Month: April 2015

Q is for Quinoa!

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Quinoa
Vegan, Gluten-Free, Raw (can be prepared raw)

Q – Quinoa 🙂 . Sometimes I will buy a small 14oz package of Quinoa and will prepare the entire package to be used throughout the week in various recipes. I love Quinoa with herbs, olive oil and veggies added or as a salad garnish and it’s also fantastic added in a wrap.
Quinoa is indeed a Super Food. It contains all 9 essential amino acids and has been deemed a complete protein. It’s iron rich and is packed with Fiber, Zinc, Magnesium, Manganese and Vitamins B2 (Riboflavin), E and B6. So versatile and quick to prepare – I’ve added pics below of a couple dishes. Make a pot, be creative and stay healthy. Enjoy!

Basic Preparation: 1-Cup Quinoa to 2-Cups Liquid (Water or Vegetable Broth). In medium saucepan, combine both liquid and quinoa and bring to a boil. Cover then Reduce Heat to Low. Continue to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove lid then fluff with a fork. Liquid will absorb and germ will spirals out.

Veggie Quinoa Wrap
Wrap
Creamy Italian Dressing (recipe here)
Fresh baby Spinach
1/2 Avocado
Cucumber
Carrots
Quinoa

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Tossed Spinach Salad with Quinoa and Roasted Chickpeas
Fresh Baby Spinach
Radish
Carrots
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Roasted Chickpeas (recipe here)
Quinoa

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Q

Poached Pears!

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Poached Pears
(Serves 4) – Vegan, Gluten-Free
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Ingredients:
3 Williams Pears aka Bartlett, peeled/cored/quartered
3 Tbsp Earth Balance (vegan butter)
1 ½ Tbsp Brown Sugar
½ Cup Raw Walnuts
1 to 1 ½ Cup 100% Cranberry Juice
½ Tsp Cinnamon

Directions:
-Peel and Quarter pears, I remove the core with a melon baller.
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-In sauté pan, heat Earth Balance Butter over medium heat then whisk in Brown Sugar until dissolved about a minute. Add Walnuts and heat through another minute.
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-Add Pears to mixture then slowly stir in Cranberry juice, heat to slow boil.
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-Top and stir in Cinnamon. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!
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Note: You can add water instead of additional cranberry juice if you want additional liquid. I used 1 Cup initially.

P

Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

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Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie
(Serves 1) – Vegan, Gluten-Free, can be Raw
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O is for Oatmeal. Oatmeal is so versatile and healthy for you. It’s been known to lower cholesterol, its heart healthy, great for diabetics (stabilizes blood sugar) and reduces high blood pressure. It’s filling too, this smoothie easily tide me over until lunch. Oatmeal is great for you and my mom makes the best – I’ll have to blog about her recipe one of these days. Oatmeal is flexible too, you can make Oatmeal (porridge), Oatmeal Cookies, Oatmeal Bars, Granola or add it to a smoothie. This smoothie is a simple feel good breakfast recipe. Maca powder has been known to not only put you in a good mood, but to get you ‘in the mood’ also. This superfood has been known to boost the libido, helps with fatigue, it’s a stress reducer among others benefits. If not in this smoothie, I’ll mix maca straight in a bowl of oatmeal or other foods too. If the Oatmeal and Maca weren’t extraordinary enough, this also has Turmeric, Almond Butter, Coconut Water and Chia seeds. Chia seeds are packed with an excellent vegan source of Omega 3’s, as well as, protein, antioxidants and fiber. You can prepare it the night before and refrigerate so all you have to do in the morning is blend it up. And if you prepare it that morning, it takes no more than 5 minutes. Serves 1 – but can easily be doubled or tripled for a family breakfast on the go.

Ingredients:

¼ Cup Rolled Oats –GF (I use Bob’s Red Mill) or raw oat groats (raw)
1 Tbsp Chia Seeds
1 Tsp to 1 Tbsp Raw Agave Nectar (to taste)
1 Tsp Maca Powder
¼ Tsp Turmeric
¼ Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Maple Almond Butter (I use Justin’s)
½ Cup Almond Milk
¼ Cup Coconut Water
½ Cup Water

Blend together and Enjoy! – You can substitute for all coconut water if you prefer.

