Tag: no sugar

Healthy Pumpkin Spice Bread

There’s nothing better then warming up a cool late October day with a healthy home baked creation. This is the season for all things pumpkin and when I woke up this morning wanted the sweet smell of pumpkin and spices permeating throughout the house. Immediately I thought of pumpkin bread and I just so happened to have the most amazing plant based recipe. So at 10 o’clock in the morning I swung into pumpkin spice bread mode and before you know it that little loaf was in the oven baking.

That’s about when hubby came in the kitchen and told me to get dressed we’re going on an autumn hike. Well – so much for the smell of pumpkin and spices permeating throughout the house. In the 50 minutes that it took to bake my bread I managed to take a shower, get dressed, throw a little make-up on and by the time I laced up my hiking boots my little loaf of pumpkin spice bread was ready to come out of the oven.

It’s peak fall foliage season here in NE Ohio so the hike at Chapin Forest was like one out of a story book. The brilliant crimsons, yellow ochres and sienna oranges were somewhat of a visual overload. It was quite windy so the entire area was snowing “leaves.” We stopped at a viewpoint which overlooked a valley draped in the most magnificent colors and ominous Lake Erie in the background. Absolutely drop dead gorgeous!

The drive back home through scenic country roads was equally spectacular. I love the look of modest little country homes decorated with pumpkins, scarecrows and little homemade ghosts swaying from trees. I started thinking of toasty fireplaces, hot apple cider and then just as we pulled up in the driveway I started thinking about my freshly made pumpkin spice bread. As we opened the door it was just as I imagined in the morning – the sweet smell of pumpkin and spices permeating throughout the house. The bread was still warm and how delicious it tasted after our robust autumn hike!

Chapin Forest at one of the best scenic overlooks, quarry pond ledges, from which Cleveland and Lake Erie are visible on a clear day.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinammon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 15 oz. can of pure pumpkin
  • 1/2 cup date syrup
  • 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup dark raisins
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

  1. Sift together the first seven ingredients in a large bowl
  2. In another bowl stir together the pumpkin, date syrup and vanilla
  3. Add the flour mixture and stir until all ingredients are mixed. The batter will be firm. Fold in the raisins and walnuts.
  4. Pour the batter into an 8 x 4 parchment lined or silicone loaf pan
  5. Bake 50-60 minutes (or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean) in a preheated 350 degree oven.
Slices so nicely and super moist. Everything about this bread is healthy (no refined sugar, butter or oil) but it tastes sinfully delicious – like cake!

Zoodles with Creamy Avocado Sauce

Zoodles with Creamy Avocado Sauce

The seed for zucchini noodles (zoodles) was planted in my brain a few year ago by my sister Joyce. Never heard of such a thing. It took until now for that seed to finally germinate and grow!

Unlike pasta noodles, zucchini noodles are low in carbohydrates (a perk for anyone having issues with blood sugar), low in calories, low in fat and high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and hydration. One cup of pasta = 240 calories and 4 grams carbohydrate. One cup of zucchini noodles = 33 calories and 6 grams carbohydrate. Do the math. Zucchini noodles (zoodles) is a no brainer!

There are lots of cool gadgets out there to make zucchini noodles (electric or hand held vegetable spirilizer machine, spiral strip slicer, vegetable peeler, julienne peeler and mandoline and knife). I have to admit I had my heart set on the spirilizer machine I saw at Target but when I saw the $65.00 price tag I opted for the more economical mandoline slicer ($12.98) and knife method. A little more time consuming but I already had the mondoline and cutting them into angel hair pasta strips was really not a big deal at all.

Mandoline sliced thin then cut in lenthwise strips using a sharp knife
Vegetable spirilizer

But … after slicing the tip of my index finger off with the mandoline blade, the next time around I used a much safer hand held spirilizer.

Creamy Avocado Sauce

This sauce is so creamy and lick the plate clean yummy
  • Two very ripe avocados
  • Cilantro
  • Juice of one lime
  • Plant based milk (unsweetened)

Puree the avocado, lime juice and a little bit of plant based milk. Adjust the thickness to your liking by adding more or less milk. Stir in the cilantro. That’s it – easy peesy!

The zoodles came out pretty nice! Do you eat them cold or warm??? I say, whatever floats your boat! If you want them heated just put a little water in a pan and cook, stirring frequently for about 1 minute (or until the zoodles are warm). DO NOT OVERCOOK or the zoodles will become watery and mushy.
I added a little fresh black pepper and red pepper flakes.
And yes … do twirl them around with your soup spoon and fork!!!

Quinoa-Orzo Stuffed Tomatoes

Quinoa-Orzo Stuffed Tomatoes

I recently read that quinoa (keen-waa), soy and buckwheat are perfect proteins. Unlike some plant based proteins, quinoa, soy and buckwheat are complete in that they contain all 9 essential amino acids that the body cannot make on its own. These 9 essential amino acids are critical to tissue growth, nutrient absorption, immune function and energy production.

While I eat soy on a regular basis, I am embarrassed to say quinoa and buckwheat have never made it on my dinner plate – at least that I’m aware. Quinoa had my interest. In my research I found that it is a flowering plant in the amaranth family grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is high in protein, fiber, B vitamins and minerals which exceed that of many grains. Quinoa is actually considered one of the 12 ancient grains which means it has been grown the same way for thousands of years without being genetically modified.

Of the four main varieties of quinoa (white, black, tri-color and red) red is considered the healthiest due to having the highest level of antioxidants.

White, black, tri-color and red quinoa

Okay – so with all that said – I was itching to find a healthy recipe in which quinoa took center stage. I found a nice little recipe in the Fall 2022 edition of Forks over Knives for Quinoa-Orzo Stuffing and used it to make my remarkably delicious stuffed baked tomatoes.

Would you look at that!!!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
  • 1/4 cup dried quinoa rinsed
  • 3 cloves finely minced garlic
  • 1/4 cup dry whole wheat orzo

Note: It is very important that quinoa is thoroughly rinsed. Rinsing removes the natural coating called saponin which can make it taste bitter or soapy.

My quinoa was bought bulk so rinsing was super essential. I am in mad rinse mode here! In my reading it is recommended to rinse packaged quinoa even if is says it was pre-rinsed.
Look at how dirty the rinse water got!
  • 5 beefsteak tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup scallions cut in small pieces (use the green ends)
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/2 lemon
  • Black pepper
  • Avocado slices
I did not scoop the entire tomato guts out. Just enough to get a decent amount of stuffing in. And … don’t throw out the guts. Use it in a smoothy or save it for homemade veggie broth. Tomatoes contain lycopene- one of the most potent antioxidants.

Directions:

  1. In a medium saucepan combine the onion, quinoa, garlic and 1 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
  2. Stir in the orzo. Cover and simmer for 7 or 8 minutes stirring occasionally until orzo is soft. If the mixture is too watery uncover the pan and cook 1 or 2 minutes longer until water is nearly gone. Remove from heat then cover and let stand for a few minutes.
  3. Add the scallions, parsley, black pepper, lemon juice and stir
  4. Scoop out the insides of the tomatoes and fill with the stuffing
  5. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes
The quinoa-orzo stuffing tastes so nutty, creamy and simply satisfying
And then add the lemon, scallions, parsley and black pepper – and OMG!
An excellent side to accompany a chickpea wrap or vine tomato soup
Extra stuffing then you need? No problem. Spread it on the bottom of your parchment paper lined baking dish.

Winter Vegetarian Borscht

The inspiration behind this soup was a beautiful Le Creuset cast iron dutch oven given to me recently by my son and daughter in law. What a perfect gift, I must say, for the soup nazi that I am! Well – I wanted to make a soup that was bold and also a complimentary color to my new pea green pot. So I’m at Rainbow Farms, my new favorite hang out market in Madison, and happened across the most beautiful bunch of red beets. That’s it! Beet soup. But it’s in the 20’s and snowy here in NE Ohio so I wanted something really hearty. Then it came to me – hearty, piping hot winter Borscht!

My gorgeous bunch of red beets

There are innumerable versions of this soup which is of Eastern European origin. I sieved through many recipes and ended up using Carole Clements recipe from What’s Cooking: Soups. I did tweak it up a bit – sorry Carole. Many recipes use potatoes but I ommited this only because I wanted it on the lighter side. I also debated whether or not to keep it chunky or pureed. I really agonized over this but in the end opted to puree. Maybe next time I will do a chunky / puree combination. To season borscht you absolutely have to have dill – fresh dill – and lots of it. There is something quite amazing about the pairing of beets with dill. Something I never knew, quite honestly, until making this soup.

