Lentil & Sweet Potato Stew

From: Clean Eating Magazine  By; Emily Christopher

**This was a hit with the WHOLE family!  I love when I make a dish everyone likes.  I did add two ingredients to it that weren't on the recipe (those are in blue at the bottom of the recipe).  This feeds at least 8.  It will make for good left overs!

Ingredients:

-2 tsp olive oil

-1 yellow onion, diced

-1 celery stalk, diced

-1 carrot, peeled and finely diced

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-pinch of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

-2 cups dry green lentils, picked over

-1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

-1 bay leaf

-4 cups low sodium vegetable broth

-2 plum tomatos, seeded and diced

-1/4 cup chopped fresh italian parsley

Ingredients I added:

-fresh organic spinach

-acini de pepe pasta (cooked according to package)

Instructions:

In a large pot, heat oil on medium.  Add onion, celery, carrot and garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3-4 minutes.  Add salt, pepper, lentils, potato, bay leaf, broth and 2 cups of water; stir to combine.  I added an extra cup of vegetable broth to thin it down a bit.  Bring to a simmer and cook until lentils and potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes and parsley.  Remove bay leaf.  When I served this I placed a handful of fresh spinach in the bottom of a bowl.  Then I added a 1/2 cup of pasta.  Then, I put the stew ingredients on top.  I stirred it all together and added a bit more salt to taste.  The spinach and pasta really added a lot to the recipe.  

Garlic Roasted Chickpeas

From:  Clean Eating Magazine Jan/Feb 2013

*As a mom of 3 teenage kids, I'm always looking for healthy snacks.  All 3 of my kids loved this!  I was so excited...I will make this easy recipe again.  The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese, but I deleted it since I don't eat dairy and am trying to limit my kids dairy intake.  

Ingredients:
2- 15 1/2 oz cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans).  I buy organic.  Drain and rinse well.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic (I did 2 because we love garlic)
1/2 tsp sea salt (I will use 3/4 tsp next time...I think they needed a touch more salt)
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions:
-Spread chickpeas on several layers of paper towel and let dry for 30 min

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a medium bowl, combine oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  Add chickpeas    and toss to coat.  (If you are using cheese, add the cheese into the bowl as well)

-Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 45-50 minutes until golden and crispy.

*This is a great snack for a road trip, seeing a movie, after a workout, or any other time when you need a healthy snack!

Breaded eggplant

This was my first attempt at eggplant.  I loved it and so did my husband and kids!  I will definitely make it again.  I followed the directions but ended up turning the oven up higher and cooking longer to get it nice and crispy.  It tasted liked it has been cooked it oil but it was much healthier being baked. j

Ingredients:
2 large eggplants
1 10 ounce bag organic bread crumbs (I couldn't find these so I used italian bread crumbs)
2 cups Bob's Red mill Organic whole Wheat Pastry Flour
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 cups organic soy milk (I used plain almond milk since I didn't have soy milk)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (I cooked mine on 475 because I couldn't get it crispy at 400).  Put parchment paper over a pizza stone or cookie sheet (they recommend a pizza stone).  You can peel the eggplant before you cut it if you prefer.  (I washed mine with vegetable wash and left the skin on-it tasted great).  Cut it into 1/2 inch rounds.

Get 3 wide shallow bowls.  In one bowl whisk the milk and dijon mustard.  In the second bowl, put the flour and in the 3rd bowl, put the bread crumbs.

First, flour the eggplant.  Then, dip it in the milk mixture coating both sides.  Lastly, put in the bread crumbs and coat both sides.  Place on the parchment paper and spray generously with olive oil.  Turn each slice over and spray other side.

It says to bake for 15 to 20 minutes.  I baked 10 minutes then flipped each piece over and baked another 8-10 min depending on when they got lightly brown.  You want them crispy..not mushy.

**I cooked whole grain pasta and put 2-3 slices of eggplant on top of the noodles and topped with my homemade marinara sauce (recipe on blog)

**This recipe made a ton!  Next time I will only make half this amount because I didn't like the leftovers.  They did not reheat well.  

Marinara

This is my mom's homemade marinara recipe.  I usually double the batch when I make it so I have lots of leftovers to freeze.

4 (14oz) cans diced tomatoes
5 cans tomato paste (small cans)
1 large white onion
4 tsp italian seasoning
2-4 tbsp dried basil (If i have fresh basil in my garden then I use that instead)
2-4 tbsp parsley (I normally use fresh italian parsley but dried works as well)
1-2 tsp oregano (I use 2)
package of sliced mushrooms
1-2 tsp kosher salt (I use 2)
1 tsp pepper
4 large garlic cloves minced


Heat onion and garlic in large pot with a tbsp of water to keep the onion from sticking to the pot.  When the onion is softened (2-3 min)  add all the above ingredients.  In addition, mix approximately 1-1 1/2cups water in to reach desired thickness of sauce.  Simmer for 3 hours or more with lid off or it becomes too watery.  Stir periodically.  Taste sauce and season accordingly.

**If you have a crockpot, put all ingredients in a crock pot on low for 8 hours.  The sauce comes out perfect!  No need to sauté the onion and garlic beforehand.  Just throw it all in and turn it on.


Use it on top of your favorite noodle.  I used it on top of my baked eggplant...everyone loved it!

The BEST vegetarian chili in the world!!

From:  All recipes.com

**I've made a lot of chili recipes before, but this one is the best!  It is so tasty and hearty.  I forgot to take a picture of it so you will just have to trust me on this one! :)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp salt
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 (4ounce) cans chopped green chili peppers, drained
2 (12ounce) packages vegetarian burger crumbles (I omitted the meat and loved it)
3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed (I used diced tomatoes)
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can of each: kidney beans, garbanzo beans, black beans, and whole kernel corn, drained and rinsed

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt.  Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers.  When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles.  Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.

Mix the tomatoes into the pot.  Season chili with chili powder and pepper.  Stir in the beans.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 45 minutes.  Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.

**I did NOT do the above cooking method.  I used my crock pot.  If you have the time, I highly recommend it because it was so easy.  I omitted the oil and put all the above ingredients (minus the meat since I didn't want the meat in it) into my crock pot.  I put the crock pot on low for 8 hours.  Before serving, discard the bay leaves.  Top with diced green onions and avocado...yum!  This is a hearty meal and so healthy.  Make sure to rinse your beans prior to putting them in the crock pot...this removes the extra sodium.  Enjoy!

Superfood Salad with lemon vinaigrette

By: Iowagirleats

**Love this salad!!  My family liked it as well!  I will make this again soon!

Serves 5:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dry quinoa
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1 orange, peeled and segments chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup pomegranate arils (about 1 pomegranate worth)
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

lemon vinaigrette:
2 lemons, juiced (1/4 cup)
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
dash of sweetener (agave syrup, stevia, white sugar)
salt and pepper to taste
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

directions:
1.  Cook quinoa according to package...cool
2. Make lemon vinaigrette.  combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight lid and shake to combine.
3.  Combine cooled quinoa with all ingredients.  Pour vinaigrette over the salad and stir to combine.  Serve cold or room temp

Racing Vegan

A lot of people ask me if I get enough protein eating vegan to keep up with my active lifestyle.  The answer is Yes!!  I did a half ironman last weekend and had my best finishing time ever, and I did it eating vegan.  I am careful to eat protein and healthy carbs to keep my energy up.  Most americans consume too much protein.  I just had my blood work done and my cholesterol was 144.  In the Engine 2 diet book, the author claims that being under 150 makes you heart attack proof.  This way of eating works!  Plus, I feel better than ever!  It does take planning, but with proper time management, this way of eating can work into your life.