Tag Archives: lentils

the weekend nurture menu: the MOST significant shift

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“I want to wallow in pain in order to learn life’s lessons,” said no one ever.

untitledRegardless of how evolved you are, who doesn’t want a quick fix for life’s woes? You hope that with the perfect job, perfect partner, more money, all of life’s troubles will melt away. Notice that this thinking is focusing on the outcome: what can I do/get to be happy instead of feeling happy now.

More so, this perspective doesn’t account for the energy projecting into the universe. If you’re just striving for an outcome to cure your troubles, you’re not going to attract authentic, healing growth. If you need to know the end goal, you’ll never know the positive change that manifests in the process.

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For example, if you want a new job, thinking “I want to be a big-time yoga teacher, lawyer, or graphic designer,” the end goal may disappoint you. This perspective is about a quick fix, instead of how aspects of each field make you feel. A shift in perspective will attract the things you want, because its emerging from an internal healing instead of an external cure. Gabrielle Bernstein explains this shift best:

“Many people approach manifestation from a place of “How can I get something to feel better?” Instead, the focus should be: “How can I feel better and therefore be an energetic match for attracting more greatness into my life?”

This is the MOST important shift: from focusing on what what you want to get or what you want to do to focusing on how you want to feel.

Over the weekend, this concept knocked my socks off. I looked to all the things, foods, and people in my life that make me feel inspired, nurtured, and loved. I felt compelled to refocus my healthy feelings with healthy burgers…

wild mushroom and lentil burgers with cashew garlic cream
makes 6-8 patties

  • 1 cup beluga lentilsphoto (5)
  • 1 tbsp of coconut oil
  • 1 red onion, sliced (optional)
  • couple pinches sea salt
  • 2 cups mixed wild mushrooms, sliced (wood ear, shiitake, oyster, chanterelle…)
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tbsp fresh rosemary
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme
  • 2 tbsp tamari
  • ½ cup sunflower seeds
  • 15 kalamata olives
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • freshly cracked black pepper
  1. Wash and drain lentils. In a medium saucepan, cover with 2 cups water, bring to a boil, cover, reduce to simmer and cook until tender (about 20-25 minutes). Remove lid off to cool and set aside. Drain if there is any water left.
  2. In a frying pan heat a knob of coconut oil. Add sliced onions, if using, and a pinch of salt. Cook until softened, about five minutes. Add garlic, rosemary and thyme. Cook for a few minutes, then add sliced mushrooms. Allow the mushrooms to cook without stirring for a few minutes so that they brown on one side. After five minutes, stir mushrooms and add tamari, stir to coat. When mushrooms are cooked, remove from heat and set aside.
  3. In a food processor grind sunflower seeds until they resemble breadcrumbs. Add cooked lentils, mushroom mixture, mustard, olive oil, and cracked black pepper. Pulse to blend. [You may need to stir once in a while. Avoid adding too much liquid – the mixture should be thick.]
  4. Pit and roughly chop olives. Add to the food processor and stir to combine.
  5. Form 6-8 balls with the mixture, slightly smaller than a baseball. Press to flatten into patties, but keep them thick. Press around the outside edge to prevent them from cracking.
  6. You can warm the burgers two ways: heat a knob of coconut oil and cook the burger on one side until golden, 4-6 minutes, then flip and cook on opposite side OR cook burgers in a 375°F/ 190°C oven for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through bake time. [Remember that they are already fully cooked, so all you need to do is heat them up.]
  7. Serve burgers open-faced on a slice of gluten-free or extra-grainy toast. Garnish with cashew garlic cream, avocado, and a pile of greens.

photo (7)cashew garlic cream

  • ½ cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 clove garlic (start with just ½)
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp chives
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • Squirt honey or maple syrup
  1.  Soak cashews for at least 4 hours, up to 12. Drain and rinse.
  2. Add cashews to a food processor or blender, which ever is the most powerful. Add ½ clove garlic, all other ingredients and ¼ cup of water. Blend on high and add the remaining water in increments until the desired consistency is reached – not too thick, not too runny. Season to taste and add the other half clove of garlic if desired. [adapted from mynewroots.org]

Ask yourself: What can I start doing right now to bring more of this feeling into my life? Don’t worry about money or status that will emerge or what other people will think of you. If you’re acting from an inspired place, the money comes. When you feel how you want to feel, when you’re authentically you, people become inspired by you.

xo, S

the weekend nurture menu: be vibrant!

