Sweet Potato Noodle Salad with Garlic Ginger Root Veggies

"Once she stopped rushing through life, she was amazed how much more life she had time for." - Unknown

I wake up between 4 and 4.30am most days, yet I still find myself rushing through my mornings. This morning, I decided to treat myself to a picnic on the beach. I'd seen a recipe for Rainbow Soba Salad on the Whole Foods app that inspired me to make a noodle salad for breakfast. This salad is full of vegetables and flavour - the perfect salad for a picnic!

Ingredients (makes about 3 servings - I ate half for breakfast and half for lunch)

2 tbsp melted coconut oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
1 inch chunk of ginger, finely chopped
1 and a 1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
fresh juice of half a lemon
2 carrots, finely chopped or grated
4 sweet potatoes, finely chopped or grated
2 beetroots, finely chopped or grated
3 kale leaves, finely sliced
100g packet sweet potato noodles
1 tbsp sesame seeds
handful of raw activated pistachios, chopped

1. Cook sweet potato noodles according to packet instructions (takes about 8 minutes).
2. While noodles are cooking, saute garlic and ginger in coconut oil for a few minutes.
3. Add the carrot, sweet potato, and beetroot, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes, until noodles are cooked (the root veggies don't need to be fully tender).
4. Rinse noodles under cold water and drain well.
5. Toss noodles, root veggies, and kale together.
6. Top with sesame seeds and pistachios.

*You can use different vegetables to what I used. I used very different veggies to the Whole Foods recipe - in fact, I also added garlic and ginger and made it into a completely different recipe. I'm the WORST at following recipes (even my own haha). 

Cauliflower, Chia & Hemp Pizza Base

One of the most common questions people ask me when they find out that I'm a vegan who loves to cook is, "how do you bake without eggs?!" Although there's an abundance of egg replacers out there, I usually try to avoid them because they're highly processed. I prefer to use flax or chia eggs instead - all you do is grind flax or chia in a coffee grinder until it resembles nut meal, then mix with water to form what I like to call "gooey egg glue". 

The following recipe uses chia eggs to hold this dairy-free, egg-free, grain-free and soy-free pizza base together.

Ingredients (makes one pizza base to serve 2 (or 1 extra hungry person))

1/2 head cauliflower - processed into cauliflower rice
1 tsp dried rosemary
handful of fresh parsley
pinch of Celtic sea salt
pinch of lemon myrtle
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup filtered water
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup hemp flour

1. Boil the cauliflower rice for a few minutes and then drain well. Freeze for 10 minutes to cool quickly.
2. Grind chia seeds and mix with water to create chia eggs. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to thicken.
3. Squeeze cooled cauliflower rice in paper towels to remove any excess moisture.
4. Blend all ingredients, including chia eggs, in a high-speed blender and spread mixture onto a baking tray lined with baking paper (I ran out so I had to use foil - definitely not ideal!). 
5. Bake at 190C (fan-forced) for half an hour then top with all your favourite ingredients (I used homemade macadamia cheese, finely chopped beetroot/carrot sautéed in coconut oil, and green beans) and re-bake for another 15 minutes.
6. Garnish with parsley or other fresh herbs.

*You can replace chia seeds with flax seeds to achieve the same binding effect of eggs. 

Lovely Lentil Curry

If you're looking for a hearty, easy vegan meal, this is the curry for you! Even if you're not vegan, I think you'll appreciate the delicious flavours and the health benefits of red lentils are awesome: high protein supply, a healthy heart, and weight loss!

Ingredients

½ cup red lentils
handful of cavolo nero kale
handful of scotch blue kale
handful of fennel fronds and stalks
1 small broccoli head
1 small carrot
1 brown onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp Celtic sea salt
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 cups filtered water

1. Chop garlic and onion and saute in oil with turmeric and salt until fragrant.
2. Chop all veggies and throw in with lentils and water, simmering, covered, for 20 minutes.
3. Serve over quinoa or enjoy alone.

