Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili

A co-worker of Malissa's has recently changed her diet, and has been looking for a good chili recipe.  Let me tell you, I don't blame her one bit for wanting one!  Before I changed my diet, I loved the taste of a can of chili regardless of how unhealthy it was.  Fortunately, for us chili lovers, I have found a recipe that, besides being extremely healthy, is the best chili I have ever eaten!  It is also very good served over brown rice, and can make great leftovers!  Double the recipe, freeze the rest, and have it always on hand as a quick meal!  Yum!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Large onion (chopped)

1 Red bell pepper (chopped)

1 Green bell pepper (chopped)

2 Jalapeno peppers (seeded and diced)

2 Sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)

2 Garlic cloves (minced)

2 to 3 Tablespoons chili powder

1 to 2 t ground cumin

1 to 2 teaspoons crushed basil leaves

Dash of marjoram (optional)

1 bay leaf

1 Can diced tomatoes

2 Cans vegetable or chicken broth

1 Can black beans, rinsed and drained

Juice of one lime

Sea salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste
Crushed red peppers, to taste (optional)

Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add onion; reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10-15 minutes or until tender. Add bell peppers, jalapenos, and sweet potatoes, cook for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute. Add chili powder and next 7 ingredients. Stir and cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes and broth. Simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes. Stir in beans and continue to cook 10 more minutes. Remove bay leaf and stir in lime juice.  Enjoy! 

Healthy Movie Theater Popcorn

I am very excited about tonight's recipe.  Malissa and I love to watch movies together, but we have never really had a snack to eat while we watched.  Occasionally, we would pop some popcorn in the microwave, but we felt guilty if we ever put anything on it.  Then we discovered this little trick!  Now we enjoy popcorn that tastes exactly like the stuff you get at the theaters without the guilt (not to mention the unpleasant side effects).  Enjoy!

Movie Theater Popcorn

2 Tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
6 Tablespoons popcorn kernels
Any other seasonings you like


Place the coconut oil in a 14-inch wok over medium heat.  Add few kernels of popcorn. When you hear a kernel pop, pour in all of the popcorn.
Cover, turn the heat to medium-low, and cook, shaking the wok constantly, until you no longer hear the kernels popping against the lid.  Place in a bowl and Enjoy with your favorite movie!

Four Ingredient Chocolate Mousse

Alright everyone, this one is a big deal.  This is my new FAVORITE dessert!  Not only is this incredibly delicious, rich, sweet and wonderful in every way, it is also the easiest dessert we have ever made!  A must for anyone who is a chocoholic and wants to eat healthy like me.  Only 4 ingredients. period.

Four Ingredient Chocolate Mousse

1 Can coconut milk (make sure it is full fat, or for ultimate thickness, get coconut cream)
5-6 Tablespoons cacao powder (cocoa powder works if you don't have cacao, but cacao is healthier)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Natural sweetener, to taste (to preserve the thickness, use stevia, or xylitol agave will work, but will make it a little thinner)

Make sure the coconut milk is thick like mousse, if not, put it in the refrigerator for an hour or two until it thickens up (also, to make it thicker, leave out the watery part at the bottom of the can).  Mix all ingredients by hand or with a mixer in a bowl mixing it may take several minutes to thicken.  If you want it thicker, just refrigerate until it reaches desired thickness.  Enjoy!  Easy as that!

Tex-Mex Rice and Bean Polenta

    Tonight, we are going south with a tex-mex polenta pie.  This is a super fun recipe to make, and the citrus garlic avocado topper is to die for!  This recipe is also incredibly simple, especially if you have a rice cooker.  A must have for anyone that enjoys healthy tex-mex food!

Tex-Mex Polenta Pie

Filling:
1 Cup vegetable broth
1 Cup water
1 Can diced tomatoes
1 Small diced onion
1 Cup brown rice
1 Tablespoon chile powder
1 Can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 Cup salsa

Polenta crust:
2 Cups water
3/4 Cup polenta
dash of salt

Avocado topper:
1 Avocado, mashed
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine broth, water, tomatoes, onion, rice, and chile powder in a rice cooker or saucepan.  Cook until all liquid is gone or rice is tender (about 45 min).
While that is cooking, make the polenta crust:  Bring water to a boil and whisk in the polenta and salt.  Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes until the polenta becomes semi-firm.  Dump the cooked polenta into a large pie dish and spread evenly over the bottom and sides of the dish.
After rice is cooked, stir in the black beans and Spread the filling evenly in the polenta crust.  spread salsa evenly over the top.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Meanwhile, mash the avocado and mix in a small bowl with lemon juice and garlic powder.

