Steamed Superfood Veggies & Over Easy Eggs ~ Meatless Monday

To make this super simple breakfast/brunch/lunch/light dinner, I just steam a bunch of ~ chopped kale, baby bok choy, sliced onion, and bell peppers.  When they're done, I toss them with some ~ Bragg's, crushed red pepper flakes, minced ginger and cracked black pepper.  To complete my masterpiece I crown it with ~ an over easy egg, cooked to crispy-on-the-outside-and-runny-on-the-inside perfection, cut so the yolk runs down into the veggies, then misted with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray and a slash of sriracha sauce.  To me, it's a perfect way to make an outstanding low fat, low cal meal, Fat Flush Plan friendly meal ~ just the way I like it!

 

Steamed Kale & Veggies with Sriracha Sauce & Almonds ~ Meatless Monday

Steaming kale has become one of my favorite ways to enjoy eating this superfood.  It softens the kale and makes it really tender.  I've been adding whatever veggies are lurking in the fridge to the steamer basket, and steaming them until the veggies are just tender.  Currently, my favorite way to dress them is with some Sriracha Sauce and a little Bragg's.  I like to sprinkle on a few almond slivers, crushed red pepper flakes (for a little more heat) and lunch/dinner is served.  Super easy, super simple, super fast & super tasty!

Steak with Mushroom Sauce on Steamed Kale

A simple, low carb meal that really satisfied.  I started with a bed of steamed veggies ~ kale, onion, sliced garlic and carrots.  Then I topped it with leftover steak, that had been tossed in an easy 'mushroom sauce', a drizzle of Sriracha Sauce, crushed red pepper flakes and fresh cracked pepper.  I made the 'mushroom sauce' from a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup that was mixed with a little water, just enough to thin it until I got it to the right 'sauce' consistency.  Nothing fancy...pretty quick...but, really tasty.  Sometimes simple is best.  :)

 

Super Easy White Bean & Kale Soup

Here is a super-easy-to-make soup that I'll throw together when I want something that looks/tastes like it took a bunch of time to make...but it really didn't.  When it's cold and snowy out, give me soup...and cans of beans to get it started!  This is a throw-as-you-go kind of soup ~ usually I'll use 2 cans of white beans with their juice, about a 1/2 bunch of chopped kale, a finely chopped onion, 4-6 cups of chicken broth, whatever spices I feel like tossing in the soup pot, a dash of liquid smoke, and a couple tablespoons of real bacon bits.  I let it all simmer together until the veggies are tender, and then it's time to eat.  Add a nice garnish, maybe some bread/butter or crackers and everybody's happy...especially me.  :)

Spicy Peanut-Almond Tofu Planks with Steamed Kale & Cranberries ~ Meatless Monday

How do I like to eat my tofu?  Well, sometimes I like to cook thin sliced planks of extra firm tofu in a hot skillet ~ I really like how it helps to 'crisp' up the outside of the tofu.  Usually,  I'll sprinkle one of my favorite hot spice mixes (which kind depends on what cuisine I'm craving at the moment) on the tofu, heat up a little oil in the skillet, drizzle a little Braggs and away I go.  :)   For this particular meal, I included a schmear of peanut butter and some toasted slivered almonds to my spicy tofu planks.  A simple side of steamed kale with dried cranberries, and I was good to go.  One of my favorite, easy Meatless Monday meals.  What's yours?

Kale & Chickpeas with Simple Spicy Peanut Sauce ~ Meatless Monday

I was cleaning out my veggie bin and found some kale and yellow squash that had totally seen better days.  Since I never let anything in the fridge go to waste if I can help it, I chopped the tired veggies and gave them the ol' steamer treatment.  Then I tossed the hot cooked veggies with a big spoonful of creamy peanut butter, some canned chickpeas, a healthy shot of Bragg's (my soy sauce stand-in), a liberal dose of Frank's Hot Sauce, a few chopped nuts and some crushed red pepper flakes ~ just for a little extra 'kick'.  It made for a really quick, tasty, cheap and satisfying meal.  Booyah!  

