Braai-due : a marriage between a traditional South African braai and a fondue.
If you think of South Africa and its people, there is only one thing we are truly great at (apart from having a strike almost weekly) – BRAAI. If you are not South African, let me quickly explain what we mean with a BRAAI. A braai is the most social gathering we as South Africans can have. Making a big fire, yes with real wood, sitting around it with a drink and waiting for the coals to reach the perfect temperature. Only then do we begin our braai, loading the grid with plenty of meat. Any meat – chicken, beef, lamb, pork, fish and in some cases even veggies. And on the side, some salads.
In short a South African Braai is what the rest of the world will call a barbeque…. We love to braai so much in South Africa we have a whole day dedicated to day. On 24 September we celebrate Heritage day (and my birthday) and it is also known as National Braai day. Enough said.
Fondue on the other hand is something similar where you cook smaller pieces of meat, vegetables or even bread in hot oil or even broth. You might wonder why I am explaining what a fondue is, and how it can be related to a braai.
Just as much as I love to braai, I love veggies a bit more. Hubby can probably braai every single day and for breakfast, lunch and supper. So, one day early 2015, as we were sitting around another braai, and poor hubby had to listen to my wining about braai, he decided to give his new braai invention “the braai-due” a go.
We tested it out the first time in March 2015, for hubby’s birthday and needless to say, we are now looking for any occasion to have a braai-due. So how does a braai-due exactly work. Well, very simply. You have your selection of meats (beef, chicken, lamb, prawns), cut into small bite size strips, your veggies of choice (we normally do mushrooms, baby marrow, butternut, onions, and peppers) and your dipping sauces. Each person receive 2-3 skewers, and can then braai whatever they feel like. Best part, if you like your steak well done, or medium rare, you are in charge of your own food.
For us, this fits in perfectly with our LCHF lifestyle. No garlic bread or even pap (porridge made from maize, served with tomato and onion relish). The fact that you can braai meat and veggies makes it a very balanced meal. Subsequently, we have exchanged all our shop bought marinades with home-made garlic butter or herb rub, which works really well with meat or veggies. We believe that food should bring people together and not be the force that drives them apart. We love food, but we also realized the impact the wrong food can have on our health and especially on Little M. My greatest pleasure is turning our old family favorites into low carb healthy alternatives, and most of the time, we enjoy the new version much more.
Our Christmas eve tradition use to be having a family fondue. And we loved the fried bread and crumbled mushrooms. This year we will be doing things differently. We will have a uniquely South African braai-due (thanks to my very clever hubby). We will spend Christmas this year with my family, all who believe that this lifestyle is very unhealthy and not sustainable. My mission is to show them, without telling them, that you can eat low carb food over the festive season and have a great time. I cannot wait to hear what my family have to say about our braai-due, maybe they will love it, maybe they wont, all that matters to me is that we spend some quality time together.
Our wish to you is that this festive season will be one with plenty of special memories, whether you are sharing it with family and friends or alone. Remember, every low carb meal is a step in the right direction and even if your progress is slow, it is still a positive change. Be silly, make memories, share healthy and whole food – you might just pass these great habits onto somebody that desperately needs them.
Merry Christmas to all.
For the love of...... 