The Joy of Homemade Jam

Posted on May 21, 2013 by chefgabi

I just wanted to share with you a simple recipe for a bit of healthier jam. Guilt free, almost!Honey sweetened and freshly made, it may make a great option for breakfast, cakes, cookies or desserts.

When ever I have some fruits or berries that are a bit on the softer and riper side, I combine them in a small sauce pan, add a slice of organic lemon with the skin, a small piece of vanilla pot and as much acacia honey as required to sweeten the fruits. This depends pretty much on the fruits and on your taste.

Then I simmer them on low temperature for around 10 – 15 minutes. This is enough to deconstruct the fruits and still leave them in a vivid color a flavor. After that I add a spoonful of either arrowroot, agar agar or tapioca flour, or and stir that in for a last bubble up on the heat. Again here it depends on the pectine content of the fruits if I need a little bit more of the thickening agent or not. Rule of thumb: 1 teaspoon for around 350 – 400 ml of jam.

Now the jam is ready to be filled in a glass or bowl and it goes in the fridge, awaiting its final use! It keeps well for around 3-5 days when refrigerated. So I never produce too much of it. Making such a small amount of deliciously smelling jam in your kitchen is no work at all and so much pleasure. You should give it a try! I love to eat this jam with some fresh yoghurt for example when I am craving something sweet….

Luxurious Muesli – Start fresh into April!

Posted on April 2, 2013 by chefgabi

I now can reveal the recipe for my latest favorite muesli, as shown and created for MBC1 The Green Apple Show, aired recently. View the video sequence here.
By the way, there is more healthy treats to come soon on this channel. Keep watching it.
To easy make and enjoy this perfect morning treat at home, please follow below recipe.
I am sure you will like it as much as I do!

Luxurious Layered Morning Muesli
2 portions

What To Buy
10g Buckwheat
5g Puffed Amaranth (it is easy to puff Amaranth, as shown in the video, if you want to do it yourself as I do it)
10g Oat flakes
10g Almonds with skin
50g Mango
50g Papaya
30g Pomegranate seeds
50g Strawberry
10g Passion fruit pulp with seeds
200ml low fat Yoghurt
5g Acacia honey

How To Make It
Toast the buckwheat, the oat flakes and the sunflower seeds slightly in a non stick pan without any fat. Toast the almonds the same way and crush them roughly. Mix the seeds and nuts with the puffed amaranth.

Peel the papaya and the mango. Dice strawberry, mango and papaya and keep separate.
Spoon the prepared ingredients layered into glasses, so you can display the colorful layers: Some seeds and nuts mix, top with yoghurt, one type of fruit. Repeat the same layers with a different type of fruit.

Serve topped with a drizzle of acacia honey.

Chef Gabi’s Tip
This morning treat is packed with nutrients supporting beautiful skin, shiny hair, strong nails and bones. In the same time it provides you with lots of energy for a fresh start in the day.
p.s. left is one “making of” picture with the presenter Howayda and me, preparing the muesli. In the back you see beautiful Madinat Jumeirah Resort with its waterways, where guests are transported by boats …enjoy something truly inspirational about it here.

Talise Nutrition on MBC 1

Posted on March 14, 2013 by chefgabi

Our latest filming will be aired tomorrow, Friday, at 9 pm, at the Green Apple Show on MBC1…..very excited, and hope you all watch!

I have been very busy at work the last few weeks. Oh what am I saying, the last few months! No chance for even a short trip abroad to visit my beloved Bavaria, where I come from, to see the winter. Everyone at home is jealous though that I have everyday sunshine and warm weather while they have been freezing and shoveling snow. At least until recently, now finally some signs of spring are in the air.

To cure my longing for Bavaria I cooked some

flavors from home – away from home.

