Greek Stuffed Peppers

6 large or 8 small bell peppers
1 large onion, diced
3 small zucchini, peeled and diced 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth 3 cups cooked brown rice
5 tablespoons tomato paste
3⁄4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3⁄4 cup fresh dill, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon Herbamare or salt 

(can use garlic instead of dill if needed or both)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350oF. Cut around stem of peppers like you would cut a jack-o-lantern top, retaining the top with stem. Remove seeds carefully and wash and dry thoroughly. Place peppers in an oven safe dish and arrange upright and put tops back on. Bake at 350oF for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile in a large non stick pan, saute onions, zucchini and carrots in vegetable broth for 5-6 min- utes. Stir in the rice and tomato paste and coat thoroughly. Add parsley, dill, lemon juice, pepper and Herbamare (or salt) and stir to combine.
When peppers are ready, take out of oven and fill with stuffing. Place tops back on peppers and bake for an extra 30-40 minutes until the peppers are soft. Serve with additional wedges of lemon and dill for garnish if desired. 

Banana-Date-Walnut Muffins

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup natural sugar (I used the large crystal, unbleached kind)
3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1-1/4 cups)
1/2 cup vanilla soymilk
1/3 cup natural apple sauce
2 tbsp. agave nectar (optional)
1/4 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (omit to reduce fat)

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 and spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray. Sift together
the flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In another bowl, mash the banana
with the sugar, soymilk, apple sauce, and agave nectar.
2. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Add in
the dates and walnuts, and pour into 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until
a toothpick comes out clean. Serve to everyone who came running toward the
aroma of fresh baked banana muffins!
Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 20 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 12-16

Nutrition Facts
Makes about 12 muffins. Each (including walnuts) contains 144 Calories (kcal); 2g
Total Fat; (10% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 31g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol;
171mg Sodium; 2g Fiber.
Without walnuts: 128 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (2% calories from fat); 2g
Protein; 31g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 171mg Sodium; 2g Fiber.

Chickpea Noodle Soup

Love this soup-I make it weekly!

http://www.forksoverknives.com/chickpea-noodle-soup/

Chickpea Noodle Soup
Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 whole carrot, skinned
• 2 whole celery stalks, sliced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 10 whole cremini (brown) mushrooms
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon yellow miso paste
• 1 teaspoon tamari
• 2 whole bay leaf
• 4 ounces whole wheat pasta, uncooked
• 15 ounces chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Instructions:

Line a large soup pot with broth, about 1/4 cup.

Add carrots, celery and onion and sauté over high heat until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes.

Add mushrooms and more broth if necessary.

Continue to cook over high heat until the mushrooms are soft, about 3 minutes.

Add remaining broth, bay leaves, miso and tamari.

Cover and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, add pasta and reduce heat to medium.

Cook for another 6 minutes, or until pasta is al dente (adjust time accordingly).

Stir in chickpeas and taste test.

Add more miso or salt if necessary or desired.

Allow soup to thoroughly heat the chickpeas.

Fish out bay leaves and serve.

Pasta with Butternut Squash

Just made this yesterday and it turned out great!

http://thesepeasarehollow.blogspot.com/2010/09/its-fall-somewhere.html

Sugar: The Bitter Truth

Just in case anyone hasn't seen this one yet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

This video made me stop drinking OJ :(

What do you think?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-optimalist/201310/your-healthy-diet-could-be-quietly-killing-your-brain

57 Health Benefits of Going Vegan

Click on the link and you will find 57 health benefits of going vegan

http://www.nursingdegree.net/blog/19/57-health-benefits-of-going-vegan/

Sneaky Chickpea Burgers

By Dreena Burton, From Plant-Powered 15
Makes 7-8 patties

1 cup carrot, cut in discs
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
1 medium-large clove garlic
2 cans (14 ounces each) chickpeas, rinsed and
drained
½ cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon tomato paste (can substitute natural
ketchup)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon dijon mustard
freshly ground black pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme or rosemary leaves
1 cup rolled oats

