plant based

Tue
18 ^th

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

This recipe is so simple and healthy and really helps with a sweet tooth craving. My husband likes to eat this for breakfast and I usually like it for dessert after dinner. Either way it can be enjoyed by everyone!

I got my chia seeds at Costco. I am a big bargain hunter and this is the cheapest Ive found for the amount you get.

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

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Author: The Vegan Ginger

Ingredients

3 tablespoons - chia seeds
1 cup - almond milk
2 tablespoons - cacao powder
1 tablespoon - vanilla extract
2 tablespoons - maple syrup (optional)
6 - medjool dates (soaked in hot water)

Instructions

There are two ways to make this recipe.
One with a blender and one without. IF you have a good blender you can use dates to sweeten your pudding and forget the maple syrup. When you make the pudding in the blender it is also ready right away. If you don't want to use a blender use maple syrup to sweeten (forget the dates) and you will have to let it sit in the fridge for a few hours to become the pudding consistency.
Blender:
Add all of the ingredients except for the chia seeds and blend until the dates are blended. Add the chia seeds and blend for a few seconds and voila you are done! Easy right? Add fresh or frozen fruit to your pudding and enjoy!
Without a Blender:
Add all of the ingredients into a bowl (no dates, use maple syrup) and whisk together until there are no clumps left. Cover and leave in the fridge for a few hours until your desired consistency.

I used a blender this time to try out using dates to sweeten instead of maple syrup.

I use some frozen berries because in the winter I find they have no taste if I buy fresh! Whatever you prefer! Enjoy!

Tue
28 ^th

Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Veggies

theveganginger@gmail.com — 2

This is one of my favourite healthy meals lately. It is basically just veggies and marinara sauce but so satisfying! The roasted veggies are so delicious and I am trying to do less fried veggies these days.

I found a pretty good marinara sauce at Costco. It had olive oil in it but otherwise seems tasty.

What you will need:

2 cups – brussel sprouts

4 medium sized – carrots

1 onion (I used half of a huge costco onion)

2 heads of garlic

s & P

3 tablespoons – balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon – olive oil

1 tablespoon – tamari

1 spaghetti squash

3 cups – marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 400F. Cut spaghetti squash in half, length wise place on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set timer for 60 minutes.

Chop the carrots, onion, and brussel sprouts and place in a baking pan (I used 9 X13). I stuck the heads of garlic at either end of the baking pan. Add the balsamic, tamari, s&P, and olive oil to the vegetables and toss.

Place vegetables in the oven with the spaghetti squash and roast for 35-45 minutes. Until they are well roasted.

When the spaghetti squash is done remove the seeds and with a fork gently start to scrape out the squash, it will come out in strings.

Add some spaghetti squash to a plate top with some roasted veggies and about half a cup of marinara or more depending on what you like. And thats it! Feel free to change up the veggies too, try broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini or asparagus. 🙂 Enjoy!

Sun
19 ^th

Roasted Veggie Couscous

theveganginger@gmail.com — 1

This is a recipe that I first tried in the summer but lately I have been so obsessed with roasted veggies that I have been craving this again. It is so simple and so satisfying.

P.S. this makes a HUGE batch! I was feeding 5 people and had lots leftovers. So if you don’t want a ton cut the recipe in half.

Roasted Veggie Couscous

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Author: The Vegan Ginger

Recipe type: Main Dishes

Cuisine: Vegan

Ingredients

1 whole medium sized butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes
2 yellow onions chopped
4 carrots, chopped
4 zucchinis, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
ground pepper
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
½ teaspoon cumin
3 cups couscous

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 and roast the vegetables (butternut squash, onions, carrots, and zucchinis). Cover them with olive oil, and salt & pepper.
In a pot bring to boil, vegetable broth then add butter, black pepper, and cumin.
When the vegetables are done roasting put them in a bowl, add the dry couscous, and vegetable broth. Cover with foil or a lid and let stand for 15 minutes
Fluff with fork and enjoy!

Thu
05 ^th

Kale Salad

theveganginger@gmail.com — 2

This is one of our favourite salads. People can be unsure of how to eat kale raw and the key is to marinate it in the dressing which allows it to soften a bit. This salad has so many different flavours and textures I guarantee it will become a “go to” for you too. Another great thing is that if you have leftovers it is still good the next day. Hope you like it as much as we do! 🙂

What you will need:

Salad

1 bunch – curly kale
1/2 of a shallot
1/2 cup – bread crumbs
1/4 cup – raisins
1/4 cup – sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons – nutritional yeast flakes

Dressing

3/4 cup – olive oil
1/2 cup – fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon – crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon – black pepper
1 teaspoon – dijon mustard

Wash and dry 1 bunch of kale. Chop kale very finely (the smaller the better it absorbs the dressing).

Set aside the chopped kale and make the dressing. Add all the dressing ingredients into a mason jar and shake. 🙂 For this amount of kale I added about half of the dressing. Marinate for around 30 minutes and add more to taste.

