Archive for Beans and Lentils

Mmm, Warm Delicious Chili

December 14, 2012 Anti-Inflammatory Life, Beans and Lentils, Raising Healthy Kids, Recipes, Recipes & Articles, Workout Fuel No comments
Leftover chili is perfect for lunch the next day!

Leftover chili is perfect for lunch the next day!

Last week a client mentioned she was trying to make a healthier version of chili. Then this morning a good friend asked for my White Chili Recipe. And last night I made chili in the slow cooker and my husband said, “Yah, this is pretty good!” So all signs point to warm delicious chili!

My White Turkey Chili uses turkey breast, white beans and green chilis. It is always a favorite, and friends and family frequently ask for the recipe.

The Chipolte Chili that we had last night was made pretty much on a whim. I threw it in the Crock Pot in about 5 minutes yesterday morning and viola! Delicious and ridiculously easy to make from staple pantry items.

Chipolte Chili (Crock-Pot)

  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • 1/4 tablespoon dried chipolte chilis (it is worth the effort to get chipolte chili; I LOVE its smokey flavor)chipolte chili
  • 1 (15 oz) can black beans
  • 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans
  • 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, organic
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 2 tablespoons flour (I used GF brown rice flour)
  1. Chop onion and mince garlic. I use pre-minced garlic that is stored in the refrigerator for occasions like this. It’s a super fast way to add a punch of flavor.
  2. Place onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, chilis, black beans, pinto beans and diced tomatoes in the Crock Pot (or large saucepan). Don’t drain the beans.
  3. Measure 1 cup broth in a 2 cup measuring cup. Whisk 2 tablespoons flour into the broth.
  4. Pour broth into the Crockpot. Mix it all up. Cook on low heat for 6 hours. If cooking on the stove, bring chili to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

I added some leftover shredded chicken and 2 gluten-free nitrate-free chicken sausages to the chili after it was done cooking. If I didn’t have these precooked options, I could have added diced chicken before cooking. Add any type of protein you like-grass-fed ground beef, chicken, turkey, tempeh or keep it a bean chili.

Curried Quinoa Salad & Fast Lentil Salad

October 8, 2012 Anti-Inflammatory Life, Beans and Lentils, Eat Your Veggies!, Fertility Foods, Great Grains, Raising Healthy Kids, Recipes, Recipes & Articles, Super Snacks, Weight Loss, Workout Fuel 4 comments

For those of you that follow my blog, you may have been wondering “where is Hana?” Without realizing it, I haven’t posted anything new and exciting for almost 4 weeks! There has been a lot going on. I have taken on a new volunteer position with the Southern Arizona Celiac Support Group. I am now serving as the President of the Medical Advisory Board. With this position I will be working to improve awareness of celiac disease and enhance access to good medical care for those with celiac in Tucson. At the UA, I have been vigorously organizing the UA Food Day Fair. Mark October 24th on your calendar and make your way to the UA Mall to celebrate healthy and sustainable foods!

And on the home-front, my sister got married! Her wedding was beautiful and lots and lots of fun. We got to enjoy family that came for the wedding weekend and we were lucky to have our Oregon fam stay through last week! Yay cousins!!

We have been busy on all fronts, and then our fridge broke! For some reason it’s just freezing everything.

So last week when I had a presentation on the Anti-Inflammatory Diet, I sort freaked out and almost threw in the towel on doing a food demo and taste testing. But, I prevailed by modifying a couple anti-inflammatory salads that I have made in the past. A few short cuts and viola! Two delicious and anti-inflammatory salads to share with you. So no excuses! If I could pull this off, you can too. Trust me, healthy food is within your reach!

A plant-based diet that is high in antioxidants and fiber is the foundation of an anti-inflammatory diet. That’s why these two salads incorporate color, crunch, spice, intact grains and legumes. These can be side salads or main dishes, depending on your nutritional needs and the ratios of each ingredient.

