Cooking healthy plant-based meals doesn't have to be an arduous task. Take it from me because I do it in the COOL-est way. Cooking On One Leg! Because of this, I have to keep it super easy.
Twenty years ago as young mother of two children, I lost my leg to bone cancer. I was fitted for a prosthetic leg and life went on. Then several years later I was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. Even with conventional treatment, most of which I did, my doctors predicted that the cancer would return with a year.
I started researching and found that some women had increased their chances of survival by adopting a plant-based diet (similar to how President Clinton now eats!).
Within a week I was taking cooking classes and starting to change the food I ate. I was a junk food junkie, but I began cooking and eating whole grains, beans, vegetables, sea vegetables and lots of foods that never dreamed I'd eat. I gradually started changing the foods my family ate, too.
Today, 12 years later, I remain cancer-free and vibrantly healthy and eating in this delicious way! And ... cooking on one leg! Over the last few years, my prosthetic leg doesn't fit well so I don't wear it as much. I've had to adapt to cooking on crutches and that means making quicker, easier versions of this food than I did in the past. I love this because in doing so I've helped others who are on their own "last leg," such as people that are tired from working all day, but still want quick, easy and delicious plant-based meals.
The following Bowl-In-One is a dish I created while one Sunday while my husband Tom was watching a golf tournament. This meal contains a bean, a whole grain, a cracked grain (whole wheat pasta), vegetables, a small amount of sea vegetable and spices. It's truly a delicious meal-in-one pot dish!
Preparation time is 15 minutes if made with 'quick' ingredients. Cooking time 15 minutes.Total time = 30 minutes.
Bowl-In-One
1 C quinoa
3 cups canned black or pinto beans (2 15-ounce cans of low-sodium)
*1 C whole wheat rotini (spiral pasta)
1 T dried Arame seaweed
1 carrot, diced (approximately ½ cup)
1 ear corn, approximately one cup (Frozen corn can be used or a frozen corn and carrot combination.)
1 tsp. The Blend All-Purpose Seasoning (Maine Accent brand), or other blend of similar multi-herb seasoning (The Blend contains parsley, basil, marjoram, chervil & spices)
3 cups filtered water
1/ tsp. sea salt
1 tsp chopped garlic (I used Emperor's Kitchen Brand roasted garlic in a jar.)
**1 tsp. olive oil (optional)
Add 2-6 cups of thinly chopped kale
juice of half of lemon (approximately 2-3 T)
1/8 cup capers (I used water packed.)
Add all the first list of ingredients into a 2 ½ quart pan, bring to a boil on high heat, cover, turn to low and simmer for 13 minutes.
Add 2 cups of thinly chopped kale to the pot, stir, recover and cook 2 more minutes.
Fluff up this dish while it's still in the pot by stirring with a spoon. Or, put it into a big serving bowl and stir to separate and keep fluffy while stirring in the capers and lemon juice.
Makes 6-7, ¾ - 1 cup servings
*To make this recipe wheat- and gluten-free, use brown rice pasta.
Are you eating a plant-based diet or adding more of these deliciously healthful recipes to your repertoire? Have you seen any changes in your health? Have a favorite dish? Please feel free to share your experiences in my comments section below.
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Congrats on your resiliency, perseverence, and triumphs, Meg! You are truly an inspiration.
Love your little profile icon.
Wonderful that these are ingredients that you love. The leftovers are the BEST!
Thank you on your kind and supportive comments, I really appreciate that. xo
I'm so forutnate! Friends are sharing their over abundant harvest with me thus I'm busy preparing foods I can freeze and I can't abide canning or canned foods except tomatoes and that's only when I have to. I'm doing ratatouille, pasta sauces, peaches-slightly cooked and then freeze and more. Do you know a good way to freeze pears?
Sorry that you are going without your prosthetic leg. Cooking on one leg can't be fun but a good title for a cook book!
The photo of this dish from your newsletter was so yummy looking that I wanted to imbibe right now.
heart heart
Thank you SO much for the award. I am so honored and happily surprised. You made my day!
Wakame is an equally wonderful sea vegetable to use. H & H, It looks like you also do a great job of developing your own recipes. Go going! Let me know how you like this dish after you make it.
I'm going to make it on FOX TV's Good Day Maine this Friday. I'll see if I can add the link.
Cooking on one leg really isn't as bad as it sounds. I just have to pace myself and be more creative... I see a galley kitchen in my future! I do love to be able to accept my life as it it and it's still pretty great, just different!
On the canned food... personally I'm so used to cooking beans that I also, cook, bag and freeze and pull out at a later date to add to recipes. I like to encourage the canned though because I do think that when mixed in with other ingredients that they can be made very tasty and very fast for people that are strapped for time, but still want healthy plant-based meals.
Glad that you liked the photo and that you receive my newsletter. xxxooo
Now the awesome recipe I am gonna try on Sunday and Monday...and let you know. Don`t go too far from us, we need you with us all the time. But, I know you are extremely busy..so until then, much Love and Hugs to my favorite galpal...always Gypsy
Great that you will make it this week! I think that orzo would be perfect. In fact I think it would be a wonderful substitute ... this is exactly how I want people to think/cook! Make it easy, if you don't have a certain ingredient, not problem try what you do have, excellent. That's how new recipes come about.
If you can't find the seaweed, not a problem, leave it out, but for another time you might order it online (and I highly recommend it as a great source of minerals). You hardly notice this small amount in this dish and you can start with even less if you like.
I made this dish for my sister a few days ago and she loved it! I hope you do too, gypsynomad!
I sent out a newsletter with a photo last evening, do you get my newsletter? I'm guessing you don't so let me know if you'd like to be added, my email is: meg@megwolff.com. I guess I can check with the Huff Post blog team to see if it can added or not.
On the recipe ... one of my facebook friends reported that she tried my recipe for dinner last night, "Just had the Plant-based Meal - and even without the garlic & capers, Don asked if we had left-overs for tomorrow's lunch :-)"
Let me know how it turns out, Gail. Do you any healthy and easy favorites?
Love the Bowl-in-one idea. Great ingredients and yummy recipe! So great to get all this nourishment in a single bowl meal. I am looking forward to your next recipe!
Jillian Lauren Lisitano
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup green split moong dal
1/2 tbsp olive or sesame oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds (optional)
1/4 tsp hing
1/2 inch ginger, finely chopped (pitta)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chili powder
4 cups water
DIRECTIONS
Place rice and dal together in large mixing bowl. Rinse several times under running water. Drain and reserve.
Set heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and add oil. When warmed, add cumin and mustard seeds (if using) and hing. Stir until seeds pop, about 30 seconds. Add chopped ginger, sauté 30 seconds.
Add reserved rice and dal, turmeric, salt and chili powder. Mix in gently.
Add water and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover saucepan, reduce heat to low and cook undisturbed until tender, about 30 minutes.
Switch off heat, let khichari rest 5 minutes. Fluff it up gently with a fork and serve.
Enjoy hot.
(Serves 2)
Note -- 4 cups water will yield a thicker khichari while six will yield the consistency of porridge.