Plantain Tortillas

1 Comment November 22, 2018 Dr Kashef

I absolutely love Mexican food, in particular soft tacos which I could eat until I enter a food coma!

I have never been carb free in my life(apart once in the 00’s when I tried Atkin’s diet for one week!), however I do try and minimise gluten intake as much as I can.

My recipe for Buckwheat tortillas is actually quite good ( recipe coming up soon) but it can be quite brittle and not as ‘bendy’ as I like my soft-shell Tacos to be.

I had heard a lot of positive things about the flavour and texture of plantain so I really wanted to try it and low and behold it was fabulous!

The taste is close to a potato bread but with more body to it. Unlike corn tortillas these are quite filling which means you consume fewer tacos which is always good for weight control!

I did a lot of reading and the common denominator in all blogs/websites/recipes is to use very green plantains.

They need to cook in water for anything between 25-45 minutes. I found extra cooking time doesn’t take away from the flavour or the texture but when undercooked it can result in a grainy and not a very pleasant tortilla.

So here it is! My recipe for plantain tortillas.

Plantain Tortilla

Preparation time: 20 minutes

cooking time: 25- 45minutes ( depending on the plantain)

Ingredients:

2 -3 Green Plantains (yields about 8 tortillas)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 tea spoon of rapeseed oil

Method:

Cut the plantains with skin on and place in a pan filled with water and cook for 25-45 minutes. You can test the plantains with a fork which should feel soft.

Once cooked , drain the water ( they almost smell like cooked artichokes when cooked!).

When cooled , remove the skin and place the plantains into the food processor , add the salt and the oil. Blend/blitz until a paste forms.

Take a large spoonful of the paste and place it into a small freezer/Ziplock bag ( trust me they are to sticky to be rolled out any other way!

They roll out super easy . Once rolled out to 1/4 of an inch remove from bag.

Heat a frying pan or skillet and have it on low heat. Place the tortilla in pan. Cook for 3 min on one side and 2 min on the other side.

Voila ! they are ready to serve! you can cover them with cling film and refrigerate . but make sure you heat them up before serving as they are quite brittle when cold.

Enjoy!

Feel free to leave feedback and let me know what you think.

Polyphoods

Polyphoods Greek Salad

Leave a comment October 7, 2018 Dr Kashef

Recipes

Polyphoods Greek Salad

They collated the data and research that demonstrated the healthiest diet from the Mediterranean and far-east contained ingredients that lowered the incidence of cancer , diabetes and obesity ( despite the higher fat content of foods such as olives and olive oil).

So what was the secret? Simple, polyphenols!

A high polyphenol diet is so simple to follow and so tasty. If you look at my Instagram blog (@polyphenols) you won’t even realise what I post is ‘diet’ food. It certainly looks healthy but the one thing I never do is compromise on taste…or starve myself.

I am a massive foodie and as my aunt always says : “Unlike everything else, food is there from the minute you are born until the day you die, in many ways it is your one true great love ‘. She is right!

Through my posts, I will share my recipes with you and hope you will find not only does it help you lose weight, but you will also have a fulfilled palate and a colourful culinary life.

The Polyphenol Greek Salad is nothing fancy. It is delicious on its own or as a side dish to fish or chicken. I do not feel it goes as well with red meat but feel free to have a go and let me know !

The salad uses everyday ingredients and is quick to make.

THE POLYPHENOLS

Olives- I like using pitted queen green olives for vegetarian option or anchovy stuffed green olives for meat eaters. Kalamata olives work just as well. Basically use your favourite olives!

Cucumber- Any type will do but the small persian cucumbers, which are now found in supermarkets, are bursting with flavor and have softer skin.I always keep the skin on and don’t deseed it.

Tomatoes– I like Vittoria tomatoes as I find smaller tomatoes pack more flavour than the bigger ones but any vine-ripened tomato will do.

