Wild Black Rice & Edamame Salad

I don't know how many of you have heard of or watched the show "Chopped." To say that my husband loves it is an understatement, so by default I end up watching it with him. Not that it's boring or lame, I just am not so much a TV person. But in all honesty, it's actually a pretty great time—definitely inspiring and nail-biting to watch talented chefs create not only edible but gourmet dishes from three sometimes-obscure ingredients.

Well, yesterday I found myself at home without a car and the perfect opportunity to pretend I was on "Chopped." I glory in a good challenge, especially when it means being creative with what I already have. So I said, "Okay, Katie. Come up with dinner using only the ingredients in this house." (No cheating and running over to the neighbor's to borrow a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.) And I promise, there really wasn't much! I'd gone to Costco the day before and bought coconut oil and grapefruit (and a 2-year supply of kitchen trash bags!), but I hadn't made it to the grocery store after we'd been out of town all weekend.

I looked in our pantry and saw a small bag of wild BLACK rice I'd bought a few months ago just to give it a try, and it definitely called out to me! I'd been wanting to try it. Ingredient number 1. (Ingredients number 2 and 3 were Brussels Sprouts and Rosemary, but those ended up in a veggie side dish and in the main course.)

I googled "wild black rice" recipes and came upon this amazing dish! It's not only pleasing to the eye but also to the tastebuds! I made a few changes to make it my own, as I highly recommend you do too. It's way more fun to cook when you put your personal stamp on your food!

Ingredients

1 tablespoons white sesame seeds

2 cups cooked wild black rice or regular wild rice (This was about 1 cup uncooked rice)

About 1/8 cup red onion, diced (I just cut a 1/2-inch slice from the middle of the onion and then chopped. Use a shallot if you have that instead.)

1 cup shelled edamame

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced small

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/8 cup rice vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Place the sesame seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat and toast, stirring often, until golden brown. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl.

2. Add the rice, onion, edamame, carrots, and cranberries to the bowl and toss.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, and a few shakes (or cranks) of salt and pepper. Pour over the mixture in the large bowl and toss. Taste to see if it needs more salt, pepper, or vinegar.

4. Cover and chill for at least one hour before eating.

5. Make enough for lunch tomorrow!

Lentil Veggie Marinara with Angel Hair Pasta

This is a delicious hearty marinara packed with protein from the lentils. It's both gluten free and vegan, which makes my body super happy! It's also pretty darn tastey, which makes my mouth happy.

The first time I made this dish I created a smaller batch, so this time around I didn't hold back. I've honestly been eating this pasta for lunch every day this week, and I'm not yet sick of it. Pretty astonishing. Granted, I don't want it to go to waste either—lots of hard work and goodness down the drain—so part of me is wishing I'd frozen some or taken some to the neighbors. PS, I love sprinkling feta over top—yum!

Serves 8

1 cup uncooked brown lentils
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tomato, diced
2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 tablespoons homemade Italian seasoning (click here for recipe)
Gluten-free brown rice angel hair pasta, cooked (or any pasta or veggie noodles of your choice—we love spaghetti squash and zucchini noodles)

To cook the lentils, put lentils, water, and salt in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower to simmer and cook with the lid off for 45 minutes, or until the lentils are soft. The water will be nearly gone.

Add oil to a large skillet and sauté garlic and onion. Once the onions are soft, add bell pepper. Cook for another few minutes. Then add tomato, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and cooked lentils. Let it simmer until the bell pepper are cooked as thoroughly as you like.

Spoon over top a steaming plate full of pasta. (Okay, not literally a whole plate full, because that would not be a very balanced "green" meal, so maybe fill half your plate with a spinach or kale salad.)

Coconut No-Bake Balls

By popular demand, I introduce to you the Coconut No-Bake Ball. It's edible, it's memorable, and it's just enough sweetness to hit the spot. Not to mention, it is packed full of much-desired lauric acid! Most of you know my healthy obsession with coconut oil because of all its anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties, so eating one of these coconut balls is kind of like getting a mini flu shot, but much much more enjoyable.

My husband is allergic to nuts, so instead of using almond butter we use sun butter, made from sunflower seeds. You can hardly tell the difference between peanut butter and sun butter, so it's a great substitute when recipes call for any kind of nut butter.

