January 2017 Recipes

Photos by MV

---

Soup – Squash & Carrot Soup

Photo by MV

Ingredients:

• 1 Butternut squash
• 2 Acorn squash
• 2-3 carrot sticks
• 1 Onion
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Water or broth
• Optional: Lemon juice

Directions:

1. Roughly chop the onion & garlic
2. Peel and cube the squash and carrot
3. Sauté the onion and garlic in a pot with olive oil until fragrant
4. Add the squash (and lemon juice if desired) to the pot and continue to sauté until squash is lightly browned
5. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired
6. Add ____ cups broth (or water) and let simmer until squash is tender
7. When squash is tender (a knife can easily go through a cube), blend.

---

Salad – Apple & Blackberry Kale Salad

Photo by MV

Ingredients:

• 3 bunches kale
• 6 small market apples
• 2 6oz packages of blackberries
• Orange juice
• Olive Oil
• White balsamic vinegar
• Honey
• Optional: fresh mint

Directions:

1. Wash & dry kale, then cut into ribbons and put in a large bowl
2. Cut apples into thin sticks, set aside
3. Cut blackberries into discs (or as desired), set aside
4. For the dressing:
   1. Juice 1 orange – don’t be afraid to leave in any of the pulp.
   2. Combine orange juice with olive oil, honey, white balsamic vinegar
5. Add the dressing to the kale and mix well
6. Mix in the apple and blackberries, then serve with an optional fresh mint garnish

---

Main – Sweet Potato Shepherds Pie

Photo by MV

[By: The Awesome Green]

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in cubes
• 1 tbsp virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 cup green lentils
• 1 carrot, cut in small cubes
• 1 celery stick, finely diced
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 bay leaf
• Fresh juice from one lemon
• 1 small bunch of thyme
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup filtered water
• 1 tsp sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped

Instructions:

1. Boil the sweet potato cubes in salty water until tender (about 15 minutes).
2. Drain well, transfer to a bowl, mash with a fork, add the olive oil, crushed garlic and a pinch of sea salt, and mix to obtain a chunky puree. Set aside.
3. Heat the oven at 175°C/347°F.
4. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion, celery and carrot. Cook for five minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Add the lentils, the bay leaf, thyme, tomato sauce, water and lemon juice, bring to boil, cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes, until the lentils are almost cooked and the liquid thickened.
6. Season with salt and pepper, remove the bay leaf and thyme, and transfer to a baking dish.
7. Spread the sweet potato mash on top, drizzle with olive oil and cook in the oven for 15 minutes.
8. Serve garnished with chopped parsley leaves.

---

Dessert – Zucchini Bread

[By: Clean Eating with Kids]

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups of grated zucchini (Don’t squeeze out excess water)
• 2 Eggs lightly beaten
• Juice of 1 orange (around 150ml)
• ½ cup melted butter (or mild tasting oil)
• 2 cups Self Raising Flour
• ½ cup of warm water (only slightly warm – body temp kind of warm)
• ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated.
• 1 tablespoon Honey

Instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the honey, orange juice, water and warm butter together.
2. Add the eggs and then slowly fold in the flour and Parmesan.
3. Stir in the grated Zucchini until well blended together.
4. Spoon into a well-oiled loaf tray and pop it the oven for 40 minutes on 170°C or 320°F.
5. Check to see that the loaf is cooked by inserting a sharp knife into the middle. If it comes out clean, then it’s cooked. Otherwise, leave in for 5 min extra.

---

See you next time!

Photo by MV