Delicious Celery Seed Salad Recipes for the Summer

Celery seed is an ancient ingredient with a plethora of health benefits. To skim the surface, some of the potential health benefits of celery seed are:

1. Celery seed helps maintain healthy blood pressure

A study published by the National Institutes of Health concluded that “celery seed extracts have antihypertensive properties, which appears to be attributable to the actions of its active hydrophobic constitutes such as NBP.”

2. Celery seed supports liver health

Another study examined how a variety of herbs, including celery seed, affected hypertension. Celery was noted as an herb that is helpful for those with hypertension, as it “acts upon the liver; one type of HTN is associated with the liver. In Mainland China, celery was useful in reducing HTN in 14 of 16 patients … it has also been reported to reduce systolic and diastolic BP.”

3. Celery seeds are packed with flavonoids, antioxidants, and more.

Celery seeds may be tiny, but they are absolutely packed with power. One tiny celery seed contains the following: flavonoids, volatile oils, coumarins, omega-6 fatty acids, antioxidants, and phenols. It is because of these compounds that celery seeds may support healthy blood pressure and maintain liver health.

When it comes to antioxidants, a study found that in comparison to onion, parsley, and dill leaves, celery leaves “exhibited the highest total phenolic content.”

How to Add Celery Seeds to Your Diet

With all of the potential health benefits of celery seeds, you may be looking for ways to incorporate them into your diet. One of the best (and most delicious) ways to increase your celery seed intake? Celery seed salad and celery seed salad dressing. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite recipes for celery seed salad (and salad dressing). Check them out below!

A Fruity Celery Seed Salad Dressing

The Sisters Cafe blog has a perfect celery seed salad for springtime. This celery seed salad dressing is for anyone with a sweet tooth. To make this dressing, you’ll need:

• 1.5 - 2 cups of sugar
• ¾ cup white vinegar
• 1.5 tsp celery seed
• 1.5 tsp black pepper
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup prepared mustard
• 1.5 cups vegetable oil

Mix all the ingredients in a blender, and you’ll have a full quart of this dressing. The Sisters Cafe recommend serving this dressing over a salad of mixed greens, toasted pecans, red onion, feta cheese, and your favorite fruit (anything from strawberries to mangoes, peaches or nectarines).

Celery Seed Dressing on a Celery Leaf Salad

This salad uses celery roots, celery leaves and celery seeds -- a total win. The base of this Cooking Light salad uses 5 large stalks of sliced celery, 3 cups of shaved carrots, a 6 oz. package of cremini mushrooms, ½ cup of celery leaves, and ½ cup of packed parsley.

The celery seed salad dressing is made by whisking together the following ingredients:

• 2 tbsp EVOO
• 1 tsp grated lemon rind
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp minced shallot
• 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tsp celery seeds
• 2 tsp honey
• ⅜ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper

A Classic Celery Seed Salad Dressing

We had to include this one because it comes from the Farmers Almanac. This is another great spring and summer salad dressing, as the almanac recommends it with fruit salads. This is a simple celery seed salad dressing recipe, too. It requires:

• 1 tsp grated onion
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp dry mustard
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp celery seed
• ½ cup salad oil
• 2 TBSP honey
• 3 TBSP vinegar

Combine all of the ingredients into a jar, shake, and enjoy!

Do you have a go-to celery seed salad dressing recipe? What’s your best recommendation?

Four Healthy Desserts for Spring

Ignore those last stray dustings of snow on the ground; it’s Spring! And while that means many things, like going to the park, wearing white, baseball season, digging out strappy sandals, and opening the windows come to mind. One of the most important things that spring brings? Spring desserts! Warmer weather and sunnier days call for their own special desserts.

Say goodbye (or at least “see you later”) to the savory spices and filling warmth of winter desserts. Desserts for spring are light, bright, and (often) citrusy! Is your mouth watering yet? If it isn’t, it will be soon. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite healthy desserts for spring.

Banana Mousse

This recipe comes approved by Health.gov. If you’ve never made mousse before, you might associate it with two things: one, chocolate, and two, sounding difficult to make. This recipe is neither. You’ll only need five ingredients:

• 2 tbsp milk
• 4 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 medium banana, cut into quarters (and 8 additional quarter inch banana slices for garnish)
• 1 cup plain yogurt, low fat

If you liked there only being five ingredients, you’ll love that there are only two steps.

Blend the milk, sugar, vanilla, and banana for about 15 seconds or until smooth.

More the blended ingredients into a bowl and fold in yogurt. Chill, garnish with banana slices, and serve!

(And if “mousse” has you thinking chocolate anyway, a few chocolate sprinkles or chocolate chips would go perfectly as a topping to this creamy treat.)

Grapefruit Brulee

Another great part about spring is that there are new, delicious fruits that are in season for use. And as long as you’re making desserts for spring … why not have desserts for breakfast? Making a simple grapefruit brulee can let you do just that.

Grapefruit is an amazing food that keeps you fuller longer, can lower cholesterol, and is full of fiber. For these reasons, it’s frequently considered one of the best foods to eat for breakfast. If you’re already a grapefruit fan, it’s easy to cut one in half and enjoy it for breakfast. But if grapefruit is a little sour for you, if you want a way to mix up your breakfast, or if you want to serve it as a full dessert, grapefruit brulee is the way to go.

Bon Appetit recommends cutting the grapefruit in half, letting it dry for five minutes on a paper towel, sprinkling a tablespoon of sugar over the flesh of each grapefruit half, and then either:

1. Using a kitchen torch to melt and caramelize the sugar, or 
2. If you don’t have a kitchen torch, using your oven’s broiler for about eight minutes to caramelize the sugar.

Pineapple and Coconut Frozen Yogurt

Have a frozen yogurt craving, but don’t want to shell out the money at one of those (amazing, but sometimes pricey) frozen yogurt chains? Enter the pineapple and coconut frozen yogurt. This is another easy “toss it all in the blender and it’s practically finished” recipe.

