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The Body Retreat

The Body Retreat

Women Only Weight Loss & Wellbeing Retreats

Year: 2017

Sugar, Dairy AND Gluten Free Chestnut Cake

Can you actually believe that today’s recipe is a sugar, dairy, AND gluten-free chestnut cake??

…and it dosesn’t taste like cardboard!!

This is a cake that I make on our French Healthy Holiday as it is inspired by a local Bordeaux specialty.  I promise that you will not be disappointed by this cake.

Do look for the UNSWEETENED Chestnut puree…the sweetened stuff it soooo sweet.  Much better to add your own sweetness which once you have made the cake once you can alter to suit your own taste buds…personally I think it needs a little sweetness hence the addition of either honey or maple syrup, just don’t go mad with it, keep the sweetness subtle.

Serves 8
  • 400gm can unsweetned chestnut puree
  • 3 large eggs, separated
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons cornflour
  • 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour
  • 2 tablespoons raw honey or maple sryup
  • 1/2 teaspoon GF baking powder
  • Handful of pecan nuts to decorate

 

 

There are just a couple of steps to make this delicious sugar, dairy and gluten free chestnut cake.

Pre-heat the oven to 150.

First place all the ingredients except the egg whites and the pecans into a blender and blitz until smooth..you can also do this by hand but the blender is so quick.  I have even made this in the large cup of the nutribullet!!

Next whisk your egg whites until large and fluffy. Now you don’t really have to do this …you could just tip the whole egg into the blender but you will get a much flatter cake…its the egg whites that help to give a little rise and lightness here.

Taking one tablespoon of the egg white mixture mix it into the cake batter until completely well mixed, next fold in the remaining egg whites taking care not to knock out too much of the lightness.

Poor into a shallow cake pan (a Victoria sandwich tin is ideal for this) which has been lightly oiled and has a parchment bottom and side..you need this to be able to get the cake out later.

Place the pecans on the top and bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Enjoy with a dollop of creme friache .

 

 

Leek & Potato Soup

Leek & Potato Soup is a classic.  Great to warm you up on a cold day but also amazing served cold on a hot summers day.  On our French Healthy Holiday, we serve this soup as traditional vichyssoise.  

Serves 6
  • 400g Potatoes, small chopped with skins on.
  • 400g Leeks, white parts only, small chopped
  • 400g Chickpeas
  • 1 large white onion, small chopped
  • 2 sticks celery, small chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 ltr Veg Stock
  • 500ml Milk

 

To make this comforting and warming Leek & Potato Soup.

Place all ingredients except the milk into a heavy bottom pan and bring to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are just cooked – about 10 minutes. Do not overcook or the soup will lose its fresh flavour.  Add the milk and cook for a further 5 minutes.  Transfer to your blender or use a hand blender and blitz until smooth.

Pea & Ham Soup

Pea & Ham Soup is a great way to warm up on a cold autumn night.  Already a good source of fibre the addition of the beans and chickpeas means that we have added that protein that is going to help you feel satisfied and stay satisfied for longer. If you don’t have lardons don’t worry you can use bacon or ham hock.

This is such a simple soup to make, taking only about 15 – 20 mins to make.  It also freezes really well, so make this big batch and freeze a few portions so you always have a healthy supper ready in minutes when you are stuck.

 

 

 

Serves 6
  • 500gm Frozen Peas
  • 100g frozen Edename Beans
  • 100g Chick Peas
  • 100gm lardons
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 sticks celery, chopped
  • 1 ltr veg stock
  • Handful fresh mint leaves

 

To make our protein packed Pea & Ham soup.

In a heavy bottom pot gently fry the lardons until they release their fats, then add the onion and celery and cook for about 5 mins until the veggies are soft. Then add the peas and stock and cook for 10 – 15 mins. Add half the mint and transfer the soup to a blender and blend to a smooth consistency. Check for seasoning and add salt & pepper to taste. Serve topped with the reaming mint leaves chopped.

In a heavy bottom pot gently fry the lardons until they release their fats, then add the onion and celery and cook for about 5 mins until the veggies are soft. Then add the peas, beans and chick peas and stock and cook for 10 – 15 mins. Add half the mint and transfer the soup to a blender and blend to a smooth consistency. Check for seasoning and add salt & pepper to taste. Serve topped with the reaming mint leaves chopped.

