Recipe of the Week!

We have another delicious recipe to share with you from Tootoomoo who I'm sure all of you have tried by now. Their ingredients are organic, gluten, and MSG free... so you can pop down there while still keeping to your summer diet plans! If you haven't tried Tootoomoo yet hopefully this dish will persuade you to go soon!
Remember that Tootoomoo is also offering All About You clients a 20% discount on their take away menu and are also sponsoring our Client of The Month award here at the studio by giving our lucky winner a free meal for two to celebrate their achievements with us!

Chinese Braised Chicken 

All of us need comfort food once in a while. In China, the ultimate comfort food is the braised meat dish. Traditionally, pork belly or trotter is the preferred choice of meat as they are super tender and wholesome. However, as the trend shifts to a more health conscious diet and lifestyle, I have decided to use chicken thigh in this recipe. Chicken thigh is the most tender part of the bird and also has a higher fat content that flavours the dish.

Ingredients

• 4-6 pieces of chicken thigh
• 4 eggs
• 3 slices of ginger
• 4-5 birds eye chilli
• 4-5 cloves star anise
• 3 tablespoons dark soy
• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy
• 3 tablespoons Shao Xing wine
• 3-4 teaspoons honey or brown sugar
• 2 cans of lager

Instructions

  

• Heat a deep pan or pot on high and coat with light layer of oil
•    Put the chicken skin down first then turn once seared
• Pour in enough lager to cover the chicken and bring to boil
• In goes the ginger, chillies, soy, wine, star anise and sugar (if you prefer the dish to be spicy, crush the chillies beforehand)
•   Remain on high heat till the alcohol evaporates and the aroma starts to develop. Switch to low heat and simmer for an hour
•    Meanwhile, put the eggs in pan with cold water. Once the water starts boiling, starts a 7 minutes countdown to get the perfect hard boiled eggs
• Shell the eggs and cut into halves and add into the now super tender braised chicken pot and simmer for a further 30 min
• Served over boiled rice

Notes

•  Do not worry about overcooking this dish. Like most slow cooked dishes, it develops over time
•   It could be made vegetarian by using tofu, aubergine and daikon (radish) instead
•  Dark soy is used mainly for browning the dish, you could go with a lot less if desire
•  Honey/ sugar could always be added in the end to taste
•  In case of not being able to source star anise, cloves or fennel could also do the trick
• Lager gives a subtle caramelised flavour but feel free to go with good old H2O!

All About You Food Revolution Farmer’s Market

On Sunday 27^th April, All About You, will be hosting a farmer’s market in association with Jamie Oliver’s food revolution to promote healthy eating across the country. Although it will appeal primarily to those who live locally, we believe that re-educating even a small number of people about nutrition and food can make a big difference.

But why are we doing this? 

Well since 1980, the number of overweight and obese adults has quadrupled to around one billion people in the developing world, and 64% of adults in the UK are now classed as being overweight. This rise in obesity has also trickled down to the children of our nation – resulting in 25% of boys and 33% of girls ages 2-19 being overweight or obese.

So why is our nation getting so fat? Well unfortunately, this is no mystery. Quite simply, many children do little exercise and eat a diet that’s packed with junk food. Numerous studies confirm what celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver discovered when he started looking more closely at school dinners – that children consume too much sugar, salt and saturates and eat only two portions of fruit and veg each day. There are too many opportunities and such easy access to quick, on the go, high energy junk foods which are usually cheaper than a healthier alternative. Our kids are following in the rather large footsteps of our increasingly obese adults, and today’s children will be the first generation to live shorter lives than their parents.

So how do we stop this? 

Unsurprisingly, most health experts agree one of the most important factors in the fight against childhood obesity is to encourage healthy eating habits from an early age. At All About You we have joined the Jamie Oliver food revolution programme, and as a part of our mission we are promoting healthy eating through our farmer’s market. We want to bring Jamie’s food revolution to the UK and change the way our nation eats and thinks about food. We can fight obesity with better food, and to get people cooking healthy meals again both at home and in schools. By eating home cooked meals, people will know what is going into their meals which will decrease the amount of fat and sugars they consume from fast food and takeaways.

Our famer’s market will include stalls run by local businesses as well as the more famously known Bedford Clanger’s Pasties shown on Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast. We will also be offering food demonstrations from the amazing Tootoomoo, who we work closely with to provide a healthy takeaway alternative.

We want to show people that eating healthily can be just as tasty and satisfying as junk food which carry a less certain nutritional value, as well as the health benefits a healthy diet will offer. At All About You we want to promote the benefits of an active lifestyle and good nutrition combined to put a stop to the growing waistbands of our nation, and to start making a difference to people’s lives one step at a time.

We hope to see you there!

Food Revolution Farmer’s Market

Sunday 27^th April 2014 12pm until 4pm

Contact All About You to find out more. www.aayou.co.uk

Another Delicious Dish from Tootoomoo!

Recipe of the week

For all our fellow Tootoomoo lovers out there - yet another yummy recipe for you to enjoy at home!

This delicious Pan Asian restaurant based in Highgate and Crouch End have given us another recipe to share with you, using fresh and healthy ingredients - as well as being organic, gluten and MSG free. Prepared and delivered to your doorstep, remember that Tootoomoo is also offering All About You clients a 20% discount on their take away menu and are also sponsoring our Client of The Month award here at the studio by giving our lucky winner a free meal for two to celebrate their achievements with us! So get your gym shoes on and come down to All About You for a chance to win!

Salmon Tartare

This recipe is not only easy to follow, it is also packed with healthy proteins and omega 3 and super low in carbs!  You could also swap salmon for tuna or beef.

Ingredients

·         Sushi grade salmon/ tuna (allow 150-200g per person)

·         Avocado

·         Chives

·         Sesame oil

·         Mirin (Japanese rice wine)

·         Soy sauce (preferably Japanese soy)

·         Wasabi (kizami or fresh wasabi would be amazing, paste would be alright)

Instructions

·         Dice sushi into fine pieces (or chunkier if you would so prefer). A very easy way of doing so is by scraping the piece of fish with a teaspoon. Using this method also helps eliminate the sinew or lining as opposed to using a knife.

·         Mix soy and mirin into the diced salmon at a 1:1 ratio, add a couple drop of sesame oil, finely chopped chives and wasabi (please add wasabi to taste, fresh wasabi gives the extra crunchy texture)

·         Roughly dice the avocado, season with black pepper and set aside

·         Using a cake ring, lay avocado in the base and give it a gentle firm push to set the shape, then apply the same to salmon on top

·         Remove ring and voila!

·         Tobiko (fish roe) could also be added on top as a garnish