Tomato-Basil Salad

Here's a recent favorite dish of mine, Tomato-Basil salad. It's a very simple recipe, but there's just something about the combination of flavors that's absolutely divine!

Ingredients:

Vine-ripe tomatoes - chopped

Fresh basil leaves - chopped

Extra-virgin olive oil

Ume plum vinegar or balsamic vinegar

Measurements are up to you, depending on how many you are serving and your personal taste. Make it ahead and marinate for several hours.

This salad is perfect on it's own, in a pita with hummus, or mixed with quinoa, pasta or rice.

Hope you try it.

Wishing you blessings and excellent health!

A Modest Herb Garden

To make your food and drinks more flavorful, I'd like to recommend investing a small amount of time and money to start a small Herb garden inside or outside your home.

It takes just a little bit of space, and the plants are available for just a few dollars in places like Home Depot, Whole Foods, Supermarkets and nurseries. All you really need are a few pots, some earth and a space to put them.

Our herb garden is right outside the front door which is very convenient every time I want to add parsely to the hummus, mint and lemon balm to my drinks, shakes and salads, oregano and basil to the tomato sauce or salads, and thyme for some tea.

There are hundreds of dishes to add these herbs to, and it is not only convenient to have them available at all times instead of buying them every time you need them, it is such a great feeling to water, nurture and enjoy the sights and scents.

These herbs work wonders in the kitchen, but they also enhance our health in unexpected ways. They stimulate the immune system, have anti-inflamatory effects, anti-bacterial properties, help treat respiratory illnesses, are used as diuretics, and so much more!

Here are a few great reasons to start your garden today:

• Fresh herbs always available
• More flavorful meals
• A great way to boost your vitamin intake
• Save money
• Education for you and your family
• Curb Appeal
• Share with friends, family, and neighbors
• Easy and fun to create and maintain

Start small, even with one plant, and you'll see that you'll be adding to your collection in no time.

* Tip : Put a few buckets outside to collect the rain to water your plants and save on your water bills!

Wishing you excellent health!

Flavored Ice Cubes

This may sound like a simple idea, but I recently discovered that freezing lemon and lime juice in ice cube trays saves time and energy when it comes to making certain recipes, plus it's great to have for your next cup of tea or hot water!

Freezing the juice from an orange is also a good idea, especially to add to a shake or smoothie, or to put in a glass of red wine for a sangria-like taste!

Freezing herbs like mint can be done as well and is quite practical. I recently planted mint in our garden and began using it in all kinds of drinks and recipes. If you buy mint in a package and don't use it for a while it's very likely to go bad, so to preserve it you can put some leaves in an ice cube tray with water and freeze it. It will be ready for your next cup of tea, hot or cold water, and will make it flavorful and cooler at the same time!

Hope you enjoy!

Delicious Veggie Pasta!

Close your eyes and picture a mountain of angel hair pasta, tossed with your favorite tomato sauce, pesto sauce, or peanut sauce, piled high on your dinner plate...but instead of white or whole wheat pasta it's raw zucchini pasta!

All you need to make this amazing and delicious treat is about 5 minutes, and a kitchen gadget called the Saladacco Spiralizer. It's very affordable (less than $20), and the best price I found was through Amazon . Do your homework though and shop around online to see if you can do better. It's worth every penny, and you and your kids, friends, and family members will have so much fun creating and eating these beautiful dishes.

Here are a few other spaghetti 'flavors' to try along with zucchini:

carrot, cucumber, squash, radish and beets!

Toss in your favorite sauce, and you have a delicious, satisfying, healthy low-calorie and 'guilt free' meal!

I have seen recipes with other firm vegetables like sweet potatoes, onions, daikons, jicama, parsnip and winter squash, though I haven't tried them out as of yet.

Food texture plays an important part in creating our comfort foods, and the Saladacco Spiralizer brings new texture variations to experiment on vegetables that would traditionally be eaten cooked. It's a great way to eat a wider variety of raw foods which are packed full of vitamins and nutrients.

It also has a function that creates an endless ribbon of connected thin slices to make decorative flowers and borders. Your creativity can make your food as eye-appealing as it is appetizing. Hope you try it soon.

Wishing You Excellent Health!

Minty Lime Watermelon Treat!

Fruit for breakfast is a great way to start the day, and lately I have been 'addicted' to a blended watermelon drink that includes lime juice and mint. It is so refreshing and delicious, plus quick and easy to make, especially on the go...

It's also a perfect 'pick me up' any time of day.

Blend the following ingredients together:

• Pieces of chopped watermelon (remove seeds)
  
• A few mint leaves
• Juice from one lime
• Chopped ice

Some of the Benefits of Watermelon:

Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Lycopene

Natural diuretic

Low in calories

Made up of approx. 92% water

Enhances Libido

Sweet and delicious!

When it's hot, watermelon drinks are a great replacement for sports drinks which are high in calories. The watermelon hydrates and maintains your energy level more naturally.

Wishing You Excellent Health!

Vegan Nachos

Last week I decided to create a vegan Mexican lunch for my family in honor of Cinco De Mayo and it was a huge success...here's a photo with all the ingredients:

• Unsalted Corn Chips
• Mashed Avocado
• Black Beans
• Chopped Salad
• Carmelized Onions and Red Peppers
• Hummus
• Tofutti Sour Cream
• Salsa
• Rice and Lentils
• Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce (recipe available upon request)

Here are a few of the beautiful creations using all the ingredients:

Delicious, filling, healthy and very affordable.

Hope you enjoy!

Veggie Burger and Cauliflower-Corn Salad

Today I have two treats for you that I think you're going to like... one is an easy and yummy vegetarian burger recipe, and the other is a light and delicious cauliflower-corn salad recipe. I served both for lunch the other day along with vegetable salad and the feedback was 'tasty, filling, and very satisfying'.

Burgers: Makes 8 servings (or 4 really big burgers!)

• 2 cups black eyed peas
• 3 slices whole grain bread
• 1/2 cup parsley
• Handful of spinach
• One egg (or one tsp egg replacer)
• Spices - garlic, cumin, black pepper, Bragg (sea salt optional)
• Canola oil (for frying)
• Food Processor

Cook beans until soft. Toast bread until hard and crunchy, tear apart and chop it up in food processor. Add beans, parsley, spinach, egg and spices, and mix it all together in the food processor until consistency is good for making the patties.

Separate mixture into 8 and roll into balls. Flatten into patties, heat up oil in large pan, and begin frying. Best to do 4 at a time.

Flip burgers every few minutes and cook until crispy. Make sure to put paper towel on a plate for soaking up the excess oil.

Cauliflower-Corn Salad:

• One head cauliflower
• One ear of corn
• Honey mustard dressing
• Juice of whole lemon

Steam cauliflower and corn (you can do it in the same pot together) for about 5 minutes or until soft. Shave off corn kernels. Mash cauliflower with a fork or potato masher (easy when it's soft) and mix in the corn kernels, dressing and lemon juice. Delicious on it's own, as a side dish, or in a pita with salad.

Hope you enjoy!