550 Westcott # 340, Houston, TX 77007, US
Recipes
Some of our favorite home made recipes!
John enjoys cooking, so check back to see our menu updates!
And, store bought favorites
Every Christmas I shop for a "care package" gift to send to my out of state siblings. I like slowly wandering up and down the shopping isles, especially at Houston's Central Market. Funny what you'll find when you're not in a hurry
Send us your favorites!
Do you have a favorite healthy recipe? Please send it in and I'll prepare it and post on this recipe page. Thanks in advance!
Update April, 2020
1) We couldn't find Red Lentils this month, so had to substitute "regular" lentils. They were VERY tasty! We now observe the red lentils have a lot softer texture, which makes them better for making a smooth pizza crust. But the regular lentils have a LOT more texture, so you'll find the "veggie protein bread" has a lot better feel on the tongue. Give the regular lentils a try!
2) The line at Central Market was VERY long, so I went online and found our favorite soup mixes. The web site has about 30 choices. Yum yum. The link is in the "Store bought favorites" section.
Red or green lentil breads
1. Lentil pizza crust 2. Red lentil veggie protein bread 3. Try "Green" lentils
One of my clients who works at a local "well known health food store", told me about making a healthy pizza crust from Red lentils. The red lentils are easy to find at HEB (aisle 12 at the Bunker Hill HEB). I'm going to put the pizza crust recipe first, but I like toasting a slice of bread for breakfast, so I've tweaked the recipe to make a veggie protein bread that doesn't need a topping.
Equipment:
Blender, cookie sheet (for pizza crust) OR 9 x 13 (or 12 x 16 for double batch) baking pan (for lentil protein bread), parchment paper
1. Gluten free Red lentil pizza crust recipe. **This will probably be too dry to eat by itself, but it makes a healthy pizza crust.**
1 cup red lentils, soaked overnight [ OR try regular lentils for more texture! ]
1/2 cup water
1 garlic clove (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
some Olive oil
Instructions:
Place lentils in a bowl with water and cover. Soak at least 6 hrs, or overnight
Drain & rinse lentils
Preheat oven to 425 F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside
Place soaked lentils & 1/2 cup water in a food processor or blender
Add garlic, salt and baking powder. OK to stir with a spoon first.
Blend until smooth
Drizzle the parchment lined cookie sheet with olive oil
Pour the lentil batter onto the parchment paper & spread into desired shape, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Drizzle lightly with Olive oil
Bake 20-25 min or until firm and edges are beginning to turn golden
Use flatbread to make pizza or as a base for warm/melted toppings
BUT, I wanted some "toast" I could eat without any toppings, so I adjusted the recipe. Have been making this for several months.
2. Green lentil protein bread (changes in bold font)
First, the batch size for a 9 x 13 pan (makes 8 slices).
1 cup green lentils, soaked overnight [ Remember to try regular lentils for more texture! ]
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup hemp seed
3/4 cup Olive oil (makes the bread easier to eat by itself)
some water to help with blending
2 garlic cloves (or heaping 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 heaping tsp salt
heaping 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 heaping tbsp of Italian seasoning OR Essence of Emeril
Want more? I have started using a 12 x 16 pan, to make 16 slices. How? I soak 2 cups of green lentils and double the other ingredients as well. **Since we just have a blender, I make two separate batches and just put them into the larger 12 x 16 pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, depending on how firm you like the bread.**
Instructions:
Place lentils in a bowl with water and cover. Soak at least 6 hrs, or overnight
Drain & rinse lentils
Preheat oven to 425 F. Line 9 x 13 pan (want more? try a 12 x 16 pan, and make a double batch: you can freeze some of the green lentil bread slices) with parchment paper, set aside (** Make sure parchment paper comes up at least 1/2 inch, since this recipe will be about as thick as a slice of bread**)
Place soaked lentils + flax seed + hemp seeds & 3/4 cup Olive oil in a food processor or blender
You can use a spoon to mix by hand before you blend
Turn the Olive oil cup over in the pan and use the extra oil to coat the parchment paper
Add garlic, salt and baking powder and seasoning. OK to stir with a spoon first
Blend until smooth. Add water as needed to help liquefy the batter
Optional: Use a little Olive oil to lightly coat the parchment lined baking pan
Pour the batter onto the parchment paper & spread to cover the entire baking pan, about 1/2 inch thick.
Bake about 30 min or until firm and edges are beginning to turn golden
After the bread cools, cut into slices. If you cook the single batch in an 8 x 13 pan, you should get eight slices. If you cook a double batch in a 12 x 16 pan, you should get 16 slices, some of which you can freeze. They should be about the size of a slice of bread.
Toast and enjoy!
Beans & Rice/Quinoa
A vegetarian main course
Medium sauce pan for Rice/Quinoaat about half our meals vegetarian. We found that fresh cooked rice & beans are tasty and CHEAP! We use a rice blend from Costco and supplement with Quinoa. Toasted almonds are a nice garnish. There are lots of dry bean options, but we like four different types of dry beans. For seasoning, we like butter, fresh garlic, green onions and Better than bouillon. For liquid, we use low sodium organic stock.
