Connect With Us
Recipes
Quinoa & Vegetable Stir-Fry
2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (see Tip)
1 onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 yellow summer squash, sliced
1 fistful of slender asparagus or green beans, trimmed, sliced
1 Japanese eggplant, (small eggplants are way less bitter) peeled, sliced into bite size pieces
1 bell pepper, red, yellow, orange, or green, cored, sliced
2 cups baby bella mushrooms, trimmed, halved
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil, to taste
sea salt and ground pepper
herbs, to taste, parsely, basil, thyme, red pepper flakes- whatever you prefer
Instructions
1. Make your quinoa the easy way, in a rice cooker. You'll need roughly 2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa. As it cooks, gather and cut up your summer vegetables.
2. When the quinoa is almost done, heat a splash of light olive oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, stir until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the remaining vegetables. Season with sea salt, pepper, and herbs. Add the balsamic vinegar. Stir-fry until tender.
3. Scoop the cooked quinoa out of the rice cooker and add it into the wok. Stir to combine with the vegetables. Taste test and add more salt or seasoning if it needs it. Remove from heat. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and toss to fluff.
4. Serve immediately; or allow it to cool, then cover and refrigerate it to eat as a salad. Before serving it cold, taste test again and adjust seasonings.
Tip
1 cup of dried quinoa will cook up to be about 3 cups. Rinse the quinoa well under cold water and drain. Put the rinsed quinoa into a saucepan and add 2 cups of cold water. Cover and bring to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, and set the lid just ajar, to prevent boiling over. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. If the quinoa is tender but there’s excess water in the bottom of the saucepan just leave the lid off completely for a few minutes until the water evaporates. When done turn off the heat, put the lid on and let sit for about 5 minutes. Use a fork to fluff up the quinoa and serve.
Black Bean Veggie Burgers
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 egg
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1 tsp Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
1/2 C bread crumbs
Directions
1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6. If grilling, place patties on foil and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet and bake about 10 minutes on each side.
Banana Bread
Ingredients:
2 mashed bananas
1 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup sugar
1 dash salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg
2 tablespoons nonfat milk
¾ cup white flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
chocolate chips (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° and spray two mini-baking pans with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place all ingredients but flour in a medium-sized mixing bowl and gently mix by hand until smooth.
3. Add in flour to wet ingredients.
4. Cook about 20 minutes - or until golden brown.
Lemon-Garlic Shrimp and Vegetables
Ingredients:
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 large red bell peppers, diced
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon salt, divided
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound raw shrimp, (26-30 per pound), peeled and deveined
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Directions:
1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, asparagus, lemon zest and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to soften, about 6 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl; cover to keep warm.
2. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add shrimp and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk broth and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth and add to the pan along with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until the sauce has thickened slightly and the shrimp are pink and just cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat. Stir in lemon juice and parsley. Serve the shrimp and sauce over the vegetables.
Sweet Potato Hash
Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato, wash and dice into small cubes (1/4” square)
2 tbsp canola or coconut oil
2 cups sweet onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 green pepper, coarsely chopped
1 whole fresh jalapeño pepper, minced (remove seeds for less heat)
2 cloves of roasted garlic
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp fresh group pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Directions:
1. Bring large pot of water to a boil and add diced sweet potato. Boil for 5-8 minutes, until potato cubes are cooked through. Drain the water and set the sweet potato cubes aside to dry while you cook the pepper and onions.
2. Preheat a large cast iron skillet to medium heat. Drizzle 1 tbsp of oil onto the skillet and add the onion and peppers. Stir often and sauté until the onion becomes translucent.
3. Scrape the mixture onto a plate. Drizzle the skillet with oil again and add the potato cubes, onions, peppers, roasted garlic, salt, pepper, and seasoning, arranging them in a single layer. Continue cooking until the sweet potato, onion, and peppers have browned.
4. Portion onto a plate and serve.
Sweet Tuna Salad
Ingredients:
1 can tuna in water, drained
3-4 tablespoon sweet relish
2 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon honey mustard
Salt and pepper
Optional add-ins: onions, baby carrots, cucumbers, celery, corn, dried cranberries, or chopped grapes
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix together and enjoy on top of a bed of lettuce, in a sandwich or pita, or scooped up with your favorite whole-grain crackers.
Chicken-Broccoli Couscous
Ingredients:
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 10 ounce box couscous
1 onion, finely chopped
1 head broccoli, broken into small florets
½ cup raisins
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Directions:
1. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook, turning once, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a work surface, let cool, then shred; reserve the skillet.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring 2 cups chicken broth and 1 tablespoon olive oil to a boil; season with salt and pepper. Add the couscous, cover and remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. In the reserved skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and the remaining 1 cup chicken broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken, raisins, parsley and couscous; season with salt and pepper.
3. Toss with the almonds before serving.
Apple Crisp Recipe
Ingredients:
3 medium baking apples, cored, sliced thin
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp flour
Topping
4 low sugar maple and brown sugar oatmeal packets
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp heart-healthy margarine
Directions:
1. Mix first four ingredients and place into 9-inch (square or round) baking dish.
2. In small bowl, mix Topping ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle topping over the apples.
3. Bake at 325 degrees until apples are soft and topping is golden brown (about 30 minutes).