Nutritional Facts

Some thoughts:

Proteins- they make up about 50% of the organic matter in our bodies, so ya, it's pretty important. In order to get all the necessary amino acids needed to build new protein within our bodies, us vegans/vegetarians need to get creative. For example, rice and legumes are limited in their nutritional content, but if you eat them together they compliment one another. Combined they provide all the amino acids needed to build new protein. Chickpeas are one of my favourite types of complete protein because I never get sick of hummus!! I eat it on all my sandwiches or as dip with raw veggies. Bonus: the olive oil and tahini in hummus provide essential (and good) fats, so munch away.

Omega 3-6: as anti-inflammatories, they are good for you. Sources include: flax seed oil, blackcurrent oil, borage oil.

Potassium - helps with muscle and nerve function. I remember that my mother always said the best snack was a banana and some peanut butter. Not only does it fill you up, but it's high in potassium and the sugar helps restore your energy. Guess Mom was onto something....

Thai Salad Rolls

Last night, we ate at a Thai restaurant where they made the most delicious salad rolls. For anyone who has never tasted a 'salad roll' before, they are fresh veggie rolls wrapped in rice paper. Lucky for me, they are not only tasty, but ridiculously easy to make. So today for lunch I'm going to made homemade tofu salad rolls.

Ingredients

• Rice paper sheets (found in every grocery store- and super cheap!)
• Firm Tofu
• Sesame seeds
• grated carrots
• Romaine lettuce
• Brussels Sprouts
• Lime
• Frank's Hot sauce (optional)

Directions

Prepare your vegetables and tofu first. Cut the lettuce and grate the carrots. Slice the tofu in 1/3 inch thick slices. Boil water. Drop the rice papers into the water and after about 10-15 seconds take them out using a spoon. This can be a little tricky because the rice paper will stick to itself. Place it onto a plate or counter top and using your hands, pull it open. In the centre place your tofu, lettuce, sprouts, carrots, sprinkle sesame seeds, drizzle lime juice and hot sauce. Fold the edges over and roll it into a cylinder/spring roll shape. I like to use at least two rice paper sheets per salad roll.

Once you've made all your rolls, enjoy them with some peanut sauce or on their own.

Sunday Night Dinner

This Sunday I'm having a dinner party at my house. I will have to cook enough food for eight hungry friends. The biggest challenge? Making something that is vegan but satisfying for non-vegetarians. Since most of my friends are not vegans, I know they're a little apprehensive about eating my food; some worry they'll still be hungry afterwards. My one friend recently told me that he eats a full dinner before he comes over to eat at my apartment! Crazy. We vegans/vegetarians like to eat too. So this Sunday I'm determined to prove them all wrong and make them "Thanksgiving Dinner Full" (sweatpants are going to be needed).

Here's what's on the menu: Vegan Shepard's Pie.

Ingredients

Potatoes

• four medium potatoes
• 1/2 cup of non-dairy milk
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 tsp sea salt

Lentils

• 1 1/4 cup of lentils (green)
• 2 1/2 cups of veggies stock

Vegetable Filling

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 chopped onions
• 3 chopped carrots
• 5 chopped brown mushrooms
• 2 celery stalks
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 3 tbsp tomato paste

Directions

Boil potatoes. Drain, mash them with milk, oil and salt. Set them aside.

Combine lentils and veggie stock. bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 40 mins. Stir occasionally.

Preheat oven 350 F. Heat oil in a saucepan and saute the onions. Add carrots and saute for another 5 mins, or until the carrots start to get soft. Add celery, mushrooms, garlic, thyme, coriander and salt. Once everything is soft, stir in your tomato paste. I also added a couple tsp of water to prevent it all from sticking.

Put your veggie filling into an oiled casserole dish, top with the mashed potatoes and sprinkling some olive oil and light thyme on top. Bake for 25 mins. If you want to brown the top, turn on the broiler for the last 5 mins, it'll get nice and crunchy. Remove and serve.

Double Chocolate Chip cookies

Life Lesson: Never go to a party empty handed, especially if it's a dinner party. My friend Amy loves to bring people flowers (tulips in the Spring), my sister likes to bring wine, and me, I like to bring cookies. I think it's a nice touch when you bake for someone, it shows you care! Not to sound too much like Martha Stewart, but it's true. Tonight I'm going to my sister's for dinner. I have an hour and have decided to make double chocolate chip cookies.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups of flour


• 1/2 cup of cocoa


• 1tsp baking soda


• 1/4 tsp of salt (pinch)


• 1 cup of vegetable oil


• 1 1/4 cup of sugar


• 1 ripe banana


• 1 tsp vanilla extract


• 1 1/4 cup of non-dairy dark chocolate chips but these would also be tasty with white chocolate chips, mind you they have dairy.


• 1 cup of chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Set it aside. In a separate bowl mash your banana, add vanilla and oil. Add the wet ingredients and stir it until it's well-mixed. Fold in chocolate chips and pecan.

Roll your dough into small size balls and place them onto the greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Gently flatten each ball. Place your tray into the oven for approx. 12 minutes, or until the top is crispy but the inside is still soft.

Let them cool and serve with soy ice cream or almond milk for dipping!

Veggie Barley Soup

I don't typically cook soup because to be honest, I don't really like it. Essentially, it's like having a glass of veggie juice for a meal and for the life of me I can't understand how people feel full after a cup of soup?! (unless it's couple with a giant French baguette!). The only time I do enjoy soup is when I'm sick. It's ridiculously comforting and keeps you warm. Lucky for me, I have the world's best roommate who made me this soup when I was bedridden with the flu. The recipe ended up making quite a bit, so we put the leftovers in the freezer.


Ingredients:

• 4 large potatoes chopped up
• 1 leek cut into round slices
• 3 carrots roughly chopped
• 4 chopped celery stick
• a handful of chopped spinach
• 1 cup of barley (or quinoa would work)
  
• enough water to cover
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Place all the veggies except the spinach into a large pot with the barley. Cover well with water, boil and simmer until everything is cooked. Add the spinach and salt and cook for another 5 minutes.


Enjoy!

Iron Tea

For some iron boosting tea place one cube-chopped lemon in a tea pot, add one tablespoon of molasses. Let it steep for two minutes and serve. Molasses is high in iron and the citrus allows your body to fully digest all the nutrients. Yum.

Earth Day Resolution

Earth Day is just around the corner... well not really; it's wednesday April 22nd but why not start early. Spring brings flowers, warm weather and new life resolutions. This year my resolution is to live more "green", especially around the house. After receiving our latest hydro bill and given the current world market, I knew I had to start shaping up.

I asked around and was surprised to learn that everyone I know seems to have a few green tips. Here are just a few:

• Turn off the shower when you're shampooing or take colder/shorter showers
• unplug your cell phone charger, laptop etc. Leaving plugs in the sockets when you aren't using them does waste energy
• make your own body scrub: mix honey and brown sugar in a glass jar and voila- a moisturizing and cheap body wash

For more, check out http://www.greenlivingtips.com/categories/