Turkey Lasagna with Eggplant and Zucchini Noodles

I've been asked a lot recently about my thoughts on whether or not grains should be a part of our diet.

So I wanted to share with you my two cents on the matter since there is a lot of information out there written by God-knows-who. For starters,  I'm definitely not against all grain for myself or my family.   I think whole grains can be an excellent source of key nutrients, like protein, fiber, iron, and host of other vitamins and minerals. For many, they can even effectively reduce junk food cravings.  They are satisfying, comforting, and down right delicious.

Here is my issue with grains, though. Grains are flooding our American diet.

Breakfast: bran cereal and toast; Snack: granola bar; Lunch: sub sandwich; Snack: Pretzels; Dinner: Pasta; Dessert: cookies. 

Sound a little familiar? Maybe it's not your diet, but I'm sure you know somebody who eats like this. It's like Americans are in a trance or something - somebody tells us that something is good for us and suddenly we need to consume it at every meal and snack. Throw in the word ancient grains, and Americans practically faint with joy.  And then some other group of people tell us that whole grains are bad for us, even suggesting that the government promotes high consumption of grains because they subsidize the wheat/corn farmers.  To which many of us then remove it completely from our diets and swear to never let the stuff touch our lips. I fall somewhere in the middle, conveniently. I'm not convinced there is a government conspiracy, but I certainly don't think most of us need 6-9 servings of grains per day. I believe the issue with grains isn't really about grains themselves, it is the quantity of grains that we ingest, regardless of whether they are wheat-based or not.

I also believe the bigger, more troubling issue is our dependency on packaged, processed, and refined foods. I do not claim to eat a package-free diet by any means - there is a time and place for these foods - but they certainly shouldn't be the staples in our diet. It makes me a little ill to think of eating foods EVERY DAY that have a shelf life of 2-3 years. I remember somebody once told me that in the 1950s-60s, jarred baby food was considered the healthier (and smarter) choice for feeding our children rather than making food from scratch.  We can laugh at that practice now, but I feel like the same sort of thing is going on right now. Our reliance on processed foods has become so great, in part because many families have both parents working outside the home and because these food items are relatively inexpensive and convenient. I get it - there are millions of Americans who cannot afford WholeFoods or even Safeway prices, so my argument for consuming fresh, natural, whole foods is lovely but I haven't yet figured out the solution for people who simply cannot afford even the bare essentials. Many local farmers markets are beginning to reach out to these community members in need, but it has not come close to solving the problem on a national level. But I'm off topic a bit here. I feel like I had a glass of wine and just went off on a tangent. I really didn't (have wine, that is). Hope you are still with me.

Anyways, when will people start to understand that the idea of moderation isn't just directed at dessert and booze and french fries? It applies to the amount of packaged food you consume, the amount of grains you eat at each meal, the amount of cheese you eat, the amount of added sugar you consume, etc. Getting my point? I wholeheartedly recommend (only to those who ask for my advice, of course) that we reduce, but not completely eliminate our intake of grains. I recommend the same of sugar, red meat and alcohol, too, by the way. Each person should have their own grain "prescription" as some of us react differently. For me, I try to avoid, within reason, processed grain products - so that means I save bread (even the sprouted, nutritious stuff), brown rice tortillas, quinoa pasta, chips, for special occasions. I adore bread-y food, so I will never, ever give it up, but I am perfectly happy passing on it most of the time so long as I know it's there when I really want it. I stick to the grains themselves rather than the processed versions. Right now, I'm keeping my grains at 3 servings a day (and love the way I feel), but I always allow for wiggle room.  Again, each person is different, so this might not be a good call for everyone (and definitely if you are a larger frame, I'd increase your number of servings). It might sound a little boring, but I have to tell you, I've found ways to work around processed grains in my recipes, and I've never felt healthier, more energetic, and leaner in my life.

All this said, I feel it would be disrespectful of me to not address those of us who choose to be gluten-free or grain-free for medical-type reasons (beyond Celiacs), weight maintenance, or physical and mental stamina to name a few. While I don't completely eliminate gluten or grains from my diet, I know many people who do, and report feeling significantly better than they did when they ate grains. So for them, avoiding grains or gluten makes them happy and they report being very healthy. I'm not going to rain on that parade. Bottom line - just be happy and use moderation in life. But I would be a really bad dietitian if I didn't recommend to those grain-free-ers to make sure to eat an otherwise very balanced, colorful diet to ensure adequate intake of nutrients. Many grain products are fortified these days, so if you skip them, you'll need to make sure you eat the rainbow, daily.

