To the wonderful people who are part of the Happy Pear story – friends, family, staff, customers and well-wishers. You help make our dreams possible. We are beyond grateful. It’s been an incredible adventure so far, so thank you for your unending support.
PENGUIN IRELAND
UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
India | New Zealand | South Africa
Penguin Ireland is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published 2016
001
Text copyright © David and Stephen Flynn, 2016
Main photography copyright © Alistair Richardson, 2016
Front cover and additional photographs (here, here, here, here, and here)
by Seán Cahill, copyright © Seán Cahill, 2016
Additional photographs: © Getty images, 2016 here);
© Shutterstock (here)
With thanks for all photography supplied by the authors, their family and friends
The moral right of the copyright holders has been asserted
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN : 978-0-241-97696-8
CONTENTS
WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF THE HAPPY PEAR!
BREAKFASTS
SOUPS
OUR SECRET OF HAPPINESS – BEING PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN OURSELVES!
SALADS
EVERYBODY CAN BE HEALTHY!
MAINS
CHANGING YOUR LIFE THE HAPPY PEAR WAY
SNACKS, DIPS & FABULOUS EXTRAS
JAN’S TOP TIPS FOR FEEDING CHILDREN
THE SWEET STUFF
OUR COFFEE OBSESSION
FLYNNERS’ FRUIT & VEG FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
TOP TIPS AND A FEW OF OUR FAVOURITE THINGS!
THANKS
WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF THE HAPPY PEAR!
It took us ten years to write our first book, The Happy Pear. We never really expected it to travel beyond our family and friends and the Happy Pear customers who had been asking for our recipes for years. We have been amazed with how far it has travelled outside our little bubble in Greystones and the wave it has made.
The positive reaction to the book has only increased our passion for what we do. We feel more inspired than ever to follow our dream of a happier, healthier, more connected world and spread the message of our three-word-manifesto – EAT MORE VEG!
In The Happy Pear we told the story of how we started: how we had been complete meat-heads growing up and how it was while travelling separately the year after we left college that we both decided to become vegetarian. Totally independently. Within the same week. True twin magic! We loved what eating a plant-based diet did for us and that translated into a passion for spreading the message when we got home to Ireland. We opened our veg shop in our hometown of Greystones in November 2004 and we’ve been having fun chasing our dreams since.
Many of our friends thought we were crazy with our little veg shop and clapped-out red van. But in the years since, more and more people have realized that what we put into our bodies has a real impact not just on weight but on everything from energy and concentration levels, to gut health, to making sure the body has the right mix of nutrients to function at its best.
Now we see many people who want to change, to be healthier and to feel better, but feel bombarded by so much info and don’t necessarily know where to start. We want to say to people: don’t panic! Getting healthier is not an all-or-nothing type thing but a series of stepping stones, making little changes that, over time, will have a real impact on your quality of life. Every step in the right direction will help you to be a better version of yourself. Eating more veg is easy, cheap and a habit worth cultivating. The Happy Pear way of eating is not a fad diet but something really straightforward. It is not focused on cutting out things but on eating more of the good stuff.
So, this book is all about encouraging you to eat more veg (by veg we really mean fruit, veg, beans, legumes and whole-grains). It will help inspire you to make changes you have wanted to make for years that will have a lasting effect on your health and your happiness.
As if that wasn’t enough, we always said we wanted to start a food revolution, and by eating more veg you can join our revolution! If that sounds scary, it shouldn’t. Eating more veg may sound like a simple thing, but we see it as something that can be the tipping point to so many other good things. Eating more veg means you are more likely to exercise, which will lead to the release of feel-good endorphins in your body and greater energy. You’ll probably spend more time outside and meet more people, and generally have a better quality of life and a greater sense of being connected both to the environment and to other people.
We believe that having a sense of community and connection in your life is every bit as important as eating your veg. We all want to feel a sense of connection and this is why community is so vital. Healthy happy communities can help change the world for the better.
Our way of life is about following your dreams, doing more of what you love, eating good food that nourishes your body, getting out into the outdoors, having a laugh with friends, not taking things too seriously, moving your body every day as it feels good. It’s not about perfection, it’s not about being better than anyone else. It is very much about feeling good and creating habits that enrich your life and lead to a happier and more fulfilled you, and, leading from that, a better world for you, your kids, and your kids’ kids.
