Linda Watson's Blog, page 9

Greek Chickpea Salad for a Crowd

Combine creamy chickpeas, crunchy vegetables, and Greek dressing for a crowd-pleasing salad. Toss in chopped olives and loads of chopped fresh parsley for extra flavor. It keeps its crunch for several days, so you can make it on the weekend to help get you through the week. I made a big pot of it this week to help feed some homeless and at-risk people at the monthly lunch Vegans for Peace does for the Love Wins Community Engagement Center. Everyone who tried it seemed to like it. I bet you will too!

Greek Chickpea Salad costs just $1.03 as a side or $2.06 as a main dish, using organic ingredients.

The salad recipe below serves twenty as a main dish or forty as a side dish. You can make whatever quantity you want. The website does the math for you; just change the number of servings below. I scaled it up to serve fifty. (You can see my biggest pot was nearly full!)

The exact proportions of the ingredients don’t matter. Use red bell peppers if you have them. Try adding cooked green beans cut into bite-sized pieces. For my Taster, I use chopped and massaged kale instead of parsley.

The time assumes you started with cooked chickpeas. (Bonus: I now have loads of aquafaba (chickpea broth) in my freezer for baking.) Almost all the time goes into chopping the vegetables and pulling the leaves off the parsley, so you could make this for four people much more quickly.

Greek Chickpea Salad

Toss chickpeas and crunchy summer vegetables with Greek salad dressing for a bright and healthy main dish or side dish. Terrific for parties, events, or just to get you through the week. Vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free.



CourseMain Dish, side dish

CuisineGreek





Servings40 servings

Prep Time45 minutes







Ingredients








2pounds

dried chickpeascooked (about 10 cups)

4medium

bell pepperscored, seeded, and chopped

2large

cucumberschopped

8stalks

celerychopped

2cups

fresh flat-leaf parsleyleaves only, chopped

3/4cups

black oliveschopped





Greek Dressing



2cloves

garlicminced

2medium

lemonszest and juice

1cup

olive oil

1teaspoon

mustard

1teaspoon

salt










Instructions









Mix salad ingredients together in a big bowl or pot. Put dressing ingredients in a jar, close the lid, and shake well. If you are making this ahead, cover and chill for maximum crispness, then shake dressing again before using it.



Pour dressing over salad and stir to coat. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve cold. Keeps for five days refrigerated.











Recipe Notes

Nutritional Information for Greek Chickpea Salad

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Skillet Fajita Veggies

This quick vegetable side dish brings the powerful Tex-Mex flavors of a hot veggie fajita without the fat or fuss. The mushrooms, garlic, and sriracha sauce layer in the umami without much work on your part. Pair Skillet Fajita Veggies with a bean burrito for a quick and healthy meal. Skillet Fajita Veggies cost just $1.36 a serving using organic ingredients.

Yes, sriracha sauce originally comes from Thailand, but its jalapeño, garlic, and lime flavors also remind me of Mexican food, particularly when served next to a burrito.

Skillet Fajita Veggies

Stir up a quick, Tex-Mex style skillet of veggies with loads of flavor but not loads of work, heat, or fat. Oil-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, Nutritarian, WFPB.



Courseside dish

CuisineAmerican, Mexican





Servings2 servings

Prep Time15 minutes

Cook Time10 minutes







Ingredients








1clove

garlic

1/2medium

red onion

2tablespoons

water

1/4teaspoon

salt

1medium

bell pepper

4medium

white button mushrooms

1teaspoon

sriracha sauceor to taste










Instructions









Mince garlic and set aside. Chop onion, put in a medium skillet with water and salt, and heat over medium-low heat. Core, seed, and chop bell pepper and add to skillet. Slice or chop mushrooms and add to vegetable mixture. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and water nearly evaporated, about ten minutes. If vegetables start to stick, add a splash more water.



When vegetables are tender, stir in sriracha, taste, and adjust seasonings. (If not everyone likes hot food or if you are cooking for Instagram, save sriracha to serve as a bright swirl on top of the veggies.)



