Kale w/ Brown Rice

Ingredients

• 1½ cup Brown rice
• 2 cups Vegetable broth
• 1 Tbs Sofrito
• 1 Tbs Tomato paste
• 1 Garlic glove (chopped)
• 2 Tbs Olive oil
• 1 large Onion (chopped)

• 2 bunches of Kale (stems removed and kale chopped)
• Sea salt to taste
• 2 Tbs Apple cider vinegar
• ½ tsp smoked Paprika
• 1 Garlic glove (chopped)
• 1 tsp Onion powder
• 4 cups water

Directions

Cook onions with 1 Tbs olive oil until golden brown. Set aside

Heat oil in a pot. Add rice and garlic. Cook oil until slightly brown. Add vegetable broth, sofrito, and tomato paste. You may need to add additional water. Boil for 45 minutes or until soft. Remove from heat and add onions.

In a large pot heat water, sea salt and apple cider vinegar. When the water starts to boil, add kale, smoked paprika, garlic and onion powder. Cook until kale is soft. Serve with brown rice.

Some Health Benefits

Kale is good for blood, heart, bone, joint, eye, lung, respiratory, liver, immune system and overall cell health (it helps against cancer and inflammation). Its fiber content makes kale useful in digestive health and in balancing the body's weight.

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Masa Turnovers

Ingredients

Filling

• 1 large Onion (chopped)
• 1/2 cup Mushrooms (chopped)
• 2 cups Broccoli (chopped)
• 1 tsp Garlic powder
• 1 tsp Oregano
• Sea salt to taste
• 1 Tbs Olive oil
• Oil for frying

Dough

• 1 cup Masa
• 1 cup unbleached All Purpose flour
• 1 tsp Sea salt
• 11/3 cup warm Water

Directions

In a pan, heat olive oil. Add onions, mushrooms, broccoli, garlic powder, oregano and sea slat. Cook for 10 minutes or until vegetables are slightly soft. Set aside

In a bowl, add masa, flour, sea salt, and water. Add water a little at a time. You may or may not need all the water. The dough should not be too wet. When touched it should not stick to your hand. 

Flour your surface, take a small piece and roll it out. Add a small amount to center. Fold dough over and flip edges to close.  

Heat oil in a pot and cook masa turnovers until golden brown.

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Meatless Sausage Patties

 These patties are very good with a spicy kick to them!

Ingredients
Serving size: 8 patties

• 1 1/2 cup All purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Wheat pastry flour
• 1 stick vegan Butter 
• 1 1/2 tsp Curry powder (for dough)
• Pinch of Sea salt
• 1/2 cup cold Water

• 16 oz. Vegan sausage 
• 1 small Onion (chopped)
• 1/2 Green pepper (chopped)
• 1 Garlic clove (chopped)
• 1/2 Tbs Curry powder (for filling)
• 1 tsp Thyme 
• 1 tsp Chili powder
• 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1/2 Vegetable bullion cube
• 1 Tbs Olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and oil baking sheet.

Dough

Combine flour, 1 1/2 tsp curry powder, salt and mix. Cut butter into cubes and combine with flour mixture until it resembles crumbs. Add cold water. Set aside.

Filling

Heat olive oil in a pan add onions and peppers. Cook until onions are translucent.  Add vegan sausage, garlic, chili powder, cayenne powder, 1 Tbs curry powder, thyme and crumbled bullion cube. Stir and break sausage down. Then add water. Cook for 5 minutes. Take mixture off heat, and let cool.

Flour your surface and rolling pin, then take a small piece of dough  and roll it out into a flat circle. Add your filling to one end (not too close to the edges), then fold dough over and press edges with a fork to seal.

Arrange on baking sheet and cook for 30 minutes or until patties become slightly brown.

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Onion Rings

Nice and crunchy!

Ingredients

• 3 large Onions (peel cut into 4 inch rings and separate)
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose Flour
• 1 cup Coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 1 tsp Garlic powder
• 1 Egg replacer
• 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp Sea salt
• Oil for frying

Directions

Mix Salt and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Set aside.