You’ll add two cups of frozen pineapples, 2 tablespoons of honey or agave nectar, ¼ cup plain yogurt (any variety), and a ½ tablespoon of lemon juice to your blender or food processor and blend until creamy and smooth (about 2-3 minutes). Once you’ve reached the right texture, stir in 2 tablespoons of toasted coconut, transfer to an airtight container, and freeze overnight (or for at least 6 hours). Voila! Instant (well, almost) frozen yogurt.

One Bowl Upside Down Cake

This one might be stretching the limits on “healthy,” but if you’re craving an easy cake to add to your “desserts for spring” list, this one is easy and delicious. You’ll need:

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 lemon
• 2 10-ounce bags frozen sweet cherries or blueberries (no need to thaw)
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 cup sugar; plus more for serving
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups sour cream or whole plain yogurt, room temperature, divided

For easy step-by-step instructions for this recipe, head over to Bon Appetit.

What’s on your list for healthy desserts for spring? Did you try any of these recipes? Tell us about it!

Best Cheeses to Turn Your Taco Dinner into a Fiesta

What’s the best cheese for tacos? If you’ve been making your tacos with cheddar, mozzarella, or a three-cheese blend, you might not have any complaints. After all, a mediocre taco is still a taco; which is to say, better than most foods anyway. But if you’ve become tired with your Taco Tuesday routine, or if you want to elevate your taco into something a lot more appetizing, then your cheese choice might need to be adjusted. There’s an entire world of cheeses that can elevate your taco from mediocre to miraculous.

History of Cheese on Tacos

According to Jeffrey M. Pilcher, a history professor at the University of Minnesota, tacos were likely invented in the 18th century by Mexican silver miners (and then reinvented by Mexican Americans in the southwest). The basic taco that many Americans are familiar with - hard shells, ground beef, cheddar cheese or queso, iceberg lettuce, and tomato - is a reinvention of the Mexican dish using more American ingredients.

Authentic Mexican tacos are a little different. They use small, soft corn tortillas (usually lightly grilled or steamed), meats (anything from beef to pork and chicken to seafood), and herbs and vegetables. These might include avocado, salsa, onions, and cilantro. Cheese isn’t necessarily a typical ingredient on an authentic Mexican taco. However, if it is used, it’s almost certainly not the bagged three cheese blend you find in the grocery store.

Best Cheese for Tacos

If you aren’t concerned with authenticity (or if you just love cheese), you’re probably still interested in the best cheese for tacos. There are a variety of fresh white cheeses that not only will give you a more authentic Mexican taco experience, but you might also find that they taste better.

Below, find a few of our suggestions of authentic Mexican cheeses that will make your taco night the most popular taco night in town.

Oaxaca

Oaxaca is a semi-soft, stringy white cheese with a mild flavor. Its mellow and buttery notes make it a popular choice for quesadillas. Its texture and flavor are comparable to Monterey Jack. Oaxaca is a great choice for kids because of its mild flavor.

Cotija

Cotija is a hard, crumbly white cheese from the Parmesan family; it is similar to feta cheese in appearance. Cotija has a strong, salty flavor and doesn’t melt. Not only is it a good cheese for tacos, it also can be sprinkled on chilis, salads, and soups.

Anejo Enchilado

Anejo Enchilado is one of the best cheeses for tacos, burritos, or enchiladas. It can be made from either goat milk or cow milk, but the result is a semi-hard, cheese with a strong, spicy, salty flavor. Some of the flavor notes of anejo enchilado are owed to the process of rolling aneja enchilado in paprika, meaning that the cheese wheel has a distinct, bright red exterior. The more this cheese ages, the more it is easy to shred or grate, which is when it becomes ideal for baking or grilling tacos, burritos, or enchiladas.

Queso Fresco (Adobera)

Queso Fresco is another popular choice for kids because of its mild, salty flavor. In some regions of Mexico, the cheese is also flavored with pepper or adobo (making it a bit more spicy), but overall, queso fresco is a mild, fresh cheese that’s an easy crowd pleaser.

Chihuahua (Menonita)

Chihuahua (or Menonita) cheese is similar in flavor and texture to mild, white cheddar or Monterey Jack. Unlike many Mexican cheeses, which are white, chihuahua cheese has a light yellow color. It melts well and has a mild, buttery taste that makes it ideal for tacos.

There are countless more varieties of cheese, Mexican and otherwise, that may make the perfect pair with your taco. Which cheese will you try on your next taco night? Are there any cheeses that you would never use on a taco?

Get The Most From Turmeric Root With These Foods

Turmeric root is a plant in the ginger family, and in the culinary world it is best known for adding a rich golden color and flavor to Indian and Chinese cooking (especially curry). But even though turmeric is delicious, there’s another reason that turmeric root gets a lot of attention: its many purported health benefits.

Turmeric root is used to support the body’s “many disorders involving pain and inflammation including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), acute injuries to the muscles and joints, headaches, and fibromyalgia.” Science supports this, backing up that turmeric root has “proven properties like anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, immunostimulant, antiseptic, and antimutagenic.”

A tumeric root post typically contains one of two things: a list of the herbs touted potential health benefits, or a list of recipes that utilize turmeric root so that you can add it to your diet. With this turmeric root post, we’re going to split the difference: we’ll talk about the best ways that you can take turmeric root to access its health benefits.

Method Matters

The reason we’re focusing on how you take turmeric is because if you’re looking for health benefits, the way that you take it matters. This all has to do with the “active ingredient” in turmeric, the flavonoid that’s behind the health benefits. The name of that flavonoid is curcumin.

Curcumin lends a lot to turmeric root, not least of which is its bright yellow color. Curcumin is a powerful antioxidant that composes about 0.3-5.4% of raw turmeric. Curcumin does a lot of the heavy lifting for turmeric, as it has the therapeutic properties of “antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic activity, and anticarcinogenic activity.”

But there is a downside to curcumin: it’s quite difficult for the body to absorb it. Curcumin metabolizes quickly; in fact, so quickly that it can be hard for your body to absorb it. Here are some ways to take turmeric root in a way that your body can absorb the curcumin (and, by extension, all of its potential benefits)!

