Gingered Butternut Squash Soup (slow cooker)

11 Oct 2012 2 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This was a yummy warming soup that was great for this chillier weather we are having. I was hoping this would come out with a stronger “thai” or spiced flavor but I could not really taste the lemongrass, so if you rather leave it out, it would be fine. The candied ginger and the pepitas added some really good flavor and texture. Plus I love slow-cooker meals! (although I am sure you could make this in a soup pot on the stove) Start it in the morning and when you get home you have a fabulous dinner ready to go! Perfect! Enjoy this creamy squash soup :)

Check out these other slow cooker meals I made: Slow-cooked Open Enchiladas, Mixed Veggies with Peanut Sauce, Butternut squash, Apricots and Apples with Quinoa, Slow Cooked Corn Polenta and Chiles and Crock-Pot Oatmeal.

Before adding the squash and broth

Gingered Butternut Squash Soup (slow cooker)

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 tablespoon, minced ginger root
1 teaspoon, fresh cracked pepper
2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed, smashed and cut in half crosswise
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted
8 cups butternut squash, cubed
6 cups vegetable stock
2 cups coconut milk
3 teaspoons red curry paste
1 lime, juiced and zested
1/2 cup pepitas, toasted
1/2 cup of candied ginger, chopped

  1. In a skillet or a meal slow-cooker liner, heat oil over medium heat and add onions, cook for 3 minutes till softened. Add ginger, pepper, lemongrass and toasted cumin, stirring for 1 minute. Either place liner in slow-cooker or transfer skillet  contents to stoneware. Add butternut squash and veggie stock.
  2. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours until squash is tender.
  3. Mix 1 tablespoon of coconut milk with the curry paste and blend well.
  4. Add to slow cooker along with the rest of the coconut milk and lime juice and heat till cooked through, about 20 minutes. Discard the lemongrass.
  5. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.
  6. Serve with toasted pepitas and candied ginger.

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

23 May 2012 1 Comment

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mac and Cheese is one of my ultimate comfort foods and I am always up for trying out different vegan versions :) I love that this recipe uses 20 ounces of squash for the sauce so you “sneak” in the veggies and help make it a creamier sauce without needing extra vegan cheese. (although we didn’t really skimp on that:))  Check out Cheesy Baked Penne with Cauliflower (one of my fave versions ever!) and Quick, Easy & Healthy Vegan Mac & Cheeze (I also used winter squash in this one).

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese
adapted from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch
Serves 8

• 1 tablespoon refined coconut oil
• About 2 tablespoons fine sea salt
• 1 pound whole-wheat or brown rice elbow macaroni
• 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen pureed winter squash
• 2 cups soy, rice milk or almond milk
• 8 ounces vegan Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 4 ounces (about 1/2 cup) vegan cream cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Oil a 2-quart casserole dish; set aside.
  2. In a 4- to 6-quart stockpot over high heat, combine 3 quarts of water with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the salt. Bring the water to a boil, add the macaroni, and cook according to the package directions.
  3. Meanwhile, in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine the squash and milk, stirring and breaking up the squash with a spoon until the squash is defrosted. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and whisk in the Cheddar, cream cheese, mustard, cayenne, and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of salt.
  4. When the pasta is done, drain it, then return the pasta to the pot. Stir the cheese sauce into the macaroni. Transfer the entire mixture to the prepared baking pan.
  5. Sprinkle with more cheese and salt and pepper and then bake for 20 minutes.

Bring on the troops!

Thai Root Veggie Curry with Coconut Milk

29 Feb 2012 1 Comment

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I love curries! Since winter is ending (yeah!!!!) I wanted to get one last yummy root veggie dish on the table and this turned out amazing! I also love a big one pot meal, especially if I already have cooked rice in the fridge already like I did this night! Perfection!

