What is your purpose in life?

There is a beautiful Japanese word that translates to 'reason to live', the word is 'Ikigai' and once you find yours, you will change the trajectory of your life and be happier all round! 

Izelle recently sent Danny this:

Which lead her into a research spiral to find her purpose, and she happened upon 'Ikigai'. 

Ikigai is the common ground between what we love, what we’re good at, what the world needs, and what we can get paid for. It’s a great first step to discover your purpose.

Finding and realizing your ikigai will not happen overnight. By working toward our ikigai over time, we will continue to grow and develop in our chosen fields or professions. And because our Ikigai is our choice, we can feel a sense of autonomy over the journey it takes to get there.

We get deep about life and finding your Ikigai, listen here:

Like always, Izelle and Danny went only feeding our minds, but our bodies as well, this week Izelle Hoffman is sharing her favourite vegetarian recipe! 

Vegetarian chickpea goulash

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25–30 minutes

Servings: 6

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium red salad onion, diced

100 g green bell pepper, cut into strips (keep the seeds)

1 Tbsp Oryx desert wine salt

2 heaped Tbsp paprika

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

3 Tbsp raw honey

2 tsp dried parsley

500 g rosa tomatoes, halved

300 g carrots, chopped

300 g green beans, chopped

200 g sweet potato, cut into chunks

4 cups boiling water

4 x 410 g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan and fry the onion, bell pepper and reserved seeds until soft.
2. Add the salt, paprika, balsamic vinegar, honey and dried parsley. Stir well.
3. Add the rosa tomatoes, carrots, green beans, sweet potato and boiling water and cook for 15–20 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated.
4. Add the chickpeas and stir well and allow to cook for 5-10minutes. You can add another cup of water at this point if you prefer it saucier.
5. Garnish with the fresh parsley before serving with your choice of basmati or brown rice, baked potato or  sweet potato, couscous or quinoa.

Why we are using the following ingredients:

Chickpeas

I love chickpeas, whether grilled and flavoured as a snack, served in a vegetarian curry or pulped and mixed with a few other ingredients to form the base of a cake! Chickpeas are a good source of fibre, rich in calcium and anti-inflammatory, and boost the immune system.

Oryx Salt

What is the purpose of adding salt during cooking? It’s to enhance flavour, right? So why not start by using a good-quality salt to do the job? Sun-dried and unrefined with no additives will bring out the best in your food in the healthiest way possible.

Raw Honey

Salt needs sweet and vice versa to enhance taste and flavour. So when you add sweetness, choose a sweetness that has a healing effect on your body and health. Raw honey is antiviral and anti-fungal, and contains powerful antioxidants. Its helps ward off allergies, stabilise blood pressure and balance blood sugar levels. It also boosts the immune system and promotes digestive health.

Olive Oil

We all have our reasons why we prefer certain oils, but without a doubt my oil base of choice is olive oil, specifically for its amazing health benefits. Olive oil helps reduce inflammation and prevent osteoporosis, and is essential for bone health because it assists in the absorption of calcium and the mineralisation of bones, all of which are qualities I look for in a product, given my hip dysplasia and related joint pain.

Ground Black Pepper

Why do we add pepper to our food? When I ask this during cooking demonstrations, I always get the most interesting answers, but mostly people cannot tell me why they add pepper to their meals. My reason? It increases nutrient absorption and improves digestion, so you can get the most out of every meal, every time.

Paprika

Smoked or sweet, paprika is antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and high in vitamin C. It helps ease arthritis and joint pain, and aids in iron and antioxidant absorption.

Parsley

Parsley is so much more than just a garnish; it packs an unsuspecting nutritional punch. High in vitamins A and C and calcium, it is anti-inflammatory, improves bone health, is a blood purifier and boosts the immune system.

Sweet potato 

Sweet potato is an anti-inflammatory immune booster, full of nutrients and rich in beta carotene (an important antioxidant and precursor to vitamin A). It also regulates blood sugar levels and is easily digestible because of its high fibre content.

Peppers

Sweet peppers are anti-inflammatory, loaded with antioxidants and a great source of immune system-boosting vitamin E. I always have pimiento and bell peppers in my fridge.

You can get last week's podcast and recipe here: Izelle Hoffman spills the soup on winter germs!

You can also buy your copy of the award-winning 'Mindful Eating' cookbook here!

Catch up with Danny's brand new JacPod channel and all of her podcasts here: