Category Archives: Recipes

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Green Grape Gazpacho

Posted on by
This week I’m delighted to share with you Wendy’s “White Gazpacho” from Healthy Girl’s Kitchen. You are going to be so excited when you taste this! True, it’s not really white, more like pale green, but why mince words when you can mince garlic instead? This stuff is goooood.
  • 2 pounds seedless green grapes
  • 1 /2 cup whole almonds, blanched
  • 1 clove fresh garlic
  • 6 Tbsp. fresh cilantro
  • 3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
  • 2 English cucumbers, in 2-inch-thick slices
  • Salt to taste
Place all ingredients in food processor. Process by pulsing until just barely blended and kind of chunky. This “white” gazpacho will stay fresh in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Serve in clear mugs if you have, garnished with a sprig of cilantro.

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Coleslaw with a Bitt of Bite

Posted on by
Ever wonder about the COLE in slaw? What about KOHL-rabi, or COL-cannon? It turns out that cole is an ancient word for cabbage and other members of the cruciferous vegetable family, about which I have written previously. One thing I really love about cole slaw is how it gets better with time. I mean, make it at 5 p.m. and serve it with dinner, and it will taste perfectly fine, delicious even. But make it at 9 a.m. and serve it with dinner, and it will taste absolutely divine. That’s the cool thing about cole slaw. This week’s recipe, a magnificent take on cole slaw, comes from Mark Bittman, whose How to Cook Everything Kitchen Companion (which includes this recipe) is available free-of-charge, for a short time, at the App Store.
  • 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
  • 1 small clove garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp. minced jalapeno or other fresh chili (optional)
  • 1 /4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 6 cups Napa, Savoy, green, or red cabbage, cored and shredded
  • 1 large red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced (or shredded)
  • 1 /3 cup chopped scallion
  • salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 /4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
To start, whisk together the mustard, garlic, chili and vinegar in a small bowl. Add oil a bit at a time, whisking well after each addition. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, bell pepper, and scallions, and add the dressing. Toss well, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and refrigerate until serving time. Try to leave enough time to let it sit for at least an hour. Finally, drain the extra liquid that accumulates at the bottom of the bowl, and toss with the parsley.

Weeks and Weeks of Meals

Posted on by

I have an idea about how to get ready for the week, food-wise. The plan is to prepare a relatively large container of each of several types of foods. You’ll end up with about 5 different kinds of categories of food that you can mix and match through the week, throwing together soups, salads, platters, and whatever else you think of, like this:

  1. Cook a pot of legumes, whether lentils or beans. This category also includes tofu, sprouts, and canned beans.
  2. Prepare a large bowl of washed, shredded greens to eat raw or cooked. This can be lettuce, kale, swiss chard, collards, and so on. Place a dry towel (paper or cloth) at the bottom of the bowl, and cover with a second towel, this one quite damp.  This should keep everything fresh for 3-4 days. Re-wet the top towel as needed.
  3. Make a pot of grains, whether brown rice, quinoa, millet, bulgur, whole-grain pasta, or a pan of polenta.
  4. Cook a protein source such as tofu sauteed in olive oil and soy sauce, roasted chicken wings, barbecued drumsticks, hard boiled eggs, poached salmon, or the like. Canned fish (sardines, tuna, salmon) is also good.
  5. Roast a vegetable. It can be squash, beets, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, green beans, cauliflower, or broccoli, and so on. Choose a different one each week.
  6. Shake up a simple vinaigrette of olive oil and red wine vinegar with a touch of brown mustard and a few herbs, like oregano, thyme, and basil. Next week use lemon juice instead of vinegar, skip the mustard, and try a different herb mix.

