Christine Waltermyer is a local Wellness Chef, private chef to celebrities, published cookbook author and founder of the Natural Kitchen Cooking School, which offers an online Plant-Based Cooking Program. She also loves shopping at Basil Bandwagon! Visit naturalkitchenschool.com to get your FREE copy of her cookbook, “7 Days of Deliciousness.”
Veggie Burgers
Makes 4 burgers
Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup cooked kidney beans
1/2 cup carrots, diced and boiled
2 Tablespoons oat bran
1/3 cup gluten free oat flour
1/3 cup ground flax seed meal
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon water
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
Black pepper
Optional: Smoked paprika to taste
Method
1. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, onion and a pinch of the sea salt to soften the onion. Cook for a few minutes, then add the mushroom. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, until nice and tender.
2. In a large bowl, combine the kidney beans, carrots, oat bran, oat flour, flax seed meal, parsley, water, and seasonings. Partly mash the ingredients together.
3. Prepare a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Form the mixture into four burger patties. Place them on your baking sheet.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes, then turn the burgers and bake for another 15 minutes.
5. Serve on hamburger buns or lettuce leaves, topped with your favorite condiments. Enjoy!
Thank you to Christine Waltermyer and the Natural Kitchen Cooking School for working with us to help promote healthy, nutritious meals and products that are affordable, full of nutrients, and simple to make at home!
Christine Waltermyer is a local Wellness Chef, private chef to celebrities, published cookbook author and founder of the Natural Kitchen Cooking School, which offers an online Plant-Based Cooking Program. She also loves shopping at Basil Bandwagon! Visit naturalkitchenschool.com to get your FREE copy of her cookbook, “7 Days of Deliciousness.”
Pantry Banana Bread
vegan recipe
Ingredients
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1¾ cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon, plus extra for the top
⅓ cup sugar (combination of maple sugar and coconut sugar)
Avocado oil
½ cup walnuts, chopped
⅓ cup oil (combination of avocado oil and refined coconut oil)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Additional options: ½ cup chocolate chips or raisins
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Grease the bottom and the sides of an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan.
3. Place the mashed bananas in a big bowl. Add the sugar, vanilla and oil. Stir well.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk to blend together.
5. Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined. Then add the walnuts and any other additional options.
6. Pour the banana bread batter into the loaf pan and add a little extra cinnamon on top of the mixture.
7. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top springs back to the touch.
8. Let it cool before slicing and enjoy!
Thank you to Christine Waltermyer and the Natural Kitchen Cooking School for working with us to help promote healthy, nutritious meals and products that are affordable, full of nutrients, and simple to make at home!
Christine Waltermyer is a local Wellness Chef, private chef to celebrities, published cookbook author and founder of the Natural Kitchen Cooking School, which offers an online Plant-Based Cooking Program. She also loves shopping at Basil Bandwagon! Visit naturalkitchenschool.com to get your FREE copy of her cookbook, “7 Days of Deliciousness.”
Quinoa & Kale Stem Pesto
Ingredients
1 cup Ancient Harvest quinoa, cooked according to package directions
2 cups water or vegetable broth
Sea salt
1/2 cup scallions (white part), chopped
3 kale stems
1 sweet potato
2/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts (lightly toasted)
1/4 cup olive oil
Method
1. Place the quinoa in a small pot with the water or broth and pinch of sea salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once it boils cover it and let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes on low heat. The quinoa should be nice and fluffy.
2. Chop the kale stems and place them in a pot with about an inch of water. Cook on medium high heat for 5 minutes or until nice and tender. When done, drain and set aside.
3. Peel the sweet potatoes. Dice them. Place the sweet potatoes in a small pot and almost cover them with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to simmer on medium for 10 to 15 minutes or until fork tender. When finished cooking, drain and set aside.
4. Make the pesto: In a food processor add the scallions, basil, 1 tablespoon of the pine nuts, olive oil, cooked kale stems and pinch of sea salt. Blend until you reach your desired consistency, either slightly chunky or totally smooth.
5. In a large bowl, place the cooked quinoa, remaining 2 tablespoons of the pine nuts, cooked sweet potato, and pesto. Mix together and serve. Enjoy!
Thank you to Christine Waltermyer and the Natural Kitchen Cooking School for working with us to help promote healthy, nutritious meals and products that are affordable, full of nutrients, and simple to make at home!
Quarantine is the perfect time to try those recipes that you’ve been meaning to get to! Since the kids are home, you can get them to help you too (but we can’t say they’ll help with the cleaning part). Check out this perfect cupcake recipe that is not only fun to make but will help you get Easter-ready for this Sunday.
Lake Champlain makes it easy to make holidays festive and delicious with their holiday chocolate bunnies, eggs, and more!
Ingredients
1 box cupcake mix (you will need more ingredients to make this but they will vary per brand)
1 container vanilla frosting
1 packet of blue food coloring
1 packet of yellow food coloring
Lake Champlain Chocolate eggs (pick your favorite flavor or pick them all!)
