Asian Garlic Green Beans

This dish goes well with anything I have discovered.  You can serve this hot or cold, as a side or mixed into a salad and even as a main dish if you add some seeds and nuts.  Just don't top iced cream with it!

2Lb   Green beans, trimmed
2Lb   Red peppers, roasted
1C    Garlic cloves, roasted
1T    Chili pepper, crushed
6T    Coconut aminos
1t     Sesame seeds

Roast the red peppers over a fire until black.  Remove all skin from the peppers.  The best way I have found for removal of skin is to put them in a bowl of iced water and rub them gently and the skin will fall off.  Steam the green beans and chill.  Take the garlic cloves and put on a sheet tray with parchment paper and roast at 350 degrees for 15 min or until brown and soft.  Remove and chill.  If serving cold, chill all ingredients and mix with remaining ingredients and serve.  If serving hot, do not cool or chill anything from above directions.  Toss with remaining ingredients and serve hot.  This is a winner! enjoy!!

Maque Choux

     I really dig this Louisiana dish and loved tweaking it to be healthier than its traditional sibling. This recipe screams summer served hot or cold.

5ea   Corn, cut off the cob
1ea   Green pepper, diced
5ea   Plum tomato, diced
1ea   White onion, diced
5ea    Medjool Dates
1/2t   Cayenne powder

      In a blender combine the cayenne, dates and 1 cup of water.  Blend until liquid.  Add more water to get a runny consistency.  Set aside.  Heat a saute pan on high heat for 1 min and add diced onions.  Stir constantly until tender.  Add 1/4 cup water and the remaining vegetables.  Water saute for 5 min or until the water is gone stirring constantly.  The vegetables should be almost done.  Add the cayenne date water and saute on medium until the liquid is reduced in half.  Remove from heat.  Serve hot or cold. ENJOY!

Beet and Mango Salad With Spring Onions

This is a really colorful and tasty salad.  I make this at work and it does not last long.  Pretty simple to make and a crowd pleaser!

6     Medium beets, wet roasted
2     Mango, peeled, cubed
10   Spring onion, dry roasted
3     Navel oranges, squeezed
1t    Lemon Zest
2T   Cider Vinegar

     Place the beets in a roasting pan with 1/2 inch of water.  Cover with foil tightly and roast at 350 degrees for 2 hours for small beets and 3 hours for large beets.  When tender to a knife poke pull out and immediately use a kitchen towel in one hand and the beet in another hand and rub the skin off while hot.  It will come right off.  If you cool them you will need a peeler or knife to remove the skins. Allow to cool after peeled, once cooled cut into large dice. 

     Trim the onions and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Dry roast at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 min until browned and tender.  Remove and chill.

     Trim the mangoes into large dice and set aside.  Make a dressing with the orange juice, lemon zest and cider vinegar. 

     In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and toss.  Feel free to add your favorite herbs or spices.  ENJOY!!!

Sorry for no recipes!

Sorry everyone for the lack of recipes. Between a second job and vacation I was on-hold for a bit but I plan on having some new ones coming starting tomorrow.  Sorry for the inconvenience. EAT WELL!

Bryanna's Poppyseed Dressing

I found this to look darned good. Give it a try and tell me what you think.  ENJOY!

In a blender, mix until smooth:

8 ounces medium-firm tofu OR (2/3 of a box) firm or extra-firm SILKEN tofu, crumbled
6 tablespoons date syrup
6 tablespoons almond milk
3 tablespoons cider vinegar (or other preferred vinegar-- not red wine or balsamic vinegar, but light wine vinegars, berry or fruit vinegars are good!)
1- 1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 1/2 tablespoons wholegrain Dijon mustard, low or no salt

This recipe is from Bryanna Clark Grogan's Kitchen Journal Vegan Feast Kitchen
I Tweaked this recipe to suit a nutritarian diet

Health Slaw

This is a no frills basic health slaw that I made one day at work to fill a spot and my boss said the next day I needed to make it daily because it sold so fast.  Never imagined this one to be a big hit but hey ya never know.  The celery seeds add a distinctive flavor and the dressing gives it a nice punch.  Make this at any get together everyone will dig in and enjoy!

