Red Lentil Daal

On Sunday's I typically do my grocery shopping for the week and prep some meals so that I don't have to get up early to make my lunches. But there are a few of those Sunday's that are better spent in bed, watching movies and eating pizza.

I love and treasure days when I can just lay around, not put on make up and chill in my apartment watching all the shows and movies I love BUT I always feel a little guilty for not being productive at all. SO to alleviate that guilt I whip something up in my crockpot with only ingredients I have on hand. It's easy and also stocks my freezer up. Check out this delish, warming soup for these cold days:

Red Lentil Daal

Ingredients

4 cups red split lentils

10 cups water

4 cups veggie stock

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp tumeric

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp cayenne powder

3/4 cup tomato sauce

1/2 lemon, juiced

Directions:

Place all ingredients into your slowcooker and cook on high for 6 hours. 

SOOoooo, normally this would be the spot where I put in a picture but apparently there is a max capacity for storage on blogspot. Ugh. No picture today unless you check out here. AND some good news is that my new site will be up and running in the next couple weeks! So follow me on FB and twitter to get all the pics! Otherwise it'll just be recipes.

That's it! This was some serious case of the yummies kind of soup. And lentils are very easy to digest, full of protein and economical. Add a nice side salad and you have yourself a complete meal. 

Eat better. Feel better.

xoxo

K

The Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Sandwich

My breakfasts are almost always liquid....and no I don't mean alcohol! Lol. I drink a glass of water with a cap full of apple cider vinegar upon rising, a very green, vegerrific smoothie with Vega One and coffee. I like having a liquid breakfast because it gives your digestive track a bit of a break but by adding a nutrient dense smoothie you are still getting all the vitamins and minerals you need.

Now all that being said, a good hearty breakfast on the weekends is a nice treat too. I had a real hankering for a breakfast sandwich recently so I went down to my church....I mean Whole Foods and picked up the ingredients to make this masterpiece. 

The Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Sandwich

Ingredients

Terra Breads, walnut bun

Organic smoked tofu, sliced

Tempeh bacon

Daiya wedges, sliced

Spinach, steamed

Mustard

Sriracha

Directions:

I didn't put amounts for the ingredients as it all depends on how many you make.....I baked the tofu while I prepared the other ingredients. I just thinly sliced it, then threw it in the oven and baked for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, pan fry the tempeh bacon for 4 minutes on both sides. Steam the spinach until bright green; less than 5 minutes.

Once the ingredients are cooked start assembling your sammy. Put mustard on both sides (I love mustard) and sriracha to taste. I used dijon mustard but any will do. Place the baked smoked tofu down, the daiya slices, then the tempeh bacon and topped with the steamed spinach! This will be enough heat to melt the daiya wedges. If you are using daiya shreds you might want to put it on top of the tofu while baking as it's a little harder to melt. 

The Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Sandwich

Nom nom nom

Yum Yum Yum!!! This breakfast sammy was so freaking yummy! Give it a shot and lemme know how it turns out. Tweet me a pic @vegucatedinvan

Peace

Eat better. Feel better.

xoxo

K

Curried Rice Noodles with Tofu

This dish was super easy to prepare. I wanted to do a one pot kinda meal and def winged this one. I've never really made dishes with noodles all in one pot before so I took a risk. It worked out! Phew! As I'm sure you can tell, especially with the last few recipes I've been posting, I have a big obsession with coconut milk. Especially with the colder weather happening right now, I just am feeling like eating comfort food. Creamy foods just spell comfort to me. Being vegan and lactose intolerant, cream is not something I can eat so I improvise with coconut milk. It's also WAY more delish if you ask me. 

Curried Rice Noodles with Tofu

Ingredients

1 pkg fried tofu (350g)

1 head broccoli, chopped

3 bok choy, chopped

2 handfuls snow peas, cut in half

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 pkg rice noodles

3 tbsp yellow curry paste

1 cup veggie stock

5 cups water

1 can low fat coconut milk

2 tbsp agave nectar

sriracha to taste

Directions:

1. Pan fry the garlic in a tbsp of grapeseed oil on medium heat for 2 minutes. 

2. Add the tofu and fry for 5 minutes. Add veggie stock, water and rice noodles. Bring to a boil.

3. Once boiling, turn down to medium heat, add all remaining ingredients except for the coconut milk. Cook for 5 minutes covered.

4. Add coconut milk and cook for 2 minutes. Taste and add more agave if needed (or sriracha!)

5. Enjoy!

Curried Rice Noodles with Tofu

I prefer to use the fried tofu in this case as it has a bit different texture than your usual firm tofu. But if firm tofu is all you can find it will work just great! I would just pan fry it separately and add it in the final steps. that way it won't break apart.

If you aren't vegan or are cooking for a meat eater, I think prawns or chicken would be a good replacement for the tofu. Just use a similar amount. I think we should all eat what makes us happy. Just keep it as vegerrific as possible. It will keep you healthy, energetic and regular! :)

Happy long weekend peeps! I'm off to Seattle this weekend.

Peace

xoxo

K

Coconut Carrot and Red Lentil Soup

It's that time of year again when I'm making soup or chili once a week! Growing up, I hated carrot soup. Bleck! Now I crave it! So yummy and so versatile. As soon as the weather starts to turn cold I make (in this order) chili, carrot soup, and chili. Lol True story.

