How To Oil Pull

• Start with an empty stomach
• Rinse your mouth out with warm water, and have a small drink of water if your mouth feels dry
• Take 2-3 teaspoons of oil into your mouth
• Swish, suck, push and pull it around in your mouth and through your teeth, as if it was mouthwash (don't tilt your head back to gargle though). The oil will start to get watery as your saliva mixes with it. If your jaw muscles get sore while swishing, you're putting too much into it. Relax your jaw muscles and use your tongue to help move the liquid around the inside of your mouth. When you do this correctly, you'll feel very comfortable. Pretty soon, it will become second nature.
• Swish continually for 15-20 minutes. Towards the end, you may notice the oil/saliva mixture in your mouth has become thicker. This is normal, since it is pulling out toxins from your body. When 20 minutes is up, spit out the oil into the rubbish bin. It may look yellowish, which is also normal.
• Don’t swallow the oil, as it contains toxins. (It won’t be too harmful if you swallow some accidentally, but the toxins are better out than in!)
• Rinse out your mouth a couple of times with warm water and spit out.
• Optional: A final rinse with diluted hydrogen peroxide will finish rinsing out any remaining toxins.

S o u p s   &   S t a r t e r s
 

Serves 4

Have a mug of this warming soup at first signs of a flu or cold, or when you're feeling the winter weather. If you get sick, sip throughout the day.

• 1 litre of chicken, duck or turkey stock *
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped
• 4-8 tablespoons creamed coconut -OR- half can coconut milk or cream
• juice of 1 lemon
• sea salt

* Homemade is best, so keep a supply in your freezer. But if you're in a hurry and don't have any, two NZ brands are acceptable - Essential Cuisine or European Gourmet.

Bring the stock to a boil, skim off any foam. Add the ginger and chilli and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat, and stir in the creamed coconut till melted. Add the lemon juice and sea salt to taste, and serve.

Variations:

• For an even more heating soup, also add 1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes -OR- 1-3 dried chillies (depending on their size)
• Use as a base for a more filling soup by adding pumpkin, butternut or kumera. After adding the lemon and sea salt, take out the chillies (if you used whole ones) and puree with a handheld wand blender.
• Garnish with a spring onion, very finely chopped

• 2 cups hot beef or chicken broth
• 1/2 cup creamed coconut
• 1kg fresh green beans, stems removed
• Salt & pepper to taste

Steam green bean just until bright green. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, mix hot water/broth with Zenian Creamed Coconut. Place all ingredients into a blender and purée until smooth, or use a wand blender. Season to taste. Put back in the pan, and reheat if you want to serve it warm. It's also nice chilled.

Variations:

• Adjust the water/broth as desired.
• Add your favorite snippets of herbs or spices.
• Use broccoli or spinach in place of green beans.

M a i n s
 

Although this recipe includes curry powder and cumin, it’s not a curry. They just give it a mild, pleasant flavour. If you use plenty of different vegetables, this is a meal in a pot, and you won’t need to cook anything else.

• About 1kg lamb or stewing beef
• 4 cups of chopped vegetables (or more). Choose a variety to your own taste, ideally choosing at least 1 from each of these 3 categories:
  • Onion, garlic, spring onion
  • Pumpkin, potato, kumera, carrot, beetroot or other root veges
  • Cauli, broccoli, green beans, spinach or other greens
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon sea or Himalayan salt
• 800ml–1 litre beef or lamb stock, or water
• 100gms (about 8 Tablespoon) creamed coconut
• Optional: handful of cashews

Cut the meat into chunks of about 1 inch square and put into the crockpot. Chop the vegetables into bite sized pieces and lay on top. Sprinkle the salt, curry and cumin over the top. Pour over enough stock or water to just cover everything. Give it a good stir. (If you don’t have time in the morning, do this much the night before and keep in the fridge overnight.)

If you set this going in the morning before work, set your crockpot to Low and leave it simmering all day. If you set it going a bit later, you’ll probably need to use a higher setting. (Refer to your own crockpot manual for its best settings.)

