I’ve been told this is the best smoothie I’ve ever made! This ended up being dinner for my 4 year old the other night. After making 3 different dinners trying to get him to eat something (I know they say not to do that but I kept thinking he had to be starving, and I [...]

I first made this about a year ago, just after I bought Laurie David’s The Family Dinner, Great Ways to Connect With Your Kids One Meal at a Time (which is now one of my favorite cookbooks!) This recipe is from the book, which I highly recommend because it offers so much more than recipes. [...]

It was one of those nights when I came home starving and without a plan for dinner.  The last thing I felt like doing was shopping, and I was too impatient to wait for take out.  I had some things in the fridge and really wanted to use them up.  So, I  made this without [...]

I love this recipe.  I just made it tonight.  I happened to have a bag of pre-shredded cabbage from Trader Joes and wanted to use it up.  In the past I’ve used whole cabbages and if you get a small one it takes no time to slice yourself if you have a good sharp knife.  [...]

I love quinoa! I love it so much that I hardly ever even do anything interesting to it, I love it the way it is, just plain cooked quinoa. For a while there I was really into it, eating it with almost every single meal. My favorite way was with steamed or sauteed kale, and [...]

I finally found a tofu recipe that everyone likes and that you can’t screw up! I found it in the Kripalu Cookbook. You don’t need to cook the tofu, so it’s quick and easy to make, and it tastes so good even my 6 year old likes it. The last time I made it it, [...]

Raw foods and/or greens do not have to be boring! How you “dress” your food is so important, it can make or break a dish. I love dressings on quinoa, veggies, greens, as a dip, or even a spread. There’s usually some oil in dressings, which provides some healthy fat, and you can even blend [...]

Honey Lemon Dressing 1/3 c Olive oil 2 tbsp Honey 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 clove garlic minced or pressed As long as you can press or really mince the garlic, shaking it up good in a jar works well with this dressing.

1/2 Cup freshly squeezed orange juice 1/3 c Olive or flax oil 2T sweet white miso In a blender liquefy all ingredients. Base will last up to a week in the fridge. Makes 6 servings You can add these vegetables to make several variations: 1 red bell pepper chopped and 2T fresh dill 3 T [...]

4 T Lemon juice 1/3 c Flax oil 1 clove Garlic pressed or minced You could blend this one or just shake it up good in a tight jar. This dressing will last for a few days in the refrigerator.

1/3 c Sesame oil ½ inch piece Grated ginger 2 tbs Mirin cooking wine 3 tbs Rice wine vinegar 1-2 cloves Garlic minced, or pressed Salt Put all ingredients in a tight fitted jar and shake well. This dressing will last for a few days in the refrigerator.

1 ½ cups chopped scallions ¾ cup canola oil 2 tablespoons umeboshi vinegar ½ cup water In a blender or food processor, combine all of the ingredients and blend until moderately smooth. You can refrigerate this dressing until you are ready to use it. As long as you cover it it can be stored for [...]

I’ve been making this extremely fiber rich smoothie for breakfast lately. Many of us don’t get enough fiber. Fiber is so important because it helps keep your bowels moving regularly (a good thing, right?), lowers blood cholesterol and helps with losing weight. That’s why I wanted to share this breakfast smoothie, since it’s a quick [...]

I’ve been whipping up smoothies all week since I last posted, experimenting with all kinds of greens and fruits, mixing and concocting and blending and drinking. I basically throw in whatever fresh greens or fruit I have around. A banana or apple is great to add just enough sweetness to cut the bitter “green” taste, [...]

When I bought the book Baby Greens: A Live Food Approach for Children of All Ages by Michaela Lynn and Michael Chrisemer, N.C., I was looking for some good ways to get more vegetables into my kids’ diet. They seemed to prefer raw veggies as opposed to cooked anyway. So far this is the first [...]

Garlic-Chili Flax Chips By now you know fruit and cut up vegetables are healthy snacks. But what about when only the crunchy, salty, tangy taste of a chip will do satisfy your craving?  As a crunchy food lover, I know the importance of a good chip and dip!  The thing is, unless you are really [...]