Often someone’s reason for not eating more healthily is that they can’t imagine what they’ll eat. They simply take meat out of the equation and don’t feel very excited about eating what’s left on the plate. And they worry that new stuff that they’ve never tried before will taste like ‘cardboard’ or ‘rabbit food’. We can totally relate to that! In the days when we were meat-and-two-veg men, we had no idea of the world of tastes and foods that existed beyond our limited food choices and just how delicious healthy food could be.
We guarantee you that the food in this book will stand up taste-wise and will satisfy the most avid carnivore. We have 100 fab new recipes that we think are even better than those in our first book! We have focused more on quicker dinners. From our last book we saw how popular the burgers were, so we have a fantastic selection of veggie burgers (here–here) and barbecue cooking (here–here) in our Mains section. Breakfast is one of our top three favourite meals, so we have some really great stuff there too! And, of course, because you definitely don’t have to deprive yourself to be healthy, we have got lots of healthier desserts!
We’ve called our second book The World of the Happy Pear because we want to bring you into our world. By introducing you to members of our family, the Happy Pear team, our friends, neighbours and suppliers, and people who have done our health courses, we hope you will see how we live out our values. And we hope you will also see that eating more veg is for everybody. At the Happy Pear we love the amazing variety of people coming through our doors – from young vibrant health enthusiasts to eighty-year-olds getting their daily shot of wheatgrass or a smoothie. No matter what category you fit into, eating more veg improves your life!
Veg power!
Dave & Steve
CHIA SEED PUDDING
This is a super-nutritious brekkie, packed with fibre, protein and omega-3s while being low in calories and fat! We never liked the texture of chia seed pudding until we came up with this recipe. The rice milk and banana give it a nice sweetness and the oats give it a bit more fibre and a change of texture. Another great brekkie if you are on the go – make it in a jar the night before and bring it with you to eat on the train or bus.
Mash the banana and the raspberries well. Put them into a jar or bowl, stir in all the other ingredients and leave to set for a couple of hours or overnight.
Sprinkle the top with some extra chia seeds and serve with fresh berries, bee pollen, cacao nibs, goji berries, fresh fruit or whatever you fancy!
CHIA SEED PUDDING
GREEN POWER BOWL
GREEN POWER BOWL
This is a great summer brekkie idea and brill after exercise. It’s basically a really thick smoothie that’s covered with your favourite toppings or whatever you have to hand. If you can chop up the pineapple and freeze it the night before it’ll taste a bit like eating ice-cream for breakfast – YUM! Put it into a jar or container for a brekkie on the go.
Scoop the avocado flesh out of its skin and put into a blender with all the other ingredients. Blend till smooth.
Top with whatever you like! Some suggestions are fresh mango, pomegranate seeds, your favourite nuts, goji berries, bee pollen, granola, cacao nibs, fresh berries, seeds . . . whatever you’re into really!
ELSIE’S SUPER SMOOTHIE
Dave had the best drink he ever had in a health food shop in California. It was a green smoothie that cost $18 and he thought it was a mistake. It was the best mistake he ever tasted! For the last two years Dave and his daughters have been trying to reverse-engineer it; now they think they’ve cracked it!
Put all the ingredients into a blender and whiz till smooth. Top with some extra bee pollen.
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE SMOOTHIE
This is Dave’s best shot at making a healthy brekkie smoothie that tastes as good as chocolate chip cookie dough ice-cream! We use water here to keep it light, but you can use milk of your choice instead.
Measure the water into a blender jug and add the vanilla extract. Soak the dates and cashew nuts in the water for 5 minutes. The orange zest can be a nice extra to add a zing to the flavour. Blend till smooth. Once blended, stir through the cacao nibs/dark chocolate chips, keeping them whole.
MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP SMOOTHIE
It’s worth seeking out the peppermint oil for this recipe (it’s also great added to superfood energy balls, see here, or a chocolate cake mixture). In this case it really makes this smoothie POP!
