Spring Green Risotto

I love risotto's, they are creamy and comforting. This risotto is great for taking advantage of the fresh spring ingredients popping up. It had asparagus, peas, garlic and mushrooms. The key for this meal I have found is to save the rind from a parmesan or other hard cheese and let it cook in the risotto the whole time - Yum!

Start by chopping your veggies: aspargaus, mushrooms, onion, garlic

Bring a pot of 6 cups of broth (bouillon and water) to boil, turn to low and simmer.
Saute your mushrooms and onion in 1 Tb oil and 1 Tb butter, once they cook down a little add the garlic and arborio rice.

Add 1/3 cup of white wine. Slowly add 2/3 cup of broth at a time into the rice mixture stirring constantly. Wait until the broth is absorbed before adding more. Once it has a heartier consistency add the parmesan rind.


Add the peas and asparagus about 7 minutes before your done, about 2 ladlefuls left of broth. Throw in a Tb of lemon juice at the end and top with parmesan and fresh ground black pepper!

Spicy Kale, Lentils and Sweet Potatoes

This was a what's left in the fridge at the end of the week meal..
I had more kale, a sweet potato, some carrots and a habanero. I always have onion, lentils, garlic as well.

This meal was spicy!!!!:
Saute half an onion,  2 diced carrots, and two chopped sweet potato. Add in minced garlic, a habanero pepper (as much as you can handle - I used a whole one with all the seeds, again this was spicy!), chopped kale and a cup of lentils.

Add in 2 cups of broth and let it simmer for 45 minutes until sweet potatoes and lentils are cooked - enjoy!!

Kale, Beets and Quinoa

Another kale recipe! I love this stuff and there are so many ways to prepare it. I also love beets, not the kind you buy in a can but fresh beets baked in the oven with orange juice and red wine vinegar - yum!

 This meal is pretty simple. Cut the greens off of the beets and leave about 1-2 inches of stem still on the beet. Scrub them with a vegetable brush and place in a baking dish.

Pour 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/4 cup red wine vinegar over them. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, wash and chop the kale.

Saute it with onion and garlic until cooked through - about 10 minutes. Add in peeled chopped beets, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Serve over quinoa.

Collard Greens, Quinoa, and Roasted Carrots

I received more collard greens from a friend! I think this may be the last batch so I wanted to try something a little different. This is recipe is a little tangy sweet - love it! The balsamic vinegar tied together with the quinoa and roasted carrots perfectly.

Saute 1/4 onion in canola oil. Add 1/2 cup water, 3 Tb of balsamic vinegar, 2 Tb honey, 1 tsp fresh grated ginger and 2 Tb butter.

Once the mixture is simmering slowly add in 1 1/2 lbs chopped collard greens. Cook covered for roughly 40 minutes on low.

Cook 1 1/2 cups of quinoa in 3 cups of water for 15-20 minutes. Once it has absorbed all of the liquid and is fluffy add in 1 Tb olive oil and 1-2 Tb balsamic vinegar.

I chopped 12 carrots and drizzled with olive oil on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 40 min until golden, you may need to move them around half way through. I wish I would have made more these were so good!

Enjoy!

Green Bean, Red Pepper and Tempeh Salad

Quick side salad:
Chop 1 red bell pepper, crumble up one package of tempeh (soy crumbles) and saute together.

Add in 2 cups of frozen or fresh green beans.

 When everything is lightly browned add 2 Tb of balsamic vinegar and 1 Tb olive oil. Enjoy!

Zucchini Fritters

We served this with the Green Bean Salad, but it was still not a lot of calories so you may want to serve it with fish or something else on the side. These would be great to have at a party as well.

The zucchini fritters are fried, but that's most of the fat you're going to get in the whole meal.
For the fritters grate 4-5 small zucchini,

add 1 egg and 1 cup of flour (chickpea flour gives it a good flavor) and combine.

Drop spoonfuls in 1 inch of hot canola oil for 2 minutes on each side.

You can serve this with a red pepper relish, salsa or what we did tonight which was a simple honey-mustard.

YUM!!

Kale and Adzuki Beans

If you're ready to branch off from the same old kidney and black beans, adzuki beans are a great! This recipe is super simple and packed with flavor, it has a very different flavor profile than anything else I've had.

I prepared my adzuki beans the night before by rinsing, boiling and letting soak overnight before putting them in the crockpot with water to cook during the day:

 

Chop 3-4 garlic cloves and set aside, chop up a bunch of kale and set aside. 

For the sauce, mix together 1/4 c low sodium soy (we use tamari), 1 tsp cumin, 1tsp ground coriander.

Saute the garlic in a large pan in 1 Tb olive oil for 1-2 minutes. Add in the sauce and beans and mix together. Add the kale in slowly and stir until wilted and well combined - 10-15 minutes.

Serve over basmati rice and enjoy!