Hot Apple Cider recipe

Yummy – I just came across this delicious sounding recipe for Hot Apple Cider on on of my favorite blogs – The Kind Life.  The blog is an awesome source of information for vegetarian/vegan/macrobiotic recipes, information about being more “green”, information about Cruelty Free products, and so much more.

Here is the link to the recipe:  http://www.thekindlife.com/post/hot-apple-cider

Although it doesn’t get very cold in San Diego, it still has a mild winter, so something warm like cider sounds perfect at this time of year.

Enjoy!

To your health,

Kimberly

Sesame Shiitake Bok Choy recipe

Yum!  I thought this stir-fry recipe looked really good, so I wanted to share it.  It’s got delicious, nutritious bok choy, wonderful shiitake mushrooms, sesame oil, and some seasonings.

Note:  For vegetarians/vegans, find a vegetarian sauce to substitute for the oyster sauce.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/sesame_shiitake_bok_choy.html

To make it a complete macrobiotic meal, cook some brown rice in a sprinkle of sea salt and serve your stir-fry mix on top of that.

To your health,

Kimberly


Veggie Burger Recipe

Here is a fun article about Veggie Burgers that I came across:

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/come-back-veggie-burger-all-is-forgiven/

At the end, there is a delicious sounding recipe for Thai Carrot Burgers.  I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds fab.

As the article says, and I totally agree based on my many experiences with various veggie burgers, it is important to understand that veggie burgers should NOT try to be beef burgers, or turkey burgers, or any other kind of meat burgers.  Veggie burgers are a totally different expression of a burger!  If you can remember that, even the most determined meat eaters can enjoy them.

To your health,

Kimberly

How to Prevent Radiation Damage

This is so topical – I had to share it.  The author of this article, William Spear, was a guest speaker in my macrobiotics class this week – this is an awesome source of information about how to take easy steps to prevent radiation damage:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-spear/radiation-emergency-measu_b_835464.html

And here is an easy recipe for Miso soup, from Meg Wolff:

BASIC MISO SOUP
½ to 1 inch piece wakame sea vegetable (available at most health-food stores) per cup of soup
2 ½ cups of spring water
½ to 1 cup finely sliced vegetable (such as carrot, daikon radish, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, leek or shiitake mushroom. Use one or more vegetables.)
¾-1 teaspoon of miso paste per cup of soup (2 for this recipe)
1 teaspoon finely chopped scallion garnish per cup of soup

Place the wakame in a small cup of water to soak until tender (5 minutes). Finely slice the wakame and place it in a saucepan with fresh spring water or filtered tap water. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium heat.

When the water is boiling, add the vegetables. Simmer all until tender, about three to five minutes. In a mug or small bowl, add the miso paste in a small amount of water and stir until blended. Pour the diluted miso into the lightly simmering broth and cook for five more minutes. Serve garnished with chopped scallion. Serves two.


To your health,

Kimberly

Macrobiotic recipe: Aduki beans with Squash

Here is a delicious macrobiotic recipe.  I absolutely love aduki (or adzuki or azuki) beans and I love squash so why not put them together.  Adding the kombu (a sea vegetable) increases the mineral content enormously.  A small serving of sea vegetables everyday is part of a macrobiotic diet.

Aduki Beans with Squash and Kombu

1. Wash and soak 1/2 cup of aduki beans with a 1-inch square piece of kombu for 2 to 5 hours.

2. Place kombu in bottom of the pot and add chopped hard winter squash such as acorn, butternut, or
buttercup. When squash is not available, substitute onions, carrots, or parsnips.

3. Add azuki beans on top of squash and cover with water.

4. Cook over a low flame until the beans and squash become soft. While cooking, you may need to add
cold water for a few times.

5. When beans are 80 percent done, add a few pinches of sea salt.

6. Cover and let cook another 10 to 15 minutes or until all the water has cooked down.

7. Turn off the flame and let the pot sit for several minutes before serving.

Note: During cooking, it is best not to stir the beans.

This recipe is from www.macroamerica.com, which is the school I’m taking my counseling course with.

Enjoy!

To your health,

Kimberly

Millet Tabbouleh

So, some of you will know I’ve recently been job hunting since my move back to San Diego.  In my search, a particular recruiter, Amanda Scott, gave me a call about my resume.  After talking to her, it turns out she also has a health/fitness blog so of course, I had to check it out!

I found this delicious recipe on her blog for a Millet Tabbouleh with pomegranate seeds and edamame.  Yum!  You’ve got to check out the recipe as it sounds awesome.

Tabbouleh is traditionally made with bulgar, but millet is a wonderfully alkalising grain (and gluten free), so there is no reason not to substitute it here.

Let me know what you think!

