Experience Nutrition

Category: Recipes

  • Experience Nutrition:  Zucchini Lasagna Two Ways: Raw & Baked. The Farm at South Mountain CSA Recipe

    Experience Nutrition:  Zucchini Lasagna Two Ways: Raw & Baked. The Farm at South Mountain CSA Recipe

    Honored and happy to create the Recipe #51 for the CSA at The Farm at South Mountain, right here in my neighborhood. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to create new recipes for the CSA members, with ideas on how to prepare the veggies, fruit, and herbs in their weekly CSA.

    During our Coronavirus Stay-at-Home, with everyone cooking more at home, I am happy that our farmers are still working so hard to bring great food to our community. I’m also grateful that our Arizona farmers’ markets are still operating as “essential grocery stores.”

    Yesterday (Friday) afternoon, when I picked up this week’s CSA at The Farm, it was 99 degrees in Phoenix, and my AC was not working, so I decided to create a Raw Dish with the CSA veggies. Although, not at all planned, I then wanted to experiment with a cooked dish with those veggies as a base.

    I hope you enjoy creating a simple Raw or Cooked Zucchini Lasagna, along with a Raw Hempseed Cream.

    Enjoy the video for a glimpse of The Farm at South Mountain, where we are transitioning into our Summer growing season, along with the Raw and Baked Lasagna recipes.

    Spring CSA Week 7: 4.25.20

     For the CSA members, items in the CSA include:

    • Roots: Beets, Carrots, Purple Daikon Radishes
    • Greens; Glacier Lettuce, Salad Greens
    • Veggies: Zucchini
    • Citrus: Grapefruit
    • Herbs: Basil & Dill
    • Aromatics: Green Onions
    • The Farm Eggs
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    The Farm at South Mountain. Soil & Seed Garden. CSA 4.25.20

    Raw Zucchini Lasagna

    This week’s recipe was inspired by our warm Arizona weekend and the Soil & Seed Garden zucchini. The Raw Lasagna recipe features the end-of-season purple daikon radish and carrots. Enjoy with a Grapefruit Hempseed Herbal Cream.

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    Lasagna & Hempseed Cream Ingredients

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    Ingredients: Zucchini Lasagna. Hempseed Grapefruit Herb Cream.

    Lasagna Veggies

    Prep the zucchini, carrot, and daikon radish, and enjoy Raw Lasagna with Grapefruit Hempseed Cream.

    Serves 2

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • ¼ zucchini
    • 1 carrot
    • 1 daikon radish
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • Pinch sea salt

    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Thinly slice veggies with a mandoline or veggie peeler.
    • Place veggies, not touching, on parchment paper.
    • Drizzle veggies with olive oil and sea salt.
    • Let the veggies sit for 10-15 minutes.
    • Save the veggies to create the veggie lasagna.

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    Hempseed Grapefruit Herb Cream

    This raw hempseed cream was inspired by The Farm’s grapefruit and fresh dill, lemon basil, and green onions. This Hempseed Cream can be made very quickly since we do not need to pre-soak hempseeds, and you can add flavor with whatever herbs you have in your kitchen or garden right now.

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • ½ cup hempseeds
    • ¼ cup grapefruit juice
    • 1 TBSP grapefruit zest
    • ¼ cup olive oil
    • 3-4 stems of dill, lemon basil
    • 2-3 onion green onions
    • Pinch sea salt
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    Mise en Place: Hempseed Cream

    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Place all ingredients into food processor.
    • Process until smooth.
    • Add water, as needed, for creamier sauce.
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    Raw Hempseed Grapefruit Herb Cream

    SIMPLE PLATING

    • Layer the zucchini, carrot, daikon radish and the cream.
    • Garnish with Glacier Lettuce and fresh dill and lemon basil.

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    BONUS RECIPE: Baked Zucchini Lasagna

    Since I ended up with extra ingredients from the Raw Lasagna, I decided to cook a really quick and easy baked version of the lasagna. Hope you enjoy this version, as well.

    SIMPLE EXTRA INGREDIENTS

    • All ingredients from the Raw Zucchini Lasagna
    • 1 tomato, sliced
    • 2 small sweet peppers, sliced

    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Layer all ingredients into a baking pan.
    • Cook for 20-30 minutes.
    • Enjoy!

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    Stay in touch with us on www.facebook.com/ExperienceNutritionAZ and Instagram @experiencenturitionaz and tag us #experiencenutritionaz on your Raw and Cooked Zucchini Lasagna dishes and other plant-based culinary creations.

    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.

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    Self Care: Sunflower!

  • Experience Nutrition: Your Recipe Guide for a Quick & Simple Avocado Salsa With What’s in Your Refrigerator

    Experience Nutrition: Your Recipe Guide for a Quick & Simple Avocado Salsa With What’s in Your Refrigerator

    During our coronavirus stay-at-home, a simple to prepare lunch, breakfast or snack, is an “avocado tartare.” You might call it avocado salsa with a few extra veggies. I hope this avocado recipe guide inspires you to create your own beautiful, delicious avocado tartare with whatever vegetables are in your kitchen. – Melanie Albert

    Avocado Tartare Key Ingredients

    The 5 base ingredients for avocado tartare are:

    1. A ripe avocado
    2. Citrus: lemon, lime, grapefruit, Meyer lemon
    3. Sea salt
    4. Aromatic: onion, garlic, shallot
    5. Fresh herb: parsley, basil, cilantro, marjoram, lemon balm

    Avocado Tartare: The Add-in Veggies

    To these base ingredients, add in a few veggies – any kind – available at your local farmers’ markets, local farmers, or grocery stores. Some ideas: Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives.

    The plant-based cooking video guides you through the simple step-by-step process to prepare the avocado salsa. And, for reference, you can printout the recipe.

    Avocado Salsa Recipe Guide

    Use this recipe as a guide for Avocado Salsa with whatever veggies are in your refrigerator. This is a great recipe to experiment with intuitive cooking, where we choose a few vegetables, herbs, and aromatics we are attracted to and enjoy our creation.

    Serves 1

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 avocado
    • 2 tbsp green onions
    • 2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
    • 1 tsp Meyer lemon juice
    • Pinch sea salt
    • 1 carrot, sliced
    • 3-4 cauliflower florets
    • Optional garnish: few broccoli stems
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    Avocado Tartare: Simple Ingredients

    Simple Steps

    • Chop all ingredients
    • Toss all ingredients into a bowl.
    • Mix avocado with a fork.
    • Add Meyer lemon juice and sea salt to the avocado.
    • Mix all ingredients with a fork.
    • Mindfully plate.
    • Enjoy
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    Aocado Tartare: Plating Mise en Place

    Since I love Avocado Tartare’s so much, I’ll continue to share some of my intuitively created dishes with you, to give you more ideas on how you an mix-and-match veggies, herbs, aromatics, and citrus.

    Stay in touch with us on www.facebook.com/ExperienceNutritionAZ and Instagram @experiencenturitionaz and tag us #experiencenutrition on your plant-based culinary creations.

    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.

    www.ExperienceNutrition.com

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  • EXPERIENCE NUTRITION Tip: Stay-at-Home Cooking Method: Braised Greens in 5 Minutes

    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

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    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

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    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Chop greens into large ribbons.
    • Mise en Place: All ingredients in place.

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    • 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.

     

  • Experience Nutrition: “Stay-at-Home” Quick Roots & Greens Sauté. Featuring The Farm at South Mountain Spring CSA

    Experience Nutrition: “Stay-at-Home” Quick Roots & Greens Sauté. Featuring The Farm at South Mountain Spring CSA

    Since October 2018, I have had the honor to create weekly recipes for the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) at The Farm at South Mountain, an urban farm less than a mile from my home. To date, I’ve intuitively created 47 recipes for the members of the CSA. Each Friday, I pick up the incredible just-harvested CSA produce and herbs at The Farm from lead farmer Billy Anthony, and then come home and create a recipe for the Saturday morning CSA bags.

    Cooking at Home. Right now, while more and more people are cooking at home with the Coronavirus “stay-at-home” I’m finding it even more important to share my recipes to more and more people, beyond the CSA members.

    For those of you who are cooking at home, I invite you to use this recipe as a guide to sauté a simple, tasty roots and greens dish. Use whatever roots (radishes, turnips, beets, carrots) and greens (kale, collards, dandelion greens) your local farmers are growing. And, for citrus, feel free to use a lemon, orange, or grapefruit.

    For the CSA members, I hope you enjoy creating this recipe with the beautiful local Arizona produce in your CSA.

    • Citrus: Grapefruit, lemons
    • Roots: Beets, Turnips, Mixed Radishes
    • Greens: Sugar Snap Peas, Braising Greens, Gem Head Lettuce
    • Farm Salad Bag with Glacier Lettuce
    • Mint
    • Eggs

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    Please share your culinary creations with us on Instagram @nutritionauthor @thefarmatsouthmountain.

    Honestly, it was a little emotional picking up my CSA at The Farm on Friday, March 27, 2020. Here’s a glimpse.

    Roots & Greens Sauté Recipe

    Thanks to Lead Farmer Billy Anthony of the Soil & Seed Garden for growing such beautiful, tasty produce for our community. We appreciate your dedication, especially while we are Coronavirus social distancing.

    Make this simple sauté with roots, greens, and the lemon from your CSA, along with an onion.

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 1 medium purple daikon or another radish
    • 1 medium turnip
    • 3-4 stems kale
    • ½ cup sugar snap peas
    • 5-7 stems dandelion greens (from Farm Salad Bag)
    • ½ white or red onion, or 2 green onions, sliced (not in CSA)
    • 1 lemon, ½ juiced and zested
    • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • Pinch sea salt
    • Garnish: Few mint leaves

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    SIMPLE STEPS

    Mise en Place (Everything into place)

    • Thinly slice radish and turnip with mandoline or knife.
    • Pull center stems out of kale and tear leaves into bite-size pieces.
    • Slice onions into moon-shapes.
    • Zest the lemon.

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    Cook

    • Pre-heat sauté pan on medium heat on stovetop.
    • Once the pan is warm, place onions in pan, sauté until soft, for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
    • Add sliced radish and turnip to the pan.
    • Drizzle sea salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest onto the radish and turnip.

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    • Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
    • Move radishes and turnips to the middle of the pan.
    • Add snap peas, kale, and dandelion greens to the edges of the pan to cook with the olive oil.

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    • Drizzle a pinch of sea salt onto the green veggies.
    • Cook for about 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.

    Plate

    • Plate the roots, greens, and sugar snap peas onto the plate.
    • Garnish with mint.

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    More Plant-Based Cooking Recipes. I look forward to sharing additional recipes and ideas with you, while we area all “at home” during the Coronavirus. Please check back, as I’m also shooting some simple cooking videos for my Experience Nutrition YouTube Channel. 

    Sedona Cooking Retreats. A few people have been asking about the 2020 Sedona Plant-Based Cooking Retreats. We have not yet cancelled the June 12-15, 2020 retreat, and at this point I’m pretty sure we will hold the September 18-21, 2020 retreat.  Let me know (Mel@MelanieAlbert.com) if you are interested in either retreat, and I will keep in touch with you.  Just fyi, link to the retreat information.

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, LLC in Phoenix, Arizona. Plant-Based Farm-to-Table Leader, award-winning cookbook author, speaker, corporate wellness, team building and retreat leader.

     

  • Experience Nutrition: Yeast-Free Flatbread. When you don’t have yeast in your kitchen.

    Experience Nutrition: Yeast-Free Flatbread. When you don’t have yeast in your kitchen.

    While more of us are now baking bread and pizza at home during the Coronavirus social distancing and staying at home, I wanted to share with you a recipe we cooked during our Fall 2019 Sedona Plant-Based Cooking Retreat. This recipe will give you an option if you live in an area where you are not able to purchase yeast at this point, or if you don’t normally keep yeast in your pantry.

