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

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

Green Curry with Thai Eggplant

The other night while shopping at No Frills, I saw that they had Thai eggplant. I was super excited because I've only ever had it in Thailand. I actually thought it was squash. I am not a big fan of eggplant, I usually hate it but this eggplant is delish! They are the size of a golf ball and green on the outside. :)

Normally I would make the curry paste from scratch but I had Tough Mudder training with a friend before and I didn't have a chance to go to Granville Island to gather all the ingredients, so I cut some corners and used a store bought one.

Green Curry with Thai Eggplant

Ingredients

1 sweet potato, chopped

1 package extra firm tofu, cubed

5-6 Thai eggplants, quartered

2 carrots, sliced

1 onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 inch piece ginger, minced

3 red Thai chili peppers, minced

1 1/2 tbsp green curry paste

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1 lime, juiced

2 tsp agave nectar

1 can low fat coconut milk

2 cups water

Directions:

Sprinkle tofu with garlic powder and broil until slightly toasted and brown on top. It will take about 5 minutes but keep an eye on it.

Saute the onions, garlic and ginger in 1/4 cup water (or some oil if you prefer) for 5 minutes. Add carrots, sweet potato and water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover, cook for 8 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients except for cilantro and coconut milk. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add coconut milk and cilantro, cook for 2 minutes and serve with brown rice!

I had Kevin and Lauren over for dinner that night. I ate mine without rice but served there's with rice. I also steamed some broccoli and tossed it with some fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of lemon-pepper seasoning. Delish complete meal!!! Also, those little red Thai chili peppers are feisty so if you don't like the heat, cut those back. They are super spicy, but me likey!

SOOOOOOO, today is race day!!! Eeek. lol just doing a little blogging before I head out there. I'm doing the Spartan Race in North Vancouver at 1pm today. I cannot wait!!! Its gonna be a muddy, cold, baddass good time! There's so many emotions going through my head right now. I've been racing for years, but never an army style obstacle race. I'm a runner. But I've been working towards this and the Spartan Race will either tell me I'm on the right track or kick my ass into high gear for Tough Mudder next month.

Wish me luck!!!

Peace

xoxo

K

Red Lentil Dahl with Spinach

I have not been cooking as much as I normally do the past couples weeks. I've been eating way more raw foods like salads and smoothies. Even though I feel my best when I eat a large amount of raw food, there's nothing like a home cooked hot meal. :)

Red Lentil Dahl with Spinach

Ingredients

1 cup red lentils

6 cups chopped spinach

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 inch piece ginger, minced

1/2 white onion, chopped

1/2 lemon, juiced

4 roma tomatoes, diced

3 cups water

1 cup veggie stock

1 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chili flakes

1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Saute onions, garlic and ginger in 1/4 cup water (or 1 tsp of oil if you like) for 3 minutes. Add lentils, water and veggie stock and bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients except for the cilantro and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the cilantro and cook for another 10 minutes or until lentils are soft. Serve with brown rice.

Red lentil dahl with spinach

Yummy yummy. You can put less spinach if you like, but I like lots. I also served this with a side salad. Nothing special just some romaine and whatever veggies I had in the fridge and topped it with my lemon-mustard dressing and hemp seeds. That dressing is pretty much my go to dressing. I freaking love it. The way I make it different so I don't get bored is by switching up the mustard's. You can use all kinds! :)

Peace

xoxo

K

Restaurant Review: The Reef

The Reef is an awesome Caribbean restaurant which has 2 locations, Main Street and Commercial Drive. I have only been to the Main Street location so far, but I'm sure they are equally delicious. Its been quite a long time since I've been there so when Ethical Deal's deal of the day was The Reef I snatched it up! I almost forgot about it too and thought it might be expired but phew! Paid 10 bucks and got 20 worth of awesomeness. :)

Sidebar: check out Ethical Deal. Its a daily deal for the green customer. Products and services that you can feel good about purchasing.

Kevin and I started out with the Chana Salad. Super yummy curried chickpea salad with mixed greens and roti. SO yummy! The sauce was super thick and flavourful.

Chana

Mmmmmm!!! And such a steal too at only $8! I could eat that just as my meal. :)

We actually both got the West Indian Curries. I got the Ital (vegan) one and Kevin got the chicken one. I really liked this mild curry. A light flavour with potatoes and chickpeas. Along with a surprisingly good coleslaw, rice and some side sauces. They were mango chutney and a yogurt something or other. I stopped listening when he said yogurt. LOL

West Indian Curry: Ital(vegan)

The portions were pretty big. We were FULL. I didn't even finish my meal! GASP. Very unlike me. lol But potatoes and rice is too much starch for me. I had to leave some behind. :( The coleslaw was quite good. I'm usually not a fan of coleslaw cuz its usually creamy and mayonniasy. Even before I was vegan I was not a fan of mayo. But this coleslaw was not like that at all. It had a great flavour. Light and maybe some apple cidar vinegar I think.....Super good though. Cabbage is a veggie that I should eat more of fo sho.

They also gave us this amazing hot sauce. Its called Matouk"d Sauce Calypso Calypso Sauce. It was super spicy! I freaking loved it! As you are aware me and hot sauce are life partners. I LOVE hot sauce. And I've never had one like this. It was made with pickled scotch bonnet peppers. I mean, what the heck are those? Lol I'm gonna have to look into those. Not that I'm a conniseur of peppers or anything. I'm sure there's like a bagillion types but I never heard of those.

PS The Reef sells the hot sauce. But they only had the jumbo bottle. I'm just not ready to invest that kind of commited so early on in our relationship. I need to take it slow. There are others I have to think about. ;)

Oh and, I had the jerk tofu the last time I was there and its PHE-NOM!

Peace!

xoxo

K

Coconut Chickpea Stew with Kale

I made this lovely stew/soup last week for my friend Lauren. I wasn't really planning on making anything special that Friday night because I was just gonna chill at home and watch some TV by my lonesome in preparation of the big day (my 30th bday). But Lauren was looking for a relaxing night too so I thought it would be good to make something. I love to eat out because it's always nice when someone cooks for you and does all the clean up but I have a love affair with cooking. Relaxes me and makes me feel in control. Lol Weird huh? Cleaning does that too. ha

I unfortunately don't have a picture for you of the soup because the pic was on my phone which is now gone from my life. I have major separation anxiety and cannot get on board with my newly reactivated blackberry. I haven't even set up email or facebook or anything for that matter on it because I'm in denial. Lol I will get another one. As soon as I come up with $500. If you want to donate to my fund, please feel free!! HA

Anyhoo, I'm going to give you the recipe because it was DELISH! I'm sure you can tell that I'm pretty obsessed with coconut milk. Its in a lot of my dishes. In fact, its in tomorrows soup recipe.

Coconut Chickpea Stew with Kale

Ingredients

2 cups chickpeas (1 lg can)

1/2 white onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups water

2 cups veggie stock

5 carrots, sliced

2 celery, diced

4 cups kale, chopped

1/4 bunch cilantro, minced

1 can low fat coconut milk

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp chili flakes

Directions

Pan fry the onion and garlic in 1/4 cup of water (or oil) until fragrant and translucent. Add the chickpeas, water, veggie stock, carrots, celery and spices and cook on medium heat for 40 minutes. Add the kale and cilantro and cook for another 10 minutes. Once done add the coconut milk, heat for 2 minutes and serve.

TIP: the longer you cook this stew the better. I had mine cooking for 1 hour before adding the kale and coconut milk. Just ensure that you add the coconut milk at the end of the cooking process. :)

Sorry for the lack of picture!! But still make this! I promise its very tasty and satisfying.

Tomorrow I will have pics I promise!!

Peace

xoxo

K

I have awesome friends

Its true. I do have awesome friends. In particular I'm talking about the ones who are cognizant of the fact that I'm vegan and still want to cook for me. Some omnivores find it difficult to figure out what to cook for a vegan. So I really appreciate it when my friends take the time to make me a meal and really put some thought into it. Especially now that I'm wheat/gluten free. It sounds intense or fanatical but its really not. 

