Xavi snacks

This idea came out of the raw chocolate cookies posted earlier. Basically I wanted my child to eat more protein and fat (since he's a toddler). Into the food processor: raw sunflower seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, raw almonds, ground flaxseed, almond butter, chia seeds, coconut oil, honey, molasses. (I forgot sesame seeds but will add them next time). You could throw in pretty much anything you want. The almond butter and coconut oil is to get it into molding shape. Honey was to make it taste like an almond butter cookie, though you could probably leave it out and go salty instead. Mix it all up until it's moldable. I had to scrape down the sides a few times and add a bit of water toward the end to get it to ball up the way I wanted. When it's all done, mold it into little balls and refrigerate!

I wanted to post about the amazing-ness ;) of pumpkin seeds. Since I looked up their nutritional values, I've been throwing them into everything--smoothies, cookies, etc. In one cup you get: 6% of daily calcium, 115% iron, 185% magnesium, 33.9g protein... and a bunch more. L

Red lentil and rice soup

I have a LOT of red lentils in my cupboard. I love lentils anyway and so I'm always looking for new recipes to use them and make them a bit different. I found a recipe online and doctored it up my way and it's my new favorite.

In a pot, add 2T olive oil on medium heat. Add one onion, chopped up and red pepper flakes. The original recipe called for 1/2t but I think I add more because I like the heat of them. Saute the onion for a few minutes. Then add 7c veggie broth and/or water, 1/2c brown rice (this is a great chance to use up leftover rice too--just make sure to add more rice if it's already cooked), 1 1/3c red lentils (wash/rinse them first). Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat and let it cook on medium, covered, until the rice is tender and the lentils are mushy.
Then I add dry white wine and salt. I'm not sure how much, since this is the part I made up. Add until you like it, I suppose! ;)

The original author suggested to add feta, olives, and/or almonds. I don't know how this would work with the white wine but at least it gives you other options!

Paleo cake--what?!?

Both  my mother and my husband have reminded me in the past few days that I have a blog. I do?! lol So, it has been a pretty hot summer, especially baking a baby in the middle of it. We've mostly been hibernating indoors, avoiding the heat, humidity and the bugs. My cooking has fallen off the wagon almost completely and I have not been the healthiest of individuals in diet nor exercise. (OK confession over!) We have about 6 weeks or so until baby boy is supposed to arrive. I'm not quite ready for two, but I'm definitely ready to be done! One interesting development from pregnancy has been the 'worsening' of my geographic tongue. It's weird... if you've never heard of it, google pictures. I've had it for awhile, but it's become almost permanent and I'm a bit self-conscious about it, so I looked up the causes. Long story short, I decided to try reducing gluten and sugar in our diets--mainly mine. I will tell you that it is darn near impossible to be gf, sugar free and totally plant based. I know some people do it but I don't think I can be one of them. Especially if I ever want to get a dinner invitation from friends again... because who would want to cook for me!!! :) So, everything in moderation.
I introduced fish back into my diet for extra protein for baby. That helps. And I'm not opposed to using eggs either (if they're from a good source). X already eats them. I hate them, personally. I think they smell and taste gross. I'd much rather use egg substitute like flaxseed when baking anyway because it means we can lick the spatula without worrying about salmonella. However, from what I've read, you can't bake tasty gluten free things with the egg substitute.
So that's about where I'm at diet wise. I've done gf for two days and I have to say that the tongue issue has improved! I did have a pretty serious chocolate cake craving yesterday and so I ended up googling a paleo cake recipe and made it. It was AWESOME and we've pretty much eaten it all already. X and I even ate it for breakfast and I didn't feel guilty about it at all because it's so low in sugar and high in protein. Here's the recipe if you're curious.
I subbed maple syrup for the honey because I didn't have any and it worked just fine. I also used less and it was okay that way.
I also made some delicious rice noodles yesterday that were so easy. Here's what I did:

Boil a pot of water. Add the whole package of rice noodles and cook for 2-3 minutes (don't overcook!). In a separate skillet (large one), sauté two cloves of garlic, minced, in sesame oil. Add the cooked noodles, some tamari (okay, I know it has some gluten in it)--perhaps 2-3T, sprinkle cayenne pepper over it, as well as pepper and salt to taste (if the tamari isn't enough). Stir it up and you're done. I'm already craving it again today.

