On The Eighth Day of Christmas My True Love Made For Me…

Roasted Vegetables are a great pre-dinner dish.  These roasted vegetables are extraordinarily tasty because they are marinated in our homemade balsamic dressing.

Roasted Vegetables with Balsamic Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 red pepper sliced
• 8 baby bella mushrooms quartered
• 8 artichoke hearts marinated in oil
• 10 asparagus pieces –  chopped in 2 inch segments
• 10-15 brussel sprouts
• 1/4 cup balsamic dressing (click here to see recipe)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

• Marinate all vegetables in balsamic dressing, olive oil. sea salt and black pepper for a few hours
• Roast in oven at 350 Fahrenheit for 10-15 min

Grilled Asian Salad

Ingredients

Dressing

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp sesame seed oil
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Salad

• 12 asparagus spears, julienned
• 1/4 red pepper, julienned
• 1/4 yellow pepper, julienned
• 1/4 zucchini, julienned
• 1/4 red onion, julienned
• 2 tbsp grape seed oil
• 45 g tofu, firm
• 4 English cucumbers, seeds removed, julienned
• Handful cilantro leaves
• 4 handfuls watercress

Directions

• Preheat barbecue or grill to high.
• For dressing: Place all ingredients in a bowl, whisk together, and adjust seasoning to taste. Set aside.
• For salad: Add asparagus, red pepper, yellow pepper, zucchini and red onion to medium-sized bowl.
• Add 1 tbsp grape seed oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
• Place vegetables on grill and grill until vegetables begin to soften
• Cut tofu in half to make two flat pieces. Brush on all surfaces with remaining grape seed oil
• Grill tofu until crispy on all sides. Slice width-wise into 1/2-cm strips and add to grilled vegetables.
• Add dressing, cucumber and half of the cilantro, and gently toss together.
• Place equal amounts of watercress on four plates. Top with equal amounts of salad.
• Sprinkle with remaining cilantro leaves.

Serves 4

Asian Rice Noodles with Spicy Almond Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1 package rice noodles
• 1/2 head broccoli, tops cut into flowerets, stems peeled and sliced thinly
• 2 cups of snow peas, trimmed
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup unsalted almond butter
• 1/4 cup of reduced sodium soy sauce
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) chili-garlic sauce
• 1 scallion, green part only chopped finely
• 1 tsp coconut oil

Directions

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil
• Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medum heat, stirring frequently, until they are golden, about 3 minutes. Remove from skillet into a bowl
• Cook the rice noodles according to the directions on the package.
• Heat coconut oil in skillet
• Add broccoli, snow peas and red pepper for 2 min ensuring they still remain crispy
• While the rice noodles are cooking, make the sauce.
• Place the almond butter, soy sauce, lime juice, chili-garlic sauce and 3 Tbsp of boiling water (from the rice noodle pot) into a large bowl and whisk until smooth
• Drain the noodles
• Add the sauce and rice noodles to the vegetables in the skillet and toss to coat
• Serve garnished with the toasted almonds and scallion greens

Serves 4-6

Quinoa with Grilled Eggplant

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 3 or 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 1⁄2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 baby eggplants, cut lengthwise into quarters
• 1 red pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
• 1 red onion, cut into chunks
• 2 tsp (10 mL) grape seed oil
• 1 cup (250 mL) cherry tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 1⁄4 cups tomato juice
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C)
• Put the quinoa in a sieve and rinse thoroughly under cold running water
• Place in a saucepan with the thyme sprigs and broth, and bring to a boil
• Cover and simmer gently until all the broth has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat a ridged grill pan
• Brush the eggplant, red pepper and onion with the grape seed oil, then cook them on the grill pan until softened and lightly charred, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Put the whole tomatoes on the grill pan and cook until they are just beginning to burst their skins, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• When the quinoa is cooked, place it in an ovenproof dish
• Add the grilled vegetables, garlic and tomato juice, and season lightly with salt and pepper
• Mix together gently.
• Cover with foil and bake until the vegetables are tender, about 35 minutes. Serve hot.

Prep time and Cook Time: 60 min

Serves: 4

recipe courtesy of besthealthmag.ca

Lentil Chili

Ingredients

• 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, divided
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 large carrots finely diced
• 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp tumeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 (16-ounce) package brown lentils (about 2 1/4 cups lentils)
• 2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

• Bring 3/4 cup broth to a simmer in a large pot over medium-high heat
• Add onion, carrots, and garlic and cook about 8 minutes or until onion is translucent
• Then add bell pepper until it is slightly tender
• Stir in chili powder, cumin, and tumeric and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly
• Add lentils, tomatoes and remaining 7 1/4 cups broth
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes or until lentils are almost tender
• Add sea salt and black pepper to taste
• Uncover and cook 10 minutes longer
• Stir in cilantro and serve

Serves 8

Cook Time and Prep Time: 60 min

recipe courtesy of wholefoods.com with adjustments made by me!