    For the flatbread, roast some vegetables, create a simple nut sauce, and enjoy a nice meal with your family. During our retreat we enjoyed cooking with beautiful local food grown by Whipstone Farm in Paulden, Arizona and The Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix.

    Enjoy your flatbread with roasted veggies, hummus, tomatoes, salsa, or even a drizzle of olive oil. And, please share your creations with us on Instagram @plantbasedexperiences #plantbasedexperiences

    EXPERIENCE NUTRITIONTM Yeast-Free Quick Flatbread

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 ¼ cups sprouted spelt flour
    • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
    • ¼ tsp sea salt
    • 1 ½ tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil (dough)
    • ½ cup water
    • 1 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil (spread on dough prior to baking)

    Simple Steps

    • Place pizza stone into oven. Pre-heat oven to 390 degrees F. Pre-bake stone for about 5 minutes.
    • In large glass bowl, with a fork mix dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt.
    • Add 3/8 cup water and oil until dough forms a ball. Add additional water, as needed
    • Knead on a lightly floured surface for 3-4 minutes.
    • Flatten out the dough on floured parchment-paper.
    • With parchment paper on top of the dough, roll thinly with a rolling pin.
    • Carefully move flatbread to pre-heated pizza stone.
    • Spread 1 tbsp of olive oil onto the flatbread.
    • Bake flatbread for 5 minutes.
    • Remove stone from oven.
    • Spread hemp seed cream (recipe below) on the top of the flatbread.
    • Add roasted veggies to the top of the flatbread. (See two ways to roast veggies below.)
    • Cook flatbread for about 8 minutes.
    • Garnish with edible flowers.
    • Enjoy!

    Look at the beautiful, delicious plant-based farm-to-table flatbread intuitively created at our 2019 Sedona Retreat, and a glimpse of beautiful self care meditation at Cathedral Rock to inspire you to pause and take time for you these days.

    The Sedona Retreat flatbread features beautiful veggies grown by Whipstone Farm in Paulden, Arizona and flowers grown at the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix.

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    Amazing nourishing dinner, with the Farm-to-Table Flatbread at our Fall 2019 Sedona Plant-Based Cooking Retreat.
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    Mediation. Breathwork. Awe….Omm…at Cathedral Rock. With Patricia Fonseca of Back to Earth Sedona Tours.

    ROASTED VEGGIES TWO WAYS

    Choose a few of your favorite veggies and one of the following two culinary techniques to roast veggies for your flatbread. For the Sedona Retreat flatbread we roasted beautiful local veggies grown by Whipstone Farm including kohlrabi, cauliflower, radishes, leeks, potatoes, and peppers.

    Simple Ingredients

    • 5-7 of your favorite veggies, sliced
    • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt

    Original Roasted Veggies Culinary Technique

    With this technique, we use a flat parchment-paper lined sheet pan. Space the veggies out, not touching. This way, the veggies are cooked from the heat of the bottom of the pan which caramelizes them a little, along with the heat in the oven circulating around them.

    To see these roasting veggie technique, click to the Spring Flatbread recipe.

    Simple Steps

    • Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
    • Slice veggies into bite-sized pieces.
    • In a bowl, gently coat veggies with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.
    • Place veggies on parchment-lined flat sheet pan, flat side down with veggies not touching.
    • Roast for 12 minutes.
    • Flip veggies.
    • Roast for another 12 minutes.
    • Use veggies as flatbread toppings.

    Quick Roasted Veggies

    A very quick and easy way to roast veggies. Check out this Summer Flatbread and get the steps to quick roast veggies.

    • Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
    • Place veggies in roasting pan.
    • Drizzle with olive oil.
    • Sprinkle with sea salt.
    • Roast 12 minutes.
    • Toss.
    • Roast another 12 minutes.

    HEMP SEED CREAM

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 cup hemp seeds
    • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice
    • Pinch sea salt
    • ¼ cup water, adjust for desired creaminess.

    Simple Steps

    • Pour all ingredients into a mini food processor.
    • Blend to desired smoothness.

    Hope you enjoy making flatbread in a new way, without yeast, and enjoy it with your family these days. Feel free to share your creations with us on Instagram @plantbasedexperiences #plantbasedexperiences

    If you are interested in joining us on a future retreat, please feel free to take a look at our Sedona Retreat page.

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC, in Phoenix, Arizona. Award-winning cookbook author, speaker, team building, and retreat leader.

     

  • Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table Tomatillo Salsa. The Farm at South Mountain CSA

    Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table Tomatillo Salsa. The Farm at South Mountain CSA

    Now is the time to support your local farmers who have spent so many months passionately growing beautiful food for our communities.

    This weekend in Phoenix, Arizona, amidst the Coronavirus, our farmers, farmers market, and community have come together with creative ways for our community to have access to beautiful, just harvested food, with extra food safety measures. Many farmers are offering one-time CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), for customers to quickly pickup at farmers markets and farms.

    I am so fortunately to live about half mile from a beautiful urban farm, The Farm at South Mountain, where I’ve been teaching farm-to-table cooking classes since 2016 and where I’ve had the opportunity to create recipes for the weekly CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).

    As usual, Friday afternoon, I stopped by The Farm to pick-up my CSA

    The Spring 2020, March 21 CSA includes citrus, roots, greens veggies, and eggs. All grown right at The Farm at South Mountain, a beautiful urban farm in Phoenix.

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    • Citrus: Grapefruit, Lemons
    • Roots: Beets, Turnips, Radishes
    • Tomatillos
    • Peppers
    • Sugar Snap Peas
    • Swiss Chard
    • Mixed Herbs
    • Farm Salad Box
    • Eggs

    Quick Tomatillo Salsa

    I was so excited to see the tomatillos for the first time in the CSA this season. Tomatillos, known as the Mexican husk tomato is a nightshade, have a vibrant, tart, citrus flavor and are commonly used in Mexican dishes.  Hope you enjoy this very simple-to-prepare salsa recipe.

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    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 2 medium tomatillos
    • 1 pepper
    • 2-3 green onions (Not in the CSA)
    • Pinch sea salt
    • Extras: Fresh lemon juice. Fresh mint
    • Veggies for dipping: carrots, radishes
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    Tomatillo Salsa: Ingredients

    SIMPLE STEPS

    Mise en Place (Everything into place)

    • Slice tomatillos into about 8 slices.
    • Slice pepper into small strips.
    • Mince onion.
    • Chop carrots and radishes for dipping.
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    Tomatillo Salsa: Chop all produce

    Cook

    • Pre-heat oven on broil.
    • Place tomatillos, pepper, and onion on parchment-lined sheet pan.
    • Drizzle with a pinch of sea salt.
    • Broil for about 3-5 minutes.
    • Toss veggies.
    • Remove veggies when slightly browned.
    • Broil for another 3-5 minutes, as needed.
    • Place tomatillos, pepper, and onion into food processor.
    • Pulse a minute or two to desired level of chunkiness.
    • Taste.
    • Add squeeze of Meyer lemon juice and fresh mint, if desired.
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    Place onions, tomatillos, and peppers onto parchment-lined flat sheet.

    Plate

    • Plate the Tomatillo Salsa with a few greens from the Farm Salad Box, along with carrots, and radishes.
    • Enjoy.
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    Enjoy Tomatillo Salsa with a few fresh veggies.

    Please stay in touch. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting cooking videos for adults and kids to learn simple plant-based cooking techniques with your family. Follow this Experience Nutrition Blog. And, get ideas on Instagram: @nutritionauthor @plantbasedexperiences

    All the best to you and your family. – Melanie Albert

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC, in Phoenix, Arizona. Award-winning cookbook author, plant-based farm-to-table leader, speaker, and retreat host.

  • Experience Nutrition Plant-Based Farm-to-Table Recipe: The Farm at South Mountain Spring CSA: Quick Sugar Snap Peas

    Experience Nutrition Plant-Based Farm-to-Table Recipe: The Farm at South Mountain Spring CSA: Quick Sugar Snap Peas

    By Melanie Albert, Plant-Based Farm-to-Table Leader, Award-Winning Cookbook Author and Speaker, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition

    It has been such an honor to intuitively create recipes for the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for The Farm at South Mountain, in Phoenix, Arizona, an urban farm located less than a mile from my home since October 2018. The Farm at South Mountain Soil & Seed Garden farmer, Billy Anthony, passionately grows and harvests beautiful, incredible tasting produce, herbs, and edible flowers. Billy and his team harvest on Friday, I stop by the farm Friday evening to pick up my CSA, and then I intuitively create a recipe for the CSA members, which they receive Saturday morning with their CSA.

    This is Week 1 of the Spring 2020 CSA. After seeing the Sugar Snap Peas growing at The Farm the last month or so, I was very excited to prepare a simple dish with them. Also, The Farm has a Pecan Orchard on the property, so I was looking forward to include them in the dish.

    Prior to sharing the recipe, a look at The Farm this week.

    Let’s take a look at all of the products in the CSA.

    • Sugar Snap Peas
    • Roots: Radishes, Turnips, Carrots (Red Kyoto, Parisian)
    • Greens: Cauliflower Greens, Glacier Lettuce, Dinosaur Kale, Farm Salad Box
    • Herbs: Dill
    • Arizona favorites: Pecans, Grapefruit
    • Eggs
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    The Farm at South Mountain. Soil & Seed Garden. CSA March 14, 2020.

    Love the Sugar Snap Peas growing at the Soil & Seed Garden.

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    RECIPE: Simple Sugar Snap Pea Sauté

    Simply sautéing Sugar Snap Peas are a great way to enjoy this fresh veggie. Along with this week’s dill, grapefruit, and pecans, create this tasty side dish.

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    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 2 cups sugar snap peas
    • 1 tbsp grapefruit zest
    • 3-4 sprigs of fresh dill
    • 6-7 pecans, cracked
    • 1 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
    • Pinch sea salt
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    Mise en Place: Sugar Snap Peas. Dill. Saute.

    SIMPLE STEPS

    Mise en Place

    • Zest the grapefruit.
    • Crack the pecans.
    • If desire, remove the stems and pod strings from the snap peas pods.
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    All set to quickly saute the Sugar Snap Peas.

    Cook

    • Pre-heat a sauté pan on medium for about a minute.
    • Add olive oil to coat bottom of the pan.
    • When the oil is warm, add the sugar snap peas and sea salt to the pan. Continuously toss the snap peas with tongs.
    • Cook for about 2 minutes.
    • Add the grapefruit zest and dill to the pan.
    • Toss the snap peas with the zest and dill for about 2 minutes.

    Plate

    • Plate the sugar snap peas with the pecans.
    • Enjoy.
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    Sugar Snap Pea Plating Mise en Place
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    The Soil & Seed Garden Sugar Snap Pea Saute.

    2020 Sedona Plant-Based Cooking & Self Care Retreats

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    Getting started with our mindful chopping for our fresh Tomato Gazpacho and Avocado Tartare.
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    Beautiful Plant-Based Lunch Creation: Avocado Tartare
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    Yoga at one of my very favorite spots in the world: Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona.

    2020 Authentic Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Cooking Experiences at The Farm with Lead Grower Billy Anthony and award-winning cookbook author, Melanie Albert.

    Classes held at The Farm at South Mountain, 6101 S. 32nd Street, Phoenix, Arizona

    To Purchase, click below on the class date:

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  • Natural Awakenings Arizona: Recipe 2: Arizona Spring Steamed Veggies. Arugula Hempseed Pesto

    Natural Awakenings Arizona: Recipe 2: Arizona Spring Steamed Veggies. Arugula Hempseed Pesto

    by Melanie Albert, Plant-Based Farm-to-Table Culinary Expert, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition, award-winning cookbook author, speaker,

    So honored to create “recipe articles” for the Natural Awakenings Arizona magazine, with our local farmers produce. For the March 2020 issue, the recipes include:

    Recipe: Arizona Spring Steamed Veggies. Arugula Hempseed Pesto

    Enjoy a simple lunch or side dish by gently steaming local Arizona Spring veggies in a bamboo steamer and enjoy with simple Arugula Hempseed Pesto.

