Vegetarian Meal Planning.

As I have said in posts before, Nick and I were vegan for a little while,  vegetarian for a little while – and on the opposite side, we even tried Tim Ferris’ “Slow Carb” diet (aka. mostly meat). A vegetarian diet fits for us – and our budget. Shopping at the market here in Oxford, has made it even more affordable. The other day I came home with 1 head of cauliflower and a bag of brussel sprouts which cost a grand total of £2 – I roasted them and added some egg fried rice for a complete dinner. The truth is, being vegetarian or flexitarian seems to fit our lifestyle and our health best.

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This week marked a rather rare moment since living in Oxford – I had Nick by my side for recipe planning. He is usually too swamped with work on our meal plans, but it was a welcome treat this week! The best thing about meal planning on a Sunday too – more time for make-ahead meals for the week. They make those “what do you want for dinner” moments that much easier.

Here is what is on the list for this week – hopefully it will inspire you to add a few more vegetarian options to your meal plans.

Hummus and Veggie Sandwiches.
Veggie Burgers & Sweet Potato fries.
Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chilli.

Shopping List:

• Hummus
• Whole grain bread
• 3 peppers
• 3 cans black beans
• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• Sliced almonds
• Sunflower seeds
• Carrots
• Yellow Onion
• Bread crumbs
• Jalapeños
• Smoked paprika (also called sweet pimenton)

Ingredients we had at home:

• Rolled Oats
• Spicy chilli powder
• Olive oil
• Veggie stock
• Salt & pepper
• Flax meal
• Garlic

Lunch:

Veggie and Hummus Sandwiches

This recipe is super simple. Bread, spread on the hummus, chop and add the veggies – sprinkle with salt, pepper and smoked paprika.

Dinner:

Oh She Glows – Veggie Burgers & Sweet Potato Fries

There are tons Veggie Burger recipes out there (link above), but very honestly, this is the very best recipe that I have found. They hold together, they’re delicious and very hearty. Oh She Glows also happens to be a favourite cookbook and website of mine. Angela Liddon has tons of vegetarian and vegan recipes – I HIGHLY recommend it.

* we didn’t have any sunflower seeds (and the store was out) so we used pumpkin seeds for this recipe instead. Oh, and I am just realizing that I forgot to add the parsley.

Photo Credit: Angela Liddon

Black Bean, Sweet Potato Chilli

I based the chilli on this one from Pinch of Yum. The only big difference is that I cut out the chicken. With that omission, I added 2 cups of veggie stock instead of the 5 cups the recipe suggests. I used canned tomatoes, and spicy chilli powder as well. We also have a slow cooker, so it wasn’t necessary for me to pre-cook the sweet potatoes. But it’s a really delicious recipe, and will last the week.

Photo Credit: Lindsay, Pinch of Yum

Happy Cooking!

Cauliflower Crust.

I made pizza! I have been craving pizza – and we live right near a pizza place that smells amazing every time I walk by. Which means that every time I walk out of the house I am slapped with carbo-cravings – so I decided to do something about it.

I have been prowling Pinterest to come up with some new veggie meals to make. One of the most appealing was cauliflower pizza crust.  Most versions included cheese, I decided to cut that out, but the results were still amazing – even Nick loved it!

It is super easy – crumbled up cauliflower, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano 1 full egg + (1 egg white for a full head of cauliflower).

Here are the recipe details:

• Ingredients:
• Crust:
  
  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • Salt/Pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 Eggs: 1 egg, 1 egg white
• Toppings:
  • Red pepper
  • Red onion
  • Basil
  • Spinach
  • Tomatoes
  • Jamie Oliver Spicy Pesto

Directions:

• Place the cauliflower in a blender or food processor to chop it into a fine rice like consistency. Add the spices & egg into the bowl and mix. I used parchment paper, but I don’t think that I will next time – so, grease the pan, and press the cauliflower into the pan to create the crust. Bake at 200(°C) for about 15 minutes, or until it starts to become golden brown on the outside.

