Vegetable Quinoa Chili

Who doesn't love chili? The classic can be pretty heavy in saturated fat and calories, not to mention overly seasoned with salt. This is as close as you can get to chili perfection without sacrificing your body for your love of food. Don't get me wrong - I'm all about indulging but doing it the right way with some modifications allows you to still get all of the satisfaction from your very favorite foods without putting your levels on the chopping block. And this recipe can be modified even further to make it just right for you no matter what your restrictions or requirements are. 

Basically, I used red quinoa instead of ground beef or turkey, and the addition of crumbled tofu or TVP will take the texture up a notch. I used pinto beans but of course kidney or black will work. The secret is getting lots of textures in there so that it's thick and chunky and full of a variety of vegetables. This is gluten free, and could easily be vegan without the yogurt on top. Coconut yogurt works pretty good for that. I'll let you in on a little secret though. This can be made on the fly by using a can of Amy's Vegetable Chili as a base and adding your own embellishments! Using a can of low sodium chili as a base provides a solution when you're in a time crunch, but the one made from scratch looks and tastes identical. You will be making it with all of the same ingredients anyway!

INGREDIENTS

1|2 of a yellow onion, diced

2 large carrots cut into 1|4 inch chop (or sweet potato or butternut squash)

5 large cremini mushrooms, thick sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 ribs of celery, minced

10 -15 grape tomatoes, halved (or a can of tomatoes with their juices)

1 T tomato paste

1|2 - 3|4 cup vegetable stock or filtered water

1|2 c red quinoa, cooked

1|2 crumbled tofu or TVP (textured vegetable protein) - optional

1 can pinto, kidney or black beans

chili powder 

smoked paprika

cumin

sea salt + pepper

olive oil

nutritional yeast always!

fresh chopped cilantro

greek yogurt or sour cream

DIRECTIONS

Warm some olive oil in the bottom of a medium to large sauce pan. Add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook 7 - 9 minutes until they start to brown. Add the mushrooms and the garlic. Cook 5 - 6 minutes until the garlic is fragrant. De-glaze the bottom of the pan with a splash of water or stock until all of the fond is pulled from the surface. That's the delicious brown stuff! Add the rest of the liquid, the quinoa and the beans and the tomatoes. Cook until thickened about 5 minutes, then add all of the seasonings except the cilantro and the yogurt. Cover and simmer another 10 - 15 minutes or so. Adjust the salt and pepper before serving. If you don't like cilantro, parsley is also very good. Top with a spoonful of yogurt and the fresh herbs. Serve with crunchy corn chips or warm corn bread!

ENJOY!

Sprouted Green Lentil Hummus

A word on sprouting and soaking your legumes. This practice will make them more user-friendly by leaching out the complex, indigestible sugars and the phytic acid that are found in most of them. These are the most difficult forms of vegetables for the human digestive system to break down. When you don't soak them, these sugars remain intact in the large intestine where bacteria ferment them and create carbon dioxide and hydrogen - the two main components of gastrointestinal gas. 

There a few kinds of legumes that do not need to be soaked, however. This includes lentils, aduki beans and split peas. These varieties are perfect for sprouting though, which enriches their nutritional profiles by increasing their protein content while decreasing starch and shortens their cooking time. 

To properly soak hard beans, rinse well and soak overnight in enough filtered water to cover the top by at least 1|4 inch. Drain the soaking liquid off and cook them in fresh water. This will also make the minerals more bioavailable. For this recipe, I sprouted the lentils for 24 hours, then cooked them in a little salted water until most of the liquid was absorbed, and drained the rest. 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup green lentils

1 large tablespoon of raw tahini (sesame butter)

1|2 lemon, juiced

1 large clove of garlic, minced

1 - 2 T good quality olive oil

1 T filtered water

cumin

smoked paprika

freshly chopped cilantro (parsley is a fine substitute if you prefer it)

SERVE WITH

toasted pita wedges or your favorite chips

assorted crudite

crumbled feta cheese

fresh greens

DIRECTIONS

Cook the sprouted lentils at a 2:1 ratio for about 20 - 25 minutes, until tender. Drain off any excess liquid that remains. Let them cool for 15 minutes. Add them to your blender with the remaining ingredients and season with sea salt at the end. Blend until thick and creamy. Garnish with extra smoked paprika and some whole leaves of cilantro. This makes a perfect appetizer dip or on a sandwich with your favorite embellishments. 

ENJOY!

Butternut Bisque with Kale Cream, Pepitas + Smoky Mushrooms

This might be the most gorgeous soup I've ever made. The intense color - blocking turned out so good and only works this well when the consistency of the two layers are thick enough not to mix when you pour the cream on top just before serving. The addition of toasted pepitas, cremini mushrooms and smoked paprika put the entire thing over the top. This can be made vegan by using coconut milk instead of dairy milk. It is delicious both ways! The kale cream is also delicious over pasta, rice or quinoa with roasted butternut squash for a variation. I've also used it in lasagna, as a flatbread pizza sauce and as a creamy dressing on a winter salad. Experiment!

INGREDIENTS
For the soup:
1 butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and cubed
1 cup coconut milk or vegetable stock
1|2 medium yellow onion, sliced
olive oil
sea salt + black pepper
nutritional yeast
pinch of cayenne
a little grated nutmeg
toasted pepitas are pumpkin seeds
sliced cremini mushrooms
1 clove of minced garlic

For the kale cream:
8 large leaves of kale, washed, deveined and chopped
1|4 shallot, diced
1|2 - 3|4 cup coconut milk
pinch of sea salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Toss the cubed squash and sliced onion in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, seasoned with salt + pepper. Roast on a sheet pan for about 30 minutes, shaking the pan half way through to ensure even cooking, until they are golden and fragrant. Remove the pan from the oven and scrape everything into a blender. Add the nutritional yeast, cayenne and the nutmeg. You could also add it directly to a soup pot with the coconut milk or stock and use an immersion blender. Blend until thick and creamy. Adjust the liquid so that it is not too thin or the cream will not sit on top and you'll get a murky blended effect instead. Return the soup to the pot.

Start making the kale cream by adding all of the ingredients to a second small pot and cook until just tender and the kale is bright green. If you overcook this step, the kale can become bitter. While this is cooking, gently saute the mushrooms and garlic, season with salt + pepper. Blend the kale cream in the blender (rinse it out first) or with the immersion blender. It should be thick as well. Build your bowl by ladling in the soup first. Gently and slowly pour or spoon some of the kale cream on top. Gently set the mushrooms in the middle and top with the pepitas  and smoked paprika. These layers should sit one right on top of the other for maximum wow factor and to get the color - blocked effect.

ENJOY!!