    Lightly steaming veggies brings out the beautiful colors and natural flavor of vegetables, while maintaining their nutrients. Steam a mix of a few Spring veggies with different colors, shapes, and textures, such as golden and Cylindra beets, Daikon radishes, Tropical Black carrots, purple snow peas, sugar snap peas, and corn grown at The Soil & Seed Garden at the Farm at South Mountain.  Plus, steam beautiful, unique roots, such as those grown by farmer Billy Anthony of Tropizona – China Rose Radishes and Hinona Kabu and Hida Beni Red Turnips – to add brilliant red and purple to the dish. Enjoy the Spring steamed veggies with a drizzle of olive oil and sea salt, refreshing Arugula Hempseed Pesto, and Calendula flowers.

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    The Farm at South Mountain Spring Produce
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    Tropizona Radishes and Turnips

    Always be mindfully organized when cooking…

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    Arizona Spring Veggies Grown at The Farm at South Mountain & Tropizona

    Steamed Spring Veggies

    A bamboo steamer is key to simple plant-based cooking.  Learn to steam spring veggies with the mindful process of steaming.

    Simple Ingredients

    • 5-7 different Spring veggies, such as beets, carrots, purple snow peas, sugar snap peas, corn, radishes, turnips, sliced
    • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • Pinch of sea salt
    • Garnish: Edible flowers

     Simple Steps

    • To set up the bamboo steamer, fill a large (6- to 8-quart) soup pot with 3-4 inches of water, place over high heat, and bring to a boil.
    • Place sliced veggies into the bamboo steamer. Spread out the veggies so that they do not touch each other to allow the steam to rise and cook them. Sprinkle veggies with a pinch of sea salt.
    • Place bamboo steamer on top of the pot with steaming water. Cover with lid and let steam for about 5-7 minutes or until just cooked.
    • Test the veggies for doneness. When veggies easily come off a fork, they’re ready.
    • Once the veggies have finished cooking, pour them into a large bowl.
    • Drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.
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    Veggies into the Bamboo Steamer
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    The fresh steamed veggies

    ARUGULA HEMPSEED LEMON PESTO

    Make simple Arugula, Hempseed Lemon Pesto to enjoy with steamed Arizona Spring veggies. With plant-based cooking, add extra flavor to vegetables with simple herb and seed pestos.

    Simple Ingredients

    • 2 cups arugula
    • 1/2 cup hempseeds
    • 5-7 stems chives
    • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • 1 lemon zested
    • Pinch sea salt

    Simple Steps

    • Place all ingredients (except olive oil) into mini-processor or food processor and blend.
    • After processing, stream in ¼ cup of olive oil.
    • Adjust with oil, lemon, or salt to suit your taste.
    • Enjoy with steamed veggies.
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    Arugula Hempseed Pesto Mise en Place

    Mindful Plating

    • Mindfully plate the veggies and pesto, showcasing the color and shapes of the veggies.
    • Garnish with edible flowers.
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    Arizona Steamed Veggies: Ready to Plate

    Simple plating…to start…

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    And, next, a full bowl of steamed veggies and pesto…

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    Arizona Spring Steamed Veggies. Arugula Hempseed Pesto.

    2020 Sedona Plant-Based Cooking & Self Care Retreats

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    Getting started with our mindful chopping for our fresh Tomato Gazpacho and Avocado Tartare.
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    Beautiful Plant-Based Lunch Creation: Avocado Tartare
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    Yoga at one of my very favorite spots in the world: Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona.

    2020 Authentic Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Cooking Experiences at The Farm with Lead Grower Billy Anthony and award-winning cookbook author, Melanie Albert.

    Classes held at The Farm at South Mountain, 6101 S. 32nd Street, Phoenix, Arizona

    To Purchase, click below on the class date:

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  • Natural Awakenings AZ Recipe Article: Top 5 Tips for Successful Local Plant-Based Cooking & Recipe 1

    Natural Awakenings AZ Recipe Article: Top 5 Tips for Successful Local Plant-Based Cooking & Recipe 1

    by Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition, Plant-Based Culinary Expert, Award-winning Cookbook Author

    It is my honor and pleasure to write “recipe articles” for the Natural Awakenings Arizona magazine. For each recipe over the last few years, I first meet with our local Arizona farmer, primarily, Billy Anthony, Lead Grocer at The Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix, to determine what is growing during the season. Then, I intuitively create a few recipes to be featured in the Natural Awakenings Magazine.

    I was so exited to learn that the March 2020 issue of Natural Awakenings focus was Plant-Based and loved offering a few tips to enjoy plant-based eating in Arizona and in creating the veggie-focused recipes.

    Enjoy creating these recipes with your local farmers produce and share your creations  with us on Instagram: @nutritionauthor @plantbasedexperiences

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    Natural Awakenings Arizona. Top 5 Tips for Successful Local Plant-Based Cooking, by Melanie Albert

    Top 5 Tips for Successful Local Plant-Based Cooking

    Spring in Arizona is an exciting season to enjoy cooking plant-based meals since our local farmers grow a wide range of produce this time of year. We see lots of greens, all kinds of vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers. If you are new to plant-based cooking and eating, visit a farmers’ market to get inspired by what our local farmers are growing and create simple, tasty, beautiful salads and veggies with different culinary techniques, including raw, steamed, and roasted.

    • Eat local. Buy produce, herbs, and edible flowers from our local Arizona farmers or grow your own for the freshest, most nutrient-rich food. Plant-based dishes start with beautiful fresh produce to create tasty, eye-catching meals. Shop at our local farms, farmers’ markets, commit to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), grow at a community garden, or grow your own.
    • Keep it Simple. With the plant-based way of eating, we focus on fresh veggies and fruit, nuts, and seeds, whole grains, and beans. With plant-based cooking, we use a few simple culinary techniques for flavor and color. The essential simple plant-based culinary techniques include raw, steaming, sauteing, and roasting. We cook the same vegetables with different culinary techniques to create different flavors, textures, and looks that add variety to our meals.
    • Cook Intuitively. Think about it: What grows together goes together. With plant-based cooking, mix and match the produce, herbs, nuts and seeds to create beautiful dishes. All veggies are different depending on the seeds, soil, weather, and geography. As a result, each dish we prepare is unique in a positive way with plant-based intuitive cooking. Be sure to taste while you are cooking and adjust your ingredients to suit your favorite personal taste preferences.
    • Mindfully Plate. We eat with our eyes first. Since plants are naturally beautiful, it makes sense to take time to mindfully plate your meals for visual beauty. Have fun experimenting with various plating styles with your version of “food art” using extras such as fresh herbs or edible flowers. Use your favorite bowls and dishes to add to the beauty of your meal.
    • Slow down and enjoy. Take a breath. Take time to enjoy the beauty of your local Arizona plant-based meal. Give gratitude to our local farmers for so passionately growing the incredible food and appreciation to yourself for taking the time to shop for and prepare your lovely plant-based meal. Enjoy mindful plant-based eating and the colors, textures, and flavors of your locally grown plant-based meal with your family and friends.

    Three Arizona Plant-Based Farm-to-Table Recipes

    These simple, beautiful plant-based recipes were intuitively inspired by and created with produce grown by our local Arizona farmers, The Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix, and Blue Sky Organic Farms in Litchfield Park.

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      The Farm at South Mountain Spring Produce, Herbs, and Edible Flowers

    RECIPE: Farm-to-Table Spring Arizona Greens Salad

    Create a simple, beautiful salad with greens from our local farmers or your garden. Pair a few different light leafy greens and a simple-to-prepare light salad dressing with fresh herbs. This fresh salad, inspired by the local greens grown at the Soil & Seed Garden, also features cherry tomatoes grown at Blue Sky Organic Farms.  We start with a simple salad 3-ingredient salad dressing to toss with the fresh salad greens. And, add extra plant-based extras to create a beautiful salad.

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    Farm-to-Table Spring Arizona Greens Salad

    Basic Salad Dressing: 3 Ingredients. That’s It

    Create your own salad dressing. The key components of a 3-ingredient salad dressing include an acid, fat, and salt. Once these elements are balanced, we can add in extras, such as garlic, fresh herbs, mustard, and honey. Acids are citrus, such as lemons, limes, grapefruit, along with vinegar. Fats are oils, such as olive oil. And, salts could be Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt.  Once you’ve learned how to prepare a dressing with this technique, you can use this method to create your own unique salad dressings for your fresh salads.

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 fresh lemon, orange, or ½ grapefruit, squeezed, approximately ¼ cup
    • Organic extra virgin olive oil, twice as much as the citrus juice, approximately ½ cup
    • ¼ tsp sea salt
    • OPTIONAL: 2-3 garlic cloves, minced; Fresh dill, fennel frond, mustard, honey

    Simple Steps

    • Squeeze a fresh citrus juice into a Mason jar.
    • Pour in twice as much olive oil as the citrus.
    • Shake the jar.
    • Taste and notice if your dressing seems too oily or acid-tasting. Add more citrus or olive oil to suit your taste.
    • Sprinkle in sea salt.
    • Shake the jar. Taste.
    • OPTIONAL: Add in minced fresh herbs and garlic.
    • Shake the jar. Taste.
    • OPTIONAL: Add honey and/or mustard. Shake and taste.
    • Taste testing salad dressing is a great way to mindfully use your cooking intuition. Add ingredients until the dressing tastes great.

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    Farm-to-Table Spring Arizona Greens Salad

    For the base of the salad, choose a variety of Spring greens grown by our local Arizona farmers or growing in your garden. In addition to the salad greens and dressing, extra ingredients add texture, beauty, and taste to the salad. Some sweet. Some salty. Some crunchy. Choose a few of your favorite extras such as tomatoes, berries, nuts and seeds, raisins, capers, and olives.  When plating, add beauty to your salad with dehydrated Arizona citrus and edible flowers.

    Simple Ingredients

    • 4 cups Mixed Greens, such as lettuce, baby kale, arugula, spinach, mizuna, shungiku (chrysanthemum greens)
    • 1 cup tomatoes, sliced
    • ½ cup berries (eg. blackberries, raspberries)
    • ¼ cup cracked pecans, walnuts, or pumpkin seeds
    • ¼ cup golden raisins
    • ¼ cup Kalamata olives
    • 2 tbsp capers
    • Garnish: 3-5 sliced dehydrated citrus (oranges, blood oranges, grapefruit); Edible flowers, herbs (dill or fennel fronds)
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    Farm-to-Table Spring Arizona Greens Salad Mise en Place

    Simple Steps

    • Chop or tear Spring greens into bite-size pieces.
    • Pour dressing over the greens.
    • Lightly toss the greens to coat with the dressing.
    • Add half of the extras (tomatoes, berries, nuts or seeds, raisins, olives, capers) and gently toss.
    • Mindfully plate with the remainder of the extras, dehydrated citrus, herbs, and edible flowers.
    • Enjoy!
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    Create Your Spring Salad with your Favorite Greens and Tasty Extras
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    Farm-to-Table Spring Arizona Greens Salad

    Enjoy our local Arizona Spring veggies by cooking with a few simple plant-based culinary techniques – raw salad, steaming, and roasting . Mindfully enjoy your plant-based creations with your family and friends.

    2020 Sedona Plant-Based Cooking & Self Care Retreats

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    Getting started with our mindful chopping for our fresh Tomato Gazpacho and Avocado Tartare.
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    Beautiful Plant-Based Lunch Creation: Avocado Tartare
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    Yoga at one of my very favorite spots in the world: Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona.

    2020 Authentic Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Cooking Experiences at The Farm with Lead Grower Billy Anthony and award-winning cookbook author, Melanie Albert.

