Journal Category: Recipes

Roasted Tomato Soup

by Tina Jenkins, FGHG Naturopath

This roasted tomato soup is one of my favourite winter recipes. Roasting the tomatoes brings out their natural sweetness and enhances the flavour. You don’t have to add the wholegrain sourdough/ciabatta into the soup although that does make it more filling. I usually double or triple the recipe and stock up the freezer with it so it’s easy to take out the night before for a very quick dinner the following day (all you have to do is pop it on the stove to reheat and it’s ready in minutes😊.

Serves 6Tina's tomato soup
Ingredients
½ bulb of garlic
2 kgs of ripe tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Litre of vegetable stock
4-5 sprigs of fresh basil + additional leaves for garnish
1 tbls of red wine vinegar
~150gm wholegrain sourdough/ciabatta
Olive oil

  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Break the garlic up into cloves and slice the tomatoes in half. Lay out the tomatoes (cut-side up) on a roasting tray and scatter over the garlic cloves (unpeeled). Sprinkle over the oregano, salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven for 50-60mins until the tomatoes are soft and sticky.
  2. Remove the tray from the oven and pick out the garlic cloves. Tip all contents of the tray into a large saucepan. Squeeze the sticky insides of the garlic cloves into the saucepan and throw away the skins.
  3. Add stock and roughly chopped basil (including stalks).  Tear the bread into pieces and add to saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 10 mins.
  4. Add the red wine vinegar and then blitz in a blender until smooth.
  5. Serve in bowls, drizzle with olive oil and remaining basil leaves.

 

Tina Jenkins colourTina Jenkins is an experienced fertility and pregnancy Naturopath. She has a special interest in irregular cycles, PCOS and IVF support. Tina also enjoys treating the whole family for general health, including the kids.

Zucchini, fig and goat’s cheese salad

by Joanne Sharkey, FGHG acupuncturist

In Chinese medicine theory, eating seasonal food is an important part of gaining balance and health and encourages us to live harmoniously in our natural environment. Eating cucumbers and mint in summer will cool you down, and in winter eating pumpkin soup with ginger and garlic will help you feel warm and satisfied, and guess what cucumbers and mint grow in summer as does pumpkin in winter. The best way to buy seasonal fruit and veg is to buy what is in abundance and cheap at your local green grocer and supermarket, or if you grow your own you will easily know if it’s in season or not!

I easily knew the fruit and vegetable in this salad were in season as the zucchini, figs, mint and chilli came from my garden. This salad is full of fibre and flavour. The sweetness of the figs, contrasts the saltiness of the Goat’s cheese, the sourness of the lime, the freshness of the mint and the heat of the chilli. Fibre from fruit and veggies helps us feel full and satisfied, while being food for our beneficial gut bacteria. This salad will also help you meet your daily requirements for beneficial minerals and vitamins such as potassium, calcium, folate and vitamin C.

Jo's zucchini saladIngredients

3-4 zucchinis, cut into ribbons, using a wide vegetable peeler
a handful of mint leaves
2-3 Figs, chopped
1 fresh chilli (or to taste), finely sliced
juice of half a lime
2 tablespoons of olive oil
A handful of roasted almonds, chopped
50g Goats cheese (or more, to taste)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Simply place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Serve with grilled or panfried salmon, a poached egg or lightly fried tofu.

Fresh salmon patties with yoghurt sauce and green salad

Recipe by Rhiannon Hardingham, FGHG Naturopath and Nutritionist

This delicious and easy to prepare meal is so full of flavour and goodness that you’ll want to make it over and over again!

 

Fresh Salmon Patties with yoghurt sauce

Makes 12 large patties, to provide 6 serves.

These are a great way to sneak fish and greens into kids or fussy adults who are not usually a fan.

Salmon is an excellent source of protein, as well as omega 3 fats. Try to get Atlantic salmon if possible but otherwise Tasmanian salmon will do just fine.

By cooking and cooling the potato, you turn 50% of the starch into what is called ‘resistant starch’: a high quality fibre that is both good for your digestion, but also lowers the glycaemic load of the potato by half.

These make an excellent main meal, or individual patties make great snacks through the day.

