I came across this recipe in March 2010 Food and Wine magazine.

Chef Mehmet Gurs has created a nice twist on traditional chick pea hummus.

I went crazy with the cilantro and added avocado, also, I substituted vegetable stock for the chicken stock to make this a vegan treat.

I used a whole wheat tortilla to create a balanced hot meal for Meatless Monday!

INGREDIENTS

3 Cups water of vegetable stock
1 cup green lentils (about 6 ounces)
1 bay leaf
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Salt
Cayenne pepper
Sweet paprika, for sprinkling
Pita chips, sliced fennel and red bell pepper strips, for serving

DIRECTIONS

In a medium saucepan, combine the water/ stock, green lentils and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. Uncover and boil the lentils over high heat until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and let the lentils cool slightly.
Transfer the cooked lentils to a food processor. Add the chopped garlic, tahini, olive oil and lemon juice and puree until smooth. Scrape the hummus into a bowl, stir in the cumin and 2 tablespoons of the chopped cilantro and season with salt and cayenne. Garnish the hummus with paprika and the remaining 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro. Serve the lentil hummus warm or at room temperature with pita chips and vegetable crudités.

MAKE AHEAD
The lentil hummus can be refrigerated overnight. Let return to room temperature before serving.

This dish is easy, inexpensive and full of vegetable protein and nutrients.

This was filling and truly delicious. It is definitely something to keep in the fridge for a snack or meal.

This meal is more than just rice and beans.

For my daughters I will turn these into big fat burritos with cheese and serve the salsa on the side with chips.

I enjoyed the vegan version of just rice and beans with a dollop of the salsa on top.

What I like the most was the cold crunchy salsa on top of the creamy hot beans and rice.

The girls are going to love this tonight. It’s nutritious and festive.

Rice and Beans

I boiled 1 cup of brown jasmine rice in 2 cups of water

I used 2 cans of pinto beans and cooked them in a frying pan with 4 big cloves of garlic

That’s it for that part.

Salsa

This also works as a salad;

2 avocados

3 medium sized tomatoes

The juice of 2 limes

A nice handful of fresh cilantro

½ of a medium sized onion

½ a cup of yellow corn

I wished that I had some olives on hand but I didn’t. I thought that would really make this pop.

For the burritos I use whole wheat flour tortilla and shredded Monterey Jack, or Manchego cheese.

I roll the beans, rice and cheese together and bake in the oven for a bit then garnish with the salsa.

Of course, salt to taste

Enjoy!

OK. I know that some of my posts will seem really boring. I eat pretty much the same thing every day.

I follow a vegan diet and my children are primarily vegetarians; eating cheese and eggs.

But I am truly on a mission to make vegan meals tasty and completely nutritious and enjoyable for everyone. I also, try to keep these meals as inexpensive as possible.

I realize that there is a big emphasis on inexpensive meals, but keeping them nutritious is the real challange.

Adding veggies to everything is a great habit to get into and you will find that your cravings for less than healthy foods will decrease if you’re meeting your nutritional needs regularly.

Today I have put together some of my favorite flavors; garlic, coconut, peanut , and crushed red pepper.

I simply steamed the broccoli, spinach, and garlic. When that was done I added the crushed red pepper and the peanut sauce.

It was fantastic.

You can boil whole wheat pasta and add more of the peanut sauce and toss in the vegetables for a great meal or a side dish.

Use the pepper to taste. I love things hot and spicy but you could modify this.

Enjoy!

I love kale and have become obsessed with it since discovering Dr. Alejandro Junger’s book, CLEAN.

Dr. Junger refers to green foods as the royal family of nutrition and kale is the king.

This dish includes all of my favorites; kale , asparagus, broccoli, garlic, spinach, basil, and a tablespoon of toasted pine nuts and half an avocado for garnish.

I steamed everything and topped it with a spinach, basil, and oilve oil pesto.

What I like about the pesto is that it incorporates spinach and garlic which are raw, thereby adding important enzymes to this meal.

These foods are great for the cleansing program, to be sure, however, I like to include these super foods into my everyday meals.

Making healthy highly nutritious foods a part of your daily diet ensures that you are are getting high quality, nutrient rich food and that you are functioning at optimal levels.

I am attemping to make these dishes easy for everyone to enjoy with recipes that don’t compromise quality and which satisfy the palate and the senses.

