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.

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Check out the recipe below 🙂

 Ingredients

• 1 cup Quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Lentils
• Organic wild mushrooms
• Large portabella mushrooms 
• 1 Shallot
• 3 large cloves of garlic 
• Vegetable Broth
• Splash of balsamic vinegar dressing
• Oregano
• Paprika
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• 1 cup walnuts

1. Start by cooking quinoa. Add your water to a pan and bring to a boil. Add Quinoa to water and reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, start boiling and cooking the lentils in a separate pan filled with 1 1/2 cups of water.
3. Cut up your shallot and garlic.
4. In a separate pan start sauteeing the garlic and shallot in a splash of veggie broth. Cook for about (?) mins. Remove from heat when you’re done cooking and set aside.
5. When shallots are ready, put them in a bowl and start sauteeing wild mushrooms.
6. Remove the stem of each portabella mushroom. The gills however are edible, so you don’t have to remove them unless you don’t like the texture. In a separate pan, cook the portabella mushroom face down with some balsamic vinegar until they are mostly cooked. We will also bake them in the oven at the end to add a bit of a crunch.
7. Combine the quinoa with shallots and garlic.
8. Combine lentils into quinoa mixture.
9. Season with oregano, paprika, rosemary, and thyme.
10. Blend walnuts and add to the quinoa mix.
11. Remove the portabella mushrooms from the pan and stuff them with the quinoa blend, and top them with wild mushrooms. Place them in the oven at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes, depending on your oven.
12. Serve and enjoy 🙂

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Nicole’s Go-To Dinner 

On an average night, this is something Nicole loves to make! In this particular recipe we used asparagus, however, it will vary between any other green vegetable (i.e spinach, broccoli, kale, or brussel sprouts). Enjoy 🙂

Ingredients:

• Splash of veggie broth
• 1 packaged Organic Sprouted Tofu
• 1 package mushrooms
• 1 bunch asparagus
• Red pepper flakes (to taste)
• Nutritional Yeast (to taste)

Directions:

1. Drain water from tofu by wrapping it in a paper towel and letting it sit for about 10 minutes.
2.  In a pan over medium-high heat, add veggie broth.
3. Saute mushrooms, covered, for about 15 minutes.
4. Add asparagus and saute until done. Add more veggie broth as needed.
5. Gently crumble tofu into a fresh pan.
6. Cook tofu for about 10 minutes, adding red pepper flakes and nutritional yeast at the very end.
7. Serve warm and enjoy 🙂

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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 🙂

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Quinoa Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms 

Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Oil Free

Our quinoa surprise can be turned into many different recipes! Check out this great stuffed portobello mushroom recipe.

Ingredients:

• Quinoa Surprise
• Portobello Caps
• Lemon

Directions:

– Heat oven to 375 degrees

– Clean gills out of portobello caps

– Add Quinoa Surprise to the portobello caps

– Squeeze lemon on top

– Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes

You can find the recipe for Quinoa Surprise here

Enjoy 🙂

(This recipe is also great for stuffed sweet potatoes or peppers! Bake the sweet potatoes first, then partially slice down the middle and add quinoa mixture and bake for 10 minutes)

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Quinoa Surprise 

Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Oil Free

For this month’s Cooking Day I wanted to show you all my usual routine. I love making fun new recipes and experimenting in the kitchen but when life gets busy, it is important to have a go to routine!

My Grandma used to make us “keilbasa surprise” which was essentially keilbasa and what ever else she had in the fridge. Nowadays, no keilbasa for me but I love the freedom of cooking with whatever you have in the fridge. Here is the Quinoa Surprise I made in class, but feel free to make it your own! This recipe will give you a big batch to use throughout the week! I also made a soup and few other recipes with the quinoa surprise so that you don’t have to eat the same thing all week.

Ingredients: 

• 3-6 Garlic cloves
• 1 16 oz bag of quinoa
• 3 containers of mushrooms
• 2 Shallots 
• 1 bunch of Kale
• 1 container of spinach
• 2 cans Chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• Red pepper flakes (to taste)
• Nutritional Yeast (to taste)

Directions: 

1) Chop up your garlic (let it sit for 10 minutes before heating)

2) Start your quinoa (cook about 15 minutes) I cook with a little extra water than what is required. ***be sure to rinse the quinoa before cooking***

3) In a separate pan add your mushrooms, garlic, and shallots and sautee in veggie broth

4) When the quinoa is finished, set aside.

