I first made these balls on our dive into yoga retreat, where we spent most of the weekend wild swimming in beautiful lakes of north wales. I was looking for a quick energising snack to sustain us when we came out of the water, tired and hungry. These were perfect. Neither sweet nor savoury. Ideal with a hot herbal tea. (more…)
We love these cookies here at the zest life. We made them for our latest retreat “Yoga Rocks” where we hiked up Snowdon. It was these cookies that gave us the energy to get up to the summit. (more…)
We found this recipe in a great newspaper supplement, its taken from “Light Bites and Tasty Treats” by Jenna Zoe. Black beans are crammed with antioxidants and are a great source of fibre an protein, so its now wonder we love this dip so much. It makes a welcome change from humous too. Dip some slices of red pepper or brocolli florets for a well rounded snack. Or spread onto a wholegrain wrap and top with filling of your choice. (more…)
We think this tasty cheese slice is a cross between a quiche without the pastry and a fancy omlette. We are always looking for healthy treats for when we head out in the hills, either walking or out on the bikes. The snacks need to be energizing, protein rich and also able to withstand being squashed in a ruck sack too. These slices are a winner for this. They also make for a delicious savoury breakfast brunch, or serve with a large green salad and crusty bread for a lunch to share with friends. (more…)
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…)
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…)
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.
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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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…)
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…)
