A few months back I made a salad with arugula, beets, oranges, avocados and hazelnuts. The combination of beets and hazelnuts was so delicious that I decided to create a quinoa salad using some of the same flavors. The result is a salad that’s as delicious as it is pretty.

And let’s not forget, this is a dish you can feel great about eating, because:

• Beets contain powerful phytonutrients called belatains.

• Hazelnuts serve up protein, vitamin E and “good fats”.

• Quinoa provides a complete protein, and is a good source of magnesium.

Now, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you might be wondering if I’m a little obsessed with beet salads. And nuts. And quinoa. The answer is yes…yes….and yes.  You got a problem with that?

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Quinoa and Beet Salad with Hazelnuts and Mint

1 cup quinoa
1 ½ cups water
¾ cup diced roasted beets
1/3 cup chopped roasted hazelnuts (or substitute pistachios or almonds)
¼ cup sliced scallions
¼ cup minced fresh mint
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt

Place the quinoa and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 12 minutes, until you see the rings separate from the kernels of quinoa and it’s tender-crunchy.  Set aside and cool.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Eat.

Serves 4

I was trying to come up with a one-pot Indian meal to make to go along with my usual Sunday night TV extravaganza (Mad Men! The Killing! The Good Wife! Girls!). Something like comfort food, Indian-style. I found my starting point with Fat Free Vegan’s Cauliflower Dal with Panch Poran.

Panch phoran is a blend of five spices including cumin and fennel seeds. You can find it at any Indian store or on Amazon – or make your own.

I wanted to pump up the recipe with even more protein and vegetables – chickpeas, spinach, potatoes and peas did the trick. You can leave out one or two of the extra vegetables if you’d like, but I think the chickpeas are essential. If it seems strange to include both lentils and chickpeas, don’t fret – the lentils dissolve and become part of the sauce. This stew is delicious served with brown rice and topped with a dollop of yogurt (or soy yogurt if you’re vegan.)

Because I was looking for comfort food, I kept this curry on the mild side. Of course, it would also be great spiced up with more cayenne pepper. But maybe that’s for a Saturday night instead of Sunday

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Red Lentil and Vegetable Curry

1 1/2 cups masoor dal or red lentils
4 cups water (or use half vegetable broth)
1 tablespoon organic canola oil or high-oleic safflower oil
1 rounded tablespoon panch phoran
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
16 ounces chopped tomatoes (recommend BPA-free Pomi brand)
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 medium red potato, diced
1/2 cup water
3/4 teaspoon salt (or a bit more, to taste)
1½ cups cooked chickpeas (if using canned, I recommend BPA-free Eden brand)
5-ounce container baby spinach
1 cup frozen peas

Rinse the lentils and place them in a pot with the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the lentils are very tender, about 15 minutes. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the panch phoran and cook for a two minutes or until a seed pops. Add the onions, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes, until onions are softened. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne pepper, and cook for about a minute.

Add the tomatoes, cauliflower, potato (if using), water and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the lentils, chickpeas, spinach and peas. Gently stir in the spinach until it wilts. Simmer 5 minutes. Adjust salt to taste.

Serves 6

The first time I made muffins with nut butter and bananas, they were a bust.  I thought that since they contained bananas, a little bit of maple syrup would be enough to sweeten them. And I figured a few tablespoons of peanut butter would add a lot of flavor. Wrong on both counts. The result was a mediocre muffin that didn’t taste like much of anything.

I quickly realized that this is one time when I couldn’t skimp so much on the fat and sugar. So for round two I used more nut butter and sweetener, and switched to almond butter and brown sugar. I also added cinnamon to further boost the flavor. Bingo! These are terrific – the almond butter adds a lovely richness, and they’re nice and crunchy on the edges. (Note that the muffins are at their best soon after baking – as they sit, the crunchiness goes away. Still good, though.)

So if you’re in the mood for a slightly indulgent breakfast treat, these banana almond butter muffins will make you very happy.  And if you want to be absolved of any guilt, here you go: they’re 100% vegan and whole grain.

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Banana Almond Butter Muffins

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup oat flour (or grind rolled oats in a food processor)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
1 heaping cup mashed super-ripe banana
3/4 cup vanilla almond milk, curdled by adding 1 teaspoon white vinegar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup smooth, unsalted organic almond butter
¼ cup high-oleic safflower oil
1 1/2 tablespoons ground flax seed vigorously mixed with ¼ cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup sliced almonds

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In one bowl, mix the flour, ground oats, baking powder, soda, salt and spices. In another bowl, thoroughly combine the banana, almond milk, sugar, almond butter, oil, flax and vanilla. Stir the wet and dry mixtures together, combining only until mixed.

Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking oil spray (I like Spectrum’s canola spray with flour). Fill the cups nearly to the top, then top with sliced almonds. Bake for about 20 minutes, until they are golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool before eating.

Serves 12

I’m always amazed at how divisive kale is. People either say they love it more than any other food, or they can’t stand it.  However, I find that those who say they hate it really haven’t eaten it more than once or twice – and they probably haven’t had it prepared in an interesting way.

