Vegan Chickpea Stew

I spent this past week with my dear cousin, who is more like my sister, and her lovely family near Vancouver. She spoiled all of us with her delicious cooking. Here’s a recipe of hers that’s perfect for the crisp coolness of the Fall season and which will keep you warm and satisfied throughout the winter months. It is based off of a traditional Turkish recipe with her spin on it.

This stew is a well-rounded option for vegetarians and vegans alike, or if you just want to lay off the meat for a day or two. The chickpeas combined with the grain it’s served on give you a complete range of essential amino acids (proteins), and it tastes great to boot.

Mung Bean Stew (Kitcheree)

Comfort food at its best: warming, filling, soothing… and healing, cleansing. Super easy to make. Freezes well for those days you don’t feel like cooking but just want to curl up on the couch with a steaming bowl of goodness.

One of our favorites recipes, straight from my kitchen.

Prep time: 20-25 minutes

Cook time: 45-60 minutes (with minimal attention required)

Serves 8, or several variations of meals for 2 people over 2-3 days. Serve alone as a meal in a bowl with a piece of bread or with any whole grain for a hearty meal (e.g. brown rice, quinoa, wild rice, whole wheat or brown rice pasta, etc.)

Simla’s Cooling Summer Soup

Cooling. Easy. Delicious. Perfect after a long day at the beach or just to cool off from the summer heat. I created this recipe after craving watercress (yes, really!) for two days one recent summer.

Its ingredients are naturally cooling and support the usually overworked liver in detoxing, while providing lots of anti-oxidants to help prevent premature aging and natural body wear and tear. The healthy fats from the avocado will gently satiate you and are anti-inflammatory and happy-chemical-producing mini miracles.

Serves 2

Ingredients

½ small bunch of watercress

2 small green zucchini (peeled, if not organic)

Napa Cabbage and Black Bean Salad with Savory-Sweet Vinaigrette

Most salads bore me to tears. I’m always looking for interesting combinations, textures, and dressings for my salads. This is a tasty, nutritious, not-boring, generous salad that is gently filling and satisfying. It’s one of the recipes in the Delicious Cleanse.

Serves 1 generously.

Ingredients

For the Salad:

1 – 1.5 cup napa cabbage (about 3-5 of the bigger leaves), with leaves washed, cut into half, then cut into thin strips

1/4 – 1/2 cup carrots, washed, peeled (or not, if organic)- or use a peeler and create thin strips that you can then cut into half length-wise: easy and pretty!

Simla’s Easy Grain Salad

This recipe was born when I was staring at a bunch of leftovers in my fridge one day, wondering what the heck I was going to eat for a quick but satisfying lunch on a busy day… Sounds like a lot of ingredients, but it’s really just a bit of this and a bit of that. Aim for organic ingredients.

Prep time: 5-7 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes (if cooking grains from scratch) – otherwise, 10 minutes or less

Single serving as a main dish, or 2 servings as a side dish.
Double the recipe for bigger servings or more people as this dish goes fast!

Coconut Yam Soup

This recipe is simple, soothing, warming, and perfect for winter. The healthy fats help lift your mood and support your stress hormones, the intense vitamin A from the yams help strengthen your immune system plus your eyes, for those quiet days spent reading indoors.

3 ingredients. Make it tonight!

Makes about 4-6 servings. You can always freeze extras for another day.

Ingredients

2 large or 4 small yams, peeled & cut in chunks (you can also use sweet potatoes)
1 can coconut milk (regular, not light)
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or filtered water – more for consistency if desired
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Roasted Pumpkin Dessert

This is a healthier variation of a favorite seasonal dessert from Turkey. Easy to make, with a beautiful presentation, it can replace traditional pumpkin pie as a more nutritious, lower glycemic dessert with heart-healthy fats from the nuts. It can also take the place of yams or sweet potatoes with marshmallows as a side dish. No refined anything here!

And only 3 ingredients!

Prep Time:  About 15-20 minutes. The better your knife, the less your prep time!
Cook Time:  45-75 minutes
Yield: Depends on the size of the pumpkin. Usually about 12 servings.

Ingredients

Stuffed Acorn Squash

This is such a versatile and fun recipe to make, and seasonal and beautiful to boot! A great addition to your Thanksgiving or holiday dinner spread.

Packed full of antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins (A, B, C, E…), as well as an appropriate amount of healthy fats.

Fantastic served with a black bean dish, marinated tempeh, roasted poultry, stir-fried garlic beef, or lamb chops, and a side of your favorite greens or salad.

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients

Soaked Oats

An easy, fast, nutritious, and delicious breakfast! No cooking necessary!

Prep Time: 5 minutes or less
Yield: 1 generous serving or 2 smaller servings

Ingredients:
3/4 – 1 cup rolled oats (good) or steel cut oats (better)
1/5 cup dried fruit (such as blueberries, raisins, cranberries, currants, cherries)
1/5 cup ground flax seeds and/or your favorite nuts
Filtered water or your favorite milk / milk alternative, enough to cover the oats by about 1/2 inch

Directions:
1. The night before, place all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Cover.
3. Place in a cool, dry place overnight, ideally in fridge.
4. In the morning, warm with a bit more liquid over the stove or eat at room temperature.

Turkish Carrot-Lamb* Rice Pilaf and Radish Gazpacho (*with vegan option)

Comforting, warming, and invigorating, cooling at the same time. This duo is a perfect match for your taste buds and for the Fall season. The radishes, in particular, are fantastic to keep your immune system strong and help you clear out any bugs like the flu that you may catch, as they help dispel phlegm and have strong antioxidant properties.

The Carrot-Lamb Rice Pilaf
Since this is the main meal, one serving is a generous 1 cup of prepared rice pilaf. Makes about 4-6 servings.

Ingredients

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