560g skinless salmon fillet

400g potato, roughly chopped

1 celery heart, finely chopped to make about 1 cup

fresh parsley and/or dill, finely chopped to make about 1 cup

1 small red onion grated, or 5 spring onions, finely chopped

zest of 1 lemon, finely grated

1 cup fresh sourdough wholemeal or GF breadcrumbs

3 egg, whisked

salt & pepper to taste

flour for dusting

olive oil for frying

Steam salmon fillets until just cooked through. Meanwhile, boil potatoes until tender. Combine in a large bowl, mash together, and season with salt & pepper. Set aside to cool completely.

Once cooled, add celery, fresh herbs, onion, lemon zest, breadcrumbs, whisked egg, and further salt and pepper to taste. Combine.

Form into 12 patties, dusting with flour. Place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes until firm, and then fry in olive oil over medium heat until golden and cooked through. Rest on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil, and then serve with yoghurt sauce and a large green salad.

Keeps well in the fridge for 3 days, and makes excellent lunches or snacks.

Yoghurt Sauce

Combine greek yoghurt with chopped fresh mint or dill.

Green Salad

serves 2

2 handfuls of rocket leaves

1 medium zucchini, finely chopped (I use the slicing side of a box grater).

large handful of snow or sugar snap peas,

1/2 firm avocado, chopped into 1/2 cm dice

1/4 cup pepitas

handful of picked leaves of fresh herbs of your choice (parsley, mint or dill are all perfect)

Dressing

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

good slug of olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Dress salad and toss.

Figs and Goats cheese on wholegrain sourdough

by Rhiannon Hardingham, FGHG Naturopath

Figs are just coming into season, and they are a fabulous fruit indeed. High in magnesium, calcium, B6 and fibre, they are a bit of a ‘super fruit’. Add them to the complex low-GI carbs of a good quality wholegrain spelt sourdough, the protein of a quality fresh cheese and the blood glucose balancing benefits of cinnamon, and you’ve got yourself a well balanced, nutritious sweet breakfast option. Just don’t go too heavy on the honey!

Serves 2

Ingredients
  • A good quality whole grain sourdough loaft (I used a spelt & buckwheat loaf)
  • Soft goats cheese or curd (labne, ricotta or cottage cheese also work well)
  • 4-5 fresh, perfectly ripe figs
  • Raw honey, for drizzling
  • Ground cinnamon, to taste
  • Some fresh mint or thyme leaves from the garden, if you have them
Put it all together

Simply toast 2 slices of your quality wholegrain sourdough, spread generously with goats cheese, top with quartered fresh figs, drizzle with raw honey, and finish of with a sprinkle of cinnamon powder and some picked fresh herb leaves.

 

Rhiannon-Hardingham_1Rhiannon Hardingham is a naturopath and nutritionist with a passion for food, fertility and pregnancy care. Specialising in male and female infertility, IVF support and naturopathic care during pregnancy, Rhiannon offers her patients a wealth of information and knowlege regarding nutritional, herbal, diet and lifestyle support during their journey. She also offers education and mentoring to naturopaths wanting to improve their fertility knowledge or upskill into the highly specialised area of IVF support.

Pete’s Succotash

recipe by Peter Slipper, FGHG Acupuncturist

Check out the delicious BBQ vegetable succotash Pete has been cooking up this  this summer!

Pete’s secret to make this popular dish even more delicious is the light char he puts on the veggies with the BBQ before putting the dish together.

He loves throwing something other than meat on the BBQ and sees this as a wonderful way to trick yourself into eating a big helping of veggies.

This dish is so tasty, Pete says he always makes enough for leftovers but sadly, there’s never any left!.

grilled veggiesOften described as “Summer in a bowl”, succotash is an American dish that usually consists of sweetcorn with some type of beans or peas, tomatoes and other veggies, flavoured with basil, jalapeno, salt, pepper and lemon juice.

We highly recommend you make it from those succulent heirloom tomatoes and other seasonal veg that you can find at farmer’s markets at the moment.

It perfectly accompanies grilled chicken, fish or beef. Or you can simply pop a poached egg or some BBQ tofu on top.