Slice the pie and put a dollop of avocado mixture on each slice before serving. Enjoy!

Ginger Veggie Stir Fry

Ginger veggie stir fry, a classic dish that is packed full of vegetables.  This dish is a staple in our house.  Often, we simply see what veggies we have leftover from the rest of the week, and throw all of them into the wok or saucepan.  It is hard to go wrong with this fiery, sweet, and filling meal.  The variety of colors you see in your pan speaks wonders to all the nutrition you are about to consume.  Enjoy! 

You can see all the bright colors as you
mix all the veggies together!

Ginger Veggie Stir Fry

1/2 Cup cold water
1 Tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Cups broccoli and or cauliflower
1 Carrot, thinly sliced
1/4 Cup chopped onion
1 Clove garlic, minced
1/2 Cup fresh sugar snap peas, tips and strings removed
1/2 Of a large red or green sweet pepper, cut into strips
1/2 Can baby corn, drained and halved
1/2 Can sliced water chestnuts, drained

In a small bowl, stir together the water, soy sauce, cornstarch, and ginger; set aside.

In a wok or large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add broccoli and/or cauliflower, carrot, onion, and garlic; stir-fry for 6-8 minutes or until just tender.  Add peas, sweet pepper, baby corn, and water chestnuts; stir fry for 2 minutes

Stir cornstarch mixture; add to vegetables in wok or skillet.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes more.

Serve over cooked brown rice

*Note:  You can always add more or less of any veggie.  Don't feel restrained to just this list.  It's more of a list of suggested veggies!

Healthy Vegan Nachos

Malissa and I have been getting several requests for recipes involving snack foods, and kid-friendly meals where they won't realize they are eating something healthy.  Because of this, we decided to try a couple of our recipes on our twin nieces to see if they are worthy of being called kid-friendly.  These nachos have all-natural ingredients, are gluten free, and vegan.  They also passed the test; the twins loved them!

Our niece Kailey said they were delicious!

Vegan Nachos

-Tortilla Chips (look for some that only have three ingredients: Corn, oil, salt)
-Red or Green Pepper Slices
-Black Beans
-Vegan Refried Beans (If not homemade, make sure the canned version you buy says its vegetarian)
-Salsa (If you buy it from the store, make sure it has all-natural ingredients. Pace is a good brand)
-Pickled Jalapenos (optional)
-Olives (optional)
-Vegan Cheese (we like vegan gourmet, non-gmo, gluten free.  Can be found in most health-food sections of grocery stores)

Layer aluminum foil on a cookie sheet.  Lay out chips over sheet, top the chips with all the ingredients except salsa, in whatever order you choose.  Finish with cheese sprinkled all over the chips.  Put in the over at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.  Top with salsa.  Enjoy!

Homemade guacamole also goes great as a topper for this!

Vegan valentine cooking class

    Malissa and I thought it would be a blast to begin attending a free monthly vegan cooking class held at Sprouts Farmers Market.  The class is always full of good food and great fun!  Because of Valentine's day, this month's class was based around some delicious chocolatey treats!
We learned some great new recipes and discovered a phenomenal product to use when trying to make our own delectable desserts.

    It was no surprise that the first dessert made was the classic chocolate covered strawberries.  These were made with a specific brand of chocolate that was incredible!  It is called Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips.  I was amazed to find out that these chocolate chips only had three ingredients! (all organic: cane juice, chocolate liquor, dairy-free cocoa butter).  They are vegan and gluten free as well.  Malissa and I bought some and used it for our own chocolate covered strawberries last night and they were divine! I will never go back to any other kind of chocolate.

    Next on the menu was the chocolate peanut butter cups.  They used the same chocolate, melted it and set it in a mold, then dropped a small ball of peanut butter in the middle of each one.  Although their peanut butter was vegan and organic, I wasn't impressed with how much sugar was in it.  I am someone who loves the deep, rich flavor of dark chocolate and this one was sweetened up too much.  Also, they used too much sugar for me to justify calling it "healthy".  That being said, this would be easily fixed!  We are going to make this same dessert, use peanut butter that only has one ingredient (you can probably guess what that ingredient is), use less sweetener and only a natural variety.  These have some great potential and are extremely easy!  I am excited to give it a try.

Overall, this month's class was exciting and great fun!  The enjoy life chocolate has found a permanent place in our cupboard and I am thrilled at the prospect of finding new recipes to use it in.
Happy Valentines Day!

February 28th we are attending a free raw foods cooking class by chef Vickie Talmadge!  Hope to see you there!


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