Creamy White Lentils and Potatoes

Ingredients

1 russet potato

1/2 yellow onion

1 cup dry ivory lentils

3 cups veggie broth

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

4 garlic cloves

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1 cup cashew milk

1 cup spinach

1/2 cup red pepper

Method

Rinse lentils and set aside ( preferably soak overnight )

Peel and cut potato into small cubes

Heat a cast iron pan ( or pan of choice ) on medium heat. Brown the potatoes for approx 10 minutes

Slice onions, chop the garlic and add to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes

Add broth to the pan, lentils, salt & pepper and cook for approx 20 minutes

Chop spinach and thinly slice red pepper and add them with the nutritional yeast and cashew milk and simmer for approx 10 minutes

Cook till all veggies & the lentils are tender. You may need to add more stock or milk so the mixture doesn't become to thick, but the consistency is up to you. However this will thicken up once refrigerated and more liquid can also be added when it's reheated if you wish

Creamy & Spicy Cauliflower Soup

Chilly days bring warm soups and today's lunch was just that, using these below ingredients.

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower

8 cloves of garlic

1 onion ( I used yellow but any is fine )

----------

1 can lite coconut milk

2 tbsp red curry thai paste ( start with 1 tbsp if you are not a spicy fan ) 

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ketcap manis

2 cups veggie stock

** use organic when possible 

Yields about 6-7 cups

Method

Heat oven to 400F 

Spray some olive oil onto a baking sheet and set it aside.

Cut the head of cauliflower into slices including stem but remove the leaves.

Cut onion in half leaving its peel on.

Cut hard bottoms off the garlic leaving its skin on. Don't worry if you forget about the bottoms. I just find it easier and quicker to pop the garlic out.

Place cauliflower onto the pan, try not to overlap and add the garlic and onion ( skin up ).

Bake for 25 minutes turning cauliflower over half way. You can leave it to. I wanted more browning for more flavour.

   

 Should look like something like this.

Once veggies are done let cool.

Add the coconut milk to your blender or mixer, I used my vitamix. Then add the curry paste, salt, ketcap manis and the cauliflower.

Remove skins from onion and garlic and add them.

Blend till smooth and now add the mix to a pot with the veggie stock. Heat and serve. 

If your blender or mixer is big enough then add the stock at the same time as everything else. Mine didn't quite fit. If you are using a vitamix large enough to hold all the ingredients then of course just heat the soup up with it. Saves cleaning another pot. :) 

Another idea for this recipe could be not to add the veggie stock and use it as a pasta sauce, baked in a casserole or just poured on top. Yum! Next time for me. Enjoy! 

Health Benefits of Cauliflower :

Detox Support 

Antioxidant Benefits

Anti-inflammatory Benefits

Cardiovascular Support

Digestive Support

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

A healthy and guilt free soup made with simple ingredients.

This cream free soup is thickened with potato and cauliflower leaving unwanted saturated fat & cholesterol behind without compromising the creamy texture making this a heart healthy soup for all.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cauliflower (approx 1/2 small head of cauliflower ) 

3 cups yukon potatoes ( approx 4 small potatoes ) 

1 carton of veggie stock ( approx 1000ml or 4 cups )

1 large leek

1 small yellow onion

3 cloves of garlic ( large )

2 tsp vegan butter or oil 

Fresh thyme

Crushed red pepper flakes

Salt & pepper to taste

**use organic when possible**

Yields approx 5 one cup servings

Method

Remove the cauliflower from its stem and cut the florets into pieces, peel the garlic and place both in a pot with about 2 cups of veggie stock & boil till tender. When done use a hand blender or a mixer ( I used my Vitamix ) to purée till smooth. Set aside.

Rinse the same pot out or use a new one.

Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes and add them to the pot with the remaining veggie stock ( add more water or stock if needed ) cook till almost tender. 

**note--you can cook cauliflower & potato together in the same pot. I did them separate only because I  wanted just the pieces of potato to add back into the soup at the end. Leaving the cauliflower contributing to the creamy texture.

While the potato cooks heat a pan on medium to low heat with the butter or oil.

Dice the onion, wash and then cut the leek length wise in half and slice each half into small slices, add both to the hot pan. Cook for about 5 minutes and remove from the heat ( careful not to burn the leek ) 

Once potatoes are cooked remove about 1 cup of potato from the liquid into a separate bowl and set aside. 

