What's for Dinner--Cabbage Salad

This was so yummy. A couple of my kids weren't sure how they felt about cabbage, but Ben said this new recipe is now his favorite way to eat cabbage.

Cabbage Salad--from the Green Smoothie Girl's 12 Steps to Whole Foods

1/2 head red cabbage, shredded
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
1 1/2 cups grapes, halved
2 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup pumpkin seeds (I used pepitas--the shelled kind)
1/2 cup almonds (or walnuts), chopped
optional: 1/2 cup crunchy chinese noodles
optional: 1/2 cup raisins or craisins

Toss all ingredients. Serve with vinaigrette.

Cabbage Salad Dressing

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup raw honey
3/8 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard (I just used regular organic)
1/2 white onion, chopped (I used onion powder because I wanted it less strong)
pinch sea salt
Optional: 2 Tbsp alfalfa sprouts

Blend all, then stir in 2 Tbsp poppy seeds.

What's for Dinner--Taco Lentils with Chili Rice on Whole Wheat Tortillas

I'll have to post the full recipe for this meal some time, but the one I want to share tonight is our homemade taco seasoning. If you don't already have a good recipe for this, and you're using those little MSG filled packets, this recipe is a great one. I found it on Allrecipes.com, and we've been using it for years. We usually triple or quadruple the recipe to have on hand.

Taco Seasoning

Easy Nutritious Treat

Halva is an easy, nutritious treat. You mix about two parts honey with one and a half parts tahini, then adjust the proportion to taste. Then refrigerate till it's the consistency to roll into balls, or mold and slice. I saw one recipe that recommends mixing in chocolate, vanilla, or nuts. Other recipes recommend rolling balls of halva in sesame or chia seeds.

Both the honey and the tahini have great nutrition benefits, especially if the honey is raw and local, though you have to be careful not to give raw honey to very small children. I've heard that many people who eat raw, local honey find that their allergy symptoms decrease or disappear. Honey also contains enzymes, vitamins, and minerals, which sugar doesn't have. Tahini has protein, good fat, iron, calcium, and magnesium.

A couple more tips about honey: Honey is antibacterial and has been used to treat infected wounds. Also, I learned from Konnie and Serena that you can stir a spoonful of creamed honey into regular honey, and it will crystallize into creamed honey instead of hardening solid. It works great!

What's for Dinner--Maple Mustard Glazed Potatoes and String Beans

These are so addictive that when I made them for my extended (non-vegan) family, they asked me to make them again the next day and begged me for the recipe. This recipe is from "Vegan with a Vengeance" by Isa Moscowitz

Maple Mustard Glazed Potatoes and String Beans

2 lbs small Yukon Gold potatoes, halved (about 1-inch pieces) (We also like red potatoes in this)
1/2 lb string beans, halved with ends cut off and discarded
1 yellow onion, thickly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced (I prefer pressed)
3 Tbsp tamari, soy sauce, or nama shoyu
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place veggies in 9 x 13. Mix other ingredients till mustard is dissolved. Pour over veggies and mix till well coated. Cover with foil and place in oven. Bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven and toss, using a spoon to drizzle sauce over veggies. Turn oven down to 350 degrees. Cook 25 more minutes uncovered. Remove from oven, toss again, cook for 25 more minutes uncovered. (Total of 75 minutes). My family prefers to double the sauce recipe to have extra.

What's for Dinner--Pecan Cranberry Quinoa

Quinoa is usually grouped with grains, but it's actually a seed. It's a complete protein, containing all essential amino acids, and it's a good source of fiber, magnesium, iron, and phosphorus. This recipe is also from The Green Smoothie Girl's 12 Steps to Whole Foods. I think I could eat this dish every day.

Pecan Cranberry Quinoa

1 C quinoa, rinsed well to remove the seed's bitter, natural pest deterrent. (She recommends soaking for a few minutes to let the seeds swell, and then drain in a fine mesh strainer. I recommend the pre-rinsed quinoa sold at Walmart or Broulims, because I don't like to take a chance that the quinoa will be bitter.)
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 clove garlic. minced
2 cups water
1/2 C pecans chopped and toasted under a broiler or in a dry saute pan
1 orange, red, or yellow pepper, diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 green onions, chopped (used the green and white parts)
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp sea salt
Optional: 1/4 cup dried apricots, finely chopped

Dressing:
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 tsp grated orange zest
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp agave (I might have used honey)
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried basil

In a saucepan, saute the garlic in the oil, then add the quinoa and stir till toasted. Add water and bring to boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes. Blend the dressing ingredients. Toss the quinoa in dressing and all other ingredients. Serve cold or hot.

What's for Dinner--Potato Garbanzo Curry

This was another recipe that my kids liked as soon as they tried it. I've had several requests from my husband and kids to make this again. This is from The Green Smoothie Girl's 12 Steps to Whole Foods. By the way, I've noticed that the organic canned garbanzo beans taste a lot better than the regular ones for just a few cents more.

