Heart of Palm Ceviche WFPB Oil Free

I made this WFPB and oil free ceviche today and it’ll definitely be a regular chez Hickman! I added some diced jicama and thinly sliced radish. Delicious! 

Original recipe here:

The Yummy Vegan Blog

Baba ganoush

 Baba ganoush 

Made some baba ganoush for snacks today, too. Yums. 

(Recipe adapted from Robertson, Robin. Vegan Fire & Spice: 200 Sultry and Savory Global Recipes. Vegan Heritage Press, 2008, p. 98.)

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants 

1 large clove garlic 

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

1/4 cup tahini 

3/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt

1 teaspoon cumin 

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

A couple handfuls of fresh cilantro 

Method:

Roast eggplants in the oven until they look all wrinkled and slighted deflated. (I puncture the skin of the eggplants with a knife a few times, rub olive oil all over the outside of the eggplants, and then roast at 400F for about 45 mins.) Scoop flesh out of eggplant once cooled a bit and place into food processor. Put the rest of the ingredients in the food processor and process until smooth. YUM! 

Coconut Mango Pudding

 Coconut Mango Pudding 

Made this Coconut Mango Pudding for dessert last night. Super yum. 

It's the perfect summer dessert.

It's amazing how just eating mostly WFPB immediately gets the full rainbow of colors on your plate.

(Recipe can be found -- Campbell, LeAnne. The China Study Cookbook. BenBella Books, Inc, 2018, p.291.)

Gỏi cuốn

 Summer Rolls (aka Gỏi cuốn)

Made some mostly raw summer rolls for lunch today. Filled them with shredded daikon, shredded carrot, fresh basil, fresh mint, julienned red bell pepper, and spinach. Rolled them in rice paper wrappers and some white sesame seeds. It was messy, but delicious. I think I'll try wrapping them in collards, chard, lettuce, or cabbage, too, for a totally raw option.

I finally found a dipping sauce that I like! Woo!

Spicy Raw Almond Butter Dipping Sauce 

(Recipe adapted from von Euw, Emily. The Rawsome Vegan Cookbook. Page Street Publishing Co, 2015, p.40.)

6 tablespoons water

4 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon red miso paste (*it's what I had on hand instead of other miso)

3 tablespoons raw almond butter

Cayenne pepper (to taste)

New Post for a New Path.

Ethiopian Cabbage, Carrots, and Potatoes (Atakilt Wat) and Basmati Rice

Recipe modified from Vegan Richa's Original Recipe here: 

https://www.veganricha.com/atakilt-wat-ethiopian-cabbage-potato/

It's time to heal from all the chaos of the last few years. In an effort to do something for myself and motivate myself to eat better, I signed up for and just completed the Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate at the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. Woo! 

Well, it worked. Better than I anticipated. 

The importance of no added oil was mostly unknown to me before taking this course! I took it to motivate myself to eat better ... which, for me, means to eat vegan. I also didn't anticipate being so motivated to cut out processed foods. So, a mostly Whole Foods Plant-Based (WFPB) diet it is! I'm not one to do most things rigidly and I usually have most success when I make gradual change. These things I know about myself. Progress over perfection. 

So, no added oil cooking was a bit of a mystery to me. I've never cooked this way. Every salad dressing I made had oil in it. First step was to find some yummy things to make! I'll record some of my endeavors here. 

First up ... I made this recipe from Vegan Richa using no added oil. Ingredient list and method of preparation via the link above. I revised it to make it no oil by steaming the carrots and potatoes. I also sautéed the onion, ginger, garlic, and hot pepper in a non stick pan in some water. I added the spices and then added the shredded cabbage. It actually worked! 

I thought it would be best served with some vegan raita. So, maybe some plain vegan yogurt made into raita on top would be super yummy. 

 

I also made my standard basmati rice recipe sans oil as well. It worked! 

Oil-Free BASMATI RICE  

1 cup of rice to 1 1/2 cups of water

Heat dry pan and add dry rice. Toast the rice for a few seconds. 

Add water, stir, bring to a boil. 
As soon as the water is boiling, lower heat to low, cover the saucepan, and do not disturb for exactly 15 minutes. Turn heat off and boom! Rice. 

**Sometimes I add a cinnamon stick and a few whole cloves to enhance the flavor.

Jicama and Radish Salad

This is so, so yummy! So light and refreshing.
I think I found this recipe in Food Network magazine.