Serve hot as a side dish or tucked into a taco or sandwich. Refrigerated any extra for up to five days. Freezes well for up to a year.











Recipe Notes

I've just discovered YellowBird organic sriracha.  It's bright, deep, and intense without being too hot. Their ethics sound as good as their sauce. The Yellowbird website says their:

commitment to sourcing 100% Organic and Direct Trade means we’re able to support farms and farmers that are focused on growing real food the right way.

If you don't have sriracha on hand, use your favorite hot sauce or a quarter teaspoon of ground chipotle pepper.

Nutritional Information for Skillet Fajita Veggies

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Overcoming the Challenges of Healthy Eating

Last month I spent three days soaking up the latest research about how to prevent and reverse disease by eating plants. This year’s Plant-Based Prevention of Disease Conference (#PPOD2019) felt more personal and engaged than previous sessions, starting with the opening talk by Matt Ruscigno. He wanted us to know that although a healthy diet can do us a lot of good, the system is often rigged against us. Other speakers talked about how the US government sides with Big Ag, not the populace. But before we could despair, an expert told how she helped even people with food addictions overcome temptation. Some of her ideas may help you overcome the challenges of healthy eating.

Why Is It Hard to Eat Healthy?

Portion sizes creep up every year.
The built environment is for cars and not for exercise.
The US Farm Bill supports unhealthy food. Less than one percent of federal subsidies go to fruit and vegetable farmers, but nearly three quarters support meat and dairy. This is why a salad costs more than a Big Mac.
“Eating the rainbow” can easily be diverted from bright fruit and vegetables to brightly packaged processed food. Rusigno pointed out that cereals for kids feature cartoon characters with their eyes pointed down to kid-level, building trust and triggering purchases.
Advertising is everywhere. Kids see thousands of ads, often for fast food, candy, and cereal.

Big Ag vs. Healthy Eating

Another speaker, Susan Levin, talked about how the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines make it hard to eat healthy food. The guidelines influence the menus at schools, hospitals, military bases, retirement homes, and more. The draft of the 2015 guidelines had a strong section on eating a sustainable diet. The final version, massaged by Big Ag lobbyists, dropped the sustainability advice and added that cholesterol is no longer a “nutrient of concern.” The media told the public that eating all the eggs they wanted was just fine, resulting in a spike in egg consumption and no doubt heart disease and deaths.

Fortunately, the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine sued the government, showing that the Egg Board had paid millions to remove the life-saving cholesterol warnings. PCRM won (whoo-hoo!), so the guidelines were updated to say that we should “eat as little dietary cholesterol as possible.”

The “10 Commandments” for Overcoming these Challenges

Weight-loss specialist Chef AJ gave us her rules for healthy eating, especially for those who have food addictions. She says:

Thou shall eat simply. The more choices at every meal, the more you will eat.
Thou shall not embellish thine food with chemicals: sugar, oil, flour, alcohol, or salt.
Thou shall not eat at night (see last week’s post for more on when to eat). She suggests three to five hours between your last bite and lying down.
Thou shall not eat emotionally. Remember that biological hunger can be satisfied by fruit and vegetables, but emotional hunger wants something sweet, salty, or full of fat
Thou shall exercise. It builds your self-esteem, especially if done in the morning. You’ve started the day doing something good for yourself!
Thou shall not make excuses or build exceptions. Don’t eat something just because your Aunt Junie baked it for you, you’re at an office party, you need to clean out the container, etc. Once you get started with exceptions, everything is an exception.
Thou shall not engage with an enabler. If someone keeps bringing you food you shouldn’t eat or encouraging you to act against your best interests, say goodbye. (This rule made the audience gasp.)
Thou shall not eliminate starch. Starch (complex carbohydrates) fills you up and gives you energy. She eats white potatoes every day, just not ones loaded with items forbidden by rule 2.
Thou shall eat vegetables for breakfast. Think baked sweet potatoes or the kale in my Strong-Bones Smoothie.She also recommends having half your plate be vegetables for every meal.
Thou shall sanitize your environment. “If it’s in your house, it’s in your mouth.” She says to purge your cupboards and refrigerator of unhealthy food.

