Just had to report a sighting! I spotted (and hoarded) some bags of Trader Joe's Coconut Chips today after some people commented that they might be out of stock. I am happy to report that the Alameda Trader Joe's has the Coconut Chips back in stock! YAY!!!
Coconut Rice is pure heaven in a bowl: creamy, slightly sweet, slightly salty...completely yummy!
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 cups jasmine rice (washed)
1 (13.5 oz) can of coconut milk
2.5 cups of water or as much water is necessary for the water level to reach your middle finger knuckle
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
Fried shallots for garnish
Heat coconut oil in large dutch oven pot. Add rice and coat with oil to toast lightly. Add coconut milk and water (pour water in coconut milk can to get every bit of milk out). Add salt and sugar. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer; cover and cook for 35-40 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat and let rice sit 10 minutes and fluff with fork or chopsticks when ready to serve. I had to gently mix the rice with a rice paddle a bit because some of the coconut milk mixture settled on the top. I should have cooked it a little longer than 40 minutes, but after it sat for a while, the rice was perfect. Jasmine rice is so fragrant and wonderful on its own, but cooking it in coconut milk just gilds the lily!
*To make fried shallots, simply slice shallots thinly. Fill a small pot with grapeseed oil and add shallots on low heat. This will take about 30-40 minutes to bring up to temperature and fry slowly on low heat. If you add shallots to hot oil, they will singe up almost immediately and burn. So, be patient and these will fry up gently and eventually get nice and crisp. When the shallots are golden and crispy, remove and place on paper towel to absorb oil. Sprinkle with salt. Set aside for garnish for coconut rice.
Coconut rice is a great snack all on its own or makes a nice side for almost any meal. It really makes your dinner feel special and extra tasty!
I spotted So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer a Berkeley Bowl and thought I'd give it a whirl since it was dairy free. What a huge disappointment! It was very watery and didn't cut through the coffee at all. I had to keep adding more and more as I drank the coffee just to get it to reach the light brown color I like, and by that time, my coffee got cold! I will not be buying this So Delicious Coconut Creamer again--it didn't do its job! I need something that makes the coffee creamy and less bitter. The So Delicious Coconut Creamer was not coconutty tasting at all or creamy, like the name suggests--it just seemed like I was pouring regular coconut milk in my coffee! The amount I had to pour in just to get the color to lighten and the coffee to get even a little creamy was a lot, which is not the point of a creamer.
So Delicious Coconut Creamer was so disappointing, what a misleading product. So bummed. I thought I was going to have a nice change up for my coffee and wake up to a nice treat, but So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer was not it! I am going to stick with the soy creamer instead--much better substitute for half and half because it actually cuts the acidity of the coffee and mimics half and half a lot better.
Sorry, So Delicious, you've let me down this time.
Had to use up some cilantro before it got brown and gooey, so I decided to make some cilantro pepita pesto.
Super easy to throw together instructions (let the food processor do all the work!):
1 bunch of cilantro
1 small garlic clove pasted
1 cup pepitas (unsalted)
Dash of red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup or so Extra Virgin Olive oil
1 lime
Paste the garlic with a hand held microplane into the food processor. Add all the ingredients and whiz it up! Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference.
This is a great dip or bread topper. Add it to some vegan mayo and spread it on a sandwich for extra zing. Stir it into soup as a garnish or saute some kale and beans and add some cilantro pepita pesto as a dressing/flavoring. Of course, this pesto is great on pasta or even whole wheat pasta or barley salad! Mix it with vegan mayo and more olive oil for a creamy salad dressing. The applications are endless!
Had to make a quick lunch and felt lazy--or exhausted is more accurate!--so I boiled up some penne pasta and drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled it with nutritional yeast to bump up the protein and fiber.
The result? It wasn't half bad. It was nutty and almost mimicked buttered noodles with cheese. This is what I call a lazy pantry meal! :)
Found a beautiful eggplant at Berkeley Bowl and I just had to scoop it up and take it home to cook something yummy! I love Rachael Ray and saw her cook up this Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Soup, so I had to try making it. What I love about Rachael Ray's recipes is that they are fairly simple and yet practically fool-proof and come out tasty every time! The trick for this soup is finding time to roast off the eggplant and garlic (I woke up early and roasted them this morning so they could cook while I got ready for work, etc.), but once you do that, the soup itself is super easy and quick to throw together. Rachael Ray describes this soup as Eggplant Parmesan in a bowl. Since I didn't add the ricotta salata at the end as garnish, I didn't get that flavor similarity, but I did think it was a jazzed up tomato soup, kicked up three notches with the addition of the nutty roasted eggplant, roasted garlic and wine. Let's just say this soup is very satisfying and it is a good way to "sneak" eggplant into your diet if you aren't sure how to cook with it! I love eggplant, so it isn't a problem for me, but I know some people shy away from it because it can be a bit daunting to cook with. The eggplant makes this soup heartier and almost creamy, especially after the immersion blender hits the pot--this soup is very yummy and worthy of staying on the menu in my house!
