Nuts about Coconut.

I cannot believe I forgot about the most important part of last week's post.

(Quick refresher if you forgot the post was about: burrito bowls).

I forgot about adding the salsa. So I painstakingly made another bowl just to take another picture. But really I made it because it is what I ate for dinner at least 5 times last week.

So good.

Today, we shall switch gears and talk about another of my favorite foods: coconut.

This was my first time using a real coconut. It was quite an adventure.

First, breaking it...

Then grating it...

(Luckily I was able to get my hands on this coconut grater; otherwise, I probably would have just used a knife).

I ended up freezing most of the shredded coconut, but did use a small amount in the following recipe:

Mixed Vegetable Curry

Ingredients:

• vegetables of choice (I used 1 small potato, frozen carrots, broccoli, peas, spinach, and green beans)
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• salt
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or vegetable oil) 
• 1 green chili
• 1-2 tomatoes

Blend together the coconut, cilantro, turmeric, green chili, and salt. If the mixture does not blend, add a few spoonfuls of water to facilitate the blending. Set aside.

Pre-cook the potato by rinsing it, piercing a few holes in it with a fork, and microwaving it for 3-5 minutes. Then, in a large pot, heat the coconut oil and add the frozen (or fresh) vegetables, and add the cooked potato last. 

Add the blended coconut mixture.

Mix well and continue cooking until everything has incorporated.

Add more salt/spice if necessary.

Serve with brown rice or quinoa.

Coconutty goodness! But not too overwhelmingly coconutty, for those of you who are not coconut fans. 

So, I completely forgot to mention last week that Trader Joe's finally opened here last weekend, and of course, I went 2 days after the grand opening. And of course, I consumed most of the items I purchased before I could even take my camera out. (Typical). But I did get a few notable items: crispy snap peas (awesome snack!), bags of greens (spinach, romaine, arugula), a 4oz box of basil (for a very reasonable price), and much more. I really did go a bit crazy there, but then again, everyone else was too. The lines were into the aisles! Next time I'm hoping the "smashing s'mores" aren't all gone!

Move Over, Chipotle.

Warning: the following statement may be a shocking one.

Lately, I've been craving a Chipotle burrito bowl. 

I actually would have made the effort to purchase one, but the quickly aging produce in my fridge makes me feel really guilty about eating out. But seriously, those burrito bowls are not only delicious but so satisfyingly hearty. Note: I never include rice in my burrito bowls, so it's basically a gigantic hearty salad. Yum.

Anyway, I decided that for this week's dinners, I would prepare my own burrito bowls (with a side of quesadillas, because I cannot get enough quesadillas in my life). The following is a Tulika-style burrito bowl makeover, and I was pretty happy with the outcome. 

Instead of using tempeh or Morningstar crumbles for additional protein, I thought I'd try something new. My secret ingredient for this bowl was this:

I got this from an Indian store, and I have no idea if it is available anywhere else (potentially an Asian store?), but this was a complete experiment. I boiled a cup of this in 4 cups of water, drained the water, and the texture looked like this:

I added half of the soy to a can of black beans, ~3/4 cup frozen corn, a handful of cilantro, and 1 chopped jalapeno. 

I seasoned this mixture with a teaspoon of low sodium taco seasoning and the juice of half a lemon. Another option for seasoning would be salt, pepper, Mexican oregano, and cumin seeds.

For building the bowl...

First start with a generous helping of greens. I used a combination of spinach, arugula, and romaine lettuce.

Add sliced avocado or a spoonful (or two) of guacamole.

Add a few spoonfuls of the bean mixture.

Top with a dollop of Greek yogurt and shredded cheese.

Optional: add more taco seasoning, or a salad dressing of choice.

And there you have it, your own burrito bowl. The possibilities for mix-ins are endless! If you come up with something of your own, I'd love to hear your ideas.

Mish Mash.

I looked through my camera (and phone) and noticed that there were food pictures from far too long ago that have not been posted on this blog.

Not okay!

And hence, this post shall include a mish mash of various recipes/food in general that I have consumed sometime in the recent past.

Firstly, I am still a huge fan of Vegetarian Times magazine. Every now and then, I look to it for recipe inspiration. I recently made two egg-based recipes which I thoroughly enjoyed, and the best part: the recipes were incredibly easy.

The first one is for a Spanish tortilla. I'd never heard of anything like it, but I will definitely be making it again.

The Spanish tortilla is a mix of mashed white beans, a spicy sauce,

eggs, and parsley.

This is cooked on a skillet a crepe-like item is formed. I topped it with more of the spicy sauce and some roasted red bell peppers. The sauce is a combination of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder, chili powder, and black pepper.

Another dish I made was called Zucchini Croquettes. But I like to call them Zucchini Pancakes!