Ingredients
  • 1 red capsicum
  • 2 ears corn
  • 2 medium zucchinis, cut lengthwise and then in half
  • 1 medium fennel bulb, cut into 1cm slices
  • 1 bunch of fresh asparagus spears
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped into large chunks or 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cup of shelled peas (fresh or frozen)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon (or lime) juice, or to taste
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (you could also use coriander)
  • 1-2 tablespoons of pickled jalapenos
  • parmesan cheese, to taste

Method

  1. Cut capsicum in half and barbeque skin-side down, directly over flames until skin is blackened. Once cool, remove skin and seeds and chop into strips.
  2. Barbeque corn until lightly charred and almost cooked through. Once cool cut corn off the cob with a sharp knife.
  3. Drizzle olive oil on zuchinnis, fennel and asparagus, season with salt and pepper and barbeque until lightly charred and softened. Chop into large, bite-sized pieces.
  4. Add onion to frypan with butter and soften over medium heat (about 5-10mins).
  5. Add garlic to onion and cook 1 minute further.
  6. Stir in corn and tomatoes and cook, stirring, until tomatoes are tender, about 7 minutes.
  7. Add charred veggies, jalapenos and peas, cooking until all veggies are warmed through.
  8. Stir in lemon juice, basil, and salt and pepper to taste.
  9. Grate parmesan cheese over top and enjoy!

 

PeterSlipper3

Peter Slipper is an experienced and highly regarded Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbal Medicine practitioner. He has been practicing at Fertile Ground Health Group for over 10 years where he specialises in fertility, IVF support, pregnancy and hormonal conditions. Pete also enjoys treating immune, digestive and metabolic issues.

Surviving Summer Pregnancy

Pregnancy

By Ashley Gordon, FGHG acupuncturist

So your first 34 weeks of pregnancy has come and gone. For some this has been tumultuous and you’d rather not do it again, for others, it has been an enjoyable journey. But be prepared! In my experience working with many pregnant women, I can safely say that when trying to cope with the Summer heat, the coming 6 weeks of pregnancy may prove challenging, especially when embarking on the run to the finish line (not that you should be running!!).

Why is that I hear you asking?

During the latter stages of pregnancy, the human body has increased its blood volume by up to a whopping 50% (or just short of, according to this study[1]). With more fluid comes considerably more heat! If you are 34 weeks and beyond you are carrying significantly more blood, metabolism is increased and so is blood flow to the skin, making you feel warmer and possibly sweat more too. Interestingly too, a pregnant woman’s basal body temperature is on average is 0.4 degrees higher than normal and while this doesn’t sound like much, most pregnant women will notice it!

From a Chinese Medical perspective, more blood means more Yang and Yang is the driving force behind growing a baby. So it has a wonderful purpose with its ability to speed up many important processes in the body but please hear me, while this is a great thing and undeniably important for your little one to grow, it may come at a cost to your comfort as the outside temperatures soar!

Some symptoms you might experience with excess heat include swelling, difficulty sleeping, skin tightness, excessive sweating and of course, just feeling really hot and bothered! So while there are many wonderful advantages to being pregnant and delivering your little one in the warmer months of the year (such as lovely days outside with copious fresh air), when the word “over-heated” is an understatement and the air-conditioner just isn’t helping… here are a few tips to make this time more tolerable…

  1. The oh-so-obvious – stay HYDRATED – Might sound like a “no-brainer”, but fresh water isn’t always as common as you think. Substituting other drinks for water, especially the ones which contain sugar, may in fact have a heating effect on your body – let’s go for a 2L of water minimum, but feel free to drink more.
  1. Plonk yourself in a pool – If you have kids, grab the kiddie pool, if you don’t have kids, BUY A KIDDIE POOL! On the deck, under a tree – set-up is easy, but make sure you have assistance getting out!
  1. Predict the warmth – again, might sounds like common-sense, but limit your outdoor activities to the early morning or early evening. Midday is for rest and relaxing (and the kiddie pool).
  1. A handy wet towel and ice pack – there are numerous places on our body where a cool towel will work wonders in decreasing body heat. A cold compress on your face and/or head will bring instantaneous relief, but if you have an ice pack handy, applying this to your pulse points at the wrists, neck, groin, elbows, ankles or behind your knees, will start cooling you from the inside out.
  1. A pre-bed or anytime cold shower (or dip) – no explanations needed here. Not only will this bring down your core body temperature fast, but cleanse you of your sweat so you can fall asleep nice and clean.
  1. Frozen treat fiesta – pack the freezer full of healthy home-made frozen treats. Try fruit-filled ice cubes or home-made fruity popsicles as a treat. Cooling down from the inside out is a much more efficient thermos-regulator.
  1. Spray bottle and a fan – cooling down is super efficient via sweating – why? EVAPOPRATION! DIY spray bottle and stand in front of a fan and watch your body temperature plummet.
  1. Scrap salty foods – salt retains water and chances are your already retaining fluid, so limit the salt intake and lose the excess fluid.

