jessivore

The prospect of eating healthy, delicious food is pretty exciting for most people, until they discover that there are some meals that they might have to give up. For me, macaroni and cheese is the essence of comfort food – it’s carb-y and fatty and salty, and if I had no regard for my health, animal welfare, or the health of the planet, I would eat it every single day.

Sadly, in spite of its ooey-gooey deliciousness, there is no way that you can pretend that mac and cheese is good for you. If you have Googled, you have undoubtedly noticed that people have gone to great lengths to create a healthy version of the Best Comfort Food Ever. And you have probably also noticed that most of these replace full-fat cheese with a low-fat variety, or use milk instead of cream, or even use soy or non-dairy cheese to make it fully vegan. Many of them suggest using whole-wheat pasta or, if they are really radical, gluten-free pasta. These are nice efforts, but still don’t make this a nourishing food.

I hope you won’t be upset when you discover that there is actually no macaroni or cheese in this recipe. Whole grains can be awesome for a lot of reasons, but if you are eating an elbow-shaped tubular noodle, you’re not actually eating a whole grain, no matter what the package says. And we know how I feel about dairy. So, I looked outside the box, and discovered that you can have an amazing and nourishing comfort food meal that doesn’t include grains or dairy.

What have I used instead? Cauliflower and almonds and nutritional yeast. I know, this is alarming news. Grains can be difficult for some people to digest, but most people don’t know it because in order to figure it out you would need to stop eating grains. Have you ever tried this? It’s really hard, and unless you have significant health issues that make the potential payoff seem worth the price, you’re probably not just going to do this on a whim. If you’re trying to give your body a bit of a break from grains (because too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, sometimes), this is a great recipe for you.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 head of cauliflower, chopped into small florets
• 1 tbsp liquid coconut oil
• 3/4 cup almonds, soaked in water for at least 4 hours, then drained and rinsed
• 1.5 cups water
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (the kind in oil works best here)
• 1/2 tbsp tahini
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp sea salt
• pinch of chili flakes (optional)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Here’s what you do:

• Preheat the oven to 400c. Chop up the cauliflower, and lay it out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with the coconut oil and mix the cauliflower around so it doesn’t stick to the tray. When the oven is ready, put the cauliflower in. You want to bake this for 15-20 minutes, until it starts to get golden.
• While the cauliflower is baking: throw all the other ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth. Pour the smooth sauce into a saucepan on the stove and heat until steaming (not boiling!).
• When the cauliflower is done, take it out of the oven, put it in a big bowl or casserole dish, and pour the sauce over it. Toss it all around so that no little floret is sauceless. Done!

I am also going to tell you to steam some kale or collards or spinach or swiss chard, and to serve it on the side, because there is more than enough sauce that you can just smother your greens with it, too!

With this Jessivored version of mac and cheese, you are getting calcium (from the tahini), vitamin B12 (from the nutritional yeast), vitamin C and K (from the cauliflower), vitamin E, proteins and healthy fat (from the almonds), and fiber, fiber, fiber!

The same disclaimer applies for this recipe as with my cashew cheese: this isn’t going to be exactly like cheese, but it is cheese-like. And it’s gooey, and comforting, and warm and tasty. I top mine with a lot of black pepper (because it’s my fave), but no, I won’t be offended if you decide to eat yours with ketchup.

It’s a common belief that nutritionists never get sick. And while some of us are superheroes, some of us don’t always get enough sleep or get caught on our bikes in a hailstorm or occasionally eat too many (healthy) treats, and then we’re left feeling humbled and run down.

One of the things that I love to eat when I get sick is hot & sour soup. It’s warm and zingy, with just the kind of kick that my body needs to move healing into overdrive. It’s brothy, with enough texture to feel like a meal. There’s a great place I used to go for my hot & sour soup fix. However, I’ve grown a bit suspicious of restaurant soups because I’m never totally sure of the ingredients – and as nice as it is to just pay someone for food when you’re sick, it’s even nicer to know that the food you’re eating contains only ingredients that are 100% focused on supporting your health!

Most recipes that I have seen for hot & sour soup contain either pork, chicken, fish sauce, or prepared sweet chili sauce (wow, Canadian Living, you’ve outdone yourself). Some contain ingredients that I don’t stock in my kitchen (lily buds and Wood Ear Fungus, I’m looking at you), which are probably awesome and elevate the soup to a whole new level, but the sicker I get the lazier I am, so a trip to Chinatown isn’t always in the cards.

This hot & sour soup might not be authentic, but it fulfills the requirements I am looking for: it’s hot, and it’s sour. I include dark leafy greens, because there’s never a bad time for greens, and I also add noodles, because noodles are just nice. You can decide if you want to use them or not, but if you at least put the greens in, you’ll be giving yourself a lot of nutrition that you probably need, given that you’re sick.

Here’s what you need:

• Mushrooms, about a dozen of any kind, sliced. I like to use baby bella or cremini or white button mushrooms, because they’re inexpensive and always available.
• 1 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 5 cups water
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or use soy sauce instead)
• 1/2 lb tofu, cut into matchsticks or cubes
• 4 leaves of kale, chopped finely
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• black pepper to taste (I like pepper, so I put about a dozen grinds)
• rice noodles or udon (optional)

Here’s what you do:

• Heat the peanut oil and 1 tbsp water over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add the mushrooms, salt, and red pepper flakes. Cook this for about 10 minutes, until the mushrooms are really soft and starting to turn golden.
• Add the water, vinegar, Bragg’s, and tofu. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
• Add sesame oil and black pepper and kale. Cook for just a few more minutes, until the kale is wilted and bright green.
• If you’re adding noodles, add them at the same time as the kale, and add only enough for what you are going to eat now – otherwise, they get puffy and bloated from sitting in too much soup. I usually take leftovers out of the pot first, and then cook the noodles in the soup that I am eating right away. This usually takes about 3 minutes
• If you’re not adding noodles, your soup is ready!

This is a really versatile soup – you can always add extra mushrooms, extra tofu, or extra noodles. You can throw in more greens if you like – bok choy is nice in this, as is spinach. You can also include other vegetables, like chopped carrots or snow peas.

This recipe makes enough for two people, or, if you are sick, that’s only one time shuffling around the kitchen for two tasty bowls of soupy goodness.