Category Archives: Recipes

29

Nov. ’14

Veggie Taco Salad

I love hard tacos but I hate the mess created when eating them. I am a messy eater as it is, and having my food fall apart on me halfway through my meal doesn’t help matters.

That’s why taco salad is great. It’s basically a sloppy, broken-up hard taco that you eat with a spoon. My vegetarian version uses beans in place of the meat (meat eaters can substitute chicken or beef), and some extra greens. Because you can never eat too many greens!

Ingredients:
2 cups dry pinto beans
1 onion, diced
2 cups kale or spinach, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
1 cup salsa
3 cups shredded lettuce
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 bag whole grain tortilla chips
Taco sauce

Taco seasoning:
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chili powder

Directions:
1. Rinse the beans and boil them in a pot of water until soft. Once cooked, reserve 1 cup of the cooking water and drain the rest. Mash the beans with a potato masher and mix in the taco seasoning as well as reserved water.
Note: if you prefer a spicier taste, you can add red pepper flakes to the seasoning as well.

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2. Sauté the onion in a little oil for about 5 mins until tender. Add the kale (or spinach) and cook until soft. Add the tomato and cook a few mins more.

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3. Add the mashed beans and salsa to the cooked vegetables, and stir until combined.

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4. Scoop about a cup of the bean mixture into a bowl and add a handful of shredded lettuce, grated cheese and drizzle a little taco sauce on top. Add the chips and crush them into the mixture.

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23

Nov. ’14

Easy Veggie Moussaka Recipe (gluten free!)

I love moussaka but finding a good vegetarian recipe is not easy, especially one that is gluten free.

My recipe is a combination of Jamie Oliver’s veggie moussaka and Martha Stewarts’s meat moussaka with my own variations thrown in. I pre-bake the veggies in the oven instead of pan frying them to save prep time, and the typical bechamel sauce is replaced with a feta and ricotta cheese mixture to make this moussaka gluten free.

Although this recipe is quicker than others, making moussaka is time consuming so save this for a day that you have a little extra time to put dinner together. It is worth the effort though, and even meat eaters find this veggie moussaka to be delicious.

Ingredients:

1 LARGE eggplant
2 medium zucchini
4 small red potatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
12 tbsp Coconut oil  (or Vegetable oil)
1/2 cup Sprouted green lentils (regular lentils will work too but take longer to cook)
1 red onion
1 jar (25 oz) of Pasta Sauce
1 cup Feta cheese
1 cup Ricotta cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400*F.
2. Cut the eggplant lengthwise into 1/2-1inch slices. Combine the salt and pepper with 6 tbsp olive oil on a baking sheet and toss with the eggplant. Place the eggplant slices in a single layer on the baking sheet (you may need more than one). Place the baking sheet(s) in the oven and bake for 20-30 mins until soft and fully cooked (the eggplant slices will shrivel and shrink a bit).

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3. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Cut the zucchini into 1/2-inch slices as well, and toss both the potato and zucchini slices with the remaining 6 tbsp in oil. Spread the slices into a single layer onto baking sheets and bake in the oven for 20-30 mins until soft and slightly golden.

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4. Cook the lentils according to package directions (sprouted lentils cook in 5 mins, regular lentils will take much longer). Drain any excess water and set aside.
5. Dice the onion and sauté in a little bit of oil for 4-5 mins in a saucepan. Add the lentils and tomato sauce. Stir until combined then set aside.

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6. Layer half of the eggplant slices in the bottom of a 3-quart casserole dish. Layer half of the potato and zucchini slices on top of the eggplant.

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7. Pour half the sauce mixture over the layered vegetables. Then layer the rest of the eggplant, potato and zucchini slices over the sauce. Pour the remaining sauce on top.
8. Combine the ricotta and feta cheese in a large bowl and then spread evenly over casserole.
9. Broil in oven until cheese is spotted brown (about 10 mins).

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10. Cut into squares and serve.

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14

Oct. ’14

Power Oatmeal for Babies and Toddlers

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I started making a simpler version of this oatmeal for my little one when she was around 8 months old and I slowly changed it to add more flavour and nutrition as she got older. The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

3 pears (can be substituted for apples, or a mix of both)
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 cups milk (or 1 1/2 cups water)
15-20 almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
Maple syrup (optional – if your child prefers slightly sweeter oatmeal – not recommended for babies under the age of 1 due to risk of infant botulism)

1. Preheat oven to 350•F.
2. Cut the pears in half, core them and lay them flat in a baking dish. Add an inch of water to the baking dish and put it in the oven. Bake the pears until they are soft, about 20-30 mins depending on how ripe they are (you should be able to easily slide a fork through them).
3. As the pears cool, add the oats and milk to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook about 10 mins, stirring frequently, until the oats are fully cooked and the consistency is quite thick.
4. Puree the pears in a blender or food processor, using the same water they were baked in. If you prefer your oatmeal to have a thicker consistency then add just enough of the water to puree the pears, if you prefer a runnier consistency then add more water.
5. Grind the almonds in a coffee grinder or food processor into a powder. Add the pear puree, ground almonds and cinnamon to the oatmeal and stir until well blended. If it is too bland for your tot, add some maple syrup (for

Makes 3-4 toddler servings. You can also make a bigger batch minus the ground almonds and freeze extra servings (add the ground almonds in after thawing).

Oats are high in manganese, phosphorus, copper, biotin, and vitamin B1. Almonds are high in biotin, vitamin E (an antioxidant) copper, manganese, as well as healthy fats. Pears are high in fiber – the pears in this dish helped my daughter’s constipation tremendously when she was a baby. Cinnamon is anti-microbial so it’s perfect for cold and flu season!

Although baking the pears makes this recipe time consuming, it helps retain more nutrients than other methods of cooking pears. If you simply don’t have the time, you can also peel and slice the pears, place them in a saucepan with just enough water to cover them and cook until soft, then mash them with a potato masher.

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