Hello there Fabulously Fertile FertileHearters!
I thought it would be fun for us to re-visit the Virtual Potluck we started a few years ago.
I think we should turn it into an annual tradition. Here is what I propose:
Let’s share a list of our favorite eateries that serve clean, pesticide free food. With all the evidence of the health and fertility damaging effects of pesticide-laden food the number of restaurants serving reliably clean food is growing but we’re far from where we could be.
Sadly even juice bars and restaurants promoting their “healthy, natural menu” are often using ingredients that are not nearly as healthy as we are led to believe.
If you have a favorite spot in your town or neighborhood why not give them a shout out, post a link and maybe share a recipe, I bet many of the proprietors would happy to share some.
A few years ago I approached Pam Brown the former owner chef of the fabulous Garden Café on the Green here in Woodstock and she graciously handed me a booklet with a long list of mouthwatering recipes. The restaurant is now better than ever under the ownership and loving guidance of Lea Fridrich.
I chose the Garden Cafe’s Tempeh Salad with Walnut Dressing since just about every single one of the ingredients in it is a perfect fertility food.
Let me know what you think about the Tempeh Salad and I can’t wait for my virtual visit to your kitchen and a taste of your special flavorfully fertile stork tempting dish. And would you post a picture of your creation?
So let’s get out our spatulas, hum a tune that makes our bodies move, ovaries come alive and mouths water!
Tempeh Salad with Walnut Dressing
This wonderful Pam Brown recipe is chock-full of fertility friendly ingredients. Tempeh, a fermented soy product is a great source of protein, it helps boost estrogen and as such is perfect for anyone with high FSH issues or any other estrogen deficiency related challenge. Walnuts of course are great sources of Omega 3 essential fatty acids, which are one of the key fertility boosting and hormone balancing nutrients for both women and men. Garlic is a terrific antifungal food, olive oil adds healthy fat, another important fertility food to this delicious dish. And it’s gluten free for those of you who are letting go of gluten. So eat up and know that you’re moving closer to the baby with each bite.
Ingredients for the Tempeh marinade
– 2 eight ounce packages of Tempeh
– ¼ cup of Tamari soy sauce (gluten free)
– ¼ cup of Olive Oil
– 2 tsp Agave, Honey, or Sweetener of your choice
Preparing the Tempeh
Preheat oven to 350 °F.
In a medium bowl whisk the above ingredients together. Add the tempeh cubes and toss well to coat. Spray or simply lightly coat a small baking pan or dish with the oil and spread the tempeh in an even layer. Roast about 20 minutes or until the tempeh is brown and crispy, stirring frequently.
Ingredients for the walnut dressing
– ½ cup of Walnuts
– 2 cloves Garlic
– ½ cup Olive Oil
– Juice of one Lemon
– Salt and Pepper to taste
The original recipe called for 2 cups of basil leaves but basil leaves in herbal literature are linked to fertility difficulties so I made the walnut dressing without it and it was delicious. A Variation would be to use 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley and/or Cilantro (adjust the amount to taste).
Ingredients for the salad
– 1/8 cup red onion, sliced as thinly as possible (Just a few onion slices really, for a little zing, unless of course you love onions, then pile them on))
– 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
– 2 cups of chopped lettuce
Preparing the Walnut Dressing
In a food processor or Vitamix pulse the walnuts until coarsely ground. Add the garlic and olive oil and pulse again. Scrape down the sides of the food processor and add the lemon juice, slat and pepper. Pulse again to mix.
Mix the red onion, cherry tomatoes and tempeh together. Top off with the walnut dressing and stir well. I served it over quinoa. Pam also suggests stuffing it into a pita pocket, or simply eating it as a salad by itself
Thank you Julia for holding the space for me in the last group session. I thought I would check-in here and share a recipe of a smoothie that I intend to make everyday. I make it roughly 3-4 times a week depending on how the day is. I end up making them on weekdays more regularly than on the weekends. My ideal day will include this at breakfast.
