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Quick & Easy Healthy Homemade Meals: Vegetarian Chili

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Using soaked dried beans really gives chili a fresh taste that is full of flavour – and it’s easier than you think! All you have to do is know that you want chili tomorrow night for dinner…

Place 2 cups of dried beans of your choice in 6 cups of water and leave them to soak for at least 8 hours. When you’re ready to use the beans, drain the water and rinse the beans. Then place the beans in a large pot with enough water to cover the beans by about one inch. Bring the water to a boil, and turn heat down to medium heat for about 30-40mins (replace any water, if needed). Meanwhile, prepare your veggies and any side dish. When beans are soft in texture, drain water and gently rinse beans. Now they are ready to use!

However if you didn’t make time to soak & boil the beans, and want to make up a quick chili, you can just use canned beans – they still make for a great chili. And you can find canned beans from Eden Organic which are BPA-free! (as a little reminder, BPA is an hormone disruptor which mimics estrogen, leading to healthy effects that are harmful to our women, men, and especially our children). As for canned tomatoes, there’s no company that makes BPA-free canned tomatoes as of yet. So, if you really want to reduce your intake of BPA (especially for your children), use home-canned tomatoes or diced tomatoes in glass jars. Here is an article that is easy to read & also has more information on BPA-free food products.

We like to serve this meal over short grain brown rice, or with a slice of toasted gluten-free bread – our favorites are kinnik-kinnick’s sunflower flax bread, Glutino’s flax seed bread, or any bakery-made or home-made bread. We also like Silvery Hill’s sprouted grain breads (they are not gluten-free) – Mack’s Flax, Big 16, or Squirrelly.

VEGETARIAN CHILI

a nice hearty bowl of chill - made in less than 1 hour

a nice hearty bowl of chill – made in less than 1 hour

 

Prep Time: 20mins (just under 1 hour if using soaked dried beans method)

Cook Time: 20mins

Serves: 5-6

Soaked dried beans: Soak 2 cups dried beans (your choice: garbanzo, black, pinto, kidney) at least 8 hours or overnight in 6 cups of water. Drain water, rinse beans, and place in a large pot with enough water to cover the beans by about one inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and boil for about 30-40mins (replace water if needed). When beans are soft, drain and rinse gently… OR… Canned beans: Choose 2 of the following cans of beans: garbanzo, black, pinto, black eyed peas, cannellini, or kidney (small red) beans  – ideally from a BPA-free source such as Eden Organic

Ingredients

  • Beans (canned or soaked & boiled)
  • 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large (28oz) can or glass jar of diced tomatoes
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 large carrots, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped (organic is best – celery is high on Dirty Dozen List)
  • ½ green or red bell pepper, chopped (ideally organic – Dirty Dozen List)
  • 2 tbsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • ¼ – ½ tsp cayenne
  • 1 tsp sea salt (or Zesty Hebamare – this is my secret ingredient… can be found at Superstore, Sobeys, & Corn Crib)
  • ground pepper, to taste

optional ingredients:

  • 1 cup frozen or fresh corn
  • grated cheese, as garnish
  • avocado chunks, as garnish

Preparation

–       Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Quickly add chopped onion, garlic and carrot, sautee for about 3 minutes.

–       Add spices and sautee for another 2-3 minutes, stirring often.

–       Then, add celery and bell pepper. Keep stirring to mix spices together with veggies.

–       Add diced tomatoes and beans (we like to use a fork and mash some of the beans before adding to give the chili a nice thick texture). Bring to a near boil and reduce heat to simmer for about 15-20mins.

–       Garnish & serve with rice or toast side dish (recommended above) for a filling meal.

(*To make this a Non-Vegetarian Chili, just cook 1 lb ground beef fully with onions and garlic. Add carrots after ground beef is cooked.)

Quick & Easy Homemade Healthy Meals: Pita pizzas

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Pita pizzas are so versatile. You can switch up the veggies and sauce for a your very own personal pizza experience. And because they are so quick to make, they are great for an easy dinner, lunch or even a snack.

