I sat down last night with the intention of having a browse through my recently purchased copy of Heal – Begin with Food by Melissa Delport. What actually happened though is that I read it from cover to cover and, for the first time in a long time, felt really excited to cook. Working in the food industry can give you food fatigue. When you are looking at it, or are on set styling it all day, it can become a chore to cook at the end of the day but I found Heal completely inspiring.

Heal- Begin with Food

This is Melissa’s second book, the first, Whole – Bowl Food for Balance, focused on nutritious bowl-style meals. Heal begins with what Melissa describes as a textbook’s worth of information, however it doesn’t feel like that when you’re reading it. It’s conversational while being informative and it normalises a lot of information that can seem overwhelming.

We know that the diet and ‘health’ food industries are billion-dollar marketing machines and the overriding message in the book is about stepping away from that going back to basics and focusing on overall wellness. Sounds simple because actually, it can be. That doesn’t mean just what you put in your mouth but your mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing and connection as well.

Heal – Begin with Food shines a light on the wealth of goodness that the plant world offers.

It’s not vegan but is plant-focused and shot in Melissa’s beautiful style, it shows just how exciting plant-based meals can be. My goal is to cook my way through each one!

Say Yes to Conscious Wellbeing

Heal is not a diet book, it’s not a weight-loss book and it’s not a lesson in ethics either; simply put, it’s a great introduction to those who actively want to change the way they eat in order to fuel their bodies naturally.

It is more than just a cookbook though. If you are fatigued by the vicious cycle that is fad dieting and want to start to work towards a more nourishing way of eating, then you should definitely pick up a copy.  At the same time, you’ll learn how to live in a way that is kinder to yourself and as a result, to the earth too. Win-win I say.

Q&A with author Melissa Delport

We chat to Melissa to find out a bit more about the book and we also have two delicious recipe extracts from the book.

Crush: What has changed for you personally in your food journey from when you wrote your first book Whole, to now and the release of Heal?

MD: Whole was about moving away from fad diets and having that penny drop moment of thin and healthy not being the same thing. When I achieved my goals in the physical form, I realised that there was still an emotional body underneath it all that needed nourishment. I guess the question came up of, why was I unhappy if I was skinny? This set me up to dive deeper and look at how our emotions drive our food decisions. That’s how HEAL was born. So, I suppose the biggest change for me was finding deeper happiness and joy in my life and releasing the pressure of needing to be a certain physical shape.

Crush: You wrote, styled and photographed this book during the global pandemic and strict lockdown, how was that experience?

MD: To be honest, initially it was highly stressful and I am not sure that it changed much. There was so much fear surrounding the unknown and whether or not I was risking my life just buying the groceries. Luckily I got a system in place and with the support of my partner and my mother as my assistant, I managed to keep a tight ship on production and leave the house safely. It also forced me to focus as I have never focused before. The pandemic also removed all distractions because I couldn’t go anywhere. So in many ways, it also upped my game as a creative.

Crush: What is/are your top tip/s for dealing with that overwhelming feeling that often comes from deciding to embark on a new way of thinking/eating/living?

MD: One. Step. At. A. Time. We often think about the end goal and as a society of instant gratification, we expect ourselves to achieve those goals within two weeks or unreasonable timelines. Rome wasn’t built in a day and more often than notm, we have created our unhealthy habits over a lifetime. Pick small goals and focus on achieving that consistently. Then add another once you succeed. Then another. Before you know it months would have passed and you will have a whole list of healthy habits.

Crush: Is there one single most important tip/habit/hack that you would want someone to take away from reading and cooking from your latest book?

MD: Breathe. Connect to your breathing as much and as often as possible. When you wake up, while you are boiling the kettle or even while you are driving. Find moments to breathe. It makes us mindful and not mindless around our food habits and the way we cook (as well as in our lives). When we breathe and observe without judgment toward ourselves we create space, space between us and ‘it’. Creating space between you and your thoughts is the single most powerful gift you can give yourself. So breathe in for a count of 1,2,3,4 and out for a count of 1,2,3,4.

Crush: The beginning of Heal – Begin with Food gives a lot of background into overall wellness and health; why was it important to include that?

MD: I want people to be empowered. To be able to become their own self healers and to know that they don’t have to look outward for good health but rather to look inward. To trust their bodies and themselves and to create healthy lives for themselves. Plus knowledge is power and I want people to step into their kitchen with power!

Spag Bowl – Lentil Bolognaise from Heal Begin with Food

Crush: South Africa is traditionally a meat-eating culture and your book really champions veggies; are you seeing a shift in this in SA or are we still a little slow to the party?

MD: I think in the main cities we are starting to see some incredible changes when it comes to cafe’s and lifestyle around plant-based living but I think culturally and traditionally we have a far way to go in knowing that we don’t need to eat such a heavy, meat-based diet. I did not include meat in my book because I don’t believe we as a nation need help eating meat, we know how. I wanted to create a book that shows off vegetables as a hero that not only champions your health but flavour too.