Potato Garbanzo Curry

1 1/2 C dry garbanzo beans (I used 2 cans)
1 C brown rice, uncooked (I used several cups cooked)
4 C water
2 yellow onions, chopped (I used sweet onions, and I added 1 green pepper and 1 red pepper, chopped)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
4 cups chopped new red potatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup water
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (no rapeseed oil/corn syrup/sugar added)
2 Tbsp Thai red curry paste (I used about half this because I was afraid it would be spicy and I didn't want to scare off my kids :) )
1/4 cup molasses

Rinse and drain the garbanzo beans and brown rice together, and then soak them in water overnight. Drain well. Bring 4 cups water to boil, add beans and rice, then reduce heat and simmer for 50-60 minutes until the water is absorbed. (I skipped this whole step and used already cooked ingredients.)

Sauté the onions in the oil until tender, add the spices and potatoes (and peppers if using) and sauté together briefly. Add broth, 1/2 cup water, and salt. Simmer until potatoes are tender. (She says about 30 minutes. Mine took more like 15, but my pots cook faster.)

Add garbanzo, rice, peanut butter, curry paste, and molasses and heat through. Serve hot.

What's for Dinner--Spinach Orzo Ensalata

This pasta salad is so good that my children liked it on the first try, despite the facts that it didn't look like anything we've ever tried and that it contained olives, which most of them don't like. The Green Smoothie Girl invented this salad to try and duplicate her favorite salad at the Macaroni Grill. It is so, so good. (from 12 Steps to Whole Foods)

Spinach Orzo Ensalata

1 cup uncooked whole-wheat orzo pasta (boil according to package directions and rinse well, then cool. PS--I couldn't find whole wheat Orzo here in Rexburg, so I used white.)
10+ cups spinach (about two 10-oz bags) chopped
1 pkg fresh basil cut in ribbons
2 tomatoes diced small
1 can black olives, sliced
2 oz capers (half a 4 oz jar) drained
1/2 cup raw pine nuts
OPTIONAL: shaved parmesan to taste

Toss all ingredients except optional parmesan. Add dressing to taste, and toss. Top each plate with parmesan if desired. (The Green Smoothie Girl recommends serving this dressing with her Tangy Dill Dressing, which is really good.)

Tangy Dill Dressing

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos (I used nama shoyu)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
2 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp dried dill weed, or 1/4 cup fresh

Blend all ingredients in a blender.

What's for Dinner--Southwest Salad with Homemade Croutons and Avocado Dressing

These recipes are from 12 Steps to Whole Foods by Robyn Openshaw (The Green Smoothie Girl)

Southwest Salad

1 head green lettuce, washed and torn
1 red pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup black beans
fresh whole wheat croûtons

Mix and toss. We served this with corn chips, salsa, and avocado dressing

Homemade Croûtons

Several pieces of whole wheat bread, brushed with olive oil, and sprinkled with salt, garlic powder, basil, and oregano. Dice bread into cubes, then toast under the broiler in the oven till browned.

Avocado Dressing

2 large avocados
1/2 C fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp Nama Shoyu
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
2-4 Tbsp water to achieve desired consistency
Optional: 2 Tbsp alfalfa sprouts

Blend till smooth.


For desert I made a yummy fudge by throwing dates, walnuts, peanut butter, and a little maple syrup and cocoa into my food processor. Very yummy. If I had to guess at the recipe, I would say 2 cups dates, 1 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/4 cup cocoa, and 2 Tbsp maple syrup.

What's for Dinner--Pot Pie Veggies and Sauce with Herbed Drop Biscuits

I diced and steamed lots of potatoes, sautéed two onions, several carrots, and two slices of celery, and threw in half a bag of frozen peas. I made up a gravy by pureeing a drained and rinsed can of great northern beans with enough water to make the consistency of a sauce. I flavored it by blending in salt, pepper, and a large handful of macadamia nuts till smooth (sometimes I add seasonings like thyme to this gravy). We mixed the veggies, then served them drizzled with sauce and topped with Herbed Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits. Delicious.

Herbed Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits from Vegan Brunch by Isa Moskowitz

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
5 tsp baking powder
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp salt

3 Tbsp cold nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening
2 Tbsp cold nonhydrogenated margarine
1 cup almond milk (or other milk)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease baking sheet. Mix first 5 ingredients. Cut in shortening and margarine (we used coconut oil instead) until pebble size pieces of dough form. Add milk and combine to form soft dough. Use ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop biscuits onto baking sheet. Bake 15-18 minutes until lightly browned. Transfer to cooling rack, but serve warm. (We cut the amount of herbs just a little bit. 4 tsp. of herbs is a little strong for our family.)

What's for Dinner--Asian Salad

Last night we had a delicious dinner of Asian Salad from the Green Smoothie Girl's 12 Steps to Whole Foods Course Manual. (Step 1 is to drink a quart of green smoothie every day--1 pint for kids, Step 2 is make salad the star of your dinner meal, and Step 3 is to make your own dressing.)

Asian Salad

1 head red leaf lettuce, washed and torn
1 head green leaf lettuce, washed and torn
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup dried currants
1 cup peanuts
1 cup dried coconut flakes (you can find these, larger than shreds and unsweetened, at the health food store for 2 or 3 dollars).

Toss and serve with Asian Ginger Dressing.

Dressing

4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. fresh ginger root, minced
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup nama shoyu (this is what some consider a healthier soy sauce)
3 Tbsp. honey

Blend in a high powered blender until liquefied and well blended. (The Green Smoothie Girl also recommends this dressing over shredded cabbage with toasted sesame seeds.)

