Fall Flavors

As we move into fall, we personally find it super essential to incorporate more grounding foods into our meals. Root vegetables play a huge role in our cooler weather grocery list. Because they help us feel more connected to ourselves and most importantly extra grounded during the shift in seasons. (Click here for a full post on how to get more grounded.) If you think about it, this concept makes perfect sense: the roots of the plant are its anchor to the earth which nourish the plant with vital nutrients. Similarly, root veggies connect us to our foundation, helping us feel physically and emotionally more stable, if ya know what I mean.  It’s why we incorporated white sweet potatoes, turnips, butternut squash, and carrots and paired them with other warming, earthy compliments like cinnamon, fresh ginger, sweet paprika, and pumpkin seeds. We created these recipes in hopes for you to feel more aligned with the changing seasons.

FALL STEW

INGREDIENTS (ALL ORGANIC):

• 2 large carrots, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 celery stalks, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 cups chopped kale
• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 turnip, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas
• 1 cup quinoa
• 8 cups vegetable stock
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 piece of cinnamon stick
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
• Add in Himalayan salt (we of course added a lottttt) and pepper (link here)

PROCESS:

1. Boil potatoes until soft
2. Chop:
   1. Carrots
   2. Onion
   3. Celery
   4. Turnips
3. Make quinoa
   1. If you can, let quinoa soak in water for about 30 min. because this helps it digest much easier 
   2. You can follow the directions on the box to prepare quinoa, but we did 2 cups of quinoa, so added in 4 cups of water
   3. * Tip: we made a lot because we like to have pre-cooked quinoa on hand, so just put in however much you like!
4. Let veggies (carrots, onion, celery, turnips) simmer and soften in vegetable stock
5. Cook chickpeas (if you can, it’s optimal to soak them first; click here for the how-to)
6. Once veggies and potatoes are soft (cut the potatoes once they are soft because it’s much easier than when they are pre-cooked) transfer everything into 1 large soup pot
7. Add in rest of the vegetable stock
8. Add in crushed tomatoes, kale, fresh mint and allll the spices
9. Let simmer
10. Enjoy!

FALL BOWL

INGREDIENTS (ALL ORGANIC):

• 1 large carrot, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 cups chopped kale
• 1/2 cup white sweet potato
• 1/2 cup butternut squash
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• Cauliflower
• Za’taar
• Lemon
• Tahini
• Roasted pumpkin seeds

PROCESS:

1. Boil white sweet potato and butternut squash until soft
2. Boil water for quinoa (see above for instructions)
3. Chop:
   1. Carrots
   2. Kale
   3. Cauliflower
   4. White sweet potato
   5. Butternut squash
4. Boil cauliflower until soft
5. For Za’aatar dressing:
   1. Mix about 2 tablespoons olive oil to 1 tablespoon za’taar to get that paste-like texture!
6. For Lemon Tahini drizzle:
   1. Mix 2 spoonfuls of tahini with 2 squeezes of lemon and add in salt and pepper to taste
7. Add roasted pumpkin seeds on top
8. Enjoy

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