In particular I'm talking about Kevin. You've heard me talk about him. I've never told him what to cook, how to cook it, or what makes certain foods vegan or not. He just gets it and probs looks up the stuff he's unsure of online (Gawd, I love google) Lol. Last night was no different, he made me an awesome meal that was gluten free and deelish. Obvs vegan too.

It had chickpeas, lots of veggies, mushrooms, low fat coconut milk, lemon grass, curry. He laid down a bed of spinach in the bowl, topped it with red rice and then the curry. SUPER yummmm factor here. I loved the bed of spinach. I keep meaning to do it but I always forget. The Foundation does that for many of their dishes and I always think to myself that its a great idea. Lol. Kudos Kevin. :)

He then baked some thinly sliced tofu and drizzled some sriracha on top. Duh. I can't have a meal without it. It was a lot too, my mouth was on fire!!! But like a true sriracha fan, I powered through to build my tolerance.  Check out this funny ode to sriracha. 

Some other friends that are also awesome at making vegan food for me is Brooke and Natasha. Both are pretty healthy eaters and not vegan. Nor is Kevin. But they love to eat healthy and obvs they love me too. LOL 

I've been on a salad bender these past couple weeks. Roasted veggie has been the fave but this past 8 or so days its been all about mangoes for some reason. I just use spinach, kale, and whatever veggies I have. Cucumber being a good accompaniment for the mango then I drizzle some fresh lime juice on top. No other dressing needed, 

This one in particular had spinach, kale, purple cabbage, celery, green onion and mango. With lime. YUMMM. 

Have you heard of Carrot Lines? Its a Vancouver based app for your iphone that lets you put in some criteria and scan food to make sure it fits your profile. For example, under lifestyle I put Vegan, Nutrition I chose calories, fat, trans fat, sodium, fibre, sugars (less than 5g), calcium and iron. Under Allergy I chose dairy free, gluten free, and wheat free. So when you scan a food item, it tells you if it meets your criteria. Or just some. Its cool!! I can't wait to get home or go to the store and start scanning away. I won't need it tooooo much cuz I don't eat a lot of foods but I did suggest it to a few friends who might need it. And to Kevin. Lol Perfect for when he doesn't know if something is gluten free or what not. 

One thing that I couldn't figure out was when I scanned an item (hemp seeds) that it didn't have in its database it asked if I wanted to google it. So I did. And then that's it. Nothing happened. No addition to the database. No analyzing it. Nada. So I dunno. What do you do when something isn't in their database? Hmmmm But other than that, seems pretty cool. Its also FREE!!! Bonus!

Peace

xoxo

K

Chickpea Spinach Curry

I love curry. Any and all kinds. Indian, Thai, Japanese, whatevs. I could eat it every day. There is just like a million ways to make it. I love it. I decided to make that this week for some friends. It was a lovely meal. But I forgot to take a pic. So mad!!! Bah. The presentation was so good too. I served it with brown rice and Indian spiced greens. I guess I got distracted. It happens so easily. lol

Chickpea Spinach Curry

Ingredients

2 cans chickpeas

1 onion, diced

3 garlic, minced

1/2 bunch spinach, chopped

3 roma tomatoes, diced

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp chili flakes

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cardamom

2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

salt and pepper

1/2 tsp Vegeta (dry veggie stock)

1-1.5 cups water

Directions

1. Add onions and garlic to pan and fry in a little bit of water, about 1/4 cup. Or use 1 tsp of oil if you're not concerned with fat content. Cook until translucent and fragrant.

2. Add chickpeas, tomatoes and half of the water. Cook for 10 minutes covered.

3. Put remaining ingredients into the pan and stir until mixed thoroughly. Cover and cook until chickpeas are soft. About 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. I added 1/2 tsp of sea salt.

Like I said, I served this with brown rice and Indian Spiced greens but forgot to snap a pic. So this is of my leftovers that I had for lunch the next day. The greens were a nice touch. Super easy to make.