Given the insights from the other two talks above, consider cleaning up your visual environment too. I very rarely watch commercial TV, don’t subscribe to magazines that push consumption, and buy directly from farmers as much as I can. When you go to a grocery store or restaurant, be aware that they are trying to get you to buy more than you need.

 

 

Summer Rolls

Making Summer Rolls is part craft, part cooking, with minimal heat. Assemble colorful vegetables and bouncy rice noodles on a translucent spring roll wrapper, roll it up, and stir up a zesty sauce.

Once you get the hang of it, this recipe takes about 20 minutes more than making a salad. It will:

Unleash your inner artist
Occupy the kids, if you let them help, and inspire them to eat their veggies
Give your menu a change of pace that’s chewy, fresh, and bright
Disguise salad so that it’s welcome at cookouts: no forks required
Save money by making food that costs much more in restaurants

Summer Rolls are gluten-free if you use gluten-free soy sauce. My version is also vegetarian and vegan, with no added oil or sugar.

Summer Rolls

Roll up fresh vegetables in rice spring roll wrappers for a fun appetizer or side dish. If you want, take time to arrange the contents so it looks gorgeous through the translucent wrappers. Dip in the sauce described below or your own favorite. The cook time and cost varies widely depending on your salad ingredients and how fancy you want to be. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and sugar-free. Nut-free option.



CuisineAsian





Servings8 rolls







Ingredients








2ounces

vermicelli rice noodles

1/2teaspoon

salt

8each

spring roll wrappersplus a few extra if this is your first time

4medium

mushroomschopped

2medium

carrotsgrated

2small

cucumberscut into half-moons

1 1/2cups

salad greensor kale, chopped

2medium

spring onionscut into rounds

1/2cup

fresh cilantro leavesor basil, dill, shiso, fennel, etc., chopped

1tablespoon

soy sauce

8leaves

fresh mint





Dipping Sauce



2tablespoons

soy saucegluten-free if desired

1tablespoon

peanut butteroptional

1each

limejuiced, about 2 tablespoons

1teaspoon

sriracha sauce










Instructions









Fill a medium pot about half full of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add noodles and salt. Boil according to the package directions, about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.



Chop mushrooms and microwave in a covered, microwave-safe container for 1 1/2 minutes. Set aside to cool without draining. (You'll add their juice to the greens.)



Set up a work area with room for your ingredients, a linen or cotton towel for rolling, a bowl of water for dipping your fingers, a dish for the finished rolls, and a wide skillet or bowl for dipping the wrappers in water. You'll want to dip them in water a little warmer than room temperature, so I used a big skillet.



Prepare the vegetables. Set aside mint leaves for decoration with a few other herb leaves if desired. If using kale, save stems for another recipe and tenderize chopped leaves by squeezing them firmly in your hands ten or twenty times until soft and dark green. Mix greens, spring onions, remaining herbs, soy sauce, and mushrooms with their juice in a medium bowl. When everything is set up, heat the dipping water.



Working one roll at a time, dip wrapper into warm water for three or four seconds, just until it starts to soften. (If the dipping water is too hot, the wrapper edges will curl inward.) Place it on the towel. To make the rolls shown in my images, put one mint leaf in the center of the wrapper. Line up three cucumber slices on either side. Top with grated carrot for a high-contrast background. Without overfilling the roll, add greens, noodles, and if desired an extra herb for decoration.



Dip your fingers in water so they are clean and wet. (See animated image above.) Gently fold the wrapper sides over the ingredients. Use one hand to fold up the bottom and the other hand to press ingredients toward you, so the roll is somewhat tightly packed. Push the roll away from you toward the top of the wrapper until it is sealed. Take a minute to admire how gorgeous it is. Repeat with the other wrappers. Do not let rolls touch on your serving or storage plate to prevent sticking and tearing.



