You can't beat this on a hot day... baby arugula, alfalfa and lentil sprouts, cuckes, broccoli, tomatoes and a yummy flax dressing..
Gluten Free Whole Grain English Muffins
I am super duper excited about these! 100% gluten free and whole grains.... and they came together within 30 minutes. I finally have something satisfying and super cheap to eat my veggie burgers on! The muffin above had hummus, home grown sprouts and tomato. Wheat is finally becoming obsolete! Woohoo!
Spring Sprouted Chickpea Soup
Try as I might, I do not like sprouted chickpeas. I will never be a 100% raw foodist. I made a simple soup with my sprouts, flavored with onion, garlic, marjoram and mint... and a hint of orange zest and crushed red peppers. This really hits the spot. The sprouted chickpeas were cooked JUST enough to take that raw bite off of them. They take on both the delicious properties of the raw/cooked chickpea.
Mustard Baked Tempeh with Oninons
Simple and satisfying without any of the bitter tempeh flavor that can sometimes come through..
Enchilada Bake
I left this at the old house for the kids... I don't think they even missed the cheese!
I'm teaching a cooking class this Sunday... a Cinco de Mayo feast and will be including the red and green sauces as well as the queso that went into this dish.
I've been at my old house for several days while my X was out of town. I brought over a bunch of food to cook there (and so I'd have something healthy to eat. They seem to live on white flour based products). I pureed the leftover peanut sauce from the freezer with more ginger, chickpeas and cooked zucchini (to make it a REAL one pot dish and get zukes and chickpeas into my younger son). Tossed with cilantro and lentil sprouts and finished with lime juice and of course Siracha, these are an all time favorite for my kids. I used whole wheat spaghetti for the noodles.
Mustard and Onion Baked Tempeh Collard Wraps
Sometimes, I have to go out of town and I always pack food. I avoid the drive through *cough Taco Bell* and save money at the same time. Collard wraps travel well as long as you wrap them in parchment to hold them together. I made 3 of these wraps and packed it along with a green smoothie, popcorn topped with nutritional yeast and cajun seasoning, raisins and sunflower seeds and some lentil sprouts.
Spring has finally sprung in New Hampshire!
Chickpea/Potato/Zucchini Scramble
Just simple scrambe.. topped with nutritional yeast, ketchup and toasted sesame seeds. Quick, healthy and one pot. We had around 1 c of leftovers which I mixed with marinara and kale for a quick soup.
Wheat Free Zucchini Breakfast Muffins
These came out delicious. Just a note if you make them; my breakfast muffins are pretty mild in flavor since my kids eat them so early in the morning. They are not like cake!
Wheat Free Zucchini Muffins
Dry Ingredients:
2 c oats, ground (measure before grinding)
1 c brown rice flour
¼ c chickpea or yellow split pea flour
2 t ground cloves
1 T cinnamon
¼ t kal stevia
¼ t black pepper
¼ t salt
2 t baking powder
1/3 c sugar or sucanat(or ¾ c sugar if not using stevia)
Wet Ingredients:
2 c shredded zucchini (1 medium)
¾ c cooked soy beans
3 T chia seeds
1 banana
¾ c water
¼ c evoo
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 t almond extract
1 t vanilla extract
1 t lemon extract (optional)
Optional: 1 c walnuts, cinnamon sugar
Method: Preheat oven to 375
Mix the dry ingredients together and make a well in the middle.
Shred the zucchini, place in a separate mixing bowl
Process of the rest of the wet ingredients then mix with the zucchini. Fold into dry mixture (adding nuts if desired)
Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and scoop ¼ c for each muffin. Top with some cinnamon sugar if desired. Bake for 25 minutes
I have been receiving a ton of emails and am a bit overwhelmed by them. The majority of them are wonderful, asking great questions and offering encouragement.
I am working on a post/article that will go into more depth about HOW I am eating this way. The #1 question seems to be, is it hard? Does it take a lot of time? The ingredients are so complicated.
I am working on answering these questions. (I wish I could just TALK TO YOU ALL or teach a class on this to those who are interested)... it's much easier to SHOW you and talk in real time than it is for me to write everything out.
