Super Green Smoothie

A Smoothie that is good for clearing out the sinuses and ridding the body of mucus build up!

You will need:


1 green apple
1 kiwi
1 green pear
2 bananas (optional)
1/2 cup soursop
1 handful watercress greens
1 lettuce leaf
1 cup organic spinach
1.2 cup water or coconut water
1/2 thumb ginger

Blend altogether in your blender or NutriBullet!

Boost your body's ability to fight off infection with green smoothies everyday!

Banana Muffins

Instead of eating store-bought bread which most of the time contains added chemicals to give it shelf-life, and unhealthy wheat flour, you can try Ila's Banana Muffins!
Easy to make and extremely delicious, these breakfast muffins won't disappoint the family!

You will need:

3 very ripe large bananas (4-5 if they are small)
2 cups spelt flour (or other)
¼ cup coconut oil
1/3 cup agave nectar syrup or 1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
1 flax egg (1 tbsp flax meal + 3 tbsp warm water)
A few walnuts crushed (optional)
Cupcake paper shells or holders (optional)
2 muffin tins



Method:

Prepare muffin tins with paper or oil the tins well and set aside.

Make the flax egg and set aside.

Sift flour as much as you can, then dump the grain left in the sieve into the bowl. Add baking soda, sugar, salt and mix.

Mash banana well til it becomes a thick cream, add essence.

Into flour pour agave (if using instead of coconut sugar), flax egg, oil, crushed walnuts and banana mixture.

Add 3 tbs of cocoa powder if you wish to make chocolate muffins.

Mix well til a sticky, thick dough forms.

Preheat oven to 120 degrees Celsius or the low setting

Use a spoon and fill each space well with dough.

Place on top shelf of oven and let bake for exactly 12 minutes. Test with a knife to see if it comes out clean. Give no more than 15 minutes total, but the lower the flame the longer they may take. Any longer and they will burn especially without the paper shells. Should be golden brown on top.

Remove from oven and let cool a bit, then remove from tins and allow to cool completely. Enjoy warm, a thick, chewy muffin with just the right amount of sweetness!

Store in an airtight container. They taste even better on the second day! You will be sure to consume within two days but they can last for three.

 The perfect breakfast muffin, chewy, moist and semi-sweet!

Happy baking!
Ila

Chick Pea and Veggie Stir-Fry

This stir fry can go with anything whether it be brown, wild or black rice, quinoa, millet or oven baked potatoes. I love putting some cashew cheese in this recipe as well, it adds a real pop of flavour!

You will need

! cup chick peas (precooked)
2 tomatoes
¼ eggplant
2 florets of cauliflower
3 florets of broccoli
1 or 2 leaves kale
¼ sweet pepper
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
2 pimento peppers
1 leaf shadon beni
4 chive leaves

Method:

Finely chop onion, garlic, pimento, chives and shadon beni.

Place in the frying or stir fry pan and set aside.

Chop kale, sweet pepper and cube tomatoes. Set aside them aside in a bowl.

Slice the eggplant in thin circles and then cut it into tiny squares doing it like a tictactoe board, about five lines going across and five lines going down. Add this to the frying pan.

Finely chop the cauliflower and broccoli as well.

Put some oil in the fry pan and heat up the fresh seasonings and the eggplant for about two minutes making sure they have cooked. Doing this with the eggplant gives it a great flavour.

Add the cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes and precooked channa to the pan and stir-fry for two minutes. Sprinkle the food with Braggs liquid aminos, ground turmeric, cumin, garlic, mustard, Italian seasoning. Then add the sweet pepper and kale and mix it all in. Turn off.

Serve with your side dish or eat as is!

Have a great dinner or lunch with this one!

Ila

Liz's Red Lentil Soup or Stew

Sista Liz Johnson has once again provided another wholesome and delicious recipe for InI to try!

Her red lentil soup was made for Ethiopian New Year on September 11th and she added to it a variety of dishes to make an Ethiopian meal for the family.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil (or coconut oil)
1 medium yellow or white onion (diced)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 potato (chopped into bite size pieces)
2 medium carrots (chopped)
3 oz. tomato paste
1 c red lentil (rinsed and sorted)
6 c water or vegetable broth (I use water and organic better than bouillon vegetable base)
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you prefer...I keep it light so my youth will eat it :-)
1/2 tsp salt

Cooking Instructions:

Cook garlic and onion in olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. 

Add tomato paste and cook for 3-4 more minutes (the paste will start to caramelize and get a deep red color).

Add potatoes, carrots, lentils, spices (except salt) and water or broth.

 

 Bring to a boil; cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes.

 After the lentils are well cooked, stir in the salt. 

 I also sometimes add greens at this point and let them wilt for a few minutes before serving. I top soup bowls with hemp seeds too.

Thank you Liz for this delicious recipe!

Remember to send you Ital recipes to share with the RasTafari Community at italpeople@gmail.com!

Blessed Health and Strength

Ila

Spelt Pancakes

My spelt pancake recipe provides a perfect heavy breakfast to send everyone in the family off to work and school!

Spelt is not gluten-free but its gluten content is less. It is also a wholegrain and not genetically modified. It has about 20% more protein that wheat and is chock-full of amino acids. These pancakes are denser than the usual fluffy pancakes especially if you use the flax meal instead of the baking powder. I have given more than one version which work for me! the second option creates a fluffier pancake.
You can also use gluten-free organic whole wheat flour if necessary. you can get the aluminum free baking powder from Bob's Red Mill, as well as the spelt flour.


Option 1

1 heaping cup spelt flour (or gluten free whole wheat flour) don’t level off
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp. flax meal + 3 tbsp. warm water
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ tbs coconut sugar
1 cup + 1tbs milk
1 tsp lime/lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
1 tbsp. coconut oil

Agave nectar or maple syrup for topping

Method:

Make flax egg and set aside

Sieve flour a little, dumping in the rest of the grain from the sieve. Add sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Mix dry ingredients

Add milk and lime juice or apple cider vinegar together. If you don’t have enough milk, mix water with it. Sometimes I use coconut powder and water to make the milk.

Add oil and flax egg to that.

Combine wet and dry ingredients slowly with not too much mixing, using a whisk. It should be wet and run easily, but still be thick. Add a little warm water at a time to make it wetter. Let it rest for at least five minutes or seven minutes to get a fluffier pancake.

Cook on a low-medium heat. Flip when the top of the pancake is covered in circles and the softness has adopted a firmer appearance. The bottom side that just cooked should be brown. Allow to cook for at least another minute until that side is brown too.

Taste best when served immediately. Cover with agave or your choice of sweetener.

Option 2

1 cup spelt flour (or gluten free whole wheat flour) don’t level off
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. flax meal
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 tbs coconut sugar
1 cup milk + 5 tbs warm to hot water
1 tsp lime/lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
1 tsp coconut oil
agave nectar or maple syrup for topping


Method:
Sieve flour a little, dumping in the rest of the grain from the sieve. Add sugar, salt, baking powder and flax meal. Mix dry ingredients.

Add milk, water and lime juice or apple cider vinegar together.

Add oil to flour then combine wet and dry ingredients slowly with not too much mixing, using a whisk. It should be wet and run easily, but still be thick. Add a little warm water at a time to make it wetter. Let it rest for at least five minutes or seven minutes to get a fluffier pancake.

Cook on a low-medium heat. Flip when the top of the pancake is covered in circles and the softness has adopted a firmer appearance. The bottom side that just cooked should be brown. Allow to cook for at least another minute until that side is brown too.


Makes 5-6 pancakes if you use a 1/3 cup measure to dip out the pancake batter into the pan, You can make them big or mini sized, It's all up to you! Remember to use a small touch of oil to fry and as you put in the batter, Move around the fry pan to make the pancakes flat and spread.

Make your own pancakes and avoid the unhealthy additives in store bought pancakes and pancake mixes! Bob Red Mill's has a pancake mix which I have never checked but the ingredients are probably a lot better than other brands.

Ital Life Ital Health to you!

Ila

Moringa Melon

This Smoothie has a slight tangy taste which is very refreshing when it is cold. you wont taste the greens in it! Pre- chill the pawpaw and cantaloupe.

You will need:

¼ - half a cantaloupe

¼ pawpaw

1 banana

½-1 green apple, skin peeled

1 branch moringa, leaves stripped 

1 pakchoi leaf

½ thumb ginger, peeled

½ cup coconut water

juice of 1 lime

Put everything in your Nutribullet or other blender and full joy chilled!

Happy Juicing!

Ila

Avocado Salad

½ medium avocado
4 big tomatoes
1 large cucumber
Fresh leaves of Basil and parsley
3 leaves of pakchoi or lettuce
½ Zucchini
Dash of pink salt
½ cup chickpeas (optional)
Vinaigrette (optional)
Add sprinkles of shredded, pumpkin, sesame, chia and sunflower seeds, raisins, goji berries


Method:

Shred the zucchini with a grater

Dice the avocado, tomatoes and cucumber.

Chop the greens.

If adding, after soaking overnight, boil chick peas til tender. Let cool.

Put together the salad and fulljoy!