    Classes held at The Farm at South Mountain, 6101 S. 32nd Street, Phoenix, Arizona

    To Purchase, click below on the class date:

     

     

     

     

     

  • Experience Nutrition: Arizona Summer Plant-Based Flatbread. Edible Flowers.

    Experience Nutrition: Arizona Summer Plant-Based Flatbread. Edible Flowers.

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author

    Upon returning to Phoenix after traveling the last few weeks to my niece, Mallory’s wedding in Massachusetts, visiting with my parents in Cocoa Beach, and scouting villas for retreats in Barbados, I’m getting back into my local farm-to-table shopping and cooking rhythm.

    This week I visited my farmer friend, Billy Anthony Lead Grower at the Soil & Seed Garden at Farm at South Mountain, in Phoenix, to catch up and see what was growing in our 100 degree weather. I was especially happy to see hundreds or thousands of beautiful tomatoes, zucchini, and edible flowers.

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    Inspired by the tomatoes, I intuitively created a Summer Flatbread with other veggies purchased from local Arizona farmers at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market. I purchased beautiful baby arugula and carrots from Blue Sky Organic Farms in Litchfield Park and Matt’s tomatoes from the Community Exchange.

    Let’s take a look at The Farm at South Mountain, at the beginning of our hot Arizona Summer.

    RECIPE: Arizona Summer Plant-Based Flatbread. Edible Flowers.

    The Summer Flatbread highlights our local Arizona tomatoes, zucchini, arugula, and carrots, and also features one of my favorite roasted veggies, Brussels sprouts, plus red peppers for flavor and color. The yeast-free flatbread is a quick recipe to prepare when your time is limited as we do not need to wait hours for the dough to rise. The cashew cream is a very simple raw nut cream that works well as a cheesy taste in the flatbread.  Finally, the beautiful, colorful edible flowers bring life to the dish.

    QUICK AND SIMPLE ROASTED VEGGIES

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 large tomato (The Farm at South Mountain)
    • 2 cups Brussels sprouts
    • 1 small zucchini (The Farm at South Mountain)
    • 1 carrot (Blue Sky Organic Farms)
    • 5-6 small red peppers
    • 2 green onions
    • 2-3 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil (Hatun Oregano Olive Oil)
    • 1 tsp sea salt

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    Simple Steps

    • Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
    • Slice all veggies.

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    • Place all veggies into roasting pans.
    • Drizzle with olive oil.
    • Sprinkle on sea salt.
    • Roast for 12 minutes.
    • Stir veggies.
    • Roast for another 12 minutes.
    • Use veggies as flatbread toppings.

    CASHEW CREAM

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 2-4 hours
    • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • Pinch sea salt
    • ¼ cup water, adjust for desired creaminess.

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    Simple Steps

    • Rinse and drain the soaked cashews.
    • Pour all ingredients into a blender.
    • Blend to desired smoothness.

    EXPERIENCE NUTRITIONTM Yeast-Free Quick Flatbread

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 ¼ cups sprouted spelt flour
    • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
    • ¼ tsp sea salt
    • 1 ½ tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil (dough)
    • ½ cup water
    • 1 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil (spread on dough prior to baking)

    Garnish Ingredients

    • 1 cup arugula (Blue Sky Organic Farms)
    • Matt’s tomatoes (Community Exchange, Downtown Phoenix Public Market)
    • 1 tbsp olive oil
    • Pinch sea salt
    • Edible Flowers (The Farm at South Mountain)

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    Simple Steps

    • Place pizza stone into oven. Pre-heat oven to 390 degrees F. Pre-bake the stone for about 5 minutes.
    • In large glass bowl, with a fork mix dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, olive oil, salt.
    • Add 3/8 cup water and oil until dough forms a ball. Add additional water, as needed.
    • Knead on a lightly floured surface for 3-4 minutes.
    • Flatten out the dough on floured parchment-paper.
    • With parchment paper on top of the dough, roll thinly with a rolling pin.
    • Carefully move flatbread to pre-heated pizza stone.
    • Spread 1 tbsp of olive oil onto the flatbread.

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    • Bake flatbread for 5 minutes.
    • Remove stone from oven.
    • Spread cashew cream on the top of the flatbread.
    • Add tomatoes, red peppers, carrots, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, and onions to the top of the flatbread.
    • Cook for about 8 minutes.
    • Garnish with arugula, drizzle of olive oil, and edible flowers.

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    Mindful garnishing of the flatbread.

    • Enjoy. Enjoy the beauty. Enjoy the tasty.

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    • Pause and enjoy the flatbread creation.

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    • My simple plate…

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    2019 Local First Arizona Independents Week: June 29 – July 6, 2019

    One-time Local Special:  Save 20%. Sedona Plant-Based Culinary Retreat, September 13-16, 2019. 

    Join us for a Memorable Plant-Based Cooking Retreat in Sedona, Arizona, September 13-16, 2019

    • Learn simple, easy plant-based cooking techniques.
    • View food differently with mindful cooking and eating.
    • Enjoy urban farm-to-table cooking experience.
    • Experience self-care with hiking and yoga.
    • Take home retreat experiences to be healthier & make positive long-term lifestyle changes.

    During our Sedona Plant-Based Cooking Fall 2019 Retreat, you’ll experience several days of hands-on, simple plant-based cooking with organic food, mindfulness in the kitchen and eating. We’ll enjoy a farm-to-table cooking experience at a local urban farm. You’ll experience self-care with hiking and yoga in the beauty of Sedona.

    In the memorable life-changing retreat, our intention is for you to enjoy the cooking and self-care experiences during the retreat and then most importantly take home the experiences and plant-based cooking learning from the retreat to make positive lifestyle changes in your lives.

    Click to learn more about the retreat on our website.

    Or, contact, Melanie Albert (Mel@MelanieAlbert.com or 602.615.2486) to answer your questions and to reserve your spot!

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  • Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table with The Farm at South Mountain: Green Hummus

    Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table with The Farm at South Mountain: Green Hummus

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author

    Each week I have the incredible opportunity to intuitively create recipes with the beautiful food so passionately grown by urban farmer Billy Anthony in the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona.

    This week I decided to experiment with hummus and the Soil & Seed Garden’s Chrysanthemum Greens and Onion Dill, enjoyed with Roasted Diplomat Broccoli and Radishes.

    Let’s take a look at the Winter CSA in March 2019

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    The Farm at South Mountain Soil & Seed Garden CSA, March 2019

    Especially inspired by the Chrysanthemum Greens and Onion Chives

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    Green & Red inspiration for this week’s intuitive dish.

    Winter Farm-to-Table Hummus and Roasted Veggies Recipe

    GREEN HUMMUS RECIPE

    Simple Ingredients

    • 2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
    • ⅓ cup chickpea water
    • 3 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste or sesame seeds)
    • 2 tbsp fresh grapefruit juice (or lemon juice)
    • 3-4 stems Shungiki (Chrysanthemum Greens)
    • 8-10 Onion Chives
    • Pinch sea salt
    • 2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
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    Green Hummus Mise en Place

    Simple Steps

    • Place all ingredients (except olive oil, greens, and chives) into high-speed blender (such as Vitamix) or food processor.
    • Blend until smooth.
    • Add in the greens and chives, and blend.
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    Adding the Chrysanthemum Greens and Onion Dill to the base hummus.
    • With food processor running, stream in olive oil.
    • After the hummus has been blended, taste and add more of any of the ingredients to suit your taste.

    ROASTED DIPLOMAT BROCCOLI & RADISHES RECIPE

    Simple Ingredients from the Soil & Seed Garden

    • 10-12 radishes, sliced
    • 3-4 Diplomat Broccoli stalks, sliced
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    The Farm at South Mountain Soil & Seed Garden: Diplomat Broccoli. Radishes.

    Other Simple Ingredients

    • 2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt

    Simple Steps

    • Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
    • Slice veggies into bite-sized pieces.
    • In a bowl, gently coat veggies with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.
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    Lightly toss veggies in olive oil with a pinch of sea salt.
    • Place veggies on parchment-lined flat sheet pan, flat side down with veggies not touching.
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    Mindfully place radishes and broccoli on parchment-lined flat sheet pan.
    • Roast for 12 minutes.
    • Flip veggies.
    • Roast for another 12 minutes.
    • Plate veggies with the hummus.

    Mise en place for the Hummus. Broccoli. Radishes.

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    Mise en place (all ingredients in place) for the Green Hummus. Broccoli. Radishes.

    The plating of the hummus…

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    Enjoy Green Hummus with Roasted Broccoli and Radishes for Snacktime.

    INTERESTED IN PLANT-BASED COOKING RETREAT IN SEDONA, September 13-16, 2019. CLICK TO LEARN MORE

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

    COOKING CLASSES AT THE FARM AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA

    BB-04-A-06-VisitPhoenix-ExperienceNutrition-TeamBuilding-Lasagna-IMG_2111

    Purchase Tickets for Raw Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, April 7, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-05-Kids-MelanieAlbert-A-DSC_0453 (2)Purchase Tickets for Farm-to-Table Kids Food Art Cooking at The Farm at South Mountain with Melanie Albert, Sunday, March 24, 2019, 11am-noon

     

     

    Another look at the Mise en Place for the Green Hummus. Diplomat Broccoli. Radishes. Plus, Red Beet and Red Dragonfruit Hummus for plating.

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    Plating Mise en Place: Hummus. Diplomat Broccoli. Radishes.

  • Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table with Pomegranate Café and Rhibafarms: Arizona Veggie Bowl

    Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table with Pomegranate Café and Rhibafarms: Arizona Veggie Bowl

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author

    I was so excited to intuitively create this farm-to-table recipe with the POM BOX with the Pomegranate Café in Ahwatukee and Rhibafarms in San Tan Valley, Arizona.

    This recipe is inspired by the range of roots and the fennel in the POM Rhibafarms Box. Veggie Bowls are popular and we can prepare a really quick veggie bowl with a simple roasting technique where we cook  all veggies in a pan or two. Cook a whole grain and make your own tasty Veggie Bowl.

    Let’s take a look at the POM Rhibafarms Box…

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    The beauty of the POM Rhibafarms Box

    Closer look at the POM Rhibafarms Box

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    POM Rhibafarms Quick Roasted Veggie Bowl

    INGREDIENTS from the POM RHIBAFARMS BOX

    • Rhibafarms: Carrots, rainbow radishes, broccoli, fennel, green onions, red beets
    • Pomegranate Café: Flaxseed  Crackers

    QUICK ROASTED VEGGIES

    Simple Ingredients

    • 2 red beets
    • 1 fennel bulb
    • 5-7 yellow carrots
    • 3-5 green onions
    • 5-7 broccoli florets
    • 5-7 mini-peppers
    • 1 purple sweet potato
    • 1 tsp sea salt
    • 3 tbsp dried spices: Your choice: Mediterranean Blend, Southwest Blend

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    Simple Steps

    • Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
    • Slice all veggies into bite-sized pieces.

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    • Place veggies into baking pan.
    • Place purple veggies (sweet potato, beet) into baking pan.
    • Place all other veggies into separate pan.
    • Drizzle both pans of veggies with olive oil, spices, and sea salt.

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    • Roast for 15 minutes.
    • Mix veggies.
    • Roast for another 12 minutes.
    • Use veggies in veggie bowl.

    Fennel Almond Brown Rice

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 cup brown rice
    • 2-3 fennel bulb slices
    • 1/3 cup almonds, sliced
    • 2 cups water
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    Fennel Almond Brown Rice

    Simple Steps

    • Pour all ingredients into medium pot.
    • Bring to a boil.
    • Lower to simmer.
    • Cook covered for 15-20 minutes, until all liquid has been absorbed.
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    Fennel Almond Brown Rice ready for the Veggie Bowl.

