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Vegan
The Sauce That Never Ends (Vegan/GF Tangy Tamari Almond Sauce)
5 Tips to Handle Criticism When Going Vegan
Vik’s Kitch – Vegan Kitchari
My husband makes the best kitchari, period! And not to brag or anything, but he’s an authentic Indian human being so… you can only imagine how good this stuff is.
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Vegan Salted Chocolate Fat Bombs
I don’t know if this recipe is called freezer fudge, or “fat bombs” but I DO know that it’s really effing delicious….
Simple 3 Ingredient Wraps – Vegan and Gluten Free!
Last year I was on the hunt for a vegan, GF wrap in stores that didn’t taste or feel like cardboard had simple ingredients, and didn’t cost a thousand dollars.
I’m afraid to report that such a wrap does not exist.
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The Best Ever Scrambled Tofu
I know it’s like the vegan cliche to love tofu, but I seriously love tofu – especially scrambled.
I think it’s because when I ate meat, my go-to breakfast was eggs. At one point I was eating 4-6 eggs a day. It was overkill, I know. I just liked how easily I could whip them up, and how many different ways I could make them.
I especially loved scrambled eggs. But then I became vegan and alas, my love affair with eggs was no more.
However, during this pregnancy, I did actually eat a few eggs.
Dum dum dummm… Don’t call the vegan police on me! I had what I call – and EGG-sistential crisis. My body was craving eggs. But I was VEGAN. I felt this moral obligation to NOT eat eggs. I felt bound by my vegan label, but also I felt this weird guilt about even considering eating eggs. I had so many chats with my husband about what I should do, and really it came down to this:
He said, “Why are you vegan in the first place?” and I said, “Because I don’t want to harm animals or the environment..” and he said, “Well, if you could eat eggs in such a manner that didn’t harm the environment or animals, wouldn’t you do that?”
Hmmm. He was on to something. There is a little farm near where my mom lives that has a big space for their chickens to roam, they get their eggs fresh every day, and they ONLY farm eggs. Not the actual chickens.
My craving for eggs had lasted over a month. I figured my body was trying to tell me something. So I finally – after months of debate – ate the damn eggs. And honestly, It felt like it was exactly what my body needed at the time. Later, my friend let me know that at the time during my pregnancy that I was craving eggs (around 2-3 months), was when my body would be needing a whole lot of a nutrient called choline. Choline is used to promote the development of the brain and nervous system and is abundant in eggs. My genius body knew exactly what I needed when I needed it!
Thanks bod.
Even though the eggs tasted great, they didn’t go down so well.
My body wasn’t used to digesting animal protein. I started to feel bloated, and gassy every time after I ate them. So once the cravings went away, I stopped consuming them and went back to my old, reliable fav – scrambled tofu.
I remember the first few times I tried making this dish. Without a recipe to go on I put in waaaaay too much turmeric to make them egg-colored, and way too much salt. In fact, I think all I put was salt and turmeric. They were gross. Needless to say, I have evolved since then. My knack for putting together spices that compliment each other has improved thanks to my amazing husband, the spice-master, Vikram.
There are tons of different spice combinations you can use to jazz up your plain tasting tofu
But the one I’m sharing with you today is by far my favorite. It can be nice and mild with just a pinch or two of cayenne, or you can totally spice it up and add in some hot chili flakes. The spice world is your oyster my friends!
The other amazing thing I love about this recipe is that you can pretty much add any veggie you want to it! One of my go-to combo’s is onions, mushrooms, spinach and red peppers. But you can add or omit veggies to your personal liking. I always feel weird about posting the exact, specifics of a recipe when I know that certain things can, and SHOULD be modified based on personal preference. Like who am I to tell you what vegetables to put in your scramble? Life is short, throw in whatever you want.
Other delicious veggies I’ve tossed in here:
- Kale
- Green Onions
- Garlic
- Avocado (sliced and put on top – this is always a good idea)!
- Broccoli
- Bok Choy
- Black Beans
I wouldn’t necessarily put all of these in at once, (or you could, YOLO and such…) but I just want you to know that this recipe will pretty much taste delicious with any combo of veggies.
Check out the recipe below, and let me know what you think! Are there any other flavor combos you like? Let me know in the comments section! Happy Eating 🙂
| Prep Time | 10 mins |
| Cook Time | 20 mins |
| Servings |
people
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Ingredients
- 1 pack Organic extra firm tofu
- 2-3 tbsp coconut or avocado oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 medium red pepper diced
- 1-2 handfuls spinach chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 - 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper add or take away depending on spice preference
- 1/4 tsp chilli flakes omit depending on spice preference
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1-2 cups sliced mushrooms
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Over medium heat, place the onions in a pan with a few tbsp of oil, and saute until they are translucent.
