A smoky cream cheese

MOROCCAN KŪMARA NUGGETS WITH WHOLESOME HEMPSEED TABOULI

You can count on this meal for multiple reasons: it’s easy, delicious, not too heavy, not too light and really nutritious. by Sophie Steevens - Recipe from her book Simple Wholefoods | Makes 20 nuggets | serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS - Moroccan kumara nuggets

500 g kūmara, peeled (I use a combination of orange & purple)

2 x 400 g

1/2 cups handful 2 1/3 cup 1/4 cup 2 tsp 1 tsp 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp 1/8 tsp cans chickpeas, drained and

rinsed (or 3 cups cooked chickpeas) almond meal (ground almonds) fresh parsley, finely chopped spring onions, finely sliced pitted black olives, sliced chopped pistachios (or almonds) ground cumin

sea salt (optional) ground coriander mixed spice ground white pepper sprinkle of ground cinnamon sprinkle of hempseeds or sesame seeds (optional)

INGREDIENTS - Hempseed tabouli

1 cup 1 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup 1 cup 2 Tbsp 1 tsp 1/2 tsp hempseeds finely chopped fresh parsley handful fresh mint, finely chopped finely diced telegraph cucumber finely diced red onion finely diced tomato lemon juice lemon zest sea salt (optional)

METHOD 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-bake. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 2. Bring a saucepan half-filled with water to a boil. Place the kūmara in a colander over the water, cover, and steam for 15 minutes, or until just tender. 3. Add the kūmara and chickpeas to a large bowl and mash until mostly smooth, leaving a few whole chickpeas and small chunks of kūmara for texture. 4. Add all remaining nugget ingredients except cinnamon and hempseeds or sesame seeds, and mix to combine. 5. Using your hands, shape the mixture into 20 rectangular or oval nuggets. Place each nugget on the prepared tray and lightly sprinkle with cinnamon and hempseeds or sesame seeds, if desired. 6. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until golden and slightly crispy. 7. For the Hempseed tabouli, place all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. 8. To serve, divide the nuggets evenly between four shallow bowls. 9. Add a serving of Hempseed tabouli and sliced avocado. 10. Garnish with a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds for a pop of colour, if desired.

SMOKY SPINACH CREAM CHEESE

This divine dip is an old favourite that resembles the popular spinach and feta filling, but with a twist. Absolutely chock-full of chunky green spinach immersed in a creamy mix of smoky, cheesy and lemony flavours, it’s the perfect accompaniment to all things comforting. by Sophie Steevens - Recipe from her book Simple Wholefoods | makes about 3 cups

INGREDIENTS

750 g (1 lb 10 oz) 1 1/2 cups 3/4 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup 4 1 1/2 tsps 1/2 tsp fresh spinach leaves, roughly chopped (or baby spinach leaves) raw cashews, presoaked water nutritional yeast lemon juice garlic cloves smoked paprika sea salt (optional)

METHOD 1. Heat an extra-large saucepan over medium–high heat. Add the spinach along with a tiny splash of water and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring almost constantly, until the spinach is completely wilted. Remove and let cool. Squeeze out excess water and set aside. 2. Place all the remaining ingredients in a blender and blend for about 30 seconds, or until smooth and creamy. Remove and pour into a bowl. Add the spinach and mix to combine well. 3. Store in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 5 days.

"Plant-based, gluten-free and refined sugar-free, these familyfriendly recipes all use ingredients as close to their natural state as possible.

As well as new scrumptious recipes, Simple Wholefoods includes invaluable tips to broaden your wholefood, plant-based lifestyle, emphasising how easy it can be to make healthier lifestyle choices for both you and your family.

Whether you’re at the beginning of your health journey, needing the inspiration to stay motivated or purely seeking simple, mouth-watering nutritiousness to add to your repertoire, you’ll find yourself using this book time and time again."

Images and text extracted from Simple Wholefoods by Sophie Steevens published by Allen & Unwin NZ, RRP: $49.99. Photography by Lottie Hedley.

ROASTED EGGPLANT DAHL

Easy Indian Dhal. A filling and attractive dish. This has been cooked in a pressure cooker but can easily be created in a large pot. by Catherine Barclay | serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2 1 cup 1 4 2 tsp 1/4 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 1 cup 1 cup 4 cups 1 can 3 Tbsp roasted eggplants, diced frozen pea and corn mix onion, diced roasted garlic cloves ginger turmeric coriander cumin ground mustard seed garam masala dried red lenil dried brown lentil vegetable stock crushed tomatoes lime juice

METHOD 1. In the pressure cooker, saute the onion, roasted garlic and ginger until onion is transparent. 2. Add all other ingredients except the roasted eggplant. 3. Select curry from the pressure cooker options or manually cook for 20 mins. 4. Depressurise and have a taste, if lentils are still too crunchy cook under pressure for a further 15 mins. 5. Stir through the eggplant, and serve with potato flatbread (p21)

Option: Top with fresh coriander or parsley and a dollop of plant-based sour cream p.33

To roast the eggplant and garlic.

