Hello, all!
Here's yet another one of those "down-to-pantry-staple" recipes:
1 medium to large yellow or white onion
about 300 g of potato chunks (russet or waxy according to your taste)
one 15 oz can of no-salt black, red kidney, or pinto beans, UNdrained
2-3 tsp of Mexican seasoning of your choice (I use my own blend from this recipe).
1 cup frozen corn
1 Tbs tomato paste
Chop a yellow or white onion and dry saute in a non-stick pan. When they're translucent, set thm aside while you put the rest of the dish together.
Take about 3-4 smallish to medium potatoes (or just one if you get one of those ginormous russets), waxy or russet, and chunk up and put on the stove to boil. When they're tender to your liking, drain them and mix them in with the onion plus a can of no-salt black or kidney or pinto beans (with the liquid) and a couple teaspoons of your favorite Mexican seasoning, along with the tomato paste and corn. Heat to serving temp and chow down! You can add a little water (no more than half a cup) if it's too thick for you.
This makes about 5 servings as a main. You can eat it with a green salad and a plate of sliced tomatoes in the summer with a nice fruit salad for dessert.
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Saturday, May 4, 2019
Changing recipes: how far do you have to go for it to become "your" recipe?
It doesn't usually come up, but once in a while we see in blogs a request not to share a recipe without giving credit, and I couldn't agree more especially if the blogger developed the recipe from scratch!
But then there are always the commenters that say, "oh, I didn't have that/don't like that, so I subbed in X" or "I do low-fat so I baked it instead of fried it", etc, etc, etc. I can't help but wonder, at such comments, when a recipe ceases to be the same and is changed enough for the "adapter" to claim it as his/her own?
I have such a conundrum with this recipe. It's based on a recipe from this blogger but I've made some changes and added a few things, and in one case, made a general ingredient suggestion a more specific ingredient (mainly because of my personal taste and nutritional plan).
That being said, let's cook!!
This recipe is (or at least can be) a little pricey due to the (relatively) high cost of the cauliflower. You can either wait till it's on sale or else use frozen.
Veggie masala
1 1/2 Tbs garam masala (NOT regular curry powder)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper (about 20 turns if you're using a grinder)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (leave this out if you're not a lover over overly spicy food)
1 cup diced onion (130 g, usually a small or half a medium one)
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger (or this stuff. It's a bit pricey but worth the trouble)
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 (15 oz/425 g) can crushed tomatoes (have the can open BEFORE you start sauteing the onion)
1/2 cup of RAW sunflower seeds (look in your bulk section)
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup green beans, sliced into 1" pieces
1 cup diced waxy potato (NOT russets, I usually go with yukon golds but any waxy variety will do)
1 cup cauliflower florets (smallish)
1 cup frozen peas
Measure out the sugar, salt, and all the spices into a small bowl and set aside.
Heat a medium-sized saute pan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, adding a splash of water and stirring when they start to stick. (That's right; no oil! don't worry, you'll never miss it).
Add the ginger and garlic and continue to cook for 2 minutes, again, adding a splash of water if there's any sticking.
Add the spice mixture you set aside earlier (plus anther splash of water if things are too dry) and stir for about 30 seconds, and then add the crushed tomatoes, sunflower seeds, and water. Reduce heat to low, place a lid on at an angle to vent, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring once 10 minutes in and again 5 minutes later.
During the 20 minutes the tomato mixture is simmering, put the green beans pieces into a pot of boiling water. Return to a boil, and then lower the heat and let them simmer till tender but just on the soft side of crisp (just don't let 'em get mushy like canned ones). At this point, add the potatoes and the cauliflower. Simmer everything till the potatoes are tender to your liking. (If you're using frozen cauliflower, wait to add it until the potatoes are done to your liking, then add the cauliflower and bring the pot to a boil and then immediately turn it off and drain.) Drain and place in a bowl where you'll be mixing with the tomato mixture.
Remove the tomato-filled pan from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes (cover off), then pour the mixture into your blender, along with the almond milk. Process till smooth. Pour this over the veggies, add the peas and fold everything together till the peas are thawed out.
But then there are always the commenters that say, "oh, I didn't have that/don't like that, so I subbed in X" or "I do low-fat so I baked it instead of fried it", etc, etc, etc. I can't help but wonder, at such comments, when a recipe ceases to be the same and is changed enough for the "adapter" to claim it as his/her own?
