Recipe #33 Puffy Pastry with tofu and vegetables

Shopping list (4 portions)

• 1 puffy pastry
• 1 block of tofu
• handful of mushrooms (around 150gr)
• 2 Handfuls of baby spinach leaves
• 1 cup grated carrots
• oil (olive or sesame)
• 1 1/2 cups broccoli
• salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika
• Juice 1/2 lemon
• Fresh parsley
• soy sauce (some drops)
• Nuts to serve
• Couscous 1 cup
• 1 lemon

Method

I bought the pastry, it seems to be vegan as the fat used is vegetable fat (Lidl pastry for 95 cents). But you can do it yourself if you want to use vegan butter for the pastry.

In a bowl place the tofu block, drained, and scrambled it with a fork. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and paprika; some lemon juice and some drops of soy sauce.

In a wok heat a bit of olive oil or sesame oil. throw in the mushrooms and the broccoli. After some minutes throw in the carrots and the spinach leaves and let the vegetables almost cook. Then add the tofu to the vegetables with some chopped parsley and let it cook slightly. Take off from the heat.

Open the pastry on the kitchen top (it should come rolled on a baking paper). Divide this in 4 rectangles. Place some of the vegetables in each rectangle and close at the top (doesn't really matter because they will open in the oven) or make some parcel shaped buns.
Place them in the oven for 20 min at 180 o C

To serve I placed the dry couscous in a bowl and covered it with 2 cups of boiling water; then added 2x 1/2 a lemon and sprinkled a bit of salt, pepper and parsley. Cover with a dish and leave it alone for 10min. When you remove the dish you will have nice fluffy couscous.

[You can make the same recipe with other vegetables, like courgette, tomato, green cabbage, soy sprouts, chickpeas...]

Recipe #32 Carrot and Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Light Soft Brown Sugar
• 3 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 + 1/2 cups plain flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 2 cups chopped walnuts
• 1 cup soft vegan butter
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup of soy or almond milk

How to prepare:

Grate the carrots (in a food processor to save time or manually) and chop the walnuts (or buy them chopped, around 200-250 gr).

Then combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl, followed by the carrots and walnuts. Combine everything with a spoon. Then add the milk, vanilla extract and soft butter (if the butter is not soft place it for 15-30 seconds in the microwave).

Grease a baking tin or use baking paper to cover the inside of a baking tin and spread in the mixture evenly. Allow to bake for 45 min at 180 o C. Check with a toothpick at the centre of the cake to if it's cooked, if not allow an additional 10 minutes. Don't open the door of the oven during the first 40 minutes.

Free Meatless Monday Burger Book

You can find it here:
http://issuu.com/kidscookmonday/docs/ecookbook_burger_12.7.12b?e=5766443/2164731

Recipe #31 Vegan scrambled Tofu

Shopping list (for 2 people)

• 1 block of firm tofu
• 150gr sliced mushrooms
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 small onion chopped
• salt and pepper

Method

Open the tofu and drain the water. With some paper towels drain the moist of the block. Place it into a bowl and mash it into small pieces, it will look like white scrambled eggs. Season with salt, pepper.

In a pan heat a bit of olive oil and throw in the onion; let them get slightly golden. Now throw in the mushrooms and after 2-3 minutes the tofu. Stir and after 1-2 minutes add the spinach leaves.

Meatless Sunday with friends

How do you like your eggs?

Below, the reason why I'm struggling with the subject "eggs". 3 powerful videos, 2 min about the daily life of a battery cage hen (aka cheap eggs from large supermarkets), 5 min video about how deceiving ''free range'' egg marketing is and 20 min video about the reasons (moral and health) to stop eating eggs.

Recipe #30 Samosas with Red Cabbage Salad

Shopping list

• 1/4 of a red cabbage
• 1 big carrot (or 2 small ones)
• 1 onion
• 1 Lime
• Soy sauce
• Olive Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Sea Salt
• Pepper
• Parsley
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 7 cardamom seeds

Method

For the salad:
Use a food processor with the grater blade. Throw in the cabbage, carrot, onion. Put the mixture into a bowl and season with salt, pepper, the juice of one lime, 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Add parsley (dry or fresh, which is even better).

For the rice:
Add a tablespoon of olive oil into a saucepan together with 6-7 cardamoon seeds. Turn on the heat and let them fry a bit. Add the cup of rice and let the dry rice fry a bit. Then add 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. When all the water is absorbed/evaporated you better turn off the heat and cover the pan. 'Fish' the cardamom seeds out before serving the rice.