Makes 18, 1-inch balls

4 tablespoons melted coconut oil (raw and unrefined coconut oil)
4 tablespoons coconut milk
1 cup almond butter (or sun butter for nut allergies)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup + 5 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tablespoons xylitol (or stevia if you prefer)

Add all ingredients except the 5 tablespoons shredded coconut to a turbo blender. Make sure to add the ingredients in the order listed above. The mixture will get pretty thick very fast, so you want your liquids at the bottom of the blender. Blend mixture and then pause to push sides of the mixture down with a spatula. Blend again if necessary. The mixture is going to be thick like cookie dough, so be prepared to keep an eye on your blender so the motor doesn't burn out. The mixture should be thoroughly blended, but not smooth.

Now roll dough into 1-inch balls and roll each ball in the reserved shredded coconut. Place coconut balls on a plate and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before eating. Enjoy!

This recipe just so happens to be part of a candida cleanse, which I found on the Candida Diet website. Candida is a form of yeast found naturally in the intestine and the mouth. When you have an overgrowth of candida, it can make you get frequent colds and flus, feel lethargic or irritable, have chronic body pain, unable to focus, crave sugar or alcohol, unable to lose weight, and experience digestive problems. An overgrowth can happen with a slight change in your body, like going through a few rounds of antibiotics, eating a diet rich in carbs and sugars, or experiencing high stress. The Candida Diet website gives great background on what candida is, how an overgrowth effects your body, how to know if you have an overgrowth, and how to get rid of it.

You are meant to feel good! Listen to your body and do what it takes to get back to your natural state—health. There are so many resources out there to help you along the way!

Horchata Rice Pudding

I found this recipe in Veg News magazine and then slightly tweaked it to make it my own. It's great warm or chilled. Promise to share!

serves 6

3 cups rice milk
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated cardamom
6 tablespoons raisins, toasted unsweetened coconut chips, for garnish (optional)

1. In a large saucepan over high heat, combine rice milk, coconut milk, rice, and syrup, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 30 to 40 minutes, or until rice is soft and mixture has a thick, pudding-like consistency.

2. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon, and cardamom. Remove from heat. Serve warm or cold, topped with raisins or coconut chips. (I prefer it without toppings.)

Homemade Italian Seasoning

This blend is some marvelous stuff. We toss it in salsa, stir it into veggies, sprinkle it into pasta salad, and add it to marinara. You're going to love having a stash of this in your cupboard or pantry. It's a great go-to seasoning to replace any prepackaged Italian seasonings that may have unwanted fillers.

1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil
1 tablespoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
2 tablespoons sea salt

I found I was going through this amount really fast, so I like to double this recipe.

Vegetable Laksa

May this curry find its way into your happy little heart . . . and belly. It is definitely one of our new favorites! Will and I didn't quite bond with the rice noodles like we'd hoped (as seen in this photo), but we loved the Vegetable Laksa over brown rice. The next time I make this recipe my plan is to either use Singapore rice noodles, which are much thinner than these Pad Thai rice noodles, or cook the rice noodles longer so that they're softer—they were too stiff to enjoy in the same bite with the veggies and curry.

3/4 pound (350 grams) rice noodles, Singapore noodles, or brown rice, cooked according to package
2 tablespoons coconut oil
5 tablespoons Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste
1 (14.5 oz.) can vegetable broth
3/4 cup carrots, sliced into batons
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup red bell pepper, sliced into strips
3/4 cup small zucchini, sliced into batons
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari*
Cilantro, chopped

1. Place coconut oil in frying pan and add curry. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
2. Add vegetable broth and carrots, and bring to a boil. Cover and let cook for 1minute.
3. Add coconut milk, zucchini, and red bell pepper, and cook until tender.
4. Remove from heat. Add soy sauce and cilantro.
5. Pour over noodles or rice and serve.

*If you are making this recipe gluten free, make sure you use gluten-free soy sauce.

Massaman Curry

Thanks to Kenny, one of my past authors who first introduced me to the unforgettable Massaman Curry at a small Thai place in American Fork, and even more thanks to Sam, my best friend, for passing on the actual recipe for Massaman Curry to make it for dinner any time we want. We love it!