Tandoori Veggie Kebobs (Skewers)

Ingredients

• 1 green pepper cut in 1 inch cubes
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 orange pepper
• 8 mushrooms
• 2 tbsp grape seed oil (like coconut oil, this oil can withstand high temp – at room temp it remains in a liquid form, whereas coconut oil is solid)
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp tumeric
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander seed
• 1/4 tsp tandoori powder
• 1/2 a small jalapeno minced
• 1 garlic clove minced
• juice of 1/2 fresh lemon
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• You can also add red onion, tofu and grape tomatoes to the skewers and for those who eat meat, you can add chicken

Directions

• In a bowl combine grape seed oil, lemon juice, garlic, jalapeno, red chili powder, coriander powder, tumeric, tandoori powder, sea salt and black pepper
• Mix in mushrooms, red, yellow, green and orange peppers
• Allow this to marinate in fridge for several hours
• Using wooden or metal skewers, alternate veggies until skewer is full
• Grill on barbeque until mushrooms are tender or alternatively you can bake in oven at 375 F for 20 min

Prep Time and cook time: 40 min

Makes about 10 skewers  (If you add more veggies, it will make more skewers)

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

Ingredients

• 2 cups baby spinach
• 8 mushrooms cubed
• 1 red pepper diced
• 1/2 green pepper diced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1-2 shallots finely chopped
• 8-10 eggs
• Mediterranean feta cheese (available at trader joe’s – see picture) (optional)
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
• 1/4 tsp thyme leaves
• 1/4 tsp italian seasoning
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 spelt flour pie shells (see picture)

Directions

• In a large mixing bowl combine baby spinach, mushrooms, red pepper, green pepper, shallot and garlic
• Add sea salt, black pepper, red chili flakes, thyme, italian seasoning, olive oil and feta cheese to the bowl and mix well
• In a separate bowl crack eggs and beat well and then add them to the large mixing bowl and mix well (number of eggs depends on size of pie shells)
• Pour mixture into pie shells equally
• Bake in oven for 50 min at 375 F

Cook time and Prep Time: 1 hr and 15 min

Serves: 6 -8

Rainbow Kale Salad

Ingredients

• 1/2 bunch kale, thick stems removed and leaves thinly sliced
• 2 cups shredded red cabbage (about 1 small head, quartered and cored)
• 2 clementines (or oranges), peeled and segmented
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard (optional)
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from about 1 small orange)
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• Ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

 

Directions

• Steam kale for about 5 minutes
• In a large bowl, combine kale, cabbage, orange segments, onion, bell pepper and sunflower seeds
• In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, orange juice, vinegar and pepper
• Pour over the kale mixture and toss to coat

Red Pepper and Kale Soup – Raw, Vegan, Gluten Free

Ingredients

• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 & 1/2 cups kale
• 1/4 cup basil
• 1 green onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 stalk celery
• 2-3 tomatoes
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 lime juiced
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

• Blend well in Blendtec blender on “soup” setting
• Serve and Enjoy!

Prep time and “Cook” time: 7 minutes

Serves 4

Spicy Peanut Tofu and Spinach Stir Fry

This a quick and easy recipe to prepare. It’s full of veggies that are high in antioxidants because of the bright colors.  Red peppers and yellow peppers improve immune function as well and protect against sun damage.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup  fresh orange juice
• 1/3 cup smooth organic all natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup broth (or just plain water if you don’t have broth)
• 2 tbsp hot chili garlic sauce (if you don’t have this, then you can add more garlic and some red chili powder)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder
• 1 package of extra firm tofu diced in cubes (you can substitute this for chicken for those who eat meat)
• 1 red pepper thinly sliced
• 1/2 orange pepper sliced
• 4 cups baby spinach
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp Bragg’s liquid amino’s (or soy sauce)
• 1/4 tsp tumeric
• sea salt to taste

Directions

• In a small bowl add Bragg’s aminos, tumeric, red chili powder and mix together.  Add tofu to the bowl and coat it with the mixture.
• In another small bowl, whisk orange juice with peanut butter, broth, chili garlic sauce, garlic and red chili powder. Set aside
• In a stir fry skillet, heat coconut oil on medium-high, add tofu and cook on each side until it is lightly browned
• Reduce heat to low-medium, add peppers and stir fry for another 3-5 min until slightly tender
• Stir in sauce and spinach, cover and cook for another 3 min. If sauce is too thick then you can add water.
• Add sea salt to taste
• Remove from heat and stir until spinach is wilted
• Serve on its own or over brown rice, quinoa or rice noodles (see pic of the noodles we use below)