I found this delicious recipe when I was searching for a really great way to prepare watercress. Watercress is high in calcium, beta carotene and is known for it’s cleansing properties. This recipe is taken from one of my favorite cookbooks, Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen, by Anna Lappe and Bryant Terry. Preparation [...]

I doctored this recipe up from a few other recipes that I had tried. It’s nutritious (ground flax seeds provide much needed omega-3 oils!) and absolutely delicious…moist, sweet but not too sugary, with full banana flavor. Plus, I love that it’s easy- only 1 bowl and no mixer! You could add nuts, chocolate chips or [...]

Hoppin’ John Black Eyed Peas Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 50 minutes Yields: 4-6 servings Ingredients: * 1 cup black eyed peas, soaked 6-8 hours * 4 cups water * 1inch piece kombu * 1 onion * 1 red or yellow bell pepper * 4 cloves garlic * 1 bay leaf * 1 teaspoon [...]

Soft Polenta I love this with thick vegetarian stews, such as the Winter Portobello Mushroom Stew. It’s very easy, and this technique produces a nice soft polenta without requiring a lot of constant attention. For a richer polenta, replace all or half the water with milk. 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to taste 2 cups coarse [...]

I made this filling, rich, delicious stew with the Mushroom Stock, but you could also use water if time is an issue. It’s great on a cold night and I really liked it with the soft polenta, but you could also serve it with rice, noodles or mashed potatoes. Even my meat loving husband loved [...]

Tempeh is a traditional Indonesian food made by splitting, cooking and fermenting soybeans. It has a high and easily digestible protein content, and is an energy building food. Tempeh also contains Omega 3 essential fatty acids. You should never eat tempeh raw, but you can cook it any way you would meat; steam, grill, fry, [...]

Walnuts are an amazing food! They are the only nuts that contain Omega 3 oils, and they help to reduce pain and inflammation. They also contain fair amounts of protein, zinc, calcium and potassium. This delicious raw pesto sauce can be used in several ways: over pasta, as a dip for veggies or crackers, or [...]

I know, I know…. this recipe is so simple and easy it seems silly to even publish it. But every time I make this for my friends they can’t believe I hardly even did anything to the squash to make it taste so good. Squash has a sweet flavor, is rich in vitamin A, and [...]

This scrumptious salad is fabulous and so easy to make. The ingredients can be found all year round, and it’s a great dish to bring to a party since it needs no refrigeration. You could serve it with greens or as a side dish, or eat it by itself.  It’s sweet, savory, crunchy and juicy [...]

Kale and Quinoa I love this combination of greens and whole grains, which is why I put them together as one recipe. Quinoa (pronounced “KEEN-wa”) is actually an ancient grain from South America, and is very nutrient dense. It’s a great source of iron, phosphrous, B vitamins, and vitamin E, AND it has a very [...]

Easy Homemade Almond “Milk” I created this one morning when I was out of soymilk for my cereal, but it would make a refreshing milk replacement drink anytime. 1 tbsp Almond Butter ¼ tsp alcohol free vanilla extract 1 inch piece of frozen banana 2 ice cubes 1 tsp agave nectar 1 ½ cups filtered [...]

Watermelon-Grapefruit Electrolyte Drink This drink is a delicious way to hydrate in the summer heat. Both watermelon and grapefruit are very cooling fruits in nature so this drink can be a good alternative to commercial electrolyte drinks that contain lots of high fructose corn syrup or artificial colors and flavorings. Grapefruit is great for digestion [...]

Butternut squash is a rich source of immune-boosting vitamin A. This surprisingly tasty dish is also high in potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, copper and B vitamins. Enjoy it on its own as a stew, or over brown basmati rice as a main or side dish. Try adding dark leafy greens for added antioxidants and color. [...]

Ingredients: (serves 4) 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained 2 cups water 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and more to taste 2 lemons, juiced 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup Italian parsley leaves, chopped 2 sprigs of mint leaves, chopped or 1/2 teaspoon dry mint 1 large ripe tomato, [...]