Plant Based U

Fat-Free and Low Fat Vegan Plant Based Recipes

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Tarka Dal Remixed with Yams, Potatoes and Spinach (Plant Based and Vegan Red Lentil Curry)

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Occasionally I take recipes I’ve already made and change them up a bit depending on what I have on hand if I need to use up some fresh ingredients or when I’m looking for something different. I highly doubt this is in anyway an authentic Indian dish now, but it’s still really tasty and healthy. I have adapted my Tarka Dal recipe here and doubled it except for the lentils and added yam, potatoes, and spinach to it.



This time I just tossed all of the spices in at the same time instead of making a separate tarka tempering. If you like eating large pieces of ginger or curry leaves in the finished dish great, if not after cooking you can remove them before serving.

I served this over white basmati rice but you can also use fresh roti bread, brown basmati rice etc.

Fat Free Vegan Red Lentil Tarka Dal (Indian Lentil Curry)

Serves 4

Dal Ingredients:

1 cup red lentils (split)
1 large onion, diced
4-5 large tomatoes, diced (or 2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes)
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
4-5 inches of ginger peeled and sliced in long strips
1 medium yam/sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 medium potatoes peeled and diced
As much fresh/frozen spinach as you want
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp Herbamare or salt to taste
6 cups of water or vegetable broth (low sodium)
1 1/2 tsp roasted ground cumin
1 tsp roasted ground coriander
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp mustard seeds (black)
1-2 dried red chilli, chopped (more if desired)
8-12 curry leaves fresh or dried *optional
2-4 tbsp lemon juice
1 handful cilantro/coriander, chopped for garnish

Directions:

1. Place lentils into a mesh metal strainer and rinse under cold water until water runs clear. *To cook your lentils faster you can soak in warm water while you prep the rest of your vegetables.

2. Heat a large saucepan or large pot over medium heat and add the onions, garlic, ginger and turmeric. Sprinkle a little salt on the onions to get them to sweat. (You will need a large pot or giant saute pan for the amount of liquid here) Saute for 2-3 minutes and then add the tomatoes and continue cooking until the tomatoes are soft.

3. Add drained lentils, yams, potatoes, seasonings (except lemon juice and cilantro) and water or vegetable broth. Stir and bring to a boil uncovered. Turn heat down to medium low and and cover with a vented lid (or leave lid cracked to let steam escape) cook for 20-30 minutes until the lentils and potatoes are soft and to desired tenderness. Take off the lid and let some of the liquid cook down until desired consistency. If your potatoes and lentils are still soft and you need more liquid as water as needed to continue cooking.

4. Add the fresh or frozen spinach and stir it in to wilt or incorporate. As fresh spinach cooks down into nothing you can really add as much as you want here.

5. Add the lemon juice and check for flavours. Add more Herbamare or salt to taste and adjust seasonings if desired.

6. Serve and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Additional Tips:

If you like you can use different lentils, but keep in mind that whole lentils will take longer to cook, so you may need to cook this dal for around an hour until they are soft.

What’s your favorite plant based curry?  


Plant Based African Ground Nut Stew (Vegan African Peanut Curry)

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Peanut Stew is something I’ve been wanting to make for a long time because it’s so delicious and satisfying. I was perusing online for inspiration and came across One Pot African Stew from MakingThymeForHealth and used that as the basis for my version.

Once you try it I think you’ll agree that it’s incredibly delicious and maybe even inspiration to use as a base recipe for other veggies. I can see white potatoes, zucchini, winter squash, bell peppers and carrots going well with this too. It is ready in about an hour over the stove, or you can try using a crockpot and cooking it slowly while you’re away from work.

Another note: Personally I’m not a fan of super spicy food or jalapeños so I omitted them. If you really love jalapeños then please add them as your heart desires. 🙂



Please give this a try and let me know what you think!