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[As always, gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined-sugar-free!]

When I was 22, I had a conversation with a yoga teacher about her recent engagement. She said, “There could be 1000 people in the room, but my fiancé thinks I’m the most beautiful. Always.” My self-hating mind thought, “How will anyone ever feel that way about me?”

Years later, even without looking in the mirror, I know I’m beautiful–not because of how I look, but because of how I feel. While I look exactly the same–same yoga practice, same way of eating–I think and give differently. I do yoga and eat from a place of nurture and not hate. More importantly, I give love to myself and others willingly.

With this, I omit a loving, vibrance–this creates the longest-lasting, external beauty. Eating, exercising, thinking, and giving from a place of love–instead of trying to fix yourself and others–you will feel and be vibrant!

Start with vibrant food… Think: how many natural colors can I bring to a meal and how bright can they be? This week’s coconut red lentil soup has the most vibrant, delicious reds and greens. You can be creative and add kale or spinach towards the end for even more pop. You could also serve this with brown rice or quinoa. Or if you eat dairy, add a garnish of yogurt or goat’s cheese.

coconut red lentil soup
serves 6-8

  • 2 cups red split lentils
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inchs
  • 1 fresh jalapeno or serrano chili, finely chopped, including seeds
  • 1 tablespoon fresh peeled and minced ginger
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/3 cup tomato paste
  • 5 cups water
  • 1 can unsweetened light coconut milk
  • 1 15-ounce can of chickpeas
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
  • fresh cilantro and lime wedges for serving
  1. Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in a dutch oven or large soup pan and add the onions, bell pepper and jalapeno and cook for 5-7 minutes until the vegetables have softened and start to take on some color.
  2. Add the garlic, ginger, spices and tomato paste and continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes until the mixture is toasty and fragrant.  
  3. Add the water, coconut milk, lentils and chickpeas and cook uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes adding the lime juice at the end of cooking.
  4. Taste and adjust with more salt or more lime juice if desired.  Serve the soup topped with a sprinkling of fresh cilantro and some extra limes on the side.

[adapted from 101cookbooks.com]

Eat sweet and vibrant…

Part of feeling vibrant is not depriving yourself of anything. When you limit your sugar intake, do so from a place of nurturing your body, not because you don’t deserve it. Simply put, you DO deserve this cake!!

Gorgeous blueberries and a subtle, yet bright taste of lemon, spices the almonds’ flavor. If you’re making your own almond flour, by soaking the nuts, the almonds taste even sweeter.

With one bite, the nutty, sweet, and bursting flavors can’t help but make you feel beautiful!

blueberry, lemon, almond cake
serves 8-10

Cake

  • 4 cups almond flour (I used the almond pulp from my almond milk. Store purchased almond flour or a vitamix will give you a finer consistency.)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
  • 2 small organic lemons
  • 3 large eggs (or you can combine 3 tbsp chia seeds and 9 tbsp water and let sit for 15 minutes)
  • 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
  • 2 cups blueberries (save half for topping)

Glaze

  • 1 cup vegan cream cheese or goat’s milk yogurt, drained
  • 2 tbsp Grade B maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 8-inch spring form cake pan. [I like coconut oil spray.]
  2. Combine almond flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl and set aside.
  3. Heat oil and syrup in a sauce pan on very low heat until combined. Grate the zest from the 2 lemons and add it to the syrup/oil batter. Divide them in half and squeeze the juice from three of the halves into the mixture, saving one half for the glazing.
  4. Add the batter to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs and then fold them into the batter together with 1 cup of the blueberries. Stir gently around with a wooden spoon until combined.
  5. Pour the batter to into the greased pan. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until golden on the outside and baked all way through. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes before removing the sides.
  6. Meanwhile, start making the glaze. [If you're using yogurt, drain it yogurt in a milk cloth or coffee filter for about 10 minutes. This is to make the yogurt less runny.] Combine the cream cheese or thick yogurt with the syrup, vanilla extract, and the juice from the remaining lemon half. Leave to chill in the fridge.
  7. When the cake has cooled completely, cover it with glazing, top with the remaining blueberries and serve. [You could also just serve the cake with blueberries and yogurt on the side.]