If using peanut butter, put it with soy sauce in a small bowl and mix until smooth. Stir in other ingredients. Taste and adjust as needed.



Serve Summer Rolls with dipping sauce right away or cover with a slightly damp cloth (I used the rolling cloth) and refrigerate briefly, up to four hours.











Recipe Notes


According to Cooks Illustrated , the nucleotides from mushrooms plus the glutamates from soy sauce "provides the meaty punch" of fish sauce. That's why this recipe mixes chopped mushrooms with soy sauce in the greens.
Find spring roll wrappers and rice noodles in the international section of many grocery stores or at an Asian food store. I found GMO-free ones locally and organic ones online.
I tried both white and brown-rice wrappers. They work and taste the same, with essentially no nutritional difference. The brown-rice wrappers are a little darker, which could be useful if you want to tell the difference between two fillings later.
Don't save the hot water from boiling the noodles to use as your dipping water. I did the first time. The added starch made the rolls too sticky.
If your wrappers stick to the fabric too much, try putting them on a damp plate.
Mix up the veggies based on what is in season or in your fridge. I'm looking forward to including bell peppers.

When to Eat

Just switching when you eat can make you healthier, happier, and more rested. Timing your meals keeps your clock genes ticking along merrily and stimulates natural melatonin production. The research presented by Dr. Hana Kahleova at the Plant-Based Prevention of Disease Conference convinced me to do something I never thought I’d do voluntarily: walk two miles before breakfast. I’ve even mostly given up snacks!

By simply timing your meals, you can reset the clock genes found in every cell of your body. These genes help control your daily rhythm of alertness and sleep.

Your body will make more melatonin, the hormone that helps you sleep. Melatonin also can reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease, boost your immune system, and help you stay younger. Melatonin even stimulates your brown fat, which is a good thing. Brown fat burns energy and creates heat, helping you keep off unwanted pounds.

Eat Two or Three Times a Day

Our bodies naturally produce the most melatonin between the time the sun goes down and seven in the morning. Therefore, Dr. Kahleova suggests that we:

Get up by 7 a.m.
Exercise briskly, outside in the sunshine and fresh air if possible
Eat a large, high-carb breakfast
Eat a medium lunch
Optionally, eat a small, early dinner
Go to bed early but at least two hours after dinner

Skip the snacks, which actually make you hungrier. If you drink beverages with calories, from lattes to wine, have them with a meal.

Do eat breakfast every day to stay leaner, reduce your risk of diabetes, and keep your insulin levels under control. Skipping breakfast and snacking together almost doubles your risk of diabetes.

If you aren’t hungry for breakfast, ask yourself what you had for dinner–and after dinner–and after the night before. Waking up slightly hungry and then getting some exercise will whet your appetite.

Avoid shift work if you can. An experiment showed that after only three night shifts, test subjects showed signs of pre-diabetes. If you do have to work the night shift, have breakfast in the morning when it’s light out, then sleep, and then have lunch. Don’t eat during the night shift. Dr. Kahleova acknowledged that eating can help us stay away, so night shift workers may need to find other ways to keep alert.

Surprise: Mini-Fasts Feel Good

This eating pattern gives your body a break by having periods of fasting between meals.  Weirdly enough, Dr. Kahleova found that people who ate just two meals a day experienced less hunger and depression than those who ate six times a day, even though they were eating the same number of calories.

My Taster said dinner was not optional in his world, but he likes having dinner at six instead of seven or later. Our evening meal is smaller now too: mostly salad with a small helping of beans and grains. We have our daily dessert at lunch. Fortunately, we were already drinking only water or unsweetened tea. This gives us roughly a thirteen-hour fast every day, with mini-fasts between meals.

