MONDAY: the day all health breaks loose!

It's not just Meatless Monday - it's HEALTHY MONDAY! get excited... ; )

Healthy Monday is a national movement backed by leading public health schools that dedicates the first day of every week to health. Start your week off right with the help of our Healthy Monday tips, articles and resources! Healthy Monday is a project of The Monday Campaigns, in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Learn more at http://www.MondayCampaigns.org
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http://www.pinterest.com/HealthyMonday


Why Monday? It's the day for a fresh start. Monday is when we're most likely to change our diet, quit smoking or begin an exercise plan. Plus, reminding yourself to try healthy habits every Monday means you'll have 52 chances to make a difference.

So Monday's are Meatless, motivational and healthy now. You're welcome! LOL 

On Monday's I try to post some slammin recipes so here are a few to tantalize the taste buds. Make sure to check out Meatless Monday & Move it Monday later today online! Try these recipes out this week folks!!! 

http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/vegetarianentreessides/r/vegrisotto.htm

               VEGAN Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients:

4 ounces dried shitake mushrooms
1/2 cup boiling water
2½ cups vegetable broth
¼ cup lemon juice
2 cups chopped spinach
1 t. sea salt, plus more to taste
2 T. olive oil, divided
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup finely chopped onions

8 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced



Preparation:

1. In a small bowl, combine the boiling water with the shitake mushrooms, and let them soak, uncovered for 30 minutes. Drain the liquid into a medium-sized saucepan and discard the mushrooms. Add the vegetable broth to the sauce pan, bring the mixture to a simmer and cover.

2. In a small bowl, toss the spinach, lemon juice and 1 t. of the salt. Set aside.

3. In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, heat 1 T. of the olive oil. Add the chopped garlic and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and thyme, and cook until the mushrooms are soft, about 4 minutes more. Add the remaining 1 T. of olive oil and the rice, and, stirring constantly, cook until the rice is evenly coated and sounds like crispy rice cereal in the pan, making snapping and popping noises, about 4 minutes. Add the wine, stirring constantly, until all of the liquid is completely absorbed.

4. Ladle ¾ cup of the simmering broth into the rice and cook, continuing to stir, until most of the liquid is absorbed.Continue to add the broth in ¾-cup increments, allowing the liquid to be absorbed before another addition, until the rice is translucent around the edges but still solid in the middle and the rice is of a creamy consistency, about 20 minutes.


5. Add the spinach and cook for just about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, or until the spinach is wilted and bright green. Stir in the dairy-free soy margarine and nutritional yeast. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.




BEAN THREAD SALAD & VINAIGRETTE:

Bean Thread Salad With Sesame Vinaigrette

Serves 4

Bean thread noodles sometimes are labeled as cellophane noodles. Rice noodles also may be used in this recipe.

Ingredients

Sesame Vinaigrette
6 T low-sodium soy sauce
3 T cider vinegar
3 T toasted sesame oil
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 tsp sugar

Salad
6 oz bean thread noodles
6 oz English cucumber, peeled and diced
5 scallions, sliced thin on bias
6 oz cooked, diced pork tenderloin
1 cup baby arugula, coarsely chopped
2 large hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 T toasted sesame seeds

Directions
1. Combine all the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar, affix the lid, and shake vigorously to combine.

2. Place the noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the noodles thoroughly in a colander then transfer to a large platter. Sprinkle the cucumber around the exterior of the noodles, followed by the scallions, pork, arugula, eggs, and cilantro. Sprinkle the sesame seeds directly over the noodles.


3. At the table, dress the noodles with 3 T of the vinaigrette, and toss all the ingredients together to combine. Serve, dressing individual portions as desired. (Reserve the remaining dressing for another use; it will keep in the refrigerator indefinitely.)

Source:http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/010614p66.shtml

• 50g vegan cheese grated

http://thegreenerweigh.com/2014/01/15/creamy-avocado-pasta-with-crispy-tofu-fingers/

Creamy Avocado Pasta With Crispy Tofu Fingers

These Tofu fingers are delicious with the pasta but are also a great option by themselves with your favorite dipping sauce, kids will love them! This meal is one of our favorites and has become our usual Monday night dinner due to its simplicity and yumminess!!

Prep time: 45 mins

Cook time: 20-25mins

Difficulty: Medium

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

For the Tofu fingers:

1 Block extra-firm tofu pressed and cut into 10 strips about 1/4″ thick

1C Dried Bread Crumbs

1/2C Non dairy milk

1Tsp Shoyu

1Tsp Dry Oregano

1Tsp Dry Basil

1Tsp Garlic powder

1Tsp Dry Parsley

Pinch of salt and pepper

1/2Tsp Chili powder(optional to make them spicier)

For the Avocado pasta:

2 Cloves garlic

2Tbs Sesame seed oil

1Tsp fresh ginger

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 large avocado

1Tsp Salt

1Tsp Shoyu

Pepper to taste

6 cups water

6oz Soba noodles (aka buckwheat noodles)

For the Tofu fingers:

Step 1-Preheat oven to 400 and line a cookie sheet with foil and place a wire cooking rack on top

Step 2-You need 2 Bowls, in the first bowl combine the milk and the shoyu, in the second bowl combine all remaining ingredients and mix well

Step 2-Using one hand place the tofu in the milk mixture and then transfer to bread crumbs. Use your other hand to coat the tofu with bread crumbs and then place on wire rack. Repeat this procedure until all tofu is placed evenly on rack. (the reason we use dry bread crumbs is they stick so much better to the tofu than fresh)

Step 3-Place tofu in oven and cook for 20-25 minutes or until desired crispness(I normally don’t flip these half-way through cooking but you should if you are not using a wire rack)

*While tofu is cooking go ahead and start on the pasta

For the Avocado pasta:

Step 1-Start to bring your pasta water to a boil

Step 2-In a food processor add 2 cloves fresh garlic and ginger

Step 3-Add sesame seed oil and lemon juice and process until smooth consistency

Step 4-Add the avocado, salt, and pepper and blend until a smooth texture(salt and pepper to taste here!)

Step 5-Your water should be boiling at this point so drop the pasta(follow package directions for time)

Step 6-Once noodles are cooked, drain and mix together the avocado sauce with the noodles

The tofu fingers should be done at this point, put together, and enjoy!

Note-We like using the soba noodles because they have a great flavor and texture to them and are much healthier than most types of pasta.

So that's all for today. Please don't forget to Join this site over to the right side of the page, follow me on Google, facebook and twitter and I have a new facebook page dedicated to nutrition, sustainability and food politics, not to mention Lyme and TBD's so hustle over and join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/akorteshares/

 

Have a happy, healthy, and hopeful day & y'all come back now you hear? Peace, Audrey