Written by NISHI WARIYAPOLA and MAHESH ALKEGAMA Co-Owners of Ceylon Superfood Company, Seed Café and Grind Coffeehouse
It’s been over a month since lockdown commenced in Colombo. It has disrupted daily life as we know it and has certainly not been easy. But it’s safe to say that it has given us some much needed time to hit the pause button on life and reflect on our physical, mental and spiritual health.
Now, more than ever, it is extremely important to incorporate healthy living habits into our daily routine. Whether it’s a morning yoga or meditation session or an evening workout, healthy habits are crucial to stay mentally and physically fit. Due to the limited options of eating out, it’s the perfect time to brush up on your cooking skills and prepare healthy, home cooked meals and snacks that are sourced locally, budget friendly and can be stored for a long period of time.
So if one good thing is to come out of this lockdown, it should be better health and possibly turning into a better cook! Here are 4 of our favourite quarantine-friendly snacks and kitchen tips to make things run a little smoothly for you and your loved ones.
1. Hummus Spreads
This is an easy spread you can use to top off a slice of toast for a delicious savoury snack. To create a basic hummus use overnight soaked chickpeas, green gram or dahl (or any other legume that can be sourced during this time) and blend it up with a bit of olive oil, roasted garlic and salt.
Once you have the base ready, you can add your favourite vegetables and spices to create a range of flavoured hummus spreads. Add oven-roasted beets, carrots, red or green peppers, pumpkin or okra to create local and rainbow coloured hummus spreads. Or simply add Ayuruvedic raw herbs like gotukola, ashwagandha, turmeric or cinnamon for wellness hummus spreads. For those who like a little extra heat in their food, add chilli powder or freshly chopped green chillies or nai miris (for the daredevils) into the mix.
We recommend you make a large quantity of the basic hummus and then create a few different varieties that you can portion out into reusable zip-lock bags and freeze them. Thaw them out as needed and it will last you a few weeks!
Check out hummus recipes here: https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/hummus-recipe-flavors
2. Nut Butters
It’s our go-to sweet snacking choice and all you need are nuts or seeds and a food processor. Not only is it vegan but it keeps for weeks when refrigerated, making it a far better substitute to its store-bought counterpart that is often packed with refined sugars and unwanted oils.
The classic nuts used are peanuts, almonds and cashews. Simply roast the nuts in the oven until golden, this allows them to release their natural oils, and once it has cooled down, add them to a food processor and blend until it’s shiny and creamy.
Like with the hummus, you can elevate these basic butters to another level by adding seeds like chia, sunflower or pumpkin to make mixed nut butters; shredded coconut and cocoa for a bounty-like flavour; dates or kithul treacle for added sweetness; or a dash cinnamon, ginger, salt or even espresso for an added natural flavour.
Eat it on its own or pair it with fresh fruit for a healthy and delicious snack!
Check out nut butter recipes here: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/health/2015/05/28/nut-butter-recipes/
3. Smoothie Bowls
We absolutely love these and they are often one of the bestsellers at our café- they are a healthy and refined sugar-free version of ice cream that you can enjoy as a breakfast bowl or as dessert.
The base is made of bananas, chopped up and frozen so that when it’s blended it creates a thick, cream-like texture. We add the bananas and local fruit that we can source from our vegetable delivery van- usually mangoes, pineapple, watermelon or passion fruit into a blender, with a dash of coconut milk or king coconut water to create the most delicious tropical smoothie bowls. We top these up with toasted seeds, coconut, homemade nut butters or granola.
Minimizing waste during this time is a high priority for all, so simply portion out your Smoothie Bowl ingredients and freeze them for later use. We take a large bunch of ripe bananas and other fruits, and chop them up into bite size pieces and place them into reusable zip-lock bags and freeze them. When required we add one portion into the blender and add the desired level of liquid- a little liquid for a thick and luscious smoothie bowl or extra liquid for a delicious smoothie. For a post-workout protein fruit shake, add in a scoop of protein powder and enjoy.
Check out smoothie bowl recipes here: https://joyfoodsunshine.com/smoothie-bowl-recipe
4. Chia/Basil Seed Puddings
It’s been on our snack list since a local vendor started making Buffalo Curd deliveries in the neighbourhood. Buffalo-Curd is the local counterpart of the highly sought after ‘Greek Yogurt’- it contains probiotics that are great for your gut health and delicious as well. To make it creamy and yogurt-like, use a whisk and whip it until it’s shiny and glossy.
Then add some chia or basil seeds with a dash of local kithul treacle into the whipped curd and set it aside until the seeds swell up and create a pudding like consistency. If available, mix in frozen berries with the pudding and top it with fresh fruit or granola for a perfect mid-day snack. If you make a few jars at a time, they can be stored for up to three days in the refrigerator.
Chia seeds are a superfood we have all come to love for its crunchy jelly-like texture and its healthy dose of Omega-3’s, antioxidants and other nutrients. However we recommend its local counterpart, basil seeds, a.k.a. ‘Kasa-Kasa’ that we enjoy in Faluda. It has a similar nutritional profile and it’s more affordable, locally sourced and is more widely available.
Check out chia seed pudding recipes here: https://greatist.com/eat/chia-seed-pudding-recipes