julia

Turmeric Butternut Squash Chickpea Stew

October 20, 2016 By julia

Stew, Soup and Chili ~ 3 of the many reasons I love Fall.

Add in some torn rustic bread plus cashew ‘parmesan’, and you have yourself Fall in food-form.

This stew features my favourite squash. Butternut. Just saying the name makes me drool.

This week has been all about moving house. So cooking up a batch of this comforting, nourishing, warming pot of goodness that will last for a week was much needed. Who has time to cook every night when you’ve got walls to paint, boxes to unpack, bed frames to build, lights to put in, house tours to do and clothes to get rid of? So yes, this stew is perfect for a busy week.

And be prepared to have a kitchen that smells better than your mom’s cookin’.

You could make a big batch and have a dinner party, or keep it for yourself as left overs in the fridge. The flavours will become better buds by the day as they chill together in the fridge.

The one, two, three, fours of cutting up your butternut squash. Cut, empty, peel, chop.

Benefits:

Butternut Squash is low in fat and high in fibre. This is the perfect combination for longevity and heart health. It’s also packed with potassium (bone health), and vitamin B6 (nervous system functioning). Now is the time to eat squash and pumpkins! Eating local and seasonal is the most nutrient-dense way to go.

Turmeric is incredibly anti-inflammatory. Inflammation is the precursor of disease, so keep this at bay by eating your turmeric! It’s also known to help depression and ward off cancer. It’s bright orange colour is packed with vitamin C. If you can get your hands on the turmeric root, do it! Fresh is best. Make sure you add in the pepper to help your body absorb the turmeric and experience all of the amazing benefits of this little orange root.

Chickpeas like all legumes and beans are packed with easily-digestible plant protein, low in fat, and high in complex carbs. They’ve got antioxidants like selenium to enhance the immune system and they’re high in manganese, magnesium, vitamin K, and calcium to help with bone health.

Serves 6-8

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cm long thumb of fresh turmeric, grated (or 2 tsp turmeric powder)
1 tbsp curry spice (or curry paste)
1/2 tsp salt (himalayan is best)
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cinnamon
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces (about 5 cups)
1.5 cups vegetable broth
3 cups coconut milk (out of a carton, not a full fat can)
1 small can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4-5 kale leaves, stemmed and roughly chopped

Cashew Parmesan:

1/2 cup cashews (or pumpkin seeds for a nut-free version)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Sweat the onions, carrot and celery with a splash of water in a deep pot for a few minutes (until onions are translucent).
Add in garlic, spices, salt and turmeric. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
Add in butternut squash, stir for a minute to coat.
Pour in vegetable broth and coconut milk, then bring to a boil.
Stir, then simmer for 15 minutes, or until you can poke through the squash with a fork.
Make cashew parmesan while you wait. Blend all ingredients together in food processor (mini processor is best) or high-speed blender until a parmesan consistency is achieved. If it gets stuck at the bottom of your machine, just double the recipe! You can store in a fridge for a few weeks.
Ladle half of the stew into a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour blended stew back into pot, then add chickpeas and kale.
Let simmer another 2 minutes, et voila!
Serve in your favourite bowl with warm bread on the side and cashew parmesan on top.
YUM IN THE TUM

Crunchy Quinoa, Sweet Potato Salad with Lemon Maple Tahini Dressing

September 28, 2016 By julia

It’s always good to have a batch of quinoa salad kickin’ around. It’s especially good to have one packed with raw veggies and sweet potatoes, drizzled with a glorious dressing.

Impress your friends and the next potluck, or just impress yourself on your next camping trip.

This passed weekend was filled with quinoa salad and the Best Soba Noodle Salad as we Stand Up Paddled the Thompson River on our Kahuna Paddle Boards for 3 days, finding beautiful camping spots along with way. These salads pack away in the cooler easily in a big zip lock bag (so gourmet, I know).

These salads plus a couple heads of crispy romaine…What more do you need for dinner on the river?

