Carrot Muffins, Mediterranean Pasta Salad, Summer Green Salad

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LunchI had one of my friends over for lunch today. I was cooking like a storm, multitasking in the kitchen, which thankfully worked out okay today. She works at the bakery, from 3am to 10am, a bit odd shift. She says she is used to it now though it must be hard getting up that early to go to work when everyone else is still sound asleep. Well I sometimes get up that time and enjoy that hours of quietness, but not for work. She came quite hungry because she had a piece of bread since she got up this morning. Yes, I need to cook some nice food and feed her. I made carrot muffins, Mediterranean pasta salad and Summer green salad for her. We had chit-chats over lunch and coffee for about 4-5 hours. You just lose a track of time when you are with girl friends 🙂

Tiny little seeds are loads of energy-packed nutrition. Flaxseeds among them are one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids and lignans. To get the full health benefits, it must be grounded before eating. You can either buy a bag of flaxseed meal which is what I do or you can grind yourself at home.

Flaxseed meal has a rich nutty flavour and numerous health benefits including fighting against inflammation, protecting against heart disease, cancer and diabetes, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol and providing more dietary fibre.

It is also a great egg replacement in vegan baking, called flax “eggs“. A flax seed egg has half the calories of a large chicken egg and much less fat. It is not going to be exactly same as using eggs, but combining flax seeds and water (or non-dairy milk or juice) 1:2 ration will form into a gel, which helps to combine other ingredients together. Use in baking as you would one egg. You can also make a big batch and store in the fridge for up to a week. I made carrot muffins today using flaxseed meal. Recipes follow…
Lunch2Healthy Carrot Muffins

Ingredients

2 grated carrots
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
100g milk
150g self-raising flour
1/2 cup of oats
50g brown sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon powder
1 tsp of baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp of molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all wet ingredients in a bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes to all flax “eggs” to set. Then add grated carrots and dry ingredients and stir. Spoon the batter into the muffin tray and bake in the preheated oven (180) for 20-30 minutes.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Ingredients

100g cooked pasta
1/2 cup of chopped spinach
1/2 cup of chopped sun-dried tomato
1/2 cup of chopped green olives
1 tsp of rinsed capers
1/2 cup of lettuce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp e.v.o.o
salt and pepper to taste

Summer Green Salad

Ingredients

1 cup of cooked lentils
1/2 cup of peas
1 bunch of broccolini
1 bok-choy
strawberries
1 tsp of tahini paste
1 tsp of apple cider vinegar
1 tsp of maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste

Cook French lentils in hot boiling water for 20-30 minutes. Rinse and drain once it’s cooked. Steam peas, broccolini and bok-choy until they are cooked al dente. Place lentils and vegetables on the plate. Arrange halved strawberries on top. Drizzle a tahini dressing over the salad.

Posted in: Baking, Dinner, Lunch, My recipes, salads

Eggplant In Two Ways

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Stuffed eggplantStuffed Eggplant

Ingredients

Halved eggplant
250g ground beef
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup cooked quinoa
1 tsp of coconut oil
1 tsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of cumin
50g feta cheese
1 tsp of pepitas
tahini sauce (1tsp of tahini paste, 1tsp of honey, 1 tsp of water, 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook finely chopped onion and garlic with coconut oil in a skillet. Add ground beef, soy sauce, cumin and pepper and cook over medium heat until cooked. Take off the heat and combine with cooked quinoa.  Cut eggplants in half lengthways. Using a spoon, scoop flesh from the eggplant halves. Spoon the beef mixture into eggplant and place in the preheated oven (180) for 20 minutes or until eggplant is cooked. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese, tahini sauce and pepitas before serve.

Eggplant soupEggplant Soup

Ingredients

1 cup of eggplant flesh
1/4 cup of quinoa flakes
water or stock
1 mall onion1 clove of garlic
1 tsp of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp of thick yogurt and coriander for garnish

Cook chopped onion, garlic and the flesh of eggplant with coconut oil in a skillet until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add water or stock and 1/4 cup of quinoa flakes. Keep stirring and cook over low heat until you get a porridge consistency (you might need to keep adding water or stock little by little). Take off the heat and cook it down slightly. Then blend until smooth using a stick blender. Add a dollop of thick yogurt and coriander before serve.

 

 

Posted in: Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes

Green Fish Curry

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Fish Green CurryA friend of mine from Korea traveled Thailand for a couple of months and sent me a couple of postcards, which is so lovely of her. I’ve never been to Thailand myself, but all the photos and stories she posted on the mobile app looked like a relaxing place to visit. She even took a cooking class one day and made a pad Thai and green curry. Yum! I should definitely ask her to make one for me when we catch up next time and get some recipes to see how real locals make their curry.

