If you haven’t heard of Jasmine Hemsley and her latest East By West, Mind Body Balance recipe book then where and what have you been doing these last few weeks? She’s the glowing girl of the moment and her new recipe book is a hit in my house. I’ve always been a fan of the Hemsley and Hemsley girlies and their recipes for years after meeting them at a Supper Club a few years ago. Last year, Jasmine Hemsley opened a pop up cafe just off Regents Street called East By West which was inspired by Ayurveda; Jasmine was there one day I visited, glowing from head to toe as she always does and bought over a golden spoon to our table.

This golden spoon was a spoonful of blended coconut oil, turmeric, raw honey and freshly ground black pepper and the small portion is to be enjoyed pre dinner. I think this is where my interest for Ayurveda began and I’ve since read a couple of books and dipped in and out of applying the principles to my own life. I was re-inspired after attending Jasmine’s book launch a couple of weeks ago at the most stunning Chapel where we were led through a sound meditation and enjoyed recipes like ginger anise chews.

The main thing I takeaway is a lot of the recipes aren’t too sweet but full of my favourite spices such as ginger, cardamom, coriander and cinnamon. It’s definitely the direction I’m taking my own cooking and eating towards. Some Ayurveda principles I do find a little complicated to include in my lifestyle at the moment but their are some “golden guidelines” from the book I think are simple takeaways that everyone can start doing. Let vegetables and fruit make up to 50 to 60 per cent of your daily food intake, stay present with your food and cooked foods are easier to digest. One of the recipes I’ve been snacking on all week is the Quinoa and Coriander Seed Flapjacks so I thought I’d share the recipe with you. It’s crumbly, spicy and lovely with a cuppa.

It was actually the first time I’d made a flax egg (vegan option for egg) and was surprised at how easy the process was and how much the consistency was similar to egg. I couldn’t find quinoa flakes in my local supermarket so I went for quinoa flour which I was a little worried about as the first step with the flakes is to bake them for 10 minutes but it actually just browned the flour and I then followed the same steps and turned out fine so if you can’t find the flakes then flour does work fine too. I used coconut oil to make this a completely vegan snack but I think butter would have made these even yummier. I wasn’t sure when to add the coconut oil, cardamom pods and coriander seeds so just mixed it all in at the end. I used my fingers to push the mixture down into the tray which I think always works best especially with a more crumble recipe like this to help it stick together. Also try to let it cool completely before slicing. Jasmine also recommends making them a little sweeter but cutting them smaller for little desserts, (we all know we’d end up having 2 or 3 if that was the case.)

Quinoa and Coriander Seed Flapjacks from Jasmine Hemsley’s East By West Recipe Book

Ingredients

5 tbsp ground flax

175ml (3/4 cup) water

100g (1 cup) quinoa flakes

70g (½ cup) sunflower seeds

4 tbsp ghee, butter or coconut oil

1½ tsp coriander seeds, crushed

seeds of 15 cardamom pods, ground, or ½ tsp ground cardamom

2 tbsp maple syrup

½ cup (65g) raisins

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp flaky sea salt

110g (1 cup) fine oats

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan/gas mark 6) and line a 20cm (8in) square tin with baking parchment. To make the flax eggs, mix the ground flax with 120ml (½ cup) of the water and set aside.
2. Spread the quinoa flakes in a 5mm-thick layer on a baking tray, and repeat the process with the sunflower seeds on another baking tray. Bake both for 10 minutes until toasty and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
3. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C (160C fan/gas mark 4).
4. Melt the ghee in a small pan and fry the coriander and cardamom for 2 minutes over a medium-high heat, until fragrant. Remove from the heat.
5. In a medium bowl, stir together the rest of the water, the maple syrup, flax egg and raisins and then stir in the baking powder, oats, quinoa and two thirds of the sunflower seeds, reserving the rest for the top.
6. Spread out the mixture in the prepared tin, pressing down firmly. Scatter over the remaining seeds and press again, using the back of a spoon. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until firm.
7. Allow the flapjack to cool in the tin before slicing into 8 rectangles. The flapjacks store well in the fridge, or will keep for a few days at room temperature.

AND if you want to get your hands on a copy to try the other 139 amazing recipes then I have one book to giveaway to a lovely reader. Make sure you are signed up to my newsletter and comment below what you’ll be making in the kitchen this weekend to feel balanced and well! I’ll choose a winner Sunday 26th November. Good luck. 

Next on my list to try from the book are the Milk Rice and Fish Curry!

Love, Lottie x

Buy Jasmine’s book here. 

*This blog post is not sponsored but I received the book at Jasmine’s launch and was kindly offered a book to giveaway to a reader. All opinions are always my own.

lottie

I’m Lottie, a 20 something healthy lifestyle blogger and Pilates Instructor living in London. This blog is a mixture of what I love and do day to day; whether it be a recipe I’ve created, a review of a restaurant I’ve been to recently, my favourite activewear brands or some motivational positive advice. I hope to inspire you to be the best possible version of you!

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