Category: Food

  • Bye bye coffee, thanks for everything!

    Bye bye coffee, thanks for everything!

    I have always loved my coffee (the smell of the ground beans, the brewing sounds, the heat coming from the cup…), but about three months ago I quit drinking coffee from one day to the next.

    As my mind and body have become more sensitive, over the years, to what I feed them, I started to notice how coffee actually affected my body and mood – for real.

    It is generally assumed that coffee (or rather: caffeine) increases our energy and makes us more awake, alert, and that is also what I believed and experienced for a long time. But when I started paying attention, I found that for me that is actually not the case anymore. 

    What really happens for me when I drink coffee, is this: my heart rate increases, my breathing quickens and becomes more shallow, and I get annoyed and frustrated more easily. The ‘higher energy’ actually turns out to be more of a rushed feeling. These effects may be subtle, and that is why I could so easily mistake them for something else!

    Also, I took them for granted for a long time because I also loved coffee so much, with an added bit morning craving.

    But it so happened that after one strong coffee, last January on an otherwise perfect morning in Brazil, I grunted impatiently (and over nothing) at my love. It may have been a small thing, but somehow it clicked in my mind and I made the switch.  

    And then and there in that moment, I decided not to drink coffee anymore. It wasn’t a big thing, more of a joyful realization.

    I haven’t missed it for a moment, even though I used to drink coffee daily. I love my teas and smoothies and for truly improved energy, I now use spirulina. And yes I still like to work from coffee bars, and thoroughly enjoy their smell of freshly ground beans :).

    Are you mindful of your coffee intake and how it affects you? Let us know in the comments!

  • Oven roasted veggies

    Oven roasted veggies

    Simply delicious. The tomatoes are what makes this dish amazing. They will release some of their fluid, which then blends with the olive oil and gently caramelizes the veggies beneath them. Plus they look stunning. Easy-peasy. Give it a try!

    • Pick your favorite vegetables and cut them in robust chunks. I used zucchini/courgette, eggplant/aubergine, turnip, carrot, and bell pepper.
    • Always add shallots and roughly chopped garlic, then drizzle generously with olive oil.
    • Mix until all the veggies are shiny and put in the oven (270 C).
    • After 10 minutes, stir the veggies, then add the tomatoes on top (leave the stalk on).
    • Drizzle with a bit more oil and let sit for about 30 more minutes or until everything looks like in the picture :).
    • For the last 5 minutes, add some capers and sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or pine nuts and just before serving, add pepper, salt and fresh basil.
  • Simple medicine: chamomile

    Simple medicine: chamomile

    After journeying through tropical Costa Rica and Brazil for months, I thoroughly enjoyed the late Winter snow and early Spring sun rays in Holland during the last couple of weeks. The cold Dutch ground and early flowering trees helped me integrate the intense travel experiences and reaffirm my career and life choices.

    Medicine for Mind, Body & Spirit

    You may have noticed the new tagline for this website: Medicine for Mind, Body and Spirit, because that is what all my work (be it writing, recipes, courses and workshops) aims to be.

    I have started to work more intensively with herbs, creating homemade remedies for ailments and cosmetic diy alternatives like rosemary clay shampoo, lavender massage oil, marigold lip balm, and much more.

    I also played around with super wholesome breakfast bowl recipes (one deep red, cleansing and warming, with beet, ginger and kurkuma, another bright green, energizing, with banana, spirulina and kale – just to name a few).

    Especially impactful has been my recent work with several spiritual plant medicines. The insights and teachings (there really is no better word) that they bring continue to amaze and humble me and strengthen my understanding of how we can responsibly prepare for and integrate any spiritual journey, such as an Ayahuasca ceremony.

    Algarve

    And today, I am writing to you from Portugal, the Algarve, which is the most southern part of the country with stunning rocky golden beaches and turquoise ocean views. We are celebrating a holiday with three generations of women in my family.

