Easy asparagus recipe to fuel 💥 your body with fibre and protein

Also, why I threw away my air fryer, and is the local-raw-honey-for-hay-fever story a myth? A rare free post. Enjoy!

Asparagus, potato and duck eggs drizzled in butter, with scattered micro greens and seeds (vegetarian, gluten free, protein and fibre rich). Scroll down for vegan alternative…

Some spears of asparagus, boiled potato, and a couple of eggs with a drizzle of melted butter.

Really?

You call that cooking?

The first time my German mother-in-law served a version of this up to me, it felt almost outrageous. The simplicity.

But actually it’s a delicious meal to have in your repetoire when asparagus comes into season, especially when you know about the gut health benefits.

Asparagus is a king in the gut-health world - delivering a type of fibre called inulin, and plant chemical polyphenols in the colour, which are “prebiotic” meaning they act like fertiliser and multiply the good bacteria in your microbiome.

This may spark better brain, immune system and digestion.

I’ve pimped up this dish with micro greens (small salad leaves with concentrated amounts of nutrients in them, also a chance to add extra diversity to a meal), and a scattering of your favourite seed mix - to get additional nutrients in.

Also, I’m using duck eggs - rather than hen ones - because they are larger so deliver more protein (though you could use hen’s if you prefer).

Here goes…(then scroll down for my air fryer story in the “3 health changes I made this week” section).

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Health benefits (per person from this dish)

✅ Protein - 28g (aim for 75g+ a day)

✅ Fibre - 8.8g (aim for about 30g a day)

✅ Plant diversity - 8 (aim for 30+ a week)

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Serves 2

Ingredients

• 12 spears of green asparagus

• 4 medium new potatoes

• 4 duck eggs

• 30g of butter

• Sea salt

To garnish (and enhance nutritional values)

• 2 tbs of mixed seeds (eg THESE or THESE)

• 2 small handfuls of micro greens eg THESE are a version found in UK supermarkets. (Or check out farmers’ markets).

How to make

Peel the potatoes and cut into halves. Place in boiling water (with a sprinkling of sea salt) and simmer for about 20 minutes till soft all the way through (check by digging a knife in).

While the potatoes are cooking, wash and break the hardest ends of the asparagus off.

Boil another saucepan of water with a light sprinkle of sea salt in it. When boiling, add the asparagus, and turn the heat down to a simmer. Let them simmer for about 3 minutes or so (thick ones will take longer than thin ones, so keep checking). You want to fish out/drain the water, when the stems are al dente (still firm but no longer rock hard - prod with a fork to check).

Meanwhile heat another saucepan of water till boiling, then reduce the heat to a simmer, add the eggs, and put the lid on and let them cook for 6-7 minutes. Use a timer. Lift the eggs out with a spoon and run them under a cold tap and peel the skins off.

Now put the butter in a small jug or dish in a microwave for a minute to melt down (or a small saucepan on the hob).

Time to assemble your dish!

Lay the asparagus, potatoes, and eggs (sliced in half) on each plate.

Pour a drizzle of melted butter over the asparagus and potatoes, add a sprinkle of sea salt.

Sprinkle some micro greens, and a seed mix on top and serve right away.

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A vegan option (gluten free) - Asparagus with Catalan Ketchup

This was a version photographed at Towpath in London.

A tasty way to serve this if vegan, would be to make my Catalan Ketchup recipe HERE. This is a take on a traditional Catalan sauce made from roast peppers, tomatoes and almonds.

Serve with the asparagus, plus the potatoes, mixed seeds and micro greens on top.

Health benefits (per person)

✅ Protein - 12g

✅ Fibre - 12g

✅ Plant diversity - 17

If you want to reach the satiating 20g+ of protein from this meal make yourself an easy carob tofu and honey dessert HERE as a chaser!

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3 health changes I made this week…

1. HASTA LA VISTA AIR FRYER

After about 10 years of use, I threw out my air fryer. Look at the black coating scratched and chipping away inside…

I don’t know exactly what this coating is made from, but my concern is that what ever it is is likely landing in my food, and that isn’t a natural substance I want in my body thanks.

There was a review article last year in The International Journal of Obesity suggesting nonstick cookware may be one of the players in disrupting our metabolism (ie makes us cling onto weight). This got me thinking about getting rid of the air fryer.

In recent months, we have been learning in a Nature Review that black plastic food contact chemicals aka FCCs) may also be dangerous for health and disrupt hormones, especially when heated and leach into food.

So I have replaced all my black plastic utensils with wooden ones, and non-stick frying pans for cast iron ones, though it does make cooking a bit messier!

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2. HONEY HAY FEVER MYTH?

Here’s some raw unpasteurised honey I bought at a London farmers’ market this week but I think the local-honey-for-your-hay-fever-story quoted by well-meaning people to me several times a day at the moment when I sneeze, may be a myth.

When I checked on Pubmed the science research database and put in the words “seasonal allergies” and “raw honey” in the last 10 years, NOTHING came up whatsoever.

Which explains why however much I use, I keep sneezing.

However, it is definitely worth enjoying anyway for the prebiotic xylooligosaccharides (XOS) it contains for gut-health. More on the health benefits HERE.

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3. DIVERSITY SPRINKLERS

As you’ve seen in the recipe above, sprinkling mixed seeds on your food is a quick and tasty way to bump up the number of plants in a dish to reach the golden 30 per week mark (more info HERE). Over salads, soups, even roast veg.

These are 3 ready-bought mixes I’m enjoying at the moment.

Meanwhile, I have thrown away the M&S one I bought, as I didn’t like the flavour at all. It tasted to me like there were some aniseed or cumin seeds in there somewhere, but none are listed on the ingredients so maybe it’s my taste buds playing tricks on me!

All this to say, I think it’s easy to over egg the pudding when trying to make a product extra healthy.

More variety isn’t necessarily better if made unpalatable.

I think I’ll rotate around these 3 for variety instead for now which I like taste-wise. I’m always keen on mixes that include pumpkin seeds which these do, as they deliver magnesium for our nervous system.

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Do you have any good recommendations of cooking utensils and pans you’d like to recommend to us here? Have you tried or made any delicious diverse seed mixes? Have you come across any evidence on the honey and hayfever front? If you’re a paid subscriber you are invited to join the conversation here…