This salad dressing is my own li’l concoction. I’d forgotten about it for some time. But, today, I decided to make the family a great salad — because, really?, what better way to show your family you love them than make them a fresh salad, especially after DADA took them out for grilled cheese, french fries and popcorn. Ahem.

It is seriously delicious — nutty and tangy — and composed of only a few ingredients. Walnut oil may be an unusual one for you, but it’s a TASTY alternative to flax seed oil for getting your daily dose of omega 3 fatty acids (which, as most of you know, are essential fats — essential to both physical and emotional health).

Check it!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup Walnut Oil
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 clove Garlic (minced)
Pepper (to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS

Put all the ingredients in a bowl, stir, and drizzle on salad. It would be great if you could let it sit for a bit before serving, so the vinaigrette can absorb the garlic flavour, but no biggie.

ENJOY! And let us know what you think!

The Monkey actually ASKED me to make muffins today. And she LOVED these ones. She loved them even more, she claimed, than her favourite STARBUCKS muffins. SO THERE! Ha!

So, I try to keep this blog as vegan as possible. And I’m finding so many baking recipes I love call for eggs. Without further ado, then, I give you vegan egg substitutes — good for vegans AND those who, like me, couldn’t crack an egg properly if their life depended on it….

FLAX SEEDS AND WATER

For one egg, grind 1 tablespoon of flax seeds (or just measure 2.5 tablespoons of ground flax seeds) and mix with 3 tablespoons water. The mixture will become thick and gooey as you beat it. If the recipe you’re using is already pretty wet, you may be able to skip the water — just blend the flax in well. Of course, the best part about substituting eggs with flax (aside from happier hens) is the omega 3 factor! Ground flax is a great source of omega 3 fatty acids.

MASHED BANANAS

For one egg, mash half a banana! EASY! Just, be careful: only use this egg replacer if you don’t mind your baked goods tasting a wee bit like banana….

These are my favourite egg substitutes because they’re so easy and available…. But, there are others. See HERE for more on the above ideas and other great egg substitutes.

In the meantime…, I give you your muffins, Gorgeouses!

INGREDIENTS
(Makes 12)

2 cups oat bran (preferably a hot cereal mix — get your high fiber!)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk substitute (I used rice milk)
1/2 cup canola oil (or vegetable oil of your choice)
1 organic egg or egg replacer (beaten)(see above)
1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup ground walnuts (grind a small handful of whole walnuts)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375°F and grease muffin tin.

2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.

4. Pour the dry mixture into the wet, and combine until just blended.

5. Spoon the mix into the muffin tin.

6. Bake for 20 minutes (or until they look ready to you — golden…).

7. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. And ENJOY!

Let me know what you think and, of course, any tips or variations you have!

There comes a time in every vegan’s life, I’m learning, that s/he has to get off her arse and cook — and start bringing her own food to Friday night dinner at it’sgrandma’s because it’sgrandma has enough individual palettes to satisfy.

So, I’m cooking for myself. Even if I have Rascal at my feet, tugging at my lululemons, I’m cooking for myself — not just rice and beans — but FANCY stuff. Well, I’ve made one meal. But, it’s served me well for THREE DAYS, and the monkeys enjoyed it, too (sort of — they only REALLY like “treats”). The apple in this dish DOES taste like APPLE PIE, though!

As a vegan dish, this is wonderfully nutritious and convenient: a mixture of grains and legumes makes it a good source of protein; the sweetness of the light coconut milk helps satisfy sugar cravings, and it’s oh-so-nutritious; the dish is loaded with fiber, beta carotene; and, finally, it’s LIGHT, one-pot, easy-peasy.

I adapted the recipe from Dreena Burton’s wonderful cookbook Vive le Vegan!

Check it….

