Grilled Flatbread

My new "I didn't plan dinner and I want to make something fast" meal is grilled flatbread! It's so easy and so good! Just whole wheat flour and water, kneaded well and rolled into a ball to set for 20 minutes (or more). Then I roll it out and cook it on the grill (which I describe in this post). While you're waiting for it to set you can chop up ingredients for a salad and prep your flatbread toppings.

This time I chopped up a lot of garlic into a small dish with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and some oregano and let it sit to soak up the garlic goodness. After the first side of the flatbread cooked, I spread the garlic oil on and topped with spinach, tomato, onion, and grated soy cheese. It's just like pizza. You can't really mess it up! Add a big salad to it and call it dinner! That's what we did! : )

Stir Fry

I didn't do much planning for dinner last week, so I just tossed some quick meals together. I asked Matt what he wanted for dinner on Friday, and he said Chinese. Rather than order take out, I decided to just make stir fry at home.

I heated some coconut oil in the wok and added in some ginger and garlic. Then I added a Japanese blend of frozen veggies and started cooking them. Once they were cooked most of the way, I added some kale. For the sauce, I just took a couple teaspoons of corn starch and added a little water and some Bragg Liquid Aminos (a soy product that tastes similar to soy sauce but without added sodium). Then we put everything on top of brown rice. Matt must have liked it, because when we were planning meals for next week he wanted to make it again!

Vegan Fettucine Alfredo

We made some fettucine noodles a while ago and put them in the freezer, so this week when I didn't have a plan for dinner I decided to use them.

For the sauce, I started with some olive oil and garlic and then added in some silken tofu. I cooked the tofu for a while trying to break it up as much as I could before adding some grated soy cheese and almond milk. Looking back, I wish I'd tossed the tofu and grated soy cheese into the food processor to get a nice, smooth consistency.

While I was making the sauce, I steamed some kale and added it to the pasta. I also topped it with fresh parsley. Matt really loved it, and while it didn't taste as good as my non-vegan alfredo sauce, it was pretty rockin' for a vegan version! And it was a pretty quick meal. Everything was done in about 15 minutes!

Open Faced AvoBeauty Sandwich

Make this! You will thank me for it!

Another recipe from The Beauty Detox Solution. Served with salad with Oil Free Red Pepper and Cilantro Dressing.

1 slice gluten-free millet bread or another gluten-free bread
Stone-ground mustard
1/2 avocado, sliced
2-3 thin tomato slices
Cayenne pepper
Sea salt
Clover sprouts (or other sprouts)
Probiotic & Enzyme Salad (another recipe in the book, but I didn't use it)

Oil-Free Red Pepper and Cilantro Dressing

New favorite dressing EVER! It's so good that when I go to lunch with my friend tomorrow I am actually skipping the restaurant's dressing and bringing this with me! Yummmmmm!

Okay, I have to admit that I used a green bell pepper for the recipe. And I skipped the miso because Native Sun isn't open on Sundays and Publix didn't have it. Oh, and I definitely double up on the garlic. One clove? Are you kidding me?? LOL!

But here is the recipe as suggested in The Beauty Detox Solution:

1/2 red pepper, seeded and cored
3/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 small tomato
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbs filtered water
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp organic, unpasteurized miso paste
1 tsp. raw apple cider vinegar


I am going to somehow have to force myself not to make this for every salad or else I am going to get sick of it! Just blend everything together. You can store for up to 2 days in the fridge.

Macadamia Nut and Sundried Tomato Mash

Another great recipe from The Beauty Detox Solution. I can't recommend this book enough!!

We ate this on top of some romaine leaves, but I actually think it would have been better just on top of our salad. If you love sundried tomatoes (which I DO) then you'll enjoy this!

1 cup raw mac. nuts (soak 2 hrs and then rinse well)
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tbs finely chopped parsley
Black pepper

She suggests starting with the mac. nuts and lemon juice in the food processor, then adding the sundried tomatoes and sea salt. Then mix in the parsley. I did it this way, but I think you could easily just toss it all in together and it would come out fine.

Oil-Free/Balsamic-Free Italian Vinaigrette Dressing

Finding a good salad dressing that is actually HEALTHY is such a challenge. It's sad just how unhealthy salads can be when we pile on things like cheese and fat. Really, we should just go ahead and get a sandwich and fries instead.

