Every year the artichoke root system in our garden pops out an abundance of fresh artichokes. For the first few years this is really fun and rewarding, but after a while, one yearns for some new ideas and ways to gobble up all those artichokes, without adding a lot of prep time. This recipe for slow cooker artichokes is super easy, with just about 15 minutes or less of prep time. Then you just set the cooker, get on with your day, and return to a crock pot full of tender, moist artichokes loaded with flavor.
Maca Cacao Sprouted Brown Rice Pudding
Yesterday I attended a seminar given by Australian herbalist Lee Carroll on the subject of integrative herbal and whole food nutrition. If you are thinking that I walked away with a recipe for sprouted brown rice pudding, you are oddly correct. At one point, while discussing Dysbiosis and how to support healthy microbiota, he shared cacao’s benefits, then proceeded to rattle off a rice pudding recipe that he sometimes shares with his patients in Australia. It sounded so intriguing I jotted down the rough concept, and decided to give it or something similar a try. The key ingredients that caught my attention were brown rice, tahini, cacao, and Manuka honey.
This recipe uses a cacao-maca powder blend, but you can use all cacao powder if you want. Manuka honey is considered to have all sorts of nutritional benefits. But getting pure, unadulterated Manuka honey can be a bit pricey. Having said that, a little bit goes a long way. So if you want this pudding to be packed with more nutrition, try to keep it pure. The tahini provides the fat component that gives this pudding a creamier consistency, along with the way the rice is cooked. Altogether, this pudding packs some substantial nutrition for a sweet treat. I can see this as a dessert, evening chocolate craving fix (that is gradiently healthier than many alternatives), or even a quick breakfast.
Vegan Cashew Nasturtium Pesto
Are you a pesto-file? Always looking at different ways to make pesto? Here is one you quite possibly have not tried yet, and it is very versatile. A couple weeks ago, I taught a workshop on edible common garden flowers at Fig Earth Supply, the edible nursery in my neighborhood. And, it got me thinking of all the delightful, delicious ways we can get the most nutritional bang from our outdoor spaces. Enter nasturtium pesto!
Vegan Grilled Gouda & Portobello Sandwich
I couldn’t decide whether throwing together a list of somewhat obscure plant based stabilizers and coconut milk would appeal to any readers. But if you know how awesome it is to find a vegan cheese that is easy to make, and has a really wonderful MELT, you can understand why I had to finally break down and share this. Factor in the current chilly wet weather we have been having, and well, there you go!
The cheese recipe is a slight adaptation from a quick cheese recipe found on one of my favorite plant- based living blogs. The obscure ingredients can be found at a mom and pop health market, Sprouts, or Whole Foods.
Bullet Proof Golden Milk Turmeric Latte
Here is a wonderful way to get some warm, satiating healthy fats into your body with the awesome benefits of turmeric and other spices, featuring a Turmeric Spice Blend from Create Your Health Teas. This recipe is inspired by the classic Golden Milk recipe, but the emersion blender gives it a modern twist inspired by the Bulletproof diet, and adds to the creamy aesthetics. This is sure to comfort your soul on a chilly evening or morning. The fat from the almond milk and coconut oil makes the turmeric more bioavailable, for an overall wonderful, healing cup of wellness– fuel for the body and the mind! Enjoy!!
Cocoa-Mint Spirulina Chia Pudding
Spirulina has been around the block a few times with all of us. But in spite of its past trendiness and ups and downs with the limelight, it is definitely worth keeping in your pantry due to its many awesome nutritional benefits. Luckily for all of us, there are companies out there that are passionate about keeping spirulina relevant in our lives and finding new, innovative ways to deliver it to us. Whenever that happens, if I happen to be in the know, I get my hands on it and get to work seeing what can be done to enjoy it the best ways possible. That brings us to this incredibly simple dessert that is more of a nutrition powerhouse than it is a transitional dessert, packed with almost 20 grams of vegan protein, vitamin b12, and essential fatty acids. It can be enjoyed as a sugar-free dessert, or as a quick breakfast or snack on the run. This immediately became a regular in my kitchen. It is worth adding that it’s also paleo and keto friendly!
Heirloom Tomato and Pumpkinseed Pesto Salad
If you raise basil on a regular basis, you will encounter those times when you get busy and kind of ignore the basil for a few days, and while you are busy doing other stuff, the basil goes nuts and produces an abundance of flower stalks and leaves. This happened to me the other day and in my rush to prune it all back, I ended up with a giant pile of basil. So, since autumn is just around the corner, I decided to do a variation of pesto using raw pepitas (pumpkinseeds). There is something about the pumpkinseeds’ earthiness and association with the impending fall season that just made it all seem right.
I am still getting some glorious heirloom tomatoes, although that season is nearly over, so I put together this sort of “summer-fall” transitional salad that is vegan, yet packed with high quality, raw protein and healthy fats. This vegan pesto is very versatile and I have been using it in a variety of ways beyond this salad. This recipe is definitely a keeper and a healthier alternative to traditional pesto.
Lime & Sea Salted Watermelon & Avocado Salad
I love it when something is so ridiculously simple it almost doesn’t make sense. I have been extremely busy developing some new flex foods to compliment a new cleanse product that I have been offering on my Whole, Clean & Green Challenge. The cleanse protocol specifies a very short list of flex foods, so I was limited to basically just citrus juice and sea salt for any kind of dressing. I was delighted to discover how flawless and wonderful just watermelon, avocado, lime, and sea salt taste when combined together. And therefore I had to share it on the blog! You can make this in about three minutes. Drizzle some avocado oil on top if you must, but it really isn’t necessary.
Roasted Pepper & Avocado Sushi
A couple weeks ago I was riding my bicycle through Little Tokyo, which almost always leads to a stopover at the Japanese supermarket. I stocked up on brown sushi rice, grabbed some fresh produce and ventured into some plant-based sushi making when I got home. I ended up with a pretty good variety of totally vegan sushi. This one with red peppers ended up being one of the favorites, partly because of the way the red pepper resembles traditional sushi fish like ahi tuna. In a recent article on my nutrition blog, I shared some high alkaline foods that people in their day to day cooking. Both red pepper and avocado made the list. So, in a way, you can look at this as a healthy, alkalizing sushi! Enjoy!
Heirloom Potato & Kale Latkes
I just whipped these up for brunch and decided they were share-worthy. The red, purple, and fingerling potatoes are a little healthier than the traditional russet potatoes. This is totally vegan but you can use real eggs instead of chia eggs, or even serve a couple poached eggs on top. To be honest, I was longing for a coupe duck eggs that I sometimes get from a local urban farmer. Having said that, I love the gooey texture in the middle that can only be a result of the chia seeds and the consistency of the heirloom potatoes doing a little happy dance. Enjoy these with some homemade ketchup or smoked trout. Yum!