Eat Write Love
NICKY TORODE & SONJA COLMAN of Creative Concoctions – a local social enterprise, boosting creative health
Warm up this windy winter with this nutrition-packed recipe for Green Thai soup using chard – also known as Swiss chard. Read how to boost your gut health with these humble greens! And boost your brain health with a spot of journaling!
Journaling is that free flow and expressive way of writing that can help you get those thoughts and worries out onto the page. Journaling – a recipe you might say, for feeling a little more positive for the wintry months ahead.
Journaling #1:
Winter Warmer
- Write a list of 10 things that you’ve done recently that made you feel a little inner glow. From small, seemingly insignificant things to more major things.
- Connected with an old friend, watched a film, bought your favourite food?
- No one’s going to read this so drop down deep to your inner self.
- Reflect: What’s in your list that you might try to do more often this month?
Fun Facts
- The ancient Romans, Greeks, and Arabs ate chard, but it was a Swiss botanist by the name of W. D. J. Koch who classified the plant in the 1800s. Thus, the name of his homeland became part of the plant’s common name.
- It’s a relative of the beetroot.
- It can grow up to 28 inches high.
Nutrition info:
- Chard is a powerhouse of nutrients, and is a good source of fibre:
- Vitamin K – supports heart health and lowering blood pressure
- Vitamin A – supports healthy skin and good eye health
- Vitamins C & E – powerful antioxidants supporting against the risk of cancer and oxidative damage
- Calcium – supports bone health
- Fibre – supports your health
Green Thai Soup
(Serves 6)
This is a great soup for supporting the immune system, as well as being very warming. Full fat Greek yoghurt also brings additional probiotic benefits for your gut health.
The chard is around £1.65 for 200g, with kale and spinach being cheaper: 85p and £1.35 respectively – this will vary depending on where you buy your ingredients and the time of year.
Ingredients:
- 1 large onion, peeled and diced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 cm of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 4 large garlic cloves, crushed
- 150g curly kale, washed and tough stems removed
- 200g Swiss chard, washed and chopped, stems removed and chopped
- 300g spinach, washed and chopped
- 1 tsp dried coriander
- 1 large green chilli, kept whole but sliced part way lengthwise in half
- 3 stalks of lemongrass (remove tough bottoms and tops)
- 1 ½ litres vegetable stock
- juice and zest of 1 lime
- sea salt
- a good handful of fresh coriander, stalks and leaves chopped
- 4 tbsp Greek yoghurt or coconut milk
- red chilli, cut into slices for serving
Method:
- Heat the coconut oil in a large pan and then add the onion and carrot and gently cook.
- Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and mix well into the vegetables.
- Wash all the green veg and remove any tough stalks, add to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add the dried coriander, the fresh green chilli and the lemongrass. Mix in before adding the stock.
- Let the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes then add the lime juice and zest, some salt to taste and most of the fresh coriander.
- Simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Take off the heat, remove the lemongrass and chilli and, using a hand blender, blitz until smooth. (If you would like extra heat, remove the stalk of the chilli and return to the pan to blitz with the rest of the soup.)
- Finally, stir in the Greek yoghurt or coconut milk.
- Serve with a little more yoghurt, some coriander leaves and a few pieces of red chilli.
Substitutes
- No fresh greens? Use frozen spinach or other greens (or mix some fresh and some frozen).
- You can also use dried ginger or lemongrass – you don’t get quite the same level of zing, but you do get the flavour and the nutrient benefits.
Storage
This soup is fine to keep in the fridge for 2-3 days, but it also freezes brilliantly.
JOURNALING #2
Tis the Season to Sip Soup…
- Recall a time when soup really was the heart-warming ingredient.
- Was it just you, by yourself, coming in from the cold? A guest you’d invited for dinner? Or a time when you dropped into a friend’s house, and they offered a bowl?
- Write into that moment, what were your feelings and thoughts, the tastes, conversations that got stirred in?
- Reflect: Write a one-sentence reflection – what are you reminded of here that might be helpful for the coming season?
JOURNALING # 3
Green Means Go!
- Next time you’re food shopping, explore the greens. There are many greens these days: for salads, for stir-fries, soups and stews. Pick up a new green. Give it a go and journal after you’ve made something with your greens.
- Write this sentence starter and spring into your own thoughts.
At first, I wasn’t sure…
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