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Tag: vegan
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Oat milk
Cheap and simple. Once you get the hang of it, it will only take 15 minutes to make a liter (or more) of delicious oat milk, way cheaper than any store bought brand will bring it to you.
What you’ll need: a fine sieve (I use the one from my tea pot, it’s about 8cm in diameter and perfect for the job), a blender, a bowl and a glass bottle for storage.
Ingredients: oats, water, sweetener (dates, figs, banana, honey or sugar, for example), salt and optionally vanilla or vanilla flavoring.
I use 1 cup of oats and 5 cups of water, which amounts to exactly one liter in my blender.
Then I add 3 figs or 5 dates, a bit of salt and two teaspoons of vanilla flavoring.
Start only with the oats, water and sweetener. Blend for about 30 seconds. Not too long or it will be slimy. It doesn’t have to blend ‘all the way’.
Pour a tiny bit of the mixture through the sieve into a big bowl. Taste, then add salt and vanilla to taste, blend for another few seconds and then pour all of the mixture into the bowl through the sieve, scraping the bottom of the sieve with a spoon.
Transfer from the bowl into a clean glass bottle and store in the fridge for up to three days.
I use the oat residu to add to my overnight oats (see recipe below). The fruit content even helps with the predigestion of phytic acid, as explained in that blog post :).
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Oven roasted prebiotic vegetables
Prebiotic vegetables create a favorable climate in your gut for probiotics (good bacteria) to grow. Among prebiotic vegetables are: leek, onion, garlic, chicory and fennel.
This dish has leek, fennel and chicory. The white and light greens color beautifully with the drizzled olive oil.
Keep it really simple: slice the veggies in halves lengthwise, brush with olive oil and put in the oven on 180 degrees Celsius for about 30 minutes or until some ends start to color brown.
For serving, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Great with bread.
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Buckwheat risotto with green vegetables and herbs
A new favorite: buckwheat risotto! Healthy, heartfelt, full of flavors, absolutely lovely and so easy, too!
Serves 2-3
Boil about 1 liter of vegetable stock. You could make your own, I use organic instant stock powder. Add a tablespoon of kurkuma to the stock if you have that available.
In a frying pan, heat some oil and sauté a small onion (in pieces) and small garlic clove (chopped finely), then add two cups of buckwheat and a handful of dried shiitake mushrooms (in slices).
Stir well, then add one or two cups of stock to the buckwheat. Bring to a simmer, the turn the heat down to low. Allow the stock to be soaked up before adding a new portion. Stir regularly.
After about 20 minutes (halfway cooking time), add green beans. After another 10, add broccoli, zucchini, grated rind of 0,5-1 lemon and kale (I used frozen ‘cubes’ of kale, just put the whole cubes in there and don’t stir from then on). Cover with a lid so the vegetables can steam until ready for another 10 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, chop lots of mint and parsley so you have two nice handfuls of herbs. Just before serving, top with the herbs, drizzle with generous amounts of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and possibly lemon juice.
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Coconut cookies: 2 ingredients, 20 minutes no-fail recipe
Who would have thought I could make my own favorite cookies at home within a few minutes, in a vegan variety with no additives and it easily wins from the supermarket variety?
Add 100ml condensed coconut milk to 100gr of dried coconut. Mix well, then use a measurement tablespoon (or whatever) to make small cookies.
Put in the oven on a baking sheet on 160 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them.
When they have the perfect golden color, take them out and let cool down for a couple of minutes.
That’s it, I kid you not!
* I found that the measurement tablespoon makes the perfect size for me, with perfectly crunchy outside and soft creamy inside.
* Condensed coconut milk can be found close to the condensed cow milk in the supermarket.
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Frozen fruit, blender… ice cream deluxe
This is just incredible. So easy, delicious and dare I say… healthy! Definitely a winner.
It started when I wanted to recreate vanilla ice from frozen banana slices. I simply put the banana slices in the blender, added cream and vanilla flavor and.. wow! It worked!
For this variety, I used frozen mango, blueberries and raspberries but really you could use anything your freezer (or the one at the supermarket) has to offer.
I put them in the blender together with some thick coconut cream. For the cream, use santen (creamed coconut) and add some hot water so it becomes thick but fluid, like cream.
The trick is to use the ice cube function or simply pulse your blender and to work quickly. Use a wooden or plastic spoon (metal will damage the blender blade) to quickly stir the fruit in the blender after every few pulses, creating a rather homogenous blend. So pulse-stir, pulse-stir, work quickly before the ice cream melts.
Any leftover coconut cream can be used as topping alongside some beautiful berries and mint leaves.
I really, really love this ice cream and am amazed that it takes nothing more than real fruits, a spoonful of coconut cream and 5 minutes of my time.
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Semi-homemade coconut yoghurt with berries and mint
Enjoy yoghurt with a coconut twist, or use a non-dairy alternative.
This is super simple and nice. I love adding dried coconut to my (soy) yoghurt. Let it sit in the fridge for some time; the yoghurt will thicken up a bit and take on a coconut flavor.
Next, add berries or any fruit you fancy and garnish with mint, honey and cinnamon.
Of course this is also great with banana and blueberries, or pear and kiwifruit, or strawberries and nectarines, or apple and raisins… or make up your own combo :).
About yoghurt/dairy: be sure to buy organic and take note of the way the animals were treated. Unfortunately, dairy means a calf has been taken away from its mother so that we humans can take her milk. The calf is then slaughtered (if male) or raised with milk substitute (if female) to be a milk cow just like her mom. I do have an ethical issue with this and for me that translates into buying non-dairy milk when I can, and choosing organic when I really want real dairy.
For Dutchies: https://beterleven.dierenbescherming.nl
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Easy Summer party dish: tastefully grilled veggies
A grill pan is one of my favorite cooking ‘tools’: it’s fast, easy and healthy and the food looks beautiful.
Try this: chop some garlic and let sit in olive oil for some time.
Cut zucchinis, bell peppers and onions in nice large pieces, so it will be finger food when on the plate.
Cut an eggplant in halves, then quarts, lengthwise, leave the stem on. Slice in the flesh (but don’t cut through the skin).
Brush the garlic oil on the veggies. Use the pieces of garlic to stuff the eggplant with, and also rub some Italian herbs in the carves.
Now put all veggies on the grill (I have one that closes on top, so it grills on both sides simultaneously, like a tosti grill).
While the veggies are being grilled, go out in your garden (or kitchen cabinet) to find herbs, such as rosemary, oregano etc.
You can add the more thick leaved herbs like rosemary and thyme shortly before removing the veggies, the rest right after serving the hot vegetables on a serving plate. The dish is ready when the eggplant is cooked through and the other vegetables are fragrant and hot but still with a bite. Add salt and pepper to taste.
If you have a really good balsamic vinegar, now is a great time to drizzle :). Same goes for olive oil!
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Chick pea and apple side salad with tahin
Combine chick peas, thinly sliced celery stalks, apple and capers in a bowl. Add olive oil, pepper, salt and lemon juice to taste.
For dressing, use 2 parts white tahini stirred with 1 part water, grated lemon rind, olive oil, salt, pepper, thinly cut celery leaves and chopped olives.
Great with couscous, roasted bell peppers and pumpkin!
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1-minute vegan banana chocolate ice cream
Here’s a cool trick: slice a banana and freeze. When you feel like having ice cream, put the banana slices in a blender with a spoonful of cacao powder, a couple of dates and a small gulp of thick cream like coconut cream or (vegan) cooking cream. Pulse a couple of times et voila..: this is simply delicious!!
All-real ice cream, no added anything. You should try this, really, it’s great.
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Mean & green
Stinging nettles everywhere! This is a forager’s feast. I’ve made nettle pesto, nettle garlic butter, nettle soup, nettle tea and nettle smoothie in the past week or so.
Stinging nettles (brandnetels): they tickle the kidneys, cleanse the blood and promote fluid excretion. They contain loads of vitamin c and iron (which is great during menses and pregnancy) as well as minerals. And, did I mention, they are everywhere and they are free :).
I use a paper bag and a thin glove for carefree picking. I pick only the fresh green tops. Make sure you pick above peeing and pooing level to avoid contamination with worms or eggs in animal feces. Back at home, soak for a minute or so in freshly boiled water, this will remove the sting. Then use the fresh leaves and stalks in this super nice, simple juicy smoothie:
Recipe for mean & green nettle juice
- 1/3 cucumber
- 1 celery stalk (or half, to taste)
- 1 handful of stinging nettles
- 1 cup apple or orange juice, or half an apple and some water
Extra nice with some fresh mint!
Enjoy 🙂