Kichadee

My cousin, Bri P., introduced this recipe to me. She says it is one of her staple foods. It was tasty and hearty. Here is my version.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked brown rice (about 1 cup uncooked)
• 2 cups cooked red lentils (about 3/4 c. to 1 c. uncooked)
• 2-3 c. finely chopped sweet potato
• 2-3 c. finely chopped kale (if you want it less chewy pull it off the stem first)
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1/4 c. butter or ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1 tsp. cumin powder
• 1 tsp. coriander powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

1.  Get the rice and red lentils cooking in separate pots, according to the directions on their packaging. 
2. Brown spice seeds in the butter or ghee for a few minutes. Add the powdered spices. Then add all the veggies and stir till combines. Saute with the lid on, occasionally stirring, until veggies are soft and cooked through. 
3. Combine the cooked rice, cooked lentils, into the veggie mixture. Add salt and lemon juice and mix well. Let sit 10 minutes and then serve.

Notes about this recipe:

• You can also add fennel powder in with the spices, I just couldn't find it at my grocery store.
• If you want to try making your own ghee use 1/4 lb butter, unsweetened and unsalted. Heat over medium heat until fat separates on top and bottom. Continue at a gentle boil until a large mid portion is clear (about 20 min.) Strain with superfine mesh into a mason jar.
• With the spices you can go up to 2 Tb. depending on how spicy/flavorful you want it.

Rotini with Sun-Dried Tomato and Artichoke Hearts

This I adapted this from a recipe called Italian Fusalli with Sun-Dried Tomato and Artichoke Hearts found in The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook by Neal Barnard and Robyn Webb.

Ingredients:

• About 7 oz. whole wheat rotini
• 1 Tb. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 pinches sea salt
• 4-6 grinds of fresh cracked pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 Tb. dried basil
• 1/2 c. sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 can artichoke hearts, quartered or smaller
• 2 stalks of kale, off the stem and finely chopped

Directions: 

1. Boil the water and start cooking the pasta.
2. Meanwhile heat a skillet and oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, saute about 5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, artichoke hearts, salt, pepper. Lower heat and cook additional 5 minutes. Remember to keep an eye on your pasta. When it is done drain it and put a lid over it until it is needed.
4. Add kale, oregano, and basil. Cook for a 2-4 minutes, until kale is bright green and wilted. 
5. Add the drained pasta and add to the pan. Stir until everything is combined.

Sauteed Kale

(Picture from squidoo.com)

This recipe was sent in by Liz D. She found it at Food Network. Please note, the above picture is not the sauteed kale, but fresh kale...just in case some of you weren't sure what it looked like. (Before I started doing more veggie meals, the only time I had ever seen kale was when I worked at a college cafeteria and used it to decorate the ice by the condiments; I had no idea you could actually eat it.)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds young kale, stems and leaves coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until soft, but not colored. Raise heat to high, add the stock and kale and toss to combine. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover and continue to cook, stirring until all the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add vinegar.

Breakfast of Champions Smoothie

This recipe comes from Cindy.

Ingredients:

1 15 oz can no-sugar-added peaches in water
Three [very] large handfuls of fresh spinach or kale (it should nearly fill the blender)
1 banana
1 cup plain fat free yogurt
1 cup of ice
As much milled flax as you can handle ;)

Directions:

Pour the peaches and liquid into the blender, puree. Add greens and puree until smooth, about 30 seconds or so. Add in banana, yogurt and flax; blend briefly to mix. Add ice and puree until smooth.

Notes about this recipe:

Super quick and easy, so incredibly healthy, and super tasty. If you have family members who might gag at the sight of green liquid, you can add a cup of mixed frozen berries instead of ice, which gives it a nice purple tone (but ups the price tag).

Pineapple Carrot Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

• About 12 oz of liquid--1/2 apple juice, 1/2 water
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 3 or 4 small chunks
• Leaves from 3 stalks of kale
• 1 handful of spinach
• 4 large spoonfuls of pineapple chunks (could use fresh pineapple as well)
• About 8 frozen strawberries
• 2-4 Tb milled flax seed

Directions:

Put liquid in first, then add other ingredients. Blend.