[adapted from greenkitchenstories.com]

When you let go of trying to look beautiful and, instead, strive to give yourself the utmost love, “beautiful” is irrelevant–vibrance shines.

xo, S

the weekend nurture menu: lentils and oats

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[As always, gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined-sugar-free!]

For me, summer brings easy and quick bites that don’t leave me feeling weighed down during the day. My bike is now my main mode of transportation, so I have to be fueled and light to enjoy the summer breeze.

This weekend I made red lentil fritters. They’re the perfect salad protein for lunches this week. The pan-fried Indian flavor coupled with the tang of the carrot-ginger dressing are delightful over mixed greens. Throw that in some tupperware and you have yourself an easy, yummy lunch.

Don’t forget your afternoon delight: oat drop cookies! Not too sweet, mostly complex carbs and great fats make them perfect anytime of day.

lentil fritters
6-8 fritters

  • ½ c spelt, oat, or brown rice flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 eggs, separated
  • 2/3 c unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 1/2 c lentils, cooked (see below)
  • some flat-leaf parsley
  • salt, black pepper
  1. Sift flour, baking powder and spices into a bowl. Whisk in yolks and milk until smooth. Stir in lentils and roughly chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites to soft peaks, then gently fold it into the batter.
  3. Heat some oil in a pan, spoon small fritters into the pan and cook on both sides until golden. Serve with carrot-ginger dressing and freshly chopped tomatoes.

cooking lentils

Lentils must not be overcooked or they will become soft and mushy. Different varieties require different cooking times. Cook green and brown lentils for approximately 45 minutes and red lentils for 15 minutes.

  1. Use 1 1/2 cups of water or broth to 1 cup of lentils. So for the above recipe 2 1/3c of water for 1 1/2c lentils.
  2. Add water or broth to a saucepan.
  3. Bring water or broth to a boil and add the lentils.
  4. Boil for 2 or 3 minutes and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until tender.

[adapted from scandifoodie.blogspot.com]

Any dressing would be great on these fritters. I particularly like the tang and creaminess of the carrot-ginger to contrast the fritters. Trust YOUR taste buds on this one! I know you can come up with something delicious too!

carrot-ginger dressing
Makes 1 1/2 cups or more

  • 4 medium carrots, roughly chopped
  • 1-inch knob of fresh ginger, roughly chopped
  • 1 shallot, sliced
  • 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • Juice of one lemon

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process. Add water to thin, if desired. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Now the drop of dessert!

Oats, nuts, dried fruit, banana… these are a power-packed, poppable treat! They go pretty fast. Don’t be ashamed if you can’t get enough. Though they were meant to last the week, mine disappeared after two days…oat drop cookies
12-15 cookies

  • 1 1/2 cups regular rolled oats
  • 1 cup coconut flakes
  • 1/4 cup of almond meal
  • 1/2 cup mixed nuts, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, almonds, etc., finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 cup dried fruit (I used 1/2 chopped dried dates, and 1/2 raisins)
  • 3 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/4 cup safflower oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1. Preheat oven to 350C. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, almond meal, mixed nuts and coconut flakes. Stir in salt, allspice, and cinnamon. Add dried fruit and stir until well and evenly mixed. Make sure the dried fruit do not stick together in big batches.
  3. In another bowl, combine safflower oil, mashed banana and vanilla extract. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
  4. Tablespoon cookie batter onto baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

Eat and enjoy with happiness!

xo, S