Thursday, February 28, 2013

Juicing!!

We all love freshly juice fruits and veggies. Little Aiden, the fruitarian, appreciates it more than Adrian's. Aiden will drink any combination of fruits and veggies... So this week we went all out!

Apples and carrots...

...add some kale...

... a couple beets...

... pineapple...

... and let the fun begin!




... and a little extra for Adrian... mango-pineapple!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Healing recipes... Day six

Satisfy your sweet tooth.

Fruit and milk*...

Frozen fruit yogurt

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas (I prefer pineapple), cur into chunks
1 15 oz. can unpeeled apricot halves in light syrup, drained
1/2 cup apricot nectar or orange juice
1/4 cup light colored agave syrup
2 16 oz. cartons vanilla soy or coconut yogurt
1/2 cup regular or unsweetened soy or coconut milk

Directions

In a blender, combine bananas (or pineapple), apricots and apricot nectar or orange juice.

Blend until smooth.

Add the agave syrup

Blend until syrup s dissolved

Add yogurt and milk to the banana (pineapple) mixture and gently whip.

Pour into a freezable container and freeze.

Enjoy!

* non dairy

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Healing recipes... Day five

You nourish the body... you nourish the soul

Pasta, grain and vegetables...


Singapore-Style Rice Noodles (Courtesy of Vegetarian Times)

Ingredients

1 8-oz. pkg. rice vermicelli
¾ cup low-sodium vegetable broth
3 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbs. Chinese cooking wine or sherry
1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. brown sugar
2 Tbs. canola or peanut oil
½ lb. shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced 
½ onion, thinly sliced 
4 cups thinly sliced napa cabbage
2 cloves garlic, minced 
2 Tbs. curry powder
4 green onions, chopped 

Directions

Soak rice noodles in hot water 15 minutes, or until softened. Drain, and set aside.

Whisk together broth, soy sauce, wine, and brown sugar in bowl. Set aside.

Heat wok over high heat, until water droplets evaporate within 1 second. Add oil, and swirl to coat wok. 

Add mushrooms, bell peppers, and onion; stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes, or until vegetables are softened. 

Add cabbage, garlic, and curry powder, and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Add broth mixture, and toss with vegetables; add noodles, and toss to combine. 

Stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes, or until noodles absorb some of sauce and soften. 

Remove from heat, and stir in green onions.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Healing recipes... Day four

"A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools." ~ Spanish Proverb

Fruits...

Jicama*

Jicama is a round, fleshy taproot vegetable of bean family plant. It is pronounced as hecama. Its underground starchy root is one of the popular edible root vegetable grown in many parts of Central American, South Asian, Caribbean, and some Andean South American regions. The refreshing, crispy, ice-white fruit-like pulp is eaten raw or cooked in a variety of sweet and savory dishes worldwide.

Some of the common names of this tuber are yam bean, Mexican water chestnut, Mexican turnip, sengkwang, yacon,
It bears round, fleshy, turnip-like starchy edible root underneath the ground surface. Unlike other starch roots like potato, sweet potato wherein the peel may be eaten, jicama features thick dust-brown color inedible skin. Inside, its white starchy flesh has crisp texture and fruit like succulent, sweet-starchy taste.
Jicama is very low calorie root vegetables. Its high quality phyto-nutrition profile comprises of dietary fiber, and anti-oxidants, in addition to small proportions of minerals, and vitamins.
Jicama is one of the finest source dietary fiber and excellent source of oligofructose inulin, a soluble dietary fiber. Inulin is a zero calorie, sweet inert carbohydrate and does not metabolize in the human body, which make the root an ideal sweet snack for diabetics and dieters.
As in turnips, jicamas are rich in vitamin C. Vitamin-C is a powerful water-soluble anti-oxidant that helps body get rid of harmful free radicals.
It also contains small levels of some of valuable B-complex group of vitamins such as folates, riboflavin, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid and thiamin.
Jicama provides healthy amounts of some important minerals like magnesium, copper, iron and manganese.


Jicama*- berry salad

Ingredients

Romaine and/or white kale leaves, ripped
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup peeled jicama, cut into thin bite-size strips
3 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 tablespoon orange juice
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh mint or 1 teaspoon dried mint, crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Mrs Dash salt-free seasoning blend

Directions

Dressing: Combine vinegar, orange juice, shallots, mint, olive oil, and seasoning blend in bowl or dressing mixing bottle.

Add romaine and white kale leaves, strawberries and jicama to a bowl and toss gently. Drizzle dressing over the salad and serve.


Monday, February 11, 2013

Healing recipes... Day three

"You are what you eat."

Vegetables...

Roasted Ratatouille

Ingredients

1 small zucchini or yellow summer squash, cubed
1 small eggplant, cubed
1 medium yellow sweet pepper, cut into one inch strips
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons snipped fresh Italian parsley or curly-leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
11/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Focaccia, cut into wedges

Directions

In a non-stick baking pan, combine the zucchini or summer squash, eggplant, sweet pepper, onion and parsley.

In a small bowl stir together garlic, olive oil, salt, ans black pepper. Drizzle over vegetables and toss gently to coat.

Roast vegetables, uncovered, in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, stirring once halfway through roasting. Stir in the tomatoes and lemon juice. Roast for 8-10 minutes more or until the tomatoes are very soft and starting to juice out.

Spoon vegetable mixture onto wedges on focaccia and serve,!

Enjoy!