Recipes

Are you sure to eat a healthy lunch each day?  Sometimes the lack of time and ideas result in not such great choices.  I find that a little planning and some great shopping at a good grocery store make it a whole lot easier.  Today my lunch salad looked so fresh and tasty that I had to snap a photo with my iphone (I didn’t have my camera with me).  Having made a special visit to a Whole Foods grocery store while on the mainland (Vancouver BC) yesterday I found some fresh fixin’s for my daily salad that got me excited to show you.  Here we have mache which is a slightly peppery leafy green- it’s the small round looking one – like spinach but smaller,  in little bunches.  I also used a nice curly leaf lettuce and some pea shoots.  I love having avocado everyday so that was a nice addition and upon seeing that it was so green I added some gorgeous organic raspberries that I also picked up at WF. The lime & ginger dressing was ready as I had made it for dinner last night – so yummy!  I also nibbled on a slice of toasted sprouted whole grain bread slathered with hummus and slices of roasted tomatoes ( also from WF) to round out my lunch maintaining about a 80-20 alkaline balance. The greens are incredibly alkalizing and energizing, the avocado gives me my omegas and the hummus provides a nice dose of protein. All in all an enjoyable and easy lunch to prepare.  What did you have for lunch today?  Was it a nice healthy choice or will tomorrow be a better day?

Here’s the dressing recipe.

Lime & Ginger Salad Dressing

Ingredients

juice of 1/2 lemon

juice of 2 limes

1/3c sunflower oil

fresh very finely grated ginger

1/2tsp honey dijon mustard

pinch salt

pinch of fresh ground pepper

sweeten with agave til desired- approx 1-2 tbsp.

Method Combine all ingredients and shake or wisk and store in refrigerator for up to 3 days. This sweet lime dressing is lovely with any greens and adding things like mango or papaya with avocado and some nuts  (I have even added shrimp) is really nice and will certainly impress guests.  You can bump up the omegas in this by adding a 1-2 tablespoons of flax oil or hemp oil or even Udo’s 3-6-9 Omega oil. Always taste your omega oils first before adding to a dressing so you know if they will complement the flavour.  Once I had a lemon flavoured omega oil and didn’t realize and it didn’t mix with the flavours I was creating- kinda messed up my plan.

If you you love this dressing, double it for lunches – it makes your salad so tasty that you’ll be salivating for your yummy lunch at your coffee break!!  I love this dressing with just plain greens as a side dish to roasted veggie pasta like this recipe.  When I eat delicious salads like this that really only take a few minutes to whip up I a feel so healthy.  I also have a calm feeling as I go about my day knowing that I am eating consciously for my body and for the planet.

ps. I also snuck in a visit to Pottery Barn where I picked up the gorgeous linen hem stitched napkin- don’t you love nice linens? I do!

Tasty Green Juice

Yuummmm!

Is your morning ritual healthy?  Does it include alkalizing foods that will nourish  your cells providing terrific energy to start your day?  If you’re not quite sure, let me show you what is incredibly delicious that will do exactly that!  First off though, this is a recipe that requires that you make a commitment to your health goals, bite the bullet and get yourself a juicer- and get a decent one cuz believe me it will become one of the top used appliances in your kitchen once you taste this addictive recipe and feel the benefits of juicing.  See our juicer info here.  I can’t take full credit for this recipe because it was originally created by Matthew Kenney who wrote Everyday Raw. I adapted this by using less apple or no apple to reduce the sweetness.  If I want to be a purist and keep the fruit separate but I want a little sweet I add a little stevia to the juice and voila pure veggies, some lemon and some sweetness.  Still just divine!

I must admit that hardly a day passes that I don’t begin my day without this yummy juice, which must mean that I am addicted to this drink.  And I know that there are many other delicious recipes, and have tried many others but there is something about this combination that everyone in the family also absolutely loves.  When we are out of any one ingredient we kinda panic- we run to the grocery store in the morning to get what we need- crazy huh?

Morning Green Juice

1 apple ( may leave out if you wish for no sweetness)

1 lemon peeled

2 celery stalks

2 large carrots

1 large english cucumber or 2 field cukes

1/2″ piece of fresh ginger

6-10 stems parsley (any kind)

6 stems fresh mint

Method

Begin juicing all items above making sure NOT to juice the herbs & ginger last as they need a solid veggie to force their goodness residue thru the mesh of the machine.

Stir and pour into glass.  I have this thing for straws so I always enjoy mine with a straw- my morning cocktail! Yum!!

Yield: Approx 20-25 fl oz. Depending on the size of each of your veggies it will vary.  Add more cucumber to increase volume if you wish.  I have even juiced a small zuchini in a pinch.  I am often double this recipe for a family of 5 every morning.

