Pea and Avocado Guacamole

We are enjoying the fruits of my labor this past weekend and the effort already seems to have paid off.


One of the things that I prepared has actually been on my food bucket list for quite some time: a fantastic alternative guacamole. You see, ever since making guacamole with edamame (soy beans) and dumping it in the trash (is it just me or is that stuff nasty?) after our Plant-strong Superbowl party in 2011, I have been searching for the miracle guacamole. You know, the one with less fat and calories? Because who do you know that doesn't love guacamole?

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Best of Super Bowl 2012: Saag Dip

I love it when I make a new recipe and I just know that it is going to become a favorite. That's what happened this morning as I was testing and preparing things for a Super Bowl party this evening at my next-door-neighbor's house. I picked out four recipes last week that I figured I could whip up in a few hours (I totally underestimated and I ended up being in the kitchen for most of the day). Three that I had never tried before, and one that was a complete winner from last year's Plant-strong Super Bowl Party.

I have mentioned many times here on HGK that I absolutely adore Indian food. So it really is no surprise that I think this dip rocks. "Saag" is one of two Indian words that I know of that means "spinach" ("palak" is the other). This spinach and avocado dip is bursting with Indian flavors, plus it has the advantage of being a very quick and simple recipe that involves no cooking. I can't wait to bring it to the party and see what everyone else thinks!

But it's not all good news. One of the dishes that I prepared, "fudgey" truffles made with black beans, dates, oatmeal, flax, chia seed, cacao, dried apricots and chocolate chips is almost too weird for me to be able to comfortably serve it to a non-Nutritarian crowd. It's staying home for the night. I'll be letting my kids eat these for breakfast.

Saag Dip

makes about 1 1/2 cups

from Vegetarian Times Magazine

Print me!

4 cups fresh spinach (7 ounces)

1 large ripe avocado

1/2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 small clove garlic

1/4 tsp curry powder

1/8 tsp minced fresh ginger (I used a microplane and eyeballed it)

dash of chili powder

dash of Cayenne pepper

dash of cumin

salt to taste

Place all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the "s" blade. Process until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary.

Serving suggestions: crudite, pita chips, naan or Fat Free Vegan's Colcannon Puffs.

How is/was your Super Bowl? Is it going to be/was it Plant-strong? 

Have you ever made anything new and then decided not to serve it to other people?

I overheard an interesting conversation at the party last night. One of my neighbors was telling another neighbor (who happens to be a Urologist) that she is suffering terribly from kidney stones. She said it was the worst pain she had ever experienced in her entire life, far worse than giving birth. She said that the doctor who treated her said that she was eating too much sugar and too much salt (impressive) and prescribed her a medication. 

The urologist did not comment at all about the dietary recommendation and said something to the tune of "Just take your medication." I kept waiting for a discussion about the benefits of a healthy diet to ensue, but got nothing. In fact, the woman who has the kidney stones brought what might have been the single most unhealthy dish I have ever laid eyes on to the pot luck (something about a slab of cream cheese, chicken from a can, and blue cheese?). Of course I wanted to say something, but it would have come out all wrong. It pains me to see people suffering from food borne illness who do not know the power of nutritional excellence.

What would you have done?

What I'm Craving For Dinner: Mexican Jicama and Orange Salad

I'm so craving this salad and I wanted to share it with you. Chris-Anna and I developed this recipe together last summer for a HUGE picnic that we hosted in her backyard. This salad was such a wild success that it goes down, at least in my book, as one of the tastiest salads ever. 

Light and refreshing, with a hint of sweetness from the orange, and all of that crunch from the jicama and radish . . . watch out! It's gonna become on of your favorites too. I made it again for dinner last night, but subbed in baby spinach leaves for the romaine lettuce. It was also fantastic!

It goes without saying that there is no oil and nothing with a mother or a face! If you are watching your weight, just go easy on the avocado or eliminate it all together.

