Experience Nutrition

Tag: Healthy Recipe

Experience Nutrition Farm-to-Table Recipes: Roasted Purple Cauliflower, Romanesco, and Carrots. Hemp Seed Tabouli
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author
It’s been such a beautiful Spring in Arizona, that this weekend I took time to enjoy self care, soaking in the beauty of our Arizona sky and visiting the Gilbert Farmers’ Market in Gilbert, Arizona, about 15 miles from my home.

In the Phoenix area we have many different farmers markets throughout the Valley of the Sun and it’s fun to explore the different markets. At the Gilbert market I saw a few friends and “walked my talk” by shopping for my produce with intuition. With this way of shopping, we purchase veggies that we get excited about or are attracted to…the colors, the textures, or the beauty.

Enjoy the Community at Farmers Markets.

It was so much fun to chat with some of my friends at the market…

Crooked Sky Farms. Fun to catch up with Farmer Frank, who I first met when I auditioned for Master Chef about 6 years ago. Farmer Frank, long-time farmer with Crooked Sky Farms, has been farming since 1999. Frank has farms in Phoenix and Duncan, Arizona, with different climates and different growing seasons.

Blue Sky Organic Farms. So happy to have the opportunity to meet in person for the first time, one of my plant-based culinary teachers, Don Maloney who is now having fun working with Blue Sky Organic Farms, in Litchfield Park, Arizona. Blue Sky has been farming in Arizona since 1995, and is well-known for their salad mix. Don is now “growing his own.”

Steadfast Organic Farm. I absolutely love the carrots grown by farmer, Erich Schultz of Blue Sky Organic Farms, a two acre bio-intensive farm in Mesa, Arizona. I love Erich’s dedication to always continuing to learn and to share his farming knowledge with other urban farmers.

Genuine Fresche. So happy to see my long-time entrepreneur friend, Marcy Olsen and her Genuine Fresche Food Truck. Fresche offers delicious, healthy Acai Bowls (which I enjoyed for breakfast at the market) and freshly blended smoothies. I love Marcy’s passion for healthy eating!

Farm-to-Table Recipe: Roasted Cauliflower, Romanesco, and Carrots

Simple roasted veggies culinary method to prepare and enjoy fresh local cauliflower and carrots. Roast the veggies with onions, sweet peppers, and garlic for a flavorful side dish.

Simple Ingredients
- 6-8 Romanesco florets (Blue Sky Organic Farms)
- 6-8 Purple Cauliflower florets (Blue Sky Organic Farms)
- 2 Green Onions (Blue Sky Organic Farms)
- 8-10 Carrots, sliced (Steadfast Farms)
- 1 Purple sweet potato, sliced
- 3 Lunchbox yellow, orange, or red sweet peppers
- 2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch sea salt
Simple Steps
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Slice veggies.
- Place veggies in baking pan (enamel or stainless steel).
- Drizzle with olive oil and sea salt.
- Toss veggies to coat with the oil and salt.
- Roast for 10 minutes.
- Toss veggies.
- Roast for 10 minutes.
- Enjoy with Hemp Seed Tabouli and Edible Flowers.
Recipe: Hemp Seed Tabouli

Inspired by the fresh parsley, this easy-to-prepare gluten-free tabouli pairs nicely with the richness of roasted veggies.

Simple Ingredients
- ½ cup fresh parsley, rough chopped (Blue Sky Organic Farm)
- 1 tomato, rough chopped
- ¼ cup hemp seeds
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2-3 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch sea salt
Simple Steps
- Chop parsley, tomato, onion, and garlic.
- With a fork, mix veggies, hemp seeds, lime juice, olive oil, and sea salt.
- Add lime juice, olive oil, or sea salt to suit your taste.
Plate and Enjoy
- Plate the Roasted Veggies with the Parsley Tabouli and Edible Flowers and enjoy.
A few fun plates, starting with dramatic.

Enjoy roasted veggies in the pansy garden.

Fun Roasted Veggie Bowl…

Interested in learning simple, easy plant-based cooking techniques and enjoy self-care in Fall 2019 in the beauty of Sedona? Click to learn more.

To learn more, feel free to call 602.615.2486 or e-mail Mel@MelanieAlbert.com
April 1, 2019
A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Arizona Winter Brown Rice Pilaf
by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC
This month has been very full with incredible cooking events with Visit Phoenix, Valley of the Sun United Way, and Gregory’s Fresh Market, so today I decided to enjoy a “day of rest.” With a quiet day, I wanted to cook something that would be really quick and easy to prepare and oddly, I was inspired by simple organic brown rice.