Turmeric Root + Pepper

Turmeric root and black pepper are a match made in heaven, at least in terms of curcumin absorption. Melissa Rifkin, RD, a bariatric dietitian at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City tells Time Magazine, “If you pair the turmeric with the piperine, it improves the bioavailability of curcumin by 1000 times.” She recommends a simple recipe - chicken prepared with turmeric and black pepper. It’s that simple.

Turmeric + Fats

Curcumin is also fat soluble, meaning that it dissolves in fats. So to help your body better absorb the curcumin in your turmeric, try it with a fatty meal. A dish like Indian Butter chicken -- which is typically made with butter and heavy cream -- fits the bill, and is the perfect context for turmeric anyway.

Or, you might try a high fat version of golden milk. Golden milk is a traditional Ayurvedic recipe that has recently gained popularity in the West. Golden milk is a milk-based herbal tea: usually made with milk of any sort (dairy, almond, pecan, coconut), turmeric powder, black pepper, ginger, cayenne, and an optional sweetener like honey or maple syrup. The black pepper usually recommended in this tea will help your body absorb the curcumin, but if you really want to help the process (and you aren’t following a low-fat diet), then try using whole milk.

Curcumin Supplements

To access a higher amount of curcumin, it may be best to consider taking a turmeric extract as a supplement. This is an easy way to guarantee a higher concentration of curcumin than is found naturally in turmeric. This will free you up to use turmeric root in your cooking in any way you please -- from curries to chickens to golden milk, and all the possibilities beyond that.

What’s your favorite way to use turmeric?

Fast Food Alternatives That Aren't Too Bad For You

McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Arby’s, KFC: by now, it isn’t exactly news that fast food isn’t good for you. So the term “healthy fast food” might seem like an oxymoron. But even if you’re health conscious, it can be hard to avoid fast food entirely. Whether it’s because you’re on a long road trip, have kids who won’t stop begging for a Happy Meal, are busy - or even if it’s because you woke up craving something salty and greasy you knew wasn’t good for you, fast food happens.

If you’re one of those people, you may find yourself wondering if there’s a way to do healthy fast food. Or you may be on the other side of the coin: maybe you know that you indulge in your fast food cravings a little too often, and you want to start cutting down on your fast food intake (or at least start making better choices when you order off of the drive-thru menu).

Even if “healthy fast food” continues to sound strange, there are some ways to make healthier fast food choices. Below are some tips for choosing the healthy options at various fast food chains, as well as some other tips and tricks.

Why is Fast Food Bad?

Before helping you make healthy fast food choices, it might be good to review just why so many consider fast food to be “bad.” Fast food falls into the category of “junk food.” Junk food, according to a Washington Post dietitian, can be defined as “ any food that is highly processed, high in calories and low in nutrients. Junk food is also usually high in added sugars, salt, and saturated or trans fats.”

Fast food is food that can be prepared and eaten quickly, and often on the go. While not every item on a fast food menu necessarily has to be junk food, the majority of the time, it is (as junk food is frequently cheaper and quicker to prepare than healthier options).

The reason this is a problem is that foods that are defined as junk foods can have devastating effects on your health.

A review of studies found that eating fast food consumption was a “main risk factor for lower diet quality, higher calorie and fat intake and lower micronutrients density of the diet.” Eating fast food more than once a week was connected to a higher risk of obesity; eating fast food more than twice a week was “associated with a higher risk for metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and death from coronary heart disease.”

Best Choices at Some Popular Fast Food Chains

Chick-fil-A

At the home of the (fried) chicken sandwich, try a greener option. Chick-fil-A’s Spicy Southwest Salad is rich in protein and vegetables (featuring chicken, along with lettuce, assorted greens, red cabbage, carrots, and more).

Chick-fil-A also offers grilled nuggets in place of its fried nuggets. The grilled option is always healthier.

Taco Bell

Try ordering a chicken taco instead of beef - a single soft chicken taco at Taco Bell has 160 calories and quite a bit of protein. Taco Bell also offers the option to make your order “fresco,” subbing in pico de gallo for cheese and sour cream.

Taco Bell also has choices for vegetarians, including the Power Menu Veggie Bowl (which has black beans, rice, guacamole, and a variety of veggies).

McDonald’s

Try the Egg McMuffin - it’s 300 calories, and you have the option to skip the cheese. McDonald’s (like many chains) also gives you the option to sub in healthier sides, like apple slices.

Burger King

More good news for vegetarians - you can get a MorningStar Veggie Burger at Burger King. Burger King also offers a grilled chicken sandwich; as always, if you see the word “grilled” on a fast food menu, chances are, you’re looking at a healthier choice.

As always, the less fast food you eat, the better. One study found that for twelve healthy men, eating fast food for just five days reduced their ability to turn glucose into energy; a single fast food meal can narrow your arteries.

But when you do eat fast food, there are ways to make healthier choices. Pay attention to the menu, make substitutions and deletions where you can, and if you need some fries every once in a while, go for it - make sure to take care of your body in between cravings.

Creative Ways to Prepare Fruit for Healthy Desserts

Healthy desserts sounds like an oxymoron, but it doesn’t have to! There are so many ways to indulge your sweet tooth, meet a craving, or cap off a long day with a delicious treat that doesn’t have to be unhealthy. In fact, there is a whole range of dessert options that range from (slightly more) healthy desserts to great-tasting treats that pack a good nutritional punch.

Portions

If you aren’t quite ready to branch out into new, more nutritious desserts, then the place to start is with portion control. If you’re wondering about what a healthy portion of dessert might look like, start with the USDA’s MyPlate.

The USDA has replaced the formerly ubiquitous Food Pyramid with the MyPlate, but the idea is the same: MyPlate is a visual representation of what a balanced meal should look like. The reason?

