Ginger Archives - Coconut and Berries

Red Lentil, Spinach & Potato Curry with Baobab [& a Giveaway!]

If you’re a regular Coconut & Berries reader, you might have caught my Green Hummus Crackers recipe a few weeks back. I included Moringa green superleaf powder in the mix, produced by a company called Aduna.

I’ve since found out a lot more about the company, their backstory and their inspiring mission and wanted to share it with you too - as well as a yummy recipe using another of their amazing products - Baobab.

I’m also giving you the chance to WIN a whole hamper of Baobab goodies for yourselves! (Competition now closed)

I imagine Coconut and Berries readers might be more in the know than most about healthy foods so you probably have heard of baobab. However, 95% of people haven’t and that most definitely needs to change!

It’s packed with vitamin C, fibre, antioxidants and minerals including calcium, magnesium and potassium, which gives it an amazing range of potential health benefits.

BUT, not only is it an amazingly healthy (and tasty!) fruit that’s great for all of us who eat it, it also has the potential to transform millions of lives.

Baobab trees grow so abundantly in Africa that if there were a global demand for the superfuit then this existing crop could be worth $1bn to rural Africa and create sustainable income for up to 10 million African women.

The company has been working towards this goal on a shoestring since the launch in 2012 but last week were announced as Semi-Finalists in Virgin’s Pitch to Rich competition. If the company finishes in the top 3 they will win a £250K marketing campaign and get Richard Branson’s backing. This would transform awareness of baobab – and with it potentially millions of lives.

I think it’s awesome to see a social business get so far in the competition and hope you’ll agree that they should be in the final!

Anyone who votes can enter to win a whole hamper of Aduna baobab goodies, including their superfruit powder and raw energy bars) and, if that’s not enough, all voters are automatically entered to win £10K from Virgin Media.

Just follow the instructions in the image below and cast your vote HERE (Giveaway open worldwide)

GIVEAWAY IS NOW OVER. CONGRATULATIONS TO WINNER JESSICA!

I mostly use baobab in smoothies and love its slightly sweet, tangy taste, but I thought I’d experiment with it in savoury dishes too and loved the result in this Red Lentil, Spinach & Potato Curry. Tamarind, which is similarly sweet and sour, is traditional in curries after all, so it’s not all that wacky an idea!

There are lots of other recipes and serving suggestions on the Aduna website.

Red Lentil, Spinach & Potato Curry with Baobab

Yield: 4-6 Servings

Red Lentil, Spinach & Potato Curry with Baobab

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Coconut oil
1 Small onion, diced
3 Cloves of garlic, minced
2" ginger, peeled & minced
1 red chilli, deseeded & minced
1 Tbsp Curry powder (use your favourite blend)
1 tsp Salt
1 C Red lentils, rinsed well
1 Can (400g) Chopped tomatoes
3 C Water
250g/8oz New potatoes, halved OR quartered if large
2 Tbsp Aduna Baobab powder OR 1 Tbsp Tamarind paste
Couple of large handfuls of spinach

To serve (optional):

Non-dairy yogurt
Fresh coriander, chopped
Wholegrain flatbread

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the garlic, ginger and chili and cook for a further couple of minutes. Add the curry powder, salt and red lentils and stir to coat well.
Add the tomatoes,water and new potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the pan and simmer for approx 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. When cooked, the potatoes should be fork tender.
Remove from the heat and stir in the baobab powder (or tamarind) and the spinach. The residual heat will wilt it.
Serve with a sprinkle of fresh coriander, a dollop of non-dairy yogurt & flatbread on the side.

http://www.coconutandberries.com/2015/06/07/red-lentil-spinach-potato-curry-with-baobab-a-giveaway/

Hope you enjoy this recipe and let’s Make Baobab Famous!

