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CAULIFLOWER BURGERS a tasty and filling vegetarian burger

WHY CAULIFLOWER BURGERS 

Cauliflower burgers are more interesting than cauliflower rice and it’s easier to make a meal from them too.

You can make them vegan if you like and they are also paleo. You don’t need a bread bun either if you put them with a salad and roasted vegetables. They are gluten free too so tick boxes all round for those problem eaters!

They are great for an easy, meat free meal. Make smaller ones for kids or for snacks with drinks in the evening.

Image ofCauliflower Burgers DoinDubai Vegan Serve with sweet potatoes and rocket

INGREDIENTS FOR CAULIFLOWER BURGERS

To make 8 to 10 medium cauliflower burgers or cutlets you will need:

image ofCauliflower Burgers DoinDubai Vegan fresh cauliflower

 

  • 1 medium raw cauliflower grated up on the large side of the grater
  • 1 medium red onion finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon each of fresh garlic and ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon of fresh chopped red chilli
  • 1 tablespoon of almond meal (ground up almonds)
  • 1 dessert spoon of tapioca flour (easy to get at Dubai supermarkets)
  • 1 beaten egg
  • salt and fresh black pepper (to taste)
  • Some oil to first saute the cauliflower mince then a little more oil to shallow fry the burgers I use grapeseed oil, olive oil is also fine

Image ofCauliflower Burgers DoinDubai Vegan Almond Powder

Optional

  • Fresh chopped coriander (around AED 1 in most Dubai supermarkets)
  • Pomegranate seeds (makes your cauliflower burgers look pretty and easy to buy in Dubai all ready to use)
  • Chilli oil or fresh chillies can be red or green

STEPS TO MAKE CAULIFLOWER BURGERS

PREPARE ALL YOUR INGREDIENTS 

image ofCauliflower Burgers DoinDubai Vegan tapioca flour

  1. Grate the cauliflower on the large side and put in a large mixing bowl, include some of the green leaves in your cauliflower mixture too, just chop them up
  2. Chop up the onion garlic and ginger
  3. Prepare your chilli if you’re using it

MAKE THE CAULIFLOWER MINCE

Image ofCauliflower Burgers DoinDubai Vegan add almond powder

  1. Heat the oil in your wok
  2. Fry the onion till translucent and add the garlic, onion and ginger
  3. Add all the grated cauliflower and saute well add salt and pepper to taste
  4. Saute till the cauliflower smells cooked, but not till it’s soggy, remove from the heat and allow to cool

MAKE THE BURGER MIXTURE

image ofCauliflower Burgers DoinDubai Vegan burger pattie

When the cauliflower mixture is cool

  1. Add in a tablespoon of almond flour
  2. Add in a dessert spoon of tapioca flour
  3. Add in the beaten egg
  4. Mix this burger mixture well till it’s stiff enough to make patties. If you’re using the fresh pomegranate and coriander then add in at this time
  5. Shape the mixture into burger patties according to your preferred size
  6. Leave to cool in the fridge for about 20 minutes but that’s not strictly necessary, but makes them easier to fry

FRY YOUR BURGERS

Image ofCauliflower Burgers DoinDubai Vegan Fry till golden brown

 

  1. Heat your oil in a non stick frying pan
  2. Gently fry your burgers on both sides till golden brown. Remember there’s nothing much too cook, only the egg and to bring the whole mixture together, but it’s nice to get a golden colour on the burgers.
  3. When golden remove onto kitchen paper and keep warm in a low oven or serve immediately. Good with a carrot and spinach salad and some bread, or with roasted beetroot too and mashed avocado on the side. Try with sweet potato chips and rocket as in the picture above.

EQUIPMENT FOR CAULIFLOWER BURGERS 

A cheese grater

A large bowl

A large wok to fry the cauliflower mince

A frying pan to fry the cauliflower burgers

Spoons to mix

NOTES AND VARIATIONS 

Omit the egg and add in a little more tapioca flower if you want to make them vegan.

You can substitute breadcrumbs for almond meal if it’s easier. Makes your burgers cheaper too, but they won’t be gluten free.

Need more inspiration on what to cook for a tasty, easy meal? Then check out our recipe videos here.

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GOURMET BY KCAL AND SOME UNIQUE IFTARS

Welcome to this week’s Food News where we’re talking about some unique iftars and a new healthy restaurant that has one of Dubai’s very few Gluten Free kitchens – Gourmet by KCal.  Join me, Mark Lloyd, Stef Burgon and Zahra Soar on my slot Food News on Dubai Eye 103.8. If you missed any earlier podcasts then have a look at our podcast archives here.

