Acknowledgements and Notes

Acknowledgements:

This blog is based mainly on the work of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Colin Campbell, and others promoting nutrition from plant based, whole, unprocessed food, oil free, without added sugar, and with minimal salt.

For more, please see the books at the foot of this blog and the "Essy's Favorites and Videos" page as well as in other posts below. (Note: this is a PAGE and NOT a POST!)

Special thanks to Carol D'Anca who shares her deep nutritional knowledge and extraordinary culinary expertise to inspire me and so many others to see our daily meals as continuing sources of good health and joy.

And many thanks as well to Ariane Glazer whose knowledge of raw vegan foods is encyclopedic and exceeded only by her generosity of sharing information and good food! While some of her recipes use oil, they are valuable and easy to modify when needed.

This Blog is NOT intended to replace medical advice!
This blog is intended to give general information and food preparation ideas. For medical advice please consult your qualified health care practitioner.

Note on Navigating this Blog More Efficiently:

When using the links on these posts use the back arrows (<) to get back to your original spot rather than closing the window. That will save you a lot of time! If any of the links don't work please let me know using the "Keep in Touch" form.


Note on referenced books. You can find books by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Colin Campbell and Carol D'Anca at Amazon.com.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Building a WFPB Main Course Soup or Stew in a Rice Cooker

Please note that this post and a few others on this blog were originally notes for demonstrations.  They were particularly intended for people preparing food for one or two people, to be able to enjoy a cooked meal without a lot of kitchen mess and to freeze a portion for use as the basis for a super-quick meal later.

Here are the steps for making a whole food plant based (WFPB) soup or stew in a Rice Cooker.  I'm illustrating an Asian-inspired dish but there are endless variations on this theme for you to create!

Equipment needed besides a rice cooker  (preferably with stainless steel or ceramic bowl and with a steamer):  a wooden spoon, a cutting board, a knife, a measuring cup, and a small strainer.    You don't need a stove or any other pots and pans.

(I like this small Oster Rice Cooker with steamer from Target: https://www.target.com/p/oster-174-duraceramic-6-cup-rice-cooker-black-ckstrc61k-teco/-/A-50972594#lnk=sametab&sneakTo=50972594  As of this writing the price is around $20.00.)

Ingredients are in bold type.  These ingredients are just examples!   This post is meant as a springboard for your ideas for your own dishes!  

The "Elapsed Times" will give you an idea of how much time you will actually spend preparing the dish.  But once prepared, this dish could easily be the basis for at least three other meals.  These times are for a dish using brown rice or small lentils.  For a dish using quinoa or small lentils or pre-cooked beans the times will be shorter!  (See the Super Quick Meals post for this).

1. Total Time elapsed: 0.  
Coarsely chop an onion (or 1/2 onion if you wish) and one or two jalapeño peppers.  Also if you wish, fine chop a clove or two of garlic and/or some thin slices of fresh ginger.  

Place the above ingredients in about 1/2 C water in the rice cooker bowl and set on cook.   The rice cooker should start simmering in about 5 minutes, so let the veggies simmer for about 5 minutes more before adding anything else.  Do not remove these veggies.


(This will make the basis of a flavorful broth, but if you prefer, you can substitute a salt-free veggie broth such as Kitchen Basics throughout this recipe.)

Measure (and rinse in your strainer)  between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of brown rice (short or long grain) and double that quantity of water, and add to the rice cooker.

(This is when you might use instead lentils or split peas or small dried beans -- such as mung or adzuki -- but this is an Asian themed meal so we're just doing rice.  The water will need a few minutes to start simmering again. )

Let it simmer while you do veggie prep!

All of the above should take about 15 Minutes. 

2. Veggie Prep!   While the rice is cooking, wash the veggies you intend to use and prepare them for your dish.

a.  First, prepare the veggies you would like to steam (broccoli heads, cauliflower florets, asparagus, brussels sprouts halved, etc.)  When the water in the rice cooker is simmering, set these in the steamer.

KEEP AN EYE ON THIS SO THAT THEY DON'T GET MUSHY! TAKE THEM OUT AND SET ASIDE WHILE STILL FAIRLY CRISPM AS THEY WILL CONTINUE TO COOK A BIT.  

b. Chop into bite sized pieces the veggies that will be cooked with the rice.  