- Add in the rest of the vegetables (with the EXCEPTION of the spinach which you will add right at the end) and saute until soft.
- Place another tbsp of oil in the pan, and begint o crumble up your tofu. Literally pull some apart, and crumble it in your hands so it resembles scrambled eggs.
- Add in your spices, and stir so they mix evenly with the tofu and veggies. Add in salt and pepper, and modify spices according to your preference.
- Add in the spinach, stirring to ensure the spinach is evenly distributed. At this point you can reduce heat to low, and cover for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve with oven baked potatoes or sweet potatoes, and definitely avocado! Enjoy 🙂
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The Ultimate Vegan Thanksgiving Burger
It’s that time of year again peeps, Thanksgiving! It’s crazy to think that this time, a year ago, I married my amazing husband, Vikram. The time has flown by, and in just a couple week’s were expecting our first baby – Eeeeek! It’s been a busy year to say the least.
Regardless of the fact that I got married on Thanksgiving, it’s actually always been one of my favourite times of year. I love the cool fall weather, the fall fashion, and most importantly, the food! Food around Thanksgiving is some of my favourite. I don’t know if you can tell, but i’m really food-motivated…
Pumpkin pie. Mashed potatoes. Gravy. Butternut squash. Mmmmmm.
But one of the biggest challenges I face at any family holiday or get together is what to eat. The rest of my family are meat eaters which means I can almost never eat the same food as them. And honestly, that’s totally fine by me. I personally love making my own food and bringing it with me. I’m also a little bit picky about what goes into my food, so being in control of that works really well for me.
The first Thanksgiving I was vegan, I made a full on 4 course meal for me and my husband and brought it with us to my grandmothers house. We had walnut meat balls, stuffed acorn squash with quinoa and veggies, vegan gravy, and our own vegan, gf pumpkin pie. It was magnificent. This year, however, I will be just short of 2 weeks to my due date, and in no shape to be making some elaborate meal, with tons of different moving pieces. I just want to be able to make one dish, that has all the best bits of Thanksgiving in a simple, easy to manage package. I have been brainstorming what I will be bringing for a few weeks now, and I’m so excited to share with you what I’ve come up with:
The Ultimate Vegan Thanksgiving Burger
Now I thought about adding a vegan, gf stuffing on top of this (which you totally could). But in an effort to keep things a little more simple, and easier to manage for my pregnant self, I figured I wouldn’t.
This recipe, is seriously amazing and includes all the best flavours of Thanksgiving in an easy to manage burger. The patty is spiced with rosemary and thyme (both super Thanksgiving-ey flavours). The cauliflower mash is so simple to make, and is as creamy and delicious as it’s high carb, high Glycemic Index counterpart, the mashed potato. And this gravy. Oh. Em. Gee. My biggest pet peeve about most vegan gravy recipes is that they call for vegetable broth. And I almost never have vegetable broth on hand. This mushroom gravy recipe my friends, calls for NO vegetable broth. Just some simple ingredients that you probably have in your house right now.
Then, there are the fried onions. In my humble opinion, the fried onions on top kinda make the burger. They are crispy, and delicious, and use only 4 ingredients.
I also had every intention of making these into little sliders and putting on a sweet potato bun (which again, you could), but after trying them bun-less I decided against it. Also, putting these between two sweet potato bun’s would make for an extremely messy burger. This delicious meal is finished off with some butternut squash fries on the side as a special fall treat! It’s so exciting to use butternut squash in new, creative ways like fries!
