Just because you give up dairy, doesn't mean you give up your favorite dressing. This is easy to make and while the cashews make it creamy, they are optional if wanting a lower fat version. Recipe by Chef Del Sroufe
1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for about 1/2 hour
3/4 cup firm silken tofu
2 tsp lemon juice
2 (or less) cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 pinch black pepper
1 Tbsp fresh minced dill (or 2 tsp dried)
1 Tbsp fresh mince parsley
1 Tbsp fresh chives (or 1-1/2 tsp dried)
Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and creamy. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Quinoa & Orzo Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 cup orzo
- 1 can chickpeas (drain and reserve the liquid)
- 2 medium cucumbers, diced
- small container of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 2 scallions, sliced thin
- 2-3 ribs celery, sliced
- Fresh parsley, chopped
Honey Lime Dressing
- 1 cup of the chickpea liquid (aka "aqua faba")
- 1/3 cup white or regular balsamic vinegar
- juice from 1/2 lime
- 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
Instructions
Cook the orzo and quinoa (separately) and let cool. You might want to drizzle a bit of olive oil on the orzo pasta while it is cooling so that it doesn't stick together. Slice all of the vegetables and add the orzo, quinoa, and chickpeas to a large bowl with the veggies. If you have a stick blender, blend together the dressing ingredients, or whisk until foamy. At this point you can add salt and pepper to taste and herbs of your choice. I like to add marjoram and thyme. Stir in the dressing and top with the fresh parsley!
Broccoli & Cabbage Slaw
As part of a healthy diet, cruciferous vegetables are anti-inflammatory and give you a good boost to your immune system. You can substitute Brussels sprouts for the broccoli, or add bok choy, radishes, cauliflower, or any of your favorite vegetables. Before adding the asparagus to this dish (try to get the fat stalks), I trimmed and peeled the lower part of the stalk.
Ingredients
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup raw walnuts or pecans (optional), chopped
- 1 small head broccoli, cut in bite size pieces
- 1/4 head of red cabbage, shredded
- 3 carrots, peeled and shredded
- 1 bunch asparagus, sliced thin
- 1 apple, diced
- 3/4 cup corn, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 red onion
MAPLE MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE DRESSING (Courtesy of Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures)
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp water
- 2 tsp tahini
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp ground mustard powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp dried minced onions
- 1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt (or pink himalayan)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and set aside. Assemble your salad ingredients in a large bowl. For optional tastiness, you can dry roast the nuts over medium heat in a small pan, stirring frequently so they don't burn. Let them cool before chopping. Toss in with the veggies and drizzle as much of the dressing as you like.
Your Wellness Lifestyle Starts HereYou may have heard of the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule. It states that for many events, roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of the causes.
The Pareto Principle can be applied to a variety of situations. Here are a few examples of how to apply this principle to help you form healthy habits.
The Pareto Principle can be applied to a variety of situations. Here are a few examples of how to apply this principle to help you form healthy habits.
- Relationships. Who are the few people that have the most positive impact on my life? Spend more time with them.
- Priorities. What are the few actions that have the most positive impact on my day? Prioritize them.
- Learning. What are the few information sources I learn from most? Focus on them.
- Stress. What are the few sources that cause most of the stress and friction in my life. Eliminate them.
Journal.: What are the current habits that are hindering your future progress?
Forming healthy lifestyle habits, including diet and exercise, requires deliberate effort on your part in crafting a health and wellness vision. In order to be successful, the habits must be accessible, sustainable, and defensible with science.
Wellness Forum Health has developed a process of educating others to make Informed decisions and I love helping others regain their health through better habits.
We should never need to explain our reasons for any of our choices, including our food choices. However, we should be able to - if asked - explain why we have decided to stop eating particular foods. Most important is the ability to do this, which represents an understanding of the reasons a choice has been made. Diet and lifestyle choices and more independent thinking about healthcare are more likely to "stick" if people know what they are doing and why they are doing it.
Liz Fattore
Nurture Your Health
Licensed Food Over Medicine Professional
Your Wellness Lifestyle Starts HereHow do you define health? Did you ever think of developing a health philosophy?
First, let's define philosophy. According to dictionary.com, it is the "rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct; the critical study of the basic principles and concepts of a particular branch of knowledge, especially with a view to improving or reconstituting them."
In this country, the health care system gives us our health philosophy. We give them the power to manage our health. The United States spends more money per capita on "health" care than any other country on earth, yet when the quality of our "health" care is compared with other industrialized nations, we rank near the bottom. Rates of many chronic diseases have only increased over time. Is the term "health" care a misnomer? Shouldn't it be called a disease care system?
Developing a philosophy of how you manage your health is just as important as how you manage your finances, insurance costs, and car maintenance.
Obviously, nobody wants to be sick and be in the constant care of a doctor. So, if your motivation is to not become sick, to remain a healthy person, then your health strategy or philosophy is tied to that outcome because it is important to you. The Wellness Forum Health Informed Consumer approach is a food forward, educational approach to a healthy lifestyle. The foods you consume can heal you faster and more profoundly than the most expensive prescription drugs, and more dramatically than the most extreme surgical interventions, with only positive side effects.
There are no short cuts, no magic pills. The new hot thing may not be the healthy thing. Be informed as a consumer. We teach you how to develop your own strategy to achieve success. As you start to examine what you are eating, how your habits affect your lifestyle, learn new, healthy habits and skills and change your behavior, you will build new pathways in the brain. For a lifestyle change to work, it must be accessible, sustainable, and defensible with evidence.
Optimal health is achieved and maintained when people practice proactive and intentional healthcare. This means prioritizing learning about health and investing time and resources in adopting the right diet, engaging in the right exercise, and paying attention to other factors that lead to optimal health. Doesn't that sound like a great health philosophy?
Liz Fattore
Nurture Your Health
Licensed Food Over Medicine Professional
www.lizfattore.com
