I am an Integrative Clinical Nutritionist/Registered Dietitian with a private practice in Seattle. www.NourishingBalance.com. This blog is here to serve you nutritional tips/ideas/research as well as provide recipes that will support your health and delight your tastebuds! I gather these recipes from a variety of sources. Many focus on being gluten/dairy/sugar free and the majority emphasize using the most natural and healthy ingredients possible.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
KELP ENERGY BARS
1 ½ cups raw almonds
1 ½ cups raw walnuts
½ cup raw cashews
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
1 ½ cups dried fruit*
½ cup dried kelp
¾ cup sweetener**
1 teaspoon spices***
Preheat oven to 325 F. Put nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and kelp into a food processor and pulse until nuts are finely chopped. Add sweetener and spices and blend until mixture forms clumps and is sticky. With wet hands, press mixture into a greased 7x11 baking dish. Bake for approximately 30 minutes. Cool and cut into individual pieces. Enjoy!
*Ideas for dried fruit: blueberries, cherries, raisins, coconut, currants, apricots, mango, apple, pineapple, dates, and prunes.
**Ideas for sweeteners include: molasses, honey, agave nectar, and maple syrup.
***Ideas for spices include: ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cocoa powder, and nutmeg.
Original recipe by Jennifer Adler
Thursday, August 19, 2010
AMAZING RESTAURANTS IN SEATTLE
94 Stewart
Anchovies & Olives
Art of the Table
Artisan Café
Assagio Ristorante
Boat Street Café
Café Flora
Café Lago
Carmelita
Chaco Canyon Organic Café
The Corson Building
Crush
Dahlia Lounge
Duke's Chowder House
Earth & Ocean
El Camino
emmer&rye
Enotria
Etta's
Eva Restaurant
FareStart
Flying Fish
Frank's Oyster House
Fresh Bistro
Hales Ales Brewery & Pub
How To Cook A Wolf
Joule
Julia's
Kingfish Café
Le Gourmand
Lola
Lowell's
Madison Park Café
Matt's in the Market
Moshi Moshi Sushi
Nell's Restaurant
Ocho
Olivar
Oliver's Twist
Osteria La Spiga
Palace Kitchen
Perche'No
The Pike Brewing Company
The Pink Door
Poppy
Portage Bay Café
Ray's Boathouse
Rover's
Sambar
Serious Pie
SkyCity at the Needle
Sostanza Trattoria
Cascina Spinasse
Spur Gastropub
TASTE Restaurant
Tavolàta
Tilikum Place Café
Tilth
Tutta Bella
Via Tribunali
Waterfront Seafood Grill
Restaurant Zoe
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Edamame Burgers
2 cups of shelled and frozen edamame
1 15oz can garbanzo beans, with the liquid
1 8 oz package of sliced mushrooms (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup finely ground raw cashews
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
+/- 3 1/2 cups besan flour (chickpea flour)
Sea Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Oil for frying
Place the frozen edamame and the entire can of garbanzo beans, including the liquid in a saucepot to warm. This step is to defrost the edamame, if you use fresh or precooked edamame, you can skip this entire step. Place all ingredients, except the flour and oil into a food processor and puree until smooth. Into a large mixing bowl, pour the contents of the food processor. Slowly add the flour until a thicker consistency is formed. I originally started with 2 cups of flour, but ended up needing 3 1/2 to get the right consistency. Place the entire bowl in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to stiffen up and make it easier to handle when forming the patties. Form into to burger patties. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Freeze any uncooked patties between layers of wax paper. Makes about 16 patties.
Serves: 16
Preparation time: 1 hour
Sunday, June 27, 2010
7-Minute Healthy Sautéed Crimini Mushrooms
Enjoy this easy-to-prepare recipe that complements many of your favorite dishes and is a great addition to your Healthiest Way of Eating. You will also be enjoying a rich source of health-promoting selenium, vitamin B12, and copper along with the great flavor of crimini mushrooms.
Prep and Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 lb medium crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 3 TBS low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- Mediterranean Dressing
- 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 medium cloves garlic
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- Optional:
- 2 TBS fresh rosemary
- few drops of tamari soy sauce
- Serve with sautéed onions, green peas, or almost any of your favorite vegetables.
Directions:
- Chop or press garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to enhance its health-promoting properties.
- Heat 3 TBS broth over medium heat in a stainless steel skillet.
- When broth begins to steam, add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for 3 minutes. They will release liquid as they cook. As crimini mushrooms are not as watery as other button mushrooms, it is best to stir constantly for the last 4 minutes. The liquid will evaporate, and the mushrooms will become golden brown but not burned.
- Transfer to a bowl. For more flavor, toss crimini mushrooms with the Mediterranean dressing ingredients(and any of the optional ingredients you would like to add) while they are still hot. The dressing does not need to be made separately.