Here are some of the veggies you might want to use.  They are non-leafy (mostly they need a little more cooking time):  carrots, parsnip, kohl rabi bulbs, broccoli stems, green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, jicama, beets (watch out - they'll color everything), etc. and whatever else you'd like.  Be adventurous! Try new things!

Place them on your counter in order of the cooking time they need.  For example carrots may take a little longer, mushrooms a little less time and chard very little time.   Start adding veggies when the rice is partially cooked.

When the rice is almost fully cooked (sample a few grains),  you can add shorter cooking things like mushrooms (my faves are shiitake), fennel, and tougher leafy veggies like chopped cabbage, collards or kale, as well as bok choy stems, celery, etc.

Check a few grains from the rice cooker from time to time.  Brown rice will need around 25 minutes to cook.  If you are using lentils, a little less, and millet or quinoa a lot less. it will probably take around 20 minutes to cook.  When it is almost all cooked you can go to the next step.

c.  Last come the more tender leaves that just need to soften briefly.  The best way to prepare these is to roll them into a tight cylinder or ball and slice very thin slices.  This is called "chiffonade" and it looks nice and lets them cook fast!  This is the best thing to do with leaves of bok choy, chard, napa cabbage, etc. You can cut the heavy stems out first.

A few extras:

A few small cubes of firm tofu near the end and some small cubes of jicama are nice in an Asian themed dish.  Jicama is a lot like water chestnut.   If you can get fresh bean sprouts add them at the very end just to warm a little, and add some low sodium tamari sauce (a milder, gluten-free soy sauce).

For some Mexican flavor consider adding poblano or other mild or medium hot peppers and some chopped tomatoes, and chili seasoning, or even a favorite commercial salsa.

Depending on what grains you were using your total elapsed time is now around 30 minutes.

Now you can also add the steamed veggies.  

This may come right up to the top of the 6 cup cooker.  No problem. It simmers gently and will not boil over.  Adjust the liquid if you wish for more of a soup or more of a stew.  When you have mixed everything well and it is heated through unplug it so you don't overcook.

Some Extras: Go Easy!

To perk up flavor at the table consider adding low sodium tamari (gluten-free soy sauce), Sriracha sauce, other condiments you like, or one of the many commercial salt-free seasonings or even nutritional yeast.

Once you know what kinds of flavors you like you can even add some of these during the cooking process, but many seasonings are best added  later, as cooking can destroy the benefits of miso (high sodium so go easy!) and nutritional yeast.

You have spent no longer than 30-45 minutes making a main course (just add a salad if you like and fruit for dessert) AND you also have frozen the basis for one or two more meals!


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Quick Meals for Another Day!

You can store leftovers in fridge for a day or two but try to save TWO CONTAINERS (such as the Solo Lunch and Go containers)  FREEZER!   These will be for meals another day!  

If you want to make lunches for work, you can use freeze meals in the disposable Solo Lunch and Go containers referenced the the "Small Appliances" post, they will freeze into "ice blocks" that fit perfectly inside your  LUNCH CROCK for later warming.

There will be room to "freshen" them up a bit with a little lemon or lime juice and other seasoning, and you can even add more fresh chopped leafy greens that will soften quickly in the lunch crock and add a note of freshness as well.

If you always eat at home just reheat these "ice blocks" later in the Rice Cooker, setting it on "warm," or even on "cook" if you are in a hurry, once again adding fresh leafy greens near the end.
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Summary: 


This is an example of a main course soup or stew (depending on how much you decide to dilute it) for THREE or FOUR generous main courses.   And you only have  minimal equipment to clean up.  You've used only one pot -- the little container of your rice cooker which will not burn or scorch!  

This has ENDLESS variations. You can use lentils or small beans or quinoa or millet and add other kinds of veggies, always adding a LOT of green leafy veggies.   You can use a homemade or commercial salt-free vegetable broth or just plain water using peppers and onions to make a savory broth.   You can vary amounts, seasoning, etc.

