Grilled Lentil & Veggie Packets

Summer is fast approaching along with all the fun-filled festivities. As Michiganders we get real excited about this time of year....sunshine, beach time, friends, gardens, farmers markets, parties, and "grilling out." Grilling out seems to be a quintessential Michigan summer activity. Now if your a vegetarian this can present some challenges. You want to be involved in the festivities and yet you question do you really want to eat another veggie burger??? There are plenty of knock off meat type alternatives that can be purchased these days...veggie dogs, veggie brats, veggie burgers, fake chicken patties...you name it, there is most likely an alternative to it. But have you looked at the ingredient list on some of those 'fake' products? Whoa! Most brands of these alternatives products are loaded with artificial flavorings, fillers, soy isolates, msg, and all kinds of other things you would normally not consider eating, but they are marketed and presented as a health food. Not so! Check out the ingredient list and you might be surprised what these "health" foods contain! I am a pretty dedicated vegetarian but in these cases I would argue the actual meat might be better for you than all these alternatives.


A couple years ago my husband was longing for a "man-grill." This "man-grill" was his birthday present that year. It's really quite big and a bit over done for our small house, but he loves it and every spring gets real excited to start grilling again. Now mind you, we cook all vegetarian at home. So we have this rather large grill sitting out on our deck for some serious veg grilling. We've been teased by more than one set of friends about our ridiculously large grill, to cook veggies on. Well this has inspired me to learn some vegetarian friendly grilling recipes. We've gotten quite creative over the last couple years and actually I'm finding some really fun and yummy grill recipes for our little veg family.

One of my favorites are these Grilled Lentil Packets. I adapted this from a recipe I found in a Vegetarian Times magazine last year. I also tend to play and create and try new combinations every time I make this recipe. It's so good and my girls love it as well. Not to mention my husband gets to use his big, fancy "man-grill."

Grilled Lentil Packets

2 cups sweet potato, finely diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 cup green beans, sliced thin
1-1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (any leftover grain you have in the fridge would work nice here)
1 cup garbanzo beans (I tossed in a few pinto beans as well)
1/4 cup raisins
2 TBS Sesame oil
1 1/2 cups cooked lentils

Sauce
1 cup vegetable broth
1 TBS Mrs. Braggs or Tamari
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp curry


Combine sweet potato, red pepper, green beans, beans, quinoa, lentils, and raisins in bowl. Toss with sesame oil to coat.



Combine sauce ingredients in small bowl.

You will need 6-8 pieces of foil about 16 inches long, depending on how big or small you want to make your packets. I like to make a few small packets for my girls to have their own.

Place veggie mixture in middle of foil.



Fold edges of foil up to create a bowl like shape so that sauce won't spill out. Top veggie mixture with a scoop of lentils and a scoop of sauce. You will want to divide lentils and sauce evenly between your packets, again depending on how many packets you are creating. Fold foil around your mixture to create a little packet that is sealed and ready to go onto the grill.



Cook with seam side up for about 20-25 minutes. Open packets carefully. Transfer to plates and enjoy a healthy, homemade vegetarian grilled dinner.

Healthy Pops

As hot days begin to settle in, my kiddos begin to request homemade popsicles more and more. They LOVE these healthy pops and just can't get enough. It's a super, super easy treat to serve up to your kiddos on a hot afternoon after they've crawled out of the pool, sprinkler, sandbox, or whatever else they are up to. These tasty little pops can help cool them off after all their running and playing, not to mention it's a great little treat that you can feel good about giving them. No added sugars, syrups, dyes, flavorings. Instead fresh, local fruit. A little taste of summer!

This has been our favorite combination recently.

*1 can coconut milk (the full-fat coconut milk makes for a quite creamy special treat)

*1 cup of frozen strawberries ( Michigan berries aren't quite in season so we are still using berries we froze last year)

*1 cup of frozen peaches (Same as berries...using some local peaches frozen peaches from last season)

Depending on the size of your molds you may have to modify the above amounts. If you have extra it tastes quite fabulous in a smoothie.

Toss everything in blender until creamy.

Pour into popsicle molds.

Freeze for several hours.

To get the popsicles out of the molds it helps to run it under warm water until it is lose enough to pull mold off.

Give this sweet tasting pop to your little one and let them enjoy a healthy, delicious treat. Have your camera to snap a shot of that sweet, messy little face!

Kale Chips

Dark leafy green vegetables are the most missing vegetable in the American diet. These leafy greens are some of the most nutritionally dense foods we can put on our plates and in our little kiddos bodies. These dark greens are high in calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, and K. They also contain high amounts of fiber, folic acid, chlorophyll, and many other phytochemicals and micronutrients. Not only do they come with a power punch of nutrients but they are also fabulous for boosting the respiratory and immune systems. Spring is a wonderful time to be eating lots of greens because it is a very damp, wet, mucus producing season, especially in kiddos. Just think of all the colds that jump around this time of year. Leafy greens are good for building the respiratory system and reducing congestion and mucus. Have I convinced you yet that you should add some greens to your plate????

Kale has become a staple in our house the last few years. I will fully admit it took me a while to become fond of this leafy green, and some creativity at first. But now it is a staple on our grocery list. We throw it in smoothies, stir-frys, eggs, soups, pesto, shredded in salads....you name it.
A side note for those of you that are into gardening, I have found that kale is one of the easiest vegetables to grow. And hearty! I have continued to pick kale from our garden long after everything else is done producing. The last couple years my kale has lasted into December. So that is an easy way to have some fresh, organic kale all summer long! Not to mention, my daughter thought it was so fun last summer to nibble on the leaves she picked from the garden.


One of our favorites is kale chips. My girls LOVE these. They are so, so, so easy and so delish! They be a great compliment to a meal or a nice snack.

Here's our very easy kale chip recipe:

1 bunch of washed kale.
Lemon juice (Fresh or Costco carries an organic brand that has no preservatives)
Olive oil
Sea Salt
Nutritional Yeast (optional) (this is VERY different from regular yeast. It is not a leavening agent but a nutritional condiment packed with B vitamins. It can be found at a health food store)

Tear the kale leaves off of the stalks into "chip" sized portions.

Put kale leaves in a bowl and toss with a SMALL splash of olive oil and lemon juice. The goal isn't to get them really wet but just to very lightly coat the leaves. The more wet they are, the longer they will take to cook.

Lay leaves on baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt and nutritional yeast (if using)

Bake in oven at 350.

I find time varies depending on how damp the leaves are. Continue to check them frequently.

They are done when they are slightly crisp.

Enjoy!!!