I thought I’d be hungry or even hangry during my pre-breakfast morning walks. Instead, I love starting the day out among the birds and flowers instead of reading the news. I’m more alert right after lunch, when I used to crave a nap, and sleep better at night. Thank you, Dr. Kahleova, #ppod2019, and my reset clock genes! Come back next week to learn more of the great tips I picked up at the Plant-Based Prevention of Disease conference.

Yooper Fantasy Stew

Yooper Fantasy Stew is like a naked pasty, but spicy and healthy.  (That’s PAA-sty, the Cornish handpies filled with stew, not PAY-sties, part of many strippers’ wardrobes.)  My family always got pasties when we went to the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan. My Aunt Mattie was a Yooper who ran tourist cabins, was president of her local snowmobile club, and freely shared her homemade blackberry wine.

I love pasty crust, but it’s as much of a challenge to make as pie dough. Alas, it’s made with lard or shortening, so it’s loaded with fat. My recipe ditches the crust and amps up the flavor and nutrition with mushrooms, kale, and spices, then tops the stew with bites of crispy Field Roast Italian veggie sausage. The result tastes like a fantasy version of my childhood summer vacations.

Yooper Fantasy Stew

A spicy, hearty vegetable stew topped with ketchup and roasted veggie sausage. Inspired by the classic handpies made by the Yoopers in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan.



CourseMain Dish

CuisineAmerican





Servings2 servings

Prep Time30 minutes

Passive Time15 minutes







Ingredients








1clove

garlicminced

1medium

potatosuch as a Yukon Gold, chopped

1/2medium

red onionpeeled and chopped

2tablespoons

water

2medium

carrotschopped

2large

white button mushroomschopped

1/2teaspoon

salt

1/2teaspoon

dried oregano

1/2teaspoon

dried ground turmeric

1/4teaspoon

dried ground chipotle powder

2cups

kale

1each

Field Roast Italian Sausage

2tablespoons

ketchupoptional, for serving










Instructions









Mince garlic and set aside. Put potato and onion into a medium pot with water and cook over medium-low heat. Stir in carrots, mushrooms, and spices. Add chopped kale stems and cook for five minutes.



For the best texture, pre-heat oven to 350° F (325° F convection or fan). Cut veggie sausage lengthwise and then crossways into bite-sized pieces. Put sausage on a pan and roast for 8 minutes or until hot and crispy. To use less energy (yours and the power company's), just add cut sausage directly to the stew when you add the kale.



Chop kale leaves and add on top of stew without stirring. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.



Serve hot in bowls, topped with ketchup and veggie sausage if roasted. Any extra keeps for about five days refrigerated.











Recipe Notes

Nutritional Information for Yooper Fantasy Stew

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Chocolate Walnut Cookies

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One-Pot Meal: Black-Eyed Vegetable Stew

Let black-eyed peas create an earthy broth for this hearty vegetable stew. Make it now to have easy, healthy meals when you need them: after a beach weekend, a lazy Sunday, or lunch anytime. Consider bringing it to a family potluck too. Black-Eyed Vegetable Stew costs just $1.08 a serving using organic ingredients.

I created this Something-For-Nothing recipe to use the green leaves of leeks, which many recipes tell you to throw away. The price calculator I use says leeks are only 44% edible! I’d say it’s well over 90%. Use all green leaves for this if you want and save the tender white ends for a more delicate dish, like this Vegan Vichyssoise from Cilantro and Citronella. And of course you’ll be eating every drop of the broth from the black-eyed peas. You don’t need to buy vegetable broth to make vegetable soup.

Wildly Good Cook technique: The vegetables are listed below in order from slow to fast cook times. Add them to the pot in the order given for the shortest total cooking time.

One-Pot Meal: Black-Eyed Vegetable Stew

Make a hearty stew that makes a complete meal. Black-eyed peas and vegetables create a rich broth. Cook on the stove or in a slow cooker. Oil-free, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, nutritarian, whole foods plant based. Freezes well.



