Got A Recipe To Share

[1sweed]

Often times we just don't realize how much our diets can contribuite to our over all health unitl a visit to the doctor shows us our weight on that scale or our bloodwork is not so good.

I had a wake-up call this past week concerning both. And part of it was really my fault or eating foods that would be better off left alone. I suppose stress in all the things I am doing makes me crave things I should just leave alone, but my weakness is ice cream in the summer and sweets in the fall.

So while I am not going totally vegan, I do use some of those types of recipies and love learning new recipies to try. So I thought i would start a topic here dealing with diets that people stick to long term and maybe we could share some of our favorite healthy menu items.

Are you Vegan? Do you follow Weightwatchers or some other diet plan? Even if your not doing it now but did it in the past I would love hearing how it worked for you. And I am going to put up a few simple recipies soon, that I enjoy using and I am asking you to share a few as well.

So are you interested? What say you?

 

[Siderea]

Oh my goodness, where would I even begin? Food is probably the single most important thing in my life, simply due to the fact that what I eat determines how I feel for the day or even a few days. I'm allergic to corn and wheat, and am intolerant to dairy and soy. I'm learning that flour and sugar cause worse pain and depression. I feel my absolute best when I eat strictly organically, and stick to meat, veggies, beans, and fruit. If I eat anything else at all I know I'm going to have some sort of issue. I can tolerate whole grains, like oatmeal, rice, and buckwheat, but the more I eat, the more sluggish I get.

I've eaten mostly organically most of life due to my food allergies (corn is in almost all non-organic foods, even meat - corn-fed cows, then the meat is tenderized with chemicals, corn starch (sometimes corn syrup,) and wheat germ.)

That said, I didn't understand the impact of food on health until I did something called a Rotary Diversified Diet. My dad did a few rounds of this diet when he was my age (in his 20's) for similar health problems, so he taught me to do it. On this diet, you can only eat one "food family" once every 4 days. A food family is a group of genetically similar foods; for instance, potatoes and tomatoes are of the same food family, so if I ate a tomato today, I would not be allowed to eat tomatoes or potatoes again for 4 days. It takes about 4 days for your body to fully clear food out of itself. You're not supposed to eat more than one ingredient at a time, but I'd often eat two things of the same food family at a time, like grill tons of asparagus and onion on the George Formeman and eat a plate full of it. Oh, you also can't have any sugar, alcohol, caffeine, or dairy on this diet. I did this diet for 2 months, and I did 2 rounds in the last year. I gained significant amounts of energy, lost 30 pounds, "work up" out of a bad depression, started feeling mentally really sharp, had the least amount of pain in my life, and went out and got myself a job because I felt more than able to!

...the problem is, if I don't do this diet regularly, I lose the results quickly. I'm thinking I'd have to do it about 3 times a year, and when I'm not on the diet, I'd still have to be really careful about what I eat and try not to eat too much one thing. I have a tenancy to eat a lot of potatoes, and I should be careful about that. I also think I'm in so much pain now because I haven't done a round of the diet since February.

I know this sounds extreme to most of you. It means no eating out, eating tons of snacks throughout the day rather than 3 meals, a lot of time cooking, and extra money shopping for a really wide variety of simple foods. But it's been a life-saver, and I swear by it.

I've learned to prepare all sorts of new foods for when I'm off the diet:

-Steam beets (either whole or chopped up) in a steamer with Bragg's apple cider vinegar, honey, and ginger.

-Saute chopped red potatoes, mushrooms, green beans, onion, garlic, and Applegate Farms bacon (chopped) in light organic olive oil with thyme, parsley, basil, and turmeric (turmeric is a major anti-inflammatory spice.)

-Mix kidney beans, green beans, wax beans, and white beans in honey and Bragg's apple cider vinegar, with spices like pepper and turmeric, and let it marinate. Onions are optional too. Then I add kale, spinach, and chard when I'm ready to eat it.

-Boil organic buckwheat groats in water, then mix pure maple syrup and blueberries in and eat like oatmeal.

-Saute chopped chicken, onion, and tomatoes in a good helping of honey and light olive oil and curry seasoning. It's best if it's a bit saucy, so use ripe roma tomatoes with plenty of juice. It does help to thicken it up with a bit of gluten-free flour, but I prefer to avoid flour.

...These are the first ones to come to mind. =)

 

[1sweed]

Siderea,
Gosh, did you ever make me hungry reading all your food combinations. I love beets and stir-fries with different veggies. Yum! Have not tried the buckwheat done that way, but have had wheat berries in a salad. And the tomatoes well just plain goodness. Thanks for sharing those ideas.

