Rice Noodles and Apple Crumble

A week at home, mostly to myself, really just wasn't long enough! Just before I knew it it was back to work and the holiday season was just a blur, a faint memory in my mind, didn't help that I was sick for most of it.

I did, however, manage to make a few fantastic recipes from my vegan cook books like Spring Sesame Noodles (pictured above) that I made from my newest addition to the book collection, Ripe from Around Here by Jae Steele.  I made a few adjustments to the recipe for my liking.

And for dessert it was Apple Crumble; I followed a recipe in the book but really revised it to make apple crumble instead of Pear Ginger Amaranth Crumble, which also sounds amazing!

Another great recipe from the book and probably my new all-time favourite is the Rainbow Dragon Bowl. 

Here's how I made mine:

Step 1: Base, about 2/3 cup cooked quinoa.

Step 2: Add Spinach, chopped up or whole pieces.

Step 3: I added radicchio because that's what I had available but the recipe calls for red cabbage.

Step 4: Add Shredded carrot.

Step 5: Add sauteed or baked tofu "steaks" - recipes in the book but any will do.

Lastly, top off with sprouts and I added sunflower seeds.

I must say the dressing was the best part, amazing! It's one of my staple dressings now ...

Dragon Sauce
from Ripe from Around Here, p. 203

1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 tbsp  grapeseed or olive oil
2 tbsp 100% maple syrup
2 tbsp tamari soy sauce
2 tbsp filtered water
1 large garlic clove, crushed or 1/2 tsp ground garlic (optional)

Combine all ingredients until mixed well.  Keeps for a few days.  Best to make this sauce fresh when using.

Almost like Chicken but Not Quite

"Chicken" Tofu Nuggets
Got the original recipe at this website.

•1 block firm or extra-firm tofu, pressed
•1/3 cup rice milk
•2 tbsp mustard
•1 tsp onion powder
•1 tsp garlic powder
•1/2 tsp salt
•1/4 tsp black pepper
•1.5 tbsp nutritional yeast
•3/4 cup flaxseed meal (or bread crumbs)

1. In a wide bowl, whisk together the rice milk, mustard, nutritional yeast and spices until smooth. Place the flaxseed meal in a separate wide bowl.

2. Coat each piece of tofu with wet mixture first, then coat with crumbs.

3. These can be baked or fried until golden brown, I personally prefer to bake them at 350F for about 22-24 minutes, turning once.

Makes 2 servings of vegetarian tofu nuggets.

Kale Hemp Salad
Original recipe from Domestic Affair Blog.

The Salad:
1 large bunch kale, washed, thinly chopped, and dried
3 tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt

Toss to distribute. The more you toss it the better! Then add:

The Dressing:
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/3 cup hemp seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper (original recipe called for coriander but I didn't have any)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup fresh sprouts (optional, I didn't use them)

Toss all ingredients together until well-distributed. Allow it to rest for a few minutes.

Makes 2-3 larger servings.

Enjoy!

Awenda Camping Weekend

What a busy, busy week, which sadly usually means I have no time to cook a proper meal let alone anything interesting to blog about.  However, last week I did have a bit of time to whip up this yummy vegan dip for my weekend camping trip.

It was completely thrown together on a whim, measured everything more or less but it really just came together based on what I had in my refrigerator.

Spicy Olive Tofu Dip

In a blender or food processor mix together the following: about 1/2 brick firm tofu, 1/2 tbsp olive oil, 1-2 tsp Mrs. Dash chipolte spice mix (or any spices you like), 2-3 tbsp of sliced green olives, 1-2 tbsp of sliced jalapeno peppers (I used the pickled kind out of jar).

Blend together until mixed well and enjoy with fresh sliced veggies or corn chips.  Happy Camping!

Happy Be-lated Birthday CANADA!

Hard Training & Weight-watching Week

Hot Ginger and Vegetable Salad
A Sarah-Lyn original recipe

1 tsp olive oil
1 green onion chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced round
1 small green hot pepper chopped
1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, sliced
1/4 pkg of firm tofu, chopped in cubes
1 tsp of Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb mix
1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar (optional)
1-2 cups of mixed green salad

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan at medium-high heat for about 2 minutes.
2. Toss in the onions, carrots, hot pepper, ginger and tofu and coat well with the olive oil.
3. Satay for about 2-3 minutes then add the Mrs. Dash spice and the vinegar if adding.
4. Satay for another 4-5 minutes, stirring often and then turn off the heat.  I cook mine long enough for all of the tofu to be lightly browned.
5. Remove from heat.
6. Place the mixed greens salad in a large bowl (you can add more balsamic vinegar at this point) then cover the bed of salad with the satayed vegetables.
7. Optional: Add a dash of fresh lemon juice.

Enjoy!

After my boxing match on Sunday, besides eating chocolate again, I like to eat pizza as a reward - it's my comfort food but only the homemade version! Stay tuned for a yummy gluten-free, vegan pizza recipe next Friday!

Boxer's Diet Week 3 - Gotta Have Protein

When you're not eating meat or fish and trying to eat a low-carb, low-sugar diet getting enough protein can be a tricky one.  Where I get most of my protein? Egg whites, tofu and beans ... mmmm beans.

However, for a quick snack it is sometimes easier to eat a protein bar.  There are SO many of them out there on the market but honestly, I personally dislike most of them.  Besides lacking in good flavour most of them are loaded with carbs, fat and are so unnaturally processed and loaded with chemicals that you really don't know what you're eating!

Recently I discovered one of the best protein bars - all natural, gluten-free, low-carb, low-sugar, low-fat, vegan, with a somewhat high amount of protein - just amazing!  They're called The Simply Bar and for me they're perfect.  They are light and taste great, I sometimes eat two at a time especially before a workout cause I know I'll burn it off easily.

Besides protein bars, the other alternative is protein shakes or drinks, which again I personally have a hard time swallowing because most of them taste digusting! One brand I do like however, because it is again all natural, healthy, gluten-free and entirely plant based is Brendan Brazier's Vega brand.

I buy the small 27g packets first to see how I like the flavour, there are many flavours to choose from so I would suggest starting with the one serving packet to see which flavour you like best.

Since I am not a fan of drinking protein drinks, natural or not, I decided to be clever and make my own protein/engery bars or in this case hearts!  I used two berry flavoured Vega protein powder packs (54g total) and followed one of Brendan Brazier's recipes in his Thrive Diet book, with some slight alterations to fit my diet.  Here's the recipe:

Green and Lean Protein Heart Bars
(original recipe Chocolate Blueberry Energy Bars from The Thrive Diet by Brendan Brazier
- 3/4 cups soaked dates
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
- 54g Vega Berry flavoured protein powder
- 1/4 cup quinoa (uncooked)
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. Blend all ingredients together in a food processor until well combined and the mixture balls up into dough form.

2. Over wax paper, press the batter down flat but keeping a thick layer.  I used a heart shaped cookie cutter to make my bars

They came out mostly dark green because of the vega powder, it's entirely plant based so although the colour may seem strange these babies taste amazing!

They also make a fantastic raw dessert (post-workout)!