Category Archives: Cuisine

Vegan/Vegetarian Side Dish
What helped me lose 30 lbs?? Eating well!
Eating healthy was instrumental in helping me to lose 30 lbs! Meals like this are very low in Sodium, Dietary Fiber, protein, Thiamine, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorous and vitamin K.
This is a shredded cauliflower blend (with carrots, broccoli) and edamame. I put this over lettuce, and add an entire sliced avocado and balsamic vinegar. I also enjoy this as a side dish with a serving of pinto beans.
This would also be fantastic over a baked potato with butter, or baked firm tofu, or as a side dish with a meat dinner.
How do I make it?
- 1 16oz. package of pre-shred cauliflower/carrot/broccoli mix
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen edamame
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 diced garlic clove
- Medium size frying pan
Turn stove burner on high. Heat up the olive oil. First toss in garlic, then toss in bag of cauliflower blend. Turn heat down to med/high, stir in the edamame. Stir entire time, so food doesn’t burn. Let mixture cook for 1 minute, then turn off the heat and cover. At this point you could add cheese or a flavored sauce such as teriyaki, sweet/sour, whatever strikes your fancy! (Salt and pepper to taste.) Texture should be firm, slightly crunchy and NOT mushy.
Enjoy and stay healthy! xoxo
Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread-By Bees Adventures!
http://beesadventures.wordpress.com/2013/10/16/pumpkin-spice-monkey-bread-with-caramel-glaze/
I found this amazing recipe on “beesadventures” blog! Easy to make, fun to eat!!
Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread with Caramel Glaze
Yield: 1 bundt pan
Prep Time: 60 minutes | Bake Time: 20 – 25 minutes
Dough Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Lactaid milk (soy milk would work fine too)
- 1/4 cup vegan margarine or lactose-free butter (Becel or Fleischmann’s are my favorites)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup warm water (between 100 to 105 degrees Farenheit)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed (if you want to make brown sugar yourself, see the recipe below)
- 1 tablespoon ground Pumpkin Spice
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine or lactose-free butter, softened
Glaze Ingredients
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup lactose-free whipping cream
- 1 tbsp vegan margarine or lactose-free butter, softened
Monkey Bread Preparation
- Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it is warm to the touch, then remove from heat. Mix in margarine; stir until melted. Leave to cool.
- Heat water to 100 – 105 degrees Farenheit. Add yeast; stir. Let sit for 5 minutes to activate yeast. Mixture will look foamy on top when yeast has activated.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, sugar and salt; mix well.
- Add egg to cooled milk mixture and mix well.
- Add activated yeast and milk mixture to dry ingredients. Mix until dough comes together in a sticky ball.
- Add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, kneading well after each addition until dough is soft and smooth but still a bit sticky.
- Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, pumpkin spice and softened margarine.
- Tear small, pieces of dough and roll into balls. Toss each into the sugar mixture until coated, then place in a greased baking pan.
- Cover baking dish and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. If you’d like to cook these at a later time, refrigerate or freeze covered and let pan sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. Don’t be concerned if rolls do not rise too much.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit when ready to bake.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until browned. Let cool for 10 minutes before turning out on a serving dish.
- Serve warm, drizzled with glaze. Glaze recipe follows below.
(Adapted from 90-Minute Cinnamon Rolls at Chinese Grandma)
Caramel Glaze Preparation
- Pour the water into a saucepan then pour the sugar in a pile in the middle of the water. Turn the heat to medium-high heat and begin cooking without stirring. The sugar will dissolve in the water and begin to boil.
- When the sugar begins to lightly brown, gently swirl the pan until all of the sugar is a deep golden brown.
- Carefully pour in the cream and add the butter. Whisk until smooth.
(Adapted from Chef Michael Smith’s Caramel Sauce at Food Network)
PLEASE LEAVE ME COMMENTS!
Bean & Avo Salad With Lemon Dressing
Sorry-my pictures are a little blurry. This was so yummy though!
Salad
1 1/2 cucumbers, chopped
2 avocados, chopped
1 small bunch of cilantro
1 can of garbanzo beans, drain out liquid
1 4oz container of feta cheese
Dressing
1/2 olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp spicy mustard
Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl. Whisk dressing ingredients together, pour over salad. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss and eat!
Vegan Chili with Sweet Corn Muffin
Cucumber & Avocado Sandwich with a Cream Cheese & Dill Spread
Many non-vegetarian people people that we veggie people don’t like food. Or sometimes they think that we don’t eat yummy & fantastic things, so wrong…..
Spread the cream cheese/dill spread.
Add thinly sliced fresh, crisp cucumber slices. A sprinkle of black pepper and salt, to taste.
Layer on top the slightly firm avo’s. It can be a bit messy, so I don’t cut the sandwich.
Cream Cheese Spread:
1 tub of whipped cream cheese
1/2 tsp dill
Put both in a bowl and mix well. Then it’s ready to spread!
You could also add sprouts or lettuce 🙂
Vegan Lentil Loaf
If you are a meat eater, this dish probably isn’t going to look too appetizing to you. But, for us veggie’s, this is a little piece of heaven. Regardless, my carnivorous eating family enjoyed the dish. I’m not vegan, but this recipe happens to be such. Easy to make, serve with a side salad or bowl of soup.
Here’s how to make it:
1 1/2 cups lentils
3 1/2 cups water or vegetable broth (I used broth)
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups pre-cooked rice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup ketchup or bbq sauce
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
Pre-heat oven to 350 F degrees.
In a large soup or stock pot, simmer the lentils in water or veggie broth until cooked, about 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly then mash the lentils until they are half mashed.
Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil for 3-5 minutes, or until soft.
Combine the onions, garlic and olive oil with the mashed lentils, rice, salt, sage, ketchup and Italian seasoning.
Gently press the mixture into a lightly greased loaf pan (I used a 9×13 dish). Drizzle a bit of ketchup and bbq sauce on top.
Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool slightly before serving, as this will help the lentil loaf to firm up. Serves about 6 adults.
Poppy Seed Cake
Moist, dense, and delicious! This is worth every calorie 🙂
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
13 fluid ounces evaporated milk
1/4 cup poppy seeds
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan.
In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and add eggs, vanilla, oil and milk. Mix well and fold in the poppy seeds. Pour into a 10 inch tube pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
Place cool cake on a pretty plate or cake stand. Using 1/2 container of store bought frosting (vanilla), place frosting in microwavable measuring cup and heat for approximately 20 seconds. Drizzle over cake. I added a few extra poppy seeds on top for decoration.
Eat and enjoy!!
Spaghetti in Browned Butter and Myzithra Cheese
What you will need:
Spaghetti-16 oz box/package
Basil-fresh, chopped, 1/2 cup
Garlic-crushed, 1/2 teaspoon
Butter-1 stick (1/2 cup)
Myzithra cheese-grated, 4 oz
Cook one 16 oz. package of spaghetti, follow directions on box. Drain, put back in pot, set aside.
To brown the butter and add cheese takes only about 5 minutes. In a white frying pan place 1 stick (or half a cup) of butter. Don’t use margarine or butter substitutes. Keep heat on medium heat, stirring constantly. It takes only a couple of minutes, you will start to see the butter turn brown. Once a medium brown, take off heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic, and 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, pour over pasta. Stir, mix thoroughly. Last step, pour all 4 oz of cheese into pot, toss pasta. Serve and enjoy!
A nice soft roll or French bread would be nice with this. I would also serve a fresh vegetable on the side. 🙂