This is a delightful breakfast or light lunch option, full of gut-healthy ingredients and a fair list of healthy polyphenols too.

You will need

• ½ baguette, sliced into ½” slices; if making your own, feel free to use our Delicious Quinoa Avocado Bread recipe. If buying shop-bought, a sourdough baguette will likely be the healthiest option, and tasty too.
• 4 oz feta cheese; if you are vegan, a plant-based version will work in culinary terms, but will have a different (less gut-healthy) nutritional profile, as plant-based cheeses generally use a lot of coconut oil and potato starch, and are not actually fermented.
• 1 tbsp yogurt; your preference what kind; live-cultured with minimal additives is of course best—and this time, plant-based is also just as good, healthwise, since they are fermented and contain more or less the same beneficial bacteria, and have a good macro profile too.
• 4 oz precooked chestnuts, finely chopped
• 6 dried apricots, finely chopped
• ¼ bulb garlic, grated
• 2 tsp harissa paste
• 1 tsp black pepper, coarse ground
• ¼ tsp MSG or ½ tsp low-sodium salt
• Extra virgin olive oil, for frying
• Optional garnish: finely chopped chives

Method

(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

1) Combine the feta and yogurt in a small, high-speed blender and process into a smooth purée. If it isn’t working, add 1 tbsp kettle-hot water and try again.

2) Heat the oil in a skillet over a medium heat; add the garlic and when it starts to turn golden, add the chestnuts and harissa, as well as the black pepper and MSG/salt. Stir for about 2 minutes, and then stir in the apricots and take it off the heat.

3) Toast the baguette slices under the grill. If you’re feeling bold about the multitasking, you can start this while still doing the previous step, for optimal timing. If not, simply doing it in the order presented is fine.

4) Assemble: spread the whipped feta over the toast; add the apricot-chestnut mixture, followed by the finely chopped chives if using, and serve immediately:

Enjoy!

Want to learn more?

For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

• Making Friends With Your Gut (You Can Thank Us Later)
• Apricots vs Peaches – Which is Healthier?
• Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts!
• Capsaicin For Weight Loss And Against Inflammation
• The Many Health Benefits Of Garlic
• Black Pepper’s Impressive Anti-Cancer Arsenal (And More)
• Sea Salt vs MSG – Which is Healthier?

Take care!

Diversity is key here, with a wide range of mostly plants, offering an even wider range of phytochemical benefits:

You will need

• 7 oz firm tofu
• 1 oz cashew nuts (don’t soak them)
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 4 scallions, sliced
• 7 oz mangetout
• 7 oz fermented red cabbage (i.e., from a jar)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Juice of ½ lime
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 handful fresh cilantro, or if you have the “cilantro tastes like soap” gene, then parsley
• 1 handful fresh basil
• 1 green chili, chopped (multiply per heat preference)
• 1″ piece fresh ginger, roughly chopped
• ¼ bulb garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 tsp black pepper, coarse ground
• ½ tsp MSG or 1 tsp low-sodium salt
• Avocado oil for frying
• Recommended, to serve: lime wedges
• Recommended, to serve: your carbohydrate of choice, such as soba noodles or perhaps our Tasty Versatile Rice.

Method

(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

1) Heat the oven to 350℉ / 180℃, and bake the cashews on a baking tray for about 8 minutes until lightly toasted. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little.

2) Combine the nuts, tofu, nutritional yeast, turmeric, and scallions in a food processor, and process until the ingredients begin to clump together. Shape into about 20 small balls.

3) Heat some oil in a skillet and fry the tofu balls, jiggling frequently to get all sides; it should take about 5 minutes to see them lightly browned. Set aside.

4) Combine the coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, cilantro/parsley, basil, scallions, green chili, ginger, garlic, and MSG/salt in a high-speed blender, and blend until a smooth liquid.

5) Transfer the liquid to a saucepan, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, add the mangetout, and simmer for about 5 minutes to reduce slightly. Stir in the red chili flakes and black pepper.

6) Serve with your preferred carbohydrate, adding the fermented red cabbage and the crispy tofu balls you set aside, along with any garnish you might like to add.

Enjoy!

Want to learn more?

For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

• Capsaicin For Weight Loss And Against Inflammation
• Ginger Does A Lot More Than You Think
• Why Curcumin (Turmeric) Is Worth Its Weight In Gold
• The Many Health Benefits Of Garlic
• Black Pepper’s Impressive Anti-Cancer Arsenal (And More)
• Making Friends With Your Gut (You Can Thank Us Later)
• What’s Your Plant Diversity Score? ← a score of 8.25 for this dish, not counting whatever carbs you might add. Remember, herbs/spices* count for ¼ of a point each!

*but not MSG or salt, as while they may in culinary terms get lumped in with spices, they are of course not plants. Nor is nutritional yeast (nor any other yeast, for that matter). However, mushrooms (not seen in this recipe, though to be honest they would be a respectable addition) would get included for a whole point per mushroom type, since while they are not technically plants but fungi, the nutritional profile is plantlike.

Take care!