Experiment, try different combinations (I'm crazy about the combination of beets and fennel, or sweet potato and squash)  and keep notes on the ones you like best!  I may add a few posts on my faves.

The order is pretty much the same for every variation:

1. Cut up the "broth" veggies (onions, hot peppers such as jalapeños), garlic, etc. and start them simmering in water (or even in broth if you wish).

2. Add the rice, lentils, small beans, etc.  Quinoa or millet can be added later.

NOTE: Large beans (garbanzos, etc., should be cooked ahead of time, even days ahead. and you can do this easily in the rice cooker.  If you use canned beans you can add these near the end with the shorter cooking vegetables).

3.  While this is cooking, chop the other veggies.


4. Add the other veggies in the order of how long it takes them to cook.

5. Set aside enough for 2 freezer containers.  Best to season these more when you are ready to use them.

6. Eat the remainder  -- seasoned as you wish!

When you are ready to eat the frozen portions, heat the food (not the container!) in the Lunch Crock, adding fresh lemon or lime juice, fresh parsley or cilantro,  and/or other seasonings you like and a good sized handful of fine chopped "fast cook" greens - spinach and chard are ideal here!  This adds a "fresh cooked" flavor.

Bottom line:  You've spent less than hour making a great dinner for two.
On the other nights, or for lunch, you are just heating up your frozen dish and adding seasoning and more greens!

If you made a container of hummus and/or guacasalsa, and a large batch of Mighty Muffins for a side dish (or even dessert) -- and a quick green salad, you'll have a few whole food plant based meals that will take very little prep time.

Note: Plenty of other dishes freeze well.  If you're not sure, test a few ounces whenever you make a new dish.  You'll quickly see which ones are fine after freezing and which ones are not!
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Friday, September 9, 2016

Building a Super-Quick meal from Scratch in a Rice Cooker








This builds on the same idea as the post on Building a WFPB Meal at http://wfpbn.blogspot.com/2016/08/biography-of-soup.html, but it is much quicker.

You can start from scratch and have a great filling dish in about 20 minute.

Put half a cup of water in your rice cooker.

While it's heating up chop a few of your high flavor veggies (jalapeño peppers, an onion, maybe a clove of garlic or a few slices of ginger) and toss into the water.   (Really in a rush?  OK, just a pinch of hot chili flakes and some onion and or garlic powder - but if you can swing it the veggies are really nicer!)   They'll start to simmer in minutes.

Use this time to measure about 1/3 cup of quinoa and toss that in, and stir it into the water.  Then add another 2/3 cup of water.  (Proportion of liquid to quinoa is 2:1, but some of the water will steam away cooking the flavoring ingredients and the steaming that you are about to do)

(Hint: Want to save a little more time and fuss?  Spend a few cents more and buy one of the brands of quinoa that is "pre-washed" so  you don't have to rinse off the bitter coating first.   If the directions don't tell you to wash it first, it is probably pre-washed.)

The quinoa will take about 12-15 minutes to cook.  So chop up a few pieces of broccoli and/or cauliflower.  Or maybe some nice asparagus!  (Ah, lucky you, you remembered to buy some all ready cut up at the store and it's in the fridge, so just cut those larger pieces in half!) Set them in the steamer.  You don't want these to steam for more than 4-5 minutes however so remove the steamer then.     Or you can chop in a little kale or chard or collard or other greens and take them off as soon as they soften to your liking.  Don't overcook!

Try a bit of the quinoa - is it ready yet?  If not give it a few more minutes.  Then pile it along with the peppers and onions into a bowl and mix in whatever you like -- a salad dressing, a little Sriracha, some low sodium Tamari, some shakes of a salt free seasoning mix, and stir in whatever you had in the steamer.

Take the rest out of the rice cooker.  If it's too much for now you can heat it up in the  rice cooker for breakfast tomorrow!  

Oh No!  The bottom of the steel rice cooker pan is gummy!  No problem!  Just set it in the sink to soak while you are eating and give a wipe with your smiling Scrub Daddy to make it shine.!  Smile back!  You're done!
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Tuesday, September 6, 2016

The Genius of Jeff Novick

Dietician Jeff Novick is one of the early voices for Whole Food, Plant Based Nutrition (WFPBN), and is known for adapting WFBPN for people whose busy schedules and/or limited income may influence the time and/or money they have for meal preparation.