I have such a conundrum with this recipe. It's based on a recipe from this blogger but I've made some changes and added a few things, and in one case, made a general ingredient suggestion a more specific ingredient (mainly because of my personal taste and nutritional plan).
That being said, let's cook!!
This recipe is (or at least can be) a little pricey due to the (relatively) high cost of the cauliflower. You can either wait till it's on sale or else use frozen.
Veggie masala
1 1/2 Tbs garam masala (NOT regular curry powder)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper (about 20 turns if you're using a grinder)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (leave this out if you're not a lover over overly spicy food)
1 cup diced onion (130 g, usually a small or half a medium one)
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger (or this stuff. It's a bit pricey but worth the trouble)
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 (15 oz/425 g) can crushed tomatoes (have the can open BEFORE you start sauteing the onion)
1/2 cup of RAW sunflower seeds (look in your bulk section)
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup green beans, sliced into 1" pieces
1 cup diced waxy potato (NOT russets, I usually go with yukon golds but any waxy variety will do)
1 cup cauliflower florets (smallish)
1 cup frozen peas
Measure out the sugar, salt, and all the spices into a small bowl and set aside.
Heat a medium-sized saute pan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, adding a splash of water and stirring when they start to stick. (That's right; no oil! don't worry, you'll never miss it).
Add the ginger and garlic and continue to cook for 2 minutes, again, adding a splash of water if there's any sticking.
Add the spice mixture you set aside earlier (plus anther splash of water if things are too dry) and stir for about 30 seconds, and then add the crushed tomatoes, sunflower seeds, and water. Reduce heat to low, place a lid on at an angle to vent, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring once 10 minutes in and again 5 minutes later.
During the 20 minutes the tomato mixture is simmering, put the green beans pieces into a pot of boiling water. Return to a boil, and then lower the heat and let them simmer till tender but just on the soft side of crisp (just don't let 'em get mushy like canned ones). At this point, add the potatoes and the cauliflower. Simmer everything till the potatoes are tender to your liking. (If you're using frozen cauliflower, wait to add it until the potatoes are done to your liking, then add the cauliflower and bring the pot to a boil and then immediately turn it off and drain.) Drain and place in a bowl where you'll be mixing with the tomato mixture.
Remove the tomato-filled pan from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes (cover off), then pour the mixture into your blender, along with the almond milk. Process till smooth. Pour this over the veggies, add the peas and fold everything together till the peas are thawed out.
Monday, February 25, 2019
Sweet potato and black bean sauce
So, I've known for a while that sweet potatoes and black beans are a thing in the veg*n community, but I just never found a recipe that grabbed me.
Well, today, I'm down to bare bones pantry supplies plus a pureed chili-spiced black bean soup I whipped up the other day. I decided to spoon it over some steamed sweet potato chunks ,and it turned out great! I started out with my own Dimo's Mexican spice mix plus some black beans and onion and that's it:
2 cups of dried black beans
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbs of Dimo's Mexican spice mix.
Soak the beans overnight, drain, rinse, and put in a pot with enough water to cover to your second knuckle. In another pan, dry saute the onion (add a splash of water when things start to stick) until translucent. Add the spice mix and the garlic and saute till the onion is coated with the spices. Toss into the pot with the beans, and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour or so or until the beans are very soft. Puree with a stick blender, or else in a stand blender in batches.
Peel and cut a 1 lb sweet potato into medium sized chunks and put in a steamer basket and steam till tender. Transfer to a bowl, or soup plate, and pour the soup over the sweet potato chunks and chow down!
So, I've known for a while that sweet potatoes and black beans are a thing in the veg*n community, but I just never found a recipe that grabbed me.
Well, today, I'm down to bare bones pantry supplies plus a pureed chili-spiced black bean soup I whipped up the other day. I decided to spoon it over some steamed sweet potato chunks ,and it turned out great! I started out with my own Dimo's Mexican spice mix plus some black beans and onion and that's it:
2 cups of dried black beans
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbs of Dimo's Mexican spice mix.
Soak the beans overnight, drain, rinse, and put in a pot with enough water to cover to your second knuckle. In another pan, dry saute the onion (add a splash of water when things start to stick) until translucent. Add the spice mix and the garlic and saute till the onion is coated with the spices. Toss into the pot with the beans, and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour or so or until the beans are very soft. Puree with a stick blender, or else in a stand blender in batches.
