Harriet Birrell | Contributors - Nourish plant-based living

Harriet Birrell

Harriet is the author of three beautiful books, Natural Harry, Whole, and Home, and is also a qualified health coach and yoga teacher who has studied plant-based nutrition. When she isn’t busy creating content designed to get people thinking, she loves surfing and tending her veggie patch with her dog Fred.

Articles by Harriet Birrell

View ›
Recipe

Baked buckwheat and raspberry porridge

One weekend, I decided to add some frozen berries to my porridge mix and bake it instead of cooking it on the stovetop. It turned out so good and...

- Harriet Birrell
View ›
Recipe

Double chocolate and blueberry weekday pancakes

These pancakes are the perfect breakfast staple. No blender or food processor needed. Bonus! They are filling and delicious, and offer an...

- Harriet Birrell
View ›
Recipe

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This loaf is completely grain free and gluten-free, meaning it’s suitable for those with intolerances. Buckwheat is a seed not a grain. It is...

- Harriet Birrell
View ›
Earth

The cleanest clean

A little know-how is all you need to avoid chemical-laden commercial cleaners and instead make your own non-toxic, household cleaners that are...

- Harriet Birrell
View ›
Recipe

Vegan mushie burgers with the lot

This is the the most delicious vegan mushroom burger we have ever made! It won't fall apart, is totally satisfying and bursting with flavour!

- Harriet Birrell

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Baked buckwheat and raspberry porridge

Harriet Birrell

One weekend, I decided to add some frozen berries to my porridge mix and bake it instead of cooking it on the stovetop. It turned out so good and is actually much easier!

breakfastbrunch
kid-friendlyoil freerefined sugar free

Ingredients

Serves 2–4

To serve

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C fan forced.
  2. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a small baking dish. Add the milk and stir well. Add the raspberries, give it a quick mix, then place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.
  3. Remove from the oven when ready and serve in bowls with a generous dollop of coconut yoghurt, if using, and a little maple syrup. Easy, healthy, and delicious!
Harriet Birrell

Harriet is the author of three beautiful books, Natural Harry, Whole, and Home, and is also a qualified health coach and yoga teacher who has studied plant-based nutrition.

This recipe was originally published in Nourish plant-based living, Issue 70 • View magazine

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Double chocolate and blueberry weekday pancakes

Harriet Birrell

These pancakes are the perfect breakfast staple. No blender or food processor needed. Bonus! They are filling and delicious, and offer an alternative to bananas in wholefood, plant-based pancakes.

breakfastbrunchdessert
gluten-free optionkid-friendlyoil freequick and easyrefined sugar free

Ingredients

Serves 2

Method

  1. Heat a large nonstick frying pan over low heat.
  2. Whisk the chickpea flour, cacao powder, and baking powder together in a bowl. Add the vanilla, coconut milk, and maple syrup, if using, and whisk until smooth. Then add the chopped chocolate and half of the blueberries. Mix well.
  3. Spoon ¼ cup of mixture at a time into the frying pan. Allow the pancakes to cook for about 5 minutes or until small holes begin to show on the surface and in the centre.
  4. Flip and lightly press down with a spatula to pop the blueberries. Allow to cook for a further 2–5 minutes before flipping out onto a plate.
  5. To serve, stack the pancakes up or lay them out. Sprinkle with chopped strawberries and the remainder of the blueberries to garnish. Eat them quick – they are so tasty when warm!

TIP: When berries aren’t in season, frozen ones are a great option. Just defrost them first and use as you would fresh ones.

Harriet Birrell

Harriet is the author of three beautiful books, Natural Harry, Whole, and Home, and is also a qualified health coach and yoga teacher who has studied plant-based nutrition.

This recipe was originally published in Nourish plant-based living, Issue 70 • View magazine

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Gluten-free lazy bones loaf

Harriet Birrell

This loaf is completely grain free and gluten-free, meaning it’s suitable for those with intolerances. Buckwheat is a seed not a grain. It is gluten-free, packed with nutrients, and delicious. For this recipe, we use it in its whole form, which makes a hearty loaf full of goodness and rich in fibre.

basics
bakinggluten-free optionoil free

Ingredients

Makes 1 large loaf

TO SERVE (optional)

Method

  1. If you are not using buckwheat that is already activated, soak the buckwheat in water for at least 10 minutes. Drain and rinse well.If using activated buckwheat, skip this step.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200°C conventional or 180°C fan forced. Line a loaf tin with baking paper.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well.
  4. In a small bowl or jug, stir the maple syrup and warm water together. Then stir the wet ingredients through the dry ingredients until evenly combined.
  5. Pour the batter into the loaf tin, spreading it evenly with a spatula. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Then flip the loaf so it is upside down in the tin and bake for another 30–40 minutes until it forms a hard crust. Allow to cool for 1 hour before slicing.
  6. Toast slices and load them up with your favourite toppings to serve. On the bench, the loaf will last for a few days. You can store it in the fridge for longer, but toast it before eating. Otherwise, you can slice it and store in the freezer.
Harriet Birrell

Harriet is the author of three beautiful books, Natural Harry, Whole, and Home, and is also a qualified health coach and yoga teacher who has studied plant-based nutrition.

This recipe was first published in Nourish plant-based living, Issue 70 • View magazine

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The cleanest clean

23rd June 2021
Words by Harriet Birrell
Category: Earth | Guides
Home and gardenMake your ownTackling waste

A little know-how is all you need to avoid chemical-laden commercial cleaners and instead make your own non-toxic, household cleaners that are just as effective.

