Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Friday, April 15, 2016
Scrambled Tofu Tastes Exactly Like Scrambled Eggs!!!
I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't tried it myself 2 days ago. It's absolutely unbelievable. I crumbled a cup of tofu into 1 tbsp of vegetable oil. Then added some spices, and let it cook till the water evaporated and the tofu got a little bit of colour on it. Then I stuck it in a wrap and I basically couldn't tell that I wasn't eating scrambled eggs in a wrap.
Basically blew my mind.
Ingredients:
1 cup firm tofu
1/4 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tortilla wrap
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the tofu and ginger. Cook uncovered on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Stir once or twice.
2. Add the soy sauce, stir and cook another 2 minutes.
3. Place cooked tofu into a tortilla, add veggies of your choice and roll up.
The crazy (good) thing was that the tofu didn't soak up the oil, so when I scooped up the tofu from the pan, all the oil was left behind. WOW! Perfect breakfast dish.
Next time I'm going to try it with some crumbled bacon in the wrap. I'll replace the ginger and soy sauce with salt and pepper. Maybe some hot-sauce another day. I could also do curry powder or piri-piri powder. So many ways to do this. Zing!!
Tofu is low fat, high protein, has isoflavones (phytoestrogens) that mimic estrogen in your body. All Good Things!
Basically blew my mind.
Ingredients:
1 cup firm tofu
1/4 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tortilla wrap
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the tofu and ginger. Cook uncovered on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Stir once or twice.
2. Add the soy sauce, stir and cook another 2 minutes.
3. Place cooked tofu into a tortilla, add veggies of your choice and roll up.
The crazy (good) thing was that the tofu didn't soak up the oil, so when I scooped up the tofu from the pan, all the oil was left behind. WOW! Perfect breakfast dish.
Next time I'm going to try it with some crumbled bacon in the wrap. I'll replace the ginger and soy sauce with salt and pepper. Maybe some hot-sauce another day. I could also do curry powder or piri-piri powder. So many ways to do this. Zing!!
Tofu is low fat, high protein, has isoflavones (phytoestrogens) that mimic estrogen in your body. All Good Things!
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Pineapple Cake with No Sugar, No Sweetner, No Honey, No Agave....
Be brave. Try out a truly no sugar cake.
Other than the fact that refined sugar is basically poison to humans, a cup of sugar has 773 calories!!!! Are you kidding? That's half of a person's daily caloric intake!! And most cake recipes call for 1.5 - 2 cups of sugar! Sure, you won't eat the whole cake in one day. But you will eat one slice, and then another. In an 8-slice cake, 2 slices would equal a quarter of your entire day's caloric intake - consumed in sugar alone!!! And we aren't even taking into account the calories in that cake from flour, eggs, oil and fruit. No wonder we're a nation of overweight people.
Artificial sweeteners did help me on my journey to lose 70lbs, but they have unknown long term side-effects so I stopped taking them also. Over the years I've realized that sugar is a privilege (not a right) and the tongue is very quick to acclimatize to low sugary-tasting foods.
Try this cake. It's good. It's sweet. It won't put you in a sugary diabetic coma. It'll just make you say, "Hmm... that's definitely a cake, pretty pineapple-y, pretty sweet, a little more like moist and delicately sweet pineapple-bread than pineapple-cake, but I'm feeling pretty satisfied!"
Ingredients:
1.5 cups unbleached plain flour
1 egg
1 can crushed pineapple and it's juce
1 cup milk
0.25 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla powder or essence
scant pinch of salt
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients thoroughly with a whisk.
3. Combine all the wet ingredients and mix in the with the dry.
4. Grease a 9 inch baking pan. Pour cake batter in it.
5. Bake for 40 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
Serve with some natural sauce... like apple sauce or evaporated milk or soak the cake in natural pineapple juice. Fruits are INCREDIBLY sweet naturally.
Enjoy!
Other than the fact that refined sugar is basically poison to humans, a cup of sugar has 773 calories!!!! Are you kidding? That's half of a person's daily caloric intake!! And most cake recipes call for 1.5 - 2 cups of sugar! Sure, you won't eat the whole cake in one day. But you will eat one slice, and then another. In an 8-slice cake, 2 slices would equal a quarter of your entire day's caloric intake - consumed in sugar alone!!! And we aren't even taking into account the calories in that cake from flour, eggs, oil and fruit. No wonder we're a nation of overweight people.
Artificial sweeteners did help me on my journey to lose 70lbs, but they have unknown long term side-effects so I stopped taking them also. Over the years I've realized that sugar is a privilege (not a right) and the tongue is very quick to acclimatize to low sugary-tasting foods.
