Green Drank

As much as I love sitting down to a big 'ol bowl of greens, sometimes it's not always practical. As someone who is always on the go, a liquid lunch is an easy way to consume a large amount of fruit and vegetables, but without all of that dang chewing.

Now.. the difference between fresh juice and a green smoothie is the fiber content.  Juicing, removes all the fiber, but leaves you with a nutrient dense, power packed beverage that is easliy assimilated by the body, giving you a quick boost of energy. Smoothies on the other hand, retain their fiber, which is why they will leave you full, longer. I'll usually reach for a juice when I feel a cold coming on, or haven't been eating as healthy as I should, whereas a smoothie can take the place of lunch when I'm running around and need something to keep me going.

I like packing my smoothies with lots of goodness.  Fruit, greens, nuts and seeds, and superfoods like maca, spirulina and raw cacao.  Not only are these great for you body they can give you a serious boost. Throwing some greens in your smoothie is a great way to sneak some vegetables into your diet.

If you are new to the green smoothie phenomenon, start out slow. Add a small handful of spinach or chard to your next blended drink and then work your way up to heartier greens like kale. Most smoothies contain a good amount of fruit which easily masks the bitterness of most greens.

The green drank is the new purple drank. Jump on the bandwagon and get your green on!

Green Drank (makes one drink, approximately 16-20 oz.)

2 bananas
1/2 c. frozen mango
3/4c.-1 c. coconut water
3 leaves of kale, finely chopped
1 T. ground flax seed
2 T. hemp seeds
2 dates, pitted
2-3 ice cubes

Place everything in a blender. Blend until smooth and drink it up!

Black Sesame Otsu

At first glance this dish looks a bit like noodles tossed with black sand with a plop of caviar on top.

Fortunately, the taste makes up for the appearance.. unless, you know, sand and caviar are your thing..

I came across this dish on 101 cookbooks, and was a bit skeptical at first. Black sesame seed paste tossed with soba noodles sounded a little bland to me, but I had everything on hand so I decided to give it a go. 

So. Freaking. Delicious..

Black sesame seeds are toasted in a pan 'till fragrant (along with some sunflower seeds) ground up, then tossed with some mirin, sesame oil, tamari, rice vinegar, a touch of sugar and a pinch of chili flakes for heat. Tossed with buckwheat soba noodles and some fresh herbs, this Asian inspired one dish meal is perfect for those nights where you need something quick and healthy in your belly before you collapse from low blood sugar.

I usually turn to this dish when the fridge is barren and there is not a vegetable in sight (other than a bunch of limp celery that somehow got lost behind a six pack of beer). 
However, this dish is great with some pan fried tempeh or tofu, some lightly steamed vegetables, a handful of kale or even some shelled edamame.

Black Sesame Otsu (serves 2-4)
Adapted from 101 cookbooks

2 t. sunflower seeds
1/2 c. black sesame seeds
1 1/2 T. tamari
1 1/2 T. organic sugar
2 t. mirin
2 T. brown rice vinegar
1 T. toasted sesame oil
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
12 oz. buckwheat soba noodles
1/3 c. scallions, sliced
1/2 c. cilantro leaves
2 c. kale, thinly sliced (opt)
1/2 T. flax oil (opt)


Toast the sunflower seeds in a pan over medium heat until golden, shaking the pan regularly. Add sesame seeds to the pan and toast for a minute or so, constantly tossing in the pan. Remove from the heat when you smell a hint of toasted sesame. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until you achieve a coarse sand like texture.  Place sesame seed mixture in a large bowl. Stir in the tamari, sugar, brown rice vinegar, sesame oil and crushed red pepper flakes.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously, add the soba and cook according to the package instructions, until tender. Drain, reserving some of the noodle cooking water, and rinse under cold water.
Reserve a heaping tablespoon of sesame paste, then thin the rest with 1/4 c. of the hot noodle water.
In a large bowl, combine the soba noodles, half of the scallions and cilantro and the sesame seed paste and toss gently to combine. If you are adding tofu, tempeh or any other vegetables do so at this point. (In this case I massaged 2 c. thinly sliced kale with some flax oil and added it to the noodles).
Serve topped with a dollop of the sesame seed mixture and the remaining scallions and cilantro.

