Blonde Bliss Balls

Makes 24

Vegan/almost vegan; no gluten, dairy, soy; with options for cane sugar

Like coconut ice without all the sugar. Pretty white balls are flecked with the bright red of dried fruit. Make them in minutes – a good project for children, and a lovely hostess or festive gift in bags tied with red ribbons. Best stored in the refrigerator, but they won’t ooze if left out. They keep for weeks and are great to have on hand for surprise guests, lunch boxes, and soulful snacking.

Truffle-like Bliss Balls are very trendy: small, healthy nuggets of nuts and dried fruit. They are usually vegan and often raw. Nuts and dried fruit are great sources of blood sugar-balancing protein, brain-nourishing fats, weight-regulating soluble and insoluble fibre, B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, calcium, zinc and other micronutrients. Read more

Cumin and Sesame Paleo Naan

Makes 2 x 20 cm (8”) flat breads

Paleo, vegan; no gluten, grain, dairy, eggs, legumes or nightshades

Hot bread in about 10 minutes can jazz up the simplest meal. Just 3 core ingredients and a few seasonings. Serve it on the side with a curry, soup or main dish salad. Use it as a pizza base or stack wedges with a filling for a pita-like sandwich; slice into small wedges and serve with hummus or guacamole. Or serve as a sweet pastry: omit the seasonings and add a little coconut sugar or honey instead; top with sliced berries, or stewed apples with cinnamon and raisins. It is pliable enough to use like a wrap. Read more

Turkish Pizza

Serves 2-3

(No gluten, dairy or tomato; with vegan options, also for yeast and sugar)

Traditionally the word ‘pizza’ isn’t used, but the Turks do a lamb and tomato sauce version called lahmacun. Instead of cheese, a yoghurt and garlic sauce is added before serving.

I enjoyed a pizza recently at a Turkish café and sought to reproduce the textures and tastes without dairy or tomato. This deliciously succeeds. Serve with a leafy green salad with beetroot, or with coleslaw. Using a thicker pizza base will be more filling. Both of the bases listed below (see also Pizza for many more options) and all other ingredients are in most supermarkets. Note that most commercial hummus has dairy. I list two that do not. Or use my easy homemade version. Read more

Tikka-Spice Lentil Patties

Serves 3-4

(Vegan; no gluten, dairy, egg, nightshades or grain)

Enjoy the crisp texture, moist interior and mild Indian flavours. Serve with roasted, steamed or mashed vegetables. Or with a hearty salad such as Coleslaw with Tahini Dressing. The patties cook in just 4 minutes. Make a double batch and freeze some – shaped but uncooked – for an easy meal later. Left-overs are also good cold for lunch. Cook extra quinoa* – and lentils, or use tinned – and use in soup, stew or salad.

Every ingredient is available in good supermarkets. Spices are one of the highest sources of many antioxidants, minerals and specialised phytonutrients designed to protect plants and thus those who eat them. Legumes are a good source of protein, soluble and insoluble fibre. These qualities are excellent for blood sugar regulation and thus vitality and weight management. Read more

Sesame Tamari Kale Chips

Makes about 1 cup

(Vegan and Paleo; no gluten, grain, dairy or nightshades)

For some reason kale is trendy. People – possibly those looking for virtuous status more than flavour – add it to juices and smoothies. Yes, it is a good source of many nutrients, but so is prosaic parsley. So I am suspicious about fashion-driven intent and have some lack of enthusiasm regarding flavour. However, kale in this form is delicious. These are like a cross between potato chips and seaweed snacks: full of crunch, snap and savoury pleasure. As a key non-diplomatic validator, most children like them. And the chips can be made in minutes. Eat them warm or store them once they’ve cooled. Any type of kale can be used, but the curly types take a few minutes more to cook. Read more

Quinoa ‘Rice’ Pudding

Serves 2

Vegan; no gluten, dairy, egg, cane sugar; with options for soy

My daughter grew up as I did with a fondness for homemade rice pudding. More recently, my baby granddaughter tried this dessert quinoa-style and gave her approval. Versions of rice pudding are found in most cuisines. Possibly first developing in Persia, it was mentioned by the Romans, Confucius, Shakespeare and the Buddhist sutras. Sometimes different grains were used but the principle was the same.

