What is a ‘Healthy Epicurean’? Why you of course! Someone who enjoys the pleasure of eating but also wants to fuel and nourish your body with healthy, comforting and energizing food. At World Wise Beauty, I still find the Mediterranean Diet still one of the best diets to follow, because there is great flexibility and you can customize the diet based on your values and lifestyle. For example, you can eat meat, but remember meat is a very small staple in the Mediterranean diet. Or you can choose not to eat meat at all. The important thing is no matter which option you choose, you are getting all of the powerful health benefits of a plant based diet. Now that we have that covered, let’s get back to enjoying a pleasurable meal.
This month, I feature ‘The Mediterranean Dish’ a personal food blog and online resource for modern Mediterranean recipes. I love this blog and always find tasty recipes to try. Now that Fall has arrived ( although it is pretty balmy today here on the East Coast!) I’m interested in comforting warm soups filled with healthy protein (chick peas in this one), nourishing vegetables and anti-inflammatory spices. What I love about soups, is you can get so much in there! This fantastic recipe is the perfect Fall recipe and will take us right through winter. I hope you add it to your healthy epicurean recipes to try and discover more Mediterranean inspired recipes at the blog. See below for the featured recipe.
I’m passionate about sharing inspiration, wisdom and tools for living life well, and the Healthy Epicurean department is just one of the ways I do this. If you love the Mediterranean Diet like I do, consider reading the following books I have featured here at World Wise Beauty. I always try and do a Q&A with the author and extract the really wise bites from the book, so you will be inspired to read it yourself! Read my Q&A with Dr. Simon Poole the author of ‘The Olive Oil Diet’ and my Q&A with Maria Benardis, author of “My Greek Family Table’ and immerse yourself into the healthy mindset that is naturally baked into the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle. Don’t forget to follow my blog, so you can discover a cornucopia of healthy wisdom to live life well practicing lifestyle as medicine.
Remember no-one can live your life as well as you!
Laura Connolly, Founder of World Wise Beauty Blog & Rise of Wise Presents
HEALTHY EPICUREAN FEATURED RECIPE
from ‘The Mediterranean Dish’
‘Recipe at The Mediterranean Dish‘
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups dry chickpeas
- Private Reserve or Early Harvest Greek extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- salt
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, cored, chopped
- 3 to 4 red chili peppers (optional)
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 15 oz can chopped tomatoes with juice
- 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
- 1 lemon, juice of
- 1 oz chopped fresh cilantro
- Stovetop Instructions: Use a large Dutch Oven and heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Follow step #2 above. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, and broth. Bring to a rolling boil for 5 minutes, then turn heat down. Cover and let simmer for 1 1/2 hour or until the chickpeas are tender and fully cooked through. Remove from heat. Follow steps #5 and #6.