Jicama and Radish Salad

1 jicama, peeled and cut into matchsticks

about an equal amount of radishes, cut into matchsticks or shredded

3 or so scallions, sliced into tiny rounds

cilantro and mint, both chopped fine - about 1/4 cup each

Dressing:

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons agave nectar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

Method:
Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over jicama, radish, scallion, mint, cilantro mixture in a big bowl. Mix well. 

Sweet Mustard Broccoli Salad & French Carrot Salad

Both of these are really simple to make, healthy, and delicious. 

I expected the carrot salad to be good, but I didn't expect the broccoli salad to be that good! Yum!

Sweet Mustard Broccoli Salad

1/2 cup black Beluga lentils

1 head broccoli, cut into florets (about 4 cups)

1 small red onion or shallot, sliced in thin strips

1/4 cup chopped almonds

Dressing:

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons agave nectar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 

Method:
Rinse lentils and place in a medium pot with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, simmer for about 20 mins. Add broccoli during the last 4 minutes or so and cover until broccoli is slightly cooked (bright green). Meanwhile, make dressing: Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. (I whirled mine in a mini food processor.) Drain off any liquid remaining in lentils and broccoli and put into a big bowl. Pour dressing over, add onion and almonds. Voila!

French Carrot Salad

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 pound carrots (peeled and shredded)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Optional: Add minced parsley or shredded apple

Method:

Make dressing: Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. (I whirled mine in a mini food processor.) Pour over carrots and stir. Delicious! 

Attempts at Healthier Eating and New Cookbooks! Whoo hoo!

I made the granola and açaí bowl from Julie Montagu's Superfoods cookbook. I am never buying granola again! This was so, so good and made of only healthy things - no sugar. I LOVE this cookbook so far. The recipes are super healthy and all vegan. You might know Julie Montagu from Ladies of London on Bravo. Not only is she a healthy guru, she is also a Viscountess! She married the heir to the Earl of Sandwich. Neat!

I also made the Creamy Carrot Soup and Whole Food Proteins bowl from the Rawsome Vegan Cookbook this week. OMG! This was also so, so good and packed with healthy things. I found a purple sweet potato at Whole Foods this week and it was out of this world good. I didn't know potatoes could taste that good. Damn. Anyway, every recipe in this book looks like something I want to make. It's gonna get a lot of use.

Chewie was being so precious today that I had a hard time leaving for work - more than usual when I look at his cuteness. He got a haircut and a new bed. Both seem to be agreeing with him.

Vegan Protein Blueberry Banana Chocolate Smoothie

Vegan Protein Blueberry Banana Chocolate Smoothie

Ingredients:
1/2 cup frozen organic wild blueberries (Whole Foods has them in the freezer section)
1 banana
1 cup nut mylk (I use 5XProtein Unsweetened Almond Milk by So Delicious Brand)
2 scoops Orgain brand vegan protein - chocolate flavor

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Yum!

Had this smoothie for breakfast and made my cabbage curry for dinner. Yummmmmm.
Cabbage curry recipe here: Sundaegirl108's Cabbage Curry

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Cooking on Snow Days

It snowed a bit in Brooklyn this weekend.

So, I made some yummy stuff. First is this sautéed collard green dish that I adapted from a recipe in The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone.

I just sautéed some garlic and olive oil in a large pan, added chopped collards (with a little water on them from when soaking them to rinse them), stirred and covered for a couple minutes to soften the collards, added 2 tablespoons pine nuts, quartered prunes, and 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine and sautee another couple of minutes. Voila!

  I also made a quinoa bowl with cooked quinoa, avocado, cilantro leaves, steamed carrot and broccoli, chickpeas, and homemade lemon olive oil dressing. For the dressing: I just juice a couple lemons, add olive oil, diced shallot, fresh thyme leaves, a tiny bit of Himalayan pink salt, and pepper. Yum!

Healthy Vegan Mango Lassi Smoothie

 

Healthy Vegan Mango Lassi Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 mango or about 1 cup of frozen mango chunks
1 cup unsweetened almond mylk (I used 5XProtein So Delicious Brand)
1 - 3 tablespoons hemp protein (Optional: I like to amp up the protein by adding some hemp protein but it makes the smoothie greyish - not that lovely mango lassi color. I used just one tablespoon of Nutiva brand hemp protein. I think more than that wouldn't have tasted so good.)
1/4 cup of raw cashews
a pinch of cardamom powder

Method: Put all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend to smoothie perfection.

Nutritional Info (approximate):
330 calories, 16g protein, 35g carbs, 6g sugar, 15g fat, 0g cholesterol, 60% RDA of vitamin A, 29% RDA of iron

NOTE: I made this again with a scoop of the Vega Brand Vanilla Protein Shake instead of the hemp protein and it was even better tasting and more protein! (Pictured Below)  Yum!

