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Polenta with Mushroom Ragout

Variations

  • For a vegan version use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth –  both in the polenta and in the mushroom ragout. Skip the Parmesan
  • For a meat version, add 8 oz ground beef (or turkey, or bison) and sauté with onion and mushrooms

I make a double recipe of the mushroom ragout and freeze half to use another day.

Can serve it with pasta or over Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (simply mash the same amount of cooked potatoes and cooked cauliflower, add milk, 1 tablespoon butter, salt and pepper to taste).

Sometimes I make extra polenta for breakfast with eggs.

  • Press remaining polenta onto a buttered baking sheet, cover and refrigerate over night
  • In the morning put into preheated broiler for 5 – 8 minutes until edges start to crisp. Meanwhile make a couple of eggs, sunny side up or poached.
  • Served eggs over polenta
  • Can also add arugula or baby spinach between the polenta and egg

10 Reliable Meatless Monday Recipes

Weekdays are hectic. I’ve learned homemade dinners only happen if I plan ahead. Mondays are Meatless to get back on track eating the Color My Food way: whole-foods, plant-rich meals where meat is more of a condiment and dairy is a treat. I truly believe eating this way promotes the best health for not just for our bodies, but also for the planet. A whole-foods, plant-based diet, means we use less water, less land, fewer resources and produce less pollutions and less suffering for farm animals.

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”right” source_author=”T. Colin Campbell, PhD” source_title=”The China Study” full_quote=”The evidence from researchers around the world shows that the same diet that is good for the prevention of cancer is also good for the prevention of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cataracts, Alzheimer’s osteoporosis and other diseases. All these diseases spring from the same influence: an unhealthy, largely toxic diet and lifestyle. A whole foods, plant-based diet counteracts all of these diseases.” short_quote=”The evidence from researchers around the world shows that the same diet that is good for the prevention of cancer is also good for the prevention of heart disease,”]

If you follow Color My Food, you know I alternate meatless and omnivore days during the week.

It’s still an uphill battle with some family members, so I need to remind them how plant-based meals are better for our health.

  1. Heart health. Heart disease kills 40% of Americans. Did you know more women die from heart disease than from breast cancer? By eating the right foods, we can keep our hearts healthy. Dr. Esselstyn, a leading pioneer in nutrition-based therapy, has scientifically proven the prevention and reversal of heart disease with a whole-foods, plant-based diet on people with established coronary disease.
  2. Brain health. Studies demonstrate those who eat the most antioxidant-rich foods had the lowest risk of brain strokes. These are caused by cholesterol-filled plaques in our arteries. Alzheimer’s involves a slower, decline due to plaques in the brain tissue. A healthy diet may help prevent both brain strokes and Alzheimers. “
  3. More fiber. When we eat mostly natural plant foods, we get large amounts of complex carbs and various types of fiber. Fiber is important because it
  • offers protection against cancer and heart disease
  • can also lower cholesterol
  • slows down glucose absorption and controls the rate of digestion
  • fills us up so we don’t have cravings or hormonal imbalances
  1. Boosting our immune system. Plant food contains 64 times more antioxidants than animal foods. Plant based meals tend to be rich in antioxidants, I aim to include a variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices at every meal to continuously flood your body with antioxidants to help ward off stroke and other age-related diseases
[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”full” source_author=”Joel Fuhrman” source_title=”Eat to Live” full_quote=”Fiber intake from food is a good marker of disease risk. The amount of fiber consumed may better predict weight gain, insulin levels and other cardiovascular risk factors than does the amount of total fat consumed. It is not the fiber extracted from the plant that has miraculous health properties. It is the entire plant package considered as a whole, containing nature’s anti-cancer nutrients as well as being rich in fiber. People who consume the most high-fiber foods are the healthiest.” short_quote=”Fiber intake from food is a good marker of disease risk. The amount of fiber consumed may better predict weight gain, insulin levels and other cardiovascular risk factors”] [su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”full” source_author=”Michael Greger, MD” source_title=”How to Not Die” full_quote=”A healthy diet can reduce stroke risk by reducing cholesterol and blood pressure while improving blood flow and antioxidant capacity. Strive to include a variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices at every meal to continuously flood your body with antioxidants to help ward off stroke and other age-related diseases. Antioxidant-rich diets appear to protect against stroke by preventing the circulation of oxidized fats in the bloodstream that can damage the sensitive walls of small blood vessels in the brain. They can also help decrease artery stiffness, prevent blood clots from forming and lower blood pressure and inflammation.” short_quote=”A healthy diet can reduce stroke risk by reducing cholesterol and blood pressure while improving blood flow and antioxidant capacity. Strive to include a variety of fruits, vegetables,”]

