Energy Boosting Power Foods

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These meatless, parve dishes are perfect for Shabbos, spring and summer, and are also great for the Nine Days.

These highly recommended power foods are excellent energy-boosters to help reduce stress when trying to balance everything that needs to be done in our lives. Exercise, enough hours of sleep, powers naps and preventing dehydration by drinking at least 8-10 cups of fluids daily also enhance our levels of joy.

These are meatless, parve dishes perfect for Shabbos, spring and summer, and are also appropriate for the Nine Days.

Mushroom Zucchini Kugel

Ingredients:

  • 20 medium to large mushrooms
  • 2 large or 6 small zucchinis
  • 2 onions
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • ¾ cup matzo meal or whole grain flour
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • ½ tsp. black pepper
  • 1 Tb. sweet paprika

Slice all the ingredients into circle shapes, sauté in ¼ cup water seasoned with ½ tsp. sea salt and ¼ tsp. black pepper for about ten minutes.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, flour and remaining salt and pepper (or to taste).

Arrange the sautéed vegetables in an oiled baking pan, and then pour the batter over the vegetables.

Decorate with 1 Tb. of sweet paprika and diced chives (optional).

Bake for 40 minutes in a 250 (180) degree oven.

This dish can also become a mushroom-zucchini quiche by halving the matzo meal or flour to 6 Tb. and baking the ingredients in a crust.

Ingredients for crust:

  • 2 cups of whole wheat flour
  • ½ cup of coconut oil
  • 1 tsp. salt

Combine the ingredients and then flatten with a rolling pin. Place the crust in a baking pan, then arrange the vegetables and batter on top of the crust and bake.

Kale Avocado Dip

Avocado’s are packed with high quality healthy oils. Eat them plain, with a spoon or as an excellent dip. And for those who don’t like kale but want the super health benefits of eating kale included in their lives, this dip is an amazing way to “disguise” it!

Ingredients:

  • 1 large ripe avocado
  • 1 package of kale (six bunches or about 30 leaves)
  • 1 small sweet onion, white or purple, diced
  • Juice of half a fresh-squeezed lemon
  • 2 garlic cloves, mashed
  • ½ tsp. black pepper
  • ½ tsp. sea salt

Blend all the ingredients together until smooth.

Great Shabbos dip, on challah. Great dip on cooked whole grains or crackers!

Rocket Pesto

Raw, unroasted nuts are power foods. Eat them plain: ¼ cup offers super energy. Or use them in spreads like this.

Ingredients:

  • 2 packages of rocket (arugula spicy lettuce) or basil, about 2 cups
  • 2 fresh garlic cloves
  • ½ squeezed lemon (or 1 Tb lemon juice)
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 Tb olive oil
  • 2 Tb water (if needed for blending)

Blend all ingredients together.

**Pesto can be made from a great variety of tasty herbs and greens.

Try 2 cups of fresh watercress, 2 cups of parsley or 2 cups of dill.

Different nuts also offer great choices:

Try 1 cup of pine nuts, or almonds, cashews, or pumpkin seeds

Blend your choice of greens and nuts with the other ingredients.

Schug

If you can’t pronounce “schug” – that’s okay. It still tastes the same – spicy hot!

Though it’s a Yemenite hot pepper sauce, Ashkenazi Jews like it on their bagels, too!

Spicy hot foods are great for waking us up and feeling energized!

Ingredients:

  • 4 bunches of cilantro (coriander leaves)
  • 1 large chili peppers (or 2-8 small chili peppers, depending on how hot you want this!)
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 - 4 Tb olive oil
  • ½ tsp sea salt

Coarsely chop the cilantro, peppers and garlic, and then combine all the ingredients in the food processor for a short spin to mix everything.

Mock Liver

High in iron, high in protein, high in anti-stress Vitamin B’s, omega’s, antioxidants and more!

