Health Tips From Very Special Guest Jude Blereau!

I am extremely honoured today to welcome author, chef, speaker and whole food cooking guru Jude Blereau to my blog. I first became aware of Jude when I went to hear her talk on the importance of providing nourishing food in our children’s lunch boxes. I went away with a wealth of knowledge and a new cookbook, Wholefood Cooking for Children. A lot of my conversations with girlfriends now revolve around “Jude” recipes. We drop her name like we know her personally so you can imagine my delight when she agreed to speak with me on her healthy beliefs!

I got to ask her a few questions and her answers are below.

What is your go to meal when you are starving and have no time?

Tallyho Ready to Eat Tempeh. Cut a very thin slice (that way it will be crispier) and fry. Have an open burger with butter, grated carrot, grated beetroot (or I often have cooked beetroot in the fridge), any greens around (rocket etc), avocado and chutney. I always have chutney in the fridge.

Alternatively, when it’s dinner and I have a big load on my desk, I make a curried mung dhal vegetable number. It takes about 6 minutes to cut up onion, ginger/garlic/kefir lime leaf and soften in a little coconut oil. Add bit of washed mung dahl. Then cut up the root vegetables – pumpkin, carrot, sweet potato, threw in some seasonal herbs (basil right now) some good curry powder, coconut milk and stock(from freezer). Cook, cook, cook me with timer on my desk. Go back out to kitchen put on rice (all of about 2 minutes), then chop up top vegetables (right now it’s zucchini, beans and kale) add them. Cook, cook with me and timer back at desk. Serve with mango chutney (made it last week). It’s my go to for quick dinner. I love it. Oh, and I roasted up some cashews to sprinkle on it. Most of the vegetables came from my garden.

And, if I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place I will go to a spriulina smoothie – the spirulina gives me immediate energy (because much of it’s protein and carbohydrate is pre digested) and in a stable, grounded and even manner. And it’s chock full of great EFA’s and tons of other stuff. I always travel with Spirulina and prefer the Hawaiin Pacifa brand.

What are the things that you do that keep you healthy?

1. Meditate – is absolutely the most important thing that I do. Where possible I also try to have a rest in the afternoon – just a nana nap, but it pays.
2. Walk – in the cool and quiet of the morning. Quiet is what I love most about an early morning walk around the lake, not to much of it in the city.
3. Ensure I have food/meals/snacks on hand for the week. If I get hungry, I am shot – lose the whole week pretty much. So today I had:
   1. Eggs/corn/butter/basil for breakfast
   2. I cooked a batch of boysenberry and apple muffins the other day, they are in freezer. I had one for morning tea.
   3. Lunch was that curry I described to you – I made extra at dinner last night.
   4. Afternoon tea will be a kefir/mango/flax/coconut / spirulina smoothie
   5. Dinner tonight is going to be Mango/Cashew Chicken and I will make enough for lunch tomorrow.
   6. Basically, I must ensure that I eat in a nutrient dense and balanced way, or I just can’t cope – emotionally or intellectually – so organisation and planning is very important.

What are (in your opinion) the best foods for children?

1. Egg yolk
2. High Omega 3 Oily Fish (not salmon unless you live in the northern hemisphere where it is wild), so most australian ones have strong flavours (sardines, mullet, tailor etc)
3. Liver

 What is your favourite superfood and why?

I absolutely do not in any way shape or form believe in super foods. All foods that nature provides can be super when in season, grown in rich soil, and ripe. Some need to be treated to make them more body compatible (for ex grains, which need to be soaked). Apples are coming into season and they will be super. Chock full of nutrients and deliciousness. But I would go with Ayurveda and consider ghee (organic) one of the most sacred and nourishing foods. But then so are most animal fats.

Cookware – where do you buy it and what do you buy to ensure it’s healthy?

No non – stick.Even the ‘green’ ones.

It’s an aberration of this society which is a consequence of old fashioned thinking that fat is evil. It totally defies common sense. I hate non stick to cook on also – when you know how to cook, you know how to stop things sticking (patties/fritters/pancakes etc) and sometimes we want food to stick. That’s why we de glaze.

I adore cast iron – enamel coated or not, can’t have enough of it.

I love the high quality Reiss enamel as well. I have bought a lot of favourite pieces in the U.S – I buy cooking equipment when I travel 🙂 Much cheaper and much higher quality options at about 1/4 the price. Ah, the sadness and degeneration of Australia. So basically, I stick to high quality stainless steel (love All Clad), cast iron – as is (there is nothing wrong with that cast iron frypan and camping oven from camping stores – they just need seasoning) and then enamel coated(Le Creuset or Le Chaseur, but pick up other brands too) – gratins, baking dishes, french ovens big and small, terrine dishes – love them all. Reiss enamel coated – all sorts, stock pots, small pots, milk pots etc. Wok – get the cheap carbon steel from Asian stores – one of the things that drive me most nuts is the insistence by non – stick producers that it’s only high heat that causes off gasing – so why make a wok non – stick / given it’s sole purpose is non stick? High heat. Nuts.

 Your favourite healthy recipe that’s just bursting with goodness?

A lot depends on the season. So answering in that manner, I am a winter girl and can’t wait for Autumn. I love Lamb, and love the Navarin of Lamb Shank with Apple and Peas in Wholefood for Children. But love the Mango and Cashew Chicken and Eggplant Parmigiana (recipe on a blog from last summer) in Summer, love the Mexican Beans in Wholefood. I think also the answer to your question lies in the knowledge that no one recipe is super as in bursting with goodness. All foods grown and husbanded in nutrient rich soil, in season will provide a meal bursting with goodness. But, if I had to pick one, I think though that a Bone Stock could be categorised as bursting with goodness – it’s easy to digest, and the minerals are very bio – available, it is soothing and healing to the tummy, and helps you digest and absorb other nutrients in the meal. Also perhaps cultured vegetables (Saur kraut etc)…

 Do you prefer juices or smoothies and why?

Smoothies – I am very Vata (Ayurvedically) and I like a richer dish.

What did you think of Jude’s answers? Don’t you just love her deep affiliation with real food?

She has some amazing recipes on her blog which you can check out here. Or alternatively you can buy her beautiful cookbooks which not only have some amazing recipes but talk about the importance of the food that she puts in them.  Jude also has a page dedicated on where to buy organic food in Perth and information on her favourite sites and links. 

I love hearing from you so leave a comment below.