... This post might give a small amount of insight into the methods I am using.
First of all. They are simple. I am not a complicated person. I do not like to go out of my way to do this or that.
The first dish was lunch yesterday. I made a quick raw blender sauce (took 5 mins) and tossed it with daikon and zucchini pasta. (I use THIS spiralizer). I tossed it and garnished with homemade lentil sprouts, carrots, mushrooms, cilantro and sesame seeds. It super satisfying and I reserved around 2 cups of it for dinner. (Just a note: I made 6 cups of the sauce. I froze 2 2 cup portions for later use)..
Fried Rice, Veggies and Chickpeas
This is where it pays to be creative. I used to use tofu in my fried rice.. we love tofu and it is great in fried rice.. BUT.. it's expensive (and while cheap to make, very labor intensive!)..
I decided to use chickpeas as a protein source. (I cooked a pound of chickpeas the other day and they are in my fridge for use.. another quick tip. Have cooked legumes and whole grains on hand)..
I took out out a 3 cup portion of brown rice from the freezer, and cooked it with the leftover raw lunch noodles, added more sauce, 2 c chickpeas and cilantro. My son ate ALMOST the entire pan. His dinner was ready in 20 minutes. (I saved 1 cup for my lunch today).. His portion equaled around 5 cups of high quality, whole foods. Teen boys eat a lot and it's much easier to quell that appetite with whole foods than it is to fill them up with ramen noodles.
My dinner was leftover lentil/quinoa/veggie soup.. Most of the time we eat the same things, but I'd rather USE up what we have on hand and have two separate meals (that were made in 20 minutes thank you very much) than make a meal from scratch.
Before I had to be so strict with my budget, I NEVER would have used chickpeas in fried rice, but let me tell you, they were delicious! One HUGE benefit from having to live on such a strict budget is that I have become more creative and it's payed off big time!
I should mention; we snacked on raw broccoli and (vegan homemade) queso sauce while the meal was warming up and had a couple dates stuffed with almonds for dessert.
My kids have been GREAT.. and I know many of you have a hard time pleasing your whole family. I admit, it is MUCH easier to do this not being married. I have fed my kids a whole food diet since birth (starting with breastmilk).. and I have never had the patience or inclination to give into a picky child when it comes to planning family meals. There are some foods that my kids HATE and I try to respect that. (For instance, my younger son hates zucchini and chickpeas. My older son refuses anything seitan, chipotle or with smoke flavor) I do "force them" to try their hated foods once or twice a year to see if their palates have changed... and I am able to sneak chickpeas and zukes into many dishes if they are blended for my younger son.
That being said, I NEVER would have used chickpeas in the dinner if my younger son was home. (but seitan or other beans would have worked).. Having base components for a dish on hand really makes a difference. If I was cooking for both kids last night, I would have added the protein source at the table. (seitan or chickpeas)..
OK.. I digress! .. back to the food.
The leftover cup of rice/veg/chickpea mixture was stuffed into collards and dipped in leftover sauce for lunch today. Super delicious and again, took 5 minutes to prepare.
Chipotle Mayo/Sauce
Having a number of sauces on hand makes everything easier. This sauce was made from soybeans and is sooo good. I froze half of it. You can expect to being seeing this baby in upcoming dishes!
Finally, to answer some criticisms..
.. and this one is HILARIOUS.. I am NOT anorexic and using this blog to justify an eating disorder. Obviously, YOU have not READ my blog or you would KNOW that! First time in my life anyone has ever accused ME of being anorexic. Wow. (I am overweight for those who don't know)
Second, I do not post every single thing we eat. The pictures on this blog represent SOME of the foods we eat.
A sample day: Breakfast: Green Smoothie (me) or leftovers, Whole Food Muffin or Raw Breakfast Bar/Cookie (kids)
Lunch: Salads, leftovers, burgers (me) Peanut Butter and Jelly on homemade bread, popcorn, nuts/seeds/raisins (kids)
Snacks: Popcorn, green smoothies, fruit, banana with peanut butter, veggies/bean based dip
Dinner: LOOK at this blog and you'll see.. we eat a lot of bean based soups, veggie burgers, salads, casseroles
Desserts: Smoothies, dates/almonds, Raw Cookies, fruit,
A good portion of the food I eat is leftover bean/veggie soup. I make a huge pot and have no problem eating it for lunch for days. I also freeze 2 cup portions, so I can have a different soup each day if I choose. Doing this enables me to spend much more money on produce and other items and it works well.
