Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Cabbage + Walnuts

Walnuts are good for your heart and your mood. 

Today's recipe is not kid tested but I think absolutely refreshing and delicious. This is a meal I made for myself on my family's "meat" night. The recipe made enough for my dinner and lunch the next day. Just double the recipe for a family meal.

Prepare pasta:

• Cook 1/2 box whole wheat spaghetti

Make the veggie saute:

• Warm 1 Tb. butter (or oil of choice) in a large skillet
  
• Slice 1/2 head celery cabbage or (savoy cabbage) into ribbons and add to the skillet
• Toss in a handful of walnuts (pine nuts or slivered almonds would also be good)

Prepare the dressing:
In a small bowl whisk together:

• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. djion mustard
• 1 tsp. sea salt

To serve:

• Combine pasta, cabbage and dressing
• Top with grated Parmasean cheese

Why I Never Cook the Same Thing Twice

The other day at dinner my daughter announced that she thought I should write my own cookbook. (That was part of the catalyst for me to start the blog.) My husband joked that it should be called "Never Eat the Same Thing Twice!" Me, not making the same thing twice, is partly due to my love of diversity but really more I just because I forget how I made what and if everyone liked it or not. You see, I start with a recipe but rarely follow it. Most of my dishes are inspired by a recipe (or three) and then I modify it to make it easier, healthier, more economical, or because I don't have on hand what the recipes called for. I'm excited to share my ideas on the blog but really I also think this is such a great place to keep track of everything so I don't have to be so "creative" at every meal!

Bloody Mary Soup (aka Cheesy Pizza Sauce Soup) and Power Packed Dippers

I've been enjoying perusing Jessica Seinfeld's "Double Delicious Cookbook". She hit the food scene with her cookbook "Deceptively Delicious." Today's post is inspired by her Tomato Soup and Protein-Packed Grilled Cheese. Jessica's "big thing" is hiding veggie puree in foods so that kids can barely even detect the added nutrition. I didn't have purees ready for the soup recipe so I made up my own and followed her Grilled Cheese recipe to the tee. Both were delicious.

If I had a "big thing" it might be using my creatively to make adult and kid versions of the same food. I try to make them enticing to both groups with the presentation, what I call the food, the associations I make with the food to things the kids enjoy, and with the accompaniments.

As I chopped the celery for the soup today, I started thinking about Bloody Mary's. Now, I'm not a Bloody Mary drinker per say but the combo of celery, tomatoes and a little spice was sounding really good. So I made the soup a Bloody Mary variation (minus the alcohol - but you could add it if you wanted to.) I know my kids wouldn't appreciate this version in the same way my hubby and I would so I decided to make a spicy relish to top our soup and would just leave it off for the kids. The soup has some ricotta cheese swirled in so it's no stretch for me to call it Cheesey Pizza Soup because basically that's what it was. Usually my son tells me he doesn't like soup but with a name like this he didn't refuse.

To save time on a busy weeknight make the soup and bean spread ahead of time and you'll have this yummy dinner ready in no time.

Start the Soup

• Drizzle some olive oil in soup pot
• Chop 1 shallot or small onion (if you use onion feel free to add a little garlic too)
• Turn the heat to med or med-high to begin to saute your veggies - from here on just chop and drop them in the pot
• Small dice two carrots
• Small dice two celery stalks (save the leafy tops for the relish)
• Season with a little salt and saute until the veggies get soft and the shallot has just begun to caramelize
• Remove half of the veggie mix and reserve in a small bowl for the relish
• To the remaining veggies in the soup pot, add a 28oz. can of fire roasted tomatoes
• Add 1 cup of water
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• Simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes

While the soup simmers, start the Protein-Packed Portion of the Grilled Cheese Dippers

You can find Jessica's recipe

Quick + Easy Bean Spread

• Drain and rinse 1 can of white beans. Add to a food processor along with:
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice (I used my favorite white balsamic vinegar because I didn't have lemons)
• 1/4 part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 clove garlic roughly chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• puree until smooth and set aside

After the bean spread is prepped, take the soup off the heat so it can start to cool before you blend it. You should never put hot liquid in a blender with the lid on. 

