Ratatouille

INGREDIENTS

1 chopped eggplant
3 chopped tomatoes
3 whole carrots - cut up
1 diced bell pepper
1 can of tomato sauce
Handful of spinach
1 diced onion
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
Coconut oil spray or olive oil
Lemon juice
Black pepper and your favorite seasonings

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a large pot with oil over medium heat, add onions and garlic and stir occasionally for 5-10 minutes until the onions caramelize
2. Add all of the remaining ingredients including the seasoning to the large pot, stir together then cover for about 20-30 minutes checking every 10 minutes to stir.
3. Serve with lemon juice on top

WAYS TO EAT THIS HEALTHY DISH

1. This is a great side dish to any main protein.
2. I love to eat this as a stew without anything but lemon juice.
3. Serve this with a slice of your favorite bread for dipping.
4. Fry an egg, sunny side up, and serve on top of this in a bowl. Allow the egg yolk to melt into the stew.

Homemade Greek Yogurt

Thank you to Vevian Gerke for making a great YouTube video teaching us how to make homemade greek yogurt.

Link to Vevian Gerke - How To Make Greek Yogurt


Now you can follow these easy steps to make your own homemade greek yogurt...


WHAT DO YOU NEED?

1/2 gallon of fat free milk
2 tablespoons of any plain starter yogurt
Pot with a top
Thermometer
Cheese cloth
Strainer
Towel

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour your milk in a pot on med/high heat. Bring the milk ALMOST to a boil. Use your thermometer and when the milk reaches 175 - 180 degrees take off the heat (5-10 minutes

2. Allow your milk to cool to about 110-115 degrees, use the thermometer (10 minutes).

3. Once the milk is cooled to 110-115 degrees add 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt. Whisk (2 minutes)

4. Put cover on pot and wrap a towel around it. Place it in the oven overnight (10 hours).

5. The next morning you should see a layer of whey liquid on top. We will be straining all of this liquid to make the yogurt "greek."

6. Set up a pot, strainer, then the cheese strainer. Transfer yogurt to cheese strainer and set aside in fridge (4 hours). 

7. Come back and check on your yogurt, poor out the whey and stir the yogurt slowly. Set aside for another 3-4 hours.

8. By the time you come back, it should be done! Empty out the whey liquid again. 

Warm Lentil and Marinara Spinach Salad

INGREDIENTS

Cooked lentils
Marinara sauce
Fresh spinach
Sun-dried tomatoes
Fresh tomatoes
Balsamic vinegar
Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper)
Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat up about 1 cup of lentils and 1/2 cup of marinara sauce in the microwave
2. Lay a bed of fresh spinach, fresh cut tomatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl
3. Layer your hot lentil/marinara mix on top of the fresh vegetables
4. I personally like to mix it all together to wilt the spinach from the heat of the lentils
5. Top with Italian spices, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and Parmesan cheese

HOW TO COOK LENTILS (PERFECTLY)

When I want to cook a big batch of lentils I plan ahead of time...

1. I soak the dry lentils for about 24 hours in a big bowl of water (this reduces the actual cooking time and cleans the lentils). Remember, add about 2x water you have dry lentils as the lentils expand!
2. Add your soaked lentils into a cooking pot with new/fresh water.
3. Bring the water and lentils to rapid simmer.
4. Once they are boiling, lower the heat to low.
5. Keep an eye on the lentils but they will typically cook anywhere from 25-45 minutes depending on the quantity of beans.
6. I do not add any salt, this is because your marinara sauce will have an abundant amount of sodium already. But if you absolutely MUST add salt, season the lentils after they are done cooking as they will absorb the most seasoning then.