Experience Nutrition

Tag: Plant-based

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Healthy Plant-Based Recipes by Melanie Albert: Spring Hemp Seed Quinoa Tabouli

    A New View of Healthy Eating: Healthy Plant-Based Recipes by Melanie Albert: Spring Hemp Seed Quinoa Tabouli

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    This week during our Whole Food SOUL (Seasonal Organic Unprocessed Local) cooking class at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, our focus was on whole grains and the students prepared Quinoa Salad and Hempseed Tabouli.

    It had been awhile since I’ve used fresh mint in my dishes, and I loved both the fresh quinoa salad and hemp seed tabouli, that I very intuitively prepared a tabouli with the mint, hemp seeds, and quinoa.

    I guide people to cook intuitively very often. The key is to know a few simple culinary skills, and then cook with what’s available at your farmers market or kitchen. Plus, with intuitive cooking, we listen to our body for foods we might be craving and also notice what foods we’re attracted to, with color, textures, and aromas.

    Today’s tabouli was intuitive in several ways:

    • Listening to my body: My body was looking forward to a grounding grain and I had about a cup of the tri-color quinoa in my pantry.
    • Aromatherapy: The fresh aromatherapy and bright tasting mint.
    • Looking for a variety of color and textures: Red tomatoes, yellow pepper, green onion.
    • Spring garlic: Just love the cross between garlic and onion, when spring garlic is in season.

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    Two Simple Culinary Techniques

    • Cook Whole Grains: Cook quinoa with 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups previously-made veggie stock. Bring to boil on stove, cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Rest the quinoa. Fluff with a fork. Use in recipe.
    • 3-Ingredient Salad Dressing: 1 part lemon, 2 parts organic extra virgin olive oil, pinch salt.

    HEMP SEED QUINOA TABOULI

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 1 cup quinoa
    • 2 cups veggie stock
    • ½ cup hemp seeds
    • Several tomatoes, rough chopped
    • Orange pepper, rough chopped
    • 1 green onion, rough chopped
    • 1 lemon, juice and zest
    • Organic extra virgin olive oil
    • Handful mint, minced
    • Handful parsley, minced
    • Pinch sea salt
    • Handful pea sprouts

    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Cook quinoa with veggie stock
    • Rough chop all veggies
    • Gently toss all ingredients
    • Plate with sprouts
    • Enjoy
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    Hemp Seed Quinoa Tabouli: Rough Chop Veggies

     

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    Gently toss all ingredients in large bowl.
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    Enjoy your Spring Hemp Seed Quinoa Tabouli

    I have recently created the Simple Plant-Based Eating Group on Facebook, where I share daily tips around plant-based eating, and the community shares ideas. Please join us: www.facebook.com/groups/DailyPlantBasedEatingTips/

    Interested in addtional simple culinary techniques and recipes with real whole foods, Melanie Albert’s book, “A New View of Healthy Eating” is available.

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: More Roasted Roots: Roast Roots & Roots Greens Tops

    A New View of Healthy Eating: Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: More Roasted Roots: Roast Roots & Roots Greens Tops

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    Within my home-cooking, cooking classes, cookbook, and recipe blogs, one of my key philosophies is learning some simple culinary techniques and then using the techniques to cook all kinds of veggies. For those of you who know me from classes, Facebook, and my blog, you are aware that I love roasting veggies.

    Roasting is simple and the cooking process caramelizes the veggies keeping them crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. The flavor is always delicious and roasting can be used in any season with basically any veggies our farmers grow.

    Today I roasted veggies that I purchased on Saturday at this week’s Gilbert Farmers Market from a few of our amazing local organic farmers: Steadfast Farms, Blue Sky Farms, Abby Lee Farms, and Crooked Sky Farms. Plus, I still had a few turnips from The Farm at South Mountain. I was especially happy to also cook beans from Crooked Sky Farms for the first time.

    And, I had fun experimenting with roasting a few roots – carrots and radishes – with the whole veggie. I roasted the roots and the greens and they were so beautiful. Definitely food art!

    Simple Ingredients

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    • Sweet potatoes (Crooked Sky Farm)
    • Carrots (Blue Sky Organic Farm)
    • Radishes (Steadfast Farm)
    • Tomatoes (Abby Lee Farms)
    • Broccoli (Blue Sky Farm)
    • Turnips & Breakfast Radish (The Farm at South Mountain)
    • Black Beans (Crooked Sky Farm)
    • Quinoa
    • Organic extra virgin olive oil
    • Dry seasoning (Today Penzeys Fox Point (salt, shallots, chives, garlic, onion, green peppercorns)

     

    Simple Steps

    • Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Slice veggies into equal-sized pieces.

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    • Coat veggies with olive oil and seasonings.

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    • Place veggies flat side down on parchment-lined flat sheet pan.

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    • Cook for 15 minutes.
    • Flip.
    • Cook another 12-15 minutes.

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    • Plate with quinoa and black beans.
    • Enjoy!

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    I have just started a new Facebook Group: Simple Plant-Based Daily Eating Tips with Melanie Albert. Please come over and join in the conversation.

    Interested in learning more plant-based culinary skills, Melanie’s book includes 84 simple culinary techniques.

     

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Purple Superfood Smoothie: Acai & Maqui Super Berries

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    Like many of us around the world, smoothies are one of my go-to simple easy to prepare healthy breakfast options.

    For years, I’ve been making smoothies with a base of home-made nut milk or coconut water with chia seeds. Add-in a banana and frozen fruit, especially raspberries and black cherries. Then I top with goji berries, hemp seeds, and raw cacao, for a quick healthy breakfast.

    This month I’m participating in the Plantlab Culinary Superfoods course, so I decided to create a new-to-me smoothie with a few superfoods – Acai and Maqui – which I’ve honestly not experimented with very much.  Acai and Maqui both grow in South America, which I’m happy about since I was an exchange student in Brazil for a year many decades ago.