But that's the biggest reason why I bought "The Beauty Detox Solution." I saw the dressing recipes and I was sold! Kimberly Snyder has some fantastic recipes, and this one was so savory I scarfed down my salad faster than I could say the name of the dressing!

No blender is needed, either! Just mix together some apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard (I used spicy brown), sea salt, Italian seasoning, and a little water and mix together. That's it! Yes, it's a little watery, but you won't be lacking any flavor. Trust me on that one!

Glowing Green Smoothie

This recipe comes from the book "The Beauty Detox Solution" by Kimberly Snyder. It's packed with great information and recipes, and since I need to lose just a little more weight for my goal dress to fit perfect I've decided to follow her program for the next few weeks!

We hit the farmer's market today to pick up most of what we needed, since most of the recipes are raw. I couldn't wait to begin, so as soon as we got home and put groceries away I decided to make this Glowing Green Smoothie that I've been so anxious to try! I have to say, it is FABULOUS! It's very refreshing and light, and I'm already thinking of how great one of these will be after an early morning run!

Since I don't have a Vita Mix, I decided to make this in my food processor because it's much more powerful than the blender we have. It worked out great, and I'm starting to wonder if I even need a Vita Mix at all! All I did was start off with my greens and slowly added in all the other ingredients, and only added a touch of water as needed until everything was pretty well blended. Toward the end I finished adding the water.

I also took the blended mix and put it into a pitcher with some ice so it would be nice and cool. It was so tasty that I had a 2nd glass, and even Matt enjoyed it! I'm definitely looking forward to having this for breakfast all week!



Ingredients:

1 head romaine lettuce
Bunch of spinach
3-4 stalks of celery
1 apple (cored)
1 pear (cored)
1 banana
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Optional: cilantro and parsley

Wheat Gnocchi with Kale

Toward the end of the week I don't really plan what to cook because I try to use up whatever is in the fridge. I also don't always feel like spending an hour on cooking, so this is a good, quick dinner that takes less than 10 minutes!

I used the gnocchi that comes packaged in the store, and it cooks in about 3 minutes. I also steamed some kale. While these two were cooking, I took a frying pan and put some vegan "butter" with some fresh garlic and turned it on medium high. After the gnocchi finished, I added it to the pan with the butter and let it cook for about 2 minutes before adding the kale to the mix. Right at the end I added some grated soy cheese and mixed it all together before putting it on the plate. So quick and easy!

Pan Fried Shirataki, Veggies, and Grilled Flatbread

This meal was a little bit of everything. I knew I wanted to make shirtaki, and my idea was to pan fry it. My thought was to make it like a potato pancake and cut it up into quarters, but I couldn't get it to stick together. So instead I tossed it around with some Bragg Liquid Aminos, and it was still really good!

I also needed some veggies, so at Matt's request I grilled some squash and zucchini and then also steamed some kale. Matt also wanted to try grilling the flatbread, so I put some foil on the grill, sprayed it with olive oil, and put two long pieces of dough on it. After grilling a few minutes, I flipped it over, added olive oil and garlic, soy cheese, and some red onion and continued to cook a few more minutes. Surprisingly, the grilled flatbread turned out much softer than when I made it in the oven.

Even though we just threw together a bunch of things for dinner Matt said it was one of his favorite meals! Somehow it all worked together!

Veggie Flatbread

After watching an episode of my favorite Food Network show "Down Home With The Neelys" I have been anxious to make a delicious veggie flatbread. The Neelys used dough from the store, but I decided to make it at home. The challenge - we only have whole wheat flour, we aren't eating eggs, and, oh yeah, I didn't have any yeast! So I made the dough out of nothing more than wheat flour and water and hoped for the best!

Fortunately, it worked out for the crispy flatbread that I was going for!

I took about a baseball sized piece of dough and let it sit for a couple hours. Then I rolled it out and cooked it in the oven at 375 until it was cooked a little. After that, I added olive oil, garlic, and oregano and then topped with fresh basil, soy cheese, and slices of squash, zucchini, and red onion. I cooked for about 10 minutes, and then toward the end I added some kale that had been tossed in olive oil and more garlic to the top and cooked for another minute or two. We sprinkled it with grated soy cheese and it was great!

Minty Fresh Salad Dressing

I got the recipe for this dressing from The Beauty Detox Solution by Kimberly Snyder. The dressings were the main reason I bought the book, because they all sound fantastic! This was my first one, and I was very pleased with how tasty and refreshing it was!

1/2 medium cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh basil
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tbs fresh lemon juice

Blend all the ingredients until smooth. I add a little more lemon juice and also half of an avocado (the other half I diced and put into the salad). I will definitely make this again!



Minty Fresh Salad Dressing pictured with Tempeh Banh Mi

Tempeh Banh Mi

I got the recipe for this Banh Mi from Guy Fieri's show on Food Network. Of course, he made his with pork or something, so I tried a vegan version using 3 grain tempeh. Sadly, BOTH of our propane tanks went out on our grill, so I had to finish cooking the tempeh in the oven. I think it would have been better on the grill and if I had made the slices a little thinner. Matt really wants me to try it next time with pan fried tofu that is then cooked with the marinade (it will thicken into a nice sauce). So I think I know one thing I'll be making next week! : )

Start with the marinade:
Sesame oil
siracha
brown sugar
hoisin sauce
soy sauce
fresh sliced ginger (no need to peel)
chopped garlic

Toss everything into a bag to marinate the tempeh (or tofu, portabello, etc.) for at least an hour

Grill until cooked. Save marinade and put in a pan and simmer to use as a sauce (put it on after the first side has finished grilling).

These are all your toppings. Build it according to your taste!

Julienne carrot and daikon

Make pickled cucumbers (Sesame oil, siracha, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce)
**I had a hard time not eating all the cucumbers! They were so tasty after marinating for a while!

Cilantro, mint

Lettuce

Veganaise, hoisin sauce, siracha, sesame oil

Hoagie rolls



Tempeh Banh Mi served with salad with Minty Fresh Salad Dressing

TLT?

I'm becoming a big fan of tempeh, so I decided to give this a try. Though I was never a huge fan of bacon, the idea of having a vegan version of a BLT sounded good! I mean, who can resist that awesome picture on the package? Doesn't it make you want one? Never shop hungry, I guess!

I made these for lunch and they were fantastic! They just cook in the frying pan like bacon and I toasted some whole wheat bread and put some Boston lettuce and tomato on it with a little brown mustard, and voila! A refreshing lunch! Matt really loved it, too. In fact, I made him one to take for lunch yesterday.

Pad Thai with Tofu

Okay, so I used a sauce packet from the Asian market for this recipe, but I am excited that I was able to have rice noodles again! And I tossed in some kale just to add some color to it! So crazy easy. It's like the Thai version of spaghetti. Always good for those nights when you didn't really plan ahead and need a quick, yummy dinner! : )

Leggo My Mango

So, I am a bit sad. I've been eating a lot of mangoes lately and I had a reaction to them. My lips got really irritated and now they are dry. It finally occurred to me that it must be because of the mangoes because my lips and tongue tingle a little when I eat them. I love mangoes, so my heart started to break a little at this realization! I love the texture and the smooth sweetness of this tropical fruit!

Fortunately, it looks like I was just eating them improperly, so I thought it was worth sharing off the blog. I would just wash them and cut slices and bite the fruit off the skin, but apparently it's the skin that is causing my reaction. So I thought I would share this information just in case anyone else had the same problem. You can find out more information at http://www.allergy-details.com/allergy-c/mango-allergy/.

Lettuce Wraps (Cooked Version)

Ever since we made our first lettuce wraps, we were hooked! But so far we've only made them raw, and though I really love all the crisp, fresh veggies in a lemon/ginger/soy sauce, I really wanted to try making a cooked version!

I took a little coconut oil and heated it on medium high. I had already soaked some raw cashews, so I rinsed and dried them and chopped them up and tossed them in the wok. Then I added some chopped mushrooms and cooked for a minute or two. Then I added a small, finely diced carrot and cooked for another minute or two. Then I tossed in some bean sprouts and cooked for another minute. Then I put in about two teaspoons of hoisin sauce, 1/4 fresh squeezed lemon and about a teaspoon of soy sauce. Then I seasoned with salt and some Asian spice that I have (it's a blend of a bunch of spices). I also tossed in some minced garlic at some point. I wish I had added ginger (note for next time!).

I put everything on top of some living lettuce (which looks like Boston lettuce) and a little bed of alfalfa sprouts (Matt's suggestion). I topped each lettuce wrap with just a little flax seed. I think next time I would cut up some limes and let everyone squeeze some onto the wraps before eating them. But I was out of limes, so I couldn't try it. It was very different from the raw version, and I'm not sure which one I like better. I love them both!

Pan Fried Tomatoes with Herb Cheez

It's so nice to be back home where I can actually cook again! Yes!!!

At some point during my trip I decided that I wanted to try making some tomatoes breaded in panko, so I sliced up an heirloom tomato and sprayed them with olive oil and put them in a bowl of panko and shook them around to coat. Tossed in a pan with some coconut oil and browned them.

Then I made some soft herb cheez. This is another idea that popped into my head, so I had fun experimenting! I took a clove of garlic and a little sea salt and ground it up into a paste with my mortar and pestle. Then I added a slice of firm tofu, some chopped up cilantro and basil and ground all of it together. Then I added just a little pepper, because I was worried it wouldn't have any flavor. Boy, was I wrong! I mean, fresh garlic, cilantro, and basil - how could it not be full of flavor?

I took my fake cheese and put a little on top of each tomato and garnished with a sprig of cilantro (because my presentation was pretty lame). But what it lacked in appearance, it made up for in taste! Such a yummy little snack, and I'm kinda glad Matt wasn't here because I didn't want to share! LOL! But I could easily see doing this with some zucchini or even eggplant. Zucchini would probably be perfect, because it would hold up better than the tomato. I may try the cheez on top of raw tomato slices, too. But this is great as a snack or an appetizer!

India Grill

Since it was supposed to rain in Vancouver yesterday, we decided not to take our chances with the outdoor festival and instead went to Bellingham, WA for the day. We were hoping to go to a nice little vegan place I read about on Yelp, but sadly it looks like they have gone out of business. : (

But we found an Indian restaurant that was open, so we went there. We went with the buffet which had some palak channa (spinach and chick peas) and aloo matar (potato and peas). The other dish was lentils and beans, which I put on top of my rice. I'm not sure what it was called, but I just called it all delicious! I love Indian food!

Loving Hut Seattle

When my friend Kristen decided to go vegan, she started raving about this Orlando restaurant called Loving Hut. I finally got a chance to go with her when I went down there for a photography workshop about a year ago, and now I'm hooked! It's exciting to have a place where you can eat ANYTHING off the menu!

There are several Loving Hut locations throughout the country, all individually owned with their own unique menus but every one is full of vegan, non-GMO deliciousness! We found one on our trip to San Francisco last fall, but we had our heart set on a garlic restaurant (because nothing can compete with a garlic-themed menu!). But I checked to see if Seattle had a Loving Hut, and they did, so we went there for dinner yesterday! Matt had the Crispy Noodles and I had pan fried shirataki. Both were covered with steamed veggies, tofu, and other soy protein. They were brought out separately, and there wasn't much left from Matt's dish when I finally remembered to take a picture. But I did manage to get a picture of my dish, and I'm excited to get back home and make some pan fried shirataki! It's really good stuff!

Hotel Healthy

It's incredibly easy to control what we eat when we cook at home, because we just don't buy bad ingredients! But when we travel, it's another story. We go out to eat a lot, either because we don't have the option of cooking in our room, we're being social, or because we just want to experience the area we're visiting! And food is definitely a part of the experience!

Fortunately, on the West coast people are more health-conscious and earth-friendly, so we can usually find lots of options that fit within our diet. We've already found dozens of vegan restaurants for our fun weekend planned in Seattle and Vancouver this weekend!

But most of the week we've been making food in our room. Matt stocked up on hummus, apples, pears, spinach, tomatoes, bananas, oatmeal, raw honey, sprouts and pita before I got here. A lot of hotel rooms have refrigerators, so this is something we can do anywhere. I've been making my oatmeal for breakfast and Matt comes back to meet me for lunch. Today's lunch is a simple sandwich on flat whole wheat rolls with avocado, spinach, alfalfa sprouts, cherry tomatoes (sliced), and hummus. I stacked it in that order so that the avocado holds the spinach in place, the alfalfa sprouts act as a bed for the tomatoes, and the hummus holds the tomatoes on there. Yum! Served with a side of carrots, it's a yummy and light lunch!