The Chef and The Dietitian - Episode 38 - Cucumber Peanut Salad

Five ingredients in five minutes and you can have this spicy, yet cool, and crunchy salad!

Vindaloo Veggies with Wild Rice - Jon and Julieanna in the kitchen

Easy, delicious, fast!

Recipe:

Bag frozen organic veggie mix
Basu's Homestyle Vegan Vindaloo Sauce

Saute in a pan together for a few minutes...

Add about 2 cups cooked rice (we used a mix of wild and brown rice)

By the way..did you know that wild rice is not rice? It is a grass! And SOOO delicious! My favorite whole grain!

Let simmer for a few more minutes...

Voila! Presto! Dinner is served...could it be any easier???

Enjoy! Cheers!

Pineapple Aloha Rice

A luau in a bowl...have a happy, healthy Hawaiian dish that satisfies the pickiest of eaters and nourishes your body from within. In less than 15 minutes, you can have this delicious, nutrient-packed meal that makes you feel like you are on vacation in Hawaii!

Recipe:


1/2 cup light coconut milk

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup carrots, chopped

3/4 bunch celery, chopped

1 medium red pepper, chopped



Saute for about 5 minutes (until vegetables have softened)



add:

4 cups brown rice, cooked (I used microwaved frozen brown rice)

1.5 cups pineapple, chopped

3/4 cups macadamia nuts, chopped

few cranks of black pepper

pinch of sea salt

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce



Mix, blend, and let simmer for a few minutes. Enjoy! Serves 2-4 people!

Alooooooha!

Nori Edamame Salad with Miso Sauce

I wanted to call this salad a "Sushi Salad", but Jon insisted that sushi implied fish and he didn't want to mislead our viewers to think we were veganizing a recipe. Our goal together is to bring healthy meal ideas to everyone and to not discriminate against omnivores. I completely concur...my goal as a Plant-Based Dietitian is to help everyone get healthy, no matter where they are on the omnivore to vegan spectrum. Thus, after playing with ideas for names including "Un-Sushi Salad", "Sumo Salad" and "Sayonara Salad, we decided to go with the obvious and to just name the unique ingredients...hence the title. Regardless, this is my new favorite salad and I cannot wait to eat it again.

It was a crazy experiement that ended up successful. I simply combined nori (seaweed sheets used to wrap sushi in that is FILLED with hard-to-find minerals like calcium, iron and iodine), salad mix (bagged for convenience with lettuce, carrots and red cabbage), shelled edamame, matchstick cucumbers, avocado and pickled ginger. I topped it off my tossing the mix in a store-bought miso dressing. YUM! I cannot recommend this salad enough. I guarantee you will love it and so will your body!

Domo arigato and sayonara!!!

Pasta fa' Julieanna

When the moon hits the sky like a big pizza pie...it's Pasta fa' Julieanna...

Last minute quick fix for pasta lovers...my problem is that I can't just eat one portion! Herb-y and balsamic-y...this dish is a real treat! Plus, we have our greens, so all is well with the world even when indulging in pasta. Just make sure to use a whole grain version so you get the fiber!

Recipe:

Boil water and add: 1 12 oz package whole grain pasta

While it is cooking, mix the following ingredients into a large bowl:
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh basil
1 tsp dried (or 1 Tbsp fresh) oregano
1 tsp dried (or 1 Tbsp fresh) rosemary
pinch or 2 of sea salt
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup (reduced) balsamic vinegar

About 1-2 minutes before the pasta is complete, add 2 cups (or more if you dare) fresh chopped spinach into the boiling pasta and water pot.

Drain and combine into the pre-made sauce. Stir well and enjoy!

Buon appetito! Ciao!

Japanoodles!!!

One of my favorite cuisines is Japanese. I spent a couple weeks in Japan touring with a play I was in as a teenager and could not stop eating throughout the trip! The flavors of miso, rice vinegar, tamari, sesame, garlic and ginger are tantalizing to the tastebuds and the dishes are typically low-fat and plant-rich. I try and emulate the flavors in my kitchen as often as possible. I made Japanoodles!!! in a way to be able to incorporate more greens into your meals since it is the most important food group. Click here to learn why greens can save your life.

Japanoodles!!! is a very simple and is one of the simplest meals to make, requiring only a few ingredients and a couple of steps.

1 package rice noodles

2 Tbsp miso paste (any type)

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 1/2 tsp Gomashio (optional)

4 cups mixed greens (any or all of the following: collards, chard, spinach, kale, dandelion greens)

Directions:

Boil 4 cups water

Once boiling, add whole package of rice noodles

In a medium to large bowl, smash together the miso paste, garlic and gomashio

When the noodles are almost ready (usually 3-5 minutes into cooking), add greens into the boiling water/noodle mixture

After 2-3 more minutes, drain noodle/greens mixture

Add to sauce

Serves 2-4. Enjoy! Domo arigato!

