Super Healthy Chili

Well with our new eating habits under way, I needed to think of a great plant-based recipe everyone could enjoy and would actually eat. The easiest recipe to do that with was chili. It went over so well I ended up having to make another batch the next night so the guys could pack it for lunch too. This chili is definitely hardy enough to stand on it's own, but Charles has always loved his chili over pasta noodles, so I bought some great whole wheat organic pasta noodles at Target to go with it. The really nice thing about this chili? It has a TON of protein in it, more than you would find in a piece of chicken. It's also very easy to make, with most of the ingredients able to be stored right in your pantry until you need a quick meal. AND since you aren't using meat, there is no panic that you forgot to pull ground beef out of the freezer or making sure you cook it well enough. 

Ingredients:

1T grapeseed or olive oil (optional)

1/2 package tempeh crumbled (optional) You can find tempeh at Whole Foods, or most natural food stores

1 package of chili seasoning (simply organic makes a great one)

1/2c-3/4c water

2 (15oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/3c dried lentils (I used red lentils)

Method:

Saute the tempeh in the oil for about 1 minute

Add the water and chili seasoning and continue sauteing another minute until sauce thickens

Add the tomatoes, beans and lentils

Stir to mix and let simmer about 10-15 minutes until lentils are soft 

Forks Over Knives: Plant Based Diet

This weekend my family and I watched the documentary "Forks Over Knives" (If you own Netflix you can watch it for free). It was a great movie showing the direct affect your diet has on your health and over all well-being. I was really impressed with this documentary because they stayed away from the normal "let's not eat meat because we don't want to hurt animals" and instead focused on facts and scientific research.  The premise of the movie is: "A whole foods, plant-based diet can prevent, and in many cases, reverse degenerative diseases." A few that the movie focused on were breast cancer and cardiac arrest. One of my favorite lines from this movie was the idea that people feel switching to a plant based lifestyle is extreme...but every year about 50,000 Americans go into the hospital, have the entire front of them cut open, a vein from their leg removed, and stitched back into their heart (otherwise known as bypass surgery)...wouldn't you call this extreme? You might think not eating fast-food and exercising regularly is enough, but in a lot of cases, it's not. Often times the only sign that your heart or artery has an issue is a heart attack followed by sudden death. Is this really a chance you want to take?

Two years ago my dad had a heart attack. Thankfully he was in the hospital, getting chest pains checked out when the heart attack hit, or he would have died. The doctor's advice to him was to cut out butter, stop eating fast-food and start exercising, but that even by doing that he would still end up seeing him again for his other arteries. No mention was made that if my dad switched to a plant based diet he could actually repair his damaged arteries.

Because of this movie and more research that I have done, my family and I are committed to switching to a plant based diet...it probably won't happen tomorrow, especially since my mom isn't ecstatic about throwing away a bunch of her groceries, but no more will we be throwing anything into our shopping cart (or buggy for my SC friends) that don't adhere to this new lifestyle (at least I won't be, I will have to keep an eye on my parents and their Costco shopping trips). This doesn't mean either that the other members of my family will never consume meat or dairy again, but it does mean it will be more of a once a month thing instead of daily or even weekly.

Before you think "That sounds too hard" or "That's ridiculous" I challenge you to watch this movie, listen to the compelling evidence, and decide who in your life is worth making this change for...for me, it's my daughter. I want her to grow up healthy and happy, I want to be there for her on her wedding day, I want to hold my grandchildren and watch them grow up. Is eating a plate of veggies instead of a burger worth all that to me? Absolutely.

Butternut Squash and Tomato Bisque: Aunt Pam's Recipe

My Aunt Pam is an amazing cook....and she has hundreds of recipes. Any time I need a recipe for something I simply ask my mom to call her up and get it.  Want a recipe for homemade salsa? Call Aunt Pam. Want a recipe for the most amazing, creamy, Butternut Squash Tomato Bisque ever? Call Aunt Pam.

