15 LichField Road556835 Singapore
I don’t know for you, but when I am tired and don’t feel like cooking but still want something healthy, stews and curries are my go to food. Coconut milk based stews are so indulgent and flavourful ! And then they are sooo easy to make and twist. Once you have the base (onions, garlic, ginger, a few spices and lots of coconut milk :)) you just have to throw in there different veggies, a protein source like tofu or beans, some herbs and let it simmer, right ? And the magic of these is that they taste even better the next day, so make more and keep in the fridge of freeze for those lazy days ! My kids love them with naan of buckwheat pancakes to dip the sauce. Quinoa, millet or red rice are also super great to eat with them with and make a complete and nutritious meal. My super basic recipe below in case you don’t have already yours or want to revamp it a little. Happy cooking !
Ingredients
1,2 kg veggies: I would usually used pumpkin or sweet potato cut in dices, brocoli and or cauliflower florets, Brussels sprouts, carrots, or even some potatoes
250 g protein: either chickpeas, or pat dried firm tofu cut in cubes
3 handfuls fresh green leaves preferably organic
2,5 tbsp coconut oil
2 medium red onions minced
4 fat garlic cloves crushed
5 cm grated fresh ginger (don’t hesitate to put more if your love ginger like me 🙂
800 ml canned coconut milk
3 tbsp lemon juice + 0,5 tbsp lemon zest
1,5 tsp ground turmeric , 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp salt (adjust to taste), cracked pepper, pinch of chili flakes (optional).
To serve: thai basil or fresh coriander, roasted cashews or pepitas, toasted coconut flakes
Directions
Add your coconut oil to a large sauce pan on medium heat.Â
Once hot, add your onions and leave to saute for 6/9 min until translucents
Add your garlic and ginger and saute for 1 min
Add your spices, stir and cook for a few minutes
Add the starchy vegetables to your pan if using any (potatoes, pumpkin, …) and sauté for 10 min
Add your other veggies, and protein source, sauté for 2 min, then add the coconut milk and cook for 10/15 min (starchy veggies should be cooked but not mushy:)
Finish, by adding your green leave and, lemon juice. Taste and add more salt, pepper, lemon or even spices if needed. Add your fresh herbs, some roasted nuts or seeds and serve !
This is the kind of soup we love at home: full of flavor, nourishing and enough as a main meal as it contains a nice amount of protein using red lentils. I will usually add some kind of flat bread and a side leafy green salad to make a complete meal, and if we don’t go vegan, top the soup with some goat cheese instead of coconut yogurt . Even when you live in a tropical country it is so nice to have a warm hearty soup some days ! Hope you try and like it 🙂
INGREDIENTS (Serves 6 large bowls)
- 400 grs chopped pumpkin
- 200 grs red lentils
- 175 grs chopped carrots
- 3 chopped celery stalks
- 1 chopped large yellow onion
- 9 cm piece ginger roughly chopped
- 3 chopped garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 650 ml vegetable stock (ideally homemade or low sodium). Adjust according to consistency desired
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
DIRECTIONS
- Put vegetables, onions and ginger drizzled with olive oil and a little salt on a baking tray in preheated oven at 200°C.
- Bake for 30 minutes (check after 25 min it doesn’t get to brown)
- In the meantime, cook the rinsed red lentils in your thermomix or in a large pot covered with a lid, with the stock, garlic, spices and vegetable stock.
- Cook for 20 minutes, then add half of the coconut milk and mix.
- Add the roasted vegetables (start with only half of the ginger and try before adding the rest, as I love ginger but you might want a bit less 🙂 and the rest of the coconut milk and top with some more stock or water until you reach the consistency you want. Adjust seasoning (salt, pepper and maybe ginger)
- Blend until smooth texture and serve in bowls topped with coconut yogurt, fresh herbs (cilantro, thai basil, ..) roasted seeds, chili flakes, a drizle of olive oil….
Note: if you don’t plan to eat it all, pour in a container and keep in fridge for up to 3 days or in freezer for 2/3 months.
Another pesto recipe ! Yes, yes ! You can never have enough pesto options, and this one is GF, NF and vegan ! Try it on your pasta or as your sandwich base and let me know if it was not worth trying this variation 🙂
Recipe just below !
INGREDIENTS (makes 1 cup)
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2,5 cups packed fresh basil shredded
- 1 cup Italian chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup oven roasted pumpkin seeds (15 min 180° oven)
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tsp white wine vinegar
- Good pinch of salt
- Red chili flakes according to your spice tastebuds 🙂
DIRECTIONS
- Combine garlic, basil, parsley, roasted pepitas, olive oil and vinegar in your high speed blender.
- Blend until smooth, but still a bit crunchy (lovely crunch bite 🙂 add chili flakes, and add salt and cracked pepper according to taste.
- If needed add a bit more vinegar if you want it tangier.
- Transfer to an airtight container and keep in the fridge for 4/5 days or freeze if you are not going to eat it all.
A vegetarian my whole life, I had never eaten meatballs and was always intrigued by these popular stuff my kids used to crave for ! Each time I was going to IKEA they would fight to come with me… just to eat those !!!
When I moved the family diet towards more plant based dishes, I hesitated to try to replicate “carnivore” dishes as I am really not a fan of mock up alternatives.
However I had seen so many nice vegan meatballs recipe that seemed super flavorful and healthy that one day I decided to try it for the kids …. and I ended up eating them too 🙂
Rose told me they were not like the original ones, but were almost better. And she liked very much the texture. Thank god, my kids can appreciate what is good for them !
You can make the meatballs only and have them on their own with spaghettis, a salad… But if you follow the whole recipe and have them with the indulgent tomato and pumpkin sauce you will give yourself a real yummy healthy treat !
Follow the link below and as always share your feedbacks.
LOL
 http://chickpeaandberries.com/spinach-gf-vegan-meatballs-creamy-pumpkin-tomato-sauce/
Your table should always be colorful !
So when planning a single dish meal like a salad, I always ensure I combine ingredients to get a burst of colors and textures that will please our eyes even before we taste it 🙂
Today I made this nice combo of roasted and fresh vegetables, combined with lentils, seeds and herbs, it was really delicious and you can do it even if you can not cook 🙂
Recipe below if you want to try it.
Don’t hesitate to share your comments if you give it a go.
Recipe:
- 3 cups pumpkin cut in medium chunks (you can leave the skin if organic)
- 2 cups beetroot cut in medium chunks
- 3 red onions sliced in 6 parts
- Â 1, 5 cup cooked puy lentils
- 3 cups kale
- pickled onions (optional but real nice twist)
- a good handful coriander
- vegetarian: crumbled blue cheese / vegan: marinated crumbled tofu or vegan cheese
- roasted pepitas
Coat your pumpkins, beetroots, red onions with 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper and 1,5 tbps cumin (you can add an additional 1 tsp turmeric on the pumpkin). Roast in the oven for approx 30 min, 180°C.
Once the vegetables have cooled down, dress your plate with all the veggies, top with the herbs, pickled onions, cheese and roasted pepitas. Drizzle with a dressing made of 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 3 tbsp olive oil.
Add a pinch of salt and cracked pepper according to taste
A little tired today and feeling I need to fix my sugar cravings with healthy snacks. Bliss balls are my go to treat in that case. Energy packed and sweet, they are so satisfying…
I opted to make this variation which is date free and full of various seeds to maximise good nutritious elements from seeds and nut butter vs carb from dates.
Are you in the mood for crumbly crunchy chewy nutty bliss balls ? Follow the link below and enjoy 🙂