What to do with all these mushrooms?

Mushroom Recipes

I usually like to eat particular foods – avocados, mushrooms, kale, chocolate, tofu – or sometimes buy too much of one thing and wonder what I’m going to do with the excess. Mushrooms seem to be a common overstock. However, with only 6 calories per mushroom, it's easy to throw a few in some miso soup, mix them with tofu or eggs, or add them to any stir fry, curry or stew.

I thought it would be useful to create a list of foods and recipes that include a particular food so that it becomes easy to cook dishes based on the available ingredients stored in the pantry and fridge.

Recipes by Food

The list isn’t extensive but I will continue to add foods and recipes.

113 ingredients = 60 Recipes

Since starting this Chocolate Spinach blog, I have kept an ingredients list and also an A-Z recipe index to keep track of the dishes I've made and also the foods I've used.

Turns out with 113 ingredients, it's possible to make 60 different recipes! Take a look at previous posts if you don't believe me!

Whilst it's hard to pick a favourite dish (perhaps the chocolate pudding/pie), I have tried to pick a few popular and delicious snacks, main meals and treats and have started to create a list of printable recipe cards.

I fully accept that it can get quite messy in the kitchen and it's not always practical to follow a new recipe from a laptop or iPad. Therefore a simple PDF version of a recipe may help when getting creative in the kitchen.

Below is a list of printable recipe cards which I have started to create. I'll slowly add to the list as I get chance and place links on the Printable Recipe Card page as well as including them in recipe blog posts.

Almond Pie Crust
Almond Cocoa Balls
Banana Oat Pancakes
Black Bean Hummus
Cauliflower and Courgette Bake
Cauliflower Quinoa and Spinach Cakes
Chili Rubbed Chicken
Chocolate Pudding
Indian Spiced Lentil and Vegetable Soup
Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancake)
Pumpkin, Kale, Ginger, Tofu Curry
Turkey Chili

Why I love salads

As much as I'd like to stuff my face with fried food and cake, when I take a moment to think about how much processed rubbish goes into junk food (and the consequences on your body after indulging), I actually feel a little grossed out.
That's why I love to eat salads!

I love the taste, and feeling, of crunching on fresh, raw, natural ingredients*. The good thing about salads are that I can make a large bowl (see my photos) and take my time grazing/munching away without the worry of a). over eating / indulging in a big portion and consuming mega numbers of calories, and b). my meal going cold, thus shoveling in mouthfuls whilst food is hot.

Don't get me wrong, on some days, I do feel like hot food, and so I'll cook up something. In the winter, I'll usually switch from eating salads everyday to eating homemade soups (basically just loads of blended-up veg). Future blog posts will no doubt feature soup recipes and pictures.

Back to salads...with the ones I make, it's a case of 'anything goes'. I get plenty of nutrients and usually vary the sources of proteins (tuna, boiled egg, chicken, low-fat cottage cheese) and fats (avocado, almonds, cheese. I also like to sprinkle a tablespoon of hemp seeds, chia seeds or flax seeds on top of my salads. If I want a little sweetness, I'll occasionally add some fruit (strawberries, dried cranberries, grapes, apple).

Below is my basic salad recipe with nutritional information.
Ingredients:
- 40g / 1.5oz spinach OR kale
- 50g / 1.8oz black beans (no added salt)
- 50g / 1.8oz sweet corn
- 80g /2.9oz green pepper
- 75g /2.7oz tomato
- 2 celery sticks
- 50g / 1.8oz cucumber
- 1/2tbsp hemp seeds
- 1tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1tbsp apple cider vinegar**

Method:
Place spinach or kale in a large bowl or on a plate
Add black beans and sweet corn
Chop pepper, tomato, celery and cucumber
Sprinkle hemp seeds on top of salad
Pour on vinegar

Add your source of protein, fat or fruits and ENJOY!!

Nutritional Information:

Protein and Fats

Fruits

*There's a lot of information on the internet about raw food diets. I'm no expert - I just like eating salads! If you want to learn more, I suggest you search 'raw food benefits' and read one of the 39,700,000 result pages. The top result from Google was this website: 10 Reasons Eating Raw is Healthier For You and the Planet

**I haven't included any nutritional information for apple cider vinegar (ACV) as it basically has zero calories, fat, carbs, sugars, fiber, protein.
However, there are many health benefits associated with ACV. Some include detoxification, to promote weight loss, to help digestion, to alleviate skin problems...
Don't take my word for it, just Google 'apple cider vinegar benefits' and you'll see about 5,530,000 results. An example is here: 7 Reasons to Love Apple Cider Vinegar