Lemony Red Lentil Soup with Lacinato Kale     serves 6 - 8

Happy Valentine's Day!
Two new recipes to incorporate more chocolate into your life

Chocolate Macaroons       
makes about 18 macaroons
 
2    cups shredded coconut
½   teaspoons salt
¼   cup coconut milk
¼   cup maplesyrup
1    teaspoon almond extract
6    oz (170 g) dark chocolate (70 percent cacao)

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In one bowl mix shredded coconut with salt.
3. In another bowl mix coconut milk, maplesyrup and almond extract. Pour this mixture over shredded coconut and mix until evenly moistened.
4. Break the chocolate into pieces and melt by placing the pieces in a heat-resistant bowl inside a pot of boiling water, or use a double boiler.
5. Pour melted chocolate into the coconut mixture and stir until well blended.
6. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place 1 tablespoon size macaroons on it. Gently press the macaroons with your fingertips to form a little pointed macaroon shape.
7. Bake for 20 minutes at 350° F.

 
Original recipe by my colleague Terry Walters from her book Clean Start


Vanilla Cupcakes with Raw Chocolate Frosting  
makes 24 mini cupcakes
 
Vanilla Cupcakes
 
½     cup coconut flour
½     teaspoon salt
¼     teaspoon baking powder
6      eggs
½     cup coconut oil, melted
1/2   cup maple syrup
1      tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350° F
2. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl. Set aside.
3. In another bowl mix wet ingredients with a wire whisk.
4. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk with wire whisk until smooth.
5. Grease mini muffin tin with coconut oil (make sure the bottom is well greased) and fill with batter (about 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of batter per cupcake). With a spoon push the batter into the tin and smooth out top.
6. Bake for 24 minutes at 350° F

 
Raw Chocolate Frosting
 
1  ripe avocado
2  tablespoons cacao powder
2  tablespoons honey
1  tablespoon coconut oil, melted
1  teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Puree all ingredients in a blender or mix with hand mixer until smooth.
2. Apply to cupcakes once they have cooled off a bit.

Original recipe by my colleague Stanzi Allan Pouthier of Stanzi Vitality & Holimama

What’s kale got to do with it?
 
I woke up on January 1 with a serious craving for kale. Luckily I had some sitting on my kitchen counter and my husband and I devoured a big bunch of it for breakfast. I made this very simple version of boiled kale:
 

1. Rip kale into bite size pieces, discard stems.
2. Fill your sink with fresh water and wash the kale by submerging and swooshing it around
3. Fill medium size pot with about 1 “ of water and add kale
4. Bring to a boil, constantly stirring the kale so that all parts come in contact with the boiling water – cook for about 5 minutes
5. Taste the kale to make sure it is tender but not overcooked (one way to tell is by the color: the color of the kale should remain vibrantly green – once it turns olive green it’s surely overcooked and will not taste so great anymore)
6. Pour off cooking water (save as a soothing mineral rich alkaline drink for yourself or use to water your house plants after it has cooled down)
7. Add a sprinkle of soy sauce and a drizzle of olive oil to the kale, toss and serve immediately

 
I paired the boiled kale with baked eggs and it was extremely delicious and satisfying – it totally hit the spot in other words.
 
Now, the reason I was craving kale was probably a combinations of things:
 

1. I love kale and I love weekend or holiday breakfasts that include leafy greens and eggs. It has become a tradition in our home.
2. Kale, as all leafy greens are abundant with minerals and vitamins. They are the perfect detoxing, energizing and rebuilding food.
3. After all the heavy holiday foods kale felt like the perfect balance food.
4. After a generous dose of sweets over the holidays which most likely led to the loss of minerals and vitamins, kale was the perfect antidote and replenishment.
5. Wanting to start the New Year in high spirits – kale provided uplifting and vibrantly fresh energy.

 
Is it not amazing, what food can do for you? It can support, balance, provide pleasure and heal you. Using food with awareness and intention can make a huge difference in how you feel and how you perform. Learning to pay attention to your body’s messages and cravings provides powerful information for seekers of balance, sustenance, well-being and happiness.
 
It is something everybody can learn. And I’d be thrilled to help you along in this process:
 
For my local peeps, I am offering two FREE Introductory Talks and a 6-session Breakthrough Wellness Workshop, which addresses just that:
 

• Supporting your daily activities by eating with awareness and intention
• Getting to know the foods that provide sustained energy, vitality and rejuvenation
• Preventing dips in concentration, mood swings and diabetes
• Losing weight and keeping it off without dieting
• Protecting your heart to live an active life for years to come
• Nourishing yourself with easy to make delicious wholesome meals

 
FREE Introductory Talks take place January 10 at 7:30 pm at The Living Room in Cold Spring, NY and on January 14 at 6:00 pm at the Beacon Natural Market.
 
If you cannot make it to one of the Free Talks, here is a recording of a similar lecture:
http://www.screencast.com/t/vWO60xulymt
 
The Breakthrough Wellness Workshop starts January 24 at 7:30 pm at The Living Room in Cold Spring, NY. Remaining sessions take place January 31, February 7, March 7, 14 and 21.
 
Investment in your health:
Early Bird: $227 (pay by January 15)
After 1/15: $267
Single session: $50
 
For more information click here
 
To register call 646–241–8478 or email marika@delicious-nutrition.com
 
To book the Breakthrough Wellness Workshop click here

Wheat Berry Salad with Sage     
serves 6

Here is a recipe for a lovely grain salad that combines flavors of almonds and apricots with honey, lime and sage. Its medieval charm goes perfectly with festive dinners. It travels well – surprise your friends and family by bringing it along. You can easily make it the day before – it keeps well in the refrigerator and tastes even better the following day, when the dried apricots have fully absorbed the dressing.
 
Salad:
4 cups (1 l) water
1 cup (240 ml) wheat or spelt berries, soaked overnight in 3 cups water, drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup (120 ml) almonds, soaked overnight in 1 cup water, drained
2 carrots, peeled, quartered lengthwise then sliced thin crosswise
½ cup (120 ml) dried apricots, cut into small cubes
5 fresh sage leaves, cut crosswise into very thin strips
 
Dressing:
juice of 1 to 2 limes
2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
pepper
 
1 Bring the water to a boil. Add the soaked wheat berries, oil and salt. Bring to a second boil, then reduce the heat to its lowest setting and simmer, covered, for 30 to 45 minutes. Cook only until the wheat berries are soft – remove from the heat before the berries open and lose their shape. Pour them into a sieve and rinse under cold water until cool. Place the sieve over a bowl to drain.
 
2 Submerge the soaked almonds in boiling water for 5 minutes. Then douse them in cold water. Remove the skins and break them into their halves.
 
3 Steam the carrots until tender. Rinse them in cold water and drain.
 
4 Transfer the cooked wheat berries and carrots and the blanched almonds into a large bowl and stir in the apricots and sage.
 
5 Combine the dressing ingredients in glass jar. There should be about three times as much lime juice as oil. Close the lid and shake to mix.
 
6 Pour the dressing over the salad and toss. Let the salad marinate for at least 1 hour.
 
7 Just before serving, toss again and adjust lime juice and seasoning if necessary.

Karask – Traditional Estonian Barley Bread
serves 8

This is an Estonian folk recipe that I adjusted to include only whole foods and natural
sweeteners. The barley flour gives it a distinct, sweet taste.

4½ ounces (125 g) farmer cheese (or ricotta cheese)
1 cup (240 ml) kefir or yogurt
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup (240 ml) barley flour
½ cup (120 ml) whole-wheat flour
½ tablespoon baking soda

1 Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
2 Line a rectangular baking pan (5 x 10 inches or 12 x 25 cm) with parchment paper.
3 Combine the farmer cheese, kefir, egg, salt and honey in a bowl and mix until smooth.
4 Stir in the melted butter.
5 Combine the flours with the baking soda and add to the batter. Mix well.
6 Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. To check whether the bread is
ready, insert a wooden toothpick into the center. When the toothpick comes out dry, the
bread is done.

Serve with butter or Onion Butter (page 220).

Starting the day right … with breakfast
 
Breakfast is a very important meal, and it really should not be missed. Because breakfast revs up your metabolism and ensures that it performs efficiently throughout the day, working at tasks such as proper absorption of nutrients, accelerated brain power and optimal calorie-burning capacity. What you eat for breakfast sets the tone for the day. When you eat a meal that balances your blood sugar, chances are that all day long you will have sustained energy and stable moods.
 
Porridge is one great way to start the day. It provides complex carbohydrates that promote blood sugar balance and produce a gentle energy curve, delivering sustained energy for many hours. And it feels so good to have something warm in the morning, when the weather is still cold outside. By the way – it’s snowing in Beacon today.
 
Steel-cut oats … the over-night method
 
Steel-cut oats take longer to cook than rolled oats – about twenty minutes – and they like to splash a lot. So to avoid the wait and the morning cleanup, I start them in the evening. Bring the water and oats to a boil, add salt and butter or oil and then turn the heat off completely. Cover the porridge and let it sit on the stove overnight. At breakfast time, simply add a little water, stir and reheat. Steel-cut oats taste great served with whole milk yogurt. If you like it sweet, add raisins or other dried fruit. Or spice it up with cinnamon or cardamom.
 
For 2 servings use 2/3 cup steel-cut oats, 2 cups of water, 2 pinches of sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil or a dollop of butter. So satisfying!
 
A cold-climate grain,
 
oats are a staple food in Ireland, Scotland and England, arriving there about AD 100 from Central Asia and Russia. For steel-cut oats, which were popularized by the Irish and Scotsmen, the oat kernel is cut into two or three pieces. Oats have high protein content and are most widely used as a breakfast food. It is said that oats are a male aphrodisiac as well as an adaptogen – a food that helps the body adapt to new conditions. Oats strengthen nerves and reduce addictive cravings. Their soluble fiber helps to lower high cholesterol.

Yummy black bean soup

This is the first bean soup I ever made. I had eaten bean, pea or lentil soups before, but I had never actually cooked one myself. It seemed to be a big deal to soak the beans and then cook them. But one day I got inspired and decided to give it a try. I planned it and soaked the beans overnight for a soup to be cooked on a Saturday. I made a big pot of it, which provided me with nutritious food for several days. And that was the beginning of my love affair with homemade bean soups. Now I make one every week. They are so rich and satiating that a bowl of bean soup can serve as dinner.

2½ cups (500 g) dried black beans, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed

8 cups (2 l) water

1 onion, chopped

3 carrots, halved lengthwise, then sliced crosswise

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 leeks, cut into small pieces

salt and pepper

Place the beans and water into a pot and bring to a boil. Skim off and discard any foam that forms. Cook over medium heat for 1 hour.

Sauté the onion and carrots in the oil for about 10 minutes.

When the beans start to become tender, add the sauté and cook for another 10 minutes.

Add the leeks and cook for another 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste

Serve garnished with fresh cilantro leaves and topped with sour cream.

ENJOY!