Meatless Monday- Homemade Broccoli & Cheese Pizza

Happy Meatless Monday everyone and hope you all had a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving holiday with your friends and families. I know I sure did- so much good food and so many wonderful people! I have so much to be thankful for!

With some extra time during this (too short) break, I decided to make an entire pizza from scratch. Daunting, I know.  We all love pizza, but how many of us actually make it ourselves at home anymore? Even when I try to make pizza at home, I usually cheat and buy pre-made dough from Trader Joe's or the grocery store because I've always been afraid of making my own dough. Pre-made dough really does make things so much easier, but I just had to try making dough from scratch at least once while I had some extra time on my hands. And let me tell you- homemade dough makes SUCH a huge difference in the pizza! So tasty!

I found a really easy dough recipe from a random food blog called Fabulous Foods that gives really great step-by-step instructions, whether you are doing it by hand or in a food processor or bread machine. I didn't take any pictures of my dough-making extravaganza, so I'll have to refer you to their website for the recipe; but I can say that it was a really fun process and it just took a little bit of time out of one morning to make, which was definitely worth the final product. I also substituted white whole wheat flour because that's what I had on hand, but I'd actually prefer using regular 100% whole wheat flour. Any type of flour will work, but why not try to get as much nutritional bang for your buck by using whole wheat flour in the crust??

For the toppings, I tried to load up on the veggies and local/sustainable products as much as possible. I used broccoli, onions and garlic I bought from the farmers' market that morning; I used organic canned tomatoes and paste for the sauce; and I used a combination of local Muenster and Colby Jack cheese. It turned out as a delicious ooey-gooey tasty mess that I urge you all to try and get creative with toppings! Pizza really is a great way to load up on the veggies, while also indulging with the cheese :-) yum!

HOMEMADE BROCCOLI & CHEESE PIZZA! 

Ingredients:

Pizza dough (store-bought works, but try homemade! I used this recipe from Fabulous Foods)

1 can of organic diced tomatoes

2 tblsp tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 onion, diced

1 head of broccoli, chopped (about 1.5 cups)

1 cup cheese (get creative!

Salt/pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Lightly grease cookie sheet or pizza pan and roll out pizza dough thinly.

3. Poke a few holes in the dough with a fork and bake for about 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes and tomato paste to make a pizza sauce. Add some salt and pepper and other herbs, if you wish. Put aside. 

5. Cook the garlic and onions in pan on med-high heat with a little bit of olive oil until softened. Add in the broccoli and cook for an additional minute or two. 

5. Pull the dough out of the oven and flip it over. Top with tomato sauce mixture and spread evenly to the edges with a spoon or spatula

6. Top with cheese. 

7. Spread the broccoli, onions and garlic evenly all over the pizza. 

8. Put back into the oven and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, with the last minute or two on Broil until the cheese in bubbly and slightly golden brown.  

9. Cut into squares and serve! ENJOY! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you have a wonderful day and enjoy good food and good company. As we give thanks today for all the blessings in our lives, let us also be thankful for the many hands involved in the raising of our turkeys and in the growing of our vegetables.  May we be mindful of the farmers and workers whose labor makes our meal possible today. 

May we also be mindful of those less fortunate than us today and strive to work for justice and equity.  Here is a really great quote from latin american prayer that I came across and would like to share: "To those who have hunger, give bread. And to those who have bread, give the hunger for justice."

Enjoy the day and be sure to cast your vote about your favorite Thanksgiving dish in the poll to the right! 

Pumpkin-Almond Bread

Have any leftover pureed pumpkin from all those pumpkin pies you've been making for tomorrow? Need a new idea for a fun pumpkin recipe to use up those leftovers? Yesterday I made my own pureed pumpkin from two little sugar pie pumpkins, which is really easy to do and worth the extra effort instead of using the canned version. I put aside what I needed to make two pumpkin pies for my family's Thanksgiving tomorrow, and I still had about a cup leftover, so I decided to make some sort of pumpkin bread. 

