In her latest book, Eat Lekker - For Goodness Sake, Iné Reynierse writes about her family’s move to eating healthier foods and how adopting a low-carb, grain-free and sugar-free diet helped her handle her mental illness and lowered her husband’s risk of diabetes after he lost 40kg.
“The title (of the book) is begging people to consider what you put in your mouth, but you can still enjoy food that is good for you. It’s just a mind shift,” Reynierse said.
The book is filled with homestyle, easy comfort foods the whole family can enjoy.
After getting the stamp of approval from her toughest critics, her 3-year-old twins, Iné said she was confident the rest of the country would benefit from her recipes and enjoy them.
Cookbook author, Iné Reynierse
Picture: Quivertree Publication
Reynierse said she had seen physical and mental improvements in her family since changing their lifestyle.
“For instance, my son is on the autism spectrum, he wasn’t making any eye contact and he had a hard time making friends.
“Two weeks (after making a lifestyle change) he made eye contact, he made new relationships, he is a different person.
“My husband has a long family history of prostate cancer and I am at risk for bipolar mood disorders and also for heart disease, so we are eating for dear life, we are eating to keep that away from us.
"It’s been five years since I’ve had to take any anti-depressants.
“Apart from the fact that I have always been obese, I am at optimal weight now and at 39 years old I could carry twins and had a healthy pregnancy.”
Whole bird family feast
Stuff and roast a whole organic or free-range chicken (about 2.5 kg) according to your favourite recipe.
Serve with a wild mushroom risotto and buttered beet greens.
Whole bird family feast
Picture: Craig Fraser, Quivertree Publications
Wild mushroom risotto
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- 500g mixed exotic mushrooms, sliced or chopped
- 1 onion, diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tbsp chopped rosemary
- 1 tbsp chopped sage
- 2 heads cauliflower, grated as rice
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 6-8 tbsps heavy cream or coconut cream
- 1 cup Parmesan
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion and garlic and sauté until the mushrooms are tender and just turning golden-brown. Season with rosemary and sage.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, add cauliflower and toss to coat in the butter. Add the broth a few tablespoons at a time, stirring frequently and letting it reduce and evaporate.
- When the cauliflower is starting to soften, add a little more broth and a few tablespoons of cream. Cover with a lid and continue to cook, allowing the cauliflower to steam, until tender, adding a bit more broth and/or cream if needed.
- Stir in the Parmesan and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with additional grated Parmesan as desired and rosemary or sage leaves to garnish.
Buttered beet greens
Ingredients
- ¼ cup water
- 3-4 bunches beet greens, stems removed
- 2 tbsps butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Bring the water to the boil in a frying pan and add the beet greens.
- Steam for 2-3 minutes, drain any excess water and add the butter and salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 10.
Eat Lekker - For Goodness Sake is filled with homestyle cooking.
Picture: Quivertree Publication
Eat Lekker - For Goodness Sake is published by Quivertree Publications