Purée the remaining potatoes either with hand blender or mixer ( just like the cauliflower ) 

Add the cauliflower purée, the potato purée, potato pieces and the leek & onion mix all together with some thyme, salt & pepper. Heat and serve. 

For a little kick top with some crushed red pepper flakes and garnish with some crunchy chopped green onion.

Tip>> ingredients do not have to be exact when it comes to making soup. After all it's soup :) You can even make it thinner or thicker. As for the spices, add in more or less and/or substitute them all together. Whatever satisfies your taste buds. 

Cholesterol: Did you know that our bodies make cholesterol naturally and that the only foods that contain cholesterol are animal foods? Yes that means all plant based foods are free of cholesterol. 

To help keep your cholesterol in check, try not to consume more than 300 mg per day ( for the healthy person )  Did you know Just one egg with yolk is about 200ml. Those with family history of heart disease your health care practitioner would be the best to talk too. 

Have you got your numbers checked lately? 

Coconut Curry Tofu

A great and easy make ahead meal

Ingredient's

1 can lite canned coconut milk

3 tbsp Bragg's liquid soy

2 tbsp curry powder

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp coconut sugar

2 cloves garlic

Pinch of salt & pepper

1 bunch of cilantro

1 brick of extra firm tofu

2 packages of Shirataki noodles

**use organic when possible**

Yields 4 servings 

Method

Remove tofu from its packaging. Squeeze the liquid out of the tofu. You can lie it down on a dish towel with a heavy pan on top of it or you can do what I do and just gently squeeze and squeeze being careful not to break it apart till majority of the water is out. It's not completely necessary for this recipe for it to be 100% dry.

Add all ingredients except tofu and mix well 

Chop tofu into cubes and add it to the rest of the mixture

***Marinate the tofu in a bowl with a lid in the fridge for 24-48 hrs***

Other cooking options: 

1. You can eat this right away or let it marinade for at least a few hours for the tofu to absorb the flavours. The longer the better the flavour. 

2. After the 24-48 hours you can remove the marinaded tofu. Gently squish excess marinade out of it then sauté or fry it and add it to your meal of choice then saving the marinade for example for a lentil curry soup for the next day or thicken it up and use it a sauce to be drizzled over veggies.

3. Make marinade but do not add tofu. You can fry or sauté the tofu up on its own ( you will need to squeeze more of its own liquid out as much as possible if using this method) and use the marinade as a sauce for your whole grain/pasta option and top it with the crispy tofu.

 Marinating 

Once marinaded 

chop 1 large tomato

slice 1/3 cup of red onion

1/2 sweet pepper of your choice 

( can be less or more of any of these ingredients )

                 

Rinse noodles

Add veggies and tofu with marinade to a pot and simmer on medium heat for about 5 minutes

Add the Shirataki noodles. Simmer for another 10 minutes ( approx ) and serve.

I found I needed to add more salt after I added the noodles being that they have no flavour at all. 

**Note** A little on Shirataki noodles, Miracle noodles etc. These types of noodles come in many varieties of shapes that mimic the pasta we are used to. What they don't offer is the carb load or calories that regular pasta offers. Is this good or bad? The break down is its a great low carb & low calorie option for those who don't want to over eat on carbs or are on a low carb diet or feel they have consumed enough calories for the day or wanting a heavier snack without the worry of all the extra calories. With the good or shall I say "the ok" comes with the bad or the " not so good " unlike our regular pasta these have No nutrients.

Here's a look at the nutrition label.

 Shirataki label 

 White & Whole Wheat labels 

In comparison, regular white pasta offers more nutrients then these types. Whole grain pasta offers even more. These have an abundance of essential nutrients. 

So my take on these types of noodles is use them wisely. They should never be a staple in ones diet rather just an occasional option. Another note too is if we do not feed our bodies with our daily essential nutrients our bodies will become deficient which in return can create disease. Try to eat mostly whole foods which are rich in nutrients and less foods with none or empty calories.

Hope you find one of the above cooking options that will work for you, if not tweak it to suit your taste buds after all a recipe is just a foundation to ones own creation?

Mostly may you be Nutritionally Well.