Indian Spiced Greens

1 pkg gai lan

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp fennel

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 lemon

Directions

Dry roast the mustard seeds and fennel for 1-2 minutes then add the greens. Add the lemon and about 1 tbsp of water. Cook covered for 4-5 minutes or until they are done to your satisfaction. 

Since I only have the one pic for you today. And I don't know about you but I love pics. Especially food porn. Here's some that are what I eat/drink on a daily basis.

This is my fave tea. Its a real Japanese green tea. There are many kinds of green tea but this is my fave. Its called Genmaicha. Its got rice in it!

Genmaicha 

 I usually have a green smoothie every morning but I opened up my fridge this morning and I only have lemons. GASP!! How the heck did that happen? lol So I ran to the IGA near my office and picked up this wonderful little breaky. Organic royal gala apple, banana and raw cashews. YUMMY!! Nice change of pace.

My breaky.

 This is a quick kale salad I made to eat last night before I went to a movie. But I forgot it at the office! Dang. Super easy and quick. Kale, lemon, hemp seeds, mustard and salt and pepper. Topped with a little dollop of my pumpkin/hemp seed spread. You can find that here.

Kale salad with Pumpkin/hemp seed spread

I went to the new Sherlock movie last night. OMG I effin loved it!!! So good! It was way better than the first. I liked the way it was shot. And all the scenes where Holmes had this sorta spidey/intuitive/psychic visions. LOL he was always a step ahead of the competition. Lol Plus I love Robert Downey. He's just dreamy. Sigh. 

Peace

xoxo

K

Thai Coconut Curried Lentil Soup

A couple of friends jetted off to Thailand in December and since then have had a real craving for Thai food. I LOVE Thai food. I eat it pretty regularly. I am a confessed addict of coconut; coconut ice cream, coconut yogurt, coconut milk, coconut meat....ANYhoo, I popped a soup in the good ole crockpot and came up with this bad boy. 

Thai Coconut Curried Lentil Soup

2 cans brown lentils

1 onion, chopped

5 celery stalks, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp chili flakes

3 tsp Vegeta or any other dry veggie stock

7 cups water

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp turmeric

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp ginger powder

2 inch pieces dry or fresh galangal (use ginger if you can't find it)

1 handful dry lemongrass or one stalk fresh 

1 can coconut milk

Directions:

Put all ingredients except for the coconut milk into your crockpot and simmer on low all day. Add the coconut milk at the end, keep cooking for 10 minutes or until heated thoroughly. 

Serve on its own or on top of quinoa. Super good that way. This soup has a little kick to it. Adjust the chili flakes to your liking. I was totally fine with this, as was my gorgeous friend Jessica. 

I also roasted up a head of cauliflower and broccoli. Tossed it with fresh lemon juice, red onion, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and sea salt. Baked at 350 for 30 minutes.

Since I've busted up all my wine glasses and didn't get any for Christmas, we had to drink our wine outta regular glasses. Meh. I'm just classy like that. Lol. The meal was yummy, warming, nutritious and filling. Went great with a bottle of red, the bachelor and a good gf. We gossiped, judged, ate, drank, and were merry. Ha. I'm not sure about this season of the bachelor....I don't dig Ben. His hair is horrendous. And the chicks seem to be EXTRA crazy this season. Maybe the producers realized he was boring after they signed the deal so they picked insane in the membrane chickies to make up for it......maybe. 

Here's another look at what I eat daily. 

I have this every morning. I usually have 2 smoothies in the morning. Well I make one REALLY big one and add lots of water. I had leftover soup and collard wraps for lunch. I'm totally addicted to those wraps!!! I need to get more cuz I just finished the last of them before lunch. Somebody brought freshly baked carrot orange muffins in to the office and I got hungry. They weren't vegan so I couldn't eat them anyways, but I wanted the wheat so bad. I'm glad I didn't give in. One point for willpower! And my waistline! lol

Tonight I'm making dins for a couple of stud muffins. I'm thinking a chickpea spinach curry, brown rice and steamed gai lan. Not exactly Indian but I need a side of greens. You always needs a side of greens peeps.

