Eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring. It’s still possible to indulge in your favorite foods, while nourishing your body at the same time. Here we share clean versions of delicious recipes that will leave you feeling and looking incredible and not to mention, insanely satisfied!

Name: Maja Lewicz

Instagram: @veggie_intervention

Job description: Food photographer and vegan recipe creator

Favorite dish to serve at a dinner party: Creamy vegan spinach, artichoke, and walnut dip. You can find the recipe on my Instagram.

Favorite skin food ingredient and why: We all know healthy skin comes from within. Here are my essential foods: Avocados containing healthy fats and keeping your skin firm and moisturized, walnuts, packed with vitamin E and C, zinc and selenium as well as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids crucial for healthy looking skin. Carrot juice with its abundance of vitamin A protects your skin from sun and aging. Raw carrots are quite difficult to digest by our bodies, fresh carrot juice however is easily digested, aids weight loss and cleanses the liver, hence, making it an integral part of a detoxifying diet resulting in a glowing skin. Last but not least green tea, full of antioxidants, protecting the skin from the external stressors and aging.

Top three Instagram accounts for inspiration:

@rainbowplantlife

@klaraslife

@groentenboertje_official

Must-have cookbook: One Pot, Pan, Planet by Anna Jones

Three things you always keep in your refrigerator: Fresh chilies, ginger, and some leafy greens.

Go-to quick, healthy meal: Definitely a soup! I am a huge soup lover and can make a delicious and nutritious soup in no time. Using sautéed onions, garlic, and fresh herbs as an aromatic base, cutting the veggies in small enough pieces/cubes (potatoes, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, celery, cruciferous vegetables) and adding fast-cooking protein sources, e.g., red lentils, canned beans, or chickpeas, you will have a delicious meal in no time!

Favorite healthy treat: Dates stuffed with walnuts and a bit of tahini.

Skincare mantra: Wash your face with cold water and massage it by applying your moisturizer with gentle upward strokes. Many make the common mistake of tugging and pulling downwards on the face and neck, which makes your skin saggy, and your face look tired in the long run. Just make sure you always lift the skin. Never drag it down. This will keep your face looking young and your skin firm for a long time.

Recipe: 

Ultra-creamy, nourishing, and healthy Vegan Chickpea Stew

Serves 3-4

Refined sugar free and gluten free.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups dry chickpeas or 2 ½ cups canned chickpeas, drained

3 onions, finely chopped

1 can chopped or whole peeled tomatoes

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

1 ½ tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 fresh chili, chopped (seeds removed if you can’t handle the heat)

1 tsp ground turmeric

2 tbs garam masala

1 tbs ground cumin

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp kosher salt

1 bunch of fresh cilantro leaves and stalks, chopped

1 cup water

Cashew cream:

½ cup raw cashews soaked in hot water for 1 hour

1 clove garlic, crushed

¼ cup water

salt to taste

Instructions:

Soak the cashews in hot water for 1 hour. Place rinsed cashews and the rest of the ingredients from the cashew cream mixture into a high-speed blender, blend until perfectly smooth.

Soak dried chickpeas overnight and cook until soft. If using canned chickpeas, drain, rinse, and set aside.

Start by heating the non-stick pan.

Add mustard and cumin seeds and toast for 1-2 minutes.

Add the oil, onions, ginger, chilis and garlic. Fry for 8 minutes stirring frequently.

Add the rest of the ground spices and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add canned or fresh tomatoes and the water and cook for approx. 15 minutes or until all the flavors have blended and the onions are nice and soft.

Move half of the gravy to a food processor, let it cool and blend.

Move it back to the pan, add the cooked chickpeas, lemon juice and cilantro stalks, simmer for another 10 – 15 minutes.

Garnish with lots of freshly chopped cilantro and cashew cream. Serve with steamed rice or any type of flat bread, e.g. naan or roti.