Guidelines for my Meatless Monday meals:

  • Eating variety. Mixing it up keeps it interesting gets us best nutrient density.
  • Ethnic foods offer the most options for plant-based meals, and the unique tastes are exquisite: curries and chilies, Moroccan tagines and Indian daal
  • Adding spices. Foods with the most antioxidants are herbs and spices. Just as I do with breakfast—adding cinnamon, ground ginger, or a pinch of cloves to smoothies, oatmeal, granola and breakfast breads—for dinner I always add and/or increase spices and herbs in a recipe: depends on what I’m making, but spices I usually add/increase are ground cumin, coriander, paprika and/or dried oregano, basil, thyme. The fresh herbs I use most to add flavor and nutrients are parsley, cilantro, rosemary and mint. It’s SO worth having a pot or two of herbs in the garden!
  • Raw foods. Raw uncooked vegetables and fruits provide a powerful protection against disease. Raw foods contain enzymes that may offer significant nutritional advantages to protect against disease
[su_expanding_quote_book source_author=”Joel Fuhrman” source_title=”Eat to Live” full_quote=”Consuming a significant quantity of raw foods is essential for superior health. As the amount of raw fruits and vegetables are increased in a person’s diet, weight loss and blood pressure are lowered. For best results, your diet should contain a huge amount of raw foods, a large amount of less calorically dense cooked vegetation and a smaller amount of more calorically rich cooked starchy vegetables and grains” short_quote=”Consuming a significant quantity of raw foods is essential for superior health. As the amount of raw fruits and vegetables are increased in a person’s diet, weight loss and blood pressure are lowered”]

Here are a few of my go-to recipes for Monday dinners.

Scratch Cooking (made from scratch)

Red Lentil Curry

I serve this over CMF Quinoa .This can be made with regular lentils, but red lentils cook faster. I also make it with CMF Rice. I start the quinoa (or rice first and while it cooks, I make the curry. Once the curry is going, I make a salad (any of the green salads from Color My Food).

Minimalist Baker: Chana Masala

I get the rice going first and when it starts cooking, I make the chana masala. While that’s cooking, I make the salad. See a pattern?

Eggplant Ragu over Quinoa

I start the quinoa first, then make the ragu. And then the salad.

Cook Republic: Tumeric Daal

Daal is a thick, hearty Indian lentil stews typically served with rice or traditional flatbread alongside to soak up every savory bite. I use 2 teaspoons ground curry instead of the curry leaves.

Yup Its Vegan: One Pot Tandoori Quinoa

I like to add a bell pepper for more color.

 

Dinner in Hurry

Pasta and Pesto with White Beans

This comes together quickly using pre-made or store-bought pesto

Veggie Stir-Fry

This is quick dinner especially when I prep the veggies on the weekend: cutting up the carrots, broccoli, mushrooms etc. It’s also a fantastic way to use up veggies at the end of the week.

Goes nicely over leftover rice or  with rice noodles.

Eat Healthy Eat Happy: Quinoa Black Bean Chili

Using leftover quinoa (or another grain: rice, barley) makes this a quick dinner.

Epicurious: Orzo with Garbanzo Beans

I’ve made this with white beans, kidney beans, even black beans. This recipe has gotten me out of a pinch when I had little else in the house to make dinner with—I always have whole grain pasta and a can or beans.

Oh She Glows: Spaghetti with Lentil Marinara (I use regular Parmesan rather than vegan)

I generally have cooked lentils or beans frozen in mason jars. This is another recipe that’s bailed me out of last-minute dinner dilemmas.

 

 

 

 

 

Make a Difference with Meatless Monday

How to make a difference? Eat Less Meat

Climate change seems overwhelming and beyond our control. 2017 brought hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, earthquakes in Mexico, raging wild fires in Oregon, Minnesota and California, flooding southeast Asia drowning thousands of people. What will 2018 bring?

Last year proved that we cannot wait for government or politicians to address climate change. The good news is that we can take individual action. Eating less meat is a way to do something about climate change. Even if only once a week. Joining the global Meatless Monday global campaign makes a difference.

