Leak and Pea Soup

Heat a skillet; add a teaspoon of olive oil. Add half a teaspoon of cumin seeds and couple of bay leaves. Add a cup of chopped scallions (or onions) and sauté until they start changing colors. Add a tablespoon of garlic-ginger-green chili paste (4-5 garlic cloves, 1 green chili or more if you want to fire it up, and an inch ginger) and saute until the garlic starts turning brown. Add a cup each of shelled peas and diced leak. Add 4 cups of vegetable broth and let it boil for 10 minutes. Use an immersion blender and puree the soup. Add a pinch of salt and pepper per your taste. Add a tablspoon of fresh lemon juice. Garnish with a lemon slice.

Zucchinni Soup

Heat a tablespoon olive oil in a deep saucepan. Add couple of bay leaves, half a teaspoon of cumin seeds and couple of whole chili pods. Add a couple of garlic cloves, a small green chili and a small diced onion and saute until the onion turns translucent. Add a cup of diced zucchinnis and saute. Add two cups of vegetable broth and let it cook on slow-medium heat. Puree it in the pan using an immersion blender. Saute few curry leaves in a dollop of butter. Garnish the soup with the crisp curry leaves and freshly chopped tablespoon of coriander leaves. Serve hot. This is a delicious and heart warming soup.

Tropical Mixed Vegetables

Dice vegetables (equal parts of green beans, cauliflower, broccolli, red and yellow peppers, and mushrooms). Keep aside a cup of mixed vegetables to cook now and refrigerate the rest.Grind an inch of ginger, 3-4 garlic cloves, and one green chilli into a paste.  Make tomato puree with couple of ripe medium sized tomatoes. Roast a teaspoon of cumin seeds, an inch of cinnamon, 5-6 cloves, whole red chilis, a teaspoon of coriander seeds, and half a cup of grated coconut and grind it into a paste. Dice one medium sized onion.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok. Add the garlic-ginger-chili paste and saute for a minute. Next add the diced onions and saute until they turn golden brown. Add the ground spice paste and saute. Add the mixed vegetables and saute. Add the tomato puree. Finally add a cup of coconut milk and cook the vegetables on low heat. Season the cooked vegetables with couple of fried red chilis and bay leaves. Garnish with diced coconut pieces and serve hot.

Your taste buds will thank you for nourishing them with the flavors present in this recipe.

Lotus Kebab

Dice couple of fresh lotus roots and steam them in salted boiling water. If you are using frozen lotus roots, microwave a pack for 3-5 minutes to thaw it. Grind it with half an onion, one green chili, an inch of ginger, 3-4 cloves of garlic, and 5-6 whole peppercorns. Add half a teaspoon each of cumin powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add a pinch of cinnamon powder. Add juice of half a lime. Refrigerate the mix for an hour.

Preheat the broiler. Whisk an egg. Take the mix out of the refrigerator. Roll into flat balls, dip into the egg, and roll into almond fluor. Pat off the excess fluor. Place it under the broiler and grill it for 3-5 minutes. Remove it as soon as it turns brown without getting charred.

For those of you who do not want to use eggs, you can make flat balls and pan fry it until each side turns golden brown.

Make a dipping sauce as follows: Take a cup of Greek yogurt whisked with quarter cup of finely chopped mint leaves. Add a pinch of cumin powder, cayenne pepper and sea salt.

Serve these delicious kebabs with the yogurt-mint dipping sauce and raw onion and lemon slices. Yummmm.

Tomato Pulao

Dice a medium onion and 2 medium firm tomatoes. Take one tomato and cut it into round slices. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Add a teaspoon of cumin seeds, couple of bay leaves, two crushed cardamoms, half an inch of a cinnamon stick, 5-6 cloves and 5-6 peppercorns. Add a tablesppon of ground ginger-garlic paste and saute for few minutes. Next add diced onions and saute until they start turning brown. Add diced tomatoes and saute for few minutes.  Add previously steamed one cup of pearl barley. Mix them well. Fork them a bit to make them fluffy.  Put a layer of round tomato slices on top and grill for couple of minutes. Serve hot. The flavors and colors of this pulao nourish the soul while taking care of your health at the same time.