    Plating: Create your Veggie Bowl

    • One-by-one place brown rice and veggies into bowl.
    • Garnish with the Pomegranate Café Flaxseed Crackers.
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    POM Rhibafarms Veggie Bowl

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    A fun video of the creation of the POM Rhibafarms Box Veggie Bowl.

    A few more recipes created with the POM Rhibafarms BOX:

    INTERESTED IN PLANT-BASED COOKING RETREAT IN SEDONA, September 13-16, 2019. CLICK TO LEARN MORE

    IMG_5493

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

    Interested in the POM Rhibafarms BOX. You can purchase it right here.

    COOKING CLASSES AT THE FARM AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA

    BB-04-A-06-VisitPhoenix-ExperienceNutrition-TeamBuilding-Lasagna-IMG_2111

    Purchase Tickets for Raw Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, April 7, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-05-Kids-MelanieAlbert-A-DSC_0453 (2)Purchase Tickets for Farm-to-Table Kids Food Art Cooking at The Farm at South Mountain with Melanie Albert, Sunday, March 24, 2019, 11am-noon

     

     

    Thanks to Natural Awakenings AZ magazine for featuring my Plant-Based Chocolate Pie on the cover and Plant-Based Dessert recipes in the January 2019 issue.

    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019
    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019. Start the New Year Off Right

    Join our Simple Daily Plant-Based Eating Tips Facebook Page

    PUBLIC COOKING CLASSES AT THE MARICOPA COUNTY LIBRARIES

    I’m honored  have been leading hands-on cooking and yoga classes with the Maricopa County Library District since 2016. For the Winter Reading Program, the class focuses on Mediterranean Plant-Based Culinary. We’ll be preparing Hempseed Tabouli, Olive Tapenade, and Herbal Hummus. Classes are Free to the Public. Call the libraries directly to make your reservation.

    • Tuesday, March 19, 2019, 5:00-6:30pm: Litchfield Park Branch Library
    • More to come in the Summer Reading Program: June & July 2019.

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    SPRING COOKING CLASSES & EVENTS IN THE PHOENIX ARIZONA AREA

    • HUMANA: March 27, 2019, April 24, 2019, May 29, 2019, 12:30-1:30pm: Humana Monthly Healthy Cooking Demo, Humana Mesa. March topic: Plant-Protein.
    • PHOENIX MARKET: April 13, May 11, 2019, 10:00-11:00am: Kids Cook at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market. Melanie shops the market and then shares beautiful ways to enjoy food with the kids.
    • GRANDFAMILIES PLACE: March 18, April 29, May 30, 2019, 4:30-5:30pm, Grandfamilies Place, Gregory’s Fresh Market. Kids learn how to prepare simple healthy dishes, then plate and serve to their grandparents.

     

     

     

  • Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table Cooking with The Farm at South Mountain: Arizona Spring Flatbread

    Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table Cooking with The Farm at South Mountain: Arizona Spring Flatbread

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author

    Each week I have the incredible opportunity to intuitively create recipes with the beautiful food so passionately grown by urban farmer Billy Anthony in the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona.

    Spring Farm-to-Table Flatbread

    The beauty of the Soil & Seed Garden greens and “purple greens” were the inspiration for my weekly flatbread.

    Let’s take a look at the Spring CSA

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    The Farm at South Mountain: CSA March 2019

    SPRING FLATBREAD RECIPE STEPS

    To prepare your Spring Farm-to-Table Flatbread, follow the following recipes to create a flatbread with your local seasonal ingredients. Please share your flatbread creations with us on www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating or tag @nutritionauthor on Instagram.

    • Roasted Veggies: Choose a few seasonal veggies, such as cauliflower, radishes, and tomatoes.
    • Sauteed Greens & Purples: Choose a few of your favorites, such as arugula, spinach, or shungiku (chrysanthemum).
    • Cashew Cream: Quick Plant-based sauce created with raw cashews.
    • Quick Yeast-Free Flatbread: Quick flatbread that takes less time that yeast flatbread.
    • Creation Video: Layering of veggies onto the flatbread.
    • Final Flatbread: A look at the cooked flatbread with sauteed greens.

    ROASTED VEGGIES RECIPE

    Simple Ingredients from the Soil & Seed Garden

    • 10-12 radishes, sliced
    • 1 small head, cauliflower, sliced

    Other Simple Ingredients

    • 2-3 small tomatoes, sliced
    • 3-4 mini sweet peppers
    • 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
    • 2-3 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 tsp sea salt
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    Ingredients Set for the Spring Flatbread and Sauteed Greens & Purples

    Simple Steps

    • Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
    • Slice veggies into bite-sized pieces.
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    Mise en Place: Roasted Veggies
    • In a bowl, gently coat veggies with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.
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    Add olive oil and a pinch of salt to veggies prior to roasting.
    • Place veggies on parchment-lined flat sheet pan, flat side down with veggies not touching.
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    Place veggies on parchment-lined flat sheet, with veggies not touching.
    • Roast for 12 minutes.
    • Flip veggies.
    • Roast for another 12 minutes.
    • Use veggies as flatbread toppings.
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    Roasted veggies are ready for the Spring flatbread.

    SAUTEED GREENS AND PURPLES

    Simple Ingredients from Soil & Seed Garden

    • 2 cups of 3-4 greens from Soil & Seed Garden, such as Shungiku, Minutina, Purple Orach, Red Spinach
    • 3-4 leaves, lemon verbena
    • 1 tsp organic extra virgin olive oil
    • 2-3 tbsp fresh grapefruit juice
    • Pinch sea salt
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    Mise en place for sauteed greens: Red Spinach, Purple Orach, Shungiku (Chrysanthemum), Minutina.

    Simple Steps

    • Pre-heat medium sauté pan on medium.
    • Add olive oil to pan.
    • Add to pan, green colored greens, lemon verbena, pinch sea salt, and 1 tbsp grapefruit juice.
    • Lightly toss the greens to cook for 2 minutes.
    • Remove greens from pan.
    • Follow same cooking steps for the purple greens.
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    Saute greens lightly and quickly with squeeze of fresh grapefruit juice and a pinch of sea salt.

    Greens & Purples Sauteed for the Flatbread

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    The beauty of the greens and purples.

    CASHEW CREAM

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 2-4 hours
    • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • Pinch sea salt
    • ¼ cup water, adjust for desired creaminess.

     

    Simple Steps

    • Pour all ingredients into a blender.
    • Blend to desired smoothness.

    EXPERIENCE NUTRITIONTM Yeast-Free Quick Flatbread

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 ¼ cups sprouted spelt flour
    • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
    • ¼ tsp sea salt
    • 1 ½ tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil (dough)
    • ½ cup water
    • 1 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil (spread on dough prior to baking)
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    Mise en place set for the Yeast-free Quick Flatbread.

    Simple Steps

    • Place pizza stone into oven. Pre-heat oven to 390 degrees F. Pre-bake the stone for about 5 minutes.
    • In large glass bowl, with a fork mix dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt.
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    Mix the sprouted spelt flour, baking power, and salt. Then add olive oil and water.

     

    • Add 3/8 cup water and oil until dough forms a ball. Add additional water, as needed.
    • Knead on a lightly floured surface for 3-4 minutes.
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    Kneed the dough for 3-4 minutes.
    • Flatten out the dough on floured parchment-paper.
    • With parchment paper on top of the dough, roll thinly with a rolling pin.
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    Roll out the flatbread with a rolling pin.
    • Carefully move flatbread to pre-heated pizza stone.
    • Spread 1 tbsp of olive oil onto the flatbread.
    • Bake flatbread for 5 minutes.
    • Remove stone from oven.
    • Spread cashew cream on the top of the flatbread.
    • Add veggies to the top of the flatbread.
    • Cook for about 8 minutes.
    • Garnish with edible flowers.
    • Enjoy!

    Mise en Place Spring Farm-to-Table Flatbread

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    Mise en place to prepare the Spring Flatbread.

    Enjoy the Step-by-Step Video of Layering the ingredients on the flatbread.

    Let’s take a look a the beautiful, tasty, local Arizona flatbread.

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    The beauty of the Spring Farm-to-Table Flatbread.

    Mouthwatering…

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    Spring Farm-to-Table Flatbread. Sauteed Greens.

     

    INTERESTED IN PLANT-BASED COOKING RETREAT IN SEDONA, September 13-16, 2019. CLICK TO LEARN MORE

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

    COOKING CLASSES AT THE FARM AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA

    BB-04-A-06-VisitPhoenix-ExperienceNutrition-TeamBuilding-Lasagna-IMG_2111

    Purchase Tickets for Raw Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, April 7, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-05-Kids-MelanieAlbert-A-DSC_0453 (2)Purchase Tickets for Farm-to-Table Kids Food Art Cooking at The Farm at South Mountain with Melanie Albert, Sunday, March 24, 2019, 11am-noon

     

     

    Thanks to Natural Awakenings AZ magazine for featuring my Plant-Based Chocolate Pie on the cover and Plant-Based Dessert recipes in the January 2019 issue.

    NaturalAwakeAZ-Jan19-Cover-IMG_7717 (1)
    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019

    Join our Simple Daily Plant-Based Eating Tips Facebook Page

     

     

  • Experience Nutrition: Behind the Scenes for The List TV Shoot

    Experience Nutrition: Behind the Scenes for The List TV Shoot

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author

    As an entrepreneur, I am totally living my passion. Connecting with our local Arizona farmers and chef friends, and having so much fun every day enjoying real whole foods.

    I am so humbled to be invited to appear on tv segments with The List TV Show, produced by Scripps, right here in Phoenix, Arizona, and aired in 41 markets across the USA.

    In the recent February 2019 segment our focus was the HMR Diet, rated as the #1 weight loss diet by US News & World Report. Our angle was to create 3 different meals taking into account the 3 2 5 philosophy of HMR. That is, eat 3 Shakes a Day, 2 Entrees a Day, and 5 Servings of Veggies and Fruit a Day.

    Pre-Production with the Producer

    The producer, Olivia Schneider and I wanted all of the meals to be simple to prepare and in keeping with my plant-based focus. For the shake, we decided to make home-made cashew milk as the base for a raspberry smoothie. For the Entree we chose a Farm-to-Table Veggie Bowl with Brown Rice, and for the Veggies, it’s a colorful Farm-to-Table Roots and Greens Salad with a vibrant rainbow of veggies.

    Farm-to-Table Just Harvested Produce for the Shoot

    A few days prior the tv shoot — as soon as the recipes were approved –I reached out to my passionate urban farmer friend, Billy Anthony at The Farm at South Mountain. Billy supplied us with literally “just-harvested” produce for the shoot including all kinds of beautiful roots, greens, veggies, edible flowers, and even a floral arrangement.

    A Quick Look at The Farm at South Mountain Soil & Seed Garden

    Billy was kind enough to organize and label the produce, so the different types of unique veggies and greens would be perfectly clear. Even the edible flowers were labeled.

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    Thanks to Billy for the beautiful farm-to-table floral arrangement for our kitchen set.

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    Day Before the Shoot: Finalize the Recipes

    A little more than 24 hours before the shoot, I started to intuitively decide which veggies would make sense with the two different veggie dishes: Roasted Farm-to-Table Veggie Bowl and Rainbow Salad. And, we finalized the recipes that we’d be filming.

    Food for the Shoot

    Incredibly beautiful just-harvested produce from the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain.

    Day of Shoot Food Pre-Production

    The morning of the shoot started quite early, around 6am as I began to cook and prep food for the shoot, so we’d be ready with the final components of each of the dishes for on-camera. Just for fun, my pre-shoot cooking check-list.

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    Behind the scene out-takes from Pre-Prep

    A video look at the pre-production prep for The List TV Shoot…all set for the Crew.

    The Kitchen Set

    Right at 1pm, when I had just finished cooking and organizing the pre-prep food, the crew arrived and set up my kitchen for the shoot.

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    We all loved the edible flowers. Thanks so much to urban farmer, Billy Anthony at The Farm at South Mountain.

