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Healthy One-Pot Meals: Quinoa Pilaf share

Quinoa Pilaf is my new favorite meal. A pilaf is simply a mix of grains, beans, veggies and more– and it's the ultimate one-pot meal. And this is a big deal for me– for the past three years I've taught weekly cooking classes and needed to create three unique gourmet recipes each week. This process is fun and delicious– but after a long day of prepping, teaching and washing a gazillion dishes, the last thing I want to do is cook. Hence, the one-pot meal. I like to put this on the stovetop as soon as I get home from work and set the timer for 20 minutes. Take the time to do yoga, take a shower, check your Pinterest boards, whatever. Then, BAM, dinner is ready. Serve this with a nice big salad or some steamed veggies on the side for an extra nutritional boost. Quinoa Pilaf also makes great leftovers: wrap into a burrito, toss onto your grain salad, and serve warmed alongside some baked tofu.

Quinoa Pilaf

1½ cups quinoa
1 (15 ounce) can beans (garbanzo, black or kidney)
3½ cups water
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1 Tablespoon garlic flakes
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin and coriander
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
Black pepper to taste
1 cup chopped kale

Place quinoa in a large pot. Wash, rinse and drain quinoa. Cover with 1½ cups water.
Drain and rinse beans. Add to pot along with remaining ingredients. Stir to combine. Bring quinoa to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, toss kale on top and let steam for five minutes.
Fluff quinoa with a fork when finished cooking, serve and enjoy!

Notes: You can also make this dish with curry powder (substitute for chili powder), or keep it super simple with just salt and pepper. I like to use my favorite Tahini dressing on quinoa, but it also tastes great with salsa, yogurt or other awesome sauces.

Posted: | Categories: Food+Drink, gluten-free, healthy recipes, one-pot meals, vegan recipes

Dec

Two Quick Cookie Recipes share

Rather than focusing on detoxing and depriving ourselves for our New Year's resolutions, I like to encourage people to make healthy swaps to their old favorites. Here are two ways to make your resolutions a bit greener and healthier: two healthy cookie recipes that you can enjoy all year long. Each recipe features just a handful of ingredients and the results are nothing short of extraordinary. Made with natural sweeteners and wholesome flours and little else, these are sure to please all the vegans, omnivores and gluten-free folks on your list.

The secret to these cookies is natural nut butters. These bring a ton of flavor but also work as the oil and the binder in these recipes, which keeps the ingredient list low. For the Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies (shown above)I definitely prefer almond butter, but for the Huge Chocolate Chip Cookies (shown below) I prefer tahini. If you've never used tahini before, it's a nut butter made from ground sesame seeds. It's thinner and creamier than almond butter, but creates a smooth delicious texture for the cookies. But, I've also tried this recipe with almond and peanut butter for great results. By 'natural' nut butters I mean those made from fresh ground nuts, with no additives. My local health food store has grinders to grind-your-own nut butters, and those are my favorite. Nut butters also have protein and fat, which help slow the absorption of sugar in our bodies, which means that these sweet treats won't make you feel bad 10 minutes after you eat them!

Here are some more notes about these wholesome ingredients:

Maple syrup is used in both recipes here, both for the rich flavor and it functions as the only liquid portion of the recipe. Agave and honey would also work here, but as these sweeteners are thicker and tend to burn more quickly, you may get crunchier results. Unless you know a maple syrup harvester in your area, Whole Foods has the cheapest maple syrup in my neighborhood. I prefer the Grade B for a richer flavor, but Grade A works too.
Almond flour, made from blanched, ground almonds, is a great grain alternative and is used often in gluten-free baking. The texture is light and fluffy and the flavor is mild and sweet. It cannot be substituted for any other flour. Look for almond flour in the bulk section of your favorite health food store or in packages from Bob's Red Mill.
Spelt flour is my flour of choice for the Huge Chocolate Chip Cookies. It is an ancient grain related to wheat and does contain gluten, although many people that are allergic to wheat can enjoy spelt. It's a light textured flour that has a slightly nutty flavor and offers us an alternative from wheat, which most of us eat in abundance. No spelt? Substitute all-purpose flour, gluten-free all purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour.

Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups almond meal
2 Tablespoons ground flaxseeds
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup almond butter
⅓ cup agave nectar or maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-2 Tablespoons almond milk (if needed)

Preheat oven to 325º and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl toss together almond meal, flaxseeds and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together almond butter, sweetener and vanilla until smooth. Add dry ingredients into the wet and stir to combine. If it seems very dry add a Tablespoon of almond milk.
Roll 2 Tablespoons dough into a ball in your hand and place on baking sheet. Gently flatten with your hands or a fork. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Let cool for five minutes on baking sheet, then enjoy! Makes about one dozen cookies

Huge Chocolate Chip Cookies

¾ cup tahini, peanut butter or almond butter
¾ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1¼ cup spelt flour
½ teaspoon 1/8 tsp baking soda
¼ teaspoon pinch sea salt
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare one cookie sheet with some parchment paper, or lightly grease with a bit of oil.
Whisk nut butter, maple syrup and vanilla in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until well combined. Add chocolate chips and stir to combine (batter will be very thick).
Divide dough evenly into eight dough balls. Flatten gently onto the baking sheet to about 1/2 inch thick. Bake for 13-14 minutes. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Makes 8 large cookies (about four-inches around).

Posted: | Categories: Food+Drink, gluten-free, healthy recipes, vegan recipes

Oct

Book Review: Ani’s Raw Food Asia share

Ani Phyo is a renowned raw foods chef and eco-lifestylist. She has published six un-cookbooks in a decade, and all are full of gorgeous, raw vegan recipes that will inspire even the most meat-and-potatoes folks to eat their raw veggies. In fact, the first raw recipes ever created in my kitchen were those by Ani; recipes that are so delicious that they are still a staple in my kitchen rotation. Recently I was sent a review copy of Ani's Raw Food Asia: Easy East-West Recipes (DaCapo/Lifelong), which was published in 2011. It's one of her best books yet, featuring a global selection of recipes, kitchen tips and wellness wisdom from across Asia. Even though it's a few years old now, the recipes are even more important today, as we continually confirm that a plant-based diet (especially one that includes lots of raw foods) is the healthiest way to live. Ani's beautiful raw recipes are an easy way to learn to truly enjoy eating all our veggies!

Ani's Raw Food Asia is a gorgeous collection of totally raw recipes that feature the flavor and stylings of the Far East. The recipes cover classic foods from India, Thailand, Korea, Indonesia, Japan and more. Amazingly enough, many recipes from these cultural cuisines are already raw, but for those that feature cooked ingredients, Ani has replaced them with wholesome alternatives like kelp noodles, cauliflower 'rice' for sushi rolls and raw ice cream for the classic dessert of the Philippines, Halo Halo.

Some of the standout recipes include a Jackfruit Curry (Indonesia), Samosas with Tomato Dal (India) using raw wraps made in a dehydrator, Corn Fritters (Indonesia) and a wide range of Korean namuls, or small sides for all your meals. In addition to the recipes Ani shares tips and tricks for a healthier lifestyle, including why to include probiotics (through homemade fermented foods like Kim Chi), the importance of proper hydration, benefits of toxic-free living and little sidebars of information about cultivating a healthy life, both in and out of the kitchen.

You can find all of Ani Phyo's books on her online store, and learn more about her chef and consutation services and her vibrant life here on her website, AniPhyo.com. I also recently reviewed Ani's newest book, Ani's 15 day Fat Blast, on my other blog. To learn more about Ani's definition of raw foods and how to detox daily and why these are the healthiest things to put into our bodies, check out her six minute video here. Thanks to DaCapo/Lifelong publishers for sharing a review copy of this book!

Posted: | Categories: book review, Books, Food+Drink, raw food, vegan recipes

Oct

Healthy Meal Tips for Everyone share

I've spent a week visiting with my parents in my hometown of southeast Michigan, and though it's quite a chilly change from my tropical home, it's been so lovely to be in the cool air and the forests. One of the things I was most excited about was true Autumn foods like squashes and pumpkins, which seem so much more at home here in the cool weather. We found Michigan grown Kabocha and Kuri squash, an enormous head of cauliflower and lots of locally grown greens. But I was most happy about being able to cook some of these wholesome veggies for my parents. Here are some simple meals that we've shared and some healthy tips for adding more wholesome fall vegetables into classic recipes.

1. Veggies with pasta!

Almost everyone enjoys pasta (brown rice pasta is my favorite, but we I chose Einkhorn pasta for some added whole graininess for the folks). Kales and other greens can be sliced thinly to blend easily into the sauce, and those gorgeous Autumn veggies can be roasted before adding. In the photo above we have roasted parsnips, cauliflower and carrots served with kale. Alternatives to red sauce: toss with a miso-butter mixture, toss with a little feta or Parmesan cheese or serve with pesto.

2. Veggie Quesadillas!

Choose your favorite tortilla and layer with some cheese, those leftover roasted vegetables and other greens you might love. Red cabbage, lots of leafy greens, and broccoli and cauliflower and mashed sweet potatoes is my favorite combination.

3. Simple Tempeh Stir-fry!

Mom has never liked tofu, but I thought some Fakin' Bacon tempeh would go over really well– and it did! Tossed into a simple stir-fry with broccoli and more of our gigantic locally-grown cauliflower, there was just enough flavor from the tempeh to make the veggies into a simple, quick meal served alongside brown rice. A little drizzle of lemon, soy sauce or your favorite salad dressing would be good too!