O

Roasted Rosemary Mixed Nuts

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N-Nuts! I was not able to post “N” yesterday (so I’m reblogging an oldie but a goodie to make up for it. 🙂

Vegan Rescue

Roasted Mixed Nuts

These are a delicious and satisfying snack. All the flavors meld together and they are just superb while they are still warm. This is a large batch of roasted mixed nuts and makes about 40 (1/4 Cup) servings combined. We surely eat more than ¼ cup [chuckle].
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Ingredients:

1 pkg (14oz) Peanuts
1 pkg (9oz) Raw Cashews
1 pkg (9.5) Raw Almonds
1 pkg (7oz) Walnuts
2 Tbsp Earth Balance (Vegan Butter)
1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 sprigs fresh Rosemary, removed from stems, chopped roughly (about 2 Tbsp)
2 Tsp Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Raw Blue Agave
2 Tsp Sea Salt
½ Tsp Cinnamon

Directions:
-Preheat oven 375 degrees.
-In a large bowl toss raw nuts to combine. Spread evenly on an ungreased baking sheet (2) – I used two.
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-Roast in oven for 10-12 minutes. – I give them a shake halfway through so they roast…

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Hearty Minestrone Soup

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Vegan Rescue

Hearty Minestrone Soup (Serves 8 – Large bowls)

When I think of soup I immediately think of my dad. Papi would always make soup in the winter. There was a time that he lived alone and would make large batches of soup, which he’d have for dinner throughout the week and would sometimes take a thermos to work for lunch. I imagine there are thousands of variations of this soup. True to its vegetarian origins this version is truly a hearty Vegan classic. I use organic/non-gmo ingredients in this recipe. This soup will warm your tummy and fill you with a good source of protein and fiber among others nutrients.

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Ingredients:

3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Large White or Sweet Onion, chopped
3 Celery Ribs, chopped
4 Small Carrots or 2 Large, scrubbed and sliced
1 Large Zucchini, cleaned and chopped
5 Garlic cloves, minced
3 Quarts Vegetable…

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Raw Lemon Tart

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Raw Lemon Tart
(Serves 4-6 depending on pan size) – Raw, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free
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Ingredients:
Lemon Chia Cream:
1 Cup Cashews, soaked
½ Cup Macadamia Nuts, soaked
1 Cup Water
2 Tbsp Blue Agave Nectar
Juice of 1 Lemon
3 Tbsp Chia Seeds
¼ Tsp Turmeric, optional for color

-Soak nuts for at least 3 hours. Rinse and drain. –Blend nuts, water and agave in high-speed blender for 3 minutes until creamy and smooth. Remove then place in bowl – stir in Lemon, cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight until mixture sets.

Lemon Crust:
1 Cup Brazil Nuts (about 5.5 oz)
½ Cup Macadamia Nuts (about 2.5oz)
1 Tbsp raw Blue Agave Nectar
Zest from 1 Lemon
1/3 Cup Finely shredded coconut, optional
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-Blend nuts in high-speed blender separately. –Brazil nuts first, remove and set aside. Then Macadamia nuts remove and set aside. In a bowl, combine nuts with remaining ingredients.

Directions:

-Press crust into bottom of mini spring form pans. Stir in Chia seeds & Tumeric to Lemon Cream mixture. Then top crust with Lemon Chia Cream and freeze for about 45 minutes until set. Remove from pan and serve immediately.
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L

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Coconut Chia Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

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Coconut Chia Vanilla Bean accidental Ice cream!
(Serves 4) Vegan, Gluten-Free
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This is a quick in between post from my A to Z challenges this month. As I began to mention yesterday, I attempted to create coconut chia cream to add an additional layer to the parfait – thinking the chia seeds would aid in thickening the coconut milk. I’m guessing now that I didn’t use enough. So I abandoned that mission yesterday and only used the cashew/macadamia cream and created a simple coconut whipped cream instead. Yesterday, I refrigerated the cream mixture overnight, while that was chilling and setting, I also had the chia seed/coconut mixture being refrigerated also. The next morning I realized that it didn’t set, left it in the fridge and went off to work. Later that evening, I whisked the chia/coconut mixture and poured it into a large 9×13 glass dish and popped it in the freezer. This resulted in amazing ice cream. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 (13.5 oz) Coconut Milk
2 Tbsp Raw Blue Agave nectar
½ Vanilla Bean, scraped
2 Tbsp Chia Seeds

Directions:
-Blend together Coconut milk, Vanilla bean and Agave. Remove from blender and pour into a glass bowl, stir in chia seeds. Cover and refrigerate, overnight – I’m sure a couple hours would probably be good too.
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–
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-Stir again then pour into large glass dish I used 9×13. Place in freezer – after a couple hours I scraped with a spoon to scoop out ice cream, enjoy!
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-I saved the remaining in a airtight container.