 

Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas & Kale ~ Meatless Monday

This recipe for Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas and Mustard Greens popped up on my Facebook feed yesterday.  The recipe said to change up the greens if you like.  Well, I had some kale that needed using up...and an open can of chickpeas in the fridge...and a bottle of balsamic vinegar in the pantry ~ all the things I needed for a superfood Meatless Monday meal!

I made this today for my lunch and I was really happy with how it tasted...and used up the odds-and-ends in my fridge.  Real-time cooking in my kitchen this afternoon.  Check out FatFree Vegan Kitchen for LOTS of other wonderful meatless recipes.

Hot Wilted Kale and Lettuce Salad ~ Meatless Monday

The inspiration for making this Hot Wilted Kale and Lettuce Salad was a simple one ~ I had some iceberg lettuce and kale in my veggie bin that had seen better days and it was time to either use it, or toss it.  Since I'm not one to throw out food if it is still edible, I decided to assist the 'wilting' of my veggies...by chopping and chucking them into a hot skillet!  I sauteed the greens in some EVOO, along with a splash of Balsamic vinegar and Braggs, diced onions, minced garlic, a little chopped green apple, a handful of walnuts and some spices.  It was a wonderfully light, meatless lunch that was ready in a flash.  I love it when I can make a meal from seemingly nothing ~ like Grandma Bunni always said, "Waste not, want not!"

 

Superfood Veggie Scramble with Chickpeas ~ Meatless Monday

I had one last 'Little Bessie' egg in my fridge, and I was all set to make a pretty meal.  I planned to saute superfood veggies (kale, spinach and 3 colors of bell peppers), getting them ready so I could crack my huge, double-yolk egg on top of their healthy goodness and then poach those two beautiful, mounded yolks (that came out of that one egg) and enjoy my breakfast...  

What really happened was that one of the yolks burst when I cracked the egg ~ WAH!!  Total bummer!  Since I couldn't make what I wanted, I got cranky and just scrambled it all together.  Since I was on a roll, I added some chickpeas that were in the fridge for good measure and topped it all with some salsa.  It had became a glorious, tasty mess.  Not pretty, but it was ~ low fat, low carb, low cal and yummy ~ all the same.    Some days chickens, some days feathers...some days cracked yolks.  Ya gotta roll with the punches and not let it ruffle your feathers.  (tee-hee ~ every pun intended! :)  Happy Meatless Monday!

Grilled Pork with Sauteed Kale, Squash & Almonds ~ making the most of leftovers

I always try to get creative with leftovers.  I look to see how much I have of whatever is leftover, then I see what I have that is fresh to use and then I go hunting for what might be on it's last legs and see what I can come up with.  For this meal, I had some leftover grilled pork ~ so I sauteed some fresh kale, garlic, some seen-better-days squash and then added the last of the slivered almonds.  Tossed in the sliced pork, gave it a splash of  EVOO, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a sprinkle of zesty spice blend, let it all heat through...and lunch was served.  Quicker, cheaper and healthier than take-out.  I like that and so does my wallet.  :)

Tofu 'Shrimp Cocktail' with Kale Salad ~ Meatless Monday

I was tinkering around with tofu a while back and came up with a fun, vegetarian version of 'Shrimp Cocktail'.  Super simple to do... I just coarsely mash up a block of drained, extra firm tofu and then ~~ add my favorite spicy cocktail sauce, a little bit of finely minced celery & onion, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, fresh ground pepper and an extra dash of hot sauce.  I like to serve it in a pretty glass with some crackers, just like you would a traditional shrimp cocktail.  (to me, it makes it feel extra special when I serve it like that)  I like to eat it along side a simple kale side salad, and I'm good to go.

I think this would make a great, light Meatless Monday lunch...  Or, maybe even try the Tofu 'Shrimp Cocktail' as an appetizer for your Meatless Monday dinner.  Enjoy!

Irish Colcannon Soup

I made this Irish Colcannon Soup on the fly, using the classic Irish potato and cabbage/kale side dish ~ colcannon ~ as my inspiration.  I started out with the traditional Irish recipe ingredients, but, then I spun the potato, kale, leek and ham into a soup version.  I simmered it all for about 45 minutes, long enough for the kale and leeks to became so soft that they melted into the broth.  The resulting soup turned out rich and thick, chunky yet creamy and all without adding any butter or cream, so it's low fat to-boot.  Yippee!