I topped our pizza with some spicy pesto, red onion, red pepper, tomatoes, basil and spinach, but really, you could add anything you want here. Once topped, pop it back in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

The crust, once baked, is really light and fluffy. You don’t get a distinct cauliflower taste, which I think is why it is so easy and delicious – it is pretty flimsy though, so be sure to use a spatula to serve – and maybe a fork to eat, unless you want it on your lap.

xo

Green Breakfast Smoothie.

Part of the “6 week eating plan” I have started includes fruit (and lots of veggies). I don’t love oatmeal, I really don’t. So, I have been a little creative – and the results have been delicious.

I was never really one for green’s in my smoothies. In Canada, I was committed to Vega (vanilla chai) in my smoothies, but without my go-to option, greens feel like a good way to go.

Ingredients:

• Handful of Spinach
• Handful of oats
• 1 TBSP. Chia Seeds
• 1 TBSP. Coconut Oil
• 1 Mango, diced
• 1 Cup Coconut milk (unsweetened)

Blend.

Pour.

 

Easy Make-Ahead Quinoa Bowls.

 

I had a really good routine in Toronto.  I would shop with Nick every Sunday, and usually try and get some food prep done that day so that we could prepare lunches and other meals for the week. There are a few recipes we would always rely on for easy make-ahead meals, and one is the ever versatile quinoa bowl.

This week, I prepared a few ingredients ahead of time that have made for easy throw together lunches.

I roasted sweet potatoes, cauliflower, nuts/seeds and chickpeas. I left the oven at the same temperature (400), so that I could roast everything at the same time. Once cooked, everything was placed into tupperware and into the fridge.  5 days worth of lunches, all ready.

1. Roasted Cauliflower (30-35 mins)
   • Salt/Pepper
   • 1 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets
   • 1 Tbsp olive oil
2. Sweet Potatoes (40 mins)
   • Salt/Pepper
   • 3 Large Sweet potatoes, cubed
   • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
3. Roasted Chickpeas (35 mins)
   • 2 Cans rinsed, dried chickpeas
   • 1 Tbsp olive oil
   • 2 garlic cloves, minced
   • Salt/Pepper
   • 1/2 tsp. chili flakes
4. Roasted Sunflower & Pumpkin seeds (15 mins)
   • 1 tsp olive oil
   • 1/4 tsp. Salt/Pepper
   • 1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper
   • 1/4 tsp. chili flakes

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I tossed all of the ingredients throughout the week together in a bowl with some quinoa, and occasionally some greens for a full lunch – or dinner.

Easy Holiday Appetizer.

If you’re like me, the holidays mean eating your way through visits with family and friends- and generally that beings with Thanksgiving. My American half will be celebrating with friends here in Oxford tonight. Rather than baking the ooey-gooey bacon and cheese dip I wanted to, I thought it best to tempt guests  (any myself) with something a little bit healthier.

I came across a similar recipe on Pinterest, but took a few liberties with the ingredients. Call it a “holiday mediterranean dip”, all of the colours feel festive.

A few simple ingredients has made for a really delicious combination.

Ingredients:

• Hummus
• Tomatoes
• Green Onions
• Green Pepper
• Artichokes
• Fresh Dill
• Feta
• Oregano
• Sundried tomatoes (optional)
• Olive Oil (optional)

Directions:

Using a medium size dish, spread hummus along the bottom evenly. This is the base for the dip. Then, chop and spread green onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and a small amount of dill. I chopped the artichoke and spread that around before adding a sprinkle of dried oregano and some salt and pepper. Topped it all with about 4oz. of feta cheese to cover the top, a little more dill and a little more oregano.

If you want to add a little olive oil and sundried tomatoes or olives at this point, feel free to add those either on top of or under the feta.

I have grabbed a few different types of crackers and breads to couple with it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Sausage, Kale & Sundried Tomato Pasta.

I got a little creative with dinner the other night. After hitting the market and getting some amazing ‘dino’ kale, I was dying for pasta and not salad. I guess it’s fall. A time for overeating on the comfort food, and pretending like my pants still fit the same.

The result, was a really delicious dinner.

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Here is what I threw in there:

• 1 package fuesilli
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 pack of sausage
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 cup white wine (dry white is preferred)
• 1 head dino kale
• 1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper
• ½ tbsp Chili flakes
• Pecorino (or parmesan, if you prefer)

Directions:

Prep:

Cut out the rough stems of the kale, wash and chop the leaves.

Put a small slit into the side of each of the sausages lengthwise to remove the casing, they generally just peel right off.

Juice the lemon and set it aside

Cooking:

Cook the pasta to your desired texture.

Heat up the skillet and add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to the pan. Add the 2 cloves of garlic until fragrant, then, add the sausage until browned. Once the sausage has almost cooked through, add the chilli flakes.

Add in about 2 cups of kale with 1 Tbsp of olive oil and the wine.  Let the wine cook down for a few minutes and add the lemon and chopped up sundried tomatoes. Once reduced, drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the sauce.

Mix in the cheese and serve.

Going “Veggie” Tips.

Simple tricks to incorporate more vegetarian recipes into your diet.

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Convincing anyone to eat a vegetarian lifestyle is sometimes a little hard. Especially if they are convinced that they will go hungry if they only eat veggies. For me, my husband actually suggested it after his uncle had a heart transplant – bad hearts run in the family, and a healthy plant based diet has been linked to addressing heart disease risk. That was 3 years ago.

Since then, we have flip-flopped back between vegan, vegetarian and “meat-eaters”, but mostly, we just don’t cook meat at home. The biggest reason? We have found a huge number of recipes that fill you up, are clean, healthy and delicious. We still eat meat outside of the house, but our grocery bills thank us each month for skipping the meat aisle.

A few things to get you going on the right track:

Mix it up

You’ve heard of meatless Monday’s – make that a night in your house, or make it 2-3 meals per week. There is no reason you can’t make 3 vegetarian side-dishes for dinner. There are some amazing options out there, and picking some complementary recipes can keep you interested throughout the meal.

My current favourites are:

– Roasted potatoes with brussel sprouts (Oh She Glows, cookbook)

– Kale, brussel sprout salad

– Roasted cauliflower with chickpeas (Gweneth Paltrow, All is good cookbook)

Believe me, if you throw together a big enough salad with these all roasted together, you will be full!

For lunches, one of the easiest throw together veggie meals is a hummus and veggie sandwich or wrap. Here’s how:

Bread or wrap

Hummus – homemade or store bought is fine

veggies – peppers, cucumbers, grilled veggies (even leftovers) are all great for fillings

salt and pepper to taste

Fake it

A few years ago, we had my sister and her boyfriend over for a taco night. Instead of ground beef, we swapped it for Yves ground “meat” substitute. They both loved the tacos – we had all the best fixings, and while they might have noticed that something tasted just ever so slightly different from the usual recipe, neither of them had any reservations in having the same non-meat version the next time they came over.

Just like my mom used to ‘hide’ vegetables in our meals, you can fake it too.

Learn your non-meat proteins

To keep your meals nutritionally complete, always make sure you have some alternate protein sources during your meals. Legumes (beans) are a really easy way to bump up the protein – Cooked Navy beans have nearly 16grams of protein per cup. Beans can be a little difficult to get into. So be sure to start off with really flavourful hearty recipes – try this garlic roasted chickpeas recipe.

Soy beans and soy based products are also a really great source, but you have to be willing to learn how to cook it – plain or plain baked tofu is really boring. My favourite is Sriracha baked tofu. Throw it into a qunioa bowl or a stirfry…

Bring a friend

Most of us have one, that vegetarian or vegan friend that you have chatted about food with. Ask them to teach you a few recipes! A few of my vegetarian friends even have blogs that I borrow recipes from all the time.

Make a plan

I grew up in a meat and potatoes style family. It’s a lot easier to look into the fridge and see pasta, broccoli and chicken breasts and call it a meal. Meal planning can ensure that you have the right ingredients at the right time – plus, if you plan it, you have a list, it may be easier to stick to that eating plan!

Try using Pinterest or other sites to gain inspiration. You can prepare your shopping lists using Evernote like I did to make things easier!

Garlic Roasted Chickpeas with Mint, Feta and Basil.

 

Two new recipes made their way to our table tonight.

Earlier this week I posted about my “overly organized” meal planning with Evernote, tonight I actually made 2 of the recipes I had pinned and converted into lists. We don’t cook meat at home, so I try and keep things interesting by trying new recipes and flavours all the time. Earlier this week it was a beet and butternut squash salad – perfect for fall (recipes to come). But tonight, Nick has hockey and needed something a little heartier to fill him up. So I made Garlic Roasted Chickpeas with Mint, Feta and Basil and Cauliflower Casserole.

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Garlic Roasted Chickpeas with Mint, Feta and Basil

The recipe is extremely simple, delicious and makes a great side dish.

Roast 2 cans of chickpeas with 2 cloves of garlic, olive oil, chilli flakes, salt and pepper. While they are roasting chop up the mint and basil (I added basil since basil, mint and feta, are such a great flavour combination) and crumble some feta.

Once the chickpeas have roasted, let them cool for 5 minutes and add a squeeze of lemon juice, the mint, basil and feta. That’s it. Without a doubt we will be repeating this recipe in our house over and over.

The casserole was not nearly as big of a win – but Nick is now well fed and ready to hit the ice.

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RECIPE: (Kalyn’s Kitchen Recipe)

Garlicky Roasted Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) with Feta, Mint, and Lemon
(Makes 4-5 servings; recipe adapted from The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh.)

2 cans (15 oz. can) chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
2 T olive oil (recipe called for 3 T which I thought was too much)
2 fresh garlic cloves, finely minced (I would not use garlic from a jar for this recipe)
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
3/4 – 1 cup crumbled Feta (recipe called for 1 cup; I thought 3/4 cup was plenty)
1/2 – 3/4 cup chopped fresh mint (recipe called for 1/2 cup but I used 3/4 cup)
lemon wedges to squeeze over finished dish (optional, but good)

Preheat oven to 375F/190C.  Dump chickpeas into a colander placed in the sink and rinse with cold water until no more foam appears.  Let chickpeas drain at least 5 minutes.  (You can pat them dry with paper towels if they still seem wet after that.)

Mix together the olive oil, finely minced garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and fresh ground black pepper.  Spray a large rectangular baking dish with nonstick spray (11 X 7 or slightly larger).  Put drained chickpeas into baking dish, add olive oil mixture and stir until the chickpeas are well coated with oil, then put in the oven and roast 15-18 minutes.

While chickpeas are roasting, wash mint, spin dry or dry with paper towels, and finely chop with large chef’s knife.  Crumble Feta.  Start to check chickpeas after 15 minutes, and as soon as they are hot and barely beginning to crisp on top remove from oven.

Spoon chickpeas into a serving dish. (Use a slotted spoon if there is any unabsorbed oil in the bottom of the baking dish, so the extra oil will be left behind.)  Let chickpeas cool 5 minutes, then stir in crumbled Feta and chopped mint.  Season with more salt and fresh ground black pepper if desired.  Serve warm, with lemon wedges to squeeze over the finished dish if desired.

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Recipe Planning with Evernote.

I recently went a little over the top in terms of my recipe planning… but I am hoping that it will save me time and a few extra minutes down the road.

I love trying new recipes. As I mentioned in a previous post (September) I love using Pinterest for inspiration. There have been a number of times that I have random ingredients in the fridge, and no recipes come to mind. I will search all of those ingredients together on Pinterest and 9/10 times come back with something that I am ready to make for dinner.

The only problem is, that I need to have a steady signal to pull the recipes off my phone while I am in the grocery store. In Oxford, this is a really big challenge. Wi-fi and cell service are spotty at best. I have only ever seen my phone hit 3G, making me actually miss Rogers back home – never thought I would say that. So frequently, I have found myself going back to “old faithful” recipes because I really can’t come up with anything else.

