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Healthy Recipes to Celebrate the Year of the Monkey

Quinoa Tabouli – serves 6-8 Ingredients: (all organic is best) 1 ½ cups quinoa, cooked juice of 2 lemons 1-2 cloves garlic, minced ½ tsp. ground cumin sea salt – to taste ½ cup olive oil, unfiltered & cold processed 2 large, ripe tomatoes, chopped 1 cup fresh parsley 4 Tbs. minced green onion (scallions) 4 Tbs. fresh mint or ½ tsp. dried Crisp lettuce leaves for serving Cook quinoa according to package directions. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and allow to marinate at least 2 hrs. The tabouli can be wrapped in the lettuce leaves to make lettuce wraps, or just served on top. We also love it in sandwiches.

Whole Grain Ginger Muffins – 10-12 muffins Ingredients: (grains should be organic) ½ Cup whole wheat flour (I recommend einkhorn, farro or other ancient wheat) ½ cup spelt 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1 Tbs. baking powder (non-aluminum) 1 tsp. kelp or sea salt 2 tsp. powdered ginger ¼ tsp. cinnamon ¼ cup raisins (optional) 1/3 cup maple sugar ½ cup almond milk or water 1/3 cup maple syrup or agave 1 egg, slightly beaten 6 Tbs. butter , melted (from pasture raised cows) or coconut oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Lightly grease a muffin pan or put place baking cups Combine the flours, baking powder, kelp, spices, maple sugar and raisins in a bowl. Add the milk or water, agave, egg and butter and stir with a fork till just moistened. Spoon batter into prepared pan, filling each section about 2/3 full. Bake 12-15 minutes or till muffins feel firm to the touch. I like to be really fluid when I cook or bake. If you don’t want to use wheat, try some combination of non-glutinous flours, such as oats, cornmeal (no more than ¼ cup), millet and even ground nuts such as almonds. Use dried cranberries or currant instead of raisins or even fresh chopped pears. I usually use half melted butter and half coconut oil for the shortening.

Pear Butter 3-4 ripe pears (Bartlett or comice are good) 2 – 3 Tbs. apple juice concentrate or a little stevia 1 – 2 tsp. fresh grated ginger 1 tsp. cinnamon ½ – ¾ cups water or pear juice Remove the pits and cores from the pears and chop. Combine everything in a pan and cook on low heat and covered, till pears are soft and liquid is absorbed. I like to cook them over low heat for a fairly long time, otherwise you get pear sauce. You may need to add more liquid, so check often to be sure they don’t burn. When cooked allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. You can then use an immersion blender, food processor or vitamix to puree the mixture till smooth. This is great served with the Ginger muffins.

The only thing I’m not fluid with when cooking is the quality of the ingredients. Organic, fresh and the best quality available is essential. Other than that, you have free reign to create as you wish. Enjoy the process and infuse your meals with good Qi!!

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