Tonight I decided to make some walnut butter, as I am allergic to peanut butter. It was a longer than necessary process only because my kitchen equipment did not work. The moter was dead in the food processer I got at a yardsale held by a friend. (Tip: If you sell stuff at a yardsale make sure it works. Nothing can sour a friendship more then selling a dead appliance to anyone, but mostly a friend.) I guess that belongs in the moan and groan section.

So The food processer did not work. So I had a smoothy machine that claims to break up ice cubes and frozen fruit, so some tiny chopped walnuts should be a breeze. NOT! Didn't work. So I got out my trusty blender and put the ingredients in it. Well it did okay.

( I need a good food processer. What brand do you have & do you like it?)

It ground up the walnuts pretty good and made it mixed like cookie dough, and it was not fun digging it out of the tall container with a kitchen knife.

Here goes, it is simple to make and takes only a few minutes of your time. On to the recipe:

Be sure to soak the walnuts over night in cold water. Doing so cuts down on the fat and makes then softer
for use in the recipe.

Walnut Butter

2 cups of chopped raw walnuts (not salted or fried in oil)
2 Tablespoons of oil (Canola or Walnut, or vegetable)

Put in a food processer and blend. You may need to add a bit more oil or a bit of water to make it smooth.
Options: I added a bit of salt (to taste) and 1/8 cup of maple syrup, 1/4 cup raisins and 1/4 cup coconut.

Remove from processer and put in a bowl and keep it in the refrigerator.

Very good on celery and crackers, or spread thinly on bread.

My blender did not make it as smooth as I wanted it to be, but it tastes really good. Remember that nuts are good for you
but they are high in fat so don't over do and eat it all at one time. Should keep well in the refrigerator.

Have you ever made homemade nut butter? I hope you had better luck than me. lol

 

[1sweed]

Today I did another vegan type recipe trying to eliminate dairy products and eggs, from my diet to see if it helps my fibro or makes my muscles and body in general hurt more. First off I tried a non-gmo breaded soy patty. It tasted like chicken, and with it I had a small amount of lima beans, and a big glass of water. For a treat I tried this recipe I am about to share and it turned out good and is filled with healthy fiber and has no flour and no eggs, and no dairy products.

Black Bean Brownies

1 15oz can of black beans drained & rinsed.
2 bananas
1/2 cup blue agava nectar
1/4 cup unsweetned cocoa powder
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

Put all of the above ingredients in your food processer & blend. If you don't have one then use a fork to mash the bananas and a potato masher to mash the beans up. I used a hand mixer to blend all the items together, but I think a food processer would mix them better.

Then put the mixture in a large bowl and add:
2/3 cup quick oatmeal
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Mix well.
Take a square or oblong baking pan and line it with parchment paper. Make sure you use enough paper to come up the sides a bit.
Then pour the mixture into the pan on top of the parchment paper. Smooth out.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until a knife stuck in it comes out mostly clean. These brownies are a bit sticky but grow a bit firm as they cool off. Yummy and high fiber and low fat.

Try them. I was surprized how good they came out. Easy to cut and store in refrigerator.

I got the ingredients to make some vegan cheese, but now I really need a food processer for mixing. I will share with you I have never tried making or eating it and let you know how well it turns out and if it is edible. lol Later.......

 

[1sweed]

I thought I would update you all on how my diet plan is working out and what I have found out about what I can eat, and what I can not eat. For one thing soy chick burgers are out. They are tasty going down until they hit my stomach and then sit there like a rock. My stomach hurt and my heart was racing and I was trembling really bad. So no more of those. My grocery manager is going to be pissed cause I ask him to order more of that brand in different flavors. O'well that is life. Worth trying though. But I will say the black bean brownies are very good and taste like rich dark chocolate with hint of banana. Yum!

So I decided to try a new recipe tonight and I could not wait till tomarrow to share it with you. The recipe is for Meatless Meatballs. They are so good you won't believe it. So here goes:

Meatless Mushroom Meatballs

2 8 oz packages of sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pat of butter

Chop the mushrooms up into small pieces and put them in a deep skillet with the olive oil and pat of butter, and season with the salt. Cook on medium heat until lightly browned.

Then add to the skillet:
1 med sized onion chopped into small pieces
4 cloves of finely chopped garlic

Continue to cook over low heat until the onions are cooked, mixing often. Turn off the heat and add in:
1/2 cup of quick oatmeal

Stir well and let cool completely before going to next step.

In a bowl mix together:
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese (can be freshly grated) or from a container.
1/4 cup of dried parsley
1 egg
1/2 cup of plain breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon of oreango

Mix well, then add in the onion mushroom mixture, and 1 more egg.
Mix well and cover bowl and put in the refriigerator for several hours.

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet with foil. Place teaspoons of the mixture in your hand and roll into a ball, then place on the foil spacing them out.
Bake at 450 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tops are lightly brown. Watch carefully so bottoms don't burn. You can reduce the heat some if necessary.
I got 20 meatballs out of the recipe, but it says you usually get 16. You can eat the mushroom meatballs plain or with gravy, or fix as I did below.