Thank you, Rachael Ray, for teaching me yet another wonderful recipe! This soup battles any cafe bitro soup you might find for a fraction of the cost--I could see a cafe charging $3-5 for a small cup of soup like this, but if you make it at home, you get to have seconds and not break the bank or offend your waistline! As Rachael Ray always says, "you ain't gonna find this in a can!" This soup is "good and good for you!"
Ingredients
2 tablespoons EVOO, plus more for liberal drizzling
1 medium to large firm eggplant, halved, scored with paring knife
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bulb garlic, ends cut to expose the cloves
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups chicken stock (I used vegetable stock)
1 cup dry white or red wine (I used red)
One 32-ounce can fire roasted tomatoes of any variety (whole, diced or crushed)
A few leaves fresh basil, torn, plus a few for garnish
Crumbled or grated ricotta salata, garnish (I omitted the cheese)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.Pour enough oil to coat the center of a baking sheet. Season the scored eggplant with salt and pepper, then arrange the cut sides down in the EVOO. Drizzle the garlic with EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Wrap in a foil pouch and roast along with the eggplant until very tender, 40 minutes. Cool to handle.Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO, a couple of turns of the pan, in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the thyme, chile flakes, onions and salt and pepper and stir to soften, 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir 1 minute more. Then add the stock, wine, and tomatoes. Scrape the eggplant away from skin and add the flesh, along with the garlic, squishing the cloves from the skins. Add the basil. Puree the soup with an immersion blender. Simmer to thicken. Cool and store for a make-ahead meal. Reheat the soup over medium heat, and top with the basil and cheese.
Thank you, Rachael Ray, for your yum-o recipe!
Here is a quick side salad or light lunch salad that you can make in minutes. It tastes like a fancy cafe salad that you might pay $6-7 for, but you can make it for way less at home.
Ingredients:
Half a bag mixed greens and spinach 50/50 blend
One carrot, shaved into strips with a vegetable peeler
One Belgian endive, chopped into small pieces
Red wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of fennel seeds
Toss all ingredients with a drizzle of oil and splash of vinegar. Season with salt, pepper and fennel seeds.
This is a great side dish to any meal because it is super fast to make. I love the addition of endive and shaved carrots for extra color and crunch, but the fennel seeds make this salad so flavorful and special.
If you are tired and feeling lazy, this salad is refreshing and will pair up nicely with any main course, sandwich or soup!
Found a delicious Vegan frozen dessert: Mint Chip Coconut Milk! I cannot believe how yummy and refreshing this is. It tastes like a cross between chocolate mint sorbet and frozen yogurt. It definitely hits all the flavor and texture notes of ice cream, though!
For a 1/2 cup serving, there are 170 calories, 9 g of fat, 6 g fiber (wow!), 13 g sugar (not so bad considering this is a dessert splurge! That's less than most yogurt!) and 1 g of protein. But, if you get a craving for ice cream like I do, this will satisfy you! It does not taste coconutty at all, so don't let that deter or disappoint you--it tastes minty with bits of chocolate in it and it is a perfect ending to a hard day at work!
Yummmmmm!!! TGI-dairy free!
This Chia Seed Chocolate Pudding is an amazing fake out dessert! It is so easy, all you do is mix the ingredients and let it sit for at least 20 minutes (I chilled mine in the fridge so it would mimic chocolate pudding). I stumbled on this recipe at fooddoodle.com and now that I have tried this Chia Seed Chocolate pudding, I am sold on Chia Seeds!
Chia Seeds need to bloom in liquid and when they do, they lose their hard, crunchy, dotty appearance and become like a cousin to tapioca--soft, squishy and more like a thickening agent. I was skeptical about this recipe at first, but now it has inspired me to experiment with Chia seeds. I am going to try adding Chia seeds to Coconut milk and coconut milk yogurt and mixing in shredded coconut along with the cocoa powder to make a chocolate coconut pudding. I also want to try adding Chia seeds to juice and making a smoothie. I saw some Chia seed smoothies at Whole Foods and now I know what they were talking about! I am sold on how nutritious Chia seeds are for you and I love how they pack a punch with protein, fiber, potassium, calcium, manganese, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids!
This Chia Seed Chocolate pudding leaves you satisfied (it's not too sweet, which I like) with only a 1/2 cup serving, and it doesn't make your blood sugar spike because regular white sugar is swapped out for agave, which has a lower glycemic index. Bonus: if you can get your kids to eat this, even better! Dip some strawberries in it and you are all set!
Ingredients:
2 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 Cup unsweetened almond milk(or your favorite alternative)
2 tbsp agave, brown rice syrup, maple syrup or stevia to taste
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
Tonight I was feeling lazy after work, so I decided to warm up some Trader Joe's Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels in the oven. Trader Joe's makes buying Vegan convenience food super easy with the "V" symbol on the package!
