I have always been fortunate enough to eat
whatever I like. Despite having to put endless, gruelling hours in at the gym
to accommodate my healthy appetite and limit an ever-expanding waistline, my
love for dairy, bread and all-things sweet continues. However, with respect to
others, such pleasures can’t always be enjoyed. With a rapid increase in the
number of people suffering from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and wheat intolerance,
the ever-growing consciousness of a specific diet has lead to a huge growth in
commercial awareness. Supermarkets now offer a wide range of gluten and dairy
free alternatives, and a number of restaurants and cafes now provide gluten-free
dishes and dairy-free drinks across their menus.
However, when it comes to cooking up appealing
alternatives in your own kitchen, culinary talent can easily yield. As a cook
with a limited knowledge in this area, I was keen to expand my skills - with a
growing number of family and friends with specific dietary requirements, I
wanted to be able to cook them up a treat they could eat, allergies aside. Although
the advance in commercial awareness has also generated a number of new cookbooks
on the market, nevertheless when learning new skills it’s often beneficial to
see it first-hand – and after all, we all love a good cookery demo.
Therefore, I recommend that you attend one of
Karen Maidment’s ‘Meals That Heal’ cookery courses. A renowned specialist in
holistic lifestyle coaching, Karen’s extensive knowledge of practical nutrition
and lifestyle management generates a high level of education, guidance and
support, with her cookery course being true to its name. Thanks to her holistic approach, you feel
relaxed and at ease from the moment you step into her kitchen. With a soothing
herbal tea in hand, we sampled a freshly baked chorizo, spinach and egg muffin
- Karen’s option for a hearty breakfast to start the day – from her cookbook
‘Meals That Heal’.
We began with an insightful talk about the foods that cause negativity to the systematic functioning of our bodies, generating a bit of a reality check amongst us all on how some of the much-loved ingredients we enjoy on a daily basis can cause harm to our sensitive immune systems. Once I’d recovered from the momentary shock of the battering I’d bestowed upon my poor immune system over the years, we were each given a collection of recipes for the delicious dishes we would be making during the day. Throughout the course, Karen explained how the specific ingredients in each recipe remedied particular dietary issues, highlighting that despite having intolerances, there’s never any need to compromise, and always an alternative.
Being a day of learning new things, it was
also one for trying new flavours, in particular, cow’s heart – in a burger! Although
I am not one to shy away from eating offal it very rarely features on my menu
of choice and heart was definitely a new one for me (and to my relief, quite a
few others cooking around me). One of Karen’s ‘wild burgers’ is not your average
quarter-pounder. Although, as she rightly explained, if we’re going to eat
meat, we should respect the animal by using all of it, including the bones,
which makes a very nutritious broth that is apparently very calming and
soothing for the hormones.
So with the freshly made wild burgers and
sundried-tomato and caramelised onion flatbreads in hand, we lunched with
wholesome salads overlooking a lake, adding to the relaxing vibe that was
present throughout the entire ‘Meals That Heal’ cookery course. We spent the
rest of the day making raw cacao and mulberry gooey cookies – a delicious and
healthy alternative to chocolate chip – and strawberry shortcake grain free
muffins, all of which were ready to take home at the end of the day alongside a
Wholefoods’ goody bags.
The next ‘Meals That Heal’ cookery course
will be held on Saturday 4th October at The Foodworks Cookery School
near Cheltenham.
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