You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘flax seed oil’ tag.
Okay, so this is perhaps more like an idea than a recipe, but what are recipes but just tried and tested ideas? This is so simple and easy to throw together, and if you choose the right pasta, it is incredibly healthful as well. It’s something I often turn to when my appetite has little patience for cooking.
This version has two main influences: (1) my mother, a bona fide pasta freak who is always creating delicious and healthy tomato-based Italian-esque dishes, and (2) Berry Bundle’s co-founder Petar, who introduced me to the wonders of flax seed oil last spring.
For the pictured dish, I used Trader Joe’s organic sprouted wheat pappardelle pasta (which is fantastic, by the way), but any whole wheat or whole grain or spelt pasta will work just fine — penne, noodles, bow-tie, whatever. Just try to avoid white pasta, which offers little by way of nutrition.
Flax seed oil is renowned for it’s health-promoting properties. In particular, it is probably the best and most healthful source of the much-talked about essential omega-3 fatty acids. Flax seed oil contains the most basic omega-3, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is the only essential omega-3 as the body can convert ALA into other omega-3′s the body needs (EPA and DHA). In fact, a single tablespoon of flax seed oil contains twice the amount of ALA that the Vegetarian Society of the UK recommends that vegetarians consume daily (1 tablespoon contains 8 grams of ALA; the VSU recommends 4 grams). Flax seed oil has a subtle yet uniquely satisfying taste. It can be found in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores. If you can’t find it or don’t have it, stress not — just use extra virgin olive oil, which tastes great and is also extremely healthy.
Nutritional yeast? I admit, it doesn’t sound very appealing to the naked ear. But it’s actually quite tasty, and can be used to add a nutty or cheesy flavor to dishes. Nutritional yeast is a nutritional supplement containing high amounts of protein, fiber, minerals, and vitamins — look for one that is fortified with Vitamin B12, important for those of us who do not eat any animal products. It comes in the form of “flakes” and can be bought in bulk at most health food stores.
This recipe is just for one, but making it for more should be self-explanatory…
Ingredients:
- healthy whole grain pasta, about 1.5 servings (a single serving is just depressingly small)
- 1 medium-sized tomato, the freshest and tastiest you can come up with (heirlooms are great, when in season), chopped coarsely
- about 1/4 cup of loosely packed parsley leaves (you can eyeball this, I’ve never actually measured it), chopped coarsely
- 1 T flax seed oil (can substitute olive oil)
- 2-3 T nutritional yeast (optional)
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
To make:
- Cook pasta according to directions.
- Put pasta on a plate and top with tomato and parsley.
- Drizzle oil over pasta.
- Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
According to Samkhya philosophy and Ayurvedic medicine, there are three primary tendencies of nature, called gunas: sattva, rajas, and tamas. Sattva is considered to be the highest of the three gunas, and leads one toward purity, lucidity, balance and orderliness. Rajas is the force behind the process of change, and it leads one toward action and dynamism. Tamas is associated with darkness and obscurity, and it leads one toward lethargy, dullness, and inertia.
In terms of food, it is helpful to think about it this way: a ripe apple is sattvic, a ripening apple is rajasic (because it is in the process of change), and an over-ripe apple is tamasic (decaying).
The yogic diet, of course, aims to be sattvic. Sattvic food is pure and wholesome, and has a balancing effect on the body and consciousness. Examples of sattvic food are: cereals, whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, honey, milk and butter (sorry, vegans — although the way most dairy products are produced today renders them not-so-sattvic).
Rajasic food has a stimulating effect on the body and mind. Anything that is too salty, too bitter, or too spicy is said to be rajasic, as is food that is consumed to quickly or with a disturbed state of mind. Rajasic foods include eggs, chocolate, fish, coffee and tea.
Tamasic food is best avoided; it has a dulling effect on the body and mind. Tamasic foods include meat, onions, garlic, over-ripe foods, stale foods, alchol and fermented foods such as vinegar (and sadly, this means tempeh). Also, overeating causes food to be tamasic.
So, even though I’m not ready to say good-bye to coffee or tempeh, I do like the idea of moving toward a more sattvic diet. With that goal in mind, I threw together this quite delightful salad.
This will make 2 salads.
Ingredients:
- 3 large tomatoes, preferably heirloom (for the sake of aesthetics, it’s nice to have a combination of yellow and red), chopped coarsely into bite-sized chunks.
- cucumber (about half of an English cucumber, or one whole pickling cucumber), peeled if so desired, and chopped into bite-sized chunks.
- 1 carrot, chopped into bize-sized chunks.
- 2 T fresh sage, torn into small pieces
- 2 T of fresh parsely, chopped
- 2 tsp dried dill
- 2 T flaxseed oil (or olive oil, if that’s all you have)
- Salt and pepper to taste — though not too much, or your salad will be rajasic!
To make:
Throw it all together and toss!
Snack time.
Many variations of this toast have been tried and tested, but this one is simply the best.
Ingredients:
- multi-grain bread slices
- flaxseed oil
- tahini (sesame paste)
- tomato
- cucumber
- fresh cilantro
- garlic salt
- freshly ground black pepper.
To make:
- Drizzle flaxseed oil on the bread slices. Then, top with thin slices of tomato. Sprinkle with garlic salt and toast the bread in a toaster oven (or real oven) until desired crispiness is achieved.
- Drizzle tahini over the toast. Top with diced cucumbers and fresh cilantro leaves, and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.
Recent Comments