White Bean and Barley Stuffed Peppers

I love stuffed peppers!  Warm, hearty, filling...yum.  In this recipe the classic rice and meat stuffing has been "plantified" with white beans and barley (and a bunch of other herbs and vegetables).  This is a great stick to your ribs, cold winter night, kind of meal that you can feel good about.  They can be cut up and shared along side a salad or eaten as a stand alone meal.  The barley is loaded with fiber, the beans are a great source of protein and iron, and the veges are full of vitamins and minerals.  I am literally stuffing nutrients into nutrients; plants into plants.  I wish I had a clever name for that...you know like when you stuff a chicken into a duck and then into a turkey and call it a turducken.  I guess plants stuffed into plants is just called healthy :)  I hope you enjoy this artery clearing, instead of clogging, version of stuffed peppers.

Alright, are you ready to see what we are making?

The Peppers

4 large bell peppers, tops cut off, seeds and ribs removed
*look for peppers that have flatter bottoms and can stand on their own
**any color works

The Stuffing

1 cup dry pearled barley
2 cups of vegetable broth
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 ribs of celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2-3 cups of spinach
1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 15oz can of crushed red tomatoes and juices

*throw in a jalapeno or some crushed red pepper if you like a little heat

See the Taco Tuesday #2 - Black bean and Barley Tacos post for more information about the different kinds of barley.

Pictures are to be read left to right, top to bottom

To make the stuffing, start by heating a drizzle of olive oil (cooking spray or a little water works well too) in a large soup pot. Then throw in the carrots, celery, and onion; cook them down until they start to sweat.

Then throw in the garlic and spinach and let them cook down a little.

Add the dried thyme and oregano, mix well.

Add the barley, mix well, and let it toast a little to build a nutty flavor.

Next, stir in the red wine vinegar.

Finally, add the tomatoes and vegetable stock.  Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Once the liquid is absorbed and the barley is tender, gently fold in the beans.  Allow the mixture to cool slightly so you can stuff the peppers with it without burning your fingers.  No trips to the ER while cooking!

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees F. Place the peppers in a glass baking dish and fill them to the brim with the stuffing, packing it down as you go.  Don't get greedy and overfill them though or else you will have a mess.  Cover the dish with foil and into the oven it goes for about 45 minutes.  Check the peppers and make sure they are tender, but don't eat them yet!  If they are tender, take off the foil and put them back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes to brown a little.









Ok, now it is time to eat.  Enjoy your plants stuffed with more plants.  Feel free to mix up the herbs or veges in these to whatever you like.  I have entertained the thought of doing a Mexican spiced version, a Thai version with peanut sauce, or a Jamaican jerk version.  The possibilities are endless, well that's not true, but there are a lot of options.




Happy eating and best health,

Dr. G

Roasted Carnival Squash Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing

It's the new year, you are all excited to exercise and eat right, and then the next thing you know you are bored of eating salad everyday (and maybe still a little hungry too), can I get an amen?  So, I thought: a new year needs a new salad.  I created this salad to fill you up, excite your taste buds, pack in the nutrients, and help keep you on track.  Also, my mom says I have been posting too many tacos (as if there is such a thing as too many tacos), so here is a salad instead.  

Loaded up with rice, beans, and roasted carnival squash, this salad is hearty enough to call a meal.

The idea for this recipe came from the Oh, She Glows Cookbook by Angela Lidden.  I "doctored" it up to make it my own, but she deserves a shout out for the inspiration.  As you are learning to cook whole food plant based meals I really do recommend looking at recipes for inspiration, but changing them to suit your tastes or the ingredients that you have available to you.  

Also, try to keep an open mind about what makes up a meal.  If you are coming from a meat-eating mindset you are probably used to having a hunk of meat as the star of your plate, surrounded by side dishes of veges and grains.  When you eat a WFPB diet your whole meal is veges and grains so there are a lot of one dish meals, soups, stews, bowls, tacos (obviously), etc.  This is a new way of eating and a new way of thinking about food.  Go with it, embrace the change.  That said...

Here is what we are making: 

The squash and rice take the longest, so let's get them started first.

Rice

Grab a bag of brown rice (or other rice of your choice) and cook as much as you want by following the instructions...yup. It will take about 40 mins or so, so start that now.
FYI, you will need about 1 cup of cooked brown rice for the salad.  Since it takes 40 minutes to cook I usually make extra to keep in the fridge or freezer for a quick meal later in the week.  Also, if you have leftover rice from a prior meal this is a perfect way to use it up.

