Vegan treat: nice cream

Ooooh how I sometimes crave ice cream! As a vegan it’s not always easy to find ice cream, as most ice creams are made of cow’s milk cream…

Hence my huge happy surprise when I discovered nice cream! Ice made of frozen bananas! It’s super easy, healthy and cheap. Often you might not know what to do with overripe bananas, so from now on, trust me, you’ll simply make nice cream out of them.

Preparation

1. Peel, slice and freeze a very ripe banana/ some bananas.
2. Mix the frozen banana(s) in a blender or using a handheld blender or a kitchen machine.

 
 
 

Variations

From here you vary according to your desires and the available ingredients. Some examples:

• Chocolate nice cream: blend in 1-2 tbsp of cocoa powder & some small pieces of black chocolate.
• Raspberry nice cream: blend in a handful of (frozen) raspberries.
• Blueberry nice cream: blend in a handful of (frozen) blueberries.
• Bounty nice cream: blend in 1-2 tbsp of cocoa powder,1-2 tbsp of grated coconut and 2 tbsp of coconut milk or cream.
• Acai bowl: add 1-2 tbsp of acai powder to your nice cream, blend. Add toppings such as granola, blueberries, goji berries, banana, coconut shavings, chocolate sprinkles, …
• Peanut butter nice cream: blend in 2 tbsp of peanut butter and some nuts of your choice.

 

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Vegan recipe: quinoa & lentils with roasted cauliflower & tahini dressing Ⓥ

On a lazy sunday evening I decided to cook some soul food. Hence I came up with the following recipe. You can replace the parsley with cilantro or mint. You can replace the cauliflower by broccoli or kale. The quantities are estimates, I used these and have enough food for 3 to 4 meals :-).

I’ve shared the recipe for the roasted cauliflower before here.

You can make the tahini dressing in a larger quantity, it stays well for a couple of days (or even a week) if you keep it in the fridge and tastes great on a variety of dishes (in wraps, on salads, …).

Ingredients (4P)

• 1 cup of quinoa
• 1 cm ginger root (or more)
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves (optional)
• Coconut oil
• 1 cauliflower
• Spices mix (garam masala, turmeric, cinnamon, paprika, cumin, …), about 1 tsp of each of the herbs of your choice
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Olive oil
• Fresh parsley
• 1 cup of lentils (I used brown lentils)
• 1 tsp of summer savory (dried herbs, to improve digestion)
• 2 tsp of tahin
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon (1 to 2 tsp)

Preparation

1. Cut the cauliflower in florets (equal size) and wash
2. Prepare the spice mix for the cauliflower: mix enough olive oil with the spice mix to coat all the cauliflower florets, add some salt & pepper, leave to soak in the spice mix for about 15′
3. Rinse the quinoa
4. Rinse the lentils
5. Boil water (2 cups for the quinoa and the lentils each)
6. Preheat the oven at 180°
7. Put the cauliflower florets on a baking sheet in the oven for about 30′, turn the florets after about 15′
8. Meanwhile, add 2 cups of boiling water to the lentils, add the summer savor herbs and leave to simmer until all the water is absorbed (about 20′), add salt only when the lentils are cooked
9. Peel and cut the ginger & garlic, stir fry in some coconut oil
10. Add the rinsed quinoa and stir for 1 or 2 minutes, add some salt (if desired)
11. Add the boiling water to the quinoa mixture and leave to simmer until all the water is absorbed (about 20′)
12. Wash the parsley and cut using scissors
13. Mix the tahin with 1 or 2 tsp of lemon juice and 2 to 4 tbsp of water to obtain the desired consistency. If it’s too thin, add more tahin, if it’s too thick, add more water. You can add a pinch of salt & some pepper
14. Blend the lentils in with the cooked quinoa, add the parsley, decorate with the roasted cauliflower florets and sprinkle the tahini dressing on top.

Health benefits of tahini

1. t’s rich in minerals such as phosphorus, lecithin, magnesium, potassium and iron.
2. It’s a good source of Methionine, which aids in liver detoxification.
3. It’s one of the best sources of calcium out there.
4. It’s high in vitamin E and vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and B15.
5. Helps to promote healthy cell growth.
6. Prevent anemia.
7. Helps to maintain healthy skin and muscle tone.
8. It has 20% complete protein, making it a higher protein source than most nuts.
9. It’s easy for your body to digest because of its high alkaline mineral content, which is great for assisting in weight loss.
10. It is high in unsaturated fat (good fat!)

Vegan spicy winter soup

It’s still pumpkin season for a little longer & I absolutely love this soup which is very filling and spicy so just perfect to warm you up on a cold day as today. You can eat it with the noodles, with quinoa or even with some (home-made) corn or sourdough bread. This recipe serves 3 to 4 portions. 

Ingredients

• 40 g ginger root
• 1 chili pepper or hot pepper
• 500 gr pumpkin
• 1 leek
• 2 carrots
• 200 g white cabbage
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 800 ml filtered water
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 200 g chickpeas (precooked)
• 50 g wok noodles
• 2 tsp curry powder or garam masala
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro
• Coconut oil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• (1 onion)

 

Preparation

• Peel the onion and the ginger.
• Cut the pepper in half and remove the seeds.
• Put the ingredients into a food processor; add 4 tbsp of olive oil and a little salt, mix until obtaining a creamy mixture.
• Prepare the vegetables: peel the pumpkin and cut into pieces, cut the leek into rings and carrots into small pieces. Chop the cabbage & wash the vegetables.
• Heat the coconut oil in a wok and add the garlic/ onion/ pepper mixture. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
• Add the pumpkin, carrots, cabbage and leek to the mixture.
• Let it all simmer for a couple of minutes, then add the curry/ garam masala.
• Pour the coconut milk, a little lemon juice and 800 ml water to the wok. Bring the soup to a boil.
• Add the chickpeas, noodles and possibly a little bit more water. Cook the vegetables until well done.
• Add seasoning to taste & add the cilantro just before serving.

Source: © Cookbook Donderdag Veggiedag by Miki Duerinck et Kristin Leybaert – 2012, page 106

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