As the USDA explains, “today, about half of all American adults have one or more chronic diseases, often related to poor diet. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans emphasizes the importance of creating a healthy eating pattern to maintain health and reduce the risk of disease. Everything we eat and drink — the food and beverage choices we make day to day and over our lifetime — matters.”

The basic idea behind MyPlate is that half of your plate should contain fruits and vegetables; half of your grains should be whole grains; low-fat or fat-free yogurt and milk should be prioritized; proteins should vary; and you should aim to eat and drink less sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars.

Nature’s Healthy Desserts - Fruit

There were a few important hints about an easy way to utilize healthy desserts in that last paragraph. Did you catch them? The first was the recommendation to eat fewer added sugars (emphasis on added). The second was that at each meal, your plate should be composed of half fruits and vegetables.

What does this mean? Simple: the easiest way to turn desserts into healthy desserts is simply to eat fruit for dessert. And while fruits on their own will work just fine, you can also have fun with it. Some easy ways to elevate fruit to something that feels like a genuine dessert are:

Make Banana Swirl

Made famous (among preschoolers) on the PBS show Daniel Tiger, Banana Swirl is an amazing ice cream substitute with only one ingredient: bananas. To make banana swirl, peel and slice a few ripe (or overripe) bananas, throw them in the freezer until they are completely frozen, and then place the frozen banana slices in a blender until smooth. The result: a sweet, frozen treat that tastes exactly like banana ice cream - minus the ice cream.

Try Grilled Pineapples

Pineapples are delicious as they are, but if you want to experience a different version (with new flavors, temperatures, colors, and textures), then grilled pineapple slices is the way to go. Throw some pineapple slices on the grill for a few minutes on each side, and then take them off to either eat as they are, coat with honey, or serve on top of some frozen yogurt, and your taste buds will thank you.

Elevate the Fruit Salad

Fruit salads are a delicious way to enjoy a variety of fruits altogether. One way to get the variety of flavors and nutrients offered by a fruit salad, but with a twist, is to make a fruit shish-kabob. Simply use the wooden or bamboo skewers you would use to make a typical, savory shishkabob, and instead of grilled meats and vegetables, use fruits. A strawberry-cantaloupe-pineapple-kiwi-blueberry-grape shishkabob is not only delicious, but it also creates a rainbow -- a really fun healthy dessert for kids (and, let’s face it, adults).

For a sweet and savory mix, try this American Heart Association recipe for fruit kabobs with balsamic drizzle.

Experiment

If you’re making your desserts healthy by eating fruits, use the time to experiment. Try that strange, tropical fruit you’ve also wondered about in the grocery store. Ask around for recommendations of other people’s favorite unusual fruit. Make dessert a time for experimentation, or, if you’re a family who loves apples and bananas, go for that too! (And maybe experiment with dips, like peanut butter or honey).

Health.gov provides even more healthy desserts recipes (with and without fruit).

What are your favorite fruits? Do you have a creative way to prepare them for dessert?

How Blessed Thistle Supports The Immune System

Blessed thistle is the name of a strange and beautiful looking wild plant native to the Mediterranean area of Europe, but also found in parts of the United States and Europe. The prickly flower has a bright, flowering top (varieties range from yellow to purple) and equally prickly stems and leaves.

The scientific name for the plant is Cnicus benedictus, and its common names - including blessed thistle, holy thistle, and St. Benedict’s Thistle - can be looked at as compliments. Or, in other words, after people experience the potential health benefits of this plant, they begin bestowing nicknames such as “blessed” or “holy” upon the plant.

People have used the tops, leaves, and stems of blessed thistle since the Middle Ages to make medicine. At the time, one of blessed thistle’s primary functions was as a treatment for the bubonic plague. It was also given as a tonic to monks.

Still, even today, blessed thistle is used in natural and alternative medicine. There are many ways to prepare blessed thistle (which we’ll discuss later), but it is used “for loss of appetite and indigestion; and to treat colds, cough, fever, bacterial infections, and diarrhea. It is also used as a diuretic for increasing urine output, and for promoting the flow of breast milk in new mothers.”

What lends blessed thistle all of these potential health benefits? In a word: tannins.

Blessed Thistle and Tannins

Blessed thistle contains tannins. If you’ve heard the word “tannins” before, it’s likely been in the context of wine. Put simply, if you’ve ever had wine that left your mouth or tongue feeling dry, that was likely because of the tannins. The dryer the sensation, the higher the tannins.

Tannins are polyphenolic compounds present in many plants that bind to proteins. They are full of antioxidants and help protect the body from cellular oxidative damage. In other words, they are a crucial part of supporting your body’s natural defense system. There is even some evidence that tannins may have anti-carcinogenic properties.

How to Use Blessed Thistle

There are a number of ways to use blessed thistle, depending on your goals.

Tea

One popular way is to make blessed thistle tea. You can buy blessed thistle tea bags or blessed thistle tea concentrate. Often, blessed thistle will come as part of a tea blend, with other herbs selected based on your health goals. For example, a mother’s milk tea (meant to support lactation) may contain blessed thistle, fenugreek, fennel, anise, and coriander.

Poultice

An herbal poultice is a “paste made of herbs, clay, activated charcoal, salts, or other beneficial substances” that is wrapped in cloth and placed on the skin. Obviously, a poultice is used when contact with the skin is beneficial - think herbal poultices that may treat bug bites, stings, burns or rashes.

Because blessed thistle is used to treat bacterial infections, some people will use a blessed thistle poultice as a treatment for boils, wounds, or ulcers. The tannins in blessed thistle, and their potential anti-inflammatory properties, may make a blessed thistle poultice ideal for swelling around an injury. To make a simple blessed thistle poultice, soak some gauze in blessed thistle and apply it to the area that needs treatment.

Capsules

If teas or poultices aren’t your thing, capsules are an easy way to ingest blessed thistle. You can find blessed thistle capsules online, or at most grocery or health food stores. As with tea, you can take capsules that are strictly blessed thistle, or a blend that contains blessed thistle, such as this fenugreek, anise, and blessed thistle blend meant to support lactation.

