3, 10, 17 November 2014
A number of people who have previously attended the “Vegetarian Way” cooking classes have been asking when the next session will be held. Due to other activities taking place, November was the best free time that we had, so we decided to hold these classes the first three Monday evenings in November. There was an average of 51 visitors attending, with the last Monday night having the largest number of attendees.
Before each practical session, we had a health talk presented by Naturopaths Amos Thiel and Alasdair Pow. These talks were very much appreciated by the audience and the lectures were very informative.
In the first week’s health segment, Amos spoke about blood sugar control. Here are some of the points brought out:
- Blood sugar control is very important for maintaining healthy weight, preventing diabetes, and general health. Fluctuating blood sugar levels also play a very significant role in mental illness causing irritability, mood swings, and difficulty concentrating and remembering things.
- Sugars are found not only in sweet foods but also in starchy foods like potatoes and grains, as when they are digested and broken down, they turn into sugar.
- Fiber and protein are what control the release of sugars into the bloodstream, so the three steps to maintaining healthy blood sugar are: Include lots of fibre rich salads, fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains in your diet. 2. Have some protein rich foods such as nuts beans or lentils with each meal, and 3. Avoid all refined sugars and starchy foods such as cane sugar and white bread pasta rice etc… This will enable you to avoid weight gain, anger, irritability, mood swings, and live a happy and healthy life.
Unfortunately due to technical problems we don’t have it on posted YouTube.
The second week Alasdair Pow spoke about Diabetes. This used to be called Adult Onset Diabetes but no longer is called that today due to many young people and children suffering from it. You can hear and see this lecture and also the cooking demonstration on YouTube by clicking the link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yo-79xej0I at the end of the night we distributed a 16 page booklet “Defeating Diabetes Type 2” – for those who are interested they are available from RLPA for a donation of $2 per booklet.
On the third and final week once again Amos Thiel shared his knowledge, this time on herbs which are found easily and how they can help with different health conditions. This presentation and the cooking demonstration are available to viewers at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTdXRxQBPC0
After each health lecture, there was a practical cooking demonstration presented by Rosetta Ilic, Amy Gules, Stela Gules, Rosemary Voncina and Lidia Voncina. The dishes demonstrated were:
- Refreshing Green Drink
- Green Soya Bean Salad
- Quinoa and Red Lentils
- Stir-fry Veggies – no oil
- Apricot and Mango Slice
- Vegetarian Brown Rice Sushi Rolls
- Chickpea Satay Salad
- Creamy Mushroom Parcels
- Walnut Maple Cookies
- Broccoli Salad
- Rice Paper Rolls
- Polenta and Oriental Eggplant
- Sweet Pumpkin Gingerbread
Some Recipes:
Broccoli Salad
INGREDIENTS
Dressing
1 cup cashews (soaked and rinsed)
¼ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon stock powder
2 cloves garlic
2 dates
1 cup soy milk
Salad
2 heads broccoli
1 red capsicum, finely chopped
1 small jar pickled cucumbers, finely chopped
2 cups frozen peas
Boiling water
METHOD
- Firstly, place all dressing ingredients in a blender, and whiz at high speed until creamy. Refrigerate.
- In food processor, chop broccoli then transfer it into a mixing bowl.
- Add chopped capsicum and chopped pickled cucumbers.
- Place frozen peas in a sieve over the sink, and pour boiling water over peas to defrost; then drain. Add to mixing bowl with other veggies.
- Toss dressing into prepared salad mixture.
Green Soya Bean Salad
INGREDIENTS
400g frozen green soya beans
1 cup (150g) pearl couscous
1 onion very finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ avocado diced
½ tin corn kernels (approximately 200g)
½ red capsicum diced
½ punnet cherry tomatoes (approximately 125g)
1 ½ stock cubes each cut in half (Massel chicken style – free from animal products)
½ teaspoon turmeric (or to taste)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (or to taste)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sesame seeds to garnish
1 teaspoon chia seeds to garnish
Optional: cubed tofu marinated in salty water
METHOD
- Bring to boil 1 litre of water with ½ stock cube and ½ teaspoon salt. Add the green soya beans, and cook for about 5 – 6 minutes; drain and set aside.
- Dry fry couscous, then add to 1 litre of boiling water with ½ stock cube and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook for 4 – 5 minutes, drain and set aside.
- Sauté onion in olive oil and ½ stock cube. Add turmeric when done. Add sautéed onion to cooked couscous and mix well.
- Combine couscous, cooked green soya beans, corn kernels and oregano, and set aside to cool for at least 5 minutes.
- Add diced avocado, cherry tomatoes, capsicum and gently mix together.
- Mix through 1 teaspoon sesame seeds and another teaspoon on top to garnish.
- Sprinkle chia seeds on top to garnish.
Walnut Maple Cookies
INGREDIENTS
2 ½ cups walnuts ground in food processor
⅔ cup wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon salt
⅓ cup flaxseed meal
⅓ cup carob chips
½ cup + 2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- In a small bowl add all the ingredients in the given order and mix well.
- Drop dough onto cookie sheet with a spoon, and flatten with a fork.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown; check often to prevent from burning. Let cool before removing from cookie sheet.
Makes 12 cookies.
We thank the many people who came and helped with food preparation, serving and handing out samples, cleaning, setting up and putting things back in place, webcasting, etc…
May God bless the work that is being done in many communities.