My home grown sweet marjoram (oregano family, but sweeter and milder) is beautiful and just perfect with its fragrant little leaves. Apart from its antioxidative benefits (think eternal youth!) it is a staple seasoning ingredient in Bavarian cuisine. I added it to my very simple but delicious

Potato Vegetable Soup with fresh Marjoram
2 portions

What to Buy
1 carrot, diced
1 parsnip or parsley root (however parsley root is difficult to source here in the Middle East), diced
2 small potatoes, peeled, diced
1 small leek, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 small piece mace
2 tablespoons olive oil
500 ml vegetable stock
salt, pepper
5 sprigs fresh marjoram, leaves picked

How to Make It
Braise in olive oil until golden the potatoes, parsnip and carrot with bay leaf and mace. Then add the vegetable stock and simmer for around 15 minutes on low heat. Add the leek, season with salt and pepper and serve with fresh marjoram leaves sprinkled all over.

Chef Gabi’s Tip:
I add sometimes dried cepes to the soup – they give this simple soup a significant upgrade! Must try.
This is what I cook at home when I feel not like cooking. A really easy to make recipe.

Cooking with Love

Posted on February 12, 2013 by chefgabi

Everyone talks about Valentines day! It is, indeed, ante portas…
I was invited again to Studio One with Ash and Tom for the culinary support of their Valentines….week.

Thinking what to present I came across one of my long time favorites, an hors d’oeuvre, perfect to start a romantic dinner. Simple, quickly done, with impressive aroma. Because who wants to spend the time in the kitchen on Valentines day?

All you need is a slowly reduced tomato relish, a little bit of tapenade (olives and capers paste), and one hard boiled egg chopped and mixed with yoghurt and mustard. For the grissini look here. Watch the sequence here.

Enjoy!

Baking Rediscovered

Posted on February 10, 2013 by chefgabi

Recently I have rediscovered baking. My mom bakes almost every day fresh crispy wholesome rolls and baguettes, and her dark and aromatic sourdough bread is famous! I have done her recipe for gluten free sesame rolls and you wouldn’t believe it they are really lovely. They will be definitely on my hitlist from now on.

GLUTEN FREE SESAME ROLLS
12 small rolls (they turn out crispier, when they are smaller)

What to Buy
50 gm millet flour
100 gm buckwheat flour
20 gm quinoa flour
150 ml water
10 gm fresh yeast
20 gm butter, melted (you can also use olive oil instead)
5 g salt
20 gm wholesome white sesame, toasted

How to Make It
Liquidise the yeast in the water. Combine it with the flours, toasted sesame seeds, salt and butter. It can be that you need to add some more water or a touch more flower. Just bear in mind the dough is rather soft as pictured above.
Preheat the oven at 250 degrees Celsius. Lay a baking tray with parchment paper and spoon the rather soft dough in portions on the paper. Give them an even more rustic look by dusting them generously with some of the flour mix from above ingredients. Allow the rolls to rise for around 15 minutes, then bake them in the oven for around 10 minutes, with an initial spritz of cold water sprayed into the oven before you close the door for baking. This is to create the best crust. For more baking tips please click here.

They are best when eaten slightly warm. I am a big fan of dipping them in quark with herbs, little garlic and diced tomatoes!

Here some information on the flours used in this recipe:
Millet is an excellent source of silicium, good for bones, teeth, skin and hair strength. Its golden color makes all baked goods appear brighter and lighter, even though they are wholesome. However the flour is slightly sandy on the tongue. For this reason I use it mixed with others for bread rolls.
Buckwheat provides plenty of lecithin, good for your heart. It has a very special flavor, a bit nutty in an unusual way (unless you are Russian born and raised on buckwheat based dishes). The flour is slightly grey in color, a reason why I tend to mix it with golden ones for a sunnier look. The lecithin makes it a perfect flour for baking, and doughs turn out smooth and fluffy.
Quinoa is a protein powerhouse supplying all essential amino acids. Its flower is similar bright than millet flour and lifts the color of any baked food even though it is wholesome.

New Year – New You

Posted on January 9, 2013 by chefgabi

Who has not made some New Years resolutions that are related to a fitter, healthier body?

Detox is key after the festive season just concluded and some extra pounds gained! You can easily get back to a healthy and new you with some carefully selected food that helps to flush out the toxins and in the same time is nourishing your cells with the right amount of nutrients. Especially when working out we need to have some healthy proteins, good complex carbohydrates and plenty of vitamins with our food. In the same time it should be not so heavy on calories and fat. See here one of my favorite salads, that can make a complete lunch or dinner, and is even suitable to be taken to the office in a lunch box. Try this deliciouysly nourishing salad with cleansing beetroot, liver function supporting artichokes and vegetable protein providing lentils. In the same time this dish is vegan and free of gluten. Not to mention it is easy to make and tastes great….

Beetroot Lentil Salad

What to Buy
2 large or 4 smaller portions

50 g Du Puy Lentils
500 ml Vegetable stock
2 Cloves and 1 Bay leave
1 White Onion, peeled
500 gm Beetroot, cooked
1 Artichoke bottom, cleaned
8 ml Balsamic Vinegar
5 ml Lemon Juice
10 gm Parsley and Mint, leaves picked and washed
10 ml Olive oil
80 gm Mixed Lettuce, picked and washed
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

How to Make It
Stick the bay leave with the cloves on the onion surface. Cook the lentils with onion, cloves, bay leaf and vegetable stock. This may take up to 25 minutes to get them soft. In the meantime dice the beetroot, slice the artichoke bottom and mix olive oil, lemon juice and baslamic vinegar to a dessing.
Remove the onion with the bay leaf. Toss the warm lentils with beetroot, artichokes and the vinaigrette. Season to taste and arrange with lettuce and the herbs on plates.

To round up your resolutions and make them work much more effective, visit beautiful Talise Spa at Madinat Jumeirah. Be guided to a new glowing you by a consultation with Dr Erzebeth Makk and Kay Vosloo. Besides that we serve at the Spa carefully selected healthy dishes that restore energies and help to create that “feel good in the inside” supporting whatever treatment you choose.

Nevertheless as a chef I am running around all day, but specific training and guided movements are much more effective to tone muscles and build shape. I have started some workout recently and can only recommend it. Besides it is fun it makes you feel much better after only a few sessions already.
Have a look at what the new Talise Fitness at Madinat Jumeirah has on offer. I am sure there is something for everyone. And their new menu at Quay Cafe is tuned up with healthy options that suit and support deliciously your work out aspirations. Enjoy!

Wishing everyone a healthy, happy and successful New Year!

Healthy Lifestyle – My Wellbeing Tip No 5

Posted on December 17, 2012 by chefgabi

The importance of food and its interconnection to health and wellbeing can’t be highlighted enough. How much each individual can influence its very own body on a daily basis with just the regular food intake is absolutely fanstastic.

Here 10 Basic Hints about Wellbeing Food:

1 WELLBEING IS EDIBLE the human body builds its cells out of the food we eat – every day. Good nutrition is in our hands, literally.

2 DE-STRESS YOUR MEAL PLAN the modern human being is exposed to a significant amount of stress – one of it is poor nutrition, snacks and meals with almost zero nutrients. A diet of junk food doesn’t make us stressful instantly, but on the long run.

3 SMALL STEPS take small steps towards your lifestyle improvement. Start with something you can implement in your daily routine easily. Because nothing is more rewarding and encouraging than the success of feeling and looking better

4 LIQUIDS the intake of sufficient amount of water, also in watery fruits and vegetables is very important to our overall wellbeing. It helps to hydrate and bolster our cells, and to dilute toxins

5 QUALITY focus on fresh, natural ingredients and prefer suitable preparation methods like steaming or grilling rather than deep fat frying to avoid damages to valuable nutrients

6 FAT is not equals fat. Unsaturated fats in nuts, seeds, avocado and vegetable oils are highly recommendable to maintain good health; however saturated fats in fatty meats, dairy and deep fried products should be kept at a minimum intake. Bear in mind we consume normally far more of the bad fats than of the good fats.