Thanks for all the well wishes! My son's Ensemble won 2nd place!! I am so proud of them. They worked very hard and it paid off. He is a senior (I can't believe how fast time flies) so this was a nice way to end his last competition!
Soy Cutlet with Cranberry Aioli
This cutlet was delicious. It was basically one of my burger mixes (taken from the freezer). The sauce was also taken from the freezer; my cranberry chutney mixed with the low fat vegenaise substitute. It worked super well. It's so nice to have the vegenaise monkey off my back (or should I say hips)!
I've barely seen my kids all week. Andrew got home at 4am this morning. My younger son has been busy and not here for many meals either. I've been eating soups and salads and smoothies.
Raw Thai Noodle Bowl
I just love this soup. It warms up in the vita mix, so it doesn't really FEEL like you're eating a raw soup. That and the hot sauce I use with it.. Sometimes I used collards as a noodle, but daikon is my favorite noodle sub with these flavors.
Black Bean Chili
Made a big pot and have been eating it. I don't mind eating the same thing over and over. My kids do, but they haven't been here, so this has been my dinner 3 times this week!
Low Fat Hummus
I made some super low fat hummus using chickpeas and cooked zucchini. This was a great 100 calorie snack. Topped with a little chipotle pepper, it really hits the spot. I've also been using it for dressing on salad.
I have spent a total of $66.22 this month. I went totally produce crazy because I've been eating a lot of raw. On the first of the month, I will list everything I have bought for the month and how much I paid for it. (and post my weight loss!).
Super fun news!
I am offering cooking classes every Sunday in May (except for May 9th which is Saturday because of Mother's Day)
Here is a list of them:
May 3: Cinco de Mayo Feast
Veggie stuffed enchiladas with homemade Green and Red sauces, Vegan queso, Pico de gallo, Chipotle citrus black beans, Guacamole and Raw pina colada smoothies
*May 9 (Saturday): Indian Feast
Sag tofu, Chana masla, Aloo gobi, Yellow basmati rice, Homemade chutneys, Raw mango lassi
May 17: Terrific Tofu
Tofu basil ricotta stuffed mushrooms, Italian marinated and roasted tofu chunks with kale and sun dried tomatoes, Pomegranate bbq tofu sandiwches, Broccoli and red pepper stiry fry with low fat crispy tofu, Peanut butter and chocolate pie
May 24: Burgers and Picnics
All American burgers with special sauce, Black bean burgers with chipotle aioli, Chickpea of the sea burgers with tartar sauce, Sesame ginger beet salad, Southwestern curried black bean salad, Gazpacho
May 31: Raw Basics
Green smoothies, Marinated and stuffed mushrooms with gremolata, Sunflower pate and veggie collard roll ups with Ceasar dressing, Thai noodle bowls, Cheesecake
I have some fun news to share today! First off, I am so proud of my son Andrew. The Portsmouth High School's Percussion Ensemble is off to the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS tomorrow! This is a huge thing obviously and the entire ensemble has worked very very hard for months practicing under the the amazing leadership of Mr. Cirillo!! Good luck to all of you! I wish I could be there to see it! (it is in Ohio)
I have a busy day coming up tomorrow. I'm going to be interviewed on New Hampshire public radio tomorrow morning around 9:30 on the program, The Exchange.
And finally, I have a job interview at Grezzo in Boston! I am super excited about that as I'm sure you can imagine! Not only is it pretty much my dream job, I get to meet Alissa Cohen. That will be super cool.
OK.. onto the food.. I'm sorry I've been slacking on blogging. On my last post I asked if any of you had a recipe you wanted me to makeover. Macie asked for some recipes or ways to prepare zucchini besides frying, baking and sir fries.. I came up with this simple soup. There are a lot of ingredients, but most of them are in your pantry and you can switch up the spices if you desire.