Precautions

As with all herbal supplements, your use of blessed thistle (including the appropriate dose) may be affected by your age, medical history, and other drugs or supplements you are taking. Pregnant women should not take blessed thistle. Be sure to talk with your healthcare practitioner to make sure you can safely incorporate blessed thistle into your diet.

Have you ever made a blessed thistle poultice? How about tea? How did it go?

What Makes Bladderwrack Perfect for Thyroid Health

Bladderwrack is an oddly named plant with a lot of potential health benefits. Bladderwrack is a type of algae and seaweed. It also goes by names like black tang, rockweed, sea oak, and rock wrack.

If you’re in an area where bladderwrack grows naturally, then you can easily pick some of your own. Bladderwrack grows in cold ocean waters, and is found mostly on the United States’ northern Atlantic and Pacific coasts and Europe’s Baltic coast.

Bladderwrack that is ready to be harvested will have fully inflated bladders. These bladders (which the plant gets its name from) are how you can identify them. Bladderwrack has a tough central stem (called the thallus) that is full of air-filled pods, or “bladders.” When they are inflated they help the plant float on the surface of the water.

Bladderwrack Benefits

Although bladderwrack has a strange name (and a strange appearance), there are a lot of reasons you might want to incorporate it into your diet. These are three main components of bladderwrack, iodine, alginic acid, and fucoidan, that are believed to provide it potential medicinal benefits.

Iodine

Bladderwrack is most often associated with iodine. Seawater and soil naturally contain iodine, so plants like bladderwrack that grow and live in seawater absorb and contain large quantities of iodine. All types of seaweed, including kelp, dulse, and nori, contain iodine. However, because they derive iodine from their environment the amount of iodine present in bladderwrack varies.

Iodine is an essential element that helps to regulate thyroid hormone production. Our bodies do not naturally make iodine, so we need to get it from outside sources. A lack of iodine can lead to an enlarged thyroid or hypothyroidism. 

Alginic Acid

Alginic acid is a type of dietary fiber that may provide temporary relief from occasional constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, and heartburn (though human studies have not been completed to confirm this). Some components of alginic acid such as calcium alginate and the sodium salt of alginic acid have been found to support healthy-looking skin and abdominal comfort.

Fucoidan

Fucoidan is a dietary fiber that may support cholesterol and glucose levels already within the normal range, may support the immune system, and clotting factors. 

How to Take Bladderwrack

Bladderwrack is most commonly taken in a supplement, tablet, extract, or powder form. However, there are also ways to cook bladderwrack and incorporate it into your diet.

Bladderwrack Egg Drop Soup

To make this simple soup, you will first mince leeks, ginger, and turmeric and fry them in sesame oil. Bladderwrack is then added to the pan and lightly fried, and then spiced with black pepper and chili flakes. Add some water to start the broth, and add rice noodles (if desired). Finalize the soup by incorporating egg and miso. See the full directions for this soup here.

Mile High Wild Pie

The best part of this recipeis its versatility. Most ingredients can be subbed in for other ingredients. You should include some wild coastal green, fresh wild fungi, your choice of woodland or hedgerow greens, and herbs or flavorings available to you. The directions for this one are a little more involved, so you’ll want to follow this recipe, but as a whole, it’s a recipe that makes natural use of bladderwrack as an ingredient.

By Itself

The bladders of the bladderwrack can also be eaten on their own. After the bladders are separated from the frond and dried, they can simply be eaten as is. If you’re a fan of seaweed flavorings, you’ll enjoy bladderwrack.

Have you found a better way to enjoy bladderwrack? Are you in a location where you can find and pick your own?

Asparagus arrancini and shredded carrot with mint and orange

Every few months I pull out a Koan card. This card is something I keep in mind for the coming months and it's always the perfect advice for me. A few months ago, when I was finishing writing my book ("Polska" is now available for pre-order), the Koans advised me: "I burn the books in my bag, but the verses written in my guts cannot be forgotten". After all the research, this advice really struck a cord - it was time to forget about all the other books and create something new. Then when my baby was born the Koans said: " The seeds of the past are the fruits of the future". A reminder that every moment counts, because the baby is like a sponge. Today, I pulled out a new card. Right now my life is very busy - my baby is nearly 6 months and requires more attention than before, I am building a website for myself (something I haven't done since 1999) and I have a very long to do list, which needs to be completed before my book launch (July in the UK, September in the US). I am also selling my flat and trying to buy a family home with my partner. So the Koans told me: "Water heats slowly and it boils suddenly". They are advising patient perseverance. Perfect. Difficult, but really the perfect advice for me for now. Slow, consistent perseverance in the knowledge that everything will come in the right time and in the right way. In the midst of all these things I need to do, I also need to cook and eat. As I'm breastfeeding, I'm making an extra effort to eat healthy, nutritious, filling, food (because I am starving all the time). I made a risotto recently with local asparagus, which we bought in a farm shop somewhere in Sussex between London and Eastbourne. I also used local cheese instead of Parmesan. Apart from that the risotto recipe was the basic one - onion, arborio rice, vegetable stock added gradually. Then the steamed asparagus and some par-boiled peas. The cheese is added right at the end, once the risotto is cooked. The next day I rolled the leftovers into balls, covered them in breadcrumbs and fried them in rapeseed oil.

I bought beautiful carrots from that very same shop and shredded them. I juiced an orange and used that, along with good quality Virgin olive oil, Moroccan cumin and salt and pepper as a dressing. Finally, I tore some mint leaves from the garden and straight into the salad.

Massive mushrooms stuffed with sundried tomato, pine nuts, basil and cheese

As the climate becomes more Mediterranean so should our diets! I don't mean to trivialise climate change, it's just that in the UK a slight climate change isn't such a terrible thing. Weather has never bean our strong point. So far this year it's been a lovely Spring  and today felt positively hot. Days like these I like to eat light food that makes me think of holidays in Italy or the South of France. These mushrooms are perfect for  sitting in your garden with a glass of wine and envisioning the glistening Mediterranean Sea, even if you're just staring into your murky pond.

