Recipes from my favorite cook book + website -- "Oh She Glows"

I have a new favorite cookbook and recipe website that if you don't know yet, you have to.  I’ve never had a recipe that wasn’t a crowd-pleaser from this source.  These recipes are my go-tos for serving non-veg eaters, feeding study participants at the University of South Carolina (love my day job!) OR when I need a new recipe for my meal members and I don't have time to test it out first, I know I can rely on these recipes to hit the spot.

So what is this cookbook and website!?  You may have heard me mention it in the past, but it’s drum roll please…. “The Oh She Glows Cookbook.”  A generous amount of the cookbook recipes are on the website www.OhSheGlows.com but a few of my most haves, are not!  

These recipes are so good at helping us eat more fruits, veggies, whole-grains and legumes (which we all need to do) and they're just so delicious that today I share with you…

• 3 recipes from the Oh She Glows Cookbook that I highly recommend 
• 3 of my favorite recipes from the Oh She Glows website that are divine (and free!) and
• 3 recipes from the cookbook I’m dying to try

And no -- I don't get any money or kickbacks from telling you this or from you purchasing the cookbook (although you should buy it -- so glad I did).  I'm sharing this with you purely because these are delicious recipes that need to be shared and I know you're always looking for yummy, plant-based recipes to help you eat (and live) better.  So, here goes!

Six recipes from The Oh She Glows Cookbook and website I highly recommend

Three of my favorite Oh She Glows Cookbook recipes

1.  I’ve never had a kale salad I loved that wasn’t coated in oil or a fatty, nutty (vegan) cream sauce to make it taste good until I ate the “Oh She Glows Festive Kale Salad with Sweet Apple-Cinnamon Vinaigrette + Pecan Parmesan” (pg. 121).  It was amazingly delicious and low-fat!  

The cinnamon and apple give it a hearty fall flavor and overall feeling but we ate in 80 degree South Carolina weather with the Oh She Glows enchiladas and we loved it!  So, safe to say, it's good anywhere, any time with anything.

2.  Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas (pg. 147).  These are delicious and fun to make (and I don't say a lot of recipes are fun to make).  I enjoy rolling the enchiladas and spreading the sauce over top of them too.  The recipe calls for the diced sweet potato to be boiled but Erik and I roast them to bring out a sweeter sweet potato flavor. Other than that, we follow the recipe to a T!

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The Oh She Glows Cookbook enchiladas with extra filling and avocado on-top.

The Oh She Glows Cookbook enchiladas without extra filling on-top.

3.  Empowered Orange-Maple Miso Noodle Bowl (pg.153).  This is a cold, refreshing and super simple recipe that uses soba noodles as the bowl base (buckwheat pasta -- find in the Asian section of the grocery store).  It's an easy way to eat fresh, raw veggies as all you do is combine the orange-maple miso sauce with the cooked noodles (that you cool off with cold water) and about 6 different raw veggies.  Yes please!  

Three of my favorite Oh She Glows website recipes

1.  Lentil-Walnut Taco Meat:  Erik and I use this "meat" for burrito bowls for our meal members and it's one of their favorite dishes (you can easily lessen the amount of walnuts and it's still dee-lish for a lower-fat version).  It's full of flavor from all the spices, filling and it looks just like taco meat (it's amazing how much just the look of a dish is powerful enough to make use feel like we're eating the "real thing").  Top this off with some of Oh She Glows Cashew Sour Cream and you'll be a very happy person :)

2.  Raspberry Almond Thumbprint cookies:  We've made these for a plant-based dessert class in USC's Columbia's Cooking kitchen and they were my favorite of the 7 different plant-based desserts we made that class (lol yes -- a plate of 7 guilt-free desserts and an icy cold glass of almond milk.  I was a happy woman!).  They're beautiful too!  Just be sure to let them cool before eating so they stay in tip-top cookie form.

3.  Home-made Rolo Knock-Offs:  We've served these to our meal member's children and they were a hit! (and with adults too -- myself included).  Some have said they're better than real Rolo caramel candies.  They're great finger and party serving treats -- just pop one off a toothpick into your mouth and that's all you need.

How is that caramel chocolate goodness pulled-off using only plant foods?  The secret is dates (as is with most sweet plant-based desserts).  Chewy and sweet, this date mixture combined with other dessert flavors makes eating a typically unhealthy candy much sweeter and more enjoyable.

Three Oh She Glows Cookbook recipes I'm most excited to try next

1.  Lentil-Walnut Loaf (pg. 167).  This recipe looks time intensive (in fact, the book says it is) but looks worth the effort.  I’d be willing to make this for a group of '3 times a day meat eaters', having never tried it before and bet it’d go over great!  (Let me know if you try it!).  

2.  Roasted Beet Salad with Hazelnuts, Thyme + Balsamic Reduction (pg. 113).  One, I love beets.  Two, I love hazelnuts and three, I love good balsamics.  Plus the photo is beautiful (they all are!  I also appreciate the photos in this cookbook.  There's so many!  I'm realizing how important photos are for me with cookbooks.  We eat with our eyes!).  