I don’t know about you, but I thoroughly enjoy wrapping everything in romaine leaves. Lettuce wraps all the way.

Benefits:

Quinoa, AKA the ‘Mother Grain’ contains all essential amino acids (what does essential mean? Well, in this case it means that the only way you can get these amino acids- the building blocks of protein- is to eat them. This is because your body can’t produce them on it’s own. These building blocks are great for hair and nail growth and tissue healing).

Sweet potatoes are the staple of the ‘centenarians’ (people who live passed the age of 100) of Okinawa. Include lots of these in your diet to get beneficial, complex carbohydrates, plus a magnitude of vitamins and minerals. Another benefit? So delicious.

Celery not only adds a nice crunch to this salad, but it also brings a natural salty taste. Any time you want to avoid the salt in recipes (to minimize water retention and puffiness), just throw in some celery. It’s also packed with fibre, water content, antioxidants, potassium, folate, and vitamins C, K, and B6. Your liver will thank you, and so will your skin.

Makes 6 servings

Prep time: 1 hour (unless you pre-make your sweet potatoes!)

Ingredients:

For Salad:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water
2 large sweet potatoes, diced into bite sized squares
1 tsp garlic powder
2 stalks of celery, minced
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1 cup black beans (either use a can, or pre-make your own by soaking 2-3 hours or overnight in water, rinsing, then bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours)
1/2 red onion, diced
Sprouts (your choice – I used mung bean sprouts)
1/2 cup parsley, roughly chopped

For Dressing:

1 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp cumin
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions:

Roast sweet potatoes: pre-heat oven to 400 F. Toss the diced sweet potatoes with garlic powder. Lay out on parchment paper covered roasting pan (or use a non-stick re-usable cooking sheet on your pan). Roast for 45 minutes.
Cook the quinoa: throw the quinoa and water into a pot, bring to a boil, give it a stir, then simmer it for 15 minutes. Fluff with your fork.
Make dressing: blend all ingredients together in a blender or mini food processor. OR use your hand power – just whisk tahini and lemon together, then mix in the rest of the ingredients.
Mix all salad ingredients with dressing together in your favourite bowl! Garnish with extra sprouts and parsley.

The Best Soba Noodle Salad

September 22, 2016 By julia

This soba noodle salad will blow your taste buds’ palate!

No kidding.

This weekend we are off on a big adventure that includes paddle boards, camping gear and a river. Yup, so we’ve got to eat the good stuff to keep us satisfied and energized for our hours of Stand up Paddling down rapids, and likely a lot of falling off paddle boards in rapids.

Exciting, right!

With 3 days on the river ahead of us, I needed to come up with some recipes to keep us going (and ones that can live in a big zip lock bag until we’re ready for them).

This one is perfect! It’s great cold, it is packed with clean-burning energy, and it tastes DARN GOOD!! The man in my life will be impressed. And, he’s a harsh critic I tell ya. Especially since he’s still transitioning onto the vegan train (and loving it more and more with each passing meal). So, I’m always doing my best to show him how delish vegan eating can be (even more delish and creative than the traditional way in my personal opinion).

ANYways, onto the recipe! Please make this, and enjoy, because your taste buds really will thank you.

Benefits:

Buckwheat Soba noodles are gluten free, so are ideal for those with sensitivities. Buckwheat also contains all 9 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. Who says you can’t get enough protein on a plant based diet!?

Wakame seaweed, and all seaweeds for that matter, are SUPER high in minerals, esspecially magnesium. Magnesium is great for relaxation, sore muscles, the production of protein and the transport of energy. Plus, it inhibits the accumulation of fat in the cells and stimulates fat oxidation (great for weight loss!)

Tofu is low calorie, gluten free, contains all essential amino acids, plus is high in calcium. Great for your bones kids! Buy organic to avoid any GMO nonsense. But, don’t be afraid of soy – it’s a health food.