Say this past week’s cooking yielded pots of white cannellini beans, red leaf lettuce, white quinoa, roasted broccoli, and drumsticks, while the coming week’s plan is for hard boiled eggs, swiss rainbow chard, brown rice, roasted cauliflower, and red lentils. Here are some ideas:

Week 1:

  1. Dice a tomato, add to lettuce, toss with vinaigrette. Serve with warmed drumsticks and roasted broccoli.
  2. Chop an onion, fry in olive oil. Add white beans and warm. Serve over grains.
  3. Place a scoop of cannellini beans over greens, and drizzle with vinaigrette. Blueberries for dessert.
  4. Toss greens with vinaigrette. Cover a platter with the greens and place in each corner scoops of the beans, broccoli, and quinoa.
  5. White beans + quinoa stirred with a few drops of vinaigrette and sprinkled with grated cheddar cheese.
  6. Strip the meat from drumsticks, saute with onion and garlic, and remove from fry pan. Fill pan with quinoa, stir to warm, and return meat to the pan. Serve with greens.

Week 2:

  1. Fry 2 onions in a large skillet, add brown rice and stir to warm. Spoon lentils over top, add one-half cup water, and cover for 5 minutes to steam.
  2. Fill a bowl with a few spoons each of the warmed chard, rice and lentils. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Slice hard boiled eggs into quarters and serve on the side. Watermelon slices afterward.
  3. Slice hard boiled eggs thinly, and layer over greens. Sprinkle with parmigiana cheese.
  4. Heat tomato sauce, and pour over a mixture of rice and lentils. Eat with cauliflower.
  5. Heat a quart of store-bought chicken stock to boiling, and turn off the heat. Add a few cups of greens and a cup of brown rice, and allow to sit for 5 minutes to heat. Afterward, you can also pour in a raw scrambled egg, slowly stirring the steaming pot the whole time to make egg drop soup. Salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Try a bowl of grains, heated with milk, drizzled with honey or maple syrup, and sprinkled with almonds, for breakfast.

There is still room for making extra things on the side, if you have time and the inclination. There’s room for fresh fruit, dark chocolate, cucumbers, peppers, pickles, sunflower seeds, peanut butter, and plenty of other add-ons. But the basics are in place. I don’t think it takes more time to eat well, but I do believe it takes a bit of planning.

Addendum: This plan is completely adjustable for individual diets.  Vegetarians can skip the eggs, fish, and meats in the protein section. Grain-sensitive, gluten-free, and Paleo eaters can adjust the grain group, or skip it entirely. Plant-based eaters can make a fat-free vinaigrette with tomato juice (my Grandpa Sandy loved to do this in his Good Seasons salad dressing cruet), and then proceed with vegan options.

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Bulgur Bean Burgers

Posted on by
With the 4th of July almost here, and summertime in full swing, here is a really wonderful veggie burger recipe to share with friends, even meat-eating ones. If you bring these to a potluck (or barbecue or block party), bring extra.
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 /2 cup dry bulgur wheat
  • 1 can (approx 15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 container (6 oz.) plain yogurt
  • 1 /4 tsp. allspice
  • 1 /4 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 /4 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 /4 c. fresh mint leaves, chopped
  • 1 /2 c. shredded cucumber (the small flavorful pickling kind)
  • 2 whole-grain hamburger buns
  • 4 leaves romaine lettuce
  • 1 medium tomato, sliced
  • 2 tsp. olive oil
  • salt & pepper 
Heat the water and 1 /2 tsp. salt to boiling.  Add bulgur, reduce heat, cover and simmer 10-12 minutes until water is absorbed.
Meanwhile, mash beans with 2 tablespoons of the yogurt until almost smooth.  Then add cooked bulgur, allspice, cinnamon, cumin and half the mint.  With lightly floured hands, form 4 equal-sized patties.
Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add burgers, cook 4 minutes, flip and cook 4 minutes more. Set each burger on a bun half.
Combine cucumber, remaining yogurt and mint, 1 /2 tsp. each salt and pepper. Layer the burgers on the buns with lettuce and tomato, spoon yogurt sauce over top.  Serve open-face.