Peel and cut a 1 lb sweet potato into medium sized chunks and put in a steamer basket and steam till tender. Transfer to a bowl, or soup plate, and pour the soup over the sweet potato chunks and chow down!
Friday, February 22, 2019
Barley Vegetable Soup
Here's a very basic (and of course, very cheap) vegetable soup. You can use whatever vegetables you can get on sale but I usually stick with the same ones, sale or not; they're usually cheap enough they won't break the bank at any rate.
I usually go with one extravagance when I make brothy soup: prepared veggie broth. The brand I get is available at Aldi's for 1.89 per 1 qt carton and I use 2, and this is the most expensive ingredient at 3.80. The reason I go with prepped broth is consistency. For just about everything else I usually just use my broth made from veg prep scraps, recipe available here. The scrap version can be very oniony, or carroty, or celery-y, depending on what trimmings I have in the freezer, so for brothy soups, I go with prepared. The scraps from the prep for this soup will also go into the freezer for future stock, unlike my Cucalenco soup. Also I save the salting of the soup for when it's done. Usually salt will lose some of its "presence" when you add it at the beginning, so when you save it for the end, you don't have to use quite as much to the get the same saltiness.
1 cup barley, hull-less is preferred but pearled or scotch (better) is fine if that's all you can get..
2 quarts of commercial vegetable broth (3.60)
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
3 small or 2 medium carrots, sliced in 1/4 inch slices; any slices bigger than a nickel I usually cut in half moons. (0.25)
1 medium yellow or white onion, diced. ).25)
2 cloves minced garlic (.10)
2 ribs of celery diced. (.25)
1/2 to 1 pound of fresh green beans, topped and tailed and snapped into 2 inch pieces (You can use a bag of frozen if you wish to save money) (0.99)
1 medium large turnip, cut in small dice (0.90)
1/2 small to medium head of cabbage, chopped very thin.
1 can of petite cut diced tomatoes, fire-roasted if you can get them. The soup won't be ruined if you can't but in that case, maybe add a drop or two of liquid smoke.
1 teaspoon each of thyme, savory, basil, and dill.
3/4 cup of finely diced seitan (optional if you have concerns about protein content; if you can't get seitan, use a cup of pureed white, pinto, or black beans)
Salt and pepper to taste.
First things first: Rinse the barley and place it in a medium saucepan and add 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer till tender and kind of fluffy looking (about a half hour). You'll probably have to skim some "scum" from the surface (don't worry; it's just some surface starch)
In the meantime, put the onions, carrot, celery, and green beans (if using fresh) into a pot (or your Instant Pot) and dry saute over medium heat (hit the saute button on the I-Pot), till the onions are translucent. Add a splash of water any time things start to stick. Add the garlic and continue to saute for another minute. Add in the broth, soy sauce, turnip, cabbage, diced tomatoes, the barley (with it's cooking water) and the herbs except the dill (and the green beans if using frozen). At this point add the seitan or or pureed beans if using. On the stove-top, bring to a boil and lower heat and simmer until all the vegetables are soft to your liking. If you wish, you may add another diced rib of celery about 5 minutes before you take the soup off the heat, if you like some crunch. On the I-Pot, hit the "manual/pressure cook" button and set for 12 minutes and NPR for 5 minutes (while in warm-up mode) and then quick release the rest.
Add the dill and season to your liking with salt and pepper, and maybe some hot sauce. I usually add a pinch of turmeric at this point as well, both for a little color and the anti-inflammatory properties of the turmeric.
If you're following the McDougall Starch Solution program (or even if you're not!), feel free to add a cup of frozen corn, frozen peas, or a diced potato.
The whole recipe is about 9 dollars; however 40% of that 9 dollars is the commercial broth. If you make your own broth from veggie scraps, or even use one of those bouillon pastes that come in a jar, it's probably around 6.50 or 7 dollars for the pot, which brings the cost down to under a dollar per serving.
Here's a very basic (and of course, very cheap) vegetable soup. You can use whatever vegetables you can get on sale but I usually stick with the same ones, sale or not; they're usually cheap enough they won't break the bank at any rate.
