Tag: Cruelty Free

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Carrot, Kale and Swiss Chard Soup

Last soup of my October Soup Challenge: 1 Soup a Day for 1 Week (check out my previous soups here).

Tonight’s soup is going to be a light and simple one. It’s Sunday, we didn’t go to the gym, and we just want to chill out and get ready for the beginning of a new week. Moreover, as we just found some amazing baby carrots, kale and Swiss chard at our local Farmers Market, I couldn’t imagine my soup to be made with any other ingredients than these.

Nice veggies right from our local farmers market! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Ingredients

5-6 Carrots (or more, if you’re using Baby Carrots)

2 Green Spring Onions

2 large Swiss Chard Leaves (chopped)

2 cups Kale (chopped)

Himalayan Salt

2 cups Fresh, Filtered Water

Optional: Fresh Ginger

Cooking Method

Peel and chop carrots and spring onions and place in a large pot. Cover with water, add salt and ginger (if you’re using it), place a lid and bring to a boil.

Rinse and chop kale and chard and throw them in your pot, as soon as the water starts to boil. Reduce heat to minimum and simmer until veggies are tender. Blend into a cream and adjust salt (and pepper, if you want).

Serve warm and garnish with fresh rocket and some nutritional yeast to hit your daily B12 vitamin intake (I always use this one)!

I’m going to have mine with some baked tempeh.

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Spicy Courgette Dahl Soup

Alright, I’ve only got 2 soup recipes to create, before my self-imposed challenge is finally over. I somehow feel like I have to pay homage to my favourite cooking ever, which is Indian. As my IBS got worse, I had to seriously cut down on lentils and chickpeas, which I decided to avoid for 3 months. When I slowly started reintroducing them, I found that my tolerance level for red lentils hadn’t changed much, which I was glad for (I was honestly expecting it to drop, after such a long time without eating them). I can proudly get away with a mild bloating if I consume up to 50g dried red lentils! As to the chickpeas, well, my tolerance level dropped dramatically, and I can now consume only a couple of tbsps, without feeling bad. Sad story! 🙁 However, at the moment, I’m not as interested in increasing that level as I am in feeling well and with a flat stomach, so I’ll leave it for now. It could be my next challenge, who knows…

Dahl has always been one of my favourite foods, something I could have everyday without getting tired of it. As I cannot consume it as often as I used to, and as I have to reduce my lentil portions, I made some changes to the traditional recipe, to make it more digestible.  Obviously, eating such a small amount of lentils doesn’t satisfy my protein need, so I had some baked tofu with my soup, to hit my macros.

 My recipe serves 2 people with my tolerance level: if yours is lower, just have half of it, and add in some basmati rice, to give your dish the same volume.

Ingredients:

100g Red Lentils (dried)

1 medium to large Courgette

1 tsp Turmeric

1 tsp Cumin Seeds or Powder

1/4 tsp Garam Masala

1/4 tsp Coriander Powder

1 inch Fresh Ginger

2 tsp Coconut Oil

Fresh, Filtered Water,

Sea or Himalayan Salt

Cooking Method

Soak your lentils for a few hours or overnight. Rinse them thoroughly, place in a pot with just enough water to cover them and some salt. Place a lid and bring to a boil.

In the meantime, chop your courgette into tiny, thin strips or triangles.

As the water starts to boil, skim off as much foam as you can, and add in turmeric, 1 tsp coconut oil and your chopped courgette. Reduce heat to minimum and simmer for about 20 minutes, until your soup reaches a porridge-like consistency.

While your Dahl soup is still finishing cooking, dry fry cumin seeds or powder in a small pan and set aside. In the same pan, heat up 1 tsp coconut oil and add in all of the spices (your roasted cumin included). Fry for a few seconds, turn off, and add your spices to the soup.

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Pumpkin and Green Bean Hot Pot

I created this recipe for my October challenge to celebrate Autumn and I was so happy with the result, that I decided to make it again soon. I love Asian soups, such as Phos and Hot Pots, because you can have veggies, carbs and protein all in one delicious bowl, which is warm and healthy too.