Squash

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F


You will need:

1 carnival squash (acorn squash will work too)
1 teaspoon olive oil
a pinch of salt

Cut the squash in half from top to bottom, remove the seeds, and slice into 1/2 inch half moons.














Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and then lay them flat in a single layer on a baking sheet. Go ahead and put those in the oven, they will take about 30-40 minutes to cook through and brown up a little.  Flip them half way through cooking.

FYI this can be done days in a advance, just reheat them in the microwave prior to serving.

Salad

4 cups of salad greens (spring mix and baby spinach used here)
1 cup of quartered artichoke hearts
1 medium cucumber, halved and sliced
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 can of beans (red beans used here)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 medium purple onion chopped


Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Feel free to use whatever veges you like, it's your salad.

Lemon Tahini Dressing

In case you haven't noticed this yet, I like to make my own dressings, it is a totally unnecessary step.  I do it because I like to know what is in my food and it takes like 2 seconds, so whatever.  If you don't want to make your own dressing any vegan lemony dressing will do.


1.5 tablespoons tahini (or almond or cashew butter)
1 shallot
1 clove of garlic
juice of 2 lemons
handful of parsley
pinch of salt

Put everything into the blender and blend until smooth.












To assemble your salad simply arrange the squash pieces on top and dress.

Here it is.  BEAUTIFUL!

If you are looking to make this a quick weeknight meal, no problem.  The rice and squash can be prepared in advance and reheated on the day you are assembling the salad.  Even better, if you prepare extra rice and freeze it (like I keep reminding you to do) you can skip that step on your meal prep day.   BTW the dressing will keep in the fridge for 5-7 days as well.

Heart healthy, low calorie, and delicious!

Happy eating and best health,

Dr. G

If it is good enough for Tom Brady...

There has been a popular article floating around the internet over the past week or so about Tom Brady and his family eating a whole food plant-based diet.  The article is about his chef, Allen Campbell, who took the Cornell University plant based nutrition course taught by T. Colin Campbell (the author of the China Study) and what he is preparing for Tom and his family to eat.  Currently, they are eating about 80% plant based foods and absolutely no dairy, refined sugar, or white flour.  If Tom Brady is working at a plant-based diet, why can't you?

Check out the article and see what you think...

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/2016/01/04/meet-the-chef-who-decides-what-tom-brady-eats-and-what-definitely-doesn/gERAd0pkpmuELDZztIA56K/story.html

Keep an eye out for a new recipe this week!


Best health,

Dr. G

Taco Tuesday #8 - Everything is Ire Man; Jamaican Spiced Red Bean and Kale Chip Tacos

Last week I was at the grocery store searching high and low for the Indian spice fenugreek.  I failed that mission, but instead I stumbled upon Jamaican allspice.  What is the difference between Jamaican allspice and "regular" allspice, you ask?  Umm...honestly I don't know.  I bought it anyway.

Now, let's fast forward to last night when I looking for inspiration for Taco Tuesday tonight.  As I was flipping through this great new cookbook that I got for Christmas called The Taco Cleanse, I found a recipe for "redemption beans" which are a Jamaican style red bean that features allspice.  Sounded good to me.  I Dr. G'ed the recipe a bit and created these yummy tacos.  One love, Jamaica baby.


Here is what we are making:

The kale chips take the longest, so let's make those first.  If you are feeling particularly lazy you can buy them, and then you can skip your lazy butt to the next step.

The Kale Chips

You will need:
1 bunch of kale
garlic powder, to taste
nutritional yeast, to taste
drizzle of olive oil
pinch of salt (optional)


Come on, just make them yourself, they are so easy to make.









Ok, here is what you do.  First wash and dry your kale.  Get as much water off as you can.  Now pre-heat your oven to 300F.  Rip the leaves off the stems and tear them into bite sized pieces, toss them into a big bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and salt to taste.   Massage those leaves until they are coated with all that good stuff you just sprinkled them with.  Spread the kale in a single layer on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven for 25 minutes.  So easy, right?

When they are done they will be crispy and delicious.

Notice that I chose habanero salsa, because I'm not a wimp.