Kiwi Parfait

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Kiwi Parfait – Raw
(Serves 4) – Vegan, Raw, Gluten-Free
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K for Kiwi! Kiwis are loaded with Vitamin C as well as antioxidants, dietary fiber and potassium. I love when ‘mistakes’ happen in the kitchen and creates something new and better! Originally when I created this recipe, I envisioned a layer of coconut milk with chia seeds, however, the coconut milk coupled with the chia seeds didn’t set as I intended – it was very loose. The cashew/macadamia cream goes a long way, it turned out that I didn’t really need the additional cream after all. – I still made the coconut whipped cream as a topping, you can easily omit. So with regards to the ‘mistake’ there’s no way I was to get rid of the coconut milk or the precious vanilla beans I used…so I made ice cream! Enjoy – I’ll be sharing my coconut ice cream shortly. 🙂
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Ingredients:
6-8 Kiwi, chopped
1 Cup Cashews, soaked
½ Cup Macadamia Nuts, soaked
1 Cup Water
½ Vanilla Bean, scraped
3 Tbsp Blue Agave Nectar, divided
1 Can ( 13.5 oz) Coconut Milk Whipped Cream, optional (omit for raw)
Raw Walnuts, optional

Directions:
-Soak nuts for at least 3 hours. Rinse and Drain.
-Blend nuts, water and 2 Tbsp Agave in high-speed blender for about 3 minutes until creamy and smooth. Remove then place in bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.
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-Split the Vanilla bean open and scrap the pod to remove the seeds.
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[At this point to keep the recipe raw – just add the vanilla bean to the cashew ‘yogurt’] or add coconut whipped cream to top.

Easy Coconut Whipped Cream:
-Refrigerate can of Coconut milk overnight. Remove from refrigerator – open can: cream should have separated from coconut water.
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-Remove the cream and reserve the water/liquid for smoothie or other preparation.
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-Add the cream to a bowl with vanilla beans and 1 Tbsp Agave then whip with hand mixer.
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Coconut Whipped Cream!

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-Begin to layer parfait: Kiwi, Cashew/Macadamia cream, Walnuts-optional. (I use 1 to 2 kiwis per parfait. You can top with coconut cream, if using.

K

Juicing – Apple, Lemon, Cucumber Cleanse

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Juicing – Apple, Lemon, Cucumber Cleanse
(Serves 1) – Vegan, Raw, Gluten-Free
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Juicing…what an invigorating and refreshing way to start your day! Two quick basics to keep in mind are organic is always best and juice on an empty stomach – this is the reason why most people juice first thing in the morning. Juicing is a great meal replacement (like breakfast) and if you’re hungry in an hour or two grab some nuts to snack on or another healthy snack. Juicing gives your body a shot of Vitamins & Nutrients, Phytonutrients, Antioxidants, Chlorophyll and can balance your pH. Just take a moment to stop and think of how many fruits, vegetables and herbs there are out there, now think about how many variations you can come up with…the possibilities are endless 🙂 . This quick three ingredient recipe is cleansing and delicious, not to mention simple. Drink up – Enjoy!

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J

Iceberg Wedge Salad with Creamy Italian Dressing – Vegan

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Iceberg Wedge Salad with creamy Italian Dressing
(Serves 4 – 1 Head Lettuce) Vegan, Gluten-Free
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Iceberg lettuce is regularly accused of being boring and bland. Usually hidden in a burrito or wrap, maybe chopped in a salad or placed on top of a taco. But Iceberg has great potential, it can be luxurious and classy. If you’re looking to change your seemingly boring salad, next time try a wedge salad! I love this recipe because it is very simple but looks fancy. Partnered with a creamy classic. This Italian dressing is magnificent. It’s pretty bold to say something is the ‘best’ but this salad dressing is supreme! Enjoy!

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Ingredients:
Iceberg Lettuce
Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
Red Onion, sliced thin
Walnuts, chopped
Cucumber, diced
Capers
Chives
Coconut Bacon, optional (Find Recipe Here)

Directions:
-Remove outer layer of Iceberg lettuce and cut in half. Cut out core of lettuce and then cut in half.
-Rinse under cool water and drain on a paper towel until ready to serve.
-Add toppings and dress salad. That’s it!

Creamy Italian Dressing – Vegan
(Makes 2 Cups) – Vegan / Gluten-Free
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Ingredients:
1 Avocado, pitted
½ Cup Vegenaise
2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
5 Basil Leaves, chopped roughly
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice of ½ Lemon
2 Tsp Dijon Mustard
2 Tbsp Raw Blue Agave Nectar
½ Tsp course Black Pepper
½ Tsp Sea Salt
½ Tsp dried Oregano
½ Tsp Italian Seasoning
½ Tsp Smoked Paprika
2 Garlic Cloves, minced

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in food processor until creamy. Refrigerate any unused portion. Enjoy!

Note: Raw Option for this recipe – omit Vegenaise and replace with another Avocado.

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