A quick and easy lunch

We have been posting some complex recipes recently.   While they are totally delicious and worth the effort, especially when entertaining around the holidays, they can't really be thrown together without doing some up-front planning, specialty shopping, and taking the time to prepare the dishes.  To switch things up a bit, I want to share with you what I had for lunch today.

A sunshine burger sandwich, with a side salad, baby carrots, and black beans

While there isn't a specific recipe, I will explain what it all is, and how I brought it all together into a quick, nutritious and very satisfying lunch.

Everything I pulled out of the fridge, freezer, and pantry

Serves: 1

Prep time: 11 minutes (I timed myself, without rushing or leaving a mess)

Ingredients:

2 slices of Ezekiel 4:9 Sesame Sprouted Whole Grain Bread
1 Sunshine burger
1 cup of black beans
2 tablespoons of salsa
10 baby carrots
1 tomato
1/2 an avocado
1/2 romain lettuce heart
mustard to taste

Instructions:

Put one cup of black beans and two tablespoons of salsa into a small pot and heat on medium high.  I used black beans that I had previously prepared in the pressure cooker, and keep in that big jar in the fridge, but half a can of black beans would work just as well.  While black beans typically taste fine on their own, I wanted to spice them up a bit today and adding low or no-salt salsa while reheating them is a simple way to do that.  It also sneaks a few more veggies into your lunch.

Heat the sunshine burger, either on the stove, in the microwave, or in a toaster oven.  Today I heated mine on the stove, other times I'll start it in the microwave for 40 seconds and then finish it in the toaster with the Ezekiel bread to keep it from getting soggy.

Lightly toast two slices of Ezekiel bread, being careful not to make it too crunchy or dark.

Peel off two leaves of lettuce to use on your sandwich, and chop some more and put it on your plate to start the salad.  Cut three slices of tomato, and dice the rest and put it on top of the lettuce.  Cut and slice half the avocado putting half of the slices on top of your salad and leaving the rest for your sandwich.

By this time the beans should be boiling, the bread should be toasted, and the sunshine burger should be flipped and almost done.  Assemble your sandwich, and put it on your plate next to the salad and add some baby carrots.  Put the beans in a bowl, pour yourself a glass of water, and sit down and enjoy your quick, easy, nutritious, and delicious lunch!  That's all there is to it.

A Sunshine burger with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and mustard on Ezekiel toast 

Black beans with salsa

Lentil Shepherd's pie

Dr. Fuhrman emailed out this recipe in his newsletter and I was really excited to try it!  When the weather gets cold, I really enjoy really hot, comfort food and I think this recipe satisfies both while being totally plant based.  His recipe can be found here.

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 30 - 45 min (this took me a while the first time, but will be faster as I make it more often)
Cook Time: about 60 min (including time to cook lentils)

Ingredients:

1 bulb garlic
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into chunks
1/2 cup raw cashew butter
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/4 cup soy, hemp or almond milk, if needed to adjust consistency
1 1/2 cups dry lentils
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
10 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup low sodium or no-salt-added vegetable broth
1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped


Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring lentils and 3 cups water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until lentils have absorbed all liquid and are soft, about 30 minutes. Set aside.  If you are trying to speed up this recipe, canned lentils can also be used, but try to get unsalted lentils.

While lentils are cooking, roast unpeeled garlic for about 25 minutes or until soft.  I like to chop off a small portion of the non-stemmed side of the garlic, wrap it in foil, and place the garlic right on the rack in the oven.  I absolutely love roasted garlic and I think it adds lots of flavor, but if you are trying to speed up the recipe, maybe for a weeknight meal, I think this step could be skipped.  If you do choose to roast the garlic, when it's cool enough to handle, squeeze out the soft cooked garlic, removing and discarding the skins and set aside.

Steam chopped cauliflower for about 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. Place in a high-powered blender along with roasted garlic, cashew butter, nutritional yeast and 1/8 teaspoon of the black pepper and blend until smooth, adding a splash of non-dairy milk if needed to adjust consistency.  I did end up adding some non-dairy milk, but afterwards I think I would have like have the cauliflower mash more chunky and would probably add less next time around.  I wouldn't blend as much as I did either too keep it more chunky, but this you can adjust based on your preference.  I also didn't have cashew butter, so I blended some raw cashews ahead of time to make my own cashew butter.  Once the mash is blended, set aside.