    Nature is abundant here and already in this early Spring time every field is filled with orange and tangerine trees, rosemary, lavender and lots & lots of chamomile plants. Over the last few days, I’ve foraged quite some flowers to use in a wholesome tea for my sore throat and some restless nights.

    Chamomile

    Chamomile has a special place in my heart, because of its many health benefits (WebMD Chamomile). As you may have heard, it has been known for ages for its anti-inflammatory and nerve calming properties, to name only a few. Yes, medicine can be as simple as drinking a cup of wonderful herbal tea.

    Mindfuck

    In my quest for a natural way to cure my sinusitis, I read about chamomile about a year ago. I remember going into town to find dried chamomile flowers.

    Unfortunately, our Western health system doesn’t seem too aware of or keen on natural remedies and they often are pushed over by heavily marketed synthetic products. I remember how I walked into the pharmacy and was faced with a huge image of a Vichy skin ‘care’ ad, the woman’s skin complexion unnaturally airbrushed into something incredibly fake and yet the slogan went like: “Finally I can show my true self again”. What??

    At the counter, I asked for chamomile and… they didn’t have it. It really struck me as a deep symptom of an ill healthcare system that yes, they offered over-the-top-marketing skin care rubbish, but not the herb that has been used for ages to soothe both inflammations of skin, mouth, sinuses, throat and intestines and an overactive nervous system. At the pharmacy!

    The good news

    Luckily, I did find my chamomile at the organic food store, and I also should note that the appreciation of natural remedies is rapidly returning back into our public awareness anyway, even if the pharmacies will be the last to catch up.

    That’s really great, and let’s all also keep a healthy, critical mind, a sharp eye and an open heart to all forms of medicine. Don’t get carried away by unrealistic health promises from superfoods marketers either and don’t think all natural remedies are safe. Check your sources. I get my info from trusted sources that live up to scientific and honest information standards such as those set by the Health On the Net Foundation (HON) and I promise not to make false claims or promises.

    Back to chamomile

    Honestly, I am still double-checking if the chamomile that I found here in the Algarve actually is real (Roman) chamomile. The tea tastes strongly like chamomile but also rather bitter. However I can already confirm its soothing effect on sore throat and nerves, so after this post I’ll take a nice cup of tea with extra honey and go to bed for a well-deserved night’s sleep. It’s already past 2 am…

    Some more tips:

    • To use chamomile for sinusitis and bronchitis, brew a strong tea and inhale the vapor through your nose.
    • To soothe mouth or throat sores, brew tea and flush through the mouth and throat.
    • To soothe stomach sores and problems with the intestines, simply drink the tea, a couple of cups per day.
    • After brewing the tea, fold the flowers in a paper towel to create an eye mask.
    • The tea calms you down when you feel nervous or anxious.
    • Rinse your hair with it to highlight blonde hair.
    • Also nice just to look at the sunny flower heads dancing in the fields – makes you happy.

    See, this little one brightens your day in so many ways.

    Recipe

    To brew chamomile tea, simply throw a small handful of fresh flowers or only one or two tablespoons of dried flowers into 1 liter of hot water. I love to drink this with honey.

    Enjoy and… be well!

  • Caramelized Pineapple with Rosemary

    Caramelized Pineapple with Rosemary

    This mouthwatering, super-simple, delicious dish is also secretly known as: piña puta madre. Now I am not going to translate that, but it’s a compliment.

    I made it yesterday as a side dish for two Spanish cousins living here in Costa Rica and they obviously loved it.

    I, in turn, have to thank my dear friend Sander van Haasteren (formerly Gaia Catering, now chef de cuisine at YogaFest Studio Amsterdam) for teaching me how to do this.

    It’s amazingly simple and yet I had not seen anyone do it before.

    When I first had it, served to me on a spoon by a glowing and shining Sander, it just blew me away. The deep sweet taste and fragrance, if prepared well, are really amazing.

