Rip's Big Bowl....Fast & yummy breakfast!

From The Engine 2 Diet book by Rip Esselstyn

I'm always looking for breakfast ideas...having the same boring cereal every day does not excite me.  Plus, with all my working out, a simple bowl of cereal does not fill me up.  Giving up eggs was tough for me...I really like eggs!  So far my favorite breakfast is the quinoa pancakes.  If you haven't tried them you should!  However, for a quick easy breakfast, I like this Rip's big bowl.  Once you make it a couple of times, it is easy.  I made modifications to mine which I will note in the recipe.  Enjoy! :)

1/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup grape nuts or Ezekiel brand equivalent
1/4 cup bite size shredded wheat
1/4 cup Uncle Sam Cereal
1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal
2 tbsp raisins (I use golden raisins from Trader Joes)
1/2 handful of walnuts (not a walnut fan so I use hemp seed from Costco..3 tbsp is 11 grams protein)
1 banana, sliced
1 kiwi, sliced (I omitted this)
1 grapefruit (I omitted this)
3/4 cup milk substitute of choice (I use Almond Breeze Coconut/Almond milk unsweetened...YUM!)

Toss all ingredients except the grapefruit and milk substitute into a bowl.  Remove the grapefruit segments and put on top of cereal.  Squeeze in the juice.  Top the bowl with milk substitute.

Pesto Pasta with White Beans

From: Forks over Knives Cookbook by Del Sroufe

This is a quick and easy dish...love easy dishes! :)  I liked it although I had to add a touch of salt to it.  My kids liked it "ok"...not overwhelming thumbs up.  My husband liked it as a side dish.  I ate it as an entree.  It heats up great the next day.  One tip...make the basil pesto ahead of time to speed up making dinner.  For whatever reason the pasta looks red/brown in the picture.  It is actually green...much tastier than it looks! :)

Serves 4

12 ounces whole grain spaghetti, cooked according to pkg directions, drained, and kept warm, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid

1 cup basil pesto (see below)

One 15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Place the cooked spaghetti in a large bowl and add the pesto.  Add enough of the reserved cooking liquid to achieve a creamy sauce.  Add the beans and toss well.

**Basil Pesto
2 cups packed basil or arugula
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (cook approx 10 min at 350)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tsps fresh lemon juice
salt to taste
1/2 package extra firm silken tofu (6 ounces) drained
1/4 cup nutritional yeast, optional (I added.  You can buy at Sprouts in bulk food section)

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth and creamy.

Cowboy Caviar

I have a thing for bean salads....love them!  If you like the other bean salad I have on my blog, then you'll love this one! I eat it as a salad or serve with organic blue corn tortilla chips for an appetizer.  This is another great salad that my teenagers take to school with them for lunch.  It lasts several days in the frig.

Prep time: 15 min

Dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 to 2 tsp hot sauce, optional (I did one tsp...wasn't too hot at all)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

"caviar"
1 can, 15 oz, black eyed peas (I had a hard time finding these!  Finally found at Sprouts in the Eden Organics line)
2 cups tomatoes, finely chopped
2 cups fresh corn kernels (or thawed from frozen) (I used 1 cup frozen corn and 1 cup canned white shoepeg corn since I didn't have enough frozen)
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Whisk dressing ingredients in a large bowl.  Add "caviar" ingredients and mix gently.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes to let the flavors blend.  Serves as a salad, or as a dip with tortilla chips.  Makes 12 1/2 cup servings.

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

From: Forks over Knives Cookbook by Del Sroufe

Serves 4

3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp brown rice syrup (I couldn't find at store so I used molasses..same amount)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
Fresh ground pepper to taste
4 large Portobello mushrooms, stemmed

Combine the soy sauce, brown rice syrup, garlic, ginger, and pepper in a small bowl and mix well

Place the mushrooms stem side up on a baking dish.  Pour the marinade over the mushrooms and let marinate for 1 hour

Prepare the grill

Pour the excess marinade off of the mushrooms, reserving the liquid, and place the mushrooms on the grill.  Grill each side for 4 minutes, brushing with marinade every few minutes

**You can serve on a whole grain bun.  I served mine without a bun alongside the quinoa arugula salad.

**The picture I'm posting is the mushrooms marinating.  FYI...they cook down quite a bit so I ate 2 since it was my entree and I'm a big eater! :)

Quinoa Arugula Salad

From: Forks over Knives Cookbook by Del Sroufe

I'm always looking for quinoa recipes...a good way for me to get protein!  Plus, I make a big batch every Sunday and then use it in my recipes all week to make it easy on me.  This was a good fresh salad.  Although, my son thought the dressing was too citrusy for him.  If that is the case, just drizzle a little olive oil over it to cut the citrus.  I ate it just as the recipe says.  The only exception is that I used regular rice vinegar because I can't find brown rice vinegar for some reason!  I paired this salad with the grilled portobello mushroom recipe I posted.  They were a perfect combination!  Enjoy!

