Tag: chick peas

Power Bowl~ Quinoa Power

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In my haste, I bought dates instead of dried prunes. My mind must have been a million miles away. However, I like dates and they were labeled organic. This was a gigantic bag. I surfed the Internet and found a Moroccan power bowl salad recipe with dates. What a find! Even better, this recipe calls for pistachio nuts, which I have a huge bag of fresh pistachio nuts. I really like Moroccan food. I can’t wait to make this salad. Another step towards healthy eating with pizzazz!

Quinoa Power Salad: We’ve got cooked quinoa, shredded carrots, hydrated or canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), tons of chopped parsley, golden raisins, scallions, dates, and one handful of chopped pistachios. A bowl of delicious Moroccan salad goodness. Toss that all up and drizzle with the honey lemon dressing. [or, your favorite dressing – oil & vinegar with lemon juice, salt, pepper and one minced garlic clove + cumin -my choice]. Just look at all that beautiful color!

Power Bowl

  • Servings: 2-3
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

INGREDIENTS
1 ½ cups cooked quinoa
1 cup matchstick carrots
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 (15 ounce)can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 2 cups(hydrated)chick peas
⅓ cup chopped dates (add more dates if omitting raisins)
¼ cup chopped pistachios (or walnuts
⅓ cup golden raisins (optional)

honey-lemon dressing:

½ teaspoon cumin powder
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey (maple syrup or brown sugar for vegans)
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon chili powder

INSTRUCTIONS

POWER SALAD: Cook the quinoa according to package directions. Allow the quinoa to cool completely before tossing with the salad ingredients. Toss ingredients together.
HONEY-LEMON DRESSING: Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a small mason jar and give it a few good shakes until the dressing mixes through. Drizzle the dressing into the salad and toss the salad to combine everything. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for later!

I know that golden raisins would have been a bit too sweet for me. I opted out and no honey in the dressing. The raw, minced garlic in my dressing adds a very slight tang to the salad. You do not taste it. Add more garlic if you want to experiment. I would add two garlic cloves. We all know how good quinoa is for you. This high protein packed, gluten-free grain is the world’s super food. I have red quinoa and was happy to use it. Add mint or cilantro. You can have a medley of herbs.

After 2 days of soaking, chick peas will break down (get mushy) and start fermenting.

Chick Peas

I soak my dried chick peas overnight in cold water for 8 hours. As a guideline, don’t go over 12 hours. The peas are ready when you test one and it is no longer hard and really tastes similar to a ‘green pea’ – wonderful! Also, you do not have to boil dried chick peas to get them ready for cooking or eating, or, when making hummus. Boiling hardens the chick peas. I have had both and prefer the softer version using my method. TIP: when cooking chick peas add them at the end. The last 5-10 minutes of cooking. Similar to potatoes. Add potatoes at the end of a stew so they stay soft and eatable. NOTE: I also found that preparing chick peas from scratch produces the best, tender chickpeas with a creamy mouthfeel that the canned variety just can not compare. One pound of dried beans = About 2 cups hydrated chick peas. Re-hydrating chick peas is determined by taste. You do not know if your chick peas (dried or canned) have been on the shelf for months or years.

Healthy Power Bowl

Crunchy carrots add the right amount of color to this recipe. You can add cilantro or green bell peppers or any other vegetables that may be almost ready for a toss. The POWER IS YOURS!

The POWER IS IN YOU!

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Sweet 😊 Glycemic Index

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What Do You Know About GLYCEMIC INDEX?

The GLYCEMIC INDEX (GI) is a number from 0 to 100 assigned to a food, with pure glucose (a simple sugar) arbitrarily given the value of 100. Glycemic Index ranks carbohydrate-containing foods by how quickly they digest and raise your blood sugar or glucose levels.

Women eating the highest glycemic load diets were much more likely on average to develop type 2 diabetes or heart disease compared to women of the same age with the lowest glycemic load diets ? provided by the large-scale Nurses’ Health Study

30 Day Challenge!

CHALLENGE DETAILS : Take a picture of yourself today, in the next 20 minutes. Apply a 2 week health regime. Whatever you want: a 10 day cleanse combined with another form of healthy eating. But, follow the GI Plan. Then, take a picture ath the end of the first 2 weeks wearing the same clothes print them both out. Place the pictures on the fridge or where you can see them every day. A good start! Now, in another 2 week later (totaling 4 weeks) take another picture wearing the exact same clothes We have ended 30 day challenge. What does you picture look like now after a total of 30 days. and when you started. If you have been honest with yourself, the results should amaze you and it will motivate you for continued progress. Let’s say you are watching what you eat & doing exercise routine; swimming and walking ti the store -id you can and some exercise plan you enjoy. Pilates is good? After 6 weeks -you will have developed what is called a new “HABIT”. Your new lifestyle has become a habit. Tell me if I am right! Whatever was missing in your life ~ make it happen! Fill your cup to the brim. I’m on your side. In weak moments send me a comment in this posting. I will respond. I am here to help. [Even as a shoulder to lean on].

