5 Healthful Summer Recipes to Calm your Soul

Sometimes, especially after a few days (and nights!) of being busy, meeting friends, chatting, eating and drinking, I reach a point when all I want to do is be kind to my body, rest and eat gentle, wholesome food that nourishes my soul too.

That's not to say that eating Primally isn't wholesome – it is! But maybe, particularly during the summer, we have had one too many late nights, one too many non-Primal indulgences (someone mention ice-cream?) and a few too many warm evenings drinking cold beer/prosecco/cava/wine... (fill in as appropriate) so these are the recipes I turn to when I need to convalesce and regain my spirit. They also seem appropriate following on from last week's blog about mindfulness – a few of these dishes eaten mindfully will set you back on the road to recovery.

Buddha Bowls

The idea behind Buddha bowls comes from the ancient tradition of the Buddhist monks receiving food from local villages. The monks would wait patiently with their small food bowls near a village and the villagers would give them whatever they could spare, so the bowls would have a variety of different things in them. Traditionally, of course, the food would have been vegetarian as the monks would not have eaten animal produce and the amounts would have been small, unlike some of the photos you see on the internet.

So this isn't so much a recipe as ideas on putting a Buddha bowl together. In the spirit of the tradition, this variation is vegetarian, but feel free to add meat or fish to your liking.

The bowl is usually build in layers with the first layer being a carbohydrate; traditionally this would almost certainly have been rice but adjusting it to Primal principles, I am using quinoa. The second layer is a variety of salad leaves, then brightly coloured salad veggies are added to make it look appealing and add to your intake of antioxidants; finally it is topped with a protein and a light dressing. I find the mindful attention to the aesthetic appearance as you assemble the bowl adds to its appeal and calming qualities.

For the bowl – serves 1

2 tblsps cooked quinoa*

Handful of salad leaves – a good mix of beet leaves, baby spinach, rocket, watercress and lettuce

3-4 cherry tomatoes, halved

½ small green pepper, cut into 1 cm pieces

1 tblsp broccoli florets – cooked lightly with olive oil so they still retain a bit of crunch

1 small cooked beetroot, cut into 1 cm cubes

¼ small red onion, thinly sliced

4-5 green or black olives

2 tblsps cooked chickpeas (garbanzos), lentils, cubes of goat or non-dairy cheese, or sliced hard-boiled egg

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Extra virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar to dress

1 tblsp toasted seeds (see next recipe)

*For the quinoa – makes 3-4 servings so enough for another meal

150g quinoa

300ml boiling water or light vegetable stock – Swiss Marigold Bouillon is a good one

Put the quinoa and stock or water into a pan and bring to the boil

Cover and simmer very gently for 15 minutes

Turn off the heat and leave to stand for another 10 minutes

Cool before serving

To assemble the Buddha Bowl

Put 2 tblsps of quinoa into the bottom of a medium-size salad or dessert bowl

Add a layer of colourful leaves

Arrange the other salad vegetables in neat sections around the bowl on top of the leaves

Place the protein element carefully on top

Dress lightly with olive oil and cider vinegar

Sprinkle on the toasted seeds

Add salt and pepper to taste

Eat mindfully and enjoy every mouthful

Toasted Mixed Seed 'Croutons'

Croutons add a lovely crunch and texture to a salad but most croutons are made with bread and the bought ones will almost certainly have been cooked in undesirable oils. This alternative gives you all the crunchiness and texture of traditional croutons but without the bread and with the super nutritional qualities of seeds – little powerhouses of goodness that they are!

Once these are made, they will keep in a well-sealed jar for a couple of weeks.

You can use any mix of seeds for these but leave out the sesame seeds if anyone has allergies.

50g each of any or all of:

Sunflower hearts

Pumpkin seeds

Sesame seeds

Pine nuts

Flax seeds

Hemp seeds

Put a heavy-based pan without oil on to heat – the natural oils in the seeds allow them to toast without added oil

Add the biggest seeds first – pine nuts and pumpkin seeds.

Allow to heat, stirring, until the pumpkin seeds begin to pop and the pine nuts are beginning to colour a little

Add the sunflower hearts and cook a little longer – keep stirring so the seeds at the bottom don't burn

Finally add the sesame seeds and other smaller seeds

Keep toasting until the seeds are colouring and aromatic

Tip immediately into a wide heat-proof bowl to cool.

When they are cool, store in an airtight jar

Be really careful with the pan when it comes off the heat – it will be seriously hot and will hiss and splatter if you put it in water – let it cool for a while first.

Gazpacho

A wonderful Spanish iced soup which is ideal for hot summer days. To be fair, the Spanish will only eat this if the weather is really hot (and in Spain – that means HOT!), but it's still good even on cooler British summer days.

This really is salad in soup form – which sounds a bit odd but it is fresh and delicious as a summer lunch. It's wonderful made with fresh tomatoes – great if you grow your own and have a bit of a glut – but it works well with tinned tomatoes as well.

It does need to be ice cold though – I once had a slightly lukewarm serving and it really wasn't nice. Iced bowls and some prettily-shaped ice cubes keep it chilled and add to the appeal.

Ingredients – serves 4

6-8 ripe tomatoes (depending on size), chopped or 2 cans chopped tinned tomatoes

½ cucumber, roughly chopped

½ large or 1 small red pepper, deseeded

½ red onion

1 clove garlic, peeled

3 tblsps olive oil

1 tblsp red wine or sherry vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

To top

½ red pepper and 10cm piece of cucumber, finely chopped

1 hard-boiled egg, finely chopped

A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Sprinkle of fresh chopped basil leaves (optional)

2-3 ice cubes per person

Put the tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, onion, garlic and olive oil into a food processor and process until they are well blended and smooth – you will need to scrape down the bowl to get it all mixed in.

