Sweet Minty Carrots

Well, we've had a computer crash here at the TIP living-room headquarters, and my photo editing software is out of commission for an indeterminate length of time, possible weeks. Have no fear! I will do my best to continue posting simple and delicious meals in these hard times, even if it means mooching off Scott's access to the University art department computer labs. There's lots to look forward to, including sweet Thai cucumbers, magic shell mango, and a report from the upcoming TIP party and potluck!

For today, I bring you a ridiculously fast recipe I discovered years ago to jazz up plain carrots. The raisins bring out the carrot's natural sweetness and the citrus and mint liven up this fancy-flavored raw food snack. Enjoy!

4-Ingredient Minty Carrots
Total Kitchen Time: 5 minutes. Serves 1.

2 mint leaves, minced
1 large carrot, grated or julienned
juice from 1/3 lemon
small handful raisins

Toss and eat! No sharing!

Parmesan Quinoa

I had a dream that Mel Gibson was pursuing me in a calculating, murderous fashion, and it was my duty as a staunch opponent of racial slurs and misogyny and a valuer of my own life to slay him. The problem was, I was too squeamish to deliver a fatal blow! In waking life, the steak knife in the eye would have probably done the trick. But in my dream he twitched and stirred back to consciousness like the Terminator while I hung back, too horrified to go in for the kill.

Eventually I did cleave him in two with a pair of swords at about the horizon line one would choose were one carving a marble bust of Mel Gibson. He collapsed in two lifeless heaps and I woke up in a sweat.

After that I really needed some comfort food. This quinoa dish is fast, hot, high protein and whole grain, and it tastes like fettuccine Alfredo. Even when I'm not recovering from murdering Mel Gibson, I whip it up about once a week. It's good plain or with any vegetable or herb that suits you. It's best not to skimp on the butter or the cheese, however.

I had a steam basket full of sweet potatoes (Vitamin A, fiber) and Brussels sprouts (DNA-protecting sulfur compounds) plus some fresh cherries (antioxidants) with my Parmesan quinoa for a filling and soothing nine ingredient meal.

6-Ingredient Parmesan Quinoa
Total Kitchen Time: 15 minutes. Serves 1+.

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
3 sun dried tomatoes (optional)
1-2 Tbls. butter
grated Parmesan cheese (cheese, cultures, enzymes)

Rinse quinoa well, drain and set to simmer in a covered saucepan with twice the water.

Meanwhile, slice sun dried tomatoes into small pieces with a knife while banishing memories of stabbing Mel Gibson in the eye.

When grains have absorbed their water and turned translucent, stir remaining ingredients into the pot and serve hot.

The Five Minute Plate

Today's five minute plate is a 9-ingredient spinach salad with avocado, red bell pepper, chopped walnuts, dried cranberries (cranberries, sunflower oil, apple juice concentrate) extra virgin olive oil and fresh squeezed lime juice. So vibrant and refreshing! I don't hold back on the healthy mono-saturated fats.

Lentil Sloppy Joes

Full disclosure: I haven't had a real sloppy joe in probably fifteen years. Does that make me a less credible judge of how amazing and delicious these lentil sloppy joes are? I don't care! If you don't trust my endorsement, that's just more sloppy joe for me. I've made this recipe three times since discovering it a few weeks ago on VegWeb. My version is a bit different from the original, which calls for fewer veggies, less chili powder and canned paste instead of fresh tomatoes. Thankful as I am to the genius who invented this recipe, I consider my version an upgrade.

Lentils are packed with protein and fiber and the fresh cooked tomatoes add a boost of lycopene without the dose of BPA in the canned fruit. Savory garlic and onions ward off cancer and vampires.

I was in the mood for a big, unadorned plate of sloppy joe today, so my meal had only the seven ingredients from the recipe. But the slop is also excellent over brown rice or in a whole wheat bun.

7-Ingredient Lentil Sloppy Joes
Total Kitchen Time: 35 minutes. Serves 2-3.

2/3 cup uncooked lentils
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 a vidalia onion, diced
1/2 a green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 Tbls. butter or extra virgin olive oil.

Free Spice Blend
1 tsp. chili powder
sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

Rinse and drain lentils, then set to simmer in a covered saucepan with twice the water.