For those of you who don’t use Evernote, I would highly recommend it – if only to monitor your to-do lists, and make amazingly easy grocery lists like this!

For most of these recipes you can find them on my Foodie Pinterest board here.

10 Grocery lists with the recipes attached. 3 of them are my go-to’s so far this fall – the other 7 are recipes that I have pulled from Pinterest today to try them.

To do this yourself, follow these quick steps:

1. Download Evernote if you don’t already have it
2. Create a notebook called “Grocery Lists” or whatever makes sense for you
3. Create each new recipe as it’s own note within this notebook
4. Add tags for easy searching
5. Share through Evernote with family members who also do the shopping

Yes, I know the level of organization this took was a little over the top for some people, but I now have the recipe, all of the ingredients I need and a handy checklist for every time I need a little inspiration in the grocery store. And all-in-all it took about an hour to search for the recipes I wanted for this week within my board and copy them over into notes.

Taking it a step further, you can add tags to your lists for things like key ingredients (chickpeas, shrimp, kale) types of recipes (Vegan, Vegetarian, side dish) or meal occasions (breakfast, lunch, dinner) – and then search by tag when you need to find something specific.

This is an adapt of a recipe I found. I don’t like cucumber (or olives), but love the flavours in a greek salad.

Happy Planning!

‘Aubergine, Courgette and Bean Casserole.’

Some of my favourite recipes are from the Oh She Glows cookbook. Over the last 5 years Nick and I have gone from vegetarian to vegan and back to eating everything about 5 times. One of the best things that our swap in eating habits has been a new and fresh perspective on cooking at home – and a lighter grocery bill when you leave the meat off. I know that not everyone could convince their husbands and families to drop the meat, but it can be more easily introduced with a few hearty vegetarian and vegan recipes. We occasionally will cook fish at home, but generally, all of the recipes I look to on a daily basis are vegetarian or vegan.

Moving to a new country, you expect that there will be a few differences in what you can find in the grocery store. Generally, there is an easy substitute, or they just call it something different. This has definitely been the case moving to Oxford. Leaving our cookbooks behind, I tapped into OhSheGlows blog to see what I could pull together that didn’t require a few ingredients (like nutritional yeast) that I just haven’t been able to find yet. The perfect starter option was a vegan Eggplant, Zucchini and White Bean Casserole – and it has quickly been repeated!

What originally drew me to the recipe was that we would need limited spices to make it work, and limited utensils were absolutely required to make it happen.

A few tips I picked up trying to make this recipe work:

Eggplant = Aubergine

Zucchini = Courgette

White Beans = Cannellini beans and/or Haricots

Not entirely sure why the English have selected to use the French words for these items, but for the next year, I am just going to roll with it.

The recipe is extremely simple to execute, and I am sure that having the right utensils (like a food processor and another pan) would make the entire process much faster.

You can find the original recipe here, but I have made a few adjustments along the way.

Ingredients I’ve added:

• Spinach
• 2 different types of beans (Haricots and Cannellini)
• Extra spice – Cayenne Pepper
• Fresh basil
• Store bought sauce – with only one pot, making my own doesn’t feel like an option
• Feta – as one of the cheeses I can eat, I love topping this dish with feta, it gets golden brown and adds a little extra something to the flavours

Materials I am using (in my very limited kitchen) to make the recipe work:

• Baking sheet
• Casserole dish
• Parchment paper
• Mixing bowl
• Mashing spoon/fork
• Spatula

Believe me when I say that if I can make this work in this kitchen, you can too.

My favourite part of this dish is how hearty it is. Between the layers of white bean and Aubergine, it really does feel like you are eating veggie lasagna. Not to mention how beautiful the whole process is.

Knowing that our schedule is a little up in the air right now, I even pre-made one of these and left it fully baked and ready to go in tupperware in the freezer. A few minutes in the convection oven and it was as good as fresh.

I would highly recommend that you try this recipe!