Serves 4

1 1/2 cups quinoa
Zest and juice of 2 oranges
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup brown rice vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
4 cups arugula
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2 in cubes
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted (bake 350 until golden brown..around 5-10 min)
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Rinse the quinoa and drain.  Bring 3 cups water to a boil.  Add the quinoa and bring back to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 12-18 min, until the quinoa is tender.  Refrigerate until cool.

While the quinoa cools, combine the orange zest and juice, lime zest and juice, brown rice vinegar, arugula, onion, red pepper, pine nuts, and salt and pepper in a bowl.  Add the cooled quinoa and chill for 1 hour before serving.

**I made the quinoa ahead of time to save time.  Also, chill as long as possible before eating for more flavor.

Basic Vegetable Stir Fry

Forks over Knives Cookbook by Del Sroufe

Serves 2 (I doubled the recipe)

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
1 cup snow peas, trimmed
1 6 ounce can water chestnuts, drained
1/4 plus 2 tbsp Chinese Brown Sauce (see below)
1/4 cup cashews, toasted (bake in oven on 350 until lightly brown.  Approx 10 min)

Chinese Brown Sauce: (I doubled the recipe)
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup vegetable stock (I used vegetable broth)
1/4 cup date molasses or brown rice syrup (I used molasses...it just said molasses not date molasses but it tasted great in the recipe.  I couldn't find brown rice syrup)
2 tsp minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 tsp arrowroot powder (this was hard to find and expensive! McCormick makes it...I couldn't find any other spice brands that sold it.  It was $8 at Fry's)

Heat a large skillet over high heat.  Add the onion, broccoli, snow peas, and water chestnuts, and stir fry for  4-5 minutes.  Add water 1 to 2 tbsp at a time to keep the vegetables from sticking to the pan.  When the broccoli is crisp-tender, add the Chinese brown sauce and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes.  Serve garnished with the toasted cashews.

**I altered this recipe a bit.  First I used the frozen stir fry vegetables from Costco just to save time.  I also added tofu and yakisoba stir fry noodles to the dish.  I seared my tofu first and then set it aside.  Then, I made the sauce.  I then cooked the vegetables.  When the veggies were almost done, I added the noodles and sauce.  I cooked it until it was warm and then tossed in the tofu so it was coated as well.  The dish was delicious!  My entire family loved it!  Two of my kids don't eat tofu so they had organic chicken breast on theirs.  Adding the noodles and tofu made it a one pot dish.  Also, the sauce is delicious....I prefer it over sugary teriyaki sauces.  I will make this again.  

Sweet Potato Pie Oatmeal

Recipe from "Forks over Knives Cookbook" by Del Sroufe

So...I often struggle at breakfast.  I get tired of cereal and basic oatmeal and I can't eat quinoa pancakes every day!  I thought I would try something new.  This is like pumpkin pie meets oatmeal.  I liked it!  And, after my long swim today, it was the perfect meal to fill me up!  I couldn't even eat it all which is not like me! :)

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced (I cooked my sweet potatoe the night before which made it much quicker to cook in the morning)
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened almond milk (I used closer to 2 cups because it was too thick for my liking)
1/2 cup date molasses (I only had regular molasses so I used that.  I only used 1/4 cup to save on calories)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp orange zest (I omitted since I didn't have an orange)
pinch of salt

Steam or boil the sweet potato until tender, about 10 minutes.  I cooked mine in the microwave until it was soft on the baked potato setting.  Then I peeled the skin off easily with a knife and diced it.  Mash the potato and add it to a saucepan with the oats, almond milk, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, orange zest, allspice, and salt.  Cook the mixture over medium heat until the oats are tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. I drizzled a little agave nectar on top just to sweeten it a touch.