We served asian noodles on the side with the thai peanut sauce I've posted before.

Yummy Side Dish

Last night we had sweet potatoes sautéed in coconut oil till tender/crisp and seasoned with salt. Delicious. This side dish is good with quinoa.

Here is a link for one of the best prices on coconut oil that I have found. (This is for a 2 pack of the 1.7 quart size, but amazon.com has great deals on smaller sizes, too.)

Got Zucchini?

Sorry for the long blog absence. We've been coasting on survival mode at our house for the last while. Tonight we tried something new, though, and I hope you enjoy it. We made zucchini "noodles" by cutting a zucchini in thin strips with a vegetable peeler.

The zucchini noodles were tasty, easy to make, and fun. They're obviously not exactly like a pasta, but they make a great gluten free, low carb/glycemic index, high nutrition substitute, and they taste great, too! You can peel them in wide strips for lasagna, or cut them to look like fettucini or spaghetti. You can use a vegetable peeler, a julienne peeler, a mandolin, or a special tool called a spiralizer that is designed to make vegetable noodles.

Some people blanche their noodles, but they're good raw and you can save a step and preserve the nutrients. After you cut them in the shape you want, you can sprinkle the noodles with salt and let them sit for half an hour to soften them up a bit. (Or skip that and eat them firmer, which we did, and they were still good.) Serve with any pasta sauce you like. We served them with a peanut sauce, but a lot of people like them with marinara. Here are three recipes using zucchini noodles, with lots of great pictures and ideas.

Zucchini Noodles with Chicken and Tangy Peanut Sauce

Zucchini Fettuccine with Tomato Sauce

Zucchini Noodles Marinara


By the way, according to nutritiondata.self.com, zucchini is "a good source of Thiamin, Niacin and Pantothenic Acid, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Folate, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc, Copper and Manganese."

Enjoy!

What are your favorite kitchen tools?

Konnie wanted to know what your favorite kitchen gadgets are. Here are some of mine:

Vidalia Chop Wizard
https://www.chopwizard.com/

We love our chop wizard. We use it almost every day.It makes chopping and dicing so much faster. Fresh foods like salads, pico de gallo, hawaiian haystacks,and stirfry all become really fast and easy with this tool. I've always hated chopping onions, so much that I would use dried, minced onions in most recipes, but now we use fresh onions all the time. There's a video on the website that shows how easy it is to use. I highly recommend this tool to everyone.

Vitamix

We use our vitamix every day. It's great for non-dairy milks, green smoothies, or fruit smoothies, fruit leather, soups, baby food, salsa, dips, dressings, pancake or waffle batter, desserts, nut butters, and whole grain flour or nut flour. It's a very, very powerful blender, and it can handle jobs that would burn out most other blenders. I've heard the Blendtec blender is another good brand for a high speed blender.

A good set of knives

Every whole foods cook book I've read says one of the most important tools you can own for a whole foods lifestyle is a good knife. Our favorite brand so far has been JA Henckels. They slice through vegetables like a hot knife through butter. They make cooking with whole foods faster and easier.

Waterless cookware

We love our stainless steel "Waterless" cookware. They sell pots like this for thousands of dollars, but we got our set for a few hundred online. They are heavy duty pots, with a lid that develops a tight seal during cooking to create a high pressure environment. Foods cook faster with less water,which means you retain more of the nutrition. For example, brown rice usually takes 45-55 minutes to cook. After my water heats up, it takes 20 minutes in my pot. Also, some say teflon coating and aluminum in other pots release toxins into our food. The surgical stainless steel pots don't have that problem.

Pampered Chef garlic press

I love how with this garlic press, I can put a whole clove of garlic in, skin and all, and have fresh minced garlic in a couple seconds. Garlic adds a lot of great flavor to whole foods.

Citrus press and zester

Citrus is is another great food that adds lots of flavor, so I love my citrus press and my zester.

A few other tools that I love are:

food processor, mandolin, apple peeler/corer/slicer, apple slicer/corer, popsicle molds, and stainless steel cookie sheets.

What are your favorite kitchen gadgets?

A couple good recipes

I've been noticing that eating raw foods gives me a lot more energy than when I eat cooked food, so I was looking for some good raw recipes. Here are a couple good ones I found from a raw food recipe book. The "fries" look a lot like fries, but the taste and texture are completely different. They're sweet and spicy and crunchy and delicious.

Spicy "Fries" from Living on Live Food by Alissa Cohen

Peel and slice jicama to look like french fries. Marinate in 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 lemon juiced, and 1/8 tsp chili powder and 1/8 tsp cayenne (or less of both--it gives it quite a kick). Let marinate for a few hours or overnight, drain and serve.

Cilantro Vinaigrette (also from Living on Live Food)

2 cups fresh cilantro
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup oil
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp sea salt (table salt is actually so processed, it's toxic to our bodies. Real sea salt has has minerals and our bodies know how to process it)
1/2 tsp black pepper

Blend all ingredients in a blender. (I want to try this again with fresh lime juice for some of the vinegar.)

Homemade Crackers from Konnie

Here's one other fun and flexible recipe to try. It is for homemade crackers: http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--1973/homemade-crackers.asp

These bake up kind of like wheat thins. It is a good base recipe for experimentation, and the food processor really does make this so fast to throw together.

