Cannellini – Artichoke- Olive Tapenade

This recipe is high in fiber, low in fat and full of vitamins and antioxidants.  You can it ahead as it keeps well in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Serve with gluten free crackers, bread or crudités.

• 1-15oz. can organic Cannellini Beans

• 1/2 c. Kalamata olives

• 1/2 c. marinated Artichoke Heats (no preservatives!)

• 5 Tbs. organic chopped Parsley, I prefer flat leaf

• 2 Tbs. extra virgin Olive Oil + 2 Tbs. for top

• Zest of 1/2 organic Lemon

• 1 Tbs. organic Lemon juice

• Sea Salt, Black Pepper and Red Crushed Pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in food processor holding back 2 Tbs. of the parsley for topping,  and pulse until well chopped but not totally smooth.  You want some texture. Place in a non-metallic bowl, and decorate with remaining parsley and drizzle with 2 Tbs. olive oil.

 ~ To Your Health! ♥

Hunan Eggplant – Healthy Version

It’s been a number of years since I ate Chinese food due to high sodium content and frying in oil.

I don’t believe in depriving oneself of all foods one enjoys, so I put a lot of effort into transforming high fat or dairy-filled dishes into healthy ones.

Stir fries can be cooked in a healthy fashion. Here is my slightly modified version of that dish.  I hope you enjoy it.

• 5 Tbs. Coconut Oil

• 1 – 1 1/2 lb. organic Eggplant, cut into 1 inch chunks

• 4 large organic Garlic Cloves, peeled and minced

• 1 Tbs. Chili Paste (found in oriental food section)

• 1-1/2 tsp. fresh organic Ginger, minced

• 1/2 c. organic Chicken Stock

• 1 Tbs. Coconut Aminos (or Tamari sauce)

• 2 tsp. raw Honey

• 1 Tbs. Rice or Apple Cider Vinegar

• 2 Tbs. organic Scallion, chopped

• 1 tsp. Sesame Oil

Place 4 Tbs. coconut oil in large, heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add eggplant and stir-fry until soft, about 3 minutes.

Remove eggplant with slotted spoon and set aside.

Add remaining tablespoon of coconut oil to pan, and add garlic, chili paste, and ginger. Stir for 15 – 20 seconds. Add stock, aminos or Tamari and honey and bring to a simmer.  Add vinegar and eggplant and cook over medium low until eggplant has absorbed most of the sauce, about 1 -2 minutes.

Remove from heat, and stir in scallions and sesame oil.

Serve hot with gluten-free, high-fiber crackers as an appetizer, or try with steamed spaghetti squash.

~ Enjoy! ♥

Eggplant Caponata - King of Vegetables

In the Middle East, the Eggplant is referred to as the King of Vegetables due to its versatility and the large number recipes that feature this violet beauty.

Caponata is served cold as an appetizer.  Since it is versatile, I have heated it up and spooned it over hot millet or quinoa cooked in vegetable broth!

Recipe

Serves @ 10 as an appetizer

eggplant muchroom saute

• 2 lbs. organic Eggplant, peeled and diced

• 2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 1 c. organic White Onion, small diced

• ½ c. organic Bell Pepper, small diced

• 2 Tbs. Garlic, finely chopped

• 2 c. organic Tomatoes (peeled, seeded, and small diced)

• ¼ c. organic Basil, fresh chopped

• 2 Tbs. Sherry Vinegar

• 1 Tbs. organic Lemon, squeezed

• 1/8 tsp. Monk Fruit powder

• 1 small Green Chili, minced (opt.)

• ¼ c. Green Olives, chopped

• 2 tsp. Black Pepper, coarsely ground

• 1 Head of Green leaf Lettuce

Sauté diced eggplant in olive oil until lightly browned; removed from pan. In the same pan, sauté onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and garlic for 2 minutes (vegetables should still have some texture, and garlic should not brown). Mix everything else together in a large bowl with the cooked vegetables.

Refrigerate overnight.

Serve over a bed of lettuce and surround with toasted whole wheat pita bread triangles, or scoop onto whole wheat Tuscan bread.

capanota

~ Buon Apetito!

♥

Authentic Baba Ghannouj... or When Eggplant Meets Tahini

It's difficult to translate the name Baba Ghannouj literally because there isn't one word that captures the adjective "Ghannouj" but I'm going to try. When someone, usually children or girls up into their early 20's, act cutesy, shy and cuddly we say they are a "ghannouj" for a male, or a "ghannouji" for a female.

Baba means father.. so Baba Ghannouj means Dad is being cutesy and cuddly!

Now here is my creative genius at work:

The term fits the unusual looking Eggplant... perhaps because it has to act cutesy and shy to tempt us into eating it! Or, it could be that this dish is so yummy, that Father had to act all cutesy and shy before he had the nerve to ask the Mom to make it!

Choose your version... either way... it's delicious!  :)

Recipe

• 1 large organic Eggplant (close to 1 lb)

• 2 medium cloves organic Garlic

• 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt

• 1/4 - 1/3 c. freshly squeezed Lemon Juice

• 1/4 c. Sesame Tahini, mixed well to incorporate oil Garnish:

• 2 tsp. virgin Olive Oil

• 1 Tbs. chopped organic Parsley

• Pomegranate seeds (opt.)

• Sprig of fresh Mint

Charring the Eggplant

Remove leaves from around stem, but don't but stem off.  You'll need to use it as a 'handle'. Cut several small gashes around the eggplant to allow steam to escape during charring.