Heat 2-3 tablespoons water in a large saute pan, add carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes, then add onions and garlic and cook until vegetables are tender. Add the mushrooms and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste. Add the lentils, rosemary, thyme, remaining black pepper and 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining vegetable broth as needed; mixture should be moist but not runny.  Everything is starting to smell delicious at this point!

Place the lentil mixture in a large casserole dish and spread mashed cauliflower evenly over the top. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until the cauliflower starts to brown.

Enjoy!  We loved this recipe and all four of us almost ate the entire thing for dinner one night!

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

This recipe is slightly modified from a recipe I found from Vegan Lunchbox blogger Jennifer Schmoo (recipe here).  It's a great recipe for around the holidays and a real crowd pleaser!  It is fairly easy too, the only time consuming part is separating the leaves of cabbage.

Makes: 10 cabbage rolls
Prep Time: 45 min (not including cooking the rice)
Cook Time: 50 min

Ingredients:

1 cup walnuts
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup canned or cooked garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup oat bran
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp Braggs liquid aminos or low sodium soy sauce 
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
10 cabbage leaves for stuffing and extra leaves for chopping
1 jar tomato sauce (I like Muir Glen Roasted Garlic)
pepper to taste


Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and bring a large pot of water to a boil.

While the water is boiling, separate the cabbage leaves.  To make this easier, try to buy a cabbage that has very green outside leaves.  This means the cabbage is fresh and it will be much easier to peel back the leaves.  If the leaves rip while while peeling off the cabbage, don't worry, you can still use them and just patch it up with an extra leaf.

Next, make the cabbage stuffing.  Use a food processor with the metal blade to chop the walnuts into tiny pieces.  Pour the the walnuts into a large bowl and set aside for later.

Then, process the garbanzo beans and brown rice with the food processor until a course mash forms as shown below.  

Add the mash to the walnuts and then add the oat bran, marjoram, thyme, onion powder, liquid aminos and mustard.  This is the fun part!  Mash the mixture together with your hands until it is all mixed together and will stick together.  Divide the filling mixture into ten equal pieces and make a tiny loaf out of each.  Set aside until we are ready to stuff the cabbage. 

Add the cabbage leaves to the boiling water and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.  They shouldn't be cooked all the way through, but should be soft enough to roll them.  Drain the leaves thoroughly.
 
Next, get your pan ready for the cabbage by adding enough tomato sauce to just cover the bottom of the pan.

Place a cabbage leaf on a cutting board and add a loaf to one edge of the leaf and roll it up.  Fold in the edges as you go like you would a burrito.  If the cabbage leaf has a tough stem, you can cut it out before rolling and just overlap the remaining leaf.  Also, if there is a rip, just add another smaller leaf to patch it.  Add the cabbage roll to the pan seam side down.  Repeat the process with the rest of the loafs and leaves.

Chop up the remaining cabbage leaves and pieces you have left over and sprinkle over and around the cabbage rolls in your pan.  Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the cabbage rolls.  Season with pepper to taste.

Bake the rolls for 45 to 50 minutes, until slightly brown on top and enjoy!

These went over really well this holiday with my kids.  They also taste better if they are reheated for the second time, so I tend to make a double batch so we have leftovers.  If you are reheating them in the pan, it works well to add some water to the pan so the cabbage rolls stay moist.  We have eaten them all up this week, but I am now wishing that we had more!!

Cashew Hot Chocolate

My 10 year old and I were invited to a get together where hot chocolate was going to be served.  Since we try to eat as healthy as possible, avoiding all dairy, sugar, and processed foods, I’m not into giving him traditional hot chocolate…  I still wanted to go, and I was thrilled when I found this recipe!  I made a batch and brought it with us so he wouldn't feel like he was missing out on the treat.   It was a huge hit, and if you like hot chocolate you MUST give it a try!!


