What you need

• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 cups sunflower seeds
• 1 cup cashews, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup flax seeds, 1/4 cup ground
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 orange, zested

How to make it

Note: Soaking all your nuts and seeds in advance will make them more easily digestible and enable your body to get as many nutrients from them as possible. If you have time, soak!

Preheat oven to 350. Oil a cookie sheet and lay down parchment paper. Put half the maple syrup in a bowl. Add sunflower seeds. Mix well, until coated. Add remaining nuts and seeds and spices. Fold and mix well. Add remainder of syrup and coat thoroughly.

Spread mixture on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until nuts are toasted and hardened in the midddel off the cookie sheet (not soft and sticky).

Cool, break into pieces and serve.

Feel free to add nutmeg, cardamom, dried fruit or coconut, or any type of nut and seed combination that interests you. Have fun exploring!

What you need

• 2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked overnight (soaking enables you to absorb more nutritients and digest them more easily)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 lemon, juice and zest
• 2 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 small bunch broccoli sprouts (or other herbs, optional)

How you make it

This one is all in the wrists – otherwise known as a food processor. First, rinse the soaked macadamia nuts through a strainer and add to your food processor. Begin to process while slowly adding water. Be sure not to use too much liquid. You are looking for a cream cheese like texture. Scrape the sides down and pulse and blend until a good paste is formed. Add the other ingredients, continuing to scrape the sides of the processor, pulsing and blending, until all ingredients are well blended. Taste and adjust ingredient amounts as desired.

You can use this recipe for crackers, pasta dishes or as a dressing for savory main dishes as I did here, or adjust using sweet spices like cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg for a dessert or fruit appetizer accompaniment.

Enjoy!

What you need

• 2 dried mission figs
• 6 dried dates
• 4 dried prunes
• 8 dried cherries
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 tsp agave nectar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup red quinoa
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 2 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 1/2 cups almond milk

How to make it

First, soak all your dried fruit in the hot water for 5-10 minutes, until softened. Then chop fruit into bite-size pieces. 

You’re going to use the leftover water to cook your quinoa. I use a rice cooker, but you can also cook it in a saucepan just like rice. Add the agave nectar and vanilla to the water and stir. Then cook your quinoa.

While the quinoa is cooking, roast the walnuts in a frying pan. You don’t need any oil as long as you keep stirring your walnuts frequently. Remove the walnuts from heat when golden brown. Be careful not to burn.

When the quinoa is ready, mix it with the fruit, walnuts, flax seed and coconut in a large bowl. Serve in cereal bowls, with almond milk on top.

Makes 2-3 servings.

• 1/2 cup lentils
• 1/2 tsp vegetable seasoning
• 1-1/2 cup water
• 1 medium russet potato
• 1 small sweet  onion
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1-2 Tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Olive oil

How to make it

First cook the lentils. I use a rice  cooker and have learned that adding a bit of olive oil to the bottom saves an enormous amount of cleanup time and prevents ruining your rice cooker from scraping the crap out of it every time the rice sticks to the bottom. Add lentils, vegetable seasoning and water and cook.

Meanwhile, peel and cube the potato and boil in water until soft. Then sautee the onion in olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sautee for another 5 minutes until soft and translucent.

When everything is ready, combine the ingredients – mixing and mashing until everything is well blended and sticks together. Add curry powder and salt and blend well. Modify seasonings to taste.

Form the lentil-potato mixture into 4 cakes and sautee in olive oil over medium heat until brown on each side.

Serve with a sour cashew cream sauce.

Lentils, Cashew Cream Sauce & Sauteed Vegetables

I’ve been having a hankering for lentils lately. I like to get my protien from as many different plant-based sources as possible and it’s been awhile since I’ve had lentils. I thought the lentils would be a nice pairing with a sauteed mushrooms and onion red-wine reduction, contrasted with a creamy cashew-based sauce. The results were superb. The beauty of this dish is in versatility of serving. I started simple, layering the lentil base with the cashew sauce and sauteed vegetables on top. For lunch the next day, I mixed the whole thing together and ate it with spelt crackers. And for round three, I’m going to try making a patty out of it and frying it in olive oil. Wish me luck!

What you need

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup lentils
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup cashews
• 2-3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 2 Tbsp braggs amino acid
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup mushrooms (button, cremini, etc)
• 1 small onion, quartered and sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp red wine
• 1 tsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tsp molasses
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 cup fresh spinach

How to make it

I like to simplify things by cooking lentils in the rice cooker. The same way you cook rice. Start by adding a Tbsp of olive oil to the bottom of the rice cooker to prevent the broth from sticking or burning on the bottom. Then add lentils and broth and cook.

While the lentils are cooking, make cashew cream sauce in a food processor or blender. Add cashews and pulverize. Then slowly add hot water while blending. Add braggs and lemon juice and salt if desired. Check your sauce consistency at this point. If you’d like it thinner, add more hot water. Thicker, add more cashews. Blend until very creamy.

Now it’s time for sauteeing vegetables. Start by adding the remaining olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 3-5 minutes, until softened. Add onions a cook for another 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add red wine, sherry vinegar and molasses. Blend well. Cook for about 5 minutes, until liquid is mostly evaporated. Add celery and cook for another 2 minutes. Add fesh spinach and cook for another minute.

Layer ingredients and serve. Enjoy!

For those who can relate to that notion, here are some Food Facts to prioritize your organic shopping list. I’m calling it the “O” List. From now on, I’ll call out any ingredient I use in a recipe from this list. I could use the reminder as well.

The following list of vegetables and fruits have been tested and regularly found to have the highest level of pesticide contamination. Not surprisingly, it is the fruits and vegetables without a thick skin to protect them that typically are the greatest cause for concern. This list was compiled based on information and studies by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Consumer Reports, and the Environmental Working Group.