I must say that these Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels were pretty tasty! They look like little "chicken nuggets" and bake up nice and crispy. The sauce is exactly what you would expect an orange sauce to be, sweet and gooey. I liked it overall and would buy it again to keep on hand for a lazy night when calling for Chinese food just isn't an option--plus this is better because it is 100% Vegan, whereas, you never know if any of the ingredients used at restaurants have animal products in them. Half the time the order gets messed up, anyway, and there are ingredients that even the cooks and waiters don't realize are animal products.
I am so happy Trader Joe's offers Vegan alternatives to popular chicken dishes. These Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels definitely hit all the flavor notes of ordering take out, with none of the guilt!
Plus, these Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels have 16g of protein per serving (about 10 pieces!!). Be careful, though, it is easy to eat the whole bag, so portion control is still important with these yummies!
Ate the whole bag of Chocolate Kale Chips with my friends...no regrets! I am going back to Whole Foods to get more on sale! These chocolate kale chips have a nice chocolate flavor, creamy, but not too sweet at all. What a lovely guilt-free splurge, a great way to enjoy chocolate with some mega nutrition at the same time! Raw. Vegan. Dairy free. Nut free. Gluten free. Amazing super food...amazing treat!
Need I say more?
TGIF!
Life is good.
I get to pack a Vegan lunch when I go to work--it helps me stay on track-- and this Vegan Bento lunch was such a special treat, I had to share it! Yesterday, I stopped at Koreana Market for some Kimbap (Korean sushi rolls). I had one roll for lunch that day and saved the other for my lunch today to make packing a lunch super easy and quick during the morning rush. Usually, I get the fish cake kimbap with egg, but I made a special request at the deli counter for a veggie only (carrots, cucumber and pickled radish) kimbap and they made it for me! I am so glad I spoke up and asked--they were so nice to prepare a special order for me. Love Koreana Market!
I decided to pack some Chinese pickled cabbage and some Japanese Soba noodles with some green onions and black sesame seeds on a small bed of arugula. It was a delish!
My dear friend got me a subscription for "Everday Food" Magazine earlier this year for my birthday, so that's the inspiration for tonight's dinner: Mushroom Barley Soup and Roasted Parsnips.
The roasted parsnips were a surprise delight, somewhere between a radish and a potato--a ratato! These roasted parsnips were almost like a baked french fry fake out and were quite tasty with a hint of spicy bite to them.The outside of the roasted parsnip gets nice and caramelized with a slightly crunchy crust and a creamy, soft inside similar to a baked french fry. I would definitely make these roasted parsnips again. They would be a good side dish for a veggie burger!
The mushroom barley soup had a wonderful earthiness that was so hearty and satisfying. The barley was nice and nutty like brown rice. I am definitely making this again because it was super fast and easy to throw together, especially because I had some barley already cooked and cooled in the fridge. I try to keep a container of barley in the fridge all week so I can use it for barley salads, soups or hashes. Barley has become my new go-to recipe star ingredient to experiment with in hot and cold dishes. Barley is so versatile and it travels well for lunches, which I need so I can stay on track at work.
Roasted Parsnips
2 Parsnips, peeled and cut into sticks in an oven fry fashion
1 sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Toss ingredients together to coat and season the parsnips.
Heat oven to 400 F and roast for 10 minutes, turn parsnips and continue cooking 10 more minutes. Optional: salt parsnips lightly when you pull them out of the oven.
Mushroom Barley Soup
1 package of button mushrooms, sliced
1 package cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves chopped
4 cups or 1 carton vegetable stock
2 cups cooked barley (can add another cup if soup looks too thin, I just eyeballed it)
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
Salt and Pepper
Saute mushrooms on medium heat in coconut oil until they get soft. Add onions, garlic and thyme, salt and pepper. Add vegetable stock and turn heat up to high. Add barley and bring to a boil. *I added a teaspoon of soy sauce just to give it a little added depth of flavor, but not so much that it overpowered the soup. Lower to a simmer for 10-15 minutes. This should serve 2 people or 4 if the bowls are small, although I had seconds, so it depends on how hungry you are!
Just made my first batch of Channa Masala and oh lordy am I hooked! If you plan ahead and soak the chickpeas overnight, you can simmer them up the next day in 30-40 minutes. I simmered my chickpeas/garbanzo beans this morning and let them cool so they would be ready for dinner tonight. I do not think canned chickpeas will do this dish justice, so take the time to cook up your own--it is so worth it and it makes the Channa Masala taste so fresh and more flavorful.
What you need:
4 cups cooked chickpeas or two cans of chickpeas
2 tablespoons Channa Masala seasoning blend
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger, minced
2 Fresno chiles sliced or 1 serano chile, seeded and chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped or 1 can cut tomatoes
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons mango chutney
2/3 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish
What I did:
Saute onions in coconut oil--instantly your house will smell so good! Add garlic, ginger and chiles. Stir for a few minutes. Add Channa Masala seasoning blend and cumin seeds. Toast the spices and coat the onion mixture. Add the tomatoes and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Add chickpeas and stir to coat with spices. Add water and simmer for 10 minutes so the tomatoes breakdown and create a light sauce. Add mango chutney and simmer for a few more minutes. Adjust seasoning with more salt if needed. Garnish with cilantro. Serve over rice and/or with naan or paratha.
This Channa Masala is so good and filling. It is so unbelievably flavorful and satisfying and very simple to make--once you have the chickpeas cooked, this dish can be thrown together very quickly, in well under 20 minutes, including prep/chopping time. I need to make a double batch of this next time because there were hardly any leftovers! I love the slight tanginess from the mango chutney and the hint of spice from the chiles and of course, I love the cilantro! Channa Masala has a great balance of flavors and is so worth making at home--if we were to order this at an Indian restaurant, it would have been $9-11 at least! I made mine with dried chickpeas, which cost way less than canned chickpeas, so this meal was very budget friendly! Channa Masala is definitely going to be a new staple for me! (And if I get lazy or am short on time, I will have to use canned chickpeas, but I know it won't taste the same because it won't have the full flavor and "meatiness" or "al dente" bite of homecooked chickpeas.)
With dishes like this Channa Masala, it is easy to stick with Vegan meals and non-Vegans will even appreciate this dish because it is so tasty! I'm tellin' ya, cooking your own chickpeas makes ALL the difference--the earthy, full taste of homemade chickpeas is so different from canned chickpeas, which are too salty and mushy.
This is another great dish to take to potlucks because it doesn't have to be served screaming hot and can be eaten at room temperature--plus you don't have to worry about anything going bad! I am thinking about throwing some of the leftovers in the food processor and using it as a dip or spread...doesn't that sound good?
It must be my lucky day because I got a free tomato at Lucky Supermarket today. I had no idea that Lucky has such a good company policy about rectifying errors at checkout. I picked up this tomato because tomatoes were on special for $0.99/lb. Generally, I make it a habit to review my receipt and double check that I got the sale price that I saw because sometimes I stock up based purely on what's on sale. As I was checking out, I saw the price scan for my tomato and it was $1.50! That seemed pretty high for a tomato that I bought on sale! So I asked the cashier to check the price of the tomatoes because I thought they were supposed to be $0.99/lb. She said she put in the code for vine ripened tomatoes and I know I didn't buy that kind. Luckily, there was a sticker with the produce number on my tomato and when I read it to her, she realized she made a mistake. She promptly gave me a refund for my otherwise $1.50 tomato and then she said, "You can keep that tomato," and I nearly fell down. I told her it was okay I didn't want a free tomato but she said it was company policy and insisted that I take it. So that's how I got a free tomato, just by remembering the price I thought I was buying it for! I have caught a lot of errors on receipts at other stores, so it is a good habit to get into because you just never know!
Thank you, Lucky Supermarket for your amazing customer service! I wasn't expecting such good follow through with your company policy. Thanks so much for my tomato!
Trader Joe's has done it again! I spotted this great new snack today: Roasted Coconut Chips. I am a coconut fiend, so of course I had to give these a try! (Bonus: Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Chips are Vegan!)
I am officially addicted to these Roasted Coconut Chips--you had me at "coconut" and "chip"! These coconut chips are nice and crisp and light, not chewy like dried coconut. The roasting process, without adding oil, makes these coconut chips very nutty and delicious with the right balance of being slightly sweet and ever so slightly salty. The coconut chips themselves are just thinly shaved pieces of coconut, roughly the shape of long rectangles or squares, and not at all like the grated or flaked coconut used in baking.
Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Chips are perfect for satisfying crunchy chip cravings, but they are very addictive and it's very easy to eat the whole bag--granted, they come packaged in a small bag, but still! I am going to use these roasted coconut chips as a garnish for my sweet potato and butternut squash soup the next time I make it--but I will have to buy more bags of these roasted coconut chips because I will be craving these for sure! They should be called Trader Joe's Heavenly Roasted Coconut Chips!
I had a beautiful eggplant to use up, so I decided to make some ratatouille. This is a quick meal to throw together in the slow cooker-- all you have to do is saute some veggies and let the slow cooker do the rest. I was able to put this meal together in the slowcooker in less than 20 minutes, including all the chopping!
Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant, cut into bite-size pieces
1 small zucchini, cut into half moons
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 14 oz can cut tomatoes
1 tablespoon harissa
1/4 cup white wine (or water)
2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oregano
3-4 leaves torn fresh basil leaves
Salt and pepper
*I have a slow cooker with an insert that can be used on a stovetop like a pot, so I just start the ratatouille on the stove and finish it in the slow cooker on high for 3-4 hours (low for 6-7 hours). But you can just simmer it on med/low for a few hours if you are home or transfer it to the slow cooker after the ratatouille comes to a simmer.
What I did:
Saute the onions for a minute in 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Add the eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini and season with salt, pepper, Herbs de Provence and oregano. If the eggplant soaks up all the oil, then add some more. Deglaze with the wine. Let it simmer away until the wine concentrates. Add the tomatoes, harissa, and basil. Add extra water, enough to cover the veggies. Season with more salt and pepper. I cooked mine on high for a little over 3 hours since I threw this together in the afternoon and wanted it to be ready by dinner time.
This ratatouille is so flavorful and the harissa adds a kick of spice that makes up for not using chicken stock or broth (which is what I used to use). I love ratatouille because you can eat it hot, cold or room temperature and you can eat it as is or over rice, over pasta, with some crusty bread or even cous cous. Ratatouille is so versatile and it is a super easy way to get a ton of veggies in one meal--it is the perfect one pot wonder meal!
I tried my first soy yogurt today! Trader Joe's has a strawberry soy yogurt that tastes pretty good. It's tangy and sweet and pretty similar to regular yogurt. I decided to make a smoothie with the soy yogurt and some berries that needed to be used up.
Triple Berry Soy Yogurt Smoothie:
Handful of raspberries
Handful of strawberries
Handful of blueberries
1 container of Trader Joe's Strawberry Soy Yogurt
Handful of ice
Blend and enjoy!
This triple berry soy yogurt smoothie kept me going all morning today and it felt good knowing that I got a head start on my 5-7 servings of fruit today. Don't skip breakfast!! Make a smoothie to go and set the tone for healthy eating for the rest of the day!
I have been so busy with work that I didn't even realize I conquered my 30 Day Vegan Challenge! I am on day 33 as a Vegan (Day 37 as a Vegetarian) and I feel great! I never thought I could do it but it was easy! I missed the 30 day mark because I wasn't in any hurry to end the 30 day challenge! That's called conquering the 30 Day Vegan Challenge.
I am so glad I tested myself to see if I could eat Vegan meals for at least 30 days. I must admit I miss having cheese, eggs and cream, but the absence of dairy has helped me lose a lot of weight, more than I ever thought possible, so that is a welcome trade-off! It was so effortless! I wasn't trying to lose weight, it just happened over time. I guess I didn't realize how much butter, eggs, cream and cheese were in my diet until I took them out!
I told myself I would re-evaluate my diet after I reached the 30 day mark and see what seemed like reasonable lifestyle changes. I think I am going to try to stick to Vegan meals for the rest of this year. I just want to see how much of a difference it really makes with my overall health. I have changed so many habits--all for the better. I feel better about what I am eating and I am more aware of what I am eating. I am always comforted by knowing that I can always eat again if I am hungry after a meal! For me, Vegan guidelines are easier to follow than counting calories or carbs or weighing food. I have always believed that if you eat healthy food, you can eat more of it! I never felt limited or hungry on this 30 Day Vegan Challenge because I told myself this is not about restricting, it's about changing. I hate fussing with portions and worrying about wanting seconds. If I want seconds, I am going for it no matter what! And now I can feel good about seconds because it's all Vegan!
Conquering my "self-imposed" 30 Day Vegan Challenge is just the beginning of the new me...a Vegan/Vegetarian me.
I just discovered these fantabulous Coconut Mango snack bars by Oskri--OH who am I kidding, these are pure dessert heaven! Oskri Coconut Mango bars are vegan and gluten free. If you love coconut like I do, these bars are pure indulgence without any dairy or animal products! When I first tasted this Oskri Coconut Mango Bar, I was immediately reminded of a Mounds Bar without the chocolate and without the artificial flavorings that give you that overly sweet aftertaste. In other words, the Oskri Coconut Mango Bar has a clean coconut flavor and is only sweetened with rice syrup, so there's no high fructose corn syrup in it that you would find in a Mounds Bar. So, you get the sweetness of lucious coconut with a light tinge of mango flavor, which transports me to a mini food vacation! I love these Oskri Coconut Mango Bars and I am flat out hooked! If I am ever craving something decadent and sweet, this hits the spot with none of the guilt--but man alive, it is a pleasure to eat!
Thank you, Oskri, for coming up with a healthier way to enjoy coconut at its finest, in a convenient snack bar that slides nicely into my purse for emergency snacking! Love it! Can't wait to try the other Oskri coconut flavors!
I took a huge leap tonight and made eggplant parmesan, minus the parmesan! Thus, eggplant not-parmesan. I also swapped out my regular pasta for whole wheat pasta and it tasted good! I was pleasantly surprised to find 8g of protein per serving and 4 g of fiber in the whole wheat pasta! Bonus!
So, instead of setting up a breading station (with eggs, flour and bread crumbs with parmesan cheese) to make a classic eggplant parmesan dish, I grilled the eggplant on my indoor cast iron griddle by slicing the eggplant into circles, drizzling with extra virgin olive oil and seasoning both sides with salt and pepper. I grilled them on each side for several minutes until they softened up a bit and got nice grill marks on them. Then, I took a major short cut and used store bought tomato basil marinara sauce to layer underneath and on top of the eggplant in a baking dish. This is where the Vegan swap outs continue--this is all new terrain for me! I used Vegan mozarella cheese to sprinkle on top. The brand I found was Daiya. I baked it in a 350 degree F oven for 40 minutes or so until it was bubbly.
I have never had Vegan cheese. This Vegan eggplant not-parmesan wasn't half bad! I found some Vegan Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top and I tore up some fresh basil for garnish. I actually enjoyed this Veganized eggplant not-parmesan dish because it was lighter and yet very satisfying--it still hit most of the flavor notes of classic eggplant parmesan but it didn't make me feel guilty for eating it. The Vegan cheese definitely didn't melt the same way as regular mozarella cheese, but it was still creamy tasting and added the visual element of having "cheese" on this classically cheesy dish. It wasn't greasy either, which was nice.
I feel like this Vegan eggplant not-parmesan was a fair swap out and definitely something I would be willing and excited to make again. Usually I eat a ton of pasta, but I tried serving myself a smaller amount with two slices of eggplant, and it was all the better for me because I didn't walk away feeling heavy and overly stuffed, just pleasantly sated. That is the key state that I need to train my body to reach, pleasantly sated and not overly stuffed. I have to remind myself that if I get hungry in two hours, I can eat some fruit or nuts or some kind of snack. And somehow that idea comforts me--I can always eat again later!
Baby steps...changing my habits, changing my recipes...baby steps...I will get there, I will. Day 15 in a row of Vegan meals, day 19 of Vegetarian. I am half way done with this challenge to eat Vegan meals for 30 days. If I can do it, anyone can!
Started today off right with a nice green smoothie! I mixed a scoop of Trader Joe's Super Green Drink Mix with a cup of cantelope, a splash of water and a few ice cubes in the blender. The cantelope really sweetens up the green drink mix and the ice makes it nice and frothy. Trader Joe's Super Green Drink powder is a nice, affordable and convenient way to make a green smoothie on the go!
Here's another great "use-up" recipe I just threw together today for lunch.
Bring on the spicy food, please!
For this Vegan Rajas and Sweet Potato Barley Hash, you need to:
1. Saute half a chopped onion in a tablespoon of coconut oil
2. Add one small chopped sweet potato and let soften a bit
3. Add two cloves chopped garlic and two roasted poblano chiles (aka, rajas)
4. Add one small zucchini, chopped in quarter moons
5. Add 1 cup or so of cooked barley, just eyeball it, I just used up what I had and didn't measure it
6. Season with salt and pepper. Add about half a teaspoon of cumin and corriander
7. Add half a bag of baby spinach (had to use it up so I threw it in to wilt up!). Cover with a lid to let spinach cook down while the veggies soften.
8. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime
Talk about a flavor explosion! This is so hearty and spicy with those rajas! YUM!!!
NOTE: To roast a poblano chile, simply char it on an open flame of a gas stove until the skin blisters and turns black. Or you can place them on a broiler pan under the broiler and turn every few minutes until the skin is blistered. Place chiles in a plastic ziploc bag or a bowl with a tight lid and let steam for ten minutes. Remove outer black layer and skin with a paper towel. Remove seeds. Rajas!
Felt ambitious enough today to try to find a way to use up some cooked chickpeas and experiment with Harissa, a very spicy chile paste that comes in a tube. It is deliciously spicy and adds so much depth to any dish.
This kind of stew is so easy to make because you can just throw in whatever vegetables you have on hand. I started by sauteeing a chopped onion, two stalks of chopped celery, two chopped carrots, one chopped yellow bell pepper, five cloves of chopped garlic and grated fresh ginger in a tablespoon of coconut oil. Then I started building the spices. I just eyeballed everything: teaspoon of cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, corriander, tumeric, garam masala, pinch of dried oregano and paprika. I let the spices coat the veggies and seasoned everything with salt and pepper. Then I added one tablespoon of harissa, one tablespoon of tomato paste and one serrano chile cut down the middle (but still attached at the stem). Next, I added one chopped zucchini and one chopped sweet potato, one can of cut tomatoes, about two cups of cooked chickpeas, two handfuls of kale, one cup of cooked pearl barley and one can of coconut cream. I let that come to a boil and simmered it over low for 20 minutes to thicken. I had to leave the house so I threw the stew in the slow cooker on low and it simmered on low for about 5-6 hours. Before I served this stew, I stirred in one cup of frozen roasted corn to let warm through. I toasted up some pine nuts and cut some cilantro and mint for garnish. This chickpea vegetable curry stew with harissa can be served over rice or by itself with the garnishes of toasted pine nuts, cilantro and mint. The mint nicely counters the heat of the harissa and the pine nuts at a buttery crunch. I really enjoyed this stew and I love how filling it is. This is the kind of stew that makes you feel good about getting your veggies in for the day! Plus, it is so flavorful that you will enjoy it even if you're not Vegan! Did I mention this is a good "use up" stew, so you can use up any veggies that need to be cooked before they go bad? Love this flexible kind of cooking!
If you are a chip-a-holic like I am, you might like these baked kale chips. I made my first batch and I love them! The key to crispy baked kale chips is making sure the kale is dry before you add oil.
Set oven to 275 degrees F.
Tear kale into pieces and drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with Nutritional Yeast and a pinch of sea salt. Do not over salt--a tiny bit goes a long way. Massage the oil into the leaves to coat.
Set a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. Scatter kale evenly over the cooling rack. Bake for 10 minutes. Check. Turn kale gently. Bake for additional 5-10 minutes or until crisp. I just eyeball it until it is crispy.
Yum!!! This is an amazing snack! I am smitten! This snack doesn't keep well stored, so try to eat it in one sitting (not hard for me to do!). This is a great way to eat a kale salad on-the-go and it is a wonderful way to sneak a super food into snack time in a crunchy chip form! Kale chips are light and crispy, nutty and satisfying--the texture almost reminds me of roasted seaweed. I am going to keep experimenting with different ways to prepare kale chips because the possibilities are endless! I bought a bundle of kale for $0.79 at Berkeley Bowl Market and made these kale chips myself instead of paying over $6 for a small bag of pre-made kale chips at Whole Foods Market. Victory for homemade food! Yay!
What a treat--a Banh Mi sandwich...with fresh French Bread! I had a Tofu Vegetarian Banh Mi Sandwich today, minus the mayonnaise. It was a true test of will power not to order a BBQ Chicken or Pork Banh Mi from my favorite Vietnamese Deli, but I really wanted to stick to my goals. It is definitely easier to stick to Vegan meals at home, but I need to learn how to navigate through menus at restaurants on the rare occasion that I actually eat out. At least I remembered to order the Vietnamese sandwich without mayo--it's healthier for me anyway and it's a habit I should have embraced long ago. At least I got to indulge in super fresh French bread that Banh Mi sandwiches are known for! I was surprised that the tofu on the Banh Mi was like tofurkey or tofu deli-style slices of fake meat. It was interesting. Visually, it looked like turkey slices. It tasted okay, too, very similar to deli turkey--salty and not soft and mushy like I would have imagined the tofu to be.
Baby steps...I am making changes and from now on if I hit a Vietnamese deli, I will order the tofu sandwich or tofu fresh rolls. I just need to find out if they put fish sauce in the dipping sauce. Does anyone know if they do?
Came home late and threw this Vegan Citrus Arugula Salad with Fennel and Toasted Pine Nuts together in minutes and it was sure yummy! It was a nice, light dinner that kept me on track on day 9 of eating Vegan meals. The fennel gives the salad a nice crunch, while the citrus highlights the licorishy flavor of the fennel and balances out the peppery arugula with a tinge of sweet and sour. The pine nuts add more crunch and almost a creamy-nutty charm to the salad.
For this salad, you will need:
Half a bag of organic baby arugula (Trader Joe's is perfect for this)
1 Fennel bulb, finely shredded
1 grapefruit, segmented
1 orange, segmented
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Toss ingredients gently and drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil and Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Vinegar. I also squeezed the remainder of the orange and grapefruit juices from their membranes onto the salad (the clear "skin" of what was left after segmenting the citrus). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
This Vegan Asian Slaw with Barley and Spicy Peanut Dressing is a breeze to make for lunch. I used Smart Balance peanut butter to bump up the protein. The added bonus is that Smart Balance Peanut Butter is a good source of Omega-3's!
For the dressing, you will need to mix together:
-1 tablespoon Smart Balance Peanut Butter, heated in the microwave about 20-30 seconds to liquify it
-1 tablespoon soy sauce
-2 tablepoons rice vinegar
-1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
-about 2 tablespoons grape seed oil or any flavorless oil
-salt and pepper to taste
For the slaw:
Handful of pre-shredded cabbage, just eyeball it (about a cup?)
1/2 cup of shredded carrots
1 cup diced English cucumber
1/2 cup cooked pearl barley, cooled
Chopped cilantro (about 2 tablespoons)
Black sesame seeds to garnish
Mixed slaw with dressing and enjoy! This is just the basic foundation for good slaw salad. I would have added sliced almonds, green onion or bell peppers if I had them! The barley just blends right in--thanks to the peanutty dressing that gets a kick from the sriracha sauce--and almost takes on the characteristic of a brown rice salad.
The problem with the low carb diet is that it makes people tired and cranky! I have tried to reduce or eliminate the bad carbs, like white bread, from my diet and load up on protein (chicken or fish) and veggies, but more often than not, it left me still hungry and feeling icky after a few days. It just wasn't satisfying because eating too much meat was not good for me--it wasn't giving me the energy I needed to get through my day without feeling hunger pangs and blood sugar dips in the afternoon. Plus, it made me crave carbs even more because they were so "forbidden." I realize now that carbs are important as a source of good energy--it's just a matter of finding a better source of carbs that don't spike my blood sugar levels. And now I have found that source: beans, legumes and whole grains! I am so satisfied after eating beans, legumes or whole grains along with veggies that I don't need a big pile of rice or pasta or bread to hold me over like I used to (I definitely still eat pasta but just not as often and when I do, I am sticking to a vegan sauce). The beans and grains are enough! They are a terrific source of good carbs for me and I now I actually enjoy designing my meals around beans or whole grains, instead of meat and simple carbs.