Samosas:
Ok... I cheated, I bought them at evergreen (http://www.evergreen.ie/) in the fresh section. You just throw them into a pan for some minutes and let them get golden.

This is how it looks like. Enjoy :)

Recipe #29 Asian Noodles with Mushrooms

Shopping list

• 250 gr white mushrooms
• 150 gr Asian noodles (I used Dragon Blue medium noodles)
• sesame oil
• sesame seeds
• olive oil
• soy sauce
• Sea salt
• pepper
• onion
• half a chili
• 2 spring onion
• 1 big carrot
• 1 garlic clove
• Dry paprika
• Dry cayenne pepper

Method

[Recipe for 3 portions. You can add fried tofu cubes or bambu or courgette or soy sprouts or whatever you like to this recipe. If you add more vegetables you get 4 portions with the same amount of noodles.]

Boil water (around 1 liter or more) and sprinkle salt in. When its boiling add 3 nests of asian noodles, or 150 gr.
Let it boil for some minutes but drain before they are fully cooked. After draining sprinkle with olive oil and sesame seeds to keep the noodles from sticking to each other.

I used a food processor but you can chop by hand if you don't have one. I used the slicer blade and sliced finely all the mushrooms, the carrot and the spring onions. I moved this mixture to another bowl and seasoned with salt, pepper, sprinkle cayenne pepper and paprika. Mix well.
In the same food processor bowl (no need to wash) and the chopper blade I chopped the onion, the garlic, the 1/2 chili and added half a tablespoon of olive oil until this is a paste.

In a wok heat 1 tablespoon of olive, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Throw in the onion paste from the food processor. Let the onion get slightly golden and throw in the mushroom mix. Let the carrots soften a little. Now throw in the noodle and carefully with 2 forks keep mixing everything so you don't end up with only noodles on your dish ;)

Remove from heat and serve. Sprinkle with sesame seeds for decoration.

Day 50

days without meat or milk. Might not be much but for me it has been a big step in my journey.

Recipe #28 Vegan Roasted Veggies

Shopping list

• half a cup dry couscous
• half a cucumber
• 2 tomatos
• 1 carrot
• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• salt pepper
• lemon juice
• 1 Big courgette
• 8 asparagus
• Dry parsley

Method

[Recipe for 2]

On a ovenproof tray place 1 courgette sliced open in half and the asparagus. Drizzle some olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper. 200 oC for around 20 min should be enough to roast them.

For the couscous: boil water in a kettle and measure 3/4 of a cup.
Place the couscous in a bowl and add the water. Season with salt and pepper and dry parsley (or some fresh coriander or mint 5 or 6 leaves should be enough)
Cover with a plate so you keep all the heat and let it rest 10minutes.

For the salad:
Cut small chunks of tomato, grate the carrot and with a peeler slid very thin slices of cucumber.
Season with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and some lemon juice.

Take the plate from the couscous, mix the couscous and check if they are fluffy already.
Now get the place ready and organize it with your array of colours: red from the salad, white with your couscous and green from your roasted veggies.
Sprinkle everything with dry parsley.

Today is Monday. Meatless Monday.

Let it be your meatless Monday. Maybe the first of many?

Check out this new movement at www.meatlessmonday.com for a better planet, and a healthier YOU :D

Recipe #27 [Vegan] Chilli con carne

Shopping list

• half a fresh chilli
• fresh coriander
• 1 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• olive oil
• fresh ginger
• honey
• lemon
• soy sauce
• 1 and half cup of dry soy
• half a fresh paprika
• 400ml tomato passata
• dry oregano
• salt
• pepper
• 1 can red beans
• 1 cup and half of basmati rice

Method

Cook the rice: boil water that's 2x the quantity of your dry rice. Season with salt and when the rice is cooked drain the water and reserve.

In a food processor or chopper add the coriander (about a handful with stems), the chill, the onion, the garlic cloves, about 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the ginger (about as big as half your thumb), a teaspoon of honey and another of soy sauce, salt, pepper and the lemon juice. Blend this for about a minute till you have a nice aromatic paste.
Throw this into a pan and let it fry a bit. Add the passata and the chopped paprika bits. Now add a drained can of red beans and let the sauce thicken. Add the dry soy and turn off the heat.

Serve the bean sauce on a rice bed and sprinkle with dry oregano or fresh coriander.
This recipe is good for 4 portions.

Recipe #26 Balsamic Side Salad

Shopping list

• 1 cucumber
• 3 tomatos
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• handful of coriander leaves
• 2 bell peppers
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• salt & pepper
• juice of 1 lemon
• sprinkle of soy sauce
• sprinkle of sugar

Method

You can roast the peppers or leave them raw.
To roast place them on a oven tray with olive oil drizzled and leave them around 25 min on 200oC.
Let them cool.