    Acai berries are known to be antioxidant-rich and full of omega-3 fatty acids. Maqui berries are deep purple, and is the fruit with the highest level of antioxidants. In addition to the berries, other powerful superfoods in this smoothie: chia seeds and hemp seeds, both rich in protein and good omega-3 fatty acids. Finally, wild Maine blueberries are also full of antioxidants and grow on a low bush and balance sweet and tangy.

    Purple Superfood Super Berrie Smoothie

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1-1.5 cups coconut water
    • 3 TBSP chia seeds
    • ½ cup wild Maine blueberries
    • 1 banana
    • 1 TBSP hemp seeds
    • ¼ tsp dried acai powder
    • ¼ tsp dried maqui
    • Chamomile flowers

    Simple Steps

    • Soak chia seeds in coconut water for about 15-20 minutes.
    • Blend all ingredients, except flowers, until smooth.
    • Garnish with blueberries and chamomile flowers.
    • Enjoy!

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    Excerpt from Melanie’s cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating: Simple Intuitive Cooking with Real Whole Foods”

    Smoothies

    Smoothies are a perfect way to eat a variety of organic fruit and veggies and a simple morning meal or afternoon snack. Because we drink all of the nutrients and fiber in smoothies, they’re nutritious and slow the digestive process. Make your own smoothies with your intuition using these steps. Have fun mixing and matching the ingredients in your smoothies based on what’s available in season and your own cravings.

    No-Recipe Smoothies: 5 Simple Steps to Create an Intuitive Smoothie

    1. Pour 1 cup of non-dairy liquid into a high-speed blender.
    • Coconut water
    • Homemade nut milk (coconut water with almonds, soaked cashews)
    • Homemade seed milk (coconut water with hemp seeds or sunflower seeds)
    • 1 date for sweetness
    • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract for smoothness
    1. Add a thickening ingredient to liquid and blend.
    • Avocado
    • Bananas, frozen or fresh
    • Chia seeds; use 1 tablespoon of seeds and 3 tablespoons of liquid, pre-soaked for 10 minutes
    1. Add about ¼ cup fruit, fresh or frozen.
    • Apple, sliced
    • Cherries
    • Blueberries
    • Raspberries
    • Strawberries
    1. Add about ¼ cup vegetables.
    • Carrots
    • Celery
    • Cucumber
    • Kale
    • Spinach
    1. Add other extras.
    • Flaxseeds
    • Fresh basil
    • Ginger root
    • Goji berries
    • Raw cacao powder
    • Turmeric root

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    Interested in Melanie’s cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating” you can purchase here or at her local Arizona events.

    So beautiful (and aromatic). Sharing the beautiful wild chamomile that grows at an urban farm less than a mile from my home…

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    A final look at the Superfood Super Berry Chamomile Smoothie

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Top 4 Favorite Plant-based Culinary Techniques & Rustic Veggie Saute

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    This week while cooking my local Arizona farmers’ produce I realized I was cooking the same foods different ways every day. One of my philosophies of healthy eating is to learn simple culinary skills and then when we shop at our farmers’ markets we can cook intuitively with what’s available seasonally.

    Four of my favorite ways (or culinary methods) to cook veggies intuitively are roasting, sautéing, bamboo steamer, and raw. This week, I roasted twice, sauteed once, ate raw a few times, and, so far I have not used my bamboo steamer.

    Take a look a this week’s roasted Farmers’ Market Veggies. Simple steps to Roast Winter Veggies

    Rustic Winter Arizona Farmers’ Market Veggie Saute

    My veggie saute featured many of the same veggies that I roasted earlier in the week. With the saute, I very intuitively added 2 Arizona navel oranges for sweet flavor and moisture.

    • Romanesco
    • Yellow cauliflower
    • Purple carrots
    • Sweet potatoes
    • White beets
    • Turnip
    • Yellow tomato
    • Greens

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    Mindfully Chop Veggies and Organize your Mise en Place

    Chop veggies in about equal-sized pieces and mindfully organize them for cooking. Also, gather other ingredients for your dish. I added extra virgin olive oil, navel orange, and sea salt.

    Saute Veggies One-by-One

    Start with saute pan on medium heat. Warm the olive oil then add the tomato, root veggies, then cauliflower, and finally the greens.

    Mindfully Plate Veggies with Quinoa

    Again, be very mindful with your plating, placing veggies on the plate one-by-one. Add a few extras for extra flavor and interest, such as olives, capers, and dehydrated tomatoes.

    Enjoy your meal.

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    This week I set up a new Facebook Group, Simple Daily Plant-based Eating Tips with Melanie Albert. The group is dedicated to daily actionable eating and cooking tips for people who wish to eat more plant-based food. Hope you join us and share in the conversation.

    Melanie’s cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating: Simple Intuitive Eating with Real Whole Foods” includes 84 simple culinary technique with simple steps and photos of the process.

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Arizona Farmers’ Roasted Organic Veggies

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    As I’ve been blogging recently, I really love the beautiful food our Arizona farmers are growing this season.  A few of my key philosophies are to shop locally and seasonally with your local farmers, learn a few simple culinary techniques, and then when you shop, use your intuition to choose the veggies you are attracted to. Then, when you cook, cook intuitively with your culinary skills and the local veggies.

    This week at the downtown Phoenix Farmers’ Market I purchased a variety of root veggies, a few staples, and fresh dill. Tonight, I cooked with the simple culinary technique of roasting veggies.

    Local Arizona Winter Veggies

    • White beets
    • Orange carrots
    • Yellow cauliflower, called “cheddar”
    • Yellow tomatoes
    • Sweet potatoes
    • Fresh dill

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    Other Ingredients

    • Extra virgin olive oil
    • Dried Penzeys Fox Point seasoning (salt, shallots, chives, garlic, onion, and green peppercorns).

