Wellness Policy

Ingredients: 1 small cauliflower (chopped) 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil 1 clove minced garlic 1/4 cup dairy/non-dairy milk of choice 1/4 cup nutritional yeast 1 package egg-roll wraps Salt/pepper to taste Directions:  Steam cauliflower until tender (about 3-5 minutes). Transfer cooked cauliflower to food processor or blender. Add milk, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Blend until consistency of ricotta cheese. Remove egg roll wraps and place on flat surface. Lightly coat wraps with olive oil. Add 4 equal spoonfuls of cauliflower on wrap.   Layer with another wrap.   Seal the edges and cut into 4 ravioli. Meanwhile, add oil to a skillet and sauté garlic over low heat for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.   Place ravioli in skillet and turn heat to medium/high.   Sauté ravioli until golden-brown on each side. Serve with your choice of veggies, protein, and sauce. Enjoy!

Me doing a cooking demo for CNP Ingredients:   1 tsp olive oil   1 onion, diced small   2 cloves garlic   1 pound squash or zucchini, cut into medium dices   1 cup fresh corn (about 2 ears of corn)   1 cup veggie broth   2 T chili powder   1 tsp ground cumin   1 tsp dried oregano   2 tomatoes, diced   2 T tomato paste   1 (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed   Salt and pepper to taste Directions: Preheat large pot over medium-high heat.  Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil in pot until translucent.  Add squash or zucchini, corn, veggie broth, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and black pepper.  Cover pot and bring to a boil. After the pot reaches a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook 10 minutes.  Add tomatoes, tomato paste and black beans.  Cover the pot and cook for about 10 more minutes.   Enjoy!

This past Saturday I helped volunteer with the Community Nutrition Partnership and the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the NC Science Festival . We were trying to get kids excited about cooking with local and healthy ingredients so we made Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Oatmeal Pancakes. The recipe was a huge success with the kids ! The kids and parents liked it so much, we ran out of recipe copies. So, for those wanting the recipe, please see below: Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Oatmeal Pancakes 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes 1/2 cup oats 1 cup whole wheat flour* 2 eggs** 1 cup skim milk** 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tbs. honey 3 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. nutmeg *To make this recipe gluten-free: substitute buckwheat flour for the whole wheat flour **To make this recipe vegan: substitute Ener-G Egg Replacer for the eggs and use almond or soy milk instead of skim milk. To mash the sweet potato, take 1 medium sweet potato and cut i...

Cupcakes 2/3 cup soy or almond milk 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 2/3 cup agave nectar 1/3 cup safflower oil 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda Pinch of salt Buttercream Frosting 3 cups confectioners (powder) sugar 1 cup softened vegan butter ( Earth Balance works best for baking) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1-2 tsp soy or almond milk Optional: red, white, and blue sprinkles Cupcakes Heat oven to 325°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners. Combine soy/almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a medium bowl, and set aside for at least five minutes or until mixture bubbles. Add agave nectar, oil, vanilla and stir together. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing until batter is smooth and there are no lumps. Pour batter into muffin tin and bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one cupcake c...

1 pound spinach fettuccine  2 large portobello mushrooms, chopped into small chunks 1 bunch basil leaves (about 2½ ounces) 1 cup spinach or arugula 1/2 cup pine nuts or walnuts 1 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and sliced into small chunks 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about ½ lemon) 2 cloves garlic 1/4 cup olive oil Garlic salt to taste Black pepper to taste In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add spinach fettuccine and cook as directed on package.  Heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in skillet. Sauté 1 garlic clove and mushrooms in olive oil for 4 to 6 minutes, until mushrooms are cooked. While spinach fettuccine cooks, in a food processor blend together basil, spinach, pine nuts, avocados, lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, and 2-3 tablespoons olive oil until it turns into a smooth mixture. Add garlic salt and pepper to taste. Drain the spinach fettuccine. In a large serving bowl, immediately combine hot fettuccine, avocado sp...

1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 cup soy milk or almond milk 1/6 cup canola oil 1/6 cup softened Earth Balance butter or Smart Balance Light butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries 1/4 cup chopped walnut Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease 12 muffin tins. Mix together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda. Add soy milk, oil, butter, and vanilla. Lightly stir together ingredients--lumpy batter is okay! Fold in strawberries and walnuts and pour batter into muffin tins. Place in oven and cook for 15 – 20 minutes. Pull muffins out and insert toothpick to test for doneness(if done, the toothpick will remain dry once you remove it from the muffin). Let muffins sit for at least 10 minutes. Enjoy!