Green Bean Casserole - Healthy Version

We all love the famous Green Bean Casserole for the holiday. But what if you have sworn off the chemicals in the can of Mushroom soup or you can no longer have gluten? Well, here you go.....a healthy version that you are going to love! You might want to subscribe to this brilliant lady's blog....she comes up with some great recipes!  Detoxinista.com

VEGAN GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Serves: 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 pound frozen cut green beans (or fresh)

1½ cups cooked garbanzo beans, or 1 (15 oz.) can, drained and rinsed

1¼ cups water

1 clove garlic

1½ teaspoons salt, divided

1 sprig fresh rosemary (about 1 teaspoon minced)

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Optional topping:

½ cup dry roasted hazelnuts, skins removed

¼ teaspoon salt, for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Heat the olive oil in a 3½-quart dutch oven over medium heat and sauté the onion until it starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Add in the frozen green beans and ½ teaspoon of salt and stir well. Cover the pot and let the vegetables cook until heated through, about 8 to 10 minutes.

While the vegetables are cooking, combine the beans, water, garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt, rosemary, a couple grinds of fresh black pepper, and the balsamic vinegar into a blender. Blend until smooth and set aside. If you'd like to prepare the optional topping, use a mini food processor or blender to grind together the hazelnuts and salt, just until coarsely ground. (It's doesn't need to be super-fine like a nut flour-- you want some crunch!)

When the vegetables are tender, pour the sauce over the top and stir well. Adjust any seasoning to taste, then sprinkle the crushed hazelnut mixture over the top, if using. Bake the casserole at 350ºF for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are piping hot and the topping is lightly golden. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Author: Detoxinista.com

Mexican Rice Soup

This Mexican Rice Soup recipe by Heather McDougall caught my attention because I love all the ingredients. But as we all know, sometimes "healthy" doesn't satisfy the palate. I followed the recipe to the letter and Rusty's comment was, "It isn't healthy if no one will eat it." So we doctored it a bit. It's still healthy, but not as strictly as the original. 

We put TWO Tablespoons of chili powder in it for more spice. Because it has tomatoes in it, they tend to taste acidic, we cut that with 2 teaspoons of raw sugar. We added a teaspoon of salt. We also added a cup of roasted corn. I made this in my Instant Pot. If you have one, it makes it much easier. 

I recommend you start with the original recipe, then add to that as needed. We used the tortilla suggestion and ate it as a taco filling. Very nice. 

MEXICAN RICE SOUP

By Heather McDougall

Serves 6

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups low-sodium vegetable stock

1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained

and rinsed

1 15-ounce can black beans drained

and rinsed

1 15-ounce can pinto beans drained

and rinsed

1 15-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 cup long–grain brown rice, toasted (see note)

Salt to taste

Toppings:

- Chopped tomato

- Sliced scallions

- Salsa

- Baked tortilla chips

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan, sauté the onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon low-sodium vegetable            stock or water over medium-high heat for 7 minutes. (Gale note: if you add the chili              powder at this point as you cook, it will give it better flavor)

2. Add the rest of the ingredients, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 25-30 minutes.

3. Season to taste.

4. Serve with toppings of your choice, or the ones listed above.

(Note: To toast the rice, put the uncooked grain in a nonstick pan preheated to medium-high and stir constantly for about 5 minutes, or until it is lightly browned.)

Since this is such a thick soup, I like to have this rolled up in a tortilla for leftovers the next day. This recipe also lends itself well to using different ingredients that you have on hand. Switch up the beans, use some roasted corn, or add some kale. If you don’t want it to be so thick, add some additional stock or water. Enjoy!

From drmcdougall.com

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

This recipe is really good if you like citrus flavor. It hit the spot for me. This version is gluten free, but you can substitute "normal flour" if you wish. But I'd still keep the almond flour in because it adds to the sweetness of it. 

Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

10 min prep, 10 min cook

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter

1/4 c raw sugar or honey

2 eggs

1 t baking powder

1 t vanilla extract

2 T fresh lemon juice

1 or 2 lemons, zested - depending on your preference for tartness

1 c GF flour*

1/4 c almond flour

2 T almond or soy milk

3 t poppy seeds

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Prepare mini muffin pan with cupcake liners 

3. In a medium bowl whip butter with hand mixer. 

Add sugar and eggs, continue to beat together (apprx 30 seconds) 

Add baking powder, vanilla extract, lemon juice and zest from lemons. Combine. 

Slowly add baking flour while continuing to beat mixture. Add almond flour and almond milk. Continue to beat mixture until fully combined (apprx 1 minute) 

Fold in poppy seeds. 

Spoon 1 Tablespoon into each cupcake liner. Makes approximately 20 mini muffins.

Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Notes:

You can make this in standard cupcake pan. Yields 6 muffins - Adjust baking time to 15-20 minutes. 

*Favorite Gluten free flour mix: 

450g brown rice flour

280g potato STARCH

150g sorghum flour

120g tapioca starch or flour (same thing - also known as arrowroot)

3 t xanthan/guar gum blend

Blend well and you are ready to cook/bake.