*You can use any greens you like - curries are great for using up veggies!

Carob Hemp Balls

These carob hemp balls are excellent for a nutritious hit on the go and are full of protein and healthy fats!

As someone who flies between two locations (I live on the Gold Coast but my family is in Sydney) and is constantly driving between Byron Bay and Brissy for speaking engagements, musical performances, and just general adventuring, eating healthy on the run can be challenging. 

Balls are definitely the solution to this first-world problem of mine. 

I just throw a bunch of ingredients into a food processor, form into balls, refrigerate overnight, and Bob's your uncle!

Ingredients (makes 16 smaller than golf-sized balls)

1 cup sunflower kernels
½ cup raw activated pepitas
1 cup desiccated coconut (sulphite-free) (plus optional ¼ cup for rolling)
⅓ cup melted coconut oil
2-3 tbsp raw carob powder (depending on desired level of "sweetness")
2 tbsp Brazil nut butter
¼ cup hemp seeds (plus optional ¼ cup for rolling)

1. Pulse sunflower kernels and pepitas in a food processor until a meal forms (be careful that it doesn't become a butter consistency). 
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until mixture clumps together.
3. Form mixture into balls and roll balls in either hemp seeds or coconut.
4. Refrigerate overnight.

*Make sure you use coconut oil as it's essential for the balls to set.

Baked Rainbow Chips with Coconut Ginger Lemon Dip

If you grew up in the 90s like me, the word "cabbage" used to conjure thoughts of useless, overpriced dolls called "Cabbage Patch Kids", rather than vegetables. These days, my evangelism of vegetables has thoroughly increased my appreciation for these densely leafy plants and I can't sing their praises enough. So why are cabbages so cool?

1. They go well with everything - you can toss them in salads, soak them in soups, saute them in stir-fries...the possibilities are endless!
2. They help boost the immune system - their abundance of vitamins protects the body against disease. Cabbage is especially high in Vitamins C and E, both important immune-boosting vitamins.
3. Red cabbages are loaded with antioxidants - that beautiful bright colour isn't just for aesthetics' sake! The polyphenols in red cabbages work wonders, namely in eliminating toxins and fighting free radicals that could otherwise cause cancer.
4. They reduce inflammation - cabbages are packed with nutrients that can help prevent swelling in the body and therefore reduce chronic inflammation.
5. They boost heart health - cabbage binds with bile acids in your stomach, which means they're not absorbed into your body. This also means the cholesterol they contain leave the body through the intestines instead of being absorbed!

Not that I'm intending to neglect the other ingredients in this tasty recipe...I just really love cabbage! But let's get back on track. You may find it hard to believe how easy these chips were to make. I promise you I'm giving you the exact easy peasy recipe I used. All it takes is less than 10 ingredients altogether!

Cabbage Chips
10 red cabbage leaves
Celtic sea salt
oregano leaves

1. Tear the cabbage leaves into two or three pieces.
2. Blanch cabbage leaves in boiling water then rinse under cold water.
3. Drain leaves and dry with paper towels.
4. Season with salt and oregano.
5. Bake at 100 C (fan-forced) for at least two hours - even more if you want them extra crispy.

Sweet Potato Chips
4 gold sweet potatoes, very finely sliced into rounds
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
Celtic sea salt
lemon myrtle

1. Combine oil, salt, and lemon myrtle in a bowl.
2. Toss sweet potato rounds in dressing until evenly coated.
3. Bake at 180 C (fan-forced) for at least half an hour, flipping regularly.

Kale Chips
10 kale leaves, washed, torn and dried thoroughly
2 tbsp coconut oil
Celtic sea salt

1. Combine oil and salt.
2. Toss kale thoroughly in oil until evenly coated.
3. Bake at 150 C (fan-forced) for 10 minutes until crisp.

Coconut Ginger Lemon Dip
1/2 cup coconut cream
1/2 tsp ground ginger
fresh juice from 1 lemon
2