A place to share our "healthier"

hi, I dug up this old recipe for a vegan friend. Healthy and delicious!

Baked Stuffed Squash

3 acorn or other squash

½ tsp sea salt

3 Tbsp oil

1½ cup minced onion

1 cup sunflower seeds

¼ tsp each sage, thyme, and marjoram

2 Tbsp soy sauce

½ cup water

3 cups cooked rice OR 5 cups soft bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut squashes in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds* and stringy portion. Brush insides with a bit of oil, sprinkle with ¼ tsp salt, then place in a baking dish with ¼ inch water in the bottom. Set in oven to bake and prepare stuffing as follows: Place a large frying pan on medium heat and add 3 Tbsp oil. When oil is hot, add onion and stir for a few minutes until translucent. Add sunflower seeds and stir a minute more. Add ¼ tsp salt plus herbs and soy sauce, stir again, and add ½ cup water. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until liquid is almost gone. Add rice or bread crumbs and stir a few minutes more, mixing together well. When squashes have baked for 45 minutes-1 hour and are almost tender, fill each with stuffing and bake 10-15 minutes more. Serves four to six.

*Toasted squash or pumpkin seeds. Separate seeds from stringy portions and set out to dry for 1-2 days. Toast by stirring constantly for a few minutes in a lightly-oiled pan on medium-low. Add sea salt or soy sauce to taste. A tasty snack!

© 1979 Natural Recipes, Newton MA

Beet and Pear Salad with Walnuts and Goat Cheese

This is a beautiful beet and pear salad recipe. The deeply colored, sliced beets are topped with sweet pears, goat cheese and a simple walnut vinaigrette.

(note: I use Bragg's organic BraggBerry dressing instead of making my own.)

Prep Time: 15 minutes / Cook Time: 1 hour / Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Serves: 4 if served as the first course / 2 if served as the main course

Ingredients:

• 2 large red beets, stems trimmed, washed
• 1 ripe pear, cored, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup toasted walnut halves
• 2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp walnut oil
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups baby arugula leaves
• 4 oz goat cheese (I use the plain fresh goat cheese)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Wrap the beets in foil, place in a small baking dish, and bake for 1 hour, or until tender (test with a small knife). Allow to cool completely. When cool, scrape off the skin with a knife, and slice the beets as thin as possible; reserve.

Fan the beet slices on four chilled salad plates. Top with the sliced pear and walnuts. In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, olive oil and walnut oil. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Toss the arugula with a couple tablespoons of the dressing, and divide on top of each salad. Top each plate with the goat cheese (grate fine if using firm, aged goat cheese, or simply crumble if using soft goat cheese).

Drizzle each beet and pear salad with more of the dressing, serving any extra on the side. Serve immediately.

(Note: while the pre-arranged salad is pretty, I keep the ingredients separate as they stay fresher if we don't eat it up at one meal. I put out one bowl with the beets & pear slices, one with lettuce, one with toasted walnuts and one with goat cheese, and let people make their own salads.)

Seafood Chowder

8 servings

• 6 small potatoes, diced
• 4 medium carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 medium leeks, washed and sliced
• 2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 small bay leaves
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
• ½ pound cocktail shrimp, pre-cooked
• ½ pound cod, cut into bite-sized pieces
• ¼ pound fresh snow peas, cut into bite-sized pieces
• ¼ pound fresh crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons butter
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 cup half & half (can use whole milk for less fat but I wouldn't use 2% or skim)
• ¾ cup frozen corn kernels

Place potatoes, carrot, celery and leeks in a large pot. Cover with broth and bring to a boil. Add salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme and tomato. Simmer covered until veggies are tender, approx 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, sauté garlic briefly (30-40 seconds) in olive oil and butter. Watch closely, garlic burns easily. Add mushrooms and snow peas and sauté for 1 minute. Add seafood and wine and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the half & half. Pour this mixture into the soup pot with the cooked veggies. Add the corn, heat through and serve.

hi Ellyn, thanks. I'm always looking for healthier recipes with simple ingredients.

Pls share some of yours! Maybe we'll start a trend. :-)

This is my friend Suzanne's favorite thing to do with kale:

4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

1 bunch kale, stemmed and torn into bite size pieces

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tomato peeled and chopped

1 cup chickpeas

Basmati brown rice, cooked

Sauté the garlic in olive oil for a couple minutes (you could also add some onion here). Add the kale and stir until it starts to wilt. Dig a hole in the middle and put the tomato in there. Put a lid on it and let it cook until the tomato starts breaking down (5 minutes or so). Dig another hole in the middle and add the chickpeas and broth. Put the lid back on for and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until chickpeas are tender. Serve over basmati brown rice.

I hope you like it!

Polenta Tamale Pie

Tamale pie, made with a cornmeal mush crust, dates back to 1911. In this recipe, we use ready-made polenta packaged in a roll. The spicy beef filling takes advantage of the excellent bottled salsas and canned refried beans now on market shelves.

Yield: makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1½ Tablespoons chili powder

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1 16-oz bottle spicy salsa (I use medium)

1 16-oz can refried beans

1 14-oz can chicken broth

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 one-pound rolls prepared polenta, sliced into 1/3-inch-thick rounds

3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation: Sauté beef in heavy large pot over medium-high heat until no longer pink, breaking up meat with back of fork, about 3 minutes. Add chili powder and cumin, stir 1 minute. Add salsa, beans and broth. Simmer until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Mix in half of the cilantro, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Oil a 13x9x2 glass baking dish. Place half of the polenta in dish. Top with sauce and half of the cheese, then remaining polenta, cheese and cilantro. (Can be made a day ahead. Cover with foil and chill.)

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Bake freshly assembled pie, uncovered, until heated through and sauce bubbles, about 35 minutes. Or bake refrigerated pie, covered, for 20 minutes then uncover and bake until heated through, about 35 minutes.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/polenta-tamale-pie-102202

(Read the comments for tasty variations and ways to make it healthier.)

Toasted Israeli Couscous

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons lemon-flavored olive oil, plus more as needed
• 2 cups Israeli couscous *
• 1/4 cup shelled unsalted roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped **
• 2 1/4 cups hot water
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 6 dried Turkish apricots, chopped
• 2 scallions, sliced

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the couscous and pistachios and cook, stirring, until toasted and light golden brown, about 7 minutes. Add the water, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes.

Remove the lid, stir in the apricots and scallions, taste, and adjust the seasoning. Transfer the couscous to a serving bowl and serve warm with a little more lemon oil drizzled over the top, if desired. Makes 4 servings.

*(I use tri-color pearl couscous - naturally colored with spinach powder, tomato powder & annatto; makes a really pretty dish)

**(If nut allergies are an issue, pine nuts can be substituted)

I made some searches but couldn't find an answer but apologize if this has been asked before. Made smoothies quite a few years ago but never made any ahead of time. Do any of you know if you can make smoothies the night before then place in the refrigerator until the following day or maybe even two days later. Will they lose any nutrients by doing it that way. Thank you in advance.

Yes, Violetlady, they will lose nutrients, change in consistency and maybe less appealing. You could just portion the ingredients the night prior and make in a hurry. the next time. Anytime a food is chopped, cooked, exposed to O2 it looses some of it's nutrients. Freezing the mixture maybe an option, however. Freezing actually prevents nutrient loss in appropriate fruits and vegetables. You could make then freeze and re-pulse in the food processor/blender...perhaps worth a try. Happy experimenting.