oil free

Mexican Kale and Cabbage Salad

Any combination of cruciferous veggies work good for this Mexican Kale Salad. I’ve used young tender collard greens from my garden and have used store-bought collards although they are a bit tough so I only use 1 or two leaves if using them. Same with broccoli. It’s a little tough raw so I’ll add a small amount.  I’ve also used kale and green cabbage each on their own and they are great!

Check out my YouTube video for this salad here.

 

 

3 oz. kale, finely chopped

3 oz. cabbage, shredded

3 T apple cider vinegar

1/2 of large avocado, mashed

1 1/2 – 2 cups whole grain of choice

1/2 – 3/4 cup salsa

Sweet Red-Hot Pepper Sauce to taste (optional)

Salt to taste

 

Place chopped kale and cabbage in large salad bowl. Add vinegar and mashed avocado. Using hands, massage kale and cabbage until tender.

Stir in whole grain of choice, salsa and pepper sauce to taste. Serve in lettuce leaf or add desired amount of chopped romaine lettuce

 

 

Collards and Potato Masala w/ Rice

If you’d like to get more collard greens into your diet, here is a delicious way to do it! Mixed with potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce and served with rice, you’ll never know they are there other than the beautiful green color they give to this dish. Make it as spicy as you like by adding a sprinkle of your favorite hot sauce or kick up the amount of cayenne pepper. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T finely minced or grated fresh ginger root

3/4 t turmeric

1 t chili powder

1 t cumin powder

1 t coriander powder

1/8 t cayenne pepper

2 – 3 Yukon gold potatoes cut in 1/2 inch cubes (about 2 cups)

8 – 10 oz. collard greens, chopped 

1 can crushed tomatoes

Sprinkle of your favorite hot sauce (optional)

 

Sauté onion in medium size pan over medium high heat until it starts to brown. Add fresh garlic, ginger and spices and cook stirring constantly for one minute.  Add 1 cup of water or broth and potatoes. Cover and cook 3 minutes. Add collard greens, cover, and cook until greens are tender. Potatoes should be tender at this time as well. Add tomatoes and desired amount of cooked rice.

A can of chic peas would be a great addition to this recipe.

 

 

 

 

Cranberry Walnut Cookies

I’m not sure it’s possible for me to have a favorite cookie (I love them all!) but if I could, this Cranberry Walnut Cookie would be one of them. I love the tart from the cranberries, the “zest” from the orange and the richness from the walnuts and chewiness of the oats.  These Cranberry Walnut Cookies are gluten-free, vegan, have no oil or processed sugar, and are a wonderful addition to your holiday cookie plate.

Recipe is from my cookbook Whole Food American Favorites.

 

 

 

 

 1 cup raisins

1 1/2 cups raw walnuts

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup dried cranberries (preferably fruit juice sweetened)

Zest of 1 small orange

1 t vanilla

Soak raisins in 1/2 cup water for at least 2 hours. Grind walnuts, oats, and raisins with soak water in food processor until dough-like consistency. Add cranberries, zest, and vanilla, and process just to incorporate. Scoop out dough, place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and flatten with a fork. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.

 

White Bean Potato Soup w/ Broccoli

This White Bean and Potato Soup is made with simple ingredients and very simple to make.  It has incredible flavor and a light creamy texture and is perfect for a cool spring evening meal.

This recipe is slightly revised from my book Whole Food Goodness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 small Yukon gold potatoes, cut in 1/4″ cubes

3 medium carrots, chopped

3 cups chopped broccoli

3 cups cooked white beans (navy or great northern)

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds (optional)

1 T Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Salt to taste

 

Saute’ chopped onion in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until it starts to brown. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute.  Add 4 cups water, potato, carrots, and broccoli and cook until vegetables are tender.  Blend 1 1/2 cups beans with sunflower seeds, 2 cups water, Mrs. Dash seasoning and 1 cup cooked vegetables from soup until smooth.  Add chopped parsley to cooked vegetables and cook for 1 minutes. Stir blender contents into soup. Add more water to thin if needed.  Salt to taste. 

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.

Seed Cheeze Sauce

I use this in my Deep Dish Tortilla Pie recipe here.