INGREDIENTS
(Serves 4-6)

2-3 cups cooked/canned chick peas (and/or kidney/aduki beans)
1 (400 ml) can of light coconut milk (I’m sure you could try this with vegetable stock instead — let me know, if you try that)
1/2 onion (chopped)
1-2 sweet potatoes (chopped)
2 parsnips (sliced) (optional, but nice because adds more variety with each bite)
1 cup celery (sliced) (optional)
1-2 apples (peeled, cubed)
1-2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 tbsp curry paste (optional) (I didn’t have any on hand….)
1.5 tbsp grated fresh ginger (or around 1/2 teaspoon dried)
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric (for orange glow…, and more importantly for its HEALTHY properties)
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp allspice

2 cups cooked quinoa (or other grain)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

2. Place all the ingredients in a large pot or casserole dish.

3. Stir it up ’till nice and combined.

4. Bake for 60-70 minutes, stopping midway to give it a stir.

5. Let it sit for a bit, and then serve in individual bowls with quinoa (or other grain)!

6. ENJOY!

(By the way, check author Dreena Burton’s food blog HERE!)

It was this lovely salad that inspired me to do something about my diet — which has deteriorated so much since my cleanse ended that I find myself exhausted, shaky, anxious and depleted…. Arugula salad with chopped fennel, orange, walnuts and a tangy dressing of olive oil, freshly squeezed orange juice and basil. So simple, but creative, aesthetically-pleasing and super healthy. My friend set it in front of me after I insisted that she don’t go out of her way — on our pizza playdate — to feed my vegan self…. And, I was inspired. Inspired to cook again (and, thus, to update this blog, finally) and inspired to get back into the kitchen and create. Fennel! She put fennel in the salad!

The next day, I went to the bookstore and finally bought this book I’ve been eyeing a long time: Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet….

Because something had to be done. I mean, the way my body thanked me upon each bite of delightfully bitter arugala, each nutty crunch of walnut, each juicy squish of orange slice? It was like Minden at cookie time….

…THANKFUL. See, I AM a yoga instructor. So, I might be a little more aware of my body than most people. And I totally felt the thanks with every bite. I KNOW my body needs work. It needs help and proper, educated nourishment. If I’m going to be a vegan — which I am, because I love animals beyond the norm — I have to do it right. If I want to live to a ripe old age with healthy bones and peace of mind, I have to do it right.

So, here are some things I’ve learned from the book (my eyes HURT from scanning its pages all day), that I’ll do, or that I’ll do more consistently, to get healthy and stay on the HEALTHY vegan wagon for life (fingers crossed!)….

1. Have I told you about the sweet potatoes? I can’t remember. I buy about four a week — all for me because my kids won’t touch ‘em now, for some reason…. Right when I get home from the grocery store, I take out my sweet potatoes, poke ‘em with a knife several times and stick ‘em in the oven at 400°F. Sweet potatoes are one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet — loaded with beta carotene, fiber, and so much more. More importantly…, they’re like CANDY. Their juice even oozes out of the holes I poke, and it caramelizes, and I peel it off the baking sheet AND EAT IT — total CANDY. YOU MUST TRY IT….

2. OMEGA 3s. OMG, have I told you about Omega 3s? You need ‘em. Especially if, like me, you’re prone to depression and anxiety (of course, they’re essential for a host of other reasons…). If you don’t eat fish, you must take a supplement. I am now making a concerted effort to get my omegas 3s from walnuts (I make sure my kids eat walnuts), hemp seeds, and a daily dose of Udo’s Choice, which came highly recommended to me by the vitamin person at the health food store…. At first, I thought I had to put a tablespoon into a smoothie every time I wanted to take it. But, yesterday, I realized I could take it no problem mixed in a glass of water. Easy.

3. KALE. You know I love my kale. From now on, I eat one whole bunch of kale a week — at least. I just stick it in a pot with an inch of water and some chopped portobello mushrooms, cover, and leave it on the stove until it’s just steamed. When it’s ready, I pour on a little tamari (soy sauce) and some olive/canola oil, sprinkle with pine nuts (and maybe a press of garlic), and ENJOY. It’s a really nice dish…. Kale, and all dark leafy greens, are such important non-dairy sources calcium. Indeed, since the Monkey decided she doesn’t love milk, I ask her to eat a little kale whenever I make it. She forces it down — it’s great. Heh. I’ll also puree kale and put it in smoothies, and I’ll puree spinach and put it in my kids’ scrambled GREEN EGGS!

4. FORTIFIED ORANGE JUICE. I love that ORANGE JUICE is now part of my diet. I need it because FORTIFIED orange juice is a valuable source of calcium AND vitamin D — which has been all over the news as a major cancer preventer. If you can’t get into direct sunlight for 15-20 minutes a day, you need to take a D supplement. While I have some D in my multivitamin, it’s not enough in these winter months. PLUS, you need vitamin D to properly absorb calcium. So, HOLLAH to the new orange juices that are adding not only calcium but vitamin D to the mix…. One cup a day! Cheers!

5. LENTILS. I hereby vow to have cooked lentils in my fridge at all times. They’re such a perfect food. Full of fiber, protein and other important stuff. If they’re sitting in my fridge, I can dump ‘em in salads, pasta, on rice…. I feel healthier already!

6. FIGS. I’m also SO pleased to announce that dried figs are now an essential part of my diet. LOVE! One serving (five figs) offers a good source of non-dairy calcium for vegans. We’re supposed to get 6-8 servings of non-dairy calcium daily. So, between this and the kale and the orange juice (and the almond butter and hummus I love, and soy/rice milk), I’m golden.

7. Since we’re on the topic of calcium and bones…. 30 minutes of exercise a day is now MANDATORY. I have to do it…. Must stay strong so I can do this forever (yes, I’m posting it again — must take more yoga pics)….

Think you’ll try any of this? Of course, it’s all great advice for vegetarians and nonvegetarians alike! What do you think?

Off to eat a sweet potato…. And I’m, seriously?, really excited about it.

My Rascal has been a terror for the past week. Dinner times have been fraught with screaming, since he won’t eat unless he’s sitting on my lap. Eventually, I give in and hold him. He eats a few bites and he’s done. Until I bring out the organic blueberries.

I didn’t know what to make for dinner tonight. I was so distraught by all Rascal’s screaming that I could hardly eat. I’m also so run down from doing so much myself. The last thing I wanted to do was cook up a non-vegetarian meal for my non-vegetarian family. That’s hard enough for me (vegan) to do on a GOOD day. So, I took out the lentils.

I had an organic bag of dried lentils in the pantry. I poured a cup of them in a pot, along with 3 cups of water, and I brought them to a boil. I let them simmer for 45 minutes — of which I kept track by watching three episodes of The Backyardigans with The Monkey, while Rascal napped.

Now, how to get the family to eat the hugely healthy — one of the healthiest foods in the world — lentils? Hide them in pasta sauce, of course!

And, it worked. Monkey loved the concoction…. Here she is posing with her already half-eaten dish:

One of the reasons it worked was THE PINE NUTS. They really complimented the nutty texture and taste of the lentils. It was brillers…. Check it!

INGREDIENTS
(Serves 4. But, it’s all to taste, really — it’s the ingredients, not the measurements that count here.)

3/4 cup Cooked Lentils (cooking instructions described above)
Bag of Pasta (I love kamut pasta)
Jar of Tomato Sauce of your choice
1 cup Pureed Broccoli (optional; for extra veggies the children will NEVER know about)
Pine Nuts (a couple handfuls)
Parmesan cheese (preferably vegan)

1. Cook the pasta. Drain. Return to pot (at low heat).
2. Dump in the tomato sauce, lentils, pine nuts, pureed broccoli.
3. Stir it up.
4. Dish it out.
5. Sprinkle on the parmy.

Enjoy! It’s SO easy. Let us know how you like it!

Love!
xo Haley-O