Method:
1. Follow the instructions on the box to make cupcakes.
2. Once cupcakes are finished baking, place in refrigerator to cool cupcakes completely before covering with icing to keep the tops from becoming sticky, about 30 minutes.
3. While cupcakes are cooling, mix the yellow and blue coloring packets in the white icing. Use as little or as much coloring as you desire!
4. Once the cupcakes are cooled, it’s time to ice them. Time to let your creativity flow! Use a piping bag, plastic bag, fork and knife, or whichever tools you have in order to make the icing grass. After cupcakes are completely covered in icing, add a Lake Champlain chocolate egg (you may have to add more icing around the eggs to create a “hidden egg” effect).
5. Serve to your cupcake lovers and enjoy!
Before you enjoy your Easter Egg Cupcakes, make sure you take a picture of your masterpiece! Post it on social media and tag your favorite organic market, Basil Bandwagon Natural Market! #basilbandwagon
Christine Waltermyer is a local Wellness Chef, private chef to celebrities, published cookbook author and founder of the Natural Kitchen Cooking School, which offers an online Plant-Based Cooking Program. She also loves shopping at Basil Bandwagon! Visit naturalkitchenschool.com to get your FREE copy of her cookbook, “7 Days of Deliciousness.”
During this quarantine, everyone’s starting to feel a little anxious to get outside and get back to our normal everyday routine. Meals are starting to get dull, home-schooling might be overwhelming at times, and you might feel like the house can’t get any cleaner after scrubbing it down since Quarantine Day 1. So why not switch up your meals with Christine Waltermyer?! Her recipes are absolutely delicious and simple to make at home. Her videos are helpful to follow along with too! Check out some of them below!
Immunity Broth
Makes about 12 cups
Ingredients
2 6-inch pieces of kombu seaweed
8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 – 2 teaspoons dried astragalus root
3 cloves garlic
A few sprigs fresh thyme
1 onion (red or yellow), chopped into 4 pieces
1 burdock root, cut into a few pieces
4 small carrots, chopped in half
3 stalks celery, chopped in half
1 bunch parsley
Fresh ginger (about 3 inches) (optional)
Sea salt (optional)
Water to cover everything
Method
1. In a large soup pot, place all ingredients. Add enough water to cover everything. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Lower heat to simmer for one hour, covered. Strain the broth through a strainer. Use in soups, cooking rice or as a warm drink on its own!
Creamy Carrot Soup
Serves 6
Ingredients
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
5 carrots, scrubbed really well and/or peeled
1 bunch scallions
20 ounces chopped butternut squash (or 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut up)
13.66 ounce can coconut milk
Vegetable broth to cover the vegetables, or about 5 cups
1 teaspoon sea salt
Equipment: Immersion blender or regular blender
Method
1. Place the squash in a soup pot. Chop the parsnips, then the carrots and add both of them to the pot. (Remove any bad spots.) Remove the white bottoms from the scallions. Chop them up and add to the pot. Reserve the green part for garnish. Add the coconut milk to the pot. Then add the vegetable broth, making sure it covers the vegetables. Use more or less to just cover them.
2. Place the pot over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer on low, covered, for 25 minutes or until all vegetables are fork-tender.
3. Chop the green part of the scallions to use for a soup garnish.
4. Add about 1 teaspoon of sea salt to the soup. Blend the cooked soup by using the immersion blender to blend right in the pot. OR, carefully transfer the cooked soup to a blender and carefully blend until smooth.
Mixed Leafy Greens Stir-Fry
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
1 small head napa cabbage, cut in half length-wise
1 bunch scallions
1 leek
1 baby bok choy
5 leaves green kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
Splash of water
Sea salt
Optional Ingredients: Chopped ginger, minced garlic, coconut aminos, crushed red pepper flakes, etc. for added flavor
Method
1. Wash all of the vegetables. Pull the kale leaves from the stems and rip up the leaves. If you want to use the stems be sure to chop them up finely. In this recipe I saved them for later use in making soup stock.
2. Chop off the end of the baby bok choy, and wash the leaves again under running water. Chop up into bite-sized pieces. For the napa cabbage, remove any outer leaves with bad spots. Remove the core from the bottom. Slice across the width into ½-inch slices, removing any bad spots you see. For the scallions, remove the little roots on the bottoms, then slice on a diagonal, about ½-inch pieces.
3. To cut the leek, slice in half length-wise. Rinse again under running water. Lay the flat cut side down on the cutting board. Slice into ½-inch size pieces.
4. Heat a large skillet or deep pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, then the leeks. Add a little pinch of salt to help them soften. Cook for a few minutes, then add the kale. Cover and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add another pinch of salt and a splash of water. Add all remaining ingredients, plus another splash of water if needed. Cover and steam for another few minutes, or just until all of the vegetables are tender but still bright green and not overcooked. Serve as is, or with your favorite dressing or an additional drizzle of olive oil and sea salt.
Thank you to Christine Waltermyer and the Natural Kitchen Cooking School for working with us to help promote healthy, nutritious meals and products that are affordable, full of nutrients, and simple to make at home!
