Category: Main Dishes
Curried Cauliflower & Chickpea Stew
Kale Pesto & Roasted Veggie Flatbread Sandwiches
Quinoa Grain Salad with Fresh Dill & Goat Cheese
One thing that makes me feel totally on top of life is having a grain-based salad in the fridge for convenient and healthful eating. Unlike lettuce based salads, grain salads get better with time, so they’re perfect as make-ahead meals or for leftover lunches.
The ingredients in this particular quinoa salad are simple but come together perfectly to create a symphony of flavor and texture. Roasted tomatoes, bell pepper and asparagus give this salad richness and depth of flavor. And all three pair perfectly with one of my all time favorite ingredients – creamy, tangy goat cheese. Finally, white onion, chopped dill and lemon juice add freshness and zip. The ingredient list is short but thoughtful, making this salad quick, simple, nourishing and absolutely delicious.
This is a great side dish for simply prepared proteins like chicken, steak or fish. As a vegetarian, I would pair it with roasted cauliflower “steaks” or organic pan-fried tofu. But I usually eat salads like this as the main dish paired with all-natural toasted bread (rubbed with olive oil and maybe some garlic) plus something saucy like hummus or tzatziki. In the words of Ina Garten, how easy is that?
Quinoa Grain Salad with Fresh Dill & Goat Cheese
Serves: 2-3 as a main dish, 4-5 as a side dish Start to Finish: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, each stem cut into thirds
1 pint cherry tomatoes, any color
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt, fine grain
1 cup dry quinoa
2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped dill (approx. 4-5 sprigs)
1/2 cup minced white onion
3 ounces goat cheese
To Make
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prep vegetables.
Toss red bell pepper strips, asparagus and tomatoes with 3/4 teaspoon sea salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Roast on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet for 20 minutes, tossing once half way through. I use a rimmed baking sheet to conserve the tomato juices.
While veggies roast, cook quinoa according to package instructions. My standard method…combine 1 cup dry quinoa with 2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt in a small sauce pan. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 13 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit, covered, for at least 5-10 minutes.
Toss cooked quinoa and roasted vegetables (including any juices) with lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, dill, onion and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Allow to cool to room temperature. Crumble cold goat cheese into quinoa mixture and toss to evenly distribute. Season with lemon juice and salt to taste. Enjoy cold or at room temperature.
*make it a meal – round out this yummy quinoa salad with some tzatziki sauce (either store-bought or homemade) and some all-natural toasted bread drizzled with olive oil
White Three-Bean Chili (vegan | gf)
After about a month, I’m back in action here on radiatefoodvibes.com. Time flies even more than usual lately. As I continue the very early phases of building my own brand and my own business, in addition to learning everything and anything I can about professional cooking, my personal recipe development has slipped a bit. But now I’m back at it.
Today’s post is a veganized recipe of the white chicken chili I made for a client this week. I loved the creaminess and richness of this hearty chicken chili combined with the sweet crunch of the fresh corn kernels. All I needed to do was omit the chicken. I then decided to take it even further and omit the cream as well (aka veganize it). I’ve been going a little heavy on the dairy lately and a detox-friendly soup is exactly what my body is craving right now. So no cream in this one (although I have the option to add it in the recipe below). You may be wondering how I achieved the creaminess without adding dairy or gluten (yes, it’s also gluten-free). No brainer. I turned to my beloved coconut milk and it worked perfectly.
This White Three-Bean Chili is creamy, satisfying, filling and nourishing. I also consider this dish to be detox-friendly (you know, for when you’re trying to balance out an indulgent weekend or healthily shed a few pounds). This is because it’s packed with complete protein and fiber thanks to the beans and the corn.
Beans make up the bulk of this chili. I use three different types of beans in this recipe, all of which are great sources of gut-cleansing fiber and energizing protein. Corn is sometimes confused for a vegetable, but it’s actually a grain. Not only does corn add flavor and texture to this chili, but it also combines with the beans to form a complete protein. Complete proteins contain all nine essential amino acids required by the human body. Animal proteins (meat, dairy, eggs) are complete on their own, so when eating a plant-forward diet it’s essential (pun intended) to eat a variety of plant-based protein sources to ensure you’re getting all nine essential amino acids.
Although this recipe can be made year round using canned or frozen corn, I recommend cooking up a batch ASAP to fully take advantage of the fresh summer corn that’s in peak season right about now.