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Dairy free, Gluten free, Paleo & Vegan

Low calorie, low fat & low carb

Ingredients

1 carton + 1 cup of vegetable stock

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 small white onion

2 bunches of asparagus

1 large rib of celery

2 large cremini mushrooms

3 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1 tbsp cooking sherry

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp marjoram

1 tsp dill

2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

* use organic when possible*

Yields about 6 cups

Approximately 300 calories for the whole entire pot!!! :)

Method

In a large pot add stock with all the spices. While waiting for the stock to boil, cut tough ends off the 

asparagus, approximately 2-3 inches from the bottom. Or hold a peice of asparagus in both hands and snap ends off. Where it breaks off is where the toughs ends & tender pieces meet. Discard the bottom ends. Reserve about 4 asparagus stocks for garnish. Cut those in half and steam for 1 minute in microwave and set aside. Slice/chop the other veggies and add all to the pot. Cook till veggies are tender. Remove the mushroom slices and set aside for garnish. Purée the rest of the soup and serve with the asparagus & mushroom slices on top for garnish. 

***If you find it to thick, just a little bit more veggie stock or water. Just re taste to adjust spices if necessary.

*Tip

Pureeing the soup is how to get a creamy texture without the added calories and fat from cream or milk. A great method for those avoiding dairy but want a creamy texture. You could use a milk substitute, but me personally I like this version the best. You also could add some avocado or cashew cheese but you will need to play around with the flavours as they will get a little lost when you start 

adding more ingredients.

Health Benifits of Asparagus 

 Aids in digestion, helps with weight loss, is an anti-oxidant & inti-

inflammatory. 

Asparagus is full of many vitamins & minerals but it is particularity high in folic acid which is especially important for those who are pregnant or becoming pregnant. Another great thing about this delicious veggie is it's a diuretic which can help with water retention. Taking a little pressure off those swollen ankles we also experience during pregnancy. Enjoy them raw or cooked. 

Here's a website explaining in detail more about asparagus's benefits. Enjoy and may you be Nutritionally Well.

www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=12

Coconut Curry Lentils

I started out wanting to make a soup tonight then I got a craving for mashed cauliflower, I needed something thicker so stew it became. All by just simmering a little longer to reduce the liquids.

So I've posted both versions including their nutritional facts for you to choose from. 

 Soup

Gluten free, vegan, high protein, high fiber, low fat, high in iron, folate, zinc, thiamin, magnesium, potassium & manganese.

*The key to getting more nutrients with out eating more is by eating nutrient dense foods such as sprouted foods. You can read more about the benefits of sprouted foods on an earlier blog posted under Superfoods.

Ingredients

2 cups dried sprouted green lentils

1 carrot 

1 celery rib

1/2 yellow onion

3 cloves garlic

1/2 jalapeño pepper

Handful of spinach 

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tbsp curry powder

2 cups vegetable broth

1 can lite coconut milk

Salt to taste

1 tsp coconut oil

Give it a taste and add any other seasoning you feel would suit you. I always like to say that all recipes are ideas for creating our own recipes. They all can be changed or simply be kept the same.

**use organic when possible 

Yields about 6 cups as a soup & about 4 cups as a stew

 

Method

Add sprouted lentils to lukewarm water for about 20 minutes then drain/rinse & set aside

Dice carrot, celery, onion, garlic & jalepeno pepper. Then chop spinach & set aside separately 

Add 1 tsp coconut oil to a hot pan

Sautéed carrot, celery, onion, jalapeño & garlic for about 5 minutes

Add spices for about 1 minute

Add lentils, chopped spinach, vegetable stock & coconut milk

Simmer on medium heat 

Approx 30 minutes for making soup

Reducing down to a stew will take approx 50-60 minutes

Monitor the liquid absorption to get the consistency you would like. 

 

Now for the cauliflower, if you have never made mashed cauliflower I encourage you to give it a try. It's a great alternative to pasta, rice & mashed potatoes. Just like mashed potatoes you can add many different ingredients to create a dish you will love. 

Mashed cauliflower recipe

Use as much cauliflower as you like. I used half of a large one. It ended up yielding about 2 1/2- 3 cups.

Add chopped cauliflower florets & whole garlic cloves to salted boiling water ( I used 3 cloves ) Try to keep the floret sizes consistent so the pieces cook the same time. If some are firm & some soft the mashed won't turn out to a creamy consistency.

