HAPPY NEW YEAR - EAT MORE VEGGIES!

I hope everyone had a lovely break over the holidays and are now back to normality! 
​
Our normal is rather odd, I am pretty much under the radar when it comes to work, I suit myself and weeks go past when I just chill and enjoy life and I have to admit I rather enjoy this way of being! Alastair, my husband has been self employed for 20 years so doesn't have a set work routine either, he works overseas and does a lot of voluntary work so we have lots of time to spend together enjoying ourselves! Jenna my daughter is also at home at the moment and is an awesome vegan cook so we just generally try out lots of lovely recipes, spend time outdoors, go for walks and read lots of books!

Looking back over the last year I can't say I achieved a lot but I did start an Instagram account and have almost 500 followers so thats an achievement for me!
I have kept up with my blog and still really enjoy sharing recipes and I'm thinking of sharing more factual and health posts so I have a bit of thinking to do as to how to move forwards and do what I feel is my life purpose, which is to help people to live a healthier life!

I have joined the commitee of Slow Food Glasgow and I'll be involved with a new government initiative called Peas Please, which you may have guessed is to promote the eating of more vegetables, which is right up my street!

I ran various workshops for community groups and schools, which were very well received and will continue to spread the word this year on how important and how simple it is to eat real food, and give veggies the starring role!

So on that note, there are no sermons on New Year New You, from me, I will simply say that the most important advice I can give anyone is to eat more veggies and that is very much the focus of this blog!

I'll say that again, your No 1 resolution should simply be to
                                 ............EAT MORE VEGGIES.....!

Nothing will impact your health more than eating lots of seasonal veggies, add wholegrains, lentils, beans and pulses and you have the basis for the healthiest way to eat. Not to mention the massive and positive impact on the environment of reducing your consumption of meat and dairy and not contributing to animal suffering. So there are many reasons to make veggies the starring role on your plate!

Its veganuary and 50,000 people have signed up to go vegan for the whole month of January! The vegan movement is steadily growing and Glasgow is a great hub of vegan restaurants and businesses, which I am delighted about!


So back to eating more veggies! Soup is one of the easiest ways of sneaking more veggies into your diet and the possibilities are endless so I've decided to share a new soup recipe as my first post of 2017.

This one is based on a recipe by Dana Shcultz over at the minimalist baker. She writes an awesome blog with the most delicious vegan recipes. 

So this soup has some of my favourite and most healthy ingredients, sweet potatoes, lentils, kale, garlic, ginger, turmeric and leeks.

The thing I love about soup is how versatile it is, its a great way of using up whatever veggies you have hanging out in the fridge. The addition of either lentils or beans adds loads of fibre and protein and will take your soup to another level of nourishment and filling power.

Using nature's superfoods garlic and turmeric will add flavour and loads of health benefits so you really end up with a pot of amazing nutrition and flavour. Oh I forgot to mention that soup is great for detoxing and its really easy to digest too so its a great food to include in your diet, especially after all the festive excesses! 
​
We always have at least one pot of soup on the go athough it doesn't last long in our house!

There are loads of delicious and healthy soup recipes on my blog. Just click on the soup category for lots of ideas and please consider subscribing to the blog so you don't miss any posts. All the recipes I share are nutritious, plant based,  seasonal and mostly really simple and suitable for everyone.

It doesn't cost anything to subscribe and it could just be the best decision you make, to start the year with access to loads of delicious, healthy, plant based recipes, for yourself and your family!
 
So a very happy and healthy New Year and remember to eat more veggies!

So here is the recipe for this amazing soup....enjoy!

CURRIED LENTIL, POTATO & KALE SOUP

Ingredients
1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
1 leek or medium onion, washed and sliced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped or grated ginger
500g of potato and sweet potato (I used 2 of each), washed and diced
1 cup of green or puy lentils (200g) washed and rinsed
2 good handfuls of chopped kale, cavolo nero or dark green cabbage, finely shredded
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 heaped teaspoon turmeric
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1.5 litres veggie stock (I use Marigold Bouillon or Kallo Organic Stock cubes)

Method

1.  Heat the oil in a large soup pot and add the leek or onion and a pinch of sea salt. Cook for around 5 mins on a medium heat. 
2. Add the ginger, garlic, carrots, potatoes & sweet potatoes followed by the curry powder and turmeric. Give it a good stir to coat all the veggies.
3. Add 1.5 litre of stock and the lentils and simmer gently for around 20 to 25 minutes or until the potatoes and lentils are cooked.
4. Finely shred the kale or leafy greens, removing any hard stalks. Add to the soup and gently simmer for a few minutes with the lid on.
5. Taste and adjust the seasoning. You can add some chilli flakes for extra heat or extra curry powder!
6. I served mine with some Hebridean Seaweed Salt for extra unami flavour and loads of detoxing minerals!

                          .....your health in your hands....