Crush: For someone new to this way of eating and thinking, which recipe from Heal is a must-try game changer.

MD: The winter bowl in Heal- Begin with Food is one of my go-to delicious meals that I make weekly. It is a recipe that will convert any meat-eater! It’s got all the nutrients as well as flavour and I do love a roasted butter bean!

On You:

Favourite way to unwind… The ocean and the beach. You will find me there more often than not. The ocean for me is a Queen healer. I am obsessed with dunking in the ocean!

Local female-led business that you love… I love jimnojean and what they have created in the online world, as well as Sweet Lionheart, their cakes blow my mind.

Series you are currently watching… This is the hardest question because I don’t watch a lot of series or tv but I am currently reading Women Who Run with Wolves 🙂 I also am obsessed with the Chefs Table, Salt Fat Acid Heat and Cooked on Netflix.

The ingredient you would send to a neighbouring planet as a gift… Sweet potato – its a food of the gods.

Recipes from Heal – Begin with Food

ULTIMATE VEGGIE CURRY

Butter Chickpea and Tofu

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Tofu is made from fermented soya beans, and you can find it at Asian supermarkets or your local health store. For this recipe, I recommend buying a GMO-free, firmer tofu as you want to fry it up so that it gets crispy. Not all tofu is created equal, so try them out and find the one that works best for you. Tofu will take on the flavour of what you cook it in, so although it can be perceived as bland if not cooked correctly, it can also be absolutely incredible when submerged in surrounding flavours. It is also naturally high in protein and a wonderful substitute for many meat products.

1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 tablespoons coconut oil
250 grams tofu (or paneer), cubed
¾ cup raw cashew nuts, roasted
1¾ cups coconut milk
3 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup greek yoghurt or coconut cream
½ red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons curry powder
3 tablespoons massaman or Red curry paste
2 tablespoons garam masala
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste) ½ teaspoon salt
250 grams chickpeas, cooked
250 grams tender-stem broccoli
1 handful fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Cook the rice as per the packet instructions. Once the water has evaporated, remove from the heat and set aside with the lid on to steam.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil in a medium-sized frying pan over medium heat. Add the tofu and cook for roughly 3 minutes per side until crispy. Once ready, remove from the heat, drain on paper towel and set aside.

Place the roasted cashew nuts, coconut milk, tomato paste, yoghurt or coconut cream and ½ cup water into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Using the same frying pan from the tofu, heat the remaining tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another 5 minutes until the onion starts to caramelise.

Add the curry powder, curry paste, garam masala, turmeric, cayenne pepper and salt and cook for another minute to release the fragrance of the spices. Once ready, pour in the cashew sauce and mix well. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little water to help it along.

Once the flavours have developed, stir in the tofu and the chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the broccoli and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Serve a generous ladle of curry with a helping of rice or naan bread and top with fresh coriander leaves and a crack of black pepper.

RECIPE: CRUMBLE CAKE

Cherry and Orange

Serves: 6
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Baking Time: 1 hour

Everyone wants to be able to have their cake and eat it. With this recipe, you have found just that. It has the ultimate satisfaction that comes with a moist, rich cake and all the benefits of sweetness that come when baking fruits, especially cherries. I hope that you will give it a go and substitute your refined sugary standard cakes with a cake of this nature. After all, celebrating without guilt is utter magic!

FILLING

500 grams fresh cherries, pitted
1 tablespoon orange zest
25 grams coconut sugar

CRUMBLE

35 grams wholemeal spelt flour
25 grams coconut sugar
½ teaspoon salt
40 grams ghee or butter, cold and diced into cubes
50 grams raw walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

DOUGH

125 grams ghee or butter
110 grams demerara sugar or unrefined brown sugar
2 eggs or vegan egg replacement
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
85 grams wholemeal spelt flour
85 grams spelt flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Grease a 15 cm cake tin with coconut oil or ghee.

For the filling, mix together the cherries, orange zest and coconut sugar in a bowl and set aside.

For the crumble, place all the ingredients, except the walnuts, into a food processor and pulse until a coarse crumb has formed. Add the nuts and pulse once or twice to combine. Transfer the crumble to a bowl and pop it into the fridge until you need it.

Now it’s time to make the dough. Whisk together the ghee or butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs (or egg replacement), one at a time, and whisk until just combined. Add the vanilla paste, black pepper, flours, baking powder and salt and whisk until combined. Don’t over work the dough.

Spoon the dough into the cake tin and even out the surface with a spatula. Spread the cherry filling evenly onto the dough. Sprinkle the crumble on top of the filling, making sure everything is evenly covered.

Pop the cake onto the middle rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour. It is ready when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. If the crumble darkens too quickly, slightly reduce the heat in your oven and keep an eye on it.

Once ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool fully in the tin before gently removing the cake. Serve with extra fresh cherries, if desired.

Pick up your copy of Heal – Begin with Food – available at all good bookstores at the RSP of R409.00

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