Healthy Chocolate Shake

Oxy moron? I think not. I made this for my kids (and a friend of my daughter who was over) while they were busy playing so they couldn't see what I put in it. They all loved it! MWaah hahahhahaha!! (evil chuckle)

Here is the recipe--and don't get freaked out by the beans. You can't tell they're in there.

BETTER BANANA CHOCOLATE SHAKE (makes 5 cups)
By Janet Hailstone, revised from Diet For A New World by John Robbins

¼ cup raw cashews or sunflower seeds
¼ cup cooked, drained black beans
4 pitted dates
1 cup water
1 cup non-dairy milk
2 Tablespoons cocoa, cacao or carob
1 teaspoon pure vanilla (glycerin based or vanilla powder from Dixie Nutrition bulk)
2 frozen bananas (broken into thirds and stored in a Ziploc bag)
1 cup ice

Blend to smooth for about one minute the nuts or seeds, beans, dates and water. With the machine running, slowly add the non-dairy milk, carob powder, and vanilla. Add frozen bananas and blend. Then, add ice and blend briefly. (Long blending melts the shake)

Tofu Tacos and Vegan Sour Cream

This recipe (another from my cooking class) got high marks from my husband and I, but the kids rejected it on the grounds that it was too spicy. It is better with corn tortillas, but I just used what I had on hand. I combined the leftover tofu mixture and sour cream, rolled a bit inside a flour tortilla, placed in a casserole dish and covered in enchilada sauce for enchiladas. I think I baked them for 20-30 min. at 350. The kids rejected the enchiladas as well--again, too spicy. My kids do better with curry spice than chili powder spice. Anyway, here is the recipe:

Tofu Tacos (from drmcdougall.com)
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 6-8
Spicy Tofu:
24 ounces firm tofu (not silken)
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
½ teaspoon cayenne

Drain tofu in a colander and press out excess water with paper towels. Cut into ½ inch
cubes. Combine soy sauce, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne
in a large bowl. Add tofu and mix gently. Let stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Place a large non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Add tofu and cook turning
occasionally for about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Cabbage:
4 cups finely shredded cabbage
3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
½ tablespoon lime juice
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Corn Tortillas
Soften individually on a dry non-stick griddle, or wrap in a towel and heat in the
microwave.

To assemble:
Take a soft corn tortilla, spoon tofu and cabbage down the center, add a bit of aioli and
some hot sauce, if desired, roll up and eat with your fingers.

TASTY TOFU SOUR CREAM or MAYONNAISE
Revised by Janet Hailstone from
OF THESE YE MAY FREELY EAT by Joanne Rachor (cookbook given out at my Healing Diet class)
1 12.3 box soft Mori Nu Tofu
1/3 cup raw cashews (for added creaminess)
1/3 cup water, optional (if needed to blend)
1 lime juiced
1 tsp each of salt onion powder and dill weed
½ tsp garlic powder
Blend all for 2 minutes until very smooth

Lentil Burgers and Potato Salad

This is one of the recipes from the cooking class I took. I made the burgers and salad for a BBQ at the Ranch, and it got high marks from most (some of the little kids ignored the burgers after one bite, knowing it was different than what they were used to). My kids ate more of this burger than they usually do regular burgers (that's not saying much, though, since it's not a favorite food around here). The burgers were a bit mushy in the middle, but if I hadn't been so hungry I would have cooked them for longer, which would have dried them out more.

The potato salad got rave reviews from one and all. No one knew anything was amiss with the ingredients. I normally do not like potato salad, but I love this version.

Here are the recipes:

LENTIL BURGERS
By Janet Hailstone

1 cup lentils
1 cup short grain brown rice
6 cups water

Boil lentils and rice together till tender about 20-30 minutes. To increase nutritional content soak 12 hours, drain and sprout 12 hours in a covered container and then only boil at 15-25 minutes. Drain and put in large mixing bowl.

1 onion, quartered
1-3 garlic, minced or just drop them in the blender
½ c water

Blend to liquefy onion, garlic and water. Then add to bowl.

2 cups oats, rolled or quick
1 Tbsp of your choice of seasoning blend (Mexican, enchilada, taco, Italian, etc.)
1 Tbsp sea salt

Add and mix well. A Bosch or bread mixer is very handy for this, or use beaters possibly or a potato masher.
Using a large or small canning ring, depending on your choice of size of burgers, pour enough of the mix into each canning ring on a greased cookie sheet. For easier square burgers, try spreading the whole mix on the cookie sheet. Then, using a table knife cut equal-sized squares that will shrink a bit away from each other during cooking. Place wet round burgers close together as they don’t expand, but tend to shrink as they dry out during baking. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Turn burgers and bake another 15 minutes.

VARIATIONS
Use 3 cups cooked black beans instead of lentils for a more authentic color.
Or, use 2 cans drained pinto beans or other choice of beans.
Then, boil rice separately in 3 cups water.
For a garden burger, add 1/3 cup each of chopped mushrooms, green pepper, minced celery, water chestnuts etc., but not watery tomatoes or you’ll need to add a 1/3 cup more of oats.
For chicken burgers, use white colored beans like Navy or Northern. Then, for the seasoning blend, use poultry seasoning.
Add 1 cup raw sunflower seeds for a fun crunch.



“BEST EVER” POTATO SALAD
By Janet Hailstone

8 medium or 4 large potatoes, boiled, skinned, chopped 1” cubes
1 bunch of celery, chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 block Mori Nu Tofu – Firm or Extra Firm
1 yellow bell pepper, grated or chopped
1 lemon juiced
½ cup Vegenaise, the grape seed-oil type (This really makes the salad taste good)
1 Tbsp Dill weed
2 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric

Boil potatoes whole until tender (about 30 minutes). Drain, rinse in cool water as you easily peel the skins off. Let cool submerged in cold water while you prepare the other ingredients or just refrigerate until cool so you don’t have a warm salad. Cut into 1” cubes. Add to a large mixing/serving bowl after cooled. Wash celery as a whole bunch as well as the insides to remove dirt. Keeping the whole bunch together, chop the dry ends off and discard, then chop ½” pieces. Use 2/3 to all of the celery including the leaves from the tips of the celery to the base. Crumble tofu in ½” (more or less) pieces by just squishing with hands or mixing spoon in the bowl. Add spices. Mix all ingredients well, chill and serve.

Optional:
½ cup each of chopped pickles/sunflower/pumpkin seeds

10-K

As the title of this blog suggests, one of my reasons for trying to eat better was to reap the blessings promised to those who follow the counsel given from God to Joseph Smith in what we now call "the Word of Wisdom." (See here for more information)

One of the promises is to "run and not be weary." I have noticed a huge improvement in my ability to run and not be weary since I started eating more healthy foods. I have a greater desire to exercise, more energy when I do exercise, and overall greater endurance. I just ran my first 10 K in years (I think I was 10 when I ran a 10 K before). It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad I was able to do it. I'm training for a sprint distance triathlon in September...we'll see how it goes.

Also, I just finished a class on vegan, whole-foods cooking called the Healing Diet. The instructor gave me permission to post the recipes here, so look for look for those soon.