Serves 2
Healthy Cooking Tips:
- To prevent overcooking crimini mushrooms, it is best to use a timer.
- To melow the flavor of garlic, add garlic to crimini mushrooms for the last 2 minutes of sautéeing.
© 2001-2009 The Geor
Food of the Week . . . Crimini Mushrooms
Did you know that a 5-ounce serving of crimini mushrooms contains only 31 calories and is a great source of all of the B vitamins? B vitamins are essential for reducing cholesterol levels, helping to prevent Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease, and for energy production. Crimini mushrooms are an excellent source of riboflavin, pantothenic acid and niacin, as well as a very good source of thiamin and vitamin B6, and a good source of folate, all of which are B vitamins necessary for carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism. Riboflavin (vitamin B2) plays at least two important roles in the body's production of energy. It is part of a molecule that allows oxygen-based energy production to occur. It is also necessary for the recycling of glutathione, an internally produced antioxidant that protects our energy-producing mitochondria from oxidative damage. Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) also plays an important role in the prevention of fatigue since it supports the function of the adrenal glands, particularly in times of stress. Niacin (vitamin B3) is necessary for the conversion of the body's proteins, fats, and carbohydrates into usable energy. Although most of us enjoy mushrooms as a tasty addition to many recipes, we seldom recognize them as a powerhouse of nutrients. So, enjoy crimini mushrooms as a part of your Healthiest Way of Eating, not only for their great flavor, but also for their energy-boosting nutrients!
Philippine Mung Beans in Coconut Milk
This can be a side dish or a main meal if served over rice. Mung beans are more easily digested than most beans and digestion is further aided by the ginger. With brightly colored chard and red bell pepper, this is a meal rich with antioxidants!
Serves: 6 Prep: 10 minutes
Cooking: 75 minutes
(15 minutes if beans are cooked ahead)
1 1/2 cups dried Mung beans
1-1 1/2 cups of finely chopped onions
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely minced peeled ginger root
1-2 tiny fresh or dried chilies minced
4 garlic cloves
14 oz can coconut milk (light or regular)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 cups finely chopped rainbow chard
1 large red bell pepper
Soak the beans in plenty of water for several hours, drain and then cook
them in fresh water until soft, about an hour. Drain.
When the Mung beans are almost done, sauté the onions in oil with salt.
When the onions are translucent, add the ginger, chilies and garlic and
simmer on low heat several minutes. Add the coconut milk and simmer for 5
minutes.
In a large pot, combine the above mixture and the beans. Add the soy
sauce and the greens and stir until the greens just wilt. Remove from pot
at once. Taste for saltiness and add more soy sauce if needed.
Adapted By Mary Purdy from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant- (Simon & Schuster
1990)
Miso Stir-Fry
- 1 TBS dried hijiki* or arame seaweed, soaked* in 3/4 cup warm water (save water)
- 1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced thick
- 1 TBS minced fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 medium sized carrot, peeled and sliced very thin
- 2 cups small broccoli florets, about 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 cup shredded green cabbage
- 4 oz firm light tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 TBS light miso
- 2 TBS tamari (soy sauce)
- 2 TBS rice vinegar
- salt and white pepper to taste
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
- *For more on safety issues regarding sea vegetables, see The safety factors regarding sea vegetables, such as hijiki
Directions:
- Chop onion and press garlic and let sit for 5-10 minutes to bring out their health-promoting benefits.
- Rinse and soak hijiki or arame seaweed in about 3/4 cup hot water, and chop rest of the vegetables. After about 10 minutes squeeze hijiki to remove excess water. Save the water.
- Heat 1TBS of seaweed water in a stainless steel wok, or large skillet. Healthy Stir-Fry onion and carrots in seaweed water over medium-high heat, for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add garlic and ginger. Continue to stir constantly. Ginger may stick a little to the pan. Don't worry about it. It will come up when liquid is added. After about 2 minutes add broccoli. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
- Add cabbage, miso dissolved in 2 TBS seaweed water, tamari, rice vinegar, hijiki or arame, and tofu.
- Continue stir-frying for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.
- Serve with Brown Rice
Make sure your vegetables are cut and ready before you start to stir-fry. By slicing your carrots thin and cutting broccoli into small florets they will cook al dente-soft outside and crisp inside. Also, the cabbage will start to release water and dilute the flavor of your dish if you cook it too long. Slicing it thin and only cooking it for a couple minutes prevents it from releasing excess liquid.