[1] Clin Haematol. 1985 Oct;14(3):601-12.

 

Ash-Gordon-colourAshley Gordon, FGHG Acupuncturist

An experienced Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist, Ash has a special interest in treating women from pre-conception, throughout pregnancy and beyond birth for post-natal care.

Ash has seen incredible results using acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for pregnant women experiencing common pregnancy symptoms such as nasuea, morning sickness, sleep issues, fatigue and heartburn as well as preparing the body for active and successful labour.

Freekeh superfood salad with Persian feta

Ginas Salad
By Gina Fox, FGHG Naturopath
– based on recipe from Oxfam website

Freekeh is a superfood. It is an ancient form of wheat made from young, whole-grain, green wheat kernels that have been roasted and sun-dried. This gives it a lovely nutty, slightly smokey flavour and because the wheat is so young when it’s harvested, it holds plenty of nutritional value. Freekeh is very high in protein and fibre, which helps you feel full and satisfied, whilst also being great for beneficial gut bugs, supporting healthy digestion and keeping you regular. It is also rich in minerals such as magnesium, zinc, potassium, and iron – essential for good health.

Being packed with nutrition and flavour, this freekeh salad is sure to add health to any meal, without compromising on taste. It pairs well with roast meats, fish, roasted eggplant slices, roasted chickpeas, grilled haloumi cheese, lamb koftas or meatballs but it’s also filling enough to have a stand alone dish. What’s more, its super easy and can be made in a big batch to feed a group or help get you through the week. You can find Freekeh at most health food stores and supermarkets, in the grains section.

Ingredients
  • 1 cup freekeh
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 6 tbs toasted pine nuts
  • 1/2 cup currants
  • 1/4 cup barberries (optional)
  • 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
  • 1/3 bunch mint, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley or equivalent baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
  • 100g Persian feta
Dressing
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • juice of one lemon
  • 1 tbs preserved lemon, finely chopped
Method
  • Bring stock to the boil, add freekeh and cook until tender or the stock is absorbed, approximately 20 mins.
  • Remove freekeh and allow to cool.
  • In a bowl, combine freekeh (breaking up any lumps), pine nuts, currants, red onion, mint and parsley or baby spinach leaves.
  • Combine dressing ingredients and pour over.

Rhiannon’s Roasted Chilli and Dill Salmon with Mustard Dressing

A common question in clinic when discussing healthy eating strategies is ‘how do I cook fish?!’ Lots of people are nervous about cooking seafood, but it doesn’t have to be tricky.

This roasted salmon recipe is so easy and super healthy. Loaded with lots of protein, plenty of greens, good fats and low GI carbs.

Ingredients: 

For the roast salmon:

2 x 150g salmon portions

chilli flakes, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil

 

For the salad:

4 large handfuls of mixed salad greens

2 handfuls roasted pumpkin

handful of mung bean sprouts

 

For the dressing:

50g full fat natural yoghurt

1/2 tsp seeded mustard

– stir to combine

 

To serve:

fresh dill

lemon

olive oil

 

Serves 2

 

Instructions:

Pre heat oven to 190C.

Place salmon on lined roasting tray, and top with chilli flakes and salt. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and roast in oven until medium-rare (approximately 7 minutes).

Meanwhile, divide salad ingredients into 2 large bowls.

Place roasted salmon over salad, drizzle with olive oil, lemon and finish off with fresh dill. Serve with yoghurt mustard dressing.

 

L9999600Recipe by Rhiannon Hardingham, FGHG Naturopath and Nutritionist

Rhiannon is passionate about good food that is not only nutritious and easy to make, but most importantly delicious! As a busy naturopath Rhiannon understands the challenges that many of her patients face when trying to incorporate healthy eating into their own busy lifestyle.

Rhiannon constantly inspires us with her yummy lunches at work and now as a regular recipe contributor, shares with us how eating the right balance of nutrients in a meal can be easy and super tasty.

