Category Archives: All Things Green

Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas & Mustard Greens

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I really like mustard greens, if you’ve never tried them this is a great starting point! This can be served as a side dish or a warm dinner salad. I like mine over quinoa for dinner! My toddler enjoyed this, she likes chasing the chickpeas around her plate. 🙂

Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas & Mustard Greens

This recipe is from one of my favorite plant-based food blogs, Fat Free Vegan. She has such delicious recipes and lots of them! I changed the original recipe in an effort to reduce my sodium intake. 🙂

Ingredients

  • 10 ounces mustard greens – (I used one whole bunch)
  • 1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
  • 4-6 tablespoons vegetable broth, divided – (I used water to saute to reduce sodium)
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce – (I used light soy sauce)
  • 1/4 teaspoon agave nectar or sugar – (I used agave)
  • 1 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained – (I used cooked beans but you can used one can too)

Instructions

  1. Remove any large stems from the greens and discard. Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
  2. In a deep pot or wok, sauté the onion in a tablespoon or two of vegetable broth (or water saute) until mostly faded to pink, about 4 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and red pepper and another tablespoon of broth and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the mustard greens, 2 tablespoons of broth, and cook, stirring, until greens are wilted but still bright green, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the salt, if using. Remove greens and onions from pan with a slotted spoon and place in a serving dish, leaving any liquid in pan.
  3. Add the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and agave or sugar to the liquid in the pan (if there is no liquid, add 2 tablespoons of broth). Add the chickpeas and cook, stirring, over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by about half. Spoon the chickpeas over the greens and drizzle the sauce over all.
  4. Serve warm, with additional balsamic vinegar at the table.
  5. YUMMY!!

Saute onions, add garlic and red pepper

Add greens, cook until wilted but still bright green. Remove from pan and place in serving dish.

Glaze the chickpeas and top

Delish!

Healthy Breakfast Tacos

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The original recipe is featured in the film The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue with Rip Esselstyn . I added extra veggies to ours, it turned out great! We’ve been trying to cut down (and eventually cut out) all added oils in our diet, this recipe was perfect! My toddler also loved this!

Healthy Breakfast Tacos

We really enjoyed this movie! (You can buy it here) My hubby requested I make these breakfast tacos, he loves anything with hash brown potatoes!

Ingredients:

1 large onion, diced

2-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 can fat-free refried beans

1 12oz package organic tofu, drained and pressed

1 package sliced mushrooms (I used baby portobellos)

2 bunches of spinach

1 16oz package frozen hash brown potatoes (fat-free, no salt added) – I used Cascadia Farms Organic Potatoes

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

Black pepper, to taste

Salsa, to top

Avocado, to top tacos

Tortillas of your choice (I used Ezekiel Sprouted Tortillas)

Sliced limes, to top

Directions:

1. Drain, press, and mash tofu. Saute the onion and garlic in a skillet on medium heat until translucent.

2. Add tofu, turmeric, cumin, and nutritional yeast. Mix together and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute until soft.

3. Add spinach, cover pan with lid so spinach can wilt. Once wilted and bright green, add black pepper to taste.

3. Heat potatoes in a separate skillet, on medium heat. Stir continuously to prevent potatoes from sticking to pan. Add a bit of water to help.

4. Heat refried beans in another pan.

5. Warm tortillas and assemble tacos.

6. Garnish with salsa, avocado and lime wedges.

Saute onion and garlic

Add crumbled tofu and spices

Add mushrooms and saute

Add spinach and cover until wilted and bright green

Season with black pepper

Cook hash browns in a separate pan

Assemble tacos and enjoy!

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Kid Friendly Green Smoothie

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This is one of my toddler’s favorite Green Smoothies! Perfect for those days when it seems like your kids hate your cooking and won’t eat anything but snacks and air (it seems!). We like this one too, the peanut butter addition is good! I like to add a scoop of protein powder to this for my breakfast – I like Vega Whole Food Optimizer or Ultimate Meal powder. I make this in my Vitamix, best blender for Green Smoothies! I get most of my smoothie ingredients from my CSA box, delivered weekly from Abundant Harvest Organics and Squeeze Play Organics!

Kid Friendly Green Smoothie

  • 2 ripe bananas – can use frozen
  • 1/2 organic apple, core removed – granny smith is good, gala and fuji too (I get THE BEST apples from my CSA!!)
  • 1 pear, seeds removed (CSA Delivery favorite!)
  • 2 dates, pits removed (Halawy are my favorite!)
  • 1 heaping teaspoon of peanut butter
  • 1 small cucumber
  • 1 or 2 handfuls of fresh spinach (extra here, again from my CSA!)
  • 1 large leaf of dinosaur kale (without thick stem)
  • 1/2 cup of almond milk, hemp milk, coconut milk or soy milk
  • 1/2 cup of orange juice (or just add an extra orange)
  • Optional but really good – mint leaves, ginger, celery
  • Blend & Enjoy!