I always like to tinker with familiar Irish dishes around St. Patrick's Day, it's like having a little bit of Ireland in my kitchen.  Enjoy!  :)

Irish Colcannon Soup
serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups large diced potatoes, peeled
• 1 cup thin sliced leeks
• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• 1/2 bunch steamed kale, with stems removed, finely chopped ((steam for 5-10 minutes before adding to the recipe to help pre-soften kale ~ optional ~ OR just toss in chopped raw kale))
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• dash liquid smoke (optional)
• dash hot pepper sauce (optional)
• salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

Place first 7 ingredients (chicken broth - onion powder) in a large pot. (if you're using raw kale, it might not dissolve as much as my precooked kale did)  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes/kale are super tender, about 30 minutes.  Add the nutmeg, liquid smoke, hot sauce and simmer for another 10 - 15 minutes.  ***((If you want it thicker, simmer a bit longer.  If you want it thinner, add a little more broth.  If you want the kale firmer, cook it a bit less.  If you want the kale melting into the soup, cook it a bit more.  It's easy to adjust the soup to get the texture just the way you want it. ))  Before serving, add salt/pepper to taste.  Enjoy! 

Quinoa, Kale, Walnut & Cranberry Salad

When I'm trying to get more greens into my diet, kale is one of the first veggies I head for.  I really enjoy eating raw kale in salads, especially when I have some leftover quinoa in the fridge.  Throw in a handful of walnuts and cranberries, a big spoonful of quinoa, then drizzle on some olive oil and balsamic vinegar, give it all a toss and I'm good to go.  Who says eating your greens has to be boring?  Certainly not me!

Lemony Kale Salad ~ Lisa Oz / Dr. Oz

I was reading a magazine and came across an article from Dr. Oz and his wife, Lisa.  She mentioned a salad that she likes to make at home, it's her own recipe for ~ Lemony Kale Salad.  It sounded really good, I had almost all  the ingredients to make it ~ so I did.

I skipped the hemp seeds since I don't have any in my pantry, I used an onion instead of a shallot and threw in a handful of chopped walnuts.  As Lisa says, get your hands messy and give the salad a really good massage.  It's super easy, super tasty and super good for you.  Cool!  Check out the recipe ~ here ~, it's over on the Oprah site.

Sauteed Kale, Tempeh, Mushrooms & Walnuts ~ Meatless Monday

Sauteed Kale, Tempeh, Mushrooms & Walnuts

Sometimes when I'm out of ideas for a meal, I'll just scrounge around the fridge and pantry, looking for things to inspire me... or if that fails, things that need using up.  I can almost always come up with something tasty and on nights like this, I really like to make meals that I can throw together in my wok/skillet.

This time what I found was turned into ~ Sauteed Kale, Tempeh, Mushrooms & Walnuts.  I sauteed everything together in the wok, with a little olive oil.  Cooked it until the kale was wilted, the tempeh was heated through and the mushrooms started giving off a little of their liquid.  Then I added ~ a few walnuts, spices and some jarred sauce ~ just before it was finished cooking.  It took no time at all to made a little Spinach and Strawberry Salad and I was good to go ~ dinner on the table in under 20 minutes.  Sometimes, it's nice to cook without recipes or expectations.  Letting the meal evolve as you find things to use can lead to some great food and I'm all about a good meal.  

Sarah's Garlicky Pumpkin Kale Soup

Garlicky Pumpkin Kale Soup ~ This easy & simple to make soup is perfect for making on Halloween night.  To me, pumpkins & garlic (right now I'm thinking about Jack 'o' Lanterns, Headless Horseman & Dracula-repellent garlic necklaces :)  REALLY go together on a night like this.  Make this soup up ahead of time & keep some bubbling away on the stove.  That way it's ready to warm the bones/bodies of any stray witches, werewolves, ghosts or ghouls that might be coming your way.  Of course, the vampires might just pass on having a bowl...  :)  heehee

My friend, Sarah, told me about a really great sounding soup she made last night ~ Garlicky Pumpkin Kale Soup.  She cooked this soup with what she had on hand & this is how she said she made it...