7 VARIETY eat a rainbow of colors, including black as for example black berries over purple like red cabbage and purple potatoes to white e.g. white radish, almond milk, rice milk or dairy

8 WHOLESOME eat the good carbs in all hulled starches and vegetables if possible with their skin, nuts and seeds, and avoid or reduce the bad carbs like white sugar, white flour, peeled rice and others

9 BALANCE aim for a 35 % raw 65% cooked food ratio, and avoid pH imbalance or over acidity

10 MODERATE eat slowly, chew well, consume moderate portions, don’t over indulge too regularly on less ideal food options

Currently I am working a lot on health related food themes. This is what I love most about my job. You will see and experience TALISE NUTRITION soon within Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts in the near future. I am looking forward to sharing with you news, good nutritous food, tips and recipes.
Stay healthy and enjoy life!

Add some detox food….every day

Posted on December 16, 2012 by chefgabi

How to get through the festive season – nutritionally balanced? This might be a question to many of us, considering feasting is contraproductive at times.
Nothing to worry.
As long as we keep focussed on balance and try to keep over indulgence at bay, whilst we add in healthier choices where and when possible and give our digestive system a rest in between.

Some of my easy to make detox tips can be viewed in Gulf News today.

As Resort Wellbeing Chef at Madinat Jumeirah I have combined detoxing and digestion supporting ingredients into one of my favourite raw salads. Carrot, butternut squash, beetroot and ginger mingle on your plate and make the perfect detox mix, packed with vitamins, fiber, and cleansing properties. Try it and order the Talise Detox Salad when you are at the Talise Spa in Madinat Jumeirah and relax after a treatment! It rewards you with good digestion, elimination of toxins and glowing skin.

Stay healthy and optimize glow this festive season!

Healthy Lifestyle – My Wellbeing Tip No 4

Posted on December 15, 2012 by chefgabi

Understanding Food Quality

With supermarkets full of delightful offerings and an overwhelming variety of foodstuff we easlily get confused and pick what is not really beneficial for our health and wellbeing. Especially when we get trapped in storing convenient convenience food in our pantries at home, because it promises to save us time…
Most important is to bear in mind:

We are what we eat.

Let’s have a closer look on the quality of food that helps us to make our choice.

Low quality food = building weak cells High quality food = building strong cells

Leads to an acidic state in the body helps to alkalize the body

higher level of toxins better absorbtion of nutrients

fastens ageing process slows ageing process

canned, preserved food raw, enzyme rich and fresh food

processed, denaturalized food natural vitamin rich food

low fiber food (white flour, white rice) wholesome high fiber food

convenience food, fast food steamed food, raw food and sprouts

Stay healthy and energized through this year’s festive season and don’t forget:

Autumn – Time to Strenghten Immune Power

Posted on November 30, 2012 by chefgabi

With the most welcome weather change it is wise to prepare our immune system to fight off flu attacks. Vitamin C rich foods help to stengthen immune power best. With cranberries in season I made this a vitamin packed delicious smoothie in almost no time. It features a great combination of lactic protein, pectine to bind and eliminate toxins, plenty of vitamin C, which is besides a great immune shield also helping to burn fat if you work out, Provitamin A, and it is wholesome. Perfect.

My Cranberry Smoothie

2 Portions

What to buy
200 ml fresh pressed carrot juice
200 ml fresh pressed apple juice
200 ml low fat yoghurt or laban
2 Passion fruits – pulp and seeds
2 tablespoons agave syrup
2 tablespoons fresh or frozen cranberries
Crushed ice

How to Make It

Blend the cranberries with the agave syrup, the juices and the yoghurt or laban. Serve on crushed ice, toped with fresh passion fruit pulp.

Here are some interesting facts about cranberries:
The tart little red fruits are high vitamin and high health supportive phytonutrient wonders (phytonutrients are for example phenolic acids, flavonoids, anthocyanins – they are all impressive antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties) while they are extremely low in calories. They contain plenty of vitamin C, K, and E, manganese and fiber.

Wishing you a great and healthy UAE National Day – enjoy the festivities!

Talise Nutrition

Madinat Jumeirah's wellbeing Chef shares her passion about healthy cuisine!

Category Archives: Gabi’s Tips