Let’s call it the “Green Powerhouse Smoothie”. It has more than one’s daily requirements of nuts/seeds and half pound of greens and is delicious. Here are the ingredients
Half pound of any greens (rotate these – lettuce blend/power greens/50-50 mix/spring mix – we buy greens as organic)
Quarter of a beet (chopped roughly so they don’t get stuck in vitamix; i don’t bother peeling any veggies, even if not organic)
1-2 carrots chopped into 1 inch thick slices
2 celery sticks roughly chopped (prefer organic, but not necessary)
Half of a long Cucumber chopped into slices
10-20 seedless grapes
10-12 blueberries
1 sliver of ginger (this elevates the taste of the smoothie to a new level)
Quarter lemon squeezed
1 tbsp of Chia seeds soaked for couple minutes
1 tbsp of each of walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkins seeds, pecan halves, almonds (soaked overnight), pine nuts.
1 tbsp of ground flaxseed (I grind a batch at home and store it in freezer)
Sometimes I replace grapes with a ripe Bosc pear or Fuji apple (with skin), depending on what i have available.
Take all this, and put some warm water and blend together. I put it in vitamix and blend it on variable and high settings for about 2 -3 mins. This quantity could give you about 50 oz of smoothie. I worked on increasing my appetite for this over time. It is worth it. I sometimes vary the quantities if I want to make less than this. If I have this for breakfast it keeps me quite full until lunch and at times I go on without lunch through the day. My reward for finishing this smoothie is one or two Medjool dates that I eat after drinking the smoothie.
Because I take a medication for hypothyroidism (25mcg daily), I prefer to soak all greens in hot water for a few mins and now I have gotten into the habit of putting all veggies and fruit into hot water and then using only part of the water for smoothie and rest of it I use for making lentil soup or anything else for that day.
I am grateful for the Fertile Heart practice to help me do my own experimentation and find something that I like consistently and find energizing/nourishing.
Love and healing to all.
xxxx
Oh this is a lovely blog post! I would completely recommend “Bhuti Cafe” in the UK (in Richmond/Greater London): https://bhuti.co/cafe/ an organic vegan cafe which is part of the loveliest yoga centre in London :-) they have amazing lunches (‘bhuti bowls’ full of goodness and fertility friendly ingredients – no gluten, no dairy, no processed sugars in anything), as well as lovely vegan sweets to be enjoyed in moderation (including raw cheese cakes and lovely sweet potato brownies). It’s a true gem of a place. Thanks for all these amazing recipes.
One of my favourite recipes is turmeric dhal with tomatoes, courgette and cauliflower (served with brown basmati rice):
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
5cm of fresh ginger, sliced
fry in olive oil until onions are translucent
add spices (curry leaves, 1 tsp of turmeric, half a cinnamon stick, a few whole black pepper corns, 2 whole cloves and black mustard seeds) and fry until fragrant
add red lentils (around 150grammes) and vegetable stock to cover, then add:
1 tomato, chopped
1 courgette, chopped
5 florets of cauliflower, cut into small florets
Cook until soft and serve with brown basmati rice (organic if possible)
Hope you like this one!
Fantastic to have all these recipe ideas that have been posted. I will def try some of these out. Although it’s unlikely that any of you are passing this way here in the UK, here is my fave local healthy eaterie: http://thrivecafeandwellbeing.co.uk/.
We have lots of Fertilehearters in the UK. Thank you for sharing H.!
Here is a great recipe when you have a sweet craving but want to stay balanced. wheat free, gluten free, low in sugar full of minerals and healthy oils.
ground almonds 1 to 1.5 cup
ground pumpkin seeds 2 tbsps
1/4 cup of maple syrup
3 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla,
1-2 eggs
dash salt
cinnamon
Mix wet ingredients together and thoroughly combine. mix dry ingredients together and combine. mix both together and form into balls.
bake for 15 minutes.
yum.
Oh I wish I lived near an organic restaurant, but I don’t.
