Experience Nutrition

Category: Cooking Videos

Experience Nutrition: Cook at Home Roasted Veggie Bowl with “Social Distancing.” 5 Tips to Roast Veggies Perfectly Every Time
Now that we all all cooking more at home, it’s a great time to learn a few simple culinary (it’s cooking!) methods.
With a plant-based way of eating, we do eat a lot of vegetables. With this in mind, it’s important to know several different simple culinary skills to prepare vegetables, such as roasting, steaming, sautéing, and raw.

One of my favorite ways to cook veggies is roasting. With this method of roasting, we cook the veggies spread out “distancing” in the oven to brown the outside, while keeping the center a little soft. We can roast all kinds of veggies which gives us a nice variety of tastes, textures, and colors. – Melanie Albert

Visit our new Experience Nutrition YouTube Channel for the video of the Roasted Veggie Bowl Recipe.

Thank You Farmers and Farmers Markets

Today’s roasted veggies were created with produce from local farmers: The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix, and Blue Sky Organic Farms, Litchfield Park, Arizona. All of the veggies were in CSA’s (Community Support Agriculture) offered by the farms during our Coronavirus stay-at-home.

In Arizona, we are so fortunate that our farmers and farmers’ markets are considered essential grocery stores. Thus, we still have the opportunity to purchase beautiful food from our farmers, and they can continue to harvest and sell to our community. Thank you!

The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, April 2020

Farm-to-Table Spring Roasted Veggie Bowl

Enjoy this tasty roasted veggie culinary method and create a bowl with brown rice and beans for a perfect lunch. Use this recipe as a guide to roast crispy on the outside and soft on the inside veggies. Choose a few of your favorite vegetables from your local farmers that are right in your kitchen and enjoy roasting beautiful, tasty veggies at home.

Roasted Veggie Bowl: The Veggies, Olive Oil, Sea Salt

SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
- Blue Sky Organic Farms
  - 1 fennel, root sliced
  - 1 spring green garlic, sliced
  - 1 leek, chopped
  - 3-4 celery stalks, sliced
  - 3-4 cauliflower florets
  - 3-4 broccoli florets
- The Farm at South Mountain
  - 2 beets (golden and red), sliced
  - 1 radish (breakfast), sliced
  - 1 turnip ( scarlet) sliced
- Grocery Store / My Pantry
  - 1 sweet potato, sliced
  - 2-3 TBSP organic extra virgin olive oil
  - Pinch sea salt
- Extras
  - Plating: Brown rice, beans
  - Garnish: Edible flowers
SIMPLE STEPS
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Chop all veggies into equal-sized pieces.
- One-by-one, place veggies in a bowl.
- Coat veggies with olive oil and sea salt.
Chopped veggies ready to be coated with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.
- Place veggies flat side down on unbleached, natural parchment-paper- lined flat sheet pan.
Veggies “social distancing” on the parchment-lined sheet pans.
- Cook for 12 minutes.
- Flip.
- Cook another 12-15 minutes.
Roasted veggies. Ready to be mindfully plated.
- Enjoy as a veggie bowl.
TOP 5 TIPS TO ROAST VEGGIES PERFECTLY EVERY TIME
1. Coat the chopped veggies thoroughly with oil.
2. When placing on unbleached parchment paper, be sure the veggies do not touch each other.
3. When placing veggies on parchment paper, place flat side down, so the side of the vegetable can brown.
4. Flip veggies about half-way through the cooking process.
5. Pay attention to veggies while they are cooking, as they cook at different speeds. More dense vegetables (like beets and sweet potatoes) take longer to cook than water-rich veggies, like onions.
If you are enjoying our Experience Nutrition Blog, with simple plant-based recipes and lifestyle tips, please subscribe to the Blog, our www.facebook.com/ExperienceNutritionAZ , and new YouTube Channel.

