Did you say we are having Tacos?

Healthiest Black Bean Taco,   Ever!

What a wonderful recipe to serve to a gang. House parties are the call of the season and this is a great crowd pleaser.  I've served this to lots of my vegan and meat eating friends, with no complaints. Only rave reviews!

Ground Meat Mix        Serves: 6 to 8 portions

Ingredients

1 cup raw walnuts

1 cup black beans (cooked and crushed)

 6 sun sun dried tomatoes, rehydrated
1 Tbsp of Tahini
1 tsp Braggs
1 Tbsp Chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground coriander
pinch cayenne

Directions

In the food processor, process walnuts and sun dried tomatoes until they reach the consistency of ground beef. Add the rest of your ingredients and pulse until thoroughly combined.

Cream Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 cup soaked cashews

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp Braggs seasoning

Directions

Put all of the ingredients above in to a blender. Blend till creamy. Taste and balance the flavors

Package of organic Taco shells
Serve in an organic corn taco shells, soft corn wraps, sprouted Ezekiel wraps, rice wraps or spelt wraps.

Fill the shell/wrap with taco meat, fresh shredded organic greens, and diced tomatoes topped with cream sauce

 Enjoy the flavors of Mexico with a healthy twist!

Note: the meat mix can be also used as a great veggie burger

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Digestive rescue for Holiday Eating!

Digestive Kichadis

Right from the Ayurvedic medical knowledge on digestive healing we have a great remedy to heal your digestive tract from all your Holiday eating.  If you feel off track this is a wonderful remedy to get you back in the game.  I know this works wonders for me. I'll make this recipe and eat it for the whole day. Your digestive system will send signals of thanks.

If you want to know more about your Ayurvedic typing find out more here.  

Dosha test link

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 tablespoons ghee or sunflower oil

3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon oregano, dry
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 stick kombu (seaweed: available in a Asian store or health food store)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger root, grated

1/2 cup brown basmati rice
1/4 cup split mung dal (translation: split mung beans available in a Asian grocery store)
3 cups fresh vegetables, such as carrots, zucchini, or summer squash, diced

4 to 6 cups of distilled water

Directions

Wash the rice and beans until rinse water is clear.
Warm the ghee or sunflower oil in a medium saucepan. Add the cumin seeds, bay leaf, coriander and oregano. Brown slightly, until aromatic (you can smell them). Stir in turmeric, rice and dal. Add water, salt, kombu, and ginger. Simmer covered over medium heat until beans and 15 to 20 minutes more.

*Note: Pitta can garnish generously with fresh chopped coriander leaves to neutralize this effect. lf Kapha is making this for themselves alone, the ghee or oil can be cut
to 1 teaspoonful, Additional ghee can be added after cooking if other doshas, especially
Vata, are to be sharing in the eating.

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Slick Christmas Morning Breakfast!

The Easiest Breakfast ever!!

Well picture this a house full of guests and it's Christmas morning. You have already had a big dinner Christmas Eve and need to make something to take to Christmas dinner. Panic right! Not with this recipe. You've made breakfast yesterday or maybe the day before that. Now all you have to serve is organic free trade coffee and tea. Pretty slick eh!

4 servings

lasts 4 days when kept refrigerated

Ingredients:

1 cups Organic Rolled Oats

10 walnuts (or any nut you want)

¼ cup frozen or fresh blueberries (any berries are good)

20 goji berries 

¼  cup organic Thompson raisins

4  diced and pitted dates

1 tlb of raw unpasteurized honey or maple syrup 

option: stevia (read package for equivalent amounts)

1 cup almond milk unsweetened (or any alternative grain or nut milk)

1 cup filtered clean water

pinch of sea salt

sprinkle top with cinnamon

Directions:

In the evening put all the ingredients into a bowl add the liquid and mix.  Then move to a serving dish, spread out and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover with a snap lid or kitchen wrap.

Put in the refrigerator and sleep well as you are going to have a great breakfast in the morning.

Serving:

Dish out and eat as is or add some almond/rice/hemp milk.

Tip: Great travel food whether you are on holidays or just out for the day. 

Orange Creamsicle! Where is the Icecream Truck?

Orange Creamsicle     

Creamsicles are one of my all time favorites. I haven't had one since I was a kid as I am dairy intolerant:( 

This recipe not only tastes like the real thing, it’s packed with vitamins and phyto-nutrients and minerals. This is one of the best drinks to, because of its high enzyme concentration.  