Posted: | Categories: autumn foods, Food+Drink, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes

Sep

Fall Recipes: 9 Easy, Healthy Recipes for Autumn share

Red Lentil & Tamarind one of my fall recipes from Vibrant Wellness Journal

Looking for some simple, delicious fall recipes? We've got your covered!

Tomorrow is the first day of October, and this is an important reminder. Living in Hawaii means that I must use an actual calendar– rather than the changing colors of the deciduous forest or sweet, smoky chill in the air– to remind me that it is, indeed, time to start dishing up fall recipes.

And don't believe the rumors, there ARE seasons here in our sub-tropical islands, but the shift is subtle. But as a chef and nutritionist, that means it's extra important to pay attention to those subtle shifts, because even here in Hawaii we need to adjust our diet to adjust for the cooler weather.

Some of the foods that are typical in fall recipes have their roots in Eastern medicine. As the weather shifts to cooler temperatures, it's important to bring grounding, warming foods into our diet after a summer of expansive, bright green energy.

It's time to turn down the brightness of summer salads and fresh berries and look for a bit more heft in our foods. Sweet potatoes, pumpkins and squashes are naturally sweet and can bring balance to our systems. Other good foods are mushrooms, dark leafy greens and root vegetables. Beans are also important at this time of year, to keep our bellies full and warm. I've taken a peek at some of my favorite food blogs to share some gorgeous autumn recipes.

All these fall recipes feature typically warm and grounding autumn foods, and I think you will find them all delightful!

9 Easy, Healthy Fall Recipes

1. Red Lentils with Tamarind (above photo) (tamarind is a sticky, savory paste that adds an incredible flavor to lentils- hands down, my new favorite ingredient!) from Vibrant Wellness Journal

2. Green Lentil Soup; green lentils are a nice change from brown, and paired with browned butter... yes, please) from 101 Cookbooks.

3. Pumpkin Lentil Soup (featuring two of my favorite fall ingredients!), from Homegrown Kitchen

4. Green Banana Curry (bananas cook into a starch and are a great replacement for potatoes in this Caribbean-inspired dish) from Vibrant Wellness Journal

5. Broccoli Tacos with Potatoes and Black Beans from Glue and Glitter

6. Homemade Chili featuring lentils, chickpeas and a mix of whole grains, this is the definition of hearty meals, from 101 Cookbooks

7. Quinoa Banana Bread Breakfast Cookies, for chilly mornings on the go, from Healthful Pursuit.

8. Mushroom Burgers with homemade Asian-style slaw, for those feeling more ambitious, from Sprouted Kitchen

9. And for more inspiration, Love and Lemons has a whole post dedicated to this exact same topic. Check out recipes like Miso Sweet Potatoes and Apple Muffins.

What are you favorite fall recipes to celebrate the flavors of autumn?

Chili image from 101 Cookbooks; red lentil recipe from Vibrant Wellness Journal.

Posted: | Categories: autumn foods, Food+Drink, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes

Sep

Vegan Food: Stocking a Vegan Pantry share

Vegan food might seem like it's very expensive, but if you stock the kitchen strategically, it doesn't have to be!

Normally I leave the food writing to Andrea. I run my own vegan food website and I work on a sustainable food site, so I like branching out to other aspects of sustainable living in this space. A couple of weeks ago, though, I produced my first ever video, and I'm excited to share it with you guys!

When you're trying to incorporate more vegan food into your diet, that first trip to the store can cause a little bit of sticker shock. In this video, I go through some of the most important staples in my pantry and freezer to help you stock your pantry with vegan food that's healthy, tasty, and inexpensive.

The staples that you choose really depend on your personal tastes, and I'm hoping that this glimpse into my pantry will give you ideas on vegan food to stock up on yourself.

Vegan Food List

I know that if you work in an office or are just plain busy you might not have time to watch the video above, so here's the bare bones list of what's in my pantry, in case you just want to get to the shopping already:

nutritional yeast
raw cashews
canned beans
dried grains
flax meal
canned coconut milk
veggie bouillon
frozen fruit for smoothies
frozen corn, frozen peas and carrots
Sriracha hot sauce
olive oil
sesame oil
apple cider vinegar
rice vinegar
balsamic vinegar

I'd love to hear from you guys! What vegan food could you not cook without? Are there staple foods that you pick up regularly rather than as a special treat? Let's talk food in the comments!