Borscht is a sour soup. To achieve the sourness I used lemon juice but red wine vinegar works too. I tried a small sample using both and ended up going with the lemon juice which I felt was less harsh. I also noticed something interesting about the taste – sort of sweet and sour. Then it came to me. This was because of the sweetness of the carrots.

Traditionally Borsch is served with a dollop of sour cream. To maintain compliance with the plant based theme of this website, I substituted with Silk plain almond milk dairy-free yogurt.

There are so many reasons to love the star ingredient in this soup – beetroots. Beets are low in calories but super rich in nutrients. They are loaded with fiber, potassium, magnesium and vitamins B and C. They also contain folate which is good for heart health and manganese which is good for brain function and metabolism. According to Healthline, beets have been shown to lower the risk of heart disease and blood pressure (although this effect is temporary) but a good reason to make plenty of Borscht.

Now if you’ll excuse me I am going to curl up on the couch with a nice big bowl of my Winter Vegetarian Borscht and watch the snow fall!

My pea green (the actual color is called avocado) Le Creuset dutch oven proudly showcasing the hearty ruby red Borscht!

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 large green cabbage coarsley chopped
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 2 carrots thinly sliced
  • 3-4 beets peeled and cubed
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 14 oz. can peeled tomatoes in juice
  • 6 cups vegetable stock
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 3 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tsp. ground black pepper
  • Non-dairy yogurt
Green cabbage, onion, carrots, beets, peeled tomatoes in juice, vegetable stock, bay leaves, fresh dill, lemon, black pepper, non-dairy yogurt

Directions:

  1. Cover the cabbage with cold water in a pan. Boil for 3 minutes then drain.
  2. Saute the onion in a small amount of water in a cooking pot.
  3. Add the broth, tomatoes, carrots, bay leaf and blanched cabbage. Stir. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hr 15 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaves.
  4. Allow the soup to cool slightly then transfer, small batches at a time, to a high speed blender and puree.
  5. Return to the soup pot, add the dill, black pepper and lemon juice and stir. Add more broth or water to desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Serve piping hot with a dollop of non-dairy yogurt.
Blanched cabbage
Adding all the vegetables
After simmering for 1’15”
And then the dill!
Would you just look at those complimentary colors!
To get the cool ribboned look of the yogurt I used a frosting decorator bottle with tip

Stuffed Jack-O’- Lanterns

It’s getting to be that time of year when pumpkins, black cats, witches on brooms and harvest moons appear. As the leaves begin to show hints of autumn colors, the days get shorter and sweaters are pulled out of hybrination, I begin thinking of warm, soothing comfort foods. Stuffed peppers is a favorite cool weather meal in our household but tonight I made them a little different. Instead of the usual lengthwise cut I made them into little Jack-O’-Lanterns. I wish I could take credit for the idea. Instead it was a picture someone on facebook posted back in August and it has been on my mind ever since.

Traditionally, stuffed pepper recipes are made with ground beef. When you commit to a plant based way of eating, however, the source of protein becomes lentils, peas, chickpeas, edamame, beans, tofu, soy, spirulina, oats and sprouted whole grain bread. Plant based proteins that are prepared healthy contain the same chain of amino acids necessary to build and repair body cells without the extra baggage of “bad” fats. In this recipe, black beans are the star performer protein although kidney beans would also work very nicely.

Ingredients

  • 4 orange, red, yellow or green bell peppers (make sure they can stand upright)
  • 1 cup cooked brown rice (or quinoa)
  • 1 can sodium free black beans drained (or kidney beans)
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 cans reduced sodium condensed tomato soup
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 2 tsp. ground black pepper (more or less depending on preference)
  • 3 small potatoes peeled
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • fresh chives
Brown rice, black beans, onions, garlic, tomato soup, black pepper

Mixed together becomes the yummy filling!