    Simple Veggie Roasting Steps

    • Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Wash and cut veggies into about equal size pieces.

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    • In a large bowl, coat veggies with organic extra virgin olive oil and dried seasoning (Fox Point today)
    • Place veggies, flat-side down onto parchment-lined sheet pan.

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    • Roast for about 15 minutes.
    • Flip veggies, and roast another 12-15 minutes.

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    • Mindfully plate the veggies, one-by-one, with a whole grain, like today’s brown rice with fresh dill.
    • Enjoy…

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    If you’re interested in Melanie’s cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating” you can buy it and Melanie will gift-wrap and mail it to you.

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Arizona Winter Harvest Farm-to-Table Intuitive Cooking Class

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    I am so honored to do the work I love with such beautiful food grown by our local Arizona Farmers in natural, beautiful places in the Phoenix area.  Last weekend I had the honor to lead a Winter Harvest Farm-to-Table Intuitive Cooking class at The Farm at South Mountain, in Phoenix, less than a mile from my home.

    For this class, our culinary focus was an Asian Salad, Veggie Stir-fry, and Hummus. I shopped at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market the day before event (while also leading a Taste of the Market Cooking Demo) and the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm also provided a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share for the class.

    I was so incredibly excited getting set up for the class on our sunny Arizona winter day, immersed in the variety and colors and textures of the food for the class.

    A look at the Farmers’ Market food…

    A look at The Farm at South Mountain CSA, which included all kinds of greens, black radishes, edible flowers, oranges, and pecans.

    I’m also sharing the beautiful “salad in a bowl” from The Farm, fresh and crisp and ready to enjoy with a simple flower.

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    Asian Salad

    We used the Asian Salad Dressing from my book, “A New View of Healthy Eating” as a guide for the dressings. (Scroll down for the recipe guide.) While I often teach how to make a basic salad dressing with an acid (lemon), fat (organic extra virgin olive oil), and sea salt, I have only taught the use of fresh ginger root in a salad a few times. The natural aromatherapy of the ginger really made this dressing fresh and unique.

    A look at two different Asian Salads intuitively created during the class.

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    Winter Harvest Saute

    Our stir-fry (really veggie saute) featured, in order of cooking:

    • Extra virgin olive oil
    • Spring green garlic
    • Green onions
    • Red and orange tomatoes
    • Sea salt
    • Sweet potatoes
    • Orange and purple carrots
    • Broccoli
    • Romanesco
    • Sweet lime and orange juices

    Click to get the recipe blog with simple steps for your veggie saute.

    Our final dishes…Asian Salads…Winter Harvest Saute…Garlic Hummus…

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    Excerpt from “A New View of Healthy Eating”

    Asian Salad with Vibrant Purple Cabbage and Tangy Citrus Ginger Root Dressing

    Make your own gourmet Asian salad with a rainbow of raw organic veggies, your favorite toasted nuts, and intuitively created ginger root dressing.

    Asian Salad: Ginger Salad Dressing: 3 Key Ingredients

    The essential ingredients for a perfect Asian dressing every time are ginger root, a soy flavoring (wheat-free tamari soy sauce or Bragg’s amino acids), and fresh citrus.

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1” fresh ginger root
    • 1 garlic clove, minced
    • ½ cup soy tamari or Bragg’s amino acids
    • ½ orange, juiced
    • ½ fresh-squeezed lemon or lime juice
    • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
    • 1 tsp local honey
    • ⅓ cup organic extra virgin olive oil

    Simple Steps

    • Finely mince ginger root and garlic.
    • Place in pint-size Mason jar.
    • Add all other ingredients (except olive oil) to jar and shake.
    • Taste and intuitively add ingredients to create your desired flavor.
      • Too much acid: add olive oil
      • Not sweet enough: add honey
      • Too oily: add lemon or lime juice

    The Power of Ginger

    Ginger is a tropical plant whose roots have been used medicinally in Asia for centuries. Ginger root is a natural anti-inflammatory; it reduces nausea, helps digestion, and is good for colds and flu. A simple way to add fresh ginger to your food is to use it in a salad dressing.

    “The key to a delicious ginger root salad dressing, taste the dressing while you are making it for just the right balance of ginger, citrus, and soy flavor.”

     Asian Rainbow Salad

    Along with a tangy ginger root dressing, a colorful rainbow of raw organic veggies creates a beautiful Asian salad.

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 purple cabbage, shredded
    • 2 cups Napa cabbage, shredded
    • 1 cup carrots, shredded
    • 1 cucumber, julienned (long, thin slices)
    • 1 cup snap peas or snow peas, cut on bias
    • 6 green onions, cut on bias
    • 1 cup red or purple radishes, shredded
    • 1 cup almonds, sliced and dry toasted

    Simple Steps

    • Dry toast (no oil) sliced almonds in small sauté pan on low heat for 5 minutes.
    • Toss all vegetables in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
    • Drizzle the Asian salad dressing on the vegetables and gently toss.
    • Top with dry toasted almonds.
    • Enjoy!

    Finally, we created a very simple basic Hummus, just like the Hummus served at the VIP Tailgate Party at the Superbowl XLIV in Miami. Today’s hummus intuitively featured lots of fresh garlic. Click for Hummus recipe.

    Hope you enjoy your local farmers’ produce with simple culinary skills and intuitive cooking. For additional ideas, Melanie Albert’s cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating” is available.’’

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Intuitive Veggie Bowl

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    This weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to lead two farm-to-table cooking events. The first a beautiful intuitive Arizona Winter Harvest Veggie Saute at the Downtown Phoenix Market “Taste of the Market” and then a beautiful intuitive cooking class with another beautiful veggie saute, Asian Salads, and a Garlic Hummus at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix.

