Adding grated Parmesan cheese to soups, stews, mashed potatoes, pasta, risotto and omelettes is delicious, but did you know that you can easily make a plant-based equivalent to Parmesan cheese at home? We all know that cheese should be eaten in moderation, and many of us want to cut down on the animal products we consume. Well, you can achieve both by following this homemade plant-based vegan Parmesan cheese recipe. You can even freeze it to use later. It’s healthy, easy and only requires four ingredients.
Category - Homemade
Everyone loves a creamy texture, whether in soups, sauces, risottos or in dessert. The problem is that cream is not particularly healthy and doesn’t have a long shelf life. Cashew nuts are the answer – they are full of healthy nutrients and can be easily transformed into a rich and decadent cream. Useful in sweet and savoury dishes, cashew cream can be flavoured with anything you like. You can freeze it too. Read on to find out how easily you can have a ready supply of healthy cream at your fingertips to use in any dishes, hot or cold.
It’s no surprise if you have never heard of kefir milk, because this fermented drink was kept secret for centuries in a mountainous region near Russia. It has powerful health benefits, yet evolved purely by accident and is impossible to recreate in a laboratory. By the turn of the twentieth century, some prized kefir grains finally arrived in Russia, but only after a series of events involving seduction, betrayal and kidnapping, not to mention royalty. Read on to find out why kefir milk was believed to be a gift from the gods, how easy it is to make and why everyone should drink it, even if they are lactose intolerant.
Yacon syrup is made from the underground tubers of yacon plants. Yacon grows easily and, because it’s a perennial plant, you can enjoy free yacon tubers year after year. Yacon syrup has a sweet taste but is low in calories, plus it will store for months in jars. Stir it into porridge, milkshakes and yoghurt, or drizzle it over ice cream. Yacon is a superfood that aids digestion and promotes gut health. You won’t find yacon syrup in the shops, but you can make it yourself using no additional ingredients. It’s not very often that sweet things are healthy, so read on to find out how to make easy yacon syrup.
They are not just pretty orange flowers that grow and self-seed easily in most soil types, calendula flowers can help with the condition of skin and hair, and promote healing. You only need to start them from seed or buy plants once, because from then on they will self-seed and reward you with a flush of orange flowers every year. They have a long flowering season and are low maintenance. Snip off fresh flowers as often as you like and use them to make oils, creams or spices. Read on to find out how to grow and dry calendula flowers, and make calendula oil from them…
These delicate, orange flowers will grow and self-seed easily, meaning you can enjoy them every year. Besides having many health benefits, you can use calendula as a saffron substitute. The dried petals are also known as ‘Poor Man’s Saffron’. Get the same taste and colour of saffron, but without the cost by growing and drying calendula flowers. Read on to find out more…
Elderberries can be found growing along hedgerows, in gardens and on allotments. They typically ripen during August and September, and are full of antioxidants and vitamin C. Easy to harvest, cooked elderberries are the perfect natural way of building up immunity over winter to protect against colds and flu. They may also alleviate high blood pressure and anaemia, whilst improving exercise performance and brain health. If you don’t have time to cook them immediately, they can be frozen raw and cooked later. What are you waiting for..? Read on to find out how to spot elderberries and transform this free, nutrient-rich fruit into elderberry syrup.