Who have I become that using butternut squash in new ways is legitimately exciting? I must be getting older…
So here it is: The Ultimate Vegan Thanksgiving Burger! If you make this recipe, please let me know what you think in the comments section below! And don’t forget to take a picture, and tag me on Instagram and Facebook!
| Cook Time | 1 hour |
| Servings |
burgers
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Ingredients
Lentil Walnut Burgers
- 1/2 cup lentils (dry)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup finely chopped wanuts
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 cups finely chopped mushrooms
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup finely chopped kale
- 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp chia or flax seeds + 3 tbsp water
- 1/2 cup ground walnuts or almond flour
Cauliflower Mash
- 1 medium head of cauliflower broken into florets
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Mushroom Gravy
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups mushrooms sliced
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp tamari or coconut aminos
- 1-2 tbsp arrowroot starch
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
Fried Onions
- 1 medium/large onion
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 1 tbsp arrowroot starch
- 1/4 cup chickpea flour
Butternut Squash Fries
- 1 medium/small butternut squash
- 1-2 tbsp tbsp olive oil/avocado oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Ingredients
Lentil Walnut Burgers
Cauliflower Mash
Mushroom Gravy
Fried Onions
Butternut Squash Fries
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Instructions
Lentil Walnut Patty
- Place 1/2 cup of lentils in a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil on high, and let simmer uncovered on medium heat until all the water is gone, and lentils are a nice soft texture.
- Place your finely chopped walnuts on a baking sheet, and put in the oven at 350 for about 7-10 minutes or until toasty brown. Take out and let sit.
- Place mushrooms, and garlic in a frying pan with 1-2 tsp olive oil and saute until mushrooms are soft. Add in the spinach or kale, walnuts, and herbs. Saute for another 5-7 minutes until all the flavour have meshed together.
- Place the saute mixture, lentils, ground walnuts (or almond flour), and chia seed/flax seed paste in a food processor with salt and pepper. Pulse on high until a thick mixture has been created. You don't want this to be too pureed, and some chunks are good! Taste, and adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
- Form into patties, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in the oven at 350 for 10-12 minutes per side. Flip once. PRO TIP: Set these aside until you put the butternut squash fries in at the end. Their total cooking time is about the same!
Cauliflower Mash
- Place cauliflower florets in a pot filled with water and bring to a boil. Let the cauliflower stay in the boiling water until they are tender and can be easily poked with a fork. Strain.
- While the cauliflower is boiling, saute garlic in olive oil. The garlic is done once it is a nice, golden brown.
- Place the cauliflower, along with the garlic and oil into a food processor with salt and pepper. Add salt sparingly to start. Process on high until the cauliflower resembles mashed potato. Taste and add salt, pepper and additional olive oil to your liking.
Mushroom Gravy
- Saute onions, garlic, and 1/4 cup of the mushrooms in a pot over medium heat in olive oil. Once the onions are translucent, add in 1 cup of water. Let simmer.
- Place this mixture, along with tamari, 1 tbsp arrowroot starch and nutritional yeast in a blender. Blend on high for about 30 seconds. Place back into the pot, and add the rest of the mushrooms. Let simmer on low, whisking throughout.
Fried Onions
- Peel and cut your onion in half so that the rings of the onion are cut in half. Thinly slice the onion halves.
- Place in a mixing bowl with oil, arrowroot starch and chickpea flour. Mix well.
- In a frying pan, place approx 1/4 cup of avocado or coconut oil over medium/high heat. After about 5 mintues of letting it heat up, put the onions in. Continue frying until the onions have achieved a golden brown colour. Depending on the kind of pan you are using, you will want to stir them around a little!
- Once they are done, place them on a plate with a paper towel on top to soak up some of the oil. Serve on the top of your burger!
Butternut Squash Fries
- Peel and chop your butternut squash into french fry-esque shapes.
- Place in a mixing bowl with oil, salt and pepper.
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, and let bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 350, flipping once. PRO TIP: If you are baking these at the same time as the burgers, place the fries on the bottom rack. This will help them crisp up more quickly.
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Fall Favourites Cooking Workshop
Fall is by far my favourite season of the year – and not just the weather (I love the cool, breeze of fall and the changing leaves), but the foods! In this workshop we will be learning how to make some of this seasons favourite dishes with a Vegan & Gluten free twist!
Menu will include:
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Vegan & GF Stuffing
- Apple Crumble – Which can me modified to be enjoyed with any fruit!
- Pumpkin Alfredo Pasta
- Pumpkin Pie
You will get:
- A PDF document containing all recipes included in the workshop PLUS bonus Thanksgiving recipes
- Information about nutritional benefits of the various recipes included in the hand out + group discussion
- Support with preparation and cooking from Melissa, as well as an opportunity to ask any questions
This class is limited to 6 participants, so reserve your spot by filling out the form below, or sending an e-mail to melissasinghwellness@gmail.com
Photo Credit: Annie Spratt
Simple Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte
It’s pumpkin spice season y’all!!!!
I’m only a little excited can’t you tell?
