Pay attention to the little (big) details
It’s no secret that here at Nutri Advanced, we love events. It takes a lot of planning and hard work to deliver a live event.
But it’s always worth it.
On Saturday 15th June, we were absolutely thrilled to be back in London to host our sell-out functional medicine conference, The Science of Health in a fantastic venue with impressive views over the Thames, and with a world class line up of speakers including Dr Jeffrey Bland, Dr Steven Sandberg Lewis, Jo Gamble and Amanda Hamilton.
Sharing our learnings and insights is important to us so you’ll be hearing lots about the event in the weeks to come. Here though, we wanted to hone in on one of those little (but actually big) details that can often get overlooked at a live event.
The core subject focus of the event was gut health and we were privileged to have Amanda Hamilton on board to create a bespoke menu of delicious gut healthy recipes which were served on the day.
If you joined us for the event and got to sample the dishes, we’re sure you’ll agree Amanda did a stellar job, working with the venue catering team to bring a fantastic menu to the table. And if you weren’t able to join us this time, don’t worry, we’re about to share the recipes so you can have a go at them yourself!
We chatted to Amanda about the inspiration behind her recipes and how she goes about creating new recipes and meal plans
Thanks again Amanda for creating such a delicious menu! What was your inspiration for the bespoke menu you created for The Science of Health?
I always start by putting plants first - they are always the bulk of any of my recipes. Then, I was looking at ways of adding some notable gut healthy ingredients that would work for a function - thus the use of kefir in dressings. Lastly, I knew there would be a lot of mental energy being used so I thought that the rich truffles would be a welcome addition, and I was right!
Has The Science of Health event inspired you to create any new recipes?
I'm always creating new recipes but the event inspired me in so many ways! The lectures were fascinating and meeting other guests was a real highlight.
Where do you start when creating a new recipe?
I always start with what's in season. I am a big believer in consuming as much locally grown, seasonal produce as possible. Diversity of healthy ingredients also helps our gut health!
How do you help clients with an existing diet of convenience food / microwave meals to start cooking from scratch? Any practical tips?
A good question. Like anything else, it comes down to the individual. I will assess if they have a genuine interest in cooking before going down that route, and, if they are interested, how much time and budget they have is important to know. I often do menu plans based around batch cooking a couple of times a week, making the programme easier. It truly is always tailored to the individual.
Raw Cacao Brownie
Ingredients - makes a whole tray
- 2 cups pecans
- 2 cups walnuts
- 4 cups medjool dates
- 8 tbsp. Cacao powder
- ½ cup desiccated coconut
- ½ cup sour cherries
- ½ cup coconut oil
- Sea salt to taste
Method
1. Place pecans, walnuts and coconut in a food processor and mix until you get a fine texture.
2. Add coconut oil, medjool dates and sour cherries.
3. Finish with cacao powder and sea salt.
4. Place the mix in a rectangular or square tray and flatten down
5. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours to set. If you are in a hurry, place in the freezer for 20 minutes to set.
Za'atar Roasted Salmon with Butternut Squash Couscous
Ingredients – serves 2
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 x 170g boneless salmon fillets
- 1 tbsp zahtar
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 60ml coconut yoghurt
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 small or half a medium butternut squash
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 garlic cloves
- Zest and juice of half a lemon
- ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 courgette – chopped
- 4 tbsp chopped parsley
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Peel, roughly chop and then pulse the butternut squash/pumpkin in a food processor until couscous like consistency
3. Chop the red onion and courgette into small pieces about 1cm and finely dice the parsley.
4. In a large roasting tin, spread out the vegetables, season with salt and pepper and mix in the lemon juice, zest and half the parsley.
5. Sprinkle salmon with zahtar, olive oil and salt and place them on top of the vegetables and bake uncovered for 25 minutes
6. While this is cooking whisk together tahini, coconut yoghurt, lemon juice and water
7. Serve 1 x salmon fillet on top of the butternut couscous drizzled with the dressing
Miso and Tofu Stir Fry with Courgette Noodles
Ingredients – serves 2
- 200g firm tofu
- ½ green pepper
- ½ red onion
- 1 carrot
- 8 baby corn
- 12 green beans
- ½ inch piece of ginger
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp Tamari (if replaced with soy is no longer gluten free)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp miso paste
- 2 courgettes
- 1 tsp coconut oil
Method
1. To prepare the tofu, remove it from packet and place the block between two sheets of kitchen paper and place between two plates with a large weight on top to remove the excess water - allow to sit for 10-15 minutes
2. Meanwhile, peel and grate ginger and garlic, and put into a bowl with tamari, sesame oil and miso paste, add a little boiling water to create a sauce.
3. Prepare the veg - peel the carrot and onion and slice these along with the green pepper into long thin strips, slice baby corn in half and top and tail the green beans and using a vegetable peeler or spiralizer – peel the courgettes into ribbons or ‘noodles’.
4. Once the excess water has been removed from the tofu, marinate it in the sauce for 10-mins, drain the tofu before cooking, keeping the sauce to use in the stir fry.
5. Add the oil to a wok or large frying pan and heat, stir fry the tofu for 6-8 mins until starting to crisp and go golden - but not burning
6. Add the veg (but not the courgette noodles) and stir-fry for 2-3 mins until starting to soften and the sauce and cook for a further 3-4 mins before finally adding the courgette for a final couple of minutes.
Watercress, Asparagus and Avocado & Pine Nuts with Basil Dressing
Ingredients - serves 2
- 2 handfuls watercress
- ½ an avocado
- 1 bunch of asparagus - woody stalks removed and diced into small pieces
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Method
1. Wash and dry watercress, place into a bowl with diced avocado
2. Toast pine nuts and add to the watercress and avocado
3. Blanch the asparagus in boiling water for 1-2 mins, rinse with cold water and add to the other salad ingredients
4. Whisk together dressing ingredients or blend to get a smoother texture and toss the salad with the dressing.
Cold New Potatoes with a Lemon and Parsley Kefir Dressing
Ingredients - serves 2
- 200g new potatoes
- 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
- 75ml kefir
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
Method
1. Boil the new potatoes until cooked, then blanch in cold water to stop them cooking further.
2. Whisk together the kefir, lemon zest and juice with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add 1 tbsp parsley and mix through
3. Toss cooled potatoes in kefir dressing and serve topped with extra parsley.
Beet, Carrot and Tahini Slaw
Ingredients - serve 2-4
- 2 medium beetroots, peeled and grated
- 4 small carrots, peeled and grated
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
Method:
1. Whisk olive oil, lemon juice and tahini together and mix into grated carrots and beetroot and leave to marinate.
2. Sprinkle with sesame seeds just before serving.
Mixed Baby Greens with Turmeric Dressing
Ingredients - serves 4
- 200g mixed baby lettuce leaves (e.g. spinach, chard, rocket etc)
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- Sea salt flakes and pepper
Method
1. Wash salad leaves and place in a bowl with the diced cucumber.
2. Place all the other ingredients in a small blender, season to taste and blend briefly until well mixed drizzle with dressing, to taste.
Blog provided by Nutri Advanced.
