Spaghetti Squash and Millet Marinara
I love to use cooked millet in place of pasta in Italian style dishes. When added to spaghetti squash, it adds a heartiness to the squash and is much more filling. Millet is high in protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and is a great source of complex carbohydrates that our body uses for energy! If you want energy, eat a high-carbohydrate diet.
1 spaghetti squash, cooked *
1 cup dry millet, cooked**
Marinara (Use your favorite bottled if desired)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 24 oz box Pomi tomatoes
1/2 can tomato paste (3 oz)
1 t basil
1 t oregano
1/2 t turmeric (optional)
1/4 t black pepper
*Cook spaghetti squash in the oven at 350 for about 1 hour until soft. I leave it whole. No need to stab it with a knife or anything . Just place it on a baking sheet and turn on the oven. I’ll put this in the oven in the morning while getting ready for work.
**Boil 2 cups water. Add dry millet, turn heat to simmer, cover and cook until tender, about 15 – 20 minutes.
Saute onion in a dry pan over medium-high heat until it starts to brown. Add minced garlic and stir for 1 minutes. Add tomatoes and tomato paste and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a low boil then turn to simmer. Add herbs and spices. Cook 10 or 15 minutes.
Scrape squash strands into a bowl. Add desired amount of millet and top with marinara.
Cream of Broccoli Soup
6 – 8 cups water
2 heads of broccoli with stalks (enough for 4 cups chopped florets)
Florets from 1/2 head cauliflower
1 medium yellow sweet potato, baked (enough for about 1 cups mashed)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 t marjoram
Fresh group pepper as desired
Place 4 cups water in a sauce pan. Cut off stalks from broccoli, trim, slice and place in a sauce pan with 4 cups water. Add cauliflower florets. Cover and steam until tender.
Saute onion in a soup pot or large sauce pan over medium high heat until it starts to brown. Add a little water if needed to keep from sticking. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add celery, carrots, and chopped broccoli florets. Cook until tender.
When cauliflower and broccoli stems are tender, blend with sweet potato, including cook water from vegetables, until creamy. Pour into soup pot. Add more water if needed to thin. Stir in marjoram and pepper and heat through.
Apple Oatmeal Crumble
Oat groats are the whole oat kernel when it comes off the plant. Eating grains in their whole intact form is the most nutritious way to eat them. And oats, in particular, are one of the best foods for restoring a healthy gut. (This is a great interview with Dr. Richard Matthews about this.) And Dr. Tom O’Bryan, who specializes in gut health, says that the pectin in cooked apple skins is more biovailable then raw and is really good to heal the gut. (Video interview with Dr. Tom O’Bryan) He recommends eating a tablespoon of cooked apple 3 times a day. I figure I’ll get it done in one shot with breakfast. It’s a great way to sweeten up the oats. Feel free to add a tablespoon or two of chopped nuts or sprinkle on some flax meal.
Watch my video on how to make this here.
1/3 cup oat groats that have been soaked over night (Sprout them another day and they are even better!)
1 cup water
1 large apple chopped
1/2 cup cranberries (optional)
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t cardmom
2 T rolled oats (optional for creaminess)
1 t honey (optional)
Soak oat groats over night for quicker cooking. In the morning, rinse the groats and place them in a sauce pan, add a cup of water, cover, turn on burner to high and bring to a boil. When it comes to a boil, lower heat to simmer, add cranberries and apple. Cover and cook 15 minutes. Stir in spices and rolled oats if using and let it set for 15 or 20 minutes. Add a little honey for sweetness.
Spicy Cabbage with Rice
Another “elimination diet” favorite that I’m so grateful for! I love the texture of the shredded cabbage but feel free to do a rough chop. This is so tasty and satisfying on it’s own but it would be very tasty rolled up in a corn tortilla if you can eat corn. Cooked green lentils mixed in would be great too!
Cooked short grain brown rice
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 t turmeric
1 1/2 t chili powder
1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
1/4 t black pepper
Salt to taste
Saute onion in dry pan over medium high heat until it starts to brown. Add garlic and cook 1 minutes stirring constantly. Add tomatoes and cook until juicy. Add spices and cabbage and 1/2 cup water. Cover, lower heat to medium and cook until cabbage is tender. Add rice, cilantro and pepper. Heat through if needed. Salt to taste.
When I was able to add them, I love mixing in chopped sprouted 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.
Creamy Cauliflower Kale
This has been one of my favorite dishes while on an elimination diet. It will continue to be one of my go-to meals after I’ve incorporated more foods. I love this dish and it’s so easy! I often add steamed green beans.
1 medium head cauliflower
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, finely chopped
1 t turmeric
1/4 t black pepper
Cooked short-grain brown rice
Salt to taste
Break off florets from cauliflower and wash good. Place in a steamer basket or sauce pan with 1 cup water and steam until tender.
While cauliflower is cooking, saute’ onion in a dry sauce pan until it starts to brown. Add garlic and stir 1 minute.
Add 3/4 cup water and chopped kale and cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 5 – 10 minutes until kale is tender.
Stir in turmeric and pepper and cook additional minute or two. Stir in desired amount of cooked rice. (Since on an elimination diet I always have cooked rice on hand.)
When cauliflower is tender, blend until smooth. This makes a wonderful gravy to put over any veggies, grains, or potatoes. It’s a great soup base as well or substitute for mashed potatoes.
Pour desired amount of Cauliflower Cream over kale and rice and mix well. Salt to taste.
Add other seasonings as you wish. There are only certain seasonings I can tolerate and because turmeric and pepper are so anti-inflammatory, I’ve made them a daily part of my diet.
“Better Than Tuna Salad” Lettuce Bundles
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.
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.