Ingredients 

2 Portobello mushrooms or similar 

200g ricotta or another soft, white cheese

Handful fresh basil

5 sundried tomatoes

Handful pine nuts, toasted 

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 slices halloumi

Garlic clove

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the mushrooms upside down in a baking tray and put the oven on 150 degrees C. Fry the halloumi cheese for 3min each side or until golden. 

Blend the ricotta with the basil, sundried tomatoes, pine nuts and olive oil, reserving a few pine nuts and sundried tomato for topping. Season. Stuff the mushrooms with your ricotta mixture and top with the remaining bits: halloumi, sundried tomato and pine nuts. Bake for 25min. Serve on a bed of rocket and eat outside in the sunshine if at all possible.

Spelt and tahini cookies, sugar-free

Seemingly overnight Spring has brought with it many wonderful things: shiny, new leaves on the trees; showers of cherry blossoms; the first warm rays of sunshine and also, happily, it has also returned to me my love of cooking. Motherhood dimmed my passion for the act of cooking somewhat in the first few months as I focussed exclusively on the butter bean (who's not so little these days). Yet here I am, joyfully spending an entire weekend by the stove. Over the past few days I have baked sourdough bread, made aubergine curry, an Alfafa sprout salad and these spelt cookies, twice. They were good the first time but I felt like I could improve the recipe by subtracting half the butter. Yes, you read it correctly the recipe has been improved by adding less butter.

150g spelt flour

4 tablespoons tahini 

100ml runny honey 

2 tablespoons ground almonds

1 tablespoon soft butter 

1 tablespoon raw cacao nibs

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 egg

Topping: either Eridanous Sesame Paste (you can buy this at Lidl) with honey or 2 tablespoons tahini and 1 tablespoon set honey and 1 tablespoon soft cheese like mascapone or Philadelphia

Pistachios/pecans/almonds

Melt the butter in a large pan. Once it has melted add the tahini. Stir for 1min on a low heat then turn the heat off. Stir in the flour, followed by all the other dry ingredients. Finally, add the egg. Mix it well to a paste the consistency of peanut butter. Pull off bits of the dough and roll it into a ball about the size of a golf ball. Flatten the top and lay them all out of a greased baking tray or on a baking tray covered in baking paper. Bake for 12min at 180 degrees C.

Roasted purple carrot and sage soup, and earth-mothering

I am doing my own brand of earth-mothering right now. I can't quite bring myself to use cloth nappies, but I am washing my bubba in camomile water and using the most eco friendly, natural products possible. I'm probably not going to do prolonged breastfeeding, yet I am still doing it at 5 months and will try to keep going for the rest of the year (though that's not to say formula won't get introduced at some point too). I guess I am trying to be as much of an earth-mother as I can without making my life too inconvenient. I think that's a fair compromise. I do dream of living somewhere more green and growing my own organic fruit and vegetables, but for now this is just a dream while we survive our first year in busy Hackney. Luckily, we do have some (over-priced) organic shops here now. This is where I found my purple carrots for this earthy soup.

Roast the purple carrots with a handful of sage leaves, some rapeseed oil and Maldon sea salt on 200 degrees C for about 20min. Reserve a few crispy sage leaves for decoration and blend everything else with some good quality stock (I used chicken stock). Return to the pan and season with more sea salt, white pepper and mustard powder. Serve with a dollop of soured cream, some alfafa sprouts and those crispy sage leaves you put aside.

Ingredients (serves 2)

6 purple carrots

500ml chicken or vegetable stock 

Handful sage leaves

Rapeseed oil for roasting

1 teaspoon mustard powder

Sea salt and white pepper

Soured cream to serve

Alfafa sprouts to serve

Quinoa, spinach and almond salad with orange and cinnamon dressing

I spent my pregnancy cooking and eating Polish food: practicing my dumpling making; stuffing my face with caramel and cream and cookie dough; making many, many doughnuts (three times in the space of 2 months) and generally re-working my favourite recipes. The book is coming out in July, now there's a stubborn stone sitting on my hips and penance. But penance doesn't have to be unpleasant. I won't lie, the beginning is hard, but it becomes more enjoyable with time. Both the exercise and the food. Tracey Anderson is getting (marginally) easier to handle and I'm remembering my favourite healthy recipes. This crunchy salad has a Middle-Eastern flavour and doesn't make you feel like you are doing penance at all. Ok, so it's not cardamon-custard seductively wrapped in choux pastry (it's in the book, you'll love it), but it is flavour packed none-the-less.

Ingredients

300g cooked quinoa

Handful fresh spinach, chopped

50g almond flakes, toasted

1 carrot, grated

Dressing

Juice of 1 small orange
2 tablespoons olive oil

Large pinch of cinnamon

Salt and pepper to taste

4 month sleep regression, a different approach

Ah the dreaded 4 month sleep regression, turning our perfect sleepers into... not so perfect sleepers. I feel uncomfortable with a lot of the advice I've read online: move your baby into another room now; leave the baby alone to cry; holding baby is a negative habit we need to break... I'm sure it works for some but at what cost? Of course, we all love to sleep (especially when sleep is what's lacking), yet as my Greek friend pointed out when I was still pregnant and he was surviving on 4 hours a night with a 7 month old: "we used to not sleep at night for stupid reasons, at least this a very good reason to not sleep". So, I'm doing the opposite of what I've read and when she wakes up, I bring the bubba into bed with me. Controversial. I even nurse her a few times in the night. Whenever she wants in fact. Why? Because I want to show her that I am here for her during the hard times. Of course at some point she can have her own bedroom, but I'm not going to push her away just because she's being needy. Less controversially, I have also brought her bedtime forward by an hour and I'm making sure she gets 2 naps during the day. These things are not only helping me get more sleep, but, more importantly, the bubba is not getting upset when she wakes up anymore. The sleep regression is annoying for her too and I feel like she needs my support more - not less - during this difficult moment. It's only been a couple of nights of improvement, so whether my tactics work longterm or not remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, I feel good doing this and Delfi feels better too. We are in Eastbourne at the moment with my folks, while my partner is away filming. The change of environment could have been what kicked off this regression. I'm glad, as it has motivated us to find a more appropriate schedule and to teach my daughter a sense of trust.