CourseMain Dish

CuisineAmerican, Whole Foods Plant Based





Servings15 servings

Prep Time30 minutes

Cook Time1 hour







Ingredients








1 1/2cups

dried black-eyed peas

4cups

water

1teaspoon

oreganodried or 2 teaspoons fresh

1/2teaspoon

tarragondried or 1 teaspoon fresh

1/2teaspoon

thymedried or 1 teaspoon fresh

1/2teaspoon

dried ground chipotle powder

2teaspoons

salt

2cloves

garlicminced

2medium

leeksor green ends from 4 leeks or 1 medium red onion

3large

carrotscut into quarter or half moons

1/2small

green cabbagecored and chopped

1large

bell peppercored and chopped

4ounces

white button mushroomschopped

2cups

corn kernelsI used frozen fire-roasted corn

32ounces

crushed fire-roasted tomatoes










Instructions









Mince garlic and set aside. Pick through and rinse black-eyed peas. Put them in a large pot with water, spices, and salt, cover, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat so water barely boils.



Cut leeks in half lengthwise, separate leaves, and rinse well to remove any sand or dirt. Cut rinsed leeks crossways into 1/4-inch ribbons. Stir garlic into the simmering pot, then gently add leeks without stirring. his keeps the black-eyed peas submerged and lets the vegetables steam on top. Chop other vegetables and add them to the pot on top of leeks. Cover the pot and let it simmer until black-eyed peas are tender, about thirty minutes more (or fifty minutes total from when the peas started to boil).



Stir in corn and tomatoes, bring back to a boil over high heat, and simmer on low heat for five minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.



Serve Black-Eyed Vegetable Stew hot in bowls. If you want to stretch it to feed more people or serve it on a plate, ladle the stew over cooked brown rice, quinoa, or another whole grain.











Recipe Notes

Recipe Notes

For details on cleaning and soaking black-eyed peas, see my master recipe and video on cooking dried beans.
To cook in a slow cooker, put all ingredients except corn and tomatoes in the crock, stirring in the spices and garlic and then layering the vegetables on top. When peas are tender, stir in corn and tomatoes and cook for five to ten minutes until hot.

Nutrition Facts
One-Pot Meal: Black-Eyed Vegetable Stew


Amount Per Serving

Calories 139
Calories from Fat 9



% Daily Value*


Total Fat 1g
2%


Saturated Fat 0.1g
1%


Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3g


Monounsaturated Fat 0.1g


Sodium 430mg
18%


Potassium 475mg
14%


Total Carbohydrates 28g
9%


Dietary Fiber 6g
24%


Sugars 8g


Protein 7g
14%



Vitamin A
78%


Vitamin C
79%


Calcium
6%


Iron
16%


* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information for Black-Eyed Vegetable Stew

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Black Lentil Burgers (Gooshy Burgers)

This saucy burger filling made with black lentils updates one of my childhood favorite meals. My Mom made Gooshy Burgers with browned ground beef and canned French onion soup. My version has all the comfort and yum but without the fat and cholesterol. Add Worcestershire sauce, red onions, and spices for deep flavor without the MSG and other weird chemicals. Just dump all the ingredients in a pot and cook until lentils are tender, about an hour on the stove. So easy and so tasty!

I serve this tasty hot filling on toasted buns spread with mustard, but you could spoon it into a taco or over a baked sweet potato too. The filling for a Black Lentil Burger costs just 62 cents using organic ingredients!

 

Black Lentil Burgers (Gooshy Burgers)

Savory, saucy black lentils wrapped in umami flavor from onions, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and spices. Serve on toasted buns with mustard, in tacos, or on baked sweet potatoes. Vegan, vegetarian, fat-free, gluten-free if using a gluten-free Worcestershire sauce and gluten-free base.



CourseMain Dish

CuisineAmerican





Servings8 servings

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time1 hour







Ingredients








1cup

black lentils200 grams

4ounces

white button mushrooms113 grams

1/2medium

red onion

1clove

garlic

1medium

bay leaf

1tablespoon

worcestershire saucevegan

1teaspoon

smoked paprika

1teaspoon

salt

3cups

water










Instructions









Pick through and rinse black lentils and add them to a medium pot. Chop onion and mushrooms and add them to the pot. Add remaining ingredients.