I found the recipe on Our Fresh Kitchen.  Check out their site, I'm sure they have plenty of other healthy recipes to try!  http://www.ourfreshkitchen.com/snacks/cashew-hot-chocolate/

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
4 pitted dates
3 cups of hot water
2 tsp. cocoa powder
1 cup of raw cashews

Instructions:

Boil the water, put everything in the blender and blend until very smooth.  That's it!

Cashews, Dates, Coco powder, and water.

The Taste Test...

They love it!!

Cara's Apple Strudel

This apple strudel is from the Eat to Live Cookbook by Dr. Joel Fuhrman on p. 285.  It is a great dessert and a real crowd pleaser!  I don't have pictures of it after we cooked it because we ate it up too fast!

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes (a little longer if  you don't have an apple peeler)
Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vanilla almond, soy or hemp milk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 apples, cored, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup ground raw walnuts
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix the milk, vanilla, and cinnamon until combined.  Stir in the chopped apples, raisins, oats, ground walnuts and flax seeds.
Pour into an 8×8 inch baking dish. Bake uncovered for 1 hour.


I made the recipe recently for a communion party and quadrupled the recipe.  Below are the pictures of the strudel before I put it in the oven:



On my friend Jenn's recommendation I bought an apple pealer from Amazon specifically for this recipe and it makes it so much easier!  Check it out!

http://www.amazon.com/Back-Basics-Apple-Potato-Peeler/dp/B0000DE2SS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1383157903&sr=8-2&keywords=apple+peeler+corer+slicer\



I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! 

Avocado and Tomato sandwich

I don't know if it's fair for me to say, since I haven't had one in so long, but this really feels to me like a direct replacement for a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich.  I pile the avocado pretty high, and it has that same creamy consistency that I remember from open faced toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches.

Serves: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:
1 avocado
1 tomato
2 slices of sprouted whole grain bread

Instructions:

Toast the bread, and slice the avocado and tomato.  Spread half the avocado one one slice of toast, and the other half on the other slice.  It may seem like a lot of avocado, but pile it high, and smash it into the toast with a fork so it gets nice and creamy.  It might end up being a 1/4 inch or so thick.  Then pile on the tomato and press it into the avocado a little so it won't slide off.  That's it, you are done and ready to eat!!

Try this on it's own for breakfast, as a snack, or even a small meal.  Or have one with a bowl of hot soup to recreate that grilled cheese and soup combination that I remember eating as a kid.  No matter how you decide to enjoy it, be happy to know that this simple version is much healthier than the old classic.

Beet and Black Bean Burgers

Beet and Bean burger on a sprouted whole grain bun with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and spicy mustard.

The recipe is only slightly modified from The Kitchn's Best-Ever Veggie Burger (recipe here).

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 30 min (not included roasting the beats and cooking the rice)
Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients:
3 large red beets (cooked-roasted, steamed, or boiled)
1/2 cup brown rice (slightly overcooked)
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (ground to a flour in a blender or food processor)
4 cups black beans (or 2 15 oz cans), drained and rinsed
1/4 cup prunes, chopped into small pieces.
1 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp brown mustard
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp dried thyme
pepper to taste

Instructions:

Cook the onions in a large skillet on medium-high heat.  Use a little water as needed to avoid sticking, and cook well until golden with a little caramelization on the bottom of the pan.  Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, then quickly ad the vinegar and stir the bottom to deglaze the skillet.  cook until the vinegar evaporates and then set aside to cool.

Put half the black beans and the prunes into a food processor and pulse until they are chopped, but not total mush.  Put this mixture into a large mixing bowl, and add the remaining black beans.  Shred the beats, and press in a strainer to remove as much of the liquid as possible.  Add the dry shredded beets, cooked rice, and cooked onions, paprika, mustard, cumin, coriander, and thyme, and black pepper to the mixture.  Mix it a little and then add the oats, and mix well.  I started with a spoon, but was really only able to get it all combined well with my hands...

Shape mixture into patties, and cook on a pre-heated skillet with a very light spray of cooking oil, to prevent sticking.  The burgers cook well, and I was surprised at how well they stayed together.

