Here are some Health and Time-Saving tips for preparing your food:
- Plan your meals in advance
- Organize your food stock
- Shop intentionally, based on what you need (never shop when hungry!)
- Prepare your meals at a set time and efficiently
- Fresh produce is superior to frozen which is superior to canned
- Buy grains and beans in bulk. Share with a neighbour.
- Keep meals simple, do not overuse spices and use little salt, preferably mineral sea salt, tamari or seaweeds.
- Use low heat enamel, cast iron and stainless steel cookware (never aluminum).
- The best oils for cooking are ghee and coconut oil. Olive oil in moderation at lower temperatures.
- Remember that high heat, boiling in excess water for a long time and exposure to air are the three greatest robbers of nutrients.
- Keep the house full of healthy snacks, i.e. seeds, nuts fruits and vegetables to avoid junk food.
- Plant a garden or join a communal garden.
- Buy from local farm stands; get to know who grows your food.
- Participate in a produce box program.
- Buy fresh, seasonally and locally produced food.
- Join a local food co-operative.
- Buy low on the food chain, i.e. foods as close to their natural whole form as possible.
- Read Colleen Huber's article "How to Cook Whole Food from Scratch... and Keep Your Day Job!"
Fat free Banana Muffins from Eva Cabaca
- 2 cups barley and rice flour (half and half)
- ¼ cup sorghum or maple syrup
- 8 whole dates, cut in small pieces
- 4 medium ripe bananas
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp pure baking soda OR
- 1 tsp baking powder
Mash the bananas in a medium bowl and add syrup and dates. Add all spices and salt and mix well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease the muffin tin. Measure the flours into a separate bowl and mix in the baking powder/soda. Very gently stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Spoon the batter immediately into the muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes or until done. A knife or a toothpick stuck in the center of the muffin will come out clean when done.
Apple and Carrot Cake by Eva Cabaca
- 1 cup oat bran
- 1 cup barley flour
- 2 medium apples
- 2 medium carrots
- ½ cup sucanat/maple syrup
- ½ cup organic raisins
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 50ml olive oil
- ½ lemon
- 1 tsp pure baking soda
Preheat oven to 350F and grease a small spring cake form. Measure the flour and bran into a bowl, and mix in the baking soda. Finely grate apples, carrots and lemon peel directly into the bowl (or use a food processor: you should yield 2 cups of packed apple-carrot mixture). Squeeze in lemon juice, add sucanat, rinsed raisins and walnut pieces and mix lightly but thoroughly. Pour the batter into the form immediately after mixing and bake 45 minutes or until done.
Flax Snax by Rachel Houle
- ½ cup tahini
- ½ cup ground flaxseeds
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup cocoa or carob powder
- ½ cup sesame seeds and/or unsweetened coconut
- ½ cup protein powder
In a small bowl mash together tahini and ground flaxseeds. In another bowl, mix maple syrup, protein powder and carob powder. Add tahini/flax mix to other ingredients. Form into small balls and roll in sesame seeds or coconut. Place on tray and freeze 2 hours. Serve chilled but not frozen. Serves: 6.
Suggestion: serve with apple slices.
Tip: Use only freshly ground flaxseeds as their oils are sensitive and spoil easily.
Basic Warming Kichadi
Serves 2-3 Spring. Fall Winter Prep time 2 hours
From -Vata, _+ Pitta, -Kapha Amadea Morningstar’s Ayurvedic Cookbook
- ½ cup basmati rice
- ½ cup split mung beans
- 6 cups water
- 1 T ghee
- 1t cumin seeds
- 1/8 t hing
- 1 t coriander seeds
- ½ t cardamom
- 1 t black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 more T ghee
- ½ t cinnamon
- ½ t grd cloves
- 1 t turmeric
- ½ t rock salt
- 1 T fresh ginger root, grated
- 1/2 sm. onion, chopped
- 1-2 cloves garlic, optional
- ½ t grd cumin
- 2-4 cups fresh vegs, chopped
- 2 more cups water, as needed
Easy to make! Wash the rice and split mung beans until the rinse water runs clear. Warm a T of ghee in a medium saucepan and add the whole cumin seeds and hing. Lightly brown them. Add the rice, mung and water and bring to a boil. Cook for about 45 mins. Warm the last 2 T of ghee in a small skillet. Add the coriander, cardamom, peppercorns and bay leaf and sauté for 2-3 mins. Then stir in the rest of the spices and the onion (and garlic). Put the sautéed spices in the blender w with a little water and grind well. Pour this spice mix into the rice and mung. Rinse out the blender with the last 2 cups of water and add it to the kichadi as well. Add the vegs. Cook for 20 mins or more.