Spinach Strawberry Salad Smoothie

If you like spinach strawberry salad then I'm pretty sure you'll like this.

I have found that if I make this (or any smoothie) in the morning and put the extra in a cup, then it's an easy, cool snack to grab when you get the munchies during the day; AND you feel good about it because you are eating your fruits and veggies. You could also freeze extra smoothie into popsicles.

Ingredients:

• About 12 oz of liquid---1/2 apple juice, 1/2 water
• 2 heaping spoonfuls (big spoon, not a little spoon) of plain yogurt
• leaves from 1 large stalk of kale
• 1 1/2 handfuls of spinach
• About 10 frozen strawberries
• 2-4 Tb milled flax seed
• 2-4 Tb walnut chunks
  

Directions:

Put liquid in first, then add all the rest of the ingredients. Blend.

Spaghetti with Tofu Sauce

This recipe is adapted from a recipe called "Tofu Balls with Greens Spaghetti" found on The Cancer Project website. It was tasty, and tofu was a perfect replacement for ground beef.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dry whole-grain spaghetti or other pasta
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound firm tofu
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce or canned diced tomatoes or one of each (I prefer to do one of each.)
  
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• salt, to taste (optional)
• black pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon sweetener of choice
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2–3 cups chopped fresh kale, spinach, or arugula

Directions:

In a large pan, sauté onion.

Drain tofu and use paper towels to gently sop up extra moisture if necessary. Crumble the tofu into tiny pieces. Add to the onion in the pan.

Add basil, oregano, tomato sauce &/or tomatoes, bay leaves, garlic, salt (if using), black pepper, and sweetener and stir. Allow sauce to cook for 20 minutes.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Add parsley and greens. Stir and cook for 10 minutes more. Remove bay leaves. Serve over cooked pasta.

Makes 8 servings

Notes about this recipe:

1. I halved the recipe since I was only cooking for 3, however I still used a can of tomatoes AND added tomato sauce (I used almost half a jar of pasta basil and garlic pasta sauce).
   
2. I chose to use kale and it was yummy. I chopped it up pretty fine so the texture wouldn't be distracting or stringy.
3. My husband thought it was great with Parmesan cheese on top.
   

Spinach Banana Strawberry Smoothie

I made my first "green" smoothie!

Ingredients:

• About 12 oz of liquid---1/2 was water, 1/2 was orange juice
• Almost 1 banana (my baby got a few slices before it went in the blender)
• 1 1/2 handfuls of spinach
• The leaves off of 2 stalks of kale
• Milled flax seed (I didn't measure, but it was probably 2-4 Tb)
• About 2 handfuls of frozen strawberries

Directions:

Put liquids in, then add the rest of the ingredients, and blend!

Notes about this recipe:

1. "Green" smoothies are usually green, but if you add berries or other red fruits they turn brownish. Don't let the color scare you!
2. My baby LOVES smoothies, and she liked today's "green" one too! I think kids and smoothies are a great combination.

Pasta Primavera

I found this recipe at Whole Food Mommies. It comes from a book by Rip Esselstyn called The Engine 2 Diet. The blogger had permission to post from the author, and to honor copyright laws I will not re-post it here, but please go here to find this yummy recipe!

It is a pasta dish that incorporates kale, corn, and red pepper. Not a mix I usually think of when making pasta, but it was delish! (My husband and baby both enjoyed it as well!)

Notes about the recipe:

1. I forgot to put my cashew nuts on top! I'll have to try that part out next time.
2. I didn't use the jalapeno pepper.
3. I chose to use red pepper instead of green.
4. I did the first 2 steps of the directions, but before I added the diced tomatoes and pasta sauce I took out half of my sauted veggies to save for a later meal. Then I used 1/2 the amount of diced tomatoes and just over 1/2 the sauce. (I had only cooked about 1/2 the amount of pasta as well.)