Noodles, Udon Noodle Bowl, Sweet Potato Dal, Naan Bread, Banana Pudding

Drunken Noodles

Delicious!

4 TB Rice Vinegar

6 TB Low Sodium Soy Sauce

6 TB Vegetable broth

2 TB Sriracha Hot Sauce (add more to taste)

4 TB Brown Sugar

1 Lime, for juice

3 TB ground sesame seeds

12-16 oz uncooked Rice noodles

5 Garlic Cloves minced

1 Yellow Onion sliced

3 Carrots peeled and sliced thin

1 Orange Bell Pepper sliced

1 Green Bell Pepper sliced

6 Roma Tomatoes chopped

1 cup of fresh Basil chopped

Cook the rice noodles according to instruction on package. I boiled the water, set the noodles in the pot, remove from heat and let sit for 8 minutes and drain the noodles.

In a large bowl combine rice vinegar, soy sauce, veggie broth, sriracha hot sauce, brown sugar, lime juice and ground sesame seeds. Add cooked noodles and fully coat with the sauce. I used tongs to lift and mix the noodles. Set aside.

In a large non stick saute pan on medium high, add a little water to the bottom of pan and sauté garlic, onion and carrots. (If adding celery, broccoli or other fibrous vegetable this would be the time to add to cook thoroughly.) Cover with a lid to steam saute for a minute or two. Remove lid. Cook for 3-4 minutes, total.

Add peppers, tomatoes and basil cook for 3-4 minutes. (This would be the best time to add mushrooms, cubed summer squash, etc.) Add the sauce and noodle mixture and toss all together for a few more minutes until all the flavors are combined.

Here is a wonderful noodle recipe 
from Sift, Stir and Savour's blog.

Yummy Noodle Dish.

 

Click here for this Thai Inspired Noodles recipe.

Fancy Chinese Pulled Noodle Making Demo

by Chef Thomas Johnson.

In this episode of Culinary Secrets with Chef Tomm, Chef Tomm shows us the ancient Chinese Secret of Hand Pulled Noodles. It took Chef Tomm years to learn this guarded Chinese Secret. Now he is going to teach it to you. Visit Cheff Tomm at his site www.cheftomm.com for the free recipe.

Check out Chef Tomm's awesome noodle video.
Click here.

Udon Noodle Bowl
My favorite quick soup.

Cook udon noodles in a separate pot of boiling water, drain off the water and place noodles into soup bowls.

2 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon mushroom powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 garlic powder
Dash of red chile flakes

In a large saucepan bring the above ingredients to a boil and then lower the temperature to simmer the broth. Add into the broth the ingredients listed below.

1/2 Snow Peas or frozen green peas
1 tablespoon fine shredded carrot
1/4 cup diced tofu cubes
1/4 cup Mushrooms (Small, thinly sliced)
1/4cup diced scallions
Salt & Pepper to season

Simmer for 20 minutes. Ladle soup over cooked udon noodles and serve.

Don't forget to get a bit of lentils at the market.

How About A Little Dal for Lunch or Dinner?

Sweet Potato Dal  
I love a good curry meal.

 1 small sweet potato, skinned & diced
 1 small onion, diced 
 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 
 1 teaspoon curry powder
 1 cup vegetable broth
 1/2 cup red lentils
 3 cups fresh spinach leaves
(salt to taste is added after the lentils cook)

In a medium sauce pan add a couple tablespoons of water in and saute onions and garlic for a minute. Add a pinch or two red pepper flakes and continue to cook until all the water has cooked off. Add in the curry powder and stir to coat. Add 1 cup broth, uncooked lentils, and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once boiling reduce to low heat and cook for 5 minutes. Add in the diced sweet potatoes and up to a boil again over medium high heat until the lentils and sweet potatoes are soft. You may need to add in a bit more water or broth as the lentil cook and expand. Add the spinach leaves in and continuing to stir until spinach cooks down and softens. Add salt to taste and serve. Serve with jasmine rice and naan bread.

 Naan Bread

Here is an awesome recipe from Vegan Richa's site for Avocado Naan Bread. Click Here.
Richa's blog is full of terrific recipes for the adventurous in cooking.

