Naraya Cooking Health Recipe

• 1 cup green/brown lentils, rinsed
• 2 1/4 cups vegetable broth or water
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small onion, diced (about 1 1/4 cup)
• 2 celery stalks, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 carrots, diced or grated (about 1 cup)
• 1 small apple, cored, peeled and diced or grated (use firm crisp like fuji or gala) (about 1 cup)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds, use whole or lightly crushed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sage or 2 tablespoons fresh minced
• 3/4 cup oats, quick or rolled (I used quick) or bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup flour (splet, almond, oat, GF all-purpose, etc.)
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup unsweetened organic apple sauce
• 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts, optional
• salt & pepper to taste (I used white pepper)

Ingredients

• 8 oz. package chow mein noodles or thin spaghetti noodles
• 2 (8oz.) packages tempeh
• 1 tablespoon sesame or grapeseed oil
• 1/2 head green cabbage (about 4 cups), shredded
• 1 large celery stalk, sliced diagonally
• 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced diagonally
• 1/2 onion, sliced

Sauce

• 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, optional
• 1- 2 cloves garlic, minced or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 inch knob of ginger, grated or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• mineral salt and pepper to taste (white pepper would be great here)

If using chuka soba or chow mein noodles, bring a pot of water to a boil, add noodles, reduce heat to medium and cook for 4 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside. If using other noodles, cook as directed on package.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sauce, set aside.

In a large wok, heat olive oil over medium to medium-high heat, add tempeh, crumbling it between your fingers, onion and celery, cook 1 minute. Add a couple tablespoons of sauce mixture, continue to cook for another 2 -3 minutes. Add in cabbage and carrot, stir to mix, cover and cook another 5 - 7minutes, stirring occasionally until cabbage has shrunk down and softened. Add in noodles and remaining sauce, toss to coat, continue cooking until noodles are warmed through. Add additional tamari or other seasoning to taste.

Serve warm topped with scallions, red pepper flakes and cilantro. Sesame seeds and/or chili sauce would also be great!

Serves four.

Notes:

Feel free to use only one package of tempeh instead of two. The two packages does serve four but one package will still add a fair amount of protein to each serving.

I love the added sweet from the maple syrup using 2 tablespoons. Feel free to use 1 tablespoon instead of 2 and add more vinegar or tamari in its place.

• 1 small head green, savoy or napa cabbage, sliced
• 1 head romaine lettuce, sliced
• 1/3 head red cabbage, sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, julienned
• 2 Persian cucumbers or 1 small cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 stalks of celery, thinly sliced 
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, loosely packed
• 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds, garnish
• small handful slivered almonds, garnish
• 8 oz. plain or grilled firm or extra firm tofu, cubed (optional)

• 1/2 cup apple cider or rice wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons natural peanut or almond butter
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (2 if using raw almond butter)
• 2 teaspoons sesame or toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 inch knob ginger, grated or minced
• 1 teaspoon sriracha, optional
• pinch of pink salt or splash of tamari

In a small bowl, mix your dressing and set aside letting the flavors develop. Taste before serving adding anything you feel it needs.

Prepare your vegetables, place in a large bowl. Here you can either add the dressing and toss to coat then serve in individual dishes. OR, you can toss and serve adding a drizzle of dressing over top once plated. Top with tofu, sesame seeds and slivered almonds.

Serves 4.

Notes:

Use whatever ingredients you like here. There is plenty so if you don't have access to a few of the items you can sub in something else or omit it all together. Make this a rainbow salad by adding in some julienned or grated carrots. You may like to add in some small broccoli florets, sliced scallions or zucchini too.

If you don't care for vinegar, I would suggest replacing the 1/3 cup of  vinegar with water or unsweetened almond milk and maybe a splash of vinegar for the extra zest it gives. This dressing is meant to be somewhat on the thin side. If you prefer it thicker add a bit more nut butter, to thin add a tad more of the liquids.

