Monday 11 March 2024

Mushroom Alfredo Pasta

 Original recipe from Holy Cow Vegan.

Mushroom Alfredo Pasta

Ingredients

2 large heads garlic

1 cup raw cashews 

2 cups nondairy milk 

1 tsp oregano

2-4 Tbls nutritional yeast

Salt to taste

1 Tbls  vegan butter)

32 oz white or brown mushrooms sliced

¼ cup white wine 

1 tsp dry sage (I Tbls fresh sliced if available)

Vegan Parmesan and parsley for serving


Method

Wrap the bulbs in a piece of aluminum foil and roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes until the garlic is golden and soft and squeezes out easily from the papery skin.

Soak 1 cup of cashews in 2 cups of any nondairy milk for around 30 minutes

Blend milk and cashews until very, very smooth with  nutritional yeast, the roasted garlic, dry oregano, salt and ground black pepper to taste.

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegan butter or extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan. 

Add the mushrooms along with some salt and ground black pepper and sauté for a couple of minutes, then add sage and white wine. 

Continue to stir fry until all of the visible moisture has evaporated.

Add the creamy cashew sauce to the skillet, stir well to mix, then cover and let it cook for 15 minutes on a low flame.

Garnish your pasta with parsley and vegan parmesan to serve.


Monday 22 January 2024

Planta Queen's Bean Burger

Chef David Lee of Plant Queen shows how to make Planta's Bean Burgers on CBC!


Planta Queen's Bean Burger

Ingredients


1 tin black beans

1 tin brown lentils

1 cup ground mushrooms cooked down and seasoned

1/2 cup GF oats

1/2 cup Chickpeas mushed

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

1/4 tsp chili flakes

1/2 cup shredded Beets 

1 Tbls tapioca starch

2 Tbls parsley (I used fresh)

1 tsp rosemary (I used dried)



Method


Add beans, lentils, cooked mushrooms, oats and chickpeas in a food process and pulse until smooth.

Stir in the nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, chili flakes, shredded beets, tapioca starch, parsley and rosemary.

Form pattie, lightly sear on both sides and put in the oven 375F for 10-15 mins, flipping half way through.



Serve with mayo, lettuce, pickles, burger charred tomatoes/relish, cheese, yellow mustard.




Saturday 20 January 2024

Vegan Philly Cheesesteak

Original recipe from Natashaskitchen.com.





Vegan Philly Cheesesteak

(makes 1 sandwich)

 Ingredients

1 vegan steak or Portobello mushrooms thinly sliced (I used Meati Steak)

1/2 sweet onion, (large), diced (I thinly sliced)

2 slices vegan provolone cheese (I used Follow Your Heart)

1 Vegan GF Hoagie Rolls (I used Little Northern Bakehouse bread)

1 Tbsp unsalted vegan butter, softened (I used Miyoko's)

1 garlic clove, pressed (I chopped and mixed with butter)

2 Tbsp mayonnaise (I used Follow Your Heart)

Pinch Sea salt, or to taste

Black pepper, or to taste


Method


In a small bowl, stir together 2 Tbsp softened butter with 1 pressed/chopped garlic. 

Spread garlic butter onto the cut sides of 4 hoagie roll. Toast the buns on a large skillet, flat cooktop or griddle on medium heat until golden brown then set aside. I just broiled for 5 minutes, watching closely.


Add 1 Tbsp oil to your pan/cooktop and sautee diced onions until caramelized on low-medium heat then transfer to a bowl.

Increase to high heat and add 1 Tbsp oil. Spread the super thinly sliced steak in an even layer. Let brown for a couple of minutes undisturbed then flip and season with salt & black pepper. Sautee until steak is fully cooked through then stir in the caramelized onions.



Top with 2 slices of cheese and turn off the heat or put on low so the cheese will melt.



Spread a thin layer of mayo on the toasted side of each roll. 

Place a toasted bun/bread slice over the cheese and use a spatula to scrape the cheesy beef into your bun as you flip it over onto a plate. 

Serve warm.


Sunday 31 December 2023

Vegan Chicken Katsu



Vegan Chicken Katsu

Ingredients 

2x Vegan crumbed chicken fillets of choice or crumbed tofu (I used Meati Crispy Cutlets.
Rice of choice (cooked, I used left over sushi rice)

Katsu Sauce 
4½ Tbsp Vegan Worcestershire sauce 
2 Tbsp vegan sugar/brown sugar
5 Tbsp ketchup 
2 Tbsp vgean oyster sauce/mushroom (or Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce)


Method
Cook chicken as per instructed. Mine just went in the air fryer but if using processed vegan chicken cook as per instructions and if you use tofu you can crumb or coat in potato or corn starch and shallow fry or bake for 15-20mins in a 425F/218C oven, lightly coated with oil and flipped halfway through.

For the sauce add all ingredients into a small saucepan and cook at a medium heat until sugar is melted, lightly mixing during process.

Slice vegan chicken on the bias and serve on rice with Katsu sauce drizzled over the top.
Can also be served with greens such as broccoli, bok choy or choy sum. 