But really, they are like zucchini omelettes. I grated zucchini in the Ninja, and whisked it with some eggs, olive oil, and salt/pepper. I ate it alongside some mango salsa.

Speaking of the Ninja, I've been using it so much lately, it is a little out of control.

Hello, hummus!

Today, I made this gazpacho and thanks to the Ninja, it took about 3 seconds to blend. Magic!

Other than obsessing over this blender, I've been bringing back old recipes (as seen from the above gazpacho). I went to the farmer's market last week and saw some lovely spaghetti squashes that were calling my name, and I realized I hadn't used a spaghetti squash in over a year.

I made a zucchini and mushroom tomato sauce and mixed in the spaghetti squash, and topped it with some grated swiss cheese. Fun fact, I am very indifferent towards zucchini...but I just happened to have extra from the zucchini pancakes.

Lastly, I discovered an awesome new restaurant, (almost) all vegetarian and very healthy!

I am so overwhelmed when I look at a menu and I have more than 3 options. I decided on the vegan seaweed club, which included a veggie patty wrapped with seaweed, as well as basil-crusted bean curd. A very interesting twist on a veggie burger which I thoroughly enjoyed! 

Ninja-ing.

HALT. Alert the media. 

Do you recall that for the past 8 or so months, I have been complaining that I do not own a food processor? And that I'd get one ASAP, but never actually did?

Well. My dreams came true last weekend when I received the best birthday gift ever.

The NINJA!!! 

I really am not a fan of regular blenders. This is because because the types of things I like to make seem to always seem to get stuck at the bottom of the blender and the blending doesn't end up being homogeneous. I like food processors because the container is wider and making, for example, hummus, is much easier. The ninja takes it a step up, and has not only one blade, but 3 blades, so that the top and middle portions of the container get blended as much as the bottom. Additionally, the motor is on the top rather than the bottom, which makes the clean up so much easier, since the motor can detach from the container/blade.  

Can you tell that I am already a huge fan of the Ninja? The first thing I made was black bean hummus. And the blending took about 5 seconds. And in those 5 seconds, I got the creamiest hummus of my life.

For this, I just combined 1 can black beans, 3 cloves garlic, juice of 1 lemon, a small handful of parsley (not chopped), 1 teaspoon tahini, salt, and pepper. 

I have been coming up with excuses to use this. Mango salsa, almond butter, more hummus... (and something else, but I will be posting that recipe at another time!).

Besides spending quality time with my Ninja, I've been going to Whole Foods a lot lately.

My latest stash included:

I had never tried flax milk, but I definitely enjoyed it. The lemon pepper tempeh was a winner; however, I didn't enjoy the spicy veggie tempeh as much. And of course, I love my coconut butter and kombucha.

But really, I can't get enough kombucha. Probably because the humidity is at 99.99% and it's such a refreshing beverage.

(And I'm really loving the ginger flavor).

Besides that, I have been attending to my workouts as usual. 

(Bright green shorts make working out that much more enjoyable).

The newest addition to my workout schedule has been the Nike Training Club app, which includes tons of timed workouts for cardio, toning, or strength purposes. The app also includes video and sound, with a narration that takes you through the entire 30 or 45 minute workout. The workouts are actually quite tough! I recommend giving it a whirl if you are in a workout rut.

And with that, have a great week!

NOLA.

I went to New Orleans 3 weeks ago (and am just now posting a re-cap...I know). I was very excited to try the food (obviously) as I'd never really tried Cajun food before. Unfortunately, what I realized is that there aren't a lot of vegetarian options since the options were predominantly seafood-based cuisine. Fortunately, the vegetarian food that was available was not only different from what I'm used to but quite tasty too!

Here's a quick review of some of the food I tried whilst in New Orleans:

Grilled cheese vegetable sandwich with a side of eggplant fries from The Red Fish Grill. All I have to say is that one cannot go wrong with breaded and fried eggplant. (Not a health food whatsoever, but delicious nonetheless).

Veggie po' boy from Frank's. This was basically a regular sub with a sort of olive mixture inside. I really liked it because it added a flavor different from the usual veggie sandwich. The downside of this sandwich was the massive pool of oil I found when I lifted the sandwich off the plate.

Beignets. These are French doughnuts, and I highly recommend trying them. Beignets are not as dense as regular doughnuts are, and are a lot smaller. They also come with a nice mountain of powdered sugar. The amount of sugar involved is definitely not humanly possible to consume.

A veggie omelette with a side of grits (and butter) at a cafe. This is a standard breakfast, but I found it interesting to have an omelette served with grits. This was my first time trying grits, and I liked it, minus the butter that it was cooked in. I don't understand how or why anyone would feel the need to include that extra butter packet?!

