Health for Life Cooking in July

Creamy Tomato Soup - As a kid I loved Campbell's Tomato Soup, but it had to include an entire package of saltine crackers! So I had a little bit of soup with my crackers! That wasn't very healthy for a growing girl but luckily my tastes have changed and I have ditched the saltines and have rediscovered my love for tomato soup. When I found a tomato soup recipe on-line and tried it, I decided that with fresh tomatoes coming in season, it would be the perfect time to make it for my July cooking class! This soup is a bit different then Campbell's but much better because it's fresh and much healthier. And with just a little bit of processing in my Vita Mix (not necessary to make this soup) it's almost just as quick as opening up a can and cooking on the stove. With fresh basil, a tiny bit of chipotle chili and a small amount of cashews, this soup is flavorful, creamy and mmm mmm Good!!


Mediterranean Rice Salad w/ Tofu Feta - I had thoughts of making a pasta salad sometime during my summer classes but using pasta goes against my commitment to stick with whole grains as much as possible. I just don't feel that pasta is a very healthy food, whole grain or white. Whole unprocessed foods are always better!! So when I found a recipe for Mediterranean Rice Salad I got excited. And then when I made it, tweaked it to make it better and tried it.......who needs pasta salad!! This salad is great!! It's loaded with all the things you would find in a pasta salad such as tomato, cucumber, peppers, basil, and feta cheese.......except my feta is tofu feta! Oh yes, and we can't forget the spinach! Gotta get those greens in!






Lentil Salad - This salad comes from May All Be Fed by one of my favorite health guru authors, John Robbins. I liked this recipe the way it was so I didn't have to change it much other then replacing the olive oil with half of an avocado. It adds a nice thickness to the dressing that sticks to the salad well and unlike the olive, all of the parts of the avocado are intact for perfect balance. Nothing added, nothing taken away. Just the way nature provided. You can find this recipe at http://www.cs.utk.edu/~plank/plank/recs/lent_salad.html


Summer Fruit Parfait - One of my favorite things about summer is the wonderful fruits that are in season! I could live on it, and I practically do. This idea came from a fruit pie recipe that I got off Dr. Fuhrman's web site (http://www.drfurhman.com/). The parfait in this picture includes strawberries, kiwi's, black berries, layered with an apricot puree and a nut crumble. By the time classes roll around, I may need to change the fruits a bit because I want to include some fresh, locally grown fruits as much as I can. Whatever fruits are used in this parfait, it's sure to be a hit!

And there you have it! Health for Life Cooking in July. Class dates for July are Tuesday July 6th , Wednesday July 14th and Tuesday July 20th.

I hope to see you in class!


April

Health for Life Cooking in June

Health for Life Cooking is gearing up for the warmer whether with some great ideas for those days when you want to eat a little lighter and don't want to spend much time in the kitchen.

California Goodwich - This BBQ wrap idea comes from the book that changed my life...Fit for Life! I've taken the New York Goodwich from their recipe section and changed it to suit my liking, and since I'm from California, I wanted to call it the California Goodwich. It contains sauted mushrooms and onions smothered in my home made BBQ sauce, layered with steamed broccoli that has been dressed with my Creamy Tahini Dressing.
With a little avocado and mustard added, this wrap is surprisingly delicious!

Zucchini Soup - Zucchini is my least favorite vegetable. I think it's tasteless! But I do try to eat it because according to Dr. Joel Fuhrman, (http://www.drfuhrman.com/) it's one of the super foods that we need to eat often. So I decided to turn this otherwise bland food into a creamy delicious low fat soup that I could eat 3 bowls of....which I just did!!

Spinach and Potato Salad - For those of you that know me, you know I love my greens! So I was excited to run onto this potato salad recipe with spinach in it! What a great idea! It's a little different then my more traditional potato salad recipe that I have demonstrated in some previous classes. This one has red pepper, red onion, and spinach topped with my Sweet Mustard Dressing that also goes perfect with a basic green salad. You're going to love it!!

Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream - With temperatures rising and cherry season right around the corner, I thought it was a good time for Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream! I use frozen organic cherries, since cherries are one of the dirty dozen fruits, and blend them with freshly made almond milk and add a touch of cocoa powder. This is quick and easy to whip up with a heavy duty blender such as a Vita Mix, but could also be made with a regular blender and fresh non frozen cherries. Just freeze it in an ice cream freezer. Heavenly!!

And there you have it! Health for Life Cooking in June. I hope to see you in class!

Health for Life Cooking in May

Chipotle Burgers - These patties are slightly smoky, slightly spicy and are a delicious healthy alternative to the high fat standard American burger. The base of these burgers is made with kidney beans and oats. They are served on your choice of Ezekiel 4:9 bread or a whole wheat bun, with all the trimmings including some romaine lettuce fresh from my garden.

Tangy Sweet Cole Slaw - This cool crisp cabbage salad is the perfect companion to the Chipotle Burgers. It's made with green and red cabbage, carrots, apples and a delicious lime dressing.

Cream of Broccoli Soup - Broccoli is one of the healthiest foods on the planet! It's a cruciferous vegetable so it's loaded with thousands of phyto-chemicals that are absolutely critical for excellent health. I love it and try to eat it every day! This broccoli soup is creamy and delicious and is a quick and easy way to get this super green into your diet.

Raw Strawberry Pie - Tis the season for strawberries!! And you are going to LOVE this pie!! Because strawberries are at the top of the "dirty dozen" list (very high in pesticide residue) I'll be using organic berries that taste almost as good as the ones we grew when I was a kid! Nothing like those huge flavorless Costco variety that must be pumped up with something unnatural!! This pie is sweetened with only dates so there is no refined sweeteners used! And the crust is made with only nuts and dates.

And there you have it. Health for Life Cooking in May. Hope to see you in class!

April

Contact me at health4life07@yahoo.com

Health for Life Cooking in April

No-Chicken Pot Pie

A combination of my favorite pot pie ingredients, peas, carrots, potatoes, and broccoli, covered in a creamy cauliflower sauce, covered with a whole wheat no-oil biscuit crust. Talk about comfort food that is healthy.....this is it!!



Garden Fresh Collards and Black-Eyed Peas

Fresh from my garden collards steamed to perfect tenderness with some garlic, onion, and celery and then mixed with home cooked black-eyed peas. This is a lot like my Kale and Black Bean recipe but the flavor is very different. This is so amazingly delicious and it's one of the healthiest dishes you could eat.

Tapioca Pudding Parfait

Simple, delicious, and beautiful!! My extremely easy, no cook Tapioca Pudding recipe layered with berries is a delicious way to top off a meal.

This dessert has zero fat and no processed sugars!

There you have it! Health for Life Cooking in the month of April. Hope to have you for dinner!

April

Health for Life Cooking in March - Whole Food Goodness

Orange Spinach Salad w/Orange Vinaigrette

With navel oranges in peek season, I wanted to come up with a salad that included this delicious winter time fruit. I literally dreamed about this salad one night so I put it together the next day and was very excited. Sweet Navel oranges together with an orange vinaigrette is the perfect topping for a simple spinach salad. Sprinkle on a few chopped walnuts and this salad is like dessert!
The kids might even try it!


Luscious Lentil Soup
My husband isn't a huge fan of lentils so I've been trying to come up with some lentil recipes that he would enjoy. This Luscious Lentil Soup is packed full of high nutrient veggies and protein packed lentils. At 31%, they have the highest percentage of protein of the most common legumes, grains, nuts and seeds. However, it's not as high as broccoli or spinach at 45%! Never the less, this soup is a perfect and complete meal all by itself!



Vegetable & Red Rice Pilaf

I love rice dishes but it seems I have to add a lot of sodium to make it taste good. So I decided to cut back on the rice in this recipe, which I got out of Vegetarian Times magazine over 10 years ago, and use more corn which is a more flavorful grain. I kept a small amount of rice and used red rice instead, which has 10 times more anti-oxidants then brown rice. Mix in some young asparagus, zucchini, peas, and carrots, season with your favorite herbs and spices and you have a very filling nutrient packed meal.