Now, if you know me or have ever seen me bake before, you know I'm not much of a precision baker.  I'm actually quite a hurricane in the kitchen, just throwing things in pots and pans, clutzing around, and saving all the cleaning for the end. I know that this may drive some people nuts, but it works for me and my food still tastes great. I know with baking you are supposed to properly measure each ingredient and follow the directions exactly; but I just don''t have the desire or patience to do that.  This method (or non-method) of baking doesn't work for everything, but for breads and muffins, it turns out just fine for me. I found a recipe for a healthy pumpkin bread online (HERE) that I adapted using a combination whole wheat flour and almond meal (just ground up almonds) from Trader Joe's. I also added some sliced almond to the batter, and topped it off with more sliced almonds and amaretti cookies for even more almond flavor. The bread turned out deliciously moist from the fresh pureed pumpkin and oh so flavorful with the extra hint of almond. A great, healthy twist on the traditional pumpkin bread!

Disclosure: I can't promise that these are the exact amounts of ingredients, but it should be pretty close. If you don't have almond meal, you can just use all whole wheat flour or half regular, half whole wheat. Any kind of nuts or dried fruits (even chocolate chips) would also work well. 

PUMPKIN-ALMOND BREAD

Ingredients 

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 large egg whites

1 cup fresh pureed pumpkin

1/4 cup canola oil

1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4-1cup almond meal

1.5 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup sliced almonds

Amaretti cookies, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with a little bit of butter or oil.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar and egg whites, then add pumpkin, oil, yogurt and vanilla until well combined. 

3. In a smaller bowl, combine flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. 

4. Add dry mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined. Add in the almonds, reserving about a tablespoon or so to add on top. 

5. Pour batter into loaf pan. Top with remainder of the sliced almonds and chopped amaretti cookies. 

6. Bake about 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes before cutting into. Serve up some slices and enjoy!

Baked Carrot and Parsnip Chips

If you love potato chips or french fries or baked sweet potato fries, then you are going to LOVE these carrot and parsnip chips.  We all know and love carrots; but let me just say that eating real farm fresh carrots from a farmers' market is a whole different experience then eating those processed baby carrots from the grocery store.  And eating roasted carrots is an entirely different experience than eating them raw, which most of us are used to. Parsnips are also root vegetables and are closely related to carrots, but they are lighter in color and slightly sweeter in flavor.

http://www.bigoven.com/glossary/Parsnips

Parsnips are really high in potassium, and carrots are of course known for their Vitamin A (beta-carotene) content; and both have a slew of other vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Parsnips and carrots pair really well together and are great additions to soups and stews, or just on their own as in this dish.  These chips are extremely rich in flavor, so simple to prepare, and a great crowd pleaser.  You can just use your hands to pop them in your mouth like chips, but with less guilt (and even more flavor)!  Any of the root vegetables in season nowadays (turnips, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, rutabagas, etc) are excellent baked as "chips" or "fries"... so think outside the box and add some new colors and flavors next time you go and grab that plain old white potato! 

BAKED CARROT AND PARSNIP CHIPS

Ingredients:

1 large or 2 medium carrots

1 parsnip

Olive oil

Salt/pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Peel the carrots and parsnip, and chop into thin slices (a mandoline works great here, if you have one, to get really thin slices. thinner=crispier!)

3. Arrange on a cookie sheet, trying not to overcrowd, and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.

4. Bake for about 30 minutes, stirring a couple times, until nice and golden brown and crunchy. 

5. Serve on a plate with your favorite dipping sauce (ketchup, dijon, thousand island, etc) or just plain. Enjoy.. and beware- once you pop, you just can't stop! 

Meatless Monday- Spaghetti Squash!

Happy Meatless Monday everyone! For some fantastic fall-themed healthy and meatless recipes, check out the Meatless Monday website (CLICK HERE). They update it every Monday with new recipes and information, so add it to your bookmark list and check weekly for fun meal ideas!

As for my weekly idea, why not try Spaghetti Squash? Not spaghetti with squash (though this is quite delicious), but an actual vegetable, a variety of winter squash called Spaghetti Squash.

Any guess as to why it's called that? Yup- you got it! When cooked, the squash flesh separates out into long noodle-like strands.. So cool! Spaghetti squash, which is very low in calories and high in water and nutrient contents, is a GREAT substitute for pasta. I know for most people, myself included, pasta is a really easy go-to weeknight meal. But if you are bored of your plain old everyday pasta, why not change things up a bit and try Spaghetti Squash?? I just cooked it and ate it plain with some salt, pepper and herbs; but it is also really tasty prepared just like pasta with marinara sauce, lots of veggies and topped with some cheese. You won't even be able to tell the difference. This is a great Meatless Monday meal or on any other day of the week for that matter!