Where is Gourmet by KCal?

Gourmet by KCal is a collaboration between KCal and Le Meridien Mina Seyahi hotel in the Marina. It’s on the ground floor of the Mina Seyahi hotel and overlooks a very mature garden, greenery area that in turn overlooks the sea, so a beautiful setting especially in our cooler months. But the inside space is very funky and modern, the chairs have been upholstered with sacks that once contained coffee beans in them! There’s even a fully grown olive tree in the middle of the dining space.

Gourmet By KCal olive tree DoinDubai

Can we get all our meals there? From June 10th it’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so a good option for those who aren’t fasting. I’m hoping to see some beautiful chia pots and bowls for breakfast here like we saw at Barsalata!

Gourmet By KCal – a completely Gluten Free kitchen 

I really liked the caramel almond tart, the coconut caramel cheese cake and their apple crumble tarts. All of which are made without gluten! They also use fruit and vegetables from local sources wherever possible, so they’ve tied up with Ripe for that. I also liked their onion and carrot cups, little pastry shells made from carrots, not flour and water, filled with caramelized onions topped with shavings of grilled parmesan.

Gourmet by KCal Chocolate cake

Our fellow bloggers all liked the chicken biriyani with it’s black, wild rice base and I liked the base of mango chicken dish we had, which had black beans, quinoa and strawberry salsa!

Gourmet by KCal DoinDubai carrot tartlets

I would have liked to see a vegetarian biriyani equivalent, like a paneer, then I think that would really make sense, but I’m not sure if that would maybe add to much to the calories. So many people who are quite health conscious are vegetarian now, so maybe a few choice additions to the vegetarian mains. Like my beetroot cutlets for instance, or dishes like black eyed beans with feta burgers that we had at the uber healthy Hemsley and Hemsley cafe in Selfridges, a couple of weeks ago.

But don’t just take my word for it, have a look at what some well established and respected bloggers think of Gourmet by KCal here:

What Nossy Ate 

The Vegetarian Soul

DineOutDubai

The Tezzy Files 

Dubai Food Diaries

Baggage and Dish

The Oberoi’s Camel Milk Iftar

I had a very different kind of tasting session last week at Dubai’s quite well known Oberoi hotel in their 971 restaurant. Know why it’s called 971? It wasn’t obvious to me… I was impressed with the passion shown by chefs Rajeev and Vishal who’ve come up with 4 or 5 sweet dishes (savoury on their way) using camel milk! Supposedly the milk is most like mother’s milk, in that it’s light and easy to digest, it’s contains more vitamins and minerals than normal milk and also easier on the stomach of anyone suffering from any kind of dairy intolerances.

camel milk cheesecakes The Oberoi DoinDubai 800

I think it’s great they’re incorporating it into dishes for their iftar sponsored by Vimto this year at the Oberoi, I haven’t seen the tents as yet, but they’re supposed to be quite something and it includes a spice souk as well! So try some camel milk ice cream, I liked the date ice cream, again a great item to serve to visitors who may want something traditional. Don’t tell them it’s made from camel milk, they also have honey and saffron flavour and a plain, vanilla flavour.

They’re also doing a traditional Um Ali pudding using liquid nitrogen and coating it in caramel.  It’s called an inside out um ali, definitely inspired by Chef Vishal’s time at El Bulli I think!

Have a look at the video here:

I also tried a very good camel milk mango lassi, that I think would be ideal if you were breaking your fast and it was very refreshing and not too heavy.

camel milk drink the oberoi DoinDubai 800

The iftar costs AED 195.00 and you can have this early eve or later on and you can see the live molecular gastronomy stations yourself! They source all their fresh produce from a farm in Al Ain Al Dahra Farms, they have a butcher they use in Ras Al Khaimah where they get Indian lamb  so that’s where the ouzi will be from and they get some of their smoked items from Al Fumo, so they adhere to the S.L.O.W. food philosophy. Sustainable, Local, Organic, and Wholesome. And we have 2 iftars to GIVE AWAY at the Oberoi via the doindubai instagram so have a look at that for a chance to win. Or you can call +971 4 4441407 to make a booking.

An secret Australian origin pop up Iftar serving Contemporary Arabic food

Expect to walk down a fairy lit entrance along a garden path that leads to some red doors for this Contemporary Arabic iftar. Henry Dyer of Dish Catering has come up with his Ramadan Nights concept that’s happening in a warehouse in Al Quoz!