OK, so if you are still reading this, I wanted to share a simple, yet so satisfying grain-free Italian dinner that I'm sure you'll love, even if you could care less about how much or which type of grains you eat. It's a lasagna - but the noodles are replaced with roasted eggplant and zucchini slices. It's brilliant - but I can't take credit for the idea - its all over Pinterest, however, the recipe is all my creation :) Enjoy this protein-rich, low-cal, high fiber, high flavor dinner anytime, but it's also a fantastic dinner option for weeks 3-6 of the ReBoot. This recipe can also be tinkered with quite a bit. Try it with sautéed spinach and mushrooms, or even dairy-free if that's your thing. I even think pureed, herby tofu could work as a vegan "ricotta". One thing you cannot do, though, is use bad tomato sauce. If you don't want to make your own, splurge a little and use a brand that has no added sugar and uses all recognizable, simple ingredients. The sauce should look fresh and vibrant in the jar (not a deep, dark red). I like Rao's sauces but there are literally dozens of great choices these days (just please skip the Ragu or Prego- it will RUIN this simple dish). Last thing - when you pull the lasagna from the oven, it may look a little soupy. Just let it rest at room temp for about 10 minutes before serving and that should do the trick! OK, I'm done. Let me know what you think of this one!

Mission Grain-Free Lasagna: Accomplished.

Turkey Lasagna with Eggplant and Zucchini Noodles
serves 5

Ingredients:

1 jar tomato basil sauce (I used Rao's)
1 lb ground turkey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp ground fennel
1 large eggplant
2 large zucchinis
salt/pepper
1/2 cup chopped, fresh basil
1/4 cup parmesan
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella
olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Clean and slice eggplant and zucchini into thin strips (it doesn't have to be perfect). Place veggies on two large baking sheets and drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast veggies for about 15 minutes, then flip them over. Roast for another 10-15 minutes, until soft and lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, over medium heat, add about 2 tsp olive oil to sauce pan. Saute garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add the turkey to the saucepan. Season meat lightly with salt, pepper, and fennel and cook thoroughly, about 7-10 minutes. Add marinara sauce. Combine and heat for another 2-3 minutes for flavors to combine.

Reduce oven temp to 375. In a 9x9 baking dish, add a small amount of meat sauce. Follow with a layer of eggplant. Sprinkle eggplant with 1/3 of the cheeses and 1/3 of the basil. Add a layer of sauce. Layer zucchini next. Top with 1/3 cheese and 1/3 basil. Add sauce. Top with layer of remaining veggies, followed by sauce and then the rest of the cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until bubbling. Remove from oven and finish with remaining basil.

Greek Meatballs in Pita with Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

I love all things little, pudgy and round (hence 4 children...so far). That also means I am a huge fan of puppies, chocolate chip cookies, and of course, meatballs. Any cuisine of meatball sounds good to me, I even obsess over vegan "meatballs", but for my latest mission, I knew it had to be a meaty, Greek thang. I wanted some massive, rich flavors - and I got it - with lamb and loads of herbs and spices. Baked then stuffed in whole wheat pita with creamy tzatziki and a lemony spinach salad with slivered red onions and chopped tomato, it surpassed my expectations and I implore you to make this recipe the next time you want to sit down at dinner and say "this is ridiculously good". But when I reflect on what happened when I brought this dinner to the table, there wasn't a lot of talking, just lots of oohs and ahhhs and eye-rolling to the heavens in thanks. So just trust me, you will be a Greek goddess the night you make this.