"It was improvised, but basically I added leftover sauteed garlicky kale to a simple pumpkin soup made from roasted "Cheese pumpkin", cooked onion, chicken stock and salt/pepper."


Cool, I can work with that.   I made a similar version of her soup today, adapting the recipe to use what I had available in the kitchen.  Luckily for me, there was some kale in the fridge & some canned pumpkin in the pantry, so off I went to concoct my own pumpkin/garlic brew.  (Ahh... I mean soup :)   Since I was using canned pumpkin puree, I decided to add a few drops of Liquid Smoke, just to sorta mimic the flavor you get when roasting veggies.  This soup is quick, comforting & really yummy.  I'll be making this tasty soup all autumn/winter long - it's that good.   Sarah, thanks so much for sharing another great recipe!  You ROCK!  :)

Sarah's Garlicky Pumpkin Kale Soup
makes a cauldron full...  :)

Ingredients 

• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 large 29 oz. can pureed pumpkin
• 1 bunch kale ~ rinsed well, veins removed & leaves chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 -3 cloves garlic, minced ~ or more, to taste
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• few drops of liquid smoke (or to taste, optional) 
• salt & pepper ~ to taste

Directions
 
Heat olive oil in non-stick pan, over medium heat.  Add the onion & garlic.  Cook a few minutes until onion is translucent & the garlic is fragrant, then add the prepared kale and saute for a few more minutes, until the kale is wilted.   Stir often so it doesn't burn.

Then add chicken stock and pumpkin puree  Stir well and bring soup to a frisky, bubbling simmer.  Allow to dance away, for a few minutes, to heat through.  When ready to serve,  add salt/pepper to taste, ladle up a big bowlful & enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

Mean Green Juice ~ Meatless Monday

Mean Green Juice ~ from the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.

I'd been looking for juicer recipes that included the superfood ~ kale ~ when I came across tons of posts that talked about the documentary movie ~ Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.  I remembered hearing about the documentary, but had never seen it.  I was intrigued & read a couple of the blogs.  Then I headed on over to the ReBoot With Joe site & looked around.  If you haven't seen the movie yet, I highly recommend it.  (you can watch it over on Hulu ~ if you're in the US)   Wow!  What an amazing journey Joe & Phil went through!  Certainly a lot of food for thought. (no pun intended ~ OK, pun intended :)

I made the signature ~ Mean Green Juice ~ and really enjoyed it.   It'll become a regular in my juicer recipe rotation.  Watch the movie & see for yourself how much these guys (and others who's stories where told) benefited from their juicing journey.  Very inspiring, indeed!   Good on ya, mate!

Mean Green Juice 

recipe adapted very slightly from the ReBoot With Joe site

Ingredients

• 6 Kale Leaves
• 1 Cucumber
• 4 Celery Stalks
• 2 Green Apples
• 1/2 Lemon, peeled
• 1"-2" piece of peeled ginger, depends on how spicy you like your juice

Directions

Feed your fruit & veggies down the shoot of your juicer & juice away!

Here is a great post from the blog ~ Macheesmo ~ that talks about the movie, reviews it & also has the basic recipe, but he makes his Mean Green Juice with his blender.  And for more variations on the original Mean Green Juice recipe, check out this site.  :)

Learn more...

Kale, Quinoa and Heirloom Tomato Salad ~ Meatless Monday

I'm a huge fan of raw kale salads & when you add some extra superfoods, the salad gets even better.  Full of flavor & lots of different goodies, this salad makes for a perfect Meatless Monday meal.


Kale, Quinoa & Heirloom Tomato Salad
serves 1~2

Ingredients

• 2 cups kale, packed ~ torn into bite sized pieces 
• 1 cup chopped heirloom tomatoes (a variety of regular & cherry)
• 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa ~ fresh cooked/cooled or leftovers
• 1/4 cup sliced purple onion
• 2 Tbsp cranberries
• 2 Tbsp walnuts

 Cilantro & Lime Vinaigrette

• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

Heirloom Yellow Pear Tomatoes

Toss first six salad ingredients in a large salad bowl.