Mint Pulao

Soak a cup of whole barley overnight in warm water. Steam it in a pressure cooker until fully cooked. Make a paste of four garlic cloves, an inch of ginger and one green chili. Finely chop a bunch of mint leaves. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Add couple of bay leaves, 5-6 peppercorns, a teaspoon of cumin seeds, and couple of whole crushed cardamoms. Next add the ginger-chili paste. Add a diced onion and saute until it turns brown. Add the steamed barley. Add the chopped mint leaves and mix it in with the barley. Garnish with pan fried tablespoon of crushed almonds. Serve hot.

Spinach tortilla wrap with chutney

Buy whole grain spinach tortilla. Make chutney with a cup of soaked sunflower seeds, couple of chilies, couple of garlic, juice of a lemon, a chopped small onion, a bunch of cilantro, pinch of sea salt and pepper. Puree into a smooth paste. Spread it over the spinach tortilla. Roll it. Enjoy this wholesome and delicious roll.

What is bad about white bread?

White fluor is bleached with chlorine gas that leaves a by-product called alloxan. Alloxan kills beta cells in the pancreas. These beta cells are responsible for making insulin. So, substitute white bread in your diet with almond fluor bread or sprouted whole grains bread.

Sample Meal Plan for a day

Breakfast – ½ cup whole oats with 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (sprinkle a teaspoon of hemp seeds or flax seeds); 1 slice sprouted whole grain bread with ½ tablespoon of almond butter; one boiled egg white

Morning snack – ¼ cup low fat cottage cheese

Lunch – 1 cup salad greens; ½ cup cooked kidney beans; ¼ cup cooked barley;

Afternoon snack -- 1 tablespoon peanut butter with ½ medium apple

Dinner – ½ cup cooked vegetables; ¼ cup cooked brown rice; ½ cup non-fat plain yogurt with 6-8 blueberries

Post-dinner Snack – ½ cup of unsweetened almond milk

Veggie noodles with Hemp Pesto

Peel vegetables like zucchini, celery roots or parsnip. Grate them in a food processor. Toss them with a teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt to soften them up. Prepare hemp pesto as follows: Take 3-4 garlics, a large bunch of chopped of basil leaves, quarter cup olive oil, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and a cup of hemp seeds – pulse it in the food processor. If required for making a smooth paste, then add some more olive oil. Sauté a cup of vege noodles with this sauce. The noodles should get coated with the pesto. Serve hot.

Hemp seeds amino acid profile is complete just like any other sources of proteins like meat, milk, eggs and soy. It contains 80% essential fatty acids.

Vegetable noodles are low-carb alternative to traditional noodles.

You can store the remaining hemp pesto in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Walnut Pulao

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Add half a teaspoon of cumin seeds, few bay leaves, quarter teaspoon of cardamom seeds, an inch of cinnamon stick, few cloves and peppercorns. Add a tablespoon of ground ginger-garlic paste and saute for few minutes. Next add a cup of chopped walnuts and almonds. Finally add a cup of steamed pearl barley. Mix them well. Add half a cup of finely chopped mint leaves. Fork the barley a bit to make it fluffy and serve hot. Garnish with roasted onion rings.

This is a healthy low-carb and tasty spin on the traditional rice pulao.

Spicy Tomato Soup

Heat a deep saucepan and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Add four crushed garlic cloves and one diced onion. Add a teaspoon of cumin seeds, couple of bay leaves, and an inch of cinnamon stick, few cloves and peppers. Add six diced tomatoes and four cups of low sodium organic vegetable broth. Cook for ten to fifteen minutes. Use an immersion blender and puree the soup in the pan. Add finely chopped bunch of fresh basil leaves. Add salt and pepper and serve hot.

Leafy greens with caraway vinaigrette

Roast couple of teaspoons of caraway seeds and coarse grind them. Mix it in with a teaspoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of grapefruit juice, a teaspoon of red wine vinegar, pinch of paprika and salt. Wash a pack of mixed green leaves (red and green lettuce, spinach leaves, radiochio, aragula, watercress and bok choy); mix it with quarter cup of chopped tomatoes and few slices of cucumber. Toss the dressing and top with finely chopped teaspoon of dill leaves. Enjoy this wholesome salad with lots of fiber.