To your health,

Kimberly

Arame and Onion side dish recipe

Here is another recipe from my macrobiotic cooking class.  My husband and I have made this a couple of times since then and have really enjoyed it.  We even made it for my parents and, despite the seaweed in the dish, they both loved it!

For me to promote a primarily onion based dish (I’m not the biggest onion lover, unless they’re very well cooked), it must mean it’s a good one :)

Arame with Onions & Walnuts

Ingredients

1 cup arame (a sea vegetable, you can buy it at specialty grocery stores)

3 large onions, finely sliced

2 tbsp shoyu sauce (similar to soy sauce but without the gluten)

1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Apple juice concentrate, to taste

Lemon rind, ground

Preparation

- Rinse the arame, then leave to soak in water for 15 minutes

- Heat the oil in a pan.  Once hot, add onions and saute with a pinch of salt until transparent.

- Drain arame and add to the onions with 1/2 cup water.  Cover and simmer until all water is absorbed.  (about 20 mins)

- Season to taste with shoyu, apple juice concentrate and lemon ride.  Garnish with walnuts.

Serve and enjoy!  This is a great hot vegetable side dish or could even be served on top of brown rice or noodles to make a meal.

Onions are full of nutrients, so this gives you a good dose of onions for the week.  Sea vegetables, such as arame, are known for their high mineral content, so this also adds to the nutritional value of the dish. And the olive oil and walnuts have healthy fats.

This works great with a natural weight loss plan or any healthy meal plan.

To your health,

Kimberly


Red Lentil Soup recipe

Here is a delicious recipe for red lentil soup – perfect for fall as the weather turns colder.

Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup red lentils

strip of kombu (it’s a seaweed – find it at your local health food shop)

1 diced onion

1/4 celeriac

1/4 pumpkin (if this is hard to find, use sweet potato)

2 carrots, cut in large pieces

bayleaf, thyme, and rosemary for seasoning

bouillon

sesame oil

parsley for garnish

What to do:

1. Heat pan, add oil and onions and saute for 10 minutes

2. Add the rest of the vegetables, herbs and kombu.  Cover with water and bring to a boil.

3. Add the red lentils.  Simmer gently until soft.

4. Add bouillon and blend.

5. Serve with parsley.

This is super easy and something the whole family should love.  It can be a lovely first course or served as a main dish for a lighter meal.

To your health,

Kimberly

Macrobiotic Apple Crumble recipe

Here is another recipe from my macrobiotic cooking class – this was so delicious!!  It’s still a dessert, though, so don’t indulge everyday; but it can certainly be part of a natural weight loss plan and healthy diet.

Apple Crumble

Ingredients:

  • 6-8 apples, peeled and chopped.  (I actually like the peels on, but do what you like best.)
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/3 cup natural apple juice (i.e. no added sugar)
  • 3 cups fine rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup rice syrup (you can find this at your local health food store)
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds (or any seeds of your choice)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbsp kuzu (another local health food store item)
  • Sea salt

What to do:

  • Place the apples in a cooking pot with raisins, apple juice, and a couple pinches of sea salt.
  • Simmer apple mixture for 10-15 minutes, until the apples are soft.
  • Mix kuzu with a small amount of cold water and add it to the fruit.  Stir constantly until it thickens.  Place the mixture in an oven safe dish.
  • Mix the oats with a pinch of sea salt and the seeds.
  • Mix the oil, rice syrup, and vanilla separately and then add to the dry ingredients.
  • Spread the oat mixture on top of the fruit and bake at 350F/180C for 25-30 minutes until golden on top.
  • Serve with soy custard or oat cream.

This was my first homemade crumble and I’ll definitely do it again.  It really is easy and so tasty.

To your health,

Kimberly

Vegetarian Bolognese Sauce Recipe

I was really craving a hearty bolognese sauce the other night, so I made this vegetarian variety, which is so easy:

Vegetarian Bolognese Sauce

1 clove garlic

1/2 onion

1 pack Quorn mince (or other vegetarian red meat substitute)

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 tsp oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

Instructions:

Heat olive oil in a fry pan and cook the chopped garlic and onion until soft and a bit brown.

Add Quorn, tomatoes, and seasoning.  Simmer on a medium heat for 15 minutes.

If the mixture gets dry, you can add a bit of water.  For extra tomato flavor, add some tomato paste.  And for spiciness add some chili!

I actually added butter beans, chopped cabbage, and zucchini to my sauce for more of a chili and then served it on top of brown rice.  This is such a yummy dish and adding those vegetables gives you the extra nutrition. 

I believe Quorn products are available in most places now, but if you can’t find that, just look in your ‘vegetarian’ freezer section and see what substitute is available.

One other tip is to use an extra-virgin olive oil, as this is a better quality to cook with.

This dish can be used as part of a natural weight loss plan (but it doesn’t feel like a ‘healthy’ dish!)

To your health,

Kimberly

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