Ingredients:
Modified from the kitchen of Pam Steffens
2T grapeseed oil
1/2 large sweet (yellow or white) onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 c squash pulp/puree (I used this jar that my mom picked up from Williams Sonoma, which has spices already added to it)
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes, NOT drained
1T maple syrup (or honey)
3 1/2 c vegetable broth
1/4t salt
1 fresh tomatoe diced for garnish (optional)

Method:

• Saute onion in oil until translucent
• Add garlic and saute 30 seconds
• Place tomatoes, NOT drained, in food processor with maple syrup and process until smooth
• Add butternut squash and process until smooth (I skipped this step since I used a puree that was already smooth)
• Add processed mixture, vegetable broth and salt to Dutch Oven
• Stir well and cook until thoroughly heated, if you simmer too long it will thin the soup out
• Garnish with chopped tomato (optional) and herbs and serve

AB & J Toddler Sandwich

This is a favorite of Isabelle's, and I love that it's the perfect size for her and that it is peanut free!

Ingredients: Sandwich Thin (or bagel thin), Almond Butter (or Cashew Butter) and Blackberry Jam

Almond Butter, no salt or sugar added (take that Jiffy!)

Perfect Toddler Size

Mmm...so sometimes I sneak a couple off Isabelle's plate =)

Pantry Soup

So I'm calling this recipe "Pantry Soup" because last night I felt like making soup and decided to look through my pantry and see what items I could throw together to make a good soup. I love how this soup came out. It's a little spicy, which is great when you have a cold!

Ingredients:
1/2 c of 32 dried bean mix (available at Whole Foods in the Bulk section)
1 can diced tomatoes, not drained
1 carton of vegetable broth
1/4c dried red lentils
1-2c frozen corn (or canned)
1/4 c diced fresh red bell peppers
1 t dried cumin
1-2c fresh baby spinach
cilantro for garnishing

Method:

• Place all ingredients, except for spinach and cilantro in a Dutch Oven, soup pot, or crock pot and simmer until beans are soft (1-2 hours minimum)
• Mix in baby spinach and simmer another 15-20 minutes
• Garnish with cilantro

Kale and White Bean Soup

I am in love with this soup...and in love with Kale now. Kale is one powerhouse of nutrition and if you don't like it raw this is the perfect way to cook it (other than Kale chips, which I will share that easy recipe next week). With the cold season upon us, and *shudder* the flu season too, this is the perfect way to fight them off. Sorry, but canned Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup looks like a skinny wimp compared next to this bad boy. So when I woke up sick Saturday morning, I knew I would be making a big pot of this soup to help me fight off this cold...of course I completely forgot to take a picture of it because I ate it too quickly. I also doubled the amount of Kale listed below to help boost my immune system even more.

Ingredients:
recipe from "Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook"


2T grapeseed oil

½ onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 cup peeled and chopped carrots

1 celery stalk, chopped

½ cup peeled and cubed potatoes

2T tomato paste

6 cups water

1t ground cumin

1t ground coriander

1/4t salt

2 cups chopped kale, with hard spine removed

1 (14 ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed

1/4t dried thyme

1T chopped fresh basil

Pinch of Pepper

Method:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat
• Add theonion and sauté until golden brown, about 4 minutes
• Add the garlic, carrots,celery, potatoes, and tomato paste, and sauté until the ingredients are wellcombined
• Add the water, cumin, coriander and salt and bring to a boil
• Lower the heat and simmer 30 minutes
• Add the kale, white beans, and thyme andsimmer another half hour 
• Garnish with basil and pepper before serving

Nutritional Information: (makes 6 servings)

Serving Size- 395grams

Calories: 150

Fat : 5.9g

Saturated Fat: 0

Col: 0mg

Carbs: 21 g

Fiber: 5 g

Protein: 5 g

Curried Chickpea Cakes

I'm sad to see my week long posts on soup come to an end...I know you are too, but don't worry, I still have a couple soup recipes I want to make and share with you next week. Usually I don't eat anything with my soup, but these chickpea cakes are perfect to pair with soup...or just eat on their own with a side of sauteed veggies.