Finely chop half of a shallot and add to the kale.

Once the kale is marinated add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

I roast the sunflower seeds in a frying pan on the stove top until slightly browned, the warmth and added flavour is a nice topper.

And Voila! Enjoy your kale salad!

Tue
03 ^rd

Caesar Salad with Garlicky Croutons

theveganginger@gmail.com —

I have always been a huge fan of caesar salad but could never really find a good recipe that would substitute the creamy texture and anchovy flavour. This one definitely satisfies both of those.

Creamy Caesar Salad with Garlicky Croutons

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Author: The Vegan Ginger

Recipe type: Sauce + Dressing

Cuisine: Vegan

Ingredients

Dressing
1½ tablespoons - capers
2 cloves - garlic
2 tablespoons - lemon juice
¾ cup - tofu
2½ teaspoons - dijon mustard
1 tablespoon - apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon - sea salt
¾ teaspoon - ground black pepper
¼ cup - water
½ cup - olive oil

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth.

Garlic Croutons

2 tablespoons – olive oil
3 slices – whole grain bread, chopped into squares
2 teaspoons – garlic powder

Place olive oil in a medium sized frying pan and add the bread square. Sprinkle the garlic powder on the bread and toss around in the pan until crispy.

Add 1 head of chopped, well washed romaine lettuce to a bowl and add desired amount of dressing and the croutons. Toss until everything is evenly coated. Pairs well with my mushroom & asparagus risotto recipe. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Refresh Cookbook

Wed
20 ^th

Olive Tapenade

theveganginger@gmail.com —

This is so simple and so delicious! If you love Olive’s you will definitely enjoy this appetizer. It is so easy to make when you are having people over or just wanting a salty snack.

What you need:

2 1/2 cups – kalamata olives
2 tablespoons – capers
juice of a lemon
pepper

Place all the items in the food processor and pulse until chunky. My olives were already pitted so if your have the pits in them be sure to take them out first. Do not pulse too long it is nice to have a chunkier consistency.

Serve with pita chips, nacho crackers, or warm naan bread.

Enjoy! 🙂

Mon
18 ^th

Veggie Enchiladas

theveganginger@gmail.com — 2

So this recipe started out to be a bit of a disaster. We smoked out our apartment with burnt chilli peppers and almost gave up but we decided to just continue on without them. And it was a good thing because they are spicy enough without them.

If you enjoy mexican food as much as I do these are definitely worth making and after all our disasters these enchiladas are actually fairly simple.

What you will need:

3 tablespoons, coconut oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red onion, chopped
2 – 15 oz cans, black beans, rinsed
1 – 15 ozcan, corn
2 – 7.5 oz can, chipotle peppers in adobe sauce
1 – 15 oz can, diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon, chili powder
1/2 teaspoon, ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon, ground coriander
1 pack of tortillas, corn or flour
daiya shredded, cheddar cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large frying pan heat up 2 tablespoons coconut oil add the peppers and sauté 6-8 minutes. Add the onion and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and continue to cook until the onions look wilted.

Put the cooked vegetables into a bowl and add the black beans, corn and spices.

Put approximately half of your vegetable mixture into a food processor and add the diced tomatoes and chipotle peppers. Pulse until you have a chunky sauce consistency.

In a 9 X13 inch baking pan coat the bottom with sauce and set aside.

In a large frying pan add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, and heat up tortilla’s one at a time heat on both sides and then fill with approximately 3 tablespoons of vegetable mixture. Wrap up like a burrito (fold in both sides and then roll up from the bottom) and place in baking pan seam down. Continue to do this until your baking pan is full (ours held 5). Coat all the enchiladas with sauce so they do not dry out in the oven. We added a bit of daiya cheddar cheese to the top but I wouldn’t really say it did much.

Place enchiladas in the oven and bake 40-45 minutes. Disfrutar!

Tue
12 ^th

Mushroom + Asparagus Risotto

theveganginger@gmail.com —

Another favourite in our household! This dish is creamy and filling and will satisfy the whole family.

What you will need:

6 cups – vegetable broth
3 tablespoons – grape seed oil (I always look at Winners/TJ maxx for these types of things, they always seem to have great finds for discounted prices)
4 tablespoons – earth balance (vegan butter)
2 cups – fresh mushrooms of your choice, chopped (I used portobello and cremini)
1 bunch – asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces
salt & pepper
2 cloves – garlic
1 onion – chopped
1/2 large shallot – chopped
1 cup – Arborio rice, uncooked
1/3 cup – white wine
1/2 cup – vegan parmesane cheese
chives (optional garnish)

Add vegetable broth to a medium saucepan and cover on low heat.

In a large saucepan add 1 tablespoon of earth balance and 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil and add the asparagus and mushrooms and sauté until soft, around 10 minutes. Add some salt and pepper to taste and put aside in a separate bowl.

In the same large saucepan, heat the remaining grape seed oil and add the onions, shallot, and garlic, heat and stir until the onions and shallot are translucent. Add the remaining earth balance and stir and heat for 1 minute. Add the rice and stir until well combined. Add the wine and continue to stir until the wine is absorbed. Add 1 cup of warm vegetable broth and stir constantly until absorbed, and continue adding 3/4 cup of broth at a time until broth is finished. Will take between 35 – 45 minutes.

Once all the broth is absorbed add the sautéed vegetables, parmesan, and garnish with chives.

This is the only vegan parmesan I have found. Be careful the other “veggie” ones aren’t vegan. They contain Casein.

Serve as a meal or a side. My husband and I ate this whole pan for dinner! We devoured it so quickly I forgot to take a pretty picture of it on my plate. haha 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!

Recipe adapted from Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook: Crazy Delicious Recipes that Are Good to the Earth and Great for Your Bod

Fri
08 ^th

Baked Falafel

theveganginger@gmail.com — 3

YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS RECIPE!!!

haha did that get your attention?! whoops can you tell we love this dish?!
I am currently attempting to revamp my website and this is a recipe that my brain thinks of first. Honestly, it is delicious and a staple in our house. If we ever have company or are introducing people to vegan cooking we always make this! My mom (a meat and potatoes girl) ALWAYS requests this one. My previous post did not do this recipe justice. I love this one because it is mainly oil free, baked (usually a fried dish), and full of delicious flavours.

I found this recipe in one of my MANY(I may have a problem) cookbooks, The Beauty Detox Foods: Discover the Top 50 Beauty Foods That Will Transform Your Body and Reveal a More Beautiful You

The author of this books is a well known nutritionist based out of LA known for working with celebs like Drew Barrymore and also started the “glowing green smoothie” which I am also hooked on. I follow her website where she sends out great recipes www.kimberlysnyder.com.

This recipe will leave you full and totally satisfied without the grease and oil of traditional Falafel.

For a family of 4+ I would definitely recommend doubling this recipe we always do and love having leftovers for lunches. This recipes also freeze really well and I have made a batch to keep in the freezer and then all you have to make is the sauce its a great quick dinner 🙂

Baked Falafel

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

Healthy take on a delicious traditional Mediterranean dish

Author: The Vegan Ginger

Recipe type: Vegan, Gluten Free

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Serves: 2-3 ppl (13-18 Balls depending on size)

Ingredients

2 cups - chickpeas, cooked
1 tablespoon - vegetable broth
1 cup - onion, finely chopped
2 cloves - garlic, minced
3 tablespoons - fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon - fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon - lemon juice
1 teaspoon - olive oil
1 teaspoon - coriander
1 teaspoon - cumin
⅛ teaspoon - cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons - chickpea flour
1 teaspoon - baking powder
½ teaspoon - sea salt
¼ teaspoon - fresh pepper
Tahini Tahini Dressing
2 cloves - garlic
1 tablespoon - tamari
3 tablespoons - raw apple cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon - sea salt
½ cup - water
2 tablespoons - nutritional yeast flakes
⅓ cup - tahini
2 tablespoons - almond butter (have also used natural peanut butter)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375. In the food processor add chickpeas and blend, then place them in a large mixing bowl.
In a medium sized frying pan add the vegetable broth and onions and cook until they are translucent. Add the garlic and continue for another 3 – 5 minutes. Then add them to the chickpea mixing bowl, and add the remaining of the ingredients. Mix well with your hands and then form them into balls approximately the size of golf balls. Put them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and cook for 44 minutes. 22 minutes on each side. They will turn slightly brown and crispy.
For the dressing, put all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.
Serve with diced tomatoes on vegan naan bread or collard greens

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do! 🙂

Thu
07 ^th

Power Granola

theveganginger@gmail.com — 1

These days I have been trying a lot of new recipes for quick easy snacks for my husband. He just recently decided to transform his diet to a plant based one and grabbing a quick snack is what he finds most challenging. I decided to go back in to an awesome “Real Canadian Superstore” find, which was the book The Power of Food by Adam Hart. What I like about this book is that he is an athlete and has simple descriptions of the ingredients in his recipes and why they are so good for our bodies.

Although the book is not entirely plant based. (I think one recipe has honey and another has 2 eggs). Majority of the book is focused on plant based nutrition.

My first try from his book was his Optimal Athlete’s Granola. I thought this would be perfect for my husband.

What you need:

2 cups – buckwheat
1 cup – hemp seeds
1/2 cup – chia seeds
1/2 cup – maple syrup (recipe calls for honey)
1/4 cup – molasses
1/4 cup – raisins
1 tablespoon – cacao powder (recipe calls for vanilla powder)
1 tablespoon – cinnamon

Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl. If you have a dehydrator you can put it in the dehydrator at 105 for 12 hours. I used my oven on the lowest temperature for 2 hours. I had run out of parchment paper so I just lightly greased a cookie sheet and it came off fine. Will definitely make this again! Great for busy schedules!