By Melanie Albert, Plant-Based Cooking Leader, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition in Phoenix, Arizona. Award-winning cookbook author, speaker, corporate wellness, team building, retreat leader, and caterer.
April 14, 2020
Experience Nutrition Tip: Cooking More at Home? Simple Roasted Veggies with What’s In Your Refrigerator
Use this quick and easy culinary technique to roast any kind of veggies in your refrigerator, if possible, grown by your local farmers. All you’ll need is a few of your favorite vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt. That’s it. A few simple ingredients and easy cooking method to create a tasty, healthy veggie side dish. – Melanie Albert

Click to watch the Video of the Simple Roasted Veggie Bowl.

Thank You Farmers

Thanks to our local Arizona farmers who are working so passionately to bring great, local food to our community while we’re all social distancing and cooking more at home. Thanks to my long time farmer friends at The Farm at South Mountain, Blue Sky Organic Farms, The Farm at Agritopia, Crooked Sky Farms, Rhiba Farms, Whipstone Farms, Steadfast Farm, Phoenix Pinnacle Farms, Maya’s Farm, and the Community Exchanges. From my heart, I really appreciate you.

Thank You Farmers Markets

Here in Arizona, I’d also like to thank our local farmers markets to continuing to stay open as grocery stores, so we have a safe place to purchase the quality food from our farmers, and our farmers have a place to sell the produce that is growing so abundantly right now. Special thanks to my friends at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market, where I’ve been leading cooking demos for several years.

Quick Roasted Veggies Recipe

Create this quick roasted veggie dish with a few of your favorite veggies in your kitchen and enjoy it with quinoa or brown rice.

Cooking Tip: Since some veggies cook faster than others, be sure to remove veggies from the pan when they have been cooked.

Simple Ingredients
- Four to six of your favorite veggies.
  - For this intuitively created recipe, I pre-ordered a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) from Blue Sky Organic Farms in Litchfield Park, Arizona. I then quickly picked it up at the Saturday Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market.
- ½ Caraflex cabbage (sweet and mild)
- 4-5 orange carrots, sliced
- 1 large green onion, sliced
- ½ kohlrabi, sliced
- ½ yellow (cheddar) cauliflower, sliced
- 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch sea salt
- Garnish: Sunflower seeds, arugula, edible flowers
- Extras: Cooked brown rice or quinoa
Quick Roasted Veggies: Ingredients

Simple Steps
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Slice all veggies into bite-sized pieces.
- Place veggies into baking pan.
- Drizzle veggies with the olive oil and sea salt.
In to the Pan: Veggies, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt
- Roast for 12 minutes.
- Toss veggies.
- Roast for another 12-15 minutes.
- Enjoy veggies with quinoa or brown rice.
Plating
- Plate the veggies in a veggie bowl with quinoa or brown rice, along with pumpkin seeds, arugula, and edible flowers.
Enjoy! Quick Roasted Veggie Bowl

Click to watch the Video of the Simple Roasted Veggie Bowl.

Please ask any questions, anytime, and share your culinary creations with us.

Visit us on Facebook.com/ExperienceNutritionAZ and Instagram @experiencenutritionAZ #experiencenutrition

By Melanie Albert, Plant-Based Cooking Leader, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition in Phoenix, Arizona. Award-winning cookbook author, speaker, corporate wellness, team building, retreat leader, and caterer.
April 11, 2020
EXPERIENCE NUTRITION: Food & Lifestyle Tip: Stay-at-Home Simple Healthy Cooking Shopping List
To eat well, cook simple meals, and do our best to stay healthy while we are all at home during the Coronavirus “stay-at-home,” it is important to be stocked with a few basic kitchen staples, along with fresh veggies and fruit.
When we first started hearing about the coronavirus in the US, I actually started thinking about what foods would be essential to have at home. I realized that they are very similar to my list of “how to stock whole food pantry” in my book “A New View of Healthy Eating” for any time of the year. – Melanie Albert

For a visual of my personal pantry, visit the Experience Nutrition You Tube Channel, and subscribe for future cooking videos.

Learn to Cook. This whole food shopping list is based on staples to be able to cook, simple, delicious meals. Throughout the next few weeks, I’ll share how to use all of these staples. Please feel free to send me a note on my new Facebook Page (Facebook.com/ExperienceNutritionAZ), if you have any specific questions or foods you’d like to learn how to cook, or if you need to make any substitutions, based on what’s available in your area.

