Chia breakfast and BLT wraps

These have been my two most common foods this week. And my chia breakfast I've been having for months and months now.

Chia Cereal:
3 tbsp chia seeds
1 scoop of vega nutritional shake vanilla flavor
enough water to cover
2 tbsp apple sweetened cranberries.

Mix everything together and let it soak for a few minutes and it is ready to consume. I also travelled around New York/ New Jersey last week, and took ziplock bags full of these three ingredients and I had an instant nutritional breakfast anywhere I went.


BLT wraps:
This takes less than 5 minutes to make, I was inspired by visiting a vegan restaurant in NYC and ordered this, and it was sooo amazing! I craved it so much afterwards that as soon as I came home I bought the ingredients so I could make it too.

2-3 leaves of romaine
1/2 tbsp vegan mayo
1 slice of cheddar vegan cheese (I use Daiya)
3-4 slices of tomato
(the restaurant also had avocado in the wrap, however the avocados at my local organic store were pretty unripe so I went without)
2 slices of tempeh bacon
1 wrap

I take the shortcut way, of using a microwave.. Take a wrap, put the slice of cheese on one side, plus 2 slices of bacon.  Microwave for 45 seconds. Add the tomato, lettuce, and mayo to the other side of the wrap. Roll it up and consume :)

So easy and so satisfying :)

Fiesta Quesadillas

Quick Lunch:

4 servings

4 Gluten free rice wraps

4 slices chao coconut cheese 

1/2 cup corn

1/2 cup pinto beans

2-3 tbsp tomato paste

1-2 tsp hot sauce

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tbsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp tamarind paste

2 tsp sherry vinegar

1 zucchini chopped

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

Garnish/toppings

1/2 cup chopped red cabbage

1 bell pepper sliced

In a pan, heat corn, beans, zucchini, water, and tomato paste. Add seasonings and sauces except cilatnro.  Once heated, add the cilantro and turn off the heat, mix well. 

Prepare garnishes/toppings. 

Heat a rice wrap in the microwave or toaster oven, with 1 slice cheese on top till the cheese melts.  Spoon 1/4-1/3 cup of bean mixture on top, top with some cabbage and sliced bell pepper, and fold in half :) 

Quiche!!

I have been wanting to get back to posting on this!! Things with school have been really busy with the start of a new semester -- living off of a lot of Pro bars, oatmeal, cereal (corn flakes, dried raisins plus flax seed milk), ready made burritos (Sweet Earth) and going out to eat... I know it's terrible.

And I actually did sick for about a week -- which kind of got me behind in classes and everything -- I blame my husband lol. He went on a trip to Singapore and came back with a terrible virus.  Which I fortunately got.  I know. Lovely.  I consumed about 3 bags of coughdrops in a week, lots and lots and lots of tea.  Natural Philosophy (a local health food store/yoga studio) was wonderful and specially mixed some healing tea for me :) :)

I also did my best to get back into preparing fresh healthy meals and juices -- I am rather time constrained with my schedule, but I am doing the best that I can :)

I have taken a few pictures of some meals that I have made within the past few weeks, which hopefully I will post sooner rather than later... :)

I made this quiche today.. and it was amazing!!

Simple and amazing!

Tofu Quiche:

2 fresh tomatoes chopped
2 cups of swiss chard chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1 package of white mushrooms chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp all purpose herb mix
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
3-4 drops liquid smoke (optional)
2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce (optional)
1 tsp vegan worcester sauce
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp black pepper

1/3 - 3/4 cup nut, seed, grain or soy milk
14 oz firm tofu
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp veggie bouillon powder or 1/2 - full veggie bouillon cube -- to taste

2 ready made pie or pizza crusts (deep dish).

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Saute onions, garlic and mushrooms in oil, until onions are transparent.  Add seasonings from herb mix to black pepper and mix well.  Turn off heat and add tomatoes and swiss chard and mix.  Set aside and pour milk into blender with tofu, turmeric, salt and veggie bouillon.  Blend until smooth.

Combine blended mixture with veggies.

Pour into 2 small pie crusts or 1 large.

Serves 4

Vegan Malai Palak

Typically my attempt at Indian food always turns into an Indian- American fusion.  So I apologize for the lack of authenticity in it's taste. Despite the taste not immediately bringing you to India, it is unique and flavorful in it's own right. It has a tinge of bitter green taste yet the sweetness and the spice from the flavor combinations satisfy the palette. Ultra healthy with lots of vegetables, it does take a bit of time to prepare but worth it ;)  

Vegan Malai Palak 

2 large zucchinis (alternatively eggplant or mushrooms could be used)

Juice of one lemon

1 medium red onion sliced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 inch stick ginger minced
3 adobo peppers
1 tsp each, garam masala, and turmeric powder

1/2 tsp of fenugreek powder
2 bunches baby bok choy and 1 bunch large bitter greens of your choice -- such as dandelion greens

1 can of kidney beans

dash of salt

1/2 cup of cashews

1 cup water
1/4 tsp of baobab powder
1/4 tsp of lucuma powder

*I used the baobab and the lucuma powder as sweet tangy ingredients, alternatively tamarind paste could be used or lemon and a little bit of agave.

*If using eggplant, marinate the eggplant with salt for 10-20 minutes, squeeze out the excess water, and then marinate it with the lemon and adobo peppers. 

Marinate the zucchini in the lemon juice and chopped adobo peppers for 10-15 minutes. In the meantime the rest of the vegetables can be prepared.
Saute the zucchini (or eggplant or mushrooms) for 5-7 minutes. In another pan, saute the onions, add the ginger and garlic and then the chillies and fry till cooked. Mix in all of the powdered spices.  Then add the greens. Cook till the greens wilt. Remove the mixture, and put it into a food processor. Return the processed greens to the pan, turn on the heat and add a cup of water. Add the zucchini. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes stirring at intervals. 

Grind the cashews into a powder and then blend them with 2 tbsp of water or just enough water to make it thick and creamy.  

Add them to the vegetables and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

 Serve with rice or rice tortillas (we like to cut the rice tortillas in fourths and toast them, they make a great healthy chip, depending on how long they are heated they will be less crispy)

Tri-bean and Falafel Salad with Strawberry Chipotle Salsa

I ended up making this salad because I wanted some kind of a taco salad, but I had no tomatoes, but I did have strawberries.  It may sound like a pretty strange combination, but it's amazing.

Tri-bean and Falafel Salad 
5 servings

5 cups of chopped romaine or other salad greens
1 yellow bell pepper chopped
3 celery sticks chopped
1 can of tri-beans
5 roughly chopped falafels


Strawberry Chipotle Salsa 
8 oz strawberries chopped or roughly food processed
1/4 cup of cilantro chopped
2 tbsp of adobo sauce
juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp of lemon zest
1 tbsp of oil
4 dashes of pepper
2 dashes of salt

Garnish
1-2 sliced strawberry
1-2 peel streaks of lemon

Toss the ingredients of the salad together.  Mix the ingredients for the salsa.  Combine both the salsa and the salad together, garnish the top of the salad (optional) and serve.