I LOVE pumpkin spice. You can call me “basic.” You can call me a “common white girl.” You can call me disgusting because perhaps you find pumpkin spice things overrated and disgusting. (Though chances are if you’re reading this, you actually like pumpkin spice and are excited about this recipe just as much as I am). But I don’t care. I shamelessly eat, drink and breathe pumpkin spice everything at this time of the year!
So one of the best, most delicious things about pumpkin spice season, is the infamous PSL. Pumpkin Spice Latte. I had my first PSL years ago in University at Starbucks. And let me tell you, it was delicious! This was my first taste of the PSL and I was hooked. Whenever I could afford one I got it. I would also shamelessly go there to study in hopes that one of the baristas would come around with those little samples. You know how they do that sometimes? Topped with whipped cream. Omg, so good!
Then I grew up, got out of university, and started paying attention to the food that I was putting in my body.
No longer was I living off Tim Horton’s bagels and the cheapest can’s of soup I could buy. I was a grown woman, with a job that paid more than minimum wage, in the health and wellness field. So I started getting familiar with what I was putting in my body. I began to read labels. I made an effort to eat foods that had only real ingredients. So you can imagine my disappointment when I read the ingredients in a PSL..
Milk, Pumpkin Spice Sauce [Sugar, Condensed Skim Milk, Pumpkin Puree, Contains 2% Or Less Of Fruit And Vegetable Juice For Color, Natural Flavors, Annatto, Salt, Potassium Sorbate], Brewed Espresso, Whipped Cream [Cream (Cream, Milk, Mono And Diglycerides, Carrageenan), Vanilla Syrup (Sugar, Water, Natural Flavors, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid)], Pumpkin Spice Topping [Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, Clove, Sulfiting Agents].
…and a whopping 50G of sugar in a Grande :O
This was just crazy to me. I wanted the delicious taste of the PSL without all the funny ingredients, and without eating my body weight in sugar. You know?
So I went to work, doing some research online and in the kitchen to create a PSL that was both delicious and nutritious. I think I’ve created a simple, easy to make PSL syrup that will make even the biggest Starbucks fan a convert!
This recipe can be made two ways – one with espresso and non-dairy milk like a regular latte, OR with dandy blend (or any other coffee alternative) and non-dairy milk. You can also make this recipe whether or not you have a legit espresso machine with a milk frother! I’ve got to look our for my peeps.
This syrup will last for about a week or two in the fridge. The mixture does thicken up a bit after a few days, so I would recommend stirring it around a little in your beverage, but it melts into the lattes really well! So don’t be alarmed 🙂
I have been putting about 1 tbsp of the mixture in my lattes and LOVING it! I don’t like my latte’s to be overly sweet though, so if you are one of those people who lives their lattes sweeter, just add a little bit extra until you achieve your desired taste.
| Servings |
Lattes
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Ingredients
For The Syrup
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 tbsp maple syrup Or more to taste
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp turmeric (optional, but such a powerful anti-inflammatory!)
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp powdered ginger
- 1/5 tsp all spice
- 1 Pinch ground cloves
- 1/4 Cup Water to thin Add more as needed
For The Latte
- 1 cup Almond or other non-dairy milk
- 1 tbsp coconut oil Optional
- 1-2 tbsp syrup
Ingredients
For The Syrup
For The Latte
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Instructions
Syrup
- Place all ingredients in a pan over low heat and whisk together until a syrupy liquid forms. You can add a little more pumpkin if desired, or make it slightly thinner with some water (though not necessary).
The Latte (w/ Espresso)
- Pour your shot of espresso into a mug with 1 tbsp of the syrup. Mix together with a spoon. Add a tbsp of coconut oil or MCT oil for a little extra creaminess, and daily dose of fatty acids.
- Steam milk using a steamer OR place approx 1 cup of milk in a sauce pan over medium heat, and froth using a whisk!
- Pour milk over your espresso and voila! You have a PSL
The Latte (w/ Dandy Blend)
- OPTION 1: Heat up 1 cup (or slightly more) or almond milk using either a steamer or on the stove top. Add 1 tbsp dandy blend, 1 tbsp syrup, optional tbsp of coconut oil and milk to a blender, and blend together for 15-20 seconds. Serve
- OPTION 2: Place all ingredients (1 tbsp syrup, 1 tbsp dandy blend, optional coconut oil, and 1 cup or more non-dairy milk) in a sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk together until desired temperature is achieved. Serve.
Recipe Notes
Syrup Recipe Adapted from Oh She Glows
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