Nectarines– 97.3% of nectarines sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Celery– 94.5% of celery sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Pears– 94.4% of pears sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Peaches– 93.7% of peaches sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Apples– 91% of apples sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Cherries– 91% of cherries sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Strawberries– 90% of strawberries sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Imported Grapes – 86% of importedgrapes (i.e. Chile) sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Spinach– 83.4% of spinach sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Potatoes– 79.3% of potatoes sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Bell Peppers– 68% of bell peppers sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Red Raspberries– 59% of red raspberries sampled were found to contain pesticides

Vegetable Cappelini with Cashew Cream Sauce

What you need

• 4 oz noodles – I used organic whole wheat capellini
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 cup cauliflower florets
• 4 cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 4 artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup spinach leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 fresh cherry tomatoes, quartered

How to make it

Boil a large pot of water and cook noodles according to package directions. Put oil and water in a large sautee pan over medium heat. I use dried sundried tomatoes (instead of getting them soaked in oil). So I need to soften the tomatoes in hot water before I use them. The leftover water from the tomatoes works perfectly to steam the cauliflower. Add cauliflower and cover pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until cauliflower florets are just softened, stirring regularly to prevent burning.

Add mushrooms and sautee uncovered for another 5 minutes or until mushrooms are softened. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Add sundried tomatoes and artichokes until heated through. Add cilantro and spinach and saute for another minute.

At this point, you’re going to add the cooked noodles and cashew cream sauce and make sure everything is warm. Be careful not to overcook the spinach at this step. I can’t count how many times I’ve tainted a meal with overcooked spinach. My best advice is to only add your spinach when you’re absolutely sure the rest of the meal will be done in less than a minute.

I garnished the pasta with fresh cherry tomatoes. Who would think that I would have fresh cherry tomatoes from my garden on a cold, snowy Colorado day in November? That’s a tip for another day.

Happy eating in b-e-d…

Peanut Butter Banana Green Smoothie

It may not be much to look at, but you can immediately see that this smoothie is creamier than some of its more wholly veggie and fruit based smoothie counterparts. Homemade almond milk and organic creamy peanut butter make this one smooth as silk.

What you need

• 3 handfuls fresh spinach – I use organic because spinach has been found to be very high in pesticide content.
• 1 banana
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 1/2 cup almond milk

How to make it

Add all the ingredients except agave and milk to your food processor or blender. Gently pulse until most ingredients are mixed. This is a good time to scrape the sides of the blender. Begin blending, then pour in agave nectar and milk until smoothie is well-blended and frothy. Pour in a glass and enjoy.

What you need

• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups cooked pinto beans
• 2 red potatoes, chopped
• 2 cups sweet peppers, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 28 oz can stewed tomatoes
• 2-3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground annatto seeds
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• fresh lemon juice, Braggs amino acid and molasses to taste
• fresh cilantro and mint
• top with crushed peanuts

How you make it

Add the vegetable broth to a large soup pan on medium-high heat. Add the pinto beans and potatoes and heat to boiling.

Meanwhile, place the sweet peppers, onion and garlic in a glass baking dish and toss in olive oil. Place on top rack of oven for about 15 minutes until skins are darkened and vegetables are soft.

Add roasted peppers mixture, tomatoes, celery and spices to soup. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for another 20-30 minutes. Taste and adjust spices as desired.

Tip! For those of you that haven’t experimented with Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, it can regularly be used as a replacement for soy or tamari in any recipe. In addition to having less sodium, it’s a great source of protein and essential amino acids.

I’d have to say the status of this recipe is still experimental. It was a tasty soup, with Kristi awarding it 5 carrots, but the secret here is to play with the spice amounts at the end to get flavor notes you’re most happy with.

If you can’t find these ingredients at a local natural foods grocer or they’re expensive, try an asian grocery store. In Denver, the Pacific Mercantile is a great place to go. I noticed the bean sprouts were much cheaper and they  had a better variety of rice papers than the other stores. It’s a favorite spot of mine when any asian fare is on the menu.

My recipe is heavily inspired by this Vietnamese Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls recipe from Melissa Ray Davis. The big tip I’d like to add is to buy an extra head of green leaf lettuce and to serve the rolls on. It looked great, kept the spring rolls from sticking to the plate and worked extremly well as natural packaging for the leftovers, keeping the rice paper moist and vegetables fresh even the next day.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Hoisin Sauce and Peanuts

What you need

• 1 package rice paper wraps
• 1 package thin rice noodles (vermicelli)
• 1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 bunch thai basil leaves, chopped (more or less to taste)
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 1 cucumber, peeled and julienned
• 1 package mung bean sprouts (commonly labeled just “bean sprouts”)
• Mixed greens, thinly sliced - I used organic spinach and green leaf lettuce
• Serve on a bed of green leaf lettuce leaves, with hoisin sauce and dry roasted peanuts, crushed

How to make it

Line up all ingredients except hoisin sauce in an assembly line format around the cutting board. You’ll have to make these one at a time. Start by dipping the rice paper wrappers in a large bowl of hot water. Thank goodness mom was there to help me. She had to reheat the water after every few rolls. Once the wrapper is soft and pliable, flatten it out on the cutting board and create a mound in the center with some of each of the ingredients.

Wrap the roll up by taking the edge closest to you and flipping it up over the little mound of filling. Gently roll the filling up until you’ve just past the halfway point, then pull the sides in and roll it the rest of the way. Cut the rolls on a diagonal right away and place on a serving tray covered with a bed of green leaf lettuce with hoisin sauce and peanuts served on the side.

Any special tips to add mom?