Ramadan Nights Iftar Table Setting DoinDubai

Image courtesy of Dish Catering 

I went to a special preview and really loved the secret location angle but also the food, which isn’t served buffet style, it’s served properly at tables that have been very beautifully prepared for the occasion in a very modern way. So expect sharing bowls of fresh roasted vegetables, lamb, salads and desserts but all cooked in a very contemporary way. The hummus had lot’s of lime in it, the carrots we got were fresh baby purple as well as the orange variety and the roasted cauliflower had pine nuts and barberries in it with labneh dressing.

Dish Catering Ramadan Nights DoinDubai Roasted caulifower 800

So I highly recommend you try this iftar, but I think you should book before hand.

The Desert Palm’s Iftar over the pool at Epicure

We visited this iftar last Ramadan and I mention it now because of the atmosphere at the Desert Palm at this time of year, it’s really puts you back in touch with the whole ethos and sprit of Ramadan, which is supposed to be a time that you reflect a bit and quieten down your mind and surroundings compared to what you normally do. So having an iftar whether it’s to break your fast or for your dinner that evening is a really good choice. The food is traditionally what you’d expect from a regional iftar, so that’s all the mezzes, hot and cold, some hot entrees and some traditional desserts. Priced at a reasonable AED 150.00

Dubai's Best Iftars Desert Palm Banquet DoinDubai 800

Image courtesy of Desert Palm 

It’s going to be at Epicure this year that overlooks the poolside as their Rare fine dining restaurant is closed for a complete new look and refurbishment and we’ll be reporting back from that when it’s open.

Desert Palm Moon Ramadan Dubai's Best Iftars DoinDubai

But you may be able to WIN one of these iftars. We’ve got 4 to give away! Here’s the link with the details. 4 Iftars for you this Ramadan. 

4 Iftars for you Dubai's Best Iftars 800

 

And if you want to hear the podcasts for this link then listen here:

Talking about Gourmet by KCal and Camel Milk at The Oberoi : PODCAST 1 

Talking about Ramdan Nights by Dish Catering and Desert Palm Per Aquum : PODCAST 2

Thanks Monica.

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Gut Health

Heal your gut – live a longer and healthier life with good gut health

It’s not just a saying, Heal Your Gut, it’s now the subject of many books, articles and tv programs. There is even a ‘Heal your Gut’ powder!  Do you still have questions? Is the information that is being shared in the media confusing you? Then a Gut Health workshop may help answer those questions.

We all know how to use a nutri bullet, and we’re careful to blend to perfection, but did you know you should think of your stomach as a high quality, sophisticated blender too? Just one of the important takeaways from the informative and actionable workshop Heal Your Gut.

The workshop was led by certified integrative nutrition health coach Manpreet Pannu.  We heard all about what helps and doesn’t help maintain a balance in our gut health. Incomplete or poor digestion can be the root cause of all kinds of diseases and health issues from the obvious bloating right through to iron deficiency, lack of sleep, lethargy and even candida!

Gut Health HEAL YOUR GUT ginger spices thali DoinDubai

What’s your gut feeling

Ever heard of go by your gut feeling? Well you should quite literally do that, listen to what your body tells you and then act on it.

I never understood how bacteria behaved in the gut; it is fascinating to learn we have such a symbiotic relationship with them.  The workshop explained their role as well as the importance of the diversity and balance amongst them.  No one strain should become dominant. Did you know that bacteria actually out number human cells by a factor of ten to one, with a hundred trillion in the intestine alone!

The gut bacteria play an enormous role in so many different biological functions. Bacteria work hard to not only digest our food but regulate metabolism, create vitamins, manage our hormones, remove toxins and importantly create chemicals that help feed and protect the lining of the gut.

Gut health Heal Your Gut DoinDubai Mixed spices

What’s not good for your gut

  • Antibiotics! Antibiotics  don’t distinguish between the beneficial bacteria and those that cause disease, they disturb the healthy balance.  
  • Processed food really doesn’t help your digestive system at all. Processed food is not digested properly which can lead to a weakening and even destruction of the precious micro villi in our guts whose role it is to stop any enemies getting to our blood stream.
  • We know we can add smoking, alcohol, eating too fast etc to this list! All great things to reinforce to those children getting ready to go off to universtity this year!

Actionable points to help you heal your gut

We say eating starts with our eyes, but Manpreet thinks digestion starts even before this. Digestion starts when we think about what we’re going to have for a meal, then when we’re preparing for it, even if it’s buying it, then again when we see it. Digestion of that meal is happening from way before we put food in our mouths!

So Manpreet suggests

  • We never eat on the go or at a desk working, if we can help it. It’s important to CHEW our food, ideally up to 20 or 30 times, as according to ayurvedic principles you should chew as many times as you have teeth!
  • She also advocates the use of lighter, milder detergents and cleaning agents as these have less harmful chemicals we breathe in and absorb through our skin.
  • So what can we do to improve our digestive health apart from chewing it? By thinking carefully about what we are to eat, avoiding processed foods and giving ourselves time to eat properly in a stress free environment.

In the video below Manpreet is teaching us how to make a simple Kimchi/Sourkraut with purple cabbage:


It’s all about adding beneficial bacteria into your gut.

Manpreet also suggests:

  • Get some fresh ginger, make thin juliennes of it, no need to peel, cover with some lime juice, leave on the counter top for a day, then store in the fridge. Eat a little of it before your meals.
  • Make a simple kimchi (a probiotic food) using thinly sliced purple cabbage. Add very salty water (not iodised salt) and leave for 2 to 3 days on the counter top, then store in the fridge. Add some red chilli powder if you like, then again eat as a pickle with a meal. It’s the fermenting that’s doing the digesting trick.

Fermented vegetables are filled with fiber, digestion enhancing enzymes and beneficial bacteria.

Gut Health Foods that help Heal Your Gut DoinDubai

Turmeric is literally a Golden Food

A golden food for gut health seems to be fresh turmeric; a powerful anti-inflammatory food source, easy to get here in Dubai. Use Turmeric with the sliced ginger and make a simple pickle maybe by adding some lime juice and or some cold pressed oil, store in a glass jar in your fridge.

Manpreet even suggests maybe adding a tiny bit of raw turmeric to a juice or a blended drink. We have a whole jar of it at home, we get ours like this from Kenya, it’s bitter, but fine if you chop it up very small, we add to salads with toasted kale and sesame seeds.

Gut Health Heal Your Gut Turmeric on the Grass

These are just some of the ways you can incorporate tiny, practical changes into your diet to improve your gut health. Go and listen to Manpreet at one of her next workshops. We’ve been given 2 tickets as a competition prize.

Would you like to attend the one of her Gut Health workshops?

ENTER THE COMPETITION NOW in 3 Steps

 

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED June 5th 2016. CONGRATULATIONS TO SHARNEEN AND MUFEEDA! Email with details of the next Gut Health workshop on their way to you now. 

DoinDubai will randomly choose 2 SUBSCRIBERS to win a FREE entry into her next workshops held in Dubai.

1 ) Type your answer to this question into the comment box at the end of the post.

Name 1 Indian spice that helps you maintains good gut health

2 ) PRESS the Click to WIN button. Pressing the pink button below WILL SUBSCRIBE you to future DoinDubai Newsletters at the same time.

DoinDubai SUBSCRIBERS who are already registered STILL have to go through the process to enter the competition. Don’t worry you will not have multiple subscriptions, it just helps us to have all the entries for this competition in one file.

3) Once you click on the ‘WIN’ button below, please complete your entry by opening the confirmation email to confirm your subscription has been added to the WIN FREE entry into the workshop.

Want to DOUBLE your chances of winning a Free entry into the workshop on Gut Health?

 

In addition:

to the above workshop I have been motivated into resourcing more information and I am probably being lead into many directions, raw, vegetarian, vegan?

One book I have been guided to is Eat Dirt by Dr Josh Axe.
Published this year, so all the studies and revelations that have been exploding into public awareness in the last 5 years are up to date. A Kindle version is £6.99 (May 2016)

I am also looking at  prebiotic foods to feed the intestinal microbial.

A friend has been listening to the Food Revolution Summit recordings the last few days, they have been free to listen to for a limited number of hours. (April 30th – May 8th 2016)

Initially she felt paralysed by all the information being shared, like a rabbit in the headlights. What do you eat ! What is safe to eat?  What benefits health? Until Dr Joel Fuhruman, amongst many of the speakers, gave her a tool. In the  form of an acronym   ‘Gbombs’.  It represents the nutrient dense foods we should eat to flood our cells with protective substances and naturally guide our bodies to ideal weight and great gut health. Without gut health at its optimum we are plagued with options to develop any disease it seems.

So what are Gbombs?  They are Greens / Beans /Onions /Mushrooms / Berries /Seeds. Its a great tool. Especially if you sat and made a list of all the foods under those headings, pinned it to the fridge door and strived to eat from each list every day. It’s a start!

How can you add to this post for our readers?

Thanks Monica

 

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BEST MULTIVITAMIN

We’ve all searched for that best multivitamin and I think I’ve finally found something that works for me!

One vitamin for this and another for that, what is the best multivitamin with all round health benefits? It’s a challenging decision to make. I felt an extra boost of B and a bigger shot of C when I’m feeling low would be ideal. But where do we turn for informed advice. We’ve all been there, I’m sure I’m no exception.

My thinning hair has always been an issue, and generally I have felt I had less energy despite eating healthily with regular exercise. But this latest product I have tried really is the best multivitamin for me so far. It’s called Inversion Femme and is made in France.

Best Multivitamin DoinDubai Inversion Femme box

Why am I writing this blog post about Inversion Femme

As bloggers we get approached all the time to review products and services. No thanks I said, it’s not really something I do, review supplements, especially those I’ve never heard of!

OK they said, but let’s send you over some, read the ingredients, do your own research and try them yourself.  If you’re convinced then share what you think’s appropriate. So I did just that.

What supplements have I tried before Inversion Femme

In the past I have regularly taken a variety of supplements; vitamins and minerals I had read would help resolve my health concerns. Those that might:

  • boost my iron levels.  Blood tests revealed my iron levels were low. I don’t eat much meat
  • maintain hormonal balance and help with keeping my skin clear
  • help with my thinning hair – I know many people say the water in Dubai doesn’t help and stress if a factor but who’s not stressed?!

I have found it’s never just one vitamin or supplement for one issue, at least not for me!

I’ve taken Starflower Oil,  Iron (with vitamin C to help absorption) , biotin, Zinc, Selenium (in the form of brazil nuts!)  as well as a boost of vitamin D amongst other things! I have also increased my ‘greens’ intake ensuring a little bit of lemon juice which I am told helps with the absorption of iron. But there is probably only so much kale you can eat!

What are the main ingredients in Inversion Femme

In the red tablets: (2 in the morning)

Vitamin C

Natural Betacarotene

Zinc

Selenium 

Chromium

Green Tea extract and

Borage Oil same as starflower oil 

Best Multi vitamin Inversion Femme

In the silver tablets (1 in the evening) 

B2 B5 B6 B8 (Biotin)

Copper

Iron

Shark Cartelage

Grape Extract

Fish Oil Omega 3

Those in italic are those  I was having before I started Inversion Femme . It made sense to me that I try Inversion Femme bearing in mind what I was already taking. I felt also there may be an element of synergy in the Inversion Femme supplement that may work for me. This may not be the case for you!

My experiences taking Inversion Femme 

2 red tablets in the morning with a good breakfast and one silver tablet in the evening with a big glass of water. Initially I tried to have the red tablets at lunch as that was a heavier meal for me, but that seemed to contribute to keeping me awake late into the night so I switched to the morning.

I only have a blended fruit drink in the morning made in my nutribullet but now have started adding a little banana and some yoghurt so it’s a bit more substantial. Initially I also did get up at night to pee more than normal but that settled once I switched to taking the red tablets in the morning.

Biggest difference since taking Inversion Femme

Slightly better hair for sure, clearer skin and definitely more energy especially in the first week. I’ve taken these tablets for about a month or 5 weeks now. Not sure if things are normalising again for me, but I still feel more energetic.

Recently I’ve gone back to drinking more coffee and eating chocolate cake! I’m sure that’s not a good thing. Too many late nights also don’t help and the last 2 weeks have been very full. I have had visitors, more special occasion meals and the stress of no electricity and water for a couple of days due to the Dubai rain!

best multivitamin Doindubai Inversion Femme Hair brush

So my view of this best multivitamin for me so far is that you need to maintain as healthy a lifestyle as possible to compliment the benefits of the supplement. I also realise that to be fair to any supplement it is recommended that it is taken for a minimum of three months to reveal its full benefits

Sadly I haven’t noticed an improvement in the condition of my nails. They are still quite split, but then I do garden a bit without gloves! Hopefully I have set myself up for some lovely nails in the future when these old ones have grown themselves out!Best multi vitamin inversion femme nails

Where to get Inversion Femme

You can buy Inversion Femme from established pharmacies like Life Pharmacy in Al Wasl road. They cost AED 260 a box and I have shared my experience with friends who are now trying out the product.  But I would recommend you check with your doctor or health care professional about how they may impact upon you before you try them, just in case. 

Share this post [maxbutton id=”20″][maxbutton id=”19″]  Let us know if you have had success with supplements to improve hair and nail conditions. What has been your best multivitamin?

Thanks Monica.

Have you entered our latest competitions to WIN Complimentary Meals?

This is not a paid for advertisement for Inversion Femme. 

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