Buddha Bowl

Serves 2-4 (depending on if being served as a main or side dish)

INGREDIENTS:

• One cup quinoa or brown rice, cooked according to package directions (Tip: cook in vegetable broth instead of water for fuller flavor.)
• 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups cauliflower, chopped
• ½ cup raw shredded beets
• 1 cup carrots, peeled and diced or whole baby carrots
• 1 cup spinach, coarsely chopped
• ½ cup canned chickpeas
• 1 red pepper, chopped (you can use yellow or orange peppers as well, or a mixture)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped (optional but so healthy)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or a mixture
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• A drizzle of olive oil (or use one of the dressing recipes)
• Dash cayenne (optional if you like a little kick!)
• 6-8 oz diced organic cooked Tofu or Tempeh (optional) or protein of choice
• Sliced avocado

TO PREPARE:

Steam broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower for 5-7 minutes, (depending on your desired tenderness) adding peppers for the last 2-3 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, toss together cooked quinoa or brown rice, steamed vegetables, spinach, red pepper, and parsley. Add the raw seeds, sliced avocado, and protein choice and drizzle with lemon juice, oil, and salt & pepper to taste. Serve warm or room temperature (For a heavier meal you can also add in a sweet potato, chickpeas etc.)  

All options are available for you to create your own Buddha Bowl! 

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

This is an easy to prepare, delicious healthy soup that everyone will love! ~

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 4 cups of Butternut Squash peeled and chopped

• 2 lg carrots diced

• 2 celery stalks

• 1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• Small white onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 32 ounces of low-sodium vegetable stock/broth OR use half vegetable stock and half water (about 15 ounces each)

• 2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme (or more to taste-use dried if you don’t have fresh available)

• 1 tablespoon dried basil ( optional)

• 1/4 can of coconut milk

• 1/2 teaspoon sea-salt (more or less, to taste)

• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper (more or less, to taste)

• 1 tsp toasted pumpkin seeds

To Prepare

• Heat olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed soup pan on medium heat.

• Add onion, garlic, and sauté until translucent. (About 3-5 minutes, make sure not to “burn” onions.)

• Add carrots, squash, and veggie stock.

• Bring to a gentle boil then lower to a simmer.

• Stir occasionally for about 30 minutes.

• Cook until tender

• Add cooked soup carefully in portions to a high speed blender and blend until smooth.

• Add a little water or broth if needed.

• Return to pot and whisk in coconut milk.

• Heat again slowly if needed

• Top with fresh toasted Pumpkin seeds, chopped basil, parsley, or cilantro

Hummus Collard Wraps

Hummus Collard Wraps are light, refreshing and make an excellent packed lunch. The crisp collard greens are filled with hummus, crunchy carrots, juicy celery, tomatoes and pickles. They are easy to make, travel well.

Hummus Collard Wraps [VEGAN, GF]

Serves 4

Ingredients

•    8 large collard green leaves

•    4 carrots, julienne

•    4 celery stocks, julienne

•    16 cherry tomatoes, diced

•    8 pickles, thinly sliced

Hummus

•    2 garlic cloves

•    2 cups chickpeas (19oz drained and rinsed)

•    1 lemon, juiced

•    ½ cup parsley, packed

•    ¼ cup tahini

•    2 Tbsp olive oil

•    1 Tbsp miso

•    ½ Tbsp cumin

•    ½ tsp cayenne pepper

•    ¼ tsp black pepper

•    Salt to taste

To Prepare

• Wash the collard green leaves and lie them flat on a cutting board spine side up. Carefully run your knife or a peeler over the spine and shave off as much as possible. This will make your collard wraps much easier to roll.

• To make the hummus, place the garlic in a food processor and process until chopped. Add the chickpeas, lemon juice, parsley, tahini, olive oil, miso, cumin, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt and blend until smooth.

• Gently fold the tomatoes and pickles into the hummus.

• To assemble the hummus collard wraps, lay the collard wraps on a flat surface. Place the carrots and celery in the center of the wrap and top each collard wrap with ¼ cup of hummus. Roll up the collard wraps starting at the base of the collard green and secure with kitchen twine.