Super Freaking Healthy Grain Bowl

Saurkraut?
Sprouts?
Quinoa?
Miso-lemon-tahini sauce?
Kale... massaged with FLAX oil?

I mean, really.. can you get any healthier than this??

Probably not.. unless you live off of wheatgrass, sprouts and bee pollen.. but then again, if you do, you might have issues. 

I had a couple glasses of wine beforehand.. it's all about balance..

I've been eating pretty darn healthy lately. You know.. lots of avocado, fruit, greens, sprouted and cultured foods and MORE avocados.  This meal was no exception.

Grain bowls are the way to go: Grain+ vegetables+ protein+ sauce+ add on's.

This time around I chopped up some kale, mixed it with a splash of flax oil and a pinch of salt and mixed it with my hands until tender. Then, I topped it with some cooked quinoa, shredded carrots, saurkraut, tamari almonds, lemon-miso-tahini sauce and some peashoots.  My bowl weighed roughly five pounds and I ATE. IT. ALL.

You can get really creative here based on what's seasonal and readily available.

The healthy grain bowl template:

First, pick a grain:

Quinoa
Millet
Rice (brown, forbidden rice, wild rice etc..)
buckwheat

Next pick some vegetables:

greens (kale, spinach, collards, chard)
broccoli
cauliflower
carrots (raw or cooked)
beets (raw or cooked)
cooked sweet potato
green beans
snow peas
asparagus
cabbage
bell peppers

Get your protein on:

lentils or beans
tofu
tempeh
nuts
seeds

Add some sauce:

lemon tahini sauce
peanut sauce
chimmichuri
pesto
guacamole or smashed avocado
charmoula
chutney
flax/olive or other nut oil


Throw in some add on's (aka fun stuff)

fresh herbs
cultured vegetables
pickled vegetables
nuts and seeds
sprouts
salsa
hot sauce
sea vegetables

See where I'm going here?

You can keep your grain bowl as simple as you want (steamed vegetables and rice with some peanut sauce) or if you're feeling creative, you can make something a bit more elaborate (chopped kale, cooked millet, corn and black bean salsa, avocado, fresh lime, pumpkin seeds and sprouts)

Now go buy a big ass bowl and start filling it with some healthy goodies.

Kale Chips

I am one of those people that (on most occasions) would rather dig into a bowl of kale than eat, fresh baked cookies or ice cream or chocolate. For some reason I get fierce cravings for the stuff and can pack away an entire bunch in one sitting.

Why? Because I'm hardcore.

Yeah, I realize I'm pretty much in the minority here. 

Getting people to LIKE kale, let alone choose kale over a bag of kettle krinkle cut salt and pepper potato chips (which I'm currently obsessed with, by the way) is not easy.

Enter kale chips.

Ok, so they don't taste like potato chips, I'm not trying to kid anyone here. But, they are salty and crunchy and addictive. I've been known to inhale an entire batch in ten minutes, flat.

The best part. Zero guilt.

Olive oil, salt and lemon and a buttload of chlorophyll.

These couldn't be easier to make. I used my food dehydrator, but I'm sure you could make them in the oven.  Just follow the directions below and bake 'em.  I'm guessing maybe 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Then again, I've never made them this way so keep your eye on them. Some blackened foods are delicious, but kale isn't one of them!

Remove the stem and cut into small pieces (about 2-3" in size).

Break out some lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.

Place kale in a large bowl. Drizzle some olive oil on the kale (enough to moisten) along with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Massage the kale with your hands until nice and soft (about a minute or so). Taste and add more lemon and salt if desired. 

Spread kale in a single layer onto mesh dehydrator trays (I used three trays for one large bunch of kale). Dehydrate for one hour at 145 degrees.  Turn the heat down to 115 degrees and continue to dehydrate until kale is nice and crispy (about 4-5 hours).