Individuals who are pre-diabetic typically have fasting glucose levels (before a meal) that are nearly normal or only slightly elevated (usually < 100mg/dL).

DOWNLOAD CHART: Click “Glycemic -Index Images“below

Glycemic-Index_imagesDownload

High GI = 70+ .. try to avoid these
Medium GI = 55-69 .. use caution
Low GI = 0-54 .. your target zone.
Remember, this doesn’t mean these are necessarily “good for you foods”. They’re just a representation of their GI score ~ provided by glycemicedge.com.

Carbs Don’t Make You Fat – High GI DOES!

Adults: 2 cups of fruit every day ~ lowers risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer~

STAY 🍏 HEALTHY!

Spicy Chick Pea Soup

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This is my new favorite soup! Have you ever had collards? Today, I am featurIng this neglected super food: collard greens!

If you are a Southerner (U.S.), you probably have ‘traditional’ collard greens and black-eyed peas on New Years day to bring abundance and good fortune 🍀 to your New Year! 🎉 Join me for a visit to Flavor Town in the soup factory!

COLLARD GREENS: Full of Energy! “Super Food”
RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

  • 1-2 bunches of collard greens ( You decide how much you want – more is good)
  • 3-4 red onions
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tbsp. smoked paprika (heaping)
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds (smash, do not grind)
  • 1 tbsp. cinnamon (heaping)
  • 10-15 green or white cardamon pods*
  • 2-3 cans chick peas (drained: 14-16 fl oz)
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes** with 2 (tomato) cans of water
  • 3 tsp pink Himalayan salt
  • A handful of chopped cilantro ( or parsley) about 1/2 cup

DIRECTIONS

  • Assemble and mix your dry spices in one bowl Rinse and chop collards (Rip or cut out the hard center stem)
  • Add oil to your dutch oven (or heavy pot). Then add chopped onions, heat until translucent. Add chopped garlic and blend quickly.
  • Add spices and mix well with onions and garlic [ add more oil if ingredients start to dry up ]. You want to mix the spices with the onion for optimal flavor.
  • Add 2 cans of drained chick peas
  • Add chopped collards
  • Add 1 can of tomatoes + 2 cans of water. (more water if soup looks more like a stew)
  • Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
  • Add pink salt and chopped cilantro in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
  • Optional: Add about 1 tsp. of fresh thyme, rosemary and/or 1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes for added heat Add these additional spices in the beginning with sauteed onions.
Chick Pea Soup With Collard Greens (Topped With Toasted Black & White Sesame Seeds). I sometimes sprinkle chia seeds.

VARIATIONS

  • More Vegetables:- Add 1, 2 carrots and/or a handful of mushrooms. I do add extra veggies (If they are in the house).
  • Chick pea substitute:- Use white navy beans, cannellini beans, lentils, or black-eyed peas or a blend of various beans.
  • Collard substitute:- Swiss chard or kale, (or spinach).
  • FLAVOR BOOST: 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of Maggi chicken powder, or 1 cup of homemade stock! I do add Maggi powder – I call it Maggi Magic!

Chick peas (garbanzo beans) are very high in protein. Good choice to reduce high blood pressure, reduce wrinkles, weight loss and much more.

Green Cardamom – Mild, Aromatic Spice. A Perennial Plant In The Ginger Family
  • * TIP1: Gently pound dry cardamom with a mortar and pestle. Then, remove most of the pod casing with a sieve or by hand. Keep pod casings for stock or when boiling rice.
    ** TIP2: Use POMI tomatoes (or San Marzano tomatoes). Order online or check at Costco, your supermarket or Italian grocery stores.

PRECAUTION: Eating chick peas, may make you bloat or get a stomach ache. Instead, use white navy beans or broad (fava) beans. Fava beans are good for the immune system and improves bone density. (Info provided by my biologist neighbor)

SALT TIP: When salt is added to food early in the cooking process, it tends to break out the water in the vegetables being cooked. To retain moisture and flavour from the spices, salt is added at the end. Also, adding salt early tends to make the chick peas hard.

If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo send it to me, or, share it on your social media. I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀

Butternut Squash: Roasted with Spicy Chick Peas

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A HEALTHY DISH ! The complimentary spices and roasted veggies burst with flavour!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 small butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  • 1/2 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
  • 5 garlic cloves (1 finely grated, 4 chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
  • Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed, patted dry
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons of curry powder/paste or vadouvan
  • 2 radishes, trimmed, very thinly sliced (optional)
  • 1 cup parsley, mint, and/or cilantro leaves8
  • 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds (optional)
Roasted WHOLE Butternut Squash

