Jicama and Radish Salad

This is so, so yummy! So light and refreshing.
I think I found this recipe in Food Network magazine.

Jicama and Radish Salad

1 jicama, peeled and cut into matchsticks

about an equal amount of radishes, cut into matchsticks or shredded

3 or so scallions, sliced into tiny rounds

cilantro and mint, both chopped fine - about 1/4 cup each

Dressing:

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons agave nectar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

Method:
Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over jicama, radish, scallion, mint, cilantro mixture in a big bowl. Mix well. 

Sweet Mustard Broccoli Salad & French Carrot Salad

Both of these are really simple to make, healthy, and delicious. 

I expected the carrot salad to be good, but I didn't expect the broccoli salad to be that good! Yum!

Sweet Mustard Broccoli Salad

1/2 cup black Beluga lentils

1 head broccoli, cut into florets (about 4 cups)

1 small red onion or shallot, sliced in thin strips

1/4 cup chopped almonds

Dressing:

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons agave nectar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 

Method:
Rinse lentils and place in a medium pot with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, simmer for about 20 mins. Add broccoli during the last 4 minutes or so and cover until broccoli is slightly cooked (bright green). Meanwhile, make dressing: Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. (I whirled mine in a mini food processor.) Drain off any liquid remaining in lentils and broccoli and put into a big bowl. Pour dressing over, add onion and almonds. Voila!

French Carrot Salad

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 pound carrots (peeled and shredded)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Optional: Add minced parsley or shredded apple

Method:

Make dressing: Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. (I whirled mine in a mini food processor.) Pour over carrots and stir. Delicious! 

Vegan Protein Blueberry Banana Chocolate Smoothie

Vegan Protein Blueberry Banana Chocolate Smoothie

Ingredients:
1/2 cup frozen organic wild blueberries (Whole Foods has them in the freezer section)
1 banana
1 cup nut mylk (I use 5XProtein Unsweetened Almond Milk by So Delicious Brand)
2 scoops Orgain brand vegan protein - chocolate flavor

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Yum!

Had this smoothie for breakfast and made my cabbage curry for dinner. Yummmmmm.
Cabbage curry recipe here: Sundaegirl108's Cabbage Curry

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Healthy Vegan Mango Lassi Smoothie

 

Healthy Vegan Mango Lassi Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 mango or about 1 cup of frozen mango chunks
1 cup unsweetened almond mylk (I used 5XProtein So Delicious Brand)
1 - 3 tablespoons hemp protein (Optional: I like to amp up the protein by adding some hemp protein but it makes the smoothie greyish - not that lovely mango lassi color. I used just one tablespoon of Nutiva brand hemp protein. I think more than that wouldn't have tasted so good.)
1/4 cup of raw cashews
a pinch of cardamom powder

Method: Put all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend to smoothie perfection.

Nutritional Info (approximate):
330 calories, 16g protein, 35g carbs, 6g sugar, 15g fat, 0g cholesterol, 60% RDA of vitamin A, 29% RDA of iron

NOTE: I made this again with a scoop of the Vega Brand Vanilla Protein Shake instead of the hemp protein and it was even better tasting and more protein! (Pictured Below)  Yum!

Deamy Blueberry Smoothie

Dreamy Blueberry Smoothie
(delicious and super healthy!)

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups water or almond mylk (I use almond mylk)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if using fresh I throw in 4 ice cubes)
1 soft medjool date, pitted
1-2 tablespoons unsalted almond butter
1 tablespoon chia gel (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon shredded unsweetened coconut
*optional: I also put a teaspoon of spirulina in mine.

Method:

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth on high setting (about 45 seconds).

CHIA GEL: 3 tablespoons chia seeds soaked in 1 and 3/4 cups water overnight

RECIPE FROM: Clean Eats by Alejandro Junger, M.D.

Roasted Cauliflower with Pistachio Dressing



Roasted Cauliflower with Pistachio Dressing

(super delicious!)

 

 

 

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 small red onion, sliced into strips

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

pinch of sea salt

2 teaspoons curry powder

 

For the dressing:

1/2 cup raw pistachios

1 and 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup water

sea salt to taste

 

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F.