Posted: | Categories: Food+Drink, Living, vegan diet, vegan food, vegan recipes

Sep

Ancient Grains: Healthy Foods for Modern Meals share

The term 'ancient grain' is a distinction given to staple grains (or seeds) that have been cultivated by humans for hundreds (thousands!) of years. Almost every culture has traditional ancient grains that have nourished and sustained their population for centuries. Grains like teff in Ethiopia, millet in China, sorghum in southern Africa, and maize (corn) in the Americas are some of the ancient grains that we'll be featuring here on GreenUPGRADER over the next few weeks.

Ancient grains are important for lots of reasons: not only do these wholesome, unprocessed foods offer a change from our wheat-heavy food culture, most ancient grains are deeply nutritious. Wheat is good for us too (as long as we're not allergic), but ancient grains maintain a higher nutritinoal profile because they have not been hybridized or industrialized like modern wheat. And many of these grains are totally whole, meaning nothing has been removed and all the vitamins and minerals are intact. Finally, most ancient grains are gluten-free too, which is why they are gaining in popularity across the foodie world.

Today's post will focus on teff, the world's tiniest seed!

Sometimes written as tef or t’ef, this small brown seed (referred to as a pseudo-grain) is the smallest whole grain in the world. It can range in color from ivory to red to dark brown, which is the most common. Despite its small size, teff is loaded with calcium, protein and fiber. It is also high in resistant starch, which is a recently discovered type of starch that can help with blood sugar balance and weight management.[1] You can find Teff in the bulk section of well-stocked natural foods stores, but also Bob's Red Mill makes bags of Teff and Teff flour as part of their 'Grains of Discovery' series.

Teff is the staple grain of Ethiopia and used to make injera flatbread. Injera is made from fermented teff flour and served at most meals. But when cooked on the stovetop, teff has a slightly sticky texture that can be cooked into breakfast porridge (see the recipe below), added to stews, or mixed with cornmeal for a multi-grain polenta. You can also find teff flour, which can be used in gluten-free baking.

Teff Porridge with Honey

1 cup whole-grain Teff
2- 2½ cups water
Pinch salt
Almond milk and honey to taste

Bring teff, water and salt to a low boil in a small saucepan. Cover and let simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes, until teff is very creamy. Add more water if teff seems too dry.
Divide between 2 or 4 serving bowls. Pour on almond milk and drizzle with honey. Enjoy while warm!

Here are some other recipes featuring this awesome little grain:

[1] http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/teff-and-millet-november-grains-of-the-month

Posted: | Categories: baking, Food+Drink, gluten-free, vegan recipes, whole-grain

Aug

Superfood Twins: Quinoa & Greens Salad share

This salad pretty much qualifies as my signature dish- it's one of my staple meals for pot-lucks, and one that I've served at quite a few dinner parties too. For anyone that's asked for a recipe for this salad, here you have it!

This is a great simple meal-sized salad, one that works as a great introduction to 'healthy foods-' it's easy, beautiful, and damn tasty. Quinoa and kale are the superfood twins of the foodie world, what with all that plant-based protein, iron, fiber, vitamins and minerals. With quinoa and kale as the base, you can run wild with any type of vegetable or fruit mix-ins, and toss it with any type of dressing that you have on hand: vinaigrettes, tahini, or something bottled. But you can also whip up the amazing Toasted Coconut and Miso Dressing that pairs magnificently with greens, grains and anything. Heck, it would make an old shoe taste delicious! A final note: in the photo above the salad includes black quinoa for an even prettier bowl, but use whichever color of quinoa might be on sale in your local health food store.

Quinoa & Kale Salad

1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups water or vegetable broth
1 bunch kale (my favorite is lacinato, but choose your favorite)
1-2 cups fresh vegetable mix-ins (mixed greens, shredded carrots, chopped beets, sprouts, etc.)
Coconut and Miso dressing
1/4 cup coconut oil
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon miso
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup toasted, shredded coconut

Add quinoa and water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer 10 minutes. Let stand until cool.
Tear kale from the stems, rinse well, and tear or slice into bite-sized pieces. Add all kale to a colander, and massage until wilted. Simply squeeze the kale in your hands until green juice leaks out and kale starts to get very green and look cooked. Shake off any excess water. Add to a large bowl with other veggies.
In a small jar, mix coconut oil, lemon juice, miso, vinegar, and soy sauce. Shake until miso has dissolved and dressing is creamy. Add in toasted coconut.
Toss quinoa with half the dressing and stir to combine. Toss quinoa over kale and veggies, drizzle with remaining dressing if needed and serve immediately! (Or, make a little mound of quinoa on top of the salad to present your salad beautifully, as in the top photo!)
Note: If you are taking this to a potluck or event, keep the dressing separate to keep your salad looking its best!

Yield: 4-6 servings

Posted: | Categories: Food+Drink, salad, vegan recipes, whole-grain

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