Place all vinaigrette ingredients in a small jar & shake-up until combined.

Pour vinaigrette over salad & toss again.  Plate up & enjoy!

Join the Movement...

Quinoa, Kale & Strawberry Salad ~ Celebrating Superfoods on Meatless Monday!

Quinoa, Kale & Strawberry Salad ~ This warm, sweet-yet-savory salad is full of Superfoods & tastes great!  It's such a lovely color combo, it would be perfect to serve during the Christmas holidays or for Valentine's Day.  The deep red of the strawberries & the jewel green of the kale make for a visually pleasing presentation ~ not to mention, it tastes great!  :)

I was wandering around the new blog ~ Kitchen Adventures-Someone Elses Genius ~ and saw that Robin has started an ongoing ~ Superfoods Series.  Way cool!  One of the recipes she shares is a warm salad recipe for ~ Quinoa, Kale & Strawberry Salad with Honey Garlic Dressing.  It sounded like something right-up-my-alley, so I decided to give it a go for Meatless Monday.

Robin's salad features many of the Superfoods ~ kale (I'm a sucker for kale), strawberries (I love my strawberries), quinoa (got a big ol' bag in the pantry), honey (jar of local, sittin' on the counter), almonds (lots in the nut stash), garlic (plenty, no vampires around here), ground flax (yup, Bob's Red Mill), lemon (love 'em, pucker up!), olive oil (my fav) ~ I was in business.  The recipe is easy to make, quick to get on the table, pretty to look at & is really tasty.  Yeah!

This Superfood salad would make a nice light supper, excellent side dish, or a great lunch to take to work.  Next time I make this, I'll try it with raw kale, I've got a feeling this would be a good cold salad, too. (I love raw kale salads)  Another nice thing about this salad is that it can be changed up to suit your mood/fridge.  You could easily swap the strawberry/almond combo for a new Superfood taste treat.  In the future I'm going to try these combos... oranges, dried cranberries & walnuts; blueberries & cashews; peaches & almonds; apples & pumpkin seeds and any other Superfood fruit/nut combo, from this big list, that strikes my fancy.  You could even swap out the kale for spinach, if you're so inclined.  So, if you're looking for a way to include more ~ Superfoods ~ into your diet, give this Super simple & Super delicious salad a try ~ it's a Super easy way to get started.  Meatless Monday never had it so good & healthy!   :)  Enjoy! 

Learn More...

Kale & Cabbage Soup ~ a Fat Flush Plan Friendly Soup

What started out as one soup quickly morphed into something else entirely.  For this Kale & Cabbage Soup, I took the best bits of recipe/ingredients from the book French Women Don't Get Fat, the book/site Fat Flush Plan Diet & the blog, Washington's Green Grocer & I turned it into a really tasty pot of soup that was full of good-for-you veggies & protein.

I recently saw a post from a site that I follow on Pinterest ~ Washington's Green Grocer ~ it was for a recipe for Last Ditch Soup.  Any soup that claims to help with the battle of the bulge always catches my attention.   I had all the ingredients that the recipe called for, so I decided to give it a try.  As I was chopping the veggies for the recipe, I thought the soup kinda/sorta sounded like amped up versions of the Magical Leek Soup & the Basic Vegetable Soup from the book French Women Don't Get Fat.  ((to see the post I've done about the Basic Vegetable Soup & the book go here))  It also reminded me of recipes I've seen over on the Fat Flush Plan Facebook page.  ((check out my success with eating this way, over on my blog page here))  I decided to mix bits & pieces of all those recipes together & I came up with this soup.  

Basic Last Ditch Soup ingredients...before I started tinkering with it.

Some of the changes I did to the original Washington's Green Grocer, Last Ditch Soup recipe ~ I added a big bottle of low sodium tomato/V8 juice instead of water when making the soup, I added more spices/gave it more of a chili flavor & I also added a pound of lean, ground turkey breast.  These changes made for a filling (but not heavy) soup that was low carb, low cal & low fat ~ just what I was looking for.  Plus, making this soup helped me clean out my fridge.  What a bonus ~ I'd call that a total win-win situation.  Score!!  :)