"Healthy" means healthy & An Autumnal Marrow

I've mentioned before that my diet was never been that bad, at least not like the fast-food, mountains of junk you see some people eating on Supersize & Superskinny! However, whenever I've made an effort to "eat healthy" in the past, what I've really meant is "eat to loose a couple of pounds before bikini season"! In fact, there wasn't much healthy about my "healthy" attempts. Generally these involved a bit of cutting back on wine, maybe carbs, maybe chocolate (a bit healthier I suppose) probably skipping the odd meal (not very healthy) but not necessarily eating anything healthier than before (i.e. still surviving mainly on pasta and cheese!)

What's great about my new "healthy eating" is that it's actually healthy! I've got a much better understanding of the science of food and the body. I'm making a conscious effort to avoid the foods that I think might do me harm, but I'm also pro-actively eating more of the foods that I think will do more good. It's been ten weeks on this new way of eating, and not only are my autoimmune symptoms vastly improved, I've got much more energy, my skin is totally clear, the condition of my nails and hair are enhanced - and there is an added bonus that despite my not holding back at all and eating tons of this delicious new food, I've not put on any weight (in fact I lost a few pounds)! My relationship with food has vastly improved. Eating used to be something I did because I was hungry and in a hurry, because I was socialising, because I was stressed, or if I'm honest sometimes just because I was bored. Until very recently, I never saw food as something that could transform my physical and emotional health.

I no longer feel guilty about eating because now I know everything I'm putting in my body is doing me good, whilst tasting good too. It may sound like an overstatement, but this really has been a significant change of mindset for me! I'm now a total healthy food bore, happy to tell anyone about the benefits of eating this way :)

Anyway, some people have mentioned that they'd be interested in me sharing some recipes, so here's a genuinely "healthy" autumn-appropriate stuffed marrow for you to enjoy!


An Autumnal Marrow

I'm trying to eat as much organic food as possible, to minimise my intake of pesticides and chemicals. Of course I've always known the benefits of organic, but now I'm actually putting the knowledge into practice and spending a bit more on my veg shopping! So, when veg comes free thanks to being homegrown and kindly donated, I'm jumping at the chance to make the most of it (which is how this marrow recipe came about- I found the marrow with with a "please take one" note in a church foyer left by a mystery gardening church-goer, and the shallots were a gift from my uncle's vegetable patch).

I was also really keen to incorporate turmeric into this recipe. I've been reading about turmeric's anti-inflammatory properties, making it a great one for MS and other autoimmune conditions. Green veggies are also great, both as anti-inflammatories, and also because they are naturally alkaline. There are multiple articles about alkaline diet being necessary for the body to heal itself (which is also one of the reasons I'm minimising my meat intake) see Honestly Healthy for more info.

Ingredients (serves two big portions)

• Marrow
• Coconut oil (two big dessert spoonfulls)
• Rice (one cup)
• Chilli flakes (optional)
• Ground cinnamon (a teaspoon)
• Turmeric root (an inch)
• Ginger root (an inch)
• Onions and /or shallots (3-4 onions or more shallots)
• Carrots (two)
• Chestnut mushrooms (five or six)
• Cashew nuts (a handful)
• Raisins (half a handful)
• Himalayan pink salt (apparently the purest salt, rich in minerals)
• Black pepper

Recipe

• Pre-heat the oven to 170 C.
• Wash the marrow; and cut in half, scoop out the middle and discard. Pop both halves in the oven on a foil lined baking tray.
• Chop the turmeric (watch out, it will make your fingers yellow!) and the ginger. 
• Wash the rice and put in a pan with water. Add the turmeric, ginger and cinnamon to the rice water and put the lid on. Boil the rice for the time stated on the packet.
• Meanwhile, chop the onions / shallots and sauté in coconut oil (a superfood in itself and much healthier when heated than olive oil due to its more robust nature). Add some chilli flakes if you like.
• Chop the chestnut mushrooms and add them to the onions / shallots.
• Chop the carrots; add them into the pan with the mushrooms and onions / shallots. Stir and sauté for five minutes or so.
• Once the rice is done, stir into the vegetable mix and add the cashews and raisins. The colour of everything should be a beautiful golden yellow. Season with Himalayan pink salt and black pepper.
• Remove the marrow from the oven (the marrow flesh should now be soft if you put a fork in it). Stuff the marrow with the rice and return to the oven for five-ten minutes so the rice on the top goes a little crispy.

The result was delicious and very "in season"! I had quite a bit of rice left over, which made a delicious lunch the next day, served with avocado (full of brilliantly healthy fats that I would have avoided in my old diet for fear of getting fat- but now I LOVE it!)