Food: Woody Harrelson's personal chef; Health-conscious Woody shares some of his chef's veggie secrets.
Byline: Words: Elaine LipworthSalad and fresh fruit are all very well for lunch - in the summer - but raw food three times a day all year round doesn't sound like much fun. Yet more and more health-conscious celebs swear that a vegan diet - based on mostly raw food, with no meat, fish or milk - is the best way to stay slim and boost your vitality. Renee Loux Underkoffler, above with Woody, lives on the Hawaiian island of Maui where Woody Harrelson, his wife Laura Louie and their two children, nine-year-old Deni and Zoe, five, are based. She cooks for the family who are all vegans and rave about Renee's recipes. She's also cooked for Alicia Silverstone, Ed Norton and Salma Hayek.
Renee met Woody when he came to eat at the vegan restaurant she used to own on the island and they became firm friends. `He likes to detox and fast, which I help him with, and the whole Harrelson family love my desserts,' says the veggie chef. `The sweet treats really help; everybody loves them, especially the children. I even make raw birthday cakes and pies for them. Woody is strict. He would never eat meat, cheese, butter or any dairy produce. He occasionally drinks wine, but no caffeine.'
Isn't the diet monotonous? `Absolutely not,' insists Renee. `Breakfast in the Harrelson household is typically what we call "painted fruit", a fruit salad with apples, papaya, berries, mango and banana with sauce or "paint" made from almonds, maple syrup, cinnamon and orange juice with a micro algae called spirulina. Lunch would be salad or vegetable sushi. Dinner could be lasagne or sprouted long-grain wild rice with tomatoes and asparagus. Then they'd drink spiced chai tea.'
Woody's favourite recipes
Raw vegetable lasagne may not sound appetising but, according to 26-year- old Renee, it's `completely healthy - you'll rarely see an overweight vegan.'
Renee's Sunfired Tomato Lasagne
Serves 4-6
YOU WILL NEED
4 courgettes
5 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp sea salt
For the marinated mushrooms
4 Portabello mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 spring onions, chopped
4-6 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice or cider vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
Handful of fresh basil, sea salt, fresh ground black pepper For the Macadamia nut ricotta
350g/12oz Macadamia nut
50g/2oz pinenuts
4 tbsp yeast
sea salt
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
4-6 tbsp water
For the sundried tomato sauce
200g/7oz sundried tomatoes, soaked in water until softened
handful each of fresh basil and Italian parsley
sprig oregano and rosemary or pinch dried Italian seasoning
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil (optional)
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
1 tsp cider vinegar or lemon juice
6 Roma tomatoes or 4 large tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
sea salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper
Cut the top and bottom off the courgettes. Slice into flat strips lengthways to give even, thin strips. Layer evenly in a square or rectangle shape on a serving dish.
Slice the mushrooms and then mix all the marinade ingredients. Toss mushrooms in the marinade. Allow to stand for 30 minutes to several hours. These mushrooms will keep like this for several days.
For the Macadamia nut ricotta, grind all the nuts, yeast and sea salt together. Add all the other ingredients and blend to a thick sauce. Spoon over the courgettes.
Squeeze excess marinade from the mushrooms and layer them over the Macadamia nut ricotta.
Cut sundried tomatoes in half and spoon out seeds. Chop fresh herbs finely. In a food-processor, mix sundried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, syrup or honey and vinegar or lemon. Put in a bowl and add fresh tomatoes and herbs. Season. Allow to stand. Generously spoon over marinated mushrooms and serve.
 Printer friendly
 Cite/link
 Email
 Feedback
| |
| Title Annotation: | Features |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Sunday Mirror (London, England) |
| Date: | Aug 11, 2002 |
| Words: | 626 |
| Previous Article: | Ian Hyland's soapwatch: Ciaran makes a bad move. |
| Next Article: | HEALTH: CELEBRITY SICK NOTE POLYCYSTIC OVARIES KYM MARSH. |