    This is my own, improvised, deeply satisfying version.

    There is only one ‘downside’ and that it you have to heat the pineapple through and through. This is not a raw dish. We take away some of the qualities of fresh, raw pineapple.. but then again we are bringing out other qualities all the more!

    Now this starts with choosing the right pineapple.

    Use your eyes: bright yellow, all the way from the bottom to the top, is best for this dish because it is the sweetest.

    And nose: smell the butt of the pineapple. The more fragrant, the better. Unless you smell rott or ferment, of course.

    Pick the right one from your garden, market or store, because I’ve read that pineapples hardly ripen after they have been harvested. So the state it’s in when you obtain it, that’s more or less as ripe as it’s gonna be.

    Recipe for Caramelized Pineapple with Rosemary (Piña Puta Madre)

    1. Cut the fresh pineapple in small bite-sized chunks. If you’re wondering how, I may add a post on that some time but for now I suggest you google it.

    This also works with canned pineapple but I suggest you use fresh, if possible :).

    2. Gently heat about 4 tablespoons of olive oil, coconut oil, butter or ghee in a heavy pan.

    3. Add the pineapple pieces and turn the heat low.

    4. Add two sprigs of rosemary, just the leaves.

    5. SLOWLY cook everything. SLOWLY is key here, because that will allow for the sweet juices to emerge from the pineapple and gradually caramelize.

    If you go too fast, the pineapple will brown or burn before the juices emerge or the juices, once come out, will caramelize too fast and burn into very unhealthy carbons.

    So, as with so many good things: take your time, go slow, and carefully watch as the pineapple color turns a deep gold and the juices caramelize into beautiful light brown. About half an hour would probably be perfect.

  • Tahini Olive Dip for Raw Veggies

    Tahini Olive Dip for Raw Veggies

    This is a perfect dip to go with raw vegetables such as peppers, celery or carrots. Just delicious. Friend Alani shared the recipe with me back in 2013 already… wow. Thanks man!

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  • Sweet & sour curry rice

    Sweet & sour curry rice

    This was one of those moments when all leftovers matched up to a perfect dish. Should work with a variety of veg and curry pastes, but be sure to add the pineapple (for sweetness) and tomatoes (for tartiness).

    In our case, we had a piece of courgette, some canned pineapple, a few tomatoes, some sliced pieces of fennel and a handful of nuts & raisins.

    We added 5 spoonfuls of penang curry from Thailand, tasted it and took out 3 again for it would have been way to hot otherwise :D. The real stuff from Thailand is definitely different from the ‘real stuff’ in our tokos here in Europe..

    Anyway, you can’t really go wrong with this dish.. just fry the fruit & veg in the curry paste until they have a nice bite. This is one of those creations that taste even better the next day, so it doesn’t hurt to make a bit more than you need.

    The fluid from the tomatoes and pineapple will make it nice and saucy. Add small cups of water if it dries out too fast. The curry should be shiny when you serve, not dry.

    Even better if you can add some onion, garlic and ginger. That will spice it up bigtime, and I’m a big lover of spice.

    As always… enjoy!

    <3

  • Spicy Salad with Wasabi, Onion and Black Pepper

    Spicy Salad with Wasabi, Onion and Black Pepper

    Isn’t it amazing how the body seems to instinctively know what it needs?

    This salad has lots of avocado, and also raw onion and wasabi peanuts. That’s not something I usually eat, but as it turns out wasabi and onion help open up the sinuses! And that’s something I could really use yesterday.

    Wasabi’s strong effect on the nose, together with the raw onion and black pepper, will help you smell and breathe again and the spicy kick will definitely boost your energy levels :). Also, I’ve read that wasabi helps fight infections in the mouth, throat and nasal cavities.

