Healthy with Jodi

chickpeas

Sugar Cookies

by

    Vegan, Gluten Free
    Happily Serves 24

    ALL ORGANIC INGREDIENTS

    COOKIES
    1/2 Cup Vegan butter or butter
    2/3 Cup Monk Fruit
    1 tsp Vanilla extract
    3 Tbsp Chickpea brine or flax egg, or 1 egg
    3/4 tsp baking powder
    1/4 tsp Himalayan Sea salt
    1 2/3 Cups gluten free flour
    2/3 Cup Almond flour
    1/3 Cup Arrowroot
    1 TBSP Almond or nut milk

    FROSTING (optional)
    1/2 Cup vegan butter
    1 1/2 – 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
    1/4 tsp vanilla extract
    1-2 TBSP Almond or nut milk

    Preheat oven to 375 and line baking sheets with parchment paper OR spray with coconut oil spray.
    Add softened vegan butter (not melted or cold) to a mixing bowl and beat/whisk until creamy and smooth.
    Add monk fruit and mix on medium speed until fluffy
    Then add chickpea brine (or other egg substitute) and vanilla and mix again.
    Add baking powder and sea salt and blend well
    Then add gluten free flour blend, almond flour, and arrowroot and mix on low until the ingredients are combined.
    Add almond milk and stir.

    The dough should be thick, moldable and a little difficult to mix at this point. If too soft, continue adding a mixture of gluten free flour blend, almond flour, and arrowroot until a thick, moldable dough is formed. If too thick, thin with a bit more almond milk.

    Transfer dough to the refrigerator and chill for 15 minutes. Once chilled, use a spoonful of about 11/2 TBSP of dough and roll into balls – the dough will still be soft. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets and press down gently with the back or your spoon to smash slightly.
    Or you may roll out the dough on a well-floured surface until about 1/4-inch thick and use cookie cutters dipped in flour before pressing into the dough. Use a floured spatula to gently scoop onto baking sheets.

    Let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before scooping and baking

    Bake cookies for about 10-12 minutes or until the cookies appear fluffy.
    Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes.

    To make frosting, add softened vegan butter to a mixing bowl and whisk/beat until soft.
    Sift in powdered sugar in small amounts and mix, add the vanilla and whisk.
    Continue adding powdered sugar until you have spreadable frosting.

    Let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before scooping and baking.

    Asian Chick Pea Kale Salad Recipe

    by

      Asian Chick Pea Kale Salad

      Vegan, Gluten Free

      Happily Serves 4

      VEGETABLES

      1 large bundle finely chopped kale  (steamed and drained)

      1 cup finely grated carrots (steamed)

      2 cups finely shredded red cabbage (Steamed)

      DRESSING

      1/4 cup cashew butter (or sub sunflower butter)

      1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp Korean BBQ sauce (Skyvalley brand)

      1/4 cup sesame oil

      3 Tbsp maple syrup

      Sea salt or 1 Tbsp tamari or coco amigos

      CHICKPEAS

      1 Cup soaked and dried chickpeas (or sub Mung beans)

      2 Tbsp sesame oil or avocado oil

      2 tsp maple syrup

      1 garlic clove

      optional: red pepper flakes or chili powder

      Preheat oven to 425

      When preparing chickpeas, make sure they are dry – this will help them crisp up.

      In a medium mixing bowl add sesame oil, maple syrup and Korean BBQ sauce and whisk.  Add chickpeas and toss to coat. Arrange on a baking stone/sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, tossing halfway to ensure even baking. They’re done when crisp and deep golden brown.

      To prepare dressing, add all ingredients and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust flavors as needed, adding more maple syrup for sweetness, Korean BBQ sauce for heat, cashew butter for creaminess, or salt or tamari for saltiness.

      Add kale (steamed), carrots and cabbage to a large mixing/serving bowl and toss to combine. Then add dressing, toss to coat.

      To serve, divide salad between serving plates and top with crunchy chickpeas.  Keep leftover chickpeas separate from salad in a well-sealed container at room temperature for 2 days

      10 Reasons to Eat Clean

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        eat clean

        1. You’ll become more mindful.
        Which one takes longer and really makes you slow down? Eating clean also means eating with purpose and savoring food. That means a better relationship with everything from radishes and radicchio to red velvet cupcakes (which you’ll no longer crave).

        2. You’ll save money.
        Kiss sick days and medical bills goodbye when you get nutrients from eating clean, real food. Plus, shopping locally and in season makes sense– and cents. Planning clean meals for the week is cost-effective if you make a list and stick to it, as there’s no chance of overspending at the store.

        3. You’ll live longer.
        Study after study has shown that consuming these foods can lengthen your life-span. And in a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, European researchers have found that increasing your produce intake to more than 569 grams per day reduces your risk of mortality by 10 %.

        4. You’ll have better relationships.
        Preparing clean meals takes time, just the kind of time that allows for easy, relaxed conversations with your kids, spouse and other family members and friends. If they’re too busy with screen time to share stove-top time, point them to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 2014 study, published in Public Health Nutrition, showing good health comes from home cooking.

        5. You’ll be smarter.
        Eating a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish and nuts keep our minds sharper and our memories stronger by a whopping 24 %, proved a study published in spring 2015 in Neurology. Our brains also function better with nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, as shown in Nature Reviews Neuroscience, while they slow and sputter down when we fill them with sugar (including alcohol), fast food and the wrong kinds of fats. If that’s all too much too think about, remember one point from the Nature Reviews Neuroscience report: A balanced diet means better brain health.

        See also 9 Amazing Brain Boosters to Add to Your Diet.

        6. You’ll have more energy.
        Adam and Eve were onto something when they bit into that apple: Fruit is just one of many clean foods that provide an instant dose of energy. High-fiber fruits like apples take longer to digest and can instantly stave off that afternoon slump while providing critical vitamins for the evening ahead. Other pick-me-ups include quinoa, almonds, eggs, kale, citrus fruit and a good-old-fashioned glass of water.

        7. You’ll be better in bed.
        Mamma mia! Women with metabolic function in Italy and other regions of the Mediterranean enjoy a healthier sex life than those in the US, thanks to the components of their diet– yep, vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and olive oil. That’s what researchers found in a comprehensive study published in the International Journal of Impotence Research.

        8. You’ll help the planet survive.
        There’s an oft-quoted statistic that food travels approximately 1,500 miles from farmer to consumer in the United States. By eating seasonal and local foods, as recommended by Clean Eating, you can help reduce your carbon footprint. As the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported in 2003, “The major threat to future survival and to US natural resources is rapid population growth”and “the lacto-ovo vegetarian diet is more sustainable than the average American meat-based diet.

        9. You’ll be stronger.
        The lean protein that comprises part of the clean-eating philosophy builds lean muscle mass and boosts metabolism, found a study presented at The Obesity Society’s annual meeting in 2014. Some mighty choices for your muscles (in addition to animal-based products like chicken, fish and lean beef) include quinoa, chickpeas, nuts, spinach and seeds.

        10. You’ll be happier.
        Food and mood go hand in hand. And the better the food, the better your mood. If you need to brighten your day, go for berries, bananas, coffee, lean proteins, chocolate, omega-3 and turmeric fatty acids, all proven to boost your mental state.

        Healthy with Jodi