Bored of Broccoli? Soup it up!

A health foodie I may be, but you won't find me munching on plain old broccoli. Frankly, I personally find it boring. But this veggie has way too many nutritional benefits to ignore, so through a lot of experimenting in the kitchen, I've managed to find delicious ways to cook it up. Here's my favorite so far:

Broccoli & Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1 head of broccoli, chopped (or frozen bag for express version)
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped 
1 garlic clove, chopped 
6 cups of vegetable broth or water
1 tsp. sea salt (may need to add more if using water) 
pepper to taste 

Bonus add-ons: handful of fresh parsley while pureeing & the juice of half a lemon at the very end.

Directions:

1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, saute onions and garlic in some oil for about 5 minutes.

2. Add vegetable broth, sweet potato & broccoli and bring to a boil. 

3. Reduce to simmer and cook for another 20 minutes or until veggies are completely tender. 

4. Transfer small batches of soup at a time in a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth.

5. Return all the pureed soup into the pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Add more broth or water if it's too thick.

Enjoy!

Arugula-Kale Pesto Recipe

 This is one of my favorite winter recipes. It's easy, quick, and absolutely delish! Also a great way to "sneak" greens & healthy omega 3 fats into your diet. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of arugula leaves
• 1 cup chopped kale, stems removed
• ½ cup walnuts
• 3 tbsps. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, unpeeled (if you like the taste of garlic, feel free to add more)
• sea salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
 

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Mix pesto with some brown rice or quinoa pasta, and voila, you’ve got yourself a yummy dish! For the carb conscious, this pesto also goes great with spaghetti squash.

Depending on my mood & what's available, I often find myself mixing sun dried tomatoes into the pasta or roasted portabello mushrooms (as pictured below). Be creative!

Sweet Potato Pie without the Guilt!

Here's a sweet fall recipe that won't send your blood sugar on a roller coaster ride. I got this recipe from Terry Walters' Clean Food cookbook but made some very minor changes (like the oil & sweetener of choice).

As always, I have pics to share from my pie-making experience just the other day.  If you prefer the more traditional doughy crust (or really don't feel like making your own), many health food stores sell good quality, frozen crusts.

All the ingredients ready to become one.

 

The homemade crust is ready to get filled!

 The final product. First time trying this recipe, and I'd say it was a success!

Crust:

1.5 cups pecans
1/4 cup chickpea flour
2 tbsp. coconut oil (or healthy oil of your choice)
2 tbsp. maple syrup

Filling:

3 - 4 medium sweet potatoes
1/4 cup brown rice syrup (this is a great low glycemic sweetener, but you're free to use any natural sweetener of your choice)
1/4 almond milk
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. arrowroot powder
1 tsp. agar flakes (a sea vegetable that acts like a gelatin)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Wash sweet potatoes, place on cookie sheet and bake until soft (times vary depending on size of potatoes.  Remove from oven and set aside.

Crust Preparation:

Chop pecans in food processor until they resemble fine meal.  Add chickpea flour and process together to combine. Add oil, syrup, salt and process to form dough.  Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate with coconut oil. Press the dough to form even crust. Pierce several times with a fork and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and set on wire rack to cool.

Filling Preparation:

When sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove skins and cut into large pieces.  Place in cleaned food processor bowl and add syrup, almond milk, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, arrowroot and agar flakes.  Process until smooth.

Finishing:

Pour filling into cooled pie crust, cover pie edges with foil and bake 50 minutes to 1 hour until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack.  Chill and serve.

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I highly recommend Terry Walter's Clean Food cookbook. Terry also attended my alma mater, Integrative Nutrition. 

 

Tuscan Tuna & Bean Salad

Here's my upgraded version of the typical tuna salad w/ mayo. By upgraded, I'm talking nutritionally & also flavor-wise. I made this last night for dinner, and it was 100% husband approved!

You can make this into a sandwich, but I prefer to lay it on top of organic polenta from Trader Joe's. Just slice the polenta log into 1/2 inch thick circles & heat each side on a pan for a few minutes.

I placed some arugula & baby kale salad on polenta before topping it off with the tuna & bean mix.

How cute do these look? Makes a great party appetizer too.

Ingredients:

-1 can cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
-2 cans of tuna in olive oil, drained & flaked
-1/2 cup of kalamata or black olives, chopped
-2 - 3 tbsp. of chopped red onion
-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
-3 - 4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
-3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
-3 tbsp. basil and/or flat leaf parsley
-1/2 tsp. sea salt
-1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Coarsely mash beans with a fork, then stir in flaked tuna. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.  Allow the salad to sit for 20 minutes before making into a sandwich or placing on polenta.

Enjoy!

Collards Wrap

Love lettuce wraps? Next time, try using collard greens instead. I love making these, and they travel really well. You can eat it raw or blanch it in boiling water for a few minutes to soften it. If you have a steamer, that works just as well too.

Here are some pics from the collards batch I made last week, which I steamed for a few minutes. I didn't have much time, so I ended up pulling out two cans of Eden beans from my pantry. Sidenote: I only buy Eden's canned beans, since the lining of their cans are BPA-free & they also cook the beans with kombu (a mineral-rich sea veggie that helps reduce gassy effect!). I seasoned the beans with some fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, dash of cayenne, sea salt & pepper. I had a ripe avocado handy, so I sliced that up, and within minutes I had created a quick, cheap & balanced meal. I normally throw alfalfa sprouts in there too, but I ran out.

You can stuff anything you want in these collards. A fave combo of mine is sauteed portabello mushrooms mixed with quinoa in the wrap. Don't be afraid to experiment & use different seasonings! If you've never had collards before, I suggest to blanch/steam it for your first time.

Fold the edges and roll it tightly. You can use a toothpick to hold it together.

Beautiful!