Watercress: The Superfood, The Cure of Cures...

W A T E R C R E S S

Watercress, the semi-aquatic plant and member of the Brassica family, has been around for centuries. It was a favourite of the father of medicine, Greek physician Hippocrates and commonly used as #brain food, a #hair tonic and aphrodisiac by the Romans.

This is no accident, for the ‘cure of cures’ and #powerhouse of #goodness is packed full of vital #nutrients such as #folicacid, #iron, #calcium and #iodine, #vitamins and #beta-carotene.

Digestive Functions:

Watercress can help balance the flora in your gut, aid nutrient absorption and improve your digestive functions thanks to its fibre content and enzymes found in chlorophyll.

Healthy Bones and Teeth:

Packing more #calcium than milk and plentiful in #magnesium, #manganese and vitamins K and A, watercress helps keep your #teeth and #bones strong and healthy, safeguarding against brittle bones and #osteoporosis.

Skin:

A key player in the fight against wrinkles and fine lines, it contains more vitamin C than an orange. The powerful antioxidants it contains help combat free radicals and protect against harmful rays from the sun.

Disease Fighting:

Watercress has significant levels of glucosinolate- compounds which may help to increase our cells’ defences against carcinogens and inhibit cancers.

Energy and Metabolism:

Watercress packs in more #folate than a #banana and more iron than #spinach which together with magnesium and vitamin B1 helps the body release the energy in food. Furthermore, the naturally occurring iodine can help regulate the thyroid and your metabolic rate.

We love adding watercress to #salads, sandwiches, #smoothies and #soups. It’s #clean, #lean and green and if you’re a #superfood #junkie this is one mean, green machine you’d be crazy to miss out on! #allabouthekale #raw #vegan

Watercress, the semi-aquatic plant and member of the Brassica family, has been around for centuries. It was a favourite of the father of medicine, Greek physician Hippocrates and commonly used as #brain food, a #hair tonic and aphrodisiac by the Romans. This is no accident, for the ‘cure of cures’ and #powerhouse of #goodness is packed full of vital #nutrients such as #folicacid, #iron, #calcium and #iodine, #vitamins and #beta-carotene, Digestive Functions: Watercress can help balance the flora in your gut, aid nutrient absorption and improve your digestive functions thanks to its fibre content and enzymes found in chlorophyll. Healthy Bones and Teeth: Packing more #calcium than milk and plentiful in #magnesium, #manganese and vitamins K and A, watercress helps keep your #teeth and #bones strong and healthy, safeguarding against brittle bones and #osteoporosis. Skin: A key player in the fight against wrinkles and fine lines, it contains more vitamin C than an orange. The powerful antioxidants it contains help combat free radicals and protect against harmful rays from the sun. Disease Fighting: Watercress has significant levels of glucosinolate- compounds which may help to increase our cells’ defences against carcinogens and inhibit cancers. Energy and Metabolism: Watercress packs in more #folate than a #banana and more iron than #spinach which together with magnesium and vitamin B1 helps the body release the energy in food. Furthermore, the naturally occurring iodine can help regulate the thyroid and your metabolic rate. We love adding watercress to #salads, sandwiches, #smoothies and #soups. It’s #clean, #lean and green and if you’re a #superfood #junkie this is one mean, green machine you’d be crazy to miss out on! #allabouthekale #raw #vegan

A photo posted by All About The Kale (@allaboutthekale) on Aug 26, 2015 at 8:18am PDT

Raw Cacao, Almond and Coconut Milk

#allaboutthekale #Raw #Chocolate #Almond and #Coconut #Milk
You will need
★2 bananas
★Small hand full of Almonds I soaked mine to make them more blender friendly
★2 Dates
★A teaspoon of Nut butter
★Use as much Coconut Milk as desired.If you want a more smoothie/milkshake thickness then don't use alot.
Throw all the above in a blender and enjoy!

A Sunday well spent brings a week of content (and another batch of our Cacao and Peanut cookies 🙌)

Snigger Bars

So I had a rare evening with no plans and despite getting home late from work, decided to dedicate my last remaining hours of brain functionality to my passion. The kitchen. Snigger Bars Loosely based on the famous 'Marathon' or 'Snickers' Bar I grew up with whether it was pre-swimming practice or post-country walk snack but this time, it's better... I made mine with almonds, but feel free to use peanuts or cashews, or... any nut of your choosing!

Ingredients:

The Nutty Bit:

65g Buckwheat Flour

80 ml Agave Syrup

150g almonds (I use whole, but sliced works well!)

The Squidgy Bit:

15 dates- pitted

Water

Vanilla essence

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp of melted Coconut Oil

The Chocolatey Bit:

60ml melted cacoa butter

30g cacoa powder

60ml Agave or Maple Syrup

Method: Using a blender or food processor mix the flour, with the roughly chopped nuts and syrup. Grab little handfuls and roll in to shapes. Sausage shaped or balls -it's totally up to you. Place on baking parchment on a dish and whack in the freezer.

Whilst your shapes are chilling, whizz up 15 dates, a dash of vanilla essence (say 1/2tsp) and the melted coconut oil. Add water sparingly until you have a creamy caramel. I was lazy and used the larger bowl and blade on my mixer to save washing up so it was chunkier than usual! We love diversity though, so whether you like yours as smooth as cashew butter or chunkier like crunchy peanut butter, it's a-okay with us! You should be able to spread the date mixture over the chilled nutty bit. I find it is quite easy to 'roll' the spread over the nut shapes for even coverage.

Place your snigger shapes back in the freezer whilst you make your raw chocolate. It is as easy as melting the butter, stirring in the powder and the syrup. As always, feel free to swap the cacoa butter for coconut oil and swap the syrup for a sweeter of your choice, whether it maple, pomegranate, date, agave etc... Evenly coat the snigger shapes with the melted chocolate and chill again... or at least try to, before devouring.

I like to play around with the textures and consistency of these Snigger bars. Pulse the nuts a little more or less whilst making the 'nutty bit' for a smoother or crunchier texture. Likewise with the 'Squidgy Bit' date caramel.