Peace

xoxo

K

Thai Curried Split Pea Soup

Last night I prepped a soup for dinner tonight with Kevin. I am trying to create recipes using JUST what I have in the apartment and not having to pick anything up. It makes it more fun and way more creative. It actually took a while to think this one up and it turned out ever so amazing. I LOVE soup. I will eat it any time of year but its always so comforting to have soup in these winter months. 

Thai Curried Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

2 cups dry yellow split peas

2 carrots, sliced

3 celery stalks, diced

1 leek, diced

1 stick lemon grass

3 tsp Vegeta (Veggie stock powder)

8 cups water

2 tsp chili flakes

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp coriander powder

2 tsp turmeric

1 can low fat coconut milk (400ml)

Directions:

1. Add all the veggies to a big pot and saute for 5 minutes or until fragrant. I used a 1/4 cup of water instead of oil to make it lower in fat. Use oil if you'd like.

2. Add all other ingredients except for the coconut milk and cook on high for 10 minutes.

3. Pour in the coconut milk and cook for another 10 minutes on high.

4. Turn down the heat to low and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Ensure the split peas are soft. Serve and Enjoy!

Yummerly!

There it is folks, a BIG pot of soup. I'll have better pics tomorrow. In cute bowls. lol I also made a really delish sauce for a quinoa salad, but I'll post that tomorrow along with pics.

Peace

xoxo

K

Vegan MoFo Day 8: Chana Masala with Acorn Squash

I love Indian food. Its so full of flavour. I'm also in love with chickpeas. I pretty much always have them on hand. If there's hummus in my house.........well there never is cuz I gobble it up pretty fast. I usually make my own, its so easy, but when I'm lazy I will buy it.

I wanted to make Chana Masala with spinach but I didn't have any. But I did have an acorn squash in my fridge. So I roasted that and used it in my recipe.

Chana Masala with Acorn Squash

Ingredients:
1 green chili
1 inch ginger
2 garlic cloves
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 tbsp tomato sauce
1 acorn squash, roasted
1 can chickpeas
salt to taste

Directions:

1. Roast the squash for 35 minutes at 350
2. Put ginger, chili and garlic in food processor and process until fine
3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan, add onion and cook for 4 minutes.
4. Add ginger mixture and chickpeas, cook for 5 minutes with 1/4 cup water
5. Add all the spices and 300ml of water, cook for 5 minutes. Add the paste and tomato sauce.
6. Scrape out squash and add to chickpeas. Stir occasionally. Taste to see if you need to add anymore spices or salt.
7. Serve over brown rice.

Yum! Its almost ready



DELISH!!! That's just green onion for decoration purposes

.



This meal was very satisfying if I must say so. I love how versatile squash is. Who knew it would work so well with this dish. You almost don't even know its there. It adds a little sweetness and heartiness to keep you warm and full all night.

I'm off to Victoria now to run my FIRST ever half marathon. If you don't know, that's 21km. Eeekk, I'm getting pretty nervous. But I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm hoping to finish in 2 hours 30 minutes. I'd rather do it in 2 hours but realistically I'm guessing 2.5 hours.

Its also Thanksgiving this weekend. I have done nothing to prepare for it. My Japanese side will not be celebrating it traditionally. I believe its a Japanese smorgasbord of deliciousness.

Hope everyone has some good food babies this weekend. I'll see what I can throw together for Monday's feast and let yah know.

Peace

xoxo

K

Cauliflower Curry (Gobi Masala)

I LOVE Indian food. I am no expert at preparing it, but I think I do a pretty good job. I usually just grab recipes from online or use a book that a friend got me for my birthday a couple years back. Its not an authentic cookbook by any means. And personally I find that there are not enough spices. Not spicy spices, but not enough seasonings. So I always double that part.

Its called Easy Everyday: Indian by Das Sreedharan. Its not vegan or vegetarian so if I'm making a recipe that's not vegan I just veganize it. Which is what I did for the following recipe:

Note: You don't need to adjust the spices, I have already done so. And I added chili flakes cuz I like it hot.