Lemon Pie w/ Oat Nut Crust

I have fond memories of my moms Lemon Meringue Pie. I'll never forget the one that ended up on the ground outside the kitchen window where she had set it to cool. Lemon Meringue was one of my dad's favorite pies and is one of mine. So for years I've been wanting to come up with a healthy vegan version. It's pretty hard to mimic meringue without egg whites so I decided to just leave it off. The lemon part is the best part anyway. I have to admit this tofu based pie is a bit different then the Lemon Meringue Pie of my youth, but it's still tangy sweet and delicious!


And there you have it! Health for Life Cooking in March. I hope to see you in class!
April

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.

Health for Life cooking in January 2010: Quick & Easy, Low in Fat, and High in Nutrients

I consider myself extremely diligent when it comes to my diet, and since I've been eating a plant based diet for so long, I'm really not even tempted by the unhealthy foods that come before me every now and again. However, it seems that I'm weakened just a bit during the holidays, so I'm always glad when it's all over and I can get back to my normal routine and be done with all the unhealthy goodies. And I'm sure that many feel the same way, thus, New Years resolutions are in full swing.


That is why the theme for my January Health for Life cooking classes is "Quick & Easy, Low in Fat, and High in Nutrients." Quick & Easy" because most people just starting out on a plant based diet don't want complicated recipes calling for unfamiliar ingredients that are hard to find. "Low in fat" because at the beginning of a new year, everyone seems to be interested in losing a few pounds. And "high in nutrients" because high nutrient foods increase your body's ability to remove toxins (and the holiday "gunk") which will assist in the weight loss.




So the menu for January will include 4 quick and easy, low fat, high nutrients dishes. Creamy Butternut Bisque, Lemony Quinuo, Spicy Spinach and Chic Peas over brown rice, and to satisfy the kid in all of us, Eazy Cheezy Potatoes. I decided to by-pass the dessert this month since we've all probably had plenty of them over the last few weeks.


I've been excited to do the Butternut Bisque ever since I visited a vegetarian restaurant in Canoga Park California during the Healthy Lifestyle Expo which I attended with my friends from the Vegetarian Society of Utah last October. (http://www.healthylifestyleexpo.com/) The restaurant is called Follow Your Heart (http://www.followyourheart.com/marketandcafe.php) and the food was fabulous! I ordered their Pumpkin Bisque and it was so good I had to see if I could come up with something similar. The recipe I came up with is made with butternut squash, which I like better then pumpkin, and it's a little bit easier to work with. Baking the squash at a low temperature until very soft intensifies the delicious sweet flavors of the squash, and blending it with some soy milk and the right amount of seasonings makes this soup heavenly! It's creamy, delicious, and very satisfying on it's own!


If you need a little something to go along with the soup, a nice companion to the Butternut Bisque is Lemony Quinoa. I made the soup and the quinoa while my brother was visiting for Christmas and he mixed the quinoa right in with the soup. Quinoa is considered a "pseudo grain" because it is actually a seed. Pseudo grains don't contain gluten, which makes them easily digestible, alkaline-forming, and suitable for those with an intolerance to gluten. It's 20% protein, high in lysine and is a good source of iron, potassium and B vitamins. It has a light, fluffy texture and a mild earthy taste. It can be cooked like you would cook rice or sprouted and eaten raw. It takes about 20 minutes to cook which is just enough time to chop up the veggies and toss the remaining ingredients together. For class, I'll be serving this dish warm but it would be delicious cold as well.



The Spicy Spinach and Chic Pea recipe comes from Dr. Joel Fuhrmans web site (http://www.drfuhrman.com/an.com/) and it had many great reviews. The recipe calls for garam masala which is a spice combination popular in India that can be found at any grocery store. This plus a small amount of green chilies added to the tomatoes, chick-peas, and spinach brings great flavor and an excellent combination and large amount of phyto nutrients. Serve it over brown rice and you have a perfect quick and easy meal.


