curry

When you’re trying to eat healthy, one of the smartest things you can do is meal plan.  Part of meal planning includes choosing dishes that can use the same ingredients so you don’t end up wasting food or having just a little bit of one thing left over.

These four recipes do just that: they take a basic ingredient and lay out three easy weeknight meal recipes—plus a lunch—based off that ingredient.  This means fewer items to buy at the grocery store (which means a quicker trip) and also less food wasted.

Winter is a time of increased introspection. Now that the holiday season is over, it’s a great time to explore what your body needs and develop new self-care practices that will set the tone for the rest of the year. Meatless Monday is a movement that will support you in creating and maintaining healthy eating routines.

Although the peak winter months have passed, the wafting scent of warm soup from the slow cooker never goes out of style. The slow-cooking “Crock-Pot” (as it is often called for the original brand name) was invented in 1940, gained popularity in the 1970s, and has especially gained favoritism in the past two decades.

While I was living in San Diego, I fell in love with delicious, savory Thai curry. A vegetarian/vegan Thai restaurant there, Plumeria, had me sold (literally) on its red curry. Now, this is a big deal coming from someone who was certain that she despised any and all things coconut. 

As a big fan of pineapple and chili, this is my absolute favorite curry recipe. But even if you are not a fan like I am, simply leave out the chili and pineapple to enjoy the rich veggies and flavorful curry sauce. The coconut milk blends deliciously with the curry for a creamy and complex-tasting dish that is easy to make. Enjoy!

Pineapple Curry (Vegan)

*Serves two.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

1 medium Onion, chopped

½ cup of Pineapple, cut into small chunks

I was sitting under a handmade woven thatched roof in Northern Thailand, ordering fresh vegetarian dinner, when I first received a pot of lemongrass tea. To say that it was epic would be an understatement. True, the scenery was unparalleled, with the mountains surrounding Sipsongpanna (the thousand rice paddies) and the Pai river spanning my vision, the delicious smell of curries and other spices wafting. It was my first introduction to the detoxifying and nourishing magic of lemongrass, something I have never forgotten.

A world food staple, lentils or dal are great for the health and the palate too!

Condiments are as much a part of our fare as the food itself. Condiments include relishes, sauces like ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise or spicy salsas from Mexico, curries from India and Sriracha, the newest of the condiments created in the United States. They accompany served dishes, are usually found on the table with salt and pepper and can be added ingredients in recipes. They are easily made in the kitchen, adding to the variety.

Mango Curry

Ingredients

Makes 3 servings

3 medium green mangoes

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 onion, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, finely diced

1 inch ginger root, crushed

½ teaspoon garam masala

Directions