My Hallelujah Diet Day. . .Plus recipes for Eggplant Steaks, Sauteed Plantains, Garlic and Rosemary Fries, and Strawberry Walnut Salad

My small group at church is learning to adapt healthy eating habits and exercise based on the Hallelujah Diet (hacres.com). This week we were challenged to follow the whole plant-based food diet for an entire day. 

I started the day with a large glass of water with lemon and chili pepper. The HD recommends that you don't eat first thing in the morning because your body needs those first few hours for cleansing. After a few hours of being awake, I ate some oatmeal soaked in almond milk with walnuts and strawberries.

I snacked on raw veggies like carrots and grape tomatoes throughout the day. Most of the Hallelujah Diet requires eating raw food (because raw veggies have enzymes that get destroyed when cooked), but you are allowed to have one cooked meal a day.

This was my cooked meal: Eggplant Steaks, sauteed plantains, garlic and rosemary fries, and a strawberry/walnut salad. 

(**Disclaimer - Below is a picture of my husband's lunch. I put Gorgonzola on his steaks, but left it off mine since it is animal product. The picture of mine is at the end.)

GARLIC AND ROSEMARY FRIES

Ingredients: Olive oil, minced garlic, one chopped up onion, rosemary, a bag of Yukon gold potatoes cut into 1/4" pieces. 

Directions: Drizzle olive oil onto two baking pans. Put potatoes, onion, and garlic into the pan and mix with your fingers till it's about even. Sprinkle rosemary and drizzle a little more olive oil on top. Broil the pans on 500 for about 20 to 30 minutes--checking every 10.

EGGPLANT STEAKS

Ingredients: Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, hot sauce, olive oil, honey, apple sauce, parsley, onion flakes, (Gorgonzola or Parmesan optional), and an eggplant cut into 1/2" slices.

Directions:  Mix the sauces and spices together so you have enough to spoon a little over both sides of your eggplant pieces. (Don't spoon yet!) Go easy on the first three sauces as they can be high in sodium. Coat one or two baking pans with a light amount of olive oil. Arrange the eggplant in the pans and spoon a little mixture on the face up side of each piece. Broil on 500 for 4 minutes. Flip the pieces over and spoon the rest of the mixture over each piece. If you want to add cheese, do that now, but be sparing. Broil for another 4 minutes. If you want the steaks more tender, cook for a bit longer.

SAUTEED PLANTAINS

Ingredients: Nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, chili pepper, olive oil, one plantain cut into 1/8" slices. 

Directions: Coat the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil and let sit over medium heat for a few minutes. Place plantains pieces into the pan and start seasoning, drizzling oil as needed, and flipping every few seconds. When they are the desired color of translucent yellow. . .stop.

STRAWBERRY AND WALNUT SALAD

Ingredients: Baby spinach, cut up strawberry, grape tomatoes, walnuts, light balsamic vinaigrette

Directions: If you don't know how to make a salad, I don't know what to tell you. . .

This was my plate. Everything is the same except no Gorgonzola.

And for dinner I will have a raw vegetable smoothie like I always do! Yay!

THE END!

Make Five Days (At Least) of Dinners in One Hour - Superfood Soup and Salmon Sauteed Salad

There is never enough time, right? These recipes will help you save time and energy (both yours and your electricity), and help your diet. Furthermore, when it comes time to eat dinner, you can alternate these dishes every other day so you don't get bored. You can modify these ingredients and supplies to your own taste and what you have available. I'm just listing the things I used.

Supplies:

1. Large cast iron skillet (or regular skillet).

2. Large steel pot.

3. Flat wooden spatula (or regular spatula).

4. Large knife.

5. Cutting board.

6. Glass 9 x 12 casserole dish (or metal one).

7. Slow cooker.

8. Spoon.

9. Electric Kettle (or stovetop, but electric is far faster and energy efficient.)

10. Largish container to keep the salad in.

Ingredients:

For the Superfood Soup:

1. 3 lb. bag of sweet potatoes.

2. 2 cans of pumpkin. (Not pie filling)

3. 3 small butternut squashes.

4. 1 red and 2 vidalia onions.

5. Several spoonfuls of minced garlic.

6. Cinnamon.

7. Curry powder. (If you don't like curry...guess what...don't put it in then!!!)

8. Burmese curry powder. (Same!)

9. Ginger.

10. Butter (The real stuff. None of this margarine business...) or olive oil.

11. Olive Oil.

For the Salmon Sauteed Salad:

1. 1 red onion.

2. A few spoonfuls of minced garlic.

3. 1-2 salmon filets.

4. 1/2 bag of sweet corn.

5. 3 roma tomatoes.

6. 1 bag of baby spinach.

7. 1 avocado.

8. Lemon juice.

9. Basil.

10. Ginger

11. Soy Sauce.

12. Olive Oil.

13. Quinoa (or rice).

Directions:

1. Fill your electric kettle with as much water as you can and plug it in.

2. While the water is warming up, wash and cut your sweet potatoes, and put them in the steel pot.

3. Put the pot on the stove and pour the boiling water over your potatoes, turn the stove on high until the water comes back to a boil.