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    On Set: The Make your Own Shake: Raspberry Goji Berry Cashew Milk Smoothie

    On Set: The Farm-to-Table Roasted Veggie Bowl

    On Set: The Beautiful Farm-to-Table Roots & Greens Salad

    The beautiful dishes we created, with plating by  The List TV Show Co-Host Segun Oduolowu.

    Now, lets’ take a look at the beautiful dishes we creating during the shoot. During the segment, I guided The List co-host Segun Oduolowu to plate the dishes. Thanks again to urban farmer, Billy Anthony  for the beautiful food grown at the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain. Thanks so much to The List for the opportunity to work together to bring these “create your own dishes” to your viewers.

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    Please join the Experience Nutrition Blog and come back for the step-by-step photos of the creating of the recipes created in for this tv segment with The List.

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    INTERESTED IN PLANT-BASED COOKING RETREAT IN SEDONA, September 13-16, 2019. CLICK TO LEARN MORE

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

    COOKING CLASSES AT THE FARM AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA

    Mel-Billy-Grid-1

    Purchase Tickets for Spring Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, March 3, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-04-A-06-VisitPhoenix-ExperienceNutrition-TeamBuilding-Lasagna-IMG_2111

    Purchase Tickets for Raw Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, April 7, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-05-Kids-MelanieAlbert-A-DSC_0453 (2)Purchase Tickets for Farm-to-Table Kids Food Art Cooking at The Farm at South Mountain with Melanie Albert, Sunday, March 24, 2019, 11am-noon

     

     

    Thanks to Natural Awakenings AZ magazine for featuring my Plant-Based Chocolate Pie on the cover and Plant-Based Dessert recipes in the January 2019 issue.

    NaturalAwakeAZ-Jan19-Cover-IMG_7717 (1)
    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019

    Join our Simple Daily Plant-Based Eating Tips Facebook Page

     

     

     

  • Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table Cooking with The Farm at South Mountain: 15 Arizona Greens & 1 Green Drink

    Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table Cooking with The Farm at South Mountain: 15 Arizona Greens & 1 Green Drink

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author

    Each week I have the incredible opportunity to intuitively create recipes with the beautiful food so passionately grown by urban farmer Billy Anthony in the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona.

    During the last few weeks, Billy has been growing and we’ve been enjoying so many different greens. What I love about the greens is that they are so beautiful with so many various shapes, sizes, textures, and colors. And, they offer different flavors. Some more mild. Some very spicy. Plus, we can enjoy greens raw in salads and beverages, lightly sautéed in a side dish, and even as dehydrated chips. Think kale chips.

    Oh my…the wide variety of greens grown at The Farm’s Soil & Seed Garden this 2019 Fall / Winter Season.

    1. Borage greens
    2. Broccoli greens
    3. Cauliflower greens
    4. Collard greens
    5. Hon tsai tai
    6. Kale
    7. Minutina
    8. Mizuna
    9. Mustard Greens
    10. Rainbow Chard
    11. Red Pac Choy
    12. Roquette Arugula
    13. Shungiku (chrysanthemum)
    14. Spigarello
    15. Tatsoi

    Let’s take a look at Soil & Seed Garden. Always beautiful. And, one of my favorite places to pause and enjoy nature…right in my neighborhood.

    And, the beauty of edible flowers…

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    Broccoli Kale Orange Green Drink Recipe

    This week I decided to try something different with the greens. A Green Drink, featuring the kale, sprouting broccoli, and fresh mint grown at the Soil & Seed Garden by urban gardener Billy Anthony.

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    From the Soil & Seed Garden

    • 1 cup kale leaves
    • 1 cup sprouting broccoli
    • 2 small oranges, peeled
    • 3 sprigs fresh mint

    Other Ingredients

    • 2 cups coconut water
    • 1 banana, cut and frozen

    A-greendrink.jpeg

    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Place kale, broccoli, and coconut water into high speed blender and blend for about a minute.
    • Add oranges and mint. Blend for a minute.
    • Add bananas and blend another minute.

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    • Enjoy as a refreshing breakfast or snack.

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    Garnish with a few sprigs of broccoli, mint, and edible flowers…Enjoy!

    A-greendrink-IMG_5410

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

    COOKING CLASSES AT THE FARM AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA

    Mel-Billy-Grid-1

    Purchase Tickets for Spring Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, March 3, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-04-A-06-VisitPhoenix-ExperienceNutrition-TeamBuilding-Lasagna-IMG_2111

    Purchase Tickets for Raw Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, April 7, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-05-Kids-MelanieAlbert-A-DSC_0453 (2)Purchase Tickets for Farm-to-Table Kids Food Art Cooking at The Farm at South Mountain with Melanie Albert, Sunday, March 24, 2019, 11am-noon

     

     

    Thanks to Natural Awakenings AZ magazine for featuring my Plant-Based Chocolate Pie on the cover and Plant-Based Dessert recipes in the January 2019 issue.

    NaturalAwakeAZ-Jan19-Cover-IMG_7717 (1)
    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019

    Join our Simple Daily Plant-Based Eating Tips Facebook Page

    INTERESTED IN PLANT-BASED COOKING RETREAT IN SEDONA, September 13-16, 2019. CLICK TO LEARN MORE

    IMG_4825

     

  • Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table with Pomegranate Café and Rhibafarms: Arizona Veggie Tacos

    Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table with Pomegranate Café and Rhibafarms: Arizona Veggie Tacos

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author

    POM Rhibafarms Make Your Own Veggie Tacos

    I was so excited to intuitively create this week’s recipe with the POM BOX with the Pomegranate Café in Ahwatukee and Rhibafarms in San Tan Valley, Arizona.

    Let’s take a look at the POM Rhibafarms Box…

    This week’s recipe is inspired by the Pomegrante Café’s Guacamole, Enchilada Sauce, and Corn Tortilla. Of course, tacos, with the beautiful Rhibafarms grown broccoli, red cabbage, carrots, and radishes. Mix and match tacos with flavorful roasted and crunchy raw veggies.

    INGREDIENTS from the POM  RHIBAFARMS BOX

    • Pomegranate Café: Guacamole, Enchilada  Red Sauce, Corn Tortillas
    • Rhibafarms: Broccoli, Red Cabbage, Mookum Carrots, Icicle Radishes.

    ROASTED VEGGIES with Chili Spices

    Simple Ingredients

    • 3-4 broccoli stems, sliced
    • 5 carrots, sliced
    • 5 radishes, sliced
    • ¼ red cabbage, 1” slices
    • 7 mini-sweet peppers, sliced
    • 2-3 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 tsp sea salt
    • 3 tbsp chili spices: Your choice: Ancho chili, Smoked paprika, ground cumin, oregano, ground Rhibafarms’chilis, oregano

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    Simple Steps

    • Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
    • Slice broccoli, carrots, and radishes into bite-sized pieces.
    • Grind and mix your choice of chili spices in a small bowl.
    • In a bowl, gently coat each veggie with olive oil, mixed spices, & a pinch of sea salt.

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    • Place veggies on parchment-lined flat sheet pan, flat side down with veggies not touching.

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    • Roast for 8 minutes.
    • Flip veggies.
    • Roast for another 8 minutes.
    • Use veggies as taco toppings.

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    PUMPKIN SEED CREAM

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds soaked in water overnight
    • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • Pinch sea salt
    • ¼ cup water, adjust for desired creaminess.

    Simple Steps

    • Pour all ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth.

    Taco Garnish

    Simple Ingredients

    • Pomegranate Café: Guacamole, Enchilada Sauce, Corn Tortilla
    • 2 carrots, sliced
    • 3 radishes, sliced
    • 2 mini-sweet peppers, sliced
    • ¼ cup red cabbage, sliced
    • ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds

    Corn Tortilla

    • Pre-heat sauté pan on medium.
    • Coat bottom of pan with about 1 tbsp olive oil.
    • One by one, heat corn tortilla in pan, turning to cook and crisp on both sides.

    Plating: Create your Tacos

    • Plate with corn tortilla on flat surface.
    • Spoon sauce and pumpkin seed cream onto the top of the taco.
    • Add roasted veggies, guacamole, and pumpkin seed cream.
    • Garnish with the raw veggies.

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    Building the Tacos…

    This slideshow requires JavaScript.

    The Amazing Tacos!

    Seriously, I think these are my favorite tacos ever. Made with so much love and passion. Passionate Farmer Mark Rhine, Healthy Restaurant Pioneer Cassie Tolman, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author Melanie Albert. What a fun collaboration!

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    A few more recipes created with the POM Rhibafarms BOX:

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

    Interested in the POM Rhibafarms BOX. You can purchase it right here.

    COOKING CLASSES AT THE FARM AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA

    Mel-Billy-Grid-1

    Purchase Tickets for Spring Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, March 3, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-04-A-06-VisitPhoenix-ExperienceNutrition-TeamBuilding-Lasagna-IMG_2111

    Purchase Tickets for Raw Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, April 7, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-05-Kids-MelanieAlbert-A-DSC_0453 (2)Purchase Tickets for Farm-to-Table Kids Food Art Cooking at The Farm at South Mountain with Melanie Albert, Sunday, March 24, 2019, 11am-noon

     

     

    Thanks to Natural Awakenings AZ magazine for featuring my Plant-Based Chocolate Pie on the cover and Plant-Based Dessert recipes in the January 2019 issue.

    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019
    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019. Start the New Year Off Right

    Join our Simple Daily Plant-Based Eating Tips Facebook Page

    INTERESTED IN PLANT-BASED COOKING RETREAT IN SEDONA, September 13-16, 2019. CLICK TO LEARN MORE

    IMG_4825

    PUBLIC COOKING CLASSES AT THE MARICOPA COUNTY LIBRARIES

    I’m honored  have been leading hands-on cooking and yoga classes with the Maricopa County Library District since 2016. For the Winter Reading Program, the class focuses on Mediterranean Plant-Based Culinary. We’ll be preparing Hempseed Tabouli, Olive Tapenade, and Herbal Hummus. Classes are Free to the Public. Call the libraries directly to make your reservation.

    • Tuesday, March 19, 2019, 5:00-6:30pm: Litchfield Park Branch Library
    • More to come in the Summer Reading Program: June & July 2019.

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    WINTER COOKING CLASSES & EVENTS IN THE PHOENIX ARIZONA AREA

    • February 18, 2019, 4:30-5:30pm: Grandfamilies Place, Gregory’s Fresh Market. Kids learn to mandoline & marinate veggies and build their own salads.
    • February 27, 2019, 12:30-1:30: Monthly Healthy Cooking Demo, Humana Mesa. Melanie’s favorite “Healthy Plate”
    • March 2, 2019, 10-11am: National Nutrition Month at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market
    • March 19, 2019, 5:00-6:30pm: Litchfield Public Library, Mediterranean Plant-Based Appetizers
    • March 27, 2019, 12:30-1:30pm: Humana Monthly Healthy Cooking Demo

     

     

     

  • Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table with Pomegranate Café and Rhibafarms: Orange Pepper Pilaf & Greens Radish Salad

    Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table with Pomegranate Café and Rhibafarms: Orange Pepper Pilaf & Greens Radish Salad

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author

    So honored and excited to create quick, simple, delicious, farm-to-table dishes from the weekly Winter POM Rhibafarms Box with the healthy-eating, vegetarian, vegan Pomegranate Café in Ahwatukee, Arizona and the incredible Rhibafarms and Mark Rhine in San Tan Valley, Arizona.

    Let’s take a look at my favorite beauties in the POM Box…

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    POM Rhibafarms Box. Arizona Winter 2019

    Mark Rhine, owner of Rhibafarms dried last Fall’s beautiful chili peppers for us over the last year. What a variety. Big Jim’s, Jalapeno, Habanero, Cayenne, Sweet Bell.

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    Beautiful Peppers by Rhibafarms.