Konnie

Konnie's Roasted Eggplant Dip

Roasted Eggplant Dip

1 large eggplant
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. light tahini (sesame seed paste)--I didn't have any, but threw in a tablespoon of sesame seeds
1 tsp. ground cumin (I'd cut back to 1/2 tsp if you have eaters picky about things too spicy
1 tsp. ground cariander
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt
freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prick the eggplant all over with a fork, then place in a roasting pan. Roast about 40 minutes until the inside of the eggplant is very soft.

2. Leave to cool slightly then halve the eggplant lengthwise and scoop out the flesh with a spoon into a food processor or blender. Add the garlic, tahini, spices, olive oil, and lemon juice. Process until smooth and creamy. Season to taste.

You can refrigerate this up to 5 days. Serve it with breadsticks, pita bread slices, vegetables, spicy sweet potatoes, or (as we did) corn chips.

Sandra's Avocado Soup/Dip/Dressing

Ladies,
Here's the most delicious vegan recipe I found while in Arizona to add to my 'collection'. We've eaten it as a cold soup, salad dressing, and (with half the water added, a dip for veggies and chips).
Sandra

Avocado Soup/Dip/Salad Dressing
In blender, puree until smooth:

1 avocado
1 c. sour cream (the soy-based tofutti 'sour cream' is just as good as the milk kind)
1 c. cold water (half that much if you want this to be thicker like a dip)
3/4 c. bottled salsa verde (I thought this amount was a bit speecy-spicy, so I dropped the amount to 1/3 to 1/2 cup and liked it even better without so much 'bite')
1/4 c. packed fresh cilantro leaves (I'm not real careful with this measurement because we like cilantro so don't mind if there is a bit more)
1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper (I also toss in some of the Ms. Dash non-salt Lemon Pepper flavoring because we like it)

If served as soup, sprinkle with some raw pumpkin seeds. Yumm!!

What's for Dinner?--Roasted Eggplant Dip with Corn Chips and 25 Minute Tunisian Couscous

This is from Konnie:

Here's what we had for dinner one night a week or so ago.

Roasted Eggplant Dip--from The Top 100 Recipes for a healthy Lunchbox by Nicola Graimes (Kohls), served with corn chips

25-Minute Tunisian Vegetable Couscous http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/25-Minute-Tunisian-Vegetable-Couscous/Detail.aspx?prop31=5

Okay, I sort-of made the Couscous. I had a mushroom. I had some quinoa. I saw this recipe. I improvised. I didn't have the zucchini or cilantro. I didn't use the tomatoes or parmesan cheese (I read the reviews and adapted to some of the common suggestions.) I did add a little extra seasoning. And I just used regular paprika. It was pretty good.

I thought the eggplant dip was really yummy. So did Melanie. Everyone else thought it was too spicy. Next time, I'll cut back on the cumin a bit. Honestly, Mel and I mixed the two dishes and ate everything on the corn chips. It made a really nice, chunky salsa-type dip. I loved it the second day too.

Konnie

Artichoke, Mushroom, and Leek Crostini with Pesto

If I'm not mistaken, here is one of Sharon's favorite recipes. I believe she once told me if she wanted to convince someone to eat vegan, this is what she would make (Correct me if I'm wrong, Sharon:) ): http://www.oprah.com/food/Artichoke-Mushroom-and-Leek-Crostini-with-Pesto

I think she also likes these chocolate peanut butter cups:
http://www.oprah.com/food/Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Cups

A Couple of Treats

One of my family's new favorite treats is Cookie Dough Balls. Very simple, and completely yummy.

2/3 cup raw cashews
1/3 cup oats
2 Tbsp agave
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Blend oats and cashews in a blender or food processor. It will make a damp flour. Mix in sweeteners and vanilla to make a dough. Stir in chocolate chips. Roll into little balls of cookie dough. I found this recipe from loveveggiesandyoga.com, but I didn't want to link to it, because a few things on that site made me a bit uncomfortable and I didn't want to offend anyone. But her recipes are really, really good.

I'll share the link for one of our other favorite recipes, but warn you that there's one swear word in this cool online whole foods recipe collection that appears to be written by a couple of young boys. http://jonsiandalex.com/media/recipebook/ If you flip through the online pages (click and drag), we really like the Strawberry Pie--especially the crust made of nuts, dates, coconut, and coconut oil. The Best Chocolate Milk is good, too.

What's for Dinner--Broccoli and Kale Pesto

We got this recipe from wholefamilyfare.blogspot.com. Click here for the link.

This was an easy and tasty recipe. It got a "Wow, this is good!" from our pickiest eater. Ben liked it so much, he asked if we could have it once a week. The author of the recipe makes pesto with all sorts of greens (collards, chard, spinach) and with different nuts, even avocado. It's a yummy way to get a wider range of nutrients.

On the side we had one of our favorite salads: spinach, mango, strawberries, and pecans. Sometimes we add something new, just for a change. Tonight we added arugula and chia seeds. Other times we've added coconut or other berries or mandarin oranges.

Tonight's FHE Treat--Raw Vegan Donut Holes

from loveveggiesandyoga.com

1 cup ground flax seed
2 Tbsp maple syrup (not technically raw--you can substitute agave if you want)
Optional: dash cinnamon, vanilla, and 2 Tbsp coconut oil

Mix and divide into small balls. I loved them with all the optional add ins, but my kids would have preferred a little less coconut oil. Very easy and yummy treat.

Flax is a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids, micronutrients, fiber, and antioxidants. Coconut oil is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral.

Our other favorite treat from this site is Cookie Dough Balls. I'll post that recipe soon.

What's for Dinner?--Salad Wraps with Honey Lemonade Dressing

One of our new favorite foods is salad wraps. We just fill whole wheat tortillas with one of our favorite salads and dressings. Tonight was simpler with brown rice, garbanzo beans, mixed sweet baby lettuces, alfalfa sprouts, and honey lemonade dressing.

Here is the dressing recipe:

Honey Lemonade Dressing

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1-2 heaping Tbsp honey (up to 1/2 cup to taste)
1 lemon (peeled) (or juiced)
1/2 tsp sea salt (or less)

Blend in blender until smooth. (The olive oil and the peeled lemon add a hint of bitter to the dressing. It's still really delicious, but I'm thinking of trying it with grape seed oil, which is milder, and with a juiced lemon instead of a peeled one, but I've read that lemon rind and lemon are great for fighting cancer.)

easy treat--Raw Balls from The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone

Raw Balls

Here is an easy, delicious treat that my family LOVES. It has no processed sugar, only maple syrup--which unlike refined sugar has some nutritional value. Maple syrup is a good source of manganese and zinc.

I know at least one of my friends doesn't eat chocolate, and this version actually calls for carob--another nutritious substitute--carob contains none of the stimulants and harmful side affects of chocolate, and "contains vitamins A, B, B2, B3 and D. It is also high in calcium, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium and contains iron, manganese, barium, copper and nickel"--http://www.living-foods.com/articles/rawcarob.html). I haven't tried carob yet, but I want to. We make these with cocoa.

Another Resource

My sister sent me a link to another great resource: Whole Family Fare

Every recipe on this site looks delicious. I've made some similar recipes with great results. I can't wait to try these.

What's for Dinner?--pumpkin waffles with lemon pear sauce

We love breakfast for dinner, but these are great for every meal. We like to make PB and J's on these for lunch, too.

Pumpkin Waffles --from Vegan with a Vengeance, by Isa Moskowitz

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (we use fresh ground wheat)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg (ground or freshly grated)
1/4 tsp cloves
2 cups rice or soy milk (we used almond)
1 (15 oz) can pureed pumpkin
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup brown sugar (we skip this)
2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix and make according to waffle iron instructions. (We just mix our ingredients in our Vitamix, pour in the waffle iron, and cook till the light comes on telling us it's done.)

These are delicious with real maple syrup, but tonight we wanted to have dinner without any sugar, so we served them with the option to add apple sauce (no sugar variety) or homemade, raw lemon pear sauce, which Ben made up, and it was really delicious.

Lemon Pear Sauce

2 pears
1 lemon (juiced or peeled)

Blend and serve.

What's For Dinner?

We had coconut rice with stir fry veggies,thai peanut sauce, toasted unsweetened coconut, and toasted cashews, with sliced, raw fruit and vegetables on the side. The coconut rice was brown rice cooked in a can of coconut milk with enough water to make up the rest of the liquid, cooked with a cinnamon stick and the zest of 1 lime. This was really tasty, and easy to make.

I threw something unusual together for lunch today, too, but it was really good. I took a little whole wheat pasta, topped it with raw broccoli, peanuts, raisins, and kidney beans, and drizzled it with homemade mustard-dill vinaigrette (the one I made for potato salad). It had a yummy sweet and sour flavor. I've made something similar with a different dressing (honey mustard vinaigrette, I think) and carrots and sweet baby lettuce added to the rest. Pasta salad, heavy on the salad. It's one of my new favorite foods.

Menu Planning

Konnie asked if we could do occasional posts talking about "What's for Dinner?" to give each other ideas for menu planning. I thought that was a great idea. Yesterday my sister asked me to do some menu planning for a week of family meals, so I came up with 7 breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Right now, my family eats simpler than this, mostly focusing on one big meal a day with toast for breakfast and leftovers or sandwiches for lunch, but maybe this list will give you some ideas.

7 breakfasts (with fresh fruit, nuts for protein, and smoothies)

pumpkin cranberry scones
coconut mango muffins
peanut butter waffles
whole wheat toast with coconut oil and honey (or peanut butter for the sugar sensitive)
oatmeal
granola
biscuits and bean gravy

7 lunches (with sandwiches or bean (no queso) quesadillas)

jicama-watercress salad
broccoli carrot salad
garbanzo bean salad
potato-veggie salad
sweet potatoes and fresh fruit and vegetables
spinach-strawberry-mango-pecan salad
coleslaw

7 dinners (with more salads, legumes, fruit, and vegetables)

black bean soup with rice
thai peanut stir fry
pasta della california (from Veganomican, fettuccine with garlic-olive oil sauce with broccoli, avocado, and lime--very yummy)
Middle Eastern Lentils and Rice
Pineapple Quinoa Stirfry
Spaghetti with Marinara
Vegan chili

I can post any of these recipes if they sound good to you.

