Awesome Guacamole

March 5, 2013 by aprilcball

I’ve been making this guacamole for years, it’s so easy and so good!! I’ve been dabbling in a mostly raw menu lately so this was perfect for our Raw Taco Night!!! This is great on chili or sweet potato nachos!

Awesome Guacamole

INGREDIENTS:

4 large avocados

8 dashes Tabasco or Cholula

3 T lemon juice, fresh

1/2 cup red onion, diced small

1-2 minced garlic clove

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1/4-1/2 tsp kosher salt or to taste

1/4 tsp ground cumin (optional but good)

1 tsp black pepper

1 small seeded diced tomato (optional but good)

smoked paprika for serving (if you’re serving this at a party, makes it look nice)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all with knife – makes for a chunky guacamole!

2. Stir in tomatoes, sprinkle with paprika (optional) and serve.

Add all ingredients in the same bowl (I ran out of cilantro for this batch)

Add all ingredients in the same bowl (I ran out of cilantro AND tomatoes for this batch – oops!)

Combine with a knife

Sprinkle with smoked paprika and serve!

Healthy Spinach Artichoke Dip

February 8, 2013 by aprilcball

This is my second favorite spinach artichoke dip! (First favorite here!) I’ve made this for a few gatherings and people love it!! My kids love it too, double bonus!! I serve this with fresh veggies on the side. I love using the leftovers in my collard wraps or on sprouted bread for the kids! 🙂

Healthy Spinach Artichoke Dip

Healthy Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

2 (14oz) cans artichoke hearts (in water), chopped
16 oz frozen spinach
1 cup raw cashews
~ 1/3 cup water
juice of 1/2 medium-sized lemon (a little under 2 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
smoked paprika, to top (optional)

Instructions

Add frozen spinach and artichokes to large saucepan over medium heat and cook until thawed, stirring often.
Place cashews in food processor, process until your cashews become a flour then begin to pour in your water until you get a creamy consistency.
Once your spinach is completely thawed and it’s all good and warm, drain the excess water from your saucepan and add spinach and artichoke to a large bowl.
Add your creamy cashews, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and seasons to the bowl and mix thoroughly. Place in pretty dish, sprinkle with smoked paprika and serve!
You can serve this now or stick it in the oven at 300 for about 10-15 minutes. Both ways are good!

Cook frozen spinach and chopped artichoke hearts over medium heat until thawed and hot

Process cashews into a flour using your food processor, slowly add water until it reaches a creamy consistency. (This was before I added more water to make it smooth)

Drain water out of spinach artichoke mixture and place in mixing bowl

Add creamy cashew mixture to spinach/artichokes and stir well. Add in lemon juice, nutritional yeast and all the spices and combine well. Serve immediately sprinkled with a little smoked paprika or bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 300 degrees

Yummy!

Original recipe from iknowsquat.com

Baked Chickpea Curry Burgers

February 4, 2013 by aprilcball

Burgers are the easiest thing to feed our 18 month old, Cash. He refuses to eat with a fork or spoon, just wants to hold it in his hand and use the opposite hand to shovel in food! 😉

Burgers are easy for me too since I don’t have a ton of time to prepare my meals during the day. I just throw one of these in my collard wraps with Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Cashew Cheese, leftover quinoa, shredded veggies, lentil sprouts and avocado. Sometimes I top it with Habanero Sauce or an oil-free dressing I have in the fridge. I have a ton of different burgers recipes but these are one of my favorites!!!

Chickpea Curry Burgers in a wrap!

Original recipe from VegKitchen.com

INGREDIENTS

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium carrot, thinly sliced

1 large celery stalk, chopped

1-150z can chickpeas, drained and rinsed OR 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas

1/4 cup quick oats

2 tablespoons ground flax seeds

2 teaspoons salt-free seasoning blend (such as Spike or Mrs. Dash – I use Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute)

1/2 teaspoon curry powder – I use Kashmiri Curry, my fav!!!

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 cup hummus (any flavor will do – I use Our Favorite Hummus)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Sauté chopped onion over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic, carrot and celery and sauté until all the vegetables are tender and golden.

