Sprouted french petite lentils stew

Sprouted french petite lentil stew with brown rice and kale

Sprouted french petite lentils stew
I have to admit, the sprouting lentils is not exactly doing less, but really, lentils do all the job themselves. I just put them in the water and wash them once a day with cold tap water for couple of days. The lentils become a small discs with little tails. It is super food. Omit this part and cook the lentils without sprouting, if it is not fun for you. You might soak them for half an hour, but even this is not must.

Sprouted - can you see those little tails?

Ingredients

1 cup french petite lentils (or black beluga lentils), sprouted or soaked for at least 30 minutes
1 cup tomato sauce of your choice
sea salt (to taste)
cumin
turmeric
red chilli flakes
black pepper
kale chopped to your {child} liking (optional)

Method

Add lentils and 3 cups of water into pot and bring to boiling. Add tomato sauce, salt and spices. Boil until soft. It will be about 20 minutes if sprouted. Not sprouted might take about 10 minutes longer.



Serve alone or over rice/grains of your choice.

Watermelon popsicle

It can't get simpler than that.
Blended frozen watermelon.

Watermelon popsicle - no added sugar

Simple and refreshing.

Have more watermelon that your family can eat? Blend and freeze.

I used BPA free plastic molds and Vitamix blender.
Paper cups and wooden popsicle sticks will work well too.

How to steam asparagus?

Steamed asparagus and broccoli

Steamed asparagus is perfect just as it is and asparagus leftovers are such a great addition to lunchbox and to any other dish. I cut them to pieces and add to scrambled eggs. I use them as pizza topping. I add them to chicken soup.

Steamed asparagus

Ingredients

asparagus - about 1 pound
water

Tools

Steaming basket
Large pot or wok

Asparagus before steaming

Method

Wash asparagus. One by one bend the bottom part till it breaks and discard hard chewy ends. Place asparagus in the steaming basket. Fill water in pot or wok almost to the bottom of the steaming basket. Cover and bring to boiling. Steam for about 3-4 minutes depending on thickness, till asparagus softens a little. The asparagus will change it color from raw green to bright green.  Run under cold water to stop cooking. Serve with or without dressing of your choice or refrigerate for future use.



I

Packed for lunch - asparagus, beets and pineapple

Easy finger food - just hold and bite.

Baked whole cauliflower with sea salt

    Amazing look and taste. I saw those cauliflowers heads on the shelf of Israeli restaurant in Tel Aviv. It looked extraordinary. Heads of cauliflower lay one next to each other. Those cauliflower heads are what got my attention and brought me to this place at dinner time. I have enjoyed every bite and every moment. The atmosphere was fun and very unusual. Did it catch your interest? Here is the place - haMiznon. Try it. Trust me. If you are lucky - you might get a run of complimentary aromatic tea or spiced coffee, brewed for the crew and shared with everyone. Not in Tel-Aviv?  Here is how to make at home.

Baked cauliflower with sea salt and olive oil

 

Baked whole cauliflower

Ingredients
Whole fresh cauliflower
Olive oil, about 1 tablespoon
Sea salt, 1 teaspoon or to taste


Method
Preheat oven to 400F. In a large pot boil water enough to immerse cauliflower whole. Cut the bottom of the cauliflower so it will sit steady when placed on flat surface. You may choose to salt the water. When the water is boiling add cauliflower, cover and let it cook for 6-10 minutes, until it can be pierced with fork. Remove from water. Let the cauliflower sit on the counter for about 10 minutes, in order to cool down and dry out. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place on ovenproof dish or skillet and bake the cauliflower until golden brown, for about 10 minutes. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

     Cauliflower prepared this way is a kids favorite. My kids tear cauliflower florets apart and soon the whole thing disappears. I rarely have anything left to put in lunchboxes the next day. 

Surprise. With beets salad.

My son has surprised me. He came back from school and asked for beets salad for snack. He said "It was SOOOOO good. I ate everything in my lunchbox. Give me more."
I had kept my jaw from dropping down and served it to him. Like it was a bowl of strawberries.

"Here you go, dear."

What is this magical salad?

It is a short version of Russian "vinеgret" (винегрет), usually made from beets, carrots, potatoes, green peas, pickled cabbage and cucumbers, simply seasoned with sunflower oil and salt. This salad is often eaten during the Great Fast, important fasting season for Eastern Christianity, when almost only vegan food is allowed for 40 days.

Satisfying and filling, beet salad keeps well in refrigerator for few days, making it easy alternative for lunch box. Healthy and delicious.