 

In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower and red onion with the olive oil, salt, and curry powder. Spread the mixture onto a baking sheet and roast the veggies for about 15-20 mins or until fork-tender and slightly browned.

 

Meanwhile, make the dressing. Toast the pistachios in a dry pan for a few minutes over medium heat. Transfer all the dressing ingredients to a blender and blend until well combined but still a bit chunky. (I had to add a bit more olive oil and water because I thought it was too thick.)

 

You can either serve the sauce on the side and dip the cauliflower into it, or drizzle it over the cauliflower. I mixed the sauce and the cauliflower and it was delicious!

 

RECIPE FROM: Clean Eats by Alejandro Junger, M.D. 

September Cleanse!

So, September is when I like to celebrate the new year ... It feels like a new start. So, this year I'm cleaning out my closets and my insides!

I read CLEAN by Alejandro Junger and his thoughts about healthy eating seem to, for the most part, gel with mine. Part of the cleanse is to do a shake for breakfast, whole foods for lunch, and a shake for dinner. I'm eating whole foods for lunch and dinner, but I'm following the cleanse otherwise; that is, no caffeine, no diary, no processed foods, no alcohol, no soy, no sugar, no corn, no nightshade veggies (potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, etc.), no wheat ... did I forget anything? LOL And, I'm drinking 2 litres of purified water a day.

The withdrawal symptoms following giving up caffeine were rough! I had my last coffee on Thursday, August 27th, and I had a dull headache from that Friday until Wednesday 9/2! I was achy and lethargic ... ugh. I'd been wanting to give up caffeine for a while, so this was a welcome detox in any event.

Now that the caffeine detox is over, I feel great! I've been doing lots of cooking and cleaning. I filled 4 giant bags with clothes to donate to the thrift store and my closets and drawers are still stuffed. haha! Fashionista issues ... I also bought the CLEAN EATS cookbook. It's got some great recipes for super healthy smoothies, salad and dressings, and dips - just ignore the non-vegan recipes.

Here are my favorite things I made this week:

Raw Berry Cream Brownies! These are really, really good and super easy to make! The hardest part is shopping for all the ingredients. The recipe is from Kris Carr's website and you can click HERE to find it. :) My advice is to double the recipe as the original recipe seems to make a teensie tiny bit.

 

Thanks to this week's CSA bounty, I cooked up some delicata squash and beet and collard greens with some pesto noodles for dinner last night. 

And ... OMG! These brown rice wakame noodles are SO FRIGGIN' GOOD! Gluten free, vegan, and delicious. I used Isa Chandra's Bestest Pesto recipe from p.140 of Isa Does It and mixed it with the noodles and some cannellini beans. Delightful.

BANDHAKOPIR DALNA (BENGALI CABBAGE CURRY)

I made this last night. It's one of my favorite cheap recipes because, if you already have the spices, you really just have to buy a head of cabbage (uber cheap at less than $3) and some ginger. I usually skip the potatoes and serve this over basmati rice with some sour cream on top. Yummmmmmmmmmm.

Ingredients:
1 lb cabbage, sliced finely
2 potatoes, cut in small cubes
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp turmeric
1 1/4 to 2 tsp green chili paste (I substitute with THAI KITCHEN brand green curry paste)
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 inch ginger grated
1 tbsp butter
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

Method:
♥ Fry cubed potatoes in hot oil in a wok until lightly browned. Remove from oil and keep aside.
♥ To the hot oil add cabbage. Sprinkle with salt.
♥ Stir and cover. Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove cover.
♥ Add the turmeric, chili paste, cumin, coriander and ginger. Stir and fry until the spices are well blended with the cabbage.
♥ The cabbage should be nearly cooked at this stage.
♥ Add 1/2 cup water and add potatoes. Adjust salt and add sugar to taste.
♥ Simmer over medium heat until potatoes are cooked and there is practically no gravy in the pan.
♥ In a frying pan, heat butter. Add the bay leaves and garam masala. Stir fry a couple of minutes and pour over bandhakopir dalna.
♥ Stir the cabbage and remove from heat.
Recipe Source: http://festivals.iloveindia.com/durga-puja/cabbage-curry.html