Prep Time: 15mins
Cook Time: 10mins
Serves: as many or as few as you make

PITA PIZZAS

Whole wheat pita

Sauce (choose one or mix a few together):

with pesto

with pesto

with pesto, spinach and tomato sauce reduction

with pesto, spinach and tomato sauce reduction

  • Salsa
  • Pesto
  • Quick sauce: A few scoops of canned or fresh crushed tomatoes (without liquid) put into a blender with Italian seasoning
  • Tomato sauce reduction: A few scoops of canned crushed tomatoes reduced to have very little liquid left, with added Italian seasoning, and blended (if needed)

Toppings (choose a few or all of the following):

with more veggies added

with more veggies added

with veggies added

  • Onion, sliced or diced (we like red onion)
  • Mushrooms, sliced
  • Spinach, chopped
  • Peppers, chopped
  • Broccoli, chopped
  • Cheese of your choice, grated or crumbled (feta, white cheddar, mozza)
  • chunks of cooked chicken

Bake at 350F for 10-15 mins. Serve immediately, with side salad or veggie dish for a complete meal.

baked to perfection

baked to perfection

Quick & Easy Healthy Homemade Meals: Delicious Red Lentil Dahl (Vegan)

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When I’m making this recipe, I like to prepare a lot of the recipe before hand by combining the seeds in a small dessert or custard dish and the spices in another. That way, they are ready to go when the time comes to add them. 

We like to serve this over rice – our favorites are short grain brown rice, a wild rice mix, and white jasmine . We also add a handful of fresh chopped spinach on top of the rice just before we scoop on the dahl. Alternatively, you can stir in about 4 cups of fresh chopped spinach into the dahl at the end of cooking.

DELICIOUS RED LENTIL DAHL (vegan)

 

So soothing & nourishing to the body & soul

So soothing & nourishing to the body & soul

Quick & Easy Healthy Homemade Meals: Delicious Red Lentil Dahl (Vegan)
 
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This recipe takes a little bit of prep time but it is totally worth it! This dish is especially tasty on cold nights.
Author:
Recipe type: dinner
Serves: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp coconut oil or olive oil
  • 3 tsp each black mustard seeds & cumin seeds
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, chopped (if you don't have fresh ginger, just omit this ingredient... ground ginger doesn't substitute well)
  • 2 tsp turmeric, dried or 1 Tbsp fresh, grated turmeric
  • 3 tsp ground cumin
  • ¼ tsp cayenne (or more for more spice)
  • 2-3 carrots, peeled & chopped
  • 3 medium potatoes, peeled & cut into 1" cubes
  • 1 cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
  • 2 ½ cup red lentils, rinsed
  • 1 vegetable bouillon cube
  • 4-6 cups water (or veggie stock)
  • 1-2 tsp sea salt (start with 1 tsp and gradually add more until you reach desired taste)
Instructions
  1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add cumin & black mustard seeds, and cover pot. Heat until you hear them begin to pop, then quickly add onions & garlic. Sautee for 3-5 minutes.
  2. Add fresh ginger, if using, along with spices (turmeric, cumin, cayenne), carrots, and potatoes. Sautee for 3-5 more minutes.
  3. Add water & bouillon cube (or veggie stock).
  4. Rinse the red lentils and add them to the pot. Stir well.
  5. Bring to a boil. Cover, turn down heat & simmer for 30 mins or more. Add salt to taste, stir well & serve.
  6. You can add a dollop of coconut cream to stir in, for extra nutrition.

 

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Our Favorite Falafel Recipe (gluten-free, vegan)

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OUR FAVORITE FALAFEL RECIPE (gluten-free, vegan)

This is the best falafel recipe we have come up with so far! It’s an adaptation of many different recipes & has taken some time to perfect. If you have other suggestions on improvements or you’ve made successful changes, be sure to let us know! Hummus is a great addition, as well as the dips & sauces we recommended here. But feel free to get creative and serve these tasty falafels with anything that you wish.

One of Nick’s favorite ways to get creative is to shape the falafels into little hearts – this makes for an artistic and lovely meal 🙂

 

Nick’s special heart-shaped falafels with side of tahini lemon sauce, cucumber tzaziki dip, hummus & sliced cucumber.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups chickpeas (or 2 x 15-oz cans)
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp cumin, ground
  • 1 tsp each ground coriander & turmeric
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ cup finely onion, minced (or 6 scallions, minced)
  • ¼ cup packed parsley, minced
  • ¼ cup water (a splash more if you used dried parsley)
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • a few dashes of cayenne (and a few dashes more for a bit of spice)
  • 1/3 cup gluten-free flour (we use Bob’s Redmill All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour)

Directions

– Rinse chickpeas & drain them well.