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

For Salad:

1 package buckwheat soba noodles
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
2 green onions, finely chopped
2/4 cup edamame beans
2 carrots, spiralized in a spiralizer (or minced)
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup wakame seaweed, chopped to bite sized pieces (you could use sushi nori instead)

For tofu:

1 package organic firm tofu
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

For sauce:

2 tbsp coconut aminos (gluten-free and soy-free, made from coconut sap – instead you could use soy sauce or tamari)
1 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

Press tofu to drain liquid (for at least 30 minutes). For this, I slice the tofu in half so it resembles two patties. Then, wrap them in paper towel, and sandwich them between two cutting boards. Place a heavy book or pot on the cutting board to squish the liquid out so you can have crispy tofu, just the way we like it!
Make sauce: Blend (or whisk) all sauce ingredients together.
Cook tofu: Heat pan up on medium heat (so water sizzles). Chop tofu into bite sized squares, toss in a bowl with coconut oil and spices. Pan sear tofu in the hot pan for about 10 minutes, flipping every few minutes, until browned.
Cook soba noodles according to directions, drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside in bowl.
Edamame and Wakame: In a small pot, bring water to a boil, pour in edamame and let cook for 2 minutes. At the end of the two minutes, add seaweed for 5-10 seconds. Drain in colander.
Mix everything together in a large bowl.

Fully Loaded Sweet Potatoes | A Go-To Weeknight Dinner

September 15, 2016 By julia

Nothing screams summer quite like a picnic table dinner session, especially when you top it off with these fully loaded sweet potatoes.

OK, you’re right, the dog days of summer may be coming to an end, but stay strong… hit up a park to eat at a picnic table this week! Do it.

It’s liberating.

And what would be better than some ooey-gooey, caramely, delicious sweet potatoes to bring on your excursion?

Well, THAT…

Plus … rice, beans, guacamole, salsa and creamy cheezy cashew sauce with a side of corn and a big ol’ salad!

That’s my kinda dinner.

A throw-it-all-together kind of thing.

Feel free to add or subtract from the toppings listed to make your own pile of yum. Or, if russet potatoes call your name, use those instead.

These goes divinely with a big salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, peaches, green onion and romaine tossed with Nutty Miso Dressing.

Benefits:

Sweet Potatoes are the staple food of some of the longest living people on this planet, the Okinawans. They’re packed with beneficial carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins A, C and D. They’re a complex carbohydrate that won’t spike your blood sugar, but will fuel your cells with clean burning energy.
Avocados in the guacamole will give you the essential fatty acids your brain thrives on.
Cashew ‘Cheeze’ Sauce will replace the typical dairy cheese. No one needs that. By avoiding dairy, you’ll lower your chances of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. You’ll also avoid allergic reactions, inflammation, indigestion, hormones and antibiotics. So, here’s a way to replace your cow cheeses with nut cheeses.

Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4 (Double it so you have left overs!)

Ingredients

4 Sweet Potatoes
1 cup rice
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (or soak your own, and cook them up)

Guacamole:

1 avocado
Juice of 1/2 a lime
1tsp garlic powder

Salsa:

5 roma tomatoes
1/2 cup cilantro
1/2 red onion
2 garlic cloves

Cheezy Cashew Sauce:

1/2 cup cashews, soaked at least one hour in water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup-1 cup water (depending on how thick or thin you’d like it)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

If you want to go the extra mile add this too!

Garlicy Maple sautèed mushrooms:

8 crimini, portobello or white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup of the Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 cloves garlic, pressed/minced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cook rice: Rinse, put in pot with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes.
Cook potatoes: Poke holes in sweet potatoes with fork, place on parchment paper covered pan. Put in oven for 45 minutes.
Sauté mushrooms (EXTRA MILE, but very tasty!): add water to medium-hot pan, add garlic for 1 minute, add mushrooms and dressing, let simmer, stir every 5 minutes for about 10 minutes.
Make Cheezy Cashew Sauce: Blend all ingredients in blender.
Make Salsa: Pulse all ingredients in blender or food processor.
Make Guacamole: Mash all ingredients in a bowl with a fork.
Assemble: Layer your ingredients starting with your potatoe! Sweet potato-rice-beans-guac-salsa-cheez sauce and VOILA!