Beet salad with pickles (винегрет)

Ingredients

Beets, 5-6 medium size, cooked and diced
pickled cabbage and/or cucumbers, about 1 cup
green peas, 1 cup, cooked (I used organic frozen peas, cooked according to package instructions)
scallions, 1/3 cup, cut small (may substitute with red or regular diced onions)
sunflower oil, unrefined, 1 tablespoon (may substitute with olive oil)
sea salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste

Method
Mix everything and serve.

Packed for lunch with pan fried wild salmon, steamed broccoli and yellow pepper

Variations
- this beets salad delicious served with tahini (sesame seeds) sauce.
- for traditional version, add 2 diced boiled potatoes and 1 carrot. Cook them in their skins.

Questions? Comments?

Making popsicles. With smoothie.

There are many recipes for smoothies. With yogurt or without. With green leaves or without. With milk or without. How to make it without stressing out?

Simplicity is the key. What works for me now is to make smoothie for breakfast with ingredients I have on hand. Overripe bananas, frozen blueberries, may be an apple that looks less then perfect, may be some kale or lettuce leaves.

Blueberry banana flax seeds smoothie in mason jars with reusable straws

Blueberry banana flaxseed smoothie + popsicles

Ingredients
frozen wild blueberries, 2-3 cups  (I move them night before to refrigerator, so the smoothie will be cold, but not freezing)
bananas, 2-3 ripe (sometimes I use frozen, if I don't have fresh)
flax seeds, 1/4 cup (any kind, you may soak them overnight to make nutrients more absorbent)
1/2 - 1 cup water
apple, 1 (optional)
green leaves, to your liking (optional)

Note: the quantities are approximate. Substitute for other berries or fruit on hand. As long as you put fruit and some water, the result will be a yummy smoothie.

Method
Put everything in a blender. Blend on high for 45-60 second using strong blender, like Vitamix or Blendtec. If using food processor, consider to omit flax seeds, since they wont be crushed.

Serve in glasses or mason jars with reusable straws. Mason jars allow easy storage of leftovers - just put the cover on. I use it later for snack time. My son loves reusable straw made of glass and my daughter prefer one made of stainless steal.

Blueberry smoothie in popsicle mold

Any leftovers?
Make a popsicle. Pour into popsicle mold (BPA free), cover and freeze. Perfect on a hot day!

Easy Indian style spinach with rice. In 20 minutes.

When I first tried Indian spinach and cheese dish (Palak Paneer) I was just amazed with the flavors. They were bright, bold and delicious. I immediately decided to learn how to make this spinach dish at home. It took me years of experimenting before I was able to make this dish super quick. It is not a traditional recipe, but tasty, quick and nutrient dense.

Looking to make healthy spinach meal at no time? See the shortcuts below.

Indian style spinach - before blending

There are few shortcuts to make the preparation super quick.

1.  Frozen spinach. While fresh spinach is the best in flavor and nutrition, I usually prefer frozen for cooked dishes. Frozen spinach saves a lot of time -  no washing, no cooking in batches to reduce volume. It is very convenient to have frozen spinach in freezer, as opposite to fresh, that should be used within few days. I buy organic and make sure there is always some in freezer.

2. Precooked onions. I make caramelized onions and refrigerate them for different uses. The upgrade any dish, from soup to fried egg.

3. Tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes. Instead of blended fresh tomato, I use few spoons of tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes. Depends what I have on hand.

4. Paneer cheese. I don't usually have paneer cheese on hand. I have found that this spinach recipe works well with no added cheese or with any other cheese. I tried feta cubes, grated Parmesan or mozzarella cubes. Some kinds of mozzarella melt really well in hot dish. My son enjoys the strings it creates when scooped.

5. Immersion blender. I can't recommend it enough. The reason I got it was Palak Paneer. Why? Immersion blender saves the following steps: cooling cooked spinach, transferring it to food processor and washing food processor. How long do all those steps take? 

Easy and quick Indian style spinach and cheese over rice (inspired by Palak Paneer)

Ingredients
spinach, frozen, 1 package (preferably organic)
onion, 1 carmelized or sauted
tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, 3 table spoons
garlic, 1 glove, finely minced (yo may use garlic press)
ginger, 1/8 inch slice, finely minced (you may use garlic press)
lemon juice, 1 tablespoon
cumin, groun 1/4 teaspoon
coriander, ground, 1/4 teaspoon
turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon
olive oil, 1-2 tablespoons or ghee (clarified butter, preferable grass fed)
asafoetida, pinch (optional)
chili flakes - to taste
salt

For serving - rice (basmati, brown), cheese (feta, mozzarella, parmesan).
Note: to make creamy, add about 1/2 cup of whole milk yogurt or sour cream.

