Lentil, Bean and Spinach Curry

Ingredients

• 1 cup canned lentils
• 1/4 cup tomato puree
• 1/2 cup plain, low fat, probiotic yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground dried turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried red hot chili peppers
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger root, grated
• 4 cups fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
  
• 1 16 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
  

Directions

1. Rinse and drain beans and lentils and set aside in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, stir together tomato puree and yogurt. Season with turmeric, cumin, and dried chili. Stir until creamy.
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion, garlic, and ginger; cook until onion begins to brown. Stir in spinach; cook until dark green and wilted. Gradually stir in yogurt mixture. Then mix in tomatoes and parsley.
4. Stir lentils and black beans into mixture until well combined. Heat through, about 5 minutes.

Curried Chicken

I have adjusted this recipe somewhat from a recipe for curried goat. You can use goat if you want, but I prefer to use chicken thighs. The special spice in this recipe is turmeric, which is an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. Serve this over wild and brown rice with a side of your choice of greens.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons ground parsley
  
• 1/2 cup water
  
• 2 inch piece ginger, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons picante hot sauce
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp ground turmeric
• 1 lb chicken thighs, boned and skinned
• 1 cup water
  

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Brown chicken on all sides & then remove from pan and set aside. Stir in the chopped onion, and cook until the onion turns translucent and the edges begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the pepper & garlic. Cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in the parsley and cook 1 minute more. Pour in 1/2 cup of water & stir, bringing any browned bits up from bottomof pan.
2. Stir in the ginger and continue cooking until the ginger is incorporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in the picante hot sauce, salt, and turmeric; continue cooking 2 minutes. Finally, stir in the chicken meat and the remaining 1 cup of water and again scrape up any brown bits on bottom of pan. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.

Vegetable Tofu Soup

Panfry the tofu cubes before adding them into the soup.
This is a wonderful vegetarian soup that makes 4 servings. Tofu is an excellent source of protein and calcium.

To panfry a delicious tofu dish there are a few basic ingredients you need: oil-- olive oil is good, salt, acid (apple cider vinegar, lemon or lime juice work great), plus ginger and pepper, along with onion & garlic for flavor. Marinate the tofu in this mixture for at least 30 minutes or longer and then panfry it until slightly crisp.

Ingredients:

2-3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, chopped
8 shitake mushrooms, cut into bite-size pieces
4 cups water
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
½ pound extra-firm tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes and marinated (see above)
1 tablespoon freshly grated gingerroot
2 cups chopped kale (or spinach)
2 spring onions, cut into thin slices
1 cup cooked wild and brown rice
wasabi paste (if desired)
Directions:

1. Heat oil in a 4-quart soup pot. Add onion and garlic; sauté over medium heat until onion begins to soften. Add panfried tofu, carrot and mushroom pieces; sauté a few minutes more. Add water, soy sauce and gingerroot.
2. Bring heat up until mixture begins to simmer. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add chopped kale and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes. Spoon 1/4 cup of rice into each of four bowls. Ladle the soup over the rice.
4. Garnish with spring onions.

Spice it up by stirring in some wasabi, if desired.

Black Bean and Spinach Soup

Black beans are high in fibre, protein and iron. Try this tasty vegetarian soup on a cold day and sop up the juices with a crusty artisan bread. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast over each individual serving.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups baby spinach, chopped
3 cups water
1 tsp picante hot sauce
1 cup vegetable broth(low sodium, low fat)
1 can black beans
1 cup cooked wild and brown rice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Directions:

1. In a large, heavy-bottomed sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the spinach and saute for two minutes.
2. Add water, stock and hot sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes. Stir in beans and brown rice, salt and pepper to taste, and cook for another five minutes.
3. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with either parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast. Serve with fresh bread.

Low Fat Yoghurt Cheese

This is the greatest thing since sliced bread! It makes for a light "cream cheese" that you can flavour either savoury or sweet. Spread it on crackers, use as a veggie dip, or add to a sandwich instead of cream cheese. Delicious!

Ingredients:

2 cups low fat probiotic yoghurt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried hot chili peppers

Directions:

1.Place a sieve over a small bowl. Drape a coffee filter or cheese cloth over the sieve and put the yoghurt in the cloth. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. The longer you leave it (one to two days) the thicker the yoghurt cheese will be. The liquid that runs off into the bowl can be used in sauces rather than discarded.