I am on day six of eating vegan meals (and day ten of vegetarian meals) and my body is definitely going through an animal detox phase right now. I am changing my habits and reaching for different foods and it is changing my appetite and tastebuds, which is great. The more healthy food I eat, the more healthy food I want. It is a nice, unexpected cycle of positive energy. Plus, now I get to try new dishes along the way--that's the funnest part of this challenge (well, that and the fact that I have already lost about five pounds without even starving myself!).
Even though this dish is not Vegan, it is vegetarian and it is so good, yet so simple! I ate this eight days ago (it was my one slip-up off the Vegan wagon, but I haven't slipped since).
One zucchini serves two people. Zucchini Carpaccio is raw, as the name suggests, but it is so refreshing and full of fresh flavor. The simplicity of this recipe is also the beauty of this recipe because it celebrates the flavor of zucchini.
Finely shave a zucchini in long ribbon stripes. Use a "Y" vegetable peeler for easy ribbons. In a bowl, whisk together the juice of one lemon, chopped fresh thyme (one teaspoon), and approximately two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over zucchini. Let sit for at least 15 minutes so the lemon juice can start to wilt the zucchini ever so slightly. Add shaved parmigiano reggiano and gently toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve as an appetizer/salad course or side dish.
If you are looking for a new way to serve zucchini, this zucchini carpaccio is a winner and reminds me of a fancy bistro salad (but you can do it at home for a fraction of the price!). The next time I make this, I will have to omit the parmigiano reggiano cheese if I want to stick to Vegan meals. So now I am on a mission to find a vegan parmesan cheese subtitute!
I have made it to my fifth full day in a row of Vegan meals and ninth day of vegetarian meals. YAY! I feel so good and so full, even though overall I am eating less food. By eating more beans and legumes, I am getting my protein and carbs at the same time, except they are GOOD carbs that I am allowed to eat. Beans and Legumes are perfect double duty foods and I really do feel fuller, longer (but not a gross, stuffed full). It is a comfortable feeling of not feeling hungry, which is hard because usually I am hungry all the time. It is so hard to explain, but since most of my food is now plant-based, I feel like my body is more evenly fueled and I am not feeling dramatic dips and spikes in hunger. I am comforted by knowing that I can eat with abandon--bring on that big vegan salad or big bowl of vegan soup! I am not stingy with my servings and I know that if I get hungry later, I can always have a snack. Today was a day of leftovers for lunch and dinner (leftover barley salad over greens for lunch and 16 Bean Soup for dinner) and that made life so easy. I had a medjool date and some dried coconut as my afternoon snack to hold me over before dinner. Those dried fruits are like candy to me, so that was my Friday treat for sticking to my goals this week. I think I can keep this up if I remind myself of my mantras:
1. Baby steps
2. One meal at a time, one day at a time
3. I can always eat again if I am still hungry
4. Patience
5. Be kind to my body, be kind to animals
6. You are what you eat
I had leftover 16 Bean soup for dinner and it was even better the second day--very thick and stewy! I had a hankering for sweet potatoes (my favorite root vegetable!) so I cooked some cubed sweet potatoes in some coconut oil and they were a super yummy addition to mix into the soup.
I did not know coconut oil was so healthy to cook with, but now that I know, it is my new secret weapon! It makes the house smell so good and I love the creamy flavor in and of itself.
I haven't used it as a moisturizer or conditioner yet, but the package says you can liquify the coconut oil by placing it in a water bath and then smoothing it on your skin or your hair! How cool is that? I love how you can cook with coconut oil in place of oil or butter and apparently, you can bake with it up to 350 degrees F.
I will definitely be incorporating coconut oil into my cooking because it is also stated to help in weight loss! So, not only does it taste good, it is actually good for me too, and may help me lose weight in the long run? Sounds like I will be marrying coconut oil with all my recipes! Move over olive oil and make room for more coconut oil in my saute pan, please!
Tabuleh is one my new favorite lunches to make because I can do it ahead of time and it is so fresh with all the bright flavors of lemon, mint and parsley. YUM! Plus, I can make a big batch and save it for the week. I am not accustomed to cooking with bulgar--this is the first year that I have experimented with it. But now that I have, I am hooked!
Today, I decided to throw tabuleh over some Trader Joe's Power to the Greens, which is a great medley of baby kale, baby chard and baby spinach. I love Trader Joe's Power to the Greens sauteed in olive oil and garlic, but it is equally good as a simple salad. I am just trying to eat more greens and Trader Joe's makes it so easy with this power mix!
