Hey my dear.
Gosh.
If there is one thing I can teach you about Therapeutic Eating it is this: therapeutic courage, therapeutic risk taking, therapeutic bravery, therapeutic you-can’t-get-it-wrong-because-you’re-never-done. It’s all therapy guys/gals. It just is. When you show up to your kitchen and just play and tinker with ingredients – when you approach your life with curiosity amazing things happen. Hate to quote Chris and Martin from Wild Kratts, the well known kids’ cartoon about animals in the wild, but I’m gonna….WHAT IF!
What if your food tastes amazing. What if you create something from nothing. What if you start eating out less and eating in more. What if your health improved. What if you invested more in yourself and at the same time started saving costs everywhere else (especially medical ones). What if. These are more statements than questions. How do you want to make a statement in your life? To go against the grain? If there is one place I feel safe breaking the rules – it’s in my kitchen. Food is forgivable – like your body. You are resilient and your abundant health and wellness is on the other side of FEELING GOOD. U just gotta feel good. When you do – really groovy things start happening.
Whole unadultured plant foods naturally feel good. Which beckons more feel good things. Then the vibration increases and we start to notice what doesn’t feel good – like those snarky comments from that friend of yours, or the criticism from your husband, or that judgement from your girlfriend, or that ick feeling you get from watching the news…when you start noticing the feel good and not-so-feel-good factors that are all around you you begin this discernment process which is essentially YOGA – union of mind/body/spirit- so welcome to your mat. The sticky mat of life. The 6′ runway that holds today’s potential – if you could just take a moment to pause and sit in your own stillness. I know – easier said than done right?
But wanna?
Let’s do it. Let’s go. It’s an empty open road.
Here are the few recipes I included in my latest vlog – ones which I captured the aftermath of but less so the process. Why? Because I had no idea how it was going to turn out. Which is most things. Thankfully the turn out was pretty fab and my expectations were nothing shy of adventure seeking so it’s tough to disappoint.
Red Kidney Bean, Cacao & Tahini Cookies
Ingredients
2 cans of rinsed and drained organic kidney beans
3 Tbsp tahini
3 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp cacao powder
2 Tbsp flaxmeal (ground flax seeds)
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
splash of almond milk
Process everything in your Cuisinart or food processor (indispensable kitchen equipment!)
Scoop onto a greased baking sheet or nonstick baking sheet and bake at 350 for 17 minutes.
Enjoy for breakfast, for a treat, smear with extra nut or seed butter, have alongside your favorite breakfast smoothie.
Buckwheat Flaxmeal Pizza Crust with olives & onion
Ingredients
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup flaxmeal
1/2 red onion, chopped
handful of pitted kalamata olives, chopped
large pinch of sea salt
handful of Italian seasoning
Mix everything in a bowl and add enough water to make a thick batter. It won’t be like your typical pizza dough so don’t expect to roll it out or anything.
Method
Set your oven to 325 and grab a baking sheet. Grease with avocado oil cooking spray or use a non stick baking sheet. Spread your thick batter out into a round, using the back of a spoon or your hands (no shame). It will probably be about 8-10″. Bake for 40 minutes. You can set the crust aside for topping later or make it all at once. When you’re ready to eat, increase the oven heat to 400. Top with organic tomato sauce, vegan cheese (I love the CHAO brand) and spinach – whatever toppings you love. Bake for 12-15 minutes and allow to cool a little before eating. Cut like you would a traditional pizza.
My standard prep ahead dressing
Ingredients – no strict measurements:
Mustard – dijon or stone ground
Apple cider vinegar
Balsamic vinegar
Tamari
Olive oil
Maple Syrup
Salt and Pepper
I use about equal proportions of all the liquids. Tamari is salty and balsamic is sweet. Apple cider vinegar is acidic and olive oil is unctuous. Keeping all of this in mind, use your own discretion. In the end, you’re the one eating it and you might light something a little different than me. Once you establish a favorite version your eyes will naturally gauge what’s right. If you’re a visual learner like me you’ll see what I did in the vlog (linked below).
Sunbutter Dressing
Ingredients:
1 whole clove of black garlic
1 nub or peeled ginger
1 nub of peeled turmeric
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1.5 Tbsp sunflower seed butter
1 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp ume plum vinegar
2 pitted dates
– blend and pour over a raw salad or use as a dip for summer rolls.
Odds and ends supper – getting savvy with day to day food
This was yummy. That’s all. Not that you will need to replicate this dish but rather be inspired to use the few things you have laying around to create some magic in your dinner bowl.
Ingredients:
1 large white sweet potato
1, 10 oz bag of shiitake mushrooms
Cook these together in a skillet with a bit of water, cover and steam. Make sure sweet potato is mostly cooked through before draining. Takes about 10 minutes.
Add,
5 oz frozen spinach
1 cup of peas
1 cup of marinara
Stir
Season with tamari, balsamic vinegar to taste, salt and pepper. Serve. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast.
sending all my ♡ kT
#eatmoreplants #therapeuticeating #katietrussell #foodtherapy #kitchenadventures
