with age. The green split mung bean (moong dal) is light and delicate when cooked, looking cream or yellow in colour with flecks of green.

CHICKPEA OR GRAM FLOUR (BESAN)
This flour is pale yellow in colour, silky in texture and has a pleasant, nutty aroma. It is used in the preparation of both savoury and sweet Indian dishes. Be careful not to confuse gram flour with graham flour, which is made from wheat. Like all flours, gram flour should be stored in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight, as exposure to heat can cause it to go off and take on a stale, rancid taste.

 

RICE FLOUR (CHAWAL KA ATTA)
Rice flour is a fine, white powder made from grinding white long grain rice. Free from gluten, it is often used in Indian cooking as an alternative to wheat flour to make Indian-style flatbreads such as South Indian appams or soft breads. Rice flour also acts as a binding and thickening agent. You can make your own rice flour by pulverizing uncooked Basmati rice grains in an electric grinder but it is also available in speciality shops and in most supermarkets.

The Easy Indian Cookbook is available from 10th March.

 

Veganuary Book Recommendations

Whether you’re taking part in Veganuary and looking for inspiration, or have been eating plant-based for ages and just want to freshen up your weekday menu, we’ve got some great books for you to check out.

 

Rose Elliot’s Complete Vegan 

Rose Elliot has been at the forefront of vegan and vegetarian food writing for over 35 years. In this book,
Rose gives readers a masterclass on vegan cookery, with over 150 recipes from basics including vegan milks, butters, cheeses and creams to breakfasts, labor-light midweek mains, spectacular dishes for entertaining and delicious desserts and baked goods.

The recipes range from the comforting and familiar like Vegan Macaroni Cheese to more exotic fare, such as a fragrant Aubergine Pilaf Cake. Following a vegan diet doesn’t mean missing out on your favourite foods!

 

Virtually Vegan

This modern collection unlocks a whole host of inspirational vegan dishes – with delicious suggestions of meat and dairy variations to add in the later stages for those who want it.

Try a classic breakfast of Vegeree (eggs optional), master the ultimate lentil and ale pie, or enjoy the flavours of a niÇoise salad (with or without fish). And with a dedicated, dairy-free baking section, learn how to make sweet treats that everyone can enjoy.

With over 120 delicious, flexible recipes, from Sort of Sushi to Almost Paella, rice pudding to pavlova, discover how easy it is to eat vegan (or not!) whenever you want.

 

The Best Gluten Free & Dairy Free Baking Recipes 

 

Grace Cheetham reveals how to perfect the art of baking without gluten and dairy. Try your hand at Thyme Biscuits or Olive & Rosemary Foccacia for a delicious snack, make a quick Fig, Rosemary & Olive Pizza for friends and family, or go for full-on indulgence and bake Chocolate & Beet Cake, Fondant Fancies or Passion Fruit & Coconut Cheesecake (or all three!)

 

You’ll find straightforward instructions carefully worked out to keep cakes moist, pastries and pies in once piece, and cookies with just the right amount of crunch. Grace offers up a whole host of delicious treats so that you don’t have to give up on one of life’s greatest pleasures.

Rose Elliot: My Journey to Veganism

This winter, we published Rose Elliot’s Complete Vegan, the ultimate bible of plant-based eating by the renowned vegan cook. We spoke to her about what lead her from her long-held vegetarian diet to going fully vegan.

***

One of my earliest memories is of watching my mother preparing herrings for supper and realising that they were dead. I asked her whether they had been killed specially for us to eat, and I can still remember the shock that ran through me when she replied that they had. As it happened, she and my father were practically vegetarian; they had given up red meat some time ago, but still ate fish and chicken occasionally. I think my outburst that night hastened their transition to being complete vegetarian, which wasn’t particularly easy in those days (the early 1950s). My younger sister and I were the only vegetarians at our primary school; vegetarian lunches could not be provided, and our wholemeal salad sandwiches, carrot sticks and salad leaves, nuts and raisins, and bottles of fresh juice were objects of stunned amazement to the rest of the school. It was difficult at first, but we got used to it, and I really admire my mother for being a pioneer of healthy and compassionate eating.

I followed her lead and remember sending to the Vegan Society for information and my sister and I trying to make vegan milk from whole soya beans in our little kitchen at home when I was about 12 years old. It involved soaking, boiling and sieving (no liquidizers or food processors then), and I think we used every saucepan available. My sister who was tackling the mountains of washing up I had created, remembers to this day how, with the kitchen piled high with used bowls, sieves, saucepans, jugs, and every other piece of equipment you can imagine, I said brightly ‘now let’s try making vegan butter…’

Being vegan – even, let’s face it, being vegetarian – was so difficult in those days. But the desire never left me. I was ‘practically vegan’, giving up eggs and dairy produce; and then reverting back to being vegetarian, for a long time. Over the years however my vegan times became longer and longer; I wrote two vegan cookbooks, The Green Age Diet, and Vegan Feasts, and included vegan variations and alternatives in my vegetarian cookbooks. I have been wanting to write a more comprehensive vegan cook book for some time, so I was thrilled when Nourish approached me with the possibility of writing this book: Rose Elliot’s Complete Vegan. It’s the result of years of vegetarian/vegan cookery writing which started in response to the many requests I had for the recipes for the dishes that I cooked up for the visitors to the retreat centre where I worked from the age of 16.

Writing this book has been such a joy; the enthusiasm everyone has expressed for knowing more about the vegan diet and way of life; and for trying the food; the challenge of ‘veganizing’ some of my most popular vegetarian recipes from the past, and of creating new and original recipes that are vegan in their own right. I have loved seeing the mixture of pleasure and amazement on the faces of those who have tasted my inventions. And I have been so grateful as well to those dear friends and family who have been kind enough to share their own favourite recipes and inventions with me for this book: in particular, my three daughters, who have travelled the vegan journey with me, and given me for this book some wonderful recipes that they have created.

Although I was vegetarian from birth, it was some years before I became completely vegan. During that time, public awareness of the effect of our food choices upon the planet, wildlife, the rain forests and indeed our own health have become more and more evident. I truly love making, eating (and writing about!) vegan food, but it also gives me great satisfaction to know that in doing so I can, and I am, helping to protect the wildlife, the animals, and the whole ecology of this beautiful planet. As Joseph Poore at the University of Oxford, said: ‘a vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gasses, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use.’ The foods we choose to cook and eat truly can change the world.

***

Rose Elliot’s Complete Vegan is available now, online and in store. Find out more by clicking here.

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