Did you know that having lots of fiber on a daily basis aids in digestion, weight loss, heart health, and cancer prevention? It can even increase your lifespan. Meat and dairy products contain no fiber—it’s found only in plant foods. Here are a few recipes to get more fiber in:
Homemade Almond Milk (used in 2 recipes below)
Ingredients
• 1 cup raw almonds (soaked and drained)
• 3 cups water
• 2 dates (pitted)
• pinch of sea salt
Soak the almonds for at least 8 hours, then drain.
Add all ingredients into a high speed blender, and blend until very smooth.
Strain through a nut milk bag, or cheese cloth. Refrigerate in a glass container with lid up to 3 days.
High Fiber Blueberry Smoothie
Ingredients
• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 cups wild blueberries
• splash of vanilla extract
• 2 cups kale
• 1 cup Homemade Almond Milk (from above)
• 1/2 to 1 cup water (depending on your desired thickness)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
Add all ingredients into a high speed blender, and blend until very smooth.
Easy Indian Dal
Ingredients
• 2 cups dry red lentils
• 3 to 4 dried red chilis
• 1 yellow onion (diced)
• 5 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 5 cups water
• salt to taste
For the no oil “tempering”
• 2 to 4 dried chilis
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp curry powder
Soak the lentils in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes.
In a large soup pot, put about a 1/4 cup of water, the dried red chilis, onion and garlic. Sauté over medium high heat stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
Drain and rinse the lentil once more. Then add them to the pot along with the ground turmeric. Add 5 cups water to the lentils and bring to a boil. When the surface of the water is bubbling, cover the pot and lower the heat to a medium simmer for 45 minutes, or until it becomes more of a stew type consistency. Stir occasionally to ensure the dal is not sticking to the base of the pot.
For the tempering, heat a nonstick pan over high heat. Working very quickly so as not to burn, dry fry the dried red chilis, cumin, garlic and curry. Stir constantly for about a minute and then pour the tempering spices into the dal pot. Stir to combine, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Give it a taste and add salt, or additional spices if desired. Turn off the heat and cover until ready to serve. The longer it stands (try for at least 10 minutes) the better it gets.
Caramel Date Sauce with Apples
Ingredients
• 8 dates (pitted)
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup Homemade Almond Milk (from above)
• splash of vanilla
• pinch of sea salt
• serve with desired amount of apples (sliced)
Add all ingredients into a high speed blender, and blend until slightly smooth.
Serve with apple slices.