Method
Put rice to cook, so it will be ready to serve with spinach. In large pot, boil 3 cups of water. When boiling, add spinach, garlic and ginger and cook on high heat for 2 minutes. Add rest of the ingredients. Using immersion blender, blend with few pulses to make rustic puree. Cook for 2 more minutes on low heat to let the flavors blend.

Serve hot over rice with cheese of your choice.  
You might want to garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

It was gone before I was ready with the camera to take the picture. What left? 

Indian style spinach and rice - eaten

For school lunch - I mix spinach and rice, add cheese and pack in thermoses. 

What shortcuts do you use in your cooking?

Blueberry apple jam. With frozen berries and orange zest.

Do you like blueberry jam?
It is easy and quick to make your own, using finest wild blueberries. Use frozen blueberries! They are cheaper then fresh and harvested at their best.

Blueberry jam ready, in cooking, ingredients combined

Ricotta cheese or plain yogurt served with this syrupy jam is a healthy comforting desert that your family can enjoy for snack, breakfast or lunch. Sometimes whole milk ricotta and blueberry jam is a fast lunch packed in thermos for school.


Frozen wild blueberry jam with apples and orange zest

Ingredients

blueberries, wild frozen - 5 cups
apples, 2 cut to small cubes (optional, can be substituted with pears or other fruit)
sugar, organic  - 1/2 cup
zest of one orange or lemon (go for organic to avoid pesticides )
sea salt, 1/2 tea spoon
lemon juice, from 1 small lemon

Method

Put everything in small pot and bring to boil. Cook on low heat for 20-30 minutes. You may cook it longer to reduce it to your liking. It will be easier to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches if you reduce it.

Note: due to low sugar content, this jam should be refrigerated.

Enjoy this wild blueberry jam with pancakes, waffles, ricotta, plain yogurt or cottage cheese.

Do you have other ideas on how to use those blueberries? Share in comments!

Almost no cooking lunch. With avocado.

Would you like to add more vegetables to your menu? Green vegetables?

Buckwheat with green peas, avocado, broccoli, snow pea, red peppers, blue corn chips

Here is an idea for healthy lunch, made with minimum preparations. Half of avocado, organic blue corn chips, sliced peppers, steamed broccoli and snow peas. To prevent browning, dunk avocado cut side down into lemon water for a few seconds. To make lemon water, squeeze few drops of lemon juice into 1/4 cup of cold water.

I had cooked buckwheat, so I quickly reheated it with frozen green peas, added unrefined sunflower oil and packed in thermos. Any other cooked grains work well too - quinoa, brown rice, barley or couscous. Or pasta.

Questions? Comments?

Pickled cabbage

Russian Sauerkraut (квашенная капуста)

Pickled cabbage is an excellent source of vitamin C. It is a fermented food and has active probiotic cultures to aid healthy digestion, similar to yogurt.  I love adding pickled cabbage to salads or to serve it as a small dish side. For me it is the easiest serving of vegetables available.

The recipe I provide here for pickled cabbage is for small jar, simple enough to prepare in 20 minutes. It is not a project that takes hours as when my parents made it. Sure, they prepared it to last for the entire winter in almost commercial amounts!

Packed cabbage in a jar; lemon squeezer; shredded cabbage and carrots mix

 

Pickled cabbage (Russian Sauerkraut)

Ingredients
cabbage 2 pounds
carrots, 2 small
sea salt, 20 grams (2% to the weight of vegetables) make sure salt has no additives, as they might interfere with fermentation process

3 days after
honey, 1/2 teaspoon (preferably raw)

Method
Wash cabbage head. Remove outer leaves and any damaged leaves. Using sharp knife or food processor, shred the cabbage. Shred the carrots. Mix cabbage and carrots together. Mix with salt and press with your hands to break and soften vegetables until small amount of juice is released.

Tip: Use small Mason jar to pack the cabbage using hand lemon squeezer.  The recipe is enough to fill 24 ounces canning jar. Put 1 cup of cabbage and carrot mix in and press it into bottom of the jar to pack tightly. Use lemon squeezer.  Continue with the same method, putting one cup of the mixture at the time till you fill the jar. There should be some juice on top. If the cabbage is relatively dry and there is no juice, cover with small amount of boiled and cooled water. Cover jar with paper towel and a rubber band and leave on counter for 3 days. After 3 days, take small amount of liquid with spoon, dissolve honey in it and return it back to jar. Place jar in refrigerator. Ready to eat after a week, best aged for 3 weeks.