ROASTED SPAGHETTI SQUASH

Ingredients
1 Spaghetti Squash
Olive oil
Salt/Pepper
Herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, etc)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut the squash in half longways and scoop out the seeps and pulp from the middle.
3. Rub with olive oil and sprinkle with salt/pepper and put on a baking sheet.
4. Bake for about 50-60minutes until golden brown and soft when poked with a fork.

5. Let cool and then scoop out the center with a fork so it separates into noodle-like strands.
6. Top with additional salt/pepper and herbs to taste. Marinara sauce and cheese are also great additions to make a complete meal! Enjoy!

Momma's Moroccan Orange Ambrosia

My mom never comes empty-handed when invited over to dinner at someone else's house, especially when she comes to visit me in Baltimore. Whether it be a bag of mail or articles she cut out for me, a plate of baked goods, or something new for the house, she always surprises me with a little goodie of some sort. This time, I only asked her and my dad to bring some bread and cheese to go alongside the chicken and barley soup I made, but she also brought a tupperware with a dessert she had made the night before.  She's the best!

She called it an orange ambrosia, but I wasn't convinced it was quite an ambrosia since it didn't have any cream, cherries or marshmallows. Regardless, it was delicious! Orange slices, kiwi, cinnamon, ginger and coconut all mixed together for a wonderful combination of flavors.  My mom said that the combination of cinnamon, ginger and oranges is one that her and my dad had quite frequently when they lived in Morocco for a year and a half before they got married in the states and had my sisters and I.  She makes the best Moroccan food, though I've never tried this particular dessert before. Such a great treat. Thanks Mom! 

MOMMA'S MOROCCAN ORANGE AMBROSIA

Ingredients:

Oranges, cut up into slices or chunk

Kiwis, cut into small pieces

Cinnamon

Fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped

Shredded coconut

Splash of orange juice

Juice of one lime

Combine all of the ingredients and enjoy! Best served cold; keeps well in the refrigerator to allow all the flavors to meld together. Bananas and other tropical fruits would also be great additions! 

REAL Celery

My parents came up to Baltimore tonight for an early dinner and to meet Cambia (she was of course very shy but eventually warmed up).  I made yet another slow- cooker chicken soup, very similar to one of my earlier recipes (HERE), but with barley instead of rice, FRESH local celery, carrots and onions from the farmers' market, and lots of herbs. Slow-Cooker Soup Sunday... nothing better than putting a pot of soup on in the morning, catching up on work all day while smelling the wonderful aromas of the soup cooking, and then sitting down to a nice Sunday supper ready to go when you are.  Add some bread, cheese and wine and surround yourself with your family and/or closest friends and you've got a wonderful Sunday and lots to be thankful for :-)

I'm not gonna post the recipe of this soup again because it was so similar to my last soup, but I did want to post a picture of this celery I bought from the farmers' market.  The farmer was announcing to the passing crowd how fantastic his celery is compared to the pale, tasteless crap they grow in tubes that you buy from a grocery store.  I've never had farm fresh local celery before, so I just had to give it a try. Look how gorgeous this celery is:

The stalks aren't quite as big as those you find in a grocery store, but the taste of this celery is galaxies better and you can't beat the freshness. Seriously- I'd never thought one could be this excited about celery, but it happened.  I'm hooked. This celery is incomparably full of real, complex celery flavor, and even the leaves are bursting with flavor. I chopped up a few stalks along with the leaves to add to my soup and it made the world of difference. I've also added some of the chopped up leaves to a salad and on a veggie wrap, and both were fantastic. I even gave almost half of this bunch to my mom to add to her stuffing for our Thanksgiving dinner. The possibilities are endless! If you ever get a chance to buy fresh celery from a farm market instead of from a grocery store, you have to try it and I promise you won't be disappointed!

1000 Page Views!

Wow- over 1000 page views in just over a month or so. So cool! Thanks so much to everyone who reads my blog and for those of you who send it on to your friends and family. I'll continue to post recipes as often as I can!