Consumption of meat and dairy is a major driver of climate change. Changing global demand for meat and dairy can improve our planet’s health.

[su_expanding_quote_web alignment=”full” source_site=”Natural Resources Defense Council” source_url=”https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sasha-stashwick/tackling-climate-change-through-diet-change” full_quote=”The meat we eat comes with a heavy environmental footprint. In particular, red meat from ruminant animals, like cows, sheep and goats, is actually a major driver of climate pollution. Raising these animals requires a lot of pastureland and a lot of grain production—often on land that might otherwise be forested soaking up carbon from the air. Working on a global scale to replace some meat with other foods will be critical to achieving our climate change goals. A shift towards healthier patterns of meat-eating could bring a quarter of the emissions reductions the world needs to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.” short_quote=”The meat we eat comes with a heavy environmental footprint.”]

Imagine if all 340 million people in the US were part of the Meatless Monday global movement? Giving up meat one day a week would make a significant difference. NRDC estimates that if every American eliminated just a 1/4 pound serving of beef per week, greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced to the equivalent to taking 4–6 million cars off the road.

[su_expanding_quote_web alignment=”full” source_site=”Chatham House” source_url=”http://www.chathamhouse.org/expert/comment/16379″ full_quote=”The livestock sector is responsible for nearly 15 per cent of global emissions—similar to that produced by powering all the cars, trucks, planes, trains and ships in the world. Livestock production is also the largest source of two of the most potent greenhouse gases: methane and nitrous oxide. Methane results from digestion in ruminant animals such as cows, sheep and goats. Nitrous oxide is produced from manure and from fertilizers used to grow feed crops. Large amounts of carbon dioxide are also produced as forests are converted for pasture or to grow feed crops.” short_quote=”The livestock sector is responsible for nearly 15 per cent of global emissions—similar to that produced by powering all the cars, trucks, planes, trains and ships in the world.”]

Not only is less meat better for the planet, it’s better for us as well. Eating less meat also leads to better health.

  1. Eating less meat and more plant foods (grains, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds) instead, reduces the risk of chronic disease.
[su_expanding_quote_web alignment=”full source_site=”Meatless Monday” source_url=”http://www.meatlessmonday.com/images/photos/2016/09/meatless-monday-global-toolkit.pdf” full_quote=”Many chronic health problems are associated with higher intake of animal products, particularly red meat and high-fat dairy, as well as lower consumption of vegetables and fruit. As diets shift toward eating more meat around the world, health consequences will continue to rise. Chronic diseases are expensive to treat, adding a significant burden to stressed healthcare systems. Globally, chronic or non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death, contributing to 67 percent of all deaths. Chronic diseases are not limited to higher income countries; 80 percent of NCD deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Roughly a quarter of these deaths are people under the age of 60, part of the active workforce.” short_quote=”Many chronic health problems are associated with higher intake of animal products, particularly red meat and high-fat dairy,”]

http://www.meatlessmonday.com/images/photos/2016/09/meatless-monday-global-toolkit.pdf

  1. Meatless meals are more affordable

Meals that are built around vegetables, beans and grains tend to be cheaper than meals built around meat. It can be challenging to serve healthy meals on a budget, going meatless once a week can save money for the purchase of more of fruits and vegetables.

  1. Meatless meals increase food security

If current crop production used for animal feed and other nonfood uses (including biofuels) were targeted for direct consumption, some 70 percent more calories would become available, potentially providing enough calories to meet the basic needs of an additional 4 billion people, reducing world humber.

It can take up to 12 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of beef. Some 800 million people on the planet suffer from hunger or malnutrition, yet an amount of cereal that could feed three times this number of people is fed to cattle, pigs and chickens.

What to do?

Be part of climate change solution by

  • Reducing demand for animal-based food products. I alternate vegetarian and non-vegetarian days
  • Increasing plant-based foods in our regular diets. Ethnic foods are a marvelous way to enjoy delicious meatless meals: curry, Indian dahl, Moroccan chickpea tagine
  • Replacing ecologically-inefficient ruminants (cattle, goats, sheep) with poultry, and fish. I plan our meals to have fish once or twice a week and poultry (chicken or turkey once a week.
  • When we do eat beef, I always try to buy grass-fed beef. Another great option is bison, which I can get at our local Farmer’s Market.

“Consumers can also reduce the carbon footprint—and other environmental and health impacts—of their beef by buying meat that’s been certified as having been produced on well-managed ranches and farms.”