*Serves 2

For this Hot Pot you’ll need:

1 small Sugar Pumpkin

2 cups fresh or frozen Green Beans

1 inch fresh Ginger Root

1/2 Green Pepper

2 Baby Aubergines (sliced)

1 Spring Onion (the green part)

1/4 tsp Cumin

1/4 tsp Coriander

1/4 tsp Turmeric

1/8 tsp Black Pepper

1/4 tsp Paprika

1/4 tsp True Cinnamon

Himalayan Salt

Cayenne Pepper

Dried Lemongrass

2 blocks Extra Firm Tofu (cubed; I used smoked tofu)

2 portions Rice Flat Noodles

Tamari

1,5 Litre Boiling Water

Fresh Coriander

Fresh Mint

Lime Juice

Preheat the oven at 180°C. In the meantime, cut your pumpkin into 8 slices.
Bake your pumpkin for 10 minutes, flipping it half way through. Let it cool down and peel it.
Chop green pepper, ginger and spring onion. In a small bowl, combine your spices.
In a wok, heat up some coconut oil with dried lemongrass, and add in your chopped veggies. Fry for a couple of minutes, until they release their full flavour.
Add in your spices and keep frying for about 1 minute more.
Stir in green beans and baby aubergines and keep frying for 3-4 more minutes.
Add in salt, Tamari, boiling water and tofu, and simmer for 8-10 minutes, until aubergines and green beans are cooked.
In the meantime, prepare your rice noodles as indicated in their package, rinse under cool water, and serve in a soup bowl.
Pour your Hot Pot on rice noodles and garnish with fresh coriander, fresh mint leaves and fresh lime juice.
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Sweet and Sour Tempeh

This is a very easy, yet tasty, recipe to make. It requires only a very few ingredients and a frying pan or skillet (or an oven, if you prefer it baked).

You can prepare your marinade in advance and marinate tempeh overnight, so you’ll just have to cook it on the next day.

Serves 2, but last time I made, I had it all by myself…

200gr Tempeh

1/4 cup ACV

1 tbsp Tamari

1/2 tsp Cumin Powder

1/2 tsp Coriander Powder

1 tsp Ginger Powder

1 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

1/2 tsp Maple Syrup (or a few drops Liquid Stevia, if you want to go sugar free)

Himalayan Salt

Cayenne Pepper

Coconut Oil

Halve your tempeh and then halve each half again.
Mix ACV, Tamari, salt, spices and maple syrup/stevia and prepare your marinade.
Add tempeh to your marinade, making sure it is entirely covered. Set aside for at least 30-40 mins (or overnight).
In a frying pan or skillet, heat up some coconut oil and fry tempeh on each side, until golden and crispy.
I love adding some yeast extract to my tempeh, for an extra nutty and cheesy taste…
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Mint and Courgette Soup

The first week of October isn’t over yet, so I must continue with my soup challenge.

This one is surely the easiest one so far, and requires just 4 or 5 ingredients:

  • 2 Large Courgettes
  • 2 tbsp Dried Mint
  • 2 cups Fresh, Filtered Water
  • Himalayan Salt
  • Optional: Fresh Mint

Bring water to a boil.

Chop your courgettes; place them in a pot and add in boiling water and dried mint.

Cover with a lid, reduce heat to minimum and simmer for about 10 minutes, till tender.

Add salt and blend into a light cream.

Serve straightaway and garnish with fresh mint.

I had mine with some steamed wild rice (see recipe below) and sweet and sour tempeh.

Rinse 2 cups Wild Rice and pour in a large Pot. Cover with 4 cups Fresh, Filtered Water and some Himalayan Salt. Place a lid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to minimum and simmer for half an hour. Turn off and allow the rice to absorb all the water.
This is what the wild rice will look like, once cooked and ready to be served! 🙂
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Open Your Chakras Mung Bean And Kale Soup

This is definitely my signature soup).

Ingredients (serves 2):

  • 100g Mung Beans (soaked overnight)
  • 2 Carrots
  • 1 inch Ginger
  • 2-3 Spring Onions (the green stalks only)
  • 2-3 cups Kale
  • 2 cups Fresh, Filtered Water
  • ½ tsp Turmeric
  • Himalayan Salt
  • Black Pepper

Chop carrots, ginger and spring onions.

Pour beans, water, chopped vegetables, salt and turmeric in a pot.

Cover with a lid and bring to a boil.

Add kale and simmer for 20-30 mins, until mung beans are soft and tender.

Blend until reaching a rich, creamy consistency.

Adjust salt and pepper.

Serve straightaway and enjoy!

