Hi . Welcome to Life On Plants Week 6.
Life on plants week 6: recipe collection
We're halfway into February already and St Valentines Day is upon us! In honor of the week of love, we are showcasing chocolate as the ingredient of the week!
We have another lovely collection of recipes for you this week . Remember to save the collection to your personal file. From there you can create your own collections and meal plans.
We have a nice Breakfast Tostadas recipe for a weekend treat or brunch recipe. Our Apple Ginger Muesli Bowl is a great breakfast to eat throughout the week. You can scale up the recipe and make a big batch to last you 2-3 days.
For lunch, I'm sharing my favorite Soba Noodle Salad, and also a lovely Tomato & Red Pepper Soup. Both recipes are light and full of flavor. We have super healthy and delicious Stuffed Peppers with Faro recipe and a Curried Jamaican Stew to try for dinner. Get in Valentine's mood with our Vulumptous Hot Chocolate or Super Smooth Chocolate Vanilla Smoothie!
Our healthy snacks this week is a Black Bean Boosted Chocolate Brownie and a nice Smokey Coconut Trail Mix. Happy cooking Remember to tag #lifeonplants #holisticcehfacademy if you're sharing your creations on social media.
Seasonal ingredient - Chocolate
The history of chocolate can be traced to the ancient Mayans, and even earlier to the ancient Olmecs of southern Mexico. The word chocolate may conjure up images of sweet candy bars and luscious truffles, but the chocolate of today is little like the chocolate of the past.
The Mayans called the drink “chocolhaa” (“bitter water”) and Aztecs called it “Xocolatl.” From those words eventually evolved the word “chocolate.” Cacao was used in special celebrations such as those for funeral rituals, war, or harvests.
Raw cacao is packed with antioxidants and essential minerals such as calcium, iron, and magnesium. Cacao is a natural mood elevator and anti-depressant.
Cacao benefits our cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure and reducing heart disease risk, it has powerful anti-inflammatory properties, it can help balance blood sugar and reduce insulin sensitivity, it contains brain and mood-boosting compounds.
Read more on the health benefits here
What's the difference between cacao and cocoa?
Cocoa powder and are very similar, the only difference being that cocoa is processed at a much higher temperature (and often packaged cocoa contains added sugar and dairy). Both start out as beans from the cacao plant, which are separated from the fatty part known as cocoa butter. At harvest, cacao beans are fermented to develop flavor and texture.
So, cacao powder is made from fermented beans that have not been roasted. They are processed at low temperatures and then milled to a powder. The result is a powder that's bitter in taste and higher in nutritional content.
Cocoa powder on the other hand is made from beans that are fermented - roasted and then processed at a much higher temperature. The result is a less bitter, slightly darker powder that has lost some of its nutritional value.
is minimally processed with no additives.
Fun chocolate facts
- It takes 400 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate.
- Each cacao tree produces approximately 2,500 beans.
- Because cacao trees are so delicate, farmers lose, on average, 30 percent of their crop each year.
- Theobroma Cacao is the tree that produces cocoa beans, and it means “food of the gods.” Carolus Linnaeus, the father of plant taxonomy, named it.
- Cacao beans were so valuable to early Mesoamericans that they were used as currency.
Life On Plants Week 6 chocolate recipes
Life On Plants Week 6 - Nutrition tip - Micronutrients
Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals. They’re critical for several important functions in your body and must be consumed from food.
What are micro-nutrients?
The term micronutrient is used to describe vitamins and minerals in general. Macronutrients, on the other hand, include proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
Your body needs smaller amounts of micronutrients relative to macronutrients. That’s why they’re labeled “micro.”
Humans must obtain micronutrients from food since your body cannot produce vitamins and minerals — for the most part. That’s why they’re also referred to as essential nutrients.
Vitamins are organic compounds made by plants and animals which can be broken down by heat, acid, or air. On the other hand, minerals are inorganic, exist in soil or water, and cannot be broken down.
When you eat, you consume the vitamins that plants and animals created or the minerals they absorbed. This is profound; to realize we get our essential minerals from the Earth - via plants or animals.
The micronutrient content of each food is different, so it’s best to eat a variety of foods to get enough vitamins and minerals. An adequate intake of all micronutrients is necessary for optimal health, as each vitamin and mineral has a specific role in your body.