Mix flour, garlic powder, baking powder and a pinch of salt.  Add milk and egg replacer and mix. 

Heat oil. Add a few cut onions to batter then place in oil. Let cook until they have a golden brown color, then drain on paper towel.  Sprinkle with salt and cayenne mixture. Serve.

Some Health Benefits

Onions are known to be good for the liver and heart. They also boost the immune system and help to prevent cancer.

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Chunky Tomato Soup

Very tasty and satisfying!

Ingredients

• 4 large Tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 medium Onion (sliced)
• 1 cup Asparagus (chopped)
• 3 cups Water (or vegetable broth)
• 1/2 cup Tomato paste (optional)
• Sea salt
• 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp dry Basil
• 1 tsp Thyme
• 1 tsp Honey
• 1 Tbs Olive oil
• 1 Tbs *Fufu flour (mix with 1Tbs water)

*If you can't find fufu flour, unbleached flour will work

Directions

Cook asparagus for 10 minutes and set aside

Heat pan with olive oil. Add onions. Cook until caramelized. Add tomatoes, water, tomato paste, sea salt, cayenne pepper, basil, thyme and honey. Let cook for 30 minutes or until soup reduces and thickens, then add fufu mix. Add cooked asparagus to soup. Serve and enjoy.

Some Health Benefits

Asparagus are known to be a good source of fiber and protein. They are also known to   strengthen bones, regulate blood sugar levels and help fight certain forms of cancer.

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Baked Eggplant

You will think you are at a five star restaurant when you try this recipe!

Ingredients

Servings size: 2

• 1 Eggplant (sliced)
• 1 cup Wheat pastry flour
• 3 Flax seed eggs
• 1 ½ cups Almond milk
• 1 cup Bread crumbs
• Salt (optional)
• 2 tsp Garlic powder
• 1 tsp Cayenne powder
• 2 tsp Onion powder
• 1 tsp Thyme

Directions

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with olive oil

Prepare 3 separate bowls in one add milk and flax eggs. In the next bowl add flour, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, cayenne pepper and salt. In the last bowl add bread crumbs, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder and thyme. 

Place sliced eggplant in milk. Coat each eggplant with flour, milk then bread crumbs (must be in this order). Place on baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes flipping half way. Serve as a sandwich or by itself. 

 Some Health Benefits

Eggplant is known for reducing cancer, weight loss and skin tone.  It also helps with the heart, brain and digestive system.

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Basmati Rice w/ Curry Vegetables

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The lightness of the rice is delightful!

Ingredients
Serving size: 4

• 2 1/2 cups Basmati rice (cooking according to product's directions)
• 1 yellow Squash (chopped)
• 1 large Onion (chopped)
• 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
• 1 green Pepper (chopped)
• 1 cup mushroom (sliced)
• 1 medium Tomato (chopped)
• 1 cup Asparagus (chopped)
• 1 cup Broccoli
• 1/2 tsp Thyme
• 1/2 tsp Basil
• 1/2 tsp Rosemary
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 cup Water
• 2 Tbs Curry powder
• 2 Tbs Fufu powder (or 2 Tbs flour) & 2 Tbs water
• 1 Tbs Olive oil
• Sea salt (optional)

Directions

Cook Basmati rice. Set aside.

Heat pan with olive oil. Add squash,onions, garlic, pepper, tomato, asparagus, broccoli and thyme, basil, rosemary, cayenne, pepper and 1 Tbs curry powder. Cook for 10 minutes. Add water and 1 Tbs curry powder. Cook for 5 minutes. Mix fufu and water until pasty. Add fufu mix in small amounts until thick. Cook until thickens to your taste. Serve over rice.

Some Health Benefits

Basmati rice helps maintain blood health - it is healthy for those countering diabetes. It nourishes the brain and heart systems. It supports skin health and boosts the body's energy production.