Healthy Apple Crisp and other yummy things ...

Easy Healthy Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
5 medium red apples
ground cinnamon to taste
1 cup almond flour (or just pulse some raw almonds in your food processor until you get flour like consistency)
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
pinch of ground nutmeg

Method:
Layer thinly sliced apples in a baking dish and generously sprinkle them with cinnamon. (I use a mandolin to slice them really thin.)

In a small bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut oil, walnuts, and nutmeg. Then, sprinkle the mixture over the apples. Bake the crisp at 350F for about 20 mins or until the apples are soft. Serve warm.

If you have leftovers, you can put them in a bowl with some almond mylk for breakfast! Yum!

Recipe from: Clean Eats by Alejandro Junger

My local veggie stand had avocados for $1! So, I also made some guacamole and avocado ranch dressing for tonight's salad.



Guacamole

Salad with Organic Lettuce and Beets from our Local CSA, cucumbers, kalamata olives, and green onions

Pesto with Rice Noodles and BEYOND Vegan Chik Strips

Avocado Ranch Dressing

Avocado Ranch dressing and "Bestest Pesto" recipes are in Isa Does It by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Chewie got a haircut today too. XOXO

Deamy Blueberry Smoothie

Dreamy Blueberry Smoothie
(delicious and super healthy!)

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups water or almond mylk (I use almond mylk)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if using fresh I throw in 4 ice cubes)
1 soft medjool date, pitted
1-2 tablespoons unsalted almond butter
1 tablespoon chia gel (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon shredded unsweetened coconut
*optional: I also put a teaspoon of spirulina in mine.

Method:

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth on high setting (about 45 seconds).

CHIA GEL: 3 tablespoons chia seeds soaked in 1 and 3/4 cups water overnight

RECIPE FROM: Clean Eats by Alejandro Junger, M.D.

Roasted Cauliflower with Pistachio Dressing



Roasted Cauliflower with Pistachio Dressing

(super delicious!)

 

 

 

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 small red onion, sliced into strips

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

pinch of sea salt

2 teaspoons curry powder

 

For the dressing:

1/2 cup raw pistachios

1 and 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup water

sea salt to taste

 

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F.

 

In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower and red onion with the olive oil, salt, and curry powder. Spread the mixture onto a baking sheet and roast the veggies for about 15-20 mins or until fork-tender and slightly browned.

 

Meanwhile, make the dressing. Toast the pistachios in a dry pan for a few minutes over medium heat. Transfer all the dressing ingredients to a blender and blend until well combined but still a bit chunky. (I had to add a bit more olive oil and water because I thought it was too thick.)

 

You can either serve the sauce on the side and dip the cauliflower into it, or drizzle it over the cauliflower. I mixed the sauce and the cauliflower and it was delicious!

 

RECIPE FROM: Clean Eats by Alejandro Junger, M.D. 

Healthy Start to the New Year

Happy New Year!
My alcohol-free month of vegan, relatively low carb, and mostly whole foods has begun!
Today was a productive start to 2015. I bathed the dog, went to the gym and lifted weights, went grocery shopping, rode my exercise bike, cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, unpacked, changed the sheets on the bed, and made some delicious food.
Let's just say, the boys had other plans. ;)

Here's the stuff I ate today:
I just had coffee with coconut creamer for breakfast as I wasn't hungry. Then, I made myself a delicious lunch of what I like to call "save the crab" salad with a green salad. It's a vegan take on crab salad made with hearts of palm (instead of crab) based on the vegan crab cake recipe in Crazy Sexy Kitchen.

 

Then, I had a Mamma Chia beverage for a snack. This one was pretty good.

 

I went all out for dinner and made a black-eyed pea and root veggie tagine based on the Chickpea Tagine recipe in Crazy Sexy Kitchen. Since it's New Year's Day, I added black-eyed peas instead of chickpeas. I made mine with turnip, sweet potato, and carrot. This was out of this world good!

 

I served this with couscous and some vegan cucumber raita. I decided to make the raita with Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream non-dairy sour cream this time. It was pretty excellent.

Vegan Cucumber Raita

Ingredients:
1 package Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream
1 cucumber, deseeded
about 1 teaspoon garam masala
about 1 teaspoon cumin
a few twists of freshly ground black pepper

Method:
Put sour cream in bowl. Grate about 3/4 of the cucumber directly into the bowl with a hand grater. The cucumber's juice will thin out the sour cream; you want that to happen. Add the spices. Stir and keep in fridge until ready to serve. I like to garnish mine with some cilantro leaves and leave it in the fridge for at least an hour so that the flavors blend. Mmmm.

Quick White Bean Salad

Quick White Bean Salad

Ingredients:
2 (14.5oz) cans large white beans (such as butter beans)
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained and diced
a couple handfuls of parsley, chopped fine
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Stir together the EVOO, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour over remaining ingredients in a bowl and toss. Yum.

I also made some muhammara today and raw spaghetti with veggie meatless balls for dinner. yum!

Chewie made his second trip on the subway yesterday. He held up better than last time. He's a shy pooch and the subway is a big scary loud thing.

 

Vegan Soy Free Caesar Salad

Vegan Soy Free Caesar Salad

Ingredients:
1 cup cashews, soaked overnight, drained, and rinsed
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon (*optional: I don't like mustard in my dressings, so I left it out.)
1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire (or make your own: Cookin' Crunk has a good recipe, but it's not soy free)
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth.
Pour over your favorite greens.

I served mine with some roasted sweet potatoes and a Field Roast vegan sausage. Mmmmm

*recipe based on that found here:
http://myvega.com/vega-life/recipe-center/superfood-kale-caesar-salad/

Fancy Raw Chia Pudding with Cashew Cream and a Summer Salad

Fancy Chia Pudding with Cashew Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in filtered water overnight (or at least for 10 hours), drained, and rinsed
2 cups almond mylk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
seeds from one vanilla bean (I just throw the whole bean in my Vitamix)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of sea salt
1/3 cup chia seeds

Method:
Place all ingredients except the chia seeds in your blender and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and stir in the chia seeds. Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 4 - 10 hours. Serve chilled with fresh organic fruit. Makes 6 servings.

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Mango and Spinach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

(I think this is my favorite salad - ever!)

Dressing:
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salad:
6 cups fresh spinach
2 cups arugula
2 large mangos, peeled and cubed
2 cucumbers, peeled, deseeded, and sliced
1/2 cup raw pistachios, chopped
Method:
Whisk together the balsamic, agave, thyme, salt, and pepper and add olive oil while whisking. Toss the salad with the dressing and serve topped with pistachios.

**Both of these recipes are from RAW FOOD COOKBOOK & DIET: 75 Easy, Delicious, and Flexible Recipes for a Raw Food Diet (by Rockridge Press) [Available on Amazon to download to your Kindle!]

Zucchini and Chickpea Curry (Sort of African, Sort of Indian)

Veggies and cilantro leaves getting ready to be cooked up ... and the curry cooking. Mmm

The final product (served with some vegan pierogies)! Chewie approves. ;o)

This was seriously delicious!

Zucchini and Chickpea Curry

2 zucchinis, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 large can chickpeas
1 onion, diced
1 jalapeno
1 inch piece ginger root, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
8oz can tomato sauce
1 bunch cilantro leaves
1-2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon of vegan butter
1-2 teaspoons cumin powder
1-2 tablespoons Madras-style medium hot curry powder
2 teaspoons hot Hungarian paprika
sea salt and black pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat the oil and butter and sauté the onion for a bit until translucent. Meanwhile, process the garlic, ginger, and jalapeno in a small food processor until minced. Add garlic, ginger, jalapeno mixture to the skillet and stir to combine with the onion. Stir in the fresh chopped tomatoes and zucchini. Stir in the spices and the tomato sauce. If you need to add a little water so that the zucchini is mostly covered by liquid, do so. Add chickpeas and some cilantro leaves on top. Put on lid to skillet and simmer over low-medium heat until zucchini is tender and flavors have combined. Serve with couscous, rice, or, well, pierogies tasted great with this!

Serves 4 hungry souls.

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A Mango Lassi and a Lazy Snow Day with Chewie

Last night into this morning it snowed about 8 inches and it was in the single digits this morning, so Chewie and I slept in and are now enjoying a lovely snow day.

That's the only picture I could snap of Chewie before he ran back in the house. haha. Good thing he's wee wee pad trained. ;o) When we finally got up, I made a mango lassi for breakfast.

Mango Lassi

1 ripe mango, skin removed and cubed

1 container of vegan yogurt (I used coconut almond milk yogurt which was divine.)

about 6 ice cubes

1/4 cup almond milk

1/4 teaspoon cardmom spice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Blend all ingredients in a blender and enjoy! yum.

 

After that I had some homemade hummus and melted Daiya vegan cheddar on toast as a snack. Mmm.

 

Here's a pic of Lucas and I on New Year's Eve ... heh.