Put all the ingredients (except for the cacao nibs/dark chocolate chips) into a blender and blend until smooth. Once blended, mix through the cacao nibs/dark chocolate chips, keeping them whole.
FLU-BUSTER MOJITO SMOOTHIE
This super-healthy ‘mojito’ is sure to knock the socks off any cold or flu symptoms you have! It’s a great pick-me-up and immune system booster.
Roll your lemon and grapefruit on a work surface (you always get more juice after rolling them). Squeeze the juice (removing any pips) and put into a blender jug.
Scoop out the avocado flesh from its skin and put into the blender along with the lemon, grapefruit and apple juice, and the mint leaves, removed from their stalks.
If you have a high-speed blender you can put the ginger in whole. If you have a regular blender, grate your ginger before adding. Blend the mixture well.
Serve with a couple of lemon slices and mint leaves in each glass.
ELSIE’S SUPER SMOOTHIE
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE SMOOTHIE
MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP SMOOTHIE
FLU-BUSTER MOJITO SMOOTHIE
HOMEMADE NON-DAIRY MILKS
EACH RECIPE MAKES ABOUT 800ML
Getting milk from a nut, seed or grain is much easier than from a cow. Homemade non-dairy milks taste great and are much cheaper than shop-bought versions.
We’ve only ever made almond, walnut, cashew, rice and oat milk. All these milks are raw, meaning they are full of enzymes. The science? Enzymes are biological catalysts, meaning that they make things happen in your body. Enzymes are really important for your body function and are only present in raw foods. Drinking these milks ensures we get lots of enzymes, good fats and hydration to get the day started! The nut milks are more expensive to make than oat or rice milk.
Try adding some vanilla extract, ground cinnamon or even nut butters to pimp up your milks. We keep these milks in bottles, jars or old containers in our fridge. They last for up to a week and can also be frozen.
RICE MILK
Blend the rice with the water until smooth. Sieve as before to give you a naturally sweet milk.
NUT MILK
Soak the nuts overnight in water. The next morning drain them – they should have puffed up and got bigger.
Put the water and nuts into a blender and whiz until the mixture is super-smooth. Sieve as above, to give you a creamy, tasty milk.
HOMEMADE COCONUT YOGHURT
If you haven’t tried coconut yoghurt yet, it’s really worth tasting – wonderfully creamy, with a sense of decadent richness! It goes great anywhere you’d use yoghurt, also as a snack over fresh apple with some almond butter, or on top of our granola (see here).
You can control how thick your yoghurt will be by the proportion of coconut cream to coconut liquid you use from the tin. For example, if you want a thick yoghurt, use mostly the cream and omit the coconut liquid from the tin; if you want a runnier yoghurt, use everything in the tin.
Pour the coconut milk into a bowl and whisk until smooth and uniform. You are looking for a smooth homogenous texture – in some cases you may have to heat and cool the coconut milk to reach this homogeneous uniform texture. Ensure it has cooled to below 37° before adding the culture. Add the maple syrup/agave syrup. Next add your culture of choice: whisk in the store-bought coconut yoghurt gently, or add the contents of your probiotic capsules. Mix well.
Pour the coconut milk into any sterilized jars (see here for details) and screw on the lids. Place in a warm airing cupboard or a preheated oven – put the oven on the lowest temperature possible and leave the door slightly open. Leave for 24 hours without disturbing. Ideally the temperature is between 30 and 40°C.
Place the set yoghurt in the fridge for at least 6 hours. The yoghurt will become thicker as it chills. After this stage, you might find that the mixture has separated, with a yellowish, translucent layer at the bottom and a thicker white layer on top. Stir to recombine, or scoop off the top layer for thicker coconut yoghurt.
Keep your coconut yoghurt refrigerated and use within 1 week.
COCONUT YOGHURT POTS THREE WAYS
MAKES 2 X 400ML YOGHURT POTS PER RECIPE
A really tasty way to use your homemade coconut yoghurt – great for a brekkie or snack on the go! Just get some clean jars (or use a glass) and assemble. You can use any type of yoghurt, so don’t feel like this only works with coconut.
POMEGRANATE SEEDS AND HONEYED PISTACHIOS
Cut the pomegranate in half. Put one half face down on a chopping board and bang the back until the seeds fall out. Repeat with the other half. Drain any extra juice from the seeds and remove any white pith. Put the seeds into each of your two jars as the base layer.
Toast the pistachios in a dry frying pan until they start to colour – about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and add the honey. Stir through.
Fill your jars three-quarters of the way up with the yoghurt (on top of the pomegranate seeds), and top with the honeyed toasted pistachios.
FRESH BERRIES AND GRANOLA
Put a mixture of fresh berries (try raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, goji berries, blackberries . . . ) into each of your two jars as the base layer.
Fill your jars with the yoghurt (on top of the berries), and top with the granola.
GREEN POWER BREKKIE POT
Divide the granola between the two jars. Top each with half the yoghurt. Finally top with your green power bowl mix. You can garnish with bee pollen if you like.
POMEGRANATE SEEDS AND HONEYED PISTACHIOS
FRESH BERRIES AND GRANOLA
GREEN POWER BREKKIE POT
FLUFFY, CRUNCHY GRANOLA
This is one of the nicest granolas we have ever eaten or made, and we have eaten a lot – the first time we made this we thought it was a bit like eating sweet crunchy clouds! Use gluten-free oat flakes if you like.
Preheat the oven to 140°C/275°F/gas mark 1.
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Melt the coconut oil by heating it in a small pan, then leave it to cool slightly. Put the honey/maple syrup/agave syrup into a bowl and add the coconut oil.
Pour the wet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Lay out the mixture in a thin even layer on two large baking trays. Put them into the oven and bake for about an hour. You can bake them longer if you prefer more of a crunch – no more than 10 extra minutes, though, as you don’t want the granola to burn!
While your granola is baking, assemble your dried fruit in a bowl and add the ground flax seeds.
Once the granola is baked, leave it to cool on the baking tray for 20 minutes, then transfer to a clean mixing bowl and stir in the dried fruit, ground flax and the fancy stuff.
Goes great with milk or yoghurt (see our coconut yoghurt recipe here), or to have on its own as a healthy snack throughout the day.
FLUFFY, CRUNCHY GRANOLA
OVERNIGHT BIRCHER MUESLI
This recipe is really easy. You can have everything done the night before and just grab it running out the door in the morning – it looks very nice in a Kilner jar if you have one. It will keep for two days in the fridge.
Soaking oats overnight makes them sweeter and easier to digest. They are loaded with fibre to boost your digestion and immune system. Chia seeds add a nice texture as well as boosting the nutritional profile of this dish massively, especially omega-3, protein and fibre.
The night before, put the oats, raisins, goji berries, chia and pumpkin seeds into a bowl or container and mix. Add the rice milk, cover and put into the fridge.
In the morning, add your toppings – here are some ideas:
• blueberries • raspberries • banana • grated apple/pear • yoghurt • bee pollen • granola
CREAMY COCONUT QUINOA ‘PORRIDGE’
With porridge being our go-to comfort food it was hard for us to try making it with other grains – we felt like we were cheating on our lifelong friend the oat flake! This super-tasty brekkie will help you spring out of bed and it’s particularly good on the weekend or after training, as it is richer than the usual porridge. It goes great with a good dollop of the citrus, goji and chia marmalade (see here), or raspberry chia jam (see here).
Put all the ingredients into a pot, put on a high heat and stir regularly. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a low to medium heat, and stir regularly. It should take about 10–15 minutes to cook.
Be careful to leave a little bit of moisture in the quinoa so that the porridge gets creamy and does not dry out. Remove the cardamom pods, cinnamon, star anise and vanilla pod before serving.
CREAMY COCONUT QUINOA ‘PORRIDGE’
QUINOA AND FLAX PANCAKES
QUINOA AND FLAX PANCAKES
We first made these pancakes with our friend the lovely Roz Purcell. They are super-tasty, packed full of protein, complex carbs and good fats, and have the added benefit of being gluten- and dairy-free.
In a high-speed blender or coffee grinder, blend the uncooked quinoa and flax seeds together until they reach a flour-like consistency (they do blend in some regular domestic blenders but not all!). Add the rest of the ingredients, except the oil, and whiz together.
Pour a tiny dash of oil into a non-stick frying pan, mix it around the pan and wipe away with a piece of kitchen paper to remove any extra fat. Put the pan on a high heat and allow it to heat up for a few minutes.
Pour in a dollop of your pancake batter and spread it out evenly in the pan. Turn the heat down to medium. Once the edges start to cook and the centre starts to develop holes or bubbles, flip the pancake over and cook the other side until it gets light brown. Put your cooked pancake on a plate and cover it with a tea towel to keep warm. Make the rest of your pancakes the same way, until the batter is used up.
TIP: If the batter starts to get too thick, add a little more rice milk to thin it out.
PINK PANCAKES WITH RED GRAPEFRUIT GUACAMOLE
These tasty, healthy pancakes have the benefits of being gluten-free, dairy-free, low in fat, low in calories, and high in fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. All in all a super start for brekkie or a fun dinner.
You want to extract all the bright purply-pink juice from the beetroot, so grate it into a bowl using the fine side of the grater, making sure to catch the juice. Take a second bowl and squeeze the grated beetroot flesh over it so the juice comes out. Wear a glove, as the juice stains and is hard to wash off! Discard the flesh. You can use a strainer to strain the last bit of the flesh and juice from the first bowl into the second so you capture all the juice.
Put the juice and all the other pancake ingredients (except the oil) into a blender and blend till smooth. Alternatively, if you have a stick blender, add all the ingredients to the bowl of beetroot juice and blend in the bowl.
To cook your pancakes, heat your pan till it gets nice and hot. Pour in a small amount of oil and spread to cover the base. Wipe off excess oil with kitchen paper, so only a tiny coating remains on the pan. Turn down to a medium heat.
Pour in some batter, enough to make a small thin pancake. When bubbles start to form in the middle and the edges start to firm up, turn and cook the other side. Put your cooked pancake on a plate and cover with a tea towel to keep it warm. Make the rest of your pancakes the same way, until the batter is used up.
To make the guacamole, peel the grapefruit using a knife so you leave out the bitter pith – the thin white layer between the skin and the flesh. Cut the segments out of the membrane and cut each segment into two or three pieces. Chop the avocado flesh into chunks.
Put the chopped grapefruit and avocado into a bowl with all the other ingredients except the chilli flakes, and mix lightly with a fork. Leave it so it’s not too mushy and there is lots of texture.
Put some of the guacamole on top of each pancake, garnish with the chilli flakes, and enjoy!
PINK PANCAKES WITH RED GRAPEFRUIT GUACAMOLE
CORN FRITTERS WITH AN AVOCADO SALSA
CORN FRITTERS WITH AN AVOCADO SALSA
A great brunch served with a few slices of toast and some beans, this is a meal to be reckoned with! The avocado salsa really complements the fritters. Polenta flour is worth seeking out to have in your store cupboard. Once made, the fritter mix will keep for a few days in your fridge and can be frozen. Hummus goes great with these too.
Drain the sweetcorn and rinse it thoroughly. Peel the garlic, and deseed and finely chop the red chilli (keep the seeds in if you like it hot!), together with the garlic and scallions. Put into a blender.
Add the rest of the fritter ingredients (apart from the extra polenta flour and the oil) to the blender and whiz for about a minute, until they form a lumpy but cohesive texture. Divide the mix into 4–6 balls and flatten each into a patty shape.
Before frying, put a couple of tablespoons of polenta flour on a plate and roll the fritters in it to dry them out.
Put a tablespoon of oil into a pan and heat it for 1 minute on a high heat, then reduce to a medium heat and fry the fritters on either side until golden brown. It should take about 5 minutes to cook a fritter, and we cook them two at a time.
Roughly chop the tomato and avocado flesh into cubes and chop the coriander roughly. Put these into a large bowl with the rest of the salsa ingredients and mix well.
Serve the fritters with a dollop of salsa. Hummus is nice on them too.
RASPBERRY AND ALMOND GLUTEN-FREE MUFFINS
Addictive and delicious – the first time Steve made these, he ate four by accident! They are like a light, fluffy, almondy flapjack muffin, with the sweetness and sharpness of raspberries cutting through. Try them with some homemade coconut yoghurt (see here) on the side.