We crave comfort and warmth from evening meals during winter and a certain type of nourishment that facilitates and promotes sleep. Carbohydrates help to settle our bodies and prepare us to wind-down for a restful sleep. Carbohydrates increase levels of the amino acid tryptophan in the brain, which helps facilitate sleep when it converts to serotonin, and serotonin is necessary for the body to produce the sleep hormone melatonin.

Health benefits:

Chickpea miso -

·       provides beneficial probiotics.

·       helps improve digestion.

·       has positive effects on blood pressure.

·       has anticancer effects.

·       is a good source of nutrients including copper, manganese and vitamin K.

CHICKPEA PENNE & MUSHROOMS

V, GF, DF

1 cup (60 g) dry chickpea penne per person

1 onion, sliced

5 portobello mushrooms, sliced

handful of spinach

1 tbsp (17 g) white miso

½ cup (56 g) vegan parmesan, grated

Boil a saucepan of water, add a tablespoon of salt and cook the pasta the length of time indicated on the packet until it is al dente.

Preheat the frypan on medium heat, add a little water and sauté the sliced onion with the lid on for about 5 minutes until soft, pull the onions to the side of the pan, and add the sliced mushrooms and cook until the juices from the mushrooms are reduced. When the pasta is cooked, pour a ladle of starchy water into a bowl with the miso and stir to mix. Drain the pasta, add the spinach and stir, place the lid on the saucepan for the spinach to wilt. Add the pasta to the frypan and some of the creamy miso sauce, mix and serve with grated vegan parmesan.