For more information on eating healthy, see my website here.

Bean, Baby Bean Chili! Jon and Julieanna in the Kitchen

This is one of the simplest, heartiest meals that can be whipped up very easily, with minimal work. Plus, it is loaded with antioxidants (tons of various carotenoids which are great for heart and eye health and cancer protection), fiber, vitamins and minerals. Another benefit is that it lasts for days in the refrigerator which means tasty and quick leftovers. Jon Ham was able to learn about the beautiful rainbows of color found in nature and he was (fortunately) pleasantly surprised!

The chili can be eaten alone or with a chunk of cornbread, whole grain rolls, or on brown rice.

Recipe:
~1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 large onion, chopped
2 (red) bell peppers, chopped
1 bunch of (rainbow-colored) carrots, sliced

Let this simmer for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
Then add:
1 can pinto beans
2 cans kidney beans
2 cans black beans
1 can garbanzo beans
~1.5 cups frozen (or canned) corn
~1 Tbsp Chili Powder
~1 Tbsp smoked chipotle powder (optional)
1.5 cups mushrooms, chopped
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 small can green chillies
1 28 oz. can chopped tomatoes
~2 more cups vegetable broth

Let simmer for about 30-40 minutes. Enjoy!

Mardi Gras Red Beans and Rice...Vegified & Nutrified!

It is Mardi Gras time again and this year we are going to take a traditional Louisiana dish- Red Beans and Rice- and we are going to veg-ify and nutr-ify it. Instead of using the traditional ham hock and bacon grease, great sources of saturated fat and cholesterol, I have created a low fat version that is filled with flavor and texture.

Here is the recipe:

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 cup vegetable broth

4 carrots, sliced

2 bell peppers, chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped


Saute these together in the vegetable broth until the veggies soften and onions become translucent. Then add the following:


2 cans red kidney beans

1 Tbsp Cajun/Creole Spice blend (contains pepper, thyme, paprika, etc.)

1 Tbsp hot sauce of your choice (optional)

1 Serrano chili, chopped

1 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley (or 1 tsp dried)

Mix together and let simmer for 3-5 minutes, until all the flavors blend. Place on a bed of brown rice and enjoy. It serves about 2-4, depending on hunger level :)!


It is a Mardi Gras party of color, texture and flavor...delish! The recipe is filled with fiber, protein, vitamin C, vitamin A, and a concoction of phytonutrients that will leave you satisfied and boosted with an antioxidant boost!

Quirky Quinoa

I love quinoa. It is a supergrain that is versatile, delicious, and easy to use. Quinoa is an ancient grain that was once considered gold by the Incas because of its superior nutrient value. It is a complete protein (rare in the plant world for a single food) and, specifically, it is high in lysine, an amino acid that is less common in grains. Quinoa is also high in minerals such as manganese, magnesium, iron and phosphorus as well as fiber. Truly one of nature's superfood.

Jon and Cari Ham had come up with this recipe and I was eager to try it. Overall the recipe is low in calories, but very high in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. In other words, it meets my criteria for a perfect meal, where there is a lot of nutritional buck!

Here is the recipe:

1/2 cup rinsed quinoa

1 can chopped tomatoes with sauce

1-2 serrano peppers, chopped

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed

Add this to 1.5 cups boiling water. Let simmer for 10-12 minutes. Then add the following:

1 cup pre-cooked rice

tsp minced garlic

1 green and 1 red bell peppers (or 2 of one color), chopped

1 cup chopped broccoli

Let simmer for another 10 minutes, before the vegetables get soft. Add hot sauce if you desire some extra heat.

Plate it and enjoy. Serves 2 hungry or 4 not-so hungry. Enjoy!

Vegan Mattar "Paneer" Masala

This was our third recipe using Basu's Homestyle Vegan Indian Sauces. This particular sauce was a Masala sauce and was incredibly well-spiced. I wanted to make a veganized Mattar "Paneer" dish.

We pressed the tofu beforehand by drying the extra-firm block really well and squeezing it between two paper towels with our hands. Then we cut it into paneer-like mini-rectangles and sauteed them in a wok with vegetable broth until they browned slightly. Then we added a can of chopped tomatoes and a bag of organic frozen peas. We let that simmer for a few minutes. Finally, we added the Basu Masala Sauce and let it heat up for a minute. And, voila! We had an incredibly flavorful, savory meal in less than 10 minutes. The pressed tofu really tasted like paneer and I am thrilled to be able to eat one of my all-time favorite Indian dishes again, but veganized and health-ified!!!