Egg Drop Soup - when you need real fast food!

I write repeatedly on this blog about the benefits of bone broth for reducing inflammation in the digestive tract to resolve Leaky Gut Syndrome and for supporting tired adrenal glands. Think anxiety, lost sleep and powerful feelings of overwhelm. It would be unfair to talk about the benefits of bone broth without also mentioning how supportive this mineral and collagen dense elixir is for midlife bone health and in the prevention of joint pain and osteoarthritis .

I often get asked the question, “what do I do with bone broth once I have made it?” and my answer to that is …Put It In Everything!

Make a great soup, add to casseroles, cook rice in broth and put it into a tea cup with a big pinch of sea salt and drink as a healing beverage.

This recipe is one of my go to quick fixes for a simple breakfast or lunch when I am wanting to get more bone broth into my own diet and it is to be commended for both its simplicity, speed and flavour.

A simple ingredient list of quartered cherry tomatoes, a handful of kale, green onion and flavoured eggs are cooked quickly in bone broth to create a delicious and aromatic bowl of goodness. Literally 15 minutes flat is all it takes to get this dish of easily absorbed amino acids, mineral dense vegetables, vitamin C rich tomatoes, and choline dense eggs onto the table and it takes less time than that to get it into your belly!

If you are a women experiencing issues with your bone health or arthritis, have unexplained gassiness and or bloating when you eat or are exhausted on a daily basis, this is a dish you need to include into your diet.

This ladies, is REAL FAST FOOD!

If you are looking for more ideas for easy and nutritious dishes that fit into your hectic schedule or just want to learn about what is happening to your body during midlife, you will love my Private Facebook group The Nourished Midlife Woman. Come join our community!

Ingredients

2 cups bone broth (any flavour)
1 handful of cherry tomatoes quartered
1 big handful of kale finely chopped or baby leaves
2 green onions finely chopped
2 farm fresh eggs
2 tbsp gluten free Tamari Soy Sauce
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

Instructions

Warm the bone broth in a medium pan over a medium heat
In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, Tamari soy sauce and sesame oil until combined
Once the broth is simmering add the quartered tomatoes, finely chopped green onion and kale
Once the broth begins to simmer again, take chopsticks and whisk the broth and vegetables rapidly into a whirlwind in the pan
Whilst the broth is spinning in the pan, gently and slowly pour the egg mixture into simmering liquid
Within seconds the eggs should be cooked and the soup is ready
Serve with shredded toasted seaweed to add more minerals and especially thyroid supportive iodine.

Comfort Food Macaroni and Cheese

How is everyone holding up during this Covid 19 pandemic and who is in need of some comfort.

I have taken a favourite childhood recipe and amped up the nutritional content by adding greens. This is how we feed the belly and the soul ladies!

Adding fibre rich, cruciferous vegetables to your favourite dishes will support your liver in detoxifying excess hormone from the body. Sulphurous compounds found in Brussels sprouts support stage 2 of the liver detoxification process, support a healthy gut microbiome and have been shown to help prevent cancer.

Cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens in general are one of the foods i recommend in my FREE downloadable E-book, The 10 Essential Health promoting Foods to Help Midlife Women Feel Nourished All Day.. Click here to get your copy.

I would not say no to bacon in this recipe either…if that is what you need right now!

Macaroni Cheese with Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli or Kale

This is comfort food with a dose of nutrition. Use whatever greens you have to hand but include the vegetable so that you are nourishing both your body and your soul! Dark leafy greens are rich in betacarotene that converts vitamin A in the body and supports your immune response.

Ingredients

½ pound twisty pasta of your choice (what was left on the shelf in your store? Is it quinoa?)

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves

10 ounces/ 4 cups finely shredded Brussels sprouts, kale or broccoli (Just use the greens that you can find)

Salt and pepper to taste

½ lemon zest grated

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

½ cups chicken or vegetable broth or stock made with a cube (what is in the back of your cupboard?)

½ lemon juiced

½ cup Parmesan

1 cup Cheddar cheese

1 cup Mozzerella

Or

Feel free to use any cheeses you may have in your refrigerator.(Use what you have!)

Instructions

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until just done.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees and butter the bottom and sides of a 2-quart baking dish

Heat the olive oil in the same pan as you just cooked your pasta and sauté your greens and garlic on a medium heat until bright green and just wilted. 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the lemon zest and 2 tbsp of butter and heat until the butter melts.

Add the flour and stir in until you can no longer see it.
Add the broth a glug at a time to make a sauce and simmer the sauce for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and cooked pasta.

Add the combined cheeses and plenty of black pepper.
Turn the pasta and sauce into the buttered baking dish and top with the reserved cheese.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until browned on top.

If you are looking for a family friendly meal that is full of flavour, click here for my recipe for anti-inflammatory and vegetable rich Turmeric and Vegetable Thai Curry.

Turmeric and Vegetable Thai Curry

Turmeric, such a powerfully health promoting spice with evidence from clinical trails to endorse its anti-inflammatory, anti-cancerous properties and the positive effect eating more turmeric can have on our mood, memory, skin, cardio vascular health and inflammatory joint pain.

For those of us who are used to eating the Standard American Diet however, it can be difficult to find a place where this medicinal spice fits into our everyday diet. Enter this delicious and flexible Turmeric and Vegetable Thai Curry.

The recipe for Thai Curry is based around a homemade Thai paste that is whizzed up with a hand blender and makes enough paste for two curries. Freeze the paste and you have a head start for the next time you are craving this flavour filled dish.

Let’s start with the Curry Paste!

Thai Curry Paste
Ingredients

1 lime juiced
3 cloves garlic
1 dessert spoon shrimp past or 2 tbsp gluten free Tamari soy sauce
1 stalk lemon grass cut into 3rds
1 thumb sized piece of ginger
1 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Stalks from 1 bunch cilantro
Fresh chilli or ground chilli flakes to taste (optional)

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients in the goblet of a hand blender and blend on high until you have a stiff paste. This can also be done in a pestle and mortar.
Once you have the paste made you can freeze half in a container to use to make a Thai Curry at a later date.

Once you have the paste made we can start to plan for what we want to include in our curry.
This paste is delicious with chicken, shrimp or beef and if you eat a plant based only diet then cubes of firm tofu would also be perfect as a protein source. Go easy on yourself and grab a rotisserie chicken to shred into your curry for a delicious meal in less time. I used ground turkey as it is a staple in my freezer. Turkey meat is rich in tryptophan the amino acid building block for our happy neurotransmitter serotonin.
Get creative and look at the different veg that you have in your refrigerator. carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, red pepper, green beans, collards, spinach, rutabaga, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage and kale are all perfect for this dish.

Ingredients

1 red pepper sliced
4 carrots thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 red onion sliced
2 cups broccoli florets separated and stalks peeled and sliced thinly
1 large handful of spinach
1 bunch cilantro leaves from the bunch used to make the paste.
1- 2 tbsp coconut oil
1 14oz can coconut milk
1/2 quantity of Thai Curry Paste

Instructions

Melt the coconut oil in a large pan on a medium heat and sauté the carrots , onion and red pepper stirring continuously for 2 minutes.
Add the Thai curry paste to the pan and sauté for 1 minute with the vegetables to activate the flavours.
Add the broccoli florets and your protein of choice and sauté for another 2 minutes to cook your meat or shrimp and being sure to move the ingredients around the pan so that they do not catch.
Add the can of coconut milk and reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow the curry to simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes.
Add the spinach leaves and cilantro and allow to wilt into the pan. if you are using cooked chicken you can stir your shredded chicken into the curry at this point.
Serve over cooked rice and enjoy all of the delicious flavours.