5) Steam your kale and spinach.

6) Add everything together in a large pot

7) Lastly, heat your chickpeas in pan and add Red Pepper Flakes and Nutritional Yeast and then add to quinoa mix. (I only put spices on the chickpeas so that you can spice it up and add to it throughout the week for different recipes)

Check out 3 other ways you can make Quinoa Surprise by clicking the links below: 

– Quinoa Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

–Creamy Coconut Soup

–Quinoa Romaine Boats

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Mushroom Cream Sauce

Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Oil-Free

This is a great alternative to a standard creamy mushroom sauce that would use dairy products. We like to use plant-based alternatives instead dairy because of the inflammatory problems associated with dairy, check out our blog The 4 Reasons You Should Stop Eating All That Dairy here to learn more!

This sauce is great on top of veggie noodles, or as a dip for vegetables!

Ingredients:

– 1 small red onion (chopped)

– 1 container mushrooms

– 3 cloves garlic (chopped)

– 2 cups cauliflower

– 1/2 cup cashews

– 1 cup almond milk (try our homemade almond milk recipe here)

Directions:

– Heat a saucepan on medium with about 1/2 cup low sodium vegetable broth (enough to lightly cover the bottom of the pan).

– Add onions, mushroom, and garlic and cook for about 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add more vegetable broth as needed to keep the bottom of the pan from sticking.

– Blend cauliflower, cashews, and almond milk in a food processor or blender.

– Once cooked, add onions, mushrooms, and garlic to the blender or food processor and blend to desired texture. 

Helpful tip: If you boil zucchini and squash noodles for a few minutes before serving it gives them a softer texture!

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Mushroom Gravy

This mushroom gravy is a healthy dairy and gluten free alternative to classic thanksgiving gravy, and it is delicious!  Also, did you know mushrooms are anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory?

Ingredients:

– 1/2 whole cooking onion, chopped

– 1 clove garlic, chopped

– 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

– 1 cup vegetable broth

– 1 cup mushrooms, chopped

– 1/2 tbsp. dried thyme

– 4 tbsp of almond flour

Directions

– In a sauté pan, heat 1/3 cup low-sodium vegetable broth

– Add mushrooms, garlic, and onions

– Sauté for 2-3 minutes and until all liquid is evaporated, stirring often

– add almond flour, dried thyme, and nutritional yeast

– Keep on low heat, whisking the mixture for 2 minutes, slowly adding in vegetable broth until desired thickness

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July 12, 2017

Sautéed Mushrooms 

Cooked mushrooms are easy to make, and they are great to eat as a side dish, to add to a salad, or to put in lettuce cups as a wrap.  In addition, mushrooms are one of the most beneficial foods to prevent cancer, and they are loaded with nutrients!  

Ingredients:

– 2 cloves garlic, chopped

– 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth (more as needed)

– 1 small onion, chopped

– 2 cups mushrooms

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Directions 

– Chop garlic first and let sit for 10 minutes, allowing it to sit before cooking preserves the allicin which is a powerful anti-inflammatory component of garlic.

– Warm vegetable broth in a sauté pan, and add onions and garlic.  Cook for 3-5 minutes.

– Add mushrooms, and cook for 15-20 minutes on low, or until the mushrooms are cooked down.

How to eat:

Enjoy in lettuce cups, as a salad topping, or as a delicious snack 😀

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Super Yummy (and Super healthy) Breakfast Scramble

Ingredients

– One block of tofu (make sure to buy an organic tofu that is firm, Panda is a great brand)

– 4 cups mushrooms

– 1/2 cup vegetable broth

– 4 cups spinach

– 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast

– Add 1/2 tsp of each: rosemary, paprika, oregano & thyme

Directions

– Add 1/2 cup of vegetable broth to a large saucepan.  Add in mushrooms.  Depending on the size of your saucepan you may need more or less vegetable broth, just use enough to cover the majority of the bottom of the pan. 

– Cover and cook mushroom for 10 minutes.

– Drain one tofu block, and crumble with your hands into the saucepan.

– Let tofu cook for about two minutes, adding nutritional yeast.  

– Add rosemary, paprika, oregano & thyme *You can add turmeric for a yellow color and anti-inflammatory benefits!

– Add spinach and slowly stir until spinach melts down. 

– Optional: add red pepper flakes for some spice!

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