CAMBIA!

LIFE UPDATE: NEW DOG!

As if my house isn't already crazy enough with 6 people and 1 cat, we've added yet another animal to the mix by adopting a dog! It's technically my boyfriend Matt's dog, but all of us in the house approved and are so excited to have a new creature running around. We adopted her from the Maryland SPCA right in Hampden near our house and we absolutely fell in love with her as soon as we met her. She is an 11-month-old shepherd/lab/beagle mix, medium-sized dog, and she is extremely shy, but very loving and adorable once she opens up.  We named her Cambia (i.e. Camby, Cammie, Cam) which means "change" in Spanish (very appropriate) and it can also apparently mean, change-up, as in the type of baseball pitch (also very appropriate considering the 2 baseball jocks in our house :-)  Here are some pictures:

She is still getting used to living in a mad house with 6 people coming in and out at all times, and she is also still recovering from getting spayed recently and just from shelter life in general (she is still very scared of and hesitant around large men...) She is opening up more and more everyday and what has also been hilarious is watching Cambia and Misty (my cat) interact. It's taken a few days for Misty to get used to not being the only princess of the house anymore and she is slowly warming up to Cambia. Last night was the first night we had the two of them together in the same room, willingly! Amazing! Check it out:

Animals are so great and such wonderful companions. Maybe now I'll have to post some recipes for homemade dog treats for those of you dog-owners out there :-) 

Messy Green Tacos

Yes, I know it's Tuesday, not Monday. I already failed on a promise that I would post a great veggie-friendly, hearty recipe every Monday for Meatless Monday. I was up late working on a paper due a midnight (got it turned it at 11:30 with 30min to spare.. woo!) so I have to admit that I just popped into the oven a Trader Joe's frozen spinach pie for dinner with some acorn squash. Still meatless, but not quite homemade. What can I say? There are some nights I just don't have the time or desire to cook a meal from scratch!  So here is a meal I made last week and didn't have a chance to post yet, but its a perfect fit for a easy, hearty and healthy Meatless Monday meal. 

MESSY GREEN TACOS

With the plethora of greens in my fridge recently, I have had to get creative with what I how I cook them. (Yes- even I can get sick of eating my greens sometimes). I found a box of hard shell corn taco shells in my pantry from a while back, and I thought, "Why not try greens in tacos??" Okay so they aren't really "green" tacos, but they have greens in them and they certainly are messy! So fun! I sauteed up some radish tops with onions, garlic and leftover chickpeas with some mexican spices (lots of cumin and chili powder with a touch of cayenne for some heat) for a flavorful, colorful, and nutritious taco stuffing. Any type of cooking greens and beans will work great, and feel free to throw in whatever leftover veggies you have in the fridge- that's the beauty of the recipe-less dish! Once the filling is all cooked up, just stuff the tacos and top with your favorite salsa, hot sauce and shredded cheese, and there you have a fun and messy way to eat your greens!

Tofu and Cabbage Stir-fry

If you've been to a farmers' market recently, you've definitely noticed the abundance of cabbage in all shapes and sizes during this time of year. Cabbage, in the same family as broccoli and cauliflower, is a great bang for your buck because it's extremely cheap, yet packed with vitamin C, fiber and cancer-fighting compounds to keep you satisfied and healthy throughout the cold season.  I picked out a funky-looking cone-headed green cabbage and decided to stir-fry it up with some asian flare!

I know tofu tends to scare some people, and quite frankly sometimes it scares me too.  One the one-hand, tofu is a processed, white block of tasteless, who-knows-what; yet on the other hand, tofu is a chameleon-like, soybean-based product that is loaded with calcium and protein and that has been a staple of asian cuisine for hundreds of years.  I can't say that I use it all the time and know how to cook it optimally, but I pick it up from the store probably once every month or so and give it another try. It actually works pretty great in a stir-fry like this one, especially if you drain and press the tofu first.  Marinating the tofu overnight or several hours before also helps make the tofu more flavorful... I didn't marinate the tofu this time because I didn't plan ahead that well, but it still tasted pretty flavorful. Maybe I'll try marinating next time.