Bread pudding. I found this on every menu and wanted to try it to at least say that I did. For some reason, the image I had of bread pudding was not at all what it was in reality. In fact, the real version was more delicious than I ever would have imagined! It was actually very light, and only slightly sweet. And quite buttery.

Obviously, I felt the need to restart my metabolism after returning from this trip! But I like exploring and trying new cuisines, and this was a good opportunity to do so. Plus, I was inspired to make my own version of some of the dishes I tried...starting with beignets!

Goodbye quinoa.

So...I'm alive.

I don't even know where to begin with the updates. And I have a million pictures to share. This just means there are a lot of blog updates coming your way. (And this time I mean it).

Hooray!

Okay. So about 3 weeks ago, I made this delicious meal that I ate for dinner everyday. And I'm finally getting around to sharing it with you. Make it. You will not regret it.

BBQ Lentil Lettuce Wraps


Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked lentils
• 2-3 tablespoons BBQ sauce
• 1-2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• salt
• ~1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (I used 1 small can)
• veggies of choice (carrots, bell pepper, cucumber, etc)
• romaine lettuce
• optional: green chilies

Cook the lentils.

Stir in mushrooms, BBQ sauce, salt, smoked paprika, and green chilies.

Scoop onto a lettuce leaf and top with veggies of choice. I used shredded carrots and yellow bell pepper.

Not the most photogenic of meals, but actually quite satisfying! And complete in 3 easy steps.

So what have I been doing lately? One weekend I went to New Orleans (food pictures to follow in the next post!) and one week I had surgery on my mouth and was (and still am) unable to eat most food items. It is quite the sad situation. Luckily, my juicer has come in handy! Unluckily, I am not allowed to eat quinoa, chia seeds, carrots, or nuts for the next 3 months. 

Breakfast ideas are welcome...I've been eating overnight oatmeal with chia seeds for over a year now!

Late to the party.

So...I was late to the smart phone party. And hence was late to the instagram party. And hence I am now obsessed with instagram even though it's been in existence for...well, I don't really know.

(Just you wait. You will soon be seeing the results of the obsession).

Let's back up to last week. This is what I ate for lunch every day and it most definitely did not get old:

Sandwich with swiss cheese, sun-dried tomato & basil hummus, cucumbers, spinach, avocado and olives. Another bonus about this sandwich was that it kept me full for more than 1 hour!

This weekend, my goal was to get my life in order. Luckily that is exactly what I did! Starting with making breakfast at 7AM on Saturday morning.

A crisped up tortilla topped with refried beans, cheese, avocado, egg, and salsa. 

My productive weekend also included working out both days, planning both lunches and dinners for this coming week, grocery shopping, and cooking for said meals. Remember how one of my April goals was to somehow incorporate yoga into my workout schedule? I finally did that this weekend, and I think I am now designating Saturday as my yoga day. I hadn't gone to a yoga class in 4-5 months prior to yesterday, and boy am I feeling the effects today. I used to be so strong and flexible! I don't know what happened.

Post-yoga, I wanted to eat something really hearty. Disclaimer: I don't usually do these things but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Chipotle burrito bowl. Who am I? (Really, I asked myself this question after I got it). But I skipped on the rice and sour cream, and added a very minimal amount of cheese to make it a bit healthier. 

(Can you tell I'm really into avocado these days?).

I planned some very elaborate meals for this week. While I did enjoy my sandwiches everyday last week, waking up 10 minutes earlier to assemble it was not ideal. I decided that this week, my lunch would include something that I could pack up the night before and not have to worry about in the morning.

Also, I have a mint plant which is growing out of control and I decided some mint had to be used. And hence the following recipe was born.

Coconut Mint Curry

Ingredients:

• 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
• 1 bag of frozen cauliflower (~4 cups chopped)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
• 1 can light coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 15-20 mint leaves (~3-4 tablespoons chopped)
• 4-5 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt
• green chilies (optional)
• roasted cashews (optional)

Cook the sweet potatoes in the microwave until soft, and then chop into cubes.

In a large pot, heat the oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, half of the chopped garlic, and green chilies if using.

Chop the mint,

and add it to a food processor or blender along with half of the chopped cilantro, lemon juice, and the other half of the garlic. I also added 5 or so spoonfuls of the coconut milk to facilitate the blending. 

Set this mixture aside.

Defrost the frozen cauliflower and peas, and add them to the large pot along with the sweet potato. 

Then add the coconut milk, about 1/2 can of water, the mint mixture, curry powder, and salt.

Cook on low-medium until the veggies are soft and then add the cashews. Garnish with the rest of the cilantro.

Serve with rice, quinoa, or grain of choice. 

A fancy meal that does not take much time at all. I guarantee it! (The time, not the fanciness).