Vegan Colcannon

This week we are doing a Gluten Free and Vegan Menu, in an effort to get back on the health wagon. After I started working full time it got harder and harder to stay on track with eating healthy and I am starting to feel the consequences. I convinced hubby to go on this "diet" this week because he wants to lose some weight and I just want that good feeling back from when I was eating healthy before.

Let me tell you, it is not easy going from eating fast food and take out all the time, to planning a weekly menu that is Vegan and GF! Unless you want to eat nothing but soup and salad! My menu this week took me 5 hours to plan because I wanted to find recipes for hubby that would please his palate and hopefully keep him on board with the new "diet". Him being a picky eater, this was no easy task!

Here is one of the recipes that I found, but adjusted to be more interesting. I threw some endives in because I found them at the store and had never had them, in fact I was going through self-checkout and I had to ask the attendant what they were because I had never seen them. Hubby's response "you're buying them and you don't even know what they are???". Ha, I like to try new things. I found they don't have much taste but they lend an interesting texture.

This is not an authentic Irish dish but pretty close. Very filling and delicious! Not 100% healthy but it is vegan and gluten free MEAL. Traditionally served as a side dish.

Add this recipe to your TastyPlanner here.

Prep time: 10 Min. Cook time: 30 Min. Serves: 5

Ingredients

2 Tbsp EVOO

1 ,Onion chopped

1/2 head cabbage

2 Endives, sliced in 1/4 inch thick rings(optional)

6 Red Potatoes, skin on and boiled

1/4 cup earth balance

1/4 cup non-dairy milk

Celtic Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to Taste

Instructions

Start potatoes boiling in large sauce pan over medium heat.

Chop onions and slice endives.

In a separate pan heat EVOO over medium-low heat until hot.

Add onions and endives and heat until they start to caramelize, adding salt at this stage will help them to sweat and caramelize quicker.

Spread cabbage evenly on top of onion mixture and season to taste with pepper, cover with lid and continue to cook over low heat just until wilted.

Meanwhile, add earth balance and milk to a bowl, season with sea salt and pepper to taste, then add drained potatoes and mash until smooth.

Remove lid and stir cabbage and onion mixture, re-cover and continue to cook until cabbage is crisp tender and brightened.

Remove cabbage mixture from heat and spoon onto a plate, then spoon the potato mixture on top of the cabbage, serve.

Is canola oil truly healthy?

From what I've read online the answer is a resounding NO. Canola oil is not made from a canola(there is no such thing) its stands for Canada-oil, which is a GMO product and made from Rape seed, which is a bug repellent. For more information check out these articles...

"Here are just a few facts everyone should know before buying anything containing canola. Canola is not the name of a natural plant but a made-up word, from the words "Canada" and "oil". Canola is a genetically engineered plant developed in Canada from the Rapeseed Plant, which is part of the mustard family of plants. According to AgriAlternatives, The Online Innovation, and Technology Magazine for Farmers, "By nature, these rapeseed oils, which have long been used to produce oils for industrial purposes, are... toxic to humans and other animals". (This, by the way, is one of the websites singing the praises of the new canola industry.)

Rapeseed oil is poisonous to living things and is an excellent insect repellent. I have been using it (in very diluted form, as per instructions) to kill the aphids on my roses for the last two years. It works very well; it suffocates them. Ask for it at your nursery." Click here for the rest of the article.

And... "It has been very much in vogue in health food circles to praise Canola oil as very healthy oil-high in polyunsaturates, while condemning tropical oils such as coconut or palm oil as being saturated and unhealthy.

The high praise for Canola is propaganda put forth by the Canadian government because "can-ola," a hybridized rape plant, is one of that nation's chief export products. Rapeseed oil contains toxic erucic acid. Canola has much less erucic acid in it.

Health food store operators parrot the hype without checking any facts. Consumers search out various products with Canola oil in them because they believe this is somehow much healthier than other oils. All food grade Canola, including the varieties sold in health food stores, are deodorized from its natural terrible stink with 300 degree F. high-temperature refining. You cannot cook a vegetable oil at that temperature and leave behind anything much edible." click here for the rest of the article

My recommendation for a healthy cooking oils are, Extra Virgin Olive Oil(EVOO), Extra Virgin Coconut Oil(EVCO), or Grapeseed Oil. Having each one of these on hand, you will have an oil for just about anything you want to make. from cookies, to chicken to candy(EVCO is a great replacement for butter in ANY recipe, including homemade fudge, found here)

Un-tortilla Soup

I came up with my own version of tortilla soup tonight because it was chilly and started to snow so I wanted something with a little bite and that was comforting. This was perfect, just enough bite to warm you up and the sweetness of the cornbread compliments it perfectly. I say un-tortilla because I didnt have tortillas to make the crisps with on hand so that’s where the cornbread comes in.

note: This makes a big pot of soup which is roughly 12 servings, you can freeze the leftovers or use it for a quick healthy lunch throughout the week.

Prep time: 5 Min. Cook time: 60 Min. Serves: 12

Ingredients

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium Sweet Onion

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts cut into 1/2 inch cubes

4 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp Cumin

2 Tbsp smoky paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 large can organic diced stewed tomatoes

6 cup broth, chicken or vegetable or a mix of both

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 cup shredded fresh spinach(for added nutrition and color but optional)

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

1 lime cut into wedges for garnish

Instructions

1. put oil in a large stock pot and heat over medium-high until hot. add onions, garlic and chicken and cook until chicken is golden brown.
2. add your spices and continue to cook until fragrant.
3. dump in your tomatoes and broth and stir, simmer over medium heat for 45 mins.
4. add your spinach and cilantro and continue to simmer for an additional 5 mins.
5. ladle soup into a bowl squeeze a lime wedge over the top and serve with a slice of cornbread or cornbread muffin.

alternatively after you brown your chicken, dump all ingredients other than cilantro and lime into a crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. when ready to eat garnish with cilantro and fresh lime.

For more great all natural recipes check out this page.