The Tacos

You will need:
tortillas of your choice
whole lettuce leaves, any lettuce will work (one for each taco)
salsa of your choice or guacamole

Set this stuff aside for taco assembling later!

The Beans

You will need:
3 cups of red pigeon peas (or red kidney beans)
1 1/2 cups almond/coconut milk blend (you can also just use coconut milk, but the blend cuts the calories)
1 habanero pepper
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon allspice
3 cloves of garlic, pressed or smashed
3 scallions, crushed but left whole
pinch of salt to taste

The hot habanero hangs out alone.

To get the beans started, heat the milk, scallions, garlic, bay leaves, spices and the habanero in a sauce pan.  Don't bring it to a boil just a simmer...be cool.  You want to almost steep the herbs and spices in the milk, like tea.   Let those flavors get to know each other for 10 minutes or so.  Then add in the beans and heat through, another 5 minutes or whatever, doesn't really matter...just leave them in there until you are ready to assemble the tacos.

Steeping the herbs and spices...

Herbs, spices, and milk making friends with the beans.











When you are ready to use the beans, take the herbs and spices (and pepper) out of the pot.  If you need to thicken the liquid a little you can add some corn starch or flour.  Set the beans aside for taco making in a few minutes.

FYI this is not a ripe plantain, when ripe they should be yellow with brown spots.
Think over ripe banana.  But, if you only have an under ripe one available, peel it
and put it in the microwave for about 1 minute, problem solved. 

The Plantains 

You will need:
1 ripe plantain
cooking spray



















These take 2 seconds to make.  Cut your plantain up into rounds, spray a frying pan with cooking spray, and plop your plantains in.  Cook them until they are golden brown on both sides.  Sprinkle with salt if you wish.  These can be dry fried if you would prefer to skip the cooking spray.

Ire man, let's build some tacos.  Put your tortilla down first, then a lettuce leaf (helps protect the tortilla from the bean liquid), then pile on the beans, kale, plantain, and your condiments of choice.  Enjoy a taste of paradise!

Who said that all tacos have to be Mexican?  Certainly not me.











One love, happy eating, and best health,

Dr. G

Happy New Year 2016!!

Happy New Year plant eaters (or maybe soon-to-be plant eaters)!  I love the new year because people are excited and motivated for change.  I hope that some of you are planning to make eating plants a larger part of your 2016 diet.  This is a chance to get healthier, eat delicious food, maybe even drop a few pounds.  2016 is your year!!  Now, I know that you run out of steam on your New Year's resolutions a few weeks into the new year.  But, did you know that having a community to hold you accountable, motivate you, and help get you back on track when you stray will help you stick to your New Year's resolutions?

Don't have a community, you say?  How about getting your friends and family together or a group of your co-workers?  Can't get them on board...try an internet community and let me help you!  Follow me here on the blog for recipes and information.  Check out my Facebook account for great articles and updates about the blog.  Or, if you need more frequent encouragement follow me on Instagram; I post pictures daily.  There are links to my Facebook and Instagram account on the toolbar to the right.


Here are a few food pictures to get you hungry for healthy food and excited for this chance to change your life this new year:

A few of my breakfast favorites

Some delicious lunch and dinner recipes

Stay tuned for brand new recipes and blog chatter to come.  Let's make 2016 plant-ful, healthful, and wonderful.  Happy New year!

Happy eating and best health,

Dr. G

Super Green Smoothie Bowl

Finally, it is the weekend.  What are you having for breakfast today? Hmmm.....  Well here is a quick, easy, and healthy idea for you :).

I love breakfast! If you follow me on Instagram you have probably noticed that I post breakfast pictures all of the time.  If you don't follow me on Instagram you probably should, just saying (use the link on the right to get to my account).  I love both sweet and savory breakfasts.  But, regardless of whether I am in a sweet or savory mood, I like to throw some veges into breakfast.  This super green smoothie bowl tastes like tropical deliciousness, and gets its green color from a little avocado and spinach.  Here is what we are making:

Here is what you will need:

1/2 frozen mango, cut into chunks
1/4 frozen avocado, cut into chunks
1 inch piece of ginger
juice of 1/2 lime
handful of spinach
11oz of coconut water (or just plain water)

If you didn't remember to freeze your mangoes and avocados you can just throw in a few ice cubes.  Freezing them just makes the smoothie creamier.





