Category Archives: Recipes

Recipes

Two-Bean Soup Recipe

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It happens all the time-
I throw something together for dinner with the ingredients I have on hand, and then am amazed how good it actually turns out, and thrilled with how much my kids love it.

Here is a recipe for what I made tonight:

Two Bean Soup

soupe recipe with pinto beans and potatoesIngredients: (I recommend organic EVERYTHING)
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 carrots, sliced
3 potatoes, sliced and quartered
3 cups water
40 ounces chicken broth*
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsps. dried basil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups cooked pinto beans
2 cups cooked navy beans
5 stalks Swiss chard, thick ribs removed and leaves chopped (about 4 cups)

Directions:
1. Sautee the onion in olive oil for about 6 minutes.
2. Add chopped carrots and potatoes and sautee for about 2 or 3 more minutes.
3. Add water, broth, oregano, basil and garlic and bring to a boil
4. Turn down to simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
5. Add beans and chopped Swiss Chard and simmer 2 or 3 more minutes, until heated through.

Serve and enjoy!

Adults and children who don’t mind spice might want to add a little pepper.
It is delicious as-is, but also good with a little grated cheese on top.

*Why the unconventional amount? I swear by Better Than Bouillon and it calls for 1 teaspoon to 8 ounces of water. So, I used 5 teaspoons and 40 ounces of water.

Recipes

Sweet Potatoes with Lime and Cilantro

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This recipe is an eye-opener for those who find sweet potatoes cloyingly sweet or those who are tired of eating them smothered in marshmallows and brown sugar.

Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 30-40 minutes Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
4 sweet potatoes
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
2-3 limes
butter or olive oil, salt (optional)

Directions:

  1. Wash the sweet potatoes and bake them whole, in their skins, at 375 degrees until tender, about 40 minutes.
  2. Wash and chop cilantro leaves.
  3. When sweet potatoes are done, slit open the skin and place on serving plate. Season with salt and dots ofbutter or a sprinkle of oil, if you like, then squeeze fresh lime juice all over, and shower with cilantro leaves.
Recipes

Kid-friendly Minestrone Recipe

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When my two boys sit down to a heaping bowl of nutrient packed food for lunch and then proceed to gobble up every last bit, I hear angels sing the Hallelujah chorus.

That just happened with minestrone- full of folate, fiber, protein, lycopene, antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin A, polyphenols, etc.!

Here is a recipe for a Kid-friendly Minestrone.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion chopped
  • 3 large cloves garlic, chopped
  • 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock (or water)
  • 6 ounces tomato paste
  • 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • 3 carrots, diced (or about 20 baby carrots if that’s what you have on hand)
  • 3 stalks of celery, sliced
  • 2 small potatoes, diced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
  • 1/4 cup chopped italian parsley
  • 1 cup uncooked pasta (shells, penne, macaroni, farfalle, or spirals)
  • 2 cups cooked cannellini beans
  • grated cheese (parmesan for adults and kids who like it, or grated cheddar for kids)

Directions:

  1. In a large pot, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the stock, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, carrots, celery and potatoes. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and let simmer for about 25 minutes.
  3. Add the beans, pasta, oregano, basil and parsley. Cover again and cook for 30 more minutes.
  4. Ladle into bowls and let the kids top their minestrone with cheese.
  5. Enjoy!

A few notes on the recipe:

I use a Vidalia Chop Wizard to chop my onion, garlic, carrots, celery and potato into perfect bite size pieces for kids. Baby carrots are super easy to chop this way.

A note about tomato paste- buy it in the tube so if you have any left over you can save it.

This recipe is pretty low in salt, as my kids won’t eat anything if it’s too salty. The cheese does add a nice touch of salt, but either way definitely add sea salt to taste.

I love to have my boys help me cook- they always seem to get more excited about eating food they have helped prepare. Their favorite part was snipping the fresh basil and parsley from our herb garden.

Recipes

Banana Chocolate Chickpea Muffins

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What is it with me and muffins this week?

Yesterday I had some extra time, and I also had no bread of any sort to go with our eggs for breakfast.

The only kinds of flour I had left in the pantry were brown rice and chickpea, so I did a little searching online to see if I could find something tasty.

I found this great recipe for vegan chickpea banana chocolate muffins. She had veganized a recipe from another site, and also muffinified it. (Her word- I like it!)

So I un-veganized it, but kept the muffin idea.

They turned out delicious-so moist and chocolatey. My 22 month old was gingerly walking around with one singing, “Hap-Bir-Day-To-Yew” so I’m pretty sure he thought it was a cupcake. Yep- they were pretty sweet.

The chickpea flour is great because it is high in protein, iron and folate, and is naturally gluten-free.

Banana Chocolate Chickpea Muffins

3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
7 tbsp coconut oil, melted
2 bananas, mashed
2 tbsp sour cream
1+1/2 cups chickpea flour (garbanzo bean flour is the same thing)
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 175°C/350°F.
  • Whisk the egg and sugar until fluffy before adding the coconut oil, sour cream and mashed bananas. Stir until completely combined. I used the electric mixer to make sure all the banana was totally blended.
  • Sift flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into the batter and stir until completely mixed. (My four year old loves sifting and the younger one loves stirring- no need to worry about over mixing, since it’s gluten free flour.)
  • Fill greased/lined muffin cups 2/3 full- this will make 12 muffins that barely come up over the edge of the cups, but i prefer it that way- a better serving size for kids.
  • Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

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