Mission Greek goddess food: Accomplished 

Greek Meatballs in Pita with Tzatziki and Lemony Spinach Salad
serves 6 (with leftovers for lunch)

Meatball Ingredients:

1.5 lbs ground lamb
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup crumbled feta
squeeze of lemon juice (from half lemon)
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup minced fresh mint
1 tsp dried oregano
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp Hungarian paprika (sweet)
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Accompaniments:
6 whole wheat pita pockets ( I love Stonefire brand, Whole Foods)
Tzatziki (feel free to make your own but I love Cedar Lane brand in a pinch)
Lemony Salad (see below)
Mediterranean Quinoa salad (see below)

Lemony Spinach Salad Ingredients:
3 big handfuls baby spinach
1/2 red onion, halved and shaved thin
1 generous cup tomatoes, seeded, diced
juice of 1/2 large lemon
drizzle of olive oil
S &P

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad:
2 cups cooked white quinoa (seasoned with salt)

1/2 large cucumber, diced
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1/3 cup feta
1/3 cup halved kalamata olives
1/2 cup minced fresh basil
1/3 cup minced fresh mint
1/2 large red bell pepper, seeded, diced
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
olive oil
s& lots of P
juice of 1/2 lemon

For the Meatballs:

In a small bowl, mix the milk and bread crumbs. Set aside for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix the lamb with all the ingredients, including the moist bread crumbs, and mix gently. Form into balls about the size of golf balls, about 20. Refrigerate balls for at least an hour for flavors to mingle.

Preheat oven to 400. Roast meatballs in a baking dish for about 22 minutes.

For the Lemony Salad (can be made ahead):

In a medium bowl, place the sliced onions and the tomatoes. Drizzle with lemon juice. This is a key step because marinating the onions helps to reduce their bite. Add the tomatoes on top, followed by a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Add the spinach on top. Toss the salad when you are ready to serve dinner.

For the quinoa:
Quite simply, add the chopped veggies, herbs, cheese, lemon zest, and pine nuts to the cooked quinoa. Add a big glug of olive oil (~2 Tbsp) and lemon juice. Season for salt and pepper - I like a lot of fresh, cracked pepper. Salad can be refrigerated for several hours before serving if needed.

To Assemble the Pita pockets:

Cut pita open, to which you should add about 1-2 Tbsp tzatziki. Then add a handful of lemony salad, followed by 2 meatballs cut in half. Serve quinoa salad on the side, along with a your best Greek goddess grin.

Enjoy!!

Buckwheat Quinoa Granola (Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar Free)

The 6-week ReBoot is technically over and I'm flooded with recipes I never got around to posting - so stay tuned for a lot more gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar free recipes that are friggin delish! But first let me introduce you to this super crunchy, share-worthy granola. I found this recipe at just the right moment in my life. Let me explain. There aren't many bad habits I have missed during the Reboot- even my dessert habit is a thing of the past (hallelujah! a true miracle!), but I have to say, one thing I deeply missed was breakfast cereal. Quick, crunchy, sweet, just easy.  But as I have come to rely less on packaged, processed foods, this morning tradition needs to stay kicked to the curb for the most part. I began searching for a gluten-free granola recipe that used raw buckwheat groats, just like the one I love from Whole Foods for $9/bag. That stuff just makes me feel so cool and healthy when I carry it around in my cart. Even if its the only thing in my cart. Anyway, I also wanted to use these adorable quinoa flakes I found at WF, along with some goji berries I bought in bulk (super pricey but you don't actually need that much). I based my recipe off of Bird Seed Granola from Healthful Pursuit - seriously, isn't that the cutest name for a granola? To ensure plenty of crunch, I added uncooked quinoa to the mix. Sounds odd, but it totally works and couldn't be easier! Along with some chopped figs, almonds, pepitas, coconut, cacao nibs, and some other random pantry finds, this is quickly becoming my favorite treat. Not too sweet, and nowhere near as expensive as Lydia's cereal. It's great by itself, or with greek yogurt. I even love it warm with some almond milk. I can't say I've converted my kids or hubby to eating it, but that's just fine. More for me. They'll come around eventually.