Eat Your Veggies!
Avoid the late night bad snacks and reach for the healthy good snacks. Keep a veggie snack tray in the fridge filled with your favorite vegetables. I make a fresh veggie tray once a week. It saves me from eating bad foods when I'm looking for a quick snack. Hummus goes great with vegetables. Hummus Recipe - Click here.




Did you Know?  Most fruits and vegetables have no fat in their purest forms. Avocados are exceptions and they offer the good fat that our bodies need. It's usually the sauces, butter and other toppings you put on fruits and vegetables that increase the fat content. Most beans and legumes are fat-free when they are closest to their natural form.

Sweet Potato Delight!
 

The Fit Foodie Mama's blog has a terrific spicy potato recipe
 Click here for the recipe.

I like this recipe with regular baking spuds too.

 Dr. John McDougall's Gravy
 

The perfect gravy for mashed potatoes.

It super fine to just have a bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner. Serve it with some greens and bean loaf and that is a wow of a dinner. Sometimes, I dice up cooked carrots and add it into the mashed potatoes to give it an added nutritional flavor boost. For easy mashed potatoes, simply mash up cooked potatoes and add a bit of vegetable broth along with a few tablespoons of white miso paste and then season the mashed goodness with salt and pepper. That's it. Easy and delicious.

Cream Gravy
Quick and Easy.

Ingredients

2 c. Water
1/2 c. Almonds
1 tbs. Onion Powder
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
3 tbs. Soy sauce

1 tbs. Yeast flakes
1 tbs. Cornstarch

Blend on high until smooth and then cook it while stirring constantly until thickened.

 Banana Pudding

Something sweet and delicious.

• 2 cups almond milk
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 bananas

Cook first 4 ingredients over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Remove pudding from heat and add the vanilla and sliced bananas. Sprinkle the top of the pudding with coconut flakes for extra goodness. Chill before serving.

Low Impact Calorie Burning Workout for Beginners

 

Grains and vegetables are amazing for your body.

This article clipping is from a Dr. John McDougall Newsletter.

The Barley Men
The men who centuries ago risked their lives for entertainment in public arenas of the Roman Empire were vegan. The remains of 60 Roman gladiators who fought and died more than 1,800 years ago in Ephesus (what is now Western Turkey) were recently found in a 200-square-foot plot along the road that led from the city center to the Temple of Artemis. Isotopic analysis of their bones for calcium, strontium, and zinc determined that the world’s fiercest fighting men were vegans. In the historical accounts of the lives of gladiators, these warriors are sometimes referred to as hordearii—literally, "barley men.” The starch barley provided the bulk of the nutrients for their remarkably strong muscles and bones, and for their endurance to win the ultimate sport of life and death.

Barley Bread Recipe


    1 1⁄2 cups water
    3 cups bread flour
    1 cup barley flour
    1 1⁄2 teaspoons yeast
    2 teaspoons brown sugar
    1 teaspoon salt
    1⁄4 cup sunflower seeds

    Place all ingredients except seeds in the bread machine according to the manufactures
    directions. Press dough / fruit and nut cycle. At the beep add the seeds.
    When cycle is complete remove dough to a floured surface punch down and shape to fit into
    an parchment paper lined loaf pan.
    Rise for 45 minutes. Make a deep cut right across the top. Dust with flour.
    rest for 10 more minutes while oven preheats to 425 degrees. Bake 15 minutes then lower oven to
    400 and bake 20 more minutes till you hear a hallow sound when tapped.



Going Back in Time

PUMPKIN PUDDING
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup almond milk
2 cups pumpkin
1 banana
4 oz. pitted dates
1 Tablespoon alcohol-free vanilla
1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
6 Tablespoons chia seeds
METHOD:
Place all ingredients in blender, adding more almond milk if necessary. - See more at: http://plantbaseddietitian.com/tag/oil-free/#sthash.E1C16Jjy.dpuf

Bread, Corn Muffins, Crackers, Vegan Dinners

Lets Bake Bread

Here is a bread machine recipe video by HighCarbPaul from his YouTube Channel. Paul has a good collection of healthy cooking videos. His humor is appreciated and his videos show us that cooking can be done with ease. HighCarbPaul's Facebook. Click here.

Easy Bread

This bread recipe is very good. 

Dust off the bread maker and give bread making a try.

Interested in making your own yeast sourdough starter? Click here for the recipe.

