Spinach Pesto

A great, quick, no cook pesto sauce. It's goes wonderfully with zucchini noodles and other thinly sliced or spiral sliced vegetables for a delicious cold salad.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup spinach
• 1/2 cup mushroom
• 1/4 cup green onion
• 1/4 cup tomatoes
• 1 large clove of garlic, or to taste
• 1/8 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp dried basil or other green herbs, as desired or to taste
• 1 tsp olive oil

Directions:
Put all toppings into food processor, puree until everything is blended together. Add water if you find that the consistency is too thick.

Optional Additions:
Walden Farms Alfredo
hot peppers, to taste

Palak with Tofu

This flavourful tofu recipe makes two servings of this protein rich Indian style dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg firm tofu cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 large bunch of green spinach, chopped, or 4 cups packed
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp of minced ginger
• pinch of red chilli powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp of coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp  cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp of garam masala
• 2  tsp of tomato paste

Directions:

1. Press the water out of the tofu with a towel.
2. Heat the grapeseed oil in nonstick pan, on med-low. Add spinach and cover.Cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add all the spices and tomato paste. Stir on med-low heat to mix well.
4. Cook covered for about 6-8 mins until the spinach is completely cooked and spices have blended well. 
5. Gently add the tofu pieces. Continue to cook for 5 minutes or until the tofu is heated through.

Spinach Dip

This spinach dip is a great low carb, low fat and sugar free alternative to heavy cream based or sweetened prepared dips.

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen spinach, squeezed and drained
• 4 Tbsp silken tofu
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• favourite spices to taste if you'd like to spice things up

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender or using a hand blender.

Spice ideas:

• onion powder
• celery salt
• cumin
• smoked paprika
• if you like lemon, consider adding some lemon juice

Lettuces

Lettuces have been cultivated for thousands of years and with good reason, given their vitamin and fibre content. They are also easy to grow. Lettuces are most commonly seen in salads, but can be used in many ways, so stay tuned for more recipes this month. More on the different lettuces we'll be touching on this month can be found below.

Types of Lettuce

Leaf
Generally seen in red or green and used as a salad lettuce.

Romaine
Most often seen in Caesar salads, this lettuce also works well on sandwiches and as a substitute wrap. 

Crisphead

Also known as Iceberg lettuce, this variety is mostly water and used in salads, but is not as nutritious as its other kin.

Boston
Also known as Butterhead or Bibb lettuce, this type is more tender and flavourful.

Other Lettuce-like vegetables

Belgian endive
Belgian Endive is also known as endive or chicory, its delicate flavour makes it a versatile choice for baking, grilling, boiling or eating raw.

Raddichio
Raddichio is somewhat bitter. While it is sometimes added to salads, grilling or roasting the vegetable mellows its taste.

Spinach
Spinach is a vegetable high in many vitamins and minerals, great for adding to salads, sauteing with other vegetables or pureeing into soups, sauces and beverages. 

Arugula
Arugula is sometimes known as Rocket. Having a strong flavour, it is most often mixed with other greens for salad or used chopped as a garnish.