Spring vegetable soup

This quick and easy spring vegetable soup is perfect for this time of the year. It’s warming and filling yet not too heavy and full of green vegetables. This means you get plenty of fibre, folate and antioxidants, which makes it a wonderful meal to include as part of a gentle detox. But you could just serve it as a regular dinner – it’s delicious and appropriate for fertility, during pregnancy and just for general health. You can leave it as a vegetarian dish or add chicken if you prefer. If you are adventurous, see the suggestions below to jazz it up with one of our suggested variations.
The quality of the stock is important for flavour. Buy a good quality one or make your own. You could even use Tina’s delicious chicken broth if you have some in the freezer.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
  • olive oil
  • 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 large onion, peeled and diced
  • 1 leek – white parts, sliced
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 large zucchini, sliced
  • 1 bunch of asparagus spears – snap off the woody ends and chop
  • 1 large handful of fresh peas, podded
  • 1 large handful of broad beans, podded and peeled
  • 1 large handful of fresh green beans, and/or snow peas, sliced
  • 800ml-1L organic chicken stock or vegetable stock
  • 1 can of tinned organic cannellini beans (BPA-free)
  • half a bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked and chopped
  • Himalayan salt to taste
Method
  1. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat in a large pot. Add the garlic, onion and leek, season with pepper and cook until softened, stirring occasionally.
  2. Add in the zucchini, asparagus, peas, broad beans and green beans/snow peas, then pour in the stock.
  3. Bring to a gentle boil until veggies are just cooked (this will take only 5-10 minutes so stay with it – you don’t want mushy veggies).
  4. Stir through the cannellini beans and basil. Season to taste with salt.
Jazz it up – variations

This soup is delicious with extra herbs stirred through in addition to the basil. Add a big handful of any or all – parsley, dill and tarragon.

Add 3/4 cup of quinoa in the last 10 mins of cooking for a more hearty meal.

Try topping each bowl with some good quality grated parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.

Add sliced poached chicken breasts.

Or add a small, whole organic chicken with the stock before you add the veggies. Cook for 1 hour or until the chicken is cooked through and starting to fall apart. Then add the green veggies, cannellini beans and basil as normal.

Orange and Ginger Cake

Chars Orange and almond cake

by Charmaine Dennis, FGHG Director and Naturopath

Simple to make, this delicious orange and ginger cake is rich with protein from eggs and almond meal. To help your body out of the slumber of winter, this cake is sure to warm the cockles of your heart and make the blood flow to your fingers and toes with a generous addition of fresh ginger. You could use mandarins if you have them in abundance, or even try it with a combination of citrus fruits. Love to hear about it if you do! You could just as easily make muffins for lunch boxes from this recipe if you prefer. Conveniently, it is also gluten free.

Ingredients

3 whole sweet oranges – medium size navels are perfect
5 organic eggs
1 heaped TBS fresh, finely grated ginger
1/3 cup maple syrup (or honey – manuka or jarrah is best for additional immune boost in a cake!)
2 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
3 ½ cups almond meal

Method
  • Boil whole oranges in their skins in water until soft (about one hour). Drain and cool
  • Preheat oven to 170 C or fan forced at 160 C
  • Lineand grease 20cm cake tin with baking paper on the base and sides
  • Roughly chopboiled oranges into a food processor and process until smooth
  • Addeggs, ginger, maple (or honey) and vanilla then process again until creamy
  • Addalmond meal and baking powder then process again for about 15 seconds, scrape down the sides and process again until a batter is formed
  • Spoon into the tin and smooth over the top
  • Bakefor 45 minutes or until cooked through. It will turn golden on top and feel spongy to press
  • Removefrom the oven and allow to cool in the tin before removing
  • Enjoy plain or top with Orange and Ginger Syrup (below) with coconut or regular full fat yoghurt or cream
Orange and Ginger Cake Syrup Topping

One whole orange, sliced
One orange, juiced
½ cup brown sugar
1 TBS fresh, finely grated ginger

  • Dissolve the sugar in the orange juice over heat, bring to the boil
  • Add ginger and orange slices, covering with liquid.
  • Simmer gently, carefully turning the orange slices, keeping them covered until a thick consistency is reached and the peel starts to turn translucent
  • Lift out orange slices and arrange on the top of the cake
  • Spoon remaining orange syrup over the top

 

Charmaine Dennis NaturopathCharmaine Dennis is the founder and director of Fertile Ground Health Group and a fertility Naturopath with nearly 20 years experience. Having gone through the medical treatment of a life-threatening cancer diagnosis, she now also enjoys supporting others to navigate their way through their experience of cancer treatment. Charmaine is a mentor to other naturopaths and students, and regularly runs retreats and workshops to help practitioners connect with their passions and thrive in their practice.