Go Slow. I do recognize that we are all at different levels of cooking knowledge and skill levels. If you are new with cooking, buy what you can and feel comfortable from the shopping list. Do not overwhelm yourself. Go slow over the next few weeks to gradually learn some new cooking skills into your life that may last the rest of your life.

Shopping List Guide. I personally use this shopping list as a guide and invite you to shop for what you can in your own area and based on your personal level of cooking. I will be sharing cooking techniques and tips every day.

Key Shopping Categories

Use the Panty Shopping List as a guide for the ingredients to stock your pantry in the following food categories.
- Whole Grains
- Beans & Legumes
- Whole Grains
- Nuts & Seeds
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Seasonings / Sea Salt
- Dry Goods
- Fresh Produce (hopefully your local farmers markets are open)
Whole Grains

Choose a few different whole grains for breakfast and side dishes. Buy a few pounds of each. If whole grains are not available in your local stores right now, or if you’d prefer delivery to your home, I just checked, and they are available online on Amazon (not promoting, just informing). I’ll be sharing a very simple way to cook whole grains perfectly every time, right on the stovetop. I’ll also share how you can enjoy grains for breakfast, lunch, and side dishes, including Veggie Bowls with Whole Grains.
- Brown rice
- Quinoa
- Steel cut oats
- Rolled oats
Dried Beans & Legumes

I totally recommend dried beans as they are much more affordable than canned beans and taste better, as well. Buy a few pounds of dried beans and lentils to be used to make hummus, tossed in a salad, soup.

With our Food & Lifestyle Tips and Videos, I’ll be sure to share with you how to easily cook dried beans. I’ll also share recipes for tasty hummus originally made for the VIP Tailgate Party at the Super Bowl in Miami in 2009, lentil soup, raw chili, and will create other recipe ideas for you.

Experiment with a few different beans and legumes, such as:
- Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
- Green lentils
- Red lentils
- Black beans
- Pinto
- Kidney
- Tepary Beans (especially if you’re in Arizona)
Nuts & Seeds

Nuts and seeds are rich in protein and healthy fats and can be eaten as snacks, made into nut milk, used in smoothies, toppings in salads, and delicious raw desserts.

Buy a variety of raw organic nuts and seeds, such as:
- Almonds
- Cashews (great for desserts!)
- Pecans
- Walnuts
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Hemp seeds
- Chia seeds (for smoothies)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

During this time (and always), you’ll need a high-quality olive oil. Recommend: Organic, First-pressed, Cold Pressed. Less than .8 percent acid.

Will be sharing tips on how to make a simple 3-ingredient home-made salad dressing, and different ways to cook veggies using olive oil as flavor. Personally, I use olive oil almost every day and believe it is a must in our kitchen all the time.

Seasonings

The top seasoning is sea salt or Himalayan salt. Salt brings out or enhances the flavor of whatever we cook. I use coarse Celtic sea salt and hand-grind it in a mortar and pestle for cooking.

A few basic seasonings you can use now while we are “at home” and continue to cook with in the future.
- Dried Mediterranean herbs: Combination or separate herbs, such as basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme
- Seeds: Cumin (for hummus and soups)
- Dried Mexican spices: Any kind of peppers, such as chili, ancho, chipotle
- Dried spices: Cinnamon (key); Extras: nutmeg, cardamom
Dry Goods

Other extra foods to stock your pantry.
- Coconut water (for smoothies)
- Vinegar: Any kind for salad dressings, such as balsamic, red wine, rice, apple cider
- Stone-ground mustard (for salad dressings)
- Coconut oil. Virgin, unrefined (for desserts)
- Extras: Olives and goji berries (my favorite extras)
Fresh Produce

Roots

In the Daily Food & Lifestyle Tips, I will be sharing how to cook root veggies a few simple ways: Roast, Steam, Sauté, and even Raw.
- Carrots
- Beets
- Sweet potatoes
- Radishes
Greens & Veggies