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Orange Smoothie

Posted on by
Summertime!  Put this in your blender and drink it!
  • 1 whole orange, peeled
  • 1 small-med zucchini
  • 1/2 cucumber, peeled
  • 1/4 cup raw cashews
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup oats, quinoa flakes, or soaked buckwheat groats
  • a handful of ice
Blend all the ingredients in a high-speed blender until creamy. Makes one very generous smoothie, or two smaller ones to share. Thank you to Heather at Gluten-Free Cat for this awesome recipe, the closest thing to a creamsicle that you’ll find anywhere in or near the vicinity of me!

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Falafel with Tahini

Posted on by
Here’s a pretty amazing recipe from my hero Mark Bittman.  Traditionally, falafel are deep fried, but baking is easier, cleaner, and probably better for you. Falafel is great; once upon a time I lived on it for two years. You can eat it in whole wheat pita with lettuce, tomato, and cucumbers, and drizzled with tahini. You can thin the tahini with a little more lemon juice and/or water, and pour it over falafel and greens to make a yummy salad. Of course, you can also eat falafel cold, one at a time, straight from the refrigerator, for breakfast.
  • 1 3 /4 cups dry chickpeas
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 small onion, quartered
  • 1 Tbsp. cumin
  • 1 /2 – 1 tsp. cayenne
  • 1 cup fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
  • 1 – 1 1 /2 tsp. salt
  • 1 /2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 /2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 4 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 /2 cup tahini (sesame paste)
Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with water by at least 3 inches.  Soak for 12-24 hours, checking the water level a few times and adding more as needed to keep the chick peas covered. Once the chickpeas are done soaking, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas, and add them to a food processor along with the with garlic, onion, cumin, cayenne, parsley or cilantro, pepper, baking soda, lemon juice, and one teaspoon of salt. Pulse the mixture until minced, but not pureed. Add water bit by bit, by the tablespoon if necessary, but keep the mixture as dry as possible. This is a good time to stop, taste, and add more cayenne if you’d like.
Grease a large rimmed baking sheet with 2 Tbsp. olive oil. Using the palms of your hands, roll approx. 1 tablespoon of the chickpea mixture into a ball about 1 1 /4 inches in diameter. The recipe should make about 20 balls.
Place the balls on the baking sheet, one by one as you make them, and then flatten them into thick patties with the flat open palm of your hand. Brush the falafel tops with the remaining 2 Tbsp. olive oil, and then bake 10-15 minutes per side until golden-brown.
To serve, whisk the tahini with the remaining 1 /2 tsp. salt and 1 /2 cup water until very smooth, and drizzle over falafel.
This recipe makes approx. 8 servings.  Once the chickpeas have soaked, it takes about 45 minutes. Leftovers are great refrigerated or frozen. To reheat, wrap them in foil and bake 15-35 minutes at 350F until hot all the way through, time depending on whether they are cold or frozen.

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Lila’s Lovely Loaves of Almond Bread

Posted on by
My dear friend Lila comes for dinner almost every Friday night, and she always brings a couple of loaves of this bread for us to enjoy. You might say that we are spoiled, and you would be right. This is a great recipe, flavorful and satisfying. She’s made it with almonds, and she’s made it with pecans. Both are great, though the crust of the pecan version, a cross between crunchy and chewy, is slightly more satisfying to me.
Dry ingredients:
  • 1 1 /2 cups almond or pecan flour*
  • 3 /4 cups tapioca starch (substitute arrowroot starch for a paleo version)
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
Wet ingredients:
  • 7 tbsp almond milk or water
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp honey (substitute maple syrup for a vegan version)
  • 4 tbsp ground flax seed
Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the wet ingredients and allow to sit for 5 minutes. In a separate larger bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Then add the wet ingredients to dry. If the dough seems stiff, add more water. Consistency should be more like a thick batter than a stiff dough. Don’t overmix.
Spoon into parchment-paper-lined small loaf pans. Bake 30 minutes. Turn out onto a cooling rack. Wrap up the loaves and share them with friends to enjoy together!  *Lila uses Bob’s Red Mill almond flour, but you could also grind blanched almonds (or other nuts) in a blender or food processor, as long as you’re careful not to overgrind them into almond butter. Pecan meal can be purchased at nuts.com.
Many thanks to Alea at myrealfoodlife.com for this recipe.  It won’t rise all that much since it’s gluten-free, egg-free, and yeast-free. But it’s still worth it. The flavor is beyond delicious and the texture of the crust is unbelievably good!

