Ingredients:

For Quinoa-

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1 TBSP Cumin
• 1 TBSP Onion Powder
• 1 TBSP Nutritional Yeast

For Stir-Fry

• Splash of Veggie Broth (to cook your veggies in)
• 3 Bell Peppers (Sliced) (we used yellow and red)
• 1 Large yellow onion (chopped however you like)
• 5 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1 bunch of kale (de-stemmed)
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 1 tsp Thyme
• 1 tsp Rosemary
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 Pomegranate
• Juice from ½ a lemon

Directions:

1. Start cooking quinoa by bringing water and quinoa to a boil. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until all of the water has been absorbed.
2. Add onion to a separate pan with veggie broth and cook for about 4-5 minutes, then add your garlic.
3. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and add peppers.
4. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the veggies are cooked to your desired texture.
5. Add spices and then kale. Cook that for about 1 ½ minutes or until the kale turns a pretty green.
6. By this time your quinoa should already be completely cooked. Add the spices into the quinoa last.
7. Combine quinoa, with stir-fry and your meal is complete! Top it off with Nutritional Yeast.

The post Easy Pomegranate Quinoa Bowl appeared first on Wellness Training Institute.

We used an herb called Chaga Mushrooms. Chaga mushroom is a type of fungus that grows mainly on the bark of birch trees in cold climates. They are considered to be a nutrient-dense superfood, slows down the aging process, helps lower cholesterol, helps prevent and fight cancer, lowers blood pressure, supports the immune system, fights inflammation, and lowers blood sugar. This ingredient is optional in our recipe however it’s health benefits prove to be worth a try!

You can find Chaga mushrooms at this website here.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups Kale (de-stemmed)
• 1 white onion (chopped)
• 2 cups mushrooms (use your favorite kind!)
• 1 yellow bell pepper (chopped)
• ¼ of an inch of ginger (minced)
• 1 tbs curry
• 1 tbs garlic powder
• 1 tbs oregano
• 1 tbs rosemary
• 1 tbs thyme
• 1 tbs garam masala
• 1 13 oz jar of chickpeas (we used Jovial Organic)
• 1 13.5oz can organic coconut milk (we used the brand Fair Trade)
• Splash of veggie broth (to cook your veggies in)
• 2 pinches blended chaga mushroom (optional)

Directions:

1. Start sautéing mushrooms in a pan on medium-low heat for about 4-5 minutes
2. Add onions to the pan and start sautéing until it’s caramelized (almost burnt, but not quite!) We cooked ours for about 6 minutes. You might need to add more vegetable broth.
3. Add your coconut milk and cook for 2 minutes
4. Mix peppers, ginger, Chaga, curry, and garlic. Cook for about another minute and then add the chickpeas
5. Turn the heat up to high and then add the rest of your spices and kale.
6. Cook for about 1 minute. When you see the kale turning a really pretty green then you know it’s done!
7. Wa-la. Enjoy 🙂 This dish is best served right away however you can still keep it in the fridge to eat later.

The post Mushroom Kale Masala appeared first on Wellness Training Institute.

Nicole made this super easy Mexican Quinoa Bowl that is PERFECT for a family Mexican night! One thing Nicole keeps in mind as inspiration for our Cooking Days is thinking about the foods that are common to eat on the go, like Chipotle or Qdoba, and finds a way to make it healthy! Enjoy 🙂

Everything for our cooking day Nicole bought from the Royal Oak Farmers Market. She got organic mushrooms (shitake & cremini), raspberries, steel-cut oats, organic lettuce, sweet leaf kale, cabbage, garlic, green beans, and beautiful flowers! (not all used in this recipe) Check out the recipe below.

