Hectic Host: Wake Up and Don’t Smell the Coffee.

We all woke up on January 1st promising ourselves we will never drink again, will never touch another hors d’oeuvre as long as we live and that we get ourselves down to the gym just as soon as we can get ourselves out of bed. But perhaps after a coffee.

Sadly these good intentions often do not last long. Abrupt changes to our lifestyle regimes are hard to maintain and we often drift back to our old ways. The mornings I have woken up and wandered down the stairs muttering my favourite mantra; ‘no caffeine, no dairy, no white sugar, no white flour’ only to find myself five minutes later dunking a chocolate Digestive into a rocket-fuel black coffee.

Even if we do manage to last a few days longer our detox-good-intentions go awry as soon as we start socialising again. I have never been one to prepare separate courses for guests, if we have a vegetarian present then it is polite that we all eat vegetarian, if we have a someone with particular dietary requirements then I would never dream of serving them something different to everyone else. However, it is somewhat difficult to impose one’s detox-diet on others, unless of course your courses are as tantalising as those served up by local chef & nutritionalist and advisor for the Jamie Oliver website; Suné Connell of www.nutritionredefined.co.uk

I met up with Suné in search of palatable recipes that would suit the Hectic Host’s limited time availability and not leave guests speed dialling a pizza on their way home.

Here is are some quick, satisfying and nutritious ‘Suné Style’ suggestions:

For Ladies & Laddies that Lunch

Mackerel fillets with Seasonal Roasted Vegetables

Lightly dust four mackerel fillets in a little seasoned spelt flour, shake of excess flour and lightly fry in a teaspoon of odourless extra virgin organic coconut oil for three minutes on each side. Serve with this seasonal roast veggie salad.

Roasted Beetroot and Jerusalem Artichoke Salad

· 250g fresh beetroots, washed, trimmed and cut into small wedges

· 250g Jerusalem artichokes, washed, scrubbed and sliced into 1-2 cm pieces

· 2 tsp fresh thyme

· Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

· 3 tbsp odourless, organic coconut oil

Roasted Vegetables: Preheat an oven to 200°C. Place the beetroot and artichokes in a large roasted pan, and toss them with the thyme, seasoning and coconut oil so that they are well coated. Place the pan on the centre shelf in the preheated oven and leave to cook for 20 minutes. Give the veggies a little shake and cook for a further 20-30 minutes, so that they are tender and crisp. Remove the pan from the oven and keep warm.

For the Weekend Brunch Bunch

Brunch Punch

Combine:

· 200g (½ cup) plain Greek yoghurt

· Seeds of half a passion fruit

· 5 walnuts roughly chopped

(all measures per person)

Smoked Haddock and Poached Eggs (serves four)

100g natural smoked haddock per person lightly steamed in bamboo steamer for 8-10 minutes. Serve these with poached eggs and chopped parsley.

For A Super Supper with Friends (serves four)

Ginger, Spring Onion and Tofu Stir-fry

• 2 cups sliced wild mushrooms
• 1 tbs. Tamari soy sauce
• 1/8 cup vegetable stock
• 1 tbs. fresh chopped ginger
• 1 ½ cloves crushed garlic
• 1 ½ cups chopped fresh tomato
• 225g extra-firm tofu thinly sliced
• 1 ½ tsp melted organic coconut oil
• 3 cups peas, thawed if frozen
• 1 bunch spring onions, cut into 2cm pieces

Combine mushrooms, soy sauce, vegetable stock, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, and tofu in a bowl and marinate 30 minutes. Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add tofu mixture and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the peas and spring onions and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes. Serve hot with buckwheat noodles and garnish with chopped coriander.

You can pick up all these seasonal ingredients locally. And it won’t give you the coffee-caffeine-kick but it will set you up for the day: a fresh mint tea. Wake up and smell the mint!

This article first appeared in the SE Group of Magazines www.semagazines.co.uk