Lunch - Red Lentil Soup With Lemon

I finally tired red lentils in this soup. The lentils, along with the fresh lemon added before serving, really make this recipe pop! If you haven't tried red lentils yet, make this soup!

Red Lentil Soup With Lemon

Adapted from New York Times Cooking

3 tablespoons olive oil, more for drizzling

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch of ground chile powder (or cayenne pepper), more to taste

6 cups water

Morga vegetable bouillon

1 cup red lentils

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

Juice of ½ lemon, more to taste

In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot and shimmering. Add onion and garlic and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes. 

Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chili powder (or cayenne), and sauté for 2 minutes longer. 

Add broth, 2 cups water and lentils and carrots. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary. 

Using an immersion or regular blender, or a food processor, purée half the soup then add it back to pot. Soup should be somewhat chunky. 

Reheat soup if necessary, then stir in lemon juice. Serve soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted lightly with chili powder if desired.

Lunch - Phyllo Egg Rolls

I was needing some new recipes to try and hopefully add to my collection. That's where all these are coming from. So far, I've been doing really good with the results! I've never been a huge egg roll fan, but I think these are going to be a new favorite! Note the tip below that I reheated these in my Pizzazz and they got even crispier than they had been originally out of the oven! 

 

Phyllo Egg Rolls

Adapted from recipe on Betty Crocker website

3 servings

1 8 ounce package of mushrooms, chopped

4 cups coleslaw mix (from a 1-lb bag)

3 tablespoons tamari

1 teaspoon grated ginger root

½ teaspoon five-spice powder

1 small onion, chopped (about ¼ cup)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

18 thawed phyllo sheets

Heat oven to 350ºF. In a 10-inch skillet, cook the vegetables over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is wilted.

Cover phyllo sheets with plastic wrap, then with damp towel to keep them from drying out. Place 1 phyllo sheet on a cutting board; spray with cooking spray. Repeat with 2 more phyllo sheets to make a stack of 3 sheets. Cut stack of phyllo into thirds to make 3 rectangles, and 14x6.

Place 1/4 cup of the veggie mix on the short end of each rectangle; roll up, folding in edges of the phyllo. Place roll, seam side down, on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining phyllo and veggie mixtures. Spray rolls with cooking spray. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with dipping sauce.

Tip: I reheated the leftovers on the pizzazz and they got even crispier than they had been straight from the oven.

Dipping sauce

3 T tamari

3 T sesame oil

3 T rice vinegar

dashes of ginger, garlic powder

1 T honey

Lunch - Pasta With Kale Pesto

This recipe originally didn't call for making the sauce into a pesto. Rather, it had you finely chop the kale. I liked the flavors that I got, but not the chomping on the kale! Lol! It also called for bacon, which I ditched to make it Food Combining compliant. I tried adding butter to substitute for the fatty flavor in the bacon, but just gave up on it. I also found a brown rice penne and these two together, well, I think I could eat this every day! Grateful to have found another pasta staple for the cupboard! And I can't wait until summer. If I plant kale in the garden I can just never use it up without giving a bunch to the chickens! And one more note, the vegetable broth contributes highly to the glorious flavor of this dish. 

Pasta with Kale Pesto

Adapted from Martha Stewart website

3 servings 

3 garlic cloves, smashed and diced

1 bunch of kale, stems trimmed and leaves chopped

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

2 cups veggie broth

3/4 cups penne brown rice pasta (3 servings worth)

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package directions. Drain.

Meanwhile, cook garlic in skillet over medium heat until golden, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Add half of the kale, tossing until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Add remaining kale, season with salt and pepper and cook, tossing until all the kale has wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and simmer until kale is tender, about 10 minutes.

Carefully transfer to a blender and carefully pulse until mixture resembles a pesto.

Divide pasta into three servings and pour pesto on top.

Lunch - Vegan Cornbread Muffins

 Here we go! Delicious cornbread muffins that are vegan and friendly for a Food Combining lunch. Perfect with a versatile veg soup!

