Sorta Healthy Granola

Ok, so people have been asking for the recipe.  I probably should do pictures but I am lazy and its relatively easy.  The recipe is definitely healthier than store bought granola but is probably not actually all that healthy.  If you don't coat oats as gluten, and some people don't, it can be gluten free

Dry ingredients
3 cups Rolled Oats (must be regular old oats, no quick or steel cut)
1 cup Oat Bran (you could use wheat bran, barely flakes, or rye flakes)
2-4T of milled/ground flax seed, grind fresh if possible.
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas
1/2 -1 cup of raw almonds, walnuts or pecans.
1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut*Optional/substitute

Wet Ingredients
2 Eggs
1 individual container of apple sauce
2-4T of sunflower oil, or olive oil
4-8T of brown sugar
1/2t of salt
1T of coconut extract*Optional/substitute
2T of vanilla extract

1.  In one big bowl, mix all the dry ingredients
2.  In a smaller bowl, mix all the wet ingredients.
3.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  It helps if you do half, then stir, then do the other half.  Stir well
4.  Preheat oven to 300
5.  Grease large cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Spread out evenly on a large cookies sheet or jelly roll pan.
6.  Place on the bottom rack and bake for 30 minutes
7.  Take out, and flip over granola.  Spread it out evenly.  bake for 20 mins
8.  Take out and flip them again.  Take out any chunks that look dry and brown, usually just at the edge
9.  Turn off oven.  Put in cooling oven for 15-30 mins.  You will know its done if all the granola is light brown in color.  I would err on the side of cooking it too long.  Tastes better the crispier it is.  You can pick out any burn bits really easily, and that is pretty rare in my year of making this.
10.  let cool, and put in a jar or bag.

*Optional/Substitute - If you don't like coconut, try orange extract instead of coconut.  Or just omit it, still tastes yummy.

Seitan Masala

2 packets of seitan (16 oz)

1 cup yogurt

2-4T of garam masala

salt / pepper

1/2 medium onion

1 can of tomatoes

2-4T of grated ginger, you can use food processor to get it fine

1 cup of peas, frozen or fresh.

1 cup heavy cream

chilis - to taste

Ghee (can use peanut oil instead)

Marinate the seita

- mix up the yogurt with half the ginger and half the garam masala, a little salt.

- marinate for at least 6 hrs, a day is preferrable

Start the sauce

- saute the onion in the some ghee until clear, yo ucan use as little as 1T or as much as 4tT. Obviously the more the better (tasting)

- Add the can of tomatoes

- add rest of ginger and garam masala

- simmer over low for 30 minutes

Broil the seitan

- Put the seitan including the yogurt marinate

- Broil on high, turning frequently until the seitan is hard to the touch on the outside, maybe a little black around the edges

- This could take 20 minutes, or a little less depending on size of pain, the seitan size.

Finish it off

- Add the seitan to the sauce

- Simmer for 5 minutes or so

- add peas, cook until tender.

- Add cream

- salt/pepper/chili to taste

** you can make it vegan by using cashew cheese instead of yogurt, use coconut milk instead of heavy cream and peanut oil for the ghee

One pot meal - lentisl, potatoes, and greens

This is a great dish for camping, since its done in one dish. But is a nice side with a homestyle meal. Pretty nutritious too

3 sweet potatoes, chopped up

4 red potatoes, chopped up

1 can lentils

I bunch of greens - any type - chard, kale, spinach will work. About 3/4 of pound. de-stem, chop them

2-5T Olive oil

salt / pepper

3T of fresh rosemary

2 cloves garlic, minced.

1. Bring pot of water to boil, add sweet potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes

2. Add in regular potatoes, cook for 20 more minutes

3. add can of lentils (undrained) plus chard. Along with seasonings. Cook for 5 minutes. Mashing while you cook it.

Serve! Its real easy and comes out tasty. You can add 1T of brown sugar with it if you want it to be a little sweet. Switch up the rosemary for cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves for a completely different flavor set.