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Roast squash directly on oven rack until a paring knife poked through skin easily slides through flesh, 50–65 minutes. Let squash cool until you can handle. Trim ends, halve lengthwise, and scoop out seeds. Tear or cut squash into large pieces; discard skin (it will come off easily as you tear).
  2. Meanwhile, mix yogurt, grated garlic, and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper.
  3. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high. Cook chickpeas, shaking skillet often, until starting to brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Add onion and chopped garlic and cook, stirring often, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in vadouvan (curry powder) and cook, stirring, until chickpeas and onion are coated and mixture is fragrant, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a medium bowl. Wipe out skillet.
  4. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in same skillet over medium-high. Cook squash pieces, cut side down, undisturbed, until browned and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Turn pieces over, remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper. Spoon chickpea mixture over squash, then dollop reserved lemon-garlic yogurt around.
  5. Optional: Toss radishes, herbs, and pomegranate seeds, with remaining 1 Tbsp. lemon juice in a small bowl; drizzle with a splash of oil and season with salt and pepper. Scatter over squash and chickpeas. Finish with a grind or two of pepper.
Roasted Spiced Chick Peas
(Optional) Pomegranate and Pistachio Nuts …you will be glad you added the pomegranate!
LEMON GARLIC YOGURT TOPPING: Can Be Served On The Side ( No Pomegranate here).

VARIATIONS

Add greens, kale ships, collard greens, swiss chard, etc. Cranberries are a good ubstitute for pomegranate. Add leftover quinoa or feta cheese cubes. Serve as a veggie tacos. ‘Squash’ Burgers (see below). Lightly mash squash to biuld your burger. If you have more people at the table, add spinach to the mix to extend your dish

VEGGIE BURGER: Curry / Squash/ Chick Peas/ Pomegranate/ Cilantro/ Parsley

GOOD EATS:

FOODIES ARE # 1!!!

Tamarind and Chick Peas

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9🎶  THREE’S  THE  CHARM  🎶  
(1) TAMARIND (2) SPINACH (3) CHICK PEAS
I had this dish years ago, without all the spices and was not impressed.  The spices in this recipe enhance the key flavour of  the tamarind.  Surprisingly, the 3 jalapeño peppers are not hot in this dish.  An EASY 30 MINUTE meal packed with protein and flavour.  Leftovers makes a great lunch at the office!  Another  winner!


print_recipe
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INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp nigella seeds
1½ tsp fennel seeds  ( or  anise seeds)
1 medium onion ( chopped )
400 g can chopped tomatoes (san marzano)
3 green jalaeño peppers, seeded and cut into quarter lengths
2-3 tsp monk fruit sweetener ( or stevia, truvia, etc. )
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
410 g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1-2 tbsp tamarind paste ( adjust to taste )
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
half a 250g/9oz bag of organic baby spinach leaves
Serving suggestion:  natural yogurt and chapatis

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry the nigella and fennel seeds for about 10 second. Add the onion and cook gently for 8-10 minutes until golden.

2. Mix in the tomatoes,  jalapeños,  sweetener ( Monk fruit ), paprika, turmeric and  chickpeas. Bring to a boil,  then simmer for 10 minutes.  Make sure your dish is stew-like; not too dry. Add water if needed.

3. Stir in the tamarind and coriander. ( (You need to do a taste test here. Add more tamerind to get  that tamerind sweet and sour flavour).  Add the spinach leaves and stir gently until they’ve just wilted. You can serve as a main course with yogurt and chapatis or as a side dish.

Tamarind paste

Tamarind Paste

Tamarind Chick Peas

Tamarind and Chick Peas

COOKING TIP:  Before starting to cook, do all your chopping and rinse out the chick peas. Check your spice rack to make sure you have all your spices  measured and placed in  small dishes. ahead of time. This “mise en place”  technique makes cooking time much faster.

WARNING: Do not buy tamarind without reading the ingredients on the label. I bought tamarind in a bottle at the grocery store. I neglected to read the label as I was in a hurry. The main ingredient was syrup. Tamarind was the fourth ingredient! I was disappointed. Do not accept substitutes or a bogus spice seller that claims to be tamarind. Without ‘true’ tamarind, this recipe is so – so. I soaked my tamerind block in water  took the seeds out and ladled the liquid into the dish. ( About 1 cup ) The difference was like night and day.

DID YOU KNOW? The recipe for WORCESTERSHIRE Sauce contains tamarind?  The one ingredient that sets Worcestershire sauce apart  is tamarind  fruit. The sweetness in this fruit  is balanced by its high content of acid, giving it that sweet-sour taste.

TAMARIND is a condiment, a spice and a fruit. Its extract, which tastes deliciously tangy, is one of the most highly valued foods in Asian and Indian cuisine. ( Origin: Africa )

TAMARIND contains an impressive amount of essential minerals such as thiamine, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. Some of its other prominent nutrients include niacin, calcium, vitamin C, copper, fiber and pyridoxine.

Tamarind treats both constipation and diarrhea naturally by increasing the effectiveness of the digestive tract.  Tamarind has long been considered a natural laxative.  It stimulates your metabolism and also keeps your digestive system strong and improves blood circulation. Good for weight loss. Boost your immune system. Also, it has anti-inflammatory properties.

Tamarind Pods and Beverage