So perhaps this blog won't be totally vegan after all. Sorry! I'll keep posting recipes as I test them out though!

White beans w/onion confit

I got this recipe a while back from Food and Wine magazine. I hadn't made it in awhile because it called for cheese and I thought it wouldn't be any good without it. Wrong! I made it the other day and I'm already craving it again.

In a saucepan, heat 1/4c +2T EVOO.
Add 2 thinly sliced onions, 10 thinly sliced/chopped cloves of garlic (I used slightly less onions and garlic and it was still fine), 1 "scant" T chopped rosemary (I subbed in dried rosemary and just used less) and 1/4t crushed red pepper flake. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover and cook over med-high heat, stirring occasionally until just softened (about 5 minutes).
Uncover and cook over med-low heat, stirring occasionally until onions soft and lightly caramelized (about 15 minutes).
Stir in 2-15 oz drained/rinsed cans of cannellini/white beans (I used dry beans that I soaked and cooked--either way works), 2T chopped flat leaf parsley (again, I used the dried herb and used less), and 1c water and simmer until stewy (about 5 minutes).
*Stir in 1/4c freshly grated Parm-Reg cheese*  (or not!!!)
Season with salt and pepper.

I added a bit more water at the end and threw in chunks of day old bread. It was so good!
The original recipe says you can puree this to make a dip to serve with crusty bread.

Falafel

I found one! I modified a recipe I had used before and didn't like and it came out much better.
Soak 1 to 1 1/2c garbanzo beans overnight (12 hours). Then do it again. It's best if you soak with some lemon juice (or lime, I didn't have lemons this time) and have the water be boiling when you pour it over. I have no idea why that is, but I learned it from my Weston Price cookbook.

After two 12 hour soaks, drain and put the chickpeas into food processor with a handful of fresh cilantro, 4-5 garlic cloves, 1/3 of a big onion, salt, pepper, dried parsley, 1/4 to 1/2t baking powder. Process it until it's pretty finely ground and moldable. Refrigerate the mixture for at least an hour. When you're ready to eat them, form them into patties and fry in olive oil until golden brown.

These would be good with the whole shebang of pita, veggies, tahini sauce... etc.... but when you're lazy like me and want something fast, they're great just plain with a little bit of Amy's Goddess dressing!

Black bean/corn salad

I made this the other day:

Black beans

Corn

Red pepper, chopped up

Red cabbage, chopped up

Onion, chopped

Cumin

Salt, pepper

Lime juice

It makes a good cold salad or dip... I used it for a filling in a tortilla shell like a burrito. I would recommend keeping the lime juice off until last minute if you want to store it in the fridge for more than a few hours.

I'm on the hunt for a good falafel recipe. Anyone have one?

Eggplant parmesan, minus the parmesan ;)

I know I've been AWOL lately--sorry! I've been seriously lacking cooking motivation and it will probably get worse as J's busy season starts up. Anyone want to come visit? I'll be flying solo M-F for the most part and lamenting the loss of the ever-so-occasional MNOs at Starbucks and trips to the grocery by myself! ;) At least until the fall....

Anyway, here's what I ended up making last night:

An eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/2" rounds. I salted it and ended up leaving it overnight because I was too lazy to cook after all two days ago. I think you could let it sit for 20 minutes and it would be okay... or skip the salting/sitting step altogether.

Take the slices and dip them in almond milk. Lay them one at a time on a sprayed cookie sheet. Sprinkle with Panko bread crumbs while still wet. Then, season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Bake at 450 for 6-8 minutes or until the bread crumbs are browning.

Take them out, flip them over, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with more bread crumbs and seasoning. Cook this side for the same time and until the eggplant is soft/bread crumbs are brown.

Serve over pasta with marinara sauce on top. If you're a cheese (or vegan cheese) fan, you could put cheese on top and put under a browner until the cheese is melted.

If you are pretty hungry or have a bigger family, I would make 2 eggplants instead of one. My husband ended up eating most of it in one sitting! ;)

Pancakes revisited

OK, so obviously I love pancakes. Hence, another recipe. I make these for dinner (or lunch) sometimes. Pretty much, I've learned to simplify it down to this:

Flour: I've been grinding raw buckwheat and oats in my Blendtec for flour.

