Super Foods can help you lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer, and, for an added bonus, put you in a better mood.

Every month Fresh N Funky's Head Chef, Gos comes up with his own take on healthy and affordable recipes using 'super food' ingredients eaten by the international athletes from Team Ealing.

All receipes are featured in Around Ealing magazine

Winter Salad

1. Mix a salad bowl containing sultanas, goats' cheese, and rocket leaves (or lettuce if preferred). Serve on plates
2. Slice figs in quarter and add them to the plates
3. Add sliced cherry tomatoes
4. Drizzle some honey vinaigrette over the top (make your own with olive oil and honey, or buy a ready-made version)

Roast Turkey Escalope

1. Par-boil your vegetables the day before, and refrigerate. Potatoes, parsnips, Brussels sprouts and Julienne carrots
2. Make your own stuffing with breadcrumbs, sage, diced streaky bacon, onion and cranberries. Or buy something similar from the supermarket
3. Christmas Day: Wash your hands and then lay out your turkey escalope (4-5oz), and a slice of back bacon alongside. Season the turkey with paprika, salt, cracked black pepper and a pinch of sugar. Place two tea spoonfuls of the stuffing a third of the way down the turkey. Then roll the turkey with the stuffing at the centre
4. Lift it and place on the thicker end of the bacon, and roll it so the bacon wraps around the turkey parcel; then insert two cocktails sticks at angles to hold it all in place. Repeat the process for each serving of turkey
5. Season it with more cracked black pepper and place it in oven for 25 minutes (gas mark 8 or 220 degrees) and check it after 15 minutes to see if you need to bring down the temperature
6. Take the par-boiled vegetables out of the fridge. Season potatoes with olive oil, thyme and black pepper; drizzle honey over the parsnips; then place them in the oven to roast for approximately 20 minutes. Take the sprouts and carrots and fry them off in a pan in vegetable oil - season with a sprinkle of salt, black pepper and also a pinch of sugar to add some caramelisation
7. Serve the food, with some gravy. Gravy can be bought from supermarket or homemade using chicken stock, red wine and challots. Garnish meat with seasonal redcurrants

Steamed Salmon with Pumpkin, Carrot, Fig and Rocket

1. Steam your salmon fillets (or roast in oven if no steamer).
2. Cut your chunks of pumpkin and carrot into chunks, drizzle in
olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and a small pinch of sugar; add
a pinch of chilli flakes if desired. You can use sweet potato or
butternut squash if you prefer.
3. Cut a fig into four and place in a mixing bowl with a healthy
portion of rocket leaves. Add the pumpkin and carrot to the bowl once it
is cooked.
4. Mix the contents of the bowl with a dressing made out of grain
mustard (one part), white wine vinegar (two parts), olive oil (four-six
parts) and salt and pepper. Make sure the food is nicely coated in the
dressing.
5. Once the salmon is steamed or roasted, dust it with pumpkin
seeds and drizzle it with a touch of honey.
6. Spoon the contents of the mixing bowl on to your plate; place
the salmon on top and add a drizzle of your dressing if you have any
left. Serve with a wedge of lemon and another sliced fig. Garnish with
cress if desired.

Jaffa Cake and Banana Canapé Dessert

1. Arrange three of your cakes (per serving) on a dish.
2. Spoon a dollop of soft cheese (low fat) on top of each cake.
3. Add a slice of banana (or a yoghurt-coated banana chip) on top
of the cheese.
4. Add a small slice of strawberry to each.
5. Decorate each cake with a small sliver of chive.

Mackerel & Curly Kale Salad

1. Stir-fry your curly kale with olive oil, a little bit of salt and pepper to season it, and a small pinch of sugar to take the bitterness away.
2. While the kale cools down, slice a beetroot (thick or thin, however you like it). The beetroot will form the base of the salad on the plate.
3. Mix some rocket and spinach leaves in a bowl, with a dessert spoon of dressing. I recommend a home-made dressing made with French mustard, olive oil, a dash of cider vinegar, and seasoned with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Only coat the leaves in dressing, do not soak them.
4. Add the cooled-down kale to the bowl and mix it together with the leaves and dressing.
5. Place the contents of the bowl on top of the sliced beetroot on the plate. Slice some cherry tomatoes and add them around the edge.
6. Chop a smoked mackerel fillet into three pieces (either cold and pre-prepared from the shop, or buy some fresh and grill it), and lay the pieces of fish on top of the salad.
7. Dollop a small amount of sour cream and a little more of your dressing on top of the fish, then sprinkle it with some cress.
8. Serve with a slice of lemon.

Summer Fruits Dessert

1. Place half a dessert spoon of honey into a glass.
2. Crush some ginger nut biscuits (or any biscuits you like) and
place into a mixing bowl with four spoons of Greek style natural yoghurt
(or any yoghurt you prefer). Add two chopped leaves of mint and one
chopped leaf of basil, for some zing. Mix it together.
3. Chop half a dozen blueberries in half, plus a couple of
raspberries, and slice and dice a strawberry. Add the fruit to the
mixing bowl.
4. (Optional): Add a pinch of icing sugar to bring out the
sweetness of the fruit.
5. Layer the mixture on top of the honey in the glass.
6. Sprinkle some more crushed biscuit on top, and garnish with a
halved blueberry, and (if you like) a little more raspberry and
strawberry. Chill for half-hour in the fridge.

 

Check back regularly for latest receipes or email us with your own suggestions.