Serve them on Food for Life sprouted whole grain buns (found here) with whatever toppings you like and enjoy with a big healthy side salad, and maybe some home made oven baked sweet potato fries!

Make them fun!

Cathy and I got together with our friends Leigh Ann, Josh, Chris, and our kids, and had a great time making and eating these.  We made a triple batch, which was a lot of work, mostly because of how much of everything we had to prep, mix and then cook.  It was also too much food.  I think we ended up eating 8 burgers total, and split the  remaining 10 or so that were left.  They do freeze well though, and I have been enjoying them ever since!  A single batch will still be a lot of work, but should not be overwhelming, and I think it is well worth it.  Next time I'll try to add some chopped mushrooms to up the nutrition factor even a little more.

Avocado Banana Pudding

Serves: 2
Prep Time: 5 min
Blend Time: 2 min

Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado
1 banana
2 dates, chopped
1/4 cup coco powder (I will use a little less next time)
1/4 cup almond, coconut, hemp, or other non-dairy milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla
fruit to garnish (optional)


Instructions:
Put everything in the vita mix and blend it up!  That's all there is to it!  It's super easy, and the kids liked it a lot.  I added sliced bananas as you can see in the picture.  The next time I'll put less coco powder, and maybe a tiny bit more nut milk, because it was a little rich for my taste.

 

Thai Pineapple Stir Fry

I was really craving some Thai food one night, so I decided to try this dish for the first time.  I thought it was really easy to make and tasted really good!  Yum!!  Lots of good flavors in there!  I used a recipe I found in the Happy Herbivore abroad book that we just got, but modified it a bit.  These dishes could definitely be made together, but since it was my first time making them, I wanted to keep them separate to see how it went.  Also, this was just enough for the three of us, so definitely double up if you're making for more!

Thai Pineapple Stir Fry

Serves: 2-3
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

4 green onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
3.5 - 7 oz of shiitake mushrooms (depending on how much you like)
1 8-oz can diced pineapple (in juice, not syrup) or about 4 rings of fresh pineapple diced
1/2 cup lite coconut milk
1/2 tsp Braggs liquid aminos

Instructions:
Over high heat add a thin layer of water, the garlic, and green onions and water sauté for a minute or two.  Be sure not to let the garlic burn.  Add bell pepper and mushrooms and more water if needed to line the pan.  Continue to cook over high heat until the peppers and mushrooms are slightly tender.  Once peppers start to soften add the pineapple, coconut milk, and Braggs.


Chinese Cabbage Stir Fry

Serves: 2-3
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 20 min

Ingredients:
1 Chinese cabbage, cleaned and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup lite coconut milk
1/2 tsp Braggs liquid aminos
1 8-oz can diced pineapple (in juice, not syrup) or about 4 rings of fresh pineapple diced

Instructions:
Over high heat add a thin layer of water and the garlic and water sauté for a minute or two.  Be sure not to let the garlic burn.  Add the Chinese cabbage, the pineapple, coconut milk, and Braggs.  Saute in the pan until the cabbage is wilted and slightly soft.

Easy Lentil Loaf and Steamed Asparagus

This lentil loaf recipe is super easy! It is definitely easy enough for a weeknight meal and my kids have really been loving it. We made it the other night with a huge serving of asparagus and it was delicious! We usually finish off one batch of the lentil loaf for dinner, so if you would like some leftovers I would definitely double the recipe.

Lentil Loaf

Here is the loaf recipe I found: http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/veg/lentilloaf.html:

Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 min
Cook Time: 50 min

Ingredients:2 cups cooked lentils
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups tomato sauce
1-1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix thoroughly and press mixture into a loaf pan. Bake 50 minutes or until the lentil loaf is cooked through.

Glaze

I also found this homemade glaze topping with another lentil loaf recipe that is super tasty http://terrywalters.net/pdfs/CF2_WINTER_p271_LentilLoaf.pdf:

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon apple butter
1 teaspoon arrowroot

Instructions:
In a small saucepan over no heat, combine all glaze ingredients. Place over medium heat and stir continuously until this ( about 2-3 minutes). Spread evenly over loaf and bake.