For salad, my favorite combination is pickled cabbage, cooked beets, arugula and scallions, seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper.

For kids lunch, pack pickled cabbage as is or mix with cubes of cooked beets. Season with extra virgin olive oil or sunflower oil for better vitamins absorption.

Healthy chocolate balls. With dates, almonds and coconut.

Do you want something sweet and satisfying, yet healthy and delicious?
Make chocolate balls with almonds and dates.

Vegan and almost raw chocolate balls. Why almost? I am out of raw chocolate powder. I didn't let it stop me and used regular cacao powder instead. If you can get your hands on raw cacao powder, by all means go for it. It is an excellent source of manganese and iron.

I am happy when my children eat chocolate balls. The reason is that every ingredient is nutrition dense - soaked raw almonds, hemp seeds, unsweetened coconut, goji berries, dates, raw cacao. I serve them for snack and for breakfast.

Chocolate ball, covered, ingredients, chocolate date almonds mass

Raw chocolate snow balls

Ingredients

For 'dough':
almonds, raw - 1 cup
dates, pitted 1 - 1 1/2 cups (I used Medjool extra moist dates)
raisins, 1/3 cup
raw cacao powder,  2 table spoons
vanilla extract, few drops (optional)
shredded coconut, 1/3 cup 
goji berries, 2 table spoons 
raw shelled hemp seeds, 2 table spoons (optional)
cacao nibs, 1 table spoon (optional)

For coating:
1/2 cup  shredded coconut

Method

Soak nuts for 12-24 hours in cold water in refrigerator. Drain. Nuts can be kept for few days at this point.  Process nuts in food processor until coarse ground. If you process everything together, nut pieces will end up big and you will need to open food processor and move the dough closer to knife and operate it again. Add the rest of dough ingredients and process to sticky mass.  Put coconut for coating in a small bowl. Take small amount of dough and form it into bite size ball with your hands. 

Place balls, one at the time, into shredded coconut bowl and rotate it gently to cover in coconut. Do the same with the rest.

Enjoy or refrigerate. Chocolate balls will keep well for few days.

Served!

Another coating idea - use cocoa powder.

If you or your family member has a nut allergy or no nuts are allowed in lunch box sent to school - almonds in the recipe can be replaced with raw sunflower seeds. Use the same method to prepare, including soaking of the seeds for a shorter period of time. 5-6 hours is enough. 

Easy green beans. With soy sauce, garlic and curry.

How would you trim your green beans? With scissors! There is something meditative in taking one string at the time and cutting its tail. Green beans make fast and healthy Asian flavored side dish. 

Green beans, cooking; garlic and oil, getting ready with scissors

Curried green beans with soy and garlic


Ingredients

garlic, 2 gloves, minced
olive oil, 1/2 table spoon

chili flakes - 1/4 tables spoon or to taste (optional)

green beans, 1 pound, washed and trimmed

curry powder, 1/2 tea spoon or to taste
soy sauce, 1 tablespoon or to taste (tamari sauce can be substituted)
water, 1/4 cup or more
rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon or to taste (umeboshi or other vinegar can be substituted)
roasted sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon or to taste (optional)
no salt

Note: for gluten free, check labels

Method

Place garlic, oil and chili flakes on medium skillet and turn heat on low medium heat. Cook for about 30 seconds till fragrant. Add beans, curry powder, soy cause, water, vinegar and stir. Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes covered. Steam will cook the beans.

It is your choice to make beans crisp or soft. My family likes them on a softer side. If you prefer them softer, add splash of water, cover and cook for few more minutes. When done to your liking, turn off the heat, add sesame oil and mix.

Note, that if the beans remain in hot skillet, they are subject to heat and get softer.

Cooked!

Those green beans are great addition to lunch box, either cold, by themselves or warm, mixed with rice in a thermos.

Keeping it simple. With hummus.

How often do you ask yourself - does all this effort worth it?

Do I spend my time enjoying what I do or am I just making it complicated and myself overwhelmed?

This question is applicable to many ares of life, from choosing a daycare or a family vacation to selecting a recipe for weekday dinner or making a meal plan for a week. 

Some of the best meals are the simplest to prepare. Keeping it simple and pure can be quick and relaxing leaving more time for what is really important. Fresh vegetables are delicious and beautiful on their own. I often cut a variety of vegetables up in patterns - wedges, sticks, bites or wheels. My family loves them simply arranged on a plate. With hummus.