Ingredients:

recipe from "Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Recipe Cookbook"

Oil for pan searing (I used grapeseed oil)

1 (15oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/3c sliced green onions

1/3 c coconut/almond/or regular milk

2t cane sugar

2/3c breadcrumbs

1t curry powder

1/2t ground nutmeg

1/2t ground cumin

2/3c brown rice, cooked

1/2t salt

Method:

• In food processor, combine the chickpeas and green onions
• Transfer to a large mixing bowl
• Add milk, spices, sugar and breadcrumbs
• Stir together until combined
• Stir in brown rice and salt
• Mold into patties (should form about 10 patties)
• Heat oil and saute patties until heated through and golden brown
• Sear on both sides

Serve on a bed of spinach and you have a healthy low-fat meal. I made my patties a little too large so they were still cold in the middle, but all I did to fix that problem was throw them in the oven on 350 degrees (I threw the spinach in with it) and cooked them for about 8 minutes, and they came out perfect!

Nutrition:

Serving Size: 123g

Calories: 170

Fat: 7g

Saturated Fat: 1g

Cholesterol: 0mg

Carbs: 23g

Fiber: 3g

Protein: 4g 

Toasted Walnuts and Butternut Squash Soup

You would think after all these posts this week I would be sick of eating soup and there would be a ton of leftover soup in my fridge...but that is not the case, especially when I come across a delicious recipe like this.

Ingredients:
recipe from www.wholefoods.com


2T grapeseed oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 large leek, diced (discard dark green part)
5 c cubed butternut squash (purchased mine from Costco)
5c vegetable stock
1/4t sea salt
Pepper to taste
1/3c toasted walnuts, chopped

Method:
Saute onion and leeks in oil, until onion is translucent
Add squash and saute about 10 minutes
Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil
Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 20 minutes
Let soup cool slightly
In a food processor, puree half of the soup mixture until smooth
Mix puree back into soup and season with salt and pepper
Cook another 5 minutes
Top with toasted walnuts and serve

Farmer's Market Chowder: Repeat

So today's soup recipe is a repeat of a post I did a couple months ago but this soup (or chowder) is so amazing that I just had to post it for "Soup Week". This recipe made me fall in love with leeks and ensure them a constant spot in my fridge.

This recipe also makes me miss my garden and going to the Farmer's Market. Hurry up and get here Spring!


Farmers' Market Chowder
(adapted from Vegetarian Times)
4 large ears of sweet corn
2 1/2 c soy milk (or low-fat milk)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T unsalted vegan butter (or regular butter, I used vegan to reduce saturated fat)
3 T extra virgin olive oil
3 c sliced leeks
4-5 c diced veggies (I used potatoes, carrots, and parsnips)
1/2 t smoked paprika
1/3 c dry sherry (or a dry white wine, for a stronger flavor)
Cilantro (for topping)

Directions:
1) Cut the corn off the cob, place the corn in a bowl and save the cobs
2) In a saucepan bring the milk, corn cobs and crushed garlic to a simmer, stirring often, and let simmer for a minute. Cover, turn off heat, and let steep while you prepare the rest of the chowder.
3) In a Dutch Oven (or large, heavy pot) heat the oil and saute the minced garlic
4) Add the butter, paprika, leeks, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, corn kernals and any other vegetables you like and saute til vegetables start to brown
5) Add the sherry and using a wooden spoon scrape the bottom of the pot to remove the browned pieces. Simmer until reduced by half
6) Remove the cobs and crushed garlic from the milk mixture and pour it into the large pot, cover and simmer around 15-20 minutes or until veggies are tender
7) Top with cilantro

Serve with a whole wheat baguette and Bon Appetite!