New Blog

Check out my new kitchen adventures at Soul.Body.Food!

Mother's Day Food

A few weeks ago, for mother's day, I cooked dinner for my mom and grandma. My mom's favorite dish is non-vegetarian, so I'm only going to share the sides with you.

This first one is very modify-able. I don't have a title for it, since I made it up.

Quinoa with chick peas and tomatoes:
1 can diced tomatoes in juice (no salt added)
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed (or if you want, dried and soaked appropriately)
1 c. water
2/3 c. quinoa
salt and pepper to taste
parsley to taste

In a medium saucepan, combine the tomatoes, water, and chick peas. Bring to a boil, and add quinoa. Cook quinoa according to the package directions. Add salt, pepper, and parsley (if desired). Eat.

Some variations:
-Use ro-tel and black beans instead of regular tomatoes and chick peas
-Add other vegetables
-Sub any bean you want for chick peas.
-Use veggie broth instead of water


The other side was a salad, and it was only fun because of the spiralizer I used to make it.

Summer Squash Salad:
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
~1 tbsp lemon juice
~1/2 - 1 tbsp olive oil
Fresh mint

I used a spiralizer to cut the squash, but you could use a vegetable peeler instead if you want. I cut the zucchini into angel hair pasta style pieces, and I used the wider, ribbon setting for the yellow squash. Cut the mint leaves over the squash, and toss with lemon juice and olive oil to taste. It's kinda weird, but kinda good.

I'll work on posting pictures later. Enjoy!

Carrot and Coriander Soup

This is a recipe I've made a few times, and I love it. My dad said it tasted "vegetable-y," but everyone else who has had it liked it. I got the recipe off of the BBC Food website, but I have since altered it some. The first time I made it, it was a "cleaning out my fridge before I move back to the states" dinner party, and I served it with apple raspberry crisp and raw ginger ice cream (cashew based). Since the latter is not allowed on the Daniel Fast, I'll save the recipe for another day.

Carrot and Coriander Soup
Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegetable oil (olive oil works fine)
1 onion, sliced
1 sweet potato, sliced (like you're making mashed potatoes)
1 lb carrots, sliced (I used about 6)
1 tsp ground coriander
4 c. veggie stock
large bunch fresh coriander (or for you non-Brits, cilantro), roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large soup pan, and add the onions. Cook until they start to soften. Add the ground coriander, and give it another stir or two.
2. Add the carrots and sweet potato, and add the veggie stock.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 10-20 minutes, or until the carrots and sweet potato are tender.
4. Using a hand/immersion blender, blend the soup until you are happy with the consistency. You can do this in a regular blender, but be careful of the steam.
5. Add the chopped coriander/cilantro, and serve.

When I blend it, I add the cilantro first, and then blend, so I don't have to chop it as much by hand first.

This soup is freezable, too!

Enjoy!

Daniel Fast

During this Lenten season, I know some people who are doing the Daniel Fast (eating like Daniel -- fruits, veggies, legumes, and whole grains, but no sweeteners, refined/processed products or leavened bread. Basically it's the diet that I want to have in the long run. I'm going to be doing some research on the Daniel Fast, and I'll do my best to add some Daniel Fast friendly recipes over the next few days/weeks.

Stay tuned!

The ball has been dropped.

I've tried new recipes since January 6th, but I have not posted them. Stay posted -- I promise I will.

Beets -- they're nature's candy don'tcha know!

Beets are an amazing root vegetable. You can juice raw beets, blend them in smoothies, roast them, or boil them, and they always provide an incredible color to your dish. Tonight, I had a pink dinner, because I ate beets with quinoa (which is a complete protein).

Here's the recipe:

Beetroot, Orange Kissed (from The Boxing Clever Cookbook by Jacqui Jones and Joan Wilmot):

1 lb beetroot (about 2 cups), scrubbed but not topped and tailed
1 tbsp butter or margerine (could probably cut this down to 1/2 tbsp)
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 c. orange juice
2 tbsp brown sugar (could probably use maple syrup or other sweetener, or even leave it out completely)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp raisins (optional)

1. Place beetroot in a saucepan with cold, salted water (leave on the tail, and at least 1" of the top). Bring to a boil, cover the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 hr, or until cooked.
2. Drain, allow the beets to cool, peel and slice to bite-sized pieces. This will stain your fingers.
3. In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter or margerine, and add the cornstarch, orange juice, brown sugar, ginger, salt and pepper. Stir continuously until thick. (I think things thicken up faster if you heat all the ingredients and then add the cornstarch. Just be careful not to let the cornstarch make your sauce clumpy if you do it that way.)
4. Add the beetroot and raisins to the sauce, and heat through.
Garnish with strips of orange peel if you would like.

I served my beets with quinoa that I had cooked according to the package directions, except I used 1 cup of water and 1 cup of orange juice to 1 c. quinoa, rather than all water. I also added a little bit of ginger. The quinoa could have used some more oomph. Adding a sauteed onion would have been nice, and some shredded carrot couldn't have hurt.

Breakfast

Healthy eating isn’t just about dinner. In fact, mom was right when she told you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast provides you with energy for your morning, and it also sets the tone for your day. If you start your day with a healthy breakfast, chances are you’ll be less likely to slip up with junk food later on in the day (this is true for me, anyway).

I’ve heard all sorts of excuses why people don’t eat breakfast from “I don’t have time,” to “I’m just not hungry yet.” If either of those excuses are true for you, here’s a solution: fruit. Fruit is fantastic. It comes in its own packaging, it’s easy on the go, and it takes little to no preparation. If you have a little more time, or inclination, however, fruit smoothies are an even better way to go. Fruit smoothies are fantastic because you can add superfoods to them to give you more bang for your buck.

When I make breakfast, I prefer a green smoothie to just about anything else. A green smoothie is simply a fruit smoothie with leafy greens added to it. I try to rotate my greens, but usually I use spinach or kale. You can also use chard, mustard greens, parsley, the tops of carrots, beets and turnips, or any other leafy green (you can even add other veggies, like celery for added nutritional power). Green powders also work great for when you don’t have fresh greens on hand, or if they become very expensive. Green powders are a great way to incorporate algae like spirulina and chlorella. When you start making green smoothies, I recommend that you start with a 2:1 fruit to greens ratio. If it’s not sweet enough for your taste, add some more fruit. As you grow accustomed to the taste, you can add more greens, or cut down on the fruit, or both. I also like to add a tablespoon or two of ground flax seed to my smoothie.

Why are green smoothies so great, you ask? Well, take a blueberry-banana smoothie for example. Without the greens or flax seeds, the smoothie is healthy, but not a powerhouse of nutrition by any means. However, when you add the greens and flax seed, the nutritional value skyrockets. Plus, according to http://www.nutritiondata.com, the green smoothie with the added flax seeds is only 110 more calories than the fruit alone.

Check out these images from the Nutrition Data website:

Here are some of my favorite green smoothie combinations:

Blueberry, banana, greens (turns purple, so you can disguise the greens from anyone who doesn’t know)

Strawberry, banana, greens, orange juice (turns a really gross color brown, but it’s delish!)

Mango, banana, spinach

Mango, lime, coconut water, spinach

Beets, pear, spinach, coconut milk, apple juice (it sounds very strange, but it’s really good)

Try whatever combinations you normally would, but add some veggies, and you’re on your way to an awesome start to your day.