Thai Root Veggie Curry with Coconut Milk
Serves 4

2 cups rice, cooked and set aside
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 onion, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 turnips, trimmed and cubed
3 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 fingerling potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 1/2 cups hot vegetable broth, or more as needed
1 teaspoon red or yellow Thai curry paste, or more to taste
1 cup low-fat coconut milk
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

  1. Heat the oil in a large pan and set over medium-high heat. Add ginger, onions and salt and cook 4 to 5 minutes until the onions softens. Reduce the heat to low and add the butternut squash, turnips, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and zucchini and simmer.
  2. In a separate saucepan over medium heat, whisk the hot broth with the curry paste until the paste dissolves. Pour the broth over the vegetables to cover them; simmer over medium heat, covered , for 20 to 25 minutes,until veggies are tender.
  3. In the empty broth saucepan boil coconut milk until it reduces in volume by half. The pour over the vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes.
  4. Stir in the lime juice and serve over rice with lime wedges.

Butternut Squash Cornbread Stuffing

21 Nov 2011 1 Comment

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’m so sorry to have gone MIA for so long! It was a crazy couple of months and then we went on a fabulous whirlwind tour of Australia :) So no complaining here but I am happy to be back home and back in the kitchen!! And just in time for an awesome Thanksgiving recipe!!

I have always Loved the stuffing part of the meal so this dish is pretty perfect. It has all the carby goodness of the cornbread but much more veggies than a normal stuffing, so you can even enjoy this as a great fall meal. Yum! And I just love roasted squash! Plus this dish is also really low in fat compared to all the butter laden stuffing recipes out there :)

What are your favorite vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes/dishes? I would love to hear from you!!

Butternut Squash Cornbread Stuffing 
Serves 8 as Main Dish or 16 as Side Dish

  • 1 butternut squash (love buying the pre-chopped!!), cut into 1/2″ pieces
  • 2 Tbsp. canola oil
  • 2 onions, diced
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 3-4 celery stalks, diced
  • 1 lb. button mushrooms, diced
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 14 ounce bag cornbread stuffing
  • 2 cups “chicken” flavored veggie broth
  • salt

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray sheet or roasting pan (I needed 2 pans – but I also made extra squash for buttnernut mash- nice to be able to double duty the recipe!) Spray pan with nonstick cooking spray and roast squash for 25 minutes. Rotate squash and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Set aside and reduce heat to 350°F.

In a saute pan or wok – heat canola oil and cook onions, pepper, celery and mushrooms until onion is translucent. Add garlic, cook for one minute more and remove from heat.

Combine squash, veggies, broth and cornbread in large bowl. Place in a baking dish/roasting pan (use the same 1 or 2 that you roasted squash in) and cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt to taste and enjoy :)

Spring/Summer Cleanse 2011: Week 1

28 Jun 2011 3 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Cleansing, Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It is that time of year, cleansing time! I love to do fasts and detoxes a few times a year. I have done so many different cleanses ranging from green smoothie cleanses, to juice cleanses, to the master cleanse and even gallbladder and liver cleanses. I decided this time around to embark on a longer more sustainable cleanse. It is a combo elimination diet and detox. This is helping me cleanse easily and effectively while I am continuing to eat. But I have cut out foods that would interfere with the cleansing process and that I feel I rely too much on in my diet. I used Dr. Alejandro Junger’s, Clean Program as a loose guideline. I am hoping to maintain eating primarily the foods of the Elimination Diet even after I finish the cleanse, while occasionally enjoying some of the other foods.

My Plan for the Cleanse:

Weeks 1-3 (21 days): (I plan on doing this part for 4 weeks)

  • Breakfast: Smoothie/Juice or Protein Shake
  • Lunch: Clean meal made of detox friendly foods (see list below)
  • Dinner: Smoothie/Juice/Soup/Blended Foods
  • Snacks: anything from the approved list, but only snack when truly hungry, not just bored. (I can certainly relate to this!)
  • Drink A LOT of water and/or herbal tea.
  • Also ideally lunch should be the real food meal, but of course since this is an extended cleanse, if you need to switch lunch and dinner sometimes it is fine, BUT make sure you keep
    a 12 hour window between dinner and breakfast free of food for optimal digestion and detoxing. (This actually makes this so much easier to sustain for weeks at a time, knowing that you can still go out for dinner sometimes!)
  • The shakes/smoothies/juices are meant to help decrease the amount of work your digestive system has to do so it can rest and  restore.

The general list of foods to remove for Elimination Diet includes: grains with gluten, anything processed (including all soy products), fatty nuts, nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant), condiments, sugar and obviously no dairy, animal products, alcohol, caffeine or soda. Click here to see Elimination List. and here to see the Shopping List.

Weeks 4: Juice Cleanse

I love my juice cleanses! See this post for more details.

Weeks 5: Back to the Elimination Diet Cleanse detailed above

With all stages I will include lots of Yoga of course and some cardio exercises.

Here is my first week of the cleanse broken down meal by meal to make it super easy for you to cleanse! Of course adjust times and recipes for your life and preferences. Meals in Bold have recipes listed below. I will post a few more recipes next week to add more variety :)

DAY ONE

8am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
10am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Morning Green Smoothie
1:30pm (lunch): Romaine with Caesar Dressing and Capers
8pm (dinner): Apple and Butternut Squash Soup

DAY TWO

8am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
10am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Morning Green Smoothie
2:00pm (lunch): Kitchari from JivamukTea Cafe (they use brown rice instead of white basmati! perfect!)
4pm (snack): A handful of mixed seeds and nuts
7pm (dinner): Shake: 1 serving UltraClear and MetaFiber mixed with water

DAY THREE

8am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
10:30am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Morning Green Smoothie
2:00pm (lunch): Raw Sesame Nut-meat salad from Bonobos
7:30pm (dinner): Shake: 1 serving UltraClear and MetaFiber mixed with water

DAY FOUR

5 am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
7:30 am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Morning Green Smoothie
12:00pm (lunch): Kitchari and a kale side from JivamukTea Cafe
4pm (snack): A handful of mixed seeds and nuts
8:30 pm (dinner): Cucumber and Avocado Soup

DAY FIVE

8am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
10am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Shake: 1 serving UltraClear and MetaFiber mixed with water
1:30pm (lunch): Berry Protein Shake
4pm (snack): A handful of mixed seeds and nuts
7pm (dinner): Coconut/Avocado Raw soup & Lover’s Salad from Caravan of Dreams

DAY SIX

9am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
11am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Berry Protein Shake
1:30pm (lunch): Chocolate Protein UN-Milkshake
4pm (snack): A handful of mixed pumpkin and sunflower seeds
7pm (dinner): Soba Noodle Soup at Souen Ramen

DAY SEVEN

9am Upon Rising: room temperature lemon water &/or herbal tea
11am Breakfast(at least an hour after waking): Mango and Coconut Smoothie
2:30pm (lunch): Leftover Soba Noodle Soup & Small Salad  with Caesar Dressing
5pm (snack): A handful of mixed seeds and nuts
9pm (dinner): Leftover FROZEN Berry Protein Shake (so fun! I was able to eat it like a creamy sorbet instead of drinking it :) )

RECIPES

Morning Green Smoothie (2 servings)(We drink this most days as it is now :) )

1 cup frozen Blueberries or raspberries
1 cup frozen Mango or Pineapple
big handful of baby spinach or 3 stalks of kale or chard
2 heaping tablespoons Synergy Green Powder, Vitamineral Green or other green powder
1 tablespoon Maca
1 heaping teaspoon Crystal Manna Blue green algae or E3AFA2 heaping tablespoons Psyllium Whole Husks or MetaFiber1 serving of Vegan Protein (soy-free) powder; Vega, UltraClear, Life’s Basics
2 cups Almond, Hemp or Coconut milk
1/2 cup water or coconut water

optional: coconut (unsweetened) or avocado

Blend everything together and Enjoy! Feel free to play around with ingredients (adding or ommitting them) but pay attention to the elimination diet guide (ie no bananas for this smoothie)