    Recipe for Spicy Salad with Wasabi, Onion and Black Pepper

    It’s so simple: just toss together two handfuls of chards (or any other green leafy vegetable), 1 or 2 avocados (in chunks), 1 small raw onion and a good handful of wasabi peanuts (get them in the Asian store). I also added tomato chunks and cranberries because that’s what I had in store. It would also be great to add cucumber, sesame and soy beans or green peas.

    Create a salad dressing out of olive oil, a few drops of sesame oil, salty soy sauce, a spoonful of sake and a teaspoon of honey. Or just sprinkle with olive oil and freshly ground black pepper if you like to keep it very simple – yet tasteful.

  • Banana Cake with Cranberries and Sunflower Seeds

    Banana Cake with Cranberries and Sunflower Seeds

    First time I blended together bananas and eggs was in Thailand, last year. It turned out to be an excellent, nutricious, cheap and easy combo, however I never posted a thing about it and kind of forgot about banana & eggs until today.

    Because today, Aleydis shared with me her slice of banana cake and its recipe (which in turn contributed to this one). I got inspired and decided to make one. It became a cake made of gifts. 

    A few days ago, Maartje donated an interesting German bag of grains with matcha (powdered green tea leaves).

    And a week or two ago, Danielle forgot to take her kilobag of dried cranberries back home and so I took the liberty of considering those a gift as well ;D.

    The cranberries and sunflower seeds happened to be what I found in the kitchen drawer. This banana cake would also be really nice with dates and walnuts, or figs and pecans, or peach and cashews, or chocolate and hazelnuts, just to name a few ideas.

    Also, I used the peculiar Frühstücksbrei mit Amaranth (German) donated by Maartje, which contains oat, spelt, amaranth, almond and matcha. Just plain oat or even wheat flour would work just as well.

    This banana cake can be made using an oven. I used a frying pan with a lid (hapjespan, in Dutch). Worked perfectly! Here’s the very easy banana cake recipe:

    Banana Cake with Cranberries and Sunflower Seeds

    Blend up 2 large bananas with 3 eggs and 2 heaping tablespoons of oat/oatmeal (or whatever you are using). Blend until smooth.

    Then stir in a 3rd tablespoon of oatmeal, 1 handful of dried cranberries and 1 handful of sunflower seeds. Save soms fruits & nuts for later. At this point, you could also add some cinnamon or vanilla, for example. I didn’t because I didn’t have any and it still worked out great!

    Grease a frying pan with lid, put it on the lowest heat possible. In the oven, 160 degrees Celsius would probably be good. Pour in the mixture (which is about as thick as medium to full fat yoghurt) and grind a bit of salt over it. Use a fork to lightly blend the salt in, but not too much! I like experiencing saltier and less salty bites, combined with the sweetness of the fruits.

    In about 30-40 minutes it should be ready to be turned, but keep checking in the meantime. You’ll know when it’s time because the top of the cake will be all dry. Then turn the cake, put back on the heat or in the oven and within another 5-10 minutes it’s ready. Let cool for a few minutes, dress up with the spare filling and possibly some honey (if you have a sweeter tooth).

    I was surprised by how nicely this combination of banana, cranberry and sunflower seeds turned out! And I’ll definitely be making this cake more often. The base of bananas, eggs and oat is rather cheap as well so this would be a perfect cake recipe for parties and potlucks, as well as a nice solution for using up bananas or eggs while they’re fresh.

  • Coconut Lemongrass Ginger Curry

    Coconut Lemongrass Ginger Curry

    While healing from Bell’s Palsy (a partial face paralysis) and chronic sinusitis, I notice my body feels like eating lots if roots, bulbs and brassicaeae.

    So I threw together this dish which has many different veggies and a light yet tangy curry flavor to enjoy all the goodness of anti-inflammatory ginger, prebiotic onions and fennel, and anti-cancer broccoli, among others. I don’t mean to make any health claims here, it just feels extra good to eat this stuff these days and thought I’d share it with you.

    Best to make this dish one day before serving, the flavours balance out real nicely overnight.