Add-ins: I throw in cooked brown rice, almonds, flax seed--and blend it up too. I've even thrown in raw pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds at times. I would recommend blending these so you're not eating a big chunk of seed in your pancake. Unless you like that sort of thing...

Cinnamon, vanilla: because they taste good!

2-3T baking powder

Almond milk: I keep adding until it's the thickness that I desire. I let it set a few minutes, so that the flax or chia can soak up what it will, then add more milk if need be.

Fruit: we usually make blueberry pancakes around here, so those go in last!

I haven't been adding extra sugar at all, because we put maple syrup on anyway, so why bother! :)

Sweet potato-lentil stew

I got this recipe from the 21 day kickstart site. I was a little uncertain because I don't really love sweet potatoes, but it turned out really good. I'm copying/pasting because I think the site disappears when the 21 days are over...? I put this over brown rice and added a bit more salt and some red pepper flake for more kick. It was a great dish for a cooler day!

Sweet Potato-Lentil Stew
Served on its own or as a soupy stew over brown basmati rice or couscous, this dish is hearty and filling.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

1/4 cup safflower oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 small tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Fine sea salt
2-3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾” cubes
7 cups vegetable broth
1 cup brown lentils

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, deep pot. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for two minutes or until the onion starts to soften. Stir in the tomatoes and ginger and cook for three minutes. Stir in the turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, and a small pinch of salt. Cook and stir for two minutes, then taste for seasonings; try to use only enough salt to heighten the flavors.

Add the sweet potatoes, broth, and lentils. Stir well, and bring to a boil over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes or until the lentils and sweet potatoes are soft.

Guac/salsa

Despite the cooler weather, I decided to make the salsa that my former roommate used to make. It's 2 tomatoes, diced + 1 onion, diced + 1 jalapeño, diced finely + a handful of cilantro, chopped finely + the juice of 1 lime + salt to taste. Then you add about 1-2 avocados if you want more of a guacamole, or you could go a fruity salsa route and add mango or pineapple. Just toss it all together. So delicious!

Potato leek soup

Mom, here's the soup recipe! ;)

This is pretty basic, not really exciting, but my Spanish 2nd mom used to make it all the time and I loved it. I think I've recreated it--at least if food memory serves me.

Potato/leek soup

In the pot goes olive oil or margarine (OO for Spanish style!), 3-4 leeks, cut into 1/4" slices (the white part). This time I added a small onion and a shallot, minced. I saute these for a bit, at least until the onions are transparent and you have a bit of browning happening. If it starts to stick, add a bit of veggie broth/stock.

Then I added 1/2 quart vegetable broth, 3 quarts water, around 7 peeled potatoes, cut into chunks. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until the potatoes are soft. Add salt to your preference. And that's it! I think it's great for cooler days and would be a great sick soup.

Baked oatmeal

I got this recipe from a friend. It is so delicious!

Preheat oven to 375. Grease 8x8 pan. Combine in a bowl: 2c oats, 1/4 almonds (or walnuts), 1/3c sugar, 1t baking powder, 2t cinnamon, 1/2t salt. In another bowl, whisk together 2c almond milk, 2 "eggs", 1 1/2T coconut oil (or margarine), 2t vanilla. Combine this with the dry mix. Arrange 2 bananas, cut into 1/2" slices on bottom of pan. Sprinkle 1c mixed berries over top of the bananas. Cover with the oat mixture. On top of everything, put 1/2c more berries and 1/4c more nuts. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

YUM

I'm so excited about my dinner creation that I have to post it. So I have some bok choy I needed to eat up, as well as some roasted garlic quinoa and tempeh.... and therefore, came up with this (and I apologize for lack of specificity with the measurements--per the usual, I just started throwing things in):

Heat 4 garlic cloves (minced) in olive oil in a med-lg skillet. Add in tempeh, cut up into cubes--once the garlic has gotten into the oil a bit (heat the oil with the garlic already in it). Add soy sauce--a few times around the pan. Keep stirring it all up. After a few minutes, add a full 'head' (?) of bok choy--that has been cleaned and cut about 1" from the bottom, and cut into 1-2" shreds, width-wise. Add mirin, again a few times around the pan. Keep stirring for a few minutes until the bok choy is softened, but not turning brown. Serve over whatever you have left over--like my roasted garlic quinoa for example. I added a bit of sesame oil and gomashio on top afterwards. I think next time I would cook with the sesame oil, but DH doesn't like it, so I did it on my individual plate tonight.

