“Better Than Tuna Salad” Lettuce Bundles

A quick, easy and cool dish perfect for lunch or dinner on a hot summer day. From my cookbook Whole Food American Favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans

1 medium carrot, finely grated

2 cups finely chopped celery

4 green onions, thinly sliced (include some green)

1/2 – 1 cup Sun Seed Spread

2 T prepared mustard

2 spears dill pickle chopped

Sea salt and pepper

Romaine lettuce leaves

Sliced tomato for garnish (optional)

Drain beans well. Transfer to salad bowl. Using a pastry cutter or fork, mash beans coarsely. Mix in remaining ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon salad on a lettuce leaf, garnish with tomato, roll up, and enjoy!

Dilly Ranch Salad Dressing

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 cup water

3 T apple cider vinegar

3 T fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 t onion powder

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t mustard powder

1/2 t sea salt

4 T chopped fresh dill

 

Blend all but dill until smooth. Add more water to thin if desired. Stir in fresh dill. Keep refrigerated.

This will thicken in the refrigerator and will become spreadable like mayonnaise. Thin with water, more lemon or vinegar if needed.

To increase the nutritional value of the sunflower seeds, soak them in water for eight hours and then sprout for a day. When blending with remaining ingredients, start with 1/2 cup water and add more if needed.

 

Raw Strawberry Pie

Ounce for ounce, strawberries have more vitamin C than citrus fruit. They are one of the “dirty dozen” so if you want to limit your pesticide exposure, only buy organic strawberries. This recipe is from my cookbook Whole Food Goodness.

25 pitted deglet dates

1/2 cup water

6 cups sliced strawberries

Soak dates in water to soften for blending. Blend 1 cup of straw-berries, dates and water until smooth. Pour this sauce over remaining strawberries. Pour over Raw Nut Crust. Let set for 1/2 hour.

Raw Nut Crust (for one pie)

1 cup almonds or other nuts and seeds

15 soft pitted dates

1 tsp vanilla

Chop finely in food processor until it starts to stick together. Press into a pie plate or 8×8 cake pan.

Mediterranean Lentil Salad

Vine-ripe tomatoes and fresh basil are key to making this salad amazing. It’s one of my husbands favorite summer meals. This recipe has been revised from my original recipe for “Lentil Salad” in my cookbook Whole Food Goodness.

1 cup lentils rinsed

2 1/4 cups water

2 cloves garlic minced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 cucumber cut in small pieces

2-3 medium tomatoes coarsely chopped

4 oz. chopped spinach

1/2 cup black olives, drained, rinsed and chopped

1/2 cup thinly slice red onion

1 cup fresh chopped basil

3 T balsamic vinegar

Fresh ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Bring water to boil. Add lentils, lower heat, and simmer for 30 minutes, until tender. Add more water if needed. Transfer to salad bowl to cool.  When cool, add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Sour Cream Frosting

This frosting goes perfect with Vegan Carrot Cake but could be folded into a fruit salad. Leave the lemon out for a delicious “whip cream” for Vegan Pumpkin Pie.

1 cup light colored sweet potato (not orange “yam”)

15 small pitted dates soaked in ¾ cup water

1/4 cup raw cashews

Juice from 1 lemon (add zest if you like more lemon flavor)

Blend all ingredients until smooth.  Use just enough water to make it a thick cream. You will need more water is using pecans.

Vegan Carrot Cake

Got a chance to try the carrot cake recipe.  We are hooked! I have already made it twice. “

“This is the best Carrot Cake I’ve ever had” was one dinner class participants comment. This cake is moist and very decadent with no oils, processed sugar and it’s gluten free if using gluten free oats.