 

Recipes

Coconut Red Lentil Curry

Meatless or Not Lentil Chili

Moroccan Tagine with Chicken and Garbanzo

Pasta with White Beans, Pesto and Sun-dried Tomatoes

Orzo with Garbanzo Beans, Goat Cheese and Basil

Sweet Potato and Kale Pizza

 

For More Empowerment

5 Tips for Buying Better Beef

Animal Agriculture is Chocking the Earth and Making Us Sick. We Must Act Now.

How Reduced Meat Consumption Could Save $31 Trillion – and The Planet

 Raising Beef Uses Ten Times More Resources Than Poultry, Dairy, Eggs or Pork

Meatless Monday Global Toolkit

Sweet Potato and Kale Pizza

The colors and flavors of sweet potato and kale take this pizza to a whole new delicious and nutritious place. Truly a superfood pizza loaded with carotenoids and other phytochemicals (naturally occurring plant chemicals) linked to health-promoting and disease-fighting activities.

For a vegan meal, replace goat cheese with toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds

Simplify by making the sweet potato puree the day before.

If making homemade pizza crust,  my favorite recipe is  100 Days of Real Food: Whole Wheat Pizza

Southwest Black Bean and Bell Pepper Salad

There are recipes that stand the test of time. I’ve been making this one for more years that I can remember; it’s so versatile, delicious and nutritious.  Fiber-rich beans are a superfood;  tossed here with bell peppers, red onion and cilantro and this dish bursts with flavor and phytonutrients that boost our health.

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”left” source_author=”Steven Pratt MD and Kathy Matthews” source_title=”SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods that Will Change Your Life” full_quote=”Beans are a superb heart-healthy food. A study conducted over nineteen years following 9,632 men and women found those who ate beans at least four times a week had a 22% lower risk of coronary heart disease compared with those who consumed beans less than once a week. Those who ate beans most frequently also had lower blood pressure and total cholesterol and were less likely to be diagnosed with diabetes” short_quote=”Beans are a superb heart-healthy food.Those who ate beans most frequently had lower blood pressure and total cholesterol.”]

Variations

  • Use any color bell peppers, or poblano peppers
  • Add 1 cup corn
  • Add 1 or 2 diced avocados
  • Use cilantro instead of parsley
  • Use other dried fruit instead of dates

This recipe can be used so many different ways. It’s a great one to  double and use differently throughout the week.

  1. Vegetarian dinner for guests, served over a bed of brown rice, with chopped cilantro scattered decoratively on top and accompanied by a green salad tossed with mango, nectarines or other summer fruit. For dessert Peach and Blackberry Crisp or Epicurious: Plum Kuchen
  2. As a side dish with grilled chicken and Watermelon Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese
  3. Toss leftovers with greens (spinach, kale, arugula) for lunch
  4. Toss leftovers with grains (quinoa, brown rice, barley) for a second dinner
  5. Make a wrap or pita sandwich with guacamole, or feta cheese, or a dollop of pain Greek yogurt and a handful of greens

 

Southwest Hummus Wraps

For a delicious lunch or light supper, spread this Southwest Hummus , enriched by red bell pepper and cilantro, on a wrap or into a pita bread, add black beans, avocado and spinach for a healthy, delicious quick lunch or light supper. For an extra-kick add some chopped jalapeño, locoto or serrano.

Cumin Quinoa and Garbanzo

I like the combination of rice and quinoa, and this dish can be more interesting using wild rice or red quinoa if it is available. But for quicker cooking on a busy night, you can use a single grain (either brown rice or quinoa). You can also make this with another grain such as barley (but increase the water to 3 cups for 1 cup of barley)

Coconut Red Lentil Curry

Red lentils are made from whole yellow lentils that are peeled and split in half, exposing the red color under their outer seed coat which makes them cook quickly.

This dish comes together easily and leaves bellies full and happy.
If cooking for children or those who don’t enjoy spicy food, leave the Serrano/jalapeño peppers out of the pot; serve them on the side so people can add them as desired.

I serve it over brown rice; start cooking the rice first as it takes longer than the curry.

Variations:

  • Use green or brown lentils instead of red; add 10 minutes cooking time
  • Replace cauliflower with broccoli, zucchini with butternut squash, or bell peppers
  • Use parsley instead of cilantro

Recipes

Polenta with Mushroom Ragout

Variations

  • For a vegan version use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth –  both in the polenta and in the mushroom ragout. Skip the Parmesan
  • For a meat version, add 8 oz ground beef (or turkey, or bison) and sauté with onion and mushrooms

I make a double recipe of the mushroom ragout and freeze half to use another day.