Cabbage and Potatoes in Mustard Sauce – Lorna Sass
- 1 Tbsp roasted garlic or plain olive oil
- 1 cup thinly sliced leeks or coarsely chopped onions
- 1 ½ cups water
- Approximately 1 heaping Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsps instant vegetable stock powder low salt variety OR
a mixed herb blend such as Vogel’s
- ¼ to ½ tsp sea salt
- ¾ pound red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed an cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 head green cabbage (about one pound)
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute the leeks for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add the water and stir in 1 Tbsp mustard, the stock powder and salt. Bring to a boil. Add the potatoes, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking, cut the cabbage into wedges and slice off any hard core. Cut the wedges crosswise into slices about 1 inch thick.
Stir the cabbage into the potatoes. Add 1/3 cup of water if the mixture seems dry. Cover and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are fork-tender and the cabbage is tender with just a slight crunch, 9-12 minutes. Add a bit more mustard, if needed and pepper to taste. Delicious! Makes 3 servings.
Sweet Potato- Apple Cookies
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ½ cup barley flour
- ½ cup sunflower seed meal or almond meal
- 2 Tbsp ghee or olive oil
- ¼ cup apple butter
- ¾ cup cooked and mashed sweet potato
- 2 Tbsps sucanat or maple syrup
- ¼ cup currants or chopped raisins
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Mix all ingredients in a bowl, shape cookies and lay them on a baking sheet greased with ghee. Bake at 300 F for 20-30 minutes (lower temperature is gentler on the fats naturally occurring in the grain, especially if fresh ground). Keep your cookies within reach!
Tabouleh by Jill Hillhouse
- 1 cup pure water
- ½ cup quinoa
- 1 ½ cup shopped tomatoes or 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- ½ cup diced celery
- 1 bunch fresh Italian parsley, very finely chopped
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro, very finely chopped
- 1 tsp. dry oregano (or 1 Tbsp fresh)
- ¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped (or 2 Tbsp dry)
- ¼ cup fresh chives, finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp+ cold-pressed olive oil
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Sea salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Thoroughly rinse the quinoa. Cook quinoa in water (2:1 ratio). Set aside to cool. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Serves 4-6 as salad.
Plain Indian Cabbage – Ayurvedic Cookbook
From -Vata, _+ Pitta, -Kapha Amadea Morningstar’s Ayurvedic Cookbook
- 1 medium cabbage
- 1-2 tablespoons high oleic (i.e. ok for high temperatures) sunflower oil (or ghee)
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp whole cumin seeds
- 1/8 tsp hing (asafetida)
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 ½ tsp coriander powder
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
- ¼ green pepper, chopped (optional)
Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Wash and chop cabbage into small (1.2 inch) shreds. Heat oil in large heavy skillet, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and hing. When mustard seeds pop, add turmeric, cabbage and remaining ingredients, except honey. Cook 5-10 minutes, stir in honey (if you are using it) after taking cabbage off heat. Serve.
Great with any soup, grain etc.
How to make Ghee (clarified butter)
Widely used in Indian cooking and does not cause typical dairy allergenic reactions because water, dairy and impurities are boiled away. Use only unsalted organic butter. Cook on low for 20-30 minutes watching and listening carefully. When the ghee stops making crackling sounds its ready. Grab it quickly before it burns. Some practitioners skim off the foam on top while others hold it has medicinal value. This keeps well in or out of the fridge. Variation: cooking with a whole clove or two for a slightly different flavour.