Learning how to use a straw cup

I let her lick the peanut butter spoon... as you can see!!

Kale Salad with Maple Lemon Dressing

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This dressing is so good! You can add this to steamed veggies, potatoes and sandwiches, it’s so delicious! I found the dressing recipe on the Forks Over Knives website – I included my changes too, it was a little too sharp tasting so I added some Stevia and extra lemon. I decided to mix it with cranberries, oranges and almonds and it turned out great! The orange juice in this salad makes it even better! My toddler loves this salad! I add lima beans to her salad if I’m serving it as a meal, she loves them!

Kale Salad with Maple Lemon Dressing

Kale Salad with Maple Lemon Dressing*

(Salad)

1 bunch of kale, stems removed and chopped or torn into bite-sized pieces – I used green kale this time but any kind is good!

Dried cranberries, about 1/3 cup

Slivered almonds, about 1/3 cup

2 oranges – wedges removed (see pics for instructions) and juice reserved for salad

(Dressing)

Zest and juice of 2 lemons – I added 1 more juice and zest but try it with 2 first

1 (15-oz.) can white beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup stone-ground mustard

3 Tbsp Braggs Amino Acids (or wheat-free tamari or low-sodium soy sauce)

2 Tbsp. 100% pure maple syrup

1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes

1/2 cup water

1/8 tsp Stevia or to taste

1. Place all dressing ingredients into blender (I use my Vitamix) and blend until smooth.

2. Chop or tear clean kale into salad bowl, add cranberries, almonds and orange segments (see pics) – top with dressing and massage with hands or toss with tongs

This salad (and dressing to top other goodies!) will keep in the fridge for a few days.

Dressing

Blend ingredients in blender (Vitamix works great!)

Wash, spin or towel dry kale, chop

Cut the top and bottom off the orange(s)

Cut off the peel and pith with a sharp knife in a curved motion against the orange

Ready to cut segments! (P.S. You can cut ANY fruit like this!)

Remove segments with a knife, add to salad. Squeeze orange into salad after all segments are removed

Add cranberries and almonds with dressing, toss with tongs or hands

Toss

Yummy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones!

Here’s a quick shot of my Thanksgiving meal… it was a short menu this year – just made enough for my hubby’s on-shift dinner (he didn’t want to eat turkey this year!) and my daughter and I. It was delicious! Recipes and details to follow.

Tempeh & Sage Loaf (Vegan Slow Cooker Recipe)

Raw Collard Green & Apple Salad with Pomegranates (Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day Recipe)

Mock Meatloaf with Brown Gravy (Happy Herbivore Recipe)

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Caramelized Onions (My Recipe 🙂

Dill Potatoes (Josh’s favorite!)

Baked Acorn Squash with Apples (The Global Vegan)

Butter Bean Chocolate Chip Cookies for dessert (Happy Herbivore Recipe)

Thanksgiving Meal 2011

Josh's Firehouse Meal (with leftover gravy)

Butter Bean Chocolate Chip Cookies - Happy Herbivore Recipe

Dig in!

BBQ Tempeh Wrap with Goaty Cheeze

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I was craving “junk food” today so I searched through my fridge and came up with this BBQ Tempeh Wrap.

Ingredients:

* 1 Tbsp Olive Oil (optional if you’re oil-free – use water sauté or broth instead)

* 1 – 8oz block of tempeh (I like Trader Joe’s Organic Tempeh the best!)

* 1 1/2 cups leftover Finger Lickin’ Good BBQ Sauce

* 2-3 Tbsp leftover Kale Butter

* Whole wheat wraps or tortillas

* 1 cup baby spinach

* 1 tomato

* 2-4 Tbsp Goaty Cheeze

* Southwestern Chipotle Sauce

Directions:

* First I cut up a block of tempeh into 8 slices

* Heat cast iron pan (or regular if you don’t have cast iron but you may need a little oil or broth so they don’t stick)

* Brown tempeh slices on both sides, about 2 minutes each side

* Blot oil from tempeh and add to bowl with bbq sauce, coat tempeh

* Assemble wrap!

I spread Kale Butter on the wrap first, then added baby spinach, bbq tempeh slices, added slices of tomato, dolloped Goaty Cashew Cheeze on top and a little Southwestern Chipotle Sauce.

Yummy!!