Written by Kimberly Parsons, a trained naturpath and chef, The Yoga Kitchen follows the yogic principle that by combining our diet with our holistic health, we can unite and strengthen our entire system. These delicious, healthy picnic recipes are perfect for summer time!

Mezze

Enjoy all of these components together. Picking and mixing is my favourite way to eat these small dishes. This is the perfect example of when the sum is greater than its individual parts.

Serves 8

Tabouli (V)

1 cucumber, peeled and diced into .5cm cubes

5 tomatoes, washed and diced into .5cm pieces

½ red onion, peeled and very finely diced

50g fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

25g fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

25g fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

¼ tsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Adjust seasoning to your taste buds and set aside.

Falafel

150g white quinoa, rinsed

220ml filtered water

100g fresh baby spinach leaves

50g fresh parsley

50g fresh mint leaves

200g frozen peas, lightly blanched

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground sweet paprika

½ tsp ground turmeric

2 eggs

100g buckwheat flour

Sesame seeds, to garnish, sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 180°C.

To cook the quinoa, combine the quinoa, filtered water and a pinch of sea salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat. Once simmering, lower the heat and allow the quinoa to cook for about 15 minutes uncovered. Watch to check the water level and stir occasionally. Once all the water has been absorbed and evaporated the quinoa should be cooked. Place a clean tea cloth over the top of the saucepan and replace lid trying to create a tight seal. Let rest for 10 minutes before continuing. This will make the quinoa light and fluffy. Allow quinoa to cool.

In the meantime, place the spinach, herbs, peas, garlic and spices into a food processor and pulse until combined. You want to keep the mix a little rough so refrain from blending together until smooth.

Lightly whisk two eggs at the bottom of a large mixing bowl and then add the quinoa. Mix to coat and then add the pea mix from the food processor and mix until thoroughly combined. Mix with a little more or less of the buckwheat flour to bind and form a soft but not sticky mixture. Taste for seasoning.

Using wet hands, roll into walnut sized balls and place onto a baking paper lined baking tray. If you are short of time, you can always use an ice cream scoop instead of your hands to portion the falafel onto the baking trays.

Sprinkle falafel with sesame seeds.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the falafel feel firm but not hard. Remove from the oven either enjoy warm or allow to cool and eat cold.

Tzatziki

½ cucumber, washed and grated

2 pinches sea salt

250g full fat greek yoghurt (Can use coconut yogurt)

6 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

juice of ½ a lemon

¼ tsp sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Place the grated cucumber into a fine sieve, place over medium bowl. Sprinkle the sea salt over the grated cucumber and allow to sit for 30 minutes. The salt will help to bring the water out of the cucumber and intensify its flavour.

In a separate medium mixing bowl, add the greek yoghurt, lemon juice and mint. Stir to incorporate. Then using your hands squeeze the remaining liquid from the cucumber and then place into the yoghurt mixture. Stir to incorporate again and then add the seasoning. Taste and adjust accordingly. You may like to add a little more lemon juice, mint or seasoning. Set aside.

Hummus (V)

400g organic chickpeas, drained

40ml liquid from chickpeas

juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp tahini

30g fresh coriander leaves, washed

2 garlic cloves

2 tsp ground cumin

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp sea salt

Cracked black pepper to taste

Throw ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Adjust to taste.

Omega Crackers (V) 

Makes 4 trays crackers

50g sunflower seeds

50g pumpkin seeds + more for garnishing

200g buckwheat flour

200g quinoa flakes

2 tsp poppyseeds

150g flaxseeds/linseed

150g sesame seeds

2 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp fennel seeds

500ml filtered water

dash of olive oil

sprinkle of sea salt flakes

Preheat oven to 175°C. Line 4 flat baking trays with greaseproof baking paper.

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, stir to combine. Then using your hands make a well in the middle of the mixture and pour the water into the well and start to combine the mixture to create a paste.

Once incorporated start to spread the mixture onto the baking trays using clean, wet hands. The mixture should be no thicker than 2-3mm. It should be as thin as you can spread it out on the trays. Add water if you need to help spread the paste out.

Once evenly spread onto the baking trays, Sprinkle with a few extra pumpkin seeds and the sea salt flakes. Score with a knife into desired sizes and shapes and then place in the oven for 45 minutes. The trick to these crackers is to make sure you open the oven door every 10 minutes for 10 seconds to allow the moisture to evaporate from the oven. The crackers should start to lift away from the sides of the baking trays once cooked. Depending on how thinly you spread the paste out onto the trays, your crackers may need a little more time to cook through.

Once cooked through the centre of the baking trays, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before breaking into the desired crackers.

Recipe from Kimberly’s book The Yoga Kitchen – Buy here!