Kale Lentil Rice Bowl

I have discovered that I am not a master chef who enjoys creating masterpieces. I do however love to cook myself yummy, healthy food. I'm coming to the conclusion that since I will never be an amazing recipe blogger, this section will serve more as a template to view how I think about ingredients and food preparation for the meals that I eat. Pretty much all of these recipes can be modified to suit personal taste buds. They are merely templates. This is no exception.

Bowls are a pretty big rage these days. Which is funny because it's basically about presentation. Whether in a bowl or on a plate, the basic concepts of combining a grain, vegetable, protein and healthy fat is fantastic. Here's one of mine.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Black Rice

1/2 bunch of Kale

1/4 cup Lentils

1/4 cup frozen Corn

1/2 Avocado

Salt, Pepper

Directions

Prepare rice as directed. Personally, I like using a dash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil with my rice.

While rice is cooking, cook lentils as directed.

When rice is half done, de-stem kale leaves and steam them.

When lentils are about done, toss in frozen corn to cook for the final few minutes.

When everything is cooked (hopefully ending approximately the same time): toss rice, lentils, corn, and kale together. Salt and Pepper to taste. Top with sliced avocado. Voilà!!

The Best Brussels Sprouts

Okay, so "best" is just my opinion, but I absolutely love this Brussels sprout recipe by Myra Kornfeld.  And even my father and other Brussels sprouts cynics have taken to this recipe so I think it's fairly universally popular.  And on top of that: it's pretty easy! YAY!

Ingredients

• 1 pound of Brussels sprouts
• 1 tablespoon butter or ghee
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Black pepper

This recipe is a steam-sauté recipe.  (Remember my Vegetable Steam-Sauté recipe?)

Directions

Trim the stems and chop the Brussels Sprouts in half. In a skillet, place the Brussels sprouts, butter/ghee, salt and just enough water to barely coat the bottom of skillet.  Put a lid on and turn the heat to medium.  Allow the Brussels sprouts to "steam" for 5-10 minutes or until MOSTLY cooked.  Then remove the lid, add the maple syrup and Dijon mustard and sauté for another 5-10 minutes until all of the water has evaporated and the Brussels sprouts are fully cooked through.  Top with pepper and serve!

*Myra Kornfeld has a similar version of this recipe in her book, The Healthy Hedonist, called Glazed Brussels Sprouts where she roasts the brussels sprouts first. You can try that as well.  Both versions are awesome.*

Roasted Cabbage

So simple.  So delicious.

All you do is chop up cabbage, brush it with coconut oil and top with sea salt and pepper.  Voilà! A simple vegetable side dish.  

As a plus, for those on a budget, cabbage happens to be one of the most affordable vegetables available. 

Ingredients

• 1 small cabbage or 1/2 of a large cabbage
• 2+ Tablespoons of melted coconut oil
• Sea salt and pepper

Remove the cabbage's core and chop cabbage into large pieces.  Place cabbage pieces on a rimmed cookie sheet.  Brush the cabbage with melted coconut oil.  Top with sea salt and pepper.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-40 minutes depending on desired crispiness.  Eat up!

Vegetarian Soup-Stew

I call this a "soup-stew" because it has the the thickness and heartiness somewhere in between a soup and a full-on stew.  This is one of my favorite soups.

I invented this soup out of what I had available in my pantry when I needed to make a vegetarian-friendly meal.  It was a big hit, but it can absolutely be modified to suit personal tastes. The measurements are all approximate and can be adjusted.

Ingredients

• 1 cup mushrooms chopped
• 1 whole onions chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 zucchini chopped
• 1 yellow squash chopped
• 1 large jar of diced tomatoes (jar rather than in a can preferred)
• 1 1/2 cups barley
• 3 cups chick peas (soaked)
• 4+ quarts of vegetable stock (or saved steamer liquid)
• 3 T butter
• Salt and Pepper

In the bottom of a large soup pot, sauté the onions in 2 T of butter until starting to brown.  Add the mushrooms, garlic, a pinch of salt and another T of butter and sauté until the onions have caramelized.  Add the vegetable stock, jar of tomatoes with juice, chick peas and barley. Bring to a boil and simmer for approximately 20-30 minutes.  Add the zucchini, another pinch of salt and some pepper.  Allow to simmer until everything appears cooked through (approximately 20 minutes). Taste, and add salt as needed.

Vegetable Steam-Sauté

This is my favorite way to make an awesome, nutrient dense, vegetable side dish.  You can use any vegetables that you want.  I typically include onions, garlic, some denser veggies (beets, squash, carrots etc), mushrooms and a green.  But this method can be used for any combination that suits your fancy.

The important part here is the process, not the actual ingredients. I recommend chopping all of your vegetables first.  Or at least chopping the vegetables that will need to go into the pan early.  Also, if using garlic, chop that immediately so that it has time to sit for 10 minutes.  This allows the the allinase and the alliin to react with one another and convert to the active allicin.  Allicin is the active ingredient in garlic responsible for its antibacterial, lipid-lowering, anti-oxidant properties.  Unfortunately, allicin is not present in fresh garlic, it must be crushed in order to cause the reaction.  You want to make sure this reaction has a chance to take place before it is cooked, or the heat will destroy this process.

Choose a large skillet with an accompanying lid.

Choose an oil that can take high heat, such as coconut oil, avocado oil, or ghee.

Have a quality sea salt on hand. 

Add approximately 1 T oil to the pan and heat on med-low.

If using onions, they will go in first and sauté until golden.

Then add the heavier, longer cooking vegetables (chopped), a large pinch of sea salt, and enough water to barely coat the bottom of the skillet.  Put the lid on, and allow the vegetables to "steam" for 5 minutes, or until mostly cooked through.

Prepare the next round of vegetables that will go in- shorter cooking vegetables such as mushrooms and garlic.  

After the vegetables are done steaming, remove the lid.  Add the next round of vegetables and another pinch of salt.  The water will evaporate and we will once again be sautéing the vegetables.  When all the vegetables are mostly done, add in the final batch of short cooking vegetables- probably greens.

Sauté for a few minutes until done, taste and salt as needed.

Option: if you want to give your steam-sauté a flair you can add additional sauces.  For example, I sometimes like to add coconut aminos for an asian flare. (Coconut aminos are a great substitute for soy sauce.)  Get creative and have fun.  This is a great way to cook almost any vegetable you may have at home!