I usually go with one extravagance when I make brothy soup: prepared veggie broth. The brand I get is available at Aldi's for 1.89 per 1 qt carton and I use 2, and this is the most expensive ingredient at 3.80. The reason I go with prepped broth is consistency. For just about everything else I usually just use my broth made from veg prep scraps, recipe available here. The scrap version can be very oniony, or carroty, or celery-y, depending on what trimmings I have in the freezer, so for brothy soups, I go with prepared. The scraps from the prep for this soup will also go into the freezer for future stock, unlike my Cucalenco soup. Also I save the salting of the soup for when it's done. Usually salt will lose some of its "presence" when you add it at the beginning, so when you save it for the end, you don't have to use quite as much to the get the same saltiness.
1 cup barley, hull-less is preferred but pearled or scotch (better) is fine if that's all you can get..
2 quarts of commercial vegetable broth (3.60)
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
3 small or 2 medium carrots, sliced in 1/4 inch slices; any slices bigger than a nickel I usually cut in half moons. (0.25)
1 medium yellow or white onion, diced. ).25)
2 cloves minced garlic (.10)
2 ribs of celery diced. (.25)
1/2 to 1 pound of fresh green beans, topped and tailed and snapped into 2 inch pieces (You can use a bag of frozen if you wish to save money) (0.99)
1 medium large turnip, cut in small dice (0.90)
1/2 small to medium head of cabbage, chopped very thin.
1 can of petite cut diced tomatoes, fire-roasted if you can get them. The soup won't be ruined if you can't but in that case, maybe add a drop or two of liquid smoke.
1 teaspoon each of thyme, savory, basil, and dill.
3/4 cup of finely diced seitan (optional if you have concerns about protein content; if you can't get seitan, use a cup of pureed white, pinto, or black beans)
Salt and pepper to taste.
First things first: Rinse the barley and place it in a medium saucepan and add 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer till tender and kind of fluffy looking (about a half hour). You'll probably have to skim some "scum" from the surface (don't worry; it's just some surface starch)
In the meantime, put the onions, carrot, celery, and green beans (if using fresh) into a pot (or your Instant Pot) and dry saute over medium heat (hit the saute button on the I-Pot), till the onions are translucent. Add a splash of water any time things start to stick. Add the garlic and continue to saute for another minute. Add in the broth, soy sauce, turnip, cabbage, diced tomatoes, the barley (with it's cooking water) and the herbs except the dill (and the green beans if using frozen). At this point add the seitan or or pureed beans if using. On the stove-top, bring to a boil and lower heat and simmer until all the vegetables are soft to your liking. If you wish, you may add another diced rib of celery about 5 minutes before you take the soup off the heat, if you like some crunch. On the I-Pot, hit the "manual/pressure cook" button and set for 12 minutes and NPR for 5 minutes (while in warm-up mode) and then quick release the rest.
Add the dill and season to your liking with salt and pepper, and maybe some hot sauce. I usually add a pinch of turmeric at this point as well, both for a little color and the anti-inflammatory properties of the turmeric.
If you're following the McDougall Starch Solution program (or even if you're not!), feel free to add a cup of frozen corn, frozen peas, or a diced potato.
The whole recipe is about 9 dollars; however 40% of that 9 dollars is the commercial broth. If you make your own broth from veggie scraps, or even use one of those bouillon pastes that come in a jar, it's probably around 6.50 or 7 dollars for the pot, which brings the cost down to under a dollar per serving.
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Vegan Douglas Chili
I can't believe I have yet to post my famous chili recipe! So, here it is.
Years ago we had a chili cook-off in my office and I brought the meat version of this chili and one of my co-workers called it "The Douglas Chili." Every time we had a potluck after that, he'd ask me if I'd bring it.
First thing you have to do is make Dimo's Mexican spice mix:
The amounts are huge, but it makes a batch that will do for multiple pots of chile.
8 tablespoons of chipotle chili powder (or how much ever your container has plus regular chili powder to make up 8 tablespoons) (1 T for single recipe)
4 tablespoons cumin (1/2 T for single recipe)
4 teaspoons of coriander (1/2 tsp for single recipe)
6 teaspoons of cocoa (cocoa, NOT chocolate milk powder!) (1/2 tsp for single recipe
2 teaspoons of cinnamon. (1/4 tsp for single recipe)
Just put it all in a jar and shake well till everything is blended. This mix is also good as a seasoning for plain black or pinto beans (If you can't find chipotle chili powder, or it's too expensive for you, use regular and add some liquid smoke at the end, say, 1/4 teaspoon)
Now for the chili:
3/4 cup dried French green or black lentils if you can find them. Otherwise brown are fine.