Curried Quinoa Salad

  • 1 1/2 cups quinoa*
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1/2 tablespoon ginger
  • Chopped walnuts, about 3/4 cup*
  • Chopped cilantro, about 1/2 bunch, optional
  • Apples, organic, about 2, diced
  • Frozen shelled edamame, organic, about 3/4 cup
  • Extra virgin olive oil, about 2 tablespoons
  • Apple cider vinegar, about 2 tablespoons
  1. Bring the water to a boil. When boiling, add quinoa and spices. This will make more than you need for this recipe. Save half in a glass container and freeze for future use.
  2. While the quinoa cooks, chop the walnuts and cilantro and dice the apples.
  3. Use about half of the the cooked quinoa, and mix with walnuts, cilantro, apple and edamame in a large mixing bowl.
  4. Drizzle the salad with olive oil and vinegar. Taste and season appropriately.

Use more or less of each of the ingredients to meet your own tastes and needs. Every ingredient in this salad will have an anti-inflammatory affect, and that makes this dish pretty amazing and super delicious! The combination of the spicy curry and sweet apples is surprising; when a coworker tasted it, she said, “whoa, there’s a lot happening in my mouth right now!” She’d never tried quinoa before and she loved this dish.

Fast Lentil Salad

Lentils are a great source of plant-based protein. Frozen veggies and store-bought vinaigrette means this can be done quickly and easily.

  • 1 block extra firm tofu, organic
  • Brianna’s French Vinaigrette
  • 1 can lentils
  • 1 small bag frozen peas and carrots
  • 1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
  • Oregano, garlic powder and thyme
  1. Cube the extra firm tofu and place in an air-tight container. Cover with vinaigrette and store in the fridge. Marinate at least 4 hours.
  2. Drain and rinse the lentils.
  3. Mix the lentils, frozen peas and carrots, and chopped parsley in a large mixing bowl.
  4. Add the marinated tofu and vinaigrette.
  5. Season with dried herbs and garlic powder.

Make ahead tips: On the weekend before my Friday presentation, I cooked the quinoa and marinated the tofu. On Wednesday night I made the quinoa salad and on Friday morning I put together the lentils.

NOTE: For those that follow my blog, to better meet the needs of those with celiac and gluten-sensitivity, I am changing the format of how I indicate which ingredients need to be gluten-free. I will be identifying the ingredients that need to be confirmed gluten-free for those with celiac with an asterisk.

*For those with celiac, ensure that this ingredient is gluten-free and from a gluten-free facility or is certified gluten-free.

Another Quickie: Quinoa with Wild Salmon and Oregano Zucchini

August 27, 2012 A New You, Anti-Inflammatory Life, Beans and Lentils, Eat Your Veggies!, Fantastic Fish, Fertility Foods, Great Grains, Raising Healthy Kids, Recipes, Recipes & Articles, Weigh Loss, Workout Fuel No comments

That’s right, a salmon and quinoa dinner made in under 20 minutes. And with just 6 ingredients! Three power foods, prepared fast, tasty and easy; This meal is also easily adjusted to your own personal needs.

  • 2 zucchini
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • Earthly Choice Easy Quinoa
  • Canned wild salmon, boneless and skinless
  • 1/2 can white beans
  1. Boil water and quinoa according to package directions.
  2. While quinoa cooks, dice and sauté zucchini in olive oil.
  3. Sprinkle zucchini with oregano.
  4. Drain canned white beans and canned wild salmon.
  5. When quinoa is cooked, mix quinoa, zucchini, salmon and beans together.
  6. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
  7. Serve 1 1/2 cups with a colorful salad.

Balance Your Own Plate

One of my favorite concepts for healthy eating is to balance your plate. Fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables and the other half with high-fiber carbohydrate and healthy protein or fat.

To balance my plate I served this Quinoa, Salmon and Oregano Zucchini with an arugula and tomato salad because this recipe is a bit light on veggies. If you’d like this to be a stand alone meal or if you are trying to eat more vegetables or if you are trying to lose weight, use 3 zucchinis and add 2 bell peppers. If you are eating a higher protein and lower carbohydrate diet, use more vegetables and 2 cans of salmon. If you are active and eating a higher carbohydrate diet, use the whole can of white beans. By increasing and decreasing the different components of this meal, you can adjust it to meet your own nutritional needs.

