The Big January Grocery Shop
Hope and redemption in a fruit bowl
THIS FIRST NEWSLETTER OF 2022 is dedicated to my friend Caroline, who posted a glorious photo of her overflowing fruit bowl on 2 January. The Fruit Bowl of Hope and Good Intentions. I’m teasing her now, as she makes beautiful, wholesome food anyway, but we all do this. We make small to grand gestures on 1 January to change our diets, drop weight and magically transform into our svelte twenty-something selves.
And we need to stop this. And the media needs to stop. We all need to stop with this nonsense. January is absolutely the worst time of year for drastic dietary changes. You are coming down from the buzz of Christmas, the weather is dire and you are probably feeling a bit broke and depleted. So why are we torturing ourselves? This is not sustainable living. Plus this year, there is so much anxiety surrounding going back to work that we need some joy in our lives.
Theme Word of The Month
So this year I am choosing a word of the month for each month, and my word for January is ‘Nourish’. I am giving my body, mind and soul the nurturing and nourishment it needs. Yes, I do have goals in all these areas. But I shall not be depriving myself or leaping around like an eighties aerobics instructor. I posted this on Twitter, and loads of you seem to agree, so I am glad it resonates.
So for the month of January, this will be our theme in The Susty Lunchbox too. I am going to share wholesome recipes with easy ingredients that feel comforting. Plus zero-waste recipes for the well-intentioned, but overly-enthusiastic grocery shopping most of ye have done. From a food system point of view, most of your fresh produce will be coming from cold storage or imported. So for this month we will embracing apples, oats, frozen fruit and veg and pantry staples. But making them sing with a bit of TLC and tarting up.
Facebook Sunday Chats
I will also be firing up the Facebook group to do some Lives on a Sunday evening at 7pm where I can share a bit more on the nice things for ‘Nourish’ I have discovered and am loving such as books, podcasts and treats. Yes, I know Facebook is not everyone’s thing, but FB groups are useful, so make a profile with an avatar so your old school mates can’t find you and come join here The Susty Lunchbox Facebook Group
Susty Kids Sunday Cooking
I am also totally ‘gatvol’ as we say in South Africa, of the chaos around the pandemic, not being able to plan and so many things chopping and changing. So I have decided to forge ahead, make plans regardless, and work in 12 week cycles. First plan: I have revamped the Susty Kids Cooking Club to hold classes every Sunday from 3pm to 5pm where we cook a ‘Pick Your Protein’ dinner dish, side dish and a ‘Lunchbox Treasure.’ You can book for the month of January here Susty Kids Sunday Cooking
Thinking behind this week’s recipes
I chose to serve up a healthy dessert for brekkie, because why not? It will make us happy and it is nutritionally sound. And it will use up that mountain of apples that you have bought. The Savoury Framble is a fast and delicious template that I use for quickly stir-frying eggs, tofu or turkey mince with a bunch of veggies. It is one of the fastest and most nutritious things to whip up while working from home with minimal washing up. Lastly, the soup. Delicious as it is, but also a great vehicle to use up all the greens, including salad greens, that are one of the most commonly thrown out foods. That I am sure you have all bought this week, my optimistic friends. All the recipes tick the boxes for brain food, gut health and planetary health.
Breakfast Apple Crumble
Makes 6 servings
No, I'm not winding you up, this is actually dessert for breakfast! It is glorious and something to look forward to when you go to sleep the night before. Sublimely good on a chilly morning, ditto as an afternoon pick me up. A great vehicle to use up apples, even if they are a bit battered and bruised. Make ahead: Make ahead on a Sunday and keep for busy workweek mornings. It is important to serve this with some sort of protein by way of a yoghurt or curd cheese: dairy or non-dairy. The protein will help keep you fuller for longer, otherwise you'll be horsing into the bikkies. Plenty of fibre from the apples and oats is great for gut/brain health too.
Crumble filling:
6-8 apples, approximately 800g in total
200g frozen berries, do not defrost (raspberries are my favourite)
2 tbsp honey
zest and juice of 1 orange
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground ginger
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
Crumble topping:
75g porridge oats
75g nuts, roughly chopped (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp coconut oil or butter, melted
To serve:
plain yoghurt such as Greek yoghurt or coconut yoghurt, ricotta or cottage cheese
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a lasagne style baking dish with butter or coconut oil.
Crumble filling: Peel and core the apples. Mix with frozen berries, honey, orange zest and juice, cornflour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Pour into the baking dish and level out with a spoon.
Crumble topping: Mix together the oats, nuts and ground cinnamon. Make a well in the centre and pour in the honey and melted butter. Mix quickly.
To bake: Spoon over the crumble topping evenly. Bake for 45-50 minutes until bubbling up the sides. Leave to cool for 20-30 minutes before serving with yoghurt.
Savoury Veggie Framble
1 serving
'Framble' is the word I use when I messily fry/scramble bits in a frying pan. Normally some sort of a protein that needs to be cooked through or browned. My favourites are eggs, firm tofu and turkey mince. I make frambles often and they are always good, so expect to see many versions here. They work for any time of the day and require very little washing up. I am vehemently against washing up on work from home days. This combo was originally made used Old Bay seasoning which is a favourite but not commonly available. So use what you have, even just salt and pepper is plenty.
1 tsp butter or olive oil
1/2 red pepper, diced (I often use frozen mixed peppers)
2 cups baby spinach leaves
2 large eggs or 100g firm tofu
Pinch of Mexican or Cajun seasoning
6 small tomatoes, halved
1/4 avocado, sliced
2 tbsp hummus (easy to make but I often buy the Marks and Spencer's Olive Oil hummus)
salt and pepper
Method:
Add the butter or olive oil to a large pan and cook the peppers for 3 minutes. Add the spinach and stir around until wilted.
Push the veggies to the side and crack the eggs into the pan. Sprinkle over the seasoning, salt and pepper and 'framble' them until cooked. If using tofu, crumble it in, season and cook until hot.
Remove from the pan and serve topped with the tomatoes, avocado and a blob of hummus. Season with salt and pepper.
‘Catch All’ Greens Soup
Makes 4 Servings
Don't wince! Green vegetables are delicious if treated right. I love my veg but have declared my kitchen a Kale Free Zone. I'm over it, it takes too much work to taste good and it ruins smoothies. With so many other tasty options, I will stop the flagellation. This recipe is packed with goodness and is an excellent receptacle for any green veg that needs using up. You can add a tin of chickpeas before blitzing for more satiety. Chickpeas go silky smooth when blitzed well so they are an ideal added protein. This soup is very virtuous and low calorie, which means you can have a cheese and chilli flatbread from Lidl for balance. They are in the fresh bakery section and so good with soup.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
400g fresh or frozen broccoli, chopped (keep the stalks separate to cook first)
300g frozen peas
200g greens: fresh or frozen spinach, Swiss chard, lettuce or rocket
1 litre vegetable stock (I use the Marigold brand if I’ve run out of homemade)
2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, if you have any that need using up (mint, basil, dill, chives, parsley, tarragon etc)
zest and juice of 1 lemon
pinch of ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted
Method:
Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onion and broccoli stalks and fry until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.
Add the broccoli florets, peas, greens and vegetable stock. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.
Stir in the herbs and a cook for a further 3 minutes.
Add the lemon zest and juice, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Blitz to a smooth consistency with a stick blender.
Serve with the toasted pumpkin seeds on top.
Sending strongs (as we say in South Africa) for this first week back in the office and back to school.
Happy cooking!
xoxoxo