Warm Quinoa Salad with Wilted Spinach

I whipped this up for lunch today and it was so yummy that I had to share. Measurements of the spices are approximate because I didn't know when I was cooking that I would be sharing the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa

2 zucchini squash sliced and cut in half

1/2 cup frozen corn

2 roma tomatoes, julienne sliced

6 greens onion sliced

2 handfuls of spinach

splash of balsamic vinegar (to taste)

garlic salt, to taste

basil, 1-2 tsp

coriander, 1/8 tsp

olive oil in a spritzer if available. If not, enough to lightly coat the pan.

Directions:

Spritz skillet with olive oil. Add zucchini and onions and cook over medium heat until slightly tender, not soft. Add corn and cook until corn is warm. Add tomatoes and quinoa. Add spices and balsamic vinegar. Add spinach and cook until it just begins to wilt. Transfer to a plate and serve. Serves 2. This dish is excellent as is, but it might be yummy topped with tempeh strips. Happy Monday! Enjoy!

Vegan Mac and Cheese

I am a sucker for mac and cheese and its existence is perhaps one of the reasons I previously had trouble becoming vegan. So cheese lovers, here you go. Enjoy it to the fullest.


Ingredients:

8 oz whole grain elbow macaroni or any other pasta you desire....gluten free, shells, your choice

3 tbsp earth balance

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 cups rice or soy milk

3 cups daiya cheddar cheese

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp non-gmo cornstarch

sea salt to taste

Directions:

Cook the macaroni as directed. Place earth balance in a sauce pan and melt. Once melted, add nutritional yeast and pepper. Add rice or soy milk, daiya and cornstarch. Cook on low to med/low till cheese is melted. Mix cheese sauce with macaroni and there you go. SO good.....even for non-vegans. Teenager, child and carnivore approved.

Options:

If you want to spruce it up, there are several options.

• Add meatless crumbles and/or...



• a veggie like peas, chopped asparagus or broccoli



• make it tex-mex style with meatless crumbles, corn and salsa



• Make the sauce only and pour over a baked potato, nachos...use your imagination



• Leave the recipe as is but top with bread crumbs and vegan Parmesan (I use galaxy brand) Then throw it in the oven at 350 till the top is crispy.

Blackened Chipotle Tempeh Fillets

My husband is amazing with tempeh! This is so good!

Ingredients:

• 1 package tempeh




• 3 tbsp vegenaise




• 2 tbsp agave plus 1 tsp




• 2 tbsp olive oil plus 1 tbsp




• 2 pinches of crumbled nori




• 1/2 tsp garlic salt




• 1/4 crispy dried onions, crushed or crumbled




• 1/4 tsp chipotle pepper

Directions:

Grate tempeh into a bowl. Add 2 tbsp oil, vegenaise, 2 tbsp agave, nori, garlic salt. Mix. With a heavy object or "meat" tenderizer smash mixture 1/2 cup at a time on a cutting board till it meets the consistency of shredded tuna. Form into two fillets. On a plate pour remaining olive oil, remaining agave and chipotle pepper. On a separate plate, spread out crushed crispy dried onion. Dip one side of fillet in oil mixture and dip the top side in the dried onion. Place fillets in a skillet sprayed with oil and cook on low for 10 minutes on each side. Tempeh will begin to blacken from the cayenne; this is not burnt. After you cook slow, cook for 4 minutes per side on high heat.

Serve on a bed of warmed apple sauce with a side of grilled or steamed asparagus. Enjoy!

Creamy Raw Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Sauce

At Sprouts Natural Market in Temecula (not to be confused with Sprouts Farmer's Market), they offer raw foods demos a few times a month. A few months ago, they featured this recipe that was simply delicious. The recipes that day were made using new raw products made from coconuts. The line is called Coconut Secrets. They have coconut nectar, coconut aminos (much like Bragg's) and coconut vinegar. I am sure that there are other that I am forgetting. Anyhow, I fell in love with this sauce when I sampled it at the store and finally made it myself just the other day and was reminded of how delicious it was. Here it is:

• 2/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/2 cup raw organic cashews
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup coconut aminos
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1/4 cup coconut nectar
• 1 heaping tbsp chopped red onion
• 1 med size garlic clove
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• black peppercorns and/or sea salt to top it off

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor.

This recipe makes a good amount.

With all the zucchini I've had in my garden this summer, I sliced one up like "noodles" with my mandolin and topped with this sauce. It can also be used as a dip. I used some yummy seed crackers to dip. Enjoy!