Put a large can of tomato sauce in a pan and get it hot and boiling. Drop as many meatballs in the sauce as you want and turn down the heat and let it simmer 30 minutes.
In the meantime cook your spagetti or macaroni, in a pan and then drain and serve with the sauce and meatballs.

Very good and has lots of fiber and very little fat.

Note: When you cook the mushroom onion mixture be careful you don't eat it all up on it's own. It is so good and the smell is heavenly.
I am talking from experience. lol Enjoy!

 

[1sweed]

This recipe I got off of the internet at youtube. It is the vegan zombie's recipe. I modified it a bit as it calls for soy sauce, but I used chicken bouillion instead, as soy sauce is to salty for me.

SEITAN

(made from Vital Wheat glutin)

Need:
1 1/2 cups Vital wheat glutin
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes
3 cloves of garlic grated
1 T olive oil
1 T soy sauce or sub chicken bouillion
1 cup of vegetable broth
1/8 teas turmric
1 teas salt

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients. Then mix in the wet ingredients. Mix well and start working the dough with your hands and knead it for 10-15 minutes. Add in more vegetable broth until dry ingredients are well mixed into the dough. Take it out of the bowl and put on a dry surface and knead the dough repeatedly, until it becomes yellowish tan in color and glossy in nature.

Roll it into a ball and place back in the bowl to rest for 10 minutes.

Take a 9 x 13 baking pan and grease it with olive oil. then take the dough and roll it into a fat log shape and cut it into 4 pieces. Take each section and roll into a ball and then flatten it with your hands or a rolling pin, making it into a pattie or oblong shape. Place in the baking sheet allowing room between each pattie.

Next: Mix together
1 chopped clove of garlic
1 T dried or fresh parsley
1 T olive oil
3 cups of vegetable broth
1/2 of a onion chopped
1/2 teas sage
salt & pepper to taste
1 T soy sauce or chicken bouillion cubes

Pour this mixture over the patties in baking pan, and cover with foil and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.
When the hour is up, remove pan from oven and flip the patties. You will see they have grown in size. If there is very little broth left then recover with the foil. However, if a lot of broth remains leave the foil off.
Put the pan back in the over for another hour. Then remove from oven. They are done at this point. You can eat them or add to another recipe.

The patties will be very moist and tender to eat, hot or cold. they keep their shape. Very good and high in protien.

 

[WillowPaws]

1sweed, if you want a good seitan (or really any fantastic vegan recipe) check out the Post Punk Kitchen makes recipes that are incredible. When I first went vegan, I was eating almost exclusively from recipes in her book the Veganomicon.

So my mother is a chef and makes a LOT of international food, and because of my father's many allergies I've gotten pretty good at substitutions. I don't even know where to start for recipes, honestly, but if you have anything in particular you want (or if you have an ingredient and you want to know what to do with it) let me know and I might just have a recipe for you.

A word about fat -- if you are genuinely eating vegan, you don't have to worry too much about fats. (If you're trying to make your diet more healthy, worry about sugars and excess carbs first.) Your body needs fat, especially your brain! It's more important to get nutritionally dense and filling food. So while nuts may be fatty, remember that they also have a ton of important nutrients, are full of *good* fats, and because of their caloric value they'll keep you more full for longer on less food. The reason fat is a problem for most Americans is animal products -- meat and dairy have LOTS of fat, and animal fats are more likely to stick to your bones and clog your arteries.

Right now I'm in the land of the Very Poor, so I'm cooking everything from scratch, usually rice and beans. Here's the recipe that's been keeping my husband and I full and happy ~~ I don't really measure when I cook, so I hope approximations are good. One of the thing I like is that it cooks for a long time with only a little intervention, so I don't have to wear myself out making it.