Plant Based African Ground Nut Stew

Ingredients:

1 large onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
3-inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 teaspoons of roasted ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 large yam/sweet potato, peeled and diced into small cubes (1 lb)
3/4 cup of smooth peanut butter (look for low sodium and sugar free)
4 cups of low sodium vegetable broth (plus more for cooking or use water)
1-2 cups of water, depending on desired thickness
1 bunch of kale/collards/spinach*, stems removed and chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2-3/4 tsp Herbamare or Salt (Less if using salted broth or salted peanut butter)
Fresh ground pepper to taste

To Serve:
3 cups cooked brown rice
roasted peanuts, broken into pieces (optional)
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
2 limes, cut into wedges

Directions:

  1. Add water or vegetable broth to a large pot and heat over medium. Add the onions and spices and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
  2. Stir in the tomato paste, yam/sweet potato, peanut butter, broth and water until well combined and bring to a boil.
  3. Reduce the heat to medium low and cover for about 15 minutes. If using collards, add them now and continue cooking another 15 minutes. If using spinach or kale add them when the yams/sweet potatoes are fork tender (after about 25 minutes) and let cook only a few more minutes.
  4. Using a potato masher or ladle, crush some of the yam/sweet potato up and thicken the broth. Cook for another few minutes until creamy.
  5. Serve over brown rice and garnish with peanuts, fresh cilantro and lime juice.

(I cook my rice in a Zojirushi rice cooker)

I’m not sure how this recipe would turn out for those wondering about using PBFit Peanut Butter Powder. If you do try it let me know how it turned out.

Have you ever made a peanut based curry before? What other veggies do you think would go well with this?

Slow Cooker Recipe: Lower Fat Plant-Based Butternut Squash and Chickpea Coconut Curry

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ButternutSquashChickpeaCurry-1

Hey guys! I am still working with Iphone photos for now as my professional Canon camera was stolen and I don’t have funds to replace it yet so thank you for bearing with me. Phone pics are not as pretty for sure, but it will do in a pinch and you get the idea. Besides the food is way more delicious anyway, just make it and see.

With fall well underway and my pantry kind of overflowing in dried beans and lentils that I have been hoarding for way too long, I decided I need to start making recipes using up as much of my dried ingredients as possible. You do not want to know how many bags and bags of dried stuff I have. It’s kind of ridiculous for just 1 person, but I used to like having any ingredient at my finger tips when I got a craving for a new recipe.


It’s also extremely affordable to make plant-based/vegan slow cooker recipes using dried, canned and frozen ingredients, especially when a small amount of work can yield such delicious food and have lots of leftovers. So even though it’s just me, i don’t mind having leftovers of super delicious curries because I can just give away a few portions to hungry friends, and freeze some for easy meals when I’m too tired to cook. Plus why spend $5-7 on a single frozen vegan meal, when you can make a big batch of something a few times a month and freeze it yourself, right? Right.

ButternutSquashChickpeaCurry-1-2

Although I don’t have a slow cooker recipe book yet, I know it’s something that a few of you have been asking for. It does take some time since I can’t make several recipes a day using this method and crank them out for recipe testing. It’s a slower process, but convenient for people who are busy and really hate “active cooking time” i.e. standing at the stove and/or making a big mess and fitfully sobbing when you didn’t stir it enough and it ends up burned… I mean that doesn’t happen to me that often, but I understand not everyone WANTS to live in the kitchen making food day in and day out.

Any slow cooker you have laying around that is a standard size (not individual sized) will do for this recipe, I used my Ninja Cooking System because I could sauté the onions, garlic and ginger right in the cooking insert over the medium heat setting. I don’t like having extra dishes to do when I make slow cooker recipes, so I find this convenient for me and the thing I hate most about cooking is dishes honestly. If you haven’t signed up to my newsletter yet to stay up to date on new (and favourite free) recipes you can sign up in the pink box on the upper right hand side of the screen there too.


