Recipe: Curried Lentils with Sweet Potato & Quinoa

I will eat pretty much anything that contains raisins. I just love how they plump up when you cook them. Combine them with spices and coconut butter and I am completely smitten! The best part is that this dish is really good for you. It's full of fiber & anti-inflammatory spices, plus it's vegetarian and gluten free!

Ingredients:

2 tsp Turmeric

1 tsp paprika

2 tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp cumin, ground or whole

½ tsp chili powder

½ tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ground ginger

pinch of cayenne

1 bay leaf

2 Tbsp coconut oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 small sweet potato, diced

1 tomato, diced

½ cup raisins

½ cup quinoa

½ cup lentils, rinsed

2 cups vegetable broth

1 container plain yogurt

1. Start by heating the coconut oil on medium heat. Add the spices and bay leaf and cook till hot and fragrant. Stir them pretty consistently & careful not to burn them. Pour into small bowl and set aside.

2. Add remaining coconut oil to hot pan and saute onions, sweet potato, and tomato for about 5 minutes.

3. Add spice mix, raisins & lentils and stir to coat. Add vegetable broth. Make sure the broth covers everything by about 1/2 inch. If it doesn't, add some water.

4. Bring to a boil, stir then reduce heat to low-medium. Simmer for about 20 minutes

5. Add quinoa and cook for another 20 minutes, or until both lentils & grain are soft. 

6. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt (this can be omitted to make the dish vegan!) 

Serve and enjoy!

♠

Recipe: Bacon & Sweet Potato Hash

All you need to know is that this recipe is quick, easy, and delicious!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 strips uncured bacon

1 large sweet potato, washed and cubed

1 small bell pepper, chopped

2 Tbsp chopped shallot (or onion)

A handful or 2 of spinach

2 tsp balsamic

2 tsp sweet hot mustard

½ tsp caraway seeds

Ground pepper

Dash of cayenne

Directions:

1. Over medium heat, fry up the bacon. When it's cooked thoroughly, remove from pan and let cool.

2. Toss the shallot (or onion) into the pan and stir to coat in grease. Cook for about 3 minutes.

3. Add the sweet potato, stir, and cover. Let cook for 5-7 minutes

4. While the sweet potato is browning, chop up the bacon into little bits.

5. Add the bacon, bell pepper, and caraway seeds to the pan. Stir and let cook for another 5 minutes.

6. Now it's time to stir in the mustard, balsamic, and remaining spices. You can also throw in the spinach.

7. Reduce heat and cover. Let the spinach wilt a little.

8. Serve with a little extra mustard and ketchup, of course.

Recipe: Sweet Potato Pancakes

I came up with these when I was in a comfort-food-mood, but didn't just want to end up eating cake and Pringles. I had some leftover mashed sweet potatos that were looking for a home and thought I would experiment (sweet potatoes make everything better, automatically). I substituted them for the oil called for in regular pancake recipes and added extra almond milk to make the batter a bit thinner.

Health Notes: These pancakes are low-fat and dairy-free! Another plus, since sweet potatoes are naturally sweet, this recipe doesn't call for as much sugar.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups almond milk 

1 egg

1/2 cup mashed sweet potato

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Coconut butter or cooking spray

Blueberries & banana, optional

1. Heat a frying pan on medium heat. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg and almond milk. Stir in sweet potato and vanilla extract.

3. Add sweet potato mixture to dry ingredients. Stir just until combined.

4. Fold in blueberries.

5. Grease the frying pan. Drop batter using a ladle or big spoon. You can make the pancakes as big or as little as you want.

6. Serve with fruit and/or syrup. Bacon doesn't hurt, either :)