1 cup pitted dates soaked in 1/2 cup water for at least 4 hours

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 t vanilla

1 1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 ½ t baking soda

1/4 cup grated apple (about 1/2 apple, any variety)

1 packed cup finely shredded carrots

1/2 cup raisins

Add nuts, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda to a food processor work bowl. Chop until coarsely ground and mixed well. Add dates and soak water, vanilla and vinegar. Process to a thick dough. You may need to help it along with a fork. Then add in shredded apple, carrots, and raisins and mix to incorporate evenly. Alternatively, transfer dough to a large mixing bowl before adding carrots and fruit and mix them in with a fork. Spread dough in an 8×8 cake pan and baked at 350 for 20 minutes. Spread with Sour Cream Frosting or add dollop when served.  .

Cauliflower Soup w/ Rice

This is creamy, comforting, and so satisfying! This recipe has saved me on my year-long elimination diet.

1 yellow sweet potato yielding 1 cup cooked

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 medium carrots, chopped

Florets from one medium head cauliflower

1 1/2 t marjoram

Salt to taste

Fresh ground pepper

Cooked brown rice or other grain*

 

Bake sweet potato in 350-degree oven until soft, about 2 hours. Higher temp is shorter time is needed.

Sauté onion in dry soup pot over medium-high heat until it starts to brown. Add garlic and sauté one more minute.

Add about 4 cups water and loosen browning off bottom of pan. Add celery, carrots, then lay cauliflower florets over the top so they can easily be scooped out. Bring to a boil then lower heat to medium, cover, and cook until cauliflower is tender.

Scoop out cooked cauliflower and place in a blender jar and blend until smooth. Add cooked sweet potato and blend. Stir in blender contents into soup pot along with marjoram and mix well. Heat for 5 minutes. Mix in cooked brown rice or other grain.  Salt and pepper to taste.

*I love a combination of cooked quinoa and cook buckwheat. Boil 2 cups water, add 1 cup quinoa and ½ cup buckwheat. Lower heat to low, cover, and cook until tender, about 10 – 15 minutes.

Lemon Drop Truffles

25 small pitted dates

1 cup raw pecans or walnuts

1 cup rolled oats

Lemon zest from 1 lemon

1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1/2 t vanilla

1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut flakes

Grand all ingredients, except coconut, in a food processor until they become sticky and hold together. Scoop out 1 tablespoon and roll into a ball. Then roll in the shredded coconut. Best frozen and then slightly thawed before eating.

Sesame Parmesan

1 cup sesame seeds

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Toast seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Process all ingredients in a coffee grinder or  blender until smooth. Store in the refrigerator.

This recipe is from a great little cookbook entitled “Of These Ye May Freely Eat” by JoAnn Rachor. See her YouTube channel here for some great cooking videos.

Eggplant Roll-Ups

Even meat-eaters will devour these comforting Eggplant Roll-Ups. Using thinly sliced eggplant instead of noodles is a great way to get this nutrient-dense vegetable into your diet.

2 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise 1/4 inch thick

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 medium red bell pepper chopped

2 cups chopped mushrooms

4 cloves garlic minced

2 tsp Italian style seasoning

3 Tbsp Sesame Parmesan seasoning

2 Tbsp nutrition yeast flakes

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

14 oz firm tofu pressed and crumbled

10 ounces baby spinach

1/2 cup chopped olives

1 large jar of oil free pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange eggplant in a single layer on cooking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with a second baking sheet or aluminum foil. Bake about 20 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 5 – 10 minutes to brown and become flexible enough to easily roll.*

While eggplant is cooking, sauté bell pepper, onion, garlic and mushrooms until tender. Add seasonings, tofu and spinach. Mix well and cover until spinach is wilted. Add 1/2 cup pasta sauce and salt to taste. Mix well. Lightly cover bottom of pan with pasta sauce. Place 1/4 cup of the vegetable filling on each eggplant slice, roll and place in a baking dish. Top with pasta sauce and olives. Bake 20 minutes.

*Baked eggplant slices are delicious with hummus spread on them and rolled up. See my Whole Food Hummus recipe found here.

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