 

Massaman Curry

2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons red curry paste
1 small piece ginger (approx. 3/4-inch thick), minced
3 tablespoons sucanat brown sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1/3 cup organic peanut butter (or sun butter if you're allergic to nuts)
1/2 cup cubed sweet potatoes (the white ones)
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup fresh green beans
1/2 cup chopped broccoli
1/2 cup chopped cauliflower
2 (13.5 ounce) cans coconut milk
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Steamed brown rice

Optional:
1. Heat coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in curry paste and ginger. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.

2. Stir in sucanat, fish sauce, peanut or sun butter, sweet potato, carrots, green beans, and then the coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes. Add broccoli and cauliflower, and cook until tender, about 10 more minutes.

3. Add lime juice and cook for an additional 5 minutes before serving. Serve over brown rice.

Just a heads-up: If you make this recipe without the sweet potatoes, make sure you not only replace them with another veggie but add in some other extra veggies. The potatoes absorb some of the sauce, so when you nix the potatoes there's a lot more sauce than usual.

Energy Balls for a Sweet Healthy Snack

A fast, easy snack that is packed full of healthy goodness. A no-bake cookie sprinkled with ground flax seed, packed together with nut butter (or sun butter in our case, for Will's nut allergy), and sweetened with raw honey and carob chips. This is definitely our top go-to sweet source of enjoyment, with the recipe sticky-noted on our cupboard.

1 cup dry oats (gluten-free for those of you who choose)
2/3 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup nut butter (I love organic almond butter, but sun butter works great for nut allergies, as it's made with sunflower seeds)
1/2 cup ground flaxseed (We grind our flax seed in our Blendtec.)
1/3 cup raw honey or maple syrup (The last few times I've used all-natural syrup and it's really good too!)
1/3 cup carob chips (or dried fruit if you prefer)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir it all together. It's a pretty good bicep workout, so plan ahead and on the day you make these maybe don't work out your right arm when you go to the gym. Chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes and then roll into balls. If the balls don't stick together very well, next time add a little less oats or a little more nut butter or honey. We roll ours into balls that are about 1-inch in diameter, which makes about 20 energy balls.

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

1 tsp Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked Quinoa
1 1/2 cups Vegetable broth
1 tsp ground Cumin
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup frozen Corn kernels
2 (15 oz) cans Black beans, rinsed and drained (would be healthier to make your own)
1/2 cup chopped fresh Cilantro

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated thoroughly.
4. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

Enjoy!

Roasted Summer Squash

This recipe is easy, relatively fast (fast prep, semi-fast bake time), and delicious. Can't beat that. Oh, and it's healthy.

Yellow squash
Cloves garlic, chopped
Thyme
Rosemary
Red pepper flakes
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Coconut oil or olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut the squash lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds to create a small cavity in the center.

2. Lightly grease a baking dish or pan with coconut oil and place squash on top.

3. Into each squash half, put a little of each of the seasonings to taste—it's all up to your tastebuds. I sprinkle on a little of everything, but the red pepper flakes sparingly.

4. Drizzle oil or spread a little coconut oil over top. Cover with foil. Bake for 25 minutes and then remove the foil. Then bake at 300F for another 10 minutes, or until soft.

I promise this will be one of those go-to recipes that you crave—the seasonings really make the squash come to life. This recipe was inspired by The 28-Day Cleansing Program cookbook.

Chocolate Chia Pudding

I subscribe to Veg News magazine (thanks to my thoughtful friend Karina!) and have had the Chocolate Chia Pudding recipe dog-eared since June. Last night I finally made it, specially for my boyfriend who loves chocolate pudding, and it was a huge hit! He said it reminds him of tapioca pudding.

Serves 6

3 cups non-diary chocolate milk (I used rice milk.)
1/2 cup chia seeds (If you buy them on a Tuesday from Whole Foods you get 15% off!)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (This is optional, but it sure makes this pudding taste amazing!)
2 tablespoons agave
fresh raspberries, for garnish

1. In a medium-sized bowl stir together non-dairy milk, chia seeds, and vanilla. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour. Remove bowl and stir in agave.