Enjoy!

A hearty salad

Dinner doesn't have to be complicated or involved to be healthy and delicious.  This is much more typical of what we eat for dinner on a daily basis.

The ingredients change all the time.  Sometimes it's over romain lettuce, other times it will be over steamed kale, baby spinach, mixed field greens, or any other greens or lettuce.  The elements are what's important.  I always try to include beans, onions, and mushrooms.  Everything else is bonus and should be changed based on whatever you feel like eating that day.

We usually have plenty of different cooked veggies, beans, and hummus around so we can throw a meal like this together in minutes.

Serves: 1
Prep time: 15 min (provided you have some cooked beans and veggies hanging out in your fridge)


Ingredients:
Romain lettuce
black beans
peppers and onions (water sauteed)
portobello mushrooms (water sauteed)
avocado
grape tomatoes
salsa

Instructions:
Take any amounts of the above ingredients that you want, toss it onto a plate, top it off with some low sodium salsa, or Cathy's Thai peanut dressing, and enjoy!

It's simple, and delicious!!

 

Tofu Scramble

Veggies for breakfast???    Yes! eat veggies all day every day!   The bottom line is the more vegetables you eat the healthier you will be, so try to incorporate as many vegetables as you can into every meal.
  
Serves: 2 to 4
Prep time: 15 min
Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients:
2 onions, finely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped or thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped or thinly sliced
1 clove garlic
2 tomatoes, diced
1 lb firm tofu, cubed
1 cup spinach, chopped
1 cup kale, chopped
black pepper to taste
1 avocado, sliced
a dash or two of hot sauce (optional)

Instructions:

Chop and slice all the veggies and the tofu.  Saute the onions, peppers, and garlic in a large saucepan with a little water to keep it from sticking.  When the onions and peppers are soft add everything else, and cook until the greens are cooked, and everything is hot.  Finish with a little black pepper to taste.  

Fill up a bowl and top with sliced avocado and a dash or two of hot sauce if you like.  The result is a healthy, delicious, sustaining breakfast that will start your day off right.  

Enjoy!!

Thai Peanut Salad Dressing

My kids will devour a salad at the Thai restaurant, mostly because of the Thai peanut salad dressing. I would like them to eat just as much salad at home, so I've been experimenting at making a healthier version. I think I have got it! Everyone at home loves this dressing and it is very easy to make too!

Ingredients:

4 Medjool dates (or 8 Deglet Noor dates)
6 tbsp water
2 tbsp all-natural peanut butter (salt-free, only ingredients should be peanuts)
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp Braggs amino acids

Instructions:

If the dates are not soft, I usually soak them in the water for at least a half hour before hand to make them softer. Next, put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. It's best if the dressing is liquidy enough to pour when finished. If it's too thick it will solidify when stored in the refrigerator. If you find it is too thick, just add some more water.

We keep the salad dressing in the fridge for about a week. We all like it so much it usually doesn't last that long though! I hope you all enjoy it as much as we do!

Black Bean Soup with Kale and Mushrooms

As if Black Bean soup isn't already good enough, I added Kale and Mushrooms to push it over the top!!

I started with a Black Bean soup recipe from allrecipes.com (link), and changed it up a bit.  What I ended up with is below, and it's been a huge hit with our friends and families so far!  It's a hearty soup that covers 5 of the 7 GBOMBS (Greens, Beans, Onions, Mushrooms, Berries, and Seeds) that we are suppose to be eating every day.

Serves: 6
Prep time: 15 min
Cook Time: 45 min

Ingredients:

2 medium onions

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

black pepper to taste

4 cups low sodium vegetable broth

8 cups (or 4 15 oz cans) black beans

2 cups sweet corn (frozen is fine)

1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 bunch Kale, chopped

a dash or two of hot sauce (optional)

Instructions:

In a large pot over medium-high heat add onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms and garlic and cook for 10 minutes or so, until the onions and mushrooms are cooked. 

Add chili powder, cumin, and black pepper.  Stir, and cook for 3 minute or so before adding the vegetable broth, 4 cups of beans, and corn. Bring everything to a boil.