We can enjoy nutrient-rich greens in side dishes, soups, and veggie bowls.
- Dark leafy greens: Kale, collards, arugula, spinach
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Bell peppers
- Your favorites
Fruit
- Bananas (freeze some for smoothies)
- Apples
- Lemons, limes (important for salad dressings)
- Avocados
- Dates
- Your favorite fruits, for snacking
- Frozen fruit: Mixed or separate berries, such as blackberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, strawberries
Fresh Herbs

Purchase a few herbs, available at your local farmers markets or grocery stores. We’ll use the herbs to add flavor to all kinds of veggie dishes. Or, if available, plant a few of your favorite herbs. Side note, here in Arizona, one of our plant-start entrepreneurs is delivering plants, including herbs, to our homes.
- Parsley
- Basil, dill, oregano, marjoram
Shopping List Guide. I invite you to use this shopping list as a guide to shop for what you can in your own area and based on your personal level of cooking. I will be sharing cooking techniques and tips every day.

Cooking Videos. I’ll keep you posted on new, whole foods, plant-based cooking videos on my Experience Nutrition You Tube Channel, so you can actually see how to prepare dishes with the basic foods in the shopping list.

Share on Facebook. Finally, as I mentioned earlier, please reach out to me with any questions on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ExperienceNutritionAZ

By Melanie Albert, Plant-Based Cooking Leader, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition in Phoenix, Arizona. Award-winning cookbook author, speaker, corporate wellness, team building, retreat leader, and caterer.
April 9, 2020
EXPERIENCE NUTRITION Tip: Stay-at-Home Cooking Method: Braised Greens in 5 Minutes
During our Coronavirsus social distancing, stay-at-home, this 5 minute braising greens cooking method is a simple way to cook the greens your local farmers are growing. Choose any mix of dark, leafy greens such as kale, chard, collards, mustard, bok choy, dandelion, turnip, broccoli, or cauliflower, or Brussels sprouts greens.
This recipe was inspired by farmer Billy Anthony of the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain, less than a mile from my home in Phoenix, Arizona. As part of this week’s Spring 2020 CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), Billy harvested beautiful white and red Swiss chard leaves that are perfect for cooking with quick stove-top braising. Add flavor to the greens with green onions and fresh dill.

A look at The Farm at South Mountain…April 2020

Beautiful White Chard at The Farm at South Mountain

Nutrition Tip: Dark leafy greens are fiber-rich and good sources of vitamins (such as A, C, and K and folate) and minerals (including iron and calcium). Our body needs a little fat to absorb some of the vitamins in leafy greens.

Braised Leafy Greens Recipe

Use this simple method to cook Spring braising greens while we are at home with our families and loved ones. Mix and match whatever greens your local farmers are growing to create a simple veggie side dish.

Watch the full recipe video on our Experience Nutrition You Tube Channel

Serves 2

SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
- 2-3 cups braising greens, such as Brussels Sprouts, Swiss Chard, Cauliflower greens
- 2-3 green onions, sliced
- 2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch sea salt
- Few sprigs dill
SIMPLE STEPS
- Chop greens into large ribbons.
- Mise en Place: All ingredients in place.
- Pre-heat sauté pan at medium.
- When the pan is warm, coat bottom with organic extra virgin olive oil
- Add the onions to the pan and sauté for about 2 minutes.
- Add the greens to the pan.
- Drizzle pinch of salt to the greens.
- Cook for about 2 minutes, while tossing to coat the greens with the olive oil.
- Add a few dill sprigs and cook for about 1 minute.
- Plate and enjoy!
By Melanie Albert, Plant-Based Cooking Leader, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition in Phoenix, Arizona. Award-winning cookbook author, speaker, corporate wellness, team building, retreat leader, and caterer.
April 7, 2020
Experience Nutrition Farm-to-Table Recipes with The Farm at South Mountain Fall CSA: Roast Radishes & Turnips
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author
This Fall season in Phoenix, Arizona, I’ve been intuitively creating dishes with the beautiful veggies grown at The Farm at South Mountain CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Thanks so much to Billy Anthony for his hard work and passion to grow such incredible, tasty food at the Soil & Seed Garden.

