Recipes as promised

As I sit down to write this post I am now regretting the fact that I have no photos. Most food blogs feature glossy photos of delicious meals but since this isn’t a food blog, guess you’re going to have to use your imagination. Also a disclaimer, my recipes don’t measure out herbs and spices. I add them til it tastes good, I like big strong flavors while others like more subdued flavors. When following a recipe for the first time I usually double the spices and go from there, so I will leave the amount of spices up to you. Also I rarely add salt while cooking, I just add it after until I like how it tastes so my recipes don’t include salt.

My biggest pet peeve when looking up mediterranean diet recipes online most include meat or a ton of other animal products. Those recipes violate the basic tenets of the mediterranean diet. The diet should consist of mostly plant material with limited dairy and seafood 3 times a week (or more).

My all time favorite food: Lentil and sweet potato soup

2 sweet potatoes (peeled and chopped)

2 carrots (peeled and chopped)

1-2 onions (we use 2 because my husband looooves onions)

1.5 cups of lentils

Olive oil

Garlic (we use the pre minced kind to save time)

Yellow curry powder (2 parts for every 1 part of ginger) to taste

Ginger powder (1 part for every 2 parts of yellow curry) to taste

Broth (I use veggie) 6-8 cups

Plain yogurt or greek yogurt

Saute onion, garlic, and spices in olive oil, add broth sweet potatoes, carrots, and lentils. Bring to a boil and simmer until everything is cooked. Add more spices if desired for taste. Blend together in a blender or use a hand blender. Serve and add 2 healthy dollops of plain yogurt, drizzle with additional olive oil, sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and salt. This soup is divine, to me it tastes like health. I serve it with a side salad and naan (my husband loves fresh made naan)

Roasted corn and quinoa salad

1 package of frozen corn

1 can of black beans rinsed and drained

one red pepper, chopped

one mango cut up (optional)

A hand full or so of chopped red onion

2 cups of cooked quinoa

1/3 cup of olive oil and 1/3 cup of lime juice for dressing

Cumin and garlic to taste.

Heat your oven to about 425 degrees. Spread out bag of corn on sheet and spray with a little olive oil and salt. Roast until corn starts to blacken a bit.

Add all ingredients and toss together. Salad tastes better if left to chill in the fridge for a day. Serve with greens.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

4-6 bell peppers (I like to use a bunch of different colors) Cut in half and roasted (425) for 10 min

Filling

1 cup cooked quinoa (I cook in the rice cooker with mushroom broth)

1 can of red beans

1/2 chopped white onion

Mix all together, add in 1/4 cup of olive oil

Add thyme, oregano, basil and balsamic vinegar to taste.

Fill the peppers and return to the oven for another 10 min

Top with feta cheese and salt to taste.  Serve with greens.