Asparagus supports bone, skin, reproductive and cell health in general. It helps heal swelling and damaged cells. It is an energizer and a detox.
.
Mushrooms are also a detox. They also support the blood, digestive and immune systems.

Tomatoes support blood, heart, skin, kidney health. They help help repair swollen and damaged cells. Garlic helps secure the immune system. It helps the body fight unhealthy bacteria and infections. It supports blood, lung and respiratory health. Onions have similar, but milder effects, as garlic.

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Influences

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Good food feels good to eat. A good drink too. It becomes routine; it becomes our normal. Feels good. It's entertaining, like playing a game or watching a movie. 

You walk into the store. You find yourself going for what you expect to be "good." In a feel-good culture it's good to remember that it's all about influences. When taste defines "good," it's obviously about habits. What we keep doing. What we're used to. The culture. The examples children see. 

What will a child do with the extra dollar when the sugar-salt-fat taste is in all these foods on the shelf. Will she do what "everybody" does: go to the corner store and buy a candy? Taste buds may be happy but the punishment on the body is too much. That's why in spite of the heavy promotion of fake foods, the culture is steady returning to natural eating habits. 

People are intelligent. You wouldn't even notice the difference when you use honey instead of sugar; the egg replacer or the nutritious ground flax seed instead of eggs; almond milk or soy milk instead of dairy milk, in baking. More hands are reaching for the 100% not-from-concentrate fruit juices, as we read labels.

Food is central to healthy living. So we're mindful of what we are eating. What we're getting used to. As we make our body, tongue and mind used to healthy eating, it becomes easier to let go of that cheese. We're always influencing our normal as our normal influences us. The influences we surround ourselves with determine our food choices. 


Tasty healthy food eating influences us (and bad food will do its dirt). We pick up good habits the more we do particular things. The more we serve up good meals, the more our taste buds and body get used to it. 

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Dairy-Free Shortbread Cookies

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You won't even miss the dairy in these cookies!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Whole wheat pastry Flour
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose Flour
• 1/2 tsp Sea salt (optional)
• 1 stick Earth Balance Vegan butter (softened)
• 1/3 cup Honey
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
• 2 Tbs Almond milk
• 2 Tbs chopped dried Cherries
• 1/4 cup chopped Pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine whole wheat, unbleached flour and salt. In a separate bowl, mix butter, honey, vanilla extract, almond milk. Add flour mixture, dried cherries and pecans. Mix well. Form dough into a log. Cover with plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes. Cut dough 1/4 to1/2 inch thick and place on cookie sheet. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are slightly golden brown.

Some Health Benefits

Pecans boost good cholesterol and reduce unhealthy cholesterol in the blood system. they support blood health in general and heart health. Pecans also help the body process foods and to release energy from what we eat.

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Dairy-Free Pancake w/ Blueberries

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Ingredients

Dairy-Free Pancake

• 1/2 cup Wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unbleached Flour
• 1 Tbs Honey
• 2 Tbs Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Sea salt
• 1 cup Soy milk
• 2 Tbs Olive oil

Blueberry Syrup

• 2 cups frozen Blueberries
• 1 cup Honey
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 cup chopped Apples

Directions

Make the Blueberry Syrup first.Combine blueberries, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg in a pot. Cook for 10 minutes. Set aside.

To make the Dairy-Free Pancake, combine dry ingredients add honey, olive oil and soy milk. Drop 1/4 cup of batter into a well-greased frying pan. Cook for 3 minutes on each side. Serve with blue berry syrup.


Some Health Benefits

Blueberries support brain and blood health. They help repair damaged cells. Blueberries also help the organs resist inflammation (swelling) and infections.

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Herb Fry Bread

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Great with a stew or soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Wheat flour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 1 tsp Soy milk 
• 1 tsp Basil
• 1 tsp Thyme
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 1 tsp Flax seed
• 1 Garlic clove (chopped)
• 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
• *1 cup Olive oil or a slower burning oil (eg. coconut oil)
• Sea salt (optional)
• 1/2 cup Water

*You can also use 3 cups 100% vegetable oil to deep-fry the bread.