I was inspired by the freshly harvested radishes (Spanish Black, French Breakfast) and the stunning Scarlet Turnip. With a few additional veggies, I created a simple roasted veggie dish, perfect for Fall and Thanksgiving.

Let’s take a look at this week’s Fall CSA

The Vibrant Scarlet Turnips

The Beautiful Black Spanish & French Breakfast Radishes

SIMPLE ROASTED VEGGIES: Black Spanish & French Breakfast Radishes & Scarlet Turnips

Use this simple culinary roasting veggies technique to roast all kinds of vegetables. When we roast radishes, they become very sweet, and turnips become smoothy and buttery.

Simple Ingredients
- 1 black Spanish Radish, cut into circles
- 3 French Breakfast radishes, sliced
- 1 purple daikon radish, sliced into circles
- 3-4 Scarlet turnips with greens, sliced
- Handful chives
- 1 purple bell pepper, sliced
- 1 sweet potato, roughly cubed
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3-4 tbsp seasoning, blend of dried herbs and sea salt. (Used Penzey’s Fox Point Seasoning)
Simple Steps
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Slice all veggies.
- In small bowl, thoroughly coat each vegetable with olive oil and seasoning.
- Place vegetables on parchment-lined sheet pan, without touching.
- Roast 15 minutes.
- Remove cooked vegetables, such as chives and turnips.
- Flip remaining vegetables.
- Cook another 12 minutes.
- Plate and enjoy.
Veggies, ready for the oven.

The roasted veggies, ready for plating.

Time to enjoy the roasted veggies…

One more plate…quite rustic…

Join our Simple Daily Plant-Based Eating Tips Facebook Page

Purchase Melanie Albert’s award-winning cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating: Simple Intuitive Cooking with Real Whole Foods”

Purchase Tickets for the Plant-Based Thanksgiving Cooking Class at The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, November 18, 2018, 11am-1pm

Purchase Tickets for Holiday Plant-Based Desserts Cooking Class at The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, December 9, 2018, 11am-1pm
November 17, 2018
Experience Nutrition: Simple Vegan Herb Cashew Dip. Purple Daikon & Bok Choy with The Farm at South Mountain Fall CSA
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author
I am so honored to create recipes for The Farm at South Mountain Fall CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). This week, the CSA, grown by Billy Anthony at the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm, features lots of fresh aromatic herbs – basil, onion chives, lemon verbena – and beautiful purple veggies including daikon radish, turnips, and purple bok choy.

With these fresh ingredients I was inspired to intuitively create a simple vegan raw cashew dip. Enjoyed with the vibrant purple daikon radish and bok choy.

Let’s take a look at this week’s Fall 2018 CSA.

The beautiful lush basil growing at the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain.

Beauty of the Purple Bok Choy

BASIL, ONION CHIVES, LEMON VERBENA DIP

SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 2-4 hours
- ¼ cup fresh basil
- 3 tbsp onion chives
- 1 spring lemon verbena
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp fresh key lime or lemon juice
- Pinch sea salt
- 2-3 tbsp water
- 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 daikon radish
- 3-4 bok choy leaves
SIMPLE STEPS
- Pre-soak cashews for 2-4 hours in water
- Place basil, onion chives, lemon verbena, nutritional yeast, key lime (or lemon juice), sea salt, and water into food processor.
- Pulse to desired smoothness.
- Stream in olive oil, to desired taste.
- Thinly slice daikon radish with mandoline.
- Plate dip, daikon radish on bok choy leaves.
- Enjoy!
Food Process the herbs, cashews, nutritional yeast, key lime, salt, and water. Stream in olive oil.

Mandoline the Purple Daikon

The Herb Cashew Dip Plating with Purple Daikon & Bok Choy

Join our Simple Daily Plant-Based Eating Tips Facebook Page

Purchase Melanie Albert’s award-winning cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating: Simple Intuitive Cooking with Real Whole Foods”

Purchase Tickets for the Plant-Based Thanksgiving Cooking Class at The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, November 18, 2018, 11am-1pm

Purchase Tickets for Holiday Plant-Based Desserts Cooking Class at The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, December 9, 2018, 11am-1pm

A final look at the Vegan Herb Cashew Dip with Purple Daikon & Bok Choy.
November 7, 2018
Experience Nutrition: Beautiful Plant-Based Thanksgiving Recipes by Melanie Albert, as seen in Natural Awakening’s Arizona Magazine
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author
I am so honored to create recipes for the November 2018 issue of Natural Awakening’s Arizona magazine. It has been a dream of mine to cook “my” recipes in a magazine in a cooking class. I’m excited that we will be creating the Fall Thanksgiving recipes in a fun, interactive hands-on cooking class on November 18, 2018, 11am-1pm, at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix.