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. 2. Cut the eggplant in half, place face down onto a lined baking sheet along with the unpeeled garlic. 3. Bake in the oven for 20 mins then turn over the eggplants and roast for a further 10 to 15 mins until the eggplant is soft.

Samoan villagers achieve extraordinary outcomes using a WFPB diet and some sage advice

Afirm belief in some simple but wise advice has driven the work of Samoan-based medic, Dr Walter Vermeulen, for over forty years, and his faith in it has resulted in several remarkable achievements.

His organization, Matuaileoo Environment Trust Inc (METI) is changing lives and transforming health, inspiring and educating those that live there to transition to a whole food, plant-based (WFPB) diet.

As with much of the world’s population today, Samoans have many lifestylerelated health issues: 85 per cent of Samoans are either obese or overweight, and they have seen an increase in conditions and diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, and chronic arthritis.

Dr Vermeulen attributes this situation to the huge influx of unhealthy foods, such as vegetable oils, white flour, sugary drinks, and animal products, introduced to the islands in the last 50 years. He has calculated that consumption of these relatively affordable, convenient foods means islanders now consume an additional 500 calories daily.

Dr Vermeulen’s team initially set up their program in two villages. They saw a 75 per cent reversal rate in participants’ chronic and lifestyle-related diseases, including heart disease, colon cancer, and asthma. This figure is astonishing but maybe not so surprising to those who already know how health-promoting and healing a WFPB diet can be. In his experience, Dr Vermeulen believes that a 100 per cent WFPB diet is the only way to reverse heart disease, early-stage prostate cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

Thanks to a grant provided by the Centre for Nutrition Studies, plus funds from the Samoan government, the program has now been rolled out to 10 villages, but Dr Vermeulen’s work doesn’t stop there. He has an impressive goal of wanting to reach all 300 villages in Samoa!

Between the two world wars, New Zealand was still the administrator for Samoa, and responsibility for primary healthcare was assigned to the women’s committees. The women’s committee is a traditional entity, bringing the women together within each village.

The Ministry of Health provided them with drugs to administer. Essentially, these committees were self-sufficient, treating 80 per cent of the population’s ailments. But since the 1960s, because of changes in health services, their roles started to decline.

Ten years ago, Dr Vermeulen’s team started to link up with the women’s committees in order to include as many people as possible in treating noncommunicable diseases. Trained to carry out health monitoring tasks, they are critical partners in providing continuous care. Dr Vermeulen only has a staff of 20 so it has been essential to include people from the community to expand the programme. These people, known as “path breakers,” are trained as coaches. An essential component for making this a successful program is the inclusion of a buddy system. Dr Vermeulen has seen a marked difference in the success rate of someone with a buddy compared to someone on their own, so each participant has a buddy to assist them through the process. The buddy is there to advise on Dr Walter Vermeulen areas such as the preparation of food as well as to provide words of encouragement and support. The focus is on coaching those going through the programme, rather than teaching them. Coaches build a strong bond with participants and following up with them regularly means they can provide support and monitor progress. A participant’s ability to succeed and achieve their goals can also be affected by their confidence. Coaches encourage selfefficacy, whereby an individual believes it is within their capacity to act in a way that is necessary to reach their goals. Participants are encouraged to share their successes, which may even include taking part in traditional dancing in the clinic! Many participants are so happy that they have been able to transform their health in such a profound manner, especially after, in some cases, being told by their healthcare provider that there was nothing more that could be done for them. What can also be very impactful is having a respected figure in the community encouraging others to follow the diet; in one village, the pastor spoke to his congregation about a WFPB diet, and 93 per cent of programme participants with diabetes saw a reversal in their condition. Oh, and about those words of wise advice Dr Vermeulen has lived by all these years. They came to him from his late wife, a nurse and politician, who often repeated the following quote: True happiness comes from helping others. “This is what drives me,” he says.

SPICED CAULIFLOWER

Spice and cauliflower are a great match and make a delicious side dish. by vegetables.co.nz | serves 6

INGREDIENTS

4

4 5 cm

1

2

1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 1 tsp 2 tsp 1 lrg onions, peeled and roughly chopped cloves garlic, peeled and chopped piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped red chilli, or ¼ red capsicum, deseeded and finely sliced green chillies, deseeded and chopped ground coriander ground cumin turmeric garam masala cauliflower, washed and sliced into florets

Variation: Leave the cauliflower whole, trim the base, and rub the masala over the cauliflower. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. METHOD 1. Preheat oven to 150°C. 2. Prepare the masala by placing all ingredients in a food processor and add 2 Tbsp of water if necessary. 3. Heat a heavy based frying pan and add the masalawith a little bit of water. Dry fry over low heat for about 20 minutes (adding small amounts of water where needed). 4. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 15 minutes. 5. Mix the masala into the cauliflower florets. Place in an oven dish and bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until tender. 6. Remove from oven and serve garnished with lemon wedges and capsicum or spring onion.

Note: the vegetable.co.nz website uses oil instead of dry frying, as we are an oil free magazine for health we have removed the oil and added water for dry frying. For more recipes visit vegetables.co.nz