When eating out, I have a few favorite healthy places where I know I won't be faced with mock-burgers that taste like old shoes or meals cooked in so much oil that it's a wonder the kitchen staff are not sliding past each other like they're on roller skates, but I also occasionally venture out to new places and sometimes dream up variations of dishes on their menus. As I eat a plant-based diet, this often means re-interpreting items on the 'side' menu (which is usually a better place in which to order from a health point of view).
Recently Paul and I went to a place in Melbourne that, just by the name, I wouldn't normally consider entering (having a delicate sensibility and ok, being a bit old-fashioned). I won't print the name but let's just say that birthday suits and beelzebub were in the title (those of you who are adroit at cryptic crosswords will have probably guessed already).
So from this most unusual source of inspiration, here is an Autumn Salad. It can be served warm or at room temperature (depending on your preference) and it is bursting with health-promoting nutrients and ingredients that research has shown to have healing properties for a range of health concerns, including cancer.
Red onions, which has more anti-oxidants (especially quercetin) than white onions and are rich in polyphenols which are the largest category of phytonutrients in food.
Knob of ginger – thumb size and sliced. Useful for so many conditions such as inflammation, nausea, digestive upsets and hypertension. May even be able to solve any financial problems (I might have made up that part).
Drink straight away and await lift off!
Note: You can use this recipe as a guide and adapt to your own taste and the ingredients you have available. For example, you may want to add freshly ground black pepper, or some dried chilli flakes or perhaps some dulse (a type of seaweed) for a saltier flavor. Or if lentils don't agree with your digestion consider using kasha (roasted buckwheat) or bulgur (cracked wheat) instead. This salad can also be adapted for cold weather by adding the lentils while still warm.
Maia is a counsellor, meditation instructor, a practitioner of various forms of natural therapies who has worked in the area of energetic healing for over 20 years and has worked at The Gawler Cancer Foundation since 2000. She has a Graduate Diploma in Clinical Nutrition as well as formal qualifications in plant-based nutrition, counselling and psychotherapy. Maia uses her various skills and the experience gained from her own healing to inspire and support others on their path to wholeness and has a particular interest in helping people to access their own inner wisdom.