Noodles, Udon Noodle Bowl, Sweet Potato Dal, Naan Bread, Banana Pudding

Drunken Noodles

Delicious!

4 TB Rice Vinegar

6 TB Low Sodium Soy Sauce

6 TB Vegetable broth

2 TB Sriracha Hot Sauce (add more to taste)

4 TB Brown Sugar

1 Lime, for juice

3 TB ground sesame seeds

12-16 oz uncooked Rice noodles

5 Garlic Cloves minced

1 Yellow Onion sliced

3 Carrots peeled and sliced thin

1 Orange Bell Pepper sliced

1 Green Bell Pepper sliced

6 Roma Tomatoes chopped

1 cup of fresh Basil chopped

Cook the rice noodles according to instruction on package. I boiled the water, set the noodles in the pot, remove from heat and let sit for 8 minutes and drain the noodles.

In a large bowl combine rice vinegar, soy sauce, veggie broth, sriracha hot sauce, brown sugar, lime juice and ground sesame seeds. Add cooked noodles and fully coat with the sauce. I used tongs to lift and mix the noodles. Set aside.

In a large non stick saute pan on medium high, add a little water to the bottom of pan and sauté garlic, onion and carrots. (If adding celery, broccoli or other fibrous vegetable this would be the time to add to cook thoroughly.) Cover with a lid to steam saute for a minute or two. Remove lid. Cook for 3-4 minutes, total.

Add peppers, tomatoes and basil cook for 3-4 minutes. (This would be the best time to add mushrooms, cubed summer squash, etc.) Add the sauce and noodle mixture and toss all together for a few more minutes until all the flavors are combined.

Here is a wonderful noodle recipe 
from Sift, Stir and Savour's blog.

Yummy Noodle Dish.

 

Click here for this Thai Inspired Noodles recipe.

Fancy Chinese Pulled Noodle Making Demo

by Chef Thomas Johnson.

In this episode of Culinary Secrets with Chef Tomm, Chef Tomm shows us the ancient Chinese Secret of Hand Pulled Noodles. It took Chef Tomm years to learn this guarded Chinese Secret. Now he is going to teach it to you. Visit Cheff Tomm at his site www.cheftomm.com for the free recipe.

Check out Chef Tomm's awesome noodle video.
Click here.

Udon Noodle Bowl
My favorite quick soup.

Cook udon noodles in a separate pot of boiling water, drain off the water and place noodles into soup bowls.

2 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon mushroom powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 garlic powder
Dash of red chile flakes

In a large saucepan bring the above ingredients to a boil and then lower the temperature to simmer the broth. Add into the broth the ingredients listed below.

1/2 Snow Peas or frozen green peas
1 tablespoon fine shredded carrot
1/4 cup diced tofu cubes
1/4 cup Mushrooms (Small, thinly sliced)
1/4cup diced scallions
Salt & Pepper to season

Simmer for 20 minutes. Ladle soup over cooked udon noodles and serve.

Don't forget to get a bit of lentils at the market.

How About A Little Dal for Lunch or Dinner?

Sweet Potato Dal  
I love a good curry meal.

 1 small sweet potato, skinned & diced
 1 small onion, diced 
 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 
 1 teaspoon curry powder
 1 cup vegetable broth
 1/2 cup red lentils
 3 cups fresh spinach leaves
(salt to taste is added after the lentils cook)

In a medium sauce pan add a couple tablespoons of water in and saute onions and garlic for a minute. Add a pinch or two red pepper flakes and continue to cook until all the water has cooked off. Add in the curry powder and stir to coat. Add 1 cup broth, uncooked lentils, and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once boiling reduce to low heat and cook for 5 minutes. Add in the diced sweet potatoes and up to a boil again over medium high heat until the lentils and sweet potatoes are soft. You may need to add in a bit more water or broth as the lentil cook and expand. Add the spinach leaves in and continuing to stir until spinach cooks down and softens. Add salt to taste and serve. Serve with jasmine rice and naan bread.

