Tag Archives: garlic

BEST Lentil & Tomato Soup

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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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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!

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Buffalo Ranch Roasted Chickpeas

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Howdy!

Sorry (again) for my absence lately… as you know, things are a little crazy around here! Our 1-year old is now walking and our 3-year old has more energy than ever. My hubby had sinus surgery last week and is slowly recovering. I haven’t had a ton of time to cook anything new lately so I’ve been rotating old favorites. I’ve been making a lot of Italian’ish Lentil Tomato Soup because it’s easy and the kids enjoy it. I’ve also been experimenting with bean/lentil/rice burgers since they’re really easy to reheat in a hurry.

I’ve been so busy that I keep forgetting to eat and I find myself starving at night after the kids go to bed. Since that’s my only time to get things done I look for things I can eat in a hurry. I had a craving for something buffalo’ish (minus the chicken wing part) so I made up these roasted chickpea snacks the other night. They turned out REALLY GOOD!!! Our toddler enjoyed them too even though they do have  a little kick to them!

Buffalo Ranch Roasted Chickpeas

Buffalo Ranch Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients:

* 2 cups of cooked chickpeas (OR you could use 1 can of chickpeas, rinsed – maybe dry them off a bit first)

* 2-3 Tbsp Frank’s Hot Sauce (more if you prefer – I sort of eyed this amount so you could use less or more depending on how coated you want them to be)

 * 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast

* 1/2 tsp garlic powder

* 1/2 tsp dried dill

* 1/2 tsp onion powder

* 1/4 tsp black pepper

* 1-2 Tbsp dried parsley (I like a lot of parsley but see what you prefer)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Combine chickpeas with hot sauce and coat evenly. Add in the nutritional yeast and spices, combine well. 

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread out the chickpeas evenly, patting them down. 

4. Roast 40-50 minutes or until slightly browned. Shake pan or stir every 15 minutes throughout the baking process! 

5. Enjoy!

Combine chickpeas and buffalo sauce, stir to coat. Then add in spices and nutritional yeast, stir to combine well.

Spread onto baking sheet and bake for 40-50 minutes

Roast until browned

Enjoy!!!

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Buffalo Wing’ish Hummus

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I don’t know about you but I LOVE almost anything with buffalo wing sauce, there’s just something about it that makes everything taste better. You can imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon this recipe! All the taste of buffalo wings without the greasy meat and occasional cartilage/fat between your teeth! Sorry, but it’s true!

Buffalo Wing’ish Hummus

I found this recipe on PreventionRD.com. This is a really cool site and I’m looking forward to making more of her recipes!

Buffalo Wing Hummus

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (I used 2 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas)
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp paprika
3 Tbsp calorie-free wing sauce (I used 5 Tbsp Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce instead of these two different types of sauce)
2 Tbsp cayenne hot sauce
1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
1/2 tsp Kosher salt (I only added a tiny pinch)

Directions:

Put the chickpeas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, paprika, wing sauce, hot sauce, vinegar and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a food processor. Puree until smooth and creamy.

Yield: 12 servings (1/4 cup each).

Nutrition Information (per serving): 99 calories; 3.4 g. fat; 0 mg. cholesterol; 231 mg. sodium; 11.8 g. carbohydrate; 4.2 g. fiber; 4.6 g. protein

Process in food processor until smooth and creamy

Ready!

Serve with crackers and celery sticks

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Creamy Cauliflower Soup

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I used to make cauliflower with olive oil, rosemary, 16 cloves of garlic (yes, 16!) and salt but since I’ve stopped using added oils and salt I’ve had to find new recipes. This soup turned out really good! It’s nice and creamy yet dairy-free, oil-free and very low salt (depending on what you decide to use for broth). The cashews are an excellent addition. Our toddler loved this soup!

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

The original recipe is from Healthy Blender Recipes. I added lemon thyme, black pepper and cayenne sprinkled on top. I chose buckwheat for my grain since that’s what I had on hand for the day.

  • 8 cups of strong vegetable broth – I used half low-sodium veggie broth/half water
  • Leftover bean cooking liquid for sautéing OR just use water if you’re trying to stay oil-free (Olive oil if you’re not) **NOTE: I save the leftover bean cooking liquid from my pressure cooker and use it in place of oil in recipes… works great and it’s much better for you! I use mostly chickpea 🙂
  • 1 whole head of garlic roasted
  • The white part of 2-3 leeks washed and chopped
  • 1 large head of cauliflower chopped
  • 1/2 tsp dried lemon thyme (or regular thyme is fine)
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews (you could also use raw blanched almonds) – soaked in hot water for around 20 minutes
  • 4 Tbsp chives chopped finely to garnish
  • cayenne pepper to serve on top
  • white or black pepper, to taste
  • organic brown rice, quinoa or millet to serve – I served with buckwheat
  1. Place the whole head of garlic unpeeled in an oven at 400 F for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. (This makes the house smell REALLY GOOD!)
  2. In a large saucepan fry the leek in a little bean cooking liquid until soft. (About 3 minutes)
  3. Add in the cauliflower and stir for a couple of minutes until well coated. Squeeze in the roasted garlic pulp.
  4. Cover with the vegetable broth/water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a medium flame, and simmer partially covered for about 30 minutes until the cauliflower is soft.
  5. Let the mixture cool enough to put batches in the blender (I like to use a Vitamix), and puree with the cashews until smooth and creamy.
  6. Transfer to a clean pot and heat on low to serve. Season with salt (if you wish) and white or black pepper, to taste.
  7. To serve – top each bowl with a grain ball and a generous sprinkle of chives. Top with a little cayenne pepper.