4. While that is happening, cut your squashes in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, cut little slits in the skin, and place the halves face up in the casserole dish. Put a tiny pat of butter (or olive oil) into the bowls of each one and a little cinnamon. Put a little water in the bottom of the dish.

5. Put the squash in the microwave and cook on high for 10 minutes. (As you have time during this whole process, keep recooking it for 10 minute intervals until the flesh is soft.) Turn your sweet potato heat down to medium low or low--whichever maintains a steady, but not violent, boil.

6. Put your skillet on another eye on your stove. Cut your onions and put them and your garlic into the skillet. Begin sauteing them in olive oil on medium high.

7. While that is happening, open your cans of pumpkin and dump them into your slow cooker, and then turn it on medium heat. Maybe heat a little more water in your electric kettle, and pour that over the pumpkin till you get a soupy consistency. Put the lid over the pumpkin.

8. While that is happening, cut another red onion and set aside.

9. Once that is done, your first garlic and onions should be ready. Dump them into the slow cooker.

10. Pour the newly cut onion into the skillet along with the garlic from the second ingredients list. Saute them in olive oil.

11. As soon as they are starting to brown, lay the two salmon fillets in the skillet and start braising them. Add the basil and ginger.

12. Once they start turning whitish pink, chop them up in the skillet with your spatula. 

13. Start picking out the pieces that are done and put them into your container and set it aside. (Don't overcook the salmon.)

14. As soon as that's over, add the corn and start sauteing it. 

15. While that is happening, slice your tomatoes. 

16. Add the tomatoes to the skillet and lightly saute them.

17. While that is happening, dump the bag of baby spinach on top. Pour a little bit of water and oil over it. (You will actually start steaming the spinach before sauteing it this way.)

18. Once the spinach starts to wilt, begin stirring the ingredients together and turn off the heat. Keep stirring until the spinach is lightly wilted. Remove from heat. 

19. Either put the salmon back into the skillet and stir it or pour the skillet into the container and shake it. Do which ever one gives you the most room to combine ingredients.

20. Put the salad in the refrigerator. (You will serve it cold. You will also cut the avocado and add lemon juice just before serving over quinoa. Quinoa is really easy to make. Just follow the directions on the bag just before actual dinner time. Boil your water for the quinoa in your electric kettle and save even more time on the stove!)

21. Turn off the heat on the sweet potatoes.

22. Hopefully your squash has had time to cool at some point here. Take it out of the microwave and scoop the flesh out with a spoon and add to the slow cooker.

23. Pour the excess water off your sweet potatoes. Mash them up with your spatula (or a masher), and add them to the slow cooker.

24. Add flaxseed if you want more protein.

25. Add the spices to your taste. Let it continue simmering for as long as you need to before cooling and refrigerating. Your work here is done.

Other ideas:

1. For a Clemon game day, make the soup with just red onions (purple and orange!).

2. If you want your soup blended, blend it! I'm too lazy...

3. If your slow cooker dish is too small and your soup is too thick and you can't add more water without it overflowing, just keep it thick and before serving, add more water to each serving before reheating.

4. You can freeze the soup if you need to.

5. Corn bread or toast, and/or a little white cheese, goes well with the soup.

   You will have soup for 2-3 people on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and salad on Tuesday and Thursday (and it may even run you into the weekend)!

Two Steps to Making an Awesome Salad Every Time

Let's be honest. Just because something is labeled "Salad" does not mean it's healthy. Most restaurants load the exact same unhealthy ingredients as on a hamburger, but since these ingredients are on a bed of gross lettuce, somehow that is supposed to make them healthy.

No.

So to make an actually healthy salad, follow these two simple rules:

1. Put on only things that you like eating. In other words, don't put on anything you want to pick off.

2. Make sure those things are 90-100% plants and 10-0% meat, cheese, dressing, and croutons. 

This may sound hard, because we Americans go to fast food restaurants to learn what "salads" are. (Think about the irony there.) However, if you just change your thinking a little bit, you can lose weight, feel clean inside, and not get sick so much. "But I only like one vegetable!" Then start with only that one vegetable. . .but try experimenting a little bit--you become a more interesting person if you can branch out.

Here is an example of what kind of salad I make for my husband and myself on a daily basis:

This one has red onions, avocado, carrots, cucumber, and tomato; all on a bed of spinach. These are ingredients that we actually like. I don't even buy lettuce anymore because even the nice green and purple stuff isn't as vitamin-rich as spinach. Plus, spinach is cheaper and more versatile for other dishes.

When they are in season, I put pomegranate seeds on which adds a delightful tart sweetness and tons of antioxidants. Other great ideas are artichokes, portabella mushrooms, colored peppers, sweet potato, cilantro, and asparagus.  You can even put on fruit, but make sure it is fresh and not canned, salted, or candied--same with nuts. Non-canned beans are also a great addition to a salad.

Whatever you put on it, make sure the salad fills up a big portion of your plate. Then add your "main course" to the plate after. I put "main course" in quotation marks because that is the American way of thinking. (Your main course should actually be the plants!) Changing these proportions, is key to losing weight and living healthier. 

I have been making these types of salads for my husband and me for over a year now and my good cholesterol is super high (even before I lost 20 lbs.), so it really works.