BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

I was a child of the 60’s and 70’s. A typical breakfast included a bowl full of one of the following - Wheaties, Captain Crunch, Honeycombs, Sugar Pops, Rice Crispies, Apple Jacks, Fruitloops and Trix. My siblings and I would fight over who got the prize inside. I am not sure when I grew out of sugary cereals but at some point I must have realized there was more to breakfast. Today my eating style is influenced by science, longevity research and sustainability. I know what makes me feel good and what heals my ailments. I also love, love, love my food to taste delicious so I try to create yummy variations using a diverse group of plants, fats, flavors and food groups. And when cycling season gets underway, I eat to sustain my energy levels as well as nutrient loading for joint health. My current Breakfast of Champions looks like this - a wholegrain bowl of superseeds, healthy fats and herbs to enhance digestion. This power breakfast is my all time favorite post- cycling fuel. By the way, you don’t need to be training for anything to eat this power bowl, it will also affect your brain and cholesterol levels positively, so it’s a great recipe for starting your day! This whole grain and seeded breakfast bowl includes a vegan source of omega 3-fatty acids, a good source of fat and a hint of cumin to aide your digestion.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Steel-Cut Oats

1 tablespoon each, Pumpkin Seeds, Hemp Hearts, Sunflower Seeds, Ground Flax Seed, Chia Seeds

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon Cumin

1 pinch Himalayan Pink Salt

PREPARE

Cook oats according to package, add toppings and enjoy.

Side note: Want a sweeter version, replace cumin with cinnamon and add your favorite seasonal fruit.

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!

Lentil Falafel for the Holidays?

LENTIL FALAFEL HAS OUR HEART

I don’t know about you, but I am always looking for new and interesting ways to please my small crowd and to date, this is our family’s favorite recipe; plant-based, savory comfort food at its best. I had the pleasure of receiving the base recipe for Lentil Falafel from my friend Sharon Matz, who learned it from her mother. I never imagined this would be a recipe that I would make time and again because it seemed too labor intensive.  But I have to tell you, it really isn’t a lot of work and the tahini dressing can be made ahead and the salad can be prepared while the falafel are frying. We have brought this into our monthly dinner menu rotation, sometimes twice per month. It is a meal that the whole family can get involved with, making patties, heating pita on the stove, drizzling the tahini, chopping vegetables.

This is my variation on Sharon’s recipe with just a few minor changes. I  use more parsley and I use coconut oil to fry. For gluten free options, replace wheat bread crumbs with Gluten free version which can be found at your local health food store or made from stale or toasted gluten free bread in the food processor.

About The Main Ingredient

Falafel are traditionally made with either fava beans or chick peas, but I have found that lentils are a perfect replacement for a lighter version of this traditional Jewish/Israeli comfort food.

Lentils are naturally high in fiber which make it a great anti-inflammatory food for most people and a great source of complex carbohydrate.  The reason I use lentils versus the traditional chick pea, is purely because my body digests these legumes more efficiently than chick peas. I have naturally chosen lentils as my legume of choice across the board. I have become obsessed with sporting them before cooking to enhance their digestibility, making them more nutrient dense. Can’t do beans? Try using raw, shredded sweet potatoes in place of lentils.  Let me know your favorite falafel ingredients, maybe we can have a party!?

FALAFEL

INGREDIENTS

1 cup green or brown lentils, soaked for at least 2 hours or over night.  

1 medium white onion, chopped

1-2 handfuls parsley leaves

½ - 1 teaspoon sea salt, start with less and add more  after testing the batter

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1-2 cloves garlic

Breadcrumbs, I like Ian’s Gluten Free Bread Crumbs

Pita bread

Oil for frying, I like using coconut oil

Pickles, for garnish

Prepare

Place lentils, garlic and onion in food processor.  Blend until mushy but do not liquify, should be lumpy, some lentils can remain whole. Add parsley, salt, pepper and cumin. Pulse until blended. Place batter into bowl and add breadcrumbs or matzo meal to bulk it up, about ¼ cup should do. Make flat patties with batter.  Fry in oil, until nicely brown.

SALAD

INGREDIENTS

1-2 ripe tomatoes, chopped

¼  red onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon parsley leaves, finely chopped

Pinch of salt

Juice from ½ lemon

1 tablespoon olive oil

PREPARE

Add ingredients to a small serving bowl, toss with lemon juice and olive oil

TAHINI DRESSING

INGREDIENTS

⅓  cup tahini

⅓  cup water

¼  cup lemon juice.

2 garlic cloves, chopped.

½  teaspoon salt

10 parsley leaves

PREPARE

Add all ingredients, except water to a food processor, while everything is processing, begin drizzling in water until you have the perfect consistency.

ASSEMBLING YOUR FALAFEL

Take a slice of pita and warm it directly on the stove burner, making sure not to burn it.  You can cut off the top and stuff your pita or just place the salad and falafel directly on top, drizzle with tahini, fold and eat.