A recipe I love to make is this one http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3228/chilli-con-carne
I usually substitute the meat for finely chopped mushrooms. I also double the quantities of beans and pepper. My husband, who is a meat lover, actually prefers the veggie version! Looking forward to trying some of the other recipes!
Hello Lovely Ladies,
Sorry i am late to the virtual picnic! I have been trying to abstain from sweets and i found this healthy recipe helped satisfy my sweet tooth. So since it is a picnic….here is a healthy dessert.
Good For You Chocolate Chip Oatmeal ‘Cookies’
makes 20-24 cookies
Ingredients
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup raw honey (this makes them very lightly sweetened–add more honey if you want more of a sweet ‘cookie’)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup ground flax
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
preheat oven to 350°
In an electric mixer, combine coconut oil, peanut butter, and honey. Add in eggs and vanilla and beat on high speed for a few minutes.
In a separate bowl combine, oats, coconut, flax, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix.
Slowly add in dry mixture to peanut butter mixture, mixing slowly. Stir in chocolate chips and almonds.
Drop by the spoonful onto parchment, and then smash down with a spoon
(these don’t spread while baking)
Bake for 8 minutes.
Now as tempted as you will to eat these straight out of the oven……don’t do it! They LOOK like a cookie. They SMELL like a cookie. But they aren’t a cookie, and need to cool first, I promise.
ENJOY!
xoxox Kristen
There is a new restaurant in Lansing, MI called the Fork in the Road. The menu is designed around local, farm-fresh ingredients and it’s really good! Many of our local farmers may not be ‘certified-organic’ but they are focused on growing healthy, pesticide-free foods. Plus, locally-grown supports the local economy and means a huge savings in fossil fuels from shipping.
http://forkintheroaddiner.com/
I love Lara bars, and I’ve been experimenting with making fruit-nut balls. This is one of my favorites:
Chocolate Date-Nut Balls
1 1/3 cup dates
1 cup raw cashews or almonds (or 1/2 cup of each)
1 T cocoa
2 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
Process dates in food processor until they are finely chopped and place in a bowl. Finely chop the nuts in the food processor and add them to the bowl with the dates. Add cocoa, vanilla, and cinnamon and mix well with your hands. Form mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls. Makes about 10 balls.
I am not much of a cook (I’m working on it!) so I will share something quite simple that really works for me:
Banana Date Shake
6-8 oz Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk
1-2 dates, pitted and cut into small pieces (organic if possible)
1/2 cup organic Chia seeds
1/2 cup organic blueberries
1 ripe organic banana (I like it quite ripe, you can decide how you want it)
1/2 cup Organic shredded coconut
——
Take all ingredients and put into a blender. Pour into a cup and drink with an extra large straw so you can really enjoy the chunks of dates! I love this for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. If you want it thicker, put a little less milk.
Clean up is easy for me because I use a small, one serving blender so it’s not a big ordeal.
Well not sure if this is considered healthy,but here’s what I do:
I get avocado, mash it along with few streaks of garlic and a pinch of salt. I make bread (Indian bread known as roti/chapathi) made of whole wheat and usually eat the about mix with 2 rotis. I simply love this. Its simple and I feel so good and healthy eating this.
Other things that I do are making bean salad using
1 cup black bean
1 cup red beans
1/2 onion
1 tomato
1/2 corn
In vinegar, I add mashed garlic and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add little salt and and all above and leave it for 1hr or so and eat it directly or with again roti.
I have so many favorite recipes I don’t know which one to choose! The easiest one is a refreshing quinoa salad:
1 cup of quinoa cooked in 2 cups of water
2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 cucumbers, cut into matchsticks
1/2 cup freshly juiced lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
What a wonderfully delish, inspiring, and uplifting blog Julia! Thank-you for your tireless Fertile nurturance ;)
As for a shout-out to a wholesome Fertile Eatery, my Mom and I recently discovered Kate’s Vegan Cafe and Juice Bar while exploring Mystic, CT Annual Art Festival last weekend. It was a blessedly beautiful day!