Chop the peppers, tomatoes, onion and coriander.
Peel the cucumber and with a peeler start cutting the cucumber with the peeler. You will have very fine slices of cucumber (don't use the interior of the cucumber, its too juicy)
Add the lemon and mash the garlic glove.
Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Salt and freshly grounded pepper. To finish sprinkle sugar and a bit of dark soy sauce if you like it.
mix well and serve as a side dish.

Goes very well with falafel. You can add black olives (chopped) or some cold couscous, as below.

Day 37 short update

1st: i feel great!
2nd, No i don't miss meat and milk.

Last week I decided to cut out eggs too. But for now i am not too strict as I am still adapting to everything, so I think I will have the occasional egg from time to time. I've been watching some documentaries, mainly focusing on the health benefits of a plant based diet and I know I am in the correct path. With breast cancer history in my family I feel i need to "care" and look extra well after my body. A good read if anyone is interested is Eat like you care: the morality of eating animals. I also watched Netflix documentaries and am now reading the China Study and it is really an eye opener. I want to be good to my body and treat it well so it will work for years and years to come ! :)
And the recipes I've been trying out (some not good enough to blog about) are all so tasty... and the variety ! I've been trying nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits I've never tried before ! I never liked papaya and yesterday I had a papaya smoothie and it was delicious.
It's like you are addicted to all the sugar and saturated fats in the fast foods and processed foods that you believe nothing will be ever as good as that (much like ending a relationship lol) but then when you go out and look for fresh produce, greens and fruits you see all this variety and different flavors you never imagined existed ! I never used cumin, chili, turmeric, black pepper and soy sauce as much as I use now and have cut on the salt seasoning. And sesame oil... i had never tried it, and its such a delicious alternative to plain olive oil.
I feel so happy inside out... and in peace with my conscience when I think my steak used to have a beating heart.

So to all people that ask me: "surely you need meat, i mean where do you get your proteins from?"

I say: Spinach, chia seeds, avocado... Yummy fresh produce. And I am so lucky so live in a small town where we have a weekly market with fresh local produce (even happy chicken eggs) and a small local shop that sells all the greens, vegetables and fruits you can imagine !

And it seems much easier when you look at the numbers: DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) says you need 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. So this means you need in average around 50-60 gr of proteins per day (if you don't want to loose weight).

Here's my afternoon snack from yesterday: plate of watermelon, kiwi, mango and clementines. Raw food for your soul 

Recipe #25 Papaya and Kiwi Smoothie

Shopping list

• juice of 1/2 Lemon
• 1 papaya
• 1 banana
• 2 kiwis
• 1 tablespoon of chia seeds
• 200ml of nut or soy milk
• 1/2 cucumber

Method
recipe for 2 big glasses, for example as a substitute for a breakfast for 2 people.
Peel everything and place in chunks in a blender. Add the chia seeds and the milk and blend. If you want it a bit more liquid add 1/2 glass water or extra almond milk.

Bananas: good source of vit B6, potassium and fiber. A medium-size banana contains about 3 grams of total fiber. Fiber is a nutrient that helps regulate the speed of digestion.

Papaya: contains several unique protein-digesting enzymes including papain and chymopapain. These enzymes have been shown to help lower inflammation and to improve healing from burns. In addition, the antioxidant nutrients found in papaya, including vitamin C and beta-carotene, are also very good at reducing inflammation. Vitamin C and vitamin A, which is made in the body from the beta-carotene in papaya, are both needed for the proper function of a healthy immune system. Papaya may therefore be a healthy fruit choice for preventing such illnesses as recurrent ear infections, colds and flu.

Kiwi: high level of potassium (helps keep our electrolytes in balance by counteracting the effects of sodium), high vitamin C content along with other antioxidant compounds has been proven to boost the immune system and kiwis are a great source of fiber (prevents constipation and other intestinal problems.)

Cucumber: Cucumbers are 95 percent water, keeping the body hydrated while helping the body eliminate toxins. Cucumbers have most of the vitamins the body needs in a single day.  Cucumber are known to contain lariciresinol, pinoresinol, and secoisolariciresinol. These three lignans have a strong history of research in connection with reduced risk of several cancer types, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer and prostate cancer. Due to its low calorie and high water content, cucumber is an ideal diet for people who are looking for weight loss. 