Nutty Millet Porridge
½ cup dry hulled millet
2 ½ cups water
Pinch of sea salt
½ teaspoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds, crushed
2 teaspoons butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/8 cup of dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, or currants)
Heat a dry pot to medium. Add millet. Stir grain with a wooden spoon. After a few minutes the grains will begin to pop and give off a nutty aroma. Add water and salt. Bring to a boil. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Millet will soften like a porridge. Stir in sesame and sunflower seeds. Add butter and maple syrup. Taste and adjust salt or syrup. Ladle into your favorite breakfast bowl. Top with dried fruit of your choice.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Serves: 1-2
MILLET GARLIC MASH
½ cup dry hulled millet
2 ½ cups water
Pinch of sea salt
½ teaspoon sesame seeds or “Gomasio” ( sesame and sea salt and garlic combine)
2 teaspoons butter/olive oil
Heat a dry pot to medium. Add millet. Stir grain with a wooden spoon. After a few minutes the grains will begin to pop and give off a nutty aroma. Add water and salt. Bring to a boil. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Millet will soften like a porridge. Stir in sesame and garlic. Add butter/ taste and adjust salt Ladle into your favorite breakfast bowl. Mix in any other spices of your choice: cayenne, curry,, cumin, rosemary, nutritional yeast
Prep & cook time: 20 minutes
Serves: 1-2
Mediterranean Lentil Salad
Prep and Cook Time: Prep: 20 min; Cooking: 25 min; Chill: 1 hr Ingredients:
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- Wash lentils, remove any foreign matter, and drain.
- Combine lentils and 2 cups lightly salted water in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and cook at low temperature for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are cooked but still firm. Cook gently so lentils don't get mushy. When done, drain any excess water, and lightly rinse under cold water. Continue to drain excess water.
- Mince onion and press garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their hidden health-promoting benefits.
- Place lentils in a bowl and add peppers, onion, garlic, basil, walnuts, vinegar, and 2 TBS olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Marinate for at least 1 hour before serving.
- Toss dandelion or arugula with 2 TBS olive oil, 1 TBS lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve on plate with lentils.
If you want to roast your bell peppers yourself, preheat broiler on low and place peppers on sheet pan on rack in middle of the oven. Roast peppers under broiler until blistered on all sides. Do not coat with oil as peppers roast very well when dry. Place in a bowl and cover for about 10 minutes. This will make it easier to peel. Peel and chop.
Sauteed Greens with Yellow Peppers
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups water
Pinch of salt
½ cup Greek olives (pitted & chopped)
½ cup crumbled feta cheese (leave out if you are dairy free- or you can try sheep’s/goat’s feta which may be easier to digest)
½ cup tomato or sundried tomato (chopped) (Leave out if you are sensitive to tomatoes- or replace with cucumber or red peppers)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup cilantro (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Makes 2-3 servings
Original recipe by Mary Purdy
MASHED CAULIFLOWER & MILLET
| This recipe is a sneaky way to eat cauliflower, a star vegetable in the cruciferous family. Cruciferous vegetables contain unique cancer-fighting phytochemicals called isothiocyanates. |
Makes 8 servings |
Magnificent Miso Soup
Indian-Style Lentils
Prep and Cook Time: 20 minutes Ingredients:
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- Dice onions and mince garlic and let sit for at least 5 minutes to bring out their health-promoting properties.
- Healthy sauté onion in 1 TBS broth for 3 minutes.
- Add garlic, ginger, turmeric, salt, tomatoes and lentils.
- Simmer covered for 5-7 minutes.
- Add 1 cup frozen spinach and continue simmering for 2 more minutes.
If you haven't pre-thawed the frozen spinach, cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Lentil Sweet Potato Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 large red onions, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced (to save time, you can use minced garlic in a jar)
- 1½ teaspoons dried thyme
- 10 cups vegetable stock (to save time, use vegetarian bouillon cubes to make vegetable stock; omit salt if you use bouillon)
- 1¼ cups green, brown, or red lentils
- 2 stalks of celery, sliced
- ½ cup minced fresh parsley, divided
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (1 pound), peeled and diced
- ½ teaspoon salt (omit salt if you use bouillon instead of fresh vegetable stock)
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- In a large pot, warm the olive and sesame oils over medium-high heat. Add onion. Sauté while stirring lightly until onions are soft (5-7 minutes).
- Add garlic and thyme. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Do not overcook garlic. If garlic starts to brown, turn down the heat.
- Raise the heat to high. Stir in stock, lentils, celery, and ¼ cup of the parsley.
- Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- Add the sweet potatoes and cook 20 more minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
- Remove 2 cups of the soup and place in a blender. Carefully blend until thick and smooth. CAUTION: Be very careful when blending, letting steam and heat escape every few seconds by lifting blender lid slowly throughout blending. If steam and heat build up, the lid can blow off the blender (skip the blender step if thinner soup is desired).
- Return the blended soup to the pot with the remaining ¼ cup parsley. Stir and cook 1 more minute to blend.
- Add fresh ground pepper to taste.
- Serve and enjoy!