ButternutSquashChickpeaCurry

Plant-Based Butternut Squash & Chickpea Coconut Curry (Slow Cooker Recipe)

serves 8-10 side portions or a hungry family of 4-5

Ingredients:

1 medium butternut squash (about 5 cups) peeled, de-seeded and cubed
2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked 8 hours or overnight
1 medium onion, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 inch chunk of ginger, minced
1 can 13.5 oz fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 can 13.5 ounce light coconut milk
3 cups/1 litre low sodium vegetable broth
2.5 tablespoons yellow curry powder
1 tsp sugar or honey
2 bay leaves
4 large handfuls of baby spinach or 1 bunch of fresh spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped
2 cups frozen sweet peas
1 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Carefully cut the skin off the butternut squash, remove the seeds and cut into 1 inch cubes. To make cutting easier you can slice is in half and microwave the squash for 3 minutes and let cool before cutting.

2. *Optional step: sauté the onions, garlic and ginger in a pan with a little water or in the insert of a Ninja Cooking System.* Assemble all of the ingredients in your slow cooker excluding the peas, spinach, salt and cilantro. Cook on low for 8 hours.

3. About 20 minutes before serving, add in the fresh peas and spinach and stir until spinach is wilted.

4. Taste test and add salt as desired. For a slightly thicker sauce you can use a potato masher and mash some of the squash and chickpeas.

5. Serve over basmati rice and garnish with fresh cilantro. (I prepared 3 rice cups of basmati rice in my Zojirushi rice cooker)

Tips:

Dried chickpeas are best as they will absorb the flavor of the curry as they cook. Don’t use canned chickpeas and cook this for 8 hours as that’s completely unnecessary, 4-6 hours maximum as they’re already cooked.

The night before, sort and rinse the dried chickpeas in a strainer, place in a large bowl and cover with at least 6 cups of water. Alternatively you can do the Quick Soak Method: bring the rinsed chickpeas to a boil in a pot of water and cook for 1 minute and let soak for at least an hour. I find slow soaked chickpeas rather than quick soak chickpeas more tender when cooked, but it’s up to you.

For easy frozen meals later, freeze small portions of the curry and rice separately in tupperware containers.

Question: Have you started using your slow cooker yet this season? What’s your favorite recipe?

20 Minutes To The Table: Baked Flatbread with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Artichokes and Basil

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So the other day I was craving something pizza-like, but knew I wanted to put a healthy twist on it. Although you may think I’m apt to put hummus on just about anything (I might! lol) I actually don’t eat hummus all that often. But when I do, I love to make my own from scratch as it’s super simple. In this recipe I wanted to use the creamy hummus to sub for the sauce and cheese of traditional pizza and then top with some delicious veggies. Although you can use store bought hummus, I don’t like that it contains a lot of oil and isn’t as tasty as making your own. In fact there is a world of difference between fresh made roasted red pepper hummus versus the store bought kind.

In this episode of 20 minutes to the Table I’m going to show you how you can make your own roasted red pepper hummus, baked flat bread and a fresh salad with maple dijon dressing all in less than 20 minutes for an easy midweek meal

To subscribe to my Youtube channel please click on the video to open it in a new browser and hit the subscribe button beside LowFatVeganChef just under the video. Likes are always appreciated as well!

Some other toppings for your baked flatbread could be sautéed mushrooms, black olives, pineapple, arugula, tempeh or smoked tofu. Use your imagination! Recipes below:

Oil-Free Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Recipe

This is half the recipe from my version in Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World

Ingredients:

15 oz. / 425 g can chickpeas (no-salt), drained (reserve a few tbsp of liquid) *OR 1 3/4 cup fresh cooked chickpeas
1 Tbsp. tahini (sesame seed butter)
6 oz. / 170 g (half a jar) roasted red peppers, drained *OR about 1 small fresh roasted red pepper
1/2 large lemon, juiced
2 cloves of garlic
1/8 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/8 tsp. Herbamare or salt, or to taste

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Taste test and adjust seasonings if desired and blend again. Don’t worry if it’s a little thin, when it baked it will become creamy and thick!
3. Enjoy!

