Pumpkin Soup (WFPB, vegan, GF)

Pumpkin Soup

After devouring our pumpkin pies over the holiday, I needed a recipe to use up our extra cooked pie pumpkin flesh.  There are many delicious pumpkin soup recipes out there that use coconut milk which contains saturated fat.  We tried The Simple Veganista’s Pumpkin Soup recipe that uses red lentils.  It quickly became a favorite.  While my kids think it’s a shame we did not make more pies with the leftovers (they could eat pie everyday), I absolutely love this recipe.  I was out of fresh parsley and thyme so substituted dry ingredients for those:   ¼ tsp thyme & ½ tsp parsley.  Since my pie pumpkin was already cooked, I added it in after the lentils were cooked.  It freezes well too! 

The recipe calls for Better than Bouillon so I tried it.  I was shocked to see it contains 750mg of sodium per 1 tsp so I grabbed the lower sodium one.  I failed to see the lower sodium contains maltodextrin, a highly processed food additive linked to intestinal health and glucose issues.  Three of us in our family have significant, unpleasant reactions when we consume any amount of maltodextrin so I had to throw it out.  Plus, even the low sodium version has more sodium per 8 fluid ounces than the Pacific Brand foods version I normally buy.  Therefore, I will continue to use the low sodium vegetable broth from Pacific Foods.  I only suggest products I actually use, get no payment from the manufacturer but have included an Amazon affiliate link below. Of course, you can always make a big batch of broth and freeze it so you have ultimate control of the sodium levels. 

Recipe: https://tinyurl.com/yjfy33ef

Low sodium vegetable broth: https://amzn.to/3XGiHLd (affiliate link)

Maltodextrin information for diabetes: https://tinyurl.com/3e43yext

Maltodextrin information for gut health: https://tinyurl.com/bebhe5sz (about 4 min. mark)

For more: www.feelplantiful.com

#thesimpleveganista #plantbasednutrition #wholefoodplantbased #feelplantiful

Pumpkin Pie (WFPB, vegan, GF)

Spending the morning baking with my 2 oldest children making our favorite pumpkin pie recipe with some edits.  This is not a low sugar recipe but the fresh pie pumpkin pulp is loaded with fiber.  Fiber helps mitigate insulin spikes which is why the saying at our dinner table is "fiber first".  We identify the highest fiber foods on our plate and try to consume them first.   97% of Americans eat a fiber deficient diet*.  Given the tremendous amount of health benefits of fiber consumption (binds to toxins, excess cholesterol, estrogen & removes them, reduces the risk of leading killers, etc.), this Thanksgiving I'm thankful for fiber!  And we will be eating this pie after lots of fiber-fueled dishes such as green bean casserole, roasted brussels sprouts, and a mashed sweet potato recipe.  

Updated recipe:

Ingredients
Crust
2 cups rolled oats (used certified gluten-free if needed)
1/2 cup pitted dates (packed)
1/3 cup almond butter (we used sunflower butter)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt (omit if almond butter has it)
2 tablespoons plant-based milk

Filling
1 can pumpkin purée or 2 cups cooked pie pumpkin flesh
3/4 cup raw cashews
1/3 cup plain unsweetened plant-based milk (increase this amount as needed for blender to mix if using fresh pie pumpkin)
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
2 heaping teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare a pie plate by putting down parchment paper. In a food processor, add the oats, dates, and salt for the crust. Purée until fine and crumbly. Then add the almond butter and purée for about a minute. Add the milk and pulse through until the mixture becomes sticky (it should hold together when pressed/pinched). If it’s not holding together, add a little more milk, 1 tsp at a time, until it does. You shouldn’t need more than another 3-4 tsp. Remove and transfer to a prepared pie plate. Press mixture in with your fingers until evenly distributed around the base and up the sides of the plate. The parchment paper makes this process a bit difficult so using a light spray of oil as per the original directions can be followed in lieu of the parchment.  

In a blender (high speed works best, for regular blender you will need to blend longer and scrape down jar several times) combine all ingredients for the filling. Purée until very smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Pour mixture into pie crust (scrape out bowl) and gently tip back and forth to distribute evenly. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F (180C) and continue to bake for 25 minutes, until the pie is golden and has mostly set (the center may be soft, but it will set further as it cools). Remove from oven, transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before slicing and serving (can refrigerate to chill first). Serve as is or with vanilla non-dairy ice cream. Serves 6-8.

