gluten-free

Tarka Dhal

/ ktbuchs87

I never expected to like Indian food.  Growing up, we had never tried any Indian dishes and it was something that just wasn’t on my radar.  Once I started to change how I ate, I branched out and tried a variety of different types of cooking and I started making a few simple Indian dishes.  Yum!  I love the way that most Indian dishes focus on the spices rather than the main bulk of the ingredients.  Most recipes start working with the flavor of the dish before they start adding in the main ingredients.  The way most people cook is to season their food later in the cooking process, almost as an afterthought.  One of my favorite Indian dishes is tarka dhal.  It’s simply cooked lentils that are garnished with spices.  My version is kind of like the comfort food version of this particular dish and will make you feel all good inside.  If you have never cooked/eaten Indian food before, have no fear!  This meal is simple and tasty.  The ingredient list may look long, but it’s mostly spices and things that you probably already have on hand.  Give this yummy tarka dhal a whirl and let me know what you think!

Tarka Dhal

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  • olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp fresh ginger, chopped finely
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds (you can also use yellow)
  • 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup red lentils (or whatever variety you have on hand)
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 1/3 cup water
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup canned coconut milk
  • 4 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala (you can find this at most grocery stores, if not use curry powder)
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder

1.  In a large pan, heat olive oil over high heat and add onions.  Saute for about 3 minutes and then add in the mustard seeds.  Cover the pan with a lid and cook until the seeds start to pop.

2.  Take off the lid and add in the garlic, fenugreek seeds, ginger, and salt.  Mix together and then add lentils, tomato paste and water.  Bring this to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes

3.  Stir in the tomatoes, lemon juice, and cilantro.  Simmer for another 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the 1/2 cup coconut milk.  Remove lentils to a serving dish.

4.  In the same pan you just cooked the lentils in, heat a little more oil over high heat for a a minute or so.  Turn off the heat and stir in the garam masala and chili powder.  Pour this spice mixture over the lentils just before serving.

This is a really good meal to introduce someone to Indian food because these flavors aren’t too overpowering and it is a relatively simple dish.  Make a huge batch and freeze some for meals later or use for lunches for the week.  Enjoy!

How To Eat More Vegetables

/ ktbuchs87

Fruit-vegetables

I can bet that you have been told that you need to eat more vegetables.  It seems to be the first thing that comes out of peoples mouths when anything remotely close to eating healthier is mentioned.  Eat more fruits and vegetables!  In all honesty, it’s good advice even if it tends to be overstated.  The problem is that the advice stops there.  We’re told to eat more vegetables but not necessarily how to do it.  A lot of people have bad associations with vegetables.  Some were forced to eat them as kids or were served mushy tasteless dishes that made them believe all vegetables taste the same, gross.  Maybe you want to eat more vegetables but you have no clue how to go about doing that.  My post today is going to focus on simple ways  to incorporate more vegetables into your meals.  It doesn’t have to be complicated, tasteless, or boring and the more that you eat vegetables the more you will come to love them as much as I do!

Roast Them Up

This is my absolute favorite way to prepare vegetables.  It’s an amazing way to add great flavor to your vegetables and it works on virtually any vegetable.  I roast everything from sweet potatoes to zucchini, cabbage and beets.  If I can slice it up and add a little olive oil to it, I can roast it.  If you have a hard time enjoying the taste of vegetables, this cooking method is for you.  Simply preheat your oven to 400-425 and prepare a baking pan with a piece of parchment paper or a Silpat.  Then take your vegetable and cut it up into bite size chunks and place them in a large bowl.  Add a few tablespoons of oil (I alternate between olive oil and coconut oil) and whatever seasonings you like (try Italian blends, curry powder, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, or even just salt and pepper) and mix everything together.  Arrange the vegetables in a single layer on the pan and roast for 20-45 minutes depending on the vegetable you are using.  I usually rotate the pan halfway through the cooking process.  Once you start to get a nice brown edge, your vegetables are done!  You can eat them as is, add to salads, or stir fry’s.  Roasted vegetables also keep really well in the fridge and make great leftovers.

Make Soup or Stew

Soup is another easy way to get in more vegetables as well as large quantities of vegetables.  You can add vegetables to any soup you’re making and bulk it up with extra nutrition and flavor.  You could puree a variety of root vegetables, like sweet potatoes or parsnips, and after you have roasted them, add either broth or water or even almond milk to make a creamy soup.  Or you could blend up a variety of vegetables from your garden like tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini and make a refreshing gazpacho on a hot summer day.

Sauces and Dips

This is another favorite way to add more vegetables to my meals.  Make sauces and dips out of them!  You can make a simple homemade salsa with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and cilantro.  Or maybe you’re a guacamole fan.  Try making your own homemade spaghetti sauce and besides the tomatoes, add in zucchini and carrots.  You can even make creamy sauces with cauliflower or try a vegetable based spread like baba ghanoush.  Kids especially like dipping things in sauces and this is a really good way to get a little extra nutrition into their meal without fighting over broccoli.

Drink Them

While I think that juicing is a great thing, I am also a big fan of eating my meals.  But I know that for some people juicing their vegetables is what works best for them due to time constraints or they really can’t handle the taste of eating vegetables.  If this sounds like you, try juicing your vegetables or adding them to smoothies.  Leafy greens are very easy to add into your drinks and as long as you add some fruits like apples or pears, you don’t have to feel like you’re drinking grass.  If you have a juicer, you can juice pretty much any vegetable quickly.  I like the combination of carrots, beets, spinach, apples, and a little bit of ginger, but get creative and see what flavors you like.  Remember though, if you can, it’s better to eat your vegetables so that you can get all the fiber and nutrients that fruit and vegetables have to offer.  Sometimes, just drinking juice can leave you feeling hungrier sooner than eating those same foods would have.

