Farro Lentil Dish

I was going to post about this yesterday but already had two blogging entries.  So - why not today, eh!?  This is the Farro Lentil Dish I came up with that I ate for my lunch yesterday.  I ended up making extra Farro as well as some Lentils that were pre-packaged from Trader Joe's the last time I went.  All you had to do with them is put them in the microwave or on the stove-top for a few minutes.  I only used 5 ingredients in this dish but I think I had it figured out that it was roughly 30 to 34 grams of protein in this...yet another dish to prove those nay-sayers wrong that vegetarians and vegans can't get enough protein, eh!?  Here's what's in this dish:

1 C Farro, Cooked

1 C Lentils, Cooked

1 C Zuke in Tomato Sauce

2 tea Wildtree "Everything Blend" (More on this below)

2 T Pine Nuts

Inspired by the ubiquitous “everything” bagel, this blend can now be applied to, well, everything! Use as a coating for fish, flavor pretzels, or mix it into butter to make a unique everything spice garlic bread!

 

Of course you won't be seeing any 'fish' here on my blog...but you WILL be seeing other ways to use this product that goes along with my vegetarian/vegan lifestyle.  This product does have a speck of sea salt in it and as many of you know I'm not usually one to add "salt" to my foods but it worked well here probably because it complimented and didn't overpower the other flavors.

 

This Wildtree Product includes the following ingredients:
Sesame Seeds

Sea Salt

Poppy Seeds

Onion

Caraway Seeds

Garlic

Each ingredient is organic is at has the new(er) Wildtree Organic Label right on there!  I will be trying to use this more in my dishes and post them here for all to see.  If you would like to order this product on my website it's only $8.50 and a very little bit goes a long way!  I would say 1/2 tea to 1 tea is all you need at a time but it DOES come in a shaker top so  you can add as much or as little as you want.

I will have at least 1 more blog entry today so be sure to visit again soon!

Veggie Stew, Farmers Market Close, Lentil "Cream Cheese" Spread, Fall Weather, & Smoothies

WOWZA!  What a week!  And it's ONLY Tuesday!  The main reason that I have been 'few and far between' on my posts for over a week has mostly been because I have been running non-stop!  Hubby was in the ER - twice in 5 days - as well as the doctors office - twice in those same 5 days.  He has 2 Kidney Stones, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and Colitis...he might also have a Urinary Tract Infection.  He's been on the BRAT Diet for the past week and he's NOT loving it...the meat eater he is!  BRAT stands for Banana, Rice, Apple Sauce, and Toast.  So far he hasn't done the Apple Sauce but has done the other items on that list.  He's feeling a LITTLE better but meets with another doctor today and Thursday has an appointment with a Urologist for the Kidney Stones.

In other news...and there is LOTS of other news...I have some foods to share with you...some great attempts and what I consider a FAIL with Apple in a Soup.  You don't know unless you try, right?  Anyhow...in the first photo above...you will see a Gentle Veggie Stew I made last week.  I usually LOVE intense flavors but this one was VERY Gentle.  In this Veggie Stew...I used the following...6 Small Potatoes, 4 Small Tomatoes, 1 C Kale, 1 C Chickpeas, 1 Small Onion, 1 Red Pepper, 1 Green Pepper, 1 tea Garlic Powder, 3 to 5 squirts of Braggs Liquid Aminos, 2 C of Water or more if needed.

This past weekend was the last weekend of the season for our local Farmers Market.  I wasn't able to go this weekend but I went the weekend before.  I'm so sad to see this season end!

One of my FAVORITE Dip/Spread Attempts I have done in a while was this Lentil "Cream Cheese" Spread that I made with 1 C Red Lentils (cook those so it will be more) and 2 hefty Tablespoons of Daiya Cream Cheese so that it melts along with a tiny splash of Garlic Dipping Grapeseed Oil.  (Or you can use Garlic, Sea Salt, your choice of Oil).

This was AMAZING!  I did more of it last night but mad it thinner and might even thin it out even more and use it for a sauce on pasta or rice soon!

Another lovely food attempt last week was a smoothie I made using Cashew Milk, Sun Warrior Chocolate Protein Powder, and about 8 Frozen Strawberries.  I topped it with Hemp Hearts/Hemp Seeds.  It was tasty.

I have been tinkering with a LOT of smoothies lately and will report back with my creations!

Yes...it's been cooling WAY DOWN here and I am NOT LOVING it.  The warmer the better for me.  Don't get me wrong...I LOVE the seasonal veggies and colors of the Foliage but I would take the warmer weather that is for sure...and lets not even discuss SNOW...eeeek!  Anyhow...the Coats/Jackets are out and being worn.  Paco's sweaters are now back in use, too!  This is one of his favorites!  I think I will end this post for now.  I just remembered a bunch of other pictures I have to crop and post about.  In addition to everything else from last week we had some phone issues and I ended up getting Hubby's iPhone 5 and he upgraded to an iPhone 5 S so I will mention that in my next blog post as well!

Vegan Mofo ~ Spinach & Chickpeas, Turkish Red Lentil Soup, A Word About Lavender, and Mostly Liquids Week

Happy Monday!  Positive thought to all of you for a wonderful week!  I will have at least 2 posts today! 

