THIS is a great tasting healthy sandwich!

This has to be one of our all time favorites for a nutritious lunch meal. Served alongside with sliced radishes, carrots, celery or whatever you have makes a beautiful and delicious presentation for anyone.

1 loaf spelt, sourdough or any good hearty bread

½ cup chipotle mayo
(mix ½ cup mayo. 2 T chipotle adobe canned, 2 T cilantro chopped, 1 garlic clove , one green onion sliced and 1 t lime juice whirl in a food processor till smooth)

1 large avocado sliced (one of my favorite wonder foods)

1 small red onion sliced thin ( all onions are great nutrition)

Broccoli sprouts (a few for each sandwich) This is a fantastic disease fighter!!

1 red bell pepper cut into very thin slices (red pepper has more nutrition than green)

1 sliced thin ripe tomato (full of lycopene)

Lettuce leaves for each sandwich (romaine is the most nutritious)

Optional: 3-4 sliced cooked shrimp or smoked salmon thinly sliced

Lightly toast bread slices, spread chipotle mayo on one side and then layer the rest of ingredients. Top with another slice of bread with additional (if desired) chipotle mayo. Serve immediately and enjoy a healthy sandwich!

-To Your Good Health, Lee Newlin

It is so exciting when the first asparagus, green peas and sugar snaps of the season start showing up in the markets. After a long cold winter we are all ready for something that is truly healthy and definitely Spring!

Ingredients

1 ½ cups Israeli couscous or semi-pearled farro, bulgar or whole wheat or spelt berries, pearled barley or orzo Cook to package directions slightly al dente
1 bunch of asparagus (around 12 ounces) trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
1 cup sugar snap peas
1 cup fresh or frozen garden green peas
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup sliced green onions
6 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or 2 tablespoons dried
1 8-ounce package feta cheese, crumbled
½ cup lightly toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives
fresh minced parsley
fresh lettuces cleaned and torn into bite sized pieces

Dressing

1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tablespoons Champagne or sherry wine vinegar

Directions

Cook cous cous in large saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, about 10 minutes. Scoop out pasta and transfer to large bowl. Save hot water.
In the same pasta pot return water to a rolling boil. Briefly cook asparagus, peas and sugar snaps in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain. Add to cous cous immediately with tomatoes, onion, and dill. Whisk oil and vinegar in small bowl. Season dressing with fresh black pepper. Add dressing, pine nuts, parsley, olives and feta to salad; toss to coat and serve over spring lettuces. You could add shrimp or chicken if you like. Thinly sliced fennel is marvelous in this salad

Popular Comfort Food Gone Healthy

6 servings

We’ve all had the traditional shepherd’s pie made with ground hamburger meat and white potatoes but using delicious vegetables and legumes instead gives it great flavor as well as a healthy make over. The curried lentil filling is fantastic layered with a creamy potato filling that sits on a crouton crust which is baked on top of sweet zucchini. I adapted this creation from Dr. Andrew Weil’s recipe and added a few new ingredients to enhance the flavor as well as add more nutrition.

Crust

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 large white potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 cups vegetable broth ( I use Imagine Organic No chicken broth-has great flavor!)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon seafood seasoning like Old Bay

Filling

1 bay leaf
1 medium piece of Kombu (a sea vegetable that helps with digestion as well as adding a savory flavor)
1 cup french lentils cleaned
2 teaspoons Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning
1 cup sliced yellow onions (one of the most nutritious in onion family)
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup yellow or red bell pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup nutritional yeast (full of those hard to get B vitamins-find it in health food stores)
1 teaspoon curry or turmeric powder (fantastic disease fighter)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot to thicken
1 zucchini sliced in rounds (about 2 cups)
1 cup bread crumbs ( I use gluten free bread ground up in food processor)
1/2 cup thinly sliced sauteed shallots or green onions to top
And if you can’t help yourself add just a bit of cheese to the top but go easy