Can serve it with pasta or over Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (simply mash the same amount of cooked potatoes and cooked cauliflower, add milk, 1 tablespoon butter, salt and pepper to taste).

Sometimes I make extra polenta for breakfast with eggs.

  • Press remaining polenta onto a buttered baking sheet, cover and refrigerate over night
  • In the morning put into preheated broiler for 5 – 8 minutes until edges start to crisp. Meanwhile make a couple of eggs, sunny side up or poached.
  • Served eggs over polenta
  • Can also add arugula or baby spinach between the polenta and egg

Sweet Potato and Kale Pizza

The colors and flavors of sweet potato and kale take this pizza to a whole new delicious and nutritious place. Truly a superfood pizza loaded with carotenoids and other phytochemicals (naturally occurring plant chemicals) linked to health-promoting and disease-fighting activities.

For a vegan meal, replace goat cheese with toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds

Simplify by making the sweet potato puree the day before.

If making homemade pizza crust,  my favorite recipe is  100 Days of Real Food: Whole Wheat Pizza

Southwest Black Bean and Bell Pepper Salad

There are recipes that stand the test of time. I’ve been making this one for more years that I can remember; it’s so versatile, delicious and nutritious.  Fiber-rich beans are a superfood;  tossed here with bell peppers, red onion and cilantro and this dish bursts with flavor and phytonutrients that boost our health.

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”left” source_author=”Steven Pratt MD and Kathy Matthews” source_title=”SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods that Will Change Your Life” full_quote=”Beans are a superb heart-healthy food. A study conducted over nineteen years following 9,632 men and women found those who ate beans at least four times a week had a 22% lower risk of coronary heart disease compared with those who consumed beans less than once a week. Those who ate beans most frequently also had lower blood pressure and total cholesterol and were less likely to be diagnosed with diabetes” short_quote=”Beans are a superb heart-healthy food.Those who ate beans most frequently had lower blood pressure and total cholesterol.”]

Variations

  • Use any color bell peppers, or poblano peppers
  • Add 1 cup corn
  • Add 1 or 2 diced avocados
  • Use cilantro instead of parsley
  • Use other dried fruit instead of dates

This recipe can be used so many different ways. It’s a great one to  double and use differently throughout the week.

  1. Vegetarian dinner for guests, served over a bed of brown rice, with chopped cilantro scattered decoratively on top and accompanied by a green salad tossed with mango, nectarines or other summer fruit. For dessert Peach and Blackberry Crisp or Epicurious: Plum Kuchen
  2. As a side dish with grilled chicken and Watermelon Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese
  3. Toss leftovers with greens (spinach, kale, arugula) for lunch
  4. Toss leftovers with grains (quinoa, brown rice, barley) for a second dinner
  5. Make a wrap or pita sandwich with guacamole, or feta cheese, or a dollop of pain Greek yogurt and a handful of greens

 

Southwest Hummus Wraps

For a delicious lunch or light supper, spread this Southwest Hummus , enriched by red bell pepper and cilantro, on a wrap or into a pita bread, add black beans, avocado and spinach for a healthy, delicious quick lunch or light supper. For an extra-kick add some chopped jalapeño, locoto or serrano.

Cumin Quinoa and Garbanzo

I like the combination of rice and quinoa, and this dish can be more interesting using wild rice or red quinoa if it is available. But for quicker cooking on a busy night, you can use a single grain (either brown rice or quinoa). You can also make this with another grain such as barley (but increase the water to 3 cups for 1 cup of barley)

Coconut Red Lentil Curry

Red lentils are made from whole yellow lentils that are peeled and split in half, exposing the red color under their outer seed coat which makes them cook quickly.

This dish comes together easily and leaves bellies full and happy.
If cooking for children or those who don’t enjoy spicy food, leave the Serrano/jalapeño peppers out of the pot; serve them on the side so people can add them as desired.

I serve it over brown rice; start cooking the rice first as it takes longer than the curry.

Variations:

  • Use green or brown lentils instead of red; add 10 minutes cooking time
  • Replace cauliflower with broccoli, zucchini with butternut squash, or bell peppers
  • Use parsley instead of cilantro