1Lg     Cabbage, cut in 1/4' shreds
1/2 C   Carrots, shredded
3T       Parsley, chopped
1T       Celery seeds
1/2C    Brown rice vinegar
1/2C    White wine vinegar 
4T       Nutritional yeast
1t        Garlic, granulated

In a large bowl, mix the first 4 ingredients and set aside.  In a separate mixing bowl add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Add the liquid mixture to the veggies and really work it in with your hands and squeezing it hard to wilt the cabbage slightly.  Chill for at least 2 hours and serve.

Dr. Fuhrman's Banana Flag Cake

 

This cake won best recipe of the month on Dr. Fuhrmans website in July of 2006.  I tried a similar cake on the Eat Right America Total Immersion in March. It was wonderful!  Suprise your guests this holiday. Hope you all have a wonderful haoliday.

 

 

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup date sugar

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

4 ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup walnuts, chopped

 

MACADAMIA CREAM

2 2/3 cups raw unsalted macadamia nuts

1 3/4 cups soy milk (add a little more if you'd like a thinner topping)

1 1/3 cups pitted dates-preferably Medjool

TOPPINGS

 

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

2 cups Organic Strawberries

1 cup Blueberries

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour and baking soda in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat date sugar and applesauce together. Mash bananas and mix in. Add the water and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Add the flour mixture along with the chopped walnuts and stir to mix.

Spread in a 9" X 13" non-stick baking pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

While cake is baking, make the macadamia cream by blending the nuts, soy milk, and dates together in a high-powered blender until smooth and creamy.

When the cake is cool, spread the macadamia cream over the top and sprinkle with coconut. Garnish with blueberries and strawberries to create stars and stripes.

Mini Crustless Tofu Quiches

So, This blog http://blog.fatfreevegan.com just rocks.  SusanV has some great recipes that I have showcased on my blog here.  This recipe is her most 'liked' recipe on her blog.  I started reading it and just had the desire to make these. Her photography is grade A and her stories are great too.  I suggest checking it out.

Mini Crustless Tofu Quiches

Ingredients

• olive oil spray
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives (or one green onion)
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary (or 1/2 tsp. dried, crushed)
• black pepper to taste
• 1 12.3-ounce package lite firm silken tofu, drained of water
• 1/4 cup plain soymilk
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch (may sub another thickener such as arrowroot or potato starch)
• 1 teaspoon tahini (preferred) or cashew butter
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Spray 12 regular-sized muffin cups well with non-stick spray. (I used silicone cups like these.)
2. Lightly spray a non-stick skillet with olive oil and sauté the garlic, bell peppers, and mushrooms over medium heat until the mushrooms just begin to exude their juices. Stir in the chives, rosemary, and freshly ground black pepper, and remove from the heat.
3. Place the remaining ingredients into a food processor or blender. Process until completely smooth and silky. Add the tofu mixture to the vegetables and stir to combine. Spoon equally into the 12 muffin cups: it will fill regular muffin cups about halfway.
4. Put the muffin pan into the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350 F. Bake until the tops are golden and a knife inserted into the middle of a quiche comes out clean–about 25-35 minutes depending on your oven and muffin cups (silicone will take longer than metal, so if you’re using a metal pan, check it at 20 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes. Enjoy! They’re light, so plan on making more of these—or serve hearty side dishes—if you’re serving more than 3 people.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 30 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 3

Summer Salad with Nectarines

     This is a Salad I like to make and change up with different components.  For this one I used stuff laying around the house.  Most recipes should utilize the ingredients in your fridge and pantry.  Nectarines and peaches are really sweet right now making this a nice fresh salad that can be made in no time.

4C     Baby greens
1ea    Cucumber, diced
2ea    Plum Tomato, diced
2ea    Nectarines, diced
1T     Chia seeds
2T     Cashews, raw chopped
2ea    Oranges, squeezed
2T     White balsamic or cider vinegar

     Toss the first 6 ingredients and add the juice and vinegar.  Toss lightly and serve immediately.  Not a complex recipe but nutrient dense and satisfying.

Asian White Bean Dip

I made this bean dip at work the other day. It is really full flavored and the consistency is great. I snapped this picture after putting it in the case. It was super easy to prepare and can be made in 15 min.

2C    White beans, cooked

1T     Ginger, grated

1t      Garlic, minced

1/4C  Orange juice, fresh squeezed

3T     Brown rice vinegar

2T     Coconut aminos or reduced sodium tamari sauce

1/2C  Cilantro, chopped

3T     Black sesame seeds

1/2C  Scallions, chopped

In the food processor blend all ingredients except the seeds and scallions.  After removing from food processor mix in the seeds and scallions.  Use as a dip for veggies or inside burritos and wraps.  ENJOY!!!