TOFU AND CABBAGE STIR-FRY 

INGREDIENTS:

1 tblsp sesame oil

1/2 block of organic, extra firm tofu, diced in small squares

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 onion, diced (scallions work great also)

1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced

1 medium carrot, peeled and grated

2 tblsp soy sauce

Splash of rice vinegar

1 tsp ginger (preferably minced fresh, but powdered works also)

Optional: red chili flakes for an extra kick, toasted sesame seeds to top

DIRECTIONS:

1. Drain the tofu by putting it between several layers of paper towels or a kitchen towel, and press either with your hands or with a heavy pot until fairly dry.

2. Heat the sesame oil in a pan and add the tofu

3. Brown the tofu on both sides, about 3-4 minutes each side.

4. Once the tofu is done, add the remainder of the ingredients toss gently for about 8min or so until the cabbage is soft and everything is well incorporated. ENJOY!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Rice Bowl

One of my favorite go-to dinners is a mexican rice bowl of sorts with any kind of veggies and beans thrown in and topped with salsa and cheese.  It is so easy and fun because you just toss in whatever you have on hand (this is a great idea for leftovers!), add some mexican flare to it and boom- you have a tasty and well-balanced one-bowl meal.  This time I wanted to make it extra special and seasonal by adding roasted sweet potatoes and fresh black beans that I got from the farmers market. Sweet potatoes are such a sweet treat during the fall, a staple of my diet, as well as at my family's thanksgiving dinner. They are an excellent source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients, such as vitamins A, C and B6, manganese, potassium, iron and fiber; but even more importantly the taste is out of this world and they add so much color to any meal. This rice bowl is especially colorful with the brown rice, black beans, bright orange sweet potatoes and red salsa. So pretty it was hard to take a bite out of... okay maybe it wasn't that hard :-)

SWEET POTATO AND BLACK BEAN RICE BOWL

INGREDIENTS:
(makes about 4 servings)
2-3 medium sweet potatoes
1-2 tblsp olive oil
salt/pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
2 cups of black beans, cooked (preferably from fresh or dry, but canned works)
4 cups of brown rice, cooked
Additional toppings (be creative!): salsa, hot sauce, shredded cheese, cilantro

DIRECTIONS: 
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash and chop sweet potatoes into bite-size cubes. Arrange on a cookie sheet and cover with olive oil and spices.

3. Roast for about 30-40 minutes until golden brown.
4. Heat up the black beans and rice and portion into bowls.
5. Add the sweet potatoes once they are done roasting and top with salsa, cheese and any additional seasonings to make it your own personalized mexican rice bowl- just the way you like it! ENJOY!

Kale, White Bean and Tomato Soup

As much as I love making soups in the crock pot, sometimes I just don't plan well enough to get everything into the pot in the morning to have it ready when I get home.  So, on those days when I am really craving a warm bowl of soup, but it isn't waiting for me ready in the crock pot, I want something that I can throw together really quickly. I know it can be tempting to just grab can of pre-made soup from your pantry and throw a bowl of it into the microwave, but nothing can beat the taste and satisfaction of a bowl of homemade soup, especially if it can be made in less than 30minutes. This Kale, White Bean and Tomato soup is a deliciously hearty, seasonal, and healthy dish for this time of year as the nights get colder and all we want to do is curl up in a blanket with a bowl of soup. That is surely what I did last night; so much for getting any school work done! It was well worth it though, and I even had plenty of leftovers that I froze so that I can savor this soup all throughout the cold season.

KALE, WHITE BEAN, AND TOMATO SOUP

Ingredients:

1 tblsp olive oil

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 medium carrot, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 bunch of kale (any kind will do), washed and chopped

2 15oz cans of organic, diced, no-salt added tomatoes

~2 cups (or 1 can) navy beans (or any white bean)

4-5 cups Vegetable (or chicken) stock, low sodium

Salt and pepper to taste

~ 2tsp each of dried Oregano & Thyme

Directions: 

1. In a large pot, saute the onions, garlic and carrot in olive oil on medium heat until soft, about 5min.

2. Add the kale, tomatoes (with liquid), beans, stock, and salt/pepper/herbs. Stir everything together.

3. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for about 25-30minutes until flavors are well-incorporated and kale is soft. Add additional seasonings to taste.  ENJOY!

The Results Are In...

Thanks for putting in your vote! Here are the final results from last week's poll question: What is your guilty pleasure sweet treat?

Chocolate: 53%
Ice cream: 26%
Baked Goods: 20%

Looks like chocolate wins and I would definitely have to agree. Chocolate, especially dark chocolate is my favorite go-to guilty pleasure sweet treat that I just can't get enough of.  Baked goods and ice cream are always good too. For as big of a health nut as I am, I do have an enormous sweet tooth :-)

Now for this week's poll question: How often do you eat meat?  This is for my own personal curiosity about meat consumption trends among those who read my blog.  Thanks for casting your vote!

Couscous and Lentils with Goat Cheese

Here is a great, one-pot, quick, healthy and hearty meat-free meal to help you start your week off right. Lentils are a great meat alternative because they are packed with protein, fiber, iron and B vitamins, and they are also really tasty, cheap and quick-cooking. They are many different types of lentils; all are extremely versatile and go well in soups or with grains.  I chose to cook up some lentils with whole wheat couscous tonight, which is also really quick and easy to make. And I made a big pot so I have plenty of leftovers to eat throughout the week- yes!

COUSCOUS WITH LENTILS AND GOAT CHEESE

Ingredients
1 tblsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tblsp chopped onion
2 tblsp chopped carrot
2 tblsp chopped celery
salt/pepper
1.5 cup lentils (I used a mix of brown, red and yellow)
1 cup whole wheat couscous
4-5 cups water
goat cheese

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in pot, stir in garlic, onions, celery, carrots and salt/pepper and cook for a few minutes until softened.
2. Add lentils and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook, covered, for about 15-20 minutes until lentils are soft.
3. Add couscous to the same pot and cook for an additional 5 minutes until couscous absorbs the remainder of the water and becomes soft. (If there is excess water, simply drain it out; and just add more water if there is not enough).

4. Once mixture is nice and fluffy and all the water is absorbed, serve a bowl and top with goat cheese.  ENJOY!

Happy Meatless Monday!

Happy Monday everyone! While most people dread Mondays and going back to work, I look forward to Mondays more than any day of the week. Why? Because on Mondays I get my life back together after the weekend, plan for my upcoming week, and participate in the Meatless Monday campaign (meaning absolutely no meat on Mondays for me!).  What is the Meatless Monday campaign, you ask?

Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, in association with Columbia's School of Public health, Syracuse's School of Public Communications, and the Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health (hence the connection to me!). Meatless Monday is one of a number of campaigns, including Move It Monday, Kids Cook Monday, Quit & Stay Quit Monday, and Healthy Monday, which all aim to help end chronic preventable disease by offering a weekly prompt that can support people in starting and sustaining health behaviors. And what better day for healthy behavior changes than on Mondays? Read more about The Mondays Campaigns here.

Meatless Monday simply asks people to cut out meat one day a week to help reduce meat consumption by 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of the planet.  Going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity; and it can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious natural resources like water and fossil fuels.  The initiative promotes healthy, environmentally friendly meat-free alternatives, and encourages those who do eat meat on other days to eat grass-fed, hormone-free, locally-raised options whenever possible.  Meatless Monday is sweeping the nation (and many countries across the world!) as a simple and powerful step individuals can take to improve their health and the health of the planet. I encourage and challenge you all to read more about it here and join the movement! The website has incredible meatless recipes and tons of resources to help you along the way!

I have been eating meat-free on Mondays for several months now since I began grad school and first heard of the campaign through my work study job at the Center for a Livable Future (a key contributor and supporter of this campaign).  As I said in my intro, I am not a vegetarian, but I eat meat-free the majority of the time and that works for me. When I do eat meat, I like to know where it came from and how it was raised (easier said than done, especially when eating out or with others, but I try).  And that's the point of this campaign- less meat, better meat.  I promise you, with all the fantastic meat-free recipes out there, you won't even miss your meat.  From here on out, I will be posting easy and delicious meat-free recipes on Mondays to give you some ideas if you want to give it a shot! Let me know if you do and what you think!