Jicama-Watercress-Avocado Salad with Spicy Citrus Vinaigrette

Here's a real recipe with actual measurements for a change. :) This is from Veganomicon by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero, with a few notes from me on how I alter the recipe for my family. I love this recipe for the delicious, fresh taste. I love jicama and watercress. Jicama is a prebiotic, similar to a probiotic, so it's good for you, and it tastes great, too. Watercress contains high amounts of iron, calcium, vitamins A and C, folic acid, and is a source of iodine too. I read a list of great health benefits from eating it, including thyroid help and suppression of cancer. With this salad, I could eat these great plants every day.

Dressing:

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (juice of 1 navel orange)
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
2 Tbsp peanut oil
2 Tbsp hot chile oil (I skip this for my kids sake)
2 Tbsp soy sauce (optional)
3 Tbsp sugar (I've skipped this or used agave or honey)
1 tsp sesame oil

Mix all ingredients, and let sit 10 minutes if using sugar, then mix again so that sugar is well dissolved.

Salad:
1 medium-sized jicama, peeled and shredded thinly (about 6 cups)
1/2 bunch watercress, roots removed
1 ripe avocado, peeled, cut in half, pitted, and sliced thinly
1/2 small red onion, sliced thinly
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts, chopped coarsely

(We skip the onion and avocado, but I bet they'd be good.)

Optional garnishes:
Shredded carrots (We shred several carrots so they're part of the salad and not a garnish.)
Sprigs of mint or cilantro

Reserve 1/3 cup of dressing, and pour the rest over the shredded jicama (and carrots if you want them to be part of the salad rather than a garnish). Mix to coat. Put a bunch of watercress on a plate, top with a cup of jicama. Garnish with avocado, onion, peanuts, herbs, and carrots (if not mixing in with jicama). Drizzle with reserved dressing.

Thai Peanut Noodle Stirfry

Here is another recipe we enjoy, that I don't really have measurements with because I made it up, but it's not to hard to make to taste. And I'm still looking for some good Asian whole grain noodles to replace with white flour ones we use, but if you don't want the white flour noodles, it would probably be good over brown rice, too.

Stirfry your favorite veggies till tender and brightly colored. We like broccoli, pea pods, celery,sweet onion, green onion, carrot, green and red pepper, and mung bean sprouts. I add the sprouts at the very end, and just stir to heat through.

I boil and drain enough Asian noodles to feed our family. We like a ramen style noodle that doesn't have any weird additives.

Then I make a sauce with several heaping tablespoons of natural peanut butter, a few teaspoons of honey,and a couple cups of warm water. Then I add more water or peanut butter depending on how thick or thin we want the sauce. I season with a small piece (about an inch) of fresh grated ginger (or I shake in some dried ginger to taste), and one or two cloves of minced garlic (or I shake in some garlic powder to taste), and salt and pepper to taste. I usually heat the sauce before adding it to the noodles.

Sometimes we mix the sauce with the noodles, and other times we serve it on the side. My sister likes to make enough sauce to do both. We like top the stirfry with toasted cashews.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Potato Salad

This is a meal that our family enjoys. I've combined several recipes, and added some twists of my own, and I still think I can make it better, but that said, it's really good. I hesitated to share it because I have no real measurements, but I hope it's not too hard to throw together.

We steam several diced potatoes,about one potato per person, more or less. Then I chop a mix of most of the veggies in our fridge. Usually we use carrots, celery, green pepper, green onion, cucumber, sugar snap peas, and broccoli. I think we've added tomato and radish before. Just about anything is good, but the ones I mentioned first are our basics. I drain and rinse 1 can of kidney beans and 1 can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), and mix those with the potatoes and veggies. Then I make a dressing. Last time we made this was the first I tried to make a vegan version of our old dressing. The kids liked it better than the old version with mayonnaise. I made a vinaigrette with about half a cup of grape seed oil, a fourth to a half a cup of apple cider vinegar, about a fourth a cup of organic mustard (the condiment, not the spice), and about a tablespoon of dry dill.

It tasted so good, my daughter asked for extra dressing to dip potatoes in, but I think the mustard and vinegar were a little stronger than I'd like. If you try it and tweak the recipe, I'd love to hear your changes. I hope you like it.

Transition--Ease into it

Lest I gave anyone the impression that we (the Woodruff's) are eating a full-on, whole-foods, plant-based diet, we're not there yet. We're taking little steps here and there towards a healthier diet, and we feel better with every step we take. As I've prayed about this and worked toward this, I've really felt that we need to not run faster than we have strength as we work towards a lifestyle that is better for our family.

Here are some ideas if anyone wants to make changes, but is feeling daunted. Like Konnie said, start with one meal of the day. Breakfast is an easier meal to change. Green smoothies (or fruit smoothies) make a great breakfast. Hot cereal (or cold cereal, if you're not ready to start on the whole food side of things--but choose one with more wholesome ingredients) is good with rice or almond milk. Toast is great with coconut oil or peanut butter. I have recipes for great vegan muffins, waffles, and scones. I know lots of people in the ward are sugar sensitive like I am, so nuts and seeds are a great addition to breakfast. Fresh fruit is always good too.

Sharon suggested, try one vegan dinner a week. I have several great recipe books that feature wonderful meals without meat or dairy that anyone is welcome to come look through to find something that you think your family would like. The internet is a great resource, too.

Another thing to think about, in the China Study, while 5% or less calories from animal protein was proven to be ideal, 10% still gave a lot of the health benefits. For someone eating approximately 2000 calories, that means about 200 calories a day, which according to one online calculator could include 2 small servings of a wide range of animal protein choices. Less is ideal, but this could be a good first goal to work toward.

Konnie's Favorite Nutrition Blog

Here's what Konnie has to say about her favorite nutrition blog.

"It's Word of Wisdom Living at http://www.wordofwisdomliving.com/. The blog is written by Skip Hellewell, a father, grandfather, and engineer who worked in the medical industry. Skip focuses on a new topic of nutrition every few days, and his main focus is (of course) living according to the Word of Wisdom. Coincidentally, his newest post is about . . . The China Study. His post gives a good, concise overview of the study and why it is important. He also goes on to give advice for those who are wanting to eat less meat, but aren't sure where to start, including several references to other books and articles. It's a great blog."

Kathleen's Favorite Green Smoothie

(from the comments)

We purchased a bendtec blender for our anniversary, and we use it almost every day. Ross usually makes breakfast by blending a combination of spinach, fresh fruit, and frozen fruit. It is so good! We also include most of our favorite boosts each day which are:

Ground Flaxseed (you can buy it pre ground but we get the whole because the blender can grind it.
Oat Bran
Rice protein
Yogurt with active cultures (we put it in last and mix on low)

I need a bit of protein in my smoothie, because I have found that it stabilizes my blood sugar.

One More Note on Green Smoothies

Spinach is one of the yummiest greens to put in smoothies, so it's one of the best ones to use to introduce your family to green smoothies. but it does contain oxalic acid, which can inhibit some mineral absorption (calcium and iron). When we first started doing green smoothies every day, and we were only using spinach, I started to feel a little anemic. Then I learned about the oxalic acid and started using a wider range of greens, and I've felt much better. The Green Smoothie Girl says she has eaten handfuls of spinach every day for 15 years with no ill health effects, but she does recommend eating a wide range of greens.

Konnie's Favorite Green Smoothie

(In Case anyone doesn't read the comments section)

Here is my favorite smoothie recipe:

Fill the blender about 3/4 full (loosely) with washed spinach or chard
Add about 2 cups of water or orange juice
Blend until greens are liquified.
Add: 2 cups peaches (canned if fresh or frozen are not available), 2 cups frozen mango, 1-2 bananas, 1 cup fresh or frozen pineapple, a little more water or oj if needed, and a little of your preferred sweetener if needed. Blend away until the lumps are gone.

This makes a creamy, light green smoothie.

dietary supplements

We talked at book club yesterday about a part of the China Study that said there are three things (we remembered two at the time) that our bodies need that aren't found in plant food. First is cholesterol, but that's not a problem because our body makes its own and is harmed when we consume it from outside sources. Second is Vitamin D, which our body makes on its own with 10-20 minutes of exposure to direct sunlight (i.e. without any barrier like sunscreen or windows). It is probably wise for most people, particularly in our part of the world, to take a Vitamin D supplement. Third is Vitamin B-12. I mentioned at book club that I'd heard that nutritional yeast was a source of B-12. I looked more into that and found that nutritional yeast is not a natural source of B-12, but that some brands are fortified with it. I'm not sure the nutritional yeast at Broulims is fortified with B-12, but I learned that B-12 is killed when exposed to light, and Broulims' nutritional yeast is sold in clear bins, so the B-12 would not be active by the time someone buys it. I also learned that the B-12 found in meat may be killed when the meat is cooked, so a B-12 supplement would probably be wise for most people in our modern culture who aren't eating organic soil with their vegetables.

Great Recipes

I mentioned I really like all the cookbooks by Isa Moskowitz. She has a website where she gives away some of her recipes for free. We've loved everything we've tried.

theppk.com

Easy side dish

Beans are an easy way to keep blood sugar stable and stay full longer on a vegan diet. Plus, they're really good for you, so we try to have beans with most of our meals. Hear is an easy bean side dish:

1 can green beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can garbanzo beans

Drain and rinse. Heat and serve.

One of our favorite salads

Broccoli Salad

Chopped broccoli
Chopped carrots
Raisins
Peanuts

Optional:
Chopped red pepper
Shredded coconut

We often eat this wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. This is great without a dressing. (If you don't feel like eating vegan, it's great with a little neufchatel cheese spread on the tortilla.) I'm toying with the recipe to try and find a way to add beans, but I haven't found the perfect combination yet. It's kind of good with garbanzos, but not perfect yet. If you try something that works, let me know.

Green Smoothies

My kids love green smoothies. They came home from Konnie's house one day very excited about them. (Konnie likes to make popsicles out of the smoothies, too, and kids love them.) I've been learning about green smoothies from greensmoothiegirl.com, and have recently purchased a couple of Robyn Openshaw's books, including The Green Smoothie Diet. I thought I'd post a review of the book, and then my kids favorite green smoothie recipe (though it's my recipe, not from the book).

