Nourish In 5

Healthy desserts that are 5 ingredients, easy & delicious

Christmas; the season to be jolly, spending time with loved ones, exchanging gifts and eating copious amounts of food (usually with a large amount left over and/or wastage). Celebrating Christmas is something we often take for granted, every Christmas over five million Australians will go hungry, with a large portion of those being children.

"OzHarvest is Australia's leading food rescue organisation, collecting quality excess food from commercial outlets and delivering it directly to more than 1300 charities supporting people in need across the country."

You may have heard of Amy Lee Active but did you know she's recently launched a zero-waste recipe book in partnership with Oz Harvest? 'Nourish In 5' is made with love by Amy Lee, with over 100+ healthy dessert recipes made with only 5 ingredients or less and methods triple-tested to ensure zero-waste.

Every book sold feeds someone in need - just in time for Christmas!

Nourish In 5
Author: Amy Lee Active
ISBN: 9781922355461
RRP: $34.99

 

Interview with Amy Lee Active

Question: What inspired Nourish In 5?

Amy Lee Active: I've always wanted to combine my love of health food, nutrition and sustainability into one, so I could share with and hopefully inspire friends, family and my audience. As a teenager, I was SO unhealthy, I would live off sausage rolls, milkshakes and McDonalds (it also didn't help that my high school boyfriend's family owned the one closest to me!) and I would make up every excuse to get out of sports classes. I was never overweight, but it hit me one day that my feelings of lethargy and dependence on sugar and could be due to my poor diet and lack of exercise - I joined a gym and did extensive research on nutrition, in particular sticking to as much wholefoods and plantbased diet as much as possible. Feeling the difference in energy levels and mindset is incredible, and it's my lifegoal to share this with others in the simplest way possible - with healthy recipes that are only 5 ingredients, or less, and most importantly, delicious!


Question: How have you developed a low-waste approach to cooking?

Amy Lee Active: In this book and in my day-to-day life, I try to share an eco-friendly life as much as possible in the hopes of helping others - this doesn't mean going full greenie, it just means doing your own small part for the planet where possible. This is why Nourish in 5 supports OzHarvest, an incredible food-rescue charity that exists to eradicate the billion dollar food wastage problem in Australia. I'm incredibly proud that the book has already provided thousands of meals to those in need, just in time for Christmas. All of the 100+ recipes in the book are triple-tested, zero-waste methods - there are some recipes that have been loved for years and made 40+ times! If you do your research into cookbooks, you'll struggle to find anything else that is also thoroughly tested.


Question: Why is it important that Australians attempt a zero or low-waste approach to cooking?

Amy Lee Active: It's a huge global problem that can only be combatted with education, which the book aims to spread the knowledge. The cost of food waste to the Australian economy alone is estimated to be around $20 billion each year. Australian consumers throw away around 3.1 million tonnes of food"that's close to 17,000 grounded 747 jumbo jets. When food is disposed in a landfill it rots and becomes a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. A third of all food produced in the world is discarded, where much of it can be used to feed the malnourished.


Question: How did the partnership with OzHarvest come about?

Amy Lee Active: OzHarvest is a charity who's values and mission are aligned with my own, and I'd admired their work and Ronnie's [Kahn, the founder] for years. When an opportunity to publish this book came around, it immediately occured to me that it would be an incredible way to share the positive message about sustainable, delicious food to others, in a way that is accessible (via the 40,000 + retailers worldwide) and also affordable. I have nothing but gratitude towards OzHarvest for being an integral part of Nourish in 5, and for being a pleasure to work with towards our mutual goals.


Question: Which of the Nourish In 5 recipes shares the most memories, for you?

Amy Lee Active: This is a tough one, because great memories and great food are intertwined for me! I really love the Berrylicious Jam Crumble Bars because they use basic, staple, plantbased wholefood ingredients that are good for you and do not expire easily, contributing to the zero-waste nature of the book. It also doesn't taste healthy at all, it's a definite crowd-pleaser.


Question: Can you share one of the recipes, with us?

Amy Lee Active: After raving about Berrylicious Jam Crumble Bars I am probably inclined to giveaway the recipe now! I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients

1 cup (250g) organic butter or vegan butter, cut into chunks 1 1/2 cup (225g) flour (plain, wholemeal, spelt all work)
3/4 cup (60g) rolled oats
3/4 cup (110g) coconut sugar or xylitol (made from Birch tree) for sugar-free option
1 1/2 cups berry chia jam from Nourish in 5

Method
Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F. Grease a brownie pan with oil/butter.
Measure all ingredients in separate bowls. In a food processor pulsate three quarters of the butter, flour, oats and sugar, reserving the other quarter of each ingredient for the topping. Pulsate until combined into a mealy mixture. Press into the prepared pan.
Spread the jam over the prepared layer. (If adding fruit - now is when you would add it)
In the food processor process the remaining ingredients for the topping until a crumbly mixture, then sprinkle over jam.
Bake for 25 minutes or until edges are golden brown, then remove from oven and allow to completely cool before cutting into squares (I cut big squares and got 32, but you could easily cut these into small squares for more!)


Interview by Brooke Hunter

Nourish In 5 
Author: Amy Lee Active
ISBN: 9781922355461
RRP: $34.99