Orange, Jicama, Radish Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main dish

Printable Recipe

1 avocado, diced

1 medium jicama, julienned

4 radishes, finely julienned

1 large orange, or 2 small oranges, segments cut out and membrane reserved

2 hearts of romaine, torn to bite sized pieces (or one full head of romaine or 8 cups baby spinach leaves)

For dressing:

Squeeze the juice remaining around the cut orange segments (about 1 Tbsp.)
2 tsp frozen orange juice concentrate

3 Tbsp lemon juice (I used the juice from 2 small lemons)

2 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut avocado in half, remove pit, cut into quarters, remove peel and dice.

Peel jicama, slice and then cut sliced into julienne pieces.

Cut top and bottom off radishes. Cut into very thin slices and cut thin slices into fine julienne pieces.

Cut top and bottom off of orange. Cut skin off, from top to bottom. Cut each segment out in between the segment skins. Cut each orange segment into three to four pieces.

In a large bowl, assemble greens, avocado, jicama, radishes and orange segments.

Whisk together ingredients for dressing in a small bowl and pour over salad just before serving. 

Tip- You can use a can of mandarin oranges and reserved liquid instead of orange, or baby spinach leaves instead of romaine lettuce.

Tex Mex Quinoa with Cilantro, Lime and Apricots

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway yesterday with your most pressing plant-based nutrition question.

If you have not yet entered, please do! The contest closes on Thursday at midnight and Julieanna Hever has graciously offered to answer our 3 most popular plant-based nutrition questions in a guest post right here on HGK.

It's very interesting to read through everyone's responses. What I am struck by is the variety of questions. No single questions are being asked repeatedly by any volume of respondants . . . yet!

On to other big news, I made this quinoa salad as part of a taco bar (more on that in a later post) party that we hosted this past weekend. It was a big hit with the guests and I couldn't wait to share it with all of you.

HGK's Tex Mex Quinoa Salad with Cilantro, Lime and Apricots

Printable Recipe

1 cup quinoa
1 � cups water
1 cup packed cilantro
� cup raw pepitas
Zest of one lime
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tsp ground cumin
dash or two of Cayenne pepper (depending on your heat preference)
� tsp salt (or not)
1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 roma tomato, diced small
2 scallions, sliced thinly
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 avocado, � inch dice
Place quinoa and water into a rice cooker and cook, or prepare as follows: In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and return to a boil. Reduce heat to lowest setting and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes. Water should be absorbed. Fluff with a fork and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer quinoa to a large bowl.

In the bowl of a food processor, add cilantro, pepitas, lime zest, lime juice, orange juice concentrate, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt (optional). Process, scraping down sides, into a paste. Transfer to bowl with quinoa.

To cooked quinoa and cilantro paste, add black beans, tomato, scallions, apricots and avocado. Fold well to combine. Taste and add more Cayenne if necessary.

4th of July Blogger Giveaway! and a Chocomole Recipe

I spent a fun night last night with a friend visiting from LA. She organized a girls' night dinner party hosted by her sister. I met a lot of very accomplished and interesting women I had never met before. Ironically, the dinner was almost vegan (there was a bit of feta cheese in a Greek salad and some butter in a tart, but that's about it) and this wasn't a group of Vegans. Isn't that weird? Good? Even great?

My contribution was something that I have been wanting to test out for a while now. A spicy, chocolaty, rich dessert concoction called Chocomole. I'm really not sure who can claim ownership of this concept, because I have seen it before in a variety of media. I even made a version of this last summer, but this way, with the addition of red chili pepper and cinnamon . . . now this is something to talk about!

Chocomole

Printable Recipe

2 large ripe avocados

12 Medjool dates, pits removed and soaked if necessary

8 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder or raw cacao

2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper

3 tbsp maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup non dairy milk

Place all ingredients in a high powered blender or food processor and blend until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary.

Serve as a mousse or as a dipping sauce for fresh fruit.

And now for the giveaway!

Win a DVD copy of the brand spanking new documentary "Got the Facts on Milk" by Shira Lane. I just received two copies in the mail yesterday and I cannot wait to watch this film! But, I also couldn't wait to give one copy away . . . so here are the rules:

(1) leave a comment here about any Plant-strong plans you have for this 4th of July weekend.

(2) make sure to be an e-mail subscriber OR RSS feed subscriber OR Twitter follower of Healthy Girl's Kitchen.

