Recipes

All the recipes below are nutritious, anti-inflammatory and alkalizing for the body. And oh yes, they just happen to comply with the "Overcoming MS" recovery programme too! This means that they are plant-based, naturally low in saturated fat and with absolutely no hydrogenated fats or other nasties.

You don't have to be following the OMS diet, or indeed any diet, to enjoy these. Every body likes healing foods - yours is no different!

(But remember that every body has different needs and preferences, so if yours objects to any of these recipes - listen to it!) 

Breakfast

Ginger shot

• 1/2 apple
• Thumb-sized chunk ginger (or more - it depends how badass you're feeling today!)
• 1" slice lemon (unwaxed, or peeled with pith left on)

Juice, then slam - wakes you up like an espresso, but tastier!

  

Green ginger shot

• 1/2 apple
• Thumb-sized chunk ginger (or more - it depends how badass you're feeling today!)
• 1" slice lemon (unwaxed, or peeled with pith left on)
• 1 teaspoon wheatgrass or spirulina

The "espresso" effect of a ginger shot, but packs an even greater antioxidant punch. Greens are also known to help alkalize the blood; spirulina is a good source of bio-available protein.

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Salads

Sweet root veggies (sat fat: <3g per recipe, serves 2-4)

• 300g grated carrot
• 300g grated beetroot
• 1 teaspoon sunflower or sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds

For the dressing:

• Juice of 1 orange
• Ground sea salt, black pepper and cinnamon to taste
• 1 teaspoon honey (aim for raw, local or manuka for extra health benefits)
• 1 teaspoon sunflower or sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds

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Easy Veggie Soups

I think it's odd that there are so many soup recipe books on the market these days. I searched the website of a certain online bookseller for "soup recipes" and got over 12,000 hits. How many ways can there be to cook and blend some vegetables?

To my mind, home-made soup is about as simple and satisfying as hot-buttered toast - but less inflammatory and more nutritious, naturally.

Here's my super-simple 6-point recipe to turn any veggies into a delicious, warming meal, in next to no time.

1. Dry-fry* some onions in a large deep saucepan.
   You may also want to add spices such as ginger root, chillies, black pepper, turmeric, cinnamon etc, depending on which veggies you're planning to "soup".
2. Add your chopped veggies. Choose flavours that you think will work together. It's easy to get a feel for it. For example, hard vegetables such as carrot, celeriac and butternut seem to complement each other, whereas softer veg like mushrooms, leeks and courgettes generally work well together. Or you may just use 1 single veg per soup.
3. Sweat* the vegetables and onions together on a low heat with the lid on, for 5-10 minutes.
4. Add water and turn up the heat, remembering that the lower your cooking temperature, the more nutrients remain in the soup. Avoid allowing the water or soup to boil if you can - but don't stress it if you can't. It's only soup.
5. Now add in any herbs you may want. If you do this too early, they can lose their flavour. Which herbs? Again, use your nose. We all know that coriander is often paired with carrot, but don't forget other great options like parsley, thyme, basil, and mixes like Herbes de Provence or just good old "Mixed Herbs". Fresh is good but pre-chopped and frozen herbs are much more convenient, and probably fresher, unless you grow your own.
6. Blend the mixture when all the veggies have become a bit mushy. I prefer a hand-held "stick" or "wand" for this because it makes less washing up.
   Choose the consistency you want. I like thick, smooth soups, so I don't add anything, just blend it right there in the saucepan, then serve. For a more runny texture, add some more water before blending. If you like it chunky, you can hold back half your cooked veggies before blending, then add them in afterwards.

Cooking Terms:
*Dry-frying is frying without the use of oil, either in a very good dry non-stick pan or using a little water. It is also possible to add a teaspoon of healthy oil to the water, and take care to ensure that the oil + water suspension doesn't become too hot.
*Sweating vegetables is cooking on a low heat with just a little oil, to allow them to release their juices. I've found replacing the oil with a little water works just as well - just enough to prevent sticking, but not enough to boil the veggies.

A note for OMSers:
I don't use any oil while cooking soup, but I usually stir a teaspoon of linseed oil into my bowl immediately before eating. This way the oil isn't heated too much, I'm getting some of my daily 20ml requirement, and I'm slowing the absorption of the natural sugars by including some healthy fat.

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Treats

Hot chocolate (Serves 1.  Sat fat: <1g per serving)

• 200ml almond milk
• 2 heaped teaspoons raw cacao powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
• pinch cinnamon
• pinch sea salt

Warm gently while stirring, then serve and relax!

This is how I like it, but it would work just as well with other milks or without the vanilla and cinnamon. I include those partly for the flavour and partly because they both help to regulate blood sugar levels. The vanilla makes it naturally sweet so that no sugar or sweeteners are needed.

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Kitchen Essentials

Almond milk (makes 660ml, approx. 3 g sat fat total)

• 75g whole almonds (brown skin on)
• filtered water
• several grinds of sea salt
• pinch ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground vanilla (or 1cm vanilla pod or 6-8 drops vanilla extract). Use more for a sweeter flavour.
• 4-6 drops almond extract

Soak almonds overnight / 8-12 hours in enough filtered water to cover.
Rinse.
Put almonds in a blender with 800ml filtered water and all other ingredients and blitz until the "bits" are very small.
Pour mixture through a fine sieve or squeeze through a nutmilk bag.
If preferred you could repeat this straining process to get every last particle out. 

Store almond milk in a glass bottle / jar in the fridge and use within 2 days to enjoy at its best.