Spicy Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are such a great comfort food. This recipe adds some exotic spices into the mix. This recipe serves about four.

Ingredients:

3 medium sweet potatoes, washed, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped and sauted in 1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried hot chili peppers
chopped walnuts for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Place sweet potatoes in medium saucepan; cover with water and add pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook, covered for about 10 to 15 minutes until soft. Remove from heat and drain.
2. Add chicken stock, sesame oil, sea salt, nutmeg, cumin, garlic, sauted onion, ground black pepper & chili peppers to sweet potatoes.
3. Mash potatoes with a potato masher, then use electric hand mixer to blend until relatively smooth. Add more stock if potatoes are dry. Transfer to a small baking dish that has been lightly oiled with sesame oil. Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven at 400F for about 10 minutes. Garnish with chopped walnuts if desired.

Chickpea Tomato Olive Salad

This is my husband's recipe. A wholesome, easy salad with protein from the chickpeas and a variety of vitamins and minerals from the vegetables. Very tasty!

Ingredients:

1 can (19 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup sliced green olives
3 tbsps olive oil
3 tbsps apple cider vinegar
1 tsp picante hot sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chopped parsley
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Combine chickpeas, tomatoes & olives in a medium sized bowl.
2. Add remaining ingredients and toss lightly. Let sit for 10 minutes to allow flavours to meld.

brussels sprouts & mushrooms oven roasted

Oven roasting gives a very different flavour to brussels sprouts! Anyone who doesn't usually like these vegetables will gobble these ones down.

Ingredients:

1 lb brussels sprouts, washed and trimmed
3 tbsps olive oil
1/3 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 sweet vidalia onion, chopped into large chunks
2 large portobello mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (for garnish)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. After washing brussels sprouts, trim hard ends off bottoms and cut a small cross in the bottom of each sprout. Place in a large bowl.
3. Mix together olive oil, salt, pepper, minced garlic, chopped onions and sliced portobello mushrooms. Drizzle mixture over the brussels sprouts and toss lightly to coat.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer ingredients to the baking sheet. Place in oven and bake until lightly browned for about 30 minutes. If they are browning too quickly, you can place another piece of parchment paper lightly over top during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
5. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

Quinoa Pilaf

This is a variation of a recipe from the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook. Quinoa (pronounced "Keenwa") is an ancient Inca grain that is a complete protein. This recipe serves four but can easily be doubled. This is a vegan recipe.

Ingredients:

2 tsps extra virgin olive oil
1/2 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup red or white quinoa, well rinsed and drained (quinoa has a bitter coating that must be rinsed off before you cook it). It is best to rinse it in a strainer, then place it in a large bowl of hot water for 5 minutes. Then rinse it again in a strainer under cold water and drain well.
1 cup low sodium vegetable broth
2 tbsps freshly grated lemon zest
2 cups mixed greens, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 sweet yellow pepper, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 a lemon
juice of 1/2 a lime
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 green onion, trimmed and chopped for garnish

Directions:

1. Place olive oil in a large skillet and heat over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, carrots and peppers. Cook until onion is translucent, about 8 minutes, stirring regularly.

2. Stir in rinsed and drained quinoa and cook for 5 minutes. The grains should become lightly browned. Add veggie broth, lemon zest & mixed greens. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let cook, covered for 20 minutes, until quinoa becomes translucent.

3. Remove pan from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and toss in the citrus juices. Season with salt & pepper. Serve immediately. Garnish with chopped green onion.

Chicken Vegetable Stew

At this time of year a hot stew goes a long way! This one is full of great vegetables and tasty marinated chicken. Sop up the juices with some fresh whole grain bread. If you don't appreciate the strong taste of parsnip, substitute another vegetable of your choice, such as butternut squash.