For the tofu, you can use uncooked or grilled. I lightly cooked mine using sesame seed oil and a cast iron griddle, about 6 minutes on each side. But it is perfectly fine with tofu from the package, just press if needed and cube it. If you're looking to use cooked tofu here is tutorial from Olives for Dinner that you can reference: 15-Minute Quick and Easy Tofu

Ingredients

• 1 cup lentils (french, beluga or green/brown)
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 2 large carrots, diced 1/4"
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil or 1/4 cup water for water saute
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted) or 2 fresh tomatoes, diced
• 6-7 cups vegetable broth or water
• 2 - 3 bay leafs
• 2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika (if using hot use 1 teaspoon or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh 
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• mineral salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• chopped parsley for garnish

Rinse your lentils well and pick through removing any oddly shaped or colored lentils. Rinse quinoa using a fine mesh strainer to remove any powdery residue.

In a large pot/dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic, saute for 5 minutes, until onions are tender. Add smoked paprika, cumin, thyme and nutmeg, cook until fragrant, about 1 - 2 minutes. Add in tomatoes, broth, lentils, quinoa, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally and tasting for flavor as you go. Once done, remove from heat, add balsamic vinegar and stir. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Spoon soup into serving dishes and top with chopped parsley.

You may like to serve this with some fresh homemade naan bread, like this one from Vegan Richa or this gluten free one from Golubka Kitchen

Soup serves 4 - 6

Notes:

Feel free to add 1 cup of quinoa instead of 1/2 cup. Just be sure to add the full 7 cups of liquids when cooking, adding more at the end if needed. You can also try using 1 1/2 cup lentils and 1/2 cup quinoa if you like.

For me, using a good vegetable broth in this soup was key to flavor. I used 4 cups of broth and 2 1/2 cups water.

Use 2 teaspoons of thyme if you don't have any dried basil on hand.

If you're a tomato lover, try using 1 can (28 oz) of diced tomatoes or 3-4 fresh tomatoes.

If you feel the soup is on the sweet side, add the juice of one lemon to cut the sweetness.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked or 2 cans (15oz) garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
• 1 cup celery, diced 
• 1/2 cup organic dried cranberries (chopped fresh would be great too)
• 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup scallions (green onions), thinly sliced, white & green parts
• mineral salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon each)

• 6 tablespoons (1/3 cup) tahini or vegan mayo
• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) champagne, white wine or cider vinegar (I used Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons water (only needed if using tahini)
• 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup

• leafy lettuce of choice
• bread of choice

Start by mixing your dressing. In a small bowl combine tahini/mayo, vinegar, water and maple syrup. Set aside so the flavors come together. This can be made a day or two ahead and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. Add a tad more water, or vinegar if you're a vinegar lover, to thin out dressing as desired. If using vegan mayo, you may like to add 2 more tablespoons.

In a medium to large bowl, add your garbanzo beans and roughly mash with a strong fork or potato masher. Add in celery, cranberries, nuts, scallions, salt, pepper and dressing, mix well. Serve at room temp or let chill in the refrigerator for an hour before serving.

Serve on your favorite bread as a closed or open faced sandwich, or on a bed of leafy greens. You may even opt to simply enjoy the salad as is.

Serves 6 - 8.

Notes:

Add extra of anything you like, and vice versa, if you're not keen on an ingredient use less or omit! One particular ingredient may be the vinegar. I'm not much of a vinegar fan but I loved the orange muscat champagne vinegar and found I used quite a bit and loved it!

Change up the walnuts, using pecans, almonds, sunflower seeds, etc. If using sunflower seeds, use half the amount called for.

For the dressing, I have only made this using tahini since I do not use any kind of store bought vegan mayos. If using vegan mayo, adjust accordingly adding more mayo as needed, maybe 1/2 cup instead of 1/3. I do recommend trying this recipe with tahini...it is seriously so good that you would never know and it is much better/cleaner for you than the store bought mayos!

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa (I used tri-color)
• 1 3/4 cup water
• 1 lemon, juice of
• 2 large apples, cored and diced (1 green + 1 red pref.)
• 1 1/2 cup grapes, sliced in half (I used red & green)
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup raisins
• handful chopped almonds
• a few large mint leaves, julienned
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste

Sweet Tahini Dressing

• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar, or to taste (optional)