Corn Muffins

 

I am a fan of corn muffins. Here is my corn muffin recipe. These little corn muffins hold their shape and they deliver on taste. Instead of using butter, I like to slice a corn muffin in half and layer on some avocado spread, honey or jam.  These muffins are a great compliment with vegetable soup or any soup.

Vegan Corn Muffins

1 cup Yellow Corn Meal
1 cup Flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg substitute ( 1 teaspoon flax seed meal + 3 teaspoons water)
1 cup almond milk

Combine all of the ingredients together and place 2 tablespoons of batter into muffin papers. This makes 12 muffins.
Preheat oven to 450* F.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Soup for lunch is a good thing.

Lentil Vegetable Soup

Try this recipe for Lentil Vegetable Soup from Forks Over Knives on Yummly. Click here.

Crackers:
2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 3/4 cup warm water.

Cut dough into 4 pieces. Roll out dough, on well-floured surface to 1/8" thickness. Cut into 2" squares. Prick each cracker 2 times with a fork, then sprinkle the crackers with salt. Brown them in a non stick skillet over medium high heat. Cool and serve. You could bake them for crispier crackers in a preheated oven of 250* F for 8 - 10  minutes per side. Its best to bake the crackers on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

Note: You could add rosemary or garlic to season crackers but they are great plain. Store in an airtight container. 

Roll the cracker dough over a ravioli plate for pretty crackers. They look a bit fancier.

 

Hey, check out this delicious chickpea cracker recipe by Chinmayie.

Click here for her site and recipe.

Snackin Crackers by Gluten Free Vegan Girl. Click here.

Breakfast

Picture is from Clean Eating Veggie Girl - Click here for site.

The Fruit Bowl
The morning is a perfect time to enjoy fruit. Any fruit combination works. Who can resist a bowl of fruit or a bowl of oats topped with fruit? Its okay to use jarred or frozen fruit. I confess, my pineapple with cherry fruit bowls come straight out of a jar. I add in banana and other fruits that I have on hand and it works for me. Often, the blueberries I have available come right out of the freezer because I buy them in bulk. Its always wise to double up when you find a berry sale.

Lunch

Pizza. Its terrific for lunch or dinner. This pizza is a winner.

Making the Pizza Dough

I top my pizza toppings with vegan non cheese. I place little drops of the non cheese around the pizza and it makes the pizza even more delicious. Tip: Pour the cheese sauce into a baggie and clip the bottom edge. This allows you to squeeze out a steady stream of cheese over the top of the pizza. A vegan Alfredo sauce is also very good topped on pizza or even combined with the faux non cheese. My favorite pizza toppings: spinach leaves, onions, green peppers, red peppers, tomato, green chile and mushrooms. Yummy.

Click here - Vegan Non Cheese Recipes 

Red Pizza Sauce

2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 to 2 teaspoons fennel seed, crushed
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt




In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine tomato sauce and paste. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Cool. Pour into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-in. head space. Freeze for up to 12 months. Yield: about 4
cups.

Dinner

Dont Forget

Eat Your Veggies!

Please enjoy these terrific recipes by Plantbased Judy from her YouTube Channel.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Moroccan Stew

Pot Pie

13 Unexpected Benefits of Exercise. Find out what they are and click here.

Subscribe to FitnessBlender on YouTube for some easy workouts. Its never too late to get healthy. Click here.

30 Minutes Beginners Workout

Total Body Toning Low Impact Workout 

Going Back in Time

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner - Vegan Style

Its never too late to start eating healthy to make your body healthy.

  I LOVE POTATOES

 The potato is an important food staple and the number one vegetable crop in the world. Potatoes are available year-round as they are harvested somewhere every month of the year.

Potatoes, grains and pastas along with vegetables
ensured Frank's weight loss of 160 Pounds.

Frank's Eating Starch Foods for Weight Loss Testimony - Click here. 

The Amazing Avocado.

People who ate avocados regularly also weighed less, had a lower BMI and significantly less belly fat. They also had more HDL (the “good”) cholesterol.

Try to incorporate avocado into some of your meals.

Get the facts on this avocado super food. Here.

Breakfast 
The most important meal of the day. Breakfast actually helps increase your metabolism, so you burn more calories throughout the day. After eight hours of sleep you need to eat so that the brain does not tell the metabolism to go into starve mode. We need to make healthy breakfast choices, loaded with fruits, veggies, whole grains, and healthy protein.