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Lemon, Ginger & Green Tea Smoothie + Optimum 9200 Blender Giveaway

Happy National Vegetarian Week! This year it’s all about sharing and enjoying delicious veggie food with your friends, family, colleagues, neighbours and community. Cooking for and with other people is a great way to introduce them to vegetarian living and make it fun too!

To celebrate the event I’ve got an amazing prize to give away! A super-duper high-powered Optimum 9200 Blender from Froothie.

“The Optimum 9200 next generation blender is a commercial-grade super blender designed for longevity, versatility and BRAWN. Stronger, faster and more powerful than a Vitamix, the Optimum 9200 will set you up to make amazing soups, the silkiest smoothies, super smooth dips, nut butters, ice cream and more. This is the best blender you’ll ever use and the last blender you’ll ever need. Once you try it, you’ll wish you’d had it all your life. ”

A few features you’re going to love:

Crushes ice in seconds
Easy to use, with three speeds, three timer settings and a pulse button
6 blade assembly creates a vortex that will suck your ingredients down and make blending a breeze
Super easy to clean and maintain by simply blending water in the jug at high speed

I own an Optimum 9400 which is the model before the 9200. There’s not a lot of difference between the two but the 9200 is a little more powerful, has a digital display and an automatic blending function. Read my full review of the Optimum 9400 (and get another awesome smoothie recipe!) here.

See the bottom of this post for details on how to enter.

I’ve got quite a lot of smoothie recipes on my blog already and I love them all but this Lemon, Ginger & Green Tea Smoothie is my current favourite! It seemed fitting to share it with you today while we’re talking blenders…

As well as being a smoothie fanatic, I’m a herbal tea fanatic and this drink combines both!

Here, green tea comes in the form of matcha powder as it’s easier to use and stronger than brewed and cooled loose leaf/bagged green tea, and lemon and fresh ginger give it a really bright, clean flavour that makes it even more energising. I like my smoothies creamy and to sustain me through the morning so I add a dose of plant protein in the form of hemp seeds which manages both of those things.

Lemon, Ginger & Green Tea Smoothie

Serving Size: 1 Serving (or 2 snack-size smoothies)

Lemon, Ginger & Green Tea Smoothie

Ingredients

1 Frozen Banana OR Pear
1 Large handful of kale or spinach leaves
2 Tbsp Hemp seeds
1 tsp Matcha (Green tea) powder
1-2" Fresh ginger
3/4 C Coconut water
1-1/2 Tbsp Lemon juice
1 tsp Coconut nectar OR liquid sweetener of choice

Instructions

Blend together all ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth and creamy.

Notes

* I don't even bother peeling my ginger as my blender just pulverises it down to nothing but if you're not using a high-powered blender you might need to peel and grate it.

http://www.coconutandberries.com/2015/05/18/lemon-ginger-green-tea-smoothie-optimum-9200-blender-giveaway/

UK entries only please (sorry international friends!).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Optimum 9200 retails at £429 but will be on sale for £349 during National Vegetarian Week. Visit Froothie’s website for details.

Increase your chances of winning by entering the Optimum 9200 giveaway on Facebook - simply like and share this post to enter!

Competition now closed. Thanks for all your entries.

Sweet Potato, Beetroot & Ginger Tempeh Sushi

A lot of people think sushi is all about raw fish, but it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, the word “sushi” actually refers to the seasoned rice which can, but doesn’t have to be, paired with seafood.

If you’ve never tried making your own sushi, I definitely recommend giving it a go — It’s fun, cheap and you can get creative with what fillings you add.

Today I’m sharing this twist on classic veg maki rolls, with sweet potato, beetroot & ginger tempeh — my favourite for the winter season!

You won’t find the recipe here though as I’m guest posting on Running on Real Food! Go check out the recipe and, if you’re not familiar with Deryn’s blog, make sure to have a good browse while you’re there.

Plum & Ginger Smoothie

Another smoothie today! I never used to be a smoothie person and always preferred chewing my food, but somewhere along the line that changed and smoothies are now an almost daily occurrence around these parts. Maybe that will change once the weather turns…but right now I’m happy to be enjoying smoothies and the first of autumn’s fruit all in one go!

These are the lovely plums from our baby tree last year-almost all eaten by me I think. If you’re not a smoothie person, or even if you are, you should also try my Maple-Oat Plum Crumble recipe from back then.

I haven’t received any plums in my fruit and veg deliveries from home so I’m guessing I lucked out and they’re all finished. Fortunately, there are still plums at the farmers’ markets and shops around here (and I’m sure if you live in the countryside there are plenty of foraging opportunities to be had too) so I haven’t missed out altogether.

The Victoria plums I used here are quite sweet and fairly mild in taste, but blended with banana, homemade almond milk, dates and a little ginger ( yes, again. I’m going though a ginger phase obviously…) you have a lovely creamy, just-fruity-enough smoothie which makes a great light breakfast or snack.

I think the colour’s rather pretty too!

Homemade almond (or another neutral nut) milk is pretty essential here for the best taste as the creaminess really makes this smoothie. and you just don’t get that from the commercial kind. If you haven’t yet made your own nut milk, please please do try it! It’s not difficult or time-consuming at all- you just need to remember to soak the nuts overnight. Follow the instructions in my Healthy Mocha-Hazelnut Shake post, using almonds instead of hazelnuts.

Plum & Ginger Smoothie

Yield: 1 Serving (or 2 small)

Ingredients

1 Frozen banana, chopped
1/2 C (heaping) Ripe pitted plums
1 C Homemade almond milk (See note above)
1" Pc Peeled, fresh ginger
1-2 Medjool dates, pitted

Instructions

Blend everything together in a high-powered blender until completely smooth.
Serve immediately.

http://www.coconutandberries.com/2014/09/11/plum-ginger-smoothie/

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Goji-Orange-Turmeric Smoothie (“The Immunity Booster”)

I’m trying not to get too distracted from work right now (still going on the dissertation but I’m definitely on the home stretch!) but I thought I’d stop by and share this recipe as, if you folks are anything like me, you could do with a little mid-week pick me up.

This Goji-Orange-Turmeric Smoothie is exactly that!

I’m usually not one for fresh and fruity smoothies and prefer the creamy, often chocolat-ey kind! But this one here is a little different and contains some seriously powerful ingredients in the nutrition stakes, as well as being exceptionally tasty.

Goji berries: Touted as a “superfood”. Gram for gram, goji berries contain more vitamin C than oranges and more beta-carotene than carrots. Beta-carotene is important for healthy skin and eyes.

Turmeric: High in curcumin, a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Ginger: Boosts immunity, eases digestion, improves circulation and also has anti-inflammatory properties.

Oranges: Very high in vitamin C, vital for a healthy immune system.

I managed to pick up a cold some time last week but am feeling better already. I can’t say it was just this smoothie which did it but I’m sure looking after myself with nourishing food helped!

Ill or not, I’ll be making this smoothie regularly. The flavours are hard to describe…tangy, soothing and sweet…they all sound conflicting but I promise all those elements are there. Give it a go and let me know what you think.

Goji-Orange-Turmeric Smoothie (“The Immunity Booster”)

Yield: 1 large serving or 2-3 small

Ingredients

2 Medium oranges, peeled and any excess pith removed
1/2 C Coconut water OR almond milk OR water
1/2 tsp Turmeric
3 Tbsp Goji berries
1/2 " pc Peeled ginger
1 Tbsp Coconut nectar OR Maple syrup
3/4 C Ice

Instructions

Blend everything together in a high-power blender, until completely smooth (My Froothie Optimum 9400 pulverizes the goji berries pretty quickly but it might take a few minutes in a less powerful blender).
Add the ice and blend again.
Serve immediately.

http://www.coconutandberries.com/2014/09/03/goji-orange-turmeric-smoothie-immunity-booster/