Saturday, January 16, 2010

Health for Life Cooking goes Mexican!

My absolute favorite food is Mexican! So I love to do Mexican cooking classes. The dishes I will be demonstrating for the month of February are, as usual, high nutrient and low in fat. Nothing like their traditional counterparts.


Because green smoothies are such an important addition to any diet, I feel it's important to occasionally demonstrate how to make them, no matter what the menu for class will be. So we will start off with an appetizer of one of my favorite winter time smoothies, the Green Navel. This is packed with vitamin C, calcium, protein, and thousands of other phyto nutrients to boost your immune system and fight off the winter cold.


The main dish for the evening will be this easy to prepare Deep Dish Tortilla Pie. This pie is chock full of veggies that will provide a ton of nutrients, but is also full of that spicy (but not too spicy) Mexican flavor. Between each layer of filling is an Ezekiel Sprouted Wheat Tortilla. Sprouted grains are much more nutritious and easier to digest. I top the pie off with a tofu/cashew "cheez" sauce that is creamy, cheezy and delicious!



My all time most favorite quick and easy Mexican dish is on the menu as well. I feel like I'm going out on a limb with this one because it doesn't look very good but taste? I can't get enough of it! I make these Kale and Black Bean Tacos every chance I get. When cooked enough, the kale becomes very soft and combines so well with the black beans. Also, when the kale is cooked, more of the phyto nutrients are made available for absorption. Beans and greens together make a perfect high calcium, high protein meal. Serve this in some sprouted corn tortillas and top with some left- over cheese sauce from the pie and it's truly heaven!!





Kenny's Famous Salsa is a family favorite. Kenny is my brother and when ever he comes to visit his Utah family, they ask him to make salsa. While he was here over Christmas, he made bottles of it to give as Christmas gifts, so I had the opportunity to observe. And it's very easy to make. It's a cooked salsa, so it goes against my belief that we need to eat as much food as we can raw, but during the winter when their are no good tomatoes available, this is a nice change. I'll add some fresh avocado, green onions, and cilantro to make it chunky and oh so good! I'll serve it with baked corn tortillas.




I'm not sure if they eat brownies in Mexico but because of Valentines Day, we must have chocolate! So Brownies it will be for dessert. These are moist, rich, and chocolaty!....and, believe it or not, they are a good source of nutrients.


And there you have it! Health for Life cooking for February. I hope to see you at class.
For more information or to register, contact April at health4life07@yahoo.com.


100% Plant Based 100% Nutritious 100% Delicious

Health for Life cooking will demonstrate how to incorporate the wonderful plant foods that nature provides into delicious meals that are rich in phyto-nutrients, protein, calcium, and taste! Processed flours and sugars are rarely used and processed oils are never used! To purchase my cookbooks and find out when my next cooking classes are, visit www.health4lifecooking.com.