Vegan Cornbread Muffins

Adapted from Making Thyme For Health

2 tablespoons ground flax seed + 3 tablespoons water (a flax egg)

1 cup brown rice flour 

1 cup finely ground cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup agave nectar

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened rice milk

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350°F and then grease or line a muffin tin for 12 muffins.

In a small measuring cup, combine the flax with the water and set aside to thicken. Then combine the brown rice flour, cornmeal, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a large bowl and sift together.

In a separate large bowl, combine the almond milk with the apple cider vinegar and stir together. Allow to sit for a few minutes.

Next add the agave, melted coconut oil and flax egg to the bowl with the almond milk and stir together. 

Fill each muffin tin 3/4 of the way full, or until all of the batter is used. Transfer to the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes, until light golden brown. You should be able to stick a toothpick in the center and have it come out clean.

Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Versatile - Broccoli Cauliflower Soup

Here's a delicious creamy broccoli and cauliflower soup. The mustard gives it a nice zing! Enjoy!

Broccoli Cauliflower Soup

Inspired by a Dec/Jan 09 Healthy Cooking recipe

Completely reworked for Food Combining 1-2020

3 servings

Ingredients:

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 medium carrots, finely diced

1 bag mixed broccoli and cauliflower, finely chopped

Extra virgin olive oil

8 cups water

Vegetable bouillon, follow package directions

Garlic powder to taste

¼ cup coconut cream

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon cumin

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

Prep and chop vegetables. Sauté in extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan (you may need to do this in several batches if your pan is too small). Transfer sautéed vegetables to a soup kettle. Add water, bouillon, cream and seasonings. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup and its ready to serve.

Versatile - Cold Carrot And Curry Soup

Here's a great summer soup to explore! Inspired by a recipe from Rocco DiSpirito, I've substituted some neutral coconut products to make this fit for Food Combining. 

 

Cold Carrot And Curry Soup

adapted from Rocco’s Healthy + Delicious by Rocco DiSpirito

4 servings

Ingredients

4 medium carrots, chopped

2 cups unsweetened coconut milk, such as So Delicious

2 teaspoons curry powder

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 cups unsweetened nondairy yogurt, such as So Delicious

2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped OR

a few dashes of dried ginger to taste

Instructions

In a blender, combine the carrots, coconut milk, curry powder, lemon juice, yogurt, and ginger and puree until smooth, about 90 seconds. 

This is doubled from the original recipe and I’ve adjusted the serving sizes

Lunch - Two Serving - Summer Squash (Zucchini) Enchiladas

This has been a favorite recipe of mine for some time. I like to note my recipe sources so I can go back and look for more great recipes from the same source. But I've lost the provenance on this one! I've also tried doing some google searching for it, with no luck. Anyhow, I was able to adapt it to fit a Food Combining lunch and reduce to two generous servings to fit my meal planning. 

2 tablespoons butter

⅛ cup brown rice flour

1 teaspoons chili powder

1 cups rice milk 

1 cups grated vegan cheese 

Salt and pepper to taste

3 cups diced summer squash

1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

¾ cups diced onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 minced fresh jalapeños, to taste

18 corn tortillas

1½ cups diced tomatoes

In a small saucepan, melt butter and stir in the flour and chili powder to make a thick paste. Add the milk a little at a time, stirring well after each addition to make a smooth cream sauce. Add the cheese and heat on simmer to melt cheese slowly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Preheat oven to 400º. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan.

In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onion, garlic and peppers until softened and fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Add the squash and sauté until tender crisp, and 5 minutes. Add the about ⅔ of the cream sauce to the sauté pan and stir to coat well.

To assemble the enchiladas, spoon some of the filling onto each tortilla and roll. Place seam side down on the baking dish. Spoon the remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle with the tomatoes. Bake for 30 minutes, until the enchiladas are heated through. Serve immediately.