Try this cake. It's good. It's sweet. It won't put you in a sugary diabetic coma. It'll just make you say, "Hmm... that's definitely a cake, pretty pineapple-y, pretty sweet, a little more like moist and delicately sweet pineapple-bread than pineapple-cake, but I'm feeling pretty satisfied!"
Ingredients:
1.5 cups unbleached plain flour
1 egg
1 can crushed pineapple and it's juce
1 cup milk
0.25 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla powder or essence
scant pinch of salt
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients thoroughly with a whisk.
3. Combine all the wet ingredients and mix in the with the dry.
4. Grease a 9 inch baking pan. Pour cake batter in it.
5. Bake for 40 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
Serve with some natural sauce... like apple sauce or evaporated milk or soak the cake in natural pineapple juice. Fruits are INCREDIBLY sweet naturally.
Enjoy!
Grape Cake with No Sugar, No Sweetner, No Honey, No Agave...
Tired of cake recipes calling for cups and cups of sugar. And then I'm tired of no-sugar recipes using cups and cups of honey or agave or stevia or splenda... How about a naturally sweetened cake?
Here's one that's not as sweet as you would imagine cake to be, but it's still a DELICIOUS cake that's sweet enough to satisfy.
Ingredients:
1.5 cups unbleached plain flour
1 egg
1 cup (home-made, unsweetened) apple sauce
1.25 cups milk
0.25 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking soda
0.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla powder or essence
1 cup grapes (cut in half)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 deg. F
2. Mix all the dry ingredients thoroughly with a whisk.
3. Mix all the wet ingredients and combine with the dry ingredients. Fold in the grapes.
4. Grease a 9-inch round or square baking pan. Pour cake mix into pan.
5. Bake for 35 minutes or until done (knife comes out clean).
As a sauce, I just soaked the cake in a quarter cup of evaporated milk (which is naturally sweet) and it gives the cake a creamy, soft texture.
Enjoy!
Here's one that's not as sweet as you would imagine cake to be, but it's still a DELICIOUS cake that's sweet enough to satisfy.
Ingredients:
1.5 cups unbleached plain flour
1 egg
1 cup (home-made, unsweetened) apple sauce
1.25 cups milk
0.25 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking soda
0.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla powder or essence
1 cup grapes (cut in half)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 deg. F
2. Mix all the dry ingredients thoroughly with a whisk.
3. Mix all the wet ingredients and combine with the dry ingredients. Fold in the grapes.
4. Grease a 9-inch round or square baking pan. Pour cake mix into pan.
5. Bake for 35 minutes or until done (knife comes out clean).
As a sauce, I just soaked the cake in a quarter cup of evaporated milk (which is naturally sweet) and it gives the cake a creamy, soft texture.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Vege-pate Wrap (Yeast-Free, Vegan)
This delicious pate wrapped in a yeast-free tortilla is the most Delicious, Wholesome and filling thing you'll ever have!! You will HAVE TO add this to you regular menu.
Ingredients:
- 1 can cannellini beans
- 1 tbsp tahini (organic, sugar-free)
- 2 tbsp finely diced red onion
- 1 small clove garlic, minced or paste
- (optional) 2 tbsp cooked oats
- salt, pepper to taste
Method for Pate:
1. Wash and drain the beans. Boil gently for 5 minutes and drain. (We want the beans to get super soft and mushy.)
2. In a bowl, mash the beans.
3. Combine beans, tahini, onion, garlic, oats, salt and pepper.
Your pate is ready.
Assembly of Wrap:
- 1 small handful alfalfa sprouts or lettuce or shredded carrots or tomatoes
- 1/4 cup of pate (made above)
- 1 tortilla (yeast-free, sugar-free)
Fill your tortilla with the above ingredients, roll up and serve.
-------------------------------------------------
Gosh! I cannot tell you how DELICIOUS this is and how your body will love you for feeding it this heavenly, protein-packed, fibrous goodness!
Why Yeast Free?
I'm starting to live a yeast-free (or at least yeast-reduced) life from now on. I've realized that a proliferation of yeast can cause a whole gamut of health issues. And excess yeast in the body doesn't always show up as a yeast-infection. The latter is just the "last stages" of a yeast over-abundance. As a matter of fact, most people in North America probably have too much yeast in the body because we are constantly taking anti-biotics, all food is injected with sugar, we are constantly stressed out and we drink copiously to deal with our stress.
A healthy amount of yeast in the body is a good thing, it's only when there's too much of it that it's a problem.
