David and Charlotte Bailey - Wholefood Heaven in a Bowl Natural, Nutritious and Delicious Wholefood Recipes to Nourish Body and Soul

Were so excited to share with you our second book and we hope that it gives you lots of new ideas for vegetarian wholefood meals to be enjoyed time and time again. Eating well is such a vital part of living well and our aim with this book has been to create food that makes you feel happy and feel good, which is what we would wish for you all.

We started our business, Wholefood Heaven, in 2010 yes, because we fell in love with a Citron H van and bought it before wed really thought it through properly, but also because we wanted to show that you can eat vegetarian wholefood and not only thoroughly enjoy the taste, but also feel nourished and good in yourself as a result. The street food scene, which was beginning to hot up then, seemed the perfect way to go. Weve been thrilled by how, year on year, more and more people at festivals, events and markets around the country have been so receptive to what we offer. The lovely feedback we get touches our hearts and were so happy to live in a time where ever greater numbers of people are opening up to the ideas of vegetarianism and to eating foods in their most natural, unprocessed states. Its not just good for you but its also for the greater good and, from a foodie point of view, youll discover an incredible array of sustaining and delicious ingredients.

Perhaps we should take a moment to explain what we mean by wholefoods. We interpret them as foods that are as close to their natural form as possible: vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains, especially those ancient grains that have remained unchanged for thousands of years. And why are they so good? Well, many health experts now agree that eating more wholefoods is one of the best ways forward for living a healthy life and preventing disease. These wholefoods not only retain all their fibre, but they are also packed with vitamins and minerals and valuable phytochemicals that are often removed in processed foods. Whats more, they dont subject your system to the countless preservatives and chemicals and excess amounts of refined sugar, salt, and trans fats (look out for products that list partially hydrogenated oils on the label) that are commonly associated with processed and manufactured foods. That being said, we do allow for the use of some ingredients that have technically been processed: after all, even just turning an apple into a juice is a form of processing. To our minds, minimal processing isnt a problem, we just dont want food thats been heavily manipulated or refined or thats full of added salt, sugar, oil, chemicals or preservatives. Get used to reading the ingredients labels and youll soon get a feel for whats real food and whats been messed around with.

Another focus in this book has been to further explore the concept of bowl food. When we first started Wholefood Heaven, we never would have thought wed just have one signature dish, but we do, our beloved Buddha bowls, and it works really well. We first heard the term Buddha bowl from an American chef friend of ours and we thought it was a catchy term and a great concept: a bowl filled with your favourite, good-for-you things, put together with love. Some of our favourite things at the time were (and still are, though weve been eating at least two Buddha bowls a week for six years) Massaman curry, short-grain brown rice, carrot and kimchi pickle, flash-steamed curly kale and omega seed sprinkle, so we put them all together and our Buddha bowl was born. Weve sold thousands and thousands of them over the years and many people go out of their way to tell us how much theyve enjoyed them. Theyve won awards, been on the television and been featured in countless newspapers and magazines across the world and we think a big part of their popularity is that theyre packed full of different flavours and textures but are also nutritionally balanced just what you need after a few days of swamp living at Glastonbury! Weve enjoyed expanding this winning approach and the mains section of this book contains lots of other meals that work around the same concept of getting all your nutrition and an explosive flavour combination in one bowl.

As caterers most often to be found working in a field and as (in the case of David anyway) slightly frustrated outdoorsmen (this is a man, who, living in the centre of London, asked for a Grnsfors Bruk axe for Christmas) we have developed a number of recipes that are just begging to be made outdoors over an open flame or a barbecue. It all goes back to living well: for us, time spent together in nature, eating natural food, are our best of times. For these kinds of recipes, we often use our cast-iron skillet and Dutch oven, ideal for one-pot cooking and the pieces of equipment we usually turn to first. If you dont have these items, all our recipes can be made using a frying pan or a large pot or casserole dish, but theyre great things to invest in and even if you dont get to cook outdoors as often as you might like, theyre very handy for use in a home kitchen.

Weve absolutely loved writing this book, experimenting with new dishes and sharing them with our friends and family and now, best of all, with you.

RECIPE KEY

V = VEGAN

VO = VEGAN OPTION

WF = WHEAT-FREE

GF = GLUTEN-FREE

In this book weve tried to go with an everyday eating vibe and to keep the recipes, for the most part, pretty straightforward. While were always inspired by our travels (the number one perk of running a flexible street food business is being able to plan trips for the quieter times of year) and have certainly drawn on that inspiration, weve also tried, in the main, to keep to ingredients that shouldnt be too difficult to track down. Were so pleased at how larger supermarkets these days stock a huge variety of wholefoods; if you cant find what you want at the supermarket, head to a health food shop and stock up with some of the staples weve listed below. With these in your cupboard, along with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, youll be set for wholefood eating for a long time.

Barley is the highest in fibre of all the whole grains and is great for cardiovascular health; we often add it to soups, stews or salads. Wholegrain barley is commonly known as hulled barley; pearl, or pearled, barley is more widely available and is quicker to prepare but it is more processed, meaning that a lot of the nutritional elements have been removed. We use barley flakes to make our lemon barley water () and theyre also good for making a quick barley porridge but try to ensure the flakes are made from hulled (rather than pearled) barley to maximize the benefits.

Buckwheat (also commonly known as kasha) is a fantastic ingredient, rich in protein. Harvested from the seeds of a flowering plant, it is from a completely different botanical family to regular wheat and so is a great option for those looking for wheat-free and gluten-free choices. It has a very earthy taste and is brilliant in soups, stews and also as a porridge. Popular in Eastern Europe, this was our staple food when we travelled across Russia.