Living Whole Food, Plant Based!
One of my favorite meals as a kid was Shepherd’s Pie. In our house, it was how my mother would empty the refrigerator of the week’s leftovers. She would turn these leftovers into a warming comfort food, perfect for the cold Vermont evenings. As I …
Isn’t it that time of year when there is nothing better than some good old-fashion comfort food? There is something about curling up in your favorite chair with a blanket and a bowl of something warm, filling, and nourishing when it is cold and wet …
Farro, which is also known as emmer in some parts of the world, is an ancient wheat grain that has been eaten for thousands of years around the world. Farro is commonly found in Middle East, Ethiopian, and Mediterranean dishes. I have no problems finding Farro in grocery stores in the United States, commonly found in the bulk food, health food, or rice sections of the store.
As part of a Whole Food, Plant Based (WFPB) diet, it is recommended that whole grains are consumed rather than highly processed grains, such as white rice and pastas.
This makes Farro a wonderful substitute for Arborio rice, which is commonly used in risotto recipes. Risotto has a wonderful creaminess from the starches that are released during the cooking process and I have found that with Farro, I am able to achieve a similar creaminess (when combined with my secret ingredient).
In my recipe, I use the Instant Pot (pressure cooker), but honestly, you can make this on the stove top as you would normal risotto. The primary difference is that all liquid is added at the beginning with the farro rather than a little at a time with Arborio rice. An added benefit, you don’t need to constantly stir the farro as you do the Arborio rice.
This recipe can be served either as a side dish or as an entrée. Pair it with a nice red wine. This makes for a (clear my throat) sexy meal. Curl up on the couch, turn the lights down, and put on a romantic comedy. You can thank me later (even I am blushing writing this)!
The ingredients are simple and there is very little preparation.
Ingredients
One shallot, chopped (about ½ cup)
Five garlic cloves, minced
3 ½ cups of vegetable broth
12 to 16 ounces of baby portobello mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
6 to 8 ounces of washed baby spinach
1 cup of frozen peas
2 cups of farro (uncooked)
¼ cup of nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon of salt (I use pink sea salt)
2 teaspoons of granulated garlic
I recommend doing all chopping and measuring before the cooking process as it is surprising fast how quickly the steps in the process come. Trust me on this one. I usually chop and measure as I go along. With this recipe, it is best to be prepared.
Steps
Set the Instant Pot to Saute (I apologize for the image quality of the pictures of the Instant Pot…not sure why that happened)
Put the chopped shallots, minced garlic, and ¼ cup of vegetable broth in the basin of the Instant Pot. Stir constantly for about 90 seconds. The garlic and shallots will sweat and start to caramelize while the broth evaporates. If the garlic and shallots are too raw within those 90 seconds, add a splash of vegetable broth. Total cooking time here is no more than 2 ½ minutes.
Add the cleaned and quartered mushrooms, salt, and granulated garlic to the Instant Pot with a ¼ cup of vegetable broth. Stir to incorporate all ingredients together. I like to let the mushrooms cook down for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Turn off the Instant Pot.
Add the 2 cups of farro and three remaining cups of vegetable broth to the instant pot. Stir all ingredients together.
Put the lid on the Instant Pot. Set the vent to full sealing. Use the manual setting with high pressure for 10 minutes.
Once done, keep the vent on full sealing. After 5 minutes, release the vent (pressure). Unplug the Instant Pot.
Open the lid to the Instant Pot, add the baby spinach, peas, and nutritional yeast. Stir all the ingredients together. The spinach will begin to wilt down and the nutritional yeast will help create the creaminess of risotto.
Put the lid on the Instant Pot and allow 10 minutes for the spinach to wilt and the peas to warm.
Open the lid, stir everything together, and then serve! Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with a sprig of parsley. If you like it a little spicy, red pepper flakes do the trick!
I could not have been more pleased with the dish after watching both my wife and 11 year-old stepdaughter going back for more! Start to finish, you have a wonderful (and sexy) meal in less than 35 minutes.
I hope you give this recipe a try. Who knows, maybe it will become one of your go-to dishes.
Let me know how you like it if you give it a try. I would love to hear your feedback!
Wishing you the best of health!
Stephen
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I was so blessed to have grown up in Vermont. The Green Mountains and Lake Champlain were the perfect setting for outdoor activities. But as summer is relatively short, most of my memories are of fall and winter activities.
What is Vermont if not maple syrup? Almost every year, we would have a field trip to a maker of maple syrup, seeing how they would tap the trees, collect the syrup, and then cook it down to the golden brown, sweet treat we enjoy. To this day, just the thought of maple syrup brings back such fond childhood memories.
But as fond of a memory as maple syrup may be, I am confident there are few fond childhood memories of Brussels sprouts. I know there is an exception or two out there, but most kids (and some adults) reject Brussels sprouts without even trying these tasty gems. I used to be that way, until I stayed at Le Meridian in Dallas, TX for almost two years.
After roughly six months of eating at the hotel, I had exhausted the menu, and nothing looked appetizing. I asked the waiter if there was anything I could get that was not on the menu. He checked with the chef and came back and said they could accommodate me. I told the waiter I had no limits; the chef could cook me whatever he wanted. I don’t remember the meat or starch, but the Brussels sprouts were unforgettable. In fact, for the next eighteen months, I had Brussels sprouts every time I ate there…even when the entrée was Asian or Mexican cuisine.
Today, Brussels sprouts remain as a favorite. This is especially true in the fall and winter as they make a perfect warming, comfort food when the air gets cold.
The chef at Le Meridien would make the Brussels sprouts with bacon drippings, brown sugar, and Balsamic vinegar. But that would not make it in a whole food, plant-based lifestyle. Fortunately, my childhood was the inspiration of the modification that was needed to the recipe!
