"Casual" cookies

They were meant to be "cashew cookies", but my friend thought of a better name for them - a casual nibble with zero guilt, because they are gluten free, flour free and with no added sugar whatsoever. Eat them for breakfast, snack or dessert.

They really are yummy, seriously!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of raw, unsalted cashews
• 1 cup of unsweetened dried coconut
• 2 large bananas
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 2 tbsp of almond milk

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Step 2: Grind cashews in food processor with some small chunks remaining.

Step 3: Transfer to a bowl and mix in shredded coconut.

Step 4: Combine bananas, egg, vanilla extract, cinnamon, salt in a food processor and blend to create a thick, brown paste.

Step 5: Pour the paste over the cashew-coconut mixture. Mix well.

Step 6: Add almond milk to add more moisture to the mix.

Step 7: Scoop 1 Tbsp of mixture at a time to cookie sheet. Flatten them and make sure they are not too thick. You should have about two dozen cookies.

Step 8: Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool completely and store them in the fridge.

Baked chickpeas snack

It is much easier to eat well for the main meals, but a healthy snack? Forget about it!  There are very few healthy, unprocessed options out there other than nuts and fruits. But here is one - baked chickpeas or garbanzo beans. My daughter LOVES it (but she also loves kale and leaves in general...)!

I wish I could tell you that canned chickpeas work just as well in this recipe, but they don't. So I would start from scratch, soak the dried beans overnight. Make sure there is at least 4 or 5 inches of water above the chickpeas because they expand big time. (Now walk away and go to bed.)

The next morning, drain and rinse the chickpeas. Put them in a large pot and cover with a few inches of water, boil for 1-1 1/2 hours. If you have a pressure cooker or vacuum cooker, cook according to instructions. When chickpeas are cooked, drain again.

Dry the cooked and drained chickpeas with paper towel. Spread them on a baking tray. Drizzle olive oil on top. Mix well. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until crunchy and crisp.

Remove from oven. While they are still hot, mix in salt and desired spices like cayenne, cumin or chilli powder. Let cool and transfer to an air-tight container. They should keep in room temperature for about a week.

How to cook the perfect quinoa

Quinoa is a low glycemic grain (or technically a seed) that doesn't spike up your blood sugar level like white rice or potatoes do. It is also protein-dense, so eat away.......white, red, even rainbow. It is also a perfect last minute thing you can whip up because brown rice just takes too darn long to cook.

Rinse 1 cup of quinoa in a mesh strainer under tap water, it washes away the saponins that make quinoa otherwise bitter.

Here is where I disagree with most folks out there. I like my quinoa kind of crisp and bouncy. My quinoa:water ratio is 1:1 1/4, radically less then the 1:2 ratio most recipes call for. I never know why. Maybe after the quinoa has been washed, it already retains some of the water.

So I repeat, add 1 1/4 cup of water to 1 cup of rinsed quinoa, a sprinkle of salt, bring it to boil, cover, turn the heat down to low, simmer for about 15 minutes. When cooked, let it sit in the pan for another 10 minutes or so. Fluff and serve.

Home-made Almond Milk

Every time I tell someone I make my own almond milk, I get the same look of disbelief that makes me feel like I'm bragging or something! The reality is - I can't find any nut or grain "beverage" out there that doesn't contain carrageenan, xanthan gum, guar gum or other emulsifiers and additives. This is one of the easiest upgrades you can do that is totally worth it. Here is how...

Step 1: Put a cup of almonds in a quart size mason jar, fill it up with water, soak overnight.

Step 2: Pour everything from the mason jar into your blender and blend. I like my almond milk plain. But add a little honey, maple syrup or vanilla if you like yours flavored.

You need a good quality blender that is powerful enough to grind nuts. My Nutribullet is awesome, but it is small, so I need to do it in two batches.

Step 3: The actual "milking part" - pour the mixture in a nut bag to allow the liquid to drain through into a container. Squeeze the bag of pulp with both hands like the udder of a cow (no better way to describe it, unfortunately) to get every drop of milk out.

Invest in a proper nut bag, don't waste your time on cheese cloths! This is the one I have.

When it's done, the almond pulp should look like this. Save it for blending into smoothies!

The milk should last about a week in the fridge.

Protein Powerhouse Smoothie

Before you throw in that protein power, think nuts and seeds! You get a rich protein shake with all the good fats and oils, without any processed ingredients.

