My sister Brigette and I have been talking about ways to amp up our families’ intake of healthy foods: vegetables and whole grains. As if in accordance, the Better Homes and Garden March edition came with a whole section on how to use alternative grains. I was impressed by the recipes offered and decided to look up the author, Robin Asbell. I checked out several of her vegan cookbooks from the library, (I love our library!) and today, I went to town making all sorts of nutritional “love” food I’ve been tagging the past few weeks: 
-Beet chips (Delicious! We ate them all before dinner, 7 beets between the three of us!) I dug the beets from our garden!
-Carrot/Sweet potato muffins- mmm, spiced and sweetened with maple. Despite the whole wheat and oats, the texture came out smooth and moist, almost like a souflee. 
-Kale, Edamame and carrot salad. I was sure this was going to be a flop- at least for Tom, but we all loved it. The Kale was tender but had a bit of bite, the edamame lost their sliminess during the saute’ and the basalmic vinegar imbued it all with rich flavor.
-Romesco sauce- a sort of Spanish red pepper pesto. The ingredients are: Almonds, whole wheat bread crumbs, roasted red peppers, basil, paprika and olive oil. Robust flavor and thanks to our Vitamix- smooth texture. 
It’s rare that I end up with so many triumphs on a night like to night- when I get health crazy. I’m excited to try more vegetable chips- turnips, sweet potato, green bean as well as experiment with more kale salads.