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 cup water

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and quartered*

6 T lemon juice

3 T nutritional yeast

1 t onion powder

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t sea salt

 

Blend all ingredients until smooth. If needed, soak seeds in water to soften for 4 hours before blending. *For a spicier cheeze sauce, add 1 – 2 red jalapeños, with or without seeds, in place of the bell peppers.

To cut out some of the fats, use 1/2 cup steamed potato in place of 1/2 cup seeds. It works great!

 

Vegan Peanut Better Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is adapted from a recipe someone brought to the Vegetarian Society of Utah potluck. (Not sure of the source) The recipe called for coconut sugar and almond milk. I’ve replace the coconut sugar with dates, a whole food sweetener, and since I rarely have almond milk on hand, I just used water. I knew that small amount wouldn’t make any difference. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15 small pitted dates  (deglet noor is the type I use)

1/4 cup water

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup natural peanut butter

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Soak dates in the 1/4 cup of water for a few hours to soften them.* The water will not cover the dates but moisten all the dates the best that you can. 

In a food processor fitted with an S blade, add oats and baking soda and grind to flour. 

Add peanut butter, softened dates, vinegar, and vanilla. Grind to a thick dough.  Carefully mix in chocolate chips.

 

*If you don’t want to take the time to soften the dates, grind the dates with the oats until crumbly then add other ingredients, including the 1/4 cup water. 

 

 

 

 

Figgy Oat Bars

After being on an elimination diet for a year I learned to be totally satisfied with fruit for dessert. However, when my fig tree produced an over abundance I wanted to try making some kind of dessert. I took a Banana Oat Bar recipe that I have and used figs instead of bananas, left out the nuts and dates and it worked great! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

25 figs, trimmed (leave on skin)

1/4 cup of red flame grapes (For extra moisture and sweet. I had an abundance of them as well.)

2 cups rolled oats

1 t baking soda

1 t cinnamon

1 T apple cider vinegar

 

Blend figs, grapes, and vinegar in a high-powered blender until smooth. The seeds in the figs make this very thick. Place oats, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix well. Pour pureed fruit over oats and mix so that all the oats are moistened. Transfer batter to an 8 X 8 cake pan and bake at 350 for 15 – 17 minutes. Cool before cutting. 

 

Green Spanish Rice

On an elimination diet I always have cooked rice and sweet potatoes on hand. For this recipe I use the yellow fleshed sweet potatoes instead of orange. They have a firmer texture and believe it or not, replace the texture of beans, which are often not tolerated by those with food sensitivities. This is one of my more advanced stage recipes. I wasn’t able to add tomatoes or chili powder until after a year. When I was finally able, halleluia! 

 

 

 

 

Cooked short grain brown rice

1 small baked sweet potato, cut in 1/2 inch cubes

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tomatoes, chopped or can chopped tomatoes

1 t turmeric

2 t chili powder

4 cups finely chopped broccoli

1 small bunch cilantro, chopped

1/4 t black pepper

Salt to taste

Sauté onion in dry pan until it starts to brown. Add garlic and cook 1 minutes stirring constantly. Add tomatoes and cook until juicy. Add spices and broccoli. Cook until broccoli is tender. Add sweet potato and desired amount of rice, cilantro and pepper. Heat through if needed. Salt to taste.

A nice addition is chopped almonds or pumpkin seeds.

Millet Premavera

I’ve been making this recipe since my early days of plant-based eating. It’s so good that it’s remained a favorite through the years. It has the flavors of an Italian pasta dish without the pasta.

Recipes is from Whole Food American Favorites

 

 

 

 

 

1 cup millet, uncooked

1 onion, chopped

1 – 2 cups chopped mushrooms, cremini or white button

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced

3 cups small cauliflower florets

3 cups small broccoli florets

2 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes

2 cups frozen peas

1 T dried basil

1/4 t black pepper

1/3 cup pine nuts, coarsely chopped (or raw pumpkin seeds)

2 T lemon juice

Sea salt

 

Boil 2 cups water in a small saucepan. Add millet, reduce heat to low,  cover, and simmer 20 minutes until tender. In a large pan over medium- high heat, sauté onion and mushrooms in 1/4 cup water for 2 minutes. Add garlic and remaining raw vegetables, and cook until vegetables are tender. Add more water if needed to keep from sticking. Add tomatoes, peas, basil, and pepper. Cook 5 more minutes. Mix in cooked millet, pine nuts, lemon juice, and salt to taste.

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