Place Eggplant in preheated 375º oven, and bake for 30 minutes, or until outside is crisp and inside is soft.

Allow to cool for 20 minutes.

Holding by stem, cut open eggplant and scoop out the flesh into colander. Discard the skin and stem.

Drain for about 10 minutes. Allowing the liquid to drain will eliminate the bitterness.

Making the Dip

Mash garlic with salt in a mortar and pestle until a smooth paste. Scrape into a medium bowl, and add eggplant pulp. Mash together with pestle until it is of uniform consistency with very few lumps.  (Small ones are ok).

Add the lemon and mix, then add the Tahini and mix again until well incorporated.

Once cool, cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Transfer Baba Ghannouj to a shallow serving dish.  Wet the back of a large spoon, and use it to smooth the surface of the dip. You can create a moat around the edges and drizzle with olive oil, or decorate and sprinkle olive oil around design.

baba ghannouj

Decorate with sprigs of mint, parsley, pomegranate or carved red radish skin. Serve with whole wheat Pita bread, or crudités.

~ Sahtein! ♥

Cheesey Stuffed Mushrooms - Non Dairy

Tomorrow evening I am having a few people over to test their anti-oxidant levels with the amazing machine I spoke of in my post on April 27th. I'm so excited to have access to such a wonderful tool.  My teenage son agreed that most kids in his class would rate quite poorly, and he's anxious to see what his results will be. To supplement his diet, I started him on the Teen vitamins Pharmanex makes, and so in 4 weeks we'll do another reading to see if his levels rise. (It takes about 4 weeks for the change in your anti-oxidant levels to reach the skin, which is what the Biophotonic Scanner is measuring.)

I am going to try to get as many doctors in our area to incorporate this piece of data into their health evaluations!

Anyway, I want to make a little treat to serve tomorrow night and thought these quick and simple to put together appetizers would be fun.  (If you are someone who can eat dairy, then substitute goat cheese for the rice cheese.)

Makes about 24

mushrooms

• Olive oil, for baking sheet

• 3 slices whole wheat Sandwich Bread

• 1 small Garlic clove, coarsely chopped

• 6 oz grated Rice or Almond Cheese

• 1/2 c. fresh organic Parsley leaves, chopped

• 1/4 tsp. Red Pepper flakes

• 1/4 tsp. Black Pepper

• Coarse Sea salt

• 2 packages (10 ounces ea) white button mushrooms, stems removed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet.

In a food processor, pulse bread and garlic until fine crumbs form; set 1/2 cup aside. To food processor, add cheese, parsley, and red-pepper flakes. Season with salt, and pepper and pulse filling until combined.

Spoon filling into each mushroom, and roll filled side in reserved breadcrumbs. Place on prepared baking sheet; bake until mushrooms are tender and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

mushroom stuffed

Cheers! ♥

Tasty Black Bean Dip

Recent research has shown that black beans provide special support for digestive tract health, and particularly our colon. The indigestible fraction (IF) in black beans has recently been shown to be larger than the IF in either lentils or chickpeas.

While some of the total carbohydrate content in black beans is lost along with the discarding of the soaking water, the amount of resistant starch remained unchanged. (Resistant starch is a type of carb that will typically make its way all the way down to the large intestine without being digested. Once it arrives in the large intestine, it can help support the growth of desirable bacteria in that area of the digestive tract.)

The seed coat of the black bean (the outermost part that we recognize as the bean's surface) is an outstanding source of three anthocyanin flavonoids: delphinidin, petunidin, and malvidin, as well as the super anti0xidant Quercetin.

Read more here.

Black Beans, cooked

Serve Dip toasted whole wheat pita bread triangles (toast them yourself in a toaster oven), or high fiber crackers. Also good with carrots and celery.

Tasty Black Bean Dip

• 2 c. cooked drained organic Black beans

• 4 tsp. organic Tomato paste

• 3 Tbs. Water or Green tea

• 2 cloves organic Garlic, minced

• 2 tsp. organic Lime juice

• 1/2 tsp. ground Cumin

• 1/2 - 1 tsp. Sea Salt (or to taste)

• 1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper (to taste)

• 2 organic Green Onions, chopped

• 2 Tbs. organic mild Green chilies, chopped

• Olive oil (optional)

Process all ingredients except green onions and chiles in a blender or food processor until smooth. nd Place in a serving bowl and garnish with the green onions and chiles (or stir them in).

I like to drizzle a little olive oil on top. 

Makes 2 cups

~ Buen provecho! ♥

A Delicious Fruit Salsa

I was looking for a tasty but out of the ordinary appetizer to serve at a function and stumbled on this recipe.  It was a big hit and fit with my diet beautifully so I want to share it with you. If you are not partial to spicy foods, omit the jalapeno.

This makes about 4 cups, and since it doesn't store very well, you may halve the recipe.

Spicy Strawberry Kiwi Peach Salsa

• 2-1/2 ripe organic Peach - peeled, pitted, and diced
• 2-1/2 organic Kiwi, peeled and diced
• 10 fresh organic Strawberries, diced
• 1 Jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 Tbs. and 1-1/2 tsp. Lime juice
• 2-3 organic Green onions, chopped
• 1/4 c. and 1 Tbs. chopped fresh organic Cilantro
• 2-1/2 pinches Sea Salt

Combine the peach, kiwi, strawberries, jalapeno pepper, lime juice, green onion, cilantro, and salt in a bowl; gently stir to combine.

Very tasty on whole grain crackers or as a salsa with a mild fish, or roasted chicken.

~ Enjoy! ♥