Vitamins and minerals are vital for growth, immune function, brain development, and many other important functions. Depending on their function, certain micronutrients also play a role in preventing and fighting disease
Read more about the types and functions of micronutrients here...
Intuitive eating tip - Snacking
To snack or not to snack? That is the question! Popular media is full of nutrition advice, often encouraging crazy diets that cut specific food groups, macronutrients, or favorites. In this landscape of restrictive eating, I see people struggling with the constant merry-go-round of weight loss, weight gain, loss, gain…
I know people not eating for long stretches each day or only eating every other day. The truth is, most of us can lose weight if we’re motivated. But, diets don’t teach us to listen to our bodies, which can lead to weight gain.
Intuitive eating is a lifestyle strategy that encourages mindfulness – listening to your body, rather than telling it what to do. It’s not a radical concept, but it’s one that encourages a healthy relationship between food and the body. By letting go of the diet mindset, rejecting the good food/bad food dichotomy, and allowing ourselves to enjoy food while listening to what we need, we can cast off the media spell that our bodies were all made from the same mold — and live better lives.
So, what is the answer, should we snack or not? If your body says it needs a snack, then, listen to your biology. When a little hunger kicks in I try to reach for a healthy snack that fuels my busy life, like fresh fruits, energy balls, trail mix, or a smoothie.
Read more on the 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating here...
Life On Plants Week 6 - Lifestyle tip
Positive meal times. Aim to cultivate a positive dining experience.
When a family sits down together, it helps them handle the stresses of daily life and the hassles of day-to-day existence. Eating together tends to promote more sensible eating habits, which in turn helps family members manage their weight more easily.
Here are 10 benefits of eating together as a family
Chefs cooking tip - kitchen hack
BATCH COOKING - Cook once and eat twice. Always make big batches of dishes, portion them into containers, and store in the fridge for up to 3 days or freezer for up to 3 months.
Kitchen equipment
- steaming is a simple and underrated cooking technique. Food is cooked by the steam of simmering water. It's a fantastic healthy cooking technique. You can flavor the water with herbs and spices such as lemongrass, garlic, ginger, star anise, or pandan leaf.
Try seasoning steamed vegetables with a mineral-rich and flavorful Gomashio, or a nice Zhoug sauce
Recommended reading
What do you crave? For many of us, sugary treats, fatty meals, and high-calorie snacks are impossible to resist. And yet, reaching the bottom of the biscuit tin rarely leaves us feeling satisfied.
What if we are actually hungry for something much more fulfilling? In this groundbreaking new book, best-selling author and endocrinologist Deepak Chopra unites the latest scientific and alternative therapy research to reveal how our overeating is often a symptom of "inner starvation" - a hunger for love, self-esteem, happiness, and security.
By changing our approach to eating using the tools in this book, we can heal our bodies and minds to achieve permanent weight loss, a longer, happier life, and spiritual well-being. The ultimate guide to inner and outer health, What Are You Hungry For? will change the way you eat forever.
Recommended viewing
What if one simple change could save you from chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease? Take a deep dive into the plant-based diet documentary that has influenced millions around the world.
Recommended podcast
This week I'm sharing my recent Podcast with Membermouse.
Listen to the full episode here...
Jamie joins us on the show today to share how his journey as a chef led him to create his business – The Holistic Chef Academy. It’s a cooking website that aims to educate, inspire, and empower people to prepare healthy and delicious plant-based recipes.
Plus, we discuss the challenges he faced as he prepared to launch a brand-new membership offering for his community. Jamie is an inspiring entrepreneur and we sincerely hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.
Quote of the week
Everywhere in the world there are tensions – economic, political, religious. So we need chocolate.
Alain Ducasse
Seasonal guest chef recipe
The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake - Nora Cooks
A quick and easy recipe, made in 1 bowl! This really is the best chocolate cake ever, vegan or otherwise. It’s super moist, rich, and full of chocolate.
Life On Plants Weekly Recipe Collections
Kitchen resources
Community group
Jump over to the Community Group to share your meal prepping plans, ask any questions and keep us updated on your recipe creations and meal planning. Happy cooking!
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!