How do we know if we have too much? Well, your doctor can do a test to confirm. But if you can say 'yes' to the points below, chances are you have too much yeast:
Have you had/have:(1) taken Antibiotics often (or as a child)
(2) eat a High-Sugar diet (people from North America and the Indian Sub-continent especially)
(3) consume Alcohol fairly regularly (12 servings per Year or more)
(4) experience lots of Stress/Anxiety
If those things above are happening, then the "good bacteria" in the body gets killed off, leaving you as a petri-dish for yeast growth. There are many good sites on Candida Albicans, so please read up.
Ingredients:
- 1 can cannellini beans
- 1 tbsp tahini (organic, sugar-free)
- 2 tbsp finely diced red onion
- 1 small clove garlic, minced or paste
- (optional) 2 tbsp cooked oats
- salt, pepper to taste
Method for Pate:
1. Wash and drain the beans. Boil gently for 5 minutes and drain. (We want the beans to get super soft and mushy.)
2. In a bowl, mash the beans.
3. Combine beans, tahini, onion, garlic, oats, salt and pepper.
Your pate is ready.
Assembly of Wrap:
- 1 small handful alfalfa sprouts or lettuce or shredded carrots or tomatoes
- 1/4 cup of pate (made above)
- 1 tortilla (yeast-free, sugar-free)
Fill your tortilla with the above ingredients, roll up and serve.
-------------------------------------------------
Gosh! I cannot tell you how DELICIOUS this is and how your body will love you for feeding it this heavenly, protein-packed, fibrous goodness!
Why Yeast Free?
I'm starting to live a yeast-free (or at least yeast-reduced) life from now on. I've realized that a proliferation of yeast can cause a whole gamut of health issues. And excess yeast in the body doesn't always show up as a yeast-infection. The latter is just the "last stages" of a yeast over-abundance. As a matter of fact, most people in North America probably have too much yeast in the body because we are constantly taking anti-biotics, all food is injected with sugar, we are constantly stressed out and we drink copiously to deal with our stress.
A healthy amount of yeast in the body is a good thing, it's only when there's too much of it that it's a problem.
How do we know if we have too much? Well, your doctor can do a test to confirm. But if you can say 'yes' to the points below, chances are you have too much yeast:
Have you had/have:(1) taken Antibiotics often (or as a child)
(2) eat a High-Sugar diet (people from North America and the Indian Sub-continent especially)
(3) consume Alcohol fairly regularly (12 servings per Year or more)
(4) experience lots of Stress/Anxiety
If those things above are happening, then the "good bacteria" in the body gets killed off, leaving you as a petri-dish for yeast growth. There are many good sites on Candida Albicans, so please read up.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Blow-Your-Mind-Away Golubtsy голубцы
The secret to a phenomenal Golubtsy that is much, much more than plain Cabbage Roll is:
Mixing butter with the cooked rice.
Ingredients:
1 head of cabbage, frozen then thawed
500 g minced lean beef
500 g minced lean pork
1 cup cooked rice
2 tbsp salted butter
1/2 onion diced, sauteed in 1 tsp oil
salt, pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp flour
1 cup water
Method:
1. Mix beef, pork, rice, butter, salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Separate the cabbage leaves.
3.
Mixing butter with the cooked rice.
Ingredients:
1 head of cabbage, frozen then thawed
500 g minced lean beef
500 g minced lean pork
1 cup cooked rice
2 tbsp salted butter
1/2 onion diced, sauteed in 1 tsp oil
salt, pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp flour
1 cup water
Method:
1. Mix beef, pork, rice, butter, salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Separate the cabbage leaves.
3.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Vegan Spinach Potato Curry/ Shaakh Alu/ Aloo Palak Recipe (no onions or garlic)
I woke up this morning, and wanted a Sattvic meal. I wanted that Mandir (Hindu Temple) food taste without going to the temple.
The key to achieving that was skipping the onion and garlic. Then the rest of the ingredients were vegan. And the spices are a mixture of sweet-smelling and earthy. And voila.
A beautifully aromatic dish, perfectly vegan, pure, holistic and absolutely delicious. I ate this with home-made Rotis. But I only made the rotis because I ran out of pita bread, so feel free to eat this with rice or bread or anything that tickles your fancy. It would go really well with quinoa or couscous.
Ingredients for 1 serving:
1 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp fennel seeds (this adds that sweet-smelling aroma)
1/2 tsp grated ginger or ginger powder
2 tsp coriander powder (earthy flavour)
1 tsp cumin powder (another wonderfully earthy spice)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup boiled potatoes, chopped
2 cups spinach, shredded or torn to smaller pieces
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
2. When the oil has warmed up, add the fennel seeds and 30 seconds later, add the ginger. Saute for 1 minute. We don't want the ginger to brown. We just want to release the lovely ginger smell.
3. Add the coriander powder, cumin powder and turmeric powder. Stir for 10 seconds and add 2-3 tbsp of water to prevent the spices from burning. Cook for 2 minutes. The beautiful aroma of the spices will be wafting through the room.
