Chris Pedersen's Blog, page 19

Wisdom Wednesday

Tip:
Bring the air of Christmas into your home with aromatic potpourri simmering on your stove. Try this tip from my dear friend, Joanne Kraft, who always makes her home a welcoming sweetness to all who enter.
Click here for the recipe.

Mashed Red Potatoes with Shallots & Manchego Cheese

As I promised, here's the recipe for the mashed potatoes that my husband made for Thanksgiving. It's easy and delicious. You'll never miss the cream and butter typically lavished on mashed potatoes.

I eat very few potatoes because of the high-starch (translation: it quickly becomes sugar in your body). Avoiding those types of foods keeps my body a mean cancer-fighting machine.

Notice the gravy on the potatoes in the picture? That is not an animal product—not your usual gravy. This one is vegan and quite yummy. The rest of the food in the photo is what we had for Thanksgiving. And it was all a huge hit! Never missed the gobbler.
A word about the cheese in this recipe. I do not eat dairy except goat or sheep cheese. Three reasons:
More nutritiousContains very little casein, which many are sensitive toThey don't do to goats what they do to cows (pump them antibiotics, hormones and GMO feed)
Mashed Red Potatoes with Shallots & Manchego Cheese
From Bob PedersenYield 8 servings
Category Side DishCuisine Healthy, Vegetarian
Ingredients2 1/2 lbs. red potatoes1 tsp salt3 Tbsp coconut oil3 shallots, thinly sliced1/2 C grated Manchego (goat) cheeseFresh ground pepper
Directions1. Wash and quarter potatoes. Put in large pot and cover with cold water. Add 1/2 tsp of sea salt. Bring to boil and cook for 10 - 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.2. While potatoes cook, add coconut oil to sauce pan and saute shallots. Cook, stiring, until shallots are golden brown, about 6 minutes.3. Drain the potatoes and transfer to large bowl. Add the grated cheese and mash with the potatoes.4. Add 1/2 tsp of salt, fresh ground pepper and the cooked shallots. Taste and adjust seasonings.5. Tranfer to serving bowl.
Try the mashed potatoes for Christmas and let me know how everyone liked them.

5 Tips for Christmas Bliss

Do you find yourself in a state of frenzy during the Christmas season, whether its from being bombarded by commercialization or feeling the stress of getting a gift for everyone on your list? Here are some tips for calming your heart and re-adjusting your attitude this season.
Approach the season with a sense of gratitude. Be grateful for what you have—friends and family who love you. They won't stop loving you if you don't get them a gift. The gift of you may be all that's needed.Give a gift with meaning. Make up a coupon to give something of yourself (babysitting for your girlfriend with small kids whose budget has no room for babysitting). The list is endless.Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you—he is Christ the LORD.
Luke 2:11I wish you all a blessed Christmas always remembering that our gracious and merciful heavenly Father sent His only Son Jesus to be born a baby and then perish on a cross to redeem me and you from the penalty of our sins. And for that we celebrate Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Spaghetti Squash & Kale

This is the most delicious recipe. And if you follow my simple instructions for removing the cooked squash, you'll get perfect strands instead of mush. Get ready for the most yummy side dish (or main dish) with the perfect spaghetti-like strands.

Did you ever try using spaghetti squash to replace the starchy grain-based pasta only to experience a pile of mush when you removed the squash after baking? That was my experience. Well… there is a bit of a technique to removing the squash so the strands remain intact.
After slathering the cut surface with oil, salt and pepper, I baked the squash cut-side down on a baking sheet. As usual baked it in my toaster oven. So much more economical. The squash turned out perfect after baking for 30 minutes. Then, using a fork, working from the sides toward the center, across the squash (as shown in the picture) I scrapped out the strands. The pulp came out cleanly leaving only the thin skin to toss into the compost pile.

Spaghetti Squash & Kale
From Chris PedersenYield 6-8 servings
Category Side DishCuisine Vegan
Ingredients1 spaghetti squash1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil1 tsp sea saltpepper to taste4 kale leaves1/3 C chopped cilantro
Directions1. Cut the squash in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds.2. Preheat oven to 350° F. Generously season the squash with salt, pepper and oil. Then bake cut-side down on baking sheet for 30 minutes.3. Tear kale from the stems and discard stems. Coursely chop the leaves.4. When the squash is done baking and still warm, use a fork to pull the squash from the skin. Work from the side toward the center to pull apart into spaghetti strands.5. Place strands in a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Toss with kale and cilantro. Serve.

We ate this hot as our main dish for dinner. It was so good! The next day, I ate a portion cold right out of the refrigerator. This will give you a nutritious boost for the day.

What's your favorite recipe for Spaghetti Squash?

Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

Here's an idea for a quick dessert to take to a casual Christmas gathering. Make the Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake and cut-up a section of the cake into bite-size pieces and then in half so they aren't so tall.

Then cut a tiny (~ 1/8 inch) corner off a sandwich bag and add some of the coconut topping. Squeeze the bag so you force the topping into the corner with the hole and… Viola! you have a quick and easy cake decorator. Swirl some topping onto each little piece and place them in the freezer.

I did this with my leftover Pumpkin Cheesecake from Thanksgiving and put the easy-to-handle frozen pieces on a pretty platter that I took to the Christmas mixer for the Sacramento area SCBWI. Don't forget to make a little sign that identifies the dessert as Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake. Everyone loved the guilt-free dessert bites.

What have you done to make your Christmas time easy?

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

Thanksgiving is a time for family, good home-cooked food and remembering all we have to be thankful for. This year my family has much to be thankful for. As with every year, we will extend our gratitude and thanks to the One who provides our needs.