Salads

I know this one sounds obvious and is probable one of the least favorite ways for people to get their vegetables in but salads don’t have to be boring or taste yucky.  There are so many ways to spruce up a salad, like adding more vegetables, dried fruits, nuts or seeds, herbs, and topping it all with homemade dressing.  Salads are a great way to get in a TON of vegetables into one meal as well as a great way to use up all the odd leftovers you have in your fridge.  Start with a base of some type of leafy green (think outside the romaine and iceberg box and try kale, arugala, collard, watercress, or spinach), and add whatever you want.  Try leftover cooked chicken or fish, roasted sweet potatoes or cauliflower, raw almonds or pistachios, dried (and unsweetened) cranberries or goji berries, add pumpkin or sunflower seeds for a little extra crunch.  And the dressing options are endless and just as simple to make.  Give salads a chance and you might just fall in love with them.

Eating more vegetables shouldn’t make you want to run screaming to your nearest bakery and shove as many donuts as you can into your mouth.  Incorporating these healthy foods into your meals is simple and only takes a little bit of effort and creativity.  So now that you know what to do, go eat your vegetables!

vegetables

Watermelon Soda

/ ktbuchs87

It was hot last weekend and I felt like having soda.  I haven’t had soda in years because who needs to be drinking all that sugar or chemicals?  But I have seen recipes for “healthy” sodas and thought that I would give it a try.  I had a bunch of watermelon that I needed to use up and all I really had to get for this was the sparkling water.  You can use whatever fruit you would like, but I think that watermelon works well because of it’s high water content.  So if you’re looking for a tasty and refreshing way to cool off without overindulging, give this watermelon soda a try!

 

Watermelon Soda

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  • 3-4 cups watermelon, cubed
  • 1-2 cups sparkling water (make sure that has no added flavors, just water and CO2)
  • 2-3 tbsp lime juice

 

1. Place watermelon into a blender and blend for a few minutes until it is liquified.  Now, if you want to have a more slushie type drink leave as is and pour watermelon juice into a pitcher.  Otherwise, place a sieve or fine mesh colander over your pitcher and pour the watermelon juice through.

2.  Add sparkling water and lime juice to the pitcher and stir together.  If your watermelon and sparkling water was cold when you made this, serve right away.  If not just chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

That’s it!  Pretty simple right?  I left my soda as more of a slushie and it was delicious!  I recommend drinking this right away as it will get less fizzy and fresh as the days go by.  You could even make this an adult beverage and add rum or maybe gin.  It would be a fun drink to serve at a BBQ or party!

Quinoa Cornbread Bites

/ ktbuchs87

I’m not much of a baker.  I like to play around with ingredients and I’m not one for using exact measurements when I’m cooking.  Baking needs exact measurements or more often than not you end up with inedible hockey pucks.  Trust me.  I know.  I had some leftover quinoa and wanted to do something out of the ordinary with it.  I knew it did well in bread like dishes and I just happened to be making sloppy joes for dinner that night.  So obviously I had to turn my quinoa into cornbread.  Yes, that is a logical progression.  At least in my mind.  These bites come together quickly and freeze rather nicely, so you can make a bunch and not worry about them going bad.  That is if you have any left over!

 

Quinoa Cornbread Bites

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  • 1 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1 1/2 tbsp flax meal (you can buy the seeds in bulk which is cheaper and then grind them in a food processor at home)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2-3 tbsp molasses, depending on how sweet you want it
  • 1/2 tsp salt

 

1.  Preheat oven to 375 and mix almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl and set aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients

2.  Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together.

3.   Add 1/2 cup of the cooked quinoa to the milk and ACV as well as the 2-3 tbsp molasses.  If you have an immersion blender, blend this mixture until it is smooth and creamy.  If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer to a blender or food processor.

4.  Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir everything together.  It will foam up a little bit due to the vinegar and baking soda, but it will go back down.  Fold in the rest of the quinoa.

5.  Spray a little olive oil into a mini muffin tin and spoon about a tbsp of the mixture into each cup.  Don’t over fill because the bites will rise as they cook.  Bake for 10-12 minutes and then let them cool on a wire rack.

These go really well with sloppy joes or chili.  I’m sure they would taste really good with some homemade jam or as my mom told me, “These are just another vehicle to get butter into my mouth.”  Now you know where I get my clever wit!  Eat up and hope you enjoy!

 

Avocado and Corn Gazpacho

/ ktbuchs87

I’m going to be honest with you, I haven’t been the biggest fan of gazpacho in the past.  The idea of cold soup isn’t super appealing to me but this gazpacho has made me rethink my tastes.  The avocado adds a really nice creaminess and this dish is super refreshing on a hot summer night.  If you don’t like gazpacho, try this one out before you swear them off forever.

 

Avocado and Corn Gazpacho

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  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup corn kernels (if using frozen let them thaw first)
  • 2 cups diced tomatoes
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 bunch scallions chopped
  • 1 3/4 vegetable broth or water
  • 2/3 cup almond milk
  • salt and pepper

 

1.  Peel and mash avocado with the lime juice, set aside

2.  Saute the corn, garlic, and half the chopped scallions for about 5 minutes.  The corn should have a little bit of char on it.

3.  Place the corn saute, and avocado into a blender and blend until smooth.  Add in the broth or water and almond milk and blend together.  Top with rest of scallions and salsa if desired.

You can serve this at room temperature or let it chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving.  The gazpacho improves with time so the next day it will taste even better!  Just a word of warning though, this soup will only last about a week before the avocado starts to turn brown.  So eat it as fast as possible, which shouldn’t be a problem!