Arizona Winter Rice Pilaf

With our Winter Arizona growing season, a few favorites in my refrigerator from Wednesday’s Uptown Farmers’ Market: green garlic, red peppers, beautiful carrots from Steadfast Farm, and fresh arugula from McClendon Select. Plus, I almost always have previously made frozen veggie stock and was happy to still have Hatun Basil Olive oil in my pantry. With these ingredients I created a very simple rice pilaf. You can use this recipe as a guide to cook your own version of pilaf with your favorite veggies and scroll down for the simple steps from my cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating.”

SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup brown rice
- 2 cups veggie stock
- 2 tbsp basil olive oil
- 1 green garlic
- 1 red pepper
- Handful orange carrots
- Handful arugula
- Few pecans
SIMPLE STEPS
- Heat saute pan on low.
- Add olive oil to pan.
- Gently sweat green garlic for about a minute.
- Add red pepper and saute for a few minutes.
- Add carrots and saute for a few minutes.
- Pour dry brown rice into the pan. Stir to coat with olive oil.
- Add veggie stock. Stir.
- Cover and cook for about 20 minutes. (Quick video peek.)
- Toss arugula on top of the cooked pilaf. Cover pan. Cook for about a minute.
- Pause and enjoy the beauty of the dish.
- Plate with pecans.
- Mindfully enjoy your meal.
EXCERPT from “A New View of Healthy Eating”

How to Make Rice Pilaf for a Dinner Side Dish

Pilaf is one of the main methods of cooking rice and is popular in Indian, Mexican, and Middle Eastern cuisines. The pilaf method is similar to steaming; however, in the pilaf method, whole grains are first sautéed, often with aromatics (like onions or shallots) before liquid is added, creating a lot of flavor. Pilafs also include extras such as vegetables and toasted nuts or seeds.

Simple Steps to Cook Using the Pilaf Method
1. In a sauté pan over low heat, cook mirepoix (carrots, onions, and celery or just onions) in a fat, such as olive oil. Cook on low heat when you do not want to add color to your dish. For more color, cook at a higher temperature.
2. Add grains to the pan and stir to lightly coat each grain with the fat. Do not rinse grains before cooking.
3. Toast grains by cooking a little more.
4. Add a flavorful liquid, such as vegetable stock.
5. Stir to make sure grain is not sticking to the bottom of the pan.
6. Similar to the whole grains steaming method, bring to boil, cover tightly, and reduce heat to the lowest setting (or cook in oven).
7. Cook a little longer than the time indicated for your grain and until all liquid is absorbed into the grains.
8. Rest grain for 10-20 minutes.
9. Fluff.
10. Rest for 10 minutes.
11. Serve.
Enhance Your Pilaf

To enhance the flavor and texture in your pilaf, add spices, herbs, fresh vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
- After the grains are coated in fat, add dried spices for extra flavor. Try Middle Eastern spices like star anise, cinnamon, and cumin. For a Mexican pilaf, add chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, and coriander seeds.
- After the cooked grains have rested, add your favorite cooked veggies, fresh herbs, or toasted nuts and seeds to create a meal.
Hope you enjoy cooking a simple brown rice pilaf and share your photos with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

Interested in Melanie’s cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating“? Buy it now!

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January 27, 2018
New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: My New Favorite Green: Chrysanthemum Green Saute
by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC
This week I’ve been enjoying chrysanthemum greens, a sweet floral green, typically cooked in Asian cuisine. One of our local farms, The Farm at South Mountain, about a half mile from my home is growing chrysanthemum greens this season. We had the great opportunity to enjoy it massaged in a raw kale salad in our Team Building Cooking Challenge with Visit Phoenix. After enjoying chrysantemum greens in the salads, I decided to experiment with them in a quick saute. Check out the recipe in today’s blog. It’s incredible!

PHOTO CREDIT: Cassie Hepler @cassiescouture

PHOTO CREDIT: Cassie Hepler @cassiescouture

After enjoying the chrysanthemum greens so much in the kale salads, I very intuitively sauted the greens with campari tomatoes from McClendon Select and beautiful sweet carrots grown by Steadfast Farm in our area. The saute is so sweet with floral aromatic I’m loving it so much I’ve cooked it three times in the last two days.

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.

Chrysanthemum Greens Saute

Simple Ingredients
- 2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
- Handful tomatoes
- Handful chrysanthemum greens
- Handful mini-carrots, sliced
- Avocado, sliced.
- Dash sea salt
Simple Steps
- Heat saute pan on medium.
- Add olive oil to pan.
- Once heated add tomatoes, stir, and saute for a few minutes.
- Add dash of sea salt.
- Add carrots, and saute until slightly soft.
- Add chrysanthemum greens and saute about a minute.
- Add sliced avocado to warm in pan.
- Enjoy as a warm salad or with sprouted flatbread.
Join us on Facebook with your favorite greens creations. www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

Interested in additional simple culinary techniques, check out Melanie’s book, “A New View of Healthy Eating”
January 26, 2018
A New View of Healthy Eating: Organic Tomato Gazpacho Cold Soup Recipe
By Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, and speaker. Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC
Recently, I’ve been teaching public hands-on Intuitive Cooking Experience Classes at the Phoenix Public Market and The Farm at South Mountain, in Phoenix. Tonight I’m getting set to lead tomorrow’s class at the Phoenix Public Market. Lately, I’ve been really enjoying tomatoes, so tomorrow, October 15, 2016, at the Phoenix Public Market (9-11am, Central & Pierce) we will intuitively create a simple tasty, fresh tomato gazpacho soup. Looking forward to tomatoes from Abby Lee Farms, about 4-5 miles from my home.