To learn more about Jeff Novick's qualifications, click here.

Some of his meals are made from "semi-scratch."  That is, his recipes using brown rice call for a favorite brand, Success, that is partially cooked and available in supermarkets in porous cooking bags.  Veggies may be purchased already trimmed and frozen.  Tomatoes in cartons are a staple.  He recommends certain Tabatchnik soups that are plant based and salt-free. One pot meals are his specialty.

These are simple recipes, quick and easy to prepare, to make healthful, filling main courses for four.  They are meals that even young people could prepare to serve a family, or that one person could prepare for one or two meals and then freeze the remainder for later.

To see what is in some of his "Fast Food" recipes on Facebook, click here.

These are not gourmet meals, although they can be "dressed up" with creative seasoning and condiments.  But they are made with ingredients that are easy to keep on hand on the shelf or in the freezer and have on the table in minutes!

Jeff Novick's instruction videos are for sale at Amazon and also at his website.
For Jeff Novick's website, click here.
For Jeff Novick's "Fast Food" DVD  click here.

Also find his videos searching for Jeff Novick on You Tube.  Look for his videos on "Fast Food."

There is more information from Jeff Novice on his Facebook page.  Jeff Novick's Facebook Page.

I don't think I would want to live on these meals day after day, and I would want more greens raw and cooked in my diet, but for a quick meal I think it would be good to have some of the ingredients in these dishes on hand!




Friday, September 2, 2016

Getting More Greens

If you have been fortunate enough to hear Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn speak, you may have seen him hold up his fist -- not exactly a fist, but a raised hand with fingers bent over as if to grasp something.  But the only aggression this might have signified would have been his continuing battle against cardiovascular disease, because, as you would soon find out, "Essy" (as he is known) was showing his audience the quantity of veggies on his list of mostly GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES they were to eat SIX TIMES A DAY!

To clarify, this means the volume of COOKED vegetables, which take up a lot less space than raw vegetables.

This was not to say that those vegetables could not be raw, but simply that you need to make this conversion when figuring out your daily meal plan.

HOW ABOUT BLENDED SMOOTHIES?

Hey, easy I thought to myself!  I just stuff the Vita-Mix or NutriBullet or whatever full of spinach and kale and chard or other greens and a little fruit and I've got it made.  Right?

Sorry, No!

Because it turns out that Dr. Esselstyn isn't a great fan of blending.

Why not?

Because digestion begins in your mouth.   Saliva contains important digestive enzymes, and so to get the most value from any foods you eat you need to chew thoroughly to let saliva do its work.  And blending breaks down the valuable fiber, making it less effective.

(Actually this is consistent with some of the authorities on blended drinks who urge you to hold these in your mouth and "chew" them even though they are liquified.  But here I'm just sticking to what Dr. Esselstyn had to say.)

So while I use a blender for some things, right now I'm trying to get the bulk of my daily GREENS -- whether cooked or raw -- whole!

HOW ABOUT A BREAKFAST (OR BRUNCH) SALAD?

In other posts we've looked at greens included in one pot meals.  Cooking greens definitely cuts down their volume and makes chewing easier too.    But what about a way to get more greens into your daily fare quickly and with minimum fuss?

Many "Essy-compliant" salads are mostly greens with a light dressing - perhaps a little lemon juice or balsamic, but no oil.   But how about a hearty salad that would even be quick to put together in the morning as for breakfast, as well as for the main course of a meal later in the day?

It's pretty easy to get those greens!  If you plan for it, and always have some greens on hand, you can stuff them into all sorts of dishes.  Chop them up and they just disappear!  Roll them into bunches, slice these bunches into narrow ribbons, and then cut across those ribbons and put them in all your soups and stews.   You'll be getting plenty of those fistfuls in no time!

The Greens.  We'll keep this easy and fast.  You want your leafy greens to be organically grown.  Even if some of your other veggies are not organically grown your leafy greens should be.  You can use about 1/4 to 1/3 of a 1 lb. bin of one of the organic,  pre-washed, ready to eat selections now available in many supermarkets.  My favorite: Earthbound Farms Deep Green Power blend - a combo of young spinach, chard and kale -  a nice assortment of sweet and soft with tougher and stronger. But there are other great selections and combos as well.