Tip 1 : Get yourself a compost if you don’t already have one and you’ll be producing the most amazing soil!

Tip 2: 20-30 mins  after drinking this follow with my spelt porridge recipe and you will be good to go for about 3 hours or more. It’s good to snack on raw healthy nuts in between meals if you feel the growlies so grab a handful to take with you as you head out the door.

Spelt Porridge

1 cup filtered water

1/3 cup thin flaked spelt ( the thick oatmeal like flakes take way longer to cook and are not creamy like these thin, partially powdered flakes so keep looking til you find them- you won’t regret it)

cinnamon to taste

powdered stevia  or agave syrup to taste

1/4 tsp alcohol free vanilla

2-3  tbsp dried cherries or cranberries

Toppings

raw nuts, seeds, hemp nuts, fresh raspberries, blueberries, blackberries or strawberries

1/2c unsweetened almond, hazelnut,  hemp or rice milk

Method

Combine the first 6 ingredients and simmer for 3-4 mins over medium heat and then pour into a nice broad shallow bowl. This allows you to sprinkle lots of goodies on the surface and gives it an opportunity to cool easier than in a smaller, deeper bowl.  Pour a non dairy milk on top (my fave is almond or even hazelnut if you can find it and this will further cool it and make it even tastier!  Then dig in!

Grilled Vegetable Pesto Pasta

If you need to feed a large group this is a winning recipe that pleases a crowd and is easy to prepare ahead and then serve at room temperature.  You might also just prep the pesto and the veggies and grill with your friends around the BBQ and then toss with cooked pasta and pesto.  My family can’t get enough of this recipe but I am sure to always serve smaller portions with a generous plate of tossed greens in a light dressing in order to meet an 80/20 proportion of veggies to the brown rice pasta.  Proteins in the volumes of veggies, nuts, & hemp hearts are important nutritional elements that I like in this recipe. Also if everyone promises to nibble from a raw veggie tray which is a foundation plate on every supper table then I might make them a piece of healthy unleavened spelt garlic toast to accompany it.  This meal also takes into account the important food combining necessary to allow for healthy digestion.  In the past I might have added grilled turkey or sausages but the burden of having to digest this protein with the rice pasta is taxing on your system.  Every meal I prepare is designed with this in mind for optimum healthy digestion.  I must say though that when I stopped serving mashed potatoes with meat and gravy I had some sad looking faces at the table.  However, we’ve found so many yummy meals that pale in comparison to the old way of eating that my 8 yr old son has started rating some of his favourites which makes me smile since it has been a year long process to truly feel like everyone is happy with our meals.

Grilled Vegetable Pesto Pasta

serves a crowd of 8-10 (along side a big green salad)

Get ready for a yummy meal!  I usually prep the raw veggies first, turn the BBQ on to heat up, then make the pesto and set aside.  Then I put the water on to boil with the salt for the pasta and start grilling the veggies, meanwhile popping the pasta in the pot for approx 15 mins after which the veggies should be near done.  If not toss the pesto with the pasta and let cool and finish off the veggies.  I have made this soooo many times with rave reviews!  Just be sure to only grill the veggies to a point where they turn bright green and still have a crispness to them.  But do plan for this large quantity of veggies to take some time to heat up especially on a BBQ since it can be deceiving as to the length of time this takes and temperatures on BBQ’s vary so much.  The good thing here is that the grilled veggies are even more tasty at room temperature so you can do this ahead if you wish.

Pesto

1 cup of basil leaves                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               3 tbsp raw hemp hearts                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    1/4 c pine nuts and or raw walnuts, or raw cashews                                                                                                                                                                                  1/4c olive oil and bit for consistency
1 clove garlic crushed
pinch sea salt

Method-blend well in blender or food processor. (I sometimes double this and freeze half for a quick supper next time around)

Pasta

1 pkg brown rice penne noodles,
1 tsp sea salt

Method-boil pasta for approx 15 mins and toss with pesto to your desired consistency.

Veggies

veggies prepared- large bowl of a variety of fresh organic veggies chopped roughly – I use 4-5 sweet peppers, 2 onions, 3 sm zucchini, 4 carrots, 1-2 sm        eggplant, 1 bunch asparagus- what ever suits your fancy!

approx 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
cherry tomatoes-optional (added at the end for just a few minutes)

Method-toss veggies with olive oil and sea salt then pour into bbq grill pan, grill veggies till they are slightly tender and a tad charred.

Finally-toss roasted veggies with the pesto pasta.  Season with sea salt to taste and serve with a big green salad.  This is yummy even at room temperature so can be made a wee bit a head of time.  Enjoy leftovers the next day- that is if there are any! (Tip: this is one of those meals you could make earlier in the day and then transport to the beach for dinner with simple greens tossed with a light dressing.)  Enjoy!

Share on Facebook