Your kids are going the love the Eazy Cheezy Potatoes! The "cheez" sauce is made with cauliflower and carrots which will up the nutrient level of the other wise low nutrient potatoes. Add frozen peas and carrots to increase the nutritional level higher and/or add steamed broccoli to increase it even higher! Or for the really picky eater who wont eat any vegetables, leave the visible veggies out and the cauliflower and carrot based sauce will still provide a healthy meal. For my Christmas dinner, I served broccoli with this "cheez" sauce, and my 28 yo daughter, who lives on burgers, burritos, and mac-n-cheese, said "the cheese sauce is pretty good!" That's a great accomplishment if I can get her to eat anything healthy.

And there you have it! Health for Life cooking to start the year off right! Hope to see you at class! For more information, contact April at www.health4life07@yahoo.com.

Health for Life cooking in November

Mashed Potatoes, Cornbread Stuffing, Broccoli w/Red Lentil Cheez Sauce & Cranapple Relish

Tis the season for holiday cooking! And for the standard American this means lots of processed white flour, sugar, and fat which equals weight gain. OK, so what's the big deal? You can just work it off in January right? If that was all there was to worry about I would say "tank up!" That's what I used to do! Unfortunately with that holiday splurging comes weakened immune systems which brings on colds and flues (as in the dreaded "swine flu"), re-visiting past addictions that are easily triggered, and my most dreaded one....lowered energy levels and just feeling lousy! No way, no thank you!!

Fortunately, when you are eating a nutrient dense diet, you lose the desire for those unhealthy high fat foods. However, because family traditions are important and you don't want to be a total party pooper, go ahead and fix your family favorites but just make sure they are Health for Life style.

In this months Health for Life cooking class I will show you how to do just that. I'm going to start off with my favorite stuffing recipe that I've made for my family for several years. Last Christmas my very picky hard-to-please Italian uncle who always has something to say about the way I eat, complimented me on it. I was excited! I think that was a first from him. Anyway, this stuffing recipe comes from one of my favorite restaurant cookbooks, Real Food Daily. It is made with home made corn bread which is what really makes it great. Added to the cornbread is a mixture of onion, carrots, and celery in a tasty broth seasoned with a Holiday Seasoning mix that you can make yourself. Then it's baked to perfection......at least that's always my hope. Cooking stuffing is a lot like cooking a turkey in that you are always a little concerned whether it will be too moist or too dry.

The potatoes for the Mashed Potatoes are mashed with a gravy made with cashews and a chicken style broth seasoning that makes them a crowd pleaser. They always disappear at my house!

With these two high starch dishes I have to include a high nutrient side dish of steamed broccoli topped with my favorite red lentil cheez sauce. (gotta get in those beans and greens!) I included this dish in my Christmas dinner last year and even the kids ate it.

I'm very excited about my new addition to the holiday meal; Cranapple Relish. This is a very healthy alternative to traditional cranberry sauce that is very high in sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup. This salad/relish is a perfect combination of apples, cranberries, dates, and walnuts that taste like a dessert. I've had it every morning for breakfast since I came up with it a week ago. It's simply delicious! And simple to make!

And then what's Thanksgiving (or Christmas) without Pumpkin Pie. (Sorry, not pictured) There is no milk, eggs, or tofu in this Pumpkin Pie. And there are no processed sugars! And the crust is not the traditional flour and oil crust. It's made with oats and is flaky and delicious. Top it with Cashew or Walnut Cream and you have the perfect dessert to top off your Thanksgiving Feast!

And there you have it! Health for Life cooking for your holiday feast! I look forward to seeing you in class!

Health for Life Cooking in October

Veggie Pizza, Caesars Salad, Rustic Italian Soup & Vanilla Ice Cream w/ chocolate syrup

With fall settling in, it's time to crank up the oven. I try to keep the oven off during the hot summer months to save on electricity, so when it starts getting cool, I'm ready for some oven baked goodness. And one of my favorites is pizza! In fact it's usually what's for dinner on Halloween. Not that I'm a Halloween fan and need a reason to "party." To be honest, I really don't like this so called "holiday" where kids get dressed up in scary costumes and go door to door asking for candy, which in my opinion, they get for breakfast, lunch, and dinner these days. But I guess I'm not a complete scrooge when I still have an urge to do something fun. So home made pizza it is!

