A Healthier Alternative to Cheese

I'm not vegan anymore. I was a while ago, and to be honest, I've never felt better than when I was vegan. You feel lighter. Everything works right. You are more focused. Your skin clears up. And you lose weight. 


And even though I'm not vegan anymore, I eat vegan 90% of the time. Just like Dr.Oz;) What this means is that if I'm out at a restaurant, and my friends want to share some dishes that include dairy or fish, I won't make a big fuss. But at home, it's vegan all the way.


Especially if I've got a few lbs. to lose, I focus on eating more plant-based. Just in the past week I've been eating strictly plant-based and shed the 5 lbs. I was struggling with. Veganism works people!


I'm not talking about being a 'junk-food vegan' though. In the world we live in today, especially if you happen to live in a city like New York City, vegan junk food options abound. And there are a lot of overweight vegans. Those who live on mock-meats (vegan sausage, vegan bacon), vegan cupcakes and vegan cheeses. I'm not a fan of this way of eating either. 


When I say vegan, I mean plant-based, which means eating lots of fruits and veggies at every meal, as well as lots of beans and tofu (and nuts for good measure). 


One of the reasons I am no longer vegan is because I love cheese, like most people. But it's really mucus-forming, bad for your skin and full of saturated fat (not to mention loaded with calories!). I made this cashew cream the other day and altered it a bit today for a broccoli and mushroom wrap I was making for lunch. It was so creamy and delicious, I didn't miss dairy cheese at all. 

I'm using an Android at the moment, so photo quality sucks. 

Give it a try, it might surprise you. 


Cashew Cream with Sun-dried Tomatoes
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup water
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp onion powder (or chopped onions, I was out)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast 
handful chopped sun-dried tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp olive oil


Soak the cashews in enough water to cover them overnight in the fridge. The next day rinse them and place them in a high-speed blender with a cup of fresh water. Blend until a smooth consistency is formed. This is your basic cashew cream. 


Saute the garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Add the cashew cream and remaining ingredients and cook on low for 10 minutes or until everything is incorporated. 


Use as a base for wraps, in a vegan mac 'n' cheese or really anywhere you would normally use dairy cheese. 

Lemon Zested Broccoli with Parmesan

This broccoli is hands down the best broccoli I've ever had. Don't think I haven't noticed that I've been coming to you with really simple vegetable recipes recently. I think I owe you a dessert sometime soon. Actually, they can hardly be called recipes, because they are more food preparation techniques. But I think summer calls for simplifying. 


Take really fantastic ingredients (which are plenty in the summer) and do very little with them. Play with them just enough to make them shine. That's what I'm all about these days. 


Now, I've always been a fan of broccoli but when something is so good prepared simply, you don't really think to dress it up a lot. Thank goodness I found this recipe, and of course I owe it all to the ever-charming Ina Garten. And as much as I love my Barefoot Contessa, I am a nutrition student at the end of the day, which means I slashed the oil by a lot. 

Yum. 

This recipe is super simple but there's just something in the way all the flavors come together that is beyond. 


Lemon Zested Broccoli with Parmesan
Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa
1 head broccoli, broken into florets
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tbsp (or more) grated Parmesan
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, zest and juice*
salt and pepper to taste


Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Separate the broccoli into mini-florets and place on baking sheet (do not wash the broccoli! or if you do, make sure to really dry it. You want the broccoli super dry when it goes into the oven. It roasts better). Slice garlic cloves and add to pan. Pour oil over broccoli and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix.


Roast the broccoli for 20 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Once the broccoli has browned a bit, remove from the oven, zest the lemon with a microplane, squeeze the juice of one lemon and add the grated parmesan. Mix, taste and adjust for salt and pepper. 


I think you'll find like I did that it's just something about the combination of the lemon zest and juice and parmesan that just makes the broccoli really sing. 


Best broccoli I've had yet, hands down. 


*Remember to zest the lemon before you squeeze it for its juice. It's impossible to zest a lemon after it's been juiced, which I had to learn the hard way. 

Perfect Sweet Potatoes

I am a huge fan of sweet potatoes as I've mentioned on here before. They are extremely good for you (438% of your daily Vitamin A, 37% of your daily Vitamin C and 15% of your daily fiber needs) and just delicious as well. 


Though I am a fan of sweet potato fries, I try to stay away from fried foods most of the time. I get why normal potatoes need to be fried- they aren't that great prepared simply, so frying them in oil and adding a bunch of salt elevates them to a whole other level. 

How good does that look!?

But sweet potatoes are fantastic prepared simply. You really don't have to do much to make them really amazing. 


My favorite way to prepare them is by roasting them in the oven with some smoked paprika (an obsession), salt, pepper and just a touch of olive oil. A little really does go a long way here. 


The Perfect Sweet Potatoes
3 large sweet potatoes, cut into fourths*, skins on**
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
a few whirls of fresh ground pepper


Heat oven to 425 degrees F. 


Cut the potatoes into fourths, combine oil, paprika, salt and pepper on parchment paper on a pan with the potatoes. Bake for 20 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 20 minutes. 

* I used to always dice my sweet potatoes, but after seeing the Barefoot Contessa cut hers into fourths, I realized leaving them larger allows for more fluffy center to crispy edge ratio in the finished product. So go larger, trust. 


** You really should keep the skins on as that's where all the fiber is. I give them a good scrub with a dish scrubber (sans soap!) and they're good to go. 


Finally, if you haven't noticed, I only used 1.5 teaspoons for all three potatoes! And as you can see in the photos, it was more that enough to get them crusty and delicious. I know a lot of people who are very generous with the oil and it really does add up (1 tablespoon has 120 calories vs. 40 calories for one teaspoon). 


I enjoyed one of these at lunch, on top of a bed of arugula with cannellini beans. Yum! 

My Favorite Tuna Salad

It's finals time. Which means I'm doing everything under the sun except studying for finals, of course. That includes deep-cleaning the apartment, going for long runs and cooking a lot. 


I'm a fan of tuna salad. But it can be a total calorie-bomb because of one word: mayonnaise! However, it's really easy to make a lighter and tastier tuna salad that features a bunch of gorgeous vegetables as well. This is my favorite recipe. I like mine wrapped in nori (seaweed), but I enjoy it over salad greens or wrapped in an Ezekiel wrap as well. 

Lightened Up Tuna Salad
Serves 2
4 oz tuna in oil, drained
2 tsp mayonnaise, vegan or normal
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp nonfat yogurt, or whatever you have
1 tbsp capers
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 pickles, chopped
a few baby carrots, chopped
handful arugula, chopped
2 nori wrappers


Combine all the ingredients except the nori in a bowl. Spread the tuna salad in a nori wrapper. Enjoy. 


Nutrition Info
Per serving
Calories: 135
Fat: 5.8 g
Carbs: 1.2 g
Protein: 17.2 g

Banana Soft Serve, 2 Variations

Hey there! It's been a while! No excuses, I've just been busy. 

Bloggers tend to read other blogs and get inspired for ideas from what others are making. I'm no exception. I've read about a homemade raw, vegan banana ice cream/frozen yogurt on a few blogs for a while now and wanted to try it. But then I thought, 'banana ice cream? meh, not so much'. Turns out this easy one-step yogurt is amazing, healthy and so easy. I know, I said that, but for real. 

Plus, for some reason the banana-ness of it is not overpowering, considering that it basically only consists of bananas. Now, I'm starting to sound crazy so I'll tell you the secret: you freeze a bunch of bananas. Throw them in the food processor. Add a dash or non-dairy (or dairy) milk, and give it a whirl. After a few minutes of processing you'll have the most amazing frozen banana yogurt ever. And it's guilt-free as well. I will be making this all the time from now on. 

Sometimes the simplest ideas really are the most brilliant!

The coolest part is that it is pretty easily customizable. I added some cinnamon on top but later I started thinking of tons of fun ways to jazz it up. You could add some nut butter for a peanut butter banana version or cocoa for a chocolate version. You could probably add a date or two to make it extra sweet and some other frozen fruits if you wanted. 

Banana Soft Serve

Serves 2

2-3 frozen bananas

a dash of non-dairy milk

cinnamon

Place all ingredients in food processor and allow to mix for a few minutes until a creamy consistency is achieved. 

I must be honest, if this recipe weren't so delicious, I'd be a bit embarrassed coming to you after weeks of absence with this no-work, no-frills recipe. But it's really that good. So get to it. 


Chocolate Hazelnut Version

This version I created the other night and it's infinitely better than the one above. Since a few of you asked for the recipe, here it is! I can't explain how this has changed my life. Maybe I'm easily impressed, but this actually tastes like real frozen yogurt. 


Makes 1 serving
1 frozen banana
1 tsp hazelnut butter (or whatever nut butter you have)
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 drop vanilla extract


Place ingredients in a food processor. Let work for at least 5 minutes, or until a creamy consistency occurs. Enjoy with crushed hazelnuts on top, or plain. That's it! Easy peasy and so good. 

Cookbook Review: Chloe's Kitchen

As a vegetarian who tries to eat mostly vegan at home, I rely heavily on cookbooks by creative vegan chefs. However, there is nothing more frustrating than purchasing one and realizing most of the recipes are long and complicated or require an endless list of 'use-once' ingredients. Chloe Coscarelli's new cookbook, Chloe's Kitchen, is not like this. In fact, after only a week I can confidently say it's going to go into regular rotation in my home. 

There are a few rockstars of the vegan cooking world. Isa Chandra Moskowitz, known for the vegan cooking bible 'Veganomicon', and her many delightful baking books ('Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World', 'Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar', etc.), Erin McKenna of Babycakes fame ('Babycakes', 'Babycakes Covers the Classics') and Colleen Patrick-Goudreau ('The Vegan Table', 'Joy of Vegan Baking') are just a few. Though still young and having only just published her first vegan cookbook, I know Chloe will make a perfect addition to this list. 

Why am I so confident? Well in just under a week I have already cooked 4 recipes from Chloe's book, all of which were fantastic. Plus, in case you didn't know, Chloe is the first winner of The Food Network's Cupcake Wars, and she competed against non-vegan bakers, proving once and for all that no one needs eggs to make a perfect cupcake. 

So far I have made her Falafel Sliders with Avocado Hummus and Tahini Sauce along with her Sea Salt Toffee Bars for three of my omni (veggie slang for omnivore;)) friends, and they loved both recipes. I also made her Fettucine Alfredo (with my favorite Shirataki noodles subbed in for the fettuccine) for myself one night, and the delicious Cheesy Broccoli Soup. I made slight modifications to each recipe, which I think means I can share them on here...

Recipe will be posted soon!

For now, all you need to know is that Chloe's cookbook is a wonderful contribution to any chef's bookshelf and great for omnis and vegans alike. One of the best parts? Almost every recipe has a gorgeous photo, which is something I value in a good cookbook. If I don't know what the final product looks like, why bother, right? 

If you are looking for some inspiration to eat more plant-based, this cookbook is just what you need to get you there. Kudos to Chloe! 

Vegan Cupcakes with Cinnamon Glaze

I've started getting back into more vegan baking and cooking in the last few weeks. I definitely go back and forth. There are times when I feel like an egg is simply necessary for my baking endeavors and as has happened recently, times when I feel like there is really no need since so many amazing vegan baking recipes exist. I'd like to not make a habit out of always cooking the traditional way. I like to mix things up and see what works and what doesn't. For me, the kitchen is always a place of experimentation. 


A few weeks ago I baked up a batch of Jess' Vegan French Toast Cupcakes. Jess is a vegan blogger who I've sort of become friends with online. She's very creative and always makes the most delicious (but easy!) looking recipes. She is one of those vegans that creates such impressive dishes that it makes you wonder why we need animal products at all. I urge you to check out her blog, Cupcakes and Kale, here. 

I followed the recipe to a T and they were really delicious. Moist and light, just the way I like them. I didn't want to layer on the frosting, so I made half the amount in Jess' recipe and used it as a light glaze instead. Because I didn't have maple extract, I used a few tablespoons of maple syrup, tasting as I went, until the frosting was the desired sweetness. 


These turned out really brilliant and I recommend you give 'em a whirl the next time you decide to make cupcakes. And if you have yet to try out a vegan cupcake recipe, please believe me when I say, what are you waiting for!? They are just as tasty and lower in cholesterol because of the absence of eggs. Plus cruelty free. 


Oh and on a non-cooking blog related note: 
look what came in the mail! Excited! 

Ps: Does anyone know where I can watch Food Network shows online? I don't have cable and they aren't available for purchase on iTunes. It really bums me out. I miss the Barefoot Contessa.