The ingredients are super simple, and the recipe is incredible easy to make. The ingredients are as follows:
3 to 4 cups of fresh Brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved (do not use frozen)
1 cup of raw pecans
2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of granulated garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder (adjust to taste)
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
Zest of 1/2 lemon (save for the end)
Combine all ingredients in a bowl or gallon size plastic bag and mix. I like to use a plastic bag. I find that the bag allows the maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and dry ingredients to evenly distribute and coat the Brussels sprouts and pecans.
Spread evenly on a cookie sheet (I line my cookie sheet with aluminum foil to make clean up easy) and place in a preheated 375 degrees oven for 25 to 30 minutes. If you have smaller Brussels sprouts, the cooking time will be closer to 25 to 27 minutes, larger Brussels sprouts require a few more minutes. I like to get a nice caramelization on the Brussels sprouts, so I err on the longer cooking times.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with salt (to taste). Transfer the Brussels sprouts and pecans to a serving dish. Finely grate the lemon zest over the Brussels sprouts and serve. It’s that easy! In 45 minutes, start to finish, you have a wonderful side dish.
A couple pieces of advice. First, if you add too much maple syrup or apple cider vinegar, the Brussels sprouts will become very soggy and mushy. I think it is the soggy and mushy sprouts that we remember as kids that shaped our dislike for Brussels sprouts. Keep to the measurements in the recipe and the sprouts will come out cooked with a nice crunch. Second, I love the crunch combined with the sweetness of the maple syrup, the acid from the apple cider vinegar, the heat from the chili powder, and the saltiness. But too much of a good thing can lead to bad results. Avoid using too much salt or chili powder.
At the end of the day, the Brussels sprouts are a wonderful WFPB compliant side dish. Or on a cold and dreary day like today, they made a perfect lunch by themselves as I curled up under a blanket with the dogs on my lap!
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On your whole food plant-based (WFPB) journey, you are going to experience many traps and pitfalls. Almost all of these will take place when you have a moment of weakness, when convenience trumps all else.
If you are like me, the day begins rushed. The dogs need to be walked. The kids need to be driven to school. The workday starts early with the first crisis meeting me once I open my emails. I need something quick and simple that doesn’t add to my morning stress.
Then, by the time dinner rolls around, I’m beat tired. Still, everyone expects dinner to be ready. If my family were to adopt my lifestyle, dinner would be so much easier. But that isn’t the case. My wife is on Keto and my step-kids never can agree on what they want for dinner. I should have been a chef because I swear I cook as if people were ordering off a menu each night…but that’s for another blog post.
After I have cooked for everyone else, I can finally turn my attention to my meal. Exhausted, it would be much easier for me to just eat what I’ve prepared for others. But I am not giving in to what is easy. I am committed to being disciplined in this lifestyle I’ve chosen for myself. That requires preparation!
There are a few things I do at the beginning of the week to make my life easier. It takes an hour or two of preparation, but it really helps in staying compliant to the WFPB lifestyle.
First, as much as I can, I will chop my veggies and store them in clear containers in the refrigerator. I cut the veggies in the size I tend to use them. I like having hummus with celery or cucumbers, so I make sure I have these sliced to the size I would use for scooping hummus. I enjoy chopped salads, so I’ll have a variety of veggies chopped for that purpose. Berries are washed and conveniently stored.
I will also make about three cups of brown rice at the beginning of the week, as I will black beans or whatever other dried beans are on sale at the market. Both are made in my Instant Pot (separately) while I am washing and chopping my vegetables and fruits.
Occasionally, I will make three or four small sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot and store those in a clear container as well, especially if I need a break from brown rice.
I truly believe that one of the keys to making this exercise effective is storing the items in clear containers at eye level! When you open the fridge, all these colorful, clean, and healthy options are staring you right in your face. At your finger tips are all the essentials for a salad, a soup (add some barley, vegetable broth, herbs, and heat until the barley is cooked), or a stir-fry with tofu.
Quick, easy, healthy meal prep in minutes. What could be easier?
For breakfast, overnight oats are perfect! Takes less than five minutes to prepare, stick them in the refrigerator overnight, and then in the morning, you can eat them at home or conveniently take them with you. Either way, the preparation at night sets you up for success in the morning. Here is how I do it…
The ingredients are simple and you can substitute different fruits, nuts, and non-dairy milks. That said, though I prefer eating steel cut oats, I have found they do not absorb the liquids overnight. For that reason, I highly recommend not deviating from using rolled oats.
Recipe for Overnight Oats
Ingredients:
½ cup of rolled oats
1 cup of unsweetened non-dairy milk (I prefer almond milk but rice, coconut, cashew, or soy works as well)
½ cup of blueberries (strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are great as well…fresh or frozen)
¼ cup of nuts, unsalted and chopped if desired (I used raw pecans, but walnuts or almonds work well too)
1 banana sliced
1 Tablespoon of chia seeds (or flax seeds)
1 Tablespoon of pure maple syrup
Instructions:
In a clear jar (Mason or Ball brands work great), layer the ingredients starting with the oats and finishing with the non-dairy milk. Give the ingredients a quick shake after the lid has been sealed and then place in the refrigerator. Let them sit overnight (or up to three days). Add some additional non-dairy milk, if needed, before eating.
I enjoy the overnight oats cold, but I see no reason that they can’t be heated (just make sure you place them in a microwave safe container before heating or heat them in a saucepan).
Simple tricks in preparation will make this lifestyle so much easier and increase your likelihood of success.
If you have any tips or suggestions, I would love your feedback. Remember, we are in this together!
Wishing you the best of health…
Stephen
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