Hash Brown Waffles! #vegan #WFPBNO #oilFree

Here's more fun with potatoes!

Peel and cut up some spuds. Boil them for 15 minutes in salt water. Add a little unsweetened almond milk, garlic salt, onion powder to taste. Mash it up, cook it in a non-stick waffle iron until the steam stops. Don't peek or it will fall apart.  BOOM!
Hash brown waffles😲

Black beans! #foodismedicine #healthfood

Just so we are clear, there is no paradox regarding the healthy nature of cooked black beans. They are among the healthiest foods anywhere and are an excellent source of iron, fiber and complete protein, meaning they contain all 9 of the essential amino acids.

Cooked Black Beans Recipe

1 lbs dry black beans

2 TBSP dried onion flakes

1 TBSP garlic salt

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP of lemon juice

Water to cover 2 inches above the beans.

Soak the beans in hot water for 1 hour. Drain and rinse thoroughly.

Put everything in your pressure cooker.

Set it for 1 hour on the beans setting. Let it vent naturally. Stir it up and serve hot or add to a salad.

I put it in the fridge overnight to absorb the liquids and reheat it or add it cold to a salad. Any way you serve them, they are high in iron, fiber and all 9 of the essential amino acids; the building blocks of protein.
As with all nutrients, it's not the amount of iron you eat but the amount you absorb. Heme iron, found in meat and blood, is better absorbed but it is also associated with higher risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and Type 2 Diabetes due to oxidation of cholesterol and formation of free radicals. Non-heme iron comes from plants and is not associated with the same increased risk.  Just like in green leafy vegetables, the acidic nature of vinegar and Vitamin C from citrus fruit increase iron absorption by 67%. 

"Fakin Bacon" Potato bacon strips #vegan #WFPBNO

I was playing around in the kitchen last night making some Cheese sauce and had a small pile of potato peels just begging me to do something with them. So I made these crispy strips.

Peel some redskin potatoes making the peel as long and wide as you can. Put the peels in water and set aside.
Use a mortar and pestle or small coffee grinder to crush half a teaspoon of fennel seeds and a 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper seeds. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt and 1/4 tsp of smoked paprika.  Add about 3 TBSP of water to make a paste.
Brush both sides of the peels with the past. Cook them in an air fryer at 400F for 40 minutes or lay them on parchment paper or aluminum foil and bake them in the oven or toaster oven at 375F for 30 minutes, flip them and bake for another 40 minutes until they are crispy.

Cheezy Sauce #WFPBNO #Vegan

Add roasted red peppers to make it cheddar 

(The Maize and Blue color is not a coincidence!)

Time for some All American comfort food.

How about some guilt free, vegan cheesy potatoes or macaroni and "cheese"? No cheese, oil or nuts involved. I really enjoyed making this. My kids even tried the macaroni. My daughter said it tastes like the famous brand name that comes in a box. That's pretty high praise!

For dinner tonight I had a salad with my

Cheezy Macaroni. Once on my plate, I seasoned it with my favorite Mediterranean spices and sea salt, sliced up some cherry tomatoes and wound up coming back for seconds.

Prep time:  15 minutes

Cooking time:  20 minutes

Total time:  35 minutes

Recipe

3 large redskin potatoes

6 TBSP Nutritional yeast

4 TBSP Tapioca flour

1 TBS lemon juice

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 tsp Tabasco 

1 TBSP salt

1/4 tsp Turmeric

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1 3/4 cups of starchy water from the boiled potatoes.

(Add roasted red peppers to the blender to give it the orange cheddar color)

Peel, cut up and boil the potatoes in at least 2 cups of water with the TBSP of salt. Save the starchy water.

Put 1 3/4 cups of the starchy water from the potatoes and everything else into your blender or food processor and puree it until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook it on medium low heat stirring constantly until it thickens (about 20 min).

Add a little more water if it's too thick. Let it cool allowing it to thicken a little more and serve warm.

Season with salt, pepper etc. to taste.

Enjoy!

Interviewed! Listen please...

I helped a nice lady get started living a healthy lifestyle.  It worked!  Results are typical and expected.  She did a phone interview with me and put it on her Podcast.  Hope you enjoy it.

http://www.empoweradio.com/home/m/podcasts/813821-Dream-Big-with-Jill-Jack.html

Oil free Hummus #WFPBNO #vegan

Oil Free Hummus

I was at the supermarket and try as I might to find one, there was no hummus available without processed oil.  So I made my own.

Here's the recipe:

2 cans of Chickpeas 

1 can of fava beans

3/4 cup of sesame seeds

4 cloves of garlic minced

juice of 1 large lemon

1 tsp cumin

2 T Bragg's Aminos (or lite soy sauce) 

2 T apple cider vinegar.

Put the sesame seeds in a non stick pan on low heat stirring occasionally until they start to brown. Same with the minced garlic. Drain and rinse the fava beans but include the aquafaba (bean water) with the chickpeas. Put everything in your blender and blend until smooth scraping down the sides as needed. Refrigerate before serving.

Breakfast!!! #WFPBNO #foodismedicine #eattolose

Breakfast time! I'm a creature of habit and have the same breakfast almost every day. The first meal of the day is just as important as any other so I make it count. Usually the morning is rushed and I don't always have my steelcut oats already to go. Instead I use quick oats loaded up with seeds, fruits and berries with a few spices to kick it up a notch. I buy the quick oats at the local bulk food store for about a dollar per pound. It's plenty of food to keep me happy until lunch and beyond.  Nutritionally, it's a sound foundation covering a daily dose of Omega 3's, fiber and phytonutrients with grains, fruits, berries, seeds and even nuts if you like. I'm less inclined to over do it with the nuts and seeds when I'm not using them as a snack food but rather as an ingredient in a meal. It's easy to make, takes just 5 minutes and totally delicious!!

Quick Oats Plus!

1 Cup Quick Oats

2 Cups hot water

2 T Milled Flaxseed

1/2 t Cinnamon

1/4 t Turmeric

1 Banana

1/2 Cup Blueberries

1/2 Cup Raspberries or other fruit

Optional - a palm full of crushed nuts

Mix together the top 5 ingredients and microwave for 30 sec. Top it with sliced banana, berries and crushed nuts. 

If it's too hot add some vanilla almond milk or non-dairy milk of your choice.