The roasted garlic quinoa I made this way: roast a head of garlic in the oven--wrapped in foil with some coconut oil on it. When roasted, squeeze them out and chop them, mixing them into cooked quinoa with lemon juice and coconut oil.

B12

I've been doing a bit of research about B12 lately, mostly by accident. And since this is a Veg-diet 101 type blog, I will pass on this info!!! :)

So, if you are trying out this plant based thing, you will most likely have heard already that B12 is the one thing you can't get from plants (or sunshine like Vit D). Therefore, you need to supplement. You can do this by adding nutritional yeast to your diet or by taking a multi-vitamin (or B12 itself). I've been doing the nutritional yeast--mostly on salads, and still taking my prenatal. (Again, nope, not preggo, just still nursing--don't get your hopes up yet, mom!)

But apparently there are two sources of B12: cyanocobalamin and methylcobalamin. The cyano type is the kind that is in your multi vitamin. What I've learned is that this is an inferior source because it doesn't last long enough in your bloodstream, whereas the methylcobalamin does. Here's an article or two on that if you're interested in more info. I've been told that you can't OD on B12, but that you should start with a lower dose (aka 1000 mcg). If you're deficient on B12, you won't likely notice it until it's too late, and it has serious effects on the body. The articles I posted talk about those too.

Summary: your best bet is to take the methylcobalamin supplement daily to keep up on the B12.

So why do meat eaters get B12 and plant eaters don't? Is this evidence that a plant based diet isn't "natural"? (Nope!)

According to my new book I'm reading (The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition, haha), "B12 is made by microorganisms, bacteria, fungi, and algae. Plants and animals cannot synthesize B12. Because animals don't wash their food before eating it, they ingest these microorganisms. They also absorb some of the B12 produced by the bacteria in their intestines. Some plant foods may contain B12 from contamination by those B12-producing bacteria in the soil, but it's unlikely in developed countries due to rigorous food washing and safety practices."

In other words, our food is 'too clean' or deficient in good bacteria due to chemicals and pesticides. Our soil is stripped and lacking. Plus, with overuse of antibiotics to 'solve' our health problems, we've killed off most of our good bacteria in our gut. Just another reason to get into your organics and probiotics... but that's a whole other topic...!

Happy New Year

Happy Advent/New liturgical year/New translation to you all! (Big day!) To celebrate, I made my chocolate cake. By the way, I found soy whipped cream--I used it for the Thanksgiving pies. I definitely ate too much sugar over the holiday. I think that was part of the 'needing' the cake.

By the way, have I talked about my new birthday/anniversary/Christmas present yet? We bought ourselves a Blendtec. I love it! It was definitely a splurge, but we make smoothies all the time and wanted something powerful to handle all the stuff we cram in there. If anyone is thinking about buying a super blender, I'll tell you that Costco is running an online deal for the Blendtec right now... and you get both jars--the normal and the Wildside for a really decent price. Over the past few months, we've done our research and watched presentations on both the Blendtec and the Vitamix and finally were convinced. I think anyone would be happy with either one, but we're super content with ours. I even mixed up the cake today in it (hence the 'random' digression).

Speaking of smoothies, I'm learning about potency of certain things. I had no idea that this even existed but J's been getting a stomach ache after drinking his. I asked a friend who has know-how on the subject and she said something about tinkering with ingredients because it might be "too much". Who knew?!? If anyone has any knowledge on the subject, please share!!!

And finally...

Pumpkin pie! (I also made chocolate pudding pie but it was average, so I won't post.)

I cheated and bought a vegetarian crust. Next time I might try to make my own. But it was super easy this way.

Preheat to 350F/. Combine 2c/15oz/1 can pureed pumpkin, 1c almond milk, <3/4c sugar, 3T arrowroot powder (or cornstarch), 1/2t salt, 1/4t ground cloves, 1/4t ground nutmeg, 1t cinnamon, 1/2t ground ginger in a large bowl or blender. (I did this in my new blender and it was SO convenient!!!) Pour into unbaked shell and bake for an hour. It will still be jiggly when you take it out but will firm up as it cools. Cool completely on rack, cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Next...

Lentil loaf:

Cook 1c french lentils in 3c water (about 35 minutes). In food processor, grind:

2 cloves garlic

1/2c walnuts

1c oats

1T flaxseed

1t Italian seasoning

1t poultry seasoning

1t mustard powder (I didn't have this and it turned out fine)

pinch of cayenne.

Pulse until well ground. Add in:

lentils

2T tomato paste

1T soy sauce

1T olive oil

2T water

salt and pepper to taste.

Blend until well mixed, scraping down the sides as needed. Spread into a greased loaf pan and bake, covered, for 35 minutes. Remove cover and bake another 15 minutes. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

**I found this recipe somewhere but I can't remember where I saw it. So if it's yours... sorry! The next recipe I found from a vegan mama friend of mine... and it's amazing over the lentil loaf and mashed potatoes (which I made with almond milk and Earth Balance--you couldn't even tell!)

Veggie gravy

Heat 1/2c oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute 1/3c chopped onion, 5 minced garlic cloves until soft (about 5 minutes). Stir in 1/2c flour, 4t nutritional yeast (I might add that I misread this and did 4T instead--it still turned out great! I think I'll probably keep doing that), 4T soy sauce. Gradually whisk in 2c vegetable broth. Season with 1/2t sage, 1/2t salt, 1/4t pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 8-10 minutes while stirring constantly.

*Note--I would taste this before adding salt. When I was typing it up, I realized that I also forgot the last additions of sage, salt and pepper (oops again)... and it was salty enough.

INCOMING...

Recipes abound. We had a great Thanksgiving today... starting the day out with Mass and watching J play football outside. It was a gorgeous day--sunny and 70 and I got to just sit outside with my face in the sun while J chased the small one around the playground. It was super relaxing. Then home to cook, watch football and eat! Everything turned out delicious and I ate more than my fair share.

First recipe--my favorite muffins! The recipe is originally for blueberry muffins but I sub in cranberries and Ghirardelli chocolate chips.... I've been eating these things all day today.

1/3c flaxseed

1c whole wheat flour

3/4c all purpose flour

1 1/2t baking powder

1/2t baking soda

1/4t salt

1t cinnamon

2 "eggs"

1t vanilla

1/2c maple syrup

1/4c coconut oil

1c buttermilk (here I use 1c almond milk and the juice of half a lemon)

(optional: 1T orange juice, 2t orange zest)

3/4c cranberries + 3/4c chocolate chips (or 1 1/2c blueberries)

Mix up everything. Pour into 12 muffin cups and bake at 400 for 15-20? minutes.

NEXT>>>

Chia Bean Burgers

These are amazing! (At least in my opinion)

Into the food processor:

2c cooked black beans (unsalted)

1 1/2c cooked brown rice

1/3c chia seeds

1/4c nutritional yeast

1/2t oregano

1 stalk celery, minced

1 carrot, minced

1/2c minced onion

3T brown rice miso (I used barley and it turned out fine)

the recipe also called for 1t palm sugar and 1/4c quinoa flakes and an optional 2T soaked wakame flakes, but I didn't have those...

Pulse these together but leave chunks. Form into 8-10 patties and refrigerate for 1 hr.

Heat a spoonful of coconut oil in a frying pan over med-low heat. Add a few of the patties and cook for a few minutes on each side until both sides are browned. (Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside).

I think these are really good with dijon mustard--J would have preferred mayo. We both agreed that they're better topped like a burger than plain.

--This recipe is from Brazier's new Thrive Foods book. I highly recommend that you go out and get a copy!!! (For me too... mine's borrowed from the library!)

Raw chocolate cookies

I made these tonight and they were delicious! I didn't want to use up all my cashews and so I subbed in a half cup of sunflower seeds. I think I will keep experimenting with other nuts too... cajus são muito caros! (caro=expensive) PS-once he tried them, the little man wouldn't stop eating them. Probably not the best idea before bedtime... but at least he's getting his protein! :)