Directions

  1. Slice off the tops of the peppers and set aside. Hollow the insides of the peppers removing the seeds and white parts.
  2. Carve little jack-o’-lantern faces on the peppers
  3. Arrange the carved peppers on a glass baking dish and microwave for approximately 5-8 minutes until slightly tender. Note: they should still be firm, not floppy.
  4. Saute the onions and garlic in a large sauce pan with a small amount of water. Add the rice, black beans, tomato soup and pepper. Mix together and cook until warm.
  5. Stuff the peppers and put the tops on.
  6. Mix the remaining can of tomato soup with 3/4 cup water and a little black pepper and pour underneath and around the peppers.
  7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
  8. Peel, cube and boil the potatoes until soft. Drain then add the almond milk and mash. Garnish with fresh chives.

Making stuffed pepper jack-o’-lanterns special takes only a few extra minutes. The kids and adult kids will love this super healthy meal!
I could use a bit more practice on the carving. My jack-o’-lanterns resemble little frankenstein monsters but they sure tasted good!
Bon Appetite my plant based friends!

Miso Soup with Baby Bok Choy and Shiitake Mushrooms

Miso Soup with Baby Bok Choy and Shiitake Mushrooms

Well I was up at good ‘ole Lucky’s Market over the weekend and saw some baby bok choy (Chinese White Cabbage). It is not always the easiest to find. Regular bok choy is readily available but not baby. While they are basically the same, baby bok choy leaves are small, tender, sweeter and can be eaten uncooked in a salad. I remember the first time I discovered bok choy was back in my January post Baby Bok Choy with Tahini-Ginger Sauce. That guy in the produce aisle holding the bok choy like it was a prize trophy or fish or something, admiring it, smiling and telling me how beautiful it looks. And then his words of advice “it has to be baby bok choy – not mature stalks!” Some things you never forget. That is one of them.

So I’ve been thinking about miso soup for a few weeks now. It’s been quite awhile since we had it and I really appreciate the simplicity of this soup. For those of you unfamiliar, miso is a traditional Japanese soup with the core ingredients: stock and miso paste. Miso paste is a mixture of fermented soybeans, sea salt and koji (Japanese mold). You can find it in just about any grocery store usually in the produce or tofu section. I know what you are thinking. This is a no salt website and miso paste clearly contains sea salt. Well apparently the positive effects of soybeans cancel out the hypertensive and gastric cancer effects of sodium. That being said, miso paste is the only sodium containing product that is considered green light. Here is some supporting research.

In addition to the stock and miso paste anything else you want to put in is completely up to you. Some typical add-ins are seaweed, kelp, tofu, mushrooms, scallions and bok choy. If you like you can serve miso soup with rice noodles(very thin), udon noodles (thick) or ramen noodles.

Ingredients

  • 6-7 ribs of baby bok choy (cut in pieces)
  • 3 scallions (cut in small pieces)
  • 10 shiitake mushrooms cut in pieces (remove stems)
  • 1 block extra firm and pressed tofu (cut in small cubes)
  • 6 cups vegetable or mushroom broth
  • 4 tbsp. miso paste
  • 1 tbsp. fresh grated ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • Rice, udon or ramen noodles
Baby Bok Choy, Ginger, Scallions, Shiitake Mushrooms, Extra Firm Tofu, Miso Paste, Vegetable or Mushroom Broth
Cooked Rice Noodles

Directions

  1. Place broth and ginger in a pot over medium heat.
  2. Add mushrooms, bok choy, white tips of scallions and black pepper and simmer for 10 minutes. Note: I remove the shiitake stems because to me they are too tough and chewy. I save them for mushroom or veggie broth.
  3. Add the tofu and simmer for a few minutes until warm.
  4. Turn off the heat and stir in the miso paste. Note: never add miso when soup is simmering or too hot because it will kill off the gut healthy probiotics.
  5. Serve over rice noodles and garnish with cut up green scallions.
Umani is another term for savoriness and is considered one of the 5 basic tastes. In Japan it means “the essence of deliciousness” and is the perfect description of miso soup.
Miso soup with noodles is rich enough to eat alone but tonight we paired it with sushi. I wish I can take credit for making the sushi. That’s on my bucket list of things to learn.

Carrot Ginger Immune Cocktail

Carrot Ginger Immune Cocktail

It was a challenging week. Although I have been eating healthy and exercising I still feet drained. So today I whipped up a batch of carrot ginger juice using my Nutribullet juicer. I juiced eight unpeeled and thoroughly washed carrots, two thumb sized pieces of peeled ginger root, one lemon with peel removed and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. I juiced the carrots first and set the pulp aside for carrot burgers which I’ll make later today. Then I threw in the ginger and lemon. I added the black pepper to the juiced liquid. The finished product was refreshing and really delicious. Saturday is off to a good start and, hopefully, with a bit of rest and relaxation I’ll be all set for the upcoming week.

