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Here's a reci-pea that'll be perfect healthy addition to your lunchtime sandwiches, wraps and snacks...
For this week's Charity Chomp, Rachel de Caen shares her recipe for 'pea hummus', which can be used as both a normal hummus, great for dipping fresh vegetables in, as a spread, or even heated up as a “mash”.
Passionate about food since a young age, Rachel worked at Longueville Manor whilst at school before joining their sister restaurant Sumas as part of the opening team. She has also worked alongside Michelin-starred chef Shaun Rankin as his pastry chef at Bohemia restaurant and studied Personal Nutrition and Raw Food.
After launching her own website where she shares her recipes, she wrote ‘Crazy Kitchen', a cookbook, in 2018 to raise funds for Jersey Hospice Care, who had cared for her nan when she passed away from cancer.
After her Raspberry Overnight Oats, Rachel is sharing a recipe for pea hummus, along with some thoughts on how to eat more mindfully, at work or at home. "
I have an obsession with peas!" she confessed. "Many are frozen within hours of being picked and still are super fresh once you have prepared them for eating which means they haven’t lost all that goodness!"
(serves two)
500g frozen peas – defrosted
1 tin butter beans drained
1tbls dried tarragon (optional)
Salt and pepper – to taste
Lemon Juice – optional to taste.
1. Put the peas and butter beans in a blender until smooth.
2. Add your preferred seasoning to your personal taste.
"The great thing about this hummus is the colour is very appealing to the eye well, in my opinion, which is where we can talk about mindful eating," Rachel said.
"Believe it or not we do not just eat using our mouth. Eating is something that ought to be done mindfully! We eat with our eyes, nose and in fact all our senses. Pay attention to not just the food with its smells, tastes, temperature, textures, but also what is going on around you, are you alone, with friends, with your pet ..inside or outside… and so on! The idea is that you are present for the 'eating' experience."
"All too often in today’s busy world grabbing a slice of toast on the way out the door, a sandwich at your desk or picking as you cook someone else's dinner is all the norm," Rachel continued. "These behaviours make overeating easier as it's almost an automatic behaviour like putting fuel in the car. It also removes the pleasure we should have from eating!
"Imagine for a minute you are a child again and everything you eat is new. If it is finger food, take time to feel it (if it’s not, still try touching it you can lick your hands after!), look at it properly, smell it and then take a little nibble.
"Chew many times to break down the food and move it around your mouth. As adults we rarely do this – but the process will prepare the body for food and you will gain a better appreciation for what you are eating.
"It is so easy to get used to eating foods that we are used to, that we do not even notice much about them apart from whether we like them or not. Slower eating means digestion is easier for our body and allows the stomach a chance to communicate that it is full.
"After a while of starting to think a little more about what, where and how you eat, you may notice certain foods or types of foods, or certain situations that you eat in, make you feel different ways both physically and mentally.
"If I am upset I know I grab chocolate or biscuits and then feel horrid after, this is a learned behaviour and it is emotional eating not because of physical hunger, being aware of it means I can control it. I feel most relaxed eating food I have prepared in an open space on a summers day with a little breeze.
"The take away here is if you become more conscious of what and how you eat you will end up making better choices as you will be listening to your body and mind, it is not a overnight thing but something to consider for the long term."
...And why not treat yourself a copy of Rachel's recipe book? Contact Jersey Hospice Care.
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