Smoothies

In trying to take advantage of summer, I am making it a priority to eat lots of raw foods. Today I've been experimenting with smoothies and have had some great results. Here is what I have come up with.

Raw Chocolate Chia Breakfast Smoothie

1 banana
8 oz. almond milk
1 tsp chia seeds (soaked for 15 min.)
1-2 tsp raw cacao powder
ice as desired

Blend all ingredients on high speed in the blender. So de-lish!


Summer Green Smoothie

1 banana
8 oz apple juice (I juiced my own)
4-5 leaves rainbow chard (from my garden!)
1 kiwi
1 pink grapefruit
1 sprig of mint (from my garden too!)
1 tsp bee pollen
1 tsp raw honey
ice as desired

Blend all ingredients on high speed in a blender. The mint gives this smoothie a super refreshing taste. I was really impressed! I had a mini bowl of raw sunflower seeds, raw pepitas, and pecan pieces with this. Very tasty!

Sauteed Veggie Medley with Cooked Quinoa

I love to follow a great recipe, but sometimes its fun to just experiment in the kitchen. I like to look at what I have on hand and create. For lunch today, I did just that. Here is what I came up with.

Sauteed veggie medley with cooked quinoa.

- 1 stalk of celery, sliced

- 1/4 cup purple cabbage, sliced

- 1 cup broccoli, chopped

- 1/2 zucchini, diced

- 1/4 cup baby spinach

- 5-6 cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced into thirds

- 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- dash of shoyu

- sprinkle of garlic powder

- 1 tbsp safflower oil

Heat safflower oil in the pan on medium heat. Add garlic, saute for 2 minutes or so. Add zucchini, celery, broccoli, and cabbage. Add a bit of garlic powder to your preference. Saute lightly over medium heat until veggies are tender. Add tomatoes, saute for 2-3 minutes longer. Add quinoa and blend everything together. Add spinach add cook until wilted. Finish off with a splash of shoyu.

You may be wondering, "what is quinoa?" I discovered this grain when I became a vegetarian as it is high in protein and super healthy. I often cook a large batch of it early in the week and eat it as the week goes on. Here is some brief information about it:

Over 5000 years ago the Incas cultivated the grain-like seed quinoa as one of their staple crops. Quinoa, (pronounced keen-wah) when cooked, is light, fluffy, slightly crunchy and subtly flavored. But its flavor is only part of why quinoa is such an amazing "supergrain."
Some of the nutrients in quinoa include:

Complete protein. Quinoa contains all 9 essential amino acids that are required by the body as building blocks for muscles.

Magnesium helps relax your muscles and blood vessels and effects blood pressure. Quinoa contains high levels of this vital nutrient.

Fiber. Quinoa is a wonderful way to ensure that you consume valuable fiber that eases elimination and tones your colon.

Manganese and copper. Quinoa is a good source of these minerals that act as antioxidants in your body to get rid of dangerous cancer and disease-causing substances.

Compared to other grains, quinoa is higher in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc than wheat, barley, or corn.

Thirsty Thursday- Homemade "Gatorade"

Being the mom of a very talented athlete, I try to provide the best possible nutrition for my young sprinter to perform well. Sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade are filled with yucky ingredients and have no real fruit juice in them at all.

Give this one a try....

1/2 cup orange juice or 2 oranges juiced

1/2 cup apple juice or 1 apple juiced

1 lemon, juiced

1 limed, juiced

1/2 teaspoon ascorbic acid (vitamin c powder)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 tbsp raw honey

8 ice cubes

Juice all ingredients and then blend everything in a blender. If you are not juicing and using commercial juice, try to get organic and unpasteurized if possible.

You may dilute with water to taste as it is quite salty. You can store this drink in a sports bottle and keep in a cooler for those long days.

Oatmeal, Walnut and Dried Plum Cookies

I cannot take credit for this recipe. It came from Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet, and I am a huge fan of her book. I feel the need to pay this one forward. I was surprised at how wonderful these cookies tasted. The lack of nasty ingredients made them even more appetizing. My picky four year devoured two and had to be cut off.

Makes about one dozen cookies (thank goodness that's all)

1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup maple sugar (I have yet to find maple sugar, so I used organic cane sugar)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 safflower oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp molasses
1/4 cup chopped dried plums (or other dried fruit)
1/4 finely chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, bakig soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the syrup, oil, vanilla extract and molasses. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir. Fold in dried fruit and nuts.