French Lentil Spread
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Makes 2 cups
2 tablespoons walnuts
1 cup cooked French lentils*
2 mushrooms, sliced
1 scallion, sliced
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon gluten-free tamari
½ tablespoon black pepper
Water
Grind walnuts first in small electric grinder. Place ground nuts, lentils, mushrooms, scallions, garlic, mustard and tamari in food processor and blend until smooth. Add a little water if desired to get the consistency you desire. This spread will keep in the refrigerator for several days.
Original recipe by Cynthia Lair.
Lentil Burgers
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Yields: 8 servings
Ingredients: 3 cups water
2 cups lentils
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
1 tablespoon umeboshi vinegar
Directions: 1. Boil water. 2. Add lentils, reduce heat to simmer and cook uncovered for 40 minutes until lentils become soft and lose their shape. 3. While lentils are cooking, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil for 10 minutes. 4. Add garlic and continue sautéing another 5 minutes. 5. Remove from heat and set aside with remaining ingredients. 6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 7. When the lentils are finished, transfer to large mixing bowl and cool in freezer for 10 minutes. Remove from freezer and add all other ingredients and mix well. 8. Form into patties, 4 inches in diameter and ¾-inch thick. 9. Place patties on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and cook 10-15 minutes in the oven.
2 cups lentils
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
1 tablespoon umeboshi vinegar
Lentil Artichoke Stew
| From The Cancer Project |
Makes 6 servings |
Latin Seitan Stew
| The bell peppers in this dish add vitamin C, an antioxidant that plays an important role in boosting the immune system. This dish also contains seitan, a fat-free, high-protein food made from wheat gluten, often used as a substitute for meat. Seitan can be found in health food stores and some large grocery chains. If you’re unable to find seitan, you can substitute 1 cup of cooked lentils in this recipe. |
Makes 8 to 10 servings |
Kale Pesto Pasta
This recipe is a brilliant way of sneaking kale past fussy eaters. The garlic helps reduce the bitterness of the kale and the pine nuts add a sweet, nutty flavour. It's quick to make and is packed with vital winter nutrients. | ||
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Method | ||
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Kale and Rice Chowder
Makes 6 servings
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped leeks
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon paprika
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups water
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 cups Vegetable Broth
2 cups chopped fresh kale
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup drained canned garbanzo beans
Just Like a Virgin Mojito
Indonesian Squash and Spinach Soup
From Sundays at Moosewood
Hearty Homemade Hummus
| Serves 6 1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans, or 1 15-ounce can 4 ounces silken tofu, well-drained 1/4 cup parsley, chopped 5 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon lime juice 1 to 2 cloves fresh garlic 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/3 cup sesame tahini 1 1/2 tsp sea salt* Cumin and paprika to taste Blend all ingredients in a food processor until desired consistency is achieved. Garnish with a dash of paprika on top. Serve warm or chilled.* Allergy notes: People following a corn-free diet should avoid iodized salt since it contains dextrose, which should be avoided by those allergic to corn. Recipe by Julie Negrin, PCC Cooks instructor |
Heart-Shaped Beet and Yam Chip/Roast Recipe
(This is a fun way to get kids and others to eat more veggies! They look like chips and are deliciously fun to eat.)
INGREDIENTS
3 beets, scrubbed -- do not peel
1 yam, scrubbed -- do not peel
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Sea salt to taste
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice beets and yam thinly using the slicing blade of a food processor, a mandoline, or a sharp knife. They should be the thickness of a thick potato chip. Cut them as consistently as possible. Cut with metal heart-shaped ( or whatever shape you have) cookie cutter. Toss with olive oil and salt. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet. Roast 20-30 minutes turning halfway through, until crisp. Check often to make sure they don't burn.
Makes 4 servings.
DREAMSICLE CREAMSICLE
This may bring back some fun memories of the ice cream truck calling the kids to its familiar tune! With this tasty treat, however, you are getting some a nice dose of Vitamin C as well as some healthy coconut fat in a simple, no-sugar added dessert.
INGREDIENTS:
2 oranges – frozen – (Peel orange and cut up orange into small chunks and freeze
overnight in freezer. Keep the rind for decoration)
½ cup coconut milk
½ cup of your choice of milk – you can use soy, almond, rice milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Orange rind slices
DIRECTIONS
Place all the ingredients in your blender and puree. You may add more or less liquid in order to get the consistency that you like. Serve immediately for best results. Garnish with a small piece of orange rind or slices.
Serves 4
Original Recipe by Mary Purdy
See other original recipes by Mary Purdy in the book Celebrate Green- Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations & Traditions for the Whole family
HAROSET
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This is a healtheir take on a traditional dish, full of fiber, calcium, and protein. It can be served with a meal or as a delicious snack. |
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Low-Fat Guacamole
| Dear Ms. Purdy,
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