Ingredients

1 fresh young coconut, use the milk and the meat. (real coconuts are available in a Asian market (also available in the health food store in tetra pack or can, no sugar or preservatives added … Blue Monkey is a good brand)

2 frozen medium size organic bananas (fresh is good too)

4 Medjool dates (take pits out)

1 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice (use a lemon squeezer)

1/4 cup of almond milk unsweetened

2 tablespoons of unpasteurized honey (bee pollen or royal jelly can be added)

1 tablespoon of real vanilla or whole vanilla bean   

1 cup of ice
 

Directions
Place all ingredients, (except for the ice), in the blender, blend till smooth! Add ice cubes gradually until it's as thick and rich as you dreamed it would be.

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Smoothies! The greatest travel foods

Chocolate Berry Smoothie

Chocolate and Berries how can you go wrong! This is also a great take with you nutrition powerhouse. No reason to skip breakfast again.

Ingredients
3 tbsp Cacao powder
½ cup Goji Berries (soaked in water)
2 tbs Acai powder
4 tbsp Hemp seeds
¼ cup dried Mulberries (soaked in water)
2 tbs unpasturized honey
option Stevia (look on the package for equivalents)
1 cup frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
1 cup Hemp milk unsweetened or any non-dairy nut milk
1 cup distilled water (more water to think if needed)
optional: add handful of ice

Directions                                                                                                    Put everything listed above in a blender. Blend away!
This makes a BIG smoothie, but is so extraordinary.  Great to share with friends.                                           

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Garlic! Who doesn't like Garlic!

Garlic Broth

Garlic is an herb with remarkable medicinal properties, and it tastes great too. Garlic is a cardiovascular tonic, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels and inhibiting blood clotting. It's also a powerful germicide and may protect against some carcinogens. The smell of garlic cooking has a comforting and homey aroma. If you eat garlic regularly, you won't smell of it. It's better for you in its natural state, raw or lightly cooked rather than dried.

 Enjoy the smell, taste and healthful effects of the whole, fresh herb.

Ingredients:                                                            4 Servings
6 cups vegetable stock (best is from steamed vegetables or organic veggie broth from the store)
1 1/2 tablespoons quality organic extra-virgin olive oil
1 head organic (Canadian) garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 Turkish bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme

½ teaspoon parsley
Pinch dried or fresh sage
Salt to taste

Instructions:
1. In a stock pot add the vegetable stock, add the olive oil, bay leaf, garlic, thyme and sage.

2. Bring to just under boil (bubbles on the side of the pot), reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt to taste.

3. Strain or not you choice.

Drink as is as a tonic, use as a broth during your cleanse                                 or any time. You can use this as a base for soups.

Hint: Freeze in serving sizes for fast use.

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Calcium from Milk is hard to digest

Calcium Soup (Greens and Grain) 

A traditional European recipe for calcium replenishment is the green and grain soup of barley sprouts and kale.  The barley must be whole, not pearled, in order to sprout.  Vitamins A and C (the tow calcium co-factors that are low in unsprouted seeds) are greatly increased in the sprouting process.  This soup is also suitable for those who are convalescing as a result of chronic health problems.

Ingredients

1 onion, diced

1 cup sprouted whole grain barley (soak barley in water over night)

2 cups of diced kale or a green leafy vegetable of choice

½ fresh lemon, squeezed into juice

sea salt to taste

4 cups of distilled water

Directions

In a stock pot add the onion and sauté in olive oil till the colour is clear. Add the barley and kale and simmer soup for 10 minutes.  Add the lemon and a pinch of sea salt.  Taste and add more sea salt if to lemony and add lemon is the soup is to salty. 

Balance the taste and serve.

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Pear up your Apple Sauce

Rocking Great Apple Sauce

If you want a great fresh taste, this is it. You will never eat cooked applesauce ever again. That’s all I have to say about that, just try this.

Ingredients                                                   servings 4 to 8
2 apples
1 pear
1 tsp dried coconut
1 tsp unpasteurized honey or stevia to taste (caution very sweet so start small and add a little at a time)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice (add more to taste)
¼ tbsp cinnamon

Directions
Cut up the apple and pear into medium size pieces. Add all the ingredients into the food processor and blend till smooth.

Scoop into a bowl and enjoy immediately … try apple sauce over sprouted granola or buckwheat pancakes.

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Freshen up your Breakfast with Pomegranate

Pomegranate Morning Splash

The word splash is how I feel when I have this great morning treat.  The coconut yogurt and the pomegranate really is a fresh taste, that is so welcome as we enter into the winter months. 