2. Scoop the yoghurt cheese into a bowl and add your preference for either savoury or sweet. I made mine savoury by stirring in the garlic, pepper and dried chili peppers. Cover and allow flavours to blend in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

3. If you prefer sweet, you can stir in a little organic honey and unsalted, hulled, sunflower seeds or chopped walnuts & cinnamon.

Vegetarian Spinach Lasagna

I have been eating vegetarian for the past week and one important piece of information that I've discovered is that when you don't eat meat, poultry or fish, you have to be sure to get a good source of vitamin B12. The best vegetarian source of B12 is nutritional yeast. I used it at the table to sprinkle 2 tsp over my own lasagna instead of parmesan cheese as it has a kind of savoury, cheesy taste to it. This is not the same as brewer's yeast. It is a yeast that is grown on molasses and three tbsp contains more than your daily requirement of vitamin B12. You shouldn't eat more than 3 tbsp of it a day, because that can raise the uric acid levels in your blood, which is not good for your kidneys and can cause gallstones and gout.

I have not given up my eggs or my probiotic yoghurt. While I love the cheese in this lasagna, believe it or not, I am not a big cheese eater! I think it's all the delicious sauce that goes with it and makes the perfect combination. It was a big hit here yesterday!

Sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cans (28 oz each) diced tomatoes & their juice
4 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp salt (or less)
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves (or 1 tbsp dried)
1 tsp dried red chili peppers
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (optional)

Cheese filling:
1 large egg
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 container (16 oz) light ricotta cheese (5% milk fat)

½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (set aside ¼ cup to sprinkle over lasagna later)

2 cups chopped baby spinach (chop before measuring)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 package fresh, no boil, lasagna noodles (6 noodles about 6 inches in width)

Directions:

1. Prepare sauce: Heat large heavy bottomed saucepan over medium high heat. Add olive oil, onion & garlic (& jalapeno, if using) and cook about 2 minutes.
   2. Stir in tomatoes with their juice, tomato paste, red chili peppers and salt & ground pepper; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Stir in basil.
   3. Meanwhile, prepare filling. In medium bowl, mix egg, pepper, ricotta, mozzarella, spinach and 1 cup of the parmesan until blended.
   4. Preheat oven to 375F. In 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish, evenly spread 2 cups of sauce. Arrange one noodle over sauce ( noodles will expand while cooking). Top with 1 cup cheese filling, spreading across noodle. Place another lasagna noodle over the cheese and top that with 2 more cups of sauce. Continue to layer in this way until you have used 4 of the lasagna noodles. Top with 2 cups of sauce. (If making a day ahead, cover and refrigerate at this point).
   5. Cover lasagna with foil and bake until heated through and bubbling, about 50-60 minutes (15 minutes longer if it was refrigerated). Remove foil. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup parmesan and cook another 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, uncovered, before cutting, for easier serving. Have some extra grated parmesan cheese on the table to sprinkle on top.

Vegetarian Chili

This is a great vegan recipe that offers up comfort food without all the calories and artery clogging fats. I served it with some fresh italian bread--delicious! You can also just serve it over some wild or brown rice, or with a side of tortilla chips. This recipe makes about 6 servings.

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 cups fresh cremini mushrooms, chopped into large chunks
2 tbsps olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 large onion, diced
1 green, red or yellow sweet bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 large carrots, diced
1 large bunch of collard greens, thick stocks removed and leaves chopped (you can substitute spinach or kale)
1 tsp dried red hot chili peppers
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup medium salsa
two 28 oz cans diced plum tomatoes
1 cup water
2 heaping tbsps tomato paste
one 28 oz can black or kidney beans (or use chickpeas if you prefer), rinsed well and drained
1 tsp picante hot sauce (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions;

1. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil over medium. Add the onions, bell peppers, mushroom and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened (about 5 minutes). Add the carrots, collard greens, chili powder, dried chili peppers, and cumin; cook, stirring, about 1 minute.
2. Stir in the tomatoes, water, salsa, beans or chickpeas, tomato paste, corn, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Allow to come to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour.