Healthy Detox Foods

I'm detoxing from the holidays by cutting back on sugar and dairy and fat.  While I do plan to eat like this forever, I find looking at it as a "detox" is more appealing to me than planning to never eat junk food again (besides -- I will).

Here are the healthy dishes I already know I like, plus some new ones to try.  I'm aiming specifically at no oil, no sugar, vegan, plant-based, whole food recipes.  So far, all or almost all of the new ones are from Healthy Girl's Kitchen.  I haven't tried a single one yet, but her recipes fit the criteria I'm looking for, and based solely on looking at the recipes, they look good and like they have complex flavors, which you don't always encounter on healthy eating blogs.  She even has a collection of oil-free vegan salad dressings and salad ideas, which are two things I've been actively looking for:

Old Favorites:
Tropical Kale Smoothie  I'm still not sick of having this for breakfast every morning, even in the middle of winter.  Plus, it's pretty easy to get Simran to drink an 8 oz glass of the stuff at some point during the day, which I can't say about many other things with green leafy vegetables in them.
Collard Greens with Almonds This is still probably my favorite leafy green side dish. 
Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup A bowl of this soup plus a piece of fruit can serve as lunch for me, and it doesn't even make me sad.  Very filling and one of my all-time favorite soups.
Cinnamon Squash Chowder I make this with no oil.  I just boil the vegetables and spices in water and puree the whole thing smooth.
Vegetable Barley Soup
Minestrone 
Crispy Breaded Tofu
Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Beefless Stew
100% Whole Grain Wraps (for easy sandwiches)
Slow-Cooker Refried Beans
Artichoke-White Bean spread
Buffalo Hummus
Tofu & Veggie Stir-fry and Brown Rice We've been eating this weekly for about four years now.  Theoretically, it should be able to be made oil free.  I usually use about a tablespoon at present. 
Slow-Cooker Dal Makhani I make this with no ghee or oil and use lite coconut milk in place of the milk these days.  It's still amazing.  It's even good without the coconut milk, but coconut milk lightens up the spice level a bit and does improve the flavor, in my opinion.  I also like to garnish with as much cilantro as I can bear to chop. 
Vegetable Biryani  I still use ghee in this recipe, but I think I could omit it and saute with water.  I'm not sure how much it would affect the flavor.

New Recipes to Try:
Vegetable Sugo
Twice Baked Broccoli-Cheeze Potatoes
Falafel
Ratatouille
Stuffed Cabbage I already know seeing this dish will make Simran cry, but it sounds good to me.
Tofu Cacciatore
Vegan Lasagna
Roasted Red Pepper Salad Dressing This is actually a link to ALL THE SALAD DRESSINGS, but that was the one that really caught my eye.
Raw Spring Rolls with Almond Sauce for summer
Salads!

I would also like to find and/or develop healthy recipes for:

• Some kind of protein patty, ideally bean-based, that could be varied slightly to go with different sauces and sides.  I've tried some croquettes and Indian bean patties, but they usually call for frying or at least the inclusion of oil.  If the falafel burger recipe above turns out well, I'm hoping it might be a good base idea to work from.
• New Healthy Pancake Recipes.  I know lots exist on the internet, but I need to make a list of specific ones to try.  Whole grain, no sugar, ideally involving fruit.  I tried to make some oat pancakes on the fly for Sim one morning awhile back and they turned out atrociously, but she gobbled them up anyway.  That kid loves pancakes.  Here's one I'd like to try. 
• Healthy Quesadillas.  I'm pretty sure the majority of calories Simran consumes on a daily basis come from cheese.  I've gotten to a point with quesadillas and grilled cheese where they are 100% whole grain at least (Mission brand makes some extra thin no-oil corn tortillas that are perfect for this purpose), but I want to find non-cheese fillings she will eat.  Or something non-cheese that will hold other fillings together (other fillings being things like slow-cooker refried beans, salsa, tomato, and avocado).  Just did a quick search, and I'm definitely trying these, minus the oil (oil is highly unnecessary and even undesirable when making quesadillas).

Unsweetened Cashew Soy Yogurt

Nowhere in my region seems to sell unsweetened vegan yogurt, but fortunately it seems to be as simple as making dairy yogurt.  I have now made vegan yogurt two different ways, one with cashew and one without.  The cashewed version is obviously fattier, but it also has a significantly nicer texture.  I got the recipe from Miyoko Schinner's Artisan Vegan Cheese.  I've eaten it plain (would be great in a parfait) and also used it in place of plain dairy yogurt in things like Cranberry Waldorf salad. 

