More juice recipes!

It's day 5 today and I am starting to feel better than I have been. I also feel like my skin is clearing up a little bit! I remembered one of the recipes I used a few days ago, that I really liked!

1 1/2 sweet potatoes (with skin), cubed
4 carrots
2 apples
2 beets
Beet greens
2 big handfuls of spinach
2 oranges

It was a little on the sweet side, so next time I might only put one orange.

Today I tried a recipe from rebootwithjoe.com. It's called green lemonade. It was a tad bitter at first, which I expected, but as I kept drinking it, I really liked it. The lemon really cut down the "greens" taste that I don't want a whole lot of. I doubled the recipe to make 32 oz, so cut it in half if you only want one.

Green Lemonade
1 cucumber
1 lemon, peeled and seeded
8 celery stalks
2 green apples
A couple handfuls of kale
A couple handfuls of spinach

Juicing!!

So, I've decided it's really time to get healthy, and one thing that I'm doing now, is juicing! I wanted to do a full juice fast, but since your body releases toxins, I can't since I'm still nursing. So I decided to eat a healthy breakfast and dinner, and then drink juice during the day. Today was day 4, and it's going great so far! Today was the first day I didn't really get hungry during the day. The first day, I was starving after about an hour and a half after my first drink. Here's a few recipes I've used!

Green juice:
A few handfuls of chopped kale
A few handfuls of spinach
1 cucumber
8 celery stalks
4 carrots
3 apples
1" piece of ginger

Greens and beets:
2 beets
Beet greens
A couple handfuls of spinach
1" piece of ginger
4 oranges
6 carrots
3 apples

I loved the second one!!! I made one with beets similar to this one, but without the ginger, and I think the ginger really complements the drinks!

I really recommend the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. It's really interesting! I've been using his website for juice recipes and juicer tips! :)

Penne Baked with Eggplant-Tomato Sauce

This came out DELICIOUS! I loved the baked eggplant sauce with the penne!

 

Penne Baked with Eggplant-Tomato Sauce

makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

12 ounces penne

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 medium eggplant, finely chopped

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp minced fresh marjoram or 1/2 tsp dried

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup vegan Parmesan

1/4 cup dry unseasoned bread crumbs

 Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. IN a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the penne over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

 

2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Ad the eggplant, cover, and cook until soft, 12 to 14 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, wine, parsley, marjoram, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, uncovered, until the liquid reduces, about 15 minutes.

 

3. In a large bowl, combine the cooked penne with the eggplant-tomato mixture and spoon it into a lightly oiled 3-quart casserole. In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan with the bread crumbs and sprinkle it on top.

 

 

4. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until lightly browned on top, about 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

 

Note: We used curly parsley so it wouldn't go to waste, and rice bread crumbs. Enjoy! =)

Orzo, White Beans, and Tomatoes with Lemony Spinach Pesto

This recipe was pretty good. I still like the regular basil pesto better, but this had a unique flavor in it's own. I think I would add a little more lemon juice, and a little less garlic (believe it or not, although we used about double it said!). Following the recommended amount of garlic is actually a good idea in this recipe! =) It was very tasty and fresh with the tomatoes and beans!

 

Orzo, White Beans, and Tomatoes with Lemony Spinach Pesto

makes 4 servings

 

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh baby spinach

2 garlic cloves

1/3 cup pine nuts

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp fresh minced marjoram or 1 tsp dried

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cups orzo

1 1/2 cups cooked or 1 (15.5-ounce) can cannllini beans, drained and rinsed if canned

Juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 cups ripe grape tomatoes, halved

 

Directions:

1. Microwave the spinach in a microwave-safe bowl until wilted, about 1 minutes. Set aside. IN a food processor, combine the garlic, pine nuts, and salt and process to a paste. Add the spinach, marjoram, parsley, and pepper to taste and process to combine. With the machine running, stream in the oil. Transfer the pesto to a small bowl and set aside.

 

2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the orzo over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain well and return to the pot over low heat. Add the white beans and lemon juice and stir to heat the beans, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and pesto and toss gently to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve immediately.

Pasta Primavera

This was a nice spring dish with lots of fresh, colorful veggies! There wasn't really any sauce on it, so it was a little dry as left overs, but with some vegan parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes sprinkled on it, it was really good for dinner! =)

Pasta Primavera

makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb tricolor rotini

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium red or yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch strips

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch slices

8 thin asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths

1 small bunch green onions, chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp minced fresh basil

2 Tbsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

 

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the rotini over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 10 minutes.

 

2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, ad the bell pepper and garlic, and cook 4 minutes, until slightly softened. Add the zucchini, asparagus, and green onions and cook until tender, about 7 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper to taste and keep warm. 

 

3. Drain the pasta well and transfer it to a large serving bowl. Add the cooked vegetables, along with the basil, and parsley. Toss gently and serve immediately.

Spring Pasta Salad

I made this colorful pasta salad for Easter dinner. My mother and my sister both are vegetarian now, so this recipe would be a good compliment to a dinner with meat or on it's own since it has beans in it. Delicious!

 

Spring Pasta Salad

Makes 8 1-cup servings

 

Ingredients:

2 cups dry pasta spirals
6 sun-dried tomatoes 

1/2 cup boiling water 

1/2 cup finely chopped green onions 

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 15-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered 

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley 

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 15-ounce can dark kidney beans, drained
1 cup fat-free Italian salad dressing

 

 

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse with cold water, drain, and place in a large bowl. Soften tomatoes by soaking them in 1/2 cup boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and chop. Add to pasta along with remaining ingredients. Toss to mix.

Note: I used rice pasta instead of wheat, and used the whole 12-oz bag. I used the whole red pepper, since it was a smaller one, and used a little bit more of the parsley and basil. Instead of fat free dressing, I used the whole foods brand organic Italian dressing. It tasted very fresh! =) 

Bok Choy Skillet Supper

This is a lovely, fresh dinner for a spring night! It came out very tasty =) This recipe is from Vegetarian Times.

 

Bok Choy Supper Skillet

serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tsp garlic-flavored olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling

8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced (2 cups)

8 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

2 shallots, finely chopped (1/4 cup)

1 cup bulgur

1 cup mushroom broth

1 sprig fresh thyme plus 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, divided

4 small bok choy, halved

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tsp garlic oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and cook 5 minutes, or until browned. Transfer to plate. Add tomatoes to skillet cut-side down, and cook 2 minutes, or until browned. Transfer to plate.

 

2. Add remaining 1 tsp garlic oil to skillet. Stir in shallots, and sauté 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in bulgur until grains are coated with oil. Add broth, thyme sprig, and 1 1/2 cups water; season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 5 minutes.

 

3. Arrange bok choy halves on top of bulgur with leaves pointing outward (like spokes in a wheel). Sprinkle mushrooms and tomatoes between bok choy halves. Cover, and simmer 5 minutes more. Remove from heat, and let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle with thyme leaves, and drizzle with garlic oil.

Per 1 1/2-cup serving: 202 cal; 8g prot; 6g total fat (<1 sat fat); 34g carb; 0mg chol; 217mg sod; 9g fiber; 3g sugar.

Note: We used baby bella mushrooms instead of button and grape tomatoes. Since I decided to try gluten free again, we precooked 1 cup (dry) of brown rice in place of the bulgur. We followed the directions the same, except used only 1/2 cup of water, and it seemed to be about perfect with the 1 cup of broth, which we used vegetable. The only mushroom broth we can find is non low sodium, so we stick with our low-sodium vegetable broth as much as we can. Also, we put the thyme leaves in before we steamed everything together to give the bok choy a nice flavor!