Posts Tagged ‘healthy cooking’
Greens Are Good for Us
The very simplest place to start with getting greens into our diet is to eat one big salad each day and make sure it is filled with mostly greens.
Greens are full of vitamins A, K, D, and E which are fat soluble. To absorb these vitamins make sure to add a teaspoon of dietary fat, such as butter, olive or coconut oil, nuts, cheese or salad dressing. This will make sure your body absorbs all of the vitamins in the greens. Vitamin K helps calcium and phosphorus bind onto the bone protein matrix.
MIXED SUMMER GREEN SALAD
Ingredients:
1 handful, spinach
1 handful, arugula
½ head, red leaf lettuce
½ head, green leafy lettuce
1 medium bunch of parsley
3 Celery pieces, chopped
1 medium cucumber, sliced in rounds
¼ cup pine nuts
Directions:
1. Mix greens together in a bowl.
2. Top with celery, cucumber and pine nuts.
3. Serve with Mint salad dressing.
TIP: If you are planning on this lasting for the next day, do not mix the cucumber in. Put it in a bowl on the side and add to each serving of salad. A mix of the basic ingredients without the cucumber will last 3 days in the fridge.
Here is a salad dressing with greens already in it! This is a refreshing tasty dressing with a little mint flavour.
LEMON-MINT SALAD DRESSING
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tbsp. fresh mint (or 2 tsp. dried)
Salt to taste
Few drops of stevia
Directions:
1. Blend all ingredients.
2. Add salt to taste and Stevia to taste and re-blend.
Copyright © Diana Herrington You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com or the direct link to this post.
CHILI CON VEGIE
Gluten Free Delight
Here is my version of Chili, which is always enjoyed whenever I make it.
Ingredients:
1 onion, finely chopped
½ mushrooms, sliced, optional
1 – 3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. cumin
½ tsp. coriander
1 tsp. oregano
¼ – 1 tsp cayenne pepper*
1 tsp paprika
3 carrots, thinly sliced
3 cups cooked kidney beans and water (cook according to recipe: http://realfoodforlife.com/cooking-beans/)
4 tsp. soya sauce or tamari.
1 green pepper, sliced or 1 cup chopped kale
3 tomatoes, chopped.
Directions:
- Sauté onion, mushrooms, garlic till golden on medium heat.
- Add cumin, coriander and oregano and saute for a minute.
- Add carrots, cooked kidney beans with 1 cup of the bean water, soya sauce and green pepper.
- Cook till vegetables are tender.
- Add tomatoes, cayenne pepper, and paprika.
- Cook on medium heat until thick like consistency of gravy, adding more water if necessary.
*
To learn more about the benefits and how to avoid the gas experience of beans go to: Beans, Beans and more Beans
Copyright © Diana Herrington You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com or the direct link to this post.
Cooking with Beans
I am quite fastidious about the way beans are cooked as I do not like experiencing the common thing we all associate beans with…GAS! So here is what I do:
Cooking Beans & Lentils
Ingredients:
Dried beans or lentils
Water
Directions:
1. Wash beans in cold water and soak overnight in three times the volume of water.
2. Next day, pour off the water.
3. Place beans in a pot and cover with water 1 inch above the level of the beans.
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Let simmer with lid ajar.
6. Skim off the foam.
7. Add more water if necessary. Beans should always be covered with water while cooking.
8. Cooking time will vary according to the type, size and age of the bean.
9. Most beans will need approximately 2 hours cooking time.
10. Beans should be soft. This is the stage that you can salt and other seasonings. Do not add salt while cooking as above.
For Vegan Chili recipe: http://realfoodforlife.com/veganchili/
For Aduzuki Bean Stew recipe: http://realfoodforlife.com/adzuki-bean-stew/
Copyright © Diana Herrington You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com or the direct link to this post.
Lentil Soup/Stew
Lentil soup has all the benefits of the mighty powerfood lentils 
plus much more. And it tastes great.
Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
3-6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 pieces celery, chopped
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 cup green whole lentils, cooked in 3 cups of water
1 piece Kombu*
2 carrots, diced
2 cups fresh (or tinned tomatoes, but fresh is best)**
3-5 tsp salt
1 tsp each of thyme and basil
3 tsp marjoram
Fresh parsley
Directions:
1. Sauté onion, garlic and celery in oil.
2. Add remaining ingredients.
3. Simmer for 45 minutes, adding more water if necessary.
4. Remove Kombu and chop; return to soup.
5. Serve in bowls garnished sprigs of fresh parsley.
* Kombu makes beans more digestible but you could easily leave it out.
** I tend not to make this soup with tomatoes anymore, which transforms it into a stew.
Copyright © Diana Herrington You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com or the direct link to this post.
KABOCHA SQUASH SOUP
This is my favorite soup which I developed a few years ago. Every time I make it for friends they just love it and so do I!
KABOCHA SQUASH SOUP
Ingredients:
1 medium Kabocha* squash
1 large onion or two small onions
2 large leaves of Kale
4 to 6 cups water
2 inch piece of fresh ginger
½ tsp Cinnamon, cardamom, coriander,
1 tsp turmeric
5 drops of Sunny Dew (light Stevia)
Add salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Cut squash in half, scoop out the seeds, then cut the squash into eight pieces.
2. Chop onion and ginger.
3. Put squash, onions and ginger into a steamer and cook till squash is soft. Remove and let cool. Save the flavourful water left over from steaming.
4. Steam chopped Kale a few minutes or until tender.
5. Sauté spices in sesame oil or coconut oil for a couple of minutes.
6. Separate the squash flesh from the skin. Put the cooked squash in a large bowl or pot.
7. Add 3 cups of the leftover water used to steam the squash and stir in onion and ginger.
8. Run the squash and onion mixture through a blender, portion by portion, until you've blended it all. You can also use a hand blender and blend it right in the soup pot, which is what I do, but do be careful as it can splatter everywhere.
9. Put the blended mixture into a soup pot, adding the broth created from the steamer to attain the consistency you like.
10. Add cooked kale, spices, salt and pepper to taste.
11. Serve with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream. I use vegan choices.
* You may use butternut or any dark orange squash.
Note! We did not have a personal picture of this soup so used a stock photo. Imagine that the bread is healthy rice bread!
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Copyright © Diana Herrington You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com or the direct link to this post.
Amazing Sugarless Date Squares
A Revolutionary Simple Approach To Healthy Eating