I started considering the products I was using at home about seven years ago. At the time, my partner, Fraser, and I were operating a small, seasonal smoothie and raw desserts caravan in our hometown. The more I began to appreciate how food was grown and processed, the more I wanted to eat food as close to its natural, ‘whole’ state as possible, free of chemicals and preservatives. That passion for natural, plant-based living drove me to question the everyday products I used in our home.

I was shocked to discover synthetic preservatives in almost all of my store-bought cleaning products, along with loads of ingredients I couldn’t identify. Even worse – some were known to be harmful. I’ve since learned that manufacturers can get away with a lot by using labels and terms that mask what a product contains. The simple word ‘parfum’ or ‘fragrance’, for example, can be a front for thousands of chemicals that are known endocrine disruptors. These vague labels make it close to impossible for us to truly know what’s in the products we are using. No, thanks!

Armed with this knowledge, I started looking for products free of chemicals that can harm people and planet. This is a tedious and often confusing task, made more so by a large amount of greenwashing. Unfortunately, there are conventional and synthetically fragranced products that pose as ‘earth friendly’, ‘eco’, or ‘natural’ when they are, in fact, not. Our skin is our largest organ, and much of what comes into contact with it is absorbed right into the blood stream. If we avoid spraying synthetic pesticides and herbicides on our food, why would we spray products that are equally harmful in our homes?

Motivated by my frustration with commercial cleaners, I decided to explore homemade cleaning products that I could be certain contained no nasties.

WHY MAKE YOUR OWN?

There are plenty of benefits to making your own home cleaning products from natural ingredients. Not only do they smell better, they are also less irritating to skin and eyes. Replacing the noxious and lingering odours of synthetic fragrances with pure essential oils is like stepping into a new, genuinely fresh world.

Making your own simple, natural products means you will know (and be able to pronounce!) every ingredient that goes into them. You can tackle any cleaning task knowing that you are not inhaling harsh chemicals or getting anything potentially harmful on your skin and adding to its toxic load. Get creative and customise your household cleaners to your liking. Don’t love the smell of pure lavender essential oil? Use orange blossom instead.

Most of the ingredients you’ll need can be purchased in bulk, bypassing packaging altogether. Avoiding all that plastic packaging also gives you the opportunity to tread a little lighter on the Earth. Not to mention that you won’t be pouring toxic chemicals down the drain and, ultimately, into our waterways!

Arming yourself with the basic skills and ingredients to make your own cleaning products means more convenience in the long run. You can store the ingredients at home, making it easy to whip up a fresh batch of a product without having to visit the store. It will save you money and is convenient, environmentally friendly, and gentle on your system! All the better to turn dreaded cleaning chores into enjoyable rituals.

BUT HOW DO THEY COMPARE?

On my path to replacing commercial products with homemade and natural alternatives, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how effective they are. It is a common misconception that natural equals less powerful, and that we need synthetic chemicals to do most of the grunt work if we want to get things really clean.

The truth is, there are potent cleaning agents that are either minimally processed or in their natural form, such as good old-fashioned bicarb soda and white vinegar. Plus, it’s never a bad idea to remove the toxic load synthetic fragrances can place on our bodies.

TOP TIPS FOR GOING NON-TOX

  • Storage – Store your products and raw ingredients in a cool, dark place. Use durable, long-lasting containers, such as glass jars. I pick a lot of mine up at local op-shops or thrift stores. You can also save and clean empty containers from products you have used up.
  • Shop – Get to know your local bulk store. Weigh and label your own containers at home before you shop to make your shopping experience easy and enjoyable.
  • Label – Clearly label your homemade products with the product name and the date you made it. Label makers, markers, and tags all work well.
This article is an edited extract from Nourish plant-based living, Issue 64 • View magazine
Harriet Birrell

Harriet is the author of three beautiful books, Natural Harry, Whole, and Home, and is also a qualified health coach and yoga teacher who has studied plant-based nutrition.

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Vegan mushie burgers with the lot

Harriet Birrell

This is the the most delicious vegan mushroom burger we have ever made! It won't fall apart, is totally satisfying and bursting with flavour!

dinnerlunch
barbecueentertaininggluten-free option

Ingredients

Serves: 4

FOR THE FILLING

FOR THE ‘BUNS’

Method

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C.
  2. Steam sweet potato in a steaming basket for about 10 minutes until you can easily pierce through with a fork. Transfer into a bowl. Add cannellini beans, parsley,  spring onion, garlic, thyme and salt and mash together with a fork, mixing well. Mould mixture into 4 patties. Roll in sesame seeds and lay out on a baking paper lined tray. Bake for 30 minutes, turning half way.
  3. Brush the topside of each mushroom with a little oil, heat a non-stick fry pan and toast mushrooms on both sides.
  4. To assemble your burgers, place half the mushrooms topside down, then simply stack with a few pieces of cos lettuce and one patty each. Squeeze lime juice over avocado and spread over patties.
  5. Top with beetroot relish and a sprinkling of bean shoots.
  6. The remaining mushrooms are placed on top to complete the burger.
  7. Enjoy!

This recipe is an edited extract from Natural Harry by Harriet Burrell, published by naturalharry.com.au. Photography by Nikole Ramsay.

Harriet Birrell

Harriet is the author of three beautiful books, Natural Harry, Whole, and Home, and is also a qualified health coach and yoga teacher who has studied plant-based nutrition.

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YOUR INPUT