IN A HURRY BREAKFAST IDEAS

Breakfast can be easy with good planning and advanced preparation.

Avocado toast – Instead of spreading butter or margarine on a slice of toasted avocado bread or toasted multigrain bread, spread on avocado to start the day off with some healthy good for you fats!

Green smoothie – You can also drink your breakfast! A green smoothie combines all the deliciousness of a smoothie with the power of raw greens. My favorite is raw spinach, frozen pineapple or papaya, and banana and cold water.

Muffins  –  In my mind, muffins may be the world’s most perfect food. You can sneak some veggies into muffins, such are shredded carrots, creamed butternut squash, shredded zucchini, etc. Get creative.

If your mornings are rushed, making a batch of muffins on the weekend is a great way to have the kitchen stocked with grab-and-go breakfast food.

Vegan Avocado Coconut Carob Chip Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup creamed avocado

1/2 cup soy milk, rice milk or almond milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons of egg substitute (2 tsp flax seed meal + 6 tsp water)

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1 cup vegan carob chips

Preheat oven to 400*F. Prepare your muffin pans with paper liners.In a small bowl combine and mix together the dry ingredients and set a side. In a large bowl combine the wet ingredients and blend well. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients stirring to moisten. Fold in the coconut and carab chips to combine. Do not over mix.

Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full of batter. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Let the muffins set for five minutes before removing them from the pan. Note: If using a large muffin pan the muffins will need to bake for 30 minutes in the oven.

How to make carob chips

French Toast

 
Kelli Dunn's French Toast recipe can be made a head of time and warmed when needed.
Click here for the recipe.

Vegan Non Honey Not Made by Bees 
Make this Not Honey at Home.

From Mary's Test Kitchen. Click here for her recipe.

I just made this Vegan Honey recipe and it does taste like honey. It can be stored in the cupboard or the refrigerator. This recipe was very easy to make.

Avocado Bread Making with Ian Chin.

Possibly, Ian is doing an okay impression of Julia Child's Cooking Show? LOL!

The Baking Chin Episode 7

I love all the pans hanging on the wall. Ian Chins instructional bread making videos are fantastic and I enjoyed the Lawrence Welk music. I give his video site an A+.

Lunch

Most people love to have a mid day break and eat a little something to keep the body nourished and sustained. The invention of storage cubbies has made life easy for many of us. The lidded cubbies have enabled us to plan and pre-pack food to go.

This is an avocado salad featured from www.robinskey.com.
Visit her site for some great recipes.

Asian Dijon Salad Dressing 
 Ingredients:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp minced ginger

Blend together or whisk for a quick and delicious fat free salad dressing

IN A HURRY LUNCH IDEAS 

Combine these lunch ideas with a side salad and you will have a winning lunch.

Vegan Hoagie – Spread hummus on the inside of a hoagie. Lay down some vegan cheese and add your favorite vegetables such as shredded romaine lettuce, thinly sliced red onion, peppers, artichoke hearts, sliced tomato, balsamic vinegar, dried oregano, salt and pepper to season.

Falafel Pita – Stuff a pita pocket with hummus spread, baked falafel balls, lettuce, tomatoes, sliced red onion, cucumber, and pickled red pepper . There is a recipe for baked falafels in my recipe collection. Click here for Nana's Top Recipes.

How to Make Pita Bread on the Stove Top

 Dinner

Spaghetti alla Carbonara – A beautiful way to energize your metabolism with healthy carbs. A very satisfying dish of pasta goodness. Serve this spaghetti up with a side of steamed broccoli.

Middle Eastern Yellow Rice

Serve this yellow rice with a side of curried vegetables or curried beans. Short on time? Rice in the microwave is a fast alternative to the stove top.  Note: Do not put a lid on the rice when cooking.

Easy Yellow Rice

 Rahma - Kidney Bean Curry - Served this bean curry dish with any rice.

Rahma - Kidney Bean Curry - click here for recipe.

Coconut Kale and Tofu Curry - Kale can be replaced with collard greens or spinach. 

Coconut Kale and Tofu Curry

Tomato Basil Spaghetti Squash

Click here for recipe.

Going Back in Time