Rice & Bean patties

For optimal thriftiness, cook your own dried beans. Any kind will work for this, but my favorite is kidney beans. Add 50% more water than usual (you'll see why later), and throw in a teaspoon or two of coriander, cumin, black pepper, thyme, and paprika when the beans start to cook. Remember, don't add salt, or you'll get crunchy beans.
Once the beans are cooked (I do this when I see them splitting) then take a potato masher and lightly mash the beans. You don't want a paste; you just want to break them up a bit. Add rice. This is where the guessing comes in -- I estimate how much water I have, and then I about 1/3 that quantity in rice. (Usually rice is cooked at a 2:1 water:rice ratio; for this you want 3:1) Brown rice is significantly healthier than white. It's better to add too little rice than too much.
Turn the heat very very low, and cover the pan and let it cook, stirring every 10 minutes or so. Your rice will cook through before absorbing all the water. If you're using an electric stove, turn off the heat at this point. If you're using a gas stove, keep it on just a little longer, because your burner won't give off as much residual heat. Let the rice absorb the remaining water (you can scoop some off if there's just way too much) and then remove it from the heat.
Once it's cooled, add salt -- you'll want enough to make it slightly salty, but less than you'd like were you to eat it plain. Then add 1/8-1/2 cup of dried falafel mix (here in Portland it's sold cheaply in the bulk section), chopped dried onions, and water. Mix thoroughly.
I store that whole mix in the fridge (I make massive quantities at once) and then whenever I need some food, I pull it out. I turn a frying pan on medium and add a couple tablespoons of oil. (EVOO is my favorite) Sprinkle the pan lightly with garlic salt (I prefer coarse ground with parsley) and then make patties out of the bean & rice mix. The rice should be mushy enough that they will hold together, though they're a little fragile & like to crumble. (A thicker patty which is not very wide is less likely to fall apart when cooking) If you find that it just won't stick together, try adding an extra splash of water. Once you place the patties in the pan, sprinkle them lightly with garlic salt again.
Fry the patties on medium, and turn when they brown -- about 6 minutes per side, for me. They will soak up as much oil as you add, so be careful when oiling the pan. For a less-oily alternative, you can bake them in the oven, but I tend to find that makes them hard and chewy rather than crunchy and moist; you'd do better to fry with minimal oil in a non-stick pan. Don't skip the oil altogether though -- it brings the texture and flavor out.

Hope you all enjoy.

 

[1sweed]

WillowPaws,
thank you so much for sharing your recipe. I can hardly wait to try it. I also looked up that cookbook you mentioned and it sounds intersting. Sorry I had to delete your link but members can do a web search for cporganics, then look for the bean recipies.

I hope you will share more of your recipies with us. Everyone is welcome to share their favorite recipe, it does not have to be vegan. All types are welcome here.

 

[1sweed]

This weekend I got a craving for a choclate candy bar, which I had one in my freezer. I took it out and laid it down to thaw, and looked at the label and saw that this one 3 Musketeer bar contained 240 calories and 7 grams of fat, and 5 grams of sat fat and a whopping 36 grams of sugar and 90 grams of sodium. The candybar went back in the freezer and I made a different treat instead.

Chocolate Moose
2 ripe avocados
1/2 blue agava nector
1/4-1/2 cup unsweetned cocoa powder
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup almond milk

Cut the avocadoes and scape the insides, minus the seed into a food processer. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until thick and creamy. Be sure to stop now and then to scape the sides of the container. Blend until well mixed and pour into a container and store in refrigerator. It is very rich but very good.

I got a food processer and am having fun making lots of raw food and vegan recipies. Since I stopped eating so much white sugar and flour, I don't get cravings as much and when I do get them like the candy bar I can more easily say no to eating it. So I think I am gaining on better health choices in that regard.

Now its your turn to share a recipe.

 

[Ricky]

Nice thread and i think it is good for sharing some healthy food recipes. All recipes are good and the method is also easy so keep sharing some good recipes.

 

[love2travel]

I teach cooking classes and am a very passionate cook. I also test recipes professionally so food is on my mind constantly. But I have celiac disease which created issues initially but am now used to it. To me the more challenging the recipe and the more unique and uncommon the ingredients the better.

 

[dorann]

I do not have a recipe to share, but I do have a diet philosophy to share that has worked very well for me. A lot of diets require you cut out foods, I do not think that works. Instead I think you need to moderate what you eat. I have lost over 50 pounds through moderation alone.

 

[1sweed]

dorann,
Thanks for sharing. The reason I have had to change my diet is because I am learning of all the foods I am allergic to and so change was neccessary. But I do eat a lot less then I did before and have found that by using less sugar I have felt better. I have more recipies to share and would enjoy seeing others post recipies here as well.

 

[twiztc]

i'm having a break from my diet as i was getting too depressed.
how did I deal with this?
Lemon shortbread- it was awesome!
1 lemon- juice and zest
8oz flour
4oz butter
2oz sugar

Zest lemon. put in bowl with Flour and suger &give it a quick mix.
Add butter and rub in
add about 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice or enough to make a stiff dough
make them into whatever shapes you like but dont have them much thinner than half inch
cook in preheated oven 325degrees f for 20 - 30 mins
while they cook use the remaining lemon juice to make the icing. i just kept adding icing sugar to it until i had a thick but still run off the spoon gloop.
let the shortbreads cool then spoon on icing
very decadent yummyness

 

[DomDom]

Ive got a simple and a quick one, unfortunately I do it "by the eye" so I cant tell you how much of what I put in.

Take some flour, mix it up with water and a little bit of oil. Add some sugar and cocoa and put a few pieces of chocolate or nutella in it. Do all of this in a mug

Stick it in the microwave for a few minutes and bam! you got yourself a muffin )