Today I made a kale salad that’s sweet, salty, chewy and crunchy. I used tamari almonds and dried apricots, but there are endless variations on this dried fruit-and-nut theme. Sliced almonds and cranberries, pistachios and cherries, pine nuts and golden raisins, etc.  They’re all great.  And if you’re a cheese eater, a little shaved parmigiano-reggiano on top would be delicious.

This salad could just be the thing to create “kale converts.” Try it out on a kale hater you love!

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Kale Salad with Apricots and Almonds

1 bunch lacinato (Tuscan) kale
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon maple syrup or agave
¼ cup tamari almonds, roughly chopped (for gluten-free, make your own with wheat-free tamari)
8 organic unsulphered dried apricots, diced
Pinch coarse sea salt
Pinch dried red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Wash the kale, then stem: grab the end of a stem in one hand, then use your other hand to tear off the leaf by pulling your fingers along the stem.

Slice all the kale very thinly and place in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and gently massage for about 30 seconds.

Keeps for one day.

Serves 4

I’ve come to the conclusion that hummus is one of the most perfect foods. It has protein, fiber and all that jazz … and it’s deliciously satisfying. But (isn’t there always a but?) if you’re eating standard-issue, store-bought hummus, it can get monotonous. And the ingredients in some brands can be questionable, especially when it comes to the kind of oil the commercial manufacturers use.

So I’ve sworn off store-bought hummus in favor of making my own every time. Here’s why:

1. It’s cheaper.
2. It tastes better. Always.
3. You control the ingredients, and the nutrition.
4. You can vary the flavor in endless ways.
5. It literally takes just a couple minutes.

I whipped up a cilantro-lime hummus, and I can’t believe how good it is.  It doesn’t contain any tahini, so it has a super light flavor and texture. I threw this fresh-tasting green dip together by the seat of my pants, and I urge you to do the same. I didn’t give exact proportions in the recipe below, because you really don’t need them.

And guess what happened when I brought this particular hummu into work? Two of my co-workers developed an unhealthy obsession with it (well, I guess it was a healthy obsession), and urged me to package and sell this green gold. But that would invalidate my no-storebought-hummus rule, now wouldn’t it?!

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Cilantro-Lime Hummus

• Put 1 1/2 cups of chickpeas into the bowl of a food processor.
• Add about a quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil.
• Toss in a big handful of cilantro (I have small hands….adjust if you are giant)
• Add a clove or two of garlic.
• Add a good pinch of ground cumin (fresher the better)
• Squeeze in the juice of two limes.
• Add a bit of salt.
• Process until super smooth.

Serve with baked tortilla chips, pita bread, carrots or any other healthy dip vehicle.

Other unusual variations on the hummus theme, from my healthy blogger friends:

Beet Hummus from Lentil Breakdown
Black Eyed Pea Hummus from Lentil Breakdown
Lots of hummus variations from Jolly Tomato
Roasted Vegetable, Walnut and Green Lentil Hummus from Cooking in Westchester
Hot Guacamole Hummus from A Healthy Jalapeño
Cheezy Hummus from Oh She Glows
Chili Garlic Pumpkin Hummus from Manifest Vegan

When I happened upon the gorgeous spinach muffins on Green Kitchen Stories, I immediately challenged myself to make a vegan version.

Rather than following the original gluten-free approach, I used a combination of whole grain flours in my recipe. White whole wheat flour works really well, and I think using just a touch of buckwheat flour adds an intriguing flavor. (If you want to replace the buckwheat with additional cornmeal, you’ll have something closer to a corn muffin.)

If you have doubts about savory muffins – as I did at first – leave them behind. These are surprisingly light, tender and moist, thanks to all the vegetables, but yet don’t really taste like spinach. Whatever you do, don’t leave out the onions or the lemon, because they add the perfect sweet and bright flavor notes.

Spinach muffins are just the thing when you’re sitting down for a bowl of soup or chili. See below for some of my favorite recipes to serve these with.

Oh, and I have to tell you, your muffins will come out greener looking than the ones pictured here – the second time I made them, I used more spinach and liked it better. But I was too lazy to re-photograph!

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Savory Whole Grain Spinach Muffins

1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
½ cup stone-ground cornmeal
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons ground flax meal
6 tablespoons cold water
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon agave nectar
½ cup finely chopped yellow onion
5 ounce package baby spinach, chopped very finely in a food processor
1 medium carrot, grated
1 jalapeno or Serrano pepper, minced
Zest of one lemon
1 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk together the flax and water in a cup or small bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, and place in a medium bowl. Stir in the olive oil, agave, onion, spinach, carrot, hot pepper and lemon zest.

Combine the soy milk and lemon juice and let sit for a few minutes, then add to the vegetables.

Combine the flour, cornmeal, buckwheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper. Pour the dry ingredients into the vegetable mixture and stir briefly just until combined.

Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking oil spray.  Fill the cups until nearly full and bake for 22 minutes.

Wondering what to serve Whole Grain Spinach Muffins with? Here you go:

 Chipotle and Chocolate Chili
Smoky Black Bean Soup
Butternut Squash and Celery Root Soup
Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash
Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup
Spicy Butternut Squash Soup