PLANT-BASED CHALLENGE, DINNER #1

Here’s the challenge again—create  a week’s worth of delicious, healthful, satisfying dinners for 2 from the produce bought at the FARMERS MARKET following these simple guidelines for whole food plant-based cooking and eating:

• Include vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains every day
• Include greens everywhere possible (soups, salads, sauces, sandwiches, etc.)
• Include starches in every meal (potatoes, oatmeal, brown rice, whole grain pasta, etc.)
• Minimize salt
• Avoid all added oil (no olive, coconut, canola, corn, peanut, etc.)
• Avoid all animal products (no meat, dairy, cheese, fish, poultry, etc.)
• Use nuts and seeds sparingly with the exception of chia and freshly ground flax seeds.
• Use fruit for dessert and as a whole food sweetener instead of sugar.

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Dinner is served.  Here is tonight’s menu:

• RED PEPPER PESTO ON WHOLE GRAIN PASTA
• BEET GREENS WITH ONIONS AND BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE
• FRESH STEAMED SWEET CORN
• BERRY-MELON SKEWERS
• PINO GRIGIO

RED PEPPER PESTO RECIPE

1. 3 roasted red peppers (fresh roasted or from jar with water, not oil, drained)
2. 1 cup fresh basil packed
3. 1 clove garlic
4. 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
5. ¼ - ½ cup quick cooking red lentils, boiled and drained, added for body and for nutritional value
6. ¼ cup toasted walnuts or pine nuts
7. 2 tbls. Nutritional yeast

Place all ingredients in blender to make pesto.  Add salt to taste. Serve over whole grain pasta of choice

BEET GREENS WITH ONIONS AND BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

1. Dry saute onions stirring often til lightly browned.  Add a little of any liquid to prevent burning (water, vinegar, wine, veg broth, Bragg’s Aminos “soy” sauce)
2. Add chopped fresh greens and a little more liquid to steam for 5 or so minutes with lid on.
3. I steam corn in the same pot for convenience.
4. Flavor greens with a shake of balsamic and a spritz of Bragg’s Aminos “soy” sauce

I must confess, just after taking the photo above, I promptly spilled one glass of wine onto one of the plates. So the corn, pasta and greens were swimming in Pino Grigio.  Not bad—isn’t this how new recipes are created?!