2. Return bowl to the fridge and chill for another 2 to 3 hours. (When I first tasted the pudding after it chilled for only an hour, the texture of the chia seeds wasn't too appetizing to me. But the longer the chia seeds soaked in the fridge, the more they swelled and resembled tapioca.)

Cantaloupe-Blueberry Smoothie w/ Flax Seed

1 cup water
1 tablespoon ground flax seed (or flax seed meal)
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup purple grapes
1 cup small squares cantaloupe
2 handfuls kale or chard

Optional:

Protein powder

Stevia to taste

Agave to taste

Xylitol to taste

Blend it all up in your trusty old power blender. Remember, the more frozen fruits going into your smoothie, the more water you want to add so your blender doesn't jam. Sweeten to taste with protein powder, stevia, agave, or xylitol.

Acai Purple Smoothie

Good morning! I'm LOVING the smoothie I made this morning and knew I had to share this little piece of joy with you guys.

1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon flax seeds
2 tablespoons fresh pomegranate seeds
1 handful purple grapes, frozen
2 large handfuls spinach, frozen
1 handful blueberries, frozen
2 large strawberries, frozen
1 acai smoothie pack, semi-frozen (I buy the Sambazon brand, which comes with 4 packs.)
1 scoop Lepterra protein powder, chocolate flavor

Add all of the ingredients to the blender in approximately this order and blend. If some of these ingredients, like the spinach or grapes, aren't frozen, lessen the amount of water so you have your preferred consistency. Before I add the acai to the blender, I soak it for a minute or so while still in it's package in some room temperature water so I can break it up with my hands. Then I cut the package open and adding the acai chunks to the blender. Enjoy!

Best Dinner Ever

 

I know Katie already posted about this but I thought I would share a picture of one of my favorite dinners and it was so easy! I baked red potatoes, carrots, purple and yellow onions, whole green onions, zucchini, sliced oranges, and pieces of fresh rosemary coated with olive oil and salt and pepper. It was served with roasted garlic and olive oil couscous.

Tonight I am going to get even more adventurous and use eggplant, anise (fennel), and yellow squash.

Blueberry Banana Smoothie w/ Lime

Plus some other ingredients that didn't fit in the title. Like an orange. Some spinach. And some flax seed. Here're the basic proportions I blended up for breakfast this morning. I'm loving the kick of lime!

1 cup water
1 teaspoon flax seeds
1 orange, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup blueberries, frozen
1/4 large banana, frozen
3 handfuls spinach, frozen
1 tablespoon (give or take) fresh lime juice
1 scoop Lepterra chocolate protein powder
8 ice cubes (which I added after I'd blended all the other ingredients—I just kept adding ice cubes till the consistency was how I like it.)

Rosemary & Garlic Roasted Vegetables

On my drive home tonight I got a text from Sam saying, "I just made the best dinner ever, and it was sooo easy! I roasted onions, carrots, potatoes, zucchini, green onions whole, and sliced oranges mixed with olive oil, salt & pepper, and fresh rosemary in the oven." I was starving and this did sound amazing, so even though I wasn't going to get home till 8pm, I knew I wanted to make it tonight. I called Sam to get the details and on the way home ended up mentally creating my own rendition with what I knew was in my fridge. I miraculously had fresh rosemary too and thought I had green onions, but those have mysteriously disappeared. Get creative and add your favorite vegetables.

You know a recipe is to die for when your cute grandma tries it and says, "I don't feel sorry for you anymore." She'd been feeling bad for me on Sunday when I told her I don't eat canned vegetables. She said, "These are way better than canned vegetables!" Here's what Grandma was raving about:

Olive oil
Coconut oil
5 cloves garlic, chopped and separated
2 cups baby carrots, sliced

1/2 onion, chopped into large sections, separated

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, separated

2 large beets, sliced thin
1 orange, sliced and separated
About 1/8 head purple cabbage, chopped into medium-size pieces
2 handfuls fresh kale, torn into bite-size pieces
Sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Coat the bottom of a glass casserole dish with olive oil. Coat the bottom of another glass dish (or whatever baking dish you have) with coconut oil. I used both oils for variety, but use what you have. In the olive oil I put 4 cloves of garlic and in the coconut oil I put 2 cloves, mostly because the second dish was smaller than the first. In the olive oil I then added the carrots, most of the onion, 1 sprig of rosemary, half the orange slices, and salt. In the coconut oil I then added the beets, a little bit of onion, 1 sprig of rosemary, half the orange slices, and salt. I separated the beets to keep the purple from dying the rest of the veggies.