    Rhibafarms Orange Pepper Pilaf & Greens Radish Salad

    This week’s recipe is based on intuitively cooking almost all of my favorites in the POM Rhibafarms BOX. It started with being excited with my first fresh thyme of the year, plus the beauty of the dried peppers. You’ll see that I first created a pilaf and extended the meal to a fresh simple salad.

    INGREDIENTS from the POM BOX

    • Fresh Thyme. Oranges. Dried Peppers. Radishes. Greens. Honey.

    COOK GARBANZO BEANS

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 cup dried garbanzo beans, soaked in water overnight
    • 3-4 bay leaves

    Simple Steps

    • Pre-soak garbanzo beans in water overnight.
    • Rinse beans and then place beans in large soup pot.
    • Cover with about twice as much cold water.
    • Add bay leaves to tenderize the beans.
    • Cover pot and bring to a boil.
    • Lower heat and simmer for about 1.5 hours with the lid ajar.
    • After about an hour start to test the beans for doneness. They should be creamy on the inside.
    • Use the beans in the Pilaf.

    ORANGE PEPPER PILAF RECIPE

    Simple Ingredients

    • 2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 cup brown rice
    • 2 cups garbanzo beans
    • 1 orange, juiced (about ½ cup)
    • 1 orange, sliced
    • 3 peppers
    • 2 cups water

     

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    Mise en Place: Orange Pepper Pilaf. Greens Radish Salad.

    Simple Steps

    • Pre-heat sauté pan on low.
    • Warm olive oil in pan.
    • Add brown rice and toast 2-3 minutes.
    • Add garbanzo beans, orange juice, water, orange slices, & peppers.
    • Bring to a boil.
    • Cover and sauté for about 30 minutes, until all liquid is absorbed.

    This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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    Orange Pepper Pilaf. Garbanzo Beans. Thyme.
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    Orange Pepper Pilaf

    ORANGE HONEY DRESSING

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 orange, juiced (about ¼ cup)
    • ½ cup organic extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 tsp local honey
    • Pinch sea salt

    Simple Steps

    • Squeeze orange juice into small Mason jar.
    • Add twice as much olive oil as the orange juice.
    • Add honey to the jar.
    • Shake and taste. Adjust for desired taste.
    • Add pinch sea salt.

    GREENS RADISH SALAD

    Simple Ingredients

    • ¼ cup Orange Honey Dressing
    • 3-4 greens leaves, rough chopped
    • 5-7 radishes, sliced
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    Mise en Place: Greens Radish Salad

    Simple Steps

    • Gently toss greens with dressing and radishes.

    EnD-salad-IMG_4687.jpg

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    Greens Radish Salad

    FINAL DISH

    • Enjoy Pilaf and Greens Salad for a simple meal.
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    Orange Pepper Pilaf. Greens Radish Salad.

    Love to cook? Check out other POM Farm Box recipes created with the beautiful Rhibafarms produce and Pomegranate Cafe goodies.

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

    Interested in the POM Rhibafarms BOX. You can purchase it right here.

    COOKING CLASSES AT THE FARM AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA

    Mel-Billy-Grid-1

    Purchase Tickets for Spring Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, March 3, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-04-A-06-VisitPhoenix-ExperienceNutrition-TeamBuilding-Lasagna-IMG_2111

    Purchase Tickets for Raw Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, April 7, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-05-Kids-MelanieAlbert-A-DSC_0453 (2)Purchase Tickets for Farm-to-Table Kids Food Art Cooking at The Farm at South Mountain with Melanie Albert, Sunday, March 24, 2019, 11am-noon

     

     

    Thanks to Natural Awakenings AZ magazine for featuring my Plant-Based Chocolate Pie on the cover and Plant-Based Dessert recipes in the January 2019 issue.

    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019
    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019. Start the New Year Off Right

    Join our Simple Daily Plant-Based Eating Tips Facebook Page

    INTERESTED IN PLANT-BASED COOKING RETREAT IN SEDONA, September 13-16, 2019. CLICK TO LEARN MORE

    IMG_4825

    PUBLIC COOKING CLASSES AT THE MARICOPA COUNTY LIBRARIES

    I’m honored  have been leading hands-on cooking and yoga classes with the Maricopa County Library District since 2016. For the Winter Reading Program, the class focuses on Mediterranean Plant-Based Culinary. We’ll be preparing Hempseed Tabouli, Olive Tapenade, and Herbal Hummus. Classes are Free to the Public. Call the libraries directly to make your reservation.

    • Tuesday, March 19, 2019, 5:00-6:30pm: Litchfield Park Branch Library
    • More to come in the Summer Reading Program: June & July 2019.

    IMG_1302

    WINTER COOKING CLASSES & EVENTS IN THE PHOENIX ARIZONA AREA

    • February 18, 2019, 4:30-5:30pm: Grandfamilies Place, Gregory’s Fresh Market. Kids learn to mandoline & marinate veggies and build their own salads.
    • February 27, 2019, 12:30-1:30: Monthly Healthy Cooking Demo, Humana Mesa. Melanie’s favorite “Healthy Plate”
    • March 2, 2019, 10-11am: National Nutrition Month at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market
    • March 19, 2019, 5:00-6:30pm: Litchfield Public Library, Mediterranean Plant-Based Appetizers
    • March 27, 2019, 12:30-1:30pm: Humana Monthly Healthy Cooking Demo

    HOLD THE DATE: September 13-16, 2019:  Plant-based Cooking Retreat in Sedona!

    During the retreat in beautiful Sedona, Arizona, you’ll be learning and practicing simple plant-based culinary skills for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. We’ll also enjoy Sedona hiking, yoga, massage, and special Sedona experiences. Please send me a note, Mel@MelanieAlbert.com, and I’ll keep you posted on the details.

    Retreat House Beautiful Salt Water Pool

     

  • Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table with Pomegranate Café and Rhibafarms: Broccoli Cauliflower Fig Salad

    Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table with Pomegranate Café and Rhibafarms: Broccoli Cauliflower Fig Salad

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author

    In awe of another week of beautiful, vibrant veggies in the Winter POM Rhibafarms Box with Pomegranate Café in Ahwatukee, Arizona and grown by Rhibafarms in San Tan Valley, Arizona. I am so honored to create beautiful, tasty dishes with the food from the CSA each week. It’s fun to receive seasonal food grown by our local farmers, and to intuitively create dishes with food we have not previously cooked, while also experimenting with various culinary techniques.

    For those of you who are supporting your local farms CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), I invite you to have fun experimenting with the different foods your farmers are growing. Try the new veggies and new culinary methods.

    In this week’s Broccoli Cauliflower Fig Salad we focus on the simple culinary technique of steaming veggies in a bamboo steamer and making a simple 3-ingredient salad dressing.

    Love and heart…at the Pomegrante Cafe, this Valentine’s Week…so much love and heart at this amazing vegetarian/vegan healthy restaurant.

    A-POM-love-IMG_3997

    Rhibafarms Broccoli Cauliflower Fig Salad Recipe

    The beauty of Rhibafarms broccoli and cauliflower inspired this very simple refreshing, beautiful salad.  Steamed broccoli and cauliflower, dressed with a simple lemon dressing  with parsley, almonds, and dried figs.

    INGREDIENTS from the POM BOX

    • Broccoli
    • Purple Cauliflower
    • Purple Cabbage Leaf

    STEAM BROCCOLI & CAULIFLOWER

    Simple Ingredients

    • 2 cups broccoli florets, sliced
    • 2 cups cauliflower florets, sliced

    Simple Steps

    • Slice broccoli and cauliflower.
    • Place broccoli and cauliflower in bamboo steamer.
    • Bring several inches of water to boil in large soup pot.
    • Once the water is boiling, place bamboo steamer on top of the pot.
    • Steam for about 8-10 minutes.
    • Check broccoli and cauliflower with fork to desired tenderness.

    Lemon Finishing Dressing

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 lemon, juiced (approximately 1/4 cup)
    • Twice as much olive oil as lemon, approximately ½ cup
    • Pinch sea salt

    Simple Steps

    • Squeeze lemon juice into small Mason jar.
    • Pour in twice as much olive oil.
    • Shake.
    • Taste to test for desired oil / lemon ratio.
    • Add additional oil or lemon, as needed.
    • Add pinch of salt to jar.
    • Shake.

    Broccoli Cauliflower Fig Salad

    Simple Ingredients

    A-broc-cali-mise-IMG_3797
    Mise en Place: Broccoli Cauliflower Fig Salad

     

    • 2 cups steamed broccoli florets
    • 2 cups steamed cauliflower florets
    • ½ cup Lemon Finishing Dressing
    • 1 cup fresh parsley, rough chopped
    • ¼ cup raw almonds, rough chopped
    • 5 dried Mission figs, sliced
    • 1 purple cabbage leaf
    • 3-5 edible flowers

    Simple Steps

    • Place broccoli into a small bowl, drizzle dressing onto broccoli, and lightly toss.
    • Place cauliflower into a small bowl, drizzle dressing onto cauliflower, and lightly toss.
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    Lightly coat broccoli with Lemon Finishing Dressing
    • Place parsley, figs, and almonds into a bowl. Drizzle dressing onto the ingredients. Lightly toss.

    B-parsley-IMG_3819.jpg

    • Place all ingredients into a bowl and lightly toss.
    • Plate all ingredients on purple cabbage leaf.
    • Garnish with edible flowers.
    • Enjoy.
    A-broc-calli-plate-IMG_3847.jpg
    Broccoli Cauliflower Fig Salad

    Love to cook? Check out other POM Farm Box recipes created with the beautiful Rhibafarms produce and Pomegranate Cafe goodies.

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

    Interested in the POM Rhibafarms BOX. You can purchase it right here.

    COOKING CLASSES AT THE FARM AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA

    Mel-Billy-Grid-1

    Purchase Tickets for Spring Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, March 3, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-04-A-06-VisitPhoenix-ExperienceNutrition-TeamBuilding-Lasagna-IMG_2111

    Purchase Tickets for Raw Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, April 7, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-05-Kids-MelanieAlbert-A-DSC_0453 (2)Purchase Tickets for Farm-to-Table Kids Food Art Cooking at The Farm at South Mountain with Melanie Albert, Sunday, March 24, 2019, 11am-noon

     

     

    Thanks to Natural Awakenings AZ magazine for featuring my Plant-Based Chocolate Pie on the cover and Plant-Based Dessert recipes in the January 2019 issue.

    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019
    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019. Start the New Year Off Right

    Join our Simple Daily Plant-Based Eating Tips Facebook Page

    PUBLIC COOKING CLASSES AT THE MARICOPA COUNTY LIBRARIES

    I’m honored  have been leading hands-on cooking and yoga classes with the Maricopa County Library District since 2016. For the Winter Reading Program, the class focuses on Mediterranean Plant-Based Culinary. We’ll be preparing Hempseed Tabouli, Olive Tapenade, and Herbal Hummus. Classes are Free to the Public. Call the libraries directly to make your reservation.

    • Tuesday, March 19, 2019, 5:00-6:30pm: Litchfield Park Branch Library
    • More to come in the Summer Reading Program: June & July 2019.

    IMG_1302

    WINTER COOKING CLASSES & EVENTS IN THE PHOENIX ARIZONA AREA

    • February 18, 2019, 4:30-5:30pm: Grandfamilies Place, Gregory’s Fresh Market. Kids learn to mandoline & marinate veggies and build their own salads.
    • February 27, 2019, 12:30-1:30: Monthly Healthy Cooking Demo, Humana Mesa. Melanie’s favorite “Healthy Plate”
    • March 2, 2019, 10-11am: National Nutrition Month at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market
    • March 19, 2019, 5:00-6:30pm: Litchfield Public Library, Mediterranean Plant-Based Appetizers
    • March 27, 2019, 12:30-1:30pm: Humana Monthly Healthy Cooking Demo

    HOLD THE DATE: September 13-16, 2019:  Plant-based Cooking Retreat in Sedona!

