Lauren Caris
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Instagram: @laurencariscooks | laurencariscooks.com
Nourishing Yourself
I try and eat a whole foods based diet as much of the time as I can. At home, I barely use anything out of a packet and absolutely love cooking from scratch. There’s something powerful about knowing exactly what’s going into your food. Cooking this way will help you become a better chef as you start to experiment with combining different ingredients. I also try and include the biggest variety of fruits and vegetables I can, and am always excited to try new ones!
True Wellness
Wellness to me encompasses your mental health just as much as your physical health. It’s something that I feel is easy to neglect, especially in this day and age with how much everyone is “switched on” all the time. Taking the time to wind down and keep your stress levels in check is just as important as what you’re putting in your body. For me, bullet journaling has helped me immensely. It’s the perfect way for me to keep writing down lists with a pen and paper (which I love), but to do it efficiently and actually see what I have left to do. I’ve become more productive and calmer since using this system.
Fresh Raspberry Chia Pudding
Ingredients
2 tbsp Chia Seeds
3/4 cup (175ml)
Almond milk (or other plant milk of your choice) ¨ 1 tbsp Maple Syrup (or other natural sweetener) ¨ 1/2 cup (60g) fresh raspberries method Press the raspberries through a sieve with the back of a spoon to release all the juice. Put a bowl underneath the sieve to capture all the juice. Once you've got as much out as possible, discard the remaining pulp. Add the almond milk, maple syrup and chia seeds to the bowl with the raspberry puree and mix well. Cover and put into the fridge for at least 2 hours, stirring after 30 minutes to avoid lumps. If you can leave the chia pudding in the fridge overnight to set, that's even better! Serve layered with jam and granola or any other things you like! Chia pudding can be stored in the fridge for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container.
Must Try Food Discovery!
I recently discovered what a great combination mango and chocolate are! I don’t know why, but I don’t often think of putting tropical fruit with chocolate. It turns out the sweet, ripe mango, paired with some dark, bitter chocolate is a match made in heaven!
Life Truth
Being kind to one another is more important than anything else. We need to lift each other up with encouragement and positivity.
Lemongrass Coconut Noodle Soup
Ingredients
Soup Base
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
2 tsp Coriander Seeds
3 cloves garlic
1 stalk Lemon Grass
1 inch Piece of Fresh Ginger
Juice of 1 Lime
2 Red Chilis
2 tsp soy sauce Everything Else
1 (200g) block tofu
1 Carrot
1 Red Onion
1 Red Pepper
2 cups (170g) Mushrooms
1 (400g) can Coconut Milk
2 cups (550 ml) Vegetable Broth
200 g Rice Noodles (dry weight)
1 Spring Onion
1 handful Fresh Coriander
Sesame Seeds for garnish
Method
First make the base for the soup. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan on a medium heat for a few minutes until fragrant. Peel the ginger and chop the woody part off of the lemongrass stalk. Chop everything into small chunks and place into a blender. Blend for 1 minute or until smooth. Chop the tofu into 1 inch chunks and fry until golden brown. Take off the heat and set aside. Chop the carrot, red onion and red pepper into strips that are roughly the same size. Heat a little oil in a large sauce pan and sauté the vegetables with the blended base ingredients for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the coconut milk and vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. While the soup is simmering, place the rice noodles into a heatproof bowl and cover with just boiled water. Let sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, drain. Slice the mushrooms and fry in a small pan until golden brown. Then slice the spring onion into thin slices. Assemble the soup by first placing some rice noodles in the bottom of a dish, then topping with some of the soup mixture, tofu, mushrooms and spring onion.