 

Forget Fat, Sugar Makes You Flat, Fatigued & Forgetful

Forget Fat, Sugar Makes You Flat, Fatigued & Forgetful

Much has been said about the effects of sugar on our waistlines, we are learning more about how sugar affects our heart health …but now there is growing evidence showing that sugar has a negative effect on brain health.  Indeed, more than making you fat, sugar can make you flat, fatigued and forgetful.

 

Sugar and the Brain

When we think about eating too much sugar and the health problems that might be associated with that I guess the first thought and possibly the main concern that most of us may have is weight gain.

But actually high sugar consumption can have a devastating health effect on more than just your waistline.

Poor memory function, learning disorders, anxiety and depression have all been linked with high sugar consumption in recent research.

While sugar is nothing to be too concerned about in small quantities, most of us are simply eating too much of it. The sweet stuff, which also goes by names like glucose, maltose, cane juice, honey and corn syrup to name but a few is found in 74 percent of packaged foods in our supermarkets. So even before you have chosen to enjoy a sweet treat you may already have consumed more than your daily intake of sugar

 

Sugar By Any Other Name

So you probably already know to look out for sugar, you may be making a conscious effort to reduce the sweet treats in your daily diet stopped taking sugar in your tea, switched to sugar free drinks (more on this later) but the truth is that you cannot avoid sugar.

Sugar is present in almost all our natural foods. Fructose in fruits, starch in grains and vegetables, lactose in dairy… these natural sugars are our primary source of energy and in a well balanced diet are nothing to be concerned about.

Unless…. You are consuming a lot of processed foods which will be high in added sugars, if you enjoy the most starchy of veggies and eat pineapples and bananas over apples and pears…in which case you may be elevating your sweet tooth to seek out more and sweeter stuff in all its forms.

So when we talk about sugar it is not just the white stuff…its all sugars regardless of the source.

 

Brain Fuel

Our brains are so rich in nerve cells (neurons) and so it is the most energy demanding organ in the body, using half of the sugar energy you consume every day.

When your sugar levels drop too low or drop too quickly you can find yourself with brain fog, have difficulty concentrating or retaining information and become irritable. Because the brain is reliant on the sugar energy you are hardwired to seek out the sweet stuff in life.

So it can quickly become a vicious cycle where you are propping your self up on sugar in all its forms many time throughout the day.

You know if you are reliant on sugar if you find it hard to go more than an hour or so with consuming something, be that juice, squash, coffee with milk, a piece of fruit, oatcakes etc etc.

If you regularly experience irritability, mood swings, brain fog and fatigue that gets better when you have a coffee or eat something then it may be that your sugar levels are out of balance.

 

The Feel Good Factor

When you consume sugar, just like any food, it activates the tongue’s taste receptors. Then, signals are sent to the brain, lighting up reward pathways and causing a surge of feel-good hormones, like dopamine, to be released. Eating too much sugar or eating sugar too often “hijacks the brain’s reward pathway,”

Sugar-rich and carb-laden foods can also mess with the neurotransmitters that help keep our moods stable. Consuming sugar stimulates the release of the mood-boosting neurotransmitter serotonin. Constantly over-activating these serotonin pathways can deplete our limited supplies of the neurotransmitter, which can contribute to symptoms of depression.

 

The Bottom Line For Brain Health

New research just emerging has discovered a chemical produced in the brain called BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor). BDNF support s memory formation so we cannot retain information or learn new stuff without it. Sugar reduces the production of BDNF. It is early days but studies are showing that this impaired BDNF can be linked to a range of cognitive diseases.

The bottom line is that sugar is just as bad for the brain as it is for other organs, maybe worse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pepper, Cucumber, Spinach Juice

Yellow Pepper, Cucumber, Spinach

 

Yellow pepper has the most amazing sweetness and I love to juice it.  With the small amount of apple and the natural sweetness of the coconut water this juice taste pretty sweet, so you can use plain water rather than coconut water if you prefer.

 

Serves 1
  • I medium yellow pepper
  • 1/2 medium cucumber, skin on
  • 1 large handful baby spinach
  • 1/2 apple
  • 100 ml coconut water

 

Couldn’t be more simple… juice the pepper, cucumber, spinach and apple then top up with coconut water.

 

Enjoy x