While that's cooking combine the remaining 4 cups of beans and the crushed tomatoes in a blender, and blend until smooth. Stir the blended beans and tomatoes into the boiling soup mixture, reduce heat to medium.  

Add the chopped kale, and simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

If you want to spice it up, which I almost always do, add a little hot sauce when serving!  Delish!!

Onions, Celery, Carrots, Mushrooms, and Garlic in the pot!

All stirred up and cooking nicely, just before adding the spices.

Fast forward, and it's finished and ready to eat!!

Apple Guacamole

What?  Yup, that's right, apple guacamole!

It actually sounds more complicated than it is.  I basically make a traditional guacamole and add diced apples.  We've been making mango guacamole in the summer time for years.  I was recently making guacamole to bring to a party and I didn't feel right adding mangos with snow on the ground, so I went for a fall fruit.  The result is something pretty special!  Give it a try for yourself, and let me know what you think!

Apple guacamole with sweet pepper scoops!

Serves: 6
Prep time: 15 min

Ingredients:
- 6 avocados
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 small red onion
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1 apple (honeycrisps work great)
- juice from 1 lime
- black pepper to taste
- 1 jalapeno pepper (optional)

Instructions:
Scoop the avocados from their skin and put them into a large bowl.  Dice the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, apple, and jalapeno, and add everything to the avocado in the bowl.  Juice the lime over everything, and add some black pepper to taste.  Using a large fork mash and mix everything together until it's mixed well and gets really creamy.

It's all in there, ready to mix!

We don't eat chips, so we usually serve it with thickly sliced peppers, cucumber slices, carrot sticks, or occasionally toasted whole wheat pita.  It's also great on top of chilli, or added to a home made veggie burger, or a lentil sloppy joe sandwich.  Seriously delicious!!

In the summer time try adding mango instead of the apple for another delicious combo!

Banana Apple Oatmeal

We love Oatmeal for breakfast, especially when it's loaded up with lots of fresh fruit.  We used to add fruit at the table, to each of our bowls individually, until I tried adding fruit while the oatmeal is cooking...  The result is AMAZING!!  The flavor and natural sweetness from the fruit is absorbed into the oats as they cook, making every bite absolutely delicious!

Banana Apple Oatmeal, topped with pecans and cinnamon

Serves: 6
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 - 40 min

Ingredients:
- 9 cups of water
- 6 bananas, sliced
- 3 apples, diced
- 2 tbsp. cinnamon
- 2 cups of steel cut oats (not rolled oats)

Instructions:
Put water, sliced bananas, diced apples, and cinnamon into a large pot and bring to a boil.  Let it boil for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it starts to break down the fruit.  Once the bananas are swollen and very mushy add the oats and bring back to a boil.  Cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until it reaches the desired consistency.

Add to bowls, top with nuts, cinnamon, or more fruit, and enjoy your delicious breakfast!

Experiment a little!
The recipe also works great with frozen blueberries, peaches, pineapple, or strawberries.  Add whatever fruit you like, and if it works well add a comment so I can give it a try too!

Bananas in

Apples in

The fruit is cooked.  It's time to add the oats!

It's ready!

Lentil Sloppy Joe

This one is a REAL crowd pleaser.  You could serve this to anyone and I would expect them to like it.  It's got that tangy flavor that I remember from so many years ago, and the texture works really well.  The kids like it, my parents like it, and my friends like it.  Give it a try for yourself and I think you will like it too!!

The recipe is slightly adopted from the Forks Over Knives web site. (link below)  I just cut back on some of the salty stuff, and removed the sugar.  http://www.forksoverknives.com/sloppy-lentil-joes/

Serves: 6

Prep Time: 15 min 

Cook Time: 35 min

Ingredients:

3 ⅓ low-sodium vegetable broth

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 ½ cups red lentils

1 15-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes

1 tablespoons braggs liquid aminos

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

Instructions:

Put 1⁄3 cup of the vegetable broth in a large pot, and add the onions and bell pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften slightly. About 5 minutes.