I made this green curry with chicken breast last time, but tried with fish fillets today, which was as delicious! Thai green curry paste is made of turmeric, chilli, kaffir lime, lemon grass, garlic and galangal (similar to ginger root), which all have wonderful medicinal properties. Turmeric aids digestion and detoxifies your system. Chilli is an excellent antioxidant, rich in vitamin A and C. Kaffir lime stimulates digestion and prevents cancer and high blood pressure. Lemongrass helps to fight against cold, congestion, fever, cough and sore throat. Garlic, without a doubt, a powerful detoxifying agent. Galangal is also a stimulant for digestion. So overall curry is tasty as well as nutritious, but it is high in saturated fat and calories because of the coconut oil and milk in coconut-based curry. So eat in moderation. Opt for low-fat coconut milk if you are concerned.

Ingredients

2 basa fillets
1/2 cup of chopped basil
1/2 cup of chopped coriander
1 tsp of grated ginger
1 tsp of minced garlic
1/2 cup of chopped spring onion
1/2 cup of chopped zucchini
1 onion
1 potato
1 tsp green curry paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp coconut oil
1 cup of coconut milk
1/4 cup of water
salt and pepper to taste

Pat dry the fish fillets, season with salt and pepper, cook in a pan with coconut oil 2-3 minutes each side. Take it off the heat and set aside. Add another teaspoon of coconut oil in a pan and cook all chopped veggies and curry paste. When the veggies are cooked al dente, add coconut milk and water and simmer for 10 minutes. Put the fish back to the pan and combine with the curry. Serve over the rice. Garnish with fresh coriander and a squeeze of lemon/lime.

Posted in: Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes

Sushi Bowl

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Sushi BowlSushi or sashimi is one of my favorite foods to have when I’m out somewhere either from the restaurant or from the sushi roll take-away shops. It’s relatively healthy, gluten-free, easy on the go food. For deconstructed sushi bowl, you probably need rice, avocado, nori, etc that you normally see in sushi roll. I made my own twist putting in my kimchi, beans instead of rice and soy-tahini dressing instead of wasabi-soy dressing. The recipe is flexible and should be adjusted based on what you have on hand when you create your own flavourful sushi bowl. Chop your favorite vegetables and protein and throw them on top of complex carbs in a bowl. It is an easy way to eat clean, nourishing and healthy.

Ingredients

1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup cooked soybeans
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup sliced cucumber
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
1 bok-choy
radish kimchi
100g smoked salmon
coriander

For Soy-Tahini dressing
1 tsp of tahini paste
1 tsp of apple cider vinegar
1 tsp of honey
1 tsp of soy sauce1 tsp of sesame oil
1 tsp of sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse and boil pre-soaked beans for 20 minutes until cooked. In the mean time, prepare other vegetables and make a dressing. Drain the beans and assemble the salad. Drizzle a dressing over the salad before serve.
Sushi Bowl2

Posted in: Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, salads

DIY Kimchi Spring Rolls

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DIY spring rollsI’ve prepared DIY spring rolls a few times for our dinner or a dinner party. It is quick and easy. There is not much cooking involved since it’s all fresh raw ingredients. It is fun to make, definitely makes you chew and eat slow and you can pick and choose what ingredients you would like to put in your rolls. Don’t expect too much on the first one cause it tends to be a messy one, just like when you make pancakes.

Ingredients

Crunch: carrots, celery,cucumbers, bean sprouts, lettuce leaves
Fresh herbs: coriander, mint, basil
Noodles: rice noodles or cellophane glass noodles. Normally I don’t add noodles to my daily spring rolls because it makes the spring rolls more filling and I enjoy eating my spring rolls filled with extra vegetables.
Protein: seafood or meat or tofu
Rice papers: Spring roll rice paper wrappers are available in various sizes and thickness.
Dipping sauce: I like a tahini sauce with spring rolls. Mix tahini paste, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, sesame oil and sesame seeds in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Directions

1. Dip and rotate a rice paper in the bowl of water. Keep patting until it’s pliable, but not completely soft. If you leave it too long in water, it gets really sticky and hard to roll.
2. Lay wet rice paper on rolling surface. Arrange ingredients at about 1/3 closest to you so that you have a space to roll.
3. Do not over-stuff your roll, start small then continue to add more fillings that works with your size rice paper.
4. Gently pull away the edge of wrapper from work surface and roll over the filling. Tuck the fillings under the wrapper and then fold in the sides
5. Slowly start to roll away from you and tuck in your filling toward you to keep the roll tight.
6. Eating these fresh as you roll them is best. If you want to take leftovers to work next day, it’s best to wrap each spring roll individually so that they remain fresh and won’t stick.

Posted in: Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes, Vegetarian