BakedFlatBreadPhoto

Recipe photo

Vegan Baked Flatbread with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Artichoke Hearts and Basil

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (recipe above)
1 package of thin burger/sandwich buns or other flatbread
1 15 oz. can artichoke hearts in water (not oil) *OR 400g of frozen artichoke hearts
1 small Vidalia (sweet) onion, sliced
1 handful of fresh basil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sauté onion over medium heat for 5-7 minutes in a little bit of water.
2. Slice artichoke hearts and basil into strips.
3. Assemble flatbread by spreading a thick layer of hummus on each piece of bread and topping with cooked onion, artichoke pieces and basil.
4. Bake for 8-10 until crispy and brown on the bottom. (I baked mine for 10 minutes)

Spinach Arugula Salad with Maple Dijon Dressing

Serves 3-4

Salad Ingredients:

1 5 oz package baby spinach & arugula mix
1/2 English cucumber, sliced
1/2 ripe tomato, sliced
1/3 cup chickpeas

Dressing Ingredients:

4 tbsp Dijon mustard
5-6 tbsp maple syrup (or honey if desired)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

Directions:

1. Assemble salad ingredients into a bowl.
2. Whisk dressing ingredients together in a bowl.
3. Drizzle over salad and store any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge.

 Have you ever made a vegan flatbread or pizza? What’s your favorite toppings? Let me know what you think of these recipes by posting below. 

Raw Vegan Recipe: Rock My Broccoli Salad with Orange Hemp Dressing

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*Contest is over! I’ve chosen Tina’s name “Rock My Broccoli Salad” for the title!

Hey everyone. So I kind of need your help.

You see, I made a delicious salad the other day and I absolutely loved it, but because it has so many ingredients I couldn’t really decide on what to call it. So I want hear some suggestions from you.

In fact, I’ll even give a little prize to the person who comes up with the best name for this salad recipe. (I’m going to put it in my next salad recipe ebook you see so it needs a catchy title.)

So please let me know what name you think suits this salad and it’s ingredients that make it sound delicious and appetizing. I’ll announce the winner later this week. And since it’s open to everyone (and some of you may have already purchased one or two of my recipe ebooks) I want to offer the winner a copy of any one of my ebooks they don’t already have. So if you’ve been dying for a particular ebook, please don’t miss out on this chance to enter! Plus it’s a fun way for me to get feedback from you.

I usually stick to all raw ingredients when I make my salads and dressings, but not always. This one however is pretty much all raw and super fresh (depending on the cranberries, but you can use something else instead if you wish.)

Once this salad is tossed together with the orange hemp dressing and the avocado chunks get all broken up and creamy, it’s a super tasty and decadent salad, but it’s jam packed full of vegetables and still light. I never use any oil in my salads and try to keep them zesty and flavorful but lower fat at the same time.

If you’re going to make this salad and not use it all in one meal, it’s best to portion it out and keep the remaining dressing separate so it doesn’t wilt the lettuce. Use the dressing within 3 days as it is fresh.

Rock My Broccoli Salad

Serves 2 dinner salads or 4 side salads

Salad Ingredients:

1 small head of broccoli cut into small florets
3 cups baby spinach or spring mix
2 cups romaine lettuce
1 8 oz. package sugar snap peas
1 apple peeled and sliced into match sticks
2 small seedless cucumbers (Persian or Iranian), sliced
1 8 oz. package plum tomatoes, sliced
2 small or 1 large avocado, seeded and sliced into chunks
2 green onions, chopped
3 tbsp pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries

Orange Hemp Dressing:

1 cup fresh squeezed clementine or mandarin orange juice (please don’t use store bought it’s too sour)
2 tbsp hemp seeds
2-4 dates, pitted and chopped
dash of kelp flakes *optional
dash of salt
dash of pepper

Directions:

  1. Arrange salad ingredients into a very large salad bowl as desired.
  2. Combine salad dressing ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
  3. Serve salad and top with dressing as desired.