3. Combine the vegetable mixture with the remaining ingredients in a food processor. Pulse on and off until the mixture is evenly and finely chopped, but don’t puree.

4. Drop by heaping 1/4 cup portions (I used my large ice cream scooper) onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment paper and flatten/shape gently. Bake for 30 minutes, flip over and continue to bake for 10-15 minutes or until they’re done.

Saute onion, garlic, celery and carrot until soft and add them with all other ingredients to processor

Coconut “Bacon” Roasted Chickpeas (kidtestedfirefighterapproved.com)
Sriracha Lime Roasted Chickpeas (kidtestedfirefighterapproved.com)

The Best Lentil Chili Ever (Slow Cooker)

December 17, 2012 by aprilcball

I’m serious, this is the best lentil chili I’ve ever tasted and trust me, that means something because I’ve made a ton in my day. Both kids love it too, especially as leftover burgers! This would be great as a taco or burrito filling, nachos or anything with a Mexican flair! Plus it’s super easy to make and who doesn’t love that!

Best Lentil Chili Ever

The original recipe is from the cookbook “Fresh From The Vegan Slow-Cooker“. I’ve made a few things from this book and loved them all.

Best Lentil Chili Ever!

Ingredients:

* Water/broth for sautéing

* 1 medium yellow onion, chopped

* 4-6 cloves garlic, minced

* 1 or 2 jalapeños, seeded and minced (I omitted this for the kid’s sake)

* 1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped (any color – I usually use a fresh red one but I used a jarred roasted red pepper last time and it was GOOD!)

* 3 Tbsp chili powder (Yes, 3)

* 1 tsp dried oregano

* 1 tsp ground cumin

* 1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed and picked over (I’ve been using the sprouted lentil/bean mix from Costco)

* 1 cup dried red lentils, rinsed and picked over

* 1 (29oz) can crushed or diced tomatoes

* 1 Tbsp coconut aminos (or tamari or shoyu)

* 1 tsp sugar (optional but gives it a different flavor)

* 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

* Salt and fresh ground pepper

* 4 cups water

Directions:

1. Water sauté onions in a skillet over high heat. Add onions, garlic, chilies and bell pepper and sauté for about 4 minutes or until soft. Add the chili powder, oregano and cumin and saute for 30 seconds longer.

2. Transfer the onion mixture to the slow cooker/crockpot. Add both lentils, tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar and cocoa. Stir in the water, cover and cook on LOW until the lentils and veggies are tender, about 6 to 8 hours. (Mine took closer to 6 since I used the sprouted and red lentils) DO NOT ADD SALT YET! Salt tends to toughen/harden the lentils.

3. Once it’s done, add salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed. Serve hot with your favorite chili toppings!

Saute onion, garlic and peppers. Add in spices and saute a minute more then throw that and the rest of the ingredients into the crockpot.

5-6 hours later… Done!

It’s so easy and SO GOOD!

Cash likes it!

Ava likes it too! SOLD!!

Curried Quinoa and Adzuki Bean Burger Wraps

August 27, 2012 by aprilcball

You’re probably saying adzuki what? That’s what I said when I first heard about these little red beans. Burgers are a staple in our house lately (easy finger food for our 1-year old) and I’m always up for a new bean so I added some to my last Nuts.com order. To be honest, these burgers came out a little bland so I decided to spruce them up a bit with a few toppings and WALAH… YUMMY GOODNESS!!! Okay… enough with the caps lock, you get the picture 😉

Curried Quinoa & Adzuki Bean Burger Wraps

Both of our kids love these burgers smeared with a little hummus and topped with chopped avocado. I prefer the wrap thing myself. My best friend came over for dinner with her nephew a few nights ago when I served these burgers… he wasn’t a fan but our son was happy to eat his share!

First bite… not sure yet (Friend is NOT amused with these burgers!)

He likes them!! YES!!!! (Friend still not amused)

“Hey if you don’t want your burger, I’ll eat it…”

“No really… TAKE IT!”