Auntie Jaipur's Dahl

This is a recipe we got when we were traveling in india. I have modified it a little bit, but this is a favorite of the wife.

Ingredients

2 cups french green lentils

1 medium onion, diced

2-4T of ghee (clarified butter), can substitute olive oil

2 finely diced peppers - I usually use hungarian wax peppers, but you could use a red pepper and a jalapeno.

1-2T of corriander seeds

5 cardamon seeds

1/2 T of ground cinnamon

Chili powder to taste (ground up chilis not powder to make chili)

Vegetable broth and water

Salt / Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Saute onion in half the ghee. Saute until clear. Add in peppers and cook for 1-2 mins

2. Add water and vegetable broth. The amount varies dependening on use of pressure cooker. If you use a pressure cooker, about 4 cups should do it, if you don't its going to be a lot more. I split broth/water 50-50.

3. I usually use a pressure cooker, if you don't have a pressure cooker this takes a while longer. And bring to a boil, add lentils, cardamon, corriander and cinnamon, chili powder, salt pepper. Add rest of ghee

- if you are cooking in your pressure cooker, follow directions for lentils. Its about 12 mins or so to to cook but that varies by altitude and pressure cooker

- if you are cook without, it will take an hour or so. Just cook until its done stirring, and adding water as needed.

4. I fish out the cardamon seeds before serving.

5. Serve with rice.

Baijan Bharta

This is my version of Baijan Bhartha, which is one of my favorite indian dishes. I omit peas b.c well I don't like them.

Ingredients

2 Medium Eggplants, or 1 large one

1 Medium Sweet Onion

2 Large Tomatoes, peeled.

1-4 Peppers - Last time I used a half a red pepper, a jalapeno and two hungarian wax peppers

2-4T of Ghee

1T Olive Oil

1-4T of Curry Powder

2T of Garam Masala

2 cloves garlic

Sea Salt

Black pepper

1. Roast an eggplant. Peel skin and mash. I roast in an oven for about 20-25 minutes @ 425. But you can do it on the grill too.

2. Dice Onions and Peppers

3. Heat olive oil over medium heat, add onions. Cook until clear, then add peppers and cook for 2-3 minutes.

4. Add in peeled tomatoes, garlic, spices and ghee. I typically go light on the spices at first, then add once the egg plant is added. Simmer for 1-2 minutes

5. Add in eggplant. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Adding spices as you see fit

Serve with rice, and dahl.

Mushroom Stroganoff

A very quick easy meal. If you use whole wheat pasta, it has a lot of fiber.

1 lb of mushrooms, cut up in the same size. You can use any type of mushroom. Portabello's will work great, but so would a blend of cremini and white.
1 bunch green onions
1 cup of sour cream (low fat works fine)
2 tblspns of flour
1/2 cup of vegetable broth
1 tsp of sea salt
1 tblspn of black pepper (ground) - you can reduce this if you like it a little less zesty.
1/4 tsp of white pepper
1/4 tsp of ground chili's
2 tsps of chopped parsley
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tblspn of olive oil

1. Saute green onions for a minute or so in oil, then add mushrooms and add spices . Cook until desired tenderness.
2. Mix in flour until absorbed. Feel free to add a touch more oil here.
3. Deglaze pan with vegetable broth
4. Add sour cream and heat up.

Serve over noodles or rice.

Mediteranian beans

This another easy bean dish. Its basically the same recipe as the other one but with a different flavor twist

Ingredients
2 cans of chick peas
2 tomatoes, skinned and diced
2 tblspns rosemary
1 large onion diced
6 cloves of garlic
1 red pepper diced.
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions in some oil (2-3 tblspns of olive oil) until tender, then add garlic and pepper. Cook until soft but still somewhat firm. Add beans, tomatoes, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes.

I eat in a bowl with some blue cheese on top but its ok in a tortilla. The wife likes this recipe better than I do.