Lentil and Feta Salad

I just made this...twice in two weeks. It's very refreshing, but watch out! The breath is kicking afterwards.

1 cup lentils
1/2 red onion
1/2 large green pepper
1/2 large red pepper
3-6 cloves of garlic
5 stalks of celery
a good, healthy amount of feta cheese
half a lemon
rosemary (op)
bay leaves (op)
salt
pepper

1. Soak the lentils overnight.
2. Bring water to a boil in a pan, sprinkle some salt, and cook the lentils to the amount desired. Get rid of all the water and put the lentils in a bowl and put aside to cool.
3. Dice all vegetables and smash up garlic.
4. Put all diced vegetables and cooled lentils in a large bowl. Mix!
5. Squeeze lemon juice into the bowl.
6. Break off feta cheese into small, small pieces. Mix with lentils and vegetables.
7. Salt and pepper to season. Add a small amount of rosemary and bay leaves if you have them.

Then, your colorful and healthy salad is ready to serve!

Papaya, Prosciutto, and Lime

See the following website for the recipe! YUMMY.

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/002094papaya_prosciutto_and_lime.php

Apple Salad

2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp coarse-grain Dijon mustard
1 (1-pound) head red leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces (8 cups)
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 granny smith apple, thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine oil, lemon juice, and mustard in a jar. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, close tightly and shake vigorously to combine. Toss dressing with lettuce; add salt and pepper to taste. Distribute salad among plates, top with avocado and apple slices, and serve.

Cannellini Bean Salad

2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 Tbs minced red onion
3/4 tsp dried oregano
2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
1 (15-oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together oil, vinegar, onion and aregano in large bowl. Add cucumbers, beans, and bell pepper. Toss, season with salt and pepper and serve!

Yam Fries

YAM FRIES

2 organic yams peeled and cut into french fry like strips
chili powder
sea salt
cayenne pepper, if desired

Toss the yam fries in some organic olive oil or melted organic coconut butter and sprinkle with desired seasonings. Bake @ 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Turn halfway through cooking time.

You can also cut the yams into small cubes and season and cook in a lightly oiled fry pan,; be sure and turn frequently cause they brown quite quickly.

The Candida Diet - all about

Check out Whole Approach!

This site will tell you about the cleansing diet I'm on now. Very interesting stuff....
I feel much better, have a lot more energy and am learning that cooking for myself is fun and takes little time

Lemon Caper Butter Trout

This is really really good and easy to make:

Melt 4 tbs butter, add 1 tbs capers (rinsed and drained) and 2tbs lemon juice and mix well.

Salt and pepper the trout fillets, then over medium high heat, place skin side down and cook for 3 minutes. Turn over and cook for one additional minute. Remove from heat and drizzle the lemon caper butter sauce over the trout. Delish!

Chicken couscous

1 lb boneless, skinless, organic chicken breats, cut into 3/4 in cubes
1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion diced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 c broth (chicken or vegetable)
1/2 c couscous (plain or whole wheat)
1 can or 15 oz chickpeas
salt and pepper

Season chicken with salt and pepper, and cook over medium high heat until no longer pink inside and slightly browned outside. About 6 minutes. Remove chicken and reduce heat to medium, add onions, cumin and cinnamon and cook until onions are soft. Add broth, bring to a simmer and stir in couscous, chickpeas and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 1 minute. Return chicken to saucepan, combine with couscous and season to taste.

Amaranth ?

The name amaranth hails from the Greek for "never-fading flower." The plant is an annual herb, not a "true" grain and is a relative of pigweed, a common wild plant also known as lamb’s-quarters, as well as the garden plant we know as Cockscomb. There are approximately 60 species of amaranth and there is no definite distinction between amaranth grown for the leaf (vegetable), and the seed (grain).

Amaranth is a bushy plant that grows 5 to 7 feet, with broad leaves and a showy flower head of small, red or magenta, clover like flowers which are profuse, and constitute the plants exquisite, feathery plumes. The seed heads resemble corn tassels, but are somewhat bushier. They are quite striking as well. The seeds are tiny (1/32"), lens shaped, and are a golden to creamy tan color, sprinkled with some occasional dark colored seeds.

Each plant is capable of producing 40,000 to 60,000 seeds. The leaves of ornamental varieties, such as Joseph’s Coat resemble the coleus plant and are quite striking. Their coloring can range from deep red, purple-red, orange, pink, green, to white. The sight of a full-grown amaranth field with its vividly colored leaves, stems and flower or seed heads is an amazingly beautiful sight that evokes much emotion.

Amaranth can be cooked as a cereal, ground into flour, popped like popcorn, sprouted, or toasted. The seeds can be cooked with other whole grains, added to stir-fry or to soups and stews as a nutrient dense thickening agent.

The fiber content of amaranth is three times that of wheat and its iron content, five times more than wheat. It contains two times more calcium than milk. Using amaranth in combination with wheat, corn or brown rice results in a complete protein as high in food value as fish, red meat or poultry.

Amaranth also contains tocotrienols (a form of vitamin E) which have cholesterol-lowering activity in humans. Cooked amaranth is 90% digestible and because of this ease of digestion, it has traditionally been given to those recovering from an illness or ending a fasting period. Amaranth consists of 6-10% oil, which is found mostly within the germ. The oil is predominantly unsaturated and is high in linoleic acid, which is important in human nutrition.

from:
http://chetday.com/amaranth.html

Amaranth with Spinach Tomato Mushroom Sauce

Today is the first day of my cleansing diet! Yah! I went to Wild Oats and bought all these grains that look pretty in my pantry. Don't have a clue how to cook them though, so you'll reap my searches of the world wide web for the next 30 days.
The first:

Amaranth with Spinach Tomato Mushroom Sauce
1 cup amaranth seed
2-12 cups water
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch spinach (or young amaranth leaves if available)
2 ripe tomatoes, skinned and coarsely chopped
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1-1/2 teaspoons basil
1-1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 clove of garlic minced
1 Tablespoon onion, minced
Sea salt and pepper to taste (or use a salt substitute)

Add amaranth to boiling water, bring back to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 18-20 minutes.

While amaranth is cooking, stem and wash spinach, then simmer until tender. Dip tomatoes into boiling water to loosen skin, then peel and chop. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and add garlic an onion. Sauté approximately 2 minutes. Add tomato, mushrooms, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and 1 Tablespoon of water. Drain and chop spinach and add to tomato mixture. Cook an addition 10 – 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lightly mash tomato as it is cooking.

Stir the sauce into the amaranth or spoon it on top.