Carrot skin contains concentrated vitamin C and niacin. The carrot core contains calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and beta-carotine which the body converts to vitamin A. Although carrots are low in protein, they do contain all 9 essential amino acids. Ginger is loaded with antioxidants which prevent stress and damage to DNA. Ginger, like tumeric, also contains curcumin which is a powerful anti-inflammatory. The black pepper intensifies the effect of the cucumin. The lemon gives the concoction of nice zingy flavor.
Cocktail on the go!

Avocado Butter with Roasted Grape Tomatoes on Toasted Bun

Avocado Butter with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes on Toasted Bun

I found a package of grape tomatoes tucked in the back of my refrigerator that had seen its better days. They were shriveled but not yet moldy. Hubby told me to throw them away. “We don’t waste food Dennis,” I said. So I cut them in half, roasted them in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, and Oh My God! Sweet like candy.

I also had a few over-ripe avacados that weren’t looking so great either. I pureed them with a tablespoon of unsweetend almond milk and a little black pepper until they got nice and creamy. I spread the avocado over a toasted whole wheat bun then smothered it with the roasted tomatoes. If you’ve never had pureed avocado on warm toast or bun try it. It tastes so buttery. Anyway, this was the birth of my Avocado Butter with Roasted Grape Tomatoes on Toasted Bun creation!

Place on parchment paper or a silicone pad to eliminate the need for oil. 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Over-ripe avocados, grape tomatoes, a little almond milk and a bun. That’s all it takes to make this mouthwatering and super healthy sandwich.
The bun is Dave’s Market Killer Organic 21 Whole Grain and Seeds

Garlic Caeser Salad Dressing

This is one of my favorite salad dressings. The recipe came from Dr. Greger’s “How Not to Die” cookbook. It is rich, creamy, flavorful and super easy to make. If refrigerated in a sealed container it will last up to one week.

The recipe calls for Dr. Greger’s “Savory Spice Blend” which is a mix of 10 spices. If you open up the link and follow the recipe it makes 1/2 cup. The blend can be stored in a covered jar and is an excellent medley of spices which can be used for just about any recipe. Dr. Greger advocates the use of a variety of spices on a daily basis. In addition to flavoring foods, each spice has their own powerful health benefits. If you don’t have the savory spice blend on hand – no problem – this salad dressing will still taste delicious. I do add black pepper to this dressing in order to reap the benefits of the tumeric. If you recall from my Healing Tumeric Banana Date Smoothie post, the piperine in the black pepper enhances the absorption of the curcumin in the tumeric.

For the blended peeled lemon, I learned a really cool tip a few weeks ago. Cut off the ends of a few lemons, remove the peels and place in blender. Put the juice and pulp in ice cube containers and freeze. Remove the frozen juice / pulp and place in freezer bags. Pop them out of the freezer when you need lemon. Simply genius.

Ingredients

  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 tbsp. almond butter
  • 1 tbsp. blended peeled lemon
  • 1 tbsp. miso paste
  • 1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
  • 1 tsp. salt free stone-ground mustard
  • 1/4 inch grated tumeric or 1/4 tsp. ground powder
  • 1 tsp. savory spice blend

Directions

In a blender combine 1/2 cup of water with all the dressing ingredients and blend until smoothe.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds 4 Ways

After finishing my Roasted Pumpkin and Apple Soup with Toasties recipe I went into roasted pumpkin seed mode. It was great activity to do on a gloomy rainy Sunday. They made great little snacks for the football game.

The above picture is pretty expanatory for what I did. I laid my rinsed pumpkin seeds on the silicone matt which I placed on a cookie sheet. For the black pepper and cayenne/garlic powder seeds I simply sprinkled on the seasonings. For the miso brine I soaked the seeds in miso paste mixed with a little water. I Roasted the seeds in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes until browned. I flipped them over half way through, sprayed with a litte water and added a little more seasoning. Easie peasey! If you have a favorite no salt, oil or sugar recipe for roasted pumpkins seeds let me know.