Roasted Garbanzo Beans

Ingredients:

• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil (or allowed oil)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (or allowed seasoning)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or allowed seasoning)
• zest of 1 lime (or in the case of LEAP zest of 1 lemon)

Mix all ingredients together. Spread on baking pan. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Stir and continue baking for 10 - 15 minutes or until crunchy.

Keeps great in an airtight container.

Makes about 8 servings

Nutrients Per Serving:

Calories: 160

Protein: 7 g

Fat: 5 g

Carbohydrate: 23 g

Fiber: 7 g

Sodium: 158 mg

Potassium: 332 mg

Lentil Soup

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, sliced or chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups red and/or green lentils, well rinsed
• 2 quarts water or broth
• Pinch of thyme or any herbs of your choice
• salt to taste

Directions:


Combine first 6 ingredients and bring to a boil. Add seasonings. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until lentils are soft. Green lentils need about 45 minutes to 1 hour, while red lentils only need 20-30 minutes. Puree half of the soup in a blender if you prefer a creamy soup.


Makes about 4 servings
Nutrients per serving:
Calories: 286
Protein: 19 g
Fat: 1 g
Carbohydrate: 51 g
Fiber: 24 g
Sodium: 51 mg
Potassium: 915 mg
Phosphorus: 354 mg

Red Quinoa Zucchini Burgers

Ingredients:

• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 medium sweet potato, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 cup uncooked red quinoa
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• 1 small zucchini, grated (1 cup)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 5 1/2 Tbsp ground flaxseeds
• 3 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions
1. Bring broth, sweet potato, and quinoa to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender. Transfer to bowl to cool.


2. Stir chickpeas, zucchini, pumpkin seeds, ground flaxseeds, basil, salt, pepper, chili powder, and thyme into quinoa mixture, mashing chickpeas and sweet potato but leaving some chunks. Shape mixture into 8 patties.


3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, or preheat grill to medium-high.


4. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Cook patties 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until lightly golden brown. Remove from heat, and either place on baking sheet, and bake 15 minutes, or cook on grill 8 to 10 minutes, turning once.


Nutrients Per Patty:
Calories: 242
Protein: 9 g
Fat: 11 g
Carbohydrate: 29 g
Fiber: 8 g
Sodium: 346 mg
Potassium: 448 mg
Phosphorus: 339 mg

Quinoa Chili

Ingredients:

·         1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed

·         2 cups water

·         1 Tbsp oil (olive or sesame)

·         1 onion chopped or 1 cup chopped leeks

·         1 jalapeno pepper, minced (optional)

·         1 tsp chili powder

·         1 Tbsp ground cumin

·         2 cups water

·         1, 28 oz can low sodium crushed tomatoes

·         1, 14 oz can of low sodium tomato sauce

·         1 green pepper, chopped

·         1 red pepper, chopped

·         1 zucchini, chopped

·         1 tsp dried oregano

·         1 tsp dried parsley

·         Salt and pepper to taste

·         2 (19 oz) cans organic black beans, rinsed, and drained, or 3.5 cups dried cooked beans

·         1 cup frozen corn, thawed

·         ¼ cup chopped cilantro (optional)

·         8 oz can mushrooms (optional)

Directions:

Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the water has been absorbed (15-20 min).

While the quinoa is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion or leeks until softened, then add the peppers and zucchini and sauté another few minutes, add the spices and sauté another minute.

Add water, tomatoes, drained black beans, corn, and quinoa.

Heat thoroughly

Nutrients Per Serving (12 servings)

Calories: 180

Protein: 8.6 g

Fat:2.8 g

Carbs: 32.7 g

Fiber: 8.2 g

Sodium: 72 mg

Potassium: 662 mg

Phosphorus: 194 mg

Southwestern Black Bean, Quinoa, and Mango Medley

Ingredients:

• One 15-ounce can black beans, no salt added, rinsed and drained, or 1 3/4 cups cooked black beans
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup chopped fresh mango
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or 2 tsp dried)
• 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
• Juice from 1 medium lemon
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp ground tumeric

Directions

1. Mix together the beans, quinoa, corn, bell peppers, mango, onion, cilantro, and jalapeno in a mixing bowl.
2. Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and tumeric in a small bowl. Drizzle over the mixture and toss. Refrigerate until serving time.