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Lemon-Sesame Kale Salad

Posted on by
A kale celebration for kale lovers everywhere (!), this recipe comes (with many thanks) from Angela at vegangela.com. If you don’t happen to have any kale right now, you can still make this salad with any other greens growing in your garden or sitting in your fridge. Radicchio is a good addition, too.
Do I post a lot of recipes for kale? Maybe. But I know hardly anyone who eats enough green, leafy vegetables.
 
  • 1 head of kale
  • 1 cucumber (peeled, seeded, and diced)
  • 2 ripe avocados, diced
  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced 
  • 2 cups (1 can) chickpeas, rinsed well and patted dry
  • 2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds (shelled) for garnish
Dressing:
  • 1 /2 cup tahini 
  • 3 /4 cup water
  • 2-3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 garlic clove (med-large), minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
Prepare the veggies and beans, and toss into a large bowl.  Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients, adding just a bit of water drop by drop (one teaspoon at a time) if necessary. Remember the water in the veggies will thin the dressing further.
Pour the dressing into the vegetables, mix gently, and serve immediately.  Garnish with sunflower seeds.

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Roasted Broccoli with a Kick

Posted on by
A few nights ago, I unwrapped five large stalks of broccoli from the tin foil in which I had safely wrapped them a full week earlier. If you did not know, tin foil is far and away the best way to store broccoli (and celery). I sliced off the bottom 1 1 /2 inches of the stalks, and then carefully peeled them all the way up into the florets. I sliced the stalk into 1 /2 inch slices, and broke the florets into generous, bite-sized pieces. Then I found this recipe from Lia Huber at Nourish Network. The addition of smoked paprika to this recipe gives broccoli, already a powerhouse vegetable, an extra-terrific “kick.”
  • 2-3 pounds broccoli (about 5 medium heads)
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • generous pinch of sea salt
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • 4 medium cloves garlic
  • 1 /2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare broccoli as above, and place in a large mixing bowl.
Add oil, salt, and pepper, and mix very well until all pieces are well coated. Place broccoli in roasting pan, and roast for 10 minutes.
Smash and slice garlic, sprinkle on broccoli, stir carefully, and roast another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with paprika, toss again, and roast for 5 more minutes until broccoli is caramelized and tender. If you serve it now, hot and crispy, there may not be any left. But if there is, you may enjoy adding it to a bowl of rice and black beans, like I did for lunch yesterday.

For Memorial Day: Sweet & Spicy Baked Beans

Posted on by

Before I left the house the other morning, I noticed that a mason jar in the cabinet had little more than a cup of navy beans remaining. I filled that jar to the top with cold water, and left. By evening, the beautiful beans had expanded to fill the jar completely. When I rinsed them I discovered, inside the jar, a lucky black bean that had stained several adjacent white beans a beautiful gray-blue. Why was it lucky? Wait ‘til you taste the recipe! Here is what I decided to make.

  • 1 1 /2 cups dry white beans (cannellini, navy)
  • 3 medium onions, diced
  • 1 /4 cup honey
  • 1 /2 cup ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seed
  • 4 shakes black pepper
  • 1 /2 teaspoon smoky paprika
  • 1 /4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 /2 teaspoon powdered ginger
  • 1 /2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 /2 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
  • 4 shakes hot sauce
  • 2 teaspoons salt

Soak the beans in water all day or night. Drain, and rinse. Chop the onions.

Add the beans to a slow cooker (crockpot or soup pot) and cover with water by 1 inch. Add onions, honey, ketchup, garlic, and all the spices. Allow to cook 8-10 hours.

Serve at your Memorial Day barbecue, or double the recipe to share at a potluck. If you put up the beans to soak this morning, they can cook all night and be ready in time for tomorrow morning!