Bring mixture to a boil over high heat. Cover pot and reduce heat to low so water barely boils. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour until lentils are tender. Taste and adjust seasonings.



Serve hot over toasted whole wheat buns, in tacos, or over baked sweet potatoes or white potatoes. Keeps for five days refrigerated or up to a year frozen.











Recipe Notes

Notes

Whole Foods and Annie's make organic, vegan Worcestershire sauce.
Use a slow cooker if you prefer. I'd expect the lentils to be tender after three to four hours on high or six to eight hours on low, but haven't tested the timing.
Soak the lentils for up to twelve hours to reduce cooking time by about a quarter.
If you like this recipe, you may also enjoy Sloppy Pintos.

Nutritional Information for Black Lentil Burgers (Filling Only)

Nutrition Facts
Black Lentil Burgers (Gooshy Burgers)


Amount Per Serving

Calories 125
Calories from Fat 4



% Daily Value*


Total Fat 0.4g
1%


Saturated Fat 0.002g
0%


Polyunsaturated Fat 0.01g


Monounsaturated Fat 0.002g


Sodium 246mg
10%


Potassium 57mg
2%


Total Carbohydrates 22g
7%


Dietary Fiber 6g
24%


Sugars 1g


Protein 9g
18%



Vitamin C
2%


Calcium
2%


Iron
14%


* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Updating a Classic Recipe

In the twelve years that I’ve been running the Cook for Good project, my ingredient palette has changed. My recipes started as vegetarian and shifted to vegan. Now I’m cooking with very little oil and lots of superfoods like mushrooms, blueberries, and turmeric. Many recipes survive with some fine-tuning, like this week’s nomelets (which are not omelets).

The whole idea of a nomelet is that chickpea flour can replace chicken eggs in certain recipes.
The classic nomelet includes a tablespoon of olive oil in the batter, which makes it tender. The new, lighter nomelet drops the olive oil from the batter and uses water for sauteing the onions and mushrooms. This new nomelet is a little less tender, but you’d only notice it if you tried both versions side by side.
Mushrooms add flavor and nutrition.
Red onions replace yellow ones in almost every recipe for added nutrition.
Organic chickpea flour I get online replaces the conventional kind I can find locally. The more I learn about the value of organic ingredients, the more I am willing to go the extra mile to get them.

Read on to see how these changes affected the cost and nutrition for the recipes.

Cost

See the cost below for one nomelet, using organic ingredients. Using organic chickpea flour increases a nomelet’s price by just 18 cents, a sensible investment in health for my family, the farm workers, and the planet.

I’d serve one nomelet with a few side dishes (say, roasted sweet potatoes and fruit) or two nomelets with fruit as a main course. I assumed each chicken-egg omelet would use 1 1/2 large eggs, making two the equivalent of a three-egg omelet.

Original nomelet with conventional chickpea flour: $1.00
Original all-organic nomelet: $1.18
New oil-free recipe with mushrooms: $1.38
Like the new oil-free recipe, but with eggs instead of chickpea flour: $1.76

Comparing Nutrition

As you can see from the nutrition labels above, the new oil-free nomelet with mushrooms has less than half the fat of my original nomelet and one third the fat of the chicken-egg omelet. Chicken eggs also bring more than the total allowed daily allotment of cholesterol at 318 mg. Both plant-based recipes provide nearly a quarter of your daily fiber and a balanced amount of protein (16% and 19% by calories). The egg omelet is 27% protein. Remember that almost no one who gets enough calories is short on protein, but too much protein can make your life miserable and short.

The next time you make a savory recipe, see if you can:

Replace chicken eggs with chickpea flour or chickpea broth (aquafaba)
Reduce or eliminate the oil
Add mushrooms
Switch to red onions
Go as organic as possible