Roasted Kabocha Squash

This weekend I took a short road trip up to NYC to visit two of my very close friends from college. It was so great getting out of Baltimore for a day to experience a new city and catch up with friends who I don't get to see anymore! One of my favorite parts was getting to cook dinner with my friend, Val, who is also a huge foodie like me and a great cook. She and I, along with two other of our close friends, who shared our passion for food, cooked up some pretty extravagant meals throughout college in our tiny dorm and apartment kitchens. Some of my best memories from college involve cooking with my friends and sitting down around one table to share the food we all helped to make. Nothing is better than sharing a home-cooked meal with those you love.  So this post is dedicated to Val who introduced me to Kabocha squash and hosted me at her apartment for the night... and to Niki and Kayla who I wish could have have been there with us :-)

Now what the heck is Kabocha squash? Hey, I'm with you- It was totally new to me before this weekend, but now I can say for sure that this is a MUST-TRY Japanese variety of winter squash that you should be able to find at your local farmers' market this time of year.

It's very similar to butternut or acorn squash, but it has an even more bright orange-yellow color (hellooo beta-carotene!), a strong yet sweet flavor, and a moist texture kind of like a sweet potato.  The bright dark green skin is edible, which I was unsure about at first, but it definitely is. The skin gets soft when cooked and just has a slightly different texture; the squash takes great with and without the skin so it's up to you.  We just did a simple roast with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper- so tasty!

ROASTED KABOCHA SQUASH

Ingredients:
1 kabocha squash
olive oil
salt/pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash the squash, chop in half, scoop out the seeds (which you can save to roast!), and cut into thin slices.
3. Arrange the slices on a cookie sheet and toss in about 1tblsp or so of olive oil and salt/pepper.
4. Roast for about 20-30 minutes until soft and lightly golden brown. ENJOY!

Apple, Beet and Fennel Salad

This recipe is up there as one of my favorite fall dishes of all time.  I know many of you may be hesitant or weirded out by beets or fennel, let alone the thought of eating them together. But just bear with me and trust me that if you keep an open mind and are willing to try new flavor combinations, you will be pleasantly surprised. This is a delicious, simple, healthy, seasonal, fresh and extremely scrumptious recipe that will wow your palate and feed your soul.

Many people have been scared by beets after being forced to eat pickled beets as a child, but in my experience, after people try freshly boiled or roasted beets for the first time, they genuinely enjoy them. These colorful root vegetables in season nowadays are sweet and satisfying, not to mention packed with powerful phytonutrients that help protect against heart disease and cancers. I know you've heard to eat a variety of colors everyday; well, beets are a great place to start. And by the way, the greens are absolutely edible- just cook them up with some olive oil, onions and garlic, and you have a great side dish on the table in no time. Check these babies out:

Now to the fennel. Fennel is a fantastically flavorful vegetable with a white bulb and green feathery stalks, all of which are edible and fresh from the autumn through spring.  Fennel is so unique with its subtle licorice flavor, slight sweetness and superior crunchiness. It's also loaded with vitamin C, potassium and folate, while being extremely low in calories and high in fiber. It pairs really well with beets, apples and oranges, as you'll see with this dish. Seriously, you HAVE to try it!

APPLE, BEET AND FENNEL SALAD

Ingredients

3-4 medium beets

1 large fennel bulb

1 apple

1/4cup orange juice (fresh is best, but whatever you have)

1 tsp olive oil

2-3 tblsp fennel frawns, chopped (dill would also be good)

salt/pepper to taste

optional- goat cheese would be fantastic with this salad!

Directions

1. Wash the beets well and boil for about 30min or until soft enough to fork

2. Meanwhile, peel the outer layer off of the fennel bulb, cut in half and chop into thin slices.

3. Wash the apple and chop into small pieces and add to the fennel slices.

4. Once beets are cooked, let them cool and then rub the skins off. Chop into bite-size pieces.

5. Combine with the fennel and apple, add orange juice, fennel frawns, salt and pepper to taste.

Yes, once combined, the beets will turn the entire salad pink.. how fun! 

This picture doesn't even do justice to how beautiful and festive this dish is... I'm not much of a photographer and my iPhone camera, though great, doesn't really have the same effect as a regular camera. And quite frankly, I would rather eat the food than take pictures of it, so I do apologize if my pictures don't make you drool over the food like most food pictures in magazines or online. I'll work on it!