While the soup cools, assemble the dippers.

• Warm the oven to 350 degrees.
• Spread 4 slices of bread with the bean spread
• Sprinkle on pizza cheese 
• Toast in oven for about 7 minutes - if you have a broiler turn in on for the last minute to brown the cheese

While the dippers are in the oven, prepare the relish.

• To the veggies you set aside earlier add:
• 1 chopped chile (your heat preference)
• diced celery leaves you set aside earlier
• juice of a half lime
• sprinkling of salt

Finish the Soup

• Stir 1/2 cup ricotta cheese into the cooling soup. 
• Pour the soup into blender and puree. (If the soup is still hot, you can take the center measuring cup out of the blender and cover with a towel while you blend it so that pressure won't build in the blender bowl or use an immersion blender.)

To serve

• Put the soup in a small bowl. 
• Top the adult versions with the relish and feel free to top the kids versions with a little extra cheese. 
• Slice the toasts into little dippers and serve along side the soup.

Leftovers:

I have enough soup leftovers to use this as a fresh nutrient pasta sauce for our next meal.

Enjoy and know your whole family is eating well with just a few little modifications for optimum pleasure!

Food! (My new blogs intro and a lunch salad recipe below.)

The inspiration for this blog is to share my insights, research, and attempts at feeding myself and my family in a way that helps us all Flourish. Flourish Unlimited is the name of my health and wellness company which is based on movement to encourage harmony and vitality in life. Food is an essential part of finding better balance and harmony for not only ourselves but also our planet. We all need to eat to live but getting all that we need to really flourish can be a challenge. I try to keep my food philosophy simple. It's important for me to eat food that nourishes me, energizes me, is enjoyable and fulfilling. My philosophy is one of moderation and respect for myself and the planet. Basically I just wanted a place to perhaps offer a little inspiration for you to feed yourself in a way that helps you, your family, and the world around you feel a little better.

I am by no means a food expert. I did learn to cook the basics when I was very young. My mom taught me to cook eggs and potatoes and a few other things. My dad who was born in Ireland liked very plain food and my mom likes things simple so there wasn't a lot of spice in my food as a child. The three meals I remember eating the most when I cooked for myself in college was Tuna Helper, Sausage with Potatoes and Green Beans, and Healthy Choice Ice Cream! I started to feel like " a cook" after spending hours watching The Food Network while nursing my first born child. I learned some techniques to make cooking easier and I was inspired by interesting flavor combinations. I'll likely reveal some more of my food history along the way but I just wanted to take a moment to point out that I'm not an expert and don't have food preparation training but I have come to a place where I am comfortable in the kitchen and feel good about the food I prepare for myself and my family. I hope this blog might offer a little motivation, support or inspiration to help you eat well.

OK that's enough of an intro for today... Today's Recipe is....
Actually first I'm going to say one more thing... almost everything I cook is an adaptation of a recipe I found somewhere. The library is chock full of amazing cookbooks and of course the supply is limitless on the internet.

Today's lunch was an adaptation of Natalia Rose's "Salad Gone Nuts"
Natalia Rose is the author of The Raw Food Detox Diet and her website is www.therawfooddetoxdiet.com

In a big bowl start your dressing...

• 1 Tb. Balsamic Vinegar
• Squirt of Honey
• 2 teaspoons Grapeseed Oil (or other light oil)
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (could also use a dash of powdered ginger or just skip)

Whisk ingredients and then add salad components.
(I try to use organic veggies - it's most important for the veggies with soft skins or if you consume the skin)

• Peel and grate 1 Carrot into the bowl
• 1 handful Grape Tomatoes
• 1/4 chopped English Cucumber (comes in plastic so there's no wax on the skin and you can keep it on) If you are using a regular cucumber you should peel it and scoop out the seeds if you like.
• Optional a handful of matchstick Daikon Radish (looks like a big white carrot - very purifying for body)
• Handful of Baby Spinach chopped
• Handful of Fresh Spring Salad Mix
• Small handful of Raw Walnuts

Mix up and enjoy!