Warm lemon, courgette (zucchini) and basil salad

Courgettes (zucchini) are a type of summer squash. They contain 95 per cent water, so are very hydrating in hot weather. They also contain fair amounts of potassium, vitamin C and carotenoids.

In laboratory tests, the juices from summer squash have been shown to prevent cell mutations and may thus help to protect against cancer.

Lemons are an excellent source of vitamin C. They're also a good source of vitamin B6, potassium, folic acid, flavonoids and the important phytochemical limonene. Limonene is being investigated in clinical trials for dissolving gallstones and for promising anti-cancer activity.

The combination of courgettes (zucchini) and lemon in this simple recipe is very delicious and refreshing, as well as containing numerous nutrients to strengthen your body and protect you from disease.

Ingredients

• 2 courgettes (zucchini)

• Juice and zest of 1 lemon

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 pinch sea salt

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• Small handful of fresh basil, washed and roughly torn

• 1 tsp za’atar (optional) 

Za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice you can buy ready-made in international shops. Alternatively, you can make your own (2 tbsp dried thyme, 1 tbsp dried marjoram, 2 tbsp lightly toasted sesame seeds, 1 tbsp sumac, ½ tsp sea salt – mix and partially grind in a pestle and mortar and store in a jar).

Za'atar

Sumac is also a Middle Eastern spice with a citrus flavour. It's rich in vitamin C, iron and calcium and is reported to have anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activity.

Sumac

Method

Use a wide vegetable peeler to slice the courgettes (zucchini) into thin ribbons, discarding the central, seedy part (I use this to make vegetable stock). 

Vegetable peeler

Put courgette (zucchini) ribbons in a bowl and mix with lemon juice.

Heat oil in a frying pan, add salt, lemon zest and garlic and sauté over a gentle heat for 1 minute. Add courgette (zucchini) ribbons and cook, gently turning, for a further 1-2 minutes until the courgettes (zucchini) are slightly softened. Toss the basil through, sprinkle some za’atar over it (optional) and serve.

Nutritional information

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Creamy broccoli and almond soup

Broccoli is one of the most nutrient-dense foods.

It's an excellent source of vitamins K, C and A, as well as folic acid and fibre; and a very good source of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and the vitamins B6 and E.

Many of its health benefits are due to its phytonutrients.

Broccoli is rich in phytochemicals called glucosinolates with well-evidenced anti-cancer properties and the carotenoid lutein, which is a powerful antioxidant known to prevent macular degeneration.

Creamy broccoli and almond soup is is one of my favourite plant-based soup recipes. It's delicious, easy to prepare and very satisfying.

The creamy texture comes from the ground almonds and gently sauted onions and it's vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and added sugar-free.

Recipe

Yield

• Makes 4 servings

Serving size

• 340g/12oz

Calories per serving

• 151

Tools

• Thick-based cooking pot
• Simple hand blender

Prepare ahead

• Store any portions leftover in the refrigerator or freezer

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 white onions (300g/10½oz) (roughly chopped)
• 1 head broccoli (400g/14oz), washed and cut into small florets. Cut stalks into small pieces. Set aside a few florets, cut into bite-sized pieces, to add at the end.
• 2-3 cups water
• 3 tbsp ground almonds
• 1 dessertspoon sweet white miso, dissolved in a little water to make it easier to mix into the dish         without lumps
• 1 tsp flaked almonds

Method

Add olive oil and a small pinch of salt to a thick-based pan. Add the chopped onions and spices and sweat gently over a low heat until the onions are soft and translucent.

Sweat - A technique by which ingredients, particularly vegetables, are cooked gently in a small amount of fat over low heat, in a tightly covered pot. With this method, the ingredients soften without browning, and cook in their own juices. 

Sweating is different from sautéing, which is cooking food quickly in a small amount of oil or other fat in a skillet or sauté pan over direct heat.

Add broccoli florets (apart from the small handful of florets you’ve put to one side) and the chopped broccoli stalks.

Add enough water to just cover the vegetables. Don’t add too much water at this stage otherwise the soup will end up watery and it will take you ages to reduce it. If the soup is too thick, you can always add more water later. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat low and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the broccoli is soft enough to blend. Don’t overcook it otherwise the broccoli will lose its vibrant green colour.

Blend the soup with a simple hand blender. Add the ground almonds and sweet white miso to taste.

Add the small broccoli florets you set aside and simmer for a further 2 minutes, until they are cooked al dente.

al dente [al-DEN -tay] An Italian phrase meaning “to the tooth,” used to describe pasta or other food that is cooked only until it offers a slight resistance when bitten into, but which is not soft or overdone.

Serve the soup garnished with flaked almonds.

There are many dishes you can make using broccoli. Check out my recipe for purple spouting broccoli with mushrooms and arame.

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Oat porridge and its health benefits

Oats are an excellent choice for breakfast as they have numerous health benefits.

Health Benefits of Oats

• Eating oats helps lower LDL "bad" cholesterol and may help reduce the risk of heart disease¹.
• Oats help you feel fuller longer, which helps control your weight².
• Oatmeal and oats may help lower blood pressure³.
• Oats may help reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, since their soluble fibre helps control blood sugar⁴.
• Oats help prevent constipation, without the side effects associated with laxative medications⁵.
• Oats are high in beta-glucans, a kind of starch that stimulates the immune system and inhibits tumours^6,7. This may help reduce your risk of some cancers.
• Early introduction of oats in children's diets may help reduce their risk of asthma⁸.
• Oats are higher in protein and healthy fats, and lower in carbohydrates than most other whole grains.
• Oats contain more than 20 unique polyphenols called avenanthramides, which have strong anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-itching activity^9-12.

Oat Products

You can buy different types of oat products in the shops and it’s sometimes confusing.

Very simply, the quicker the oats are to cook, the more they’ve been processed. And the more they’ve been processed, the greater the risk of oxidation of nutrients, such as essential oils and vitamins, which reduces their nutritional value.

The least processed are whole oat groats and the most processed are ‘instant oat’ products.

If you’re in a hurry, using instant oats is much better than not eating oats at all.

With a little practice, though, you’ll find that cooking whole oat grains, or oat groats, is easy and you can prepare enough for several breakfasts in one go.

Simple guide to oat products

Whole Oat Groats

A groat is another name for a grain kernel. Whole oat groats are the result of simply harvesting oats, cleaning them, and removing their inedible hulls. You can most often find these in health food stores. They take the longest to cook.

Steel Cut Oats

If you cut groats into two or three pieces with a sharp metal blade, you get steel cut oats. They cook quicker than oat groats, because water can more easily penetrate the smaller pieces. Steel cut oats are also sometimes called Irish oatmeal.

Scottish Oatmeal

Instead of cutting oats with a steel blade, the Scots traditionally stone-grind them, creating broken bits of varying sizes, which some say results in a creamier porridge than steel-cutting.

Rolled Oats – regular (old fashioned)

Rolled oats (sometimes called old fashioned oats) are created when oat groats are steamed and then rolled into flakes. This process stabilises the healthy oils in the oats, so they stay fresh longer, and helps the oats cook faster, by creating a greater surface area.

Rolled Oats – quick or instant

If you roll the oat flakes thinner, and/or steam them longer, you create quick oats and ultimately instant oats.

Oat Flour

Oat flour is a whole grain flour that can be used in baking, or for thickening soups and stews.

Recipe for whole oat porridge

Ingredients	Instructions
1 cup oat groats 4-5 cups water if using slow cooker or 6 cups water if using regular cooking pot	Put oat groats and water in a slow cooker and cook on medium heat for 2-3 hours or until the oats are soft, white and creamy. You could also put them on a low heat setting in a slow cooker and leave overnight so the porridge is ready for breakfast in the morning. Slow cookers are relatively cheap. I bought mine for £14 ($23) in a supermarket. If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can use a regular cooking pot with a lid. You’ll probably find you need to add 6 cups water for every 1 cup of oat groats because you lose more water by evaporation with this method. Just bring the water to a boil and turn down the heat low and allow the oat groats to simmer with the lid on until soft, white and creamy. This makes enough for 3 to 4 servings.  Store what you don’t eat in a plastic container in the refrigerator for breakfasts later in the week.
OR to save time
50g/2oz rolled oats or quick cook oats 1½ cups water	Add water to rolled or instant oats and simmer gently for a few minutes while stirring until porridge becomes soft and creamy. This is enough for one serving.
½ cup (100ml) nut milk, e.g., hazelnut milk 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds 1 tbsp sunflower seeds 1 tbsp sesame seeds 20g/¾oz raisins	For extra flavour, you can use nut milk in addition to water when cooking the porridge or when re-heating it after storage in the refrigerator. Hazelnut milk is one of my favourite plant-based milks. To save time, you can buy hazelnut and other plant-based milks ready-made in supermarkets or health food stores. These are convenient but they often contain a fair amount of added sugar and preservatives. It’s easy to make your own plant-based milks - click on this link for a recipe. Home-made milks are tasty, fresh, free of additives and preservatives, and you can completely control the integrity of the product: the quality of the ingredients, the level of sweetness, and the texture. I like to sprinkle ground seeds and raisins on my porridge. To grind seeds, simply take a mixture of seeds of your choice, for example, pumpkin, sunflower and sesame, and grind them to a powder in a coffee grinder or food processor. Store what you don’t use in an air-tight container in a refrigerator and use it up within 3 to 4 days.

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References

1.          Davy BM, Davy KP, Ho RC, Beske SD, Davrath LR, Melby CL. High-fiber oat cereal compared with wheat cereal consumption favorably alters LDL-cholesterol subclass and particle numbers in middle-aged and older men. The American journal of clinical nutrition. Aug 2002;76(2):351-358.

2.          Holt SH, Miller JC, Petocz P, Farmakalidis E. A satiety index of common foods. European journal of clinical nutrition. Sep 1995;49(9):675-690.

3.          Keenan JM, Pins JJ, Frazel C, Moran A, Turnquist L. Oat ingestion reduces systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients with mild or borderline hypertension: a pilot trial. The Journal of family practice. Apr 2002;51(4):369.

4.          Lammert A, Kratzsch J, Selhorst J, et al. Clinical benefit of a short term dietary oatmeal intervention in patients with type 2 diabetes and severe insulin resistance: a pilot study. Experimental and clinical endocrinology & diabetes : official journal, German Society of Endocrinology [and] German Diabetes Association. Feb 2008;116(2):132-134.

5.          Sturtzel B, Mikulits C, Gisinger C, Elmadfa I. Use of fiber instead of laxative treatment in a geriatric hospital to improve the wellbeing of seniors. The journal of nutrition, health & aging. Feb 2009;13(2):136-139.

6.          Rondanelli M, Opizzi A, Monteferrario F. [The biological activity of beta-glucans]. Minerva medica. Jun 2009;100(3):237-245.

7.          Albeituni SH, Yan J. The effects of beta-glucans on dendritic cells and implications for cancer therapy. Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry. Jun 2013;13(5):689-698.

8.          Virtanen SM, Kaila M, Pekkanen J, et al. Early introduction of oats associated with decreased risk of persistent asthma and early introduction of fish with decreased risk of allergic rhinitis. The British journal of nutrition. Jan 2010;103(2):266-273.

9.          Sur R, Nigam A, Grote D, Liebel F, Southall MD. Avenanthramides, polyphenols from oats, exhibit anti-inflammatory and anti-itch activity. Archives of dermatological research. Nov 2008;300(10):569-574.

10.        Meydani M. Potential health benefits of avenanthramides of oats. Nutrition reviews. Dec 2009;67(12):731-735.

11.        Koenig R, Dickman JR, Kang C, Zhang T, Chu YF, Ji LL. Avenanthramide supplementation attenuates exercise-induced inflammation in postmenopausal women. Nutrition journal. 2014;13:21.

12.        Yang J, Ou B, Wise ML, Chu Y. In vitro total antioxidant capacity and anti-inflammatory activity of three common oat-derived avenanthramides. Food chemistry. Oct 1 2014;160:338-345.