Black Bean, Avocado and Cherry Tomato Salad

I love light, flavorful untraditional salads like this. I totally dig this salad because it's super simple and really hits the spot. I happened to have had a surplus of black beans on hand and I didn't have the foggiest notion what to do with them. I decided I wanted a light salad but I really don't care for corn, which most of the black bean recipes had in them that I found. I found a few recipes I liked and kind of made my own with the things I had on hand. You could definitely play around with this recipe. I think adding sweet potato, sunflower seeds, some kind of green leafy veggie like spinach or kale would all work nicely here too but, I didn't have any of those on hand. You could also use goat cheese or omit the cheese completely to make his vegan. Enjoy! 

Ingredients:

15 oz of black beans [I bought dry beans and soaked them in water over night but a can would do]

1 avocado, chopped 

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup feta cheese

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil 

1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp parsley [I used dry]

3-4 cloves of garlic

Pinch of red pepper flake 

Salt and pepper to taste 

In a bowl combine black beans, avocado, tomato and feta. In a food processor, purée all ingredients for dressing until desired consistency is achieved. Pour dressing over salad and serve. Makes approximately 4-5 servings but, I just eat it out of the bowl until I'm full. Refrigerate leftovers. 

Vegan African stew

It's freezing here in Austin. It's about 31 degrees and freezing rain. I was really craving something warm and satisfying. This stew hit the spot and was very flavorful. High in antioxidants,  vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, folate, protein. It's gluten, grain, meat and dairy free.  It's also low is sodium and fat as well as being an alkalizing meal. Eating alkalized foods is important because having an overall acidic ph makes you susceptible to diseases, infections etc. most cancers thrive in an overly acidic environment.  

Ingredients [I used all organic]

-2 cans crushed tomatoes [salt free is possible]

-1 can chickpeas

-1 white onion, diced

-2 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed 

-2 cups of water 

-1 sweet potato, cubed

-1 eggplant, cubed 

-2 cups baby spinach

- handful of raw peanuts or cashews

-1 tsp coriander

-1 tsp ginger

-1 tsp cumin

- olive oil 

-salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat up some olive oil and then add onion and brown for about 4-5 minutes. Then add garlic to onion and brown for 1 more minute. Stir in coriander, ginger and cumin. Then stir in crushed tomatoes and chickpeas until combined. Add water, eggplant, sweet potato and peanuts. Bring to a simmer then let reduce over low heat until consistency is stew like. Once satisfied, stir in baby spinach and enjoy! Serves about 8. 

Sugar and gluten free Pumpkin Loaf!

I don't know about y'all but I LOVE pumpkin anything. Now that it's October, I've been incorporating lots of pumpkin flavored goodness into my diet. This is my second time making this yummy pumpkin loaf in a week! It's delicious, moist and won't kill your diet if you're watching your weight etc [its only about 100 calories per slice, this makes 8 servings]. I'm sure you could make this with regular sugar and milk if you wanna make it a bit more rich, I may make a version like that for my boyfriend! Enjoy!

RECIPE

Sugar & Gluten-free Pumpkin Loaf

Preheat over to 375 degrees. 

Spray 9 x 5 loaf pan with coconut oil spray.

DRY ingredients:

1/2 cup gluten free oat flour

2 tbsp organic coconut sugar

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp stevia 

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

WET ingredients

1/2 cup organic canned pumpkin [NOTE: do not confuse this with canned pumpkin 'pie'- it's loaded with sugar]

2 eggs

1/4 cup pitted dates chopped

2 tbsp vanilla almond milk 

1 tbsp melted coconut oil 

1 tbsp organic maple syrup

1/2 tsp organic vanilla extract 

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Smash the dates with a fork. Then mix those with all remaining wet ingredients in separate bowl. Then slowly add wet mixture to dry mixture and combine well. Pour mixture into baking dish and bake for 35 minutes or until brown.