Ingredients:

• Fruits - a mix of frozen berries, goji berries and half a banana
• Nuts - cashews (but why not almonds, walnuts or pistachios?)
• Seeds - a mix of pumpkin, chia, ground flax (try hemp, sesame)
• Liquid - home-made almond milk (you can use any nut milk, quinoa milk, anyone?)
• A tsp of coconut oil
• The secret ingredient - a sprinkle of organic cacao powder
• Honey for extra sweetness

Be creative! Have fun with it!

Tempeh (or chicken) in red sweet pepper sauce

Start with a good tempeh. Check out Barry's Tempeh - "the only fresh tempeh in New York" that is "unpasteurized, fresh and alive with an abundance of probiotics and enzymes"!

This recipe is based on my Indian food guru, Madhur Jeffrey's chicken in red sweet pepper sauce. Over the years I've made this so many times I can practically throw it together with my eyes closed.  This recipe is so perfectly balanced in flavors you don't want to make any substitutions - except for the protein part, it works just as well with tempeh, or half chicken and half tempeh (for those of you who want to increase your intake of plant-based protein but are intimidated by tempeh!)

The most tedious part of the cooking process is assembling all the ingredients and spices together for blending.  Once the sauce is made, you can kick back and relax while it cooks.

Ingredients for blending:

• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch cube of ginger
• 1 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 big handful (1 oz) slivered almonds
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
• a little cayenne (depends on your comfort level)
• 2 tsp of salt

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender, pushing them down with a spatula whenever you need to, until you get a paste like this. ( Most of the work is done!)

Decide on your protein. I like to use about 8 oz. of tempeh and 1 1/2 lb. of chicken. Double the amount of either protein if you decide to go for only one of them.

Put 5 tbsp of oil ( I use olive oil)  in a pot set over medium heat. When hot, add the blended paste, stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Put in your protein. Add 4-6 oz. of water, 2 tbsp of lemon juice and black pepper. Stir, bring it to a boil. Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer gently for about 40 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Stir a few times.

It is absolutely delicious. Leftovers taste even more amazing the next day!

My new kitchen toy

Sometimes a fun kitchen utensil changes the way you cook. I've always preferred to eat my vegetables raw, baked or lightly sauteed. But ever since I bought this bamboo steamer, I've been steaming everything from kale to broccoli, carrots to green beans.

Here is how you do it - fill up a saucepan with about two inches of water. When it is boiling, put the bamboo steamer on top of it.  Cover the lid of the steamer. Turn down the heat to low/medium.

Create a double decker for steaming 2 or 3 kinds of vegetables at the same time. I usually put hardier root vegetables at the bottom tier and leaves at the top. It takes 3-5 minutes.

When the veggies are done, add your favorite salt, oils, seeds or dressings. Olive oil, sesame oil, walnut oil, sesame seeds, hemp seeds are a few of my go to choices.

Avocado and tofu salad

This is my latest obsession.

It does not require any cooking or extensive washing and chopping.

Here are the easy steps -

1. Dry your tofu really well. I recommend using soft, non-GMO tofu, wrapped in a paper or kitchen towel for a few minutes to soak up all the water.
2. Cut up an avocado.
3. Sprinkle sesame seeds.
4. Add cilantro / scallion.
5. Pinch of salt.
6. Dress it with sesame oil and tamari.
7. (Optional) I add a little shiso dressing from Momo dressing to make it even more irresistable. Be creative!

How to assemble a healthy lunch in 5 minutes

Step 1: Pre-packaged greens - kale, spinach, arugula, spring mix.....

Step 2: Pre-cut veggies - carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes....

Step 3: Protein options - smoked fish, sardines, tofu, eggs, tempeh......

Step 4: Nuts and seeds - almonds, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, pistachios....

Step 5: Olives, pickles, sauerkraut....

Step 6: Whole grains with a twist  ( like quinoa and my favorite Za'atar and sumac oil)

Step 7: Upgrade your oils and dressings.

Massage your kale and it will love you back

Step 1: Take the stems off the kale leaves. Wash and dry your kale really well. Add a pinch of salt, a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

Now roll up your sleeves and get ready for work. Massage the leaves like you are giving a back rub to someone you love. Secret ingredient here - LOVE!

Massaged kale can keep in the fridge for a few days. When you are ready to eat it, add your favorite toppings.

Mine are cooked quinoa, grapes, toasted pinenuts, red onions and dried cranberries.

With a touch of my favorite O&Co. cherry balsamic vinegar, I can eat this everyday.