    During the retreat in beautiful Sedona, Arizona, you’ll be learning and practicing simple plant-based culinary skills for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. We’ll also enjoy Sedona hiking, yoga, massage, and special Sedona experiences. Please send me a note, Mel@MelanieAlbert.com, and I’ll keep you posted on the details.

    Retreat House Beautiful Salt Water Pool

     

  • Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table Cooking with The Farm at South Mountain: Fragrant Winter Greens Gremolata Recipe

    Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table Cooking with The Farm at South Mountain: Fragrant Winter Greens Gremolata Recipe

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author

    Each week I have the incredible opportunity to enjoy the beautiful food grown by urban farmer Billy Anthony at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona, and to create delicious dishes with Soil & Seed Garden CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).

    Twelve years ago when I was studying at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York, I can honestly say that I did not cook, or even eat greens, like kale, arugula, or collards. Today, I eat them a few times a week and prepare them different ways. Sometimes raw and sometimes cooked. Hope you enjoy this new greens creation, inspired by the Shungiku (chrysanthemum greens) and fresh cilantro.

    Let’s take a look at the beauty of The Farm at South Mountain this Winter week in Phoenix, Arizona.

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    Poppies at The Farm at South Mountain…breathe in the beauty.

    Now, let’s take a look at The Farm’s Winter CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).

    A-thefarm-greens-IMG_2563
    Winter CSA Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona. So many amazing greens.

    Fragrant Winter Greens Gremolata Recipe

    In awe of the beauty and aromatherapy of the greens and cilantro grown by urban farmer Billy Anthony at the Soil & Seed Garden. With a fresh ruby grapefruit dressing, unique gremolata is a perfect accent to roasted veggies.

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    Greens all set for the Fragrant Gremolata: Chrysanthemum, Minutina, Spigarella, Arugula, Cilantro.

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    From the Soil & Seed Garden

    • 3-4 stems Shungiku (chrysanthemum greens)
    • 3-4 stems Minutina
    • 3-4 stems Spigarello Greens
    • 3-4 stems Roquette Arugula
    • Small bunch fresh cilantro
    • ½ Ruby Grapefruit, juiced (about 1/8 cup) and zested

    Other Ingredients

    • ½ Lemon, juiced (about 1/8 cup) and zested
    • ½ cup organic extra virgin olive oil
    • ¼ cup pecans
    • 2-3 garlic cloves
    • Pinch sea salt

    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Rough chop all of the greens into bite-sized pieces.

    Ruby Grapefruit Dressing

    • Zest ruby grapefruit & lemon.
    • Squeeze grapefruit and lemon juice into 8 oz Mason jar. Approximately ¼ cup of juice.
    • Add twice as much olive oil as the citrus juice. Approximately ½ cup.
    • Shake jar.
    • Taste and adjust. Add more olive oil, grapefruit or lemon juice for your taste preference.
    • Add pinch of sea salt. Shake.

    Gremolata

    • Place all ingredients into a medium bowl.
    • Add dressing.
    • Gently toss.
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    Gremolata Mise en Place.
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    Gremolata ready to toss.
    • Serve with roasted local veggies, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, beets, and sweet potatoes.
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    Local Arizona roasted veggies to enjoy with the Fragrant Gremolata.

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    Arizona Winter Fragrant Greens Gremolata. Roasted Veggies.
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    Enjoy Roasted Veggies and Gremolata.

    Enjoy!

     

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

    COOKING CLASSES AT THE FARM AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA

    Mel-Billy-Grid-1

    Purchase Tickets for Spring Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, March 3, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

     

    BB-04-A-06-VisitPhoenix-ExperienceNutrition-TeamBuilding-Lasagna-IMG_2111

    Purchase Tickets for Raw Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, April 7, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-05-Kids-MelanieAlbert-A-DSC_0453 (2) Purchase Tickets for Farm-to-Table Kids Food Art Cooking at The Farm at South Mountain with Melanie Albert, Sunday, March 24, 2019, 11am-noon

     

     

    Thanks to Natural Awakenings AZ magazine for featuring my Plant-Based Chocolate Pie on the cover and Plant-Based Dessert recipes in the January 2019 issue.

    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019
    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019. Start the New Year Off Right

    Join our Simple Daily Plant-Based Eating Tips Facebook Page

     

  • Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table with Pomegranate Café and Rhibafarms: Broccoli & Cauliflower Flatbread

    Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table with Pomegranate Café and Rhibafarms: Broccoli & Cauliflower Flatbread

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author

    I absolutely love beautiful local Arizona farmers’ food and feel so humbled and honored to cook with it.  I am so honored to intuitively prepare one of my favorite meals – flatbread – inspired by the POM Rhibafarms Box, with produce grown by farmer Mark Rhine at Rhibafarms in San Tan Valley, Arizona and in collaboration with the Pomegranate Café, in Ahwatukee, Arizona owned by Cassie and Marlene Tolman.

    This week (2.8.19) with the POM Rhibafarms Box I am especially in awe of the fresh broccoli and cauliflower. Since the beginning of January 2019, I’ve been creating a new seasonal flatbread each week. Naturally, the plant-based flatbread features these beautiful veggies.

    Made a quick stop at Pomegranate Cafe to pick up this week’s POM Rhibafarms Box…

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    The healthy, welcoming Pomegranate Cafe, Ahwatukee, Arizona.
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    The POM Rhibafarm Box 2.8.19…”Especially grown for Pome/Rhiba Family”…I feel special. Thanks so much to Mark Rhine.
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    The POM Box 2.8.19 Winter Arizona goodness.

    The beautiful ingredients in this week’s POMBox.

    Mark, thanks so much for your dedication in growing the beautiful food for our community. And, Cassie, thanks so much for sharing your yummy walnut taco and pico with us this week. My mouth is watering.

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    POM Rhibafarms 020819: Trio Broccoli, Galaxy Caulflower, Purple Cabbage

    Rhibafarms Broccoli & Cauliflower Flatbread Recipe

    The beauty of Rhibafarms broccoli and cauliflower were the inspiration for my weekly flatbread. Since these veggies were so fresh, I roasted them lightly and simply with olive oil and sea salt.

    INGREDIENTS from the POM BOX

    • 1 head broccoli
    • 1 head cauliflower
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    Rhibafarms Cauliflower. Simple Beauty.
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    Rhibafarms Broccoli. So fresh.
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    Rhibafarms Cauliflower & Broccoli

    ROASTED BROCCOLI & CAULIFLOWER

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 head broccoli, sliced and leaves
    • 1 head cauliflower, sliced and leaves
    • 2-3 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 tsp sea salt
    A-POM-CauliBroc-Mis-IMG_2631
    Roasted Broccoli & Cauliflower Mise en Place. All set.

    Simple Steps

    • Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
    • Slice broccoli and cauliflower into bite-sized pieces.
    • In a bowl, gently coat broccoli and cauliflower with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.
    A-POM-Cauli-Broc-IMG_2639
    Gently toss cauliflower and broccoli with olive oil and sea salt.
    • Place broccoli and cauliflower on parchment-lined flat sheet pan, flat side down with veggies not touching.
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    Cauliflower and broccoli on parchment-lined sheet pan.
    • Roast for 8 minutes.
    • Flip veggies.
    • Roast for another 8 minutes.
    • Use veggies as flatbread toppings.
    A-POm-cauliflowerBroc-cooked-IMG_E2659
    The lightly roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli

    CASHEW CREAM

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 2-4 hours
    • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • Pinch sea salt
    • ¼ cup water, adjust for desired creaminess.
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    Cashew Cream: Pre-soaked cashews, lemon, nutritional yeast, sea salt.

    Simple Steps

    • Pour all ingredients into a blender.
    • Blend to desired smoothness.

    EXPERIENCE NUTRITIONTM Yeast-Free Quick Flatbread

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 ¼ cups sprouted spelt flour
    • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
    • ¼ tsp sea salt
    • 1 ½ tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil (dough)
    • ½ cup water
    • 1 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil (spread on dough prior to baking)
    • OPTIONAL: ¼ cup Kalamata olives, ¼ cup capers, ¼ cup dehydrated tomato slices.

    Simple Steps

    • Place pizza stone into oven. Pre-heat oven to 390 degrees F. Pre-bake the stone for about 5 minutes.
    • In large glass bowl, with a fork mix dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt.
    • Add 3/8 cup water and oil until dough forms a ball. Add additional water, as needed.
    • Knead on a lightly floured surface for 3-4 minutes.
    • Flatten out the dough on floured parchment-paper.
    • With parchment paper on top of the dough, roll thinly with a rolling pin.
    • Carefully move flatbread to pre-heated pizza stone.
    • Spread 1 tbsp of olive oil onto the flatbread.
    • Bake flatbread for 5 minutes.
    • Remove stone from oven.
    • Spread cashew cream on the top of the flatbread.
    • Add broccoli, cauliflower, olives, and capers to the top of the flatbread.
    • Cook for about 8 minutes.
    • Garnish with dehydrated tomatoes.
    • Enjoy!

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    Yummmm…the baked beautiful POM Rhibafarms Box Roasted Cauliflower Broccoli Flatbread

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    Baked beautiful POM Rhibafarms Box Roasted Cauliflower Broccoli Flatbread

    A perfect slice…

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    Perfect slice. Cauliflower Broccoli Flatbread & Leaves.

     

    Love to cook? Check out other POM Farm Box recipes created with the beautiful Rhibafarms produce and Pomegranate Cafe goodies.

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

    Interested in the POM Rhibafarms BOX. You can purchase it right here.

    COOKING CLASSES AT THE FARM AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA

    BB-002-MelanieAlbert-TomShanahanTheFarm-Feb17-2019

    Purchase Tickets for Whole Foods for Addiction Recovery with New York “Spiritual Adrenaline” Author Tom Shanahan and Phoenix cookbook author Melanie Albert. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, February 17, 2019, 11am-1pm

    Mel-Billy-Grid-1

    Purchase Tickets for Spring Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, March 3, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-04-A-06-VisitPhoenix-ExperienceNutrition-TeamBuilding-Lasagna-IMG_2111

    Purchase Tickets for Raw Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking with Melanie Albert and Soil & Seed Garden Farmer Billy Anthony. The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Sunday, April 7, 2019, 10:30am-1pm

    BB-05-Kids-MelanieAlbert-A-DSC_0453 (2)Purchase Tickets for Farm-to-Table Kids Food Art Cooking at The Farm at South Mountain with Melanie Albert, Sunday, February 10, 2019, 11am-noon

    Purchase Tickets for Farm-to-Table Kids Food Art Cooking at The Farm at South Mountain with Melanie Albert, Sunday, March 24, 2019, 11am-noon

    Thanks to Natural Awakenings AZ magazine for featuring my Plant-Based Chocolate Pie on the cover and Plant-Based Dessert recipes in the January 2019 issue.

    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019
    Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019. Start the New Year Off Right

    Join our Simple Daily Plant-Based Eating Tips Facebook Page

    PUBLIC COOKING CLASSES AT THE MARICOPA COUNTY LIBRARIES

    I’m honored  have been leading hands-on cooking and yoga classes with the Maricopa County Library District since 2016. For the Winter Reading Program, the class focuses on Mediterranean Plant-Based Culinary. We’ll be preparing Hempseed Tabouli, Olive Tapenade, and Herbal Hummus. Classes are Free to the Public. Call the libraries directly to make your reservation.

    • Tuesday, March 19, 2019, 5:00-6:30pm: Litchfield Park Branch Library
    • More to come in the Summer Reading Program: June & July 2019.

    IMG_1302

    FREE PUBLIC KIDS COOK CLASS AT THE DOWNTOWN PHOENIX PUBLIC MARKET

    • Saturday, February 9, 2019, 10-11am: Kids Cook at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market (14 E Pierce Street, Phoenix)