Monthly Archives: March 2012

Quinoa w/Spring Veg and Miso Dressing

31 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by in dressing, quinoa, seasonal, vegan

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Food:

Quinoa w/Spring Veg and Miso Dressing

3/4c. cooked quinoa

1/2c. petite peas, steamed, fresh or frozen

8 stalks fresh asparagus, steamed, chopped in half

1/4 avocado

gomashio, for seasoning

1. Combine all the ingredients in a good size bowl, sprinkle gomashio over the top.

Miso Dressing:

1/2c. fresh lime juice

1/4c. rice wine vinegar

3 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. chili oil

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 inch ginger, peeled and grated

2 scallions, chopped

2 T. + 2 tsp. miso paste

1/3c. olive oil (coconut oil would be nice to)

Directions:

1. All of the ingredients except the olive oil go into the food processor. Pulse until combined, scrape down sides. With the motor running add the olive oil. Store in the refrigerator. Serve over quinoa w/spring veg or anything else you would like.

Nutrition:

Quinoa- High protein, non-gluten grain from the Incas. It is a complete protein with significant amounts of lysine, helpful for repairing tissue. Like other whole grains, quinoa helps fight cancer, prevents heart disease and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes. (Courtesy of ‘Clean Food’ by Terry Walters) (A staple in the Cosmo Hippie kitchen)

Asparagus- Many of the elements that build the liver, kidneys, skin, ligaments, and bones are found in green asparagus- WOW! Talk about a super food. Builds red blood cells and protects against cancer.

Peas- Peas might be lower in calcium and phosphorus than beans but provide similar levels of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. They are a good source of vitamin B and a variety of minerals. Green peas are a good source of vitamin C, K and carotenes.

Avocado- They reduce the risk of heart attack and stabilize blood sugars, they aid in blood tissue regeneration. Avocados are high in protein, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium and manganese.

Miso- Miso contains living enzymes that aid digestion and help maintain healthy intestinal flora. Miso is a rich source of minerals, it tones and cleanses the body of toxins and metals such as radiation and mercury! It also helps the body assimilate good cholesterol and break down the bad. (A staple in the Cosmo Hippie kitchen)

Love:

If you are a Cosmo Hippie Chef follower then you know I LOVE quinoa, when you eat a mostly vegetarian cuisine quinoa quickly becomes your best buddy. Bill-y and I even love it for breakfast. The great thing about this dish is that it is seasonal, so Spring I use peas and asparagus, in the Summer I use tomatoes and cucumbers, in the Winter I use baby bok choy and edamame- avocado always shows up for the party. This dish is easy, delish and you can see from the nutritional tid bits a power house in the healthy department. To health and happiness, ENJOY!

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Oatmeal Banana Bread

25 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by in breakfast, dessert, vegan

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Food:

Oatmeal Banana Bread

1c. oats (preferably gluten-free)

3/4c. walnuts, divided

1/3c. coconut flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

4 ripe bananas

1/2c. nut milk (I used Homemade Coconut Milk)

2 tsp. vanilla

6 T. coconut oil (if solid gently melt)

6 T. pure maple syrup

1/4c. sunflower seeds, hemp seeds and whole almonds- chopped

3/4c. vegan chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Start by lining a loaf pan with parchment paper and preheating the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Next place the oats and 1/2c. walnuts in the food processor, process until it looks like flour. Be sure not to over mix.

 3. Place the oat/walnut flour into a large bowl, one that is big enough to add the other ingredients to. Add the coconut flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder to this mixture and mix well with a whisk or fork.

4. Next place the banana’s, nut milk, vanilla, coconut oil and pure maple syrup into the food processor, process until all the ingredients are mixed well. The scent of this mixture is heavenly. Add this mixture to the dry mixture. FOLD all the ingredients together, DON’T OVERMIX!

5. Now add the chopped almonds, the remaining 1/4c. walnuts, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds and chocolate chips. Fold these in gently. Pour the batter into the lined loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes. (Check the banana bread by inserting a toothpick into the center, if it comes out clean it’s ready) Let cool completely before slicing.