Cauliflower Curry (Gobi Masala)
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
5 tsp tomato paste
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 tomatoes, quartered
1 pint almond milk
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp chili flakes

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in wok or large pan. Add the fennel seeds and cook for 1 minute or until golden brown. Stirring constantly.
2. Add onion and cook for 10 minutes until golden.
3. Add turmeric and chili powder and stir fry for 2 minutes then stir in tomato paste. Toss until onions are coated.
4. Add cauliflower, green pepper, tomato quarters, almond milk, 8 oz water and salt. Cook on medium heat for 5-8 minute, stirring to prevent milk from splitting.
5. Add coriander powder and cook until cauliflower is soft.
6. Serve over brown rice.

The recipe actually calls for some chopped cilantro on top but I'm not a fan. But it would make it look quite pretty. This recipe makes a lot. Its even better the next day!

Its full of protein from the brown rice and the cauliflower, and is loaded with tons of vitamins and minerals. DO IT

Peace

xoxo

K

I love surprises!

I had dinner at Kevin's while we watched the premiere of the American X Factor. I'm not a huge fan of singing shows, but I've been told that this one is different. And it is. It was enjoyable. Its only auditions right now, so that can be a little trying. I'm not into watching freaks embarrass themselves on stage just to get on TV. I could care less.

BUT that being said there were some pretty amazing people on the show. This 13 year old girl sand Mercy by Duffy that was awesome! And a recovering addict rhymed his own song. It was pretty damn good. Only thing is he needs to get clothes that fit. Over sized clothes and chains....we off that. Jay Z said that years ago, apparently he didn't get the memo. Lol PS the prize is 5 Million dollars!!! WTF if I'd known, I would've tried out!

I really wish they had kept Cheryl Cole. She's so pretty. Love her. But Nicole was good too.

Last week I was telling Kevin about this food I wanted to make that I had seen on Eat St. It is called Bunny Chow and its an African dish where the inside of a loaf is hollowed out and curry is put inside. The food truck on the show had got small buns and did that instead of a loaf. I think that would be amazing. I loved chili in a bread bowl from Tim Horton's JUST for the fact that I could say "And then I ate the bowl!!!" after. And guess what my little bestie did for me??? HE MADE THEM FOR ME!!!

So thoughtful right? And so Delish! He made a Thai veggie curry with tofu. Kev makes some good stirfry. Tons of veg and with coconut milk. I love coconut milk.

If you would like to make something like this. I def suggest it. Just go out and buy a round loaf of bread. If you're making it for 2 just buy one and cut it in half. Make your curry. And put it in the bowl.

Fo Serious, how good does that look? Its colourful, its nutritious and delicious! AND THEN I ATE THE BOWL! well not the entire bowl, cuz it was HUGE. Which by the way came from Cobs. It was a whole wheat multi grain loaf. PER-FECTION.
Here's an old recipe of mine, since I don't have Kevin's. I don't think he followed a recipe though.

Thai Curry

Ingredients

• One can coconut milk (low fat)
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons palm sugar or brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons Thai curry paste (green, red, or yellow)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 sweet potato, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed
• ½ small can bamboo shoots, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
• 1 lime
• 8 large Thai basil leaves, chopped

Directions

• Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a pan and add curry paste once heated. Fry curry paste for 1 minute then add vegetable stock, soy sauce, and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
• Add onion, red pepper,, sweet potato, carrots, bamboo shoots, and green beans. Stir until vegetables are hot, 2-3 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, bring the mixture to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Add 1cup of water if curry seems too thick or if more liquid is needed to cook vegetables.
• Simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Add a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice to taste; you may use the juice of an entire lime. Stir and mix well.

Its so great when someone does something nice for you. Made my day. Also, another friend helped me move my old mattress out of my place! He has big muscles so it was probably nothing for him. ;) Otherwise I would have had to do it myself! My arm muscles are tiny and weak. Lol

My jams: Rihanna ft Calvin Harris - We found love, Kelly Clarkson - What doesn't kill you, Naughty by Nature ft Joe- Perfect Party, Cheryl Lloyd ft Mike Posner - With your love

Had no idea Naughty by Nature was still recording. LOL too funny.