Give thanks to the LORD for he is good—his faithful love endures forever.  Psalm 107:1

Here is my menu for Thanksgiving Day. Letting you know helps me wrap my head around exactly what I'll be doing.
Meatless Stuffed "Turkey"—Since I don't eat meat. May sound strange, but it's really very tasty. Stuffed with brown rice and spices. Trader Joe's and Tofurkey are two brands I've eaten.Steamed Blue Lake Green Beans—KISS certified. Always good on the holiday table.Shallot and Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes—This is one my husband modified from a recipe to make it vegan. Isn't he wonderful? I'll post a recipe for this before Christmas.Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges—I like to prepare sweet potatoes/yams differently each year so I'm roasting them this year.Mixed greens with Dried Cranberries & Pecans—Tossed with a homemade apple cider vinegar and olive oil dressing.Vegan Pumpkin "Cheesecake"—A return from last year by popular demand.Vegan Chocolate Pudding—I just posted this recipe. With the ingredients being on hand, I thought I'd add some chocolate for dessert.What's on the menu for your Thanksgiving?

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

For all you chocolate lovers, here is a simple and quick-to-put-together recipe for vegan chocolate pudding. Try it out and you may decide to include it in your holiday dessert line-up.




Make sure the tofu you purchase is organic or it will for sure be made from genetically engineered (GMO) soy. Also look for the Non-GMO Project Verified label—a third-party organization that provides verification of non-GMO food choices.




You can adjust the ingredients in this recipe to your taste and you won't mess up the results. What more could you ask for in a dessert? Simple. Easy. Adjustable. Yummy!

Vegan Chocolate Pudding






From PCRM

Yield 4 servings




Category Dessert

Cuisine Vegan




Ingredients

1 pound of organic firm tofu

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/3 C maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

top with berry of choice




Directions

1. Place al the ingredients in a blender and process until completley smooth.

2. Taste and adjust ingredients (add more maple syrup or cocoa).

3. Spoon in to small bowls and chill well before serving. Or put into covered bowl and chill.

4. Serve topped with berries


If you're a chocolate lover searching for the ultimate chocolate made from the purest cacao, you might want to keep your eyes peeled for Amazonia. Read about the Chocolate Hunters who harvest the cacao beans from the Amazon regain.




Here are some more dessert recipes you might like for your holiday meals: Blueberry Pie and Pumpkin Cheesecake. Both are vegan, made with no sugar and crowd-pleasing delicious.



Do you have a healthy dessert recipe you'd like to share with Healthy Journey Cafe readers? Send the recipe to chris.pedersen@healthyjourneycafe.com

Wisdom Wednesday

Tip:I eat my veggies mostly raw, but usually have cooked veggies in the evening as a side dish to wild-caught fish or in soups. You might be surprised to know that some foods are more nutritious cooked:
Spinach—You absorb more calcium, iron and magnesium.Tomato—You absorb more lycopene.Asparagus—Nutrient content is higher in slightly steamed asparagus.Mushrooms—Provide more potassium when cooked.Carrot—Cooking carrots whole provides more vitamins than raw.However, vitamin C is destroyed by too much heat. Plus enzymes are destroyed by cooking. You can replenish enzymes by eating cultured/fermented vegetables like raw sauerkraut. The side benefit of the cultured foods is loads of probiotics.

10 Survival Tips for Eating Out

© gpointstudio - Fotolia.comIf you're working at changing your lifestyle habits to be healthier, you may be reluctant to go out to eat because you' might blow your new health trend. Never fear! I've got some tips that will get you through. Make your food work for you by being proactive. Restaurants should be about service and can make accommodation for your health needs.

Here are 10 tips to help you make eating out work for your healthy lifestyle:
Plan ahead. Where will you be eating? Consider what meal options are available.Go online and explore their menu to discover possible selections. Look for a section of healthier choices.
When I arrived at dinner, the head waiter handed me tomorrow's menu, which allowed me to order my selections for the next evening with any changes I needed. For example, they made me cream of mushroom soup without dairy—it tasted better than the dairy version according to my husband who enjoyed a taste of everything.

As you can imagine, I became quite popular at our table as others wanted to know what's for dinner tomorrow.

Since I don't do sugar, I always passed as the waiter took dessert orders around our table. On the fourth day, the waiter set before me a piece of berry pie as he said, "No dairy. No sugar." The pastry chef had created a pie just for me. He took it on as a challenge, wanting me to enjoy one of his creations while my table-mates devoured his other wonderful desserts.

As for the buffet, which I enjoyed for breakfast and lunch, I loved it! The layout of beautiful, fresh-cut veggies made my day. I piled my plate with all the veggies I wanted. Many I don't have very often, like fresh peas. Oh… and since I stay away from the bread, pastries, and other things that create the fleshy roll around the middle plus I exercise every day at sea, gaining weight on a cruise? Not an issue.

What do you find as temptation when you go out to eat?

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

I know there are many of you who LOVE when fall arrives because it means Starbucks offers there enormously popular Pumpkin Spice Latte for the season. Well… I dare you to get out your blender and give this version a whirl. I'm guessing you'll be saving your $5.95 and go the DIY route from now on.



Pumpkin Spice Smoothie




From Rhonda Malkmus @Hallelujah Acres

Yield 2-4 servings




Category Drink

Cuisine Vegan




Ingredients

2 C almond milk

1 Tbsp chia seeds

1 C organic pumpkin puree, unsweetened

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 frozen ripe banana

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

pinch of sea salt




Directions

1. Place almond milk and chia seds in Vitamix and blend to grind seeds. 

2. Add remaining ingredients and blend until creamy. Add more ice to make it thicker and colder if desired. Serve.




What's your favorite holiday drink?