The healing potential of food

What you eat matters. Whether you are recovering from a hospital visit or feeling ill at home, everyday foods can aid recovery.

Common foods contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that help calm inflammation — the body’s natural response to illness. These foods include linseed, walnuts, berries, mushrooms, spinach, turmeric, ginger and green tea. Some foods contain probiotics that aid digestion such as yoghurt, miso and sourdough breads, and beverages such as kombucha and kefir.

Natural foods have the power to transform our health, while some processed and industrially produced foods make us sick with diabetes, obesity, heart disease and digestive problems. Industrial and processed foods are stripped of the nutrients that are available in whole-foods, some also contain toxins such as preservatives and additives.

To stay healthy, add nutrient-dense foods to your diet: lots of fruits and veges, different whole grains, legumes and beans and good quality oils; and prepare simple home-cooked food by using uncomplicated cooking methods such as steaming and stir-frying.

Quinoa salad

Here’s a good way to use quinoa, a grain rich in antioxidants, known to help with keeping cholesterol and blood sugar levels down.

You can use any vegetables you want here, feel free to use this recipe as a guide and get creative.

Ingredients

½ cup quinoa

1 cup water

2 medium carrots, cut into thin sticks

1 bunch spring onions, thinly sliced

1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped

1 bunch spinach (or other leafy greens), chopped

1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

¼ cup dates, pitted and chopped

Honey-lemon dressing

Mix together well

⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp lemon juice

1 ½ tsp honey / maple syrup

1 tsp sea salt

Method

1. Place quinoa in a small saucepan and cover with water to soak for 10 minutes, discard the water, cover with 1 cup of water and bring to the boil, turn to low and with the lid tilted steam gently until the water evaporates, cover and leave with lid on for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

2. Mix all the other ingredients in a medium bowl,

3. Toss quinoa with remaining salad ingredients.

4. Pour honey-lemon dressing on the finished salad.

Miso, avocado and chickpeas on toast

This is a simple healthy light meal or snack idea.

Chickpeas are a great plant-based protein, miso is a great fermented product for healthy digestion, and avocado is full of healthy beneficial fats.

Ingredients

400g chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 Tbsp white miso paste

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 lemon, ½ juiced, ½ wedged to serve

1 large avocado

4 thick slices of small crusty wholemeal or rye bread loaf, toasted

Sprinkle of sesame seeds

Chopped parsley, oregano and fresh coriander

Method

1. Put the chickpeas, miso, sesame oil, lemon juice and ¼ tsp salt in a bowl. Use a fork to crush everything together until you have a rough paste.

2. Spoon the avocado into another bowl and break up with a fork until roughly crushed. Fold the avocado through the chickpeas, taste and adjust with more lemon and salt, then spread over the bread. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and chopped herbs. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over.