Nutrition Details

Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan (use tofu cubes instead of salmon)

Dinner in Under 30

August 22, 2012 A New You, Anti-Inflammatory Life, Beans and Lentils, Eat Your Veggies!, Fertility Foods, Great Grains, Nutrition Notes, Raising Healthy Kids, Recipes, Recipes & Articles 3 comments

Kirkland Organic No-Salt Seasoning blend was an impulse buy last time we were in CostCo. Organic-good. No Salt-wonderful. Seasoning blend-gluten free? Yes, it’s gluten free! All this means that this Seasoning blend is a super-fast, delicious short cut that I look forward to using!

Here’s an example of a very easy, totally balanced dinner that I got on the table in 20 minutes. Granted I was able to do this because my freezer was stocked with frozen pre-cooked Millet Tabouli, but anyone can pull this off with minimal forward thinking if you have a few convenience items in your pantry or freezer.

  1. Seasoned Chicken: Sprinkle boneless, skinless chicken breasts with Kirkland Organic No-Salt Seasoning blend. Place in a preheated large skillet and cook about 6 minutes on each side until the juices run clear when poked with a fork. While the chicken cooks, get the vegetables and grain cooking. For a vegan dinner consider organic extra-firm tofu rather than chicken.
  2. Steamed and Seasoned Broccoli: Cut broccoli into florets. Place in a large glass bowl and add about 1/4 cup water. Steam in the microwave until broccoli is softened. Sprinkle with Seasoning blend if desired.
  3. Whole Grain: Defrost and reheat frozen Millet Tabouli, frozen cooked quinoa or frozen cooked brown rice that you’ve made or Rice Expressions. Each time I cook brown rice, quinoa, millet, pasta, lentils or beans, I try to freeze some for later use. If you don’t have any frozen grain, use canned black beans or Seeds of Change ready-to-heat n’ eat brown rice and quinoa blend. You could also use frozen butternut squash cubes.
  4. And ta-da! You are done. Enjoy!

This dinner made me realize the benefits of being in the kitchen regularly. Because I cook on a regular basis, I always have some vegetable that is ready to be cooked, some frozen grains or canned beans available and we generally keep a stock of organic chicken breasts in our freezer. With just a few staple items I can put together a fast, quick, easy and delicious dinner in less than 30 minutes!

Nutty Smoothie

July 12, 2012 A New You, Anti-Inflammatory Life, Beans and Lentils, Fertility Foods, Raising Healthy Kids, Recipes, Recipes & Articles, Super Snacks, Workout Fuel No comments

Creamy and delicious!

Looking for a higher protein option for a quick breakfast? Striving for diet that is higher in protein is a good idea for people trying to lose weight, those who have PCOS and those who are trying to gain muscle. For many people it’s difficult to find whole foods to meet their protein needs.

Avoid protein powders and protein bars by eating more unprocessed protein rich foods. A few weeks ago I was working with a client who is trying to lose weight before an IVF cycle later this year, so we started talking about tofu in smoothies rather than protein powder. This High Protein Fruit Smoothie, which is a combo of frozen fruit and tofu, didn’t quite have the ratio of carbohdyrate to protein that we were looking for, so I advised her to increase the amount of tofu or to add cottage cheese to her smoothie.

The next day, I made this smoothie and I thought it was great! Dan thought it was too light and fluffy. Which is encouraging given that the smoothie contains a whopping 25 grams of protein!  Adjust the ice and amount of almond milk depending on the kind of smoothie you like.

Can Your Taste Buds Change?

When I first made the smoothie, I thought “this needs some honey”, but I am committed to trying to avoid added sugar, and so I restrained myself. When I made it a second time, again without sugar, it was amazing! The second time I made it, the smoothie tasted “just right”. It’s pea-nutty, and pea-nutty doesn’thave to be sweet. Let your taste-buds experience something different and you will be surprised at how adaptable they are!

Nutty Peanut Butter Smoothie

  • 7 ounces extra firm organic tofu
  • 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
  • 1/2 -3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1-2 handfuls ice
Place ingredients in blender and process until smooth.

Makes 2 meal-replacement smoothie or 4 accompaniment or snack smoothies

Nutrition Details:

Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan

Meal-size: 459 calories, 37 grams fat, 7.5 grams saturated fat, 353 mg sodium, 15 grams carbohydrate, 5 grams fiber, 6 grams natural sugar, 25 grams protein

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