Vegan Creamed Spinach

This recipe is a tweeked out recipe from Whole Foods that I made yesterday in the Greenwich store.

I was asked to come to the Greenwich store for a week to share my Health Starts Here creations.  The staff there was very eager to learn some tricks of the healthy eating revolution and it is great to work with them.

I ended up doing many recipes from this blog!

1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1 white onion, finely chopped
1 cup unsweetened almond milk 
1/4 cup raw cashews
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon onion powder

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of red pepper flakes
4 cups chopped spinach or other dark, leafy green

Heat broth in a large skillet over medium heat. Add white onion and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor, add soy milk, cashews, nutritional yeast, onion powder, nutmeg and pepper flakes and purée until smooth.

Transfer blended mixture back to skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in spinach and continue simmering, tossing often until spinach is just tender, about 4 minutes

Vegan Chimichurri Burrito

     Made these today at work. These ROCK!!!!  Be sure to allow the collard leafs to soak for at least 48 hours. 

6      Collard green leafs, large unbroken
1C    Lemon Juice
1C   Brown rice vinegar

1C   Green beans, steamed
1/2C Parsley
5ea   Garlic cloves
5T    Nutritional yeast
1T    Chili flakes
1/2T  Cumin
1/2C Cilantro
1/2C Brown rice vinegar

1.5C Quinoa, cooked
1.5C Cabbage


     First off, grab the best collard green leafs that are undamaged and place them in a deep container and add the lemon juice and vinegar.  Allow to soak refridgerated for at least 48 hours.  This will allow them to soften up a bit and completely get rid of the bitter taste.  After 48 hours or so passes and you are ready to prepare the burritos, add the next 8 ingredients in a food processer and blend until smooth.  Add more or less vinegar to keep it just a little loose but not too loose.   Once blended, place the mixture in a bowl and add the quinoa.  Add enough quinoa to make this not too runny but more playable, Thick enough to spread like putty.

Assembly - Pull one collard leaf  out of the liquid. place on cutting board or table inside( dull side) facing up. Using the back of a chefs knife  gently bang the thick stem without hitting the leaf. Hammer it appx 2 inches up to allow it to bend without snapping.  Next take a handfull of the quinoa mixture and place it on the bottom where you just smashed the stem almost all the way vertical to the edge but leave some room on edges and bottom. (appx 1/2in space to the edge)  place a nice mound of cabbage on top of the mixture.

OK, in one motion you will roll from the bottom with your thumbs and once it folds over, tuck the sides in. then continue rolling to the end.  To make it stay closed at the end, just put a dab of quinoa mix across the top to act as glue when it flaps over. Place on the plate with the seam facing down.

After the first one you will get the hang of it.  Its actually quite simple the rolling motion.  All this writing and instruction make it seem hard....but it isnt :)

ENJOY!!!!!!

Five Spice Vegetables and Tofu

     Another at-work creation for the Health Starts Here program, LOVE IT! Basic, simple and very tasty. Be sure to cook the tofu extra long to give them a fried look, feel and taste.

2C      Green Beans, steamed
2C      Mushrooms , steamed
1LB    Extra firm tofu, sliced thin and baked
1Tsb   Five spice powder
1/2 Tsb Cayanne powder
1Tbs   Black sesame seeds
1Tbs   Coconut aminos

     Slice the tofu into thin slices about quarter inch thick and bake them on parchment paper for 20 min at 350 degrees.  When they are fully browned and crispy immediatly pull them off parchment and set aside, Mix the rest of the ingredients together and add the tofu last. Serve hot with brown rice if you like. YUM!

Mac and Cheeze

Leave it to SusanV again to come up with a delicious healthy alternative to traditional macaroni and cheese!  On her blog FatFreeVegan Kitchen she nailed it! I tweeked this a very small ammount to cut even more salt and starch and changed the type of pasta but her message is still there. Enjoy this and check out her quality blog too.


1 pound brown rice or whole grain wheat pasta
Blend together:
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup plain, fat-free soymilk (may use other non-dairy milk)
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
1.5 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
pinch cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon mellow white miso
black pepper to taste

Put the pasta on to boil, according to package directions. While it’s cooking, blend all remaining ingredients together in a blender. When the pasta is al dente, drain it, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and return the pasta to pan. Add the sauce mixture and cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens. Add a little of the pasta water if more moistness is needed.
If the sauce is not as flavorful as you’d like, add a little more mustard and onion powder.

