Pomegranate Vinaigrette
This Pomegranate Vinaigrette recipe is the perfect way to dress up a winter salad! Super easy to make with only 6 wholesome ingredients. And it’s vegan and gluten-free. The sunflower seeds add extra creaminess but if you are sensitive to seeds, leave them out.
1/3 cup water
5 small pitted dates
1 T raw sunflower seeds
1 cup pomegranate seeds
1 T lemon juice
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 t Dijon mustard
Soak dates and sunflower seeds in 1/3 cup water until soft, at least 4 hours to ease blending. Once softened, blend with raining ingredients until smooth.
Stuffed Winter Squash w/ Lentils and Kale
When it’s peak season for winter squash, when the “meat” is wonderfully sweet, this is a delicious and filling meal all by itself but is especially an attractive main dish for Thanksgiving. It can be served individually in halved or quartered acorn squash, the “bowl” of a butternut squash (my personal favorite) or fill the center of a banana squash. (Although banana squash aren’t usually as sweet.) The savory flavor of the “stuffing” mixes so nicely with the “sweet” from the squash.
If you have food allergies or intolerances and aren’t able to eat seeds or nuts, replace them with avocado. Just dice or mash avocado and mix it into the stuffing. Having trouble with legumes? Replace some or all with more wild rice.
This recipe is from my cookbook Whole Food American Favorites.
4 – 5 acorn squash or other winter squash
1/2 cup wild rice
1 cup green lentils
1 1/2 cup water or vegetable broth
2 medium onions, chopped
1 cup sliced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chopped mushrooms, cremini or white button
1 large bunch of kale, finely chopped
2 1/2 T Holiday Herb Mix (See below)
1/2 cup roughly chopped pumpkin seeds, walnuts, or pecans
1/2 t pepper
Sea salt
Bake squash whole on a baking sheet at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until soft. Let cool. Cut in half lengthwise, scrape out seeds and discard.
Boil 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Add rice, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 30 minutes until tender. Boil 2 1/2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Add lentils, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. Over medium-high heat, sauté onion, celery, garlic, and mushrooms in 1/2 cup water or broth until tender. Add chopped kale and 1/2 cup more liquid. Cover, bring to boil, lower heat to medium, and cook 5 minutes. Add herbs and continue to cook until kale is tender. Add more broth or water if needed to keep from sticking. Add cooked lentils, rice, and pine nuts. Mix well and salt to taste. If needed, warm squash halves in 300 degree oven on a baking sheet before stuffing. Fill center of each squash half with lentil-kale mixture. Fills about 8 – 10 acorn squash halves.
Holiday Herb Mix
1/4 cup rubbed dried sage
2 T dried marjoram
2 T dried rosemary
2 T dried thyme
Grind all herbs in a coffee grinder. Store in a glass container.
Simple Italian Greens and Grains
Having food sensitivities has made cooking so simple. It’s still delicious and I love it! I’m not sure I’ll ever go back to my old ways once I’m able to add more foods.
This is a super healthy dish that gives me the taste of Italian. I’ve listed the “Base Ingredients” that I can tolerate and then have listed additions if you are able to tolerate those foods.
Base Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 bunch rainbow chard, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 – 2 cups cooked long grain brown rice or millet
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil or 1 – 2 tsp. dried
1 cup (or more) tomato sauce or canned chopped tomatoes
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Chopped fresh spinach
Sauté onion in sauce pan over medium high heat for 3 minutes until it starts to brown. Add garlic and cook an additional minute. Add 1/2 cup water and chard. Cover then lower heat and cook until chard is tender, only about 3 – 5 minutes. Stir in desired amount of grain. Add 1 cup or desired amount of tomato sauce or chopped tomatoes. Stir in vinegar. Salt to taste. Serve mixed with a small amount of chopped raw spinach.
If it’s summer time and you have tomatoes galore, instead of tomato sauce or canned tomatoes, add 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes. (Don’t add 1/2 cup water) Cook 5 minutes then add chard. Add a little water if needed to keep from sticking. Cook until greens are tender then add grain.
