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.
Vegan French Onion Dip
This vegan French onion dip goes perfectly with crackers or vegetables! Made with cashews, sunflower seeds and white beans as your base, this dip is a healthy, high-fiber super-star that is simple and delicious! This recipe is in my cookbook Whole Food American Favorites.
1/2 cup each: raw sunflower seeds and
cashews soaked in 1 cup water for 1 hour
1 cup cooked navy beans (or great northern)
1 t garlic granules
2 T onion granules
3 T lemon juice
3 T apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 green onions, sliced (use some of the green)
3 small pitted dates
Fresh dill or other fresh herb of choice
Chives for garnish
Sea salt
Puree all ingredients in a strong blender until smooth. Add in fresh dill or other fresh herbs, green onions, or chives. Salt to taste. Great with fresh-cut vegetables.
Better Than Meat Loaf
This recipe is from my cookbook Whole Food American Favorites.
1/2 cup dry green lentils
1 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped mushrooms, cremini or white button
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 T dried oregano
1/2 t pepper
2 cups cooked kidney beans
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, raw
1 cup Blender BBQ Sauce (Page 98 in Whole Food American Favorites)
Boil 1 1/4 cups water. Add lentils, reduce heat to simmer, and cook until tender. Add more water if needed. Sauté onion, mushrooms, garlic, carrot, and celery until tender. Add herbs and pepper. Cook 3 – 4 minutes. Transfer to large mixing bowl. Add cooked lentils, kidney beans, oats, nuts, and BBQ sauce. Using a pastry cutter, mash all ingredients together until they become sticky. Don’t mash too much. You want to leave a little texture. Transfer to a loaf pan. Top with more BBQ sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Let cool 10 minutes before cutting.
Brussels Sprouts w/ Avocado Garbanzo Dip
Avocado Garbanzo Dip
I could have this as a meal all by itself! It’s a great way to get that pound of veggies in.
1 large avocado
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
1 T nutritional yeast
1/2 t onion powder
Salt to taste
Blend all ingredients in a food processor until creamy. Serve with steamed or roasted Brussel sprout halves, broccoli or cauliflower.
Vegan Pumpkin Pie
1 small can pumpkin (1 3/4 cups)
1 1/4 cup almond milk
25 soft pitted deglet dates
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
Soak dates in the almond milk for at least 4 hours to soften. Blend all ingredients until smooth. Pour into the prepared nut crust and bake at 275 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn off oven and leave in for another 20 minutes.
Crust (for one pie)
3/4 cup raw pecans or walnuts
10 small soft pitted dates
1 cup rolled oats
Chop finely in food processor until it starts to stick together. Press into a pie plate or 8 x 8 cake pan. Fill with your favorite pie filling. This crust does not need to be baked.
Spicy Kale w/ Lentils and Quinoa
Not very pretty but delightfully delicious! This was a dish I through together when I couldn’t decide what to fix for dinner.
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups cooked lentils
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped mushrooms
3 cups chopped tomatoes
8 cups chopped kale
2 t Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy seasoning
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, chopped
Salt to taste
Saute onion over medium high heat (dry, with no oil) until it starts to brown. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in chopped mushrooms and tomatoes, lower heat to medium, cover and cook for 5 minutes until juicy. Add kale, cover, and cook until tender, adding a little water if need to keep from sticking. Stir in seasonings half way through cooking. When kale is tender, stir in cooked lentils and quinoa. Add pumpkin seeds and salt to taste.
Zoodles Marinara w/ Millet
Home Made Marinara
Make this sauce a day ahead so the flavors will meld and taste amazing!
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds vine-ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 t oregano (use fresh if available)
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
Saute’ onion in a dry sauce pan over medium-high heat until it starts to brown. Add minced garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and tomatoes. Bring to boil. Lower heat to medium and cook for 1/2 hour to 1 hour over medium low heat. The more you cook the tomatoes, the more concentrated the sauce will be. Add fresh herbs the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Cooked Millet
Bring 2 cups water to boil in a sauce pan. Add dry millet, turn heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 – 20 minutes until tender.
Zoodles (“noodles” made with zucchini)
Spiral slice 3 medium zucchini into a large saute pan and cook over medium high heat until desired tenderness, adding a bit of water as needed to keep from sticking to the pan.
Once the “Zoodles” reach the desired tenderness, pour the marinara over the Zoodles and stir well. Mix in desired amount of cooked millet.
Note: Cooked quinoa can be used in place of millet but I prefer the hardiness of the millet.
Raw Blueberry Pie
Recipe from Whole Food American Favorites
7 cups frozen blueberries, thawed
15 small pitted dates
1/2 T chia seeds (optional for thickening)
1 Nut Crust, divided
Blend 3 cups blueberries with dates and chia seeds in a high-powered blender until smooth. Pour over whole berries, mix well, and place onto a prepared pie crust. Top with reserved crust ingredients. Let chill.
Oat Nut Crust
1/2 cup raw almonds
3/4 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup rolled oats
10 small pitted dates
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t vanilla
Finely grind nuts and dates in a food processor until they start to stick together. Add oats and briefly chop just to incorporate. Press 3/4 of the crust ingredients in the bottom and up the sides of a 9” round pie pan. Fill with pie filling. Top with remaining crust ingredients.