3.  Oil-free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins (pg. 227).  Not all of the recipes in the Oh She Glows Cookbook are oil free (many can easily be converted to oil-free which we do to keep calorie density lower) but this one especially excites me because not only is it oil-free, it's also dessert!  Chocolate dessert!  With vegetables in it!  

I can't wait to see how this one tastes.  I have a feeling it could be my new absolute favorite.  Oh She Glows has an amazing ability to make healthy taste delicious.  I love her chick pea chocolate chip cookies.  Yes, chick peas in cookies that are delicious and pretty filling (it's hard to eat a lot of these) so I can't wait to see how Oh She Glows made this one taste!

Now I'd love to hear from you...

Take Control Now Question

What's your favorite Oh She Glows recipe?  What recipe are you most excited to try next and why?  

Share by clicking 'comment' below and let's help one another (myself included) dial right into the best recipes!

Hearty Vegetable Farro Salad on "Making It Grow"

I recently had the privilege of doing a cooking demo on the Emmy award-winning show 'Making It Grow' to promote Earth Fest 2016, a free event at USC where you'll learn "how your palate affects the planet."  'Making it Grow' is a gardening and food show so naturally I was in heaven.  And the host, Amanda McNulty, was such a genuinely wonderful, caring, amazing woman and host.  It was such an honor just to meet her and I highly recommend watching her! 

Trish and Amanda McNulty, the amazing host of the Emmy award-winning show 'Making It Grow'. 

Erik and I prepped a farro salad which I demoed on the show.  Farro is a variety of whole grain wheat that is used frequently in Italian cooking.  It has a creamy and slightly chewy texture and a nutty flavor.  It’s excellent used in vegetable soups, sprinkled on top of salads or used as a salad base as it’s used in this recipe.  

The slow-roasted, organic, heirloom farro we used for the 'Making It Grow' episode was generously donated by another amazing South Carolina company, Anson Mills.  Anson Mills specializes in growing and distributing organic, heirloom crops.  

Enjoy the below 8 minute clip of me demoing how to prepare this hearty vegetable farro salad from 'Making It Grow'.

Hearty Vegetable Farro Salad

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked farro
• 1 shallot thinly sliced
• 10 cherry tomatoes cut in halves or quarters
• 1 small container crimini or baby bella mushrooms sliced
• ¼ cup fresh parsley (only the leaves picked from the stems)
• ¼ cup craisins (dried cranberries) (raisins can also be used)
• ½ bunch kale, destemmed and ripped into 1 in x 1 in pieces
• 1 cup vegetable broth (or water) for sautéing 
• 1-2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (balsamic vinegar can also be used instead) 
• Salt 
• Pepper

Directions

1. Cook farro according to package (this may require soaking the farro overnight so plan accordingly). 
2. Add shallot, tomatoes, parsley and craisins to a large mixing bowl.
3. Wilt kale by putting a pan on medium high heat.  Once hot, add 2-3 tablespoons of veggie broth and kale in a pan.  Frequently move and turn kale with tongs for about one minute until kale is bright green and slightly cooked down.  Add to bowl with other ingredients.
4. Saute mushrooms using tablespoons of veggie broth at time until evenly cooked (don't know how to saute without oil?  Click here to learn how easy it is).  Then add to bowl with all other ingredients.
5. Add farro on top of ingredients in the bowl.
6. Pour one tablespoon of sherry vinegar on top and season with salt and pepper. 
7. Toss until ingredients are mixed evenly.  
8. Taste to see if you need to add more vinegar and season with more salt and pepper.

Take Control Now Question

What's your favorite way to prepare farro?  If you've never had it, google "oil free vegan farro recipe" and share one recipe you could cook and possibly enjoy?  Share by clicking 'comment' below.

Earth Fest 2016 -- Free food event at USC and more Trish and Erik updates!

Ever wish someone would make your family a healthy, satisfying and absolutely delicious meal Monday to Thursday night so you don’t have to?  Better yet, they’d also buy your groceries and clean your kitchen.  Then, when it’s time for dinner, all you have to do is reheat it.  And wouldn’t it be amazing if these meals would also help you lose weight without trying? 

Erik's roasted cauliflower soup we served to a family we're personally cooking for.  It's SO good!  

Well, Erik (my husband and number one chef) and I are working on it.  We’ve started cooking for families in the Columbia, SC area so they don’t have to (roasted cauliflower soup above). It’s very rewarding and exciting but also a lot of work while we’re both working full-time jobs which have also been very exciting.  In fact, I just finished my second time cooking on live tv!

Trisha preparing to go live on the Emmy award-winning Making It Grow.