Christine Waltermyer is a local Wellness Chef, private chef to celebrities, published cookbook author and founder of the Natural Kitchen Cooking School, which offers an online Plant-Based Cooking Program. She also loves shopping at Basil Bandwagon! Visit naturalkitchenschool.com to get your FREE copy of her cookbook, “7 Days of Deliciousness.”
1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. A pinch of the salt helps the onions to soften.
2. Cook and stir for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the onions have softened. Add the sliced mushrooms, curry powder, remaining sea salt and turmeric.
3. Cook and stir for a few minutes, then cover for a few more minutes.
4. Uncover and add carrots and the coconut yogurt. Stir and cover, cooking for another minute.
5. Add the cabbage, Pumfu and broccoli. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender but still bright green. Serve hot, over cooked quinoa or rice. Enjoy!
Thank you to Christine Waltermyer and the Natural Kitchen Cooking School for working with us to help promote healthy, nutritious meals and products that are affordable, full of nutrients, and simple to make at home!
Christine Waltermyer is a local Wellness Chef, private chef to celebrities, published cookbook author and founder of the Natural Kitchen Cooking School, which offers an online Plant-Based Cooking Program. She also loves shopping at Basil Bandwagon! Visit naturalkitchenschool.com to get your FREE copy of her cookbook, “7 Days of Deliciousness.”
Serves 4-6
A colorful, heart-healthy salad that highlights seasonal vegetables.
Ingredients
Salad:
½ head radicchio, chopped
½ cup chopped fennel bulb
1 mandarin orange, sliced
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
2 heads Belgian endive, cored and sliced
3 heirloom rainbow carrots, peeled and diced
5 cups chopped romaine lettuce
Dressing:
½ cup olive oil
⅓ champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon maple sugar
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
Juice of one small orange
Method
1. Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients. Whisk well to blend.
3. Just before serving the salad, pour desired amount of dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Enjoy!
Thank you to Christine Waltermyer and the Natural Kitchen Cooking School for working with us to help promote healthy, nutritious meals and products that are affordable, full of nutrients, and simple to make at home!
Want to celebrate the new year with a sweet treat? This delicious homemade salted caramel hot chocolate featuring Lake Champlain filled chocolate is how we want to celebrate the end of a year and a decade! Simple and sweet- what else could we ask for?!
Ingredients
1 bar Lake Champlain caramel filled chocolate bar, chopped
1 cup almond milk, or more to taste
Marshmallows, optional
Method
1. In a saucepan, continuously stir almond milk over medium-low heat.
2. Add chocolate and continue to stir until chocolate is melted and well blended, about 5 minutes. Make sure you don’t boil your milk! Remove from heat and add more milk if desired.
3. Serve in a mug and add marshmallows if desired. Enjoy!
Before you enjoy your homemade salted caramel hot chocolate, make sure you take a picture of your masterpiece! Post it on social media and tag your favorite organic market, Basil Bandwagon Natural Market! #basilbandwagon
On sale this week (9/23-9/29): Organic Green Beans $1.49 lb!
Are you missing some southern comfort food? You need to try this recipe today! It’s an easy dish that you can serve as a side or even an entree.
Bonus- Pacific Vegetable Broths are on sale for $2.99 each until the end of this month!
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Pound Fingerling Potatoes, cut into quarters or halves
1 Teaspoon Liquid Aminos
1 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
2 Cups Vegetable Broth, or 2 cups water plus 1 veggie bouillon cube
1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Teaspoon Salt, or to taste
1 Tablespoon non-dairy butter, optional
Method
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 60 seconds stirring.
2. Stir in potatoes, paprika, cayenne, liquid aminos, and vegetable broth.
3. Bring to boil, cover saucepan and reduce to simmer and allow to cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add green beans and cook for 15 more minutes or until tender. Stir in butter if preferred.
5. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!
Before you enjoy your delicious vegan southern green beans and potatoes, make sure you take a picture of your masterpiece! Post it on social media and tag your favorite produce market, Basil Bandwagon Natural Market! #basilbandwagon #producerecipeoftheweek
On sale this week (9/16-9/22): Organic Cluster Tomatoes $1.99 lb!
Don’t want summer to end? Are you sad it’s the end of tomato season in Jersey? Celebrate with this amazing recipe featuring our farm-to-market cafe’s orzo salad and organic tomatoes!
Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups Orzo Salad from Basil Bandwagon Cafe
6 Tomatoes on the Vine
Pinch of Parsley
Shredded Cheese, optional
Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut tops off tomatoes and scoop out pulp.
3. Warm orzo salad in microwave or stove top.
4. Fill tomatoes with orzo salad and top with cheese if preferred. Bake for 15 minutes.
5. Take out of oven, sprinkle with a little parsley and enjoy!
Before you enjoy your incredible orzo stuffed tomatoes, make sure you take a picture of your masterpiece! Post it on social media and tag your favorite produce market, Basil Bandwagon Natural Market! #basilbandwagon #producerecipeoftheweek