1 large (like between softball and baseball size) onion or 2 small to medium onions, diced
1.5 Tablespoons of Dimo's Mexican spice mix
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 can low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can low sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed.
1 15 oz can white hominy
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 7 oz can of La Costeña Mexican salsa (just leave it out if you can't find it; you can add some chopped jalapenos plain)
1/4 cup dry red lentils
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes with chilis (I try to get the Rotel brand cilantro and lime flavor)
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
Put the green or black lentils in a sauce pan with 2 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer till tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes. If using brown lentils, just add them in, dry, with the other beans.
Meanwhile, place diced onion in a pot, and dry saute till soft and translucent, adding a splash of water or vegetable broth when things start to stick.
Add spice mix and the garlic and saute until onions are coated with the spice mix, about a minute.
Add all the beans, hominy, tomato sauce, salsa, and both types of lentils (with the cooking water if using green or black ones)
Puree the diced tomatoes with the peanut butter and add to the pot.
Add enough water to thin out to your liking and simmer until the hominy turns orange.
Alternative cooking methods:
After sauteeing the onions and pureeing the diced tomatoes and peanut butter, toss everything into the slow cooker and cook on low till the hominy turns orange, usually at least 6 hours. This method is good if you're going to be out all day and you don't want to have to do anything when you get home but ladle up and eat :).
If you're using an Instant Pot, do the onion/garlic sautee and then add everything else and cook at (high) pressure for 10 minutes (it will actually take more than 10 before you can open the pot, what with heating up and dissipating the pressure). NPR for 10 minutes then quick release the rest.
It goes without saying, that this goes excellent with corn bread. It can also be stretched by serving with elbow macaroni/mac-n-cheese for chili mac (about half the amount of chili as in a single serving plus the same amount of macaroni; just don't mix them until serving time).
Serves 8 with 13g protein and 21g fiber. (the meat version gains 1.5g protein but loses 7.3g fiber)
I can't believe I have yet to post my famous chili recipe! So, here it is.
Years ago we had a chili cook-off in my office and I brought the meat version of this chili and one of my co-workers called it "The Douglas Chili." Every time we had a potluck after that, he'd ask me if I'd bring it.
First thing you have to do is make Dimo's Mexican spice mix:
The amounts are huge, but it makes a batch that will do for multiple pots of chile.
8 tablespoons of chipotle chili powder (or how much ever your container has plus regular chili powder to make up 8 tablespoons) (1 T for single recipe)
4 tablespoons cumin (1/2 T for single recipe)
4 teaspoons of coriander (1/2 tsp for single recipe)
6 teaspoons of cocoa (cocoa, NOT chocolate milk powder!) (1/2 tsp for single recipe
2 teaspoons of cinnamon. (1/4 tsp for single recipe)
Just put it all in a jar and shake well till everything is blended. This mix is also good as a seasoning for plain black or pinto beans (If you can't find chipotle chili powder, or it's too expensive for you, use regular and add some liquid smoke at the end, say, 1/4 teaspoon)
Now for the chili:
3/4 cup dried French green or black lentils if you can find them. Otherwise brown are fine.
1 large (like between softball and baseball size) onion or 2 small to medium onions, diced
1.5 Tablespoons of Dimo's Mexican spice mix
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 can low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can low sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed.
1 15 oz can white hominy
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 7 oz can of La Costeña Mexican salsa (just leave it out if you can't find it; you can add some chopped jalapenos plain)
1/4 cup dry red lentils
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes with chilis (I try to get the Rotel brand cilantro and lime flavor)
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
Put the green or black lentils in a sauce pan with 2 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer till tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes. If using brown lentils, just add them in, dry, with the other beans.
Meanwhile, place diced onion in a pot, and dry saute till soft and translucent, adding a splash of water or vegetable broth when things start to stick.
Add spice mix and the garlic and saute until onions are coated with the spice mix, about a minute.
Add all the beans, hominy, tomato sauce, salsa, and both types of lentils (with the cooking water if using green or black ones)
Puree the diced tomatoes with the peanut butter and add to the pot.
Add enough water to thin out to your liking and simmer until the hominy turns orange.
Alternative cooking methods:
After sauteeing the onions and pureeing the diced tomatoes and peanut butter, toss everything into the slow cooker and cook on low till the hominy turns orange, usually at least 6 hours. This method is good if you're going to be out all day and you don't want to have to do anything when you get home but ladle up and eat :).
