First of all, thank you for reading my first recipe post on the blog. To make this occasion more special, I teamed up with my friends at www.steenbergs.co.uk and have a great GIVEAWAY for you.

All you need to do to enter my competition is to sign up to my blog (via the Mailing List signup on the right). The winner will be randomly selected next week and will receive a set of Arabic spices which I used in my recipe below (Ras al-Hanut, Harissa with Rose, Dukkah and Zaatar), plus a Jute bag, mug and a tea towel. Steenbergs spices come in glass jars and I love using them.

Spiced aubergine chips

1 Aubergine Riverford

2 tsp of Steenbergs organic Harissa with Rose

2 Tbs of Sainsbury’s organic tomato paste

1 Tbs of Odysea pomegranate molasses

pinch of Himalayan salt

I cut the aubergines and prepared the marinade by mixing all the ingredients together. Then I coated the aubergines and left to sit while I prepared the patties.

Spicy squash patties

1 oven roasted organic squash Tescofood

1/2 cup of graham flour Dovesfarm

3 Tbs  of chestnut flour

1/2 cup of Biona amaranth pops

2 tsp of Steenbergs Ras al-Hanut seasoning

1 tsp of dried oregano

1 clove of garlic (crushed)

pinch of Himalayan salt

black pepper

1 tsp of ground turmeric Wholefoodsuk

2 Tbs of Rawhealtorganic olive oil

1 Tbs of black sesame seeds Wholefoodsuk

I blended everything together and placed in the refrigerator for 10 minutes,  preheated the oven to 200 degrees C (390 F) and baked the patties together with the aubergine chips for 20 minutes.

Harissa and pomegranate salad

2 cup of spinach

1/2 of blood orange Riverford

1/4 cup of fresh pomegranate seeds

spicy aubergine chips

Dressing:

2 Tbs of pomegranate molasses Odysea

2 tsp of date syrup  Meridian

3 Tbs of raw olive oil Rawhealth

1 tsp of Harissa with rose seasoning Steenbergs

pinch of Himalayan salt

I mixed the vegetables together and whisked the dressing.

Additionally I also mixed 2 tsp of Steenbergs Zaatar with 1 Tbs of Rawhealth olive oil to dip the patties in.

As part of my healthy anti-aging diet, I believe in eating a lot of colourful  fruit and vegetables. I eat something from each colour group every day to make sure that I get enough nutrients.  I will be discussing rejuvenating food throughout my blog and as for this recipe, there would be plenty to talk about. For example, squash contains beta carotene which is essential for healthy skin and so is the folic acid found in spinach. Pomegranates contain phytochemicals that help to recharge our cells and rejuvenate us within.

Using herbs and spices in your food not only gives it that extra delicious flavor; they are also anti-inflammatory and they boost our metabolism, to name just a few benefits. They should be included in any anti-aging diet.