Additions if tolerated:
4 sliced mushrooms added with greens
Fresh or dried oregano
Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup pitted dates
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup dark molasses /p>
1/2 t ground allspice
1/8 t each: chili powder, ground cloves,
cayenne pepper, dry mustard
1/2 T onion powder
1 T tamari or 1/2 t sea salt (optional)
Combine all ingredients, except tamari or sea salt, in a saucepan over high heat and stir until boiling. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for one hour. Let cool then blend smooth. Add tamari or salt if desired. Refrigerate for six months.
Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
A classic comfort food recipe that’s healthy, hearty and filling. Bottom layer is chock full of vegetables with corn and kidney beans in a delicious tomato sauce. It’s a great meal all by itself to warm you during the cold winter months.
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cut in chunks
Florets from one head cauliflower
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1/2 t sea salt
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound of cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 bunch collard greens, chopped
3 T Kirkland No-Salt Seasoning or other no-salt seasoning
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
2 cups cooked kidney beans
2 cups frozen corn
1 t paprika
2 T April’s Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
Sea salt
Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender. Drain and set aside. Steam cauliflower until tender, then set aside, reserving steam water. In a large pot, saute onion over medium-high heat until it starts to brown. Add garlic and cook an additional minute. Add 1/2 cup water, raw vegetables, and no-salt seasoning. Cook over medium-high heat until vegetables are tender, adding more water if needed to keep from sticking. Add remaining ingredients. Salt to taste. Transfer to a casserole dish. Blend cauliflower with 1/2 cup steam water, seeds, onion powder, garlic powder. Mash blended cauliflower with potatoes. Carefully lay the mashed potato mixture over the cooked vegetables. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Chicken Style Cauliflower Gravy
This gravy is wonderful served over Thanksgiving Chic Pea Loaf or Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes. This recipe is from my cookbook Whole Food American Favorites.
1 pound cauliflower florets
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
2 T Chicken Style Seasoning (page 100)
1 1/2 t onion powder
Sea salt
Steam cauliflower in a covered pot with 1/2 cup water until tender. Blend steamed cauliflower, steam water, and remaining ingredients with 1 cup water until smooth. Add 1 more cup of water. Blend to mix. Heat if needed.
Cauliflower Mushroom Gravy
This gravy is great served over my Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes, Thanksgiving Chic Pea Loaf, or Holiday Lentil Loaf, and is in my cookbook, Whole Food American Favorites.
1/2 head cauliflower
1 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped mushrooms, cremini or white button
1 t dried thyme
Sea salt
Break off cauliflower florets into large pieces and steam in 1 cup water until tender. Transfer cooked cauliflower and steam water to blender jar, along with onion powder, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, and sunflower seeds. Blend until smooth. Set aside. Sauté mushrooms and thyme in 1/4 cup water until mushrooms are tender. Combine the cauliflower mixture with the mushrooms. Stir in more water to reach desired consistency. Salt to taste.
Thanksgiving Chic Pea Loaf
A perfect main dish for your Thanksgiving feasts! Serve with my Cauliflower Mushroom Gravy or Chicken Style Gravy. All these recipes are from my cookbook Whole Food American Favorites.
2 cups cooked mashed yam
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cups chopped mushrooms, cremini or white button
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups cooked chic peas (garbanzo beans)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped raw walnuts
2 T nutritional yeast
2 T organic tamari or balsamic vinegar
2 T tomato paste
1 T spicy brown mustard
1/2 t dried sage
1 1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 t dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 t sea salt
1/2 t black pepper
Bake yam at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes until soft. Set aside to cool. Sauté vegetables in 1/4 cup water until tender. Transfer to large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients, including baked yam, and mash with a pastry cutter until the mixture becomes sticky and holds together. Press into a 9 x 13 baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Loosely cover with aluminum foil and continue to bake an additional 25 minutes. Uncover and brown for 10 minutes. Let set for at least 20 – 30 minutes before serving. Serves 10 – 12.