Since my days of downing a whole small little Caesars Pizza in one meal are gone, thank goodness (!!!) I've discovered that pizza really can be a healthy food and when you make it Health for Life style and include a big green salad and healthy soup, you fill up pretty quick and couldn't possibly eat the whole thing! I start off with a 100% freshly ground whole wheat flour for the crust. This crust is so fast and simple to make and has no oil! I top the crust with a quick and easy home made tomato sauce, and than add toppings of choice. I'm pretty traditional and usually stick with onion, peppers, mushrooms and olives, but for class I'm going to add some sun-dried tomatoes and spinach to make it extra tasty and nutritious. Top it all with sesame parmesan and you have a pizza fit for a vegan king!

Even though my pizza is quite healthy, it's still low on the anti-oxidant scale. Therefore, I always include a nice big green salad with the meal. For class it's going to be a Caesars Salad made with a creamy Caesar's type dressing. This dressing does contain cashews but could easily be made with sunflower seeds or other seeds which are less allergenic.

Along with the salad comes a nice warm Rustic Italian Soup. This recipe comes from my favorite southern California restaurant cook book, Real Food Daily. It's a tomato based soup with kale, white beans, and lots of garlic to keep the vampires away!! (and, unfortunately, my hubby) It's perfect for a cold Halloween evening.

And for dessert.....is it ever to cold for ice cream? I don't think so. What better way to top off a pizza party then with ice cream! I'll be demonstrating the basic vanilla cashew ice cream that I've done for years that many of you have seen and tasted, but many have not. Maybe I'll add on a topping of some sort. The possibilities are endless!!

And there you have it! Health for Life cooking in October! I hope you will join me for dinner!

Dr. Fuhrmans wife Lisa shared her healthy Halloween tips on Dr. Fuhrmans blog. I thought it was worth sharing.

http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/events-spooktacular-ideas-for-a-healthy-halloween.html#emailForm

Health for Life Cooking in September

As much as I love summer, I also love to see the signs of fall coming. It's great when it cools down just enough to where you can really enjoy a picnic in the park....or in your back yard which is where I often go. I have fond memories of family picnics at a local park in California where I grew up. We would get together with my favorite cousin and her family and it was always a great time! One of the best parts of the outing was the food! Kentucky Fried Chicken (and my favorite part was that "extra crispy" greasy skin) potato salad, pork and beans, chips, and what ever dessert there was. I didn't care. As long as there was sugar involved.

Those days of fried chicken and sugar are long gone since switching to a whole foods plant based diet almost 20 years ago. But the picnic with the family doesn't have to be. And you can enjoy some delicious picnic foods that aren't loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol.

And that is what Health for Life cooking will be focused on for the month of September. I'm going to set aside my high nutrient focus, just this once, to share with you 3 of my favorite picnic dishes; Potato Salad, BBQ'd Lentils, and Chic'n Strips w/Sweet Mustard Dip. To make up for the lack of high nutrients foods in our picnic meal, it would be good to start your day off with a high nutrient smoothie. Since peaches are in season, I have been making a Peaches and Greens smoothie that is fabulous and I'm very excited to share it with you! (Smoothie is not pictured)

My potato salad that I will be demonstrating is made with red potatoes, which are higher in nutritional value then the white russets. The dressing is made with cashews and sunflower seeds, blended with some lemon juice, vinegar, and seasonings for a delicious creamy almost like mayo dressing. The BBQ sauce for the lentils will be made in my Vita Mix in just minutes, with two of the best, most nutritious sweeteners. And the Chic'n strips...well these are going to be a surprise! There's no chicken in these little guys and they are really delicious dipped in this simple sweet mustard sauce that would also be great for a salad dressing. (For those with nut allergies, the Chic'n Strips have walnuts which you can omit from this recipe). And I'm sure you can guess what the Peaches and Greens smoothie is made with. I add a couple extra goodies to make this creamy and delicious. It's a great way to start your day.

And that's Health for Life in September. If the weather is nice, we just might make it a real picnic and take it to my back yard. Hope to see YOU at one of my classes!