Teaching You How to Use Lifestyle as Medicine
Legume-based pasta (like garbanzo, black bean, and soy) is an incredible way to continue enjoying pasta while getting much more nutrition than just carbohydrates provided by flour-based varieties. This recipe pairs legume-based pasta with our Faux Alfredo Sauce (white bean sauce) to make a plant-based protein-rich, fiber-rich (which equals FILLING) meal. Enjoy with endless varieties of leafy and tender veggies!
Try roasting a medley of roots and fruits first, then blending them to velvety soup. Any roasted root vegetables can be made into smooth soup, including carrot, beet, potato, or a mix of parsnip, apple, and red onion. Parsnips look like ivory carrots, and when roasted, they are ethereally sweet, nutty, soft, and perfect for soup. They’re also just as good simply roasted and eaten that way. For a balanced plate, pair with an easy green salad dressed in lemon and garlic and your choice of an extra lean piece of protein.
You know how alcohol is an acquired taste? There is usually something a little bitter (like tannins) or pungent in these beverages that we come to anticipate. When finding alcohol alternatives, I like to experiment with combinations of flavors that I might not exactly love at first sight – but I acquire a taste for it. This makes it more satisfying to me than just replacing my wine with a glass of juice. I still want that distinct taste that makes me sip it, slow down, and relax. Here is one combination that I enjoy. And in the spirit of CARE, the herbs are also therapeutic to the digestive system. This beverage supports your native strains of bacteria rather than stress them (as alcohol does).
This vegetarian version of lasagna is as filling and rich as its meat-based counterparts (more so really because of the 10 grams of fiber per serving!). This version is also rich in Vitamin A, calcium, and soluble fiber. The calcium comes from both the cheese and the collard greens. This lasagna also freezes well making homemade lasagna a reality on cold nights when prep didn’t get done over the weekend. I usually have this for two dinners and then freeze the rest. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
A CARE member brought a copy of this recipe to me after her family just fell in love with it. It is remarkable how a staple like peanut butter, or other nut butter, can be blended into soup stock transforming it from “the usual” to absolutely unexpected. I added tofu for additional protein compared to the original recipe. This makes this vegan soup an unexpectedly rich source of calcium. Adapted and balanced from Robin Asbell’s recipe in the Star Tribune which she adapted from “The Moosewood Cookbook”.
Making a roast in the slow cooker is an excellent method for leaner, tougher, and cheaper(!) cuts of meat like chuck. The slow, lower temp cooking method is ideal for tenderizing and breaking down fibers while maximizing flavor. Roast is great for make-ahead protein, too. To keep with our CARE goal of red meat no more than 2 meals per week, enjoy a dinner with the root vegetables you cook it with the night you make it, then pre-portion and freeze left-overs for upcoming meal plans.
This recipe is a staple in CARE. It’s introduced in the first week’s sample meal plan for new members for a reason. It’s easy, so family-friendly, and a great example of how balanced doesn’t have to mean boring. Using store-bought rotisserie chicken and making your rice ahead of time makes this a quick 20-minute dinner option (lean ground turkey could also be used). This recipe also shows you how you can still make savory, comforting dishes with cheese and rice – by balancing the right quality and in the right amounts.
This recipe is to help you play with flavors that we often crave in favorite comfort foods – like BBQ – but in a more purposeful way. Satisfy that craving by dipping the bites into the sauce (allowing you to control the amount of sauce you use). These bites can also be made in less than ten minutes and are very family friendly. Individuals are often hesitant to prepare protein because they feel they lack the cooking skills needed to ensure it doesn’t end up dry or flavorless. These bites are fail-proof and can just as easily be made using turkey, lean steak, fish, or tofu.
Fresh papaya, in addition to tasting like a tropical dream, contains the digestive enzyme papain. This makes it a wonderful complement to richer dishes that contain legumes and animal proteins. It is also in season during our colder months, bringing a bit of sun to our shorter days up north. This stew also uses cheese and avocado in balanced amounts to add rich flavor and texture, as well as, nutrition (calcium from cheese and mono-unsaturated fat from avocado). In a consistent, long-term therapeutic lifestyle focuses on how to add favorites vs. restrict them.
Here the texture of riced cauliflower pairs incredibly with the diced potato goodness of tater tots. The cauliflower allows us many more bites of tater tot than having them by themselves. Cauliflower and potato pair extremely well together in many dishes. I find it much more enjoyable to keep a touch of potato in any revised idea rather than just trying to use cauliflower as a full substitute for potato. For example, when making cauliflower mashed potatoes I always add one potato and it has made all the difference with my family. The same applies here mixing tater tots with riced cauliflower.