The rest of it!  Let's make this super easy! At many salad bars these days,  even in conventional supermarkets, and certainly at Whole Foods you'll find all sorts of salad "fixings" -- including not only plain raw veggies like chopped celery, carrots, radishes and mushrooms, but items such as artichoke hearts,  beans, quinoa, wild rice, corn, peas, cabbage, mung bean sprouts, chopped tofu, peppers, olives, mushrooms, berries, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, some chopped nuts, and lots of other bits and pieces (as I call them).    Why stand there chopping when all  you want is a quick meal?  Why cook a lot of quinoa, or open a whole can of artichoke hearts or beans, or whole bag of  frozen peas or buy a whole cabbage or a whole cake of tofu, just to have a little to sprinkle on your greens?

Help yourself to a small container and fill it using your head as well as your stomach as a guide!  There may be some oil in some of these selections so try to keep these minimal and drain the liquids as well as you can while you are helping yourself.

CAUTION:  Many of these prepared goodies use a lot of oil.  Read the labels and avoid the ones with oil!   Some, like the beans, can be rinsed before using.    

When you go to fix your salad,  put about a third of that big bin of greens into a large bowl (I like to run a ceramic knife back and forth through them a few times to make them a little more manageable to eat) and start stirring in some of your mix of bits and pieces.   Try to use as little of this as you can (you can keep the rest in a covered container for use within a few days) and keep stirring so all of the greens all pick up some of the flavors.   Remember you just want these little bits (and most especially the ones that may have some oil in them) to lightly kiss your greens, and not enfold them in a full-body embrace!   If you need a little more flavor that's the time to consider a little lemon or lime juice or your favorite kind of vinegar.

If needed you can use the greens from the salad bar as well, especially the dark romaine and spinach and kale, but try to use organic whenever you can. And you'll probably find more variety in the "bins" in the produce department.  But if you find great dark leafy organic greens in the salad bars go for it.  Probably best to keep them in a separate container however from the rest of the bits.  They'll keep a little better that way.

A warmed tortilla or piece of whole grain toast or some whole grain crackers on the side perhaps spread with some guacasalsa or hummos you made earlier (see recipes in another post here) and or some salsa will give you a filling meal and a couple of fistfuls of greens besides!

Nice Big Salad with Lots of Goodies!  YUM!








Thursday, September 1, 2016

Corn Tortillas: A Gluten-Free Go-To

Because I need to be gluten free, corn tortillas are a staple for me; they are my "bread."  (And oil-free hummos is now my "butter!")


There are several great brands available locally.  Most highly recommended and made right here in Chicago,  El Milagro tortillas are delivered fresh to many stores weekly in paper bags.

In its  May  23, 2016 survey of local tortillas sold in grocery stores, the Chicago Tribune awarded El Milagro corn (wrapped in paper) first place, saying:
"Made that morning (no preservatives) and cradled in a white paper package.  Our winners were supple, elastic, and fragrant with the sent of roasted sweet corn.  The corn flavor was pleasant but subdued -- all the better to be the backup singer for your favorite taco fillings."  

(Note: El Milagro is working to attain Non-GMO Project certification for their tortillas, as I have learned from personal communication with them.  Some of their products, such as their tostadas -- which are made with oil --  already bear the Non-GMO Project seal and others are in the process of attaining this.  If you would like to see El Milagro's letter to me about this, please write to me in the "Keep in Touch" box at the sidebar. )

 El Milagro Corn Tortillas in the paper bags are available at many outlets in Chicago area including Many Whole Foods and Treasure Island stores.  If you can get them, this is by far my first choice.

I buy a few packages at a time and freeze them, putting the paper sacks in a plastic bag.  When ready to thaw them overnight in the fridge I take them out of the plastic bag.  I store them just in their paper bag with a rubber band to keep the top of the paper bag folded over.  They get a little air this way and do not get moldy.  (They don't have preservatives so this is important.  Plastic bags hold in too much water and they get moldy!)