Recipe #24 Back to basics: vegetable vegan soup 1.01

You may not know how to cook but if you can make soup you'll be just fine ! :) Soup is not 'cooking'. It's chopping vegetables into a pot and getting the right amount of water.

Here's a basic recipe with some greens

3 potatoes

2 carrots

1 courgette 

1 onion

2 garlic cloves 

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon sea salt (reduce it if you need for health reasons)

1/2 tablespoon black pepper (this makes it a bit spicy, add a pinch only if you don't like spicy)

4 big leaves of cabbage

1 tomato (optional)

Cut the potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, courgette into a big pot. Add salt and pepper and the olive oil. 

Cut one tomato. Cover with water all the vegetables and add another 1/3 of the water you just added.

Cook everything till the vegetables are soft, around 20-30 minutes.

Pure everything thoroughly, now wash and cut some cabbage leaves into thin slices.

Add them to the soup and let it cook for another 5-10 min.

And it's done !

This makes almost over 1 liters of soup !
So the basic for a soup is

- Potato 2

- Carrots 1

- Onion + garlic + salt + pepper and olive oil

No need for man-made stock cubes which are filled with salt and artificial flavors !

All else is optional and you can play around to taste:

Courgette can substitute potato,

Sweet potato for taste or instead potatos,

Green beans instead of cabbage,

Small pasta instead of cabbage,

Red kidney beans in the pure or instead of the cabbage,

Butter  beans in the pure or instead of the cabbage,
spinach instead of the cabbage,
chickpeas instead of the cabbage...

Whatever you like ! Have fun with 'souping' :)

Recipe #23 Pineapple and beetroot smoothie

Shopping list

• half a pineapple (diced) 80 calories
• 1 banana 100 calories
• 2 kiwis peeled 100 calories
• juice of 2 oranges 60 calories
• 1 small cooked beetroot 50 calories
• 1 tablespoon of chia seeds 25 calories
• 1 mug of almond milk 50 calories

Method
recipe for 4 people, that's 116 per glass ! A great breakfast option for your 5-a-day. Place everything in the blender, and blend for around 2-3 minutes on medium speed.

Bananas: good source of vit B6, potassium and fiber. A medium-size banana contains about 3 grams of total fiber. Fiber is a nutrient that helps regulate the speed of digestion.

Beetroot: contains potassium, magnesium and iron as well as vitamins A, B6 and C, and folic acid.

Pineapple: is a rich source in Vitamin A and Beta-Carotene, which helps your immune system; Vitamins B1 and B6 which are good for energy production and the breakdown of sugars and starches in your digestive system. Pineapple is also known for its high level of manganese. 

Kiwi:high level of potassium (helps keep our electrolytes in balance by counteracting the effects of sodium), high vitamin C content along with other antioxidant compounds has been proven to boost the immune system and kiwis are a great source of fiber (prevents constipation and other intestinal problems.)

Recipe #22 Homemade falafel

I inspired myself on Tory's recipe, look this up here 

Shopping list

• 1 cup of dry chickpeas
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• turmeric
• fresh coriander
• ground cumin
• flour
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• cayenne pepper
• sunflower oil (about 1 litre)

Method

Place the dry chickpeas in a big bowl and cover it with 2 cups -3 cups of water. Let them soak overnight. Drain the water and rinse them. Place them in a chopper or a food processor. Add the onion and the cloves of garlic. Add a big handful of fresh coriander, a pinch of salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Add 3 teaspoons of cumin, turmeric and add the lemon juice. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 5 of flour. Mix it on medium speed for about a minute. It should make a paste like misture, you should see some granules and it should not be runny. If needed add more olive oil or flour depending on the result of the misture.
Place your falafel mix in the fridge for at least 1h or 2h.
Then add the sunflower oil into a saucepan or a fryer. Heat it and when hot reduce the temperature to medium. Make little balls of around 1 tablespoon of the mix with your hands and fry it for some minutes. You want them golden brown but not dark brown burned ! :)
Take them out with a slotted spoon and let them cool on some kitchen paper towels. 
Serve with salad, pita bread or rice.
And dip them into fresh hummus !

yummmm !

Recipe #21 Vegan Smoothie 200 calories

Shopping list

• 1 cup of almond milk
• 1 passion fruit
• 1 banana (you can cut 50 calories if you use only 1/2 banana)
• 3 stems with cranberries
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 100 gr of raspberries

Method
Place everything in the blender and mix for around 2-3 minutes.
Yummy and good for you! Packed with vitamin C, potassium, fiber and antioxidants, see below !

Bananas: good source of vit B6, potassium and fiber. A medium-size banana contains about 3 grams of total fiber. Fiber is a nutrient that helps regulate the speed of digestion.

Raspberries: great source for vit C and known for their Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Benefits

Cranberries: have vitamin C and fiber, and are only 45 calories per cup. In disease-fighting antioxidants, cranberries outrank nearly every fruit and vegetable!

Passion fruit: contains high amounts of iron - around 20% of daily required value. Along with iron it is a rich source of Vitamin C - contains 50% of daily RDA value. Vitamin C increase the absorption capacity of iron. So it prevents loss of iron and increase the production of blood. 

Recipe #20 Asparagus and Mushroom Tagliatelle

Shopping list

• tagliatelle pasta
• 1 pack of asparagus
• 150gr of white mushrooms
• olive oil
• nutmeg
• salt and pepper
• dry oregano

Method

Cook your pasta al dente. Drain the water and keep half a cup of this water. After draining drizzle a bit of the water over the pasta and a bit of olive oil and oregano, to keep it from sticking together.

In a saucepan or wok or pan heat a bit of olive oil. Add the asparagus cut in chunks and the mushrooms diced. Season with salt and pepper till they are cooked and then add the pasta. Stir and serve.

You can serve with grated parmesan or soy sauce.
(this recipe makes 2 portions with 4 tagliatelle nests)

Recipe #19 Veggie, Couscous and Cashew nuts (vegan)

Shopping list

• 1/2 courgette
• 4-5 mushrooms cut in quarters
• 150 gr diced tofu
• a handful of chopped spring onion
• soy sauce
• teriyaki sauce
• sesame seeds
• sesame oil
• olive oil
• salt pepper and garlic powder
• 1 cup of dry couscous
• Cashew nuts to serve
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Method

First season your tofu. Dice the tofu and season with salt pepper and soy sauce. (you should do this at least 30min or 1h before cooking the rest)

Now make your couscous:
Place a cup of dry couscous in a bowl and add your seasoning (you can use 1 cube of vegetable stock).
Add 2 cups of boiling water and cover the bowl with a dish or a kitchen cloth.
Let it covered for about 5min.

So start the veggies.
Place the diced courgette, tofu, spring onion, mushrooms in a pan with olive oil. Season wel with salt and pepper and teriyaki sauce. Add a bit of sesame oil and sesame seeds and soy sauce. Stir well. When the vegetables are done, serve on a couscous bed and place some cashew nut over the dish.

Recipe #18 Detox Green Ice Tea

Shopping list

• 1 lemon
• 4 bags of green tea
• Fresh Peppermint
• 2-3 tablespoons of sugar (or honey if you like)

Method

Place the 4 bags of green tea into an empty pitcher. Cover with boiling water up to half the pitcher. Place your sugar in now (while its hot and it will melt) and the juice of 1 lemon.
Wait 5-7 min and then remove the teabags, stir it well and cover with cold/regular water. Add the peppermint and let it cool in the fridge.

Serve with lots of ice cubes :)

Recipe #17 Spinach & Ricotta Lasagna

Similar to the cannelloni recipe

Shopping list

• Olive oil
• Hot paprika powder
• Dry oregano
• Powder garlic (optional)
• 250 gr of baby spinach leaves
• 2 cans of 400 g chopped tomatoes
• 1 block silken tofu
• Mozzarella violife cheese, grated
• 8-10 sheets of lasagna
• 1 tablespoon of soy milk
• Nutritional yeast

Method

In a wok add a bit of olive oil and place the baby spinach leaves on top. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Let the spinach cook until the leaves stick to each other. Drain the water and oil. Chop the spinach and transfer to a bowl; 

Prepare the tofu: 
in a food processor blend the tofu and the milk with some salt and pepper. Now add the tofu and the spinach leaves. Spoon this into a clean plastic bag and cut a SMALL tip off. Squeeze the mixture into a cannelloni tube very carefully and place the cannelloni in a oven proof dish.

Sauce: 

Blend the tomato cans with 2 tablespoons of dry oregano, salt, pepper and the stock cube. 

Get an oven proof dish. Place a bit of the tomato sauce and a layer of uncooked lasagna sheets. Then cover these with a layer of the spinach and 'ricotta'. Cover this with a layer of lasagna sheets. And another layer of spinach, another layer of pasta, a layer of tomato sauce. Finish this with another layer of lasagna sheets and cover them with the slices of mozarella style cheese. Use vegan parmesan to cover all the gaps in between the mozarella. (you can add chopped fresh basil or sprinkle dry oregano) 

Let it cook in the oven around 20-30 minutes on 180oC.

Always a winner