• Best Ever Homemade Granola Bars

    I have been making and sharing this granola bar recipe for MANY years and it never gets old! You can make them so many different ways, just by switching up the nuts, seeds and dried fruit. These really are the best homemade granola bars you will ever make!

    This week's episode of In My Plant-Based Kitchen is in 2 parts. In the first part I answer a great question that came in about the nutrition of cooked and cooled starches. We talk about how cooling starchy foods like potatoes, pasta and rice can be beneficial, why resistant starch is helpful for health, and more.

    In the second part of the episode we make The Best Ever Granola Bars (originally inspired by a recipe in Christie Morgan's cookbook, Blissful Bites).

    In the episode I explain the parts of the recipe you can adjust and switch, but here is the version I made in the video:

    The Best Ever Granola Bars

    Ingredients:

    • 2 c unsweetened brown rice crispy cereal
    • 2 c rolled oats
    • 1/2 c dried cranberries
    • 1/2 c unsweetened coconut shreds
    • 1/3 c slivered almonds
    • 1/2 c walnuts, chopped
    • 1/2 c pumpkin seeds
    • 1 1/2 c brown rice syrup
    • 1 c almond butter
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    • 1/2 cup chocolate chips

    Directions:

    1. Mix up the dry ingredients up to the pumpkin seeds in one bowl.
    2. Add the wet ingredients (brown rice syrup, almond butter and vanilla) to a saucepan and warm slowly until thoroughly mixed.
    3. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well.  Fold in the chocolate chips.
    4. Put everything in a baking casserole lined with parchment paper. Press the mixture into the casserole until evenly spread and smooth on top (It’s helpful to put a layer of parchment on top and press down with your hands, or the bottom of a glass to get an even top).
    5. After the bars have cooled and set for several hours cut and go!

    Tips:

    • Super easy, and this makes a HUGE batch - you could easily half them, but these bars also freeze really well
    • Feel free to switch up the nuts/seeds/dried fruit too – it’s great with pecans, coconut, sunflower seeds...you get the picture!
    • CAUTION: The rice syrup provides texture and allows these bars to set. Maple syrup does not work as well – the bars are much gooier, so be careful about swapping the sweetener.

    If you make these, let me know how YOU customize them to your own tastes (and of course, how you like them) :-)


  • The Power of Greens

    Leafy green vegetables are, arguably, one of the most powerful foods you can eat, and there are SO many benefits to adding them to your daily menu. Just to list a few:

    • They are one of the most nutrient dense foods out there (i.e. more nutrition per calorie)
    • They are associated with the strongest protection against major chronic diseases, including a reduced risk for heart attacks and stroke
    • A study done at Rush University and published in the journal Neurology showed that eating green leafy vegetables every day was associated with slower cognitive decline – the study results suggested that older adults who ate at least one serving of leafy green vegetables showed an equivalent of being 11 years younger cognitively
    • and more

    In this week's episode of In My Plant-Based Kitchen I talk about why greens are so powerful (and what exactly we mean by "greens"), we delve into the benefits of greens for health, talk tips for getting the most out of your greens nutritionally and ideas for how to get more of them into your meals. ANDI do a demo of Side Sauteed Greens

    So if you're interested in this info, be sure to check the episode out.

    Now, on to the recipes.

    Side Sauteed Greens

    Serves 2-3

    • 1 tbsp garlic, minced (you can add minced ginger, chives or other aromatics here if you wish)
    • About 4 cups roughly chopped greens (kale/beet greens/chard/bok choy/Chinese cabbage, etc)
    • 1 tbsp Braggs Soy Alternative + 1 tbsp water
    • sprinkle of lemon/lime juice

    Directions:

    1) Prepare all your ingredients i.e. chop the garlic, and wash and cut the greens. Measure out the Braggs and water and halve a lemon/lime. Have everything at hand because you will need to work quickly in this next stage.

    2) When everything is just about ready to go, heat your pan over med-high heat, and when water sizzles, add about 1 tbsp water then the garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds - 1 minute or so, until the garlic becomes fragrant and starts to look a bit translucent. Don’t allow it to brown – this will make them bitter.

    3) Add your greens, and toss with the garlic. Add the braggs/water mixture and toss again, stirring constantly until the greens have just wilted.

    4) Now sprinkle the lemon/lime juice and toss once more. DON’T overcook – this whole process should only take a couple of minutes!

    5) Remove from pan and eat immediately! (This should be the last thing you do for your meal as these greens are best served HOT).

    Serve as a side with a veggie burger, as part of a bowl, with mashed potatoes and tempeh, or however else you can dream up!

    *Want to see a demo of this recipe? Check it out here.

    Creamy Kale Salad

    Serves 2

    This is another easy recipe that is super tasty and full of powerful nutrition. I love it because unlike most salads it keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days.

    Ingredients: 

    • 1 bunch kale, stemmed and finely chopped
    • 1 cup grated carrots
    • 1/2 avocado, peeled and pitted
    • 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
    • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
    • A sprinkling of sea salt (1/8-1/4 tsp, to taste)
    • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

    Directions:

    1. Chop kale and place in a bowl. Massage it until it starts to soften.
    2. Toss the rest of the ingredients except the sesame seeds into the bowl and use your hands or the back of a large spoon to thoroughly mash avocado into kale and mix everything together.
    3. Serve into bowls, garnish with sesame seeds and eat immediately, or store in the fridge for up to 2 days.

    Note: for variation you can make this salad with other greens (don't massage unless it's a hardy one though...), lime juice or apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice, switch up the carrots for beets and the sesame seeds for another seed/chopped nut of your choice.

     Have a nutrition question or topic you'd like to see covered on In My Plant-Based Kitchen? Send it to Emma here.



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