Ingredients
4 cups unsweetened soy milk
2/3 cups cashews, soaked in water for 3 hours then drained and rinsed
1 probiotic capsule (this is the only one I've ever used for this purpose because Fo Reals Life, where I found my non-cashewed vegan yogurt recipe, said it's the best)


Directions

1. Put the cashews and 1 cup of the soy milk in a blender and process until smooth and creamy.
2. Transfer to a heavy medium saucepan and whisk in the remaining soy milk.
3. Warm over low heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture reaches 110 degrees F or until a few drop placed on the wrist feel barely warm. Remove from the heat. 
4. Empty the probiotic capsule into the warm milk and stir until thoroughly combined.
5. Pour into a clean 1 quart glass jar and cover. Let rest in a warm place for 4 - 8 hours, until set and the desired degree of tartness has been achieved.  Alternately, use a yogurt maker, which is severely unnecessary, but mine was a gift.
6. Refrigerate the yogurt; it will thicken more as it cools.
7. Stored in a covered container in the refrigerator, Cashew Yogurt will keep for 1 to 2 weeks.

Minestrone

I developed my minestrone recipe from Ellie Krieger's on the FoodNetwork website.  Mine is vegan and no oil and less effort, but it still tastes really good.  It doesn't freeze particularly well on account of the pasta and beans breaking down, but it's still one of my best soup recipes.  I think some baby spinach cut chiffonade and thrown in at the very end just before serving would also be a good addition.

Ingredients
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 1/2 cups green beans, frozen cut
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 2 -ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
6 cups water
1 15-ounce can low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup whole-grain elbow pasta (I use Ancient Grains' corn and quinoa pasta, also available at Whole Foods and my local grocery store's gluten free section)

Directions

1.  Throw all ingredients except pasta, beans, and green beans in a pot and bring to a boil.  Boil for five minutes, then add remaining ingredients.  Cook according to pasta directions.  Serve hot.

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  I'm going to do my shopping tomorrow -- 2 days before Christmas -- so that ingredients like grapes and the pumpernickel bread will hopefully still be fresh for Christmas.  Here is what I need to use up:  a whole mess of baby spinach, quite a bit of baby arugula, a crown of broccoli, and two whole wheat hamburger buns.  Here is what I'm making between today and the first half of next week.

Loaded Nachos

Christmas Dinner 2015

Veggie Pizza and Green Salad


Tofu & Veggie Stir-fry and Brown Rice
Easy Vegetarian Reubens and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Veggie Burgers and Broccoli Florets with Homemade Ranch Dip

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  I ended up making easy stuff like soup and sandwiches on more than one occasion last week (plus loaded nachos), so I have a fair amount of carry over.  This will be my second-to-last grocery store trip before Christmas.  The freezer is mostly empty, but I'm still working on clearing out my pantry.

Avocado Grilled Enchiladas with Red Chile Pesto and Black Beans 
I cooked the black beans two days ago to make the seven layer tortilla pie, so the ingredients are ready to go.

Vegetarian Sweet & Sour Pork Bites with Brown Rice and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
I need to buy some more green onions, but otherwise this dish will be quick and easy.  The bell peppers are already chopped.

Tofu & Veggie Stir-fry and Brown Rice 

Rigatoni alla Anthony
I'm going to use a mixture of whole-wheat penne and rotini simply because I have three open boxes of those particular noodles and I want them out of my pantry.  I think I already have canned artichokes too.  I'll probably use up any leftover spinach by throwing it into Tropical Kale Smoothies for breakfast.

Easy Healthy Veggie Pizza and Green Salad
I haven't made this "pizza" in ages.  I had actually forgotten about it until I was browsing my old recipes today.  I'm not sure if Sim will still eat it -- she has gotten pickier -- but I tend to eat mostly a huge green salad with homemade ranch dressing whenever I make pizza anyway, so I think this will be a reasonable amount of food to fill up on.

Artichoke-Bean Wraps  and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
This sandwich was originally a pita pocket, but I'm going to have those Food 4 Life sprouted grain tortillas for the Easy Healthy Veggie Pizza anyway, so I'm making wraps.  Those tortillas go bad FAST and need to be consumed within about a week.  It seems like a good way to use up some of that baby arugula from the pizzas too.  I don't care that I'm planning to make vegan broccoli soup twice this week.  It's leafy green, oil-free, high in fiber and protein, and really good.  None of my other soup recipes taste nearly as good, especially the ones that are equivalently healthy.  I can't remember the last time I didn't finish off all the leftover broccoli soup for lunch.