You can use the leftovers as pasta sauce if you wish! It also freezes well.
I love using zucchini in place of pasta. Raw is delicious. If you have a dehydrator, you can dry the noodles a bit. You can even saute the noodles. 2 oz of angel hair and a whole zucchini spiralized makes a huge portion and is so much better for you than eating a huge bowl of pasta!
I made a soy ricotta topping out of whole soybeans. Since tofu is more expensive than soybeans, I've been playing around with using whole soy. It worked out PERFECTLY!
Zucchini Pepperoni
This is another favorite way to enjoy the lovely zuke! You can use it in raw pizzas, wraps, salads or even to top traditional pizza.
2 medium zukes, sliced super thin
½ t salt
1 t oregano
½ t red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, pressed
¼ t fennel seed, crushed
1 t olive oil
Black pepper to taste
Splash vinegar
Method:
Slice the zukes super thin by hand or on a mandolin. Toss them with the rest of the ingredients and allow to sit in the fridge for an hour. Drain the liquid and use like you would pepperoni. You can eat it raw or cook it on pizza. You can also dehydrate these into zucchini chips.
I had more ideas, but ran out of zukes. They're on sale this week for $.89 so I will get a bunch!
OK...so Courtney asked me to make a fat free nut free raw cheese sauce. HUH???
That was a tough call.. and to do it with what I had on hand, but I came up with two recipes. The first is more a spread. It contains flax meal and on its own, after sitting overnight, I could taste the flax and it wasn't great, but when I put it in a wrap with a bunch of other veggies (and in a cooked quesadilla) it was delicious.. but keep that in mind if you make this and taste it and think it's gross!(and I know that some raw foodist eat rolled oats and some don't, so this is more of a high raw sauce)
Raw Lowfat Cheese Spread
½ c rolled oats
1/3 c water
½ red bell pepper
1 clove garlic
1 t paprika
2 T nutritional yeast
½ t salt
1 t onion powder
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 t yellow mustard
1 T golden flax meal
1/8 t freshly grated nutmeg
2 t umeboshi vinegar or 2 t miso (or 1 t lemon juice and 1 t soy sauce)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method:
Soak oats in the water for several hours then add the rest of the ingredients to a blender and blend until totally smooth.
This was the fat free sauce... and as you can see it is umm.. saucier?
Silky Fat Free Raw Cheese Sauce
3 soaked sun dried tomatoes
1/3 c nutritional yeast
1 t onion powder
¼ t garlic powder
¼ - ½ t salt
½ t paprika (can used smoked for a smoky sauce or chipotle powder for a spicy sauce)
¼ t yellow mustard
Several grates fresh nutmeg
2/3 c water
½ t psyllium powder
Optional: 1 t umeboshi vinegar (add this before adding any additional salt)
Method:
Place the soaked tomatoes in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until everything is nice and silky. Taste and adjust salt level if needed. Yield around ¾ cup.
Next on the recipe agenda are Low Fat Pakoras! I plan on making them on Thursday!
I'd love all the good vibes I can get for my son's competition, my radio interview and finally, my interview at Grezzo!
excuse the horrible formatting, blogger is acting up and it's not allowing me to edit this for some reason.
I am so honored that I was asked to do a guest post on Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Life blog. Her story is one of hope and inspiration. Talk about embracing life and turning a bitter lemon into tasty, funky lemonade! I don't think anyone could read her story (or watch it!) without feeling humbled and inspired to create a space of healing in their own lives.
WasabiDaikon Slaw
I have only spent $4.00 so far this month. I scored broccoli on sale for $.99/lb and a fresh pineapple for $1.99.
A fellow blogger, Angie, also sent me a package full of dried spices, alfalfa sprouts and quinoa! How cool is that? She asked if I would create some raw quinoa recipes, so I've been having a bit of fun with sprouted quinoa.
