The Mindful Eating class had the pleasure of having Chef Malena come and make some of her easy recipes for people on the go. She isn’t a huge believer in firm recipes but rather tastes as she goes to see what tastes good. These amounts are approximations but everything is delicious!

Recipes!

Curry Chickpea Wrap

For this recipe, you can taste as you go. It is great to make the night before and wrap for lunch the next day. Also, for additional toppings and flavors, if you think it’ll taste good, it probably will. Finally, this would be good like the chicken salad from the other week: you can add green apples and nuts, etc. A tip for rotisserie chickens is that grocery stores tend to mark them down at night. Just peel the chicken meat off the bone and add to a chicken salad, etc.

Ingredients:

• • 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 jar dill relish or sweet relish
  • 1 cup plain yogurt (Greek, mayonnaise) – dependent on how creamy you want
  • Fresh or dried parsley, oregano, cilantro – roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp. curry powder and add more if necessary (Jamaican, Asian one with turmeric, any curry blend) – Massaman or McCormick brand
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
  • Pinch of garlic powder
  • Toppings for wrap: red onion, avocado, tomato, green leaf lettuce, spinach, red leaf lettuce, baby kale, etc.

Instructions:

• • Dump chickpeas into a bowl and use a potato masher to make them broken up and with texture but not creamy, smooth, or completely mashed.
  • Add the dill relish, yogurt, and then quickly chop the herbs and add them in.
  • Add the curry to taste, and season with salt and pepper.
  • Add a little garlic powder and mash everything together to fully mix ingredients.
  • To assemble the wrap, slice the red onion, avocado, and tomato. Add any other toppings that you want, but go easy on the toppings because too many can make it difficult to close. Top the wrap with lettuce, and then add the chickpea salad and toppings.

Pineapple Melon Cucumber Salad

Always wash any type of fruit before cutting it. This recipe makes a large amount of salad.

Ingredients:

• 1 honeydew
• 2 cucumbers
• 1 pineapple
• ½ bunch fresh cilantro
• ¼ c honey
• 2 limes, juiced
• Pinch of salt
• Optional: fresh jalapeño

Instructions:

• Cut the melon (see above) and put into a large bowl. Cut the ends off the cucumbers and slice through food processor or by hand. Cut the pineapple (see above) and add in.
• Roughly chop the cilantro and add to the bowl. Drizzle honey over bowl.
• Add lime juice with a fork or spoon to get all the juice out.
• Mix with your hands or a large spoon. Sprinkle a little salt to complement the sweetness and mix again.

Strawberry Shake

You can make a small smoothie for now or make a bigger one and stick one in the fridge / freezer for later. If you put it in the freezer, take it out a few minutes before you want to have it or microwave it if the cup is microwave safe.

Food processors don’t handle liquids as well, so you have to be careful to not fill them too full or just be mindful of the max liquid line. Start with hard foods and move to liquids, therefore, you should start with frozen strawberries on the bottom and liquid on the top.

Ingredients:

• Frozen strawberries
• Milk (skim, almond, soy, etc.)
• Yogurt (vanilla, plain, etc.  – plain is a way to reduce sugar)
• Honey

Instructions:

• For the food processor, add frozen strawberries, yogurt, and honey, and blend.
• Once most of the strawberry chunks have processed, add in the liquid (milk). Be very mindful of the levels because food processors are not made to handle large amounts of liquid. Stay below the seal (or if there is a fill / liquid line) so that you don’t seep over the edges.
• Pour and enjoy!

Fruity Green Smoothie

Blenders handle liquids better than food processors. Blenders have a seal to protect from the liquid seeping. When working with a blender, start with soft ingredients and work your way up to hard ingredients. Ice would be the last thing, while juice would be the first thing in the blender. Starting with soft foods and moving towards hard foods also reduces the risk of chipping the blade.

Ingredients:

• Apple juice
• Yogurt
• Fresh spinach
• Frozen diced mango
• Frozen mixed berry blend (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries)
• Bananas
• Bran flakes
• Honey

Instructions:

• Start with apple juice (or cranberry juice). To measure, go just above the blade.
• Add in the yogurt, spinach, and frozen diced mango and mixed berry blend.
• Add the banana and bran flakes.
• Start off on a lower speed to get it going, and then increase the speed. You’ll know your smoothie has properly blended when it makes a vortex (a tornado in the middle).
• Add a little honey towards the end and blend.

– Julie