An interesting national brand is Food for Life Sprouted Corn Tortillas.  These are sold at Whole Foods Markets.  I find them kind of tough.

Sad to say, Whole Foods own 365 Brand of tortillas is near the bottom of my list (and the Tribune's as well I should add) for texture and flavor. I only buy them when I cannot find brands I like better.

There are other brands too but they may not all be fat free or wheat free (if that is important for you), but some should be just fine.

READ THE LABELS!  You are looking for 0% fat!   And even though there may be a few milligrams of sodium, the amount should be 0% or close to it.  The ingredients should be limited to corn, water,  and lime.  (This is not the kind of lime that grows on a tree; this is calcium hydroxide, the chemical used in turning corn meal into masa harina, the principal ingredient in making tortillas.
To learn more about masa harina and how it is made,  click here. )

While this is a form of processing, it is not without its advantages.  It allows cornmeal (which has no gluten to give elasticity) to be made into a pliable dough for making tortillas.  Also, the chemical reactions involved in exposing the cornmeal to calcium hydroxide (or "lime" as it is known) is said to allow niacin to be more readily absorbed by the digestive tract. (See reference in link above).  This is said to reduce the incidence of the nutritional deficiency disease pellagra in populations that depend largely on corn.

Tortillas taste the best when they are prepared in some way such as softening them by warming or making them crispy.  BY FAR the best way to do this just for one or two El Milagro tortillas is in your ordinary toaster.    This is something you'll have to watch, however, but it won't take long.  In much less than a minute the tortilla will get soft and even a little puffy.  Now it's perfect to take out to use for an enchilada wrap or just to fold over for a little sandwich with your favorite filling (see http://wfpbn.blogspot.com/2016/08/recipes-hummos-salsa-and-more-east.html.)

If you leave it in the toaster a little longer it will get harder, more like a tostada or thick tortilla chip, if that's what you prefer.  These can be nice crumbled into a soup!

If you leave it in longer than that, however, they may burn, so that's why you need to watch it!


Here are some other ideas that may work with other kinds of tortillas but they are a little more work than I usually have time for:

Here are two internet articles about this:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips-techniques/cooking/how-heat-corn-tortillas
http://www.thekitchn.com/ready-to-eat-three-ways-to-war-117346


What works well for me is just wrapping a tortilla - especially one that has dried out in the fridge- in a paper towel moistened with a little water and put in a warm place. The pan or the steamer of the rice cooker works well  (be sure to put water in the pan if you use the steamer) and so does the Lunch Crock but it takes a little longer and you have to fold the tortilla a bit.   The George Foreman grill works well for this too.  Or, as noted below, just a quick "warm" of one tortilla in an ordinary toaster, pulling it out before it becomes crisp.  (Don't use a wet towel for this however!)

Here are some of the other things I have done (but I still like the toaster method best):

-- Made a quick quesadilla in my old "George Forman" grill.  I could do the same thing in a little pan on the stove.   Put a stuffing you like (maybe some hummus and little salsa?) on a softened tortilla, fold it over, and cook it into a little sandwich.

-- Wrapped in a slightly moistened dish towel and warmed in the oven.

 -- Used one of the commercial warming bags intended to be used in a microwave.   To see some of these products click here.   This is one of the few occasional uses I have for a microwave.

Luckily fresh local tortillas are modestly priced, so experiment! Find out what you like the best.  Tortillas can be a great part of a meal or a filing and nutritious snack!


RECIPES! Hummos, Guacasalsa and More! AND East Meets West in a Sandwich!

A FEW RECIPES HERE SO PLEASE KEEP SCROLLING!

OUR HUMMOS

This is the BASIC NO FAT HUMMUS recipe featured by the Esselstyns at their workshop and in Anne Esselstyn's book The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook (which you can purchase from Amazon at Amazon.com and through the sidebar here).

While it calls for a 15 oz. can of no salt added chickpeas,  you can get the same amount by cooking about 1/2 cup of dried chickpeas.  (If using a rice cooker, using a little extra water will let them be softer).   For some conversion figures on chickpeas,  click here.