Add the vinegar, salt and pepper and whizz again.

Check the seasoning and adjust to taste

At this point, some people like to pass the soup through a sieve to make it really smooth but I actually prefer the texture of it unsieved – it's a personal preference.

Pour into a large bowl or jug and chill in the fridge for at least two hours

To serve, pour the gazpacho into chilled bowls, add ice cubes and put a spoonful of the chopped pepper, cucumber and egg (if using) onto the top. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with chopped basil.

Serve immediately

Grilled Halloumi with Chilli and Stir-fry Greens

Halloumi is a wonderful Cypriot cheese made from goat's or sheep's milk. It has an unusual texture which can only be described as 'squeaky' or, as my husband says 'like polystyrene' but don't let that put you off! Halloumi is very versatile and lends itself beautifully to grilling, dry-frying or even BBQ-ing – it doesn't melt quickly so you can get a lovely browned outside with salty creaminess in the middle.

Here I have combined it with chillies and a stir-fry of oriental greens - bok choi and pak choi are members of the cruciferous family (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) and are some of the most nutritious greens – they're also very tasty! Toast some sesame seeds to sprinkle over the top and just feel those good vibes as you eat.

If you can't get bok choi or pak choi, you can use broccoli instead, Swiss chard works well too.

Ingredients – serves 3-4

225g pack Halloumi – plain or with herbs or chilli

1 tblsp olive oil or coconut oil

450g pak choi or bok choi, washed and roughly chopped

10g dried Asian or porcini mushrooms, soaked in boiling water

3 spring onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated or 1 tsp easy ginger from a jar

1-2 red chillies, very finely chopped. Remove the seeds if you want to reduce the heat

1 tblsp light soy sauce

2 tblsps toasted sesame seeds

For the Halloumi

Heat a heavy-based pan without oil. If you have a ridged pan, this gives the halloumi a very pretty grilled effect.

Cut the Halloumi into slices about ½ cm thick – some of them might break but it won't affect the dish

Gently place the Halloumi slices into the very hot pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes until the underside is golden brown. Carefully turn over and cook the other side.

Remove from the pan and keep warm

For the stir-fry

Drain the mushrooms and then chop roughly

Heat the olive or coconut oil in a wok or large frying pan

Add the ginger, garlic and chillies and cook for about 1 minute

Add the Bok or Pak Choi and mushrooms and stir fry until glistening and cooked but not too soft

Stir in the soy sauce and cook for another minute

Put onto warmed plates, place the grilled Halloumi on top and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds

Thai Fish Cakes with Chilli Sauce

Fish is wonderfully healthy – an excellent source of protein and full of omega 3 fatty acids which are great for the heart and brain. For these fishcakes, I am using salmon but they can be made with any fish – white fish, tuna, or even a mix with some peeled prawns thrown in; possibly smoked fish would not work as well as the flavour is too strong

The Thai flavours come from Nam-Pla or fish sauce which you should be able to get from most supermarkets, lime juice and a good handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves. They are thickened using chia seeds instead of flour or potato so not only are they lighter, they also have the added goodness of the chia seeds.

You could serve these with the stir-fry from the last recipe, some lightly cooked vegetables or a nice big salad.

Ingredients - serves 2

200g fish – I used 1 large can of pink salmon, but any fish will work

1 spring onion, cleaned and roughly chopped

1cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated, or ½ tsp easy ginger

1 clove of garlic peeled and chopped

½ tblsp fish sauce

zest and juice of ½ a lime, or ½ tblsp bottled lime juice

1 tsp brown sugar

1 red chilli

1 tblsp fresh coriander (cilantro)

1 small egg

2 tsps chia seeds

1 tblsp coconut oil or olive oil

Drain any liquid from the fish. If you're using white fish, pat dry on kitchen towel.

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until chopped and mixed but still with a rough texture. You could also do this with a stick blender.

Chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes to thicken.

Shape into 4 patties and fry gently in coconut oil or olive oil until the outsides are crispy and the insides are cooked through.

Serve with Sweet Chilli Sauce (recipe here) or Lime and Chipotle Chilli Mayo (recipe here) or possibly both!

Bonus recipe!

Lime and Chipotle Chilli Mayo

I made a very exciting discovery in our supermarket lately – Chipotle Chilli Tabasco! There's something really special about the gorgeous smokey flavour of chipotle chilli that just adds a real zing to this mayo. Any good chipotle chilli paste will work for this but I haven't been able to find any here. Using lime instead of lemon juice or vinegar also gives a fresh and exotic flavour which goes well with the Thai fishcakes or BBQ foods; it also makes a delicious dip for vegetable sticks.

The mayo is made using the all-in-one stick-blender method which is pretty well fool-proof although if the weather is hot (as it is here at the moment), chilling the mixture before blending seems to help stop it from splitting.

Ingredients – makes 1 jar

2 medium free-range eggs

Zest and juice of 1 lime

1 clove garlic

2-3 good tsps chipotle chilli Tabasco, or 1 tsp chipotle chilli paste

½ tsp sea salt

½ tsp mustard powder

300ml light olive oil

Put all of the ingredients into the goblet of the blender

Carefully place the stick blender over the eggs and garlic at the bottom and blend holding the blender on the bottom for about 30 seconds.

Very gradually, begin to lift the stick-blender so the oil can blend with the other ingredients

Very slowly bring it to the top of the goblet until the ingredients are all mixed and the mayo is thick and creamy.

Move the blender up and down a few times to make sure everything is mixed.

Transfer the mayo into an airtight jar and store in the fridge for up to a week (but I bet it does last that long!)

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I hope you will try some of these and enjoy feeling healthy and refreshed. Let me know how you get on.