Additional Tips:

Store leftovers in separate containers and consume within 3 days.

**Contest Over**

Name this salad and get a chance to win a copy of any of my recipe ebooks!

Winner: Tina with “Rock My Broccoli Salad” Congratulations Tina!

Engine2 Inspired Tempeh Mushroom Panini Melts

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I was watching Engine 2 Kitchen to the Rescue on Netflix the other day and got a hankering for a homemade panini melt like Rip was showing in the recipe section of the film. This recipe is DELICIOUS! I’m definitely going to be making this regularly because the combination of mushrooms and caramelized onions is one of my favorites.

Hummus is a great cheese-free way to make an ooey gooey panini melt because it adds some nice flavor and moisture to it and gets all melty when heated. So make sure to slather it on thick! For a healthier oil free version of hummus be sure to check out my recipe link below.

This is an adaptation of Engine2’s recipe and I’ve added more ingredients to the panini.  🙂

Vegan Hummus Mushroom Tempeh Panini Melts

Makes 2 panini

Ingredients:

4 slices whole wheat bread (look for oil free) *use GF if desired
low fat hummus (see my recipe)
4-6 strips of tempeh (I used sesame garlic tempeh)
6-8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 slice of onion cut into strips
1 tsp soy sauce or gluten free tamari
1 tsp maple syrup *optional
handful of baby spinach
2 pieces of fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. In a small non stick pan, cook the tempeh strips over medium heat until lightly browned on both sides. Set aside. (You do not need any oil.)

2. Sauté the mushrooms and onion slices in a non-stick pan in soy sauce and maple syrup for 5-6 minutes until soft. Set aside.

3. Spread all 4 slices of bread with a thick layer of hummus (you don’t want it to be too dry!) and top 2 slices with tempeh, mushrooms and onions. Lay some spinach leaves on top and sprinkle on a few bits of cilantro. Top with the other slice of bread.

4. In a non stick or cast iron skillet place the sandwiches one at a time over medium low heat. Top with something heavy such as a cast iron skillet, pot or plate with a weight on it. Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes until browned being careful to not let them burn. *Alternatively you can use a sandwich press (cut it in half first) or a panini press and cook for 4-5 minutes.

place the sandwich on a non stick pan with something heavy on top of it

*Or use a sandwich maker or panini press and close the top down on the sandwiches

5. When done slice in half and serve.

panini made in the sandwich maker

panini made in the pan with weight on top

Variations:

If you don’t want to include the tempeh, feel free to leave it out. I like adding it so it’s a little higher in protein and more filling.

You can also mix up your panini by using a different flavored hummus, adding roasted bell peppers, jalapeños, artichokes or smoked tofu instead of the original ingredients.

What’s your favorite vegan grilled sandwich or panini?

(Low Fat Vegan) Easy Mini Lasagna Casserole

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Mini Vegan Lasagna Casserole

Who doesn’t love lasagna right? Well what about vegan lasagna?

Unless you’ve had it at a vegetarian restaurant chances are you haven’t had much vegan lasagna in your life, so that’s why I want to share this delicious recipe with you!

This past week a friend of mine was staying with me and we were going through all my cupboards (I have a lot of them!) and were trying to see if there was something we could throw together for lunch without going to the store. I have a plethora of the basics plus a smattering of random ingredients I never got a chance to use up yet so we had a lot of possibilities.

She asked if I had a box of lasagna noodles and I admitted “No unfortunately I don’t have any” but while rummaging I did find a bag of mini lasagna noodles I got from The Gourmet Warehouse in Vancouver. I thought they looked so cute and it would be neat for a mini lasagna casserole sometime, but I just never got a chance to use them before.

We also found some jars of pasta sauce, along with some tofu and frozen spinach so we were pretty much covered to make a basic casserole. One of the things that makes preparing healthy meals at home easy is making sure you have things like canned tomatoes or pasta sauce, dried noodles, frozen veggies and a variety of seasonings to work with.

So we whipped this vegan lasagna casserole together and it didn’t take very long at all which was great because we were starving! LOL.  I have a lasagna recipe that’s coming out in my next ebook (called Comfort Foods From Around The World) that I’m trying to have ready by the end of this month and it was SO much quicker to put together than that so I was pretty impressed.

The mini lasagna noodles are not really essential for this recipe, any pasta will do, but for the photos’ sake it helps to have the pretty ruffled edges. 🙂 You can also break regular lasagna noodles into chunks, or use more common noodles such as penne if that’s all you can find. It’s pretty much going to taste the same, just have a different texture and mouth feel. Some specialty stores or gourmet kitchen supply stores might carry mini lasagna noodles so keep your eyes peeled.

I like to keep my lasagnas fairly healthy so I omit the vegan processed cheese or nut cheese and just make a homemade tangy tofu ricotta instead. (This also keeps the fat and salt content much lower too.) I have tried both regular firm and silken tofu for my vegan ricotta and I have to say that the silken tofu wins hands down. It’s just a nicer texture, creamier and melts in your mouth like real ricotta. Feel free to use whatever tofu you prefer but I really think silken tofu makes a difference especially when you’re looking for a creamier texture in your cheese-less vegan lasagna.

Scroll down for the recipe…

(Low Fat Vegan) Easy Mini Lasagna Casserole

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

1 454 g/1 lb. package mini lasagna (mafalda, or similar) noodles *GF if desired
2 709 g/25 oz jars pasta sauce (mushroom, garlic, basil flavored etc.)
1/4 cup chopped basil
2 packages firm silken tofu, drained (I used mori-nu)
8-10 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup-2/3 cup nutritional yeast
3 tbsp miso paste (Genmai brown rice)
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
1 283g/10 oz. package of frozen spinach thawed and moisture squeezed out

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (176 C)

2. In a large 4-5 qt. pot bring water to a boil and then add 1 tbsp salt and stir. Add mini lasagna noodles (or pasta of choice) and cook for about 5-6 minutes (less for smaller pasta). Stir occasionally to prevent noodles from sticking to bottom of pot. Drain and rinse to remove excess salt if desired. Let noodles cool slightly before handling (because you’re going to be layering them in.)

3. In a mixing bowl, crumble the tofu and add the chopped basil and seasonings adjusting the nutritional yeast and lemon to your tastes. Add the spinach and mix together.

4. In a large 9×13 lasagna casserole pan (or 2 smaller pans) pour in some sauce just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Next layer in 2-3 layers of noodles (you can make it as neat or messy as you like) and then top with the tofu/spinach mixture. Add another layer of sauce and spread it out so it covers everything.

Middle layer with sauce on the bottom, 2 layers of noodles, tofu ricotta and spinach, and sauce.

Start the next layer with 2-3 more layers of noodles and repeat twice more. Cover the top layer with the remaining sauce and make sure all the noodles are covered. Garnish with some tofu/spinach mixture or vegan cheese if desired (optional)

5. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until noodles are al dente or at desired tenderness. Allow lasagna to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving so the sauce thickens.

6. Serve with your favorite salad or garlic bread.

Let the mini lasagna casserole cool slightly before serving

Variations:

Add a chopped onion and a pound of mushrooms and sauté with a little soy sauce and brown sugar or maple syrup and mix in with the spinach. Add some vegan cheese like Daiya cheese for a more decadent option (increases the fat content though). Use a different type of pasta like giant shells or rotini or fusilli. Use homemade tomato sauce seasoned with your favorite flavors like garlic, basil, oregano, mushrooms, onions etc.

 Mini lasagna casserole baked and ready to serve

Mini Vegan Lasagna Casserole

Bon appétit!

Have you ever had vegan lasagna before or tried mini lasagna noodles before? What do you think?

80/10/10 Recipe: Raw Vegan Watermelon Banana Peach Green Smoothie and 7 Ways To Enjoy Watermelon This Summer

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Ah Summer… who doesn’t love enjoying a hot summer day and diving into some ice cold juicy watermelon?

