Beauty foods
Chef inspired by her mother provides healthy recipes to nourish your inner self
Caroline Artiss, author of Beauty Foods, said she knew from a young age that food was her path in life.
She trained as a chef at the age of 15 and has been part of the food world ever since.
This is her first cookbook and is very close to her heart.
“It is dedicated to my mother who sadly passed away last year while I was in the middle of writing it,” Artiss says.
“My mother was a top beautician who had her own successful beauty clinic called Hibiscus, in Stoke Poges, England.
“Beauty was her passion in life and she had the healing hands and knowledge to help many people look their absolute best.”
Artiss says her mother always believed in natural beauty regimes and treatments. The house was filled with the scents of lavender, tea tree and peppermint from her aromatherapy.
“Her Chinese-Malaysian heritage taught me so much about using food to heal certain ailments and for keeping us healthy and looking good.
“If we were ever sick or unwell, the ginger root would be whipped out and made into a ginger, honey and lemon tea, or a pot of chicken soup would be on the stove, which my mother told me would also keep me looking young.”
Artiss believes if we eat healthily, we can nourish our bodies with everything they need by eating the right foods.
She developed the recipes in this book using a good mixture of ingredients, some available at the local supermarket, and some — which have specific superfood qualities — that you’ll most likely find at a health food store.
Following is one of the recipes from her book:
LEMON, TARRAGON and SARDINE PATE
I think sardines are very under-used and often underrated. These small, affordable fish are a rich source of vitamin D, which helps calcium to be absorbed, to nourish our bones.
They are also a rich source of calcium, vitamin B12 and phosphorus, which all help strengthen our bone matrix.
Ingredients
■ 2 tablespoons olive oil
■ ½ red onion, sliced
■ 1½ tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
■ 2 x 120-g / 3¾ oz. cans of sardines in water, drained
■ A pinch each of sea salt and black pepper
■ zest and juice of 1 lemon
■ 2 tablespoons ghee, melted
To serve
■ Toast or ancient grain crackers
■ 1 cucumber, sliced
■ Fresh tarragon leaves
■ Lemon wedges Serves 4
Method
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan/skillet over low-medium heat. Add the red onion and cook for 6-7 minutes, until the onion softens and begins to caramelise. Add the tarragon near the end and cook for a further minute. Leave to cool slightly, then transfer to a food processor.
Add the sardines, salt and pepper, lemon zest and juice and melted ghee. (There is no need to pick the tiny bones out of the sardines as they will be blended and provide extra calcium.) Blend until you have a smooth pate´.
This is delicious spread on toast or crackers, with a few slices of cucumber on top, sprinkled with tarragon leaves and with lemon wedges on the side to squeeze. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.