Tropical Mango Turmeric Tango

Hello Friends!

I'm just checking in with you in these few remaining hours of 2013. I hope you've had an enjoyable holiday so far and that you are looking forward to a beautiful new year ahead! I've been taking some precious time to be still, re-focused and have been doing a bit of writing & content creation for my new website and community site UpgradedEats!

I wanted to say how grateful I am to each of you who are still subscribed here, to to those who stay connected and have the desire to stay plugged in with me as I forage ahead into new territory!

If you haven't already, I'd be delighted if you'd stop by my new website and sign up for my monthly newsletter. I'll be sharing lots of delicious tidbits, (like the recipe for the Tropical Mango Turmeric Tango you see above) and anything else I think you might be interested in regarding taking your health & wellness to a more upgraded level!

I'll be leading a guided 10+ Day Mind Body Reset at UpgradedEats beginning January 6th. With the $10 monthly subscription, members get full access to everything - education, inspiration, support and the guided 10-Day January Reset - all materials, recipes, daily videos, etc. are included in the subscription fee.

UpgradedEats.com welcomes anyone who has a desire to upgrade their health & wellness on any level. You can get additional details here: http://bit.ly/1d63zLM

I will also be adding a free ebook to www.upgradeyourplate.com very soon - so be sure to subscribe to Upgrade Your Plate's monthly newsletter so you won't miss that!

I just want you to know how much I appreciate you and am so grateful for the opportunity to be connected with you on whatever level resonates with you. I wish you many blessings and a bright, vibrantly healthy 2014!

Tropical Mango Turmeric Tango

1 cup mango
1 cup pineapple
1 banana
1 tablespoon hemp seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla powder (or extract)
1 scant teaspoon turmeric
water to blend

I added a little hemp seed, shredded coconut & some gojis to the top to serve - it's a good one!

Love you.....

Penni

Roasted Asparagus Bisque & UpgradedEats.com

I want to genuinely thank you for following Real Food Tulsa, and for many of you, being a member of my Raw Food Rehab Community website. As you may have already heard, I have shifted my energies and have launched a new support community for those who are interested in upgrading their health & wellness on all levels and in all areas of their life! In the new space, food is only one of the focuses of true health and it is a place with no imposed rigid rules or dietary dogmas. I still believe in the power of raw REAL foods to heal and rejuvenate the body, but do not believe that one must eat an exclusively raw diet to achieve a brilliant level of health. 

I am doing a trial run in December of the new site and I would love to have you come be a part of what is being co-created. Information on how to join UpgradedEats.com has been updated & you can find it here. I've created a short video about what I am up, if you would like to watch it below, or view directly from You Tube: http://youtu.be/wWBDSx9ljUI 

You can also find Upgrade Your Plate on Facebook & Pinterest...

Upgrade Your Plate on Facebook: www.facebook.com/upgradeyourplate
Upgrade Your Plate on Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/upgradeurplate 

I also wanted to share the recipe that I worked on today for the community site that I think you might enjoy....

Roasted Asparagus Bisque

This is a delicious vegan soup that the whole family can enjoy!

2 bunches asparagus

6 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon coconut oil

himalayan salt & freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 cup chopped shallots

1 cup chopped leeks (I used scallions/green onions - mainly the white part)

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup white wine (or plain water is fine)

1/2 cup full fat coconut cream/milk

1/4 cup nutritional yeast or grated parmesan, if you are not vegan

snipped chives

Trim the tough ends of the asparagus and cut the remaining stems into approximately 1 inch pieces. Toss with the garlic, a tiny bit of melted coconut oil and salt & pepper. Spread onto a baking sheet and roast in a 400 degree F oven for 20 minutes.

While the asparagus is roasting, add a teaspoon of coconut oil to a large sauce pan or small stock pot and sauté the shallots and leeks (or scallions) until lightly brown and soft. This is when I added a cup of white wine to help deglaze the bottom of the pot, but you can use some of the veggie broth or plain water to do that. Continue cooking, reducing the liquid by about half.

Add the roasted asparagus and garlic cloves and the rest of the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to med/low heat and cook for another 15 minutes.

I used an immersion blender to puree the soup, but it could easily be done in a couple of batches in a blender. Add to the pureed soup 1/2 cup of full-fat coconut milk (cream) and stir in to incorporate.

Serve the bisque with a topping of nutritional yeast and chopped chives, if desired. 

Pumpkin Spice Chia Porridge

I am fully into fall this year. I guess the truth is that I am into it every year. The sights, sounds, temperatures, sensations and flavors of the season are always inspiring to me.

Today I was messing around in the kitchen and put together a few ingredients that turned out really delicious and I thought I'd share it. It's super easy to make this before bed so you can enjoy it for a super fast and nutritious breakfast!

Pumpkin Spice Chia Porridge
1 1/2 cups date sweetened almond milk (I make my own, but store bought Vanilla would be great too)
1/4 cup chia seeds
2 tablespoons carrot juice (I normally juice my own, but had picked up some at a local juice bar)
Generous pinch Pumpkin Pie spice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

I combined all these ingredients into a glass jar, sealed tightly, shook until well blended - then I put it into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to congeal. It is so yummy & it will be my breakfast tomorrow morning! Let me know if you make it or if you have another favorite combo along these lines that you really like!

Eggplant Bacon Revisited

It's been a couple of years since I made Eggplant Bacon. I absolutely loved it then, so I'm not sure why I waited so long to recreate it. Perhaps it's because I remembered thinking it was fairly high in fat. I had made it in the midst of summer when eggplants were fairly prolific for a delicious BLT sandwich (you can view the recipe here).

So this time, when I got a hankerin' for vegan bacon, I decided to be a little more thoughtful about the ingredients, and the finished product did not disappoint!

I would recommend using a mandoline if you have one, which I do, but I cut my eggplants free style with just a cutting board and a knife and they came out just fine!  The goal is to cut them very thinly, but remember that they will reduce when you dehydrate or bake them.

Eggplant Bacon
2 medium eggplants, ends trimmed, cut in half and then into thin "bacon-like" strips
4  tablespoons coconut aminos (you can use tamari or low sodium soy sauce)
4 tablespoons coconut vinegar (or apple cider or umeboshi plum vinegar)
4 tablespoons coconut nectar (I actually used maple syrup, as I was out of CN)
a drizzle of cold-pressed extra-virgin organic olive oil (I am thinking next time I'll try coconut oil!)
1 lime, juice only
2 teaspoons chili powder
pinch cayenne powder (optional - but I like it spicy!)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika (I used smoked)
1/4 teaspoon smoked alderwood salt (only use if using coconut aminos - otherwise it could make it too salty)
freshly cracked back pepper (I used approximately 1/2 teaspoon)

Whisk together all ingredients in a medium bowl until well combined. Fully coat each eggplant slice and lay into a 9 x 13 baking dish to marinate. Pour any remaining marinade over the top and cover with plastic wrap for at least one hour.

Transfer slices onto mesh dehydrator trays and warm at 135 degrees for the first hour. After one hour, I flipped the slices and brushed on the reserved marinade to re-coat. Return to the dehydrator, set now at 115 degrees to finish, approximately 8 -12 hours, depending on what level of crispiness you prefer.

If you don't have a dehydrator, place slices on parchment lined cookie trays and bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 - 45 minutes, brushing occasionally with reserved marinade.

The bacon was my delicious lunch today, served with a raw corn salad (recipe in Raw Food Cleanse or available online in this post). Getting my bacon, lettuce, corn & tomato on, even if it is the middle of winter!