Equipment:
Large sauce pan for beans
Medium sauce pan for Rice/Quinoa
Large pan to toast almonds
Storage containers for refrigerator/freezer
Ingredients:
1 cup Rice blend (ours cooks in 10 minutes)
1/2 cup Quinoa
Optional: 1/2 cup sliced almonds (toast almonds as a garnish for the rice mix)
4 cups dry beans (1 cup of each type, but you can use any combination you like)
about 1 tbsp butter (We like Kerry Gold grass fed)
2-3 cloves fresh garlic (for each recipe - Rice AND Beans)
1/3 cup chopped green onions (for each recipe - Rice AND Beans)
heaping tbsp Better than Bouillon - they sell Veggie, Chicken or Beef flavors (for each recipe - Rice AND Beans)
2 cups stock - for Rice/Quinoa blend
1-2 cups stock - for beans - use just enough to cover beans
Salt & Pepper to taste
Braggs liquid aminos (easy to find in HEB)
**There are many ways to season rice & beans; please add your favorite seasonings**
Optional topping: Dry cheese - Parmesan or Feta
Instructions:
Cook in separate pans (for each recipe - Rice AND Beans)
Soak beans over night. Drain
1. Bean instructions
lightly saute garlic and onions in butter
add stock and soaked beans BEFORE garlic/onions begin to brown
Use just enough stock to cover beans
add Better than Bouillon (this product is thick, so you'll want to stir it in)
bring to a boil
**add your favorite seasonings** (We only use what you see here, and add Braggs aminos if needed.)
cover and simmer until tender (about 45-60 minutes)
We like to store the cooked beans and rice separate and only mix together then when re-heating
Salt & pepper to taste AND we like to add some Braggs
2. Rice/Quinoa + toasted almond instructions
A) lightly saute garlic and onions in butter
add 2 cups stock BEFORE garlic/onions begin to brown (** check your rice recipe! Our mix is 2 to 1 - 2 cups liquid to 1 cup rice blend**)
add Better than Bouillon (this product is thick, so you'll want to stir it in)
Add Quiona FIRST (Quinoa usually cooks in 15 minutes, so we add it before the stock comes to a boil. Our rice mix cooks in 10 minutes, so we are giving the Quinoa a head start)
**add your favorite seasonings**
bring stock & Quinoa to a boil
(**We have found we don't need to add extra liquid to offset the Quinoa**)
Add rice mix. cover and simmer for 10 minutes
Uncover and let the rice/Quinoa mix settle
We like to keep the beans and rice separate and only mix then when re-heating
Salt & pepper to taste AND we like to add some Braggs
B) While the rice/Quinoa is simmering, you can toast the sliced almonds. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Mix the toasted almonds in the prepared rice/Quinoa.
C) Check your rice cooking time. If your rice mix takes longer than ten minutes, you'll want to adjust your cooking times.
D) Serving: You can enjoy your Rice & Beans by itself, or add to beef or chicken. I like to garnish mine with dry cheese (try Parmesan or Feta).
3. Storage:
We usually use the above rice/Quinoa recipe before it goes bad, but 4 cups of cooked beans will last a lot longer, so we freeze several containers of the beans and defrost as needed. Remember the Braggs! Enjoy
desert
Berries in a bowl
I try to avoid refined sugar, but do like something sweet. We defrost a bowl of cherries or mixed berries and sprinkle with cinnamon or cocoa powder. Next, add a little local honey, and there you have it! If you don't even want to add ANY sweetener, including honey, the berries are fine by themselves.
Disclaimer: I do enjoy an occasional traditional desert!
Store bought favorites
Central Market soup mixes
Central Market soup mixes
Central Market soup mixes
There are several pre-packaged soup mixes at Central Market. If you walk in the area behind the floral counter wall, the dry soup mixes are about 3-4 aisles in. When I do my "Christmas box" shopping, I always get some for us! Remember: If you make your own soup, you know what's in it!
John Kelly Chocolate
Central Market soup mixes
Central Market soup mixes
During Christmas, Central Market was sampling a chocolate brand called "John Kelly". They are expensive, but worth the price of admission! John Kelly has both milk and dark chocolates. I got "one for my sibling, and one for me." Disclaimer: I only do this once or twice yearly.
Fresh squeezed juices
Central Market soup mixes
Fresh squeezed juices
Health pundits will say, "You should eat your fruits, but it's OK to drink vegetable juices." We like the fresh squeezed green veggie juice at Central Market or HEB. Funny how the "well known health food store" doesn't prepare fresh squeezed juice.
Soup mixes online -
Soup mixes online -
Fresh squeezed juices
Here is the maker of Frontier Soups. I was amazed at the number and variety.
(We got the six-pack)!
Coming soon
Soup mixes online -
Coming soon
More local / online foods
Coming soon
Soup mixes online -
Coming soon
More local / online foods