Ingredients:

• Lentil Taco “Meat” (click the link for ingredients, or see below to Express Recipes)
• Grapefruit guacamole (click the link for ingredients, or read below to Express Recipes)
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 red onion chopped
• Splash of veggie broth (to cook your veggies in)
• 1 cup green beans cut in half
• 3 cups kale (or 1 bunch)
• 2 diced peppers (we used red and yellow) 

Directions:

1. Start making your Lentil Taco “Meat”.
2. While the lentils are cooking for your Lentil Taco “Meat”, make your grapefruit guacamole (we substituted the tomatoes for red pepper, this makes it detox friendly!)
3. Next, you’ll start cooking your quinoa in a pan for about 10-15 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water.
4. Once the quinoa is done, add your kale! Let that cook just for 1-2 minutes. The base for your Mexican Bowl is now complete. Next move on to cooking the veggies 🙂
5. Add your onion to a pan with some veggie broth and cook for about 13-15 minutes. You want to make sure that you add enough veggie broth so the onions don’t start burning! We want it to caramelize, but not burn.
6. Add green beans to the onions and continue cooking for 3-5 minutes or until the green beans are cooked to the desired texture.
7. Combine quinoa, onions, green beans, lentil meat, grapefruit guacamole to a bowl and top with your peppers!
8. Mix it all together and enjoy 🙂

Express recipes:

Lentil Taco “Meat”

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown lentils
• 2 cups of water
• 1/2 tsp. of cayenne, garlic, red pepper, chili, onion powder, paprika, oregano, and cumin combined to make your own taco seasoning (often store-bought taco seasonings will have added sugar, preservatives, or artificial flavors).
• 1 cup walnuts

Directions:

1.  In a cooking pot combine water and lentils and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, and cook for about 15 minutes.
2. Once lentils are cooked through (you can taste test), drain out water and place into a saucepan. Heat on medium to toast the lentils for about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently to ensure that they don’t burn.
3. Place walnuts and spices into a food processor or blender, and do a very light pulse to slightly chop the walnuts. Then add in the toasted lentils. You may have to do this in batches. You should have close to an even amount of lentils and walnuts.

Grapefruit Guacamole

Ingredients:

• 2 Avocados
• Juice of 1/4 grapefruit
• 1 jalapeno chopped fine
• 1/2 yellow onion chopped fine
• 1 tomato chopped fine (we used red pepper to make it detox friendly)
• A handful of cilantro & basil chopped fine

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients and mash with a fork 🙂 

The post Mexican Quinoa Bowl appeared first on Wellness Training Institute.

Soup season is almost among us! If you’re excited like we are, you know that cold weather means warm vegetable soup! We made 2 different kinds this past weekend… Blended Vegetable and Creamy Mushroom. This is something Nicole likes to make often as meal prep and then freezes some for the future. You can find the Blended Veggie below and the Vegan Cream of Mushroom one here. Enjoy!

Ingredients 

• 2, 8 oz packet mushrooms
• 8 large cloves garlic
• 1 large purple onion
• 2 stocks of celery
• 2 large jalapeños (or mild peppers if you don’t prefer spicy)
• 1 head of Kale
• ½ cup Nutritional Yeast
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Rosemary
• 1 tsp Thyme
• 1 tsp Oregano

Directions:

1. Start by adding a splash of water to mushrooms in a large pot on medium heat
2. Chop garlic up, set aside and let sit for 10 minutes
3. Chop up onion and add into mushrooms
4. Add the garlic to the onions and mushrooms
5. Cut up celery, and set aside
6. Cut up Jalapeños (you can take the seeds out of the jalapeños to make it less spicy)
7. After the mushrooms, onions, and garlic have been cooked to your liking add celery and jalapenos
8. Fill up the pot with water (about 60 ounces)
9. Cook for about 45 minutes on medium heat
10. Add Kale to the pot and continue cooking for 15 minutes of cooking
11. Let cool and blend using an immersion blender.
12. While blending, start adding spices (nutritional yeast, paprika, rosemary, thyme, and oregano!)
13. Wa La 🙂

You can use an immersion blender, or put the soup into any high-speed blender that you have 🙂

The post Blended Veggie Soup appeared first on Wellness Training Institute.