Mission Crazy Good Hippie Granola: Accomplished

BUCKWHEAT QUINOA GRANOLA
serves: a lot

Dry Ingredients:
2 1/4 C buckwheat groats, raw
1 cup quinoa flakes
1/2 C white quinoa, uncooked
3 Tbsp coconut flakes, unsweetened
1/2 C each sunflower and pepitas seeds
2/3 C chopped raw almonds
3 Tbsp ground flax meal
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
2 Tbsp Berry Bliss powder by Philosophie, optional
2 Tbsp coconut sugar, optional
healthy pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients:
1/4 C raw honey
1/4 C maple syrup
3 Tbsp almond butter
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla

Add-Ins:
2/3 C dried, chopped figs
1/2 C goji berries
couple handfuls of cacao nibs, optional
(any dried fruit would be good, really)

Method:

Preheat oven to 300. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and set aside.
Over medium heat, combine wet ingredients. Stir until completely combined and warm. Pour wet ingredients over dry mixture, and stir well to coat. Place mixture on large, rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.
Remove from oven and add your dried fruit and cacao nibs. Store in airtight container or ziplock bags. Freezes well. Enjoy!

*UPDATE: I've tried this recipe substituting hemp seeds for sunflower seeds and loved the result (and the major protein boost). I've also been told that Gluten Free oats make a great substitute for the buckwheat groats. Love a flexible recipe!

Turkey Sweet Potato Stew (GF, Dairy Free)

It's finally raining and cold here. A little late, but I'll gladly take it. Aside from finally being able to bust out my cute Lululemon raincoat, it means soup weather (and frizzy hair) has arrived. I'm actually not really a soup person, I'm more of a stew person (thin vs. thick). Don't get me wrong I make soup, and I eat soup, I just don't love them like I love a good, thick stew. I see it like this - soup is for the sick, stew is for the hungry. And I'm always friggin' hungry. Something about a broth soup just leaves me, well...hungry.

So I'm presenting you with a stew that I love because its so different than anything I've made before, but the ingredients are easy to find. It combines sweet potatoes, ground turkey, tamari (or soy sauce), Harissa, and coconut milk as the key flavors - sounds kind of gross, but it works beautifully, I promise. As an option, you can add cauliflower florets - a little anti-cancer boost and some awesome texture, too. The stew is a little sweet mixed with spicy and savory. I'm having this tomorrow night most definitely. Oh, and if tasting good isn't your only requirement for a meal, it's also super healthy and clean. I'd like to highlight the ginger in the soup - it's my newest obsession. I'm trying to figure out what ginger can't do, honestly. It's great for digestive troubles, has major anti-inflammatory properties (I'm talking everything from arthritis to cancer), immune boosting, and is even used to treat skin burns. It's the ugly duckling of miracle foods, and I just love it.

Mission Crazy Good Stew: Accomplished.

*The original recipe calls for it to be made in the crockpot but I find that the sweet potatoes get too mushy when they cook for too long unattended so I kept it on the stovetop and loved the results. But either way works. A special shout out to Susan and Scott for the awesome lead on this recipe.

TURKEY SWEET POTATO STEW
adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen
serves 5

Ingredients:
1 1/4 lb lean ground turkey
2 tsp olive oil + 1 tsp
1 onion, cut in half and sliced into thin half-rounds

1 Tbsp finely minced ginger

3 minced garlic cloves
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup low-sodium tamari, or Bragg liquid aminos (or low-sodium soy sauce if you don't mind the gluten)
1 cup chicken stock
2-3 Tbsp Harissa (or Chili Garlic sauce), I added 2 Tbsp and liked that amount of heat
2 heaping cups cauliflower florets (optional, but I love it)
1 can light coconut milk (I like Trader Joe's brand)
1/2 cup green onions, sliced thin + extra for garnish
4 cups loosely packed spinach (kale or chard would work, too)
2 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (optional)
lime wedges (optional)

Directions:

Brown turkey in 2 tsp olive oil in medium stock pot, breaking up meat into small pieces. Set aside once cooked. To the same pan, add 1 tsp more of olive oil (if needed) to cook the onion. Saute onion until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the harissa and stir to mix with onion/garlic/ginger. Add the turkey back to the pot along with the chicken stock, tamari, sweet potatoes, coconut milk, and green onions. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until potatoes are soft, about 20-30 minutes. If you choose to add cauliflower, add it about 10-15 minutes after the potatoes. Taste for seasoning.

Lastly, add the spinach to the stew, and let wilt for several minutes. Serve with green onions, lime wedges and brown rice if you like. Eat up!

* For the crockpot method, brown the meat and onion as stated above, and add to the crockpot.  Mix the rest of the ingredients (except for the spinach, rice, and lime) in the crockpot and stir to combine. Add the spinach about 5-10 minutes before serving.