FOOD | HEALTH | SPIRITUALITY - Page 11 of 13

Recipes Tags: Cranberry Salad Recipe, Thanksgiving Menu, Vegan and Gluten-Free

By Lisa, November 17, 2017 Posted in Holiday Recipes, Recipes, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegan Recipes

Fresh Food Thanksgiving with Cranberry Salad

If you incorporate Ayurveda into your life, you will still be able to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving feast—in the spirit of Ayurveda. We do this at our house by cooking everything from scratch and, as much as possible, using fresh organic ingredients. Traditional Thanksgiving spices are more than seriously delicious; they naturally balance the qualities of each dish. So, yes, bring on the pumpkin pie because it’s not Thanksgiving without a little splurge! Just make it healthier and tastier for everyone by using fresh pumpkin and unrefined sugar.

But first, there’s the main event. At our table the stars of the menu are all side dishes: sweet potatoes topped with a pound and a half of pecans; cornbread dressing with caramelized onions, shiitake mushrooms, and fresh herbs; my “Elegant Green Beans” with leeks and basil; grilled tofu (for some protein to balance the carbs); and a refreshing cranberry salad. You’ll find recipes for all of these delectable dishes in my book, Sacred & Delicious, scheduled for publication in on October 16, 2018. But today, for you, I’ll share a sneak peek of the cranberry salad recipe.

This recipe is adapted from one shared with me by my brother, who credits the dish to Andrea Amburgey’s Aunt Louise. I’ve updated what was originally a 1960s’ Jello-based recipe, using only fresh fruits and creating a wholesome addition to any Thanksgiving buffet.

Finally, let’s count our many blessings on this special day, including the abundance of nourishing food at our tables. May everyone everywhere—one day soon, in our lifetimes—have enough nourishing food to eat.

Wishing you and your families a sacred and delicious holiday!

Lisa J. Mitchell

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Recipes Tags: EASY!, Summer Pasta, Vegan and Gluten-Free

By Lisa, August 10, 2017 Posted in Ayurvedic Recipes, Gluten-Free Recipes, Legumes, Summer, Vegan Recipes

Best-Tasting Gluten-Free Pastas

I’m delighted to say that the gluten-free industry is creating some better-tasting, better-for-you pastas nowadays, and this summer pasta recipe features organic chickpea spaghetti.

Both the chickpea pasta and red lentil spaghetti made by Explore Cuisine™ hold up well, without turning to mush. As important, a two-ounce serving of either product has 11 grams of protein, a plus for gluten-free vegetarians. If you’re like me and you feel better with more protein and fewer carbs, you can add some grilled tofu to the recipe. As for the vegetables, you can substitute the listed ingredients with whatever

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Recipes Tags: Gluten-Free, Seven-Minute Sides, Vegan Recipes

By Lisa, March 27, 2017 Posted in General, Gluten-Free Recipes, Greens, Quick Vegetarian Recipes, Seven-Minute Sides, Vegan Recipes

Seven-Minute Sides: Smoky Greens

A pot of fresh greens is so quick and easy to make! It’s the perfect side dish to a cool summer soup, a quinoa salad, or some Southern black-eyed peas. Greens are always ideal when your priority is easy cooking with a dash of healthy and delicious.

I was inspired to make this dish when one of my husband’s patients brought us a large bag of beet greens right out of her garden, but you can also use a bunch of kale or chard, though kale will take an extra 10 minutes to cook. I suggest 6 to 10 large leaves per person, at least, since they will reduce to a small serving after cooking.

You can use any type of seasoning, but a good artisan salt like Salish Alderwood Smoked Salt transforms an ordinary dish into gourmet food. If you crave a little heat, add some fresh ginger. If

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Recipes Tags: Weight Loss

By Lisa, February 22, 2017 Posted in Ayurveda, Weight Loss

SAFE & EASY WEIGHT LOSS WITH AYURVEDA

“I lost 31 pounds over the past year, and I’m feeling terrific!” says Debby W., a Raleigh resident who first started seeing Dr. Tom Mitchell for a pinched nerve and later for chronic pain. After these issues were successfully resolved, Debby was open to meeting with Vaidya Smita Naram for a broader health assessment during her first visit to Raleigh in March 2016. Vaidya Naram is a world-renowned pulse master and Ayurvedic physician.

“I was absolutely amazed at what Vaidya Naram told me in that first meeting,” Debby says. “She was right on the money identifying the existing conditions that I know I have just from taking my pulse, but she astounded me with other unexpected recommendations. She suggested that I was prediabetic and needed to eliminate gluten, dairy and sugar from my diet. Dr. Mitchell followed up with comprehensive blood testing to get a complete picture. It turns out that I am indeed prediabetic. However, with nutritional counseling and supplementation from Vaidya Naram and Dr. Mitchell, I have already seen a normalization of my plasma glucose levels and my cholesterol. WooHoo!

“I lost 14 pounds during the first six weeks when I began following the dietary recommendations and taking some Ayurvedic supplements,” Debby continues, “but I do not feel deprived at all!”

Debby is not a vegetarian, but she started eating more fresh fruit and vegetables along with lean meat and fish for protein. She happily reports that giving up the foods that contributed to chronic pain and becoming prediabetic has been well worth the effort.

“People are always saying, ‘Don’t you miss eating gluten, dairy and sugar?’ and my answer is ‘no!’ I’m completely satisfied with my meals. I snack on fruit, nuts and almond butter—which is absolutely delicious. I have so much more energy and a positive outlook for my health in the future. Growing older does not equate to lethargy and weight gain. We have a choice!”

If you’d like to experience a consultation with Dr. Mitchell and Vaidya Smita Naram, call 919-785-2200 and begin your safe weight-loss program. Vaidya Naram is in Raleigh for a pulse assessment clinic Saturday and Sunday, March 4 and 5. Prior to Raleigh, she will be in clinics in Manhattan, Edison, N.J., and Syracuse, NY. If you wish to schedule an appointment in New York, go to http://ayushakti.eu/ayushaktiusa.com/index.html.

Looking for ways to add more vegetables to your diet? You’ll find many easy and delicious vegetarian dishes right here at the Sacred & Delicious blog—all gluten and dairy-free, and rarely any sugar!

Always keeping your best health in mind!

Lisa J. Mitchell

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By Lisa, February 12, 2017 Posted in Gluten-Free Recipes, Legumes, Soups, Sweet potato recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian

Creamy Broccoli Soup for a Vegetarian Valentine’s Day

If you’re still pondering what to make on Valentine’s Day to balance the chocolate you’re planning to devour, consider this creamy broccoli and sweet potato soup recipe that I created just for you, dear readers! This recipe was born of a desire to take broccoli soup to an unexpected place after finding nothing but broccoli-cheese soup on restaurant menus for decades! And it fits nicely into the niche of hearty soups that can serve as a one-dish meal for busy cooks, with red lentils serving as a protein base.

I use fresh almond milk made in our Vitamix to make it “creamy,” but, of course, you can use

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Recipes Tags: Black-Eyed Peas, Gluten-Free Recipes, Vegan Soups

By Lisa, December 26, 2017 Posted in Black-Eyed Peas, Holiday Recipes, Soups

Auspicious New Beginnings with Black-Eyed Pea Soup!

Ask any Southerner how to start the new year in the most auspicious way, and they won’t even blink before naming a bowl of Hoppin’ John or some other version of peas and greens—like this vegetarian Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Collards! Serving such a dish on New Year’s Day is thought to bring good luck because long ago black-eyed peas reminded someone of coins. The greens are said to bring prosperity because greens are associated with green cash. If you enjoy food history, you can read more about this legend at Southern Living and Epicurious.

My Black-Eyed Pea Soup is filling because of the generous proportion of peas, and it is made even more satisfying by the addition of butternut squash, a favorite winter vegetable. If you serve this soup over rice, like a traditional Hoppin’ John, you will need little (if anything!) else at your New Year’s Day table.

How can you make your New Year’s Day even more auspicious?

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By Lisa, January 28, 2017 Posted in Side Dishes, Sweet potato recipes

Healthy Comfort Food

If you love sweet potatoes, I have good news for you, along with an easy and oh-so-delicious Southern-style recipe!

In case you’ve been following my blog and wonder why I cook with so many sweet potatoes, here’s one reason why: according to Ayurveda, sweet potatoes are one of the best foods for grounding vata — that light, airy, buzzing energy that you feel when life is moving just a little too fast.

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Recipes Tags: Fight Hunger

By Lisa, January 2, 2017 Posted in General

Share a Link in the Fight Against Hunger

Happy 2017, dear readers!

As we step into another Sacred & Delicious year together, I invite you to join me in a resolution to help those who aren’t sure where they will find their next meal.

Today I’m sharing links to several charities that focus on fighting hunger. I encourage you to post links here to your favorite charities as well. I’m interested in organizations that have a good reputation for feeding others or teaching skills that help people to feed themselves. If you’re already a leader in giving, please lead us to other charities that you know are making a difference.

I think it’s a pretty safe bet that anyone reading food blogs has plenty to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Every day. We have so much to eat, it can be easy to forget that in 2015 more than 42 million Americans lived in food insecure households, according to Feeding America. This number includes 29.1 million adults and 13.1 million children. And that’s just the hunger picture in the USA.

You may be surprised, as I was, to find North Carolina listed among twelve states that exhibited statistically significantly higher household food-insecurity rates than the U.S. national average 2013-2015 (13.7%). The USDA defines food insecurity as a state in which “consistent access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources at times during the year.” There is poverty in every state, but in these twelve, more people are going to bed hungry at night.

Mississippi 20.8 %
Arkansas 19.2 %
Louisiana 18.4 %
Alabama 17.6 %
Kentucky 17.6 %
Ohio 16.1 %
Oregon 16.1 %
North Carolina 15.9 %
Maine 15.8 %
Oklahoma 15.5 %
Texas 15.4 %
Tennessee 15.1

So here are a few links:

FEEDING AMERICA

ACTION AGAINST HUNGER

FOOD FOR THE POOR

FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL & EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA

THE HUNGER PROJECT

MEALS ON WHEELS

UNICEF

As you make your resolutions for the New Year, I hope you’ll consider joining in the fight against hunger in 2017. Each of us can offer our blessings in many ways: we can volunteer at a local food bank or food kitchen. We can donate food and funds. And we can offer our blessings to those who are struggling: May everyone, everywhere have enough food to eat. This is my prayer. And the world’s leading organizations that fight hunger say this is a goal within reach. With our help.

Make it so!

Lisa J. Mitchell

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Recipes Tags: Gluten-Free, millet dressing, Thanksgiving Menu

By Lisa, November 4, 2016 Posted in General, Gluten-Free Recipes, Thanksgiving Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes

A Gluten-Free Vegetarian Guide to Thanksgiving

If you want to plan an intensely flavorful vegetarian menu for Thanksgiving, look no further! Today I’m sharing a recipe for Gluten-Free Millet Dressing. I’ll also point you to my sumptuous versions of traditional American holiday side dishes, which will fill your family with joy and gratitude!

Why millet? Millet is a good source of vegetarian protein. One cup of cooked millet offers 6 grams of vegetarian, gluten-free protein, which equals the protein in one egg. It’s also filling, grounding and easy to make.

Now for the rest of the menu. My famous Holiday Sweet Potatoes, topped with a pound and a half of pecans, are the eagerly awaited crown jewel of our holiday table. For a dash of freshness and color I offer this cranberry salad, a squeaky clean, upscale version of the canned stuff that used to be served when we were growing up!

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Recipes Tags: chutneys, Easy vegetarian cooking, sauces, Seven-Minute Sides

By Lisa, April 8, 2016 Posted in Ayurvedic Recipes, Gluten-Free Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes

Seven-Minute Sides: Mild Curry Leaf Chutney

Photo by Roger Winstead

This curry leaf and cilantro chutney recipe comes from Vaidya Smita Naram. She whipped up this lovely sauce in our Vitamix in about 5 minutes while recently staying in our home. My husband, Tom, and I happily poured it over mung bean “burgers” I had made for dinner. A few days later I prepared another cup of the chutney, which we used to top off savory chickpea pancakes that Dr. Smita showed me how to make a half-hour before we drove her to the airport for her flight home to Mumbai, India.

Chutneys are relishes or sauces that are staples in Indian cuisine. They are also used in Ayurvedic cooking when freshly made. There are innumerable kinds of chutneys — some chunky, others that are more like a paste, and liquid sauces. Chutneys have a reputation for being amazingly hot to the tongue because most Indian cooks spike their chutneys with chilies. Not so with this recipe! Authentic Ayurvedic cuisine avoids the use of chilies except for people who are predominantly kapha types. Nonetheless, this chutney is guaranteed to add a bolt of flavor to any dish along with potent healing power.

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