Till next time!

Peace

xoxo

K

Sweet jeezus! Sweet potato!

I did not cook anything special up last night. Just a good ole salad. I was in too much of a hurry. SO after looking through my archives I found this goody of a recipe that I got from Vegweb. I've got to say its DELISH. I used their recipe but did not cook it the same way. And added a couple extra ingredients cuz that's how I roll.


Coconut Quinoa and Sweet Potato Curry

Ingredients:

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas with liquid
1/2 cup dry quinoa
1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 can peas
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil (to saute garlic and onion)
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon cardamon
1/8 teaspoon ginger
salt, to taste
pepper to taste
1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk (I prefer the "lite" milk)

Directions:
1. Cook the quinoa according to the package.
2. Heat oil in a big pan and add garlic and onion. Fry for 2 minutes
3. Add sweet potato, chickpeas and peas and 1/2 - 1 cup water(enough to cover) Cook until soft
4. Once soft, add all spices, quinoa and coconut milk
5. Reduce heat and mix well. Cook for 10-15 minutes.
6. Add more spice if you like it HOT!

Here's a crappy pic I took from my phone. Its not great quality but it that's all I got.

Sweet potatoes are awesome. They have tons of vit A and C plus potassium and iron! That along with the peas, chickpeas and quinoa and you've got one nutritious meal. :)

I would like to talk about sugar again. Obviously we all know that sugar gives us energy. But what is happening is when it is absorbed into your bloodstream, your blood sugar level rises. Duh. The pancreas then releases insulin to remove it from there into your cells to use the energy. The more refined the sugar, the greater work has to be done to do this process. We need sugar for many functions but excess sugar is stored as FAT. Yes, I said FAT. While your body is producing insulin to bring the sugar levels down, it cannot produce the hormone Glucagon that takes fat and releases it so you can burn it off.

So basically, all the working out you do and still eat boat loads of sugar will not equal weight loss. I think the main source of most people's sugars are from drinks. I don't like to drink my calories (unless there is booze in it), but even then I never choose a juice. For example, did you know that Vitamin Water has like 33grams of sugar! say wha!? Even Tonic water (or toxic water) has about 35grams per serving.

And don't think that switching to diet drinks will do you any better. Diet drinks contain aspartame or sucralose or whatever other shitty sugar that actually INCREASES our cravings for sugar. Its like a trick in your body. It thinks sugar is coming but it doesn't so it starts to want it. So watch out!

Even though white sugar is from a cane plant it is highly refined and stripped of all its nutrients and minerals. Its very high on the glycemic index. Brown sugar isn't any better. Its basically made in the same way. Highly processed and mixed with molasses or dye to make it brown.

Sugars I use:
- agave nectar: from the tequila plant, low glycemic index
- brown rice syrup: made from brown rice
- stevia: made from a leaf, low glycemic index and virtually no calories
- coconut sugar: made from coconut flowers, low glycemic index
- maple syrup: from sap, a little high on the glycemic index

All that info aside. Its REALLY tough to avoid white refined sugar. Very hard. And I'm a healthy MoFo. I can't escape it. Especially when my good pal chocolate is loaded with it. Your best bet is to try. Cut out some of those processed foods. Boxed foods, juices and pops, condiments, etc. A diet rich in whole foods will keep you healthy and gorgeous! I switched to fruit as my sugar rush. And although it has sugar in it, its from a whole food source that hasn't been refined.

Funny story: Last night I saw a naked bike rider heading to Stanley park. lol He was screaming quite loudly cuz he was going a little off road.....it was a tad bumpy I guess. HA.

My jams: Warren G and Nate Dog - Regulate! I had shuffle going on this AM. LOVE that track.

Race time: It is rapidly approaching. As usual I am not prepared. I haven't even registered! My first one up is 5 Peaks - Buntzen Lake . Its about 15km and has an elevation gain like the grind. I hike up the diaz vista then around the lake. I need some cheerleaders! help!

Next is my first half marathon in Victoria. That's 21km! Jeez.

Peace!

xoxo

K