Four Plant-Based Thanksgiving Recipes

The recipes in the article and cooking class are inspired by our local Arizona farmers Fall produce, especially, the Squash Soup, and one of my very favorite desserts, the Sweet Potato Brownie.
1. Appetizer: Kalamata Olive Tapenade
2. Side Dish: Winter Squash Ginger Soup
3. Side Dish: Sweet Potato Brussels Sprouts Fall Veggie Saute
4. Dessert: Chocolate Sweet Potato Brownie and Goji Berries (PHOTO CREDIT: Cassie Hepler)
In today’s blog, I’m sharing the step-by-step process to prepare the Tapenade, which has been a favorite at several cooking classes this month. Plus, you’ll see the process to create the soup and a fun plating video. Enjoy!

Kalamata Olive Tapenade

Enjoy refreshing tapenade with local Arizona veggies. This rich appetizer is an update to the olive trays that our family enjoyed with holiday meals when I was a kid. When you make your tapenade, have fun experimenting with a variety of olives and mindfully plate with favorite veggies from your farmers’ market.

SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, rough chopped
- 1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and rough chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup capers
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- ¼ – 1/3 cup organic extra virgin olive oil
Extras for Plating
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- 9-10 dehydrated tomato slices
- 2-3 red or purple radishes, thinly sliced
- 2 green onions, sliced on the bias
- 2 Tbsp goji berries, re-hydrated in water for 10 minutes
SIMPLE STEPS
- Gather your mise en place
- Mince garlic
- Rough chop the sun-dried tomatoes, soak in water to re-hydrate 5-10 minutes
- In a food processor, pulse garlic and olives until fine, not paste-like
- Remove the olive and garlic mixture from the food processor.
- Place sun-dried tomatoes in food processor and process until fine.
- Add capers and parsley and pulse a few times.
- Place olive/garlic mixture and sun-dried tomatoes/capers/parsley mixture into a bowl and mix with a fork.
- Add olive oil until you reach desired consistency.
- Enjoy the tapenade on cucumbers with a few extra veggies from your local farmers.
Winter Squash Ginger Soup

Yields: 4 servings

Create your Thanksgiving soup with local Winter Squash such as red kabocha or butternut, delicata, or even pumpkins. I especially love the sweetness of red kabocha, which contrasts to the green kabocha with has a more savory flavor. While cooking your soup enjoy the mindfulness and aromatherapy of grating warming ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Have fun plating the soup with a few sliced fresh veggies to add color and a crisp texture to the soup. Enjoy the soup warm or cold.

The components of the soup include: Veggie Stock, Roasted Squash, The Squash Ginger Soup, and the Plating Toppings.

Winter Squash Ginger Soup

Simple Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup shallots, minced
- 1 TBSP ginger, grated
- ½ TBSP coriander seeds
- Pinch sea salt
- 3 cups roasted Winter squash (see recipe below)
- 4 cups veggie stock (see recipe below)
Plating Toppings (per serving)
- 2 small tomatoes, sliced
- 1 radish, sliced
- 5 raw cashews, soaked in water
- 5 slices dehydrated tomatoes
- 1 tsp green onions, cut on diagonal
- 1 tsp micro-greens
- Pinch ground cinnamon
- Pinch ground nutmeg
- Optional: Cashew cream
Cook the Soup
- Pour olive oil into the soup pot and warm for 1 minute.
- Add shallot and ginger and gently cook for about 5 minutes to release flavors.
- Add roasted squash and veggie stock to the pot.
- Bring to a boil.
- Lower to simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
- Pour soup into food processor and pulse a few times for desired smoothness.
Plate the Soup
- Pour soup into a serving bowl.
- Top with local, seasonal veggies, such as tomatoes, radishes, green onions, and micro-greens.
CLICK LINK TO SEE THE BEAUTIFUL SOUP PLATING VIDEO:
https://experiencenutrition.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/D-Soup-plating-video-IMG_4922.mov

Simple Home-Made Veggie Stock

To enhance the flavor of your soup, make this quick and easy veggie stock, with mirepoix base of carrots, onions, and celery. An option is a box of store-bought organic veggie stock.

SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

Stock Base
- 1 medium white onion, rough chopped
- 4 carrots, rough chopped
- 2 celery stalks, rough chopped
- 6 cups water
Aromatics
- 10 parsley stems
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
SIMPLE STEPS
- Rough chop the carrots, onions, and celery into 2” pieces.
- Place carrots, onions, celery, garlic, black peppercorns, and water into the soup pot.
- Bring to a boil.
- Reduce to simmer and cook with lid covered for 30 minutes.
- Strain the veggies from the liquid.
- Use the stock in the Winter squash soup.
Roasted Winter Squash

SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups Winter squash, cubed
- 3 Tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 tsp ground nutmeg
SIMPLE STEPS
- Toss squash in olive oil, nutmeg and cinnamon.
- Place squash on a parchment-lined sheet tray, making sure the squash does not touch.
- Roast for 15 minutes, flip.
- Roast for another 12 minutes.
Another look at the Winter Squash Ginger Soup

Join our Simple Daily Plant-Based Eating Tips Facebook Page

Purchase Melanie Albert’s award-winning cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating: Simple Intuitive Cooking with Real Whole Foods”

Purchase Tickets for the Plant-Based Thanksgiving Cooking Class at The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, November 18, 2018, 11am-1pm

Purchase Tickets for Holiday Plant-Based Desserts Cooking Class at The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, December 9, 2018, 11am-1pm

A final look at the Thanksgiving Plant-Based Cooking article in the November 2018 issue of Natural Awakenings.
November 5, 2018
A New View of Healthy Eating: Quick Organic Tomato-Lemon Sauce Step-by-Step Videos

By Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, and speaker. Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC
This week I purchased 20 pounds of organic tomatoes for only $20 from McClendon’s Select at the Uptown Farmer’s Market in Phoenix. Every time I have the opportunity to purchase these goodies I get so excited and then I immediately realize that I’ve just given myself a cooking project to squeeze into the week.

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Last night I made four different batches of tomato sauce, 3 on the stove-top and one roasted in the oven. The lemon tomato sauce was so incredible that I decided to cook another batch today and took some videos to show you the process. The sauce is still on my stove and my home is full of the lemon aromatherapy.

A quick look at the fresh ingredients in the 4 different tomato sauces.

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The cooked tomato sauces.

The first batch of tomato lemon sauce with capers, marjoram, and brown rice. This delicious and fresh dish inspired the big batch of tomato sauce that you’ll see in the step-by-step videos in today’s blog.

With these videos, learn the simple steps to make your own tomato sauce. Go out to a farmers’ market in your area, buy some fresh organic tomatoes and have fun creating your own tomato sauces.

Step 1: Mise en place. All set with the ingredients for the tomato lemon sauce.

Step 2: Getting started with the tomatoes, lemons, organic extra virgin olive oil, and Himalayan sea salt into the saute pan.

Step 3: Tomatoes are beginning to break-down in the saute pan and the lemon aromatherapy is already infusing my kitchen.

Step 4: Breakdown tomatoes with your bamboo spoon.

Step 5: Simmer the sauce for about 20-25 minutes.

Step 6: Tomatoes and lemons are simmering. So simple.

Step 7: The simple beauty of food. Today’s organic tomato lemon sauce.

Have fun shopping at your local farmers’ markets. Buy some organic tomatoes. Create your own sauces. And, share your culinary dishes with us on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

Interested in additional simple culinary skills and recipes? “A New View of Healthy Eating” book is available right here.

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The beauty of simple food.

April 21, 2017