Roll tbsp size scoops of dough into balls. Place on a baking sheet....I used a pampered chef stone. Press the tops of the balls down slightly to flatten. Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. I let mine cool on the stone until they hardened. So delicious!

Variations: Replace flour with gluten-free baking mix as long as it does not inlcude baking soda and baking powder. You may also use braley or spelt flour and if you HAVE to unbleached all purpose flour. Throw some other types of nuts in or carob chips.

A Breakfast for Champions

And I am not talking about Wheaties here. Put away that box of corn syrup and sugar and fill up your bowl with something fresh and healthy. This is my latest favorite breakfast: fresh mixed berries, bananas, raw sunflower seeds, crushed raw walnuts and almonds, and local raw organic wildflower honey.

Here are some the benefits of the ingredients in this fabulous breakfast.

Dark colored berries like blueberries, blackberries and raspberries (all seen here) contain powerful antioxidants. Berries contain phytochemicals and flavonoids. Eating a diet rich in berries can help reduce your risk of several types of cancers. Blueberries and raspberries also have lutein which is important for healthy vision. Raspberries are also rich in anthocyanins and phytochemicals such as ellagic, coumaric and ferulic acid which can fight cancer.

For more on the health benefits of berries, go here.

Raw sunflower seeds will take care of your hunger, while improving your health by supplying significant amounts of vitamin E, magnesium and selenium. Phytosterols, present in sunflower seeds, are compounds found in plants that have a chemical structure very similar to cholesterol. When these compounds are part of our diets in good amounts, they may reduce blood levels of cholesterol, improve the immune response and decrease risk of certain cancers. They also contain magnesium which is necessary for energy production. The list for these little seeds can go on and on.

Almonds lower ldl-cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. High in fat? Yes, but it's good fat. They are are high in monounsaturated fats, the same type of fats that are in olive oil and are associated with reduced risk of heart disease. Whole almonds provide the most heart health benefits. Almonds are also high in protein. One fourth of a cup has about 7 1/2 grams-more protein than is provided by the typical egg, which contains about 5 1/2 grams. How's that for a vegan dream?

Walnuts are high in Omega 3's fatty acids which can help keep your heart and blood vessels healthy. They can reverse and prevent high blood pressure. They also decrease pain and inflammation throughout your body and may help prevent breast and colon cancer. These acids can also help to reverse and prevent depression and other mental/emotional health challenges.

There are numerous benefits of consuming raw local honey. If you suffer from allergies, a spoonful a day can be very beneficial. For more on raw local honey, click here.

Now, do you really want to pour those Wheaties in that bowl?

Raw Update

I haven’t been able to start a raw cleanse yet. My window of opportunity is from Monday to Wednesday and I haven’t sat down to make a shopping list yet of everything I need. I have most everything but am lacking a few items. However, I have been truly paying attention to foods and how they make me feel. I have eaten a very high raw diet this week. My days have ranged from 70%-90% raw. Eating raw foods gives me a lot of energy and the ability to stay focused and complete tasks I need to complete. Here are a few easy recipes that I have used this week. They are high raw and vegan.

High raw veggie wraps



I was hungry and trying to stay high raw so made I made this up as I went along. Amounts are approximate.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup cooked quinoa
• 2 large romaine lettuce leaves
• Bragg’s liquid aminos

Dice the following veggies:

· ½ tomato
· 1 celery stalk
· ½ zucchini
· ½ bell pepper
· 1 tbsp leeks
· 1 green onion
· ½ yellow squash
· A few leaves of dandelion greens
· 2-3 baby bella mushrooms
1/4 cucumber

Put all veggies in a bowl and sprinkle on liquid aminos to taste. Lay out romaine; place a ¼ cup quinoa on top of each leave. Top with diced veggies. Wrap and eat. Serves 1


Zucchini “Pasta” with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

For this recipe, I used the raw spaghetti recipe as a guide, but customized it and used a pesto instead of marinara.

Ingredients:

For the Pasta

1 zucchini

For the Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

2 TBSP olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
A few leaves of fresh basil
5-6 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked
Dried oregano
1 TBSP water

Toppings

2 tsp capers
A few black olives
½ tomato – diced
A few pine nuts
Sea salt to taste

Grate or thin julienne cut a whole zucchini to make the “pasta.” I julienned mine with a mandolin but have also made this type of “pasta” with a cheese grater. There is a special tool available to make this kind of pasta but I do not have one yet. See photo below for guidance.

Put all pesto ingredients in a food processor. Pour over pasta. Top with toppings. Eat and enjoy. Serves 1.