Add the chili powder and mix in well. Add the remaining liquid, lentils, tomatoes, and the rest of the seasonings. Mix well, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve over greens, on sprouted grain bread, or in a whole-wheat pita.  We usually top it with sliced avocado or a dollop of guacamole, whether it's in a sandwich or not.   

You must try this, it's so good!

Lentil Dahl Soup

This dish is soooo easy and so delish it is a staple in our house these days. 50% of our kids like it! Okay, that is only one kid, but that is still pretty good!

This is my sister-in-law's friend's recipe, but I have modified it a bit:

Ingredients:
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 lb canned, chopped tomatoes (I use Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes)
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup red lentils
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 small can coconut milk
- 1/2 bag frozen peas
- Chopped cilantro & Lemon slices for optional garnish (which I never do!)


Pretty much I cook the onions, garlic and spices in water for a bit to mix the flavors, then I add everything else and cook for about a half an hour or so until the lentils cook and are soft. Red lentils cook *much* faster than brown lentils.

We usually eat it over some steamed spinach. Yum!

Best. Birthday cake. Ever.

I'll be honest with you, I was a little nervous when Evan told me he wanted to have a healthy birthday cake at his birthday party this year. I was very proud of him for making that choice, but yes, nervous. We have made kids cry before with our healthy desserts. Multiple kids cry. Luckily they were part of our immediate family so they got over it quickly. But now we are talking about Evan's classmates and they are big kids. Not three or four year olds. They might quickly resort to violence before crying if they didn't like the cake!

Luckily, none of that happened and I must say overall the healthy cake that Anthony made was a success!! Some of the kids chose not to even try it. Unfortunately, Evan was so excited about the cake he started reciting the ingredients before the kids took a bite. The second they heard beets and zucchini, they pushed their plates away. But, every kid who tried the cake really liked it!! So I'm counting that a success!!

Dr. Fuhrman has outdone himself with this one!

We found the recipe here:
http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=3911&catId=11

Serves: 12
Prep Time: 45 min
Cook Time: 60 min+

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1-2/3 cups whole wheat flour


1 teaspoon baking powder


3 teaspoons baking soda


3-1/2 cups pitted dates, divided


1 cup drained pineapple chunks


1 banana


1 cup unsweetened applesauce


1 cup shredded beets


3/4 cup shredded carrots


1/2 cup shredded zucchini


3 tablespoons cocoa powder


1/2 cup currants


1 cup chopped walnuts


1 1/2 cups water


2 teaspoons vanilla

For the icing:

1 cup raw macadamia nuts or raw cashews, unsalted


1 cup vanilla nondairy milk


2/3 cup pitted dates


1/3 cup brazil nuts or hazelnuts


2 tablespoons natural non-alkalized cocoa powder


1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

In blender or food processor, purée 3 cups of dates, pineapple, banana, and applesauce. 


Slice remaining 1/2 cup dates into 1/2-inch thick pieces.

In large bowl, mix sliced dates, shredded beets, shredded carrots, shredded zucchini, cocoa powder, currants, walnuts, water, vanilla, and flour mixture. 


Add the blended date mixture and mix well.

Spread in a 9 1/2 x 13 1/2-inch nonstick baking pan. 
Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  

-OR-

I have the best results making this as cupcakes.  Regular sized or mini.  I line cupcake pans with paper wrappers, fill just below the top and bake for about 1 hour.  Note, I've never actually gotten the toothpick to come out clean... 

Using a blender or food processor, combine all icing ingredients until smooth and creamy. Place a dollop of icing over warm cake and serve, or spread icing on cooled cake.

Note:

I have had the best results baking it a day ahead of time.  It lets the cake "set up" a little more, and it's much easier to remove the cupcake wrappers.  

Totally delicious!!

The finished product:




Sliced up and ready to go. Looks like a regular cake, doesn't it??




Henry chowing down:





Here's to trying to change the world one birthday cake at a time!

Stuffed peppers

Veggie stuffed peppers that even my meat eating Dad gave a thumbs up to! Peppers stuffed with stewed tomatoes, onions, brown rice, baby bok choy and broccoli. Delish!