* Fiber overview: https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/fiber/
For more: www.feelplantiful.com

Creamy Lentil Soup (WFPB, vegan)

Creamy Lentil Soup

When we first started eating whole food plant-based 9 years ago, my kids weren’t exactly bean enthusiasts.  However, I could get them to eat lentils with ease.  While this recipe, a favorite in our house, uses green lentils, there are a wide variety of lentils to try out as you look for anti-inflammatory sources of protein.  Lentils are also rich in iron, zinc and folate.  My personal splurge-worthy lentil is the Black Caviar lentil at Rancho Gordo (although the Black Beluga lentils are amazing too).  I’m not affiliated with Rancho Gordo, just a huge fan!  

Recipe: https://tinyurl.com/3acnkakb

Rancho Gordo: https://tinyurl.com/2h6kd8ff

Lentils: https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/lentils/

For more: www.feelplantiful.com

Cashew Ricotta (WFPB, vegan)

 

This is one of my top 2 favorite dairy free cheese recipes.  So simple and delicious from The Simple Veganista.  Goes well with lasagnas, crackers, sandwiches, wraps and more.  One of our favorite ways to use it is with beets, mustard and arugula.  Beets can be sliced thin in a food processor at your desired thickness, steamed in an Instant Pot for about 8 minutes or until tender, cooled and layered onto a wrap or sandwich like deli meat.  A wrap with layers of cashew ricotta, mustard (we like it with German mustard), cooked beets and arugula makes for a delicious, healthy on the go lunch.  The recipe suggests adding as much salt as you want, however, the lower the salt the better for our health.  Excess sodium consumption is a leading cause of mortality.  

Recipe: https://tinyurl.com/4wuxvt59

Sodium reference: https://tinyurl.com/32vb55rn

Instant Pot: https://amzn.to/3GesHVG

For more: www.feelplantiful.com

Yellow Split Pea Dal (WFPB, vegan)

Yellow Split Pea Dal

Made an amazing Yellow Split Pea Dal recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, How Not to Die: 100+ Recipes to Help Prevent and Reverse Disease by Dr. Michael Greger.  The book is excellent too.  It sits on my reference shelf with lots of pages flagged due to their importance. Modified the recipe just a bit by blending half of the cooked contents and eliminating the hot green chili.  All 5 of us devoured it with those who like spice adding some at serving time.

Cookbook: https://amzn.to/3O7bNue

Book:  https://amzn.to/3g9DMN0

For more: www.feelplantiful.com

Carrot Lox (WFPB, vegan)

 

Carrot Lox (WFPB, vegan)

One of my favorite foods, prior to my plant nutrition training, was smoked salmon.  Learning about AGE's and how harmful smoked meat is was a sad moment all those many years ago.  Fortunately, my spouse and his carrot lox recipe came to the rescue.  I am forever grateful! He makes up a batch 2-3 times per month for our family of 5.  It's a breakfast favorite and goes into wraps too.

Pickled Red Onion
3-4 red onions (4 cups packed)
1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp maple syrup

Apple cider vinegar to fill jar

Carrot Lox

4 cups packed of carrot slices

3 Tbsp liquid smoke

3 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp salt

Instructions

Halve the red onions, put into food processor with slice blade at 1 mm.  Place ingredients into mason jar, let sit in fridge 24 hours before using.  

Using a food processor place blade at 2 mm, lay carrots sideways to create nice long rectangles (cutting carrots to make them fit into the food processor chute sideways).  Place in steaming basket of Instant Pot with shallow layer of water at the bottom.  Steam for 3 minutes with a quick release.  Fresh carrots from a garden will take longer until the desired salmon-like soft texture is achieved.  Place softened carrots into a mason jar with ingredients and gently rotate jar to distribute mixture over all carrots.  Place in fridge for at least 12 hours.  Keeps for a week.  

Our favorite way to eat this is on Ezekiel English Muffins (toasted), with avocado, layered with capers, microgreens or sprouts, carrot lox and topped with the pickled red onion.  It's so delicious!  

Ratings: 2 out of 2 love it!  This one is hard to rate with the family since the kids either have never had smoked salmon or don't remember it.  The adults love this recipe, 1 teen and a tween prefer to sub out the lox for chickpea smash, and our other teen hasn't tried it.  She just wants her much beloved steel cut oatmeal every morning.  Enjoy!