It’s August, the kids are off school and it’s time to cast your mind to a foreign holiday. If like us, you’ve decided to stay on home turf this year, we’ve decided to bring those lovely Flavours of Vacation to our club members with this month’s nutritious recipes.
For our European crew, summer holidays are ordinarily spent in the Med: Portugal, Greece, Spain, Italy and France, and its flavours from those countries we’ve turned to this month.
All five of those countries are strongly linked with the Mediterranean diet, the eating plan that probably aligns more with our Elevated Food For Life idea than any other.
In an article here on the site, James takes a look at what it entails, what you should and shouldn’t eat and which health issues it’s been shown to be linked with improving. There’s probably no other diet that’s been scrutinised so much by scientists – probably due to its associations with the famed Blue Zones of Ikaria in Greece, and Sardinia in Italy which rank among the places on earth where people live longest.
In the article, you can also check your Mediterranean Diet Score with our simple quiz – this is a scientifically verified questionnaire that boffins use to actually score the diet in their research projects, but we’ve tried to make it a bit more fun than that sounds.
The Portuguese once had the longest-standing Empire in the world, stretching for almost six centuries from the 1400s until 1999. Naturally, the country’s cuisine was influenced heavily from its colonies and this spicy chicken dish borrows from the flavours of Africa and, in particular, Angola and Mozambique (chillies are called piri-piri in Swahili).
We’ve used two of our Brilliant Bases here, our Tomato Fondue and our Bone Marrow Broth to maximise the nutritional value, but if you don’t have any ready, don’t let that put you off making the dish. Simply substitute the fondue for a passata and use a regular stock. It won’t quite be as Elevated, but it will still work.
Jason has graced many an Italian restaurant in his time and there’s always been a version of this dish on every menu he’s worked on. Our version is inspired and influenced by his time working for Marco Pierre White at The Canteen in Chelsea Harbour. We elevate it nutritionally thanks to our Bone Marrow Broth or vegan Root Vegetable stock, as well as using gut-friendly aged parmesan and fibre-rich arborio rice.
James misspent most of his youth growing up just outside of Athens, Greece, and this recipe is inspired by his time there. We’ve taken a traditional moussaka and radically altered it with a mushroom mince and a vegan and dairy free bechamel sauce… don’t worry meat lovers, the recipe includes an alternative version where you can use lamb. This pairs brilliantly with our Watermelon and Feta Salad too!
Low-calorie, full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, this French-style ratatouille is an incredible take on the Provençal classic vegetable stew, lightened up for a summer dish rather than a heavy stew. Stick a slab of grilled goat’s cheese on top, pair it with a glass of Semillon and your mind will be cast to the Côte d’Azur in no time at all.
From Spain we’ve come up with an Elevated version of the tapas classic, taking it to new levels thanks to the use of skin-on sweet potatoes to enhance the fibre content and make the dish less starchy, while also using our Tomato Fondue and our house rub from last month to make it super anti-inflammatory.
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