nettle soup

Spring is a wonderful time of year to get out foraging the hedgerows. The vibrant growth of young nettles is hard to ignore, and it really is about making the most of these spring greens whilst they are abundant. Because as far as I know Tescos do not sell nettles! So harvest away as much as possible and enjoy the cleansing effects of this spring soup. When there is a chill in the air it makes for perfect spring lunch. Coming in from the garden and tucking into this soup with a hunk of soda bread is heaven. (more…)

Raw Oat & Nut Butter Balls

We make these balls all the time here at The Zest Life and serve them on our retreats for our afternoon snack. They go down a storm. They make the perfect healthy, nutritious snack and are so easy to make. They are small but mighty, you only need one to give you that energy boost. (more…)

wild garlic pesto

Ramsons other wise known as Wild Garlic make the most quirky flavoured pesto. We started created this recipe last year after learning more and more about foraging and eating from the wild. The leaves start to appear around mid March and the flowers a few weeks following. Make sure you are confident at identifying the plant, (mind you the smell is so strong you can’t miss them), then once you’ve located a patch get harvesting and cooking.

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pea and mint soup

Spring is in the air and its time to draw upon the foods and recipes that help cleanse our bodies at this time of year.  A great friend and fellow yogi Tara Copp Barton shared this great recipe with us. This pea and mint soup, is spring and vitality all wrapped up in one easy and delicious meal. We serve it as a light lunch on our spring sensation retreats, it always goes down a treat.
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Ultimate Raw Key Lime Pie

This is my favourite dessert in the world. It is so refreshing and cool and compliments any main meal. It is a real palate cleanser but hits the sweet spot too. I first experienced this pie whilst out in Bali last year on a yoga teacher training programme. Throughout the training we had fabulous raw food, keeping us fit and healthy. There was so much interest in the food that they decided to host a raw food cooking day, to share the knowledge. It was led by a wonderful local lady who had her own raw food cafe in the cultural town of Ubud. I have two recipes for this pie, one for when you are in Bali and you have fresh ingredients and coconuts available and one for back in the UK when we have to settle for supermarket supplies. Either way its all raw and amazing.  There is no wheat, dairy, gluten or eggs in this. This recipe shows us that just because we are choosing to eat healthily doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice taste and flavour. Can’t wait to share with you, here goes. (more…)

Babaganoush

I first experienced Babaganoush, this smokey Aubergine dip whilst on a yoga holiday to Dahab in Egypt many years ago. We had packed up a land rover and headed out into the desert for a couple of days with  local Bedouin guides. We slept under the stars and practised yoga at sunset, it was truly magical. Every meal I was amazed at the array of local wholesome food our guides created over a simple camp fire.  Babaganoush was one of them and ever since then I have been a fan. Humous will always be the winner but Babaganoush comes in a close second! Making this dip is a bite like making Humous, in the fact that it can go so wrong, when the proportions of Tahini are not right. But this is a great recipe, it’s so simple and very delicious. Enjoy. (more…)

Granola

This recipe has a little story… it was given to me by my friend’s sister. Her family home was always a joy to visit. She had two young children and the kitchen was a constant hive of activity. Glueing and sticking craft sessions going on one minute, to baking cakes the next, before turning everything around to create lunches that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Breakfast was no different. An array of delights would be laid out, from yoghurts, to fruit, criossant and toasts. This granola in all its glory, full of apricots, coconut, nuts and seeds, was always present. (more…)

Blackberry & coconut squares

I happened upon this recipe last year when I got a bit carried away with the old blackberry picking and after making endless jars of jam and numerous pies I still had a glut of berries left over. This recipe is from the Good Food website and the squares make a perfect afternoon snack or as a dessert served with cream. You can use this recipe in the summer by substituting the blackberries for strawberries, raspberries or blueberries. (more…)

Raw Chocolate Balls

These chocolate balls are pure indulgence when you need that chocolate fix. They also make perfect gifts, or as an after dinner sweetness. What is great is that there is no junk in them, all the ingredients are so good for you and they are so simple to make. Over the years of making these chocolate balls, I have adapted the basic recipe, experimenting with different flavours to the basic mix. I like to keep the flavours seasonal and love adding a tablespoon of mince meat for a christmas twist. (more…)

Elderberry Flu Remedy

It was our first foraging and cooking weekend last week. We woke to sun streaming across the fields, trees glowing in the morning light, it was the perfect Autumn morning.  We started the course by exploring the hedgerows, fields and lanes on the Clwydian range. I have grown up roaming this area and it gave me great pleasure to share this beautiful part of the world with my guests. We tromped up the fields from the back of the farm, stopping to chat and discuss the various hedgerow shrubs and trees. We looked at their habitat, their leaf structures, discussed the traditional folklore tales behind the trees and and most importantly we harvested their fruit.

Basket loads of fruit infact, to take home to the country kitchen. Rosehip, Rowan, Blackberry, Hawthorn and Elderberry were the main focus. We nibbled on various plants along the way, including chickweed which makes for a fabulous addition to salads. After a wonderful alfresco lunch back at the farm, it was into the kitchen to turn our harvest into culinary delights. My favourite being the Elderberry Flu Remedy.

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