(3) "Like" Healthy Girl's Kitchen on Facebook if you haven't already (although I suspect you have!)

I will pick one lucky recipient on July 4th at noon (EST). Please leave one comment per participant. No need to answer all three questions in seperate comments. Thanks!

So, what are your Plant-strong plans this weekend?

Mexican Slaw, Times Two

Lately I've been really intrigued by the idea of slaws. Crunchy, light and full of flavor, I always love a light (read, non-mayonaisey) slaw. At my favorite local (almost) Vegan eatery, Organic Energy, creative slaws are almost always served up alongside Vegan delicacies like lentil burgers and buckwheat cakes. And as a Nutritarian, I am always looking for ways to get more salad into my belly.

That's why I whipped up this slaw for my guests this past Friday evening:

Cabbage and Jicama Slaw with Smoky Avocado and Cumin Dressing

This delicious recipe was posted by Gena on Choosing Raw and it couldn't have appeared at a more perfect moment. I was actually going to her blog to do a search for "slaw" to go alongside the sweet potato enchiladas that I was making and there is was, that day, just posted. A Mexican slaw. If you'd like the recipe, you can catch it here, but be warned, there will be a lot of leftover dressing. You can easily half the dressing component and have enough for the slaw, or make all of the dressing and use it on green salads later in the week.

I also ended up with extra jicama and cabbage, which was the basis of a second slaw I decided to test. This one was inspired by a recipe I had cut out of Clean Eating Magazine many years ago. I have to say, it would be the perfect compliment to some heavier Vegan fare. A little bit sweet a little bit hot . . . a lot refreshing.

Cabbage, Jicama and Cucumber Slaw

serves 6 as a side dish

Printable Recipe

For the dressing, whisk together:

Zest of 1 lime

juice of 2 limes (1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp)

1 tbsp maple syrup

1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp ground pepper

For the salad:

2 1/2 cups shredded cabbage

1 1/2 cups grated seedless cucumber

2 cups julienned jicama

1 cup thinly sliced red onion

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced

Toss all salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour dressing over vegetables and toss to coat. Let marinate for 30 minutes before serving.

Got a slaw story? Share it here!

Red Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Corn, Revisited

I first blogged about this recipe one year ago. There was talk in my town of a delicious red quinoa salad recipe off the back of the Trader Joe's Red Quinoa box. I took one look at the recipe and knew it had the beginnings of a fantastic dish, but it didn't fit into my new found eating style as it was written. So I set out to remove the added oil and what resulted was worth making time and time again. It's no surprise that it's one of my first recipes to make as this summer's pot luck luck season is warming up. Just this weekend, Red Quinoa Salad is coming with me to two parties!

Red Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Corn

Printable Recipe

1 cup red quinoa

2 cups vegetable broth
1 15 oz can black beans rinsed and drained
2 cups roasted corn (I used the frozen bag from Trader Joe�s)
1/2 avocado cut into small pieces
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
� cup red onion, finely diced
1/2 large bunch cilantro, finely chopped
Optional: lettuce of your choice

For the dressing, put all dressing ingredients in a blender and blend:
1/2 large bunch cilantro, washed and cut the stems off in one slice
juice of 1 orange
juice of 2 limes
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 Tbsp agave syrup
1/2 Tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
dash of Sea salt and pepper

Cook quinoa as directed on box with broth.

While the quinoa cooks (about 15 minutes), put beans, corn, avocado, tomatoes and onion together in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss gently. Add the chopped cilantro and toss.

When the quinoa is cooked, set aside to cool. When it is cool, spread quinoa on a platter. Top with the bean and corn salad mixture.

Variation: serve on top of a large bed of lettuce.

The corn, black bean, tomato, avocado, cilantro mixture dressed with the tasty no-oil dressing would even stand alone as a winning dish.  It's that good!

I find it's best to layer the entire dish onto a large platter. First, lay down a bed of lettuce (romaine, spring mix or whatever you fancy). Next, pile on the cooked red quinoa. Finally, Top with the corn, tomato and bean mixture. The dressing will seep into the quinoa and lettuce creating the perfect amount of dressing.