Berry Protein Shake
Recipe adapted from Dr. Alejandro Junger

1 cup nut/rice/hempseed milk of your choice (either homemade with 1/2 cup nuts and 1 1/2-2 cups water, or unsweetened)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blackberries (optional)
3 pitted dates
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 serving of Vegan Protein Powder
1 serving of Fiber powder, Psyllium Husks or 2 ounces aloe juice
Handful of Spinach or serving of green powder

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Mango and Coconut Smoothie

  • 1 cup frozen mango
  • 1/2 frozen pineapple
  • 1/2 cup dried unsweetened coconut
  • 2 teaspoons agave
  • 12 ounces almond, coconut milk or coconut water
  • handful of baby spinach

Blend and Enjoy!

Chocolate Protein UN-Milkshake

This was out of control deelish! It was so creamy and chocolatey! I would not have it everyday, but for a treat, especially when cleansing, it was amazing!

4 ounces of water
8 ounces of almond milk (unsweetened)
1/2 of an avocado
2 teaspoons organic almond butter
a pinch of sea salt
1 serving Chocolate Protein Powder – Vega Chocolate is Great!
1 serving MetaFiber
1 tablespoon Agave
1 heaping tablespoon raw cacao powder

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Apple and Butternut Squash Soup
Recipe from Clean Book; Dr. Alejandro Junger

2 cups Butternut Squash, peeled and chopped
2 stalk celery
2 green apples, peeled
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup fresh tarragon, chopped
4-5 cups water

  1. Blend all ingredients except tarragon in a high speed blender.
  2. Check Seasoning
  3. Add the tarragon and blend again for 10 seconds, just enough to be mixed in.
  4. Serve in a bowl or mug slightly warm or at room temperature.

Cucumber and Avocado Soup
Recipe from Dr. Alejandro Junger
1 serving

zest of 1/2 lime
juice of an entire lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded, roughly chopped
1/2 avocado, peeled and roughly chopped

Blend everything together until totally creamy and smooth.

Creamy Vegan Butternut Squash Risotto

24 Mar 2011 3 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , ,

I Love risotto. YUM! It does take a bit to prepare and a lot of stirring but it always turns out amazing, pretty much fool-proof. This is such an amazingly creamy and deelish recipe. Serve this for non-veg company and they will be so surprised it is vegan!

Creamy Vegan Butternut Squash Risotto
serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 to 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage

  1. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil on medium. Add onion and squash; season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until squash is tender, about 10 minutes.
  2. Heat vegetable broth in a separate pot on low.
  3. Add rice to saucepan with onions and squash, stir to coat for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until almost evaporated, about 2 minutes.
  4. Reduce heat to medium-low and add 1/2 cup hot broth mixture. Cook, stirring, until almost all liquid is absorbed. Continue adding 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until absorbed. The whole process takes about 40 minutes.
  5. Once creamy and rice is fully cooked, stir in the nutritional yeast, sage, salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Serve and super enjoy!

Quick, Easy & Healthy Vegan Mac & Cheeze

27 Jun 2010 1 Comment

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

This was so super fast and I whipped it up with ingredients I had in the house. Love that! I bet this would be great for kids and those peeps who are not into their veggies. The squash is just folded right into the cheeze sauce, perfecto!

Quick, Easy & Healthy Vegan Mac & Cheeze

1 lb. whole wheat/quinoa or rice rotini
1 cup soymilk
12 oz package frozen or canned butternut squash
2 cups Cheddar Daiya
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
pepper to taste

  1. Prepare pasta according to package and Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
  2. In a medium saucepan, simmer soymilk with butternut squash until combined
  3. Remove from heat and mix with Cheddar Daiya, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp dry mustard and pepper to taste
  4. Pour drained pasta into a baking dish and stir in cheeze mixture
  5. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 min
  6. ENJOY

Maple Squash Mash

21 Mar 2010 1 Comment

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , ,

This is Amazing!!! So deelish, great texture and super good for you! This would make a great dish for kids to enjoy their veggies (or everyone for that matter!). You can make this even easier by buying the pre-cut squash, but even with peeling and cutting the squash this did not take too long. Very enjoyable and highly recommended! ENJOY :)

Gorgeous Color!

Maple Squash Mash

2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into pieces
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons Earth Balance
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

  1. In a large saucepan, place squash and water (water comes halfway up squash). Cover and boil squash in water with 1 teaspoon salt until tender and drain.
  2. Purée squash, syrup, earth balance, pepper and salt in Vita-mix or food processor. Serve and super enjoy

Cheesy Butternut Bake

03 Mar 2010 Leave a Comment

by marisashealthykitchen in Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , ,

I love Hungry Girl! Most of her recipes are not vegan and many contain sugar-free ingredients but she never claims you should live solely on her food. I have only made a handful of her recipes and I always adapt them a little to fit the needs of my family, but I am always impressed. I know many other family members or friends that love her stuff too :)

This was a great one that Michael loved! It can be a fabulous side dish or a snack. This was super fast as well. Of course if you didn’t want to use the microwave, you could boil, steam or bake the squash till soft and saute the onions. Either way I would highly recommend this!

Cheesy Butternut Bake
recipe adapted from Hungry Girl (love her!)

4 cups cubed butternut squash
2 wedges The Laughing Cow cheese, Light Original Swiss, room temperature
1 onion, diced
2 eggs,  whites only
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/8 tsp. pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Place squash in large microwave-safe bowl with 1/4 cup of water. Cover and microwave for 6 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, uncover and drain water. Set aside.
  3. Place onions in a small microwave-safe dish with 2 tbsp. water. Cover and microwave for 3 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, uncover and drain any excess water. Set aside.
  4. Place squash and all other ingredients except for the onions in a blender. (Make sure squash cubes are not still piping hot.) Pulse until thoroughly mixed (but not liquefied). Remove blender from the base, and then stir in the onions.
  5. Transfer squash mixture to a small casserole dish sprayed with nonstick spray. Place in the oven, and bake for 35 – 40 minutes (until edges begin to brown). Then serve with a spoon as you would mashed potatoes! Enjoy!

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Per Serving (1/4th of casserole): 101 calories, 1g fat, 457mg sodium, 20g carbs, 3g fiber, 5g sugars, 4g protein

Butternut squash, Apricots and Apples with Quinoa

21 Feb 2010 2 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

This is a great meal or side dish. The apricot and apples add such a nice sweetness and the spices were amazing! I left mine in the slow-cooker on warm for 2 hours after it was done cooking, it was still really good, but I would recommend not over-cooking this dish. I have said many time before how much I love slow-cooking. It is a tremendous time-saver and such a pleasure to come home to a house smelling so delicious and a meal ready to eat. YUM!

Butternut squash, Apricots and Apples with Quinoa

1 tbsp. cumin powder
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. ginger, minced
2 tsp. orange zest
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. crushed black pepper
1 cup veggie broth
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 medium, peeled butternut squash
2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 1/2 cups quinoa

  1. In a skillet or heatproof slow-cooker liner, heat oil over medium heat and cook onions about 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, zest, cinnamon stick, turmeric, salt and pepper, stirring for 1 minute. Add veggie broth and orange juice and bring to a boil. If using a skillet transfer to a slow cooker stoneware.
  2. Add squash, apples, and apricots to stoneware and stir well. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours, until vegetables are tender.
  3. In a pot, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add quinoa stirring to prevent lumps and return to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes until tender and liquid is absorbed. Add to slow cooker and stir well. Serve immediately.

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