recipes

Steel-Cut Oats With Amaranth Seeds, Chia Seeds and Blueberries

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Fresh blueberries are not in season at the moment, so I put my frozen organic wild blueberries to good use in this hearty mix. The chia and the amaranth pump up the nutritional value of this cereal — both are high in calcium, amaranth is high in protein, and chia seeds are a great source of healthful omega-3s. They also contribute texture. For even more great texture, top the cereal with chopped toasted hazelnuts or almonds.

Total time: 5 minutes (plus overnight soaking)

For each bowl:

  • 1/4 cup regular or quick cooking steel-cut oats
  • 1 tablespoon amaranth seeds
  • 1 teaspoon chia seeds
  • Salt to taste (I use a generous pinch)
  • 1 heaped tablespoon fresh or frozen blueberries, or more to taste (out of season I recommend small frozen wild blueberries)
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup, plus more as desired for drizzling

Optional toppings: milk, chopped toasted skinned hazelnuts, chopped toasted almonds, grated apple or pear, freeze-dried blueberries

1. The night before, stir together steel-cut oats, amaranth seeds, chia seeds, salt and blueberries in a medium microwave-proof bowl. Bring water to a boil and pour over mixture. Add honey or maple syrup and stir, then cover bowl with a plate.

2. In the morning, microwave mixture for 2 minutes on 100 percent power. Remove bowl from microwave and carefully remove plate (bowl will be hot and steam will rise from cereal). Stir mixture, cover again and return to microwave. Heat for 2 minutes more, or until mixture is no longer watery.

3. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle on toppings of your choice.

Yield: Serves 1

Nutritional information per serving: 167 calories; 3 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 30 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 8 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 6 grams protein

Source: The New York Times

Split Pea and Greens Soup

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Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours, 30 minutes
Yield: Serves: 8 (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

Nutritional Information

Calories per serving: 261
Fat per serving: 2 g
Saturated fat per serving: 0.0 g
Monounsaturated fat per serving: 0.0 g
Polyunsaturated fat per serving: 0.0 g
Protein per serving: 19 g
Carbohydrates per serving: 45 g
Fiber per serving: 17 g
Cholesterol per serving: 6 mg
Iron per serving: 4mg
Sodium per serving: 544 mg
Calcium per serving: 118 mg

Ingredients

  • 1 pound green split peas (about 2 1/4 cups), rinsed and drained
  • 1 large sweet onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 3 large carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 4 large ribs celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 5 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 1 4 oz. thick-cut lower-sodium ham steak, diced (about 1 cup)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 large bunch kale, stems and ribs discarded
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Preparation

1. In a slow cooker, combine split peas, onion, carrots, celery, thyme, ham, 7 cups water, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Cover and cook on low until peas are tender, 5 to 5 1/2 hours.

2. Working in batches, finely chop kale in a food processor (you should have about 5 cups). Uncover soup; remove and discard thyme sprigs. Stir in vinegar, then kale. Taste and season with more vinegar, salt and pepper, if desired.

Source: Health

The Healthiest Chocolate Mousse

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Everyone who knows me can vouch for my obsession with my raw brownies, I’m totally addicted! They’re just amazing, and taste absolutely divine. However, these heavenly flavours aren’t really the main reason why I’m so in love them, as I think all of my desserts taste heavenly – it’s the fact that they only take 3 minutes to make and require absolutely no effort whatsoever. I have to admit though that since they’re so easy and I’m so addicted I’ve definitely eaten a lifetimes worth in the past year! I was about to make them for the trillionth time a few weeks ago when I stopped myself and decided that as a chef I should really be a little more inventive and branch out a little to find another 3 minute treat, so I did and these little bowls of insanely creamy, totally chocolatey goodness were the result. Definitely a lesson in why I should branch out more!

I just can’t tell you how awesome these are. I made six pots in my first batch thinking I’d stock of on a week’s worth of treats end guess what… I ate them all in a row! Pot by pot. They were just too good, I simply could not resist. The combination of banana and avocado creates the creamiest consistency that just melts-in-your-mouth, which is enhanced the the almond butter’s nutty goodness. The avocado’s savoury nature is totally masked though by the sweet, caramel-esq nature of the medjool dates and the deeply rich, smooth cacao powder. So you’ll get all of the avocado’s goodness without making the dessert taste like salad! Trust me on this one, it’s amazing even if it sounds a little weird! No one that’s tried it yet has come close to guessing the creamy ingredients, so I promise you won’t taste it either!

Of course you’ll be getting buckets of goodness from each little dessert pot too – lots of fantastic plant protein form the almond butter, wonderfully anti-inflammatory fats and vitamins from the avocado, tons of heart healthy potassium from the banana, toxin preventing anti-oxidants from the super food cacao and all-important fibre from the dates. So you can eat as much dessert as you like knowing you’re only eating spoonful after spoonful of goodness. A totally guilt-free pudding! How great is that?

The healthiest chocolate mousse: vegan, gluten free, dairy free, sugar free
Serves 2

– 2 really ripe bananas

– 1 ripe avocado

– 6 medjool dates

– 4 tablespoons of water

– 2 heaped teaspoons of almond butter

– 2 heaped teaspoons of raw cacao powder

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Optional

– a squeeze of agave

– a teaspoon of hemp protein powder

– a sprinkling of chia seeds

– a sprinkling of flax seeds

Simply put all the ingredients into a food processor – pit the dates first though – then blend into a smooth delicious mixture.

A blender will work for this but a food processor is a lot easier and quicker!

Keep chilled in the fridge until you’re ready to enjoy!

Source: Deliciously Ella