NOURISHING WEEKEND RECIPES: GREEN SALAD WITH PAPAYA SEED DRESSING

Papaya, a long time favourite of mine, is delicious, versatile, and boasts a long list of health benefits. As the weather warms up I've been craving more cooling foods and eating a LOAD of papaya... papaya breakfast smoothies, papaya with yoghurt and freshly sliced with a good squeeze of lime juice. 

To date I've mostly neglected the goodness of the seeds and discarded them, but with a new focus on 'waste less food' my awareness has increased and realised I'd been wasting a good part of the fruit! Whilst I had a vague knowledge that papaya and the seeds were good for digestive health, having eaten the seeds on the odd occasion when hit with a traveller's stomach bug whilst living in Cambodia (no they didn't work, but fair to say I probably only consumed a handful, hardly enough for a medicinal dose)! I hadn't really thought about using them in cooking.

Green papaya, papaya skin and papaya seeds all contain the enzyme papain, which does good things for our digestive health, including assisting to break down proteins and helping to eliminate parasites and other nasties. Here are a few more good reasons to eat your papaya seeds....Because papain acts as a digestive aid papaya seeds are a good choice to match with a meal high in meat or other proteins.  Papaya seeds are also said to have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects on our digestive systems. 

And if that's still not enough to entice you to eat more papaya, they are also a good source of antioxidants to protect skin against free radicals and promotes good heart health by reducing oxidisation of cholesterol in our arteries.

My conclusion. Eat more papaya! Wishing you a delicious weekend x

Green salad with Papaya Seed dressing Recipe

I made this simple salad dressing using fresh papaya seeds. Great over a plain green salad as a side, or add French green lentils and cucumber for a more filling salad. The seeds are quite peppery so start off using small amounts if your new to the taste. Note: If you are pregnant it is advised not to eat papaya seeds.  

      3 tablespoons Papaya seeds

      3 tablespoonsTahini, good quality hulled or unhealed. I used hulled.

      1/2 cup Sheep or goats milk yoghurt

      Lemon juice, about half a lemon

      1/2 teaspoon Apple cider vinegar, or other good quality vinegar

      Pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients in a blender until seeds are coarsely ground.

Refrigerate and drizzle over salad greens.

Serves 4

Information source: Superfood Profiles

Berry Kale Smoothie Recipe

Berry Kale Smoothie

Not technically a very much in fashion 'green smoothie' (these are water based, there's loads of recipes on the internet), but still packed with lots of goodness. I put any powdered vitamins I'm taking (currently magnesium) in my smoothies, it's an easy way to get them down and disguise their taste!

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened Almond Milk

1/4-1/2 cup berries

1 big handful of baby kale leaves (or other green of your choice- spinach, parsley, lettuce, cucumber)

1tsp-1tbsp chia seeds

1 large pinch of coconut flakes

1 tsp-1tbsp of flaxseeds soaked overnight 

Mix all ingredients in your blender until smooth. Yum!

Berry, Coconut Flakes and Chia Snack Recipe

Berry, Coconut Flakes and Chia snack

Super easy, yummy and surprisingly filling afternoon snack. Fruit for a natural energy pick me up. Chia seeds for protein. Coconut shavings give it crunch and that extra 'I'm having a treat' element.

Ingredients

Berries (strawberries, blueberries, mulberries), fresh or frozen.

Organic Coconut shavings (all natural, nothing added)

Chia seeds

As much or as little as you like.

Recipes for the Weekend: Three healthy gluten & sugar-free treats

My biggest food challenge eating mostly sugar-free is finding new ways to satisfy my love of baking and my love of sweet treats that taste good. I love trying new healthy cake and biscuit recipes made from real ingredients. The less refined and processed the ingredient the better. It does take a little more prep time using real whole ingredients, but with a bit of organisation and experience it becomes easier. Saying that, you don't want to get obsessed by every single little detail, if you're only going to end up unhappy and stressed. 

Flexibility and having a good hard think about what is important to you and for your body can be really useful. A good strategy is to work out what your negotiables and non-negotaiables are in the food department, and put in the best effort you can to achieve them. I'm ok with using ready made gluten-free flour blends or packaged unsweetened almond milk but I'm not ok with using sugar as an ingredient, so if I'm going to cook I'll make sure I have a substitute, such as xylitol or stevia, on hand. Good luck with discovering what works best for you. 

And now for the recipes. Three easy gluten and sugar-free sweet tasting delights on my radar this week. I hope you enjoy them too... 

Happy weekend x

RECIPES

Gluten and Sugar-free Ginger Spice Biscuits

Berry, Coconut and Chia snack

Berry and Kale Smoothie

too much springtime?

When the sweet scent of jasmine fills the air you know it's Spring time again! The start of longer days and warmer weather, of blossoming flowers and lazy afternoons in the garden. Peeling off winter layers, feeling lighter and freer. Being in QLD I'm further north than I usually am at this time of year, and still adjusting to the weather. It's hotter and more humid. Spring almost feels like summer. It feels like swimming weather again. Over the past week though I haven't felt like being outside much, or swimming, which is kind of odd for me and I was a little perplexed. Today it dawned on me though that I'd had itchy eyes and a scratchy throat for a few days and it was probably allergies from the winds and pollen. Not a major revelation I know but it did feel like a mini one and explained my desire to be indoors.

I closed all the windows and doors, rinsed out my eyes and got horizontal for the rest of the afternoon. To soothe my throat and pump up my immune system I went all out with liquids...ginger tea, homemade vegetable and beef bone broth soup, vitamin c, salt gargle and strictly followed orders provided by Mad Hatters Teas 'Marie Antoinette' blend of chamomile, rose petals, hibiscus and lavender...

Allow yourself to drift into a daydream painted with the picturesque hedges and fragrant blossoms of the palace gardens.

What trusty natural allergy remedies do you use?