 Naan Bread

Here is an awesome recipe from Vegan Richa's site for Avocado Naan Bread. Click Here.
Richa's blog is full of terrific recipes for the adventurous in cooking.

Eat Your Veggies!
Avoid the late night bad snacks and reach for the healthy good snacks. Keep a veggie snack tray in the fridge filled with your favorite vegetables. I make a fresh veggie tray once a week. It saves me from eating bad foods when I'm looking for a quick snack. Hummus goes great with vegetables. Hummus Recipe - Click here.




Did you Know?  Most fruits and vegetables have no fat in their purest forms. Avocados are exceptions and they offer the good fat that our bodies need. It's usually the sauces, butter and other toppings you put on fruits and vegetables that increase the fat content. Most beans and legumes are fat-free when they are closest to their natural form.

Sweet Potato Delight!
 

The Fit Foodie Mama's blog has a terrific spicy potato recipe
 Click here for the recipe.

I like this recipe with regular baking spuds too.

 Dr. John McDougall's Gravy
 

The perfect gravy for mashed potatoes.

It super fine to just have a bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner. Serve it with some greens and bean loaf and that is a wow of a dinner. Sometimes, I dice up cooked carrots and add it into the mashed potatoes to give it an added nutritional flavor boost. For easy mashed potatoes, simply mash up cooked potatoes and add a bit of vegetable broth along with a few tablespoons of white miso paste and then season the mashed goodness with salt and pepper. That's it. Easy and delicious.

Cream Gravy
Quick and Easy.

Ingredients

2 c. Water
1/2 c. Almonds
1 tbs. Onion Powder
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
3 tbs. Soy sauce

1 tbs. Yeast flakes
1 tbs. Cornstarch

Blend on high until smooth and then cook it while stirring constantly until thickened.

 Banana Pudding

Something sweet and delicious.

• 2 cups almond milk
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 bananas

Cook first 4 ingredients over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Remove pudding from heat and add the vanilla and sliced bananas. Sprinkle the top of the pudding with coconut flakes for extra goodness. Chill before serving.

Low Impact Calorie Burning Workout for Beginners

 

Grains and vegetables are amazing for your body.

This article clipping is from a Dr. John McDougall Newsletter.

The Barley Men
The men who centuries ago risked their lives for entertainment in public arenas of the Roman Empire were vegan. The remains of 60 Roman gladiators who fought and died more than 1,800 years ago in Ephesus (what is now Western Turkey) were recently found in a 200-square-foot plot along the road that led from the city center to the Temple of Artemis. Isotopic analysis of their bones for calcium, strontium, and zinc determined that the world’s fiercest fighting men were vegans. In the historical accounts of the lives of gladiators, these warriors are sometimes referred to as hordearii—literally, "barley men.” The starch barley provided the bulk of the nutrients for their remarkably strong muscles and bones, and for their endurance to win the ultimate sport of life and death.

Barley Bread Recipe


    1 1⁄2 cups water
    3 cups bread flour
    1 cup barley flour
    1 1⁄2 teaspoons yeast
    2 teaspoons brown sugar
    1 teaspoon salt
    1⁄4 cup sunflower seeds

    Place all ingredients except seeds in the bread machine according to the manufactures
    directions. Press dough / fruit and nut cycle. At the beep add the seeds.
    When cycle is complete remove dough to a floured surface punch down and shape to fit into
    an parchment paper lined loaf pan.
    Rise for 45 minutes. Make a deep cut right across the top. Dust with flour.
    rest for 10 more minutes while oven preheats to 425 degrees. Bake 15 minutes then lower oven to
    400 and bake 20 more minutes till you hear a hallow sound when tapped.



Going Back in Time

PUMPKIN PUDDING
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup almond milk
2 cups pumpkin
1 banana
4 oz. pitted dates
1 Tablespoon alcohol-free vanilla
1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
6 Tablespoons chia seeds
METHOD:
Place all ingredients in blender, adding more almond milk if necessary. - See more at: http://plantbaseddietitian.com/tag/oil-free/#sthash.E1C16Jjy.dpuf