5 Oil-Free Vegan Salad Dressings

September 8, 2016 By julia

Dressing is one of those things that can make or break your relationship with your salad.

But, when they’re oil-free, guilt-free, delicious, and actually add to the healthy-ness of your salad, then I’d say you’re winning.

Not only is oil a refined food, but it’s also 100% fat, and a huge amount of calories with little nutrients per calorie. We want to get as close to natural, whole foods as possible. So having a dressing that is oil-free will allow you to douse your salads with even more nutrition, rather than taking away from the nutrition of the goods in your bowl (think McDonald’s caesar salad smothered in thousands of empty calories of creaminess… no buenos).

Let’s face it. It’s best if we all make friends with salad.

Salad is packed with raw vegetables, fruits, seeds, you name it, all in their natural, nutrient-dense state. The greens are essential for you and your glowing skin. The digestive enzymes coming from the raw foods in the never-big-enough salad bowl are what will you live that long healthy life. Not to mention the antioxidants boosting your immunity high up on the pedestal.

Salads can either be the most boring part of the meal, oooooorrr they can be the most talked about delicious and most awesome part of the meal. This all depends on the fixin’s and the DRESSING.

If you’re in a conundrum and you cannot, for the life of you, come up with an idea for dinner, all you need to do is dive into your fridge, chop things up, throw them in a bowl, add some seeds (maybe some beans too, if you’re feelin’ it), and pour over one of these yummy dressings (which will be ready and waiting for you in a mason jar in your fridge, am I right?). I get my crispy heads of romaine from www.spud.ca directly to my door step. So local. So easy.

(Use my code CRVAN-MURJUB for 20$ off your first order if you please!)

Make that salad BIG and call it dinner.

DO make friends with sa-lad, do make friends with SA-lad. (Sing it). You get my drift.

These are some of my go-to, oil-free dressings for the massive, mega-salads I love to create.

Each of these can be made ahead, then store in the fridge for salads to come. Each makes enough for about 3 salads!

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

This tastes like dessert. A decadent, fancy salad with orange, red onion, arugula, spinach and pine nuts will do the trick.

1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
3 tbsp water

Combine in mason jar. Shake it up!

French Lemony Dijon

A go-to easy dressing for your quick weeknight salad. Think chopped avocado, tomatoes, green onion, romaine, red leaf lettuce and pear.

Juice of 1 large lemon
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup water
1/2 to 1 tsp coconut nectar (or maple syrup)

Combine in mason jar. Shake it up!

Tomango Basil Tango

Fresh, sweet and fruity. Good for a summer salad. Think endives, peaches, green onion, spinach.

1 mango
1 tomato
3 sprigs fresh basil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Blend all together until smooth.

Cheezy Dill Tahini Glory Bowl Dressing

Can be used for a Caesar-like salad, or even for a rice, bean, sweet potato glory bowl.

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 garlic clove
2 sprigs of fresh dill(or 1 tsp dry)
2 tbsp water
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbsp maple syrup
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Blend all together until smooth

Alternatively: Combine water and tahini in jar, make a paste by mashing or wisking. Add rest of ingredients, lid on. Shake it up!

Nutty Ginger Miso Vinaigrette

This is pad-thai-ish. Yummy with some red cabbage, grated carrots, mixed greens, green onion and tomatoe.

1.5 tsp organic soy sauce
t tbsp miso
t tbsp rice vinegar
t tbsp coconut sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp almond butter

Blend all ingredients in small food processor, or magic bullet.

Alternatively: Combine water, miso, and almond butter to make a paste with a wisk or fork. Then add the rest of the ingredients in a mason jar. Shake it up!

julia

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