Healthy Recipes

a splash of extra-virgin olive oil
a pinch of fine grain sea salt
1 shallot, minced
3 cups cooked quinoa* (or brown rice, or other grain)
1 cup corn, fresh or frozen (roasted is tastes best)
1 1/2 cups kale, spinach or other hearty green, finely chopped
2 cups ground spicy Italian chicken sausage
1/3 cup pesto**
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
1/4 cup roasted cherry tomatoes*** (or chopped sun-dried tomatoes)

In a big skillet or pot heat the olive oil and salt over medium-high heat. Stir in the shallot and cook for a minute or two. Stir in the quinoa and corn and cook until hot and sizzling. Stir in the kale and then the cooked ground sausage. Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the pesto and pumpkin seeds. Mix well so the pesto is spread throughout. Turn everything out onto a platter and top with the cherry or sundried tomatoes.

Serves 4 - 6.

*Rinse about 2 cups quinoa in a fine-meshed strainer. In a medium saucepan heat the quinoa and 4 cups water until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa fluffs up, about 15 minutes. Quinoa is done when you can see the curlique in each grain, and it is tender with a bit of pop to each bite. Drain any extra water and set aside.

**Pesto: 1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried
3 medium cloves of garlic
one small handful of raw pine nuts
roughly 3/4 cup Parmesan, loosely packed and FRESHLY GRATED
A few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil…….

Start chopping the garlic along with about 1/3 of the basil leaves. Once this is loosely chopped add more basil, chop some more, add the rest of the basil, chop some more. I scrape and chop, gather and chop. At this point the basil and garlic should be a very fine mince. Add about half the pine nuts, chop. Add the rest of the pine nuts, chop. Add half of the Parmesan, chop. Add the rest of the Parmesan, and chop. In the end you want a chop so fine that you can press all the ingredients into a basil "cake". Transfer the pesto "cake" to a small bowl (not much bigger than the cake). Cover with a bit of olive oil, it doesn't take much, just a few tablespoons.

*** To roast cherry tomatoes: Heat oven to 350F degrees. Cut each tomato in half and arrange in a large oven-proof baking dish. Mix together a big splash of olive oil, a spoonful of brown sugar, and a few pinches of salt - pour this over the tomatoes. Gently toss them a bit, making sure they all get coated, finishing with each tomato facing cut-side up. Place in the oven and bake for 45 mintutes or so, until the tomatoes are shrunken and sweet.

Healthy Metabolism Boosting Coconut Recipes:

Coconut granola

Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes

• 6 cups Organic rolled oats
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 cup chopped almonds
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup honey or stevia to taste
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 250.

In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, and shredded coconut.

In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 3 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes for even coloring.

Remove from oven and add raisins if desired.

Coconut Oatmeal Breakfast

Serves 2

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 cups water, divided
• 1 tablespoon plain yogurt, whey, or lemon juice
• 1 handful raw nuts of choice
• Warm water
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons – 2 tablespoons coconut cream concentrate
• Dried fruit, fresh fruit, or dried shredded coconut, optional
• Ground cinnamon, optional
• Honey, to taste

The night before, soak the cup of oatmeal in 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon yogurt (or other listed ingredients if allergic to dairy). In a separate bowl, soak the nuts in warm water. Soaking the oats and the nuts is very important! It breaks down the phytates which keep the body from absorbing their nutrients properly. An added bonus is that it drastically quickens the cooking time.

In the morning, place remaining cup of water with a dash of salt on the stove. Bring water to a boil. Once boiling, add soaked oatmeal. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Cover and let sit for a few minutes.

In individual bowls, combine the oatmeal with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and the soaked nuts in each bowl along with coconut cream concentrate and any dried or fresh fruit or coconut. Ground cinnamon is also a nice addition. Drizzle on some raw honey to sweeten it up a bit, and you have a hearty, healthy breakfast!

Coconut Peanut Butter Granola

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Put all ingredients except oatmeal and coconut in saucepan on low heat and mix till smooth. Add oatmeal and coconut flakes and stir well until thoroughly mixed.

Spread on cookie sheet and put in preheated oven for 10 minutes, stir and move around and then back in oven for 10 more minutes. Let cool.

You will have a great snack of chewy coconut peanut butter granola or put in a bowl and eat with milk.

Hawaiian Rice Medley

This is a wonderful combination of flavors and textures. Serves 8 or so.

• 4 cups water
• 2 cups brown rice
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
• 1/2 cup fresh mango*
• 1/4 cup raw macadamia nuts
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons pineapple juice concentrate
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup toasted coconut flakes

A few hours before serving time (or a day ahead) bring water to a boil in a large pot and add rice. Cook without stirring for 40 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat and stir in coconut oil and refrigerate rice until chilled.

When close to serving time, chop mango, macadamia nuts, Italian parsley, and cilantro. Mix all the chopped ingredients with rice and add pineapple juice concentrate and salt.

Turn the rice out into a serving bowl and garnish with toasted coconut flakes. Serve dish at room temperature.

*You may substitute with dried mango or papaya.

Jamaican Inspired Cabbage Slaw

In a large bowl chop cabbage to desired size and add carrot.

Whisk vinegar, mustard powder, oil, mango and honey until creamy. Stir in scotch bonnet pepper.

Place dressing in fridge and let pepper soak for 15-20 minutes. Remove pepper or for spicier slaw puree mixture with pepper in (optional). Stir into cabbage. Top with coconut if desired.

Serves 4-6.

Creamy Coconut Fruit Salad

Fold all ingredients together in a large bowl. Serve cold.