Meanwhile, fry onions and bell pepper in a large pan on med-high heat until soft, about seven minutes.

Add tomatoes and fry few more minutes until tomatoes have broken down and become saucy. It helps to cover the pain from now on to keep the juices in.

Add mustard, chili powder and garlic, simmer few more minutes.

Combine cooked lentils with vegetables, stir and serve!

Sunflower Salad

Scott just shipped off to New York for a few days, which means I'll be throwing nightly raucous keggers complete with male strippers, naked limbo contests, and a cocaine bar. It also means I'll be cooking for one until Monday. Despite how sad the phrase "cooking for one" sounds, I kind of like preparing food for myself. Moping and nuking TV dinners is not my style.

Single-serving meals are especially gratifying when the food turns out as tasty as this sunflower salad. The parsley and garlic give it a fresh and zesty kick and the seeds contribute the perfect crunch and a hefty dose of Vitamins E and B1.

I had some quick-broiled zucchini on the side for a light eight-ingredient lunch.

7-Ingredient Sunflower Salad
Prep Time: 10 minutes. Cook Time: 25 minutes. Serves 1+.

2 medium red potatoes
8-10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 Tbls. fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbls. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbls. raw sunflower seeds
1 clove garlic, grated.

Boil potatoes whole until tender, about 25 minutes. Let cool until you can handle them.

Slice potatoes into bite-sized chunks and toss with remaining ingredients, salt and pepper.

Spicy Peanut Celery

TIP snack attack!

In some ways, ten ingredient snacks are harder to come by than entire meals. In my sordid past as a junk food fiend, I'd consume the worst, packaged crap between meals. Even years after developing more conscientious eating habits, I sabotaged my efforts regularly with stacks of Keebler Fudge cookies or half boxes of Cheez-It. I basically borrowed my nutrition mentality from a Mitch Hedberg joke:

That would be cool if you could eat a good food with a bad food and the good food would cover for the bad food when it got to your stomach. Like you could eat a carrot with an onion ring and they would travel down to your stomach, then they would get there, and the carrot would say, "It's cool, he's with me."

Yeah, anyway. I eventually admitted that it doesn't work that way, and my snacks look a lot different now. This spicy peanut and celery snack is one of my favorites. It needs no recipe; just stir some Frank's Red Hot into a few Tbls. of Smucker's Natural peanut butter and spread the love on a stalk of celery. The flavor reminds me of buffalo wings, and also Asian peanut noodles. It's really, really tasty!

My little snack plate of spicy peanut celery and fresh raspberries contained four ingredients.

Note: some brands of hot sauce, like some brands of mustard, are single-ingredient foods according to the way I count. Frank's Red Hot is a brand I like. It contains vinegar, salt and spices, the latter two of which are "free".

Powerhouse Dal

Hellooo, dal face! Years ago this dish was my first foray into Indian cooking, and it's still my favorite Indian recipe. I just love this stuff! It makes me feel like a fancy cook without having to work too hard.

Garlic, ginger and turmeric are like the holy trinity of anti-inflammatory foods, and this recipe has got all three. The curry spices also aid in digestion and help prevent overeating, something worth striving for even if you're not trying to lose weight. Then there are the onions, which fight cancer, and the tomatoes, which deliver extra lycopene after cooking. There's just so much going on in this dish nutritionally, it makes my head spin. In a happy way! Though it's hard to aim a fork at a spinning head.

My whole plate today had only eight ingredients, including red quinoa and cool cucumber slices. I sometimes enjoy this dal with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream, some unsweetened dried coconut, or cilantro leaves. Below is the basic recipe.

6-Ingredient Powerhouse Dal
Total Kitchen Time: 25 minutes. Serves 4.

1 cup uncooked red lentils
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 cup chopped tomato
2 Tbls. butter or unrefined coconut oil.
1-2 tsp. grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, grated or pressed

Free Spice Blend
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
dash cayenne

Rinse and drain lentils and set to simmer in covered saucepan with twice the water.

Meanwhile, fry onions, garlic and ginger in butter until soft, about five minutes.

Add spices and fry few more minutes.

Add tomatoes and fry five more minutes until soft.

When lentils have cooked into a coarse mash, combine with vegetables and spices, stir and serve with salt to taste!