Real Food for Life

Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

Lentil soup has all the benefits of lentils (see article) plus much more.  And by the way, it tastes great.

Ingredients:
1 large Onion, chopped
3-6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 pieces celery, chopped
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 cup green whole lentils, cooked with water cooked in.
1 piece Kombu*
2 carrots, diced
2 cups fresh (or tinned tomatoes but fresh is best)**
3-5 tsp salt
1 tsp each of thyme and basil
3 tsp marjoram
Fresh parsley

Directions:
1.    Sauté onion, garlic and celery in oil.
2.    Add remaining ingredients.
3.    Simmer for one hour, adding more water if necessary.
4.    Remove Kombu and chop; return to soup.
5.    Serve in bowls garnished sprigs of fresh parsley.

* Kombu makes beans more digestable but you could easily leave it out.

** Uusally I do not make this soup with tomatoes any more which makes it into a stew.

Copyright © Diana Herrington  You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com  or the direct link to this post.

Mmmmm I love the sweet vegetables in this meal. So very yummy and so many Powerfoods in one meal. Another great thing I like about this meal is that it is so simple to prepare and in only one dish which means there are few dishes to wash.

BAKED SQUASH WITH VEGETABLES

Ingredients:
1 medium squash
2 sweet potatoes
2 medium carrots
2 parsnips
10 very small onions
3 – 7 cloves garlic, sliced (optional)
1 tsp rosemary
3 tbsp. vegetable oil or butter
Salt to taste

Directions:
1.    Cut carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes and squash into 2 inch pieces.
2.    Remove skins from onions and leave whole.
3.    Place all vegetables into a glass casserole dish.
4.    Mix in sliced garlic, rosemary, vegetable oil, and sprinkle with salt.
5.    Bake in 450º F. oven for 35 to 45 minutes till tender.
6.    Stir occasionally while baking.

Copyright © Diana Herrington  You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com  or the direct link to this post.

This is my favorite soup which I developed over a year a few years ago.  Every time I make it for friends they just love it and so do I!

KABOCHA SQUASH SOUP

Ingredients:
1 medium Kabocha* squash
1 large onion or two small onions
2 large leaves of Kale
4 to 6 cups water
2 inch piece of fresh ginger
½ tsp Cinnamon, cardamom, coriander,
1 tsp turmeric
5 drops of Sunny Dew (light Stevia)
Vege salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1.    Cut squash in half then scoop out the seeds, then cut the squash into eight pieces.
2.    Chop onion and ginger
3.    Put squash, onions and ginger into a steamer and cook till squash is soft, remove it and let cool.
4.    Steam chopped Kale till tender, a few minutes.
5.    Sauté spices in sesame oil or coconut oil for a couple of minutes.
6.    Separate the squash flesh from the skin. Put the cooked squash in a large bowl or pot.
7.    Add 3 cups water from water used to steam the squash, stir in onion and ginger.
8.    Run the squash and onion mixture through a blender, portion by portion, until you've blended it all or use a hand blender and blend it right in the soup pot which is what I do but do be careful as it can splatter ever where.
9.    Put the blended mixture into a soup pot, adding the broth created from the steamer to make the consistency you like.
10.    Add cooked kale, spices, salt and pepper to taste.
11.    Serve with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream which can be a vegan one which is what I use.

* You may use butternut or any dark orang squash.

Note!  We did not have a personal picture of this soup so used a stock photo. Imagine that the bread is healthy rice bread!

Feel free to share this by email or facebook or twitter by clicking on the "bookmark and share" below. We also love comments.

Copyright © Diana Herrington  You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com  or the direct link to this post.

What I usually find with date squares is that they are too sweet. So I have made my own version which are less sweet and taste even better. Find it hard to stop at only one.

DATE SQUARES Wheat-Free

Ingredients:
1 large apple finely chopped
2 cups dates, chopped
1 cup water
Juice of ½ lemon
½ cup vegetable fat or butter
1/3 cup rice syrup
1 tsp. salt
1 ¾ cups rolled oats
¼ cup potato flour
¾ cup Brown Rice flour

Directions:
1.   Simmer apple water till soft.
2.   Add dates and simmer till soft.
3.   Mash well.
4.   Add lemon juice and set aside.
5.   In a separate bowl, mix vegetable fat, rice syrup and salt.
6.   First add flour; mix in.
7.   Then add oats, mix well.
8.   Pat 2/3 of the mixture into an 8 X 8 pan.
9.   Spread the date mixture on top of the oat mixture.
10.  Then sprinkle the other 1/3 of oat mixture on top of the dates.
11.  Lightly press down.
12.  Bake in preheated oven at 400º F. for 25 to 35 minutes.

• Oats have lots of manganese, are a very good source of selenium, vitamin B1, dietary fiber, magnesium, protein & phosphorus.
• 1 bowl of oatmeal a day (3 grams of soluble oat fiber) typically lowers total cholesterol by 8-23%.

Copyright © Diana Herrington  You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com  or the direct link to this post.