    For 1 person:

    Quart 1 onion, slice a few slices of fennel, roughly chop 1 stalk of lemongrass and 1 mild red pepper, thinly slice 1 garlic clove, 1 carrot and 1 small handful of ginger.

    Lightly fry/simmer all of these (possibly together with a teaspoon of fennel seeds or aywain if at hand) in a tablespoon of coconut oil.

    Cut one large tomato in small cubes and add to the fragrant mixture in the pan.

    Also add 6-8 dried kafir lime leaves, salt, pepper, about three tablespoons of santen, a cup of water, one tablespoon of honey, a star anise and a pinch of cinnamon.

    Stir until the santen has melted into the water to form coconut milk.

    When nicely fragrant and heated through, add a handful of broccoli and cauliflower florets each. Then turn off the heat and leave the dish to rest in the closed pan. Stir sometimes. Enjoy the next day with rice. You can heat up the dish and make the sauce as thick or thin as you like.

    Enjoy!

     

     

  • Fresh Apple, Lime & Mint Smoothie

    Fresh Apple, Lime & Mint Smoothie

    Fruit is such a delight for both body and spirit. I have never eaten this much fruit in my life (have always been a big fan of veggies, though) and i feel great. Pure, connected, clear, energetic, open. Really i wish this upon everybody.

    Smoothie Wonderland
    The main way i eat fruits nowadays, is through smoothies. I’m still in Thailand as i’m writing this, and that obviously means i am in Smoothie Wonderland. If you have never tasted tropical fruits, let me tell you: you’re missing out. Your average fruit tastes twice as rich, sweet and juicy over here. Just saying.

    Exotic apples
    What’s truly ‘exotic’ here though, is apples. Yes, really! Apples, the fruits that are so normal to those of us who live in moderate climates, are imported into Asia and are therefore quite expensive, especially on this island (we’re in Koh Phangan in the Thai Gulf).

    So my appreciation for our super-healthy, crunchy, refreshing apple has skyrocketed. This smoothie recipe really does it justice: it’s simple yet delicious. I use green, mildly sour apples for this one, they’re probably Granny Smiths.

    Young, fresh coconuts… if available
    So there is a luxury here that not all of you get all the time: easy access to young, fresh coconuts. While i can, i like to use a coconut shake as the basis for most of my smoothies, including this one. If you can’t, please find some substitute ideas below the recipe.

    Recipe: Apple Lime Mint Smoothie (with young, fresh coconut)

    1 green apple
    1 young fresh coconut
    2 limes
    4-5 stalks of fresh mint
    raw organic honey
    handful of ice cubes

    First, chop the coconut, catch the fluid (coconut water or juice) and scrape the meat from the shell. Blend the coconut water and meat to make a coconut shake (really fresh coconut milk: the best!!).

    Then, cut the apple in small chunks and squeeze the limes. You can use both the stalks and leaves of the fresh mint. Only discard the sturdier bottom part of the stalk.

    Add the honey and icecubes. Go slow on the honey; you can always add more.

    Blend everything together until smooth. Taste to add more honey if desired. It’s nicest when the sweet and sour experience are about equal, if that makes sense.

    To substitute the coconut
    While we don’t get young, fresh coconut everywhere, in some places we can still get ‘older’ coconut (how to open one). You can use coconut water from this thing and still blend some of its meat, too, although it will be more fibrous. Add a few extra ice cubes.

    Many stores sell coconut water in glass or carton nowadays. Not the same, but still close. Probably the best substitute even, but… can be pricy.

    Add a small cup of coconut cream from a carton or can plus a few extra ice cubes. Very different taste from fresh coconut shake, but probably still nice. Although i think it may take away from the deliciously fresh and tangy apple taste. Let me know if you try this one!

    Finally, you can also just add ice cubes (or water). You want to use an extra lime and spoonful of honey in this case.

    That’s it for today, enjoy!