Meatless Monday with Eat Well Meal Plans: Mesquite Crust Pizza

craving pizza. We haven’t indulged in a hot, homemade pizza in a while. As I scanned the shelves of my pantry to collect the necessary ingredients, an unopened package of mesquite flour caught my eye. Hmmm, what would that taste like mixed into my tried-and-true pizza crust recipe?

Tried-and-true recipes are just sitting there waiting to be messed with anyway if you ask me.

How many of you are familiar with mesquite flour? You probably recognize mesquite as the wood chips you use in the grilling process to impart a smoky flavor to some meat or poultry, or even veggies. Well, this is made from the dried and ground bean pods of the mesquite plant. It’s a leguminous plant so for you that means more protein than your all-purpose wheat flour has. And, speaking of wheat flour, mesquite flour is gluten free! It has a sweet, slightly nutty flavor and is a good source of fiber, calcium, and magnesium.

I only used mesquite flour for a portion of the total flour called for in my original crust recipe. The substitution here is mostly for the sweet, nutty flavor it will contribute to my pizza crust.

You could use your taste bud imagination to come up with a variety of toppings. I selected these yellow cherry tomatoes which are little tomato flavor bombs, some fresh mozzerella, and chopped parsley. Next time I might go the way of a dessert pizza, fresh berries, shaved dark chocolate, and dollops of ricotta!

Mesquite Crust Pizza

• 4 cups white whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup mesquite flour
• 1 ¾ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 ¾ cups warm water

Meatless Monday with Eat Well Meal Plans: Chocolate Tropical Fruit Bars

more energy bars! I had to try a combination with cocoa powder mixed in. Wow! These turned out great. I threw one into my purse and nibbled on it through all of my errands to avoid ravenous hunger.

Now you can substitute other dried fruits for the ones used here. Choose your favorites. If your fruit seems a bit too dry, soak in some warm water for a few minutes and drain before adding to the recipe.

I have a feeling that almost everyone except me enjoys a sweet meal replacement bar. I came to this conclusion after scanning through all the flavor options for any bar on the shelf. Cookie or pie-flavored bars are not exactly what I’m looking for, which is why you will always find tamari almonds in my bag, car, or house for a quick nosh.

My alternative choice is dried mango. Yes, it’s sweet, but not white sugar sweet. These are a nice combination of nuts and dried fruit without the slap-in-the-face sweetness. They also contain fiber to provide a slow and steady feed of energy. The intense chocolate flavor from the cocoa powder elevates them to rectangular awesomeness!

Chocolate Tropical Fruit Bars

• ½ cup dried papaya, soaked in warm water, drained, chopped
• ¼ cup dates, pitted
• ¼ cup dried pineapple, chopped
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut
• ½ cup raw almonds
• ½ cup raw pecans
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

❶ Place the papaya, dates, and pineapple in a food processor and pulse 7 times. Add coconut, nuts, and cocoa powder and process until nuts are chopped and combined with the dried fruit.
❷ Transfer the mixture onto a silicone liner or a cutting board. Press into a rectangle and slice into 6 bars. Store in the refrigerator.

Meatless Monday with Eat Well Meal Plans: Red Lentil Soup with Spinach

I

‘ve been invited to join a meal exchange. One of the big attractions for me – it’s vegetarian! I feel my best when most of my meals are vegetarian or at least light on the meat and heavy on the veggies. My creative vegetarian juices are flowing. All other projects have come to a screeching halt.

I enjoyed a soup prepared by another member of the group for lunch today. An “everything-but-the-kitchen-sink” sort of bean, grain, and veggie soup. It was delicious. So nice to have something homemade, prepared and ready to eat. Thank you.

I thought about the time I spent with this group as we exchanged what we brought for each other. Each of us was so enthusiastic about what we had created. Each dish was something that we enjoy eating and were thrilled to share.

These were genuine people who like to work out hard and enjoy good food. These are the kind of people who give energy. They fire up your imagination with fresh ideas and enthusiasm for what is possible. I have several friends outside of this group who fit this description and the interesting thing is they have a sensuous way with food. They don’t follow a recipe they just sense what textures and flavors will develop into a heavenly dish. It leaves me speechless. My friends are great chefs in their own homes. Ahhh. . .

This is my own creation. I can never leave a simple soup well enough alone. Several vegetables with different textures were added before I wrapped things up for the swap.

Red Lentil Soup with Spinach

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 medium celery rib, chopped
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, do not drain
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1½ cups red lentils
• 8 ounces fresh spinach or chopped, frozen, thawed
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, (about one lemon)

Meatless Monday with Eat Well Meal Plans: Mango Coconut Energy Bars

i watch The Biggest Loser. It is somewhat tragic that this type of entertainment has become very successful for the TV networks. Watching very obese people lose large amounts of weight and win large amounts of money is a theme that large numbers of viewers will tune in to season after season. There seems to be a never-ending stream of eligible candidates for each season.

I am deeply curious. I watch to futher my understanding of why these men and women react to events in their lives by comforting themselves with amounts of food that could feed an entire family. Their whole world has been rocked by some type of personal crisis which prevents them from recognizing how they are further harming themselves. This is an eating disorder – overeating.

I always feel the urge to help. But this is a complicated puzzle involving many health disciplines in addition to nutrition. It’s not just what they are putting in their mouth . . .

During a recent show the contestants were given a popular brand of energy bars to take along on a hike. One woman read off the ingredients contained in the bar. There were only three. I thought it might be a fun experiment to try to make my own.

It’s a good idea to have some type of “emergency food” tucked away when you are out running errands or at work. A 200 calorie bar can help to get you your next healthy meal without having to resort to fast food or the poor choices in a vending machine. Dried fruit and nuts will help to quell those hunger pangs and keep you in control or help you recover after a hike.

Mango and coocnut are the flavors I wanted to feature in this bar. No sugar or other sweetener was necessary, the dried fruit provided plenty. These bars are raw, vegan, gluten-free, and very quick to whip up!

Mango Coconut Energy Bars

Meatless Monday with Eat Well Meal Plans: In Defense of the Brussels Sprout

i suppose I am in the wee, teeny-tiny percentage of individuals, young and old, who like to eat brussels sprouts. It is expected that any child will turn their nose up at the mention of these mini-cabbages. Not me. My palate is one that accepts just about all foods (I’m glad that liver has been struck from the “foods that you must eat to be healthy” list).

There was no fuss when they were placed on the table when I was a child. I can vaguely remember peeling the leaves off layer by layer and popping them into my mouth. But that was just an exploration of the construction of the bud. It was much more satisfying to crunch through all of the consecutive layers intact. Each one was more tender than the last working from the outside to the pale green innermost leaves.

They have a sweet, delicate flavor unless overcooked – the kiss of death for any vegetable in the brassica family. Broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower are all at their tasty best when cooked until still crisp but tender just like brussels sprouts. They pair so well with a fatty ingredient; sausage, bacon, butter, olive oil, nuts, etc.

Here is my latest brussel sprout pairing. Interesting substitutions might be butter in place of the oil or pine nuts instead of hazelnuts.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Hazelnuts

• 1 pound small brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut into quarters
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped