Cooking With India Ruiterman

Wellbeing
India Ruiterman competed in Elite Model Look in the UK in 2015 and has since walked in the Ashish and Julien MacDonald shows at London Fashion Week. When she’s not prepping for the catwalk, India loves cooking. “It’s a good way to destress because I am currently doing my final exams at school,” says India. “When I get bored of studying, I love to go into the kitchen and to cook for my family - which is quite often as I have really bad concentration!” She shares her top tips for how to cook like a model.

My signature dish

I make the nicest avocado toast. I use rye bread, chilli flakes, Himalayan salt, feta and it is just to die for. It is amazing!

Bean baby

I like making bean burgers. I always do different bean burgers but like mixed beans, mash, carrots, coriander, and guacamole on top. Sometimes black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas. I serve it with guacamole and sweet potatoes.

Green machine

I do hot yoga, and afterwards, I always have coconut water as I like to replenish my electrolytes. If it is a morning session I like to have a green shake before I go. It gives me energy before I go. Then have a proper breakfast before I get home! I put cucumber, ginger, broccoli, celery, spinach and apple.

Photo © Detox Kitchen

Desserts with a healthy twist

I have a sweet tooth so I love making stuff like brownies that are made of almond flour and beetroot. It is so good. I have this recipe book from the Detox Kitchen in Soho.  They sell all these beetroot brownies, and they taste better than normal one, so I started making them at home.


Recipe: Beetroot brownies by the Detox Kitchen

150g peeled raw beetroot, cut into small cubes
50g hazelnuts
100g gluten- and wheat-free flour
1 tsp baking powder
60g raw cacao powder
150g runny honey
1/2 tsp salt
3 medium eggs
75ml rapeseed oil

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6. Line the bottom and sides of a 20 x 12cm cake tin with greaseproof paper.

2. Put the beetroot in a microwave-safe bowl with 50ml water, cover with clingfilm and cook on a high heat for 7 minutes until soft. If you don’t have a microwave, wrap the beetroot in foil and bake in the heated oven for about 40 minutes until soft.

3. Put the hazelnuts in a blender and blitz until they are roughly chopped. Transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Sift in the flour, baking powder and cacao powder. 

4. Now blitz the cooked beetroot in the blender for 1–2 minutes until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients in the bowl but do not mix just yet.

5. Using the blender for the third time, put the honey, salt and eggs in it and blitz for 3 minutes. Pour into the bowl and mix with the rest of the ingredients using a wooden spoon. Be gentle, as you want to keep air in the mixture whilst combining it thoroughly.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake in the heated oven for about 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares. 

Photo © India Ruiterman

Peanut butter on everything

I love making cookies basically anything with peanut butter in it. Peter butter is my one obsession! I make peanut butter cookies and they are to die for. They are basically peanut butter, a bit of maple syrup and almond flour, which is essentially ground almond nuts.

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