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    Downtown Phoenix Market: Taste of the Market: Winter Harvest Saute

     

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    Arizona Winter Harvest Intuitive Cooking at The Farm at South Mountain

     

    Today, with some of the left-over veggies, I created a quick very, very intuitive veggie bowl. The goal was to create a dish with lots of color, different textures, and a variety of flavors.

    The Veggies and More

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    • Purple and orange carrots
    • Yellow string beans
    • Snow peas
    • Parsley
    • Arugula
    • Sweet lemon
    • More
      • Left-over quinoa
      • Left-over garbanzo beans
    • Extras
      • Basil olive oil
      • Cumin seeds
      • Bragg’s amino acids
      • Olives
      • Edible flowers
      • Sea salt

    The Culinary Techniques

    • Bamboo Steamer: Carrots, Yellow String Beans, and Snow Peas finished with Basil olive oil, sweet lemon, dry toasted cumin seeds, and sea salt

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    • Simple Pesto: Rough chopped parsley and raw almonds, sweet lemon, and basil olive oil.
    • Quick Saute: Arugula with Bragg’s amino acids

     

    Plating Mise en Place

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    Rustic Plating

    Bowl Plating

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    Hope you are enjoying my intuitive cooking creations and are having fun intuitively creating beautiful dishes with your local farmers’ produce. Share your creations with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

    My cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating: Simple Intuitive Cooking with Real Whole Foods” features 84 simple culinary techniques. Order a copy and I’m happy to gift-wrap and ship to you.

     

     

     

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Really Quick Intuitive Lunch: Dolmas and Farmers’ Market Left-overs

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    Very often I like to intuitively create a very, very quick lunch using left-overs in my refrigerator. I love Dolmas and used these stuffed grape leaves as the inspiration for the lunch. With a Mediterranean focus, I added farmers’ market organic veggies and rich black Beluga lentils. Plus, I really wanted to enjoy fresh light pea sprouts from Steadfast Farm and bright edible flowers from Maya’s Farm.

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    You’ll notice in the ingredient list I do not include amount of the different ingredients. In making an intuitive dish, use your intuition to choose a few of your favorite veggies and their amount. A dish created this way will be different and delicious every time.

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

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    Ingredients in order of plating…

    • Black Beluga lentils
    • Dolmas, sliced
    • Avocado, sliced
    • Local yellow and red tomatoes
    • Romanesco tips
    • Capers
    • Sea salt
    • Pea shoots
    • Edible flowers

    SIMPLE PLATING

    Get your plating mise en place set…

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    Mindfully plate the ingredients one-by-one and enjoy your lunch…

    ACTION: I invite you to choose a few ingredients in your refrigerator and mindfully and intuitively create a lunch. Share your culinary creations with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

    Buy Melanie’s cookbook, with 54 whole food, plant-based, gluten-free recipes…

    A few views of the Intuitive Lunch plate…

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: How to Braise Leeks for Roasted Carrot Soup

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLCs

    Today, I’m excited that I completed the requirements and received my certification for the Plantlab Culinary Fundamentals of Plant-based Cooking 120-hour course, including knife skills, 61 cooking projects, written exams, and my Final Project.

    I’ll be sharing so much of my learning in future blogs and am also sharing my Final Project with you. My Final Culinary Project embraces our local Arizona farmers’ veggies with a menu featuring some of my favorite dishes and skills learned during the course.

    Let’s take a look at our local Arizona Winter produce in my Final Project.

    Arizona Winter Harvest Menu

    • FIRST. Roasted Carrot Soup.
      • Navel Orange Braised Leeks. Almond Cream. Edible Flowers.
    • SECOND. Sprouted Spelt Flatbread.
      • Arizona Winter Roasted Veggies. Pistachio Pesto. Almond Bechamel Sauce.
    • THIRD. Cacao Crepe.
      • Chickpea Crepe. Apples. Arizona Citrus Marmalade.
    • DRINK. Root Matcha Latte.
      • Chicory Root. Dandelion Root. Matcha Tea. Cashew Milk. Warm Spices.

    NAVEL ORANGE BRAISED LEEKS

    In the past, I’ve only eaten leeks in restaurants and love them, so I decided to include leeks as a green contrast to the sweet roasted carrot soup.

    Today, I’m sharing the recipes and cooking process for Braised Leeks, Almond Nut Cream, and plating of the Roasted Carrot Soup. Hope this inspires you to cook interesting soups.

    Almond Nut Cream

     INGREDIENTS

    • 1 cup almonds, soaked 8-12 hours and rinsed
    • 2 cups filtered water
    • Pinch salt
    • 1/2 tsp sumac powder
    • 1 tsp grapeseed oil

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    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Blend the almonds and water until smooth.
    • Stain in nut bag.
    • Return strained almond cream to blender and blend with salt and sumac.
    • Gradually stream in oil on low to emulsify.

    BRAISED LEEKS: INGREDIENTS

      • 3 leeks, cut into 1-1 ½ inch pieces
      • 2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
      • 2 tbsp shallots, minced
      • ½ tsp coriander seeds
      • ½ tsp caraway seeds
      • ¼ cup vegetable stock
      • Pinch sea salt
      • 2 tbsp fresh navel orange juice
      • 1 tbsp navel orange zest
      • 1 cup almond cream
      • 1/2 cup almond cream
      • ¼ tsp sumac
      • 1 tbsp orange zest

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    ORANGE BRAISED LEEKS

    SIMPLE STEPS

    Prep

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Clean leeks in cold water in a bowl to removed dirt between the layers.
    • Cut white and green part of  leeks into 1-1 ½ inch rounds.

    Sear Leeks

    • Heat olive oil in medium-high saute pan.
    • Add leeks to pan with round side face down on the pan.  Press leeks down with spatula to evenly  brown, for about 5 minutes. While cooking move leeks around pan to prevent them from sticking to the pan. After the first end has lightly browned flip and brown the other end.
    • Once both sides have browned, remove from pan and set aside.

