Category Archives: Main Courses

Yummy Peanut Noodles

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½ lb noodle of choice (great with long flat brown rice or zucchini noodles)
½ cup almond or peanut butter
3 Tbsp tamari
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp siracha
1 tsp agave
2 tsp lime juice
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1 tsp ginger, pressed or grated
½ cup warm water
1 cumber, peeled, seeded, and julienned
2 carrots, peeled and finely grated
½ red bell pepper, julienned
2 scallions, sliced
A few leaves fresh basil, julienned
½ bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp sesame seeds (optional)

  1. Prepare the noodles according to package directions.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter, tamari, sesame oil, siracha, agave, lime juice, garlic, ginger, and warm water. Stir until smooth and well combined.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the noodles, veggies, and dressing. Stir until the dressing is evenly incorporated. Perhaps sprinkle with extra scallions, cilantro, and sesame seeds.

Note: for added protein, you can serve with baked tofu or mix in some edamame.

Image credit: Amateur chef and remedial photographer Lisa Mair

Forbidden Black Rice

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Black rice is so nutritionally dense that is considered a superfood. Although it appears black, it is actually very, very dark purple. The purple hue is due to a high concentration of anthocyanins, which are excellent for heart health and preventing cancer. In the days of old, black rice was reserved for royalty and their concubines. Anyone else caught eating it would be in big trouble!

  • 2 cups black rice, prepared according to instructions (remember to soak overnight)
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 2 Tbsp real maple syrup
  • 2 Tbsp rosemary sprigs, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed (divided)
  • 1 cup chickpeas, freshly cooked or canned
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup sweet potatoes, diced into ¼ inch cubes
  • 1 cup broccoli florets
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Combine lemon juice, maple syrup, rosemary and half the garlic in a small bowl and set aside. Toss chickpeas with oil and remaining garlic. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake about 15 minutes, turning once or twice.

Steam the sweet potatoes until soft. Using the same water, steam broccoli for 7 minutes or until desired tenderness. Combine rice, dressing, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, broccoli, salt and pepper. Top with diced avocado.

Image credit: Lisa Mair

A Magic Trick: Cooking More + Having More Free Time

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Cooking healthy, whole foods regularly is now a way of life for me. I love cooking and am always experimenting with new things. As you can imagine, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It’s the life of a chef!

I’m fortunate to have a flexible schedule, so I can decide in the afternoon that I want to make some particular meal for dinner, go out to the store in the afternoon and cook it up in time for dinner. But I do realize that is not the case for most people with full time jobs, young kids, and other time intensive responsibilities.

Over the years, cleansers (as well as friends, family, acquaintances… pretty much anyone that knows I’m a chef) have asked me to offer personal chef services so they can easily eat healthy, high quality, home cooked meals more regularly. Since we are always looking for ways to make the Ultimate Rejuvenation Cleanse easier for our participants, I decided to be brave and start offering prepared meals this year!

The response has been huge and I’m really enjoying making meals for our cleansers and hearing how much they loved it! Getting that kind of feedback nourishes my soul.

As I’m now cooking for many families, it’s been necessary to plan ahead and get more scheduled in my meal preparations, which admittedly doesn’t come naturally to my free spirit. However, my kitchen has turned into a bit of a store! I have all kinds of beautiful meals ready to go in mason jars. Since I always have some extra on hand, it’s like I’m taking care of myself as well. When I’m out and about, I look forward to coming home to my own house and having a selection of delicious, healthy, home cooked meals to choose from.

This past Monday I came home from the morning practice and had kitchari for breakfast, lunch was Mulligatawny Soup, and I finished the day with kale and white bean soup. Totally delicious, cleansing, and satisfying.

I’ve never experienced anything quite like this before – there is something very special about having a meal lovingly prepared for you. Seeing all the beautiful jars of healthy food in my refrigerator felt like a gift from someone else.  Although I am cooking more, it feels like I’m cooking less because of the free time my new schedule has created. I’ve been taking my dog for more walks, doing more yoga, reading, and contemplating getting a massage. Despite the fact that I’m doing more work, the advance planning makes it feel like so much less. I also feel less stressed.

This is my easiest cleanse ever, and it could be yours too!

So my recommendation to you, if you want to eat healthy and have more free time, either take a few minutes to plan/prep your meals ahead in batches, or let me do your cooking for you.

Either way, it’s a win!

To learn more about Chef Charlotte’s meal services, go to her website.

Cleansing Kitchari

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This powerful cleansing meal from Ayurveda balances your doshas (energies)! Feel free to adjust the seasonings to your taste. Don’t let the long ingredient list scare you – the active prep time is minimal. Spices are anti-inflammatory and chock full of antioxidants. This meal is also rich in protein and fiber. Some people eat this for a few days as a very simple cleanse.