Summer Corn Salad

We make a variation of this salad at work that contains oil and salt. Its pretty darned delicious.  Here I wanted to recreate this keeping it as healthy as possible.  The elimination of oil and salt and the addition of flavored vinegars make this a real fresh tasting sweet treat. I hope you enjoy it!

5ea    Corn, cooked and cut off the cob
1pt    Grape tomatoes, cut in half
3ea    Scallions, thin sliced
1/4C  Kale, chopped fine
3T     Brown rice vinegar
3T     Raspberry vinegar

Toss all ingredients together and chill for at least 1 hour.

Wheatberry Salad with Citrus Beets

This is another recipe for the Health Starts Here (HSH) at work.  This is a great dish that combines the nuttiness of the wheatberries with the tang of the beets and the sweetness of the orange. Great combo's!
This is easy to assemble once all the ingredients are gathered.

2C    Wheatberries, cooked
1/2C  Carrots Shredded
1/2C  Raisins
1C     Beets, cooked and diced
2       Oranges, zested ad juiced
3T     Lemon juice


In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and toss.  For best results allow to refrigerate for at least 1 hour then stir and serve. 

Cucumber Salad Roll Ups

Made these for dinner tonite and was very satisfied. Very simple, very tasty and made with some stuff laying around in the fridge. Try it you will like it!

Cucumber salad:

1    Cucumber, diced
10  Grape tomatoes, chopped
1    Garlic clove minced
2T  Red onion, minced
5T  Raspberry blush vinegar

Remaining components:

2    Large whole wheat pitas
3T  Hummus
20  Snow peas, whole
1T  Grain mustard, no salt added

     Mix the ingredients of the cucumber salad and refridgerate for at least 30 min.  Smear the hummus on the wraps and top with snow peas and mustard.  Scoop the cucumber salad on top and roll up!
Simple and fast.  ENJOY!!!

Bean and Tofu Pita with Spicy Tomato Sauce

    

     Hi everyone! Sorry for no posts in a few days. I was ill and unable to cook much or be too active.  But back to the program!

     This lunch was exceptionally tasty and nutritious. The addition of the homemade hot tomato sauce really kicked it up a notch. Hope you enjoy it.

1Can Pinto beans, unsalted
1/2 Onion, diced
1C Kale, chopped
6oz Extra firm tofu, cubed
2T Nutritional yeast
3oz Tomato sauce, unsalted
1/4 t Cayenne powder
1/2 t Garlic powder
2 Whole wheat Pita

     In a sauce pot cook the first 3 ingredients with 1/4 C water. Cook until the onion is translucent.  Add the  tofu and yeast and continue cooking for 5 minutes adding water if needed.  Remove from heat and set aside. 
In a small bowl add the tomato sauce, cayenne and garlic. Mix and add water to get a runny consistency.  Toast or microwave the pita to soften them.  Cut in half and stuff the vegetable tofu mix inside.  Drizzle the chili sauce on top and enjoy!

Raw Chocolate Pudding

 It may seem odd to have a banana and avocado in the same recipe, but the banana completely hides any taste of the avocado. The avocado is there simply for texture and nutritional value.  ENJOY!!

    1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and cut into chunks

1 banana, peeled and cut into chunks

1 cup unsweetened soy milk

1/4 cup raw cocoa powder

2 tablespoons date syrup

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (optional)

Place avocado, banana, soy milk, cocoa powder, date syrup, lemon juice, and coconut into a blender. Cover, and puree until smooth. Divide into small containers, and store in the refrigerator 1 hour until set.

thanks Renee for the edit :)

Chick'n Salad

I got the inspiration for this recipe from aigroc on the VegWeb site.  Tweaked it a bit and YUM!

 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked 3 hours and drained
    1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked 3 hours and drained
    1/4 cup raw ground pecans
    2" piece cucumber
    1 tablespoon chopped onion
    1/2 celery stick
    1 teaspoon dill
    1/4 teaspoon curry powder
    1/2 lemon, juiced
    1T Nutritional Yeast
    Ground black pepper, to taste
    1/2 carrot (optional, I use this though)

1) In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse together all of the ingredients. It should be a finer texture than regular tofu chicken salad. That helps it to stick together.

This is delish! Add to your fav raw bread! Keep in fridge for a week.