    Cook Braising Sauce

    • Add shallot, coriander and caraway seeds to pan and sauté until shallot becomes translucent.
    • Add vegetable stock, salt, orange juice, and 1 tbsp  orange zest and bring to a boil.
    • Add almond cream and bring to a boil, stirring frequently, then reduce to a simmer.

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    Braised Leeks

    • Remove pan from stove, add leeks to pan with round side up.
    • Cover the pan with a tight oven-safe lid.
    • Place pan in oven to braise the leeks for 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft and tender when pierced with a fork.
    • Remove leeks from pan and set aside for plating.

    Almond Cream

    • Add ½ cup almond cream, sumac, and 1 tbsp navel orange  zest to pan.
    • Return pan to stove top and simmer, whisking frequently, until cream becomes thick. Once the sauce reaches desired thickness, remove from heat.

    ASSEMBLY

    • Place braised leeks, with round side up on bottom of flat bowl. Gently pour carrot soup into the bowl, with the tops of the leeks exposed.
    • Drizzle almond cream sauce on top of the leeks.
    • Garnish with edible flowers.

    The Roasted Carrot Soup. Orange Braised Leeks. Almond Nut Cream

    Happy to share a video look at the soup…

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    Interested in my book, A New View of Healthy Eating, I’m happy to mail a copy to you.

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Another Clean my Refrigerator: Arizona Purple Cabbage

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLCs

    Since I’ll be farmers’ market shopping in the morning, today I decided to do another “Clean my Refrigerator Meal.” I was fortunate to see a beautiful organic purple cabbage from one of my local Arizona farmers. Rather than eat it raw in a salad or as a wrap, I quickly sautéed the purple cabbage and enjoyed it with a few of my other left-overs: Black Beluga Lentils, Rose Brown Rice, and an avocado.

    Let’s look at the natural beauty of the Purple Cabbage.

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    Mindfully pause and enjoy the art in food.

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    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • ½ purple cabbage
    • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • Pinch sea salt
    • 1 avocado
    • ½ cup black Beluga lentils
    • ¼ cup rose brown rice (all that was left)
    • 1 avocado
    • 1 tsp basil extra virgin olive oil
    • 1/4 tsp black sesame seeds
    • Few basil leaves
    • Few edible flowers

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    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Slice cabbage into strips.
    • Heat olive oil in saute pan on medium.
    • Add cabbage and sea salt.
    • Stir occasionally.
    • Plate with brown rice, lentils, and avocados.
    • Drizzle with basil extra virgin olive oil.
    • Garnish with black sesame seeds, fresh basil leaves and edible flowers.

    The final dish…

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    ACTION: Have fun creating a quick meal with “what’s in your refrigerator” and share with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

    Interested in learning plant-based culinary skills, Melanie’s cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating” is available.

    A final look…Purple Cabbage Saute…

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: 20 Pounds of Tomatoes Part 3: Tomatoes Arizona Lemon Sauce

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLCs

    As some of you may be aware, a few times a year I have the opportunity to purchase 20 pounds of organic Campari tomatoes from McClendon’s Select for $20 US dollars at one of our local Phoenix farmers markets. This time, I was fortunate to purchase the tomatoes at our Wednesday morning Uptown Market in Phoenix, Arizona.

    When purchasing the flat of tomatoes, they are quite ripe, so I really have to cook them within a day or so, or share with family and friends. With the flat of tomatoes I purchased a few weeks ago, I prepared the tomatoes 4 different ways:

    1. Roasted in oven.
    2. Dehydrated in dehydrator.
    3. Stove-top saute with Arizona lemons.
    4. Stove-top saute with veggies.

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    Tomatoes. Arizona Lemon Saute Sauce

    Today, let’s take a look at the sautéed tomatoes with Arizona lemons.

    This simple tomato sauce was inspired by our local Arizona citrus season, with so many aromatic lemons growing everywhere around the Phoenix area. Love the sharp contrast of the lemon in the sauce. After the sauce cooked and cooked, I froze it in 2-cup servings.  I look forward to enjoying the Tomato Lemon Sauce with whole grains and veggies…Maybe tonight??!!!

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • Tomatoes
    • Lemons
    • Extra virgin olive oil
    • Sea salt

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    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Place tomatoes and lemons in large saute pan.
    • Bring to a simmer.
    • Drizzle in olive oil and a few pinches of salt.
    • Saute for about 45 minutes.

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    Quick video…Getting started…tomatoes and lemons into the saute pan…

    And, the tomatoes and lemons cooking…

    Another simple idea for Tomato Saute in my cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating.”

     

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    You can purchase “A New View of Healthy Eating” right here and I’ll gift wrap and mail a copy to you.

    Also, I invite you to Follow me on Instagram where I post my favorite “food art” photos. @nutritionauthor

     

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Two Veggies and Quinoa Beautiful Lunch

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLCs

    This morning, listening to my body, I noticed that I was quite hungry way before my typical lunch time, was prepping for a meeting, and wanted to make something really quick, healthy and delicious.

    During the Christmas holidays in Cocoa Beach, I showed my 91-year old Dad how to roast sweet potatoes with a really easy method, and I had a beautiful Romanesco broccoli from one of our local Arizona farmers, Steadfast Farm. Since I knew I was hungry, I decided to also cook a batch of quinoa.

    I only have a few photos from today, as I was not intending to blog about this dish. However, the final plating is so beautiful and delicious, I’m sharing today.

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    2 Veggie Lunch: Romanesco & Sweet Potatoes

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 2-3 sweet potatoes
    • 1 small Romanesco
    • Pinch sea salt or a blend of spices. Today, I used Penzeys Spices Fox Point blend: salt, shallots, chives, garlic, onion, and green pepper corns
    • 2-3 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 tsp basil olive oil
    • 1 cup quinoa

    SIMPLE STEPS

    Quinoa

    • Rinse quinoa in a strainer.
    • Pour quinoa into a small pot.
    • Add 2 cups liquid, water or veggie stock.
    • Cover pot, bring to a boil.
    • Simmer for about 15 minutes, with lid tight.
    • Sit for about 10 minutes.
    • With a fork, fluff around the edges of the quinoa.

