West African Lentil Okra Stew

Another FAST and tasty recipe from the vegan cookbook Eat for Health by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. It is very filling, and the okra adds great flavor! Note the number of servings - this is a great soup to make for guests. Otherwise, freeze the leftovers.

Serves: 8
Prep Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups red lentils (I just use regular lentils from the average grocery store)
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1/2 c. smooth, natural, no-salt peanut butter at room temperature
• 4 T Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest (I use Vogue VegeBase instead)
• 4 c. carrot juice (I use tomato juice, as pure as I can find)
  
• 2 cups frozen chopped onion (to save time; but I usually just chop a fresh onion since that's cheaper)
• 16 oz. frozen okra, thawed and cut in half crosswise (um, I just buy frozen okra that's already chopped and throw it in the pot, still frozen)
• 16 oz. frozen chopped kale or collard greens (I use frozen chopped spinach since it's easier to find - although the kale and collard greens have a higher nutrient density, so they would make the soup more "filling")
• 1 15-oz. can whole no-salt crushed or chopped tomatoes
• 1 medium sweet potato, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 3 tsp chili powder
• Pinch cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS
In large saucepan (HA! more like "super-large cooking pot"), simmer red lentils in 3 cups of water for 15 minutes.

In mixing bowl, whisk tomato paste, peanut butter, VegiZest, and carrot juice [or various substitutes], then add to simmering lentils. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Uncover and simmer another 20 minutes.

One serving contains:
[Remember, this is an ENTREE soup, hence the higher numbers] Calories 413.6, Protein 23g, Carbohydrate 65.2, Fat 9.5g, Sodium 137.9mg

Walnut-Pear Green Salad

This salad is like a gourmet salad one would order at a restaurant. I know I say "YUM" all the time on these recipe posts, but it IS good, and I am picky about what salad I like! The recipe is from Eat for Health by Joel Fuhrman.

Serves: 2
Prep Time: 10 min.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 ounces (about 8 cups) baby salad mix [I get a big box of spring greens]
• 2 ounces (about 2 cups) arugula or watercress [I skip these since they're expensive and just add more of the other greens ALTHOUGH watercress is very nutrient dense and thus very filling]
• 1 pear, grated
• 1/4 cup currants (raisins)
• 1/4 cup walnuts, crushed or chopped
• 2 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman's D'Anjou Pear Vinegar or balsamic vinegar [I just use white balsamic pear-infused vinegar that can be found at Publix]
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 pears, peeled and sliced
  
• 1/4 cup walnut halves (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Combine greens with grated pear, currants, and walnuts.

Toss with vinegar and olive oil. Top with sliced pears and, if desired, walnut halves.

One serving* contains:
Calories 145.9; protein 1.6g; carbohydrate 35.5g; fat 1.3g; sodium 4.6mg

*That is, provided you use the arugula/watercress...

Egg-Sausage (Breakfast) Casserole

My MIL got this from a magazine several years ago. Great for feeding company on Christmas morning! And it doubles easily.

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb mild ground sausage
1 lb hot ground sausage
1 30-oz bag of frozen shredded hash browns
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp pepper
1 c shredded cheddar cheese (or more!)
6 large eggs
2 c milk (at least 2% or higher - anything less will make it too runny)

DIRECTIONS:
Cook/brown sausage until it crumbles. Drain fat.

Prepare hash browns according to package directions. Add 1/2 tsp of salt and the pepper.

Stir together hash browns, cheese, and sausage.

(NOTE: The above steps could be done the night before to save time in the morning.)

Pour sausage mixture into greased 9x13 pan.

Whip milk, eggs, and 1 tsp salt together. Pour over sausage mixture in pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Then watch as your guests or family scarfs it up!

(And I can't resist saying, that subject-verb agreement there at the end IS correct....)

Vegetable Garbonzo Wrap

What a blah name for a great meal! I instantly became addicted to this. It was pretty easy to prepare and DELISH! Not to mention healthy, incredibly filling, and yummy. Recipe from Eat For Health by Joel Fuhrman.

Serves: 4 (so the book says, but we got 6-7 wraps out of it; probably depends on how large your wraps are - we just used large tortillas rather than huge wraps)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 large tomato, chopped
1 avocado, chopped (I used to hate avocadoes; I'm now a convert!)
1 cucumber, chopped
4 leaves romaine lettuce, shredded
1 15-oz. can garbonzo beans (low or no salt), drained and mashed (though I didn't mash them)
2 T fruit-flavored vinegar (I used 3T because the flavor was so faint; I think I used a pomegranate or blueberry vinegar)
4 whole grain tortillas (again, we used large ones, but not "wraps")
1/2 T raw sesame tahini (I didn't measure, I just slathered it on)

Directions:
1. Chop vegetables
2. Toss vegetables with garbonzo beans and vinegar
3. Warm a whole grain tortilla, spread a thin coating (I did thick!) of tahini on it, and roll with the vegetable/bean mixture.
4. ENJOY THE DELICIOUSNESS!

If you want to make these for lunch the next day, obviously you can skip the "warm tortillas" step. I went ahead and made the leftover veg mixture into more wraps for lunches. You'll need to use saran/cling wrap to keep it together instead of a sealed bag. (Think of how Moe's wraps their stuff.)

One serving contains:
Calories 555.8; Protein 20.7g; Carbohydrate 84.8g; Fat 16.9g; Sodium 364.4mg
And before you go thinking, "holy cats that is a ton of calories/protein/etc." remember that (1) this is VERY filling - you eat one or two of these and you'll be stuffed and not eat anything else for a LONG time, and (2) the only processed part of this meal is the tortillas. It's HEALTHY and pure, for heaven's sake!