Kale Chips

Found this recipe on P90X's Tony Horton's personal chef's, Melissa Costello, website.

Ingredients
2 heads of curly kale, stripped of stems, washed and torn into large pieces
Olive Oil
Agave Nectar
Sea Salt


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Place clean kale in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Using your hands, massage the kale to soften it up. Sprinkle on some high quality sea salt and massage more to blend the salt into the kale leaves. Drizzle some agave nectar over top and dig in again with your hands until the leaves are well coated.
3. Pour kale onto greased cookies sheets in a single layer. Bake for about 7-10 minutes, until edges are crispy. Be careful not to burn. Also, keep in mind that the kale will only get crispy around the edges not crispy all the way through.

Quinoa Vegetable Soup

From the Real Food Daily Cookbook

Ingredients
3/4 cup quinoa
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 onions, finely diced
3 carrots, peeled and finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
2 zucchini, finely diced
1/2 cup yellow corn kernels
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons sea salt
12 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
1 28-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
Freshly ground black pepper


Directions
1. Rinse quinoa well, and drain. Heat large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add quinoa, and stir constantly for 10 minutes, or until the moisture evaporates and the quinoa crackles and becomes golden. Transfer quinoa to a bowl, and set aside.

2. Heat oil in large, heavy stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 12 minutes.

3. Add zucchini, corn, red pepper, garlic, and salt. Sauté 3 minutes longer, or until vegetables begin to release their juices.

4. Add stock, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the toasted quinoa, and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes or until quinoa is almost tender.

5. Squeeze the tomatoes into the soup, and add the juices from the can; then stir in the cumin and coriander. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until quinoa is tender.

6. Stir in the cilantro, and season to taste with pepper and more salt, if desired.

Serves 10 to 12
Nutrition info:
156 calories
4 g fat
1 g saturated fat
0 mg cholesterol
9 g protein
23 g carbohydrates
152 mg sodium

Skinnygirl Pad Thai

Here's another recipe from Bethenny Frankel's book, "Skinnygirl Dish." This version has less fat, sugar and starch than the traditional Thai noodle dish because it's tossed rather than fried. I added tofu to incorporate more protein to the dish and cut the noodle serving in half to town down the carbohydrates. I also used agave nectar instead honey and Braggs instead of fish sauce, making it a vegan-friendly dish.

Ingredients
1/2 package of pad thai rice noodles
1 package extra firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes
1 tbs soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp chili paste
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp Braggs
1/2 tsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 tsp chopped cashews

Directions
1. Cook and drain the rice noodles according to the package directions. Set aside.2.
2. Heat 1 tbs grapeseed oil in non-stick pan. Add cubed tofu and fry for a few minutes until golden brown in color.
3. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, garlic, chili paste, ginger, Braggs, agave nectar, lime, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Whisk until blended and pour over noodles. Add tofu. Toss to coat, top with cilantro and cashews and serve warm.

Serves 3 to 4.

Black Bean & Corn Salad with Lime

I really want to check out the new cookbook by Dr. Neil Barnard, "The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook." I've heard of Dr. Barnard from reading Alicia Silverstone's "The Kind Diet" cookbook. I ended up finding this recipe online and would like to try it out next week.

Ingredients

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
2 scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Juice of 1/2 lime
Kosher or sea salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Guacamole
Tortilla Chips

Combine all ingredients in a salad bowl. Serve chilled or at room temperature.