Put everything into the blender and blend until smooth.  You can drink this like a smoothie or pour it into a bowl and top with whatever you like.  Pictured here are a few more (not frozen) mango chunks, blackberries, vanilla almond granola, and chia seeds.


Now sit back, enjoy your smoothie bowl and pretend you are on a tropical island.


Happy eating and best health,

Dr. G

I don't have time to eat healthy food (insert me rolling my eyes)

I hear it day in and day out, "I don't have time to eat healthy food".  It makes my head want to explode and my eyes want to roll.  Even the busiest of people have time to eat well, trust me.  The key is just a little bit of planning.  Here are few tips for eating healthy while on the go and for those of us who have incredibly busy lives.

1. When you make grains that take a little while to cook like brown rice, quinoa, bulgar wheat, farro, whatever, make extra.  Pop the leftovers in the fridge or freezer to heat up when you are in a rush. They make a great base for bowls or can be tossed into a salad or a soup.  

2. Keep your fridge full of fresh veges for stir fries.  Stir fries are your friend when you are in a rush because they take minutes to make.

3. Have a good collection of healthy condiments and sauces, they help to add flavor when you are whipping up a meal in 10 minutes.

4. Carefully select some prepared foods that take minutes to heat up. Look for things like vege burgers (make sure you can pronounce all of the ingredients, I like Dr. Praeger's brand myself), marinated baked tofu, and plant based soups.  Keep an eye on the amount of salt in your packaged foods.  A good rule of thumb is to look for foods that have less than 1mg of sodium per 1 calorie.  So if a food has 140 calories in it, it should have 140mg or less of sodium in it.  Got it?

Here is a stir fry I threw together tonight.  I worked a late ER shift (it's part of my family medicine training, not my favorite thing to do) and walked in my door at 10:28pm, by 10:41pm I was eating this:  

Leftover brown rice, mushrooms and purple cabbage quickly sauteed in a little sesame oil and ginger, sesame ginger marinated baked tofu that I bought at the store, coriander relish, Siracha, and a sprinkle of hemp seeds and lime juice.  I had all of this stuff in my fridge...it took me 10 minutes to prepare and take the pic.  

Back to the list.

5. Pack fresh fruits for snacks.  Many of them come in their own "to-go packaging" such as  bananas, oranges, clementines, grapefruits, etc.  And things like apples, pears, peaches, and plums require no prep at all.  Fruits were the original "to-go" foods.  

6. Nuts travel well too in a small container or a single serve pouch.  No need for sugar-laden protein bars to get you through your day. 

7. Do some meal prep on a day when you are less busy.  Make a big batch of chili or soup and put it in single serve containers to bring along for lunch or a quick dinner.  

8. Do some snack prepping too while you are at it.  As an example, if you have carrots sticks cut up and hanging out in the fridge you will be much more likely to grab them for a quick snack.  

9. Make your breakfast the night before.  This is great to do with oats and porridge.  Below is an example of a quinoa porridge (with leftover quinoa from dinner) that I made the night before and reheated in the morning.    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   I heated up leftover quinoa and chia seeds in the microwave along with some frozen blueberries.  Then poured a little almond milk over the tops and threw on some pecans.  Simple, quick, and delicious.  

10. When you are in a rush/busy, try to sit down and just focus on eating even if it is just for a few minutes.  You will be more likely to feel full, less likely to over eat,  and less likely to snack mindlessly.  

So no more "I'm too busy" excuses okay?  Feel free to shoot me an email (use the tool on the right) or leave a comment if you have questions or other tips that you use to eat healthy food when you are on the go.  

Happy eating and best health,

Dr. G

Taco Tuesday #7 - Roasted Cauliflower Tacos

Are you guys ready for a freakin' fiesta?  It's time for TACOS!  Straight up, I stole like 90% of this recipe from the Thug Kitchen cookbook.  What can I say?  It is a great recipe that is worth sharing. If you don't own this book yet you should probably ask Santa for it.

I am pretty excited about this recipe. My "taste tester" says, "These are restaurant quality."

OK, let's get right to it.  Here is what we are making:

There are 3 components to this dish that we need to whip up: the cauliflower, the slaw, and the salsa.

Cauliflower Filling

Get the cauliflower started first since it takes the longest to cook.  Go ahead and preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

You will need:

1 head of cauliflower cut into small florets
3/4 cup beer (pretty much any beer will work...maybe not a chocolate stout)
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon lime juice
1.5 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons chipotle hot sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1.5 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons olive oil
pinch of salt







In a saute pan heat up the beer, vegetable broth, lime juice, soy sauce, hot sauce, and garlic.















Toss in the cauliflower and simmer for a minute or two.  Then drain off the liquid.















Put the drained cauliflower into a bowl, add the dry spices, onion, and olive oil.  Toss well so that everything is coated.

Spread the cauliflower on to a baking sheet in a single layer and pop it in the oven for 40 minutes.

While the cauliflower is getting nice and toasty, we should probably throw together the slaw and salsa.  

Lime and Cilantro Slaw

You will need:                               
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded     
1/2 head purple cabbage, shredded 
(yes you can use the bagged pre-shredded stuff if you really want) 
1/3 cup chopped cilantro    
1/8 teaspoon of salt                   
2 tablespoons lime juice                
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil









Mix all ingredients together, toss well, and tuck the slaw away in the fridge while the cauliflower roasts.

Mango and Tomato Salsa

You will need:

1 15oz can of fire roasted tomatoes 
1/4 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 Serrano chilies (or a jalapeno)
1/2 cup cilantro
1 mango, chopped
juice of 1 lime 
pinch of salt to taste

Again, just mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and then let those favors get to know each other for a bit.

When the cauliflower is done, grab some corn or flour tortillas and make some tacos! I piled these high with the cauliflower filling, the slaw, the mango salsa, and a few avocado slices. 

Happy taco Tuesday!  Thank you for reading and for eating more plants :)

Happy eating and best health,

Dr. G

Jambalaya with Vegan Sausage...and deep thoughts about vegan meat products

After I created this recipe I had to google the difference between jambalaya and gumbo...I decided it was jambalaya, I might be wrong about that though.  No matter what you call it, it is delicious and simple to make.  Since it's football watching season, it is also slow cooker season, so I busted out the slow cooker for this recipe.  I have never had a "light" meal come out of a slow cooker so I was worried about how a plant-based version of this dish would come out.  I was not disappointed, it was hearty, rich, and definitely football season worthy.  Here is what we are making:

Yes, that is sausage that you see in there.  It's vegan sausage!
Here are my deep thoughts about vegan meat substitutes:  When you are buying a vegan meat substitute first recognize that you are buying a processed food, so eat it in moderation.  Make sure that you are looking closely at the packaging and buying products that are made of whole foods (ie. vegetables, whole soy, tofu, tempeh, spices, herbs) and not soy isolates, derivatives, hydrolysed components etc.  A few brands that I buy are tofurky, Lightlife, and Dr. Praeger's.  FYI not all of the Dr. Praeger's products are animal free, some of the veggie burgers have egg whites.  Personally I would rather have a little bit of egg whites than deranged soy protein, but that's just me.  Questions?  Leave them in the comments or email me!

It's Jambalaya (or maybe Gumbo?) time!

Jambalaya with Vegan Sausage

Ingredients:
6 cups low sodium vege broth
1 cup brown rice
2 14.5 oz cans no salt added diced tomatoes (1 can plain, 1 can fire roasted used here)
4 vegan sausages (Tofurky Italian Sausage used here)
1 cup okra (optional, frozen works)
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1-2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme



Now just dump everything into the slow cooker!  Maybe give it a stir or two.

Put the slower cooker on the "high" setting, throw the cover on, and go outside and rake some leaves before the football game.  Let it cook for about 4 hours, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

By the way, if you are just not feeling it with the vegan sausage, feel free to substitute beans or mushrooms.

JAMBALAYA!











Happy eating and best health,

Dr. G

A Few Food Pics from Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Here are just a few quick pictures from the celebration with my family.  I didn't spend all day blogging or taking pictures so there are only a couple, but I thought some of you might be interested in some of the plant based dishes we served.  And YES there was turkey and even I had a slice.  :)

Preparing some veges for side dishes and stuffing

Plant based stuffing with whole grain bread

Plant based appetizers

Roasted root veges

Vegan cookies

Leftovers!!!

Stay tuned for some non-Thanksgiving recipes and my deep thoughts about ways to keep yourself from packing on 10lbs over this holiday season later this week.

Happy eating and best health,

Dr. G