Christmas Dinner 2015

I'm proud of myself for trying the UnTurkey recipe at Thanksgiving, but it was severely not worth the work.  I've yet to find a vegetarian turkey recipe I would choose to eat or make again.  I'm going the easy route this Christmas and buying Gardein vegetarian turk'y cutlets from the freezer section.  They're really good (IMO), they only require basic reheating, and they'll go nicely with the usual side dishes I like eating.  Gardein makes a turk'y roast too, but I already know I like the cutlets and I suspect they're better.

I've decided to make a special-but-easy-and-healthy Christmas breakfast.  My French Toast Sticks are a minor variation of Banana French Toast from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.  I plan to make the batter and slice the bread in advance so I can throw it together quickly Christmas morning and have it baking while Sim opens presents.

Pumpernickel Bread & Crudites with Homemade Ranch Dip

Gardein Vegetarian Turk'y Cutlets

Whipped Sweet Potatoes
I just peel, chop, and boil for about 10 minutes a smallish (3 lb?) bag of sweet potatoes; then whip it with my standing mixer.  No butter, syrup, salt, or anything else.  It's pretty good and we end up eating the leftovers.  Since it's so much healthier than anything comparably tasty I could do with white potatoes, it seems worth the sacrifice of not eating multiple pounds of garlicky cream cheese mashed potatoes (and gaining a couple of pounds myself in the process).

Green Bean Casserole 

Cranberry Waldorf Salad   

Candied Pears 

Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
I've been thinking about spice cake since the Thanksgiving vegan pumpkin cheese cake that was so mediocre we ended up throwing most of it in the trash.  This sounds like a more reliable dessert recipe, based on the reviews.
 

French Toast Sticks

This recipe is a minor variation on the Banana French Toast recipe from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.

Ingredients
1/2 cup oat, almond, or nonfat soy milk (I use unsweetened -- the banana and raisin make up for it)
1 ripe banana, cut up
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch ground nutmeg
5 slices Ezekiel 4:9 Cinnamon Raisin Sprouted Whole Grain Bread (found in the freezer section of most grocery stores, typically with the healthy or gluten-free foods)

Directions

1.  Slice the bread into sticks, about three per slice.

2.  Blend first four ingredients in blender until smooth, then pour into a shallow bowl.

3. Dip both sides of bread in mixture.

4.  Cook in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F, turning once, until both sides are golden brown (I'll have to add an approximate time after I make these again -- I just remember it being simple and surprisingly good).  Serve alone or with maple syrup or fruit.

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  I currently have the following ingredients to use up:  several tiny Yukon gold potatoes and a ripe avocado.  Here is what I'm making:

Vegetable Biryani and Dal Makhani
I planned this one for last week but haven't made it yet.  The biryani will use up about half the remaining potatoes.

Chik'n Patty Sandwiches and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
I bought a box of Morningstar chik'n patties last week, and I like the ease of making them into McChicken-style sandwiches on whole wheat buns.  
 

Pav Bhaji
This will use up the remaining potatoes (probably need to buy more) as well as the whole wheat buns I need to buy for the sandwiches.

Vegetarian Sweet & Sour Pork with Brown Rice and Leftover Soup
I have some Gardein sweet & sour porkless bites in the freezer that need to go.  I'm going to cook them with pineapple chunks, green and red bell pepper, and green onions.  They came with a sauce, so this is an easy one.

Avocado Grilled Enchiladas with Red Chile Pesto and Black Beans
This will use up my ripe avocado, as well as some vegan chik'n seitan I made and stashed in the freezer a few weeks ago.  

Seven Layer Tortilla Pie
The only thing hard about this dish is that I tend to use dried beans and cook them in the slow cooker.  I'm going to make more black beans than necessary to go with the grilled enchiladas and use the leftovers in this dish rather than buying canned.

I'm in the market for a salad recipe -- something heavy on the leafy greens -- that is both healthy and palatable enough I can eat/serve it on an almost daily basis as necessary.  I'm not a huge leafy green fan, so I usually consume such things by way of my daily Tropical Kale Smoothie, a romaine salad or broccoli florets with homemade ranch dip, and vegan cream of broccoli soup.  I generally find soups more appealing than salads because they keep for a few days in the fridge or longer in the freezer, while salads often require me to chop and prepare things immediately before I eat them.  Soups also tend to taste less like vinegar.  If someone who eats a lot of fresh salads (or dark leafy greens by other means) happens to see this, please let me know how you do it.