Greens are some of the most nutritious foods on the planet (iceberg lettuce doesn't count). They are packed with minerals and vitamins, antioxidants, live enzymes, fiber, and chlorophyll. They work like a broom to clean out our insides and they nourish our bodies. Our teeth don't usually grind the greens fine enough to optimize the nutrition we can get from them, so smoothies are a great option. (Also, we don't often add a wide range of greens to our salads, if we eat salad.) If you are trying to eat healthier, green smoothies are a great place to start because they are fast, easy, and delicious.

The Green Smoothie Girl did a survey of her readers who were eating at least 3 pints of green smoothie a week (though she recommends a quart a day for adults), and found that they reported having more energy, improved digestion, fewer cravings for sweets and processed foods, more positive/stable moods, improved skin tone, weight loss (average weight loss of 18.25 lbs), increased desire to exercise, improved sleep, less stress, blood sugar stabilization, shinier hair or dandruff gone, decreased PMS symptoms, and a really long list other great health improvements that were more individual to the readers, like migraines, arthritis, and allergies going away. An interesting one was two readers had their gray hair return to it's natural color, which I've heard has happened to other green smoothie drinkers.

My Kid's Favorite Green Smoothie

I fill my blender with spinach and push it down. Then I add a can of pineapple chunks in pineapple juice. I add one or two handfuls of almonds and about 2 cups of frozen mangoes. Sometimes I add apples or pears.

I have a Vitamix, which is a really high-powered blender. If you don't have a high-powered blender,you might not be able to blend as many greens or whole almonds, and you might need more liquid. Almond milk or almond butter might work as a substitute to add the creaminess that the almonds give to this smoothie.

Berries are a good addition if your family doesn't like the green. A friend of mine calls her smoothies Green Slime Sublime just to make it fun. When you're first trying green smoothies, especially for kids, it's best to start with spinach, which is a sweeter green, and have more fruit than greens. Collards, kale, and chard also taste really pleasant, and romaine works well too. And green smoothies are a handy way to never waste your greens if you buy lettuce or spinach and won't be able to use it before it goes bad, you can just throw it in the freezer and use it for smoothies.

A couple things to think about

I forgot to mention at book club something I'd read on a blog that was reviewing The China Study. The blogger had met Dr. Campbell, and she asked him about fish and fermented dairy products, which her research had shown her were healthier animal-based foods. He said research is coming out supporting what she had found, and that raw, unpasteurized yogurt and kefir might not cause the same reactions in our bodies that most animal-based foods do, and that they might have some health benifits, due to their probiotic content. He also said that new research my be showing that our bodies may process fish protein differently than other animal proteins and that it may not be as harmful as other proteins. He said if he ever eats meat, he chooses fish. I thought these were some interesting things to consider.

For those who feel that they couldn't commit to a 100% vegan lifestyle (though if you give it a try, it feels so good) we talked about what 5% of your calories coming from animal products looks like. If you eat approximately 2000 calories, then 5% of your calories would be 100 calories. To give you an idea of what that is: 1/2 of a chicken fillet is 100 calories, 1 oz of cheddar is 113 calories, 1 cup of skim milk is 83 calories, 6 oz of lowfat yogurt is 140 calories (but I'm not sure if the calorie calculator meant the sweetened kind), 1 serving of turkey lunch meat is 28 calories, 1 Tbsp mayo is 90 calories, 1 pat of butter is 36 calories, 1 oz of neufchatel cheese (lowfat cream cheese) is 74 calories, and 3 slices of bacon are 103 calories. If you don't want to be vegan, maybe you could work toward 1 small serving of animal foods a day. Dr. Campbell doesn't suggest this, because instead of focusing on all the great plant foods you can eat, you'll feel constricted and it will feel harder. But I thought it was helpful to get an idea of what that optimum 5% of calories looked like to prevent and reverse disease.

Suggestions from Book Club

We met in book club this morning to discuss The China Study, by Dr. Campbell, whose research shows that a plant-based, whole foods diet helps our bodies to have the best health possible. I liked Sharon's suggestion to start with one vegan meal a week, or Konnie's suggestion to start with just changing one meal of the day, like breakfast, if the thought of making changes seems hard.

We talked about the importance of eating raw plant foods for the live enzymes they give our bodies. We talked about green smoothies, and I (Kim) shared my favorite vegan cookbooks (Veganomicon, Vegan with a Vengeance, Vegan Brunch, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, all by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero--all of their recipes are so good). Konnie talked about ways to use mixed grains to get a wider range of nutrition. She also talked about making Barley Water, like the mild barley drinks referred to in the Word of Wisdom.

Those of us who've tried eating vegan shared how much better we feel when we eat a whole-foods, plant-based diet. We also talked about how when you begin to eat a healthy diet, since our bodies are literally built from what we eat, when our body recognizes healthy building blocks it tries to clean house, getting rid of toxins and replacing unhealthy cells with clean ones. Sometimes it can take a couple of weeks for your body to clean out and adjust. You might experience gas, bloating, acne, headaches, or other cleansing reactions at first, but they go away, and they're just a sign that your body is trying to rebuild a healthier you.

We decided we wanted a venue to share our best recipes and resources with each other as we try together to live healthier. (If I left out any of your great suggestions, post them in the comments, or email me, and I'll add them.)