White Three-Bean Chili
Serves: 4-6 Start to Finish: 45 minutes
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, small diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 celery ribs, small diced
sea salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3-4 cups all-natural vegetable stock
1 4-oz can diced green chilies (I used mild)
1 14-oz cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 14-oz cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 14-oz cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 ears fresh corn, husked, kernels cut off (approx. 1.5 cups)
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk (or use heavy cream if desired)
1 tablespoon arrow root powder or other starch of choice such as corn or potato (omit if using cream)
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
4 radishes for garnish, sliced or matchsticked (optional)
To Make
Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add onion, garlic, celery and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onions begin to release moisture. Stir occasionally.
Add chili powder, oregano, cumin, coriander and black pepper. Stir to combine. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add 3 cups vegetable stock, beans, corn kernels, green chilies and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. Add up to 1 additional cup of vegetable stock to achieve desired liquid to solid ratio.
Turn off heat. Stir in coconut milk or heavy cream. Return to heat, bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Meanwhile, mix together 1 tablespoon arrow root powder (or other starch) with 2 tablespoons cool water. Mix well to form a “slurry”. Add slurry to soup. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon lime juice and sea salt to taste. I added another 1/2 teaspoon or so of sea salt.
If using heavy cream instead of coconut milk – be careful not to full-on boil the cream after adding to the chili, it could curdle (yuck). I recommend adding a tablespoon of the hot chili liquid into the cream to temper it before adding to the pot. You can omit the arrow root slurry if using cream instead of coconut milk. The soup should thicken with just the cream and a quick simmer session.
Summer Veggie Grain Bowls with Classic Lemon Hummus
Yep, this my third grain bowl post this month. Why? Two reasons. First is because I love nourishing bowls of goodness, packed with an array of nutrients, flavors and textures. It’s my favorite way to eat because it’s healthy, convenient, packable, stores well in the fridge and, most importantly, absolutely delish. If you want to make a crave worthy nourish-style bowl, it’s not quite as easy as piling veggies, grains and protein into a bowl. My kind of nourish bowl (aka Buddha Bowl or Grain Bowl) has depth, richness and variety. It takes advantage of seasonal produce, flavor-bombs like garlic and citrus, and requires a tasty sauce or spread to pull it all together. This takes a little bit of time and planning, but it’s worth it. And once all of the components are ready, they’re easy to throw together.
The second reason why I’m focusing on grain bowls is because they’re all the rage these days. Everywhere from fast casual restaurants to fine dining establishments are jumping on the nourish bowl bandwagon. It’s a trend for sure, and food trends, specifically health-supportive ones, are my jam.
So there you have it. One more inspirational nourish bowl to get your creative juices and health vibes flowing. And if you missed the last two, check them out below.
Burrito Nourish Bowls with Roasted Peppers & Tomatillo Sauce
Cauliflower Satay Nourish Bowl
Roasted Summer Veggie Nourish Bowl with Classic Hummus
Serves: 4 Start to Finish: 1 hour Active Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
For Veggies & Rice
1.5 cups dry brown rice
sea salt, fine grain
2 large zucchinis, cut into a large dice
olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced (2 for zucchini, 1 for hummus)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 orange bell peppers (red and yellow bell peppers work too)
For Hummus (use storebought if desired)
1 14-oz can chickpeas
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 teaspoons sea salt, fine grain
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For Assembly
4 cups lightly packed greens (I used red leaf lettuce)
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar (lemon juice works too)
1 red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted
To Make
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cook 1.5 cups brown rice to package instructions – it goes something like this – rinse rice in colander, add to small sauce pan with 3/4 teaspoon sea salt and 3 cups water. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, cover with lid. Allow to cook for 35-40 minutes, until water is mostly absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to steam, covered, for 10 minutes.
Toss zucchini cubes with 3/4 teaspoons salt, 2 cloves chopped garlic and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer. Toss tomatoes with 2 teaspoons olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Transfer to baking sheet with zucchini. Cook cherry tomatoes for 20 minutes. Cook zucchini for 30-35 minutes, flipping once through.
Roast the bell peppers. I like to do this over the open flames on my burner, which takes about 8 minutes and another 10 minutes in a sealed paper paper bag or covered bowl. This allows the peppers to steam and makes the charred skins easily peel off. Once charred skin is removed, discard stem and seeds, cut into a large dice. You can also roast the peppers in the over with the other veggies. To do this, remove stem and seeds, dice bell peppers, toss with a little oil and roast for about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, make hummus. Combine all hummus ingredients plus 5-6 tablespoons water in a food processor or in a hand blender vessel. Use the water to achieve your desired consistency.
To assemble nourish bowls – toss greens with vinegar, sliced red onions and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Divide evenly between 4 dishes. Top each bowl with 3/4 cup cooked rice, 1/4 of all roasted vegetables and 3-4 tablespoons hummus. Garnish each serving with 2 teaspoons toasted pine nuts.
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