Friday, March 12th

The cookery demo in Brennan's went really well last night and I was reminded of how its the basics that are important in terms of cooking and health eating. We really need to keep it simple, seasonal and tasty so the idea of venturing off the track of healthy eating is inconceivable!!!

• Soups are still perfect at this time of year. The great thing about soups is that they are
  Nutritious
  Can be cooked in one pot!
  Endless spices and herbs can be used to flavour
  The root vegetables being harvested at this time of year are made for soups
  If made right, soups can be a meal in one, i.e. with protein, carbs and fibre in one bowl

Below is a lovely little healthy recipe I came up with when I found way too many parsnips in my fridge.

Healthy Eating recipe: Parsnip and Coconut Soup

2 small red onions
4 parsnips
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
4 cloves of garlic
Half a tin of coconut milk
1 tin of haricot beans
1 litre boiling water
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

Method

Chop the onions and the garlic and set aside for 5 mins. This will activate their health promoting properties.
Place the fennel, coriander and cumin in a large saucepan and warm gently for 5 mins until they start to smell. Remove from heat and place in a spice grinder/pestle and mortar and grind.
Put a little water down the bottom of the saucepan, add the onions and sweat for 5-10 mins.
Add the spices, pepper and garlic and stir through.
Add the parsnips, add boiling water, bring to boil and simmer for around 30 mins.
Add coconut milk and haricot beans and cook for another few minutes.
Remove from heat and blitz with a hand blitzer or liquidiser. Its lovely with some chopped parsley or coriander on top. Enjoy

Wheat free, gluten free, dairy free and sugar free