I know, I know, this is supposed to be a food blog, but I just wanted to express a different perspective on the 4 month sleep regression, without shoe-horning a recipe into it. Thank you and goodnight.

Simple spinach soup

I always say that in food, as in life, simplicity is a virtue. Simple days, simple pleasures are the best. A baby's laugh, the sun coming out from behind a cloud, a flower in bloom, these are beautiful things we do not need to fight or struggle for, simply appreciate. A daily practise of gratitude (in whatever form) can make you more aware of wonderful, everyday pleasures. Something simple to eat does not mean grabbing a packet of crisps though. A simple soup takes little more effort and is infinitely warmer, more nurturing...

Whenever I roast a chicken I use the bones and leftovers to make a broth. I stick whatever I have lying around in there. This time it was an onion, a carrot and a chilli pepper. After about 3 hours of boiling these together with the chicken carcass and a sprinkle of Malden sea salt, I strained the liquid and distributed it among various vessels: some for immediate use, some for the fridge, some for the freezer. You could, of course, replace the chicken broth with a good quality chicken stock. To make this particular soup, I fried some garlic along with the spinach and (once cool) I blended it with the chicken broth. To thicken I added a tablespoon of rye flour and some ground flaxseeds. I brought this back to the boil, seasoned with salt and white pepper and served with spinach trottole and crumbled feta cheese for a healthy, filling and delicious dinner.

Ingredients 

500ml chicken broth (chicken carcass, onion, carrot, chilli pepper)

250g spinach

3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon rye flour
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds

50g cooked trottole pasta per serving 

50g feta per serving 

Baked apples with cinnamon and brown sugar

If you have some old apples slowly shrivelling away in a fruit bowl somewhere in your house, this is a great way to use them up.

We had these baked apples for breakfast with yoghurt, baobab powder and pomegranate seeds. Yasin said it was a "magical" breakfast. It was, literally. Like something the fairies would eat. Simply cut the apples (we had 4 Braeburn apples) in large chunks, cover in a tablespoon of brown sugar and reason of cinnamon and bake at 150 degrees for about an hour.

Chickpea and sweet potato curry with an egg poached inside it

Habits are funny things. They aren't easy to form, but they aren't as difficult as they first appear either. Sometimes they are painstakingly hard to break and other times painstakingly easy, yet they are one of the most important things in life. A bad habit can be detrimental to our happiness just as a good habit can shape our life in the most wonderful way. I now can't seem to get into the habit of blogging twice weekly, something that used to come very easily to me. Giving up eating processed sugar every day after the indulgences of Christmas is another habit I am trying hard to break and seems almost impossible to fully achieve. Although I am still eating sugar on most days, it's getting less and less. As a result of breastfeeding my appetite is larger than normal (and it's usually pretty big already), so I am replacing processed sugar with more of other foods. I am focussing on foods that can be more beneficial to Delfi, such as vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts, eating often and filling up so that I don't have room left for evil sugar. As tends to be with new habits - each day is easier than the last and before you know it, what seemed impossible a few weeks ago becomes second nature. I learnt this from practising Kundalini yoga, which is all about habits, and just knowing this is enough to change your life. Nothing seems insurmountable anymore once you know. This curry is packed with all the good stuff.  Some people say the spicy food can give the baby colic, other people say chickpeas and spinach are culprits, but I ate this for 2 days and Delfi was fine. Sweet potatoes are a super effective and healthy way to thicken curry, just make sure that they cook until they become mushy.

Ingredients

200g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
200g spinach
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1inch of ginger, peeled and chopped finely
1 inch of turmeric, peeled and chopped finely
1 green chilli
1 tablespoon garam masala
3 tablespoons rapeseed oil
1 egg per person
Salt
Rice to serve

Using a pestle and mortar or a blender make a blend out of the onion, garlic, fresh ginger, turmeric, chilli, garam masala and the oil. Fry this in a large pan for about 5min, adding a tiny bit of oil after a couple of minutes so that the spices don't burn. Add the chickpeas and cover with about an inch of water. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 20min, then add the sweet potatoes. Simmer for a further 30min before adding the spinach and the chopped tomatoes. Cook for another 10min then season with plenty of salt. Crack the eggs into the middle of the curry and cover the pan. Cook on a very low heat for about 3minutes. Serve with rice.

10 useful things every new mother should know

This is a little list of the more useful stuff I learnt in my first month of motherhood, inspired by the useful list someone sent me before I gave birth. Remember, when you go home with your (first) baby in your arms, you are basically clueless. Many people will bombard you with opinions but not many people will give you advice that's actually useful. I'm writing this list while it's all fresh in my mind - my baby is 6 weeks today - in the hope that this will mean it's relevant to new mothers (unlike some of the advice you get from people who gave birth years ago).

                      

1. Those little nightmare vests that you can't get over the head without a struggle can actually be pulled down.

2. Most nappies have a yellow stripe that turns blue to tell you if they need changing. 

3. You don't have to become obsessed with making your baby sleep. Babies sleep for 14-18 hours a day. We do have a particularly good sleeper though so perhaps that's something to do with babies that wake up more often. It helps to feed them lots during the day and particularly before bed (an hour if on-off feeding just before bed does it for us) At 6 weeks Delfi sleeps in 4-5 hour shifts during the night and naps during the day for shorter periods of 1-2 hours. This is completely manageable.

4. Babies don't cry all the time. I really thought they did and imagined I was going to be pushed to the brink of sanity. This hasn't happened (as yet). If I had to take a guess at what makes our baby so calm and peaceful it would be yoga and meditation - a little bit every day during pregnancy. Baby loves to listen to shiva chants and watch me stretch and meditate.