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Steam the cubed sweet and white potatoes until fork tender around 30 minutes but keep checking for doneness.
3. Strain the potatoes. Pour in broth into the pot and cream the potatoes with a hand mixer or large fork.
4. Add the olive oil, Italian seasoning and seafood seasoning then cream together until seasonings are completely blended into the potatoes.
5. Meanwhile, cook the lentils: Bring 3 cups of the water to a boil. Add the bay leaf, lentils, seasoning and kombu and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from heat when completely cooked and let cool briefly. Drain off any liquid as well as kombu and bay leaf.
6. Sauté the onions, garlic, mushrooms, broccoli and bell peppers in the olive oil in a large saucepan until the onions are transparent and limp, about 4 minutes.
7. Add the creole seasoning, nutritional yeast, salt and curry or turmeric powder and stir until everything is blended in. Add to the cooked lentils.
8. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup water and stir it into the lentil and vegetable mixture. Continue to cook for 3 more minutes, until the sauce thickens adding a bit of water if too thick. Remove from heat.
9. Line the bottom of a casserole dish with the zucchini rounds. Sprinkle 1/2 of the bread crumbs.
10. Spoon out 1/2 of the mashed potatoes and spread across the zucchini rounds.
11. Spoon out the curried lentils and spread on top of the potatoes.
12. Spoon the remainder of the mashed potatoes and smooth them out on top. Sprinkle the rest of the bread crumbs and the sauteed shallots or green onion on top and “cheese for the cheaters” on top of the zucchini.
13. Bake for 50 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Ever since I can remember I’ve made this dressing at Thanksgiving for my family and friends and there are never any leftovers. If I do make more it gets confiscated into take away containers!

The secret to great dressing is just the correct amount of moisture, homemade stock that is full of flavor and not to handle the dressing too much.

Ingredients

1 large loaf of sourdough, whole wheat or any good nutritious bread (whole with crust)
6 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 medium onions diced
4 stalks celery chopped (this adds moisture and great flavor)
1 cup minced fresh parsley (dried doesn’t work in this recipe)
1/2 cup minced fresh sage or 2 teaspoons dried
salt and pepper to your tasting
3 cups homemade vegetable or turkey stock warmed and ready to pour over dressing
1 cup chopped pecans (do NOT roast)
1 cup dried cherries or cranberries

Directions

The night before: Cut the loaf of bread into 1 inch cubes. Leave the cubes one layer thick on a cookie sheet on the counter overnight uncovered for it to become stale.

Pre heat oven to 350º
In a sauté pan melt butter or olive oil then add onion and celery and sauté until translucent and tender around 3-4 minutes. Add parsley and sage cooking a minute longer.
In a large bowl with bread cubes in it, pour sauté mixture, pecans and cranberries/cherries and toss gently.
Gently pour in warmed stock and let the cubes soak up liquid.
After a few minutes gently toss again but only to combine. The bread should be as moist as a sponge.

Pour dressing in a large, buttered shallow dish evenly and bake for 30 minutes or until golden on top. Serve with your own homemade gravy.

Sweet Pepper Penne Pot

This is a quick and healthy dish to put together on a week night after a crazy busy day. By the time the pasta is ready you will be as well with the chopped veggies. Throw in some rotisserie shredded chicken breast and your family will consider you the queen of the kitchen! And you will be getting the best of the best healthy ingredients into their bodies.

INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package uncooked quinoa penne pasta or regular bow tie pasta (you choose- I go with quinoa for more nutrition)
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper (way more nutrition than green), chopped into medium dice
OR for an over the top dish try roasting the peppers first-this takes a bit of time- then just add to the pasta without sautéing.
1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped into medium dice
1 cup chopped tender kale into bite sized pieces (a fantastic power food)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 T. fresh basil OR ½ cup arugula chopped
1 T minced fresh parsley (full of vitamin C)
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (not too much- you just want a bright flavor)
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
½ cup Kalamata black olives pitted and chopped
OPTIONAL:
1 cup thawed Edamame shelled beans.

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook al dente ( a few minutes less than what the box calls for cooking time; drain.
While pasta is cooking begin to heat a sauté pan over medium heat. Stir in olive oil, red pepper, yellow pepper, kale and garlic all at once. Sauté until vegetables are tender around 5 minutes-do not brown. Off heat season veggies with basil, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper
In a large bowl, toss cooked pasta with skillet mixture. Sprinkle with feta cheese and olives to serve as well as edamame if you are using.

-To your good health, Lee Newlin
www.leenewlin.com