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!!