Miso Curry Delicata Squash

Squash. Potatoes. Kale. Tofu. Miso and Quinoa.  Really, this dish couldn't get any better.

I've been working my way through Heidi Swanson's Supernatural Everyday.  So far I've made the bran muffins and millet muffins with great success and when I saw a dish with delicata squash, miso AND kale, I had to jump right on it.

Delicata squash is one of my favorites.

You can scoop out the seeds and stuff it or slice it up and roast it.  The skin is also edible so you don't have to worry about peeling it (bonus!)

Miso is a fermented soybean paste that has a salty taste and buttery texture.  I used a combination of chickpea miso and mellow white miso, which has a less salty, more mellow (hence the name) flavor than some of the darker varieties.

I don't eat a ton of tofu, but it definately has it's place when you want a little texture and an added protein boost.

Red thai curry paste contains aromatic herbs such as lemongrass, thai red chilis and galangal (thai ginger).

Miso is mixed with curry paste and extra virgin olive oil to create a delicious sauce. So. Good.

Miso Curry Delicata Squash (serves 4)
(From Supernatural Everyday by Heidi Swanson)

12 oz. delicata squash
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
scant 1/4 c. white miso
scant 1 T. red thai curry paste
8 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes
4 medium new potatoes, unpeeled, cut into chunks
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 c. chopped kale, tough stems removed
1/3 c. pepitas, toasted
2/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the middle of the oven.
Cut the delicata squash in kalf lengthwise and use a spoon to clear out all the seeds. Cut into 1/2 inch thick half moons.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, miso and curry paste. Combine the tofu, potatoes, and squash in a large bowl with 1/3 c. of the miso curry paste. Use your hands to toss well, then turn the vegetables onto a rimmed baking sheet and arrange in a single layer.
Roast 25-30 minutes, until everything is tender and browned. Toss once or twice along the way after things start to brown a bit. Keep a close watch, though; these vegetables can go from browned to burned in a flash.
In the meantime, whisk the lemon juice into the remaining miso-curry paste, then stir in the kale until coated.
Toss the roasted vegetables gently with the kale, pepitas and cilantro.

A couple of notes...
I had the vegetables in the oven for 25 minutes, but they weren't getting as browned as I would like.  I transfered them to a pan with a drizzle of olive oil and gave them a quick sautee, maybe 3-4 minutes, till nice and browned.
I served this on a bed of quinoa, but it's totally substantial on it's own.
I could literally just eat the kale tossed with the dressing as a side on it's own.  Raw kale deliciousness!

Greens and Beans

Well... It's safe to say I'm officially sick.
It all started with a sore throat.
I pumped my body full of echinacea, vitamin C, zinc, goldenseal and some crazy mushroom extract. I drank fresh vegetable juice and sipped on tea.. and drank my weight in water.
I peed alot.

Apparently my immune system is on vacation because I now feel like I've been hit by a truck..  Runny nose, chest congestion, sinus pain and all that other nonsense that comes with having a cold.

When I'm sick I crave hot ginger tea with honey, carbonated water with lemon, epsom salt baths, blankets, and simple comfort food.

Greens and beans is my go to meal when I'm feeling sick or in need of a nutritional boost.

It's got all the good stuff: kale, onions, garlic (LOTS of garlic), cannelini beans, crushed red pepper, and a rich vegetable broth. Although I try to avoid dairy when I have a cold, a nice dusting of grated pecorino makes it all the better!

Greens and Beans (serves two)

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 large bunch of kale, stem removed, rough chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 T. finely chopped garlic
1 15 oz. can cannelini beans (about 2 cups), rinsed
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
4 c. vegetable broth
Salt and pepper, to taste
Grated pecorino romano (optional, but delicious)

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the onion along with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook 3-4 minutes until onion becomes translucent.  Add the garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and beans and cook for two more minutes, stirring constantly.  Stir in the kale and broth, cover and cook until kale is tender, about five minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Serve piping hot with a dusting of pecorino romano and a drizzle of olive oil to seal the deal.