Joan's note:  If you are making this from dried chickpeas consider adding the garlic, roughly chopped, into the cooking chickpeas, along with a coarsely chopped jalapeño pepper!

The Basic Recipe for Our Hummus

1 (15 oz.) can of no-salt-added chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 large cloves garlic
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp spicy brown mustard, or to taste
1/2 tsp salt (optional, we do not use it)

Combine in food processor and process until uniformly smooth.
Serve immediately or refrigerate.  Refrigerate leftovers.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can combine it with green onions, or more garlic, or dill, basil, cumin, or whatever other flavors appeal to you.  Try small amounts seasoned different ways to find your favorites!    It's a great food to have in your fridge for weekend snacks!

For a great sandwich break a plain fresh corn tortilla in half and warm in your toaster, then spread on some "Our Hummus" and top with a nice pico de gallo (tomato, peppers, onion combo) or oil free salsa.    (Note: plain corn tortillas may be a little off the chart but look for ones of plain ground cornmeal.  There are plenty available in the Chicago area.  My favorites are El Milagro made here in Chicago, in paper sacks on grocery shelves and La Tortilla Factory is made in California and in plastic bags in the cold food sections. These are just a few that come to mind.)

And if even making the hummus seems like too much of a stretch, consider one of the oil free products on the market.  Whole Foods features Engine 2 Hummus produced by Rip Esselstyn. They are tasty and may give you some ideas about making your own next time around!  I love all the flavors!   Especially the Spicy Black Bean!

Keeps well in covered container in fridge for a few days.   And if you wish, freeze some in small (3 oz) containers.  Later you can thaw one,  mix with some lemon juice or some vinegar (including balsamic) as you wish for a sauce for cooked greens or a heavier salad dressing.



GUACASALSA

As most of us know, Dr. Esselstyn limits but does not totally eliminate certain fatty foods for those who have not had heart disease.  One of these foods is AVOCADOS.    Dr. Esselstyn allows about 1/4 of an avocado for those who have not had heart disease.  But how to stop at just 1/4?

A few years ago the Plant Based Nutrition for Life Meetup enjoyed a wonderful dinner at La Casa de Isaac and Moishe in Highland Park, where Chef Moishe demonstrated several beautiful fat free or very low fat dishes with delicious traditional Mexican flavors.    One of these was Guacasalsa, a salsa built on a ripe avocado, where the avocado gives its flavor and some of its texture to a dish built around flavorful veggies.  Make it to your taste so you can enjoy this delicious, tangy Avocado Extender!

Here is one version of this delicious condiment!

One Ripe Avocado, peeled, seeded and broken into a few pieces.
Juice of one lemon or one lime.  (Or more if you wish!)
about half of a small onion, finely chopped
a medium or large jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
one large or two small tomatillos, finely diced.
(Lots of markets sell tomatillos.  Just remove the paper thin cover, rinse and chop!)

OPTIONAL: Lots of chopped cilantro
OPTIONAL: Lots of chopped parsley
OPTIONAL: about 1/2 tsp of cumin powder

Using a coarse fork, mash ingredients together, leaving the avocado in somewhat coarse chunks.

Spread on toasted fresh corn tortillas, with or without fat free hummus or pico de gallo or other spreads or salsas.

When storing in covered container in refrigerator, squeeze a little lemon juice to protect surface from air.    This will last for a few days -- and lemon juice helps it last longer.    If you wish, freeze some in a small (3 oz) container to thaw and mix with a little lime (or lemon) juice for a green goddess type dressing.

EAST MEETS WEST IN A SANDWICH!

Ingredients:


1. A fresh corn tortilla (look for ZERO fat, made from traditional ingredients, corn, water, lime and salt (should be very low sodium) and yes, quite a few brands now use non-GMO corn!
See Corn Tortilla post for more information on warming and softening tortillas.

2. Our Hummus flavored any way you like.

3. Guacasalsa.

Toast the tortilla in your toaster.  (The first few times you'll need to experiment to set your toaster correctly) You can leave it soft or let it get crispy. Your choice!

Spread a nice layer of hummus.
Spread another nice layer of guacasalsa.

Enjoy this nice snack or side dish!