Simple, Healthy and Cheap Cooking

One-Pot Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Stew

Ingredients

1 medium, baked and mashed sweet potato

1 cup of red lentils

1 cup of coconut milk

2 cups of vegetable stock

1 can (14.5 oz) of diced tomatoes (about 400g)

Method

In a pot, combine all ingredients.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the lentils are tender.

Serve with seeded crusty bread.

Recipe Stars

The fermentation of dietary fibers like those found in lentils creates butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid, which can inhibit histone deacetylases (HDACs), which may influence gene expression and cellular functions. This interaction suggests that butyrate may be beneficial to weight management and metabolic health.

Th orange colour of sweet potato (beta-carotene) is converted into vitamin A, which helps protect your vision. Vitamin A and may lower your risk of cataracts and prevent dry eyes.

Quote of The day

I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will. Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

Simple Gado Gado Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

6 tablespoons of natural peanut butter
4 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of lime juice
3 teaspoons of brown sugar
1 clove, of finely chopped garlic

Method

1. In a pan, heat a teaspoon of healthy oil over medium heat.

2. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for about 1 minute until fragrant.

3. Stir in the peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, and brown sugar.

4. Mix well and cook for a few minutes until the sauce is heated through and smooth.

Add a bit of water if needed.

To make a Gado Gado salad, pour this peanut sauce over your choice of noodles, bean sprouts, vegetables, tofu, tempeh, boiled eggs.

Recipe Stars

Peanut butter is considered healthy due to its high protein content, healthy fats, and various vitamins and minerals.

A diet rich in vegetables can help lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.

Quote of The Day

The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy. Kalu Ndukwe Kalu

Sesame and Peanut Brittle

Ingredients

2 cups of sesame seeds
2 cups peanuts
4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp white vinegar

Method

1. Toast the peanuts and sesame seeds in the oven.

2. Put the honey in a non-stick saucepan with the sugar and vinegar. When they have dissolved, add the roasted peanuts and sesame seeds to this mixture and stir continuously for 8 minutes with a wooden spoon.

3. Lightly butter a plastic dish and spread the mixture and even it out. Then rub your rolling pin with butter and flatten the mixture in the dish, making an even slab.

4. Then, butter a knife or pizza cutter and cut the brittle into squares.

Recipe Stars

Peanuts are a food source of resveratrol which has potent antioxidant properties implicated in reducing risk of cancer, cardiovascular and Alzheimer's disease.

Sesaminol, a compound found in sesame seeds, may help protect against Parkinson's disease by preventing neuronal damage and increasing dopamine production.

Quote of The Day

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
Emily Dickinson

Spainish Tortilla

Ingredients

5 eggs
60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
420 g (about 3 small) sebago or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced

Serve with chopped flat-leaf parsley, alioli and lemon wedges

Method

1. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for a few minutes or until softened.

2. Add potatoes and cook for 8 minutes or until tender.

3. Put the potatoes into a colander, reserving 2 tsp oil. Wipe pan clean and reserve.

4. Whisk eggs with ¼ tsp salt, then gently stir into potato mixture.

5. Put the reserved pan and oil over medium heat. Add potato mixture, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring gently, for 4 minutes or until egg starts to set and base is golden.

6. Place a large plate over the pan, then, using oven mitts quickly invert tortilla onto plate. Return pan to heat, and, using a large spatula, carefully slide tortilla back into pan. Using spatula, tuck under edges of tortilla and cook for a further 3 minutes or until set.

Slice into wedges, scatter with parsley and if you wish, add alioli and lemon wedges.

Serve with diced tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, and onions, dressed with olive oil and vinegar.

Recipe Stars

Olive oil daily can increase heart health, reduce stroke risk, and protect against some chronic diseases.

Eggs are a rich source of choline, an essential nutrient important for brain health by helping to produce acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in memory and learning.

Quote of The Day

Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans. Allen Saunders

Chocolate Prune Cake

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups (210g) seeded prunes
1 1/4 cups (310ml) boiling water
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
60 grams butter, chopped
3/4 cup (165g) brown sugar
1 cup (160g) wholemeal self-raising flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup (95g) choc bits

Method

1.Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease deep 20cm-round cake pan; line base with baking paper.

2.Blend in the food processor prunes, the water and soda until combined; stand, covered, 5 minutes.

3.Add butter and sugar to processor; pulse until ingredients are combined. Add flour and eggs; pulse until combined. Stir in choc bits; pour into pan.

4.Bake cake about 1 hour. Stand in pan 5 minutes; turn, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool. Dust with sifted cocoa powder or icing.

Recipe Stars

Ursolic acid found in prunes, apple (mostly in the skin) and cranberries, inhibits the growth of various types of cancer cells and may reverse some of the negative effects of obesity upon the brain.

Prunes are rich in anthocyanins; antioxidants that scientists believe may protect brain cells and help prevent memory loss and dementia.

Quote of The Day

Some things are believed because they are demonstrably true. But many other things are believed simply because they have been asserted repeatedly—and repetition has been accepted as a substitute for evidence. Thomas Sowell.

Easy Egg, Tomato and Caper Pie

Method

Grease a fireproof dish, and line with breadcrumbs.

Add seasoning, and a layer of sliced onions, then sliced tomatoes and then mashed potatoes.

On top of this, carefully break as many eggs as will be required. Scatter with a few capers, then more breadcrumbs and a few small pieces of butter on the top.

Bake in a moderate oven for 15 minutes.

Recipe Stars

Capers are high in quercetin and rutin, helping to reduce inflammation, protect against chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease, and support a healthy liver.

The essential nutrient choline found in eggs is linked with slower brain aging.

Quote of The Day

One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say. Bryant McGill

Potato and Carrot Salad

Ingredients

2 cups cooked and cooled diced potatoes

1 cup shredded raw cabbage

1 cup diced cucumber

1 cup grated carrot

1 dessertspoon grated onion

Salad dressing

Lettuce leaves.

Method

Combine potatoes, cabbage, cucumber, carrot, onion, with salad dressing, flavour with salt and cayenne, serve in lettuce leaves.

Note: Potatoes can be cooked in the microwave. First place them in a microwave-safe container with a little water, cover, and microwave on high for about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the size and number of potatoes. Check for tenderness and continue cooking in 30-second intervals, if needed, until soft.

Simple Salad Dressing

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of vinegar (either balsamic, red wine, or apple cider)
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

Add ingredients to a jar and replace lid, Shake and pour over salad. Toss.

Recipe Stars

Sulforaphane, a phytochemical with anticancer and antibacterial properties, is found in cabbage.

Cucumbers contain phytonutrients called cucurbitacins, which can have anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and anticancer properties in small doses.

Quote of The Day

Make a habit of two things: to help; or at least to do no harm. Hippocrates