Boil till very tender & drain

Set aside in the colander so the cauliflower is well drained, as it absorbs a lot of water. Tilt the colander a few times also to help get rid of excess water 

When it's well drained  approx 10-15 minutes add butter or a vegan version plus salt & pepper ( or any spices you like ) 

Blend with a hand blender till creamy smooth

Top with the stew

Approx 25 calories per 1/2 cup ( excluding any added ingredients )

A dollop of Greek yogurt mixed with curry & tandoori masala spices was a refreshing touch. I didn't post it because it turned out the color pink. Ha ha didn't look as good as it tasted. So I skipped the picture on this one.

 Stew

Nutritional facts

Soup based on six 1 cup servings

300 calories

4g fat

44g carbs

20g fiber

17g protein

Nutritional facts

Stew based on four 1 cup servings

450 calories

6g fat

66g carbs

30g fiber

26g protein

A healthy, hearty dish such as this will keep you fuller longer, your waistline slimmer with many added health benefits. Hope you enjoy and may you be Nutritionally Well.

Miso Soup

I love miso soup. I needed to start making my own, so I bought some miso paste, defrosted some tofu and chopped some green onions. This is what I came up with.

Ingredients 

4 cups water

1 nori sheet or ( wakame ) ( personally wakame is better) 

1/3 cup miso

1 cup firm tofu

2 green onions

Salt to taste - only if needed

Simple ingredients-easy peasy

*use organic when possible

Method

Boil water 

Slice nori into slices then slice those again and add to the boiling water

Turn temperature down to low heat and add miso till dissolved

Cube well squeezed/drained tofu and add to pot

Chop green onions- do not add to pot

Pour soup into a bowl and then add your chopped green onions

*tip- adding green onions to your bowl and not the pot helps keep them crisp and flavourable 

Also for a little deeper flavor you can add a smidgen of braggs, tamari or soy sauce

*miso is also great in dressing, dips and sauces.  Very versatile.  

This soup is low in calories, high protein + it contains omega 3 fatty acids which is a essential nutrient we all often fall short on. The fermentation of miso ( or all foods fermented that is ) is beneficial in helping our bodies absorb nutrients that sometimes get blocked by eating certain foods plus helps the gut with its healthy bacteria. AKA good bacteria. The more good bacteria the better!

*Vegan/vegetarian

Hope you enjoy making this plus consuming this as much as I did & may you be Nutritionally Well

**I try to always share/promote a  website if I don't get to excited and forget when posting a blog, but here is one on fermented foods I found and liked.

7 fermented foods you should be eating | Well+Good NYC

www.wellandgoodnyc.com/2013/.../7-fermented-foods-you-should-be-eati...

Aug 9, 2013 - Fermentation isn't just an ancient way of preserving food, it's a full-blownhealth movement. Here's why, and what you should be eating.

Indian Infused Pea Soup

  There's always something about that steamy hot bowl of soup that warms the soul on a cold winters day. Winter & soup just go hand in hand. 

Here's what I came up with this am.

Ingredients

1/2 Tbsp coconut oil

3 cloves garlic ( roasted or raw ) 

1/2 red onion

4 cups frozen peas 

2 cups spinach

1 tbsp curry powder

1 tbsp tandoori masala

1 liter of vegetatable stock

Salt & pepper to taste

  *Use organic when possible

Method

In a large pot, melt oil 

Add onions, raw garlic ( or roasted after liquids) & Indian spices till fragrant

Add frozen peas, spinach & stock

Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to medium and simmer for about 20 minutes. 

Remove from heat and blend in blender or hand blender/mixer

Salt & pepper to taste

Yields about 5 cups

  For the topping you can add a dollop of greek yogurt or chilli flakes or chilli oil or all of them 😊

I just bought some dry roasted chick peas, so I added a couple as my toppings

Serve with buns, crackers, or even croutons 

 The Indian spices is what makes this soup so tasty to me and then some chilli flakes. Add more of the spices if these amounts don't suit your taste buds

Nutrition facts

Is for the entire recipe ( 5 cups ) Just divide into how many servings you choose to have. Toppings will be extra of course. 

Example for a one cup serving, divide these calculations below by 5. 

560 Calories

75g carbs

30g fiber

31g protein

7g fat

  This great tasting & healthy vegan/vegetarian soup is for all. Low calorie, low fat, low carb, high fiber & a good source of protein. Not to mention the health benefits from these Indian spices. Our Paleo friends might want to add some hemp seeds, nuts, cheese or even bacon or ham to up the protein intake. 

Hope you enjoy & may you be Nutritionally Well