Ingredients: 5 sliced onions, simmered in a small amount of water for 8- 10 minutes

  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 6 hard boiled eggs
  • 4 – 6 scallions
  • ½ tsp – 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper

After onions are simmered, peel eggs, slice scallions, and blend ingredients to puree.

Power food spread!

Energy Drinks

Drink cool, refreshing water, there’s nothing better for you, so drink lots of water today!” –the song sang on El Al flights that arrived in Israel, and on Kol Yisrael radio, when I worked on kibbutz during the summer of 1980.

Prevent headaches, exhaustion, mental confusion, and grumpiness by staying hydrated!

Don’t wait until you “feel thirsty” to drink. By then, your body is too low in fluids.

Why feel yucky when we can feel great?

If drinking 8-10 cups of water daily doesn’t appeal, teas, soup broth and juices are also important options. Replace lost electrolytes with homemade energy drinks:

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tb brown sugar or honey
  • ½ tsp. sea salt (we prefer pink Himalayan salt)
  • Juice of 2 squeezed lemons (oranges or grapefruits are also great)

Directions: Add brown sugar or honey and ½ tsp. sea salt to 1 cup boiled water and stir until everything is completely dissolved.

Then add the juice of 2 squeezed lemons or 2 squeezed oranges (or grapefruit). Mix into the quart of water. Shake well before you drink it. Refrigerate.

This mixture can also be mixed into two quarts of water if it’s too sweet for you.

Drink more fluids every day and prevent headaches and low-energy!

Energy Soup

Simple and potent

  • 2 onions
  • 5 carrots
  • 1 celery bunch
  • 1 butternut squash
  • 2 sweet potatoes
  • 2-3 zucchini
  • 5 garlic cloves

Simmer everything in 4 to 6 cups of water until vegetables are soft. (No need to fry onions).

Spicy Mushroom Bake

Baked mushrooms are excellent sources of selenium, an antioxidant mineral, plus protein, iron, Vitamin C, copper, niacin, phosphorous, potassium and more!

Arrange two containers of large, washed mushrooms on an oiled oven tray.

Mix in a jar:

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 Tb onion powder,
  • 2 Tb dried basil
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper

Sprinkle sauce on mushrooms and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until slightly soft.

If you enjoy using fresh ingredients, dice 4 cloves of garlic, 2 small onions and 2 sprigs of fresh basil. Shake in jar with olive oil and then sprinkle this sauce on the mushrooms.

Huge Simchah High Powered Energy Salad for a Feast

Get your energy boost from fresh greens! Remember Popeye the sailor man, who declared “I’m strong to the finich, ‘cause I eats me spinach!” This was no joke – it’s true!

Ingredients:

  • 2 packages of fresh kale, spinach, or Swiss chard
  • 2 heads of bok-choy
  • 1 package of arugula
  • 2 to 3 heads of small salanova bib lettuces (great burgundy color!)
  • 1 romaine lettuce
  • 2 red peppers, sliced
  • 2 chopped tomatoes
  • 2 cucumbers, sliced
  • 2 shredded carrots
  • 1 purple onion, sliced
  • 3 or 4 chopped scallions

Slice or shred all the greens to smaller pieces. Then add the sliced and shredded carrots, peppers and cucumbers. Mix everything together in a large salad bowl.

Then decorate with nuts, cherry tomatoes and purple onion slices.

Topping:

  • 10 cherry tomatoes
  • 18 walnut halves (or more)
  • 18 almonds* or more
  • 18 cashews, halved (36 total)

Don’t worry about counting out the exact amount of nuts! We just like 18 for Chai!

*soaked for one or two hours beforehand or overnight, makes almonds swell and taste sweeter.

Exotic Low-calorie Dressing

  • Juice of 2 fresh squeezed clementine or oranges
  • ½ sea salt
  • 2 Tb onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • Sprigs of diced fresh parsley
  • ¼ cup vinegar
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup water

Place all the ingredients in a glass jar, seal and shake vigorously. The onion powder provides a sweet taste. No need for added sugar.

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