If you're using an Instant Pot, do the onion/garlic sautee and then add everything else and cook at (high) pressure for 10 minutes (it will actually take more than 10 before you can open the pot, what with heating up and dissipating the pressure). NPR for 10 minutes then quick release the rest.
It goes without saying, that this goes excellent with corn bread. It can also be stretched by serving with elbow macaroni/mac-n-cheese for chili mac (about half the amount of chili as in a single serving plus the same amount of macaroni; just don't mix them until serving time).
Serves 8 with 13g protein and 21g fiber. (the meat version gains 1.5g protein but loses 7.3g fiber)
Monday, February 4, 2019
Smoothies
I've never really been a big fan of the smoothie. I have tried various recipes, but for a long time, the only ones I could find were made with either banana or yogurt. I didn't like the tang of the yogurt smoothies and the banana ones.....well, the banana came screaming through any other taste that was in the smoothie and bananas are not my favorite thing to eat in the first place.
But, oh, Eureka and Hallelujah! I found one that ends up nice and thick with no bananas or yogurt!! The only drawback was that it called for a "handful" of spinach. Blech! Now, smoothie enthusiast friends of mine always say the same thing: "you can't taste it!" All I can assume is that their taste buds are dead, because they say the same thing about the banana, and, as I've said above, I can indeed taste it! So, I just left out the spinach. Now, In the interests of nutrition, in the future, I may slowly introduce spinach into my smoothie, like a couple leaves every day, until the point that I can taste it. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Anyway, here is the recipe (I tweaked a recipe I found here):
1.5 cups unsweetened plant milk (can contain vanilla or not)
1.25 cups frozen mixed berries (I used 1 cup raspberries and blackberries, and the quarter cup blueberries; you can mix-n-match to your taste but they have to be frozen)
1/2 cup of quick cooking rolled oats (these are one processing step further than old fashioned oats, still whole grain,though).
1 tablespoon of cashew or almond butter (you can use peanut butter for a little more "earthy" taste)
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
1/4 t cinnamon
up to 4 ice cubes (optional; the less you use, the thicker the end result)
Just chuck everything in the blender in the order given, and blend until smooth.
As I said above, I used a 4:1 ratio of blackberries/raspberries to blueberries, but a local grocery chain has a cherry berry blend I want to try, and I may just do all blackberries or all cherries one of these times I'll be doing some experimenting. Also, since there's no yogurt, I may try the pumpkin spice smoothie again and if it's any less gag-inducing than the last time I tried it, that'll be another taste in my smoothie repertoire, lol.
As for nutrition, it's a bit of a calorie bomb at around 440 and 14.7 g of fat but that's still only 30% of the calories from fat, and if the rest of your day has no more than 5 grams of fat you'll still be under the 10% recommended by the McDougall plan. Good news is that it's got 13.5 grams of protein and 15.5 grams of fiber. Pretty good for what amounts to a milkshake for breakfast!
I've never really been a big fan of the smoothie. I have tried various recipes, but for a long time, the only ones I could find were made with either banana or yogurt. I didn't like the tang of the yogurt smoothies and the banana ones.....well, the banana came screaming through any other taste that was in the smoothie and bananas are not my favorite thing to eat in the first place.
But, oh, Eureka and Hallelujah! I found one that ends up nice and thick with no bananas or yogurt!! The only drawback was that it called for a "handful" of spinach. Blech! Now, smoothie enthusiast friends of mine always say the same thing: "you can't taste it!" All I can assume is that their taste buds are dead, because they say the same thing about the banana, and, as I've said above, I can indeed taste it! So, I just left out the spinach. Now, In the interests of nutrition, in the future, I may slowly introduce spinach into my smoothie, like a couple leaves every day, until the point that I can taste it. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Anyway, here is the recipe (I tweaked a recipe I found here):
1.5 cups unsweetened plant milk (can contain vanilla or not)
1.25 cups frozen mixed berries (I used 1 cup raspberries and blackberries, and the quarter cup blueberries; you can mix-n-match to your taste but they have to be frozen)
1/2 cup of quick cooking rolled oats (these are one processing step further than old fashioned oats, still whole grain,though).