Avocado– Not a traditional ingredients but I love avocado in any salad. It adds a depth of flavor and a richness that means this salad can be eaten as a meal.

Red Onions– Red onions are full of polyphenols and a great addition to the salad, one problem…I hate raw onions! If you use them in your salad they will increase the polyphenol load

Herbs– I use chopped parsley and sometimes also add Basil. Any herb will add flavour : coriander , tarragon , mint. I avoid dill as it overpowers the dish. I also used dried oregano which has a 100 times more polyphenol content than fresh herb.

Lime juice– freshly squeezed lime is used for the dressing

Olive oil– I use extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil is knowns for its high polyphenol content. Remember the less refined the oil, the higher the polyphenol content.

The NON POLYPHENOLS

Cheese- I use Sainsbury’s Be Good To Yourself Feta which has the lowest fat content of the supermarket feta’s while being quite mild. I don’t like strong feta cheese or if too hard a cheese.

Cottage cheese can easily be used as a substitute .

Croutons- These are optional and can make the salad a complete meal. I have come to use wontons to make low fat crisps. The recipe will be posted soon 😉

Right, now for the Recipe.

Enjoy!

Polyphoods Greek Salad

The amounts you use will vary depending on your preference , but below has some rough portions

Ingredients:

Tomatoes – A pack of cherry/ Vittoria/ baby plum tomatoes (about 250g)- Chopped into halves (keep whole if you are preparing the salad ahead)
Cucumber- 4 small cucumbers or half a large cucumber- cut into small cubes
Avocado- 1/2 a large avocado or 1 medium/small avocado
Queen green Olives- pitted or anchovy stuffed- 1/2 jar ( use the ones in brine not oil)
Parsley- 1 handful roughly chopped
Oregano- 2 large pinches
Low fat Feta – 90g crumbled
Extra Virgin Olive Oil- 2 table spoons
Lime- Juice of one lime

Method:

Mix tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, olives and parsley together. Crumble the cheese on top of the salad and sprinkle with oregano.

Finish with pouring the lime and olive oil on top.

Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Bon Appetite

Polyphoods

Follow me on Instagram @polyphoods

Polyphoods Green Smoothie

Leave a comment September 30, 2018 Dr Kashef

I have been drinking smoothies and/or juicing instead of lunch for nearly 7 years now. I have tried many variations and different proportions of fruit and vegetables before coming up with this recipe.

The factors that were key in modifying and refining this recipe were:

Polyphenol Content
Fibre load
Refreshing taste to improve breath and body odour
Filling
Palatable

The advantages of this smoothie recipe (over the classic SIRTFood Juice recipe) is that it is more filling , has a much higher fibre load and you don’t waste any part of the vegetables and fruit.

It can be made a day in advance without losing its flavour or nutritional content.

In theory you can freeze the smoothie and thaw it the night before , however I am still working out the polyphenol load in each portion to ensure none of it is lost through the freezing process.

Right! Lets get blending!

I use a Nutri-Ninja but any strong blender will do.

Polyphoods Green Juice Smoothie

2x Kiwi – peeled and chopped into 8 pieces

2 finger breadths cucumber chopped with skin on

5 pieces of frozen pineapple chunks

small handful of parsley

4-5 mint leaves

Juice of one Lemon

50-100 ml of water ( depending on the size of your blender and the juice of the vegetables)

Optional – Half a stalk of celery ( not all blenders can puree celery well enough).

Put the softer vegetables (leaves, cucumber, lemon juice) in the mixer furthest from the blades and add the ingredients based on firmness, finishing with Kiwi then the pineapple chunks.

Blend until smooth. If the smoothie is lumpy, blend twice.

Use a straw to drink as the combination of sugar from the pineapple and the acid from the lemon juice and kiwi can erode your teeth long term ( This is what most blog sites do not tell you!).

Happy Drinking!!

Please feel free to comment or send me queries on this or any of the recipes I post.

Follow me on Instagram @polyphoods