Easy and green Meatless Monday!

The cheese sauce starts with a simple roux of butter and flour to which I added about 1 cup of heavy cream and 3/4 cup of shredded parmesan.

I also added 3 cloves of thinly sliced garlic while the butter was melting before I added the flour.

And anytime I use cream or spinach I add a pinch of nutmeg.

This was a hit with my teenage daughters who don’t always enjoy my vegan meals.

Add salad and you have an inexpensive, nutritious meatless monday!

I added aspargus and broccoli to this meal. Artichokes would work here, also.

I love this recipe from Vegetarian Times. I make it without the cream and Parmesean cheese, but add some toasted pine nuts and Tarragon.

This dish goes nicely with your favorite white wine.

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 oz. coarsely chopped bluefoot mushrooms, or mixed cremini, shiitake and oyster mushrooms, chopped
1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 onion or two big shallots, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
5 cups water or vegetable stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup grated Parmegiano-Reggiano cheese
1 cup arugula or flat-leaf parsley, washed, dried and minced

Directions

1. Heat large skillet over medium heat and, when hot to touch, add 1/8 cup olive oil and heat until fragrant but not smoking. Add chopped mushrooms and sauté gently until softened, stirring occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes. Add salt and pepper and scrape mixture into bowl.

2. In saucepan, bring water or stock to a boil and keep it simmering. Wipe skillet with paper towel and heat again. Add remaining 1/8 cup oil and heat over medium heat. When fragrant, add chopped onion or shallots and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until translucent but not brown. Add rice and stir to coat with oil.

3. Add wine and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring continuously and increasing heat to medium, if needed. In 1/2-cup increments, add boiling water or stock, stirring after each addition, not adding more liquid until all is absorbed. Stir often and avoid adding too much liquid.

4. After 15 to 20 minutes, liquid should be absorbed and rice creamy with a slightly chewy center.

5. Remove from heat and stir in mushrooms, cream, cheese and chopped arugula or parsley. Stir until melted and combined, and serve immediately.

Michael Pollan explains the health industry/food industry connection with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show.

I am always looking for really yummy fast food that I can cook and store in the fridge for those times when I know I’ll be pressed for time to eat.

In order to try to avoid eating a bag of potato chips I like this really satisfying, gourmet’ish dish that I can throw in a wrap, or, let’s be honest, I do a quick heat on the stove and eat standing up!

This is too good for that. I like it over brown rice or some spinach fettuccine. I also like this quesadilla style with vegan cheese.

Anyway you choose, it’s healthy and delicious, nutritious and satisfying.

Ingredients:

6 large Portabella mushrooms
2 pkgs. Baby Portabella mushrooms
4 large cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ white onion
½ red bell pepper
2 -3 stems of fresh Tarragon
5 dried figs
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Start with the olive oil and garlic in a deep sauté pan on low heat.
Add onion, pepper, and mushrooms and figs.
Let everything cook for about 45 on medium heat.
Add Tarragon the last 15 minutes for maximum flavor.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Huffington Post blogger, Kathy Freston has written, Top Ten Recent Developments on Factory Farming and Vegetarianism.

She highlights some of the latest activity on the food frontier and offers insight into a new way to go forward.

I needed healthy, hardy fast food. I am a vegetarian/vegan ( I sometime slip with cheese) so there were not a lot of options as I was running errands today.

I am working on a writing deadline and just needed to fill the growling belly…quick.

That is when, as I was hunting through my pantry, I came across this gorgeous soup idea.

Here is a recipe for a simple soup. This was insanely good and I would serve it to guests.

RECIPE

1 can cannellini beans
2 cloves garlic sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
A handful of fresh spinach
½ cup of veggie stock
2-3 pinches of dried rosemary
Salt to taste

METHOD

In a medium sauce pan add olive oil, garlic and rosemary

Drain some of the liquid from the can of beans and pour the beans into the sauce pan.

Stir it around a bit. I mashed up my beans, too. That’s how I like it.

Add a large handful of fresh spinach. Let it cook for a few minutes on medium to high heat.

Add ½ cup of the veggie stock and salt to taste.

This was amazing! So simple, so fast and truly filling and delicious!

If you want to get fancy I would puree it in the food processor for a more genteel presentation; however, the rustic look with say a Panini sandwich would also be fantastic.