1 tablespoon of cashew or almond butter (you can use peanut butter for a little more "earthy" taste)
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
1/4 t cinnamon
up to 4 ice cubes (optional; the less you use, the thicker the end result)
Just chuck everything in the blender in the order given, and blend until smooth.
As I said above, I used a 4:1 ratio of blackberries/raspberries to blueberries, but a local grocery chain has a cherry berry blend I want to try, and I may just do all blackberries or all cherries one of these times I'll be doing some experimenting. Also, since there's no yogurt, I may try the pumpkin spice smoothie again and if it's any less gag-inducing than the last time I tried it, that'll be another taste in my smoothie repertoire, lol.
As for nutrition, it's a bit of a calorie bomb at around 440 and 14.7 g of fat but that's still only 30% of the calories from fat, and if the rest of your day has no more than 5 grams of fat you'll still be under the 10% recommended by the McDougall plan. Good news is that it's got 13.5 grams of protein and 15.5 grams of fiber. Pretty good for what amounts to a milkshake for breakfast!
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Greetings cheap eaters!
Today's recipe is based on a potato corn chowder from the Clean Food, Dirty Girls food blog. Molly's recipe calls for non-dairy milk for thickness and the whole "chowder" vibe; to cut down on price (non-dairy milk is usually twice the price of dairy milk where I live, and making homemade is pretty up there as well), for you lacto-ovo cheap eaters, you can use regular whole milk. This one depends on barley and to an extent, red lentils. The lentils are a bit pricey compared to regular brown ones but they're totally worth it. With the lentils and barley and either the corn or quinoa, all 8 essential amino acids are in one recipe!
I use an Instant Pot for this recipe. Stove-top instructions are at the end.
Spice mix:
Today's recipe is based on a potato corn chowder from the Clean Food, Dirty Girls food blog. Molly's recipe calls for non-dairy milk for thickness and the whole "chowder" vibe; to cut down on price (non-dairy milk is usually twice the price of dairy milk where I live, and making homemade is pretty up there as well), for you lacto-ovo cheap eaters, you can use regular whole milk. This one depends on barley and to an extent, red lentils. The lentils are a bit pricey compared to regular brown ones but they're totally worth it. With the lentils and barley and either the corn or quinoa, all 8 essential amino acids are in one recipe!
I use an Instant Pot for this recipe. Stove-top instructions are at the end.
Smoky red lentil and barley stew
Spice mix:
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp hickory smoked salt (or 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp liquid smoke)*
Veggies:
Veggies:
1 small white onion, diced.
3 cloves garlic pressed
3 med potatoes, cut in 1” dice.
1 cup diced (1” dice) turnip or rutabaga
1/2 lb green beans, topped and tailed, snapped in 2" pieces
3 large carrots, trimmed and chopped
1/2 lb green beans, topped and tailed, snapped in 2" pieces
3 large carrots, trimmed and chopped
1 cup diced tomatoes, fire roasted if you can get/afford them
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
1/2 cup of quinoa, rinsed
1/3 cup barley flakes*
1 cup frozen corn (optional)
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 Tbs nutritional yeast
black pepper to taste
Measure out all the spices (including the salt if using salt and liquid smoke) in a small prep bowl and set aside. Prep and measure out the vegetables. (Use trimmings for your next batch of broth, though hold off on the turnip/rutabaga trimmings.)
Press the saute button on the Instant Pot and let the pot heat up for a minute. Add the onion, saute for 3 minutes, add garlic and saute for 1 minute more, stirring frequently and adding a bit of water when needed to keep the vegetables from sticking.
Turn off the IP and add the spices set aside earlier and stir. Add the next 9 ingredients (potatoes through broth plus liquid smoke if using). Lock the IP lid in place, making sure the nozzle is set to seal. Set the timer for 5 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn off the pot and NPR for 15 minutes then QR the rest of the pressure.
When all the pressure is out, take off the lid and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Add the frozen corn if used, parsley, yeast and black pepper and stir until well combined.
*if you can't find barley flakes, use 1/3 cup of hulled barley, precooked.
Stovetop instructions:
If using hulled barley, cook in 2 cups of water for an hour and drain before adding to the stew. (use the cooking water for your next batch of broth; store in freezer along with veg trimmings). Proceed with measuring spices and veggies. Saute as above, add the spices and the next 9 ingredients to a soup pot. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until the potatoes and carrots are tender. Add the rest of the ingredients (the "to finish" list) and stir until well combined.
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