    Simple Steps to Roast Veggies, Excerpt from “A New View of Healthy Eating”

    Sweet & Rich Roasted Roots

    Roasted roots are beautiful, flavorful, and sweet, as well as a rich, colorful complement to any meal. The roasting culinary technique is a dry heat cooking method that intensifies and concentrates the flavor of vegetables. When roasted properly, the natural sugars in the vegetables brown or caramelize to create a deep, rich flavor. When visiting your farmers’ market, buy a few roots even if you don’t recognize them, and roast them with this simple, quick culinary technique. Enjoy roasted roots as a side dish, to create soup, with hummus, or in a raw kale salad or veggie wrap.

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    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 10-12 of your favorite roots: carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, golden beets, red beets, and radishes
    • Approximately ¼ cup organic extra virgin olive oil
    • 3 tbsp dry herbs (Choose a few: basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, or thyme)
    • ½ tsp sea salt

    SIMPLE STEPS

    1. Pre-heat oven to 475 degrees F.
    2. Scrub roots under running water to clean the outside.
    3. Let sit for about 10 minutes to dry.
    4. Slice roots into even, bite-size pieces.
    5. Mix olive oil, herbs, and sea salt in a bowl to make the dressing.
    6. Add root vegetables to the bowl and toss to evenly coat with the dressing.
    7. Carefully lay the roots on parchment paper in a heavy-duty flat baking sheet pan. Place roots flat side down in a single layer, making sure the vegetables do not touch.
    8. Place baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven.
    9. Roast roots in the oven for about 20 minutes, then turn vegetables.
    10. Cook another 15 minutes, until fork tender.
    11. Plate vegetables. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
    12. Enjoy!

    Have Fun Plating your Veggies and Quinoa

    • Spoon quinoa, then sweet potatoes, then Romanesco on the plate.
    • Add a few of your favorite extras. Today, I added rough chopped pistachio nuts and capers.
    • Drizzle with oil. Today, I drizzled with Hutun Basil Extra Virgin Olive oil.

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    ACTION: Roast a few veggies, cook a whole grain, plate, and enjoy. Share your creations with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating or tag #NewViewHealthyEating

    Melanie’s book, “A New View of Healthy Eating” is available to ship to you, or see you at an upcoming event in the Phoenix area.

     

     

     

     

     

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Super Bowl Recipe: Avocado Tartare

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    I’m always a little reflective during Super Bowl week, and realized it was 10 years ago that my company was first involved with the Super Bowl. That first year, we created three healthy lifestyle products with the Super Bowl XLII logo: a zen clock, soy candle collection, and matcha tea kit. For the next two Super Bowls, we catered at the Super Bowl VIP Tailgate Party with Tropical Trail Mix in Tampa, and then Hummus and Cold Soup in Miami.

     

     

    Over the years, we learned about the serious health issues of the former NFL players when they retire,  taught former players how to cook healthy meals, created a healthy eating program, and in 2011, my company became the Official Health & Wellness Partner of the NFL Alumni Association.

     

    Avocado Tartare Recipe for Super Bowl

    Anyway, enough reminiscing…

    Today, the eve of the Super Bowl game many people were out shopping for the perfect avocados for guacamole, so I decided to create a little more fancy version of guacamole.

    Avocado Tartare Mis en Place: So simple…avocado, tomatoes, lemon, and sea salt.

     

    Avocado Tartare Plating

     

    Enjoy your Super Bowl Day and your Avocado Guacamole and Avocado Tartare!

    Share your Super Bowl snacks with us over on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: 4 Great Ways to Cook 20 Pounds of Organic Tomatoes: Part 1: Dehydrate Tomatoes

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    Several times a year I have the great opportunity to purchase a flat – 20 pounds – of organic Campari tomatoes from McClendon Select Farms in Phoenix. This week I shared a few pounds of the tomatoes in a Wise Choices Meet-up with the Valley of the Sun United Way. After that I started creating a few different batches of tomatoes with the other beautiful produce from this week’s Uptown Farmers Market.

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    4 Different Ways to Cook Tomatoes

    I invite you to use these 4 ways to cook the tomatoes as a guide to cook tomatoes from your local farmers’ markets. During the next few days I’ll be blogging the cooking process with photos and videos for all of these ways to cook tomatoes.

    • Roasted Tomatoes. Orange Carrots. Red Peppers. Green Onions.
    • Stove Top Tomato Sauté. Arizona Lemons.
    • Dehydrated Tomatoes.
    • Roasted Tomatoes. Leeks. Green Garlic.

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    Dehydrated Tomatoes

    Dehydrating tomatoes is a really simple way to prepare tomatoes. When we dehydrate, the flavor of the tomatoes becomes very concentrated and sweet.

    Simple Steps

    • Slice tomatoes in rounds: half or in thirds.
    • Place on dehydrator screens, with skin side down.

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    • Dehydrate at 115 degrees for about 10-12 hours. Enjoy the tomato aromatherapy while dehydrating.

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    • Store in air-tight glass jars.

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    The dehydrated tomatoes were so delicious,  I  sliced a few more pounds, which are in the dehydrator right now.

    5 Great Ways to Enjoy Dehydrated Tomatoes

    1. Enjoy as a snack.
    2. Add to a veggie sauté.
    3. Use as a pizza or flatbread topping.
    4. Process in a raw marinara sauce for a deep flavor.
    5. Add to a nut pate for a fresh taste.

    Stay in touch, as I’ll be sharing the other four ways to cook 20 pound of tomatoes. If you dehydrate tomatoes, please share your experience with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

    For some additional ideas to cook tomatoes, Melanie’s book, “A New View of Healthy Eating” is available.

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Superfood Sweet Potato Brownie

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    This week I had the wonderful opportunity to lead an amazing Cooking Challenge Team Building with Visit Phoenix. For dessert, I decided to prepare the Sweet Potato Brownie and jazz it up with a raw cacao sauce and goji berries. This dessert is full of so many healthy ingredients, the sweet potatoes, raw cacao, and Arizona Medjool dates. It’s plant-based, gluten-free, and dairy-free. And, it tastes great. Not too sweet. Chocolatey. Just right.

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    PHOTO CREDIT: www.facebook.com/cassiescouture

    Excerpt from my book, “A New View of Healthy Eating”

    Chocolate Sweet Potato Brownie

    Delicious vegan, gluten-free chocolate dessert made with a sweet root veggie, the sweet potato. This brownie is always a favorite at kids’ and adults’ cooking classes. It’s one of those desserts we can even eat for breakfast!

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 2 medium to large sweet potatoes
    • 12 Medjool dates, pitted
    • ⅔ cup raw almonds, ground
    • ½ cup brown rice flour
    • 4 tbsp raw cacao
    • 3 tbsp maple sugar
    • Pinch sea salt

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    SIMPLE STEPS   

    • Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
    • Peel sweet potatoes, cut into chunks, and steam in a bamboo steamer for about 20 minutes until they become really soft.

     

     

    • Once sweet potatoes are soft and beginning to fall apart, remove from steamer.

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    • Mix sweet potatoes and pitted dates into food processor and blend.

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    Put remaining ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine.

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    • Add sweet potato/date mixture to other ingredients and stir well.

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    • Place mixture into 8-inch by 8-inch parchment-paper-lined baking dish.

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    • Cook for about 20 minutes.
    • Test doneness by pushing a toothpick into the brownie. The brownie is ready when a toothpick comes out dry.
    • Allow baking dish to cool for about 10 minutes.

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    • Remove the brownies from baking dish.
    • Cool for a few minutes and cut into squares.
    • Enjoy!

    I had so much fun plating this Sweet Potato Brownie for our guests at the Visit Phoenix Team Building Cooking Challenge. Add a swipe of raw cacao agave sauce, goji berries, and a few walnuts.

     

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    PHOTO CREDIT: www.facebook.com/cassiescouture

    ACTION: Make a healthy chocolate dessert and share your creation with us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

    For more amazing simple healthy recipes, you can buy Melanie’s Book, “A New View of Healthy Eating: Simple Intuitive Cooking with Real Whole Foods”

     

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    PHOTO CREDIT: www.facebook.com/cassiescouture

     

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Arizona Farmers’ Market Avocado Salad with Mindful Plating

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    On our chilly Arizona winter morning —imagine 60 degrees, grey skies, and a little drizzle — I shopped at the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers’ Market. The difference between our grey day and the vibrancy of our local Arizona winter produce inspired today’s Avocado Salad. Thanks Alexa for asking me to blog about this fresh salad.

    Arizona Winter Morning at the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market

     

    The Contrast: Vibrant Produce at the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers’ Market

     

    Avocado Farmers’ Market Salad Recipe and Plating Presentation

    The Avocado Farmers’ Market Salad was created very intuitively and inspired by a few of my favorites. The first inspiration was golden and chioggia beets harvested early yesterday morning at The Farm at South Mountain for our Visit Phoenix Team Building Cooking Challenge Event. Craving tomatoes today, so I purchased a few beautiful yellow and red from Abby Lee Farms, about 4 miles from my home. I’m loving microgreens this season; this salad features a beautiful Wellness Mix from Arizona Microgreens. I also intuitively reached for the Hatun Basil Olive Oil from my friend, Onur Mendeli. Finally, I added a few capers to add to the beauty of the dish.

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    Mise en Place: Get your ingredients all set for plating.

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    A glance at the plating process. When we plate, we mindful place our food onto the plate one-by-one and very mindful. It’s a lovely meditative process to create food art.

     

    Arizona Avocado Farmers’ Market Salad: Beautiful, healthy, and delicious!!!

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    Action: Have fun intuitively choosing a few beautiful veggies, micro-greens, and olive and mindfully plate your own avocado salad. Post your beautiful creations on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

    Melanie’s book, “A New View of Healthy Eating” features 54 simple plant-based, whole foods recipes and 84 simple culinary techniques.

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    Another look at the Arizona Avocado Farmers’ Market Salad

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Quick and Easy Tomato Gazpacho

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    Today I had the opportunity to share how to make a really simple tomato gazpacho to a group with Gregory’s Fresh Market. Tomato gazpacho is one of the simple staples in my cooking classes, as it is so simple for everyone to make – from kids, to adults, to former NFL players and their families, to seniors.  This cold soup is also so refreshing and very versatile. Plus, it’s great for hydration.

     

    This soup is so quick to prepare. In fact, today, I chopped for 30 minutes and then prepared two big batches in 30 minutes for the 56 people attending the cooking class. During the classes, rather than blending the veggies, I actually massage the tomatoes to bring out the tomato juice and flavor. Today, we intuitively made one batch with lots of garlic and cilantro, and the other with a little more lemon and green onions.

    The recipe in my book, “A New View of Healthy Eating” can be used as a basic guide to prepare the soup, then you can experiment with different flavors. Such as lime, dill, lots of colorful heirloom tomatoes, various peppers.

    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.

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    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.

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    ACTION: Make your own tomato gazpacho, experimenting with fresh herbs, peppers, and colorful tomatoes. Share your cold soup with us on Facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Arizona Winter Harvest Flatbread

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    It’s been a full few days, having fun preparing my Final Project – Arizona Winter Harvest Menu  –  the Plantlab Culinary Cooking Course.  Today I’ll share step-by-step photos of layering ingredients onto the final flatbread and some plating options. One plating presentation features many edible flowers from a local Arizona farm about half mile from my home. Hope this flatbread inspires you to make your own beautiful flatbread with your local farmers beautiful veggies.