– Combine all ingredients but flour in a food processor (or mash in a bowl) until you have a uniform batter.

– Add flour and stir until thoroughly combined. (You can cook them now, or store in a covered container for several days)

Cook via frying:

– Heat a heavy skillet and add about 3 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat. When a drop of the batter sizzles when dropped into the oil, start dropping tablespoons full into the oil, flattening with the spoon so that you have small pancakes. Cook about 5 minutes per side; or until it is crisp on the outside and still soft on the inside.

– Place on paper towels to soak up grease & serve with your favorite sauce, dip, hummus, and pita.

Cook via baking (lower fat and still really tasty!):

– Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a baking pan & make batter into 1.5” balls (or 2” heart shapes) & flatten them to 1/2” – 3/4 “ thickness

– Bake for 10 mins one side, flip & bake another 10 mins the other side. Then broil 2 mins each side.

Recommended Sauce & Dip Recipes:

Tahini-Lemon Sauce Yields 1- 1 ½ cups (from Moosewood Cookbook)

  • ¾ cup sesame tahini
  • 5 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1 medium garlic clove, minced
  • ¾ – 1 cup water
  • Salt to taste
  • Fresh parsley
  • Cayenne to taste (optional)

– Place tahini, lemon juice and garlic in a food processor or blender. Begin to process.

– With the motor running, add water until sauce reaches desired consistency (thinner than peanut butter, thicker than mayonnaise, in my opinion).

– Transfer to a small bowl or container, and season with salt, parsley, and cayenne if you want a little kick. Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready.

Cucumber-Tzaziki Dip

  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp dill (dried, more if fresh)
  • dash salt & pepper
  • 2-3 dallops plain yogurt or sour cream

– Blend all ingredients together and serve.

Quick & Easy Healthy Homemade Meals: Creamy Pesto Pasta (gluten-free)

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CREAMY PESTO PASTA (gluten-free)

This recipe is a favorite in our household – definitely a once per week dish (at least!). It’s easy to make and is so satisfying with the perfect combination of mixed greens, pasta, and creamy pesto. The ingredients list may look daunting but it’s only because this dish is loaded with tasty veggies! And in the end, this dish is very versatile – you can use any combination veggies that you have on hand and it will be delicious.


 

Yummy creamy pesto, pasta & fresh mixed greens!

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1 package of your choice of pasta or spaghetti noodles*, cooked
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • ½ purple onion, chopped finely
  • 1 cup broccoli, chopped (use both floret & stem)
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped (ideally organic – it’s high on the Dirty Dozen List)
  • 6 sprigs of asparagus, chopped into 1” slices
  • 6 mini portabello mushrooms, sliced thin
  • ½ cup plain organic yogurt (optional)
  • ½ – 1 cup your favourite homemade or store-bought pesto
  • baby mixed greens – spinach, mustard greens, baby kale, arugula, frisee, mizuna
  • handful cherry tomatoes, halved
  • green onions, for garnish (optional)

Optional addition for meat or meat alternative:

  • 1 chicken breast, cut into 1” cubes, cooked
  • 12-18 small prawns, deveined & shelled and cut in half, cooked
  • ½ block extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2” cubes sauteed in 1 Tbsp each olive oil & soy sauce

*Feel free to use any type of penne or long thin noodle… Try Tinkyada brown rice fettucini or spaghetti, TruRoots Ancient Grains Spaghetti,  Prairie Harvest linguine or spaghetti, or TruRoots Penne (available at Costco) to keep it gluten-free. Or, you can use whole wheat spaghetti, spaghettini, or linguine if gluten is not a worry in your household 🙂

Directions

–       Prepare pasta by bringing a large pot of water to a boil. Break uncooked pasta in half and add to boiling water, along with a pinch of salt. Turn heat to medium-high and let boil for 7-10 mins, or until el dente. Drain & put aside when done.

–       In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add all veggies into the pan and sautee until veggies are tender (but still a little crunchy) – about 7-8 mins.

–       Turn heat down to low, add yogurt & pesto to veggies. Add pasta and stir to coat.

–       Arrange baby mixed greens on a large plate. Add halved tomatoes on top of greens. Top this mixture with pasta & veggie mix, optional garnish, and serve while hot.

Enjoy! 🙂