RIPE - Raw Energy Salad

When I cook, it can be a bit messy.  I start out with an idea and it evolves throughout the cooking process as I add in extra ingredients to change the flavour and texture in an attempt to reach the elusive perfection I can see and taste in my head.  I struggle to make the exact same thing twice as every time I cook something it is a slight variation of how I did it the last time and I'm a bit of a shocker when it comes to measuring!  For this reason I have always been more of a 'cook' than a 'baker' and find baking quite hard work.

The HG is currently on a mission to lose weight.  We have been married for almost two years (!) now and have allowed ourselves a rather extended honeymoon in the eating and drinking department.  Two years of wining and dining like you're on holiday 24/7 is actually not the best way to maintain that pre-wedding perfection... who knew?!  However, as always when on any form of diet or exercise plan, you reach a plateau and it becomes much harder to keep losing weight at the same rate or to improve your run distance/time every week as in the past. 

At this point a re-think is required.  Is the problem due to a lack of motivation or is doing the same thing day after day, week after week, simply not working anymore?  While I'm certainly not an expert, the main point that I have picked up over the years, is that variety is key to maintaining any sort of program, be it food, exercise or some other goal you are working towards.  Some people may be able to stick to a regime of carrot sticks and lettuce leaves day in, day out for eternity, but certainly not me, or The HG!

When food is such a huge part of your life, as it is with us, finding a balance between tasty and healthy can sometimes be hard work.  Not because there aren't many delicious healthy choices around, but just because you can get bogged down in what you know works, and it can be difficult to think of something new, delicious and healthy after a long day at work and with a pile of jobs stretching in front of you.

I believe, a good recipe book should provide inspiration for your own creations while imparting knowledge on new techniques and flavour combinations as well as its primary function of listing the ingredients and instructions for recipes... Obviously stunning food porn is also essential!

SO (rant over), a few weeks ago when browsing in the best book shop in all the world, aka Bookfeast, I came across a new(ish) recipe book out called Ripe.  Classic 'lightbulb moment'.  The HG had told me about the Ripe Deli in Auckland (where he was living until I pulled him back down to Wellington).  A quick flick through the pages convinced me that this would be the inspiration needed when the time came so I bought it for him and have been waiting for the dreaded plateau with (too much) anticipation in order that I could pull out 'my' new book of INSPIRATION! 

I love that the book is laid out in seasonal month-by-month chapters - a real treat for New Zealanders as generally books laid out like this are from the Northern Hemisphere and around the wrong way for us.  The recipes aren't about carrot sticks and cottage cheese (although there are heaps of amazing looking salad recipes!) but I think they will provide the vision for a fresh round of healthy meal ideas.

Last night we had a variation of the Raw Energy Salad with our lamb chops (which were running around my Dad's farm this time last week!) and it was definitely a hit!  I think it might even make an appearance at our bbq on Friday.

Raw Energy Salad

(Based on Angela Redfern's recipe in Ripe) 

1 large-ish beetroot - grated

2 medium-sized carrots - grated

1 handful of sunflower seeds

1 small handful of pumpkin seeds

1small handful of sultanas

1 spring onion - chopped

1 handful of mint - chopped

1 scant cup of 'cooked' couscous - cooled

Toss salad ingredients together and season with salt.  Just before serving stir through dressing as follows.

Dressing:

1.5 T pomegranate molasses

1 T peanut oil

2 t white wine vinegar

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 t honey

Salt & Pepper

Shake dressing ingredients together in a jar until well combined.

The original recipe didn't have couscous in it but I added it to give a little extra bulk as we weren't having any bread/potatoes with dinner.  I also added spring onion because we have so many in the garden that need to be eaten - this is what I love about a recipe like this you can make so many variations depending on what you have on hand.  The dressing was divine, but supposed to be made with Balsamic Vinegar (not white wine vinegar and lemon juice) but as I had run out of balsamic I improvised.  I have now been to the supermarket and stocked up so I'm looking forward to making this dressing again as it is in the book!