    Prep the Pizza Stone

    Once the dough is prepared and rolled out for the flatbread, it’s time to put it into the oven. Click here for the Blog to prepare the Sprouted Spelt Flatbread Dough.

    • Place pizza stone in oven.
    • Pre-head oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Warm pizza brick in the oven for about 15 minutes.
    • Carefully remove pizza stone from the oven.
    • After 15 minutes remove the pizza stone from the oven and increase temperature to 400 degrees.

    Cook the Flatbread and Add ingredients

    • Move the flatbread to the pre-heated pizza stone.
    • Lightly top the flatbread with organic extra virgin olive. The oil will make the bread a little crisp and the topping ingredients will not soak into the bread.

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    • Bake the flatbread for about 5 to 7 minutes.
    • Remove from oven.

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    • Add your sauce to the flatbread. For this flatbread, I made a beautiful white almond bechamel sauce.

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    • Mindfully, add your favorite toppings. Today, I added roasted veggies: tomatoes, then red peppers, then Brussels sprouts, and finally golden beets and watermelon radishes.

     

    • Cook flatbread for another 5 minutes.
    • Remove from oven.
    • Add any extras. For this flatbread I topped with Pistachio Pesto.

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    • Enjoy!

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    In a future blog, I’ll share how I prepped the root veggies (beets, watermelon radishes) Brussels sprouts, and tomatoes.

    Another plating option with lots of editable flowers.

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    ACTION: Have fun making your own flatbread, with local farmers veggies, and share your creations with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

    “A New View of Healthy Eating” book is available. Melanie is happy to gift-wrap for you and your friends.

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Quick Lentil Quinoa Sweet Potato Soup

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    A few days ago a friend asked me for some ideas to create plant-based protein meals. Interestingly, when I was teaching former NFL players how to cook, one of the first questions they asked me was: “Mel, will I have to stop eating meat?”. Well, I let them know that if they ate meat, they should eat clean meat. I also let the NFL guys know that there are some great sources of plant protein, including legumes (beans, lentils) and some whole grains, such as quinoa, which is a complete protein. Lentil quinoa soup is quick and easy, as both ingredients do not need to be pre-soaked.

    Today’s soup is one that I taught former Arizona Cardinal, John Bronson how to cook. Take a look at the photos in my book, “A New View of Healthy Eating,” of John enjoying learning how to make Lentil Quinoa Soup with lots of anti-inflammatory turmeric.

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     LENTIL QUINOA SWEET POTATO SOUP RECIPE

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 1 cup lentils
    • 3-4 carrots and/or sweet potatoes, chopped
    • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 onion or 5-6 green onions, minced
    • 3-4 celery stalks, chopped
    • 2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
    • 5-inch strip of kombu seaweed, if desired
    • 1 cup brown rice or quinoa
    • 6-8 cups water
    • ½ tsp cumin seeds, hand-ground
    • 1 tsp black pepper
    • ½ bunch kale, torn or chopped into bite-size pieces

    Simple Steps to create your Lentil Quinoa Sweet Potato Soup

    • Step 1: Gather your mise en place.

     

    • Step 2: Heat large soup pot at medium-low, add onions and cumin seeds to pot, and sweat for 5 to 10 minutes.
    • Step 3: Add celery and carrots, and cook for about 5 minutes.
    • Step 4: Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

     

    • Step 5: Add sweet potatoes to pot and cook for about 5 minutes.

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    • Step 6: Add ground turmeric to the pot.

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    • Step 7: Rinse lentils and quinoa and pour into pot.

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    • Step 8: Add about 8 cups of water to the pot.
    • Step 9: Bring soup to a boil.
    • Step 10: Lower to simmer and cook covered for about 30-45 minutes.

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    • Step 11: Enjoy. Today, I topped with fresh pea shoots for freshness.

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    If you’re interested in additional simple recipes, “A New View of Healthy Eating” is available.

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: How to Roast Beautiful Veggies: Romanesco and Sweet Potatoes

    A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: How to Roast Beautiful Veggies: Romanesco and Sweet Potatoes

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    Roasting veggies is such a simple culinary technique that I taught my 88- and 91-year old Mom and Dad how to prepare them while in Cocoa Beach during the Christmas 2017 holiday. The key is to choose a few of your favorite veggies, add some organic extra virgin olive, oil, and sea salt or a mix of dried herbs. I was so excited to purchase a Romanesco cauliflower, a beautiful blend of cauliflower and broccoli and local Arizona farmers’ sweet potatoes for today’s roasted veggies.

    Simple Steps to Roast Romanesco and Sweet Potatoes

    Inspired by the beautiful Romanesco!

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    Step 1: Get set with your mise en place – all ingredients in place: Romanesco, sweet potato, organic extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt.

     

    Step 2: Steam Romanesco. Prior to roasting, steam chopped romanesco in bamboo steamer for about 5 minutes. The romanesco is ready when fork easily slides into the veggie.

     

    Step 3:  Gently toss sweet potato and romanesco with organic extra virgin olive oil and pinch of sea salt.

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    Step 4: Mindfully place veggies on a sheet pan. Be sure the veggies do not touch, to prevent them from steaming.

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    Step 5: Roast veggies in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Flip and roast another 8-12 minutes. Sweet potatoes will be crisp on outsie and soft inside.

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    Step 6: Get set for plating. Today, I added home-made hummus, olives, and capers to the roasted romanesco and sweet potatoes.

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    Step 7: Have fun mindfully plating your veggies. Be intuitive and remember, we eat with our eyes first.

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    Step 8: Mindfully enjoy your meal!

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    YOUR ACTION: Choose a few of your favorite veggies, roast and plate them. Enjoy. And, share your culinary creation with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating