PLANT BASED LASAGNA with KALE CASHEW RICOTTA

When the nights are cold and the days are short, cozy up to a nutrient dense, flavorful, one pot-meal that can feed an army. I have a love/hate relationship with lasagna. I absolutely love it, but my belly hates it. When I figured out that I couldn’t tolerate dairy and wheat, a few years back, I began recreating my favorite comfort meals without them. I think I finally figured out the consistency and ingredient mix in this recipe. Happily, the careful look at how food can poison and cure us, I was able to take the time to figure out what works and what doesn’t for my body. I can now tolerate these foods occasionally, but honestly, I don’t really miss them. Figuring out inflammation for me was a rewarding journey. I have gotten back to loving food rather than dreading stomach aches and skin problems, not to mention joint pain. When you listen to your body and become adept at understanding the signals, you learn the benefits of seeing it as a feedback loop, the microcosm of our internal systems reflects the macrocosm of this planet. Eat with the seasons, eat real food, eat plants, be happy.

INGREDIENTS

LASAGNA

1 butternut squash or 2 sweet potatoes, Sliced thin

1 zucchini Squash, sliced thin

1 white onion, sliced into thin rounds

1-2 russet potatoes, sliced into thin rounds

1 lb spinach, sautéed with garlic

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup vegan mozzarella, Myokos or Parmela brands are my favorite and have real food ingredients

24 ouches Marinara Sauce, make your owner make it easy and use Rao’s Brand, there is nothing that compares, except maybe your Gand mother’s sauce

Salt

Pepper

1/2 lb Shitake mushrooms, sautéed until well done, optional topping for a heartier, wintery dish.

KALE/CASHEW RICOTTA

1 bunch kale, stems removed

1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for 1 hour

2 garlic cloves

Juice from 1/2 lemon

PREPARE

RICOTTA

Soak cashews ahead of time for one hour. Set a large pot with about an inch or 2 of water on the stove and bring to boil. Once the water is boiling, add the kale, cover and let blanch for 1 minute. Strain excess water and rinse with cold water. Using a food processor, add the juice of 1/2 lemon, 2 garlic cloves, 1 generous pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast, blanched kale and soaked cashews, pulse for about a minute or more until you have a ricotta like consistency. You may have to scrape down the sides of the container and pulse a few times to get the right texture. It should be light and fluffy and slightly sticky. This will be the glue for the lasagna.

LASAGNA

This all works very quickly if you have a mandolin slicer, if not, then turn on some music and get slicing. Organize the vegetables their own separate piles for easy assembly. Using a pat of your favorite veg based oil/butter sautée spinach with a teaspoon of oil and 1 clove of minced garlic until wilted, strain off the liquid and set aside.

Take 2 - 3 tablespoons of marinara and coat the bottom of your lasagna pan, then start with your sweet potatoes or butternut squash and layer the vegetables so that the pan is covered. Next,add a few dollops of the cashew ricotta and then another layer vegetables, this time, perhaps the white potatoes which takes the place of the noodles. Then add a pinch of salt and pepper and a layer marinara, in the middle, layer your spinach and just keep repeating different layers like so - Marinara, sweet potatoes, ricotta, potatoes, salt, pepper, marinara, vegan mozzarella, zucchini, onion, salt pepper, marinara, Repeat 2-3 times depending on the depth and shape of your pan. Once you get the top, place the rest of your marinara, ricotta and a handful of vegan mozzarella. Preheat the Oven to 350, cover and bake for 1 hour. Add sautéed shitakes for a heartier meal with a healthy dose of protein.

Let me know how it goes! This is definitely a show stopper and your guests will not believe it is plant-based!

The Ultimate Green Juice - A Spring Cleanse Elixir That Can Help Reduce Inflammation

Every Spring I am ready to ramp up my metabolism with a daily dose of greens.  Whether I drink them, stew them, saute them or eat them raw, it is a craving that arises when the weather begins to shift from cold and damp to that nice light crisp 70 degree, sunshine filled day.  It took awhile this year, but I think the seasonal shift is fully upon us.

Spring is a time of rejuvenation, nature is in her birth cycle.  It is the perfect time to focus on detoxification and healing through self-care. In Chinese medicine, spring is the time of the liver and gallbladder organs, making this cleansing time even more valuable. The liver is not only the body’s major detoxification organ, it also happens to be the great regulator of the emotions according to ancient tradition. When we commit to self-care and self-preservation through detoxification, the liver is able to refresh, soften and come alive, much the way a naked tree awakens and blossoms as the weather warms.

Take advantage of these energetics and start each day with a meaningful end to your overnight fast.  I love juicing this time of year because I feel like it sets me up to make the best choices for my body throughout the rest of the day!  So dust off the juicer, keep it in sight for the next month and haul your body over to the farmers market and get those greens! All greens are your friend this time of year and will help you to combat inflammation which naturally rises during the long winter months. As we lighten up the diet, eat and drink more greens, their bitter nature has the power to clean our joints.

INGREDIENTS

3-4 romaine leaves

1-2 bok choy leaves and stems

1 handful spinach

1 small cucumber

1 green apple

1 stalk celery

1 kale leaf

1 small handful parsley leaves and stems

1 lemon, skin removed

1-2 inch piece of ginger (optional, but recommend if weather is cool and joints are swollen)

PREPARATION

Add ingredients, one at a time, into your juicer and drink up. If you don't have a juicer you can add 1 cup of purified water to a high powered blender like a vitamix and blend all the ingredients until smooth.  I recommend removing the celery threads (requires a bit of patience) and the kale stem.  Blend the leaves first and then add in everything else.

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SHOPPING LIST:

romaine, bok choy, spinach, cucumber, green apple, celery, kale leaf, parsley, lemon, ginger (optional, but recommended if weather is cool and joints are aching).

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