5. It helps having the baby at arms' length. Delfi doesn't need to cry to wake me up, we just wake up in the night together. The first month she was in a pod in the bed, which is not recommended apparently (the one thing the health visitor was not too pleased about) yet we all loved. Many people told me that it was not a good idea, that transitioning to a bed would be hard and it was, but only for me. Delfi didn't mind at all.

6.  People who do not have babies do not want to hear poop stories, as hilarious as they might be. I remember saying to my partner just before I gave birth how being surrounded by shitty nappies was going to be horrible. In actual fact, it hasn't bothered me one bit. There is some kind of poo paradigm shift when you become a new parent, but do remember that your non parent friends still believe that poo equals disgusting.

7. Drugs during labour do not mean that your baby will have problems breastfeeding. Some drugs can make some babies drowsy perhaps, but I had 2 shots of diamorphine and an epidural for my emergency ceaserean and she came out smacking her lips at me and nursing within half an hour of coming out. I was led to believe that taking drugs affects nursing ability. Even the health visitor said "oh she's so responsive you can tell it was a natural labour. You didn't take any drugs did you?". Er, yes I did, there was no question of not taking them for me.

8. Overdue baby does not always mean big baby. We were told at 34 weeks she was 5.6 lb and would put on 0.5 lb a week. I was expecting a 8.5 lb baby and I got a 6.7 lb baby that was exactly 2 weeks late. I enjoyed my 2 weeks of waiting time, even though everyone else seemed worried and annoyed at the delay. Different countries have different due dates, don't let yourself be pressurised by anyone.

9. Anxiety does drastically increase, as do constant irrational worries. No matter how cool you think you are, the first month you are responsible for keeping a tiny, helpless human alive, you will worry. All the time. If the worry is unmanageable and making you depressed then you need to see your doctor, and don't let them fob you off. Your feelings do matter.

10. Babies have a lot of folds. You may miss one when washing/drying baby and the skin is so delicate it may shock you when you find that bit. It was under one arm for me. Don't worry, their skin heals very quickly too. Camomile baths help, as does coconut oil and sudocream. 

Spicy quinoa and halloumi salad. Thoughts on motherhood and the year ahead.

January is always about intention setting for me. By the same token it's about looking back at the year that's just been, reflecting on what happened and why. What were the seeds planted and what may be learnt. One very important seed grew into a beautiful baby girl that's sitting in front of me right now, falling asleep happily while staring at the fairy lights. She's just wonderful and has opened my heart in unexpected ways. I was never sure if motherhood was for me, but an unplanned pregnancy and miscarriage in 2014 revealed a part of me that was ready to be a mother. It's funny how different things look in hindsight, when you're not longer just a bug in a rug, but can appreciate the whole tapestry. Even very painful events can be useful. Motherhood is a whole new world. You learn new things every day on this journey and I will compile a list of the more useful stuff I've learnt shortly, for people that are about to embark on it.

Another reason why last year was so important was my cookbook, due to come out next Summer. The world of publishing is new to me and getting book deal has been both a dream come true and a challenge. It reminded me that things worth having don't necessarily come easily, yet also that if something is meant to be then those doors do open for you. That its always better to be swimming with the tide. So this year I will focus on swimming along, being kinder to myself (and therefore others) in the process, trusting what happens, being more conscious and present in the moment while gently shaping my future. The book will definitely still be a focus this year and this is an example of what it will feel like. It will be a whole new perspective on Polish food, and show another side of my homeland, a side that's dreamy and romantic. We're not all about meat and potatoes, you know.

The world of motherhood brings with it many anxieties, many unresolved feelings and issues from one's own childhood. It's an ideal opportunity to face oneself and to let go, if you take it as such. I am therefore very focussed on being conscious and calm right now, to not take too much on. Yet I am enjoying cooking. Nothing elaborate, just simple, healthy food like this quinoa and halloumi salad.

Ingredients (about 4 portions)

250g Quinoa
2 Corn on the Cob, cooked with the corn taken off the cob
1 Avocado, chopped
1 Courgette, shaved
Halloumi, sliced

Dressing

Juice of 2 limes
3 tablespoons of good quality olive oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Ghanan Shito sauce (or some chilli oil and fish sauce)
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the quinoa and allow it to cool, while you prep all the other vegetables. Do use corn on the cob rather then the sloppy corn in the tin for this salad, it's worth the effort. Mix everything together with the dressing once cooled and allow to stand for about 15min while you fry the Halloumi until golden. Finish off with some black pepper. This salad benefits from standing around for a while, while it infuses with the flavours and its even better the following day.

Super healthy Polish sauerkraut soup

Sauerkraut doesn't sound terribly sexy I know. Yet it's one of the healthiest things you can eat due to its vitamin C, mineral and probiotic content. The juice from the cabbage is a brilliant hangover remedy, my dad assures me, although I haven't tried it myself. I do, however, crave this wintery soup from time to time.

I have limited the amount of pork that goes in to just some good quality lardons (from Ginger Pig of course) and used a beef rib for the stock. Since I've been working on the book I have realized how vague my recipes can be. It's because I see cooking as something that's adaptable and not an exact art, yet I can see that being vague often confuses perfectly simple matters, therefore it's something I've been working on and I hope my recipes now reflect this.

Recipe

2 litres water

500g sauerkraut

1 beef rib

150g lardons

2 potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 carrot

1 parsnip

1 onion, peeled and charred over stove

1 celery stick with leaves

2 bay leaves

5 allspice berries

5 whole peppercorns

1 teaspoon cumin

White and black pepper

Cook the rib with the carrot, parsnip, celery and onion with the bay leaves, allspice and peppercorns in the water for at least 1 hour, preferably 1.5 hours.

Remove the vegetables and beef, add the potatoes and sauerkraut. Add the cumin. Cook for a further 30min.

Meanwhile, fry the lardons on a frying pan until slightly crispy. Add these to the soup for the final 10min.

Season with black and white pepper. The soup doesn't need salt as the sauerkraut is already salty.