We enjoyed our lunches very much here: http://www.katescafe.net
I am excited to try two posted recipes this weekend! Michelle your zucchini recipe sounds excellent and one I can get my fiance on board with ;) Thank-you for sharing!
I have a dream to open a Raw Juice Bar as part of a yoga studio or within a block of a studio!
I searched my community and none exists, so disappointing!
I don’t eat out very much, but I do love to cook! I also have a small garden and fruit and citrus trees, so I experiment a lot lately. Some turn out very yummy, and some so so.
My newest favorite with the bountiful zucchini this year is very tasty.
1 extra large zucchini cut in half lengthwise core out center ( mostly to remove the seeds) brush with olive oil and season to taste.
I first bake @ 375° zucchini skin side up, and then flip to stuff, and finish cooking 20 minutes or til tender. ( filling is already cooked )
Filling;
1 large onion chopped fine
3 stalks celery chopped fine
3 large carrots chopped fine
1 bag of organic baby spinach ( I cook first then chop it blends better in the filling) keep juices from spinach and add to filling helps keep it moist
1 12 – 16 oz can of organic roasted diced tomatoes
1 1.25 lb of lean ground turkey
I saute onions, celery, carrots in olive oil when soft add turkey, when turkey fully cooked add tomatoes stir, then add chopped spinach mix well, then stuff zucchini and bake covered until tender ( covered so won’t dry out)
Depending on my mood I will add trio of Italian seasoning into mix, and finish with freshly chopped parsley. I’ve even mixed in a small amount of grain like rice ( pre cooked)
The only all-organic restaurant I know in DC is Nora (http://www.noras.com/). They claim to be America’s first certified organic restaurant. The food is just incredible, and you can find on their website the list of farmers they work with. The restaurant has a very refined, grown-up feel to it.
I don’t have any recipes from them, but I can share one of my own. Julia recommends to have healthy snacks with us all the time. So I came up with a recipe to roast raw organic cashew nuts:
Ingredients:
– raw organic cashews
– red Cayenne pepper
– sea salt
– olive oil (depending on how much cashews you are preparing)
Preparation:
– preheat the oven at 350
– put the cashews in an oven pan, evenly distributed
– sprinkle a little bit of olive oil over the cashews
– sprinkle salt and red Cayenne pepper over the cashews
– mix everything together until all the cashews have the same red color
– put in oven for 15-18 minutes until the cashews have a nice golden color
I usually mix them with raw organic almonds to soften the taste of the pepper. It is delicious!
This is one of my favorite Denver, local, organic eateries! I don’t have a recipe from this great place but it is every food all of us can make with fresh ingredients, herbs for taste and is inspired by love.
SAME Café’s mission of serving good food for the greater good says it all. Committed to presenting culinary delights to all who walk through the door, it is all about food and community, and not so much about price.
SAME is the 1st nonprofit restaurant in Denver. Its patrons set the price for their mostly local, organic cuisine. If you can give more, please do. If you have a little less, pay what you can. If your pockets are empty, exchange an hour of volunteer work at SAME for one of the café’s mouth-watering meals.
SAME Cafe purchases 90% of ingredients from local, organic farmers. SAME supports the local economy and local food just tastes better! Come in and check the map of CO to locate where our food comes from. Some favorite farms include The Growhaus, Granata Farms, Grant Family Farms, Harvest Mountain Farms, Haystack Mountain, GCK Farms, Monroe Farms, Ela Farms, Ranch Direct Foods, and so many more!
I have to second that I am not familiar with tempeh. I am not sure if the health food store near me would have this item. I will have to try this receipe. I recently made an ethopian casserole type dish with cabbage, potatos,carrots, onions, turmeric, cumin, and salt/pepper was very good! I will say that being in a rural setting trying to find organic or natural food is hard. I would have to travel an hour and half just to get to a hold food store. I do enjoy gardening and getting my produce, which helps. Thanks for the receipe!
I am a tempeh rookie! This sounds like a great recipe though to dive into tasting it. The dressing looks really delicious. Thanks for sharing!