Nutrition:

Nuts and seeds- With their gold mine of healthy minerals and their niacin and folic-acid contents, seeds are an excellent nutrition package. They are among the better plant sources of iron and zinc. In fact, one ounce of pumpkin seeds contains almost twice as much iron as three ounces of skinless chicken breast. And they provide more fiber per ounce than nuts. They are also good sources of protein. Each seed has its own individual bang for its bite, reasearch each on and be amazed.

Coconut Flour- Coconut flour has a low glycemic index, which means it’ll keep you fuller for longer and gives you steady, balanced energy. Not to mention its 58% fiber content, ranking it the higher than bran!

Banana’s- They soothe the stomach and strengthen the lining against acid and ulcers. Has antibiotic activity. Bananas feed the natural acidophilus bacteria of the bowel. They are high in potassium which benefits the muscular system.

Oats- Oats provide and abundance of antioxidants and lignans which help protect against cancer and help stabilize blood sugar levels. Rolled oats, which are minimally processed are slightly less beneficial than steel-cut or whole oat groats.

Love:

This yummy, decadent, GLUTEN-FREE, VEGAN Oatmeal Banana Bread will blow your mind, it is very similar to my Banana Date Muffins, but without the dairy. With the addition of the oat/walnut flour (which I learned about from My New Roots, and was the inspiration for this heavenly creation) this Oatmeal Banana Bread is on a whole other level. I have made it twice now and we (me, Billy and everyone who I served it to last week) are in love. Get in the kitchen and make a loaf, it’s easy-I SWEAR! Enjoy!

(Coconut) Milk and (Cinnamon Toast Crunch) Crackers- Cosmo Hippie Style

19 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in DIY, Drinks, Snack, vegan

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Love:

I thought on this post I would start with the love. Lately I have been feeling like a loser in the food department. Sounds silly huh? I feel like I came blazing into the New Year with all these great recipes and now have hit a wall. Trust me when I say I have still been cooking up a storm, but a lot of the recipes have been other bloggers I follow, recipes I found on pinterest or oldies but goodies of my own. Maybe it is due to the fact that my work life has been very stressful that my creative food juices have taken a back seat! But then out of nowhere I create Homemade Coconut Milk and Cinnamon Toast Crunch Crackers. Both are delish, easy, and the best part is they are healthier than the originals. I love cooking and creating, and whether they are my own recipes or someone else’s the result is the same- it makes me happy. Enjoy!

Pictured above: small jar is coconut milk, larger jug is cashew milk (same method for both, but for the cashew milk I use 4c. water when blending)

Food:

Homemade Coconut Milk- Makes 2c.

1c. shredded unsweetened coconut, place in a bowl and cover with filtered water overnight, drain

2c. fresh filtered water

1 tsp. vanilla

pinch on salt

Directions:

1. After you have drained the coconut that has been sitting overnight, place the coconut in the blender with the water, vanilla and pinch of salt. Blend on high for about one minute.

2. Drain the mixture either through a nut bag or a fine mesh strainer. Squeeze the coconut to get as much liquid out as possible. (Save the coconut pulp, it’s what we will be making the crackers out of)

3. Pour the fresh coconut milk into a glass container and store in the refrigerator. It will last about 5-7 days.

Nutrition:

Why nut milks? Years ago when I went vegan to combat some health issues I thought milk would have been one of the hardest things in my diet to give up, until I realized that drinking milk means I am most likely drinking milk from an animal that is forced to milk even when it is not producing milk for its baby. Think about it like this, human woman produce milk when they have a baby, that baby usually breast feed for 1-2 years and after that baby stops breast-feeding that woman no longer produces milk. Now imagine if that woman is forced to take something that forces her to produce milk even though she is no longer breastfeeding. Crazy right? This is what happens to animals, and we are the only species that drinks the milk from another species. This is a personal choice in MY house, I am a milk chugin’ convert who now enjoys a wide range of nut milks such as almond, cashew, rice, coconut, and I might just have to try walnuts next time. Nuts milks are fresh, raw and loaded with vitamins and minerals.

Food:

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Crackers- Makes 16 crackers

1c. leftover coconut pulp from recipe above (you could try this with dry, shredded, unsweetened coconut- but I haven’t tried it that way)

1c. almond meal or almond flour (same thing)

1 T. coconut oil or canola oil

1 T. pure maple syrup or agave nectar

1 T. water

3/4 tsp. cinnamon, divided

2 T. sucant or raw sugar

pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350, line a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl mix coconut pulp, almond meal, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of salt together with a fork and work out any lumps.