This soup serves six people and makes really great leftovers!

Saute leeks in leftover bean liquid

Add cauliflower and roasted garlic

Add broth, bring to a boil and simmer half-covered for 30 minutes

Time to blend soup with cashews!

Yummy!!

Chickpea Salad

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My toddler has been a picky eater lately… she’s obsessed with cereal and that’s all she wants to eat! I decided to try a new sandwich option for her so I made this, I’ve been wanting to try it for awhile now. This recipe calls for Black Salt and in case you’ve never heard of it… it tastes just like eggs and it’s great in tofu scramble, sandwich type recipes.

Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Chickpea Salad

This recipe is from… can you guess?? Yep! Melomeals! 🙂

My hubby loves this salad mix on sandwiches and in collard wraps, I like it on mixed greens topped with avocado and pepper. Our toddler loves it on a sandwich or just by itself.

Chickpea Salad
2 c cooked and drained chickpeas – you could use 1 can of chickpeas too
½ c celery
2 c shredded carrots (I always have them on hand!)
¼ c onion, minced
2 T mustard
½ tsp black salt (this MAKES the salad!!)
2 T relish
½ cup Vegenaise
Ground pepper
2 tsp marjoram
½  tsp chipotle
2 T nutritional yeast
½ tsp lemon pepper
Pinch garlic powder
Salt/Pepper to taste

Mash the chickpeas a bit with a fork, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Let salad sit for an hour ( or even better, overnight ) before serving

Mash chickpeas

Add remaining ingredients, combine well

Refrigerate for at least an hour

Serve on salad

Here’s Melody’s Curried Chickpea Variation :
Remove relish, marjoram and chipotle
Add ½ c raisins, 1 T curry powder, ½ c cilantro and ½ c toasted sunflower seeds and 1 T apple cider vinegar

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Lentil Quinoa Stew with Red Chard

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This is one of our new favorites FOR SURE! My hubby loved it and so did our toddler, she ate two bowls! I reduced the amount of spice for her and I have to admit, I was a little surprised she ate so much because it still had quite a kick!

The original recipe is from Melody from Melomeals – I made a few changes to make it a wee bit healthier.

This recipe calls for her Goaty Cashew Cheeze and Easy Garlic-Roasted Marinara Sauce (Oil-Free) so if you just made the sauce from my post yesterday… save some for this! The Goaty Cashew Cheeze is excellent to have on hand so whip up a batch of that tonight so it will be ready to use!

I’ve learned a ton from Melody’s website! She uses a few base recipes to make a bunch of different dishes, all delicious!

This stew is nice and thick, perfect for turning into burgers!! I mixed 1 cup of the leftover soup with 3/4 cup rolled oats and 1 Tbsp flax meal. It’s sitting in my fridge tonight and will make perfect burgers tomorrow! I think I’ll wrap them in collard greens, that sounds delish! Here’s the “How to Make Burgers Out Of Leftover Soup” recipe if you need a reference.

Lentil Quinoa Stew with Red Chard

  • Water or broth for sautéing
  • 1 tsp good quality Italian Seasoning
  • 1/4 – 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes (omit if you don’t like hot – I only used a few dashes and it was a little spicy but good)
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 3 c cooked lentils – I used 2 cans of Lower Sodium Organic Black Lentils, rinsed well (Sprouts sells them)
  • 3 cup water or broth – I used water
  • 2 cup Easy Garlic-Roasted Marinara Sauce (A MUST!)
  • 3 Cup greens of choice, chopped – I used a whole bunch of red chard, stems included
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms – I used one whole package of sliced mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
  • 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 – 4 Tbsp Goaty Cashew Cheeze (I used 4Tbsp)
  • 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 – 1 tsp t lemon zest (I zest all citrus before using and freeze it!)
  • Pepper to taste
Method:
  1. Saute dried spices, onions, chopped chard stems and garlic for 3 minutes
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the chard leaves, balsamic vinegar, Goaty Cashew Cheeze, nutmeg, lemon zest and pepper – cover and bring to a boil for 15 minutes
  3. Remove lid, add chopped chard leaves and cover, cook for a few minutes or until chard wilts
  4. Take off heat, stir in vinegar, goat cheese, nutmeg, zest and add pepper to taste

Saute onions, garlic and chard stems with red pepper flakes and italian seasoning

Add selected ingredients (I messed up and added the Cheeze early but it was still good!)

Add chard leaves

Add balsamic, Goaty Cheeze, fresh nutmeg, lemon zest and pepper

Enjoy!!!

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