I like to garnish this soup with some fresh rocket and a tiny bit of EVOO.
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BBQ Marinated Tofu

This is a super easy way to cook tofu without adding too many calories.

1 block Extra Firm Tofu

1/4 cup ACV

1tbsp Tamari

½ tbsp Paprika

½ tsp Coconut Sugar or Stevia

½ tsp Turmeric

½ tsp Cumin Powder

½ tsp Coriander Powder

Cayenne Pepper

Black Pepper

Himalayan Salt

Optional: Fresh Rosemary and/or Sage

Pressed and dried Tofu

Press and dry Tofu with some kitchen roll.

Cut into trips and set aside.

Combine all ingredients except tofu in a bowl.

Add in your tofu and allow the marinade to cover it entirely.

I like to use some BPA free sealable bags to prepare my marinade. This is the only it gets into my tofu or tempeh evenly. I know plastic is still to be avoided, but I haven’t found any better replacement yet…

At this point you have 2 options: either you bake it at 180°C for 15-20 mins (flipping half way through), or you fry it with 1 tsp coconut oil. Yesterday night, I went for the second option, as I was starving and needing some extra calories to recover from my back and shoulders workout. As I had some fresh rosemary, sage and thyme in the fridge, I added them to my coconut oil, before frying the tofu.

Here’s the final result

It tastes great with some yeast extract on top! 🙂 🙂 🙂

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Spinach and Potato Soup

What do I miss more from my old, unaware, high FODMAP lifestyle than my weekly leek and potato soup? Maybe only my daily avocado… sad story! 🙁

I am a real soup person, as you might already know. Soups are great because: 1) they combine carbs and veggies, so I can get both from just one dish (in theory, you can even throw in your protein as well, but I usually prefer having my protein as a separate dish); 2) they’re typically low in calories, so they fill me up without making me feel guilty; 3) they’re warm and easy to digest; 4) they’re so fun to make!

As Autumn is approaching, I decided to challenge myself by creating one soup a day for the first week of October. On Monday, I made my signature “Mung Beans and Kale” soup (which you can find in my FREE ebook, see the link below). On Tuesday, I came up with my Thai Sweet Potato and Courgette Soup. Yesterday (Tuesday), I felt inspired to try out something new, something that could finally replace my beloved-but-forbidden Leek and Potato soup.

Here’s the recipe (serves 3-4):

  • 3 medium-small Potatoes
  • 1 small Sweet Potato
  • 2-3 cups Fresh or Frozen Spinach (I used frozen)
  • 1 Carrot
  • 1 Spring Onion (the green part only)
  • 3 cups Fresh, Filtered Water
  • Himalayan Salt,
  • Nutmeg
  • Parmesan Cheese (or Nutritional Yeast, for a vegan alternative)

Chop carrot and spring onion.

Place them into a pot, add water and salt and cover with a lid.

Bring to a boil.

In the meantime, chop potatoes and your sweet potato and add to the boiling pot. Add in your frozen spinach,* cover and reduce heat to low.

Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Blend to reach your desired consistency (I left some potato chunks and spinach bits, as I prefer it this way, but you can make it creamier, if you like).

*If you’re using fresh spinach, you want to add it towards the end of your cooking process, or it’ll overcook.

Adjust salt and nutmeg, and garnish with nutritional yeast. Enjoy! 🙂

I had it with my BBQ Marinated Tofu and I loved it! 😉

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Double Chocolate Oat Cookies

I don’t really have a sweet tooth, but I love baking. As I felt extremely inspired a couple of days ago, I just ran into my kitchen and get these cookies ready in less than half an hour. Here’s how I did:

Ingredients (makes 4 cookies):

  • 1 cup Oats (use Gluten Free ones, if you want to stay 100% cross-contamination-risk free)
  • 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
  • 2 tbsp 100% Almond Butter
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp coconut sugar
  • 1 tsp True Cinnamon Powder
  • 3 tbsp Raw Cacao Powder
  • as many as you want Raw Cacao Nibs
  • Himalayan Salt (just a pinch!)
  • Optional, 1 scoop vegan protein (vanilla flavour)

Preheat your oven at 180°C.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl to form a dough.

Divide your dough into 4 patties, which you will then spread evenly on a baking sheet.

This is what your cookies will look like, once they’re ready to bake.

Bake for 12 minutes and let cool down. Enjoy!