4. Add the tomatoes, stir around and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the potatoes and stir.
5. Add the spinach, stir till it wilts and stir in the salt.
6. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
The key to achieving that was skipping the onion and garlic. Then the rest of the ingredients were vegan. And the spices are a mixture of sweet-smelling and earthy. And voila.
A beautifully aromatic dish, perfectly vegan, pure, holistic and absolutely delicious. I ate this with home-made Rotis. But I only made the rotis because I ran out of pita bread, so feel free to eat this with rice or bread or anything that tickles your fancy. It would go really well with quinoa or couscous.
Ingredients for 1 serving:
1 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp fennel seeds (this adds that sweet-smelling aroma)
1/2 tsp grated ginger or ginger powder
2 tsp coriander powder (earthy flavour)
1 tsp cumin powder (another wonderfully earthy spice)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup boiled potatoes, chopped
2 cups spinach, shredded or torn to smaller pieces
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
2. When the oil has warmed up, add the fennel seeds and 30 seconds later, add the ginger. Saute for 1 minute. We don't want the ginger to brown. We just want to release the lovely ginger smell.
3. Add the coriander powder, cumin powder and turmeric powder. Stir for 10 seconds and add 2-3 tbsp of water to prevent the spices from burning. Cook for 2 minutes. The beautiful aroma of the spices will be wafting through the room.
4. Add the tomatoes, stir around and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the potatoes and stir.
5. Add the spinach, stir till it wilts and stir in the salt.
6. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Breakfast Scramble: Easy, Delicious, Healthy
Last Sunday I boiled two Russet potatoes in their skin to use in a recipe. I never got to making the dish so I covered the potatoes in plastic wrap and saved them in the fridge not knowing what to do with them.
On Tuesday morning, after my workout, I suddenly realized my fridge was full of things I could put into a frying pan and something interesting might materialize. So here is what materialized:
Ingredients:
1 egg or 3 egg whites
1/3 potatoes, boiled, peeled and chopped or crumbled
1 cup of spinach, ripped into smaller pieces
1/3 tomato, chopped
1-2 tbsp onion, chopped
2 tsp butter
salt
Method:
1. In a medium heat frying pan, melt the butter and throw in the onions for 2 minutes.
2. When onions are soft and aromatic, add tomatoes. Cook 2 minutes.
3. Add the spinach and stir till it wilts. Add salt to taste.
Your vegetables are cooked. All you need to do is cook the egg.
4. Crack the egg or egg whites (use egg whites for a protein boost) over the vegetables, stir into the vegetables and cook for 1 minute. The eggs will still be undercooked. Turn off the heat and cover your frying pan to cook the eggs in the residual heat of your electric heating element or the heat from the vegetables.
This is a phenomenally tasty dish. A treat first thing in the morning. It took me 6 minutes to prepare from start to finish because I cut up the onions and tomatoes while the pan was heating up and the butter was melting. I tore the spinach directly above the frying pan so I didn't need to waste any time prepping that. The 1/3 potato was also something I just crumbled over the frying pan. And the result was absolutely phenomenal.
Not only is this a great post-workout meal with proteins you can boost by varying how many egg whites you want to add, it's a delicious way to incorporate 1 entire cup of spinach into your breakfast with almost no effort.
Don't want the potatoes? Skip it. Make it a low glycemic breakfast and have an orange or an apple to add some complex carbs.
I still can't get over how someone like me who struggles to get out of bed on time, let alone pour milk in a bowl to put cereal into, could make something this is a delicious and healthy in so little time.
On Tuesday morning, after my workout, I suddenly realized my fridge was full of things I could put into a frying pan and something interesting might materialize. So here is what materialized:
Ingredients:
1 egg or 3 egg whites
1/3 potatoes, boiled, peeled and chopped or crumbled
1 cup of spinach, ripped into smaller pieces
1/3 tomato, chopped
1-2 tbsp onion, chopped
2 tsp butter
salt
Method:
1. In a medium heat frying pan, melt the butter and throw in the onions for 2 minutes.
2. When onions are soft and aromatic, add tomatoes. Cook 2 minutes.
3. Add the spinach and stir till it wilts. Add salt to taste.
Your vegetables are cooked. All you need to do is cook the egg.
4. Crack the egg or egg whites (use egg whites for a protein boost) over the vegetables, stir into the vegetables and cook for 1 minute. The eggs will still be undercooked. Turn off the heat and cover your frying pan to cook the eggs in the residual heat of your electric heating element or the heat from the vegetables.
This is a phenomenally tasty dish. A treat first thing in the morning. It took me 6 minutes to prepare from start to finish because I cut up the onions and tomatoes while the pan was heating up and the butter was melting. I tore the spinach directly above the frying pan so I didn't need to waste any time prepping that. The 1/3 potato was also something I just crumbled over the frying pan. And the result was absolutely phenomenal.
Not only is this a great post-workout meal with proteins you can boost by varying how many egg whites you want to add, it's a delicious way to incorporate 1 entire cup of spinach into your breakfast with almost no effort.
Don't want the potatoes? Skip it. Make it a low glycemic breakfast and have an orange or an apple to add some complex carbs.
I still can't get over how someone like me who struggles to get out of bed on time, let alone pour milk in a bowl to put cereal into, could make something this is a delicious and healthy in so little time.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Great site for stir-fry sauces of all sorts
http://www.fortysomething.ca/2012/05/15_basic_stir_fry_sauce_recipes.php
Some great ideas when you've run out of them.
Some great ideas when you've run out of them.
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Vege/Bean Pate
I used to buy an incredible vege wrap at my university snack bar. It was a tortilla or pita wrap, with a vege pate filling, mayonnaise and shredded purple cabbage. I remember I absolutely LOVED that wrap because of the absolutely delicious pate in there. I always, always wondered how I could replicate that pate recipe.
And today I did. Completely inadvertently. And here it is:
Ingredients:
1 cup of cooked black eyed peas
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp tahini paste
salt to taste
Method:
1. Mash the black eyed peas thoroughly. I used a hand blender.
2. In a separate bowl, mince the garlic, add the lemon juice and tahini and mix really well. If you have a mortar and pestle, then use that.
3. Combine all of the above. Mix the beans thoroughly with the sauce and salt to taste.
Absolutely incredible. You can eat this with crackers or in a wrap like my university snack store made it.
I just made this and I've been snacking on it just as is... I'm not sure it's going to last long enough to make it into a sandwich or wrap.
And today I did. Completely inadvertently. And here it is:
Ingredients:
1 cup of cooked black eyed peas
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp tahini paste
salt to taste
Method:
1. Mash the black eyed peas thoroughly. I used a hand blender.
2. In a separate bowl, mince the garlic, add the lemon juice and tahini and mix really well. If you have a mortar and pestle, then use that.
3. Combine all of the above. Mix the beans thoroughly with the sauce and salt to taste.
Absolutely incredible. You can eat this with crackers or in a wrap like my university snack store made it.
I just made this and I've been snacking on it just as is... I'm not sure it's going to last long enough to make it into a sandwich or wrap.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
To-Die-For Veggie Burger
From start to finish, I had serious doubts about this burger. My first doubt arose when the patty came out dry. My second doubt arose after I took it out of the oven, because I had baked it not fried it.
But after I put it together in an open-faced burger and took a bite, I just can't describe how unthinkably delicious this burger became. Just unfathomably delicious.
Ingredients:
1 cup of dry chick peas soaked, then cooked and mashed
1 inch piece ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, grated
1/3 cup cooked rice
1 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves (loosely packed)
1 tsp ground roasted garam masala
1/2 cup oat flour
1 cup grated carrots
salt to taste
Method:
1. Heat the oven to 350deg F.
2. Mash all the ingredients and shape into 10-12 patties. Spread a drop (literally a drop) of oil on top of each patty and spread out gently.
3. Bake for 20 minutes.
4. Take out and cool.
How to Serve:
1. Split an english muffin in two. We are only going to use half an english muffin for this open faced sandwich.
2. Spread one side with mint-coriander chutney.
3. Place one veggie burger on bread.
4. Dot with mozzarella cheese.
5. Warm up in oven. Cook till cheese melts and bubbles and turns a light golden on top.
I don't know how to describe to you how this tasted. It was absolutely, most definitely, the best veggie burger I have ever eaten. And I've eaten many, many veggie burgers.
I'm not sure how and why this burger was so phenomenal. I suspect that the ingredients were all very flavourful and somehow it all came together absolutely beautifully.
Bonne Chance!
But after I put it together in an open-faced burger and took a bite, I just can't describe how unthinkably delicious this burger became. Just unfathomably delicious.
Ingredients:
1 cup of dry chick peas soaked, then cooked and mashed
1 inch piece ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, grated
1/3 cup cooked rice
1 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves (loosely packed)
1 tsp ground roasted garam masala
1/2 cup oat flour
1 cup grated carrots
salt to taste
Method:
1. Heat the oven to 350deg F.
2. Mash all the ingredients and shape into 10-12 patties. Spread a drop (literally a drop) of oil on top of each patty and spread out gently.
3. Bake for 20 minutes.
4. Take out and cool.
How to Serve:
1. Split an english muffin in two. We are only going to use half an english muffin for this open faced sandwich.
2. Spread one side with mint-coriander chutney.
3. Place one veggie burger on bread.
4. Dot with mozzarella cheese.
5. Warm up in oven. Cook till cheese melts and bubbles and turns a light golden on top.
I don't know how to describe to you how this tasted. It was absolutely, most definitely, the best veggie burger I have ever eaten. And I've eaten many, many veggie burgers.
I'm not sure how and why this burger was so phenomenal. I suspect that the ingredients were all very flavourful and somehow it all came together absolutely beautifully.
Bonne Chance!
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Easy Cabbage
This is a simple recipe I learnt in Cuba. It's quick to do, nutritious, extremely filling, and is an excellent side for anything at all. This is a keeper for weeks when you just don't want to cook - but you still want a nutritious meal.
Ingredients:
1 head cabbage, cut into 1" cubes
2-3 tsps oil
1-2 tsp salt
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
2. Place the cut cabbage in your cooking dish. Toss with oil and salt. Place in oven.
3. Cook for 30 minutes. Turn at half way point.
Goes well with anything at all. Replaces potatoes/rice/pasta as an excellent side dish. High in fiber, very filling, and delicious if you like cabbage like I do.
The Cubans cooked their green beans and squash like this as well. Can't go wrong.
Cheers!
Ingredients:
1 head cabbage, cut into 1" cubes
2-3 tsps oil
1-2 tsp salt
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
2. Place the cut cabbage in your cooking dish. Toss with oil and salt. Place in oven.
3. Cook for 30 minutes. Turn at half way point.
Goes well with anything at all. Replaces potatoes/rice/pasta as an excellent side dish. High in fiber, very filling, and delicious if you like cabbage like I do.
The Cubans cooked their green beans and squash like this as well. Can't go wrong.
Cheers!
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Bhaja Muger/Mooger Bhoger Khichudi
This is my mother's recipe. This is the proper way of making Khichudi for Pujo.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup rice
1/2 cup mooger daal
Whole gorom moshla (2 sticks cinnamon, 2 cardamom, 2 cloves)
1-2 Tej pata (Bay leaves)
2-3 green chillies chopped
1 small tomato, chopped (about 1/4-1/3 cup)
1/2 inch ginger chopped fine or turned into a paste
2 tbsp ghee
1 cup water
Salt to taste
Important Note on Bengali tradition: There is NO Haldi or red chilli in this recipe. Niramish khabarey holud porey na. There is no Haldi in 'Niramish' food.
Steps:
1. Dry roast the moog daal on low-medium heat. The daal must change colour to a light brown. Set aside.
2. Wash the rice. Set aside.
3. In a medium pot, warm the ghee on medium heat. When it's hot, add gorom moshla, tej pata. Cook till aromatic or just starts to brown slightly.
4. Add green chillies and ginger. Fry lightly till ginger is lightly cooked.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes.
6. Add rice, moog daal, 1 cup of water. Add salt to taste. Cover and cook till rice and daal are cooked.
Serve with Begun Bhaja.
Holy Awesomeness.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Weight Loss Truths
Some things to always remember:
1. Don't eat after 6:30p.m. (or 4-5 hours before going to sleep): Let the food get digested and get used in your activities so that it doesn't get stored as fat while you sleep. This rule really works. Really really works.
2. Drink 8 glasses of water in a day: If you don't add water to your body, it won't have the necessary fluids it needs to process all the chemicals/hormones/wastes/etc. If you don't drink the water and do everything right, after 2-3 days you'll stop losing weight.
3. Eat till you aren't hungry anymore: Don't finish what's on your plate for the sake of finishing what's on your plate. Eat till you aren't hungry anymore and leave the rest for later.... and don't worry....
4. Eat frequently: Eat 6 meals a day and point #3 won't be a problem. Eat your leftovers from the previous meal. Don't be afraid, you won't starve to death. And remember, you WILL lose weight if you follow these rules.
I can't over emphasize this point. If your body obtains a little bit of food, and processes it for it's function, then obtains a little more and processes, then it doesn't get the chance to digest a large amount of food and store the excess energy as fat. Again, this rule really, really works. Do it.
5. Replace all your refined carbs with complex carbs: This is applicable only during your weight loss period. So if you love rice or bread, you can pick it up again when you're taking a break from weight loss. But during weight loss: Don't eat rice, bread or pasta. Replace all your rice, bread and pasta with vegetables cooked with a little fat or steamed. I love using steamed or sauteed cauliflower florets, broccoli, spaghetti squash, lettuce, mixed greens, steamed beans, brussel sprouts, etc. If you do this you will:
(i) Get a lot more vitamins and minerals than if you were to stuff down a bowl of pasta
(ii) Eat a lot of soluble fiber that will help cleanse your system
(iii) Will feel fuller (than if you ate rice) because of all the fiber content + you can eat so much more vegetables than rice for the calories
(iv) You blood sugar levels will not spike because of the low glycemic index of the vegetables.
6. Exercise after supper: The toughest one for me. But this one really guarantees the burning of all your supper calories. And I always weigh less on the scale the day after.
7. Don't worry about the scale too much: Our body's moisture content varies tremendously from hour to hour and from day to day. If you're 5 lbs lighter after 4 weeks, that's a better indicator than if you didn't lose any weight from one week to the next.
1. Don't eat after 6:30p.m. (or 4-5 hours before going to sleep): Let the food get digested and get used in your activities so that it doesn't get stored as fat while you sleep. This rule really works. Really really works.
2. Drink 8 glasses of water in a day: If you don't add water to your body, it won't have the necessary fluids it needs to process all the chemicals/hormones/wastes/etc. If you don't drink the water and do everything right, after 2-3 days you'll stop losing weight.
3. Eat till you aren't hungry anymore: Don't finish what's on your plate for the sake of finishing what's on your plate. Eat till you aren't hungry anymore and leave the rest for later.... and don't worry....
4. Eat frequently: Eat 6 meals a day and point #3 won't be a problem. Eat your leftovers from the previous meal. Don't be afraid, you won't starve to death. And remember, you WILL lose weight if you follow these rules.
I can't over emphasize this point. If your body obtains a little bit of food, and processes it for it's function, then obtains a little more and processes, then it doesn't get the chance to digest a large amount of food and store the excess energy as fat. Again, this rule really, really works. Do it.
5. Replace all your refined carbs with complex carbs: This is applicable only during your weight loss period. So if you love rice or bread, you can pick it up again when you're taking a break from weight loss. But during weight loss: Don't eat rice, bread or pasta. Replace all your rice, bread and pasta with vegetables cooked with a little fat or steamed. I love using steamed or sauteed cauliflower florets, broccoli, spaghetti squash, lettuce, mixed greens, steamed beans, brussel sprouts, etc. If you do this you will:
(i) Get a lot more vitamins and minerals than if you were to stuff down a bowl of pasta
(ii) Eat a lot of soluble fiber that will help cleanse your system
(iii) Will feel fuller (than if you ate rice) because of all the fiber content + you can eat so much more vegetables than rice for the calories
(iv) You blood sugar levels will not spike because of the low glycemic index of the vegetables.
6. Exercise after supper: The toughest one for me. But this one really guarantees the burning of all your supper calories. And I always weigh less on the scale the day after.
7. Don't worry about the scale too much: Our body's moisture content varies tremendously from hour to hour and from day to day. If you're 5 lbs lighter after 4 weeks, that's a better indicator than if you didn't lose any weight from one week to the next.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Super Awesome Shaak Chingri (Bengali Shrimp and Greens)
Yaaay! Another fabulous Bengali dish with no onions!
I had been craving leafy greens for a few weeks, and couldn't get enough of it. But this time I wanted a bit of a taste of the ocean with my greens. This dish satisfied all of that. Not to mention, I loved the 'Shorshe bata' or Mustard seed paste AND the 'Panch Phoron' (just google it).
Substitutions: I didn't have 'Mulo' or turnips, but I cared not! I had many carrots, so I used them instead. That added a lot of colour too!
TASTED AWESOME!
Well, here's the recipe:
http://bhalokhabo.blogspot.ca/2011/04/pui-shaaksaag-chorchori.html
Eat with rice.
ZIIING!!!
These photos are taken by me, so please respect that. If you want to use them, please just ask.
Thanks!
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Quick, Lazy, Ricotta Cake
The texture of this cake is surprisingly good. It holds together on the plate, moist when you chew it but breaks up in a surprising crumbly way.
Ingredients:
1 454g tub of Ricotta cheese
2 scoops Vanilla protein powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 325 deg C.
2. Mix all ingredients together.
3. Grease a 9" round pan and pour batter into it.
4. Bake for 45 minutes or until done (test by sticking a tooth pick/knife in the thickest part of the cake and when you pull it out, it should come out clean.)
This is surprisingly good. And so easy to make!
Makes 16 slim slices. Or 8 decent sized slices.
Pointsplus for 1/16th of a cake: 2 points
Pointsplus for 1/8th of a cake: 5 points
Ingredients:
1 454g tub of Ricotta cheese
2 scoops Vanilla protein powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 325 deg C.
2. Mix all ingredients together.
3. Grease a 9" round pan and pour batter into it.
4. Bake for 45 minutes or until done (test by sticking a tooth pick/knife in the thickest part of the cake and when you pull it out, it should come out clean.)
This is surprisingly good. And so easy to make!
Makes 16 slim slices. Or 8 decent sized slices.
Pointsplus for 1/16th of a cake: 2 points
Pointsplus for 1/8th of a cake: 5 points
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Nice Bengali Recipes
A very nice site with some lovely pictures and recipes. I might try the "Piaj-kolir Jhal" today... Very interesting!
http://kichukhonn.blogspot.ca/search?updated-max=2013-04-29T10:17:00%2B05:30&max-results=1&start=6&by-date=false
http://kichukhonn.blogspot.ca/search?updated-max=2013-04-29T10:17:00%2B05:30&max-results=1&start=6&by-date=false
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Bengali Dal: Fat Free or Low Fat Bengali Recipes
Bengali people have gotten into the bad habit of choking their food with oil. It doesn't have to be this way. My grandmothers were both from present day Bangladesh: one cooked with almost no oil, and the other one cooked with lots of oil. The former was frugal, the latter was extravagant.
And what are we all, today? LAZY.
Here's a low fat recipe. Measure your oil with a measuring spoon.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup musoor dal (red lentils) washed
1 tsp oil (mustard preferred)
1/2 tsp Kalo Jeera (kalonji) - NOT onion seeds
1-2 dried whole red chilli
1/4 tsp haldi (fresh or powder turmeric)
1 cup water
salt to taste
Method:
1. Heat the 1 tsp oil in a pan on medium heat. When it gets hot, add the Kalo Jeera and dried red chilli.
2. As it starts smoking, take the pan away from the heat, add haldi, dal.
3. Put the pan back on the flame, add water and bring to a boil. Boil for 20 minutes on medium low. You dal should be gently boiling. If you bring it to a rolling boil, then keep checking and adding water until the dal is completely cooked.
4. After the dal is cooked, add salt to taste.
5. Optional step: if you want, you can take a hand blender to the cooked dal, blend it a little till it's a nice thick smooth-ish dal and let it come to a boil once more.
Serve 'Daal Bhaath' by pouring Dal over fresh Rice.
And what are we all, today? LAZY.
Here's a low fat recipe. Measure your oil with a measuring spoon.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup musoor dal (red lentils) washed
1 tsp oil (mustard preferred)
1/2 tsp Kalo Jeera (kalonji) - NOT onion seeds
1-2 dried whole red chilli
1/4 tsp haldi (fresh or powder turmeric)
1 cup water
salt to taste
Method:
1. Heat the 1 tsp oil in a pan on medium heat. When it gets hot, add the Kalo Jeera and dried red chilli.
2. As it starts smoking, take the pan away from the heat, add haldi, dal.
3. Put the pan back on the flame, add water and bring to a boil. Boil for 20 minutes on medium low. You dal should be gently boiling. If you bring it to a rolling boil, then keep checking and adding water until the dal is completely cooked.
4. After the dal is cooked, add salt to taste.
5. Optional step: if you want, you can take a hand blender to the cooked dal, blend it a little till it's a nice thick smooth-ish dal and let it come to a boil once more.
Serve 'Daal Bhaath' by pouring Dal over fresh Rice.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Low carb Sweet and Sour Shrimp
You won't be able to stop eating this. The sweetness is mild... not the comatose sweetness one is accustomed to at the Chinese store (which I absolutely love... that sweetness that makes you wonder why it isn't in the dessert menu).
It's quick to cook, but if you buy shrimps with their heads on, it takes a while to shell and devein them. If you get the pre-shelled deveined stuff, this is going to be a cinch. But leaving the head on the shrimp makes a big difference in the end product. I think the bulk of the shrimp flavour is left in the shrimp head.
Sauce:
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sweetner (Splenda)
2 tbsp cooking wine or sherry
2 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
Stir Fry:
2 lbs shrimp
2 cups red onions, cut into chunks
2 cups green or red or yellow peppers, cut into chunks
2 cups of pineapple, chunks
2 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste
Steps:
1. Heat the oil on medium high. Add oil.
2. When hot, add ginger, garlic. Stir till fragrant.
3. Add onions, green peppers. Stir fry on high for 2 minutes.
4. Add shrimp. Stir fry till it turns pink. Turn heat to medium.
5. In a separate bowl, mix all sauce ingredients together and add to the stir fry. Stir until sauce thickens.
6. Add salt to taste. Stir thoroughly.
7. Mix in pineapple pieces. Turn off stove and let it stay on the heat so the pineapple pieces get warmed through.
Enjoy with rice/barley/noodles/shirataki noodles.
yum, yum, YUM!
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