Sautéed vegetables
I love breakfast. When I started functional medicine, I learned that it was better to have dinner than breakfast. I was crestfallen. I would choose to eat breakfast over any other meal, so I was determined to find a better breakfast. What was missing was the vegetables so I created this recipe for my husband and I. Once I introduced my extended family to this, they quickly incorporated this into their breakfast as well. I serve it with buckwheat or millet pancakes, fresh fruit, and some breakfast meat like uncured turkey bacon, turkey sausage or chicken sausage. I don’t like eating eggs even if mixed with vegetables so I choose to eat this
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes
1/2 onion (red or yellow, not sweet though)
Pick your vegetables:
I like things that stay crunchier like
-Red, yellow and orange peppers about 1/4 pepper of each kind. This adds Vitamin C, color, and flavor. Cut in big pieces
-Shiitake mushrooms 2-4 to add lots of B6 for methylation support
-Brussel sprouts 4-5 cut in thin ices to cook faster. This helps with estrogen metabolism, sulfation detoxification support and provides fiber.
-Broccoli 2-3 stems
-Tomatoes 4-6 to add color, lycopene, vitamin c. (Can use any kind of tomato or skip)
-Cilantro and parsley which both help detoxify and add amazing flavor. Use a small bunch
-Asparagus 4-5 to add prebiotic fiber and
-Arugula 3/4 cup which brings in the leafy green full of fiber, folate to support methylation
(Other things to consider kale, spinach, broccoli and cauliflower. I find the soft vegetables like zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant make the mix mushy but experiment and use what you have. Do not buy things for this. This is more use what you have and the more variety you have the better.
1 tbsp. Adobo seasoning
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 black pepper or to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper or skip if you don’t like spicy foods
Olive oil 2-3 tbsp
1/2 tsp oregano (if you have it)
1/2 tsp parsley (if you have it)
1/2 tsp rosemary (if you have it)
Cook onions first. When soft add harder veggies (Brussel sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli) in. Add spices and then add leafy greens, softer veggies like peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and fresh herbs. Enjoy.
Vegetable Recipes
Sweet and sour yams
This is a great simple recipe. You can substitute yams for pumpkin, acorn or butternut squash. Orange vegetables are rich in vitamin A and C. It’s really important to eat them when the weather changes to help our immune system.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. avocado oil (or olive oil)
½ tsp fenugreek seeds (If you don’t have them, it’s ok to skip it)
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 green chili (use only if you like it spicy or skip it)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp red pepper (you can skip or use less)
Black pepper to taste
1 heaping of jaggery (an Indian hard sugar) or 1.5 tbsp. maple syrup
2 medium sized yams
Juice of ½ a lemon
Cilantro chopped for garnish and flavor
To speed things up, I usually boil the yams until half way done. I get other things done while the yams boil. Once cooked half way, peel and cut the yams into cubes. In a pan, pour oil and wait for the oil to warm up. When warm, try adding ONE cumin seed to see if it sizzles. If the seed sizzles, add the fenugreek and cumin seeds in. If the seed does not sizzle, the oil is not warm enough and you must wait. This step is an important part of any Indian cooking. These seed spices release their ingredients and flavor on sizzling, not if they sit in the oil and then cook. Then add the yams and other ingredients except for the lemon and cilantro. Cook until yams are soft. At the end, use the juice of the lemon, garnish with cilantro and enjoy.
This recipe can be used with the elimination diet, vegan/vegetarian diets, core diet, detox diet and the Mediterranean diet. Yams are a moderate FODMAP food once you are off the low FODMAP diet, you may be able to tolerate this.
Asparagus roasted
Asparagus is an excellent prebiotic fiber for your gut microbiome. It is full of anti-oxidants, helps low blood pressure and has few calories. We eat a lot of asparagus. When my kids were little, we ate it once per week but now since they are used to it, they like having it 2-3 times per week. This is my quick asparagus dish for during the week when I have to get a meal ready quickly before I evening activities start. This serves four to five people
Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time 25-30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 bunch of asparagus
Adobo
Oil Olive
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the ends of the asparagus off and line on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil and massage it into the asparagus. Sprinkle moderately the asparagus with Adobo. Cook for 25-30 minutes. Thin asparagus needs less time. Take it out and enjoy.
This recipe can be used during the elimination diet, vegan diet, paleo diet, renew diet, mito diet, detox diet, whole 30 diet, core diet. Asparagus is not a low FODMAP food.
Maple Flavored Carrots
When my youngest was sick, he was extremely light sensitive. I knew this was a sign of low vitamin A so I supplemented it but made orange colored vegetables part of his diet in high amounts. He got tired of eating them raw so I started to experiment with different ways to serve them. This is a simple recipe that everyone enjoys.
Prep time 5 minutes. Cook time: 8 minutes
Ingredients
2-3 carrots
1 tbsp. maple syrup
½ tbsp. butter (can use ghee or vegan butter)
Place water to boil in a pot ½ full of water. Peel the carrots and cut them into round slices. Add them to the water. Cook them until soft. This is usually about 5-8 minutes. Drain the water and add syrup and butter. Mix well and enjoy
Carrot Fries
Instead of yam fries, I make carrot fries. When my kids were little, they thought carrot fries were yam fries. I never corrected them, but now, they know the difference and still enjoy them. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene (vitamin A), fiber, vitamin K and other anti-oxidants. Another secret benefit to eating carrots daily is skin that glows! Sign me up for that!
Prep time 5 minutes Cook time 30 minutes
Ingredients
3-4 carrots
Olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
Paprika (optional but I really enjoy the taste)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel the carrots and cut into long slices. I usually cut the carrot in thirds or fours depending on the length of the carrot. Then I cut them vertically in half and then cut the half again. This results in four long thin fry like shape. Drizzle the olive oil and coat the carrots. Sprinkle the salt, pepper and paprika on. Bake for 25-30 minutes and enjoy.