Millet Heaps

Dear all,

At the moment, my body hovers at a crucial point: I still have to lose a bit of the holiday weight and I need to do it now, before the Christmas and new years celebrations hit again. Do you also know these cycles? Luckily, it is only a matter of a few pounds…

I am always interested in news about weight loss. The number of diets never ceases to amaze me – and the number of people following and swearing on them. In this newsletter I want to have a closer look at two popular diets that have cropped up recently: alkaline and paleo diet.

For the purpose of weight loss I usually turn to high fibre food. In combination with avoiding sugar and alcohol I usually succeed in maintaining my figure.

This month, a friend of mine inspired me because she cured her stomach ulcer with alkaline food. This reminded me of millet, the only grain with alkalizing properties. Recently, I have found organic millet in many supermarkets. What better way than to use it in a healthy snack?

I call this recipe millet heaps because of their look. The added vegetables deliver vitamins and phytonutrients and keep the heaps moist inside. The crunchy exterior is reached by baking them on a cookie tray laced with plenty of olive oil. You can serve millet heaps as a healthy snack, a light meal with a salad at the side or a guilt-free addition to a Thanksgiving dinner.

This recipe ticks all the boxes of the alkaline diet but does little for the paleo lovers. Hard core paleo fans consider millet as poison.

Like always, I listen to my body. I like millet. It tastes great and keeps my insides running smoothly. These millet heaps are so easy to make, you can call them fool proof.

Wishing you happy cooking, always!

Kornelia Santoro with family

Millet Heaps

Ingredients (for 20 pieces):

• 1 cup millet
• 4 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 medium carrot
• 3 eggs
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 big cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground cardamon
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• salt
• pepper

Method:

Place the millet with double the amount of water and one teaspoon salt into a pot.

Bring it to a boil and let it simmer until the millet has absorbed all the water. This takes 10 to 15 minutes.

Clean and skin the carrot. Wash the zucchini. Grate them into a big mixing bowl.

Add the spices, the crushed garlic, the eggs, the whole-wheat flour and the millet. Mix everything well and season with salt and pepper.

Spread olive oil over a cookie tray and place heaps of the millet mix onto the tray. I use an ice cream scoop for this job.

Place into the oven and bake for 45 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.

If you use a gas oven, turn them after half an hour to get them crunchy all around. If you use an electric oven, this might not be necessary. Enjoy.