Thursday 14 December 2023

6 Months of Weight Training

I am very new to weight training. I've been doing some arms with dumbbells and machines for years but never got serious about full body. Now in my 40's I realise how important lifting weights is as we get older and we start to lose muscle tone and bone density. I did a bit of research and found a fantastic YouTuber, Cheryl Coulombe or "Lift with Cee" (@ceelifts on IG). She targets exercises for over 40's and since she started lifting in her 40's and at 59 looked absolutely incredible and I was sold to at least try out her workouts. My biggest fear was not knowing where to start or injuring myself further.

So having said that, this is my 6 month account of doing her weight training videos. I have a lower back injury so I started with core exercises and followed her beginner lifting videos for the entire 6 months, deciding I would only start a new workout after the 6months. I could increase the weights if I felt like I need it though. She has some great introduction videos here too. I love that she talks about "fat loss" over "weight loss" since as we gain muscle we may not see a big difference on the scales but certainly will in how our body looks, feels and burns energy.

This is what my workouts looked like;

7 days a week - 8,000+ steps (Cardio), moved to 10,000 steps a day in October

2 days a week; 

  • July - Started with Beginners lifting 
  • August - Moved to Full Body Workout 30mins  (these are great when I don't have time for the full 60mins)
  • September-December - Moved to 30min Upper Body + 30min Lower Body 

In the beginning I added in 3-5 days a week - 10 min Core exercises (Core) because my back needed the core strength. Probably for a couple of months I did this.

And here are the results by month (July 10 - Starting stats);




July 10

Aug 8

Sept 30

Oct 23

Nov 10

Dec 10

 

Jan 9

 

Weight

146.5lbs

147lbs

146lbs

145lbs

146lbs

145lbs

144lbs

 

Biceps

12"

11.5"

11.5"

11.5"

12"

12"

12”

 

Chest

38"

37.5"

37.5"

37"

38"

37"

38”

 

Waist

35"

35.5"

35.5"

33.5"

34"

34.5"

34”

 

Hips

40.5"

41"

40.5"

39"

40"

39"

39”

 

Thighs

22"

22.5"

22"

21.5"

22”

22.5”

22"          

 

 


So it's December and I have to say I feel amazing. As you can see from the results on paper though it doesn't seem like a dramatic change and with not much difference on the scales I see how one would get discouraged but the weight shifts from fat to muscle. I want to eat more and yet and not gaining weight, I definitely see the changes in my body, how my clothes fit, how my muscle is developing and how strong I feel. Bonus is my back pain has been diminished quite a bit. I'll do a 12month progress post but I'm definitely sticking with it.  People have been noticing and commenting on how good I look. I definitely noticed the saddlebags diminished and my butt is higher from all the squats LOL

Toward the end I found her "30-Min Full Body Workouts" the best option, three times a week ideally. Consistency is key and giving yourself a realistic goal like 6 months. I've even upped my weight a couple of times and am closer to the weights she uses in the videos.

Sunday 26 November 2023

Purple Carrot - Meal Delivery Review

 This is my "take 2" on the Purple Carrot review. The first time around I didn't have the greatest experience but a year on I decided to try again and was pleasantly surprised that many of the kinks have worked out. I like to prepare meals myself so they are slightly cheaper than the ready made meals. This was always a temporary "over the summer" thing for me. It's still a little pricey, the cheapest the dinner meal being $11 a serve (if you get four servings). I decided I liked it so much this time that I ended up keeping it but trying to get it every second week. You can easily skip weeks.

What I will say that I like is that if you opt for the four servings it still comes packages in two serve bundles so you don't have to cook all four servings at once which I love. I still love that they have the colored recipe book and don't have many pre-made ingredients so you can easily recreate at home on your own budget. I also love that they display the calories and nutrition at the bottom of each meal. Delivery was much more reliable than last time and there are plenty of GF options. 

I like the "pantry" option too so you can take on a couple things to make free shipping (over $100). What I thought worked best economically beside the four serve option was to skip every second order and in the order I was getting a couple of extra meals. It means I'm spending less per week plus ensured free shipping.

My only real issue is that there is no Eastern hub so everything is shipped from the North West so by the time it gets to Florida I almost have to eat everything the same day because a lot of the greens are on their way out. I also hate the GF wraps, they crumble and are very average. I use my own store bought ones. They give you an occasion free box to send to someone which is great but they definitely should set up incentives for customers to recruit other customers. I've sent two free boxes to friends who became subscribers so it would be more motivating to give something back, Purple Carrot are you listening??








Thanksgiving 2023!

 Thanksgiving 2023 already behind us! We had our plans change last minute but here's what I was able to get together on a coupe days notice!


Rebel Cheese (ordered from Purple Carrot) - Balsamic Fig and Smoked Cheddar



Picked up this Meati chicken made from mushrooms (very low processed - hardly any ingredients). Surprisingly had a very similar texture to chicken. Bought from Sprouts.


Green Bean Casserole is always a must! 






Of course, Pumpkin Pie!! Use a premade Wholly Wholesome GF vegan pie crust. Tru Whip Vegan for optional topping.




Also had Chocolate Pie, using premade vegan GF by Mi-Del.