One of the other reasons I love making carrot soup, is that it goes amazingly well with coconut milk. I am obsessed with coconut milk. It's so darn tasty! I cook with it quite often so I always buy the low fat version but this time I went a little crazy and bought the full fat. Woah! Slow down Krystle. ;)

Check out the Winter 2012 version of carrot soup from Krystle's Kitchen:

Coconut Carrot and Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients

4lbs carrots, chopped

2 cups red split lentils

3 roma tomatoes, diced

1 onion, diced

3 garlic

3 lemongrass, chopped, big pieces

3 cups veggie stock

3 cups water

1 tbsp coconut oil

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp saffron

1 tsp ground galangal (or ginger)

1 can coconut milk

Directions:

Place all ingredients except for the coconut milk into a slow cooker and cook on high for 8-10 hours. Once the carrots are soft enough to blend, remove the lemongrass. I cut them into large pieces so that they are easily removed. Pour in the coconut milk and puree with a hand blender until smooth. It will take about 5-8 minutes. If you don't have a hand blender, use a regular blender or food processor! 

Coconut Carrot and Red Lentil Soup

Chopped cilantro would have been nicer as the garnish but I was out and I'm out of town for the weekend so I didn't want to buy it and end up wasting it. But I highly suggest it for yours! This made a boat load of soup. Awesome for lunches. Goes great with a whole grain bun or a nice salad. Keep it clean friends!

Peace

xoxo

K

Restaurant Review: Heirloom Vegetarian

I love that there have been so many new Vegetarian restaurants opening up in this gorgeous city called Vancouver. Dining out is so fun and trying new restaurants is funner! Yah, that's not a word but you see what I was doing there right? :) I don't go to just fully vegan or vegetarian spots. I find it easy to eat out. Many people think it's hard to dine out if you're vegan or vegetarian but in fact it's not. I've never been to a restaurant that wouldn't modify a salad or veggie dish for me. Another cool way to make an awesome meal is to put together a bunch of their sides! But this post is not about how to be vegan and dine out....its about Heirloom Vegetarian restaurant. I almost can't choose what to eat when I dine at veggie spots. SO many choices!

Heirloom is located on West 12th at Granville. Very close to Broadway and Granville. It's in a great location. It's huge, white and modernly outfitted. I dig the space, felt extremely welcomed, pampered and satisfied. The staff were amazing; even the guy filling our waters was out of this world! He complimented my friend Danica and I which if you've ever met me, flattery will get you everywhere with me. Ha.

My friends Olive and Jake had already had the pleasure of dining at Heirloom and gave me some tips on items to get. Their must have dish was the yams. In fact they said they were the best yams they have ever had! Wow. That's a bold statement if I do say so myself. So, check out our experience:

Danica!

Me

Handpicked greens

Fennel, ginger poached pear, roasted brussel sprouts, hazelnuts and an orange blossom vinaigrette. This was fantastic! not your average salad. Really, really love fruit in salad and especially a poached pear!

Wild and Foraged Mushrooms

Coconut cream, fennel, garlic, dry cider, shiso and walnut onion baguette. This was honestly my fave dish of the night. Omg it was so tasty! The flavour was unreal. I could just roll around in it. But I won't...cuz that would be weird. Lol. 

Yams

Coconut butter, hemp hearts and cashew greens dip. This was my 2nd fave dish. It was quite substantial. You get 2 yams here! Love that! That cashew green dip should be sold separately. If they had a container and would sell it to me I would have bought it for sure! It was so rich and creamy. Amazing! I also dig that they used hemp hearts. Hemp hearts are a nutritional power house and should be worshiped.

All in all I give this place my seal of approval. It would satisfy anyone; meat eater or vegetarian it will impress you and fill you up. I was actually uncomfortably full because I didn't want to waste one ounce! I can't wait to go back and try more items. Try all dishes on the menu...challenge accepted.

OOoohhh yah, they also have a communal table. Those are so hot right now.

Check them out!

Peace

xoxo

K

Healthy Hummus

I love hummus. I pretty much eat it every day during the work week as I have a salad for lunch and I use it as dressing. Sometimes I'll make my own dressing or use salsa but hummus is my fave. I NEVER use store bought dressing.....unless I'm dining out.

I usually always make my own hummus as it's so easy and so cheap but lately I've just been so busy! But this weekend I took it easy and made it my mission to make it. Mission accomplished! I love a good challenge. LOL Even if it's a tiny one like this......with myself. :)

Healthy Hummus

Ingredients

2 small cans chickpeas (2 1/4 cups)

1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)

1/2 - 3/4 lemon, juiced

3 tsp tahini (I used raw)

1/4 cup water, or as needed

Sunflower seeds (garnish)

Paprika (garnish)

Directions:

Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor and mix until smooth. Add salt to taste and more water as needed.

Serve with veggies, pita or have it on your salad like me! You can add a little olive oil if you like but I use water to make it smooth and omit oil to keep the calories and fat content down. I generally don't like to use oil in cooking like this. I like to get my fats from avocado, nuts and seeds. I try to cook with as little as possible. Fats are good for you and necessary for life, I just like to get them from the right places and def think we consume too much!

Eat awesome my friends!

Peace

xoxo

K