I just had the extreme pleasure of demoing a farro vegetable salad on “Making It Grow” on South Carolina Public Television (SCEtv).  Honestly, it was so exciting.  It’s a gardening and food show so naturally I was in heaven!  Plus, the host, Amanda McNulty is an a-mazing woman.  Even if you’re not in SC but love gardening, you’ll learn lots from the show.  I did!

Trisha and Amanda McNulty, host of Making It Grow on SCEtv

If you're on my email list you'll be the first to get the episode once it’s online, but until then, I wanted to let you in on an awesome, free event Columbia’s Cooking is hosting at USC in Columbia, SC “Earth Fest 2016 — How Your Palate Affects the Planet.”  I’ve created the event with Kirby Beal, an MPH candidate as her Preceptor.  If you’re in the area, please come and meet Erik and I and enjoy some free food and amazing presentations and workshops on how communities can determine the shape of their food system.  

Erik and I will be serving a free lunch featuring Anson Mills and City Roots, SC grown and organic products at Earth Fest 2016.  

You can also meet Casey McCurry at Earth Fest.  She's our Program Coordinator at Columbia's Cooking.  She's a great plant-based cook and the backbone to our organization.  I love her!

Casey McCurry, Columbia's Cooking Program Coordinator, happily serving a veggie lasagna with a cashew basil cheese and vegan cesar salad with our home-made and oil-free croutons.  

I hope you find these updates exciting and if you're in town, please come visit us for lots of free info!

Tonight's 15 minute dinner - gnocchi

Sometimes, I just don’t want to cook and tonight, was one of those nights.  Know the feeling?  I’m home and hungry, but still don’t want to spend time in the kitchen.  Too many other things to do (including relax).  However, I still want to eat healthy.  What’s a girl to do?  

Eat gnocchi.

Yes, the Italian potato pasta that’s filling, scrumptious AND only takes 15 minutes to cook from start to finish.  Bam.

I’m definitely not talking home-made gnocchi here, but at Trader Joe’s, you can buy a package of vegan, oil-free gnocchi for about two dollars!  Many grocery stores carry gnocchi (ranges in price) and it’s worth buying and keeping a few stashed in the house for those nights when ya just don’t feel like cookin.

Gnocchi only takes 2-3 minutes to cook once it’s added to boiling water.  You know it's done when all the gnocchi have floated to the top of the pot.  

While your brining water to a boil, open a jar of pre-made pasta sauce (always stashed in the house) and then, your bare basics are covered.  Just add any of these spices to the sauce — red pepper chili flakes, basil, chives, garlic powder, onion powder or bay leaf; then toss in a few dark leafy greens (arugula, spinach, kale) or any cut veggies lying around, for an extra nutritional kick.  Then, just add the sauce to the gnocchi and bam! you’re done!   

You can add a slice of toast with spread avocado on-top too if you like (tastes just like butter).

Take Control Now

What's your go-to 15 minute dinner?  

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash

I love winter squash… acorn, hubbard, butternut, buttercup (my favorite), golden nugget, sweet dumpling, and the list goes on.  Winter squash are Foundational Filling Foods, they’re excellent for weight-loss, they’re comforting, hearty, beautiful and sweetly delicious (learn more about winter squash here).

But spaghetti squash is in a world of its own.  No other can compete.  Why?  Well it’s name says it all.  Once you cook spaghetti squash and pull at its flesh with a fork, it looks and feels just like spaghetti, but it's a filling vegetable! 

I want you to take advantage of this super simple and delicious winter squash… I want you to make it!  Here’s how to do just that.

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Step 2:  Using a large chef’s knife, slice the spaghetti squash in half length wise.

Step 3:  Scoop seeds out with spoon and discard.

Step 4:  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat.

Step 5:  Season squash with salt and pepper.

Step 6:  Place both squash halves flesh side up on pan and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Step 7:  Remove from oven, flip over so flesh side is down and bake for another 20 minutes.  

Step 8:  Remove from oven and test to ensure it’s thoroughly cooked.  To test, pierce with a paring knife and if there’s little resistance, it’s done!  If not, continue to bake for 10 minutes increments until done.  It should like like this when done…

Step 9:  Turn into pasta!  Take a fork, and pull at the flesh of the squash.  Careful, as it's still hot.  Shreds of squash pasta will form.  Transfer to a bowl and enjoy plain or top with your favorite sauce. 

We topped our spaghetti squash off with doctored up jarred marinara.  We sautéed julienned onion and pepper in veg stock before adding them to the marinara.  Then we ripped up a few kalamata olives and tossed them in the sauce with a bay leaf.  It’s important to eat dark leafy greens every day so we clipped some kale from our garden and sautéed it with garlic, veg stock and lemon.  Here’s how it came out.  It was delicious!

Know there’s numerous ways to bake spaghetti squash, this just happens to be our favorite.

Take Control Now Challenge

Share your favorite way to eat spaghetti squash OR buy a spaghetti squash and cook this week.  It’s yummy plain, or add your favorite vegan marinara or Bolognese sauce.  Share your insights by clicking ‘comment’ below.