Random Recipes - Bite sized Fun

Cleaning out the kitchen drawer today, so I wanted to get these recipes into our collection and toss the  papers.


PEANUT BUTTER ENERGY BALLS

1 cup oats, raw
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup flax (ground)
splash of vanilla

possible other additions:

• dried fruit
• seeds
• nuts 
• coconut
• mini chocolate chips or cocoa powder

LEMON BLONDIE BITES (balls) 

1/2 cup raw cashews 

3/4 cup oats

1 cup dates 

2 tsp lemon zest 

2 tsp lemon juice 

vanilla extract or bean (seeds) 

optional coating:

• coconut shreds
• lemon zest 

*process all at once in food processor until cashews have turned into cashew butter.  Form into balls, roll over coating ingredients.  

 

Purple People Eater Smoothie

aka the Barney Smoothie!




serves 2

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tablespoons flax seed
2 bananas
1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)
1/2 cup mango, frozen
1 handful spinach, fresh
1 handful kale greens, frozen
ice, if desired for a thinner consistency


Spin it all in the Vitamix until smooth

Sweet enough for the kids and healthy, too.

Salt & Pepper Cashews

Salt and Pepper Cashews

Bake raw cashews in a single layer on a baking sheet for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Mist or spray lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt, then pepper.  

This one is quick and easy and makes a delicious appetizer.  

Kid Friendly Veggie Wrap

My self-proclaimed vegetable hater has been transformed, mostly, into a more tolerant eater over the past 3 years.   We work hard to find favorites that he will eat, and this one passed the test with an inclusion of a small amount of not-nearly-as-healthy foods.  

Veggie Wrap:

Ingredients: 

We use a whole grain Flat Out wrap or a whole wheat (or other whole grain, flax, etc) tortilla or wrap for these.  

Some favorite vegetable ingredients are spinach, shredded carrots, red or green leaf lettuce, thin sliced cucumbers, and tomatoes.    

Then, we add 1 tablespoon of finely shredded cheese and 1 shaved thin slice of pepperoni, chopped to spread out over the entire wrap.  

Last, we add other vegetables on the side, his favorites that he will eat plain.  

Plant STRONG kid ;) 

Black Bean Vegetable Enchiladas - Vegan or Not

After reading the new book from Dr. Fuhrman that has a small part about how to incorporate very small portions of meat into the diet if you desire and after speaking with many of my friends who aren't ready to go completely meat-free, we've decided to play around with some mostly meat-free and mostly dairy-free meals.  The first was the lasagna we made which incorporated a bit of dairy (and could easily have added 3-6 ounces of ground meat for flavoring).    These enchiladas are the second meal that incorporates one 3oz serving of meat into a dish that serves 6.




Black Bean Vegetable (Smoked Chicken) Enchiladas 


Ingredients:

Onion, 1 large or 2 medium, chopped
Bell Pepper, 1 large, chopped
Mushrooms, 8 oz, chopped
Zucchini, 1 medium or large, diced
Tomato, 2 large, diced
Black Beans, 3 cups or 2 cans

Green chiles - fresh or canned, about 1/2 cup 

Salsa

Optional - Smoked chicken, about 3 ounces, diced or shredded 

Corn Tortillas, 12-16 small 

Avocado, 2 medium or 1 large, diced 

Tomatoes, 2 large, diced  

Optional - Poblano Cream Sauce 

Optional - 1/2 cup monterey jack cheese 

Directions:

In a skillet moistened with 1 tsp of oil or 1/2 cup water, cook onions, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, and 2 tomatoes until onions are translucent.  Add black beans and green chiles and stir until combined, then remove from heat.

In a 9x13 baking dish that has been oiled (lightly sprayed or wiped on using paper towel and very little oil), layer ingredients as follows:

• Corn tortillas 
• 1/3 of the cooked vegetable and bean mixture 
• 1/2 of smoked chicken, if using
• About 1/2 cup of salsa 
• Repeat all 4 of the above
• Top with a last layer of tortillas and then the vegetable bean mixture. 

Cook at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.  

Remove from oven and top with diced avocados, tomatoes, and any of the optional toppings.

Suggested side dishes:

• steamed green beans
• green salad 
• black bean or pinto bean soup 

Vegetable Lasagna (Vegetarian)

This one is a family favorite that we had not made in a long time, but recently we resurrected it for a dinner party and fell in love with it again.  This version is meatless and much lighter on the cheese than regular versions.  You can use soy based cheese or other subs if you like.

The selling point on this lasagna is that it's extremely quick to make and requires very little prep.  We use one sauté pan on the stove and one lasagna pan.   No boiling noodles and burning your hands during the hot noodle transfer, and you can use any favorite noodle instead of the no-boil ones.

There are two versions of this lasagna, one we make for friends and one for our family.  The family one doubles the amount of the vegetables that are inside the lasagna.  Either version is delicious, and you won't miss the pounds of cheese usually in a lasagna this good.  




Ingredients:

Onion, 1 large, chopped
Garlic, 4 cloves, chopped
Mushrooms, 8 ounces, chopped
Zucchini, 1 large or 2 small, chopped
Basil, 4-5 leaves chopped
1 tsp olive oil

1 cup almond milk
2 heaping tablespoons of flour
1 tsp olive oil or cashew cream
Tomato based pasta sauce (your favorite)

Tofu, 1 pound organic
Spinach, 1 handful
Cheese, 1/4 - 1/2 cup shredded parmesan

Lasagna noodles, white or whole wheat or gluten free (regular, not no-bake, is fine)
Eggplant sliced long and thin

Some of the vegetables above reserved for the top of the lasagna (a few mushrooms, basil, 1/4 zucchini, and a whole tomato)
1/2 cup shredded cheese



Directions:

Saute the chopped vegetables in a teaspoon of olive oil or water until the onions are translucent.  Season with garlic powder, pepper, etc. and remove from the pan.

Using the same pan, heat the olive oil and stir in flour,  then add the almond milk slowly, whisking to prevent lumps.   When mixture is combined, add the pasta sauce (use jarred or your own favorite recipe).   (If using cashew cream, blend the cream with a little of the pasta sauce and add to heated milk/flour mixture).

In a bowl or food processor, mix the tofu, spinach, and shredded parmesan.   Season well with garlic and a pinch of basil, oregano, etc.    (The parmesan is optional, but using even a little of it will make the tofu taste like ricotta cheese after it's cooked).

In a 9x13 dish, spread a tablespoon or two of the tomato sauce in the bottom.
Line with a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles and uncooked eggplant noodles (slices)*.
Spread a layer of half of the tofu mixture, some sauce, and half of the cooked vegetables.
**Repeat layers of noodles, tofu, sauce, vegetables, and a last layer of noodles.
Top with the remaining sauce.

Add a thin layer of raw, very finely sliced zucchini, mushrooms, black olives, and tomatoes.
Sprinkle top with a thin layer of parmesan, feta, and/or mozzarella cheese.
Pour 1/2 cup water around the edges of the lasagna and let it drain to the bottom (the extra water helps the noodles soften without pre-boiling).
Cover with foil or parchment paper and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, remove cover and bake another 15 minutes.

Let sit 10 minutes and serve.

* note:  you can eliminate the pasta if desired and just use the eggplant as the noodle layer

** note:  we usually only have two layers of noodles in our lasagna because our pan is a bit larger.  We end up with noodles leftover in the package and make lasagna rollups out of them or just save the leftovers to put together one day.

Our favorite appetizers for this dish are stuffed mushrooms, bruschette, and a caprese salad.

Our favorite side dishes for this lasagna are a simple green salad and steamed green vegetables (asparagus, sno peas, broccoli).

Sushi Salad

A member at the Dr. Fuhrman website passed along this great lunch idea; as usual, we stole and ran with it.   Two of our family members love sushi, but it's expensive to buy and time consuming to make.   This salad is an easier way, maybe, to get the same taste at home.  

It's a very versatile dish, and the time involved in making it can range from just a few minutes to a half hour or more, depending on your ingredients.  If you use just a few, raw, chopped ingredients, then it's a quick throw together meal.  Or, if you want more depth, using cooked and raw ingredients, tofu, and so on, then it can take a bit longer.   My solution is to take the extra time to make it, but to make enough to last a few days.   Then, I'll wait a couple of weeks before making it again so as not to burn them out on it. 

Possible ingredients - choose your favorites:

• Cooked brown rice or sushi rice (I used short grain brown rice, but any rice, black rice, wild rice, or even out of the box ideas like red quinoa or even a combination of all the above will work.  Or, noodles, but then we're off into other territory. 
• Nori - seaweed sheets.   Or, you can add kelp.   I baked the nori with a spray of olive oil (or an oil rub down with a paper towel) and seasonings until it was crispy, then sliced it into thin ribbons.   However, an easy sub is just to tear the nori into strips and toss it in as is. 
• Sesame seeds - toss this unhulled sesame seeds into the salad either raw or toasted in a pan on medium for just a few minutes. 
• Tofu - an optional ingredient that we used for a protein boost.   You can season, then boil, bake, or pan "fry" this and toss the cubes into the salad. 
• Raw vegetables - avocado slices, cucumber slices
• Cooked or raw vegetables - carrot shreds, mushrooms (cooked!), cabbage, green onions, spinach, edamame, and so on.  (The spinach, I just wilted in a warm pan very briefly but raw is fine, also).

Dressings:

We converted a few favorite dips into dressings - very simple ones.   Soy sauce and wasabi are their most used dips.   One dressing uses soy sauce, wasabi, ginger, honey, tahini, and a splash of rice vinegar.   Another uses soy, wasabi, and water.  A third is wasabi, rice vinegar, tahini, soy, pepper and garlic   If the dressings are too thick, they can be watered down to spread more easily.

Cherry Crumble

I didn't think we could replicate cherry pie but this is pretty close.  The crust would work with any type of pie or dessert...and we will be trying them all!

Recipe 

Crust:

1 cup walnuts 

3-4 medjool dates 

* blend in food processor until crumbly. 

Pie filling :

1 cup no sugar added Frozen cherry mix*

Lemon, just a squeeze 

1 tsp vanilla 

Drain the frozen berries, defrost, and mix all ingredients.  Top with crumble mixture.  Warm in microwave or bake in oven just until warm.  

* we use a sweet cherry, tart cherry, and currant blend. It's sweet enough on its own but if yours isn't, you can blend a date with some of the berries and mix in. 

The finished product.  We'll try apple next, for sure.