Be Healthy Recipes

Whether you eat meat or vegan or somewhere in between, you can find recipes to expand your meals and ways to add more health, spark, flavor and nutrition to your foods.

Chimichurri – A Fresh Herb Topping for Meat and Vegetable Dishes

Chimichurri is a simple and delicious tangy fresh herb sauce, a traditional condiment of Argentina and Uruguay. Mild or spicy, serve it over meats or roasted vegetables.  It has many variations, but the ingredients always include fresh parsley, oregano, chopped garlic, oil, and an acid like vinegar or lemon juice. Cilantro may be substituted for the parsley. Spiciness varies, and a little red chili pepper may be used.

Start with this basic recipe and follow tips for best results:

Ingredients 

  • 1/2 cup olive or avocado oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or other vinegar), or lemon juice
  • 1 cup fresh flat Italian parsley and/or cilantro, finely chopped
  • 3-4 cloves garlic finely chopped or minced
  • 3/4 teaspoon strong dried oregano leaves, or 1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
  • Optional: 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped red chili ( remove seeds first), or dried red pepper flakes
  • 1 level teaspoon coarse salt 
  • About 1/2 teaspoon pepper to taste

Instructions 

  • TIP: First steep dried oregano and optional dried red pepper flakes in a little boiling water for about 15 minutes to wet them thoroughly before adding to the mixture. This will hydrate these dry ingredients enough so that they won’t absorb too much of the oil and vinegar from the sauce and alter its choppy rough texture.
  • Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Allow to sit for at least 5-10 minutes to release all of the flavors into the oil. If time allows before serving, let it sit for 2 hours or more to fully meld the flavors. Chimichurri may be refrigerated for 24 hours.

Chimichurri is primarily used as a condiment, served as a dollop over the top of a meat, egg or vegetable dish. 

  • Spoon over grilled steaks, roasted sausages, fish or chicken after cooking to add a fresh, garlicky, and acidic flavor that cuts through the richness of the meat. 
  • Baste onto meats during the grilling or cooking process.
  • Top fried eggs with a spoonful of chimichurri on the plate.
  • Spoon over roasted potatoes, yucca strips, and other roasted or grilled vegetables, like vegetable kebabs.
  • Mix with Greek yogurt or mayonnaise to create dips and spreads. 

Tip: Adjust the chimichurri to suit your taste with more or less spice (chili), salt and pepper.

Simple Flax Cracker Recipe

Overview:

You will mix together equal portions of sweet onions mash and separately ground flax seeds.  Salt to taste. Spread on baking sheet with parchment paper and dry in oven for a couple of hours on very low heat.

You will need:

One or more flat baking sheets to go in the oven

Parchment paper from grocery store for easiest removal and clean up.

Spatula

A blender or food processor to blend onions to a mash

Sweet onions, or your favorite kind of onion

Flax seeds, brown or golden, ground

Recipe:

Turn on oven to lowest setting about 160 degrees F

Grind about 2 cups of onions to a mash in food processor or a Vitamix (or other blender that can handle that).

Use an equal amount of ground flax seed, or grind it fresh in a clean coffee grinder or in the NutriBullet with seed grinder blade attachment.

Optional – Add a little Celtic Sea salt to taste

Mix together well. Liquid of onions will be partially absorbed by the flax seeds to make a smooth spreading mash.

Spread evenly on parchment paper on the baking sheet with a spatula about an eighth of an inch thick, or up to at most a quarter of an inch for best drying.

Place in over on low heat and dry out slowly for about four hours (time will depend on how thickly you spread the mash).  Flip after half the time. You can make some cross cut indentations in the spread for breaking easily into smaller size crackers.

Check on the progress. Mash should dry into crispy crackers that break easily.

Remove from oven and let cool. Enjoy with soup or salad!

Easy Healthy Chocolate Balls

Carob or chocolate balls can be made quickly. In a food processor, grind fine: 1 1/4 cup raw unsoaked walnuts A dash of sea salt (most flavorful and nutritious) Add 10 pitted soft soaked Medjool dates (the sweetener) and grind in food processor until the nut-date mixture sticks together well. Optional: Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, mint or cherry extract and … Read more

8 Ways To Use Organic Maple Syrup

Our Organic Maple Syrup is 100% pure and organically produced Dark Robust Maple Syrup. A delicious, rich-tasting traditional maple syrup – nothing artificial, additive- and preservative-free. Great effort has gone into selecting woodland farmers whose standards represent stewardship to the environment and our planet. Dark Robust (formerly known as Grade B) is the late season, … Read more

Delicious Greens Recipes

Swiss Chard with Rosemary 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary 1 green onion or shallot, chopped Olive oil 1 large bunch of Swiss chard, rinsed and patted dry Freshly ground Black seeds (Nigella Sativa) or black pepper to taste 1. Mix together the rosemary and green onion with a tablespoon of olive oil and let sit … Read more

Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing

lemon tahini salad dressing

Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing A tangy, creamy satisfying dressing to top your salad greens. 1/3 cup of well-stirred tahini (Middle Eastern sesame paste) 1/3 cup water 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 2 garlic cloves, chopped 3/4 tsp. sea salt Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Fancy Apple Pie Chia Pudding

fancy apple pie chia pudding

Looking for a healthier dessert options? Chia Seeds make a light, protein and fiber-rich pudding dessert. Just add a couple of tablespoons of chia seed to any liquid such as juice, mint tea, milk substitutes or even just plain water. Let it soak for a few hours, or overnight in the fridge. This pudding is … Read more