It’s cold outside again and still way too dark in the mornings and evenings for my liking. But, on the plus side, it’s the perfect time for comfort food. Food for me takes on a positive emotional quality at certain times. Like when you come in from a long walk in the cold to a warming soup or casserole or fill up on delicious porridge before heading out on a cold morning. All my favourite food memories are preceded by an event that made the food following it really special and memorable. In this way, food is seriously comforting, however simple it is.
These recipes were featured recently in an article I wrote for the Independent Magazine on Saturday and are easy healthy family favourites, comforting and also healthy.
Along with being super tasty, these dishes also deliver lots of nutritional content. The tagine contains chickpeas which add additional protein along with high levels of minerals including calcium and fibre. Tumeric is a high anti-oxidant superfood, known to help with easing aches and inflammation and also supporting liver function in the body. This dish is great for preparing ahead happily sit until you are ready to eat, it can also be made in advance and reheated the next day with great results. You can see the recipe here.
Bean & Kale soup
This warming soup provides slow release energy with the cannellini beans and a superfood boost with the sprouted seeds. Kale is a wonderful native green winter in Ireland and is a fantastic source of beta-carotene, along with vitamin C and minerals, delivering powerful anti-cancer substances. Kale grows really well in Ireland so eating lots is a great way of supporting local Irish food producers, keeping food miles to a minimum and eating healthily to boot. Click here to see the recipe!
Baked Apples with Dark Chocolate & Cardamom
This baked apple dish uses no refined sugar. If you start to use natural sugars for desserts, you will begin to notice that regular sugar becomes oversweet. Highbank Orchard Syrup, is a wonderful organic Irish syrup made only from apples with no sugar added. It works wonderfully well with the baked apples, giving a sweetness with an almost lemony kick. Keep an eye out for Aine Sugar Free Dark Chocolate, one of the highest quality Irish made chocolates and perfect for this recipe. The recipe is here.