Directions

Mix flour, baking powder, basil, thyme, oregano, flax seed, garlic, cayenne pepper, and sea salt. Add water and soy milk mix till the dough comes together (do not over-mix). Cut a piece of dough to the size you would like, flour your hands, stretch and pat. Heat oil. Then add dough. Gently lay dough in hot oil and fry for about 2 minutes on each side or till its golden brown.   

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Vegetable Pot Pie w/ Strawberry Lemonade

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Always enjoyed pot pies. Here's a healthier version. Tastes good too!

Ingredients (Single serving size)

Vegetable Mix

• 1 red Potato (diced)
• 1 medium Onion (chopped)
• 1/2 cup Carrots (chopped)
• 1 green Pepper (chopped)
• 1 medium Tomato (chopped)
• 1 cup Broccoli (chopped)
• 2 cups Vegetable broth (or water)
• 1 Tbs Olive oil
• 3 Tbs flour Thickener (3 Tbs all-purpose wheat flour and 3 Tbs water consistency of glue)
• 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp Basil
• 1 Curry powder
• Sea salt (option)
• Add any vegetables of your choice

Crust

• 2 1/2 cups flour (1 1/2 cup wheat flour and 1 cup all-purpose flour)
• 2/3 cup vegan butter
• 1/2 cup cold water

Strawberry Lemonade

• 2 lemons (squeezed)
• 1 cup strawberries (pureed)
• 2 cups water
• Agave (according to your taste)

  

Directions

Vegetable Mix

Heat pan with olive oil. Add potato, tomato, carrots, green peppers, broccoli, onions and other spices, and let cook for about 5 minutes. Add Vegetable broth. Cook for 5 minutes. Add thickener. Cook for 5 minutes more.

Crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter and flour-mix in a bowl. Mix and crumble with hands until it looks like crumbs. Add water. Mix into dough. Split in half. Roll with a rolling pin to fit pan (8 inch square pan or pie pan). Roll one half of dough and put it at the bottom of pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Add vegetable mix. Roll other half of dough and fit it to the top of the pan. Put back in oven and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes or until crust is light golden brown.

Strawberry Lemonade

Pour 2 cups of water, squeezed lemons, pureed strawberries and agave into a container. Stir, and strain.

Some Health Benefits

Red potatoes helps the body fight infections, are good for heart and blood health. They help in digestion and elimination (against constipation). Red potatoes support eye, teeth, bone, and skin health.

Tomatoes, carrots and red potatoes share similar properties. The tomato also helps heal and nourish the kidneys. Carrots are known to help flush and heal the liver.

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The Natural Life; They Made It Expensive

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Taste buds are already getting familiar with healthy food. Then money shows its face. They made it expensive to live natural.

People are intelligent. People want to live healthy. People want to eat healthy. But then you come up against some crazy prices - like you have to be rich to live healthy, and the budget is tight, and the soda and potato chips will save you a bit. So we lower the stress on the wallet and shift it to the body.

The body wants real food. It doesn't like the "side effects," damaging people's body cells. Then you think about the medical bills and trips to the pharmacy, the hospital. Natural eating helps wash off disease; pills often mask and maintain sickness. Health food costs must be within people's reach.

Health food prices must come down. Now's a good time of good changes. There is quality and quantity. There is variety. Market competition realizes people want real food. Robber barons stake out their spot. Quinoa on Wegmans and Walmart shelves. How will it shape prices at health food stores like Abundance and Lori's?

Buyers' numbers are driving prices down, if slowly. The neighborhood must have its own health food source. Must make it easier for people to have it. People don't have to think too hard about money when they think health food. 

It takes good relationships, fresh air, water, rest, energetic physical activity, good vibes, all of that, and enough good food, to make good health. Money shouldn't be getting in the way.