Ingredients

Serves 2

• 300g cooked beetroot (raw or pre-cooked)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 200g risotto (or brown) rice
• 600ml vegetable stock
• 60g soft goat’s cheese
• 100g walnuts, chopped

Instructions

1. If you are using fresh beetroot, wash and trim them, but do not peel them. Place them in a large saucepan and completely cover with water. Bring the water to the boil then reduce the heat, put the lid on and simmer until they are just tender. This should take around 30 – 40 minutes depending on their size.
2. Leave the beetroot to cool and then peel and dice them. If you are using pre-cooked beetroot, simply dice them into small chunks.
3. Heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic until they have softened, then stir in the rice and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. The grains should go slightly translucent.
4. Add a splash of water to the pan and stir, then turn the heat down and add the hot stock, ladle by ladle, stirring the rice regularly to ensure it doesn’t stick – a lovely soothing process I find. This is what releases the starch and gives the risotto its creamy consistency.
5. When the stock is almost used up and the rice is cooked – this should take 15-20 minutes – stir the diced beetroot and half the goat’s cheese into it. Leave it for about 5 minutes before switching the heat off.
6. Toast the walnuts in a frying pan over a moderate heat for 2-4 minutes, tossing them regularly to prevent them from burning.
7. Serve the risotto with a scattering of chopped toasted walnuts, the remaining goat’s cheese and a crisp green salad.

Alternatively, this recipe can be made with brown rice, but it takes a little longer, and the risotto won’t be quite as creamy.

If you are cooking the beetroot from raw, use gloves when peeling it. Beetroot can boost blood flow to the brain.

The walnuts provide omega-3s.

Copyright Rachel Kelly 2016 | Photo credit: Laura Edwards

The post Cecilia’s purple risotto with goat’s cheese and beetroot appeared first on MindHealth360.

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 500g sweet or white potatoes
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 300g chicken thighs or breasts (skinless and boneless), chopped into 2cm chunks
• 1 leek, cut into slices
• 10 brown mushrooms, diced
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons wholegrain flour
• 50ml water
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 3 tablespoons creme fraiche
• ½ -1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. If using white potatoes, leave the skin on and chop them into small chunks. Boil them in a pan of salted water until they are soft. The time will depend on the size of the chunks but it should take no more than 15-20 minutes.
3. If using sweet potatoes, peel them and chop them into chunks, toss them in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and bake them in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until they are soft (they absorb too much water if they are boiled).
4. In a pan, fry the chicken with the leek in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil for 3 minutes, then add the mushrooms and lemon zest and cook for another 3-5 minutes. The chicken pieces should be around 80 per cent cooked by this point.
5. Add the flour to thicken the sauce, stirring for around 2 minutes.
6. Add the water and stir in the lemon juice, crème fraiche and mustard, then take off the heat.
7. Once the potatoes are cooked, mash them with the remaining olive oil.
8. Spoon the chicken mixture into a small baking dish, or 2 individual ramekins and spread the mashed potato over the top.
9. Bake the pie(s) for 10-15 minutes in the oven. If you wish, you can place them under the grill to brown the mash before serving.

Chicken is rich in protein, as well as zinc and B vitamins, and sweet potatoes are a great source of fibre and betacarotene. If you prefer white ones, leave the skin on to retain the fibre.

Copyright Rachel Kelly 2016 | Photo credits: Laura Edwards

The post Chicken pie appeared first on MindHealth360.

Ingredients

Makes about 15 squares

• 10 Brazil nuts
• 125g dark chocolate (ideally 100% cocoa, or use 85%)
• 100ml almond milk
• 150g coconut oil, plus extra for greasing the tin
• 250ml maple syrup
• Seeds from vanilla pod or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 50g raw cacao powder, sieved
• 3 eggs
• 130g spelt flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease a 30cm x 20cm brownie tin and line it with baking parchment. Leave the paper sticking up at the sides to make it easier to lift the brownies out when they are cooked.
2. Roast the Brazil nuts in the oven for 15 minutes, turning them once halfway through. They should be slightly browned. Leave them to cool, and then chop them up coarsely.
3. Put the chocolate, almond milk, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla seeds or extract in a saucepan over a very gentle heat, stirring regularly, until everything has melted and you have a rich, glossy-looking batter.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cacao powder.
5. Allow the mixture to cool for 10-15 minutes, and then beat in the eggs. Add the flour,baking powder and chopped Brazil nuts.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake it in the oven for about 12 minutes. Insert a cocktail stick and it should come out with a little chocolate residue. If you like your brownies less gooey, put the tin back in the oven for a further 3-5 minutes but take it out before the top starts to crack, otherwise the consistency will be more like cake.
7. Remove the tin from the oven and use the baking paper to help you slide the whole brownie on to a cooling rack. Cut it into squares once it has cooled completely.

Though they are still a treat, you have more control over the ingredients as you are making them yourself. Spelt flour is wholegrain, meaning that it won’t lead to a sugar spike as white flour does, and Brazil nuts contain selenium which plays an important role in the immune system. Cacao is a rich source of magnesium and antioxidants.

Copyright Rachel Kelly 2016 | Photo credits: Laura Edwards

The post Dark chocolate brazil nut brownies appeared first on MindHealth360.

Ingredients

Serves 2

For the dressing:

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon crème fraîche
• 1 teaspoon horseradish sauce
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 x 250g rump steaks – ideally around 3cm thick.

For the marinade:

• Handful parsley, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 6 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
• Juice and zest of ½ lemon
• 4 drops Tabasco sauce (optional)

For the salad:

• 80g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 6 sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 4 artichoke hearts, quartered
• 100g rocket, washed and drained
• 8 red radishes, thinly sliced
• 70g feta cheese, crumbled
• 4 tablespoons pomegranate seeds (optional)
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (optional)

Instructions

1. First make the dressing by combining all the ingredients and shaking them together in a jar.

2. Trim the harder fat off the steaks, brush with oil and season both sides with salt.

3. Heat a griddle or heavy-based pan, and add the meat once hot. Cook for 4 minutes on each side. If you prefer your steak well done, then leave for another 1−2 minutes on each side.

4. Meanwhile, make the marinade. Whisk together all the ingredients in a dish big enough to accommodate the cooked steaks.

5. Place the steaks in the marinade for 8 minutes, turning them halfway through. Then remove them to a board and slice them thinly on the diagonal.

6. While the meat rests, combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Pour over three-quarters of the dressing and toss everything together.

7. To serve, place the sliced steak on a bed of the salad and pour over the rest of the dressing. Scatter with toasted pine nuts, if so desired.

The marriage between the iron-rich steaks, the colourful salad, the zingy horseradish, and the creamy feta cheese are perfect. Be sure not to buy artichokes soaked in vinegar, though, as the flavour will overpower the salad. If possible, use grass-fed steak, which contains more nutrients than intensively farmed beef.

Copyright Rachel Kelly 2016 | Photo credits: Laura Edwards

The post Iron-rich steak salad appeared first on MindHealth360.