Bake both dishes at the same time for 40 minutes total. After the first 20 minutes, remove the beet dish and add the cabbage. Mix well and put back in oven. Then 10 minutes later remove carrot dish and add kale. Mix well and put back in oven for final 10 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

It's 10pm now and I'm exhausted, but it was worth taking the time to cook this gourmet dish, especially because now I have lunch for tomorrow! Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Double Chip Pumpkin Cookies

This post was meant for fall, but this pumpkin goodness is actually edible year round! Sorry I was holding out on you guys.

Gluten-Free Double Chip Pumpkin Cookies
Makes 3 dozen cookies

1/2 cup water
3 Tablespoons ground flaxseeds (can be ground in your BlendTech)
1 1/3 cups Organic Sucanat brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup almond butter
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups gluten-free flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon xanthum gum
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup each vegan gluten-free white and semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life's chips because they're soy free too!)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl stir together water and flaxseeds, and let sit for 5 minutes. Add brown sugar, pumpkin, almond butter, coconut oil, and vanilla, and combine, stirring well.

2. In a medium bowl mix together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, xanthum gum, and sale. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir well to combine. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Heap 2 tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto cookie sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until very lightly browned on the bottom. Let cool slightly before transferring to a cooling rack.


Tip: For all the effort it takes to make these cookies, I like to double the recipe and then freeze the majority of the dough in small tupperware containers. So nice to pull ready-made dough from the freezer when I'm in the mood for cookies or need to take a gluten-free treat for myself to a social gathering.

Asian Sesame Slaw

I originally got the framework for this recipe from The 28-Day Cleansing Program cookbook and then did some tweaking to come up with what you see below. Feel free to do more of your own tweaking to personalize it to your taste buds.

1/2 head cabbage, sliced thin

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup red onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil

3 teaspoons gluten-free tamari (or replace with soy sauce)

1 teaspoon agave

3 tablespoons almond butter
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds

Combine cabbage, carrots, and onion in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl combine all other ingredients except sesame seeds and sunflower seeds, and stir well. Pour mixture onto veggie mixture and stir well. Add seeds and stir.

Salsa Salad

3 large red leaf lettuce leaves (or your favorite green substitute),
   chopped into bite-size pieces
1 cup soaked & cooked garbanzo beans
1 cup  soaked & cooked black beans
1/4 onion, chopped very fine
6 baby carrots, chopped coarsely
1 avocado, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped very fine
1 tablespoon olive oil
Dash cayenne pepper (tasting as you dash as to not over do it)
Salt to taste

Optional: tortilla chips

This creation was inspired by my graduate professor Cheryl, who always knew the perfect day to bring food for the office—the days I forgot lunch or had no food at home to bring! Replace the garbanzo or black beans with Great Northern beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans, kidney beans . . . whatever you prefer.

Combine all ingredients and devour. Tortilla chips can be crunched up and added to each personal salad or used to scoop up the salad for eat bite.

Homemade Granola

This healthy granola is yummy! (Please excuse the poor quality picture) And guess what? It does not contain refined sugar or any other processed ingredients!

4 cups rolled oats (not instant oats, which are a processed food)
1/2 cup raw wheat germ
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 cup nuts (I used macadamia and sliced almonds)
3 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon

Mix well.

Heat these ingredients on stove until just melted.

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Grade B maple syrup
1/4 cup water
optional: 1/4 cup coconut oil
optional: 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Pour over dry mixture and stir until evenly distributed. Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, preferably on a cookie sheet. Stir halfway through the baking process. Keep in pantry for up to 2 weeks, or refrigerate for up to 6 weeks. Enjoy! (You can serve this with almond or rice milk, and sprouted raw sunflower seeds)