Excerpt from A New View of Healthy Eating

Summertime Tomato Gazpacho Cold Soup

A fresh, cold tomato gazpacho is refreshing, especially on warm days. Make this quick cold tomato soup with red, orange, and yellow tomatoes and red, orange, yellow, and green bell peppers for a bright summer side dish. Be sure to try the beautiful (some may think ugly) heirloom tomatoes. If you are fortunate enough to purchase a whole flat of really ripe organic tomatoes, make a big batch of tomato gazpacho for a summertime picnic.

Simple Ingredients: Soup
- 10 medium tomatoes, cut into eighths
- 4 red, orange, yellow, and/or green bell peppers, seeded and rough chopped
- 3 cucumbers, rough chopped
- 2 jalapeno or Anaheim peppers, seeded and rough chopped
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup fresh lime juice
- 6-8 garlic cloves, minced
- Up to 2 cups water, if needed
- Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Simple Ingredients: Topping
- 4 tbsp cucumber, small diced
- 4 tbsp tomato, small diced
- 4 tsp cilantro leaves
Simple Steps
- Place all soup ingredients in a large bowl.
- Mix well.
- Puree half of the ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth.
- Combine pureed soup with chopped veggies.
- Taste and season with sea salt and/or pepper.
- Top with diced cucumbers, tomatoes, and cilantro.
- Enjoy!
- Refrigerate leftover gazpacho soup and enjoy the next day for an even more flavorful soup.
Create Your Own Tomato Gazpacho

Use your intuition when you create your tomato gazpacho. Use different colors and types of tomatoes. Sometimes make it chunky; other times make it smooth. Try different levels of spiciness using jalapeno or Anaheim peppers. Sometimes make it spicy hot, sometimes make it mild. Try different types of in-season cucumbers, such Armenian, pickling, or lemon.

“The key to a beautiful tomato gazpacho is to blend some of the fresh veggies into a creamy liquid and to keep some veggies chunky.”

I’ll be selling my new book A New View of Healthy Eating, this weekend at 2 events in the Phoenix area:
- Saturday, Oct 15, 2016, Phoenix Public Market, Central & Pierce. 9am-1pm
- Sunday, Oct 16, 2016, Yoga Rocks the Park, Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix (3rd Street, North of Indian School), 9am-noon
If you are not in the Phoenix area and would like to purchase the book, it’s available on my website and I’m happy to ship a copy to you.
October 14, 2016
Experience Nutrition: Hemp Seed Tomato Tabouli Healthy Recipe
by Melanie Albert, Nutrition & Food Expert, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Whole Food Cooking Instructor Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition.
Refreshing and full of flavor tabouli salad. Gluten-free and created with good fat, omega-3 rich hemp seeds. This tabouli is especially refreshing with farmers’ market fresh heirloom tomatoes, and can be prepared with a rainbow of tomatoes. Hemp seeds are a nice alternative to the typical bulgur wheat in tabouli, for those of us who are sensitive to gluten or have Celiac disease.

Hemp Seed Tomato Tabouli

Ingredients
- 2 bunches of parsley
- ¼ cup fresh mint
- ½ cup hemp seeds
- 1 large tomato, diced
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 TBSP organic extra virgin olive oil
- 2 TBSP green onions, chopped
- 1 tsp sea salt
Experience Nutrition: Hemp Seed Tomato Tabouli: Fresh Ingredients

Simple Steps
- Place parsley and mint in food processor and pulse several times until well chopped
- Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the hemp seeds, tomato, lemon juice, olive oil, onion, and salt
- Toss and serve
- Enjoy!
Experience Nutrition: Hemp Seed Tabouli: Simple Steps

Create your own Hemp Seed Tomato Tabouli and share your dish with us on Facebook.
November 14, 2015
Experience Nutrition: Organic Sprouted Spelt Flatbread Recipe
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition Group, LLC. Nutrition and food expert, author and speaker. Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Holistic Nutrition and Whole Food Cooking Instructor at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts.
A few years ago I discovered that I was sensitive to gluten (the protein in grains like wheat, barley and rye). By exploring different grain flours, I’ve found that I’m not sensitive (no hives, no bloating, no headaches) to the Organic Sprouted Spelt Flour by One Degree Organic Foods. During the last few months, I’ve traveled with this flour and have made organic flat bread with 15 pounds of it. Have fun making your own flatbread.