I really encourage you add this to your morning routine!

Ingredients

¼ cup pomegranate seeds* (peel the seeds out of the natural skin ahead of time and keep them in the fridge in a container)

1/4 cup coconut yogurt (available in any health food store)

1/3 cup super food berries and raw nuts (example: golden berries, mulberry, goji, walnuts, pecans, almonds)

sprinkle of dehydrated granola (recipe in the “Breaking your Fast” section. You also can get this product in your local health food store now)

Directions

Place all of the ingredients above into a small bowl and enjoy.

Note: Take to work with you in a thermos container. Leave the yogurt separate if not eating right away.

*Option: if pomegranate is out of season you could also add in its place frozen/fresh blue berries

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Get prepared for Winter with this Healthy version of Baked Beans

Suzanne’s Baked Beans

Sort of like Grandma

Enjoy this comfort food without the bad fat and all the taste!!!

Ingredients:                              Serves 10 servings  

2 tsp olive oil

1 med onion (diced)

3 to 4 cloves garlic (chopped)

3 tsp molasses

1 can whole organic tomatoes (diced)

11/2 tsp Dijon prepared mustard

1 tsp carob powder

1 package northern beans (or navy beans)

3 cups of fresh filtered water

Directions:

Soak the beans over night or during the day while you are at work.  Drain the beans and put into a large stock pot.  Add fresh water and bring to a boil.  When at a full boil put lid on the pot and turn off the heat.  Go to bed or to work depending on the time of day you are doing this.  Beans will be done when you wake up or return from work.

 

Get out a deep baking dish with a lid.  Rinse the cooked beans and put them into the baking dish.  Add all the above ingredients and then bake at 350 deg. Bake for 4 to 5 hours.

Note:Check the beans during that baking to make sure they don’t dry out.  If so add water.

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Green Juice get preped for the Holidays

Green Juice

       

Obtain three of the following kinds of leaves and green vegetables. The variety shown below gives you a chance to change up your juice.

Your vegetables must be organic; the best is fresh right out of your garden.       

Now that is green juice in its boldest form. Why would I like to drink this? The phytochemicals in live plants give our body a natural boost towards preventing or fighting off potential deadly diseases, such as many forms of cancer. Different fruits and vegetables have different phytochemicals, but so many of them have cancer-fighting, cancer-preventing and maybe even cancer-curing properties!

Green drinks are very cleansing 

“When your Green inside your Clean inside”

Green Ingredient list:

Romaine Lettuce - Fennel bulb - Swiss chard - Spinach -  

Beet tops (young inner leaves) - Watercress - Sunflower sprouts - Pea sprouts and sprouts of all types - Cabbage  - Kale – Cucumber - Swiss Chard - Zucchini - Celery - Endive - Escarole - Wheatgrass

Juice 1 medium apple when along with your green leaves and vegetables. 

When your juice is completed add hand squeezed lemon juice. Add a tablespoon at a time and taste your juice till you like the taste.

Note: This juice is sometime best to be diluted with 1/4 cup of distilled water. 

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A Great recipe to learn about Okra! I'ts really Good!

Suzanne’s Okra Masala

This is my version of Okra Masala it is a lighter version of the Indian classic Masalas.  I find, that I can make this dish at home quickly and have it on the table with ease.  I even can do other tasks that need doing before we eat.

Again a make lots kind of dish, this freezes well.

Ingredients

2 lbs fresh or frozen okra (diced into med size chunks)

1 medium onion diced

3 cloves garlic diced

1 tsp chili oil

1 tsp gram masala

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

1tsp agave nectar

4 tlbs olive oil

½ cup sun dried tomatoes ( soaked and diced )

1 can whole tomatoes ( diced )

Optional raw green mango (diced fine)

Directions

Wash okra, cut up into bite size chunks

Heat oil in a large fry pan.  Sauté onion and garlic till starting to brown, add the dry spices and let saute for a minute.  Add the diced Okra and stir to combine favours.

Continue to sauté till starting to cook down a little. Cover and cook for 10 to 20 minutes.

Serve with rice or a salad

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Warm Moroccan Stew for a late fall day

Moroccan Stew

This is a long time recipe for me and we just love it in our home.  In fact I made it just yesterday. I just love the warm and spicy taste. Make a big pot of this stew, it won't stick around for long.  

This stew also freezes well too. 

Ingredients          Servings 6 full bowls or 8 small bowls

2 tsp. olive oil

1 cup chopped onions

½ cup each diced celery and green pepper

1 tsp minced garlic

3 cups filtered water

3 cups cubed sweet potato

1 can diced organic tomatoes 540 ml – fresh in summer time

1 can chickpeas 540 ml or dried soaked and boiled (beans of your choice, I like to use black beans)

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp each, ground cumin, curry powder, coriander

½ tsp Salt

¼ cup raisins (optional)

2 tbsp Organic peanut butter

½ tsp dried hot chili (optional or to taste)

Chopped fresh cilantro as a garnish

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.  Add onions, celery, peppers and garlic.  Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften. 

Add all remaining ingredients, except raisins, peanut butter and cilantro.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer covered for 20 minutes

Stir in raisins and peanut butter Mix.  Simmer for another 5 minutes.

Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Suggestion: Change if up with creative veggies and make it your own

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Why Gluten, if you think it's a trend ... read this!

I know this is a recipe file but, I see this every day with my clients. It is so important to understand. Even if you are Vegan/Vegetarian you can still have this issue. 
Gluten is so bad on our bodies. We should be protesting our food industry. 
Read on ...

Ever wonder why Gluten is 

all of a sudden a issue?

Read this article  and you will understand

"Gluten-free is hot these days. There are books and websites, restaurants with gluten free menus, and grocery stores with hundreds of new gluten-free food products on the shelf. Is this a fad, or a reflection of response to a real problem?

Yes, gluten is a real problem. But the problem is not just gluten. In fact, there are three major hidden reasons that wheat products, not just gluten (along with sugar in all its forms) is a major contributor to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia, depression and so many other modern ills.

This is why there are now 30 percent more obese than undernourished in the world, and why chronic lifestyle and dietary driven disease kills more than twice as many people as infectious disease globally. These non-communicable, chronic diseases will cost our global economy $47 trillion over the next 20 years.

Sadly, this tsunami of chronic illness is increasingly caused by eating our beloved diet staple, bread, the staff of life, and all the wheat products hidden in everything from soups to vodka to lipstick to envelope adhesive. .... "    to read the rest of this article click on this link Mark Hyman MD

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Great recipes for a Vegan alternative Holiday meal.

I was just at LYN-DYS Health Food store yesterday.  I was getting some organic greens for juicing and cleanse.
Lynn was telling me, she was asked to do a talk at the Children's Aid on Vegan/Vegetarian diet. Some of the children in their care, that are vegan/vegetarian are seeking to know how to eat healthy.
I commend the teaching and the health seeking Children's Aid. As a junk food vegan/vegetarian can be a very dangerous diet for young adults. 

These recipes are great transition recipes they have a great taste and are prepared in similar to methods to meat, potato and stuffing meals. 

She gave me her hand out for that talk. See below

Lentil Loaf with Mashed Potato Topping

serves 6

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown lentils, rinsed

11/2 cups cooked brown basmati rice

2 cloves of garlic, minced

21/2 cups of water or vegetable broth (organic)

3/4 tsp sea salt

2 tsp dried basil and parsley

1 tbs Dijon mustard

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 stock celery, thinly sliced

1 small carrot, diced

1 cup of bread crumbs (spelt or gluten free)

2 tsp sunflower/olive oil

11/2 cups of left over mashed potatoes or freshly cooked.

Directions

In a medium sauce pan, combine lentils and vegetable broth and bring to a full boil. Reduce heat, cover and summer for about 30 minutes. Add sea salt, then continue summering for about 15 minutes. or until lentils are soft and the water has been absorbed.

Turn the oven to 350 deg.

In a small pan, saute onions in oil until translucent. Add carrots and celery, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Pour the saute vegetables into a mixing bowl and combine with bread crumbs, rice, lentils, seasonings. Mix well. 

Place the mixture into a lightly oiled 9x5x3 loaf pan. Spread the thick layer of mashed potatoes on top. 

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. 

Let cook for 5 minutes, then cut into thick slices and serve.

Squash Casserole

serves 6

Ingredients

1 small squash or 1/2 a large squash, peeled and cubed

1 green pepper, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 tbs water

3 fresh tomatoes, diced

1 onion, diced

4 slices of bread (spelt or gluten free)

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1/2 tsp of each sage thyme and rosemary

Directions

Heat oven to 350 deg

Combine all the ingredients into a large bowl in the order given. Mix in the herbs and Stir well. Grease a casserole dish and add all the ingredients for the bowl.

Bake uncovered for one hour. 

Serve with the above recipe for a great replacement for Sunday dinner or a Holiday meal.

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Fresh V8 taste in a juice, great for Christmas morning

V8-Vegetable Drink
"I could have had a V8" With out all the salt and preservatives that is.I remember that commercial on TV from when I was kid. The V8 commercial ran so often. I became part of our speech. Well this juice will be a health version of the popular drink. 
It's tastier too! A great morning drink for holiday guests.

4 carrots
3 celery stalks
2 kale leaves
2 tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 small beet
½ cup parsley stems included
1 clove garlic

Juice all vegetables. Enjoy.


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New Section posted on Healthy Holiday Treats

Holiday Sugar Plums

Be careful with this recipe. It’s easy to get “Sugar Plums dancing in your head”!

The history on this recipe is, back in the days when the ladies of the house would preserve the fruits and nuts from the summer season.  In the Christmas season they would make desserts with what they had preserved.  Now the dancing part was because they didn’t get much sugar outside of the holiday and special events. They were dreaming about the treats that were tradition on Christmas day.

Ingredients

2 tbs organic cane sugar

¼ tsp ground cardamom

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ cup organic unsweetened coconut

½ cup pecans

¼ cup pistachios

1 cup pitted unsulferated dates

½ cup dried unsulferated apricots

½ cup dried unsulferated figs

¼ cup golden unsulferated raisins

¼ cup unsulferated dried cherries or cranberries

2 tbsp. orange liqueur or rum

Directions

1                    In a wide, shallow bowel combine sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, coconut.  Mix well and set aside

2                    In a food processor pulse pecans until roughly chopped. Add the pistachios and pulse again until both nuts are finely chopped. 

3                    Add dates, apricots, figs, raisins and cherries or cranberries are evenly chopped and they begin to clump.

4                     Return nuts to processor and add liqueur or rum. Pulse until just mixed.  If mixture does not stick together, add more liqueur or rum.

5                    A teaspoon at a time, roll mixture into balls, then roll each ball in the dry sugar mixture until well coated.

Sugar Plums can be refrigerated in a sealed container for up to one month. If you layer the sugar plums place a sheet of waxed paper between each layer.

Makes aprox. 30 sugar plums

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A Need to Crunch!

Kale Chips

What can I say! Sometimes all I need is something crunchy. This recipe does it for me. Healthy and crunchy what could be better?

You will need a blender and a dehydrator for this recipe

Prep time:10 minutes   Dehydrator time:10 minutes     10 servings or more

Ingredients

1 to 2 bunches kale
1 tbs virgin olive oil

20 raw cashews (soaked)

¼ cup nutritional yeast

¼ tsp sea salt

Directions

1.               Remove kale from stalk, leaving the greens in large pieces. Place into a large bowl.

2.               Place the olive oil, cashews, nutritional yeast and salt into a blender and blend till creamy

3.               Pour the creamy mixture over the kale that is in the large bowl. Mix well till kale is evenly covered.

4.               Place kale on the dehydrator shelves evenly spaced.

5.               Dehydrate for 6 to 8 hours or until crisp.

6.               Remove and serve.

·                  Try different kinds of kale or collard greens.

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Everyone loves Pad Thai ... Look A Healthy version!

Speedy Pad Thai

  

I spent a couple of weeks at this spa in Thailand. I was so burnt out from my corporate sales position. I just needed a chill time and this is the health resort that was my saviour.  I fell in love with their Pad Thai and now make it at home.

Suzanne’ version from Tao Garden in Thailand

                      

Ingredients          4 Servings

• 1 small package of Rice Noodle (soaked in water)
• ½ package of med texture tofu (optional)
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic crushed
• ½ small white onion
• ¼ red pepper cut into strips
• 10 broccoli flowerets (option add any vegetable you want)
• 3 tbs of organic coconut oil
• 3 tbs of tamarind juice (source from a Asian grocery store)
• 1 tbs crushed peanuts (optional almonds)
• ½ tbs ground chili pepper (to taste)
• 1 organic egg (optional)
• 2 tbs organic vegetable broth
• raw bean sprouts (option is to serve with sunflower sprouts or any other type available)
• 1 lime cut into wedges
• 2 green onion cut in ½  inch long pieces 