3. In a smaller bowl or dish mix coconut oil, pure maple syrup and water together. Add this to the dry mixture and mix well.

4. Pour the mixture in the lined baking dish and press  down firmly and spread it evenly inside the dish. Mix together the remaining cinnamon (1/4 tsp.) and sucant and sprinkle over the top of mixture. Place in oven and bake 10 minutes, take the dish out and cut into 16 squares (carefully) and place back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. Until the top is slightly golden.

5. Let cook completely and serve.

An Oldie But A Goodie- Beet, Spinach and Quinoa Salad

11 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by in dressing, quinoa, salad, seasonal, Uncategorized

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Food:

Beet, Spinach and Quinoa Salad

*Update: This time I made my own homemade goat milk ricotta cheese to go on top.

Nutrition:

Beets: Beetroots are a great source of fiber, manganese and potassium. Beetroots have been shown to help disorders of the liver, mainly for their stimulating effects on the liver’s detoxification process. The pigment that gives beets their rich, purple-crimson color, betacyanin, is a powerful cancer-fighting agent.

Love:

This is one of mine and Billy’s favorite salads to have for lunch. Beets and spinach are spring veggies and since SLC is going to be feeling like spring this week I thought it was the perfect time to make this salad again. Enjoy!

P.S. Pictured below is the Tomato Vinaigrette that I make to go with this salad. This dressing is shaken not stirred.

Shaken not stirred

Minty Pea Dip & Pistachio Stuffed Dates- Spa Recovery Week

08 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in appetizer, dessert, dips, Snack, vegan

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Food:

Minty Pea Dip- Makes about 2 cups

3c. frozen green peas, boil in salted water until tender 1-2 min, drain and toss into an ice bath, drain again

1/4c mint leaves, and parsley leaves

1 lemon, zest and juice

1 garlic clove, chopped

2 T. olive oil

1 T. tahini

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. All the ingredients go into the food processor and pulse until desired consistency. Refrigerate and serve with carrots or asparagus spears. Taste for salt and pepper.

Nutrition:

Peas- Peas might be lower in calcium and phosphorus than beans but provide similar levels of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. They are a good source of vitamin B and a variety of minerals. Green peas are a good source of vitamin C, K and carotenes.

Food:

Pistachio Stuffed Dates- Makes 16-22

16-22 dates (I buy the big ones w/the seed and de seed them myself. Just make a slit down one side of the date, open it up a bit and pull out seed-easy!)

1/2c. shelled pistachios

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of course salt

1/4-1/3c. toasted coconut (to toast: place coconut in a dry pan, turn heat to medium and toss a few times until toasted. KEEP AN EYE ON IT!)

Directions:

1. Place the shelled pistachios, cinnamon and salt in the food processor and process until a thick paste forms. About 5 min.

2. I use a 1/2tsp. measuring soon to spoon mixture out and fill each date.

3. Top the toasted coconut. Serve!

Nutrition:

Dates- Dates are a good source of fiber, an excellent source of easily digested carbohydrates. Dates are among the most alkaline of foods, and contain a special type of soluble fiber called beta-D- glucan which has been shown to decrease the body’s absorption of cholesterol and slow or delay absorption of glucose in the small intestine, thus helping to keep blood sugar levels even.

Love:

Let’s start with the minty pea dip, this is so easy so fresh and a super healthy snack. Love it! This would be great on bread with a sprinkling of cheese, or over pasta. Enjoy!

Now, the dates. I love dates, Billy not so much. When I first made these I had to tell him to close his eyes and open his mouth because I knew if he saw it or knew what it was he would be weird (that’s just how my sweetie is about a few things). Well guess what? HE LOVES THEM! He would like them to be a staple snack in our house. Funny man, but he’s right they are very delicious. I kinda think they would be awesome  wrapped with bacon and baked! Enjoy!

Both of these recipes came from Whole Living’s 28 Day Challenge (I changed just a few things)

Super Smoothie- Recovery Spa Week

05 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in breakfast

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Food:

Power Smoothie- Serves 2

1/2c. chopped kale

1/2c. chopped spinach

1/2c. parsley leaves

10 chunks of pineapple (about 1/2c-3/4c)

1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped

1/2c. frozen organic blueberries

1c. coconut water

1/2c. water

*optional add ins*

2 tsp. bee pollen

2 squirts, marine phytoplankton

2 tsp. maca powder

Directions: 

Everything goes into the blender, blend until mixed well. Divide between two glasses Serve immediately!

Nutrition:

Kale- Kale is beneficial to the digestive and nervous system and is a rich source of various atni-cancer chemicals.

Spinach– A super source of antioxidant and cancer antagonists, containing about four times as much beta-carotene and three times more lutein then broccoli.

Parsley– A blood builder and purifier. Helps release retained water from the body.

Ginger– Ginger is a great tonic for the digestive tract, it stimulates digestion and keeps the intestinal muscles toned. Acts as an anti-inflammatory.

Pineapple– Helps detox the body, an anti-inflammatory. The greatest value lies in its digestive power, which closely resembles that of human  gastric juices.

Blueberries– Blueberries contain silicon which helps protect the pancreas, also has anti-viral activity.

Love:

I have fallen in love with smoothies again, I say that because smoothies used to be a HUGE of our diet but they were loosing their appeal after years of having them. Now days we start our days with raw oatmeal (during the week) or hot steel-cut oats, 10 grain and our newest amaranth porridge (on the weekends). But a couple of weeks ago I started to mix up some fun new creations, as well as this week wanting to cleanse our systems and shake things up a bit. This recipe is adapted from whole living’s 28 day challenge. Smoothies are a great way to get an abundance of vitamins, minerals and a big chunk of veggies/fruit servings in one sitting-yay! Enjoy!

Roasted Bell Pepper Tapenade

03 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by in appetizer, Side dish, vegan

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Food:

Roasted Bell Pepper Tapenade

3 orange bell peppers, roasted, skins and seed removed*, chopped

1/4c. purple onion, chopped

1 large garlic clove, chopped

1/4c. parsley, chopped

1/4c. olives, chopped (I used green olives that I got at Tony Caputo’s)

2 T. capers

2 T. olive oil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

*How to roast peppers: Turn the broiler in your oven to high. Place the peppers on a baking sheet, when oven is ready place the baking sheet on the rack in the oven as close to the broiler without touching. Set a timer for 5 minutes, then rotate. Do this a total of four times (20 min) until all the sides of the pepper are charred. Watch carefully!!! Take the charred peppers out of the oven and place in a paper bag, close and let cool about 10 minutes. Take the peppers out of the bag and remove the skin, pull off stem, clean out the seeds. Use in whatever recipe calls for roasted peppers.

1. Place your roasted bell peppers in a medium size dish.

2. In a separate bowl mix purple onion, garlic, olives and capers. Add this mixture to the roasted bell peppers. Next add the chopped parsley.

3. Add the balsamic vinegar and olive oil to the above ingredients. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. I served mine with Homemade Goat Milk Ricotta Cheese and bread (this would be great over pasta). Enjoy!

Nutrition: 

Bell Peppers- Bell peppers are one of the most nutrient-dense foods available, it a good source of a large number of nutrients, including vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin K, thiamine, folic acid and vitamin B6. They are also a good source of phytochemicals with exceptional antioxidant activity. The substances in bell peppers has been shown to prevent blood clot formation and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Parsley– Extremely rich in a number of nutrients including chlorophyll and carotenes. Parsley is a good source of vitamin C, folic acid and iron. It is also a good source of minerals including magnesium, calcium, potassium and zinc.

Olives- Olives are a healthy fat containing an excellent source of oleic acid an omega-9 monounsaturated fatty acid. They are also a great source of vitamin E. Olives are a staple in Mediterranean areas where people don’t consume a lot of animal fats, thus getting the most out of these super healthy fats.

Love:

I was looking for something easy and fresh to go with the Homemade Goat Milk Ricotta Cheese I was attempting to make for our Oscar’s party on the couch. I make a version of this dish with fresh tomatoes in the summer, but during the winter the only tomatoes I want to eat are the ones I canned in the summer. The roasted bell peppers worked great, I used orange bell peppers because red bell peppers and I don’t get along. As I was posting this recipe I thought how good this tapenade would be over pasta with the Goat Milk Ricotta crumbled over the top, I’ll have to try that next.

P.S. This will make a great dish in the summer because we can roast the peppers on the BBQ! I can’t wait!