I love food. It took me a long time to accept that. I think the media and the desire for a  ‘perfect body’ encourages very very bad food relationships. There is absolutely nothing wrong with loving food, the key is moderation and nutrition. Most nutritious food is delicious, and I’m going to post weekly recipes of exactly that, which are meals that I cook in my own kitchen. Cooking is so rewarding, I’m really loving it lately and it is so much healthier than eating out.  To tie in with my raw juice post, I thought I would post a couple of raw & fresh recipes that I love. This one comes from falling cloudberries by Tessa Kiros. www.tessakiros.com.

I absolutely love all of her recipes and her books are beautiful! I make this recipe a lot.  Last time I made it for my parent’s anniversary luncheon and everyone went crazy for it.

Carrot Salad with cardamom, Ginger and Lemon

• 1kg young, sweet carrots
• 1/2 red onion diced
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 150ml olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• pinch of pepper
• 3cm piece of ginger finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• Handful of mint leaves

Grate the carrot into a bowl. Mix with the diced onion. Now make your dressing – whisking the lemon juice, oil, salt, sugar, white pepper, ginger & cardamom. Add to the carrots and onion, toss well and leave in the cold for few hours . Toss through the mint leaves before serving. Serve with some spicy or middle eastern food.

Sometimes i substitute the sugar for some stevia ( a natural sweetener with no calories) or raw honey for a healthier option.

Another great cookbook I have recently discovered is Real Food Companion by Matthew Evans. It outlines everything you need to know to navigate today’s complex food world. It’s the farmer, butcher, fishmonger and baker by your side and recipes look amazing. www.matthewevans.net.au

ENjoY!

Alison xo