Yummy! (Friend still not amused)

LOL!!! Had to share those pics, they’re too funny! Okay… onto the burger recipe.

NOTE: Once you make the burgers, here are the ingredients I used to make the wraps:

* Collard Greens – pick larger ones for wraps

* Mango Chutney (from Trader Joe’s)

* Plain Hummus (I make my oil-free hummus or use Trader Joe’s Mediterranean Hummus in a pinch)

* Lentil Sprouts (See my sprouting post)

* Avocado

Original burger recipe from Choosing Raw… great site!!!

Curried Quinoa and Adzuki Bean Patties (vegan, gluten free, soy free)

Makes 6-8 Burgers

1/2 cup quinoa, dry
1 3/4 cup cooked adzuki beans (I buy mine from Nuts.com – $3.99/lb for organic)
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/4-1/2 cup chickpea flour
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
Black pepper to taste
Cooking spray (I use the spectrum brand) or a scant amount of coconut oil for sauteeing and grilling

1. Bring 1 cup water to boil and add the quinoa. Lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes WITHOUT OPENING THE LID! Remove from heat and let sit, fluff with a fork.

2. Sautee the onion till golden and tender.

3. When quinoa is done, add quinoa, onion, chickpea flour, and adzuki beans to a food processor. Pulse quickly until the mixture is forming a dough that is uniform and sticks together, but still has some texture. Add spices and pulse a few more times to incorporate. If at any point you feel as though you’re overprocessing, you can transfer the bean and quinoa mixture to a bowl and mix with your hands!

4. Shape mixture into six patties and spray a skillet or pan with coconut oil. Cook for five minutes over medium heat, flip, and continue to cook for another five minutes or so.

Add cooked quinoa, onion, chickpea flour, and aduki beans to a food processor. Pulse quickly until the mixture is forming a dough that is uniform and sticks together, but still has some texture. Add spices and pulse a few more times to incorporate.

Spoon mixture into hot pan and smash a bit to resemble burgers

When burgers are done, let cool a bit then assemble your wrap. I did this order: collard green. hummus, burgers, mango chutney, avocado then lentil sprouts. Ready to wrap!

Pretty little wrap!

Time to eat!

BEST Lentil & Tomato Soup

August 15, 2012 by aprilcball

Another one pot meal! I know it’s a little too hot for soup but hey, it works in our house right now. Our 1-year old loves soup so it’s an easy reheat meal when I’m super busy. Plus he really enjoys the burgers I make out of the leftovers!

This soup is REALLY GOOD! My hubby said it’s in the top 5! The caramelized onions and garlic really make this soup so if you can, take the time to do that first!! You won’t regret it!

BEST Lentil & Tomato Soup

Original recipe from Food.com.

Ingredients

1 cup lentils, rinsed – I used red lentils
7 cups water
Water for saute OR cooking spray
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed & chopped
3 carrots, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
1 potato, diced
2 cups stewed tomatoes – I used one can
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup brown rice, uncooked
1/3 – 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped – I used about 1/2 cup
1/4 cup lemon juice

Directions

Heat soup pot, add in onions and garlic and sauté on medium heat, stirring often, until everything turns a deep golden brown – took me about 30 minutes.
Add in brown rice, spices, carrot, celery, potato, tomatoes, and spices and sauté for another 5 minutes. DO NOT ADD WATER, LENTILS, PARSLEY OR LEMON JUICE YET.
Stir in lentils and water and bring to boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 30-40 minutes or until rice and lentils are done.
Stir in lemon juice and parsley, serve hot.

Caramelize the onions and garlic

Add in carrot, celery, potato, tomato, spices and brown rice

Add in water and lentils, bring to boil, cover and cook 20-30 minutes or until done.

Add in parsley and lemon juice

Ready to serve!

Lentil Kale Soup (kidtestedfirefighterapproved.com)

I’ve been making this guacamole for years, it’s so easy and so good!! I’ve been dabbling in a mostly raw menu lately so this was perfect for our Raw Taco Night!!! This is great on chili or sweet potato nachos!