Happy 2015! With Christmas and New Year behind us for another year I look forward to the beginning of a new chapter. I hope I bring you more delicious ways of packing in nutrients and flavour on your table, yet simple and easy to make.

I like this wonderful festive time of year though feeling sluggish after an array of indulgent food and drinks is not my favourite. To beat all that post-holiday blues and bloats, fresh salads immediately spring to my mind. This simple salad is packed full of flavour. Crunchy broccoli, spiced nutty quinoa and fragrant salty blue cheese are a sublime combination. Adding spices when cooking quinoa is lovely and flavourful and is my favourite way of cooking quinoa.

Wishing you all a safe, healthy and fabulous new year x

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli floret
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1 cup of tricoloured quinoa
1 pinch of saffron
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp roasted sesame seeds
pepper to taste
50g blue cheese
1 tbsp olive oil

Wash, rinse the quinoa and cover with cold water in a pot. Add saffron, turmeric and cumin into a pot and bring it up to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until cooked. Take it off the heat and set aside. Finely chop broccoli and zucchini. To assemble, place cooked quinoa, chopped broccoli and zucchini in a large mixing bowl. Season with pepper. Add olive oil and crumbled blue cheese. Gently toss to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Summer is all about simple and easy-to-make meals, especially colourful salads. Thanks to the abundance and variety of vegetables at this time of the year, it is so much fun putting together tiers of flavours and textures in your salad. It is my staple food of choice and the centre piece of the meal. I absolutely love roasted beets and pumpkins because sweetness and complex flavour after roasting is incredibly comforting. Not only that, you could also use them in a myriad of ways – making into a soup, adding into your baking goodies, making beet dips or making salads like this.

This is the salad that puts you back on a healthy track after a not-so-healthy weekend or holiday things. Whenever I see kale at the markets, I feel like it is my duty to get them and create nice salads. Kale is fantastic for the base of salad, but feel free to use any greens instead like spinach, arugula or frisee. We all know green leafy veggies are good for health, right? Chlorophyll helps to cleanse, rebuild and replenish red blood cells and boosts energy. Phytonutrients in glorious greens strengthen your immune system and protect from cell damage. Greens also high quality protein, building blocks for our body. So go green!

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale leaves
1 beet
1 cup of diced pumpkin
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
salt and pepper

Dressing

1 tbsp e.v.o.o
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup or raw honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard

Dice beetroot and pumpkin and place in a large bowl. Add olive oil, smoked paprika and season with salt and pepper. Toss well and spread in a baking tray. Place in the preheated oven (180) for 15 minutes or until cooked. In the mean time, tear kale leaves into bite sizes. Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well. To assemble the salad, place cooked beet, pumpkin and kale in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over salad mixture and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer to a serving bowl.