What You Need
- ¾ cup hot (not boiling) water
- 1 TBSP dry yeast
- ½ TBSP honey
- 2 TBSP organic olive oil
- 2 cups organic spelt flour
- ½ tsp sea salt
Simple Steps: Make the Dough
- Put 1 TBSP dry yeast into ¾ cup hot water, add ½ TBS honey and ½ TBSP olive oil. Let it sit for about 10 minutes
- Put 2 cups sprouted spelt flour in bowl with ½ tsp sea salt
- Add the water with yeast into the flour
- Blend with a fork a few minutes, then knead with your hands another few minutes. Only knead for about 4-5 minutes total. Otherwise the flatbread will be tough. If the dough is sticky, add more flour. If it’s dry, add more water.
Simple Steps: Dough Rises & Into the Oven
- Split the dough in half. Place 2 balls of dough into a bowl which has coated with organic olive oil, and cover for about 2 hours (to rise)
- Again, split the dough into 2 sections and spread it onto a pizza brick with your hands
Simple Steps: Bake & Enjoy!
- Pre-heat oven at 500 degrees with pizza brick in oven
- Bake for 5 minutes, check it, bake for another 3-5 minutes, as needed
- Enjoy your flatbread with olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar, as a pizza, or just plain
Come over to Facebook www.facebook.com/experience.nutrition.now and post your photos or ask questions.
August 22, 2015
Experience Nutrition: 9 Ways 9 Days: Make Your Own Organic Almond Milk Blueberry Smoothie
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition. Nutrition and food expert, author and speaker. Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Holistic Nutrition and Whole Food Cooking Instructor at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts
So many people are now enjoying smoothies made with nut milks. You can make your own fresh organic nut milk with raw almonds, walnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds or your own favorite nuts & seeds.

Simple Steps to Make Your Own Nut Milk
It is simple to make your own nut milks which are quick and easy to prepare, and only have a few ingredients. Pre-soak the nuts & seeds if you prefer smoother nut milk. It is not necessary to pre-soak the nuts and seeds.

Experience Nutrition: 9 Ways 90 Days: Make Your Own Organic Almond Milk Blueberry Smoothie

Nut Milk Ingredients
- Handful of raw organic nuts &/or seeds
- 1-1.5 cups coconut water
- 1 Medjool date
- Splash of vanilla
- Fresh nutmeg & cinnamon
Smoothie Ingredients
- Handful of frozen blueberries
- Frozen banana
Simple Steps: Nut Milk
- Put nut milk ingredients (except nutmeg and cinnamon) in high-speed blender
- Blend, starting at low and increasing to high speed
- Blend for about 2 minutes
- Taste, add an additional date if you prefer a sweeter nut milk
- Enjoy with fresh ground nutmeg or use the nut milk in your smoothie
Simple Steps: Blueberry Smoothie
- Pour nut milk into blender
- Add frozen blueberries and bananas to blender
- Blend for about 2 minutes
- Enjoy!
Share your nut milk and smoothie photos with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/9Ways90Days
February 18, 2015
9 Ways 90 Days Recipe: Organic Lentil Soup with Greens
by Melanie Albert, Nutrition Expert & Author, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition

Excerpt from book, “Enjoy Food & Life. 9 Ways 90 Days Step-by-step action plan for healthy eating and living”

This process of cooking soup gives us the foundation for making any type of bean soup. To make quick, delicious soups you will use a mix-and-match of beans, veggies and greens.

•       Beans: protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals

•       Any roots: Carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnip, and/or turnips

•       Whole grains: Brown rice, Quinoa

•       Greens: Kale, collards

Ingredients
- 1 cup lentils
- 3-4 carrots and/or sweet potatoes
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1 onion or 5-6 green onions
- 3-4 celery stalks
- 2 TBS organic extra virgin olive oil
- 5” strip of kombu seaweed (Seaweed is high in minerals and improves digestibility of beans)
- 1 cup brown rice
- 4-5 cups water
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 bunch kale
Simple Steps
- Saute carrots, garlic, onions and celery with extra virgin olive oil
- Add about 6 cups water to pot
- Wash lentils and add to pot
- Add brown rice
- Add kombu to pot (to tenderize the beans)
- Add cumin and black pepper
- Bring to a boil
- Skim off foam
- Cook at moderate-low heat for about 30 minutes
- Sprinkle chopped kale to top of soup and cook 5 more minutes
Your Action

Cook and enjoy a basic home-made lentil soup. Visit us on Facebook and share a photo and what you used in your soup:

Beans__________________

Roots__________________

Whole grains_____________

Greens__________________
January 3, 2014