Hummus with cucumbers and carrots; gather it all together; ready to blend

There are many cut and serve vegetables. All of them will benefit your body and energize you.
Here are the most common ones that children and adults will enjoy in their lunchbox:

- cucumbers
- carrots
- bell peppers
- celery
- cabbage
- broccoli 
- beets
- radishes
- cauliflower
- lettuce
- tomatoes
- continue the list with whatever you like or want to try (jicama?)

A look in the fridge...  Moment of quick choice...  Sharp knife comes to action...
Half of the meal (or may be more) is ready in minutes.
How simple is that?

Hummus (Mediterranean chickpeas dip)

Ingredients
chickpeas, 1 can cooked - or you can choose to cook your own by soaking 3/4 cup dry chickpea beans overnight, boiling them for about 1 hour until soft, then straining them
1/4 cup of tahini (sesame paste)
1-2 cloves of fresh garlic
lemon juice of 1/2 lemon
water, 1-2 table spoons
spices to taste: salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander, chilies, paprika, etc
small bunch of parsley (optional)


Method
If using canned chickpeas - wash them in colander under running cold water.
Place all the ingredients in a food processor or a blender and puree them to a thick paste.
Taste the hummus to see if the consistency and spices are to your liking. If too thick add more water or lemon juice. Correct the seasoning if needed.

Eat!

To make it even simpler grab prepared hummus in the store. To make it all a nourishing vegan meal, you might add sprouted whole grain tortillas from a freezer section of your supermarket.

Only, but ONLY if you enjoy it and find that additional nutrition value will make your heart sing and your spirit elevate: 

Sprout chick peas for 24-72 hours. Small tails will show up. Sprouted chickpeas should be cooked for 1 hour. Add 2 inch square of kombu (dried sea weed) while cooking the chickpeas.
Blend cooked kombu into hummus together with other ingredients.

Great packed for lunch. 

One step at the time. With beets.

Would you like to make your child lunch healthier?

Simple and easy. Add one. Really, even one counts. One more fruit or vegetable. Simple as putting into lunch bag one extra box with cucumbers.

sliced cucumbers

What I really like to use is beets. Deep purple, they are warehouse of vitamins and antioxidants. Cooked beets keep well in the refrigerator. They are great addition to children lunchbox and to dinner. In this post I will share with you how I cook the beets, use them for kids lunch and prepare side salad for dinner. I will share my all times favorite recipe I learned from my parents, who in their turn learned it from their Georgian friend, Vahtang.

Cooked beets

Ingredients

beets, 4-6 medium or small (similar size to ensure equal cooking)

Method
Wash beets in cold water. Do not peal or cut.
Cover beets with water and boil for 40-60 minutes.
When you can pierce the beets easily with fork, the beets are ready.
Cooking longer makes beets softer.
I prefer them on harder side.
Cooked beets will keep will in refrigerator for 5 days.

To peel the beets, with your hands, squeeze the peel out. It will come out easily, similar to how hard cooked eggs are peeled.

peeling beet

To use for lunchbox, peel one at the time and cut to bite pieces.

Georgian garlicky beets salad with walnuts


Ingredients

beets, 4-6 cooked and grated
onion, 1 medium, fine diced
tomato puree, 1/2 cup
garlic, 3 gloves minced
olive oil, 2 tablespoons
salt, 1 teaspoon or to taste
black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon or to taste
chili flakes, 1/2 teaspoon or to taste
bay leaf, 1
walnuts, 1/2 cup, finely chopped (optional)

 Method

In a large skillet heat olive oil with chili flakes on medium heat for 30 seconds.
Add onion to the skillet and sauté for 5-8 minutes, until soft and slightly golden.
Turn the heat to medium low.
Add grated beets, tomato puree, bay leaf and sauté for 15 minutes more.
Add salt, black pepper, garlic and walnuts, if using and cook for 5 minutes for flavors to blend.
Chill and enjoy cold.

Georgian style cooked beet salad

What are your favorite fruits and vegetables?
What are unfamiliar ones you would like to try?

Serve cold or pack cold for lunch.

I invite you to share in comments.

Let's make a snack together! Banana bites with chocolate nut butter

For afternoon snack my little helper worked with me to assemble banana bites with chocolate hazelnut butter and hemp seed.

I have sliced the bananas length wise and spread natural chocolate nut butter on them. My daughter has sprinkled hemp seeds - working using small spoon first and then directly with her hands.

The result was eaten up immediately by her and her brother. For the second round, we have sliced banana crosswise.

Banana bites with chocolate and hemp seeds

Same great taste!