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Recipes

Mashed Parsnips

Mashed Parsnips

from East Meets West Weight Loss

 

Are you the “meat and potatoes” type? Maybe you live with one and it makes it difficult for you to cook the healthy foods you know you should be eating. Either way you should try this great mashed potatoes substitute. Parsnips will help you feel full, curb your sugar cravings, and give you a healthy alternative to a staple food.

 

Ingredients

2 pounds of parsnips, peeled, and cubed

1 Bartlett pear, peeled, cored, and cut in half

4 garlic cloves, peeled

2 ½ tsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions

1 – Fill a large pot with water and add parsnips, garlic, and pear. Make sure ingredients are covered by an inch of water. Bring the water to a boil and then turn down the heat until it is simmering. Let simmer for 20-25 minutes covered. Parsnips should be soft in the middle and easily pierced with a fork.

 

2 – Drain the pot and transfer the parsnips, garlic, and pear to a food processor*. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Blend until mixture is smooth and creamy in consistency. Serve warm.

 

*Don’t own a food processor? You could put ingredients through a potato ricer or use a potato masher. Or whatever method you would normally use to make mashed potatoes.

Granola Recipe

A key part of a healthy diet is smart snacking.  It is often recommended to eat small meals/snacks throughout the day instead of just three (or for many people only one or two) larger meals. Many snack foods are not healthy alternatives, despite clever marketing claims or emphasis on their caloric content (100 calorie packs, I’m looking at you). However, granola is a great option. It has whole grains to help regulate blood sugar and keep you from binging later in the day. Nuts provide some health fats, and some dried fruits can add flavor and anti-oxidants.

 

GRANOLA RECIPE (Makes 13 cups)

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1/2 cup vegetable oil or coconut oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup or honey
1-1/2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
6 cups quick oats or old-fashioned oats
2 cups chopped walnuts, or almonds, or pecans
1 cup wheat germ (optional)
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup raisins or other dried fruit
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries or dried cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray two 17 x 11" jelly roll pans with cooking 
oil spray.

Combine oil, syrup & brown sugar.  Microwave uncovered 'til melted (approx. 3 
min.)
Whisk any lumps.  Combine oats, nuts, wheat germ and coconut in large bowl. 
Pour syrup mixture over and mix.  Spread evenly onto jelly-roll pans.
Bake 10 min.  Stir, then bake approx. 10 more min.  (Switch pans/oven racks for 
even baking.)
Cool one hour then sprinkle dried fruit over and mix together.  Store in sealed 
containers or jars.
Can freeze portions in zip-lock bags also.

Healthy Holiday Fudge

Ingredients

 

1 cup of medjool dates chopped and remove pits

1 ripe banana sliced

3 apples chopped

1 (15 oz) can of black beans

1/3-1/2 cup of dark unsweetened cocoa powder

1-2 cups of walnuts

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup water

 

 

Put everything in a high powered blender except for the walnuts. Blend until smooth (it will be thick my regular blender had trouble mixing it). Stir in walnuts. Put in a 9×13 baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 mins or until the top is crusty and middle is soft.

 

Remove and transfer contents into a PLASTIC container (if glass or otherwise it won’t have the right consistency). Pack the mixture together into the container and refrigerated overnight. (pack the mixture tightly into container)

 

Many people don’t realize it isn’t “real” fudge until they are told otherwise. :)! The ingredients seem odd but trust me the texture is spot on and flavor is incredibly close to fudge. Its healthy, tasty, and its hard to eat just one piece.

 

Enjoy!

Kere

Cranberry and Hawthorne Berry Sauce

This recipe is a twist on the classic cranberry sauce. Maybe you’re more familiar with the cranberry jelly out of the can (which makes such a fun noise when it pops out), but bring this to the Thanksgiving table for something a little different. The twist in this dish is the Hawthorne Berry which is call shan zha in Chinese. This little berry helps promote digestion and in particular helps digest red meat, oily, greasy, and fatty foods which makes it a great side for a big holiday feast to help prevent that bloated brick-in-the-stomach yucky feeling that follows eating a big meal. The hawthorne berries can be found in some health food stores or ordered online. You can also contact me and I can order it for you as well.

 

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup dried Shan zha, fructus crataegi (hawthorne berries)
1 cup sugar (may be adjusted to taste, or honey may be substituted)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons grated orange rind

Wash cranberries and soak shan zha in warm water for 10 mins to soften.
Remove the pits, drain and discard water.
Chop to soften shan zha. (or pulse in a food processor or blender)
Place chopped shan zha in saucepan with sugar and water
bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes
Add cranberries, bring to a boil again, and simmer until the cranberry skin burst (about 8-10 mins)
Add orange rind and smash the berries a bit
Allow to cool

Pumpkin Bread

It’s October and that means Halloween and pumpkins. So for an October recipe I figured I needed to find something with pumpkin. Unfortunately, I don’t like pumpkin flavored things.  The only pumpkin food I eat is this pumpkin bread.  Ironically enough, I LOVE this pumpkin bread.  I usually try to share a healthy recipe, but we can’t eat like rabbits all of the time. So enjoy this recipe in moderation!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

3 cups sugar

3 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 1/2 tsp ground nutment

1 (16 oz) can solid pack pumpkin

 

Directions:

In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; mix well. Combine dry ingredients, stir into creamed mixture just until moistened. Stir in pumpkin. Pour into two greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Honey-Baked Apples

This recipe is adapted from http://www.virginiaapples.org/recipes/honbak.html

 

6 large apples (see comments below)
6 tsp. honey
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp. sugar
pinch cinnamon
1 orange

Core apples, being careful not to cut all the way through. Peel about 1/3 of the way down from the stem end. Combine honey and orange juice; pour into centers of apples. Set in baking dish. Pour a little hot water in bottom of pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until apples are tender. Sprinkle tops with a little sugar and nutmeg.

For best results try Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Jonagold apples. You can also try this with walnuts and/or raisins or other dried fruits added in. This would also be great with pears.

I chose this month’s recipe for a couple of reasons. First and foremost it’s apple season! Also, fall is right around the corner. In Chinese medicine the fall is related to the Lung system. As the temps cool and the air dries out we have to be careful to protect the respiratory system which is particularly susceptible to dry air. The apples and honey in this recipe are great for keeping the Lung system moist. Adding in some cinnamon gives the immune system a little boost as well.

So if you find yourself with bags full of apples that you picked and don’t know what to do with them, try this recipe for a nice treat.

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