Watermelon is the PERFECT Summer fruit and it can be enjoyed so many ways.

7 Different Ways To Enjoy Watermelon This Summer:

#1. Sliced up and served traditionally

#2. Diced into a fruit salad (or use a melon baller)

#3. Blended into fruit smoothies

#4. Juiced (you can even juice the rind!)

#5. Cut into thin slices and dehydrated into watermelon “candy” or fruit roll ups

#6. Grilled and served over a salad

I know right, grilled watermelon?  That sounds so weird… But I was at a vegetarian restaurant once that had a grilled watermelon salad on the menu. I thought it was odd, but who knows maybe it could be delicious! I don’t have a barbecue though, so if you try it out let me know what you think!

You should definitely try out dehydrated watermelon slices though if you have access to a dehydrator. It’s like a homemade fruit rollup but tastes like watermelon candy! Kids really love these things and it’s a fun way to get them involved in making healthy treats at home. I was really impressed by how tasty dehydrated watermelon was.

And #7… You can make a watermelon birthday cake like this one I found online!

This watermelon fruit cake would be great for kids with gluten, dairy or egg allergies or if you just want to offer something fresh and wholesome instead of a standard sugary birthday cake. The fruit kabobs make it really easy for kids to eat as well.

Really watermelon is such a versatile fruit and there are so many ways to enjoy it! It makes the perfect base to fruit smoothies too.

Check out my watermelon green smoothie recipe below…

80/10/10 Watermelon Banana Peach Green Smoothie

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

4 cups/20 oz. watermelon chunks
2 ripe bananas
3/4 cup frozen peaches
1 cup packed baby spinach (or other mild greens like lettuce, Swiss chard etc)

Directions:

Place ingredients in Vitamix or blender in the order provided and blend until smooth. Garnish with a spinach leaf or slice of watermelon if desired.

Variations:

Try out different melons! Cantaloup or honeydew will be delicious as well and make for a great variety.

What’s your favourite way to eat watermelon or favourite watermelon recipe?

Super Protein Packed Spinach Salad With Quinoa, Chickpeas and Creamy Orange Hemp Seed Dressing

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I think it’s time for more salads. Yes, sometimes you can get tired of the same old ones, so I wanted to create a better recipe that was all around tasty, just like you’d find at a vegetarian restaurant.

All salads are not created equal of course… sometimes you just eat one because they’re good for you and you feel you’re “supposed to”. Other times you might have a delicious and gourmet salad at a restaurant, but it’s not really on the healthy side as it’s loaded with things like feta cheese, creamy dressing, bacon, battered chicken strips etc. If you’re vegan you may have a love/hate relationship with eating salads at restaurants.  Sometimes they are ok but often they don’t have many ingredients in them so you can have a rather small meal and let’s face it vegan salad dressing options at restaurants flat out SUCK.



Never fear, I am here to bring to you…

THE ONE SPINACH SALAD TO RULE THEM ALL!

This salad is so good that you will actually crave more of it… You might even gets your kids or husband begging for it regularly. In fact I would bet that any vegetarian restaurant would be thrilled to have my super spinach salad on their menu.

What’s the secret to an amazing salad? Well several things, first picking delicious ready-to-go  ingredients that go well together, second that are healthy and lastly and more importantly are satisfying and filling but without all the guilt! (And it doesn’t hurt to top this salad off with my killer Creamy Orange Hemp Seed Dressing either).

I am NOT a fan of store bought dressing. In fact I despise it. If you’re in North America like I am you know there is often an ENTIRE wall of salad dressings at the grocery store. And yet still picking out a dressing that is tasty, healthy and you don’t get tired of is really hard.

Could it be that your taste buds are smart enough to know your body shouldn’t be consuming the same oily, vinegary, high fructose corn syrupy dressing all the time?



That may well be… Even just reading the ingredients in most salad dressings is enough to make me want to gag. Where’s the real ingredients and real flavour?

Well your salad dressing problem is solved! I guarantee that you’re going to love this protein packed spinach salad. I know it’s definitely going into my weekly lunch menu for myself. And my Creamy Orange Hemp Dressing is very delicious and will complement it perfectly.

BTW did I mention the dressing is also completely oil free? (Your pants should be rejoicing right now!)

Eat To Live fans will be happy to know that this is a Dr. Fuhrman style salad packed with nutrient dense ingredients that will curb your appetite and stimulate weight-loss as well.



Let there be salad:

Super Protein Packed Spinach Salad With Quinoa, Chickpeas, Tempeh and Cranberries

Serves 1

Ingredients:

2-3 cups packed baby spinach
1/4 cup cooked quinoa (see my post here on how to cook quinoa)
1/3 cup cooked chickpeas (I used Eden Organics)
2 strips of cooked tempeh (I used Sesame Garlic Marinated Tempeh) or smoked tofu (optional)
1/4 cup shredded carrot (store bought is fine)
1 tbsp dried cranberries (I used apple juice sweetened ones)
small handful of micro greens or sprouts

Directions:

Arrange salad ingredients into a large bowl and garnish with micro greens or sprouts as desired. Top with dressing.



Raw Vegan Creamy Orange Hemp Heart Dressing:

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/3 cup fresh orange juice from 1 medium orange (use sweet oranges)
1 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 tbsp hemp hearts/seeds (sub sesame or tahini if you can’t find)
1 tsp fresh ginger
2 small dates pitted and chopped (soaked if you don’t have a Vitamix)
1/8 tsp Herbamare or salt

Directions:

Place all ingredients in Vitamix or blender and blend until smooth. Taste test and add more ginger, vinegar or salt if desired. Blend again.

Yields 1/2 cup of dressing. Best used within 3 days due to the nature of raw ingredients.

Variations:

You can add a plethora of other ingredients into your protein packed spinach salad such as tomatoes, cucumbers, apple slices, other dried fruits, etc. What really makes this salad filling is the addition of quinoa and chickpeas, so it’s also a great salad to take to work without needing a giant salad container.



What’s your favourite dressing for spinach salad? 

Like this recipe? Get more here.


Raw Vegan Creamy Avocado Banana Green Smoothie Recipe!

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Avocado Green Smoothie Plant Based Vegan Oil Free

This heavenly avocado banana green smoothie is a real treat.  I normally don’t add any nuts or seeds to my smoothies, but I was inspired from our trip to Hawaii a few months ago to make one of these.

In many tropical countries the locals use avocados in sweet drinks and desserts instead of just the standard salad topping or guacamole. Avocado is a very versatile fruit and it’s extremely creamy and satisfying to eat. Kind of like nature’s butter! On it’s own it has a very mild taste and is not very overpowering but season it right and it can be out of this world delicious!

For this recipe we’re only going to use 1/2 an avocado because they are so rich in fat and calories. Generally I don’t recommend that anyone eat a whole avocado a day, especially on top of any other nuts, seeds and oils consumed in other meals as well. For a woman 1/2 small to medium avocado is plenty, for a man up to one avocado a day can work as they generally have higher caloric needs.




This smoothie is already slightly green with the avocado, but to really make it a beautiful green colour I added some spinach to it. In a Vitamix it really turns out beautiful.

So enjoy this smoothie on a nice hot summer day with either some frozen bananas or ice to for a cool refreshing treat! (And of course you don’t have to eat the avocado pit!)

Avocado Banana Green Smoothie

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
1/2 small-medium ripe avocado (skin will turn black and give to pressure)
1-2 cups of baby spinach
1/4-1/2 cup water
Handful of ice (or use 1 frozen banana instead of fresh)

Directions:

1. Place ingredients into Vitamix or blender in order listed and blend until well combined.

Variation:

You can use almond milk instead of water if you want the smoothie even creamier.

Have you ever used avocados in a green smoothie recipe? What’s your recipe?