This version is just as sweet and delicious as one using white rice and highly refined sugar. Quinoa is high in protein and along with dried fruit and cinnamon creates a relationship between parts that helps regulate blood sugar. Any left-overs make a great breakfast served hot or cold. Read more

(You’ll-never-go-back-to-commercial) HUMMUS

Makes 1½ cups

Vegan; no gluten, dairy or nightshades

Express yourself. Make this once, and thereafter you can concoct variations at speed by rough visual measure. This has wonderful contrasting textures, freshness and flavours that make commercial versions seem pallid. Just put everything into the processor; whiz until well mixed but chunky; serve or chill.

Traditionally hummus is made with chickpeas. These can be used here, but cannellini beans give a softer result. Find these at the supermarket cooked and in tins such as the Ceres organic range. Any cooked bean or lentil could be used. Usually lemon juice is employed as the culinary acid (helping with piquancy and blood sugar regulation), but white wine vinegar provides a sharper tang. Read more

The Demon Drink You Give to Children

Picture yourself seated at the dining table and devouring one kilo bag of sugar. New Zealanders average even more added sugar than this each week.

Auckland University Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences hosted a two day symposium: Sugary Drink Free Pacific by 2030? Rarely have I heard esteemed scientists so vehement in their views. Endocrinologist Robert Lustig (his expose on sugar has over 4 million views on YouTube) said, “Sugar is the alcohol of the child”. He explained how this food is processed differently than other fuels, which leads to fatty liver. Dr Richard Johnson, kidney disease specialist, diagrammed how sugar lowers ATP production – our key vitality provider. He employed a verb used with caution in science, “Fructose causes metabolic syndrome”. This cluster of markers is associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, kidney disease and dementia.  Read more

Chocolate Nut Fudge

About 50 tiny pieces

Vegan; no gluten, dairy, soy, cane sugar – or cooking required

Really, really good. The results are gourmet while the skill level required is primary school. Two colleagues – Linda Outhwaite and Jamie Smith – inspired me with their versions of this super simple and luscious confection. The high cocoa density adds a caffeinated thrill – as well as ample magnesium, calcium, iron and antioxidants. Among the latter are phenols linked with lowering high blood pressure. Some studies show this effect is negated if the chocolate includes milk, which seems to impede absorption. One type of phenol is flavonoids including (yes, another sub-category) epicatechins. These score impressively on the ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) score. This is used to assess how much power an antioxidant has for preventing destruction from free radicals. In excess free radicals are involved with premature ageing and disease. Read more

Blood Sugar Levels: Your #1 Key to Weight, Mood and Vitality

BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS: Your #1 Key to Weight, Mood and Vitality – and the Prevention and Treatment of Diabetes, Cardiovascular and Hormone Related Problems ©  
        

Your survival depends on cells receiving fuel in the form of just the right amount of glucose or blood sugar. It is the job of the hormone insulin to courier this into cells. The Brain is your most glucose hungry organ and the first to feel its lack. All carbohydrates – from vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains or legumes – eventually get broken down into glucose. What differs is the speed at which they do this.

Individual foods have been measured in this regard and placed on a scale called the Glycemic Index or GI. Carbohydrate foods that are slow to break down – such as Legumes (dried peas, beans and lentils; see TIPS), nuts, seeds, most vegetables and fruits, plus hearty, crunchy wholegrain products – are termed low GI. Those that digest rapidly into glucose such as Sugar, most white rice, and finely milled bread, baking and cereals (of one highly refined, uniform texture) are high GI.

Eating too many high GI carbs at a meal stimulates a surge of excessive glucose. The pancreas then produces and releases more insulin as extra courier vans. Over time though, high levels of insulin are life threatening and the cells start to refuse it entrance. But by becoming resistant to insulin they are also unable to access its critical glucose fuel. Read more