Ingredients:

4 large chicken breasts, marinated for several hours or overnight in 2 tsps olive oil; 1/2 juice of one lemon; salt & pepper. Chop the chicken into 1 inch cubes.
8 cups water
2 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
2 tbsps olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups (large jar) strained tomatoes
8 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
small can of tomato paste (about 4 heaping tbsps)
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 large white potatoes, chopped (leave peel on but scrub well)
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
10 brussel sprouts, chopped
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
2tsps dried basil
1 tsp dried hot chili peppers
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a large, heavy-bottomed sauce pan, over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in 2 tbsps olive oil until onion is soft. Add chopped chicken and saute until the chicken is lightly browned.
2. Stir in water, broth, tomatoes. Bring to a boil on medium high heat. Lower heat to medium and stir in tomato paste until incorporated. Add remaining ingredients, except peas. Stir well. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for about one hour.
3. Add peas and basil; stir and continue to cook for about 15 minutes, covered. Ladle into large bowls and serve with whole grain bread.

Spicy Vegetable Bean Soup

This soup is full of so many different vitamins & nutrients! The beans add protein and fibre & the spices just top it off. I served this with some homemade crispy tortilla chips by slicing up some store bought soft tortillas into triangle shapes, laying them out on a very lightly oiled baking sheet & seasoning lightly with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake the tortillas in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes (keep an eye on them so they don't brown).This is a vegan recipe & makes a complete meal.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive or canola oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 large sweet red bell pepper, chopped
1 sweet potato, scrubbed and chopped into one inch pieces
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 head of broccoli, barky part of stem removed & remaining stem peeled, chop everything and you want the flowers to be fairly small
2 large portobello mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped (or two teaspoons of garlic powder)
1 19 oz can of 3 bean medley, rinsed and drained
1 19 oz can of white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
5 cups of water (or you can use 1 cup of low sodium vegetable broth and 4 cups of water)
1/2 tsp sea salt & 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dry chili peppers (or to taste)
1 tsp picante hot sauce
1 tsp chipotle hot sauce
2 tsps chopped parsley

Directions:

1. In a large heavy saucepan, heat one tbsp oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and sweet pepper and saute until softened. Add all ingredients, except parsley & stir softly. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally. Add parsley and stir.

2. Remove 2 cups of the soup and put it through the food processor or blender until well pureed. Return this to the soup pot and stir---this will thicken the broth. Serve in large bowls and scoop with toasted tortilla chips or a spoon. You can also sprinkle a tsp of parmesan cheese over the soup in the bowls (of course then it would not be vegan).

Baked Vegetable Samosas

These samosas have a nice kick to them and because they are baked, not fried, they are much healthier and lower in calories than the fried ones. This recipe makes 8 large or 16 small samosas. This is a vegan recipe.

Ingredients:

1 pkg of fresh whole wheat pizza dough---enough to make two pizzas (readily available at Italian grocery stores)
2 tsps olive or canola oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 red sweet pepper, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
One 28 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup of water
1 tsp dried crushed hot chili peppers
1 tsp picante hot sauce
2 cups frozen green peas, thawed
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the dough in a very lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel & let stand at room temperature for about one hour to allow it to rise.
2. To prepare the filling, place the drained chickpeas in a food processor or blender. Add 3/4 cup of water and puree until fairly smooth (this is a personal choice as some may prefer their filling to be more chunky).
3. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high. Add the cumin and stir constantly for about 30 seconds. Add the onion, sweet red pepper, carrot and garlic; cook, stirring as needed, until the onion and vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chickpeas, dried chili peppers & hot sauce; cook, stirring gently until most of the liquid is absorbed, 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and gently stir in the green peas, lemon juice, salt and pepper, taking care not to mash the peas. Let stand about 15 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 425F. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Sprinkle a work surface with flour. Have a small bowl of water close by.
5. Divide the dough into four equal pieces and roll each into a ball. Using a dusted rolling bin, roll out each ball into a thin 8 inch round & cut each in half. Scoop two tbsps of filling into the centre of each round of dough. (You can make 16 smaller samosas by cutting the 8 inch round into quarters and using one heaping tbsp of filling in each one). Dip your fingers in the bowl of water and moisten the edges of dough with a few drops. Fold dough over the filling and pinch edges firmly together to seal. Repeat until all samosas are made. Brush all sides very lightly with vegetable oil. Place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, until lightly browned.