Variations: substitute kidney or pinto beans for the black beans or use cooked barley, bulgur, rice, or farro instead of the quinoa

Makes 6 servings

Nutrients Per Serving (1 cup)
Calories: 164
Protein: 6 g
Fat: 4 g
Carbohydrates: 27 g
Fiber: 7 g
Sodium: 93 mg
Potassium: 383 mg
Phosphorus: 147 mg

Recipe Source: The Plant-Powered Diet by Sharon Palmer RD

How to Cook Beans in a Crockpot

Crockpot Beans


Ingredients:

• 1 16-oz bag of dried beans (or more, if desired)
• Water
• 2 teaspoons salt (per 16-oz bag)

If desired, soak beans overnight in plenty of cool water. Opinions vary, but we have found this decreases some of our digestion issues.

In the morning, drain and rinse the beans. Discard any beans that floated to the top of the water or look otherwise unsavory.

Pour the beans to your crockpot. If using more than one bag, be sure that you leave a few inches of clearance at the top of your crockpot. Add a teaspoon of salt and enough fresh water so the beans are covered by an inch or two. Cover and set the slow cooker for 8 hours.


At the 4 hour mark, add another teaspoon of salt, stir the beans, and eat a few to see how far the beans have cooked. Continue checking every half hour or so, and stop cooking when the beans have reached your desired doneness. We don't usually cook the beans for the full 8 hours unless we're doing a mashed bean recipe, but we like the temperature range on the 8-hour setting for keeping the beans at a low simmer.


After cooking several batches, we have a good idea of when the beans will be done and no longer check doneness every half hour unless we're cooking a new kind of bean. In our crockpot, we've found that 5 hours is ideal for al dente beans destined for soups (where they will continue cooking a bit), 6 hours is good for ready-to-eat beans, and 7 hours gives us very soft beans.

Lentil and Almond Burgers

Ingredients:

• 6 cup water
• 1 cup brown lentil or green French lentil
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• ¾ cup finely chopped carrots
• 2 finely chopped medium shallot
• 1 finely chopped celery
• ¼ cup sliced almond
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 large egg yolk, beaten
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions


1.Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Stir in lentils, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until very tender and beginning to break down, about 25 minutes for brown lentils or 30 minutes for green lentils. Drain in a fine-mesh sieve.

2.Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add carrot, shallots and celery and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add almonds, thyme, salt and pepper; continue cooking until the almonds are lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a food processor; add 1 cup of the cooked lentils. Pulse several times, scraping down the sides once or twice, until the mixture is coarsely ground. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in the remaining lentils. Let cool for 10 minutes. Mix in egg yolk and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

3.Form the lentil mixture into 5 patties. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet, preferably cast-iron, over medium-high heat. Add the patties and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn gently and continue to cook until lightly browned and heated through, 3 to 4 minutes more. Serve immediately.

Makes about 5 Burgers
Nutriton Facts Per Patty
Calories: 228
Fat: 10 g
Protein: 10 g
Carbohydrates: 13 g
Fiber: 7 g
Sodium: 268 mg
Potassium: 306 mg

Recipe Source: http://www.kitchendaily.com/recipe/lentil-almond-burgers

Black Bean and Quinoa Salad with Cumin Dressing

Serves 4

1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
Dash salt
1/2 large cucumber, diced neatly
1 small bell pepper, diced neatly
1 can black beans
10-15 basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

For the vinaigrette:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp agave or maple syrup
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

1) Cook quinoa in salted water till tender and fluffy (use a rice cooker or the package instructions).

2) Add chopped vegetables and herbs.

3) Whisk dressing ingredients. Add about 1/4-1/3 cup dressing to the salad, and serve.

Nutrients per serving:
Calories: 247
Protein: 7 g
Carbohydrate: 34 g
Fat: 10 g
Fiber: 4 g
Sodium: 24 mg
Potassium: 443 mg
Phosphorus: 219 mg

from: http://www.choosingraw.com/recipes/entrees/black-bean-and-quinoa-salad-with-quick-cumin-dressing/