Directions
Soak the dry noodles in lukewarm water while preparing the other ingredients, for 10-15 minutes. Gather all the vegetables and cut to 1 inch sizes. Julienne tofu and cut into pieces 1 inch long. Cut up green onion into. Set aside a few fresh chives for a garnish. Rinse the bean sprouts and save half for serving fresh.
Use a wok if you do not have one but a flat deep sided pan will do. Use high heat and coconut oil in the wok. Fry onion, garlic and tofu and stir them until they start to brown. Add all the vegetables and keep them moving in the pan….. The noodles should be flexible but not expanded at this point. Drain the noodles and add to the wok. Stir quickly to keep things from sticking. Add tamarind, chili pepper. Keep stirring. The heat should remain high. If your wok is not hot enough, you will see a lot of juice in the wok at this point. Turn up the heat, if this is the case. Make room for the egg by pushing all noodles to the side of the wok. Crack the egg onto the wok and scramble it until it is almost all cooked. Fold the egg into the noodles. Add bean sprouts, chives. Stir a few more times. The noodles should be soft and very tangled together.
Pour onto the serving plate and sprinkle with Crushed Peanuts. Serve hot with a wedge of lime, raw green onion and raw bean sprouts.

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Pasta that is Gluten Free and grain free!?

No-Pasta, Pasta

If your gluten free, here is a great way to have pasta with out any grain at all. It's also a great one for kids and big family's, cause it's cheap and easy to make. Now lets talk about taste, it's great.

Serve with a salad and your serving a great meal.

Ingredients   serves 4 (depends on the size of the squash)

One spaghetti squash

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 deg.   Cut the spaghetti squash in half and take out the seeds. Put 2 tablespoons of water in the hollow, then cover both halves with tin fold. 

Place the squash in the oven on a cookie sheet.  Let cook, one hour or till a fork can pick right through. (hint:  Cooking the squash can be done the day before)

Once cooked, allow to cool to finger handling temperature. Then when cool enough. Use a fork to scrape the squash away from the skin and into a serving bowl.  Separate all the pasta like strands, so the look like pasta.

Once the Tomato sauce (below) is done and still in the pan. Toss into the easy tomato sauce shown below.  Stir and make sure the squash is heated through.

Enjoy this wonderful alternative to pasta as is, or sprinkle lightly with Parmesan cheese. If you are avoiding dairy, you can sprinkle nutritional yeast.

Suzanne’s Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

1 can plum tomatoes, diced (organic)

 or you can use fresh summer tomatoes or frozen from the garden

1 med. Onion

1 to 3 cloves of garlic (to taste)

10 fresh shitake mushrooms

½ bunch of fresh basil (1tbsp if using dry basil)

¼ bunch of oregano (1 tbsp id using dry oregano)

3 tbs of organic virgin olive oil

good quality sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions 

In a sauce pan brown onion using 1 tbs of olive oil till wilted.  Clean and chop shitake mushrooms and add to the sauce pan, stir.   Then add the diced tomatoes and stir.  Clean and chop the basil and oregano, add to the sauce.

Simmer on very low heat and add the rest of the olive oil.

Salt and pepper to taste.

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Are you scared by the over cooked green beans of your childhood?

Lemon-Dill Green Beans

In presenting this dish in a cooking class I've gotten comments like. "I don’t like green beans but, I love this recipe".  So remember, if you kick it up on taste, your family will make food changes so much easier. You’ll be surprised when they ask for this dish again!

Ingredients        Serves 6 sides

1 pound organic green beans, trimmed
4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon minced shallot or sweet onion
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard
1/4 teaspoon high quality sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Direction

1. Bring an inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan fitted with a steamer basket. Add green beans, cover and cook until tender-crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat.
   
   
2. Meanwhile, whisk dill, shallot, oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the green beans and toss to coat. Let stand about 10 minutes before serving to blend flavors.

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Take out the wheat and kick up the taste!

Cauliflower Couscous
If you love the texture of couscous, you can make something very similar from raw cauliflower!  New recipes can be a revelation, when you understand the freedom and the health that results from avoiding your allergy foods. 
This recipe is gluten free, with not loss of taste.

You will need a food processor for this recipe          10 servings as a side dish

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets with as much stem removed as possible
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/8 cup fresh cilantro, minced                                                                                 2 tbs. of organic virgin olive oil
juice of one lemon (add to taste)
Celtic sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

Put the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until the texture is somewhat like couscous.  If you've never seen couscous, it will be rough and grainy, with the bits a little larger than grits, but smaller than rice.

Now, just mix the remaining ingredients together to taste and refrigerate.  The refrigeration is important, because it allows the flavors to blend very well and it makes the flavor of the onions milder.  You should marinate for at least an hour, but six hours is better. 

This is a great “make ahead” recipe, will keep in the fridge for 3 days.

Make lots, because this salad is sooooo good!

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