When you get home from work, stir in the creamed coconut till its melted. Taste, and add more salt if needed. Add optional cashews.Simmer for about another 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Beat together:

• 6 medium or 5 large eggs
• 125g (melted) palm oil, coconut oil, duck or chicken fat, butter or olive oil
• ½ tsp celtic sea salt

Mix together:

• ½ cup sifted coconut flour
• ½ cup ground almonds
• 3/8 cup (6 Tbs) arrowroot (or extra ground almonds to be totally starch free)

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together and leave to stand for a minute or two. Line a cookie tray with some baking paper. The mixture should now be pourable but thick. If it’s too runny, add a little extra ground almonds or coconut flour. Pour into the tray, and smooth out with a spatula.

Cook for about 10 mins at 163C, just till it’s firm enough to spread a topping on.

Cover with chosen topping and bake for 10-15 mins at 163C, just till cheese is melted and bubbly. Use precooked toppings, as it has a short cook time.

D r i n k s

To come

B r e a k f a s t s

To come

• 6 Eggs
• ½ cup (4 oz) butter, melted
• 1 to 2 tablespoon honey
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup sifted coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 5 eggs
• 4 oz melted butter (or ghee or coconut oil)
• 1 cup cottage cheese, yoghurt, yoghurt “cheese”, kefir, kefir cheese, or mashed pumpkin OR 1.5 cups grated zucchini
• 1 heaped teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 ½ cups ground almonds (or other nut flour)
• ½ cup sifted coconut flour

This combination loaf uses both coconut flour and ground almonds. It keeps very well in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 175C (350F). Line a loaf tin with baking paper. Beat the first 5 ingredients together. Mix the flours together and beat into the wet ingredients. Spoon into tin and smooth the top. Bake till golden, about 45 mins.

S n a c k s
 

Melt together:

• 200g coconut oil
• 3 Tbs honey
• 400gm good quality nut butter
• 3 Tbs cocoa or carob powder

• 2 cups nuts (preferably “crispy” nuts, as per Nourishing Traditions, but raw or roasted can also be used – cashews or macadamias are the most delicious)
• 4 Tbs cocoa
• 4 Tbs honey
• 4 Tbs coconut oil

This one is a bit more portable, but still gets soft in warm weather.

Set the honey and coconut oil to melt over a low heat. Grind up the nuts in a food processor. Add the cocoa and process. Add the melted oil and honey and process till mixed. Press into a container, and refrigerate.

Variation:

After grinding the nuts, you can add some desiccated coconut. Adjust the quantities of the other ingredients to taste.

This is a nutella-like spread that is free of most major allergens - dairy, gluten, starch, sugar, soy, eggs and even nuts.

• 250g (1/2 500ml jar) creamed coconut
• 125g coconut oil
• 2 Tablespoon cocoa powder (raw is especially delicious)
• 2 tablespoon honey (or other natural sweetener of your choice)
• 2 tsp vanilla essence

If the creamed coconut or coconut oil are very solid, soften by placing in a container inside a bowl of warm water. Place all ingredients into a food processor, and process till smooth.

Adjust the quantities of oil, cocoa and honey to suit your personal taste. If you add more cocoa to make it more chocolatey, you'll need more oil or honey (or both) for extar moisture.

Scrape into a jar. It will firm up a bit after sitting for a while, but will still be spreadable for toast, if kept at room temperature. It also makes a great snack, straight off the spoon, and is portable.

Variations:

• Vanilla spread - Omit the cocoa. Add a little more vanilla if desired.
• White chocolate spread - Omit the cocoa. Replace some of the coconut oil with melted cocoa butter. Add a little more vanilla if desired.

D e s s e r t s
 

Sprinkle the coconut flakes onto the bottom of 8" or 9" spring form pan. Blend the nuts and dates in a food processor and press into pan to make a crust. Blend the soaked cashews, lemon juice, honey, coconut oil, vanilla, salt and water together in a food processor. Pour onto crust; remove air bubbles by tapping pan on table. Freeze until firm. Place on serving platter. Defrost in refrigerator. Process the raspberries and dates together and pour over the top.

Suggested toppings: Shredded Coconut Flakes, Raw Cacao Nibs, Chopped soaked nuts, Hemp or Chia Seeds, Cinnamon, Nutmeg or your favorite Spice.

This amount serves 3 and can be made in a blender or food processor.

It needs to be eaten immediately, so if you want a smaller amount, make a half mix, but you will need a mini or wand processor instead.

• 1 banana, sliced and frozen
• 1 mango, peeled, sliced and frozen
• 200ml coconut cream
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup or honey