Instructions:
In a food processor, first add carrots, bell pepper, and garlic, pulse until finely chopped. Add
remaining ingredients except rolled oats and process through. Stop processor a few times
and scrape down, and continue to process until smooth. Then add rolled oats and pulse
through. Remove bowl and place in fridge to chill mixture, for about a ½ hour. When ready
to shape patties, take out scoops of mixture and form burgers in your hands. To cook, place
patties on a non-stick skillet over medium/medium-high heat. Let cook on one side for 7-8
minutes, or until golden brown. Then flip, and let cook for another 5-7 minutes on the other
side. Alternatively, these patties can be baked at 400°F for about 20 minutes, flipping half
way through, however I prefer the sear and texture that pan-cooking offers. Serve on buns,
or in tortillas or pitas with fixings of choice!
Kiddo Note: Although most children do not like dijon mustard, garlic, or some fresh herbs,
they will likely not notice these ingredients at all! Our daughters devour these burgers without
ever noticing the seasonings (or the veggies)!

Tomato Cabbage Soup

This is my mother's famous soup and its very easy to make! 

Ingredients:  

1 onion

1/2 cabbage 

300 mg tomato paste 

1 tbsp spoon sugar

squeeze of lemon

3 carrots 

3 celery 

optional: potatoes 

1. Saute the onion

2. Add the the cabbage and saute 

3. Add the tomato paste and refill the can with water and pour it to the pan. Make sure to cover the onion and cabbage. Try to get all the paste out

4. Let it boil

5. Add the sugar and the squeeze of lemon and let boil again

6. Add the rest of the vegetable and fill with water until its all covered 

7. Add salt and paper as you like

Bon appetit  !!

Avocado-Tomatillo Salsa

Hi all, I made this salsa last night and it turn out delicious!!
This recipe comes from Clarion River Organics web.Enjoy! 

Poblano chilies vary widely in spiciness. You may need just a bit of one for heat, or they may be so mild that you will want to add an even spicier chili, like a jalapeno or serrano, or a pinch or two of cayenne. It is a bit of a crap shoot, so be sure to taste your peppers before adding them into your salsa. Extra roasted chili can be stored in the freezer and used as needed.

Makes 3 - 4 cups

2 poblano chiles
1 pound (about 10 medium) tomatillos, husks removed
1/4 large yellow or white onion, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, washed, stems removed and discarded, a few leaves reserved for garnish
juice of 1 - 2 limes
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 avocados, peeled and pitted, flesh scooped out

Roast the poblanos either over an open flame or under the broiler, turning occasionally until the skins are blackened and blistered all over, 5-10 minutes. Let sit until cool enough to handle, then, wearing gloves if your skin is sensitive to capsicum, peel off the skins. Slice the peppers in half and remove the veins and seeds. (If the peppers are very spicy, you can rinse them to remove more of the capsicum, which concentrates in the seeds and veins.) Chop the flesh coarsely.

Meanwhile, place the tomatillos in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 - 10 minutes, until the tomatillos turn a drab green. Drain and let cool slightly.

Combine the tomatillos in a food processor or blender with the poblanos (if the peppers are very spicy, you may not want to add all of them), and onion. Blend until smooth, and to release some heat. Let cool for at least 10 minutes, then add the cilantro leaves, the juice of 1 lime, salt and avocado. Puree until smooth. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt, lime juice, or chile to taste. The salsa is prettiest within the first couple days when it is bright green, but will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week.

found this one at :  http://www.bojongourmet.com/2010/10/avocado-tomatillo-salsa.html

First Recipe! Sweet Potato Soup

Ready? Here's our very first blog recipe!

Sweet Potato Soup

What you need:

• Peanut oil
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 chopped garlic clove
• 1 sweet potato, cut into squares
• 2 tbsp (madras) curry paste
• 1 can (400 gr) crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 can coconut milk
• 50 gr vermicelli noodles
• Fresh parsley/cilantro leaves, chopped

Getting it done:

1. Fry onion, sweet potato and garlic in a bit of peanut oil, until onion is tender.
2. Add curry paste and fry for another minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, coconut milk and the stock, and simmer until the sweet potato is soft.
3. Add the noodles and cook for a few more minutes until they are soft.
4. Add parsley/cilantro, and you're done!

VeganStoner - a website for recipes

We haven't had a chance to try anything there yet, but the site looks nice

http://theveganstoner.blogspot.com/

Success

Hello

Hi everyone,

Hopefully you can all read this msg. I created this blog so we can all share vegan, vegie based recipes. In addition it will be great if you all share articles or stories that can be interesting to this group. Everyone is encouraged to join, post and share on this blog.

Good luck to us
me