This week we welcome nutritionist and founding member of Greencuisine Trust, Daphne Lambert, to the Nutshell.Daphne has cooked, studied, taught and written about food all her adult life. She has run a nutritional consultancy practice for over 25 years working with schools, colleges and organisations looking at ways to nourish well being. Through inspiring projects, courses and events, Greencuisine Trust works to improve the knowledge and understanding of the inter-relationship between food, culture, biodiversity, agriculture and the environment.

To connect with Daphne:

https://www.greencuisinetrust.org/

Nettle recipes!

Nettle pesto

150g nettle tops (top5/7 leaves)

25g shelled hemp seeds

2 cloves garlic finely chopped or handful wild garlic chopped

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes (optional)

approx 200ml olive oil

salt & black pepper

Bring a pan, large enough to take the nettles 1⁄2 filled with water to the boil. Add the nettles bring back to the boil and cook for 30 seconds. Drain through a sieve over a bowl to save the cooking water.

Immediately plunge the nettles into very cold water. As soon as they are cold, remove and squeeze them dry.

Put the nettles into a food processor along with the garlic. Process together for 30 seconds then slowly trickle in enough oil to make a soft paste. Stir in the nuts and optional yeast flakes. Season your pesto with salt and pepper to taste. Will keep well in the fridge for a couple of weeks.The reserved nettle water is a nourishing drink.

Nettle soup

serves 4

400g nettle tops

200g floury potatoes peeled if necessary & roughly chopped

1litre well flavoured vegetable stock

salt & black pepper

Plunge the nettle tops into boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain through a sieve over a bowl to save the cooking water for a nourishing herbal tea. Immediately plunge the nettles into cold water to refresh, drain and set aside.

Put the potatoes and stock into a pan and gently simmer with the lid

on until tender. Add the nettle tops to the pan, cook for a further 3 minutes, remove from the heat, cool slightly then blitz in a food processor. Return to the pan and gently bring back to the boil. If it seems too thick add a little more stock. Season as necessary with salt & black pepper.

Potato & nettle rosti

6 medium well scrubbed potatoes

2 large handfuls of nettle tops

olive oil

salt and pepper

Plunge the nettles into boiling water for 30 seconds, strain (reserving the water to drink) and refresh the nettles in cold water. Strain and with your hands squeeze the nettles dry then roughly chop.

Grate the potatoes onto a tea towel and gently wring out any excess moisture. Season well with salt pepper and mix in the nettles. Gently heat the oil in a frying pan. Pile in the potato mixture and press down well. Over a moderate heat cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Flip over and repeat on the other side. Transfer to a dish and serve cut in wedges

Links from today's episode:

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/21-day-challenge

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/rethinking-easter-choosing-lentils-instead-of-lamb

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/allergen-free-lentil-loaf

https://www.goodtogrowuk.org/charlesdowding.co.ukhttps://www.ukorganic.org/blog/articles/dirty-dozen-a-list-of-pesticide-residue-levels-in-food-from-pan-uk

In this week's nugget: Is supplementing with B12 unnatural? Is there a role for fortification? And how would I even know if I was deficient in B12? Our advice would always be to keep calm, and take the supplement....

Let's crush this myth once and for all that red meat is the go-to if your iron levels are low. You asked us for some straight-forward guidance on ensuring diets are iron replete, so we thought it was time to record an iron nugget, or should we say 'ingot'....

In this bonus episode, we talk to the directors Dan Richardson and Giles Alderson about the story of their joint film, Food for Thought. We wanted to think about what a film like this could do to motivate people to follow a healthy, plant-based diet.

To watch the film:

https://foodforthoughtdoc.com/

This week we welcome Michael Metoudi, RD, M.Sc, a registered dietitian working within both research and clinical practice. Michael talks about his research on the knowledge and views held by registered dietitians in England and Northern Ireland on plant-based diets.

Michael holds a master in Molecular Medicine and has previously worked in clinical trials for immunotherapy-related cancer treatments at King’s College London.

During this time he found himself exposed to the emerging research into plant-based nutrition and the many benefits it can have in terms of human health. Attending the first PBHP conference in 2018 inspired him into to redirect the course of his career path into clinical nutrition.

Having obtained a masters in clinical nutrition and dietetics from University College Dublin, Michael now works in nutrition research as well as in clinic with clients of all ages, and within an eating disorders recovery centre.

Michael's published paper discussed:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jhn.13386

Link to the binge eating disorder factsheet:

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/BingeEatingDisorder-250221.pdf

Link to the newly published position statement from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39923894/

It's over to Plant-Based Health Professionals researcher Isabelle Sadler for this week's nugget. PBHP UK have published groundbreaking research examining NHS hospital menus which shows that despite national recommendations to shift towards more sustainable, plant-forward diets, UK hospitals are showing limited progress in offering environmentally-friendly meal options.

The reference:How Sustainable Are Hospital Menus in the United Kingdom? Identifying Untapped Potential Based on a Novel Scoring System for Plant-Based Provisions Isabelle Sadler, Alexander Bauer, Shireen Kassamhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jhn.70019