OK, onto the slaw above. It only had carrots, wasabi, cilantro and toasted sesame seeds. The dressing was delicious. I used my homemade soy vegenaise substitute and mixed in my low fat sesame ginger dressing and wasabi. I am so excited about the mayo base. Finally, I can feel GOOD about a rich flavored dressing/sauce. On it's own, it is still pretty good, but mixed in with other things, I can't really tell a difference. Oh and it has 37 calories, 2 grams protein and 3 grams of fat per T so it actually good for you too.
In my recipes, I'm really trying to make every bite full of whole food nutrition without sacrificing flavor.
Collard wrap with refried beans, veggies and cheesy sauce. Love my collards. I really need to go grocery shopping though! I am finally out of them.
Simple, steamed broccoli with a tiny bit of balsamic flax vinaigrette. At $.99/lb you can't go wrong!
I made enchilada bake out of the spanishbulgur and lentils.. (this is an older pic).. One of these days I'll actually make real enchiladas.. but assuming you have ingredients on hand, you can throw this together in less than 5 minutes.
I'm not sure what my cooking plans are this week. Feel free to leave a comment requesting a certain dish or a healthy/cheap make-over of your favorite dish. I have a bit more wiggle room in my budget because I've only spent $4.00 so far and am feeling a little BORED of what I've been making. I'll probably pick 3 dishes and post the recipes when I'm done.
This dish will probably surprise most of you who have read me for a while; it is no secret that I LOVE spicy and highly flavored food. This dish is rather bland and simple, but it is something we ate several times a week growing up. Bulgur, tofu and zucchini flavored with thyme, pepper and soy sauce. Super easy and delicious. I did add an onion, garlic and nutritional yeast to the dish. My homemade tofu was freaken amazing here! As a child, we ate it with cottage cheese on top.
This recipe serves 2
2 C cooked bulgur 1 T EVOO or toasted sesame oil 2 large zucchinis 1 large onion 5 cloves garlic 2 t dried thyme 8 oz tofu 1 c water Soy sauce, tamari or Braggs to taste Black pepper to taste 2 T nutritional yeast
Method: In a cast iron over medium heat add the oil, zukes, onion, garlic, thyme and tofu. Stir fry for several minutes then add the water and soy sauce. Bring to a strong simmer until the veggies are cooked then stir in the pepper and yeast. Serve over the bulgur or add the bulgur to the pan.
Super simple and tasty.
Caesar Salad with Raw Sunny Caesar Dressing
I just love this dressing. It is so simple, healthy and satisfying. It will be in the ebook for sure.
Mild Ancho Chile Enchilada Sauce
So flavorful and yummy!.. I going to make enchiladas this week and needed some sauce. This certainly will do the trick!
Spanish Bulgur
Like Spanish Rice, but chewier. I made a big batch of this and divided it into 3 containers. Two are in the freezer for future use (I have 2 c of lentils that will mix perfectly with this for a chili!).. I am going to mix this with kale and pickled jalapenos to stuff into corn tortillas for enchiladas. Chipotle black beans and salad will round out the meal. Stay tuned for that post!
Healthy and Cheap Vegenaise Substitute
I just love this. The mix in possibilities are endless. I created this recipe from whole soybeans. Woohoo!
Before I get into the food, I wanted to let all of you Moms out there know of a really cool website called CafeMom.com. It's pretty much a social networking site for moms and there is a lot of good support and information over there. Go check it out!
I am being featured in their on their In The Kitchen page today.
I sure wish this sort of support had been around when my kids were smaller. The internet is just so cool!
Onto the food now. I think the above rice noodle bowl really illustrates how I cook. First of all, I save broken noodles and use them in soups. I was initially making some TVP bacon bits in my cast iron and had around 1/2 cup that didn't fit into the container I was going to store them in and since it was close to dinner time, I decided I would do a collard/bacon type stir fry for the vegetable portion of our dinner. As I was making the collards I was thinking of what else I should make and I decided to go a completely different route. Pork is used in many Chinese dishes, so I added a bunch of ginger, hot peppers, sesame oil and of course more garlic to the dish along with some soy sauce and siracha. I tasted it and it was too salty. That's when I decided to turn it into a soup, adding some more collards, water, the broken rice noodles and a bit of hoisin. We topped our bowls with sesame seeds, cilantrol and of course, more siracha.