  • 1 cup split yellow moong beans (also spelled mung, and dahl)
  • ½ cup brown basmati rice
  • 1 Tbsp olive or avocado oil
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds (or brown)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 Tbsp ginger root, peeled and grated
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
  • 1 Tbsp cumin powder
  • 1 Tbsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp fenugreek powder
  • 1 pinch hing – also called asafetida, optional
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 4 cups filtered water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 piece of seaweed (such as kombu), optional
  • 1 cup chopped kale
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Wash split yellow mung beans and rice together until water runs clear. Heat the oil in a large pot on medium heat and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds and toast until the mustard seeds pop (2 – 3 minutes) add the remaining  spices (except the bay leaves). Stir for a few minutes.

Add beans and rice, carrot, and celery and stir again. Add water, bay leaves, and seaweed, and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn heat to low, cover pot and continue to cook until beans and rice become soft (about 30 – 40 minutes).

Remove bay leaves and add the kale.  Cook until the kale becomes soft 2- 3 minutes. Add more salt to taste, if desired. Sprinkle on the cilantro leaves just before serving.

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Super Food Tabouli

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I keep running out of hemp seeds, and the other day wished for a way to buy hemp seeds in bulk. That wish manifested in ONE day – faster than anything else I’ve ever wished for! Doing a grocery store tour at Wegman’s, I saw on a low shelf a rather large 5 lb bag of hemp seeds, and felt as if I just won the jack pot! So now I don’t have to ration them or worry about running out ever again. I can get my protein, omega 3’s, minerals, fiber, etc so easily and with so many different meals, including smoothies. So today, I decided to use my hemp seeds for a super food tabouli. I made this like you’d make any other salad, not measuring anything really, just a handful of this, a sprinkle of that, and it came out perfect. Try it and enjoy!

Remember, everything is approximate.

  • 1 small bunch of fresh parsley, large stems removed, and roughly chopped
  • a few scallions, sliced
  • a handful of grape tomatoes, sliced in half
  • a quarter of an organic, English cucumber, diced
  • about a half cup hemp seeds
  • juice from a half of a lemon
  • a generous drizzle of cold pressed olive oil
  • a couple pinches sea salt
  • a sprinkle of pepper
  • a garlic clove, crushed
  • a sprinkle of oregano
  • a sprinkle of cumin
  • half of an avocado, cubed

Add all ingredients except avocado to bowl, and mix. Add more seasoning, to taste. Fold in the avocado. Enjoy!

 

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Cleanse Friendly Super Bowl Food!

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One thing we pride ourselves on is that you can actually enjoy food on our cleanse! And I don’t mean, only eating something healthy that fills your belly, I mean really enjoying the taste of the food and feeling good after you eat it! You can even eat delicious, filling food at parties on the Ultimate Rejuvenation Cleanse. Case in point… this tasty layered bean dip that you can bring to your Super Bowl gathering this weekend! It has all the flavor of the unhealthy versions, without any of the junk. Go Pats!

Mexican Layer Dip

  • 1 small red onion, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced, or crushed
  • 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 2 tsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 recipe of refried beans (recipe below)
  • 1 recipe of guacamole (recipe below)

Mix ingredients from onion through lime juice in a medium bowl. Layer refried beans along bottom of casserole pan, followed by a layer of guacamole, and then the tomato mixture. Serve with Beanitos, sliced jicama, or flax crackers.

Refried Beans

  • ½ cup vegetable broth
  • 2, 15-oz cans pinto beans, rinsed or cooked from scratch
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced
  • 1 poblano chili stemmed, seeded, and minced
  • ½ red pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 2 tsp fresh lime juice

Blend broth and all but one cup of beans in food processor until smooth. Heat oil in 12- inch skillet. Sauté onion and peppers until softened. Add salt, garlic, and cumin stirring frequently until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add beans and stir until thoroughly combined. Reduce heat to medium and cook until beans are thick and creamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and lime juice.

Guacamole

  • 2 ripe avocados
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • Juice from ½ lime
  • ¼ cup diced red onion
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, diced (wash hands immediately after)
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced or crushed
  • 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • ½ cup diced fresh tomato

Cut the avocados in half. Remove seed. Scope the insides out with a spoon. Mash the avocado with fork, potato masher, or your hands. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with a large spoon. Serve with chili, refried beans, salad dishes, freshly cut veggies, or flax crackers.

Note: When you are done mashing, you can rub the avocado from your hands onto your face for an all natural, beautifying spa treatment. Leave on for 10-15 minutes. Remember to wash it off before going to the party!

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Stuffing

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Vegan Paleo Gluten Free

When making healthy, whole food recipes you realize how so many conventional ingredients can be substituted. You don’t actually need bread to make a stuffing. It’s more about the herbs, vegetables, and texture. The parsnip does a nice job replacing the usual bread cubes, but without all that refined, high glycemic, flour.

  • 1 bag parsnips, chopped (about 3 cups)
  • 2 carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 large leek, chopped
  • 2 ribs celery, chopped (about ½ cup)
  • 1 apple, chopped
  • 10 oz porcini or button mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 6 leaves fresh sage, chopped
  • Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Mix the chopped parsnips and carrots in a single layer in a roasting pan or two, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for about 30-45 minutes, until tender, stirring halfway through.

While the vegetables are roasting, warm olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the garlic, leeks, and celery for 3 minutes. Add in the apple and mushrooms and cook for until tender, about 10 minutes.

Combine the roasted parsnips, carrots, and mushroom mixture in a large food processor. Add in the fresh thyme, chopped sage, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Pulse the vegetable mixture, enough so that it mixes together, but still has a chunky texture. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Roasted Sweet Potato Casserole

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Vegan Paleo Gluten Free

Hold the marshmallows! This casserole contains nothing but the good stuff. It is free of refined sugar, gluten, and dairy, and is even more delicious than conventional sweet potato casseroles. We also added pomegranate seeds for a little pop of freshness as well as some serious anti-aging nutrients!

For the Maple Nut Topping:

  • ¾ cup pecans or walnuts
  • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 6 Tbsp almond flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp cardamom
  • 1½ Tbsp refined coconut oil

For the Sweet Potato Casserole:

  • 4 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
  • 3 Tbsp sucanat, coconut sugar, or your favorite sweetener
  • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 6 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger (or substitute 1 tsp dried ginger)
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • ½ tsp cardamom
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp almond extract (vanilla can be substituted)
  • Seeds from ½ pomegranate (or ½ cup POM pomegranate seeds)

Maple Nut Topping

While sweet potato is steaming, place nuts in food processor and pulse 3 to 4 times.

Add remaining ingredients, and pulse until well blended (about 5 -10 times). Time saving tip: You don’t need to clean the food processer between topping and potatoes.

Casserole

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place cubed potatoes in a steamer basket, with a couple inches of water in the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cover. Steam for about 15 minutes, or until fork tender.

Drain the potatoes and add to food processor, along with the rest of the ingredients up to pomegranate seeds. Pulse until blended (about 5 – 10 times). Sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds. Spoon sweet potato mixture into the casserole dish and evenly top it with the Maple Nut topping. Bake for approximately 30 minutes. (Check that nuts don’t burn. If they are browning too quickly, cover with foil.) Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Smashed Purple Potatoes

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Vegan Gluten Free Paleo

The purple pigments (called anthocyanins) in these potatoes are not that common, so we love to get it in however we can! Purple potatoes contain four times the antioxidants of regular potatoes. They are also rich in chlorogenic acid, which has been shown to reduce blood pressure and may help to prevent blood clots and thrombosis.

  • 2½ lb blue potatoes
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil (plus extra to oil the baking sheet)
  • 2 Tbsp chopped chives (for garnish, optional)

Preheat oven to 450. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once water is boiling, carefully add the potatoes. Cook until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork (approximately 20 to 30 minutes). Drain the potatoes and return pot to burner to remove excess moisture. Place whole potatoes on an oiled, rimmed baking sheet. Use a spatula to smash the potatoes a bit. Drizzle with oil, and add salt, pepper and rosemary. Bake until crispy on the outside (approximately 15 to 20 minutes). Garnish with chives. 

Cranberry Sauce

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Vegan Paleo Gluten Free

Homemade cranberry sauce is so much better than that suspicious looking canned stuff. We also improve upon most other homemade sauce recipes by replacing empty calorie white sugar with unprocessed sugar that retains many of its nutrients. If you can’t find sucanat or coconut sugar, you can use another sugar of your choice.Try to get organic cranberries, as the conventional ones are heavily sprayed with pesticides.

  • 1 cup sucanat or coconut sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1, 12-oz bag organic cranberries
  • Zest of one orange
  • ½ tsp cardamom
  • Pinch cinnamon
  • Pinch cloves

Heat sucanat and water over medium heat until sugar has dissolved (a couple minutes). Add cranberries and stir. Cook cranberries in water mixture until cranberries pop (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat, add orange zest and cardamom. It is wonderful warm but when chilled, the pectin from the cranberries creates a jelly texture.