Saturday I spent a little time visiting the Farmers Market as well as some of the discount stores in the area and found some really neat things.  (Which I will be blogging about a bit later).  I also spent time cleaning...I did quite a few dishes as well as our floors which needed vacuuming and shampooing MAJORLY.  I also made this dish.  It's Spinach and Chickpeas.  Here's what's in this dish...



1 C Chickpeas
1 Pound Spinach (Frozen)
1 C Vegan Bread Crumbs
3 Cloves Garlic
8 Ounces Tomato Sauce
Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 tea Cumin
Splash of Balsamic
1/2 tea Paprika

It ended up being pretty good!  It was a nice comfort food, really.  I was craving chickpeas and spinach so this work well.  Paco has been pretty active lately and I caught him in a rare moment this past weekend.  He was pretty drowsy in this photo.  We were watching 'scary' movies.  For some reason the dogs have really been digging them lately.  Not sure why.  Anyhow...this week I will start a new attempt with Paco's eyes.  You may remember me not liking the stuff I am using now and after taking some of Opal's advise I was able to find bulk Lavender.  I haven't gotten my hands on the essential oil yet but I figured the flowers would be a gentle way to see how he did with Lavender...I will soak the flowers in some water and use it as a compress and gently wash the stains using a cloth, I think.

I mentioned last week I am going to challenge myself and try and do MOSTLY LIQUIDS this week!  This could be flavored waters, teas and tonics, Juices and Smoothies, Pureed Soups, and as a cheat I will still stick with the pureed theme and do dips that are pureed (like hummus's and bean dips, for example) but only use celery to dip...things like this for my MOSTLY Liquids Week.   This is my first one of the week my lunch for later today.  This is Turkish Red Lentil Soup.  I sampled a bit of it after making it over the weekend and it was super tasty!  Here's what it has in it...



3/4 C Cooked Lentils
1-2 C Water
1 Onion
1 Carrot
3 Cloves Garlic
2 T Tomato Paste

I'm excited to try new-to-me pureed vegan soups this week!  I will be using my various Ninja Blenders for the pureeing process, too!  More on that in my next post!  What interesting foods did you eat this weekend!?

Vegan MoFo ~ Quinoa Lentil Garam Masala

Vegan MoFo 2013 has begun!  The last few years I have signed up late and altho wasn't listed on the Blog Roll of participants decided to do it any way!  This year I made sure I signed up a month or so a head of time!  I just stopped by and didn't see my link listed but left a note in comments.  It's OK tho, because, I'm really just doing it for FUN and for my own reasons and will still participate regardless if my blog is on that list or not.  I give them TWO thumbs up for organizing all of it because I understand how hard it is to do something like that!  What great people they have behind the annual event!  A great way to spread the word!

You might be wondering what I have for my first Vegan MoFo 2013 Post above!  Well, it's a twist on Garam Masala.  You might usually find Garam Masala with Lentils and/or Rice.  Instead of Rice I used Quinoa AND Lentils!  I loved it...if I do say so myself!  The flavor was tasty and it was FUN to make!  I also used Wildtree's NEW Garam Masala Blend!  So here's the recipe I used for this dish...

1 C Sweet Onion
1 1/2 tea Wildtree Garam Masala Blend
2 Tomatoes
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Medium Eggplant (About A Pound)
2 to 3 C Cooked Quinoa
1 C Red Lentils, Cooked
2 C Zucchini (1 Medium)
Water, Salt as needed

Next time I think I will do it with less Quinoa and more Lentils.  Of course - you could use various rices, too!  Either way I do really like it!  And the BEST part...this is SO VERY Nutritious!

With the Quinoa you have: a Complete Protein, Fiber, Potassium, Calcium, B-6, Magnesium, Iron, etc.  By adding the Red Lentils in this dish you are getting: Potassium, Fiber, Protein, B-6, Iron, Magnesium, "Good" Carbs, Vitamin A, Folate, etc.  You know how I LOVE Garlic and eat it nearly everyday, well, it's good for: Vitamin C and is a great anti-inflammatory among other things!  Now is the perfect time for Zucchini where I live and those are high in...Protein, Vitamin A, Thiamin, Niacin, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Potassium and Manganese.  Eggplant is known for the following nutrition...Vitamin K, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber.  And, of course, Tomatoes...Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Potassium and Manganese.

Every once and a while I like to list these things as a spot check for myself but also to inform others of the nutritional values of whole foods - fruits and veggies - and that it IS possible to get the nutrients you need from them!  Sure often people ask about protein - that's EASY to explain, really - but now more and more people are asking about calcium, potassium, and B Vitamins, it seems.  Well, if you take the time, you can see it's just as easy!  I know prior to my Sciatica Discovery I was assuming I needed to step-up my potassium intake but I really think I am getting a good deal of it - eventho I don't regularly consume Bananas, for example.  Opal and I have discussed this a great deal as well!  Sometimes I (temporarily) forget which natural foods are high in some things - such as potassium. I'm going to try and mention this more often here on my blog.

This dish was POWER PACKED full of GOODNESS!  I had some stand-alone but am thinking about doing some pita pockets, wraps, and such with it this week, too! 

CORRECTION:  I am listed on Vegan MoFo 2013 HERE under the 2013 The United States Of Blogging!  YAY!  Thanks guys!