BBQ Shan Tofu Collard Wraps
I'm still on the Shan tofu kick! It is so inexpensive, healthy and easy to make. I topped these wraps with raw bbq sauce, kale, 1000 island dressing, pickles and veggies. Three small wraps and a banana made a delicious lunch. I only used around 1.5 servings of the shan tofu, but eating 3 wraps really filled me up. I never, ever regret eating collards instead of tortillas or bread!
Raw Carrot Cake/Coconut Tartlet
I used some of the raw cookie dough and frosting to make these tartlets. They are actually in the freezer right now and will be served as dessert by topping them with some sweetened fruit coulis. The base and the frosting are not very sweet and completely sweetened with stevia, so they are appropriate for breakfast.
Homemade Tofu!
I finally made my own real tofu! I think I'll press it longer next time. I used two pitchers of fresh soymilk (instead of 3). We will have it for dinner! I am so excited about this. I have 5 lbs of soybeans, but they are quite old and I can tell a huge difference in the quality of the milk. Even after soaking them overnight, they weren't completely ground by the soymilk machine which I have never encountered before. I can see myself making a small batch of tofu every day out of 1 pitcher of soymilk. So far, it is not as firm as the tofu I buy, but I can play around with pressing it longer. Thank you so much Julie for sending me the starter and the tofu mold!
Jack cleans out the fridge!
Who knew Jack Bauer could help clean out my fridge? He really can do everything!
(for those who are new to this blog, my Sourdough Starter is named Jack Bauer)
I had 2 batches of very beanyokara leftover from making soymilk and around 2 cups of sprouted wheatberries leftover from making rejuvelac. I stirred it all together and added some freshly ground whole wheat flour and the dough is proofing as I type this. This is going to be some wicked healthy bread, full of fiber, sprouted grain and protein!
I have a pot of soybeans on the stove right now that I'm planning on turning into sausage patties/burgers. I make a big batch of burgers to take over to my old house now. My X used to buy tons of frozen veggie burgers, but since he lost his job he is cutting back as well. I'm so glad to provide healthier burgers than they were eating.
I have been eating a lot of raw foods the last three days. I unfortunately threw my back out on Monday doing yoga and am just now starting to feel better! I pulled out some of my raw flatbreads from the freezer and they came to life beautifully.
The taco shell spiced with onion and herbs and filled with walnut meat, veggies and doctored up Zukay salsa.
As my regular readers know, I love making various raw breakfast cookies/bars for my kids to grab in the morning. I've named this my RAW Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookie with Chai Coconut Icing.. I have some of the base and icing that I'm playing around with for different recipes as well.
Too Green Smoothie
Way too green. I was inspired to start drinking an ENTIRE HEAD of collard or kale in my morning smoothies. My head consists of around 20 CUPS of bitter greens and it was too much for me. I wanted to throw up as I was chocking this down the last two days.
I am going to scale back to around 4 cups per smoothie.
Raw Cracker and 'Cheese'
I've been playing around with fermented cheese and just love it!
The perfect grapefruit! I spent $2.50 on six amazing grapefruits. They were so juicy and delicious! I had been craving fresh grapefruit for the last month or so.
RAW Flatbread
I've been tweaking my raw flatbread recipes.. I am not a fan of the flax based breads and I know many others have issues with them as well... so I've been creating new recipes. In the above pic you can see my first attempt at a crispy flax free flatbread... I think I will have this perfected very soon.
Raw Crispy Flatbread (2nd attempt)
Oh yeah! The texture is amazing!
See how thin and crispy it is?
Now onto the end of March stats..
I spent a total of $3.21 a day for a total of $99.39.
I added $3.64 to my bulk food fund for a total of: $28.47
Some of the foods I bought since I last posted were:
EVOO Granny smith apples cilantro kale collards baby spinach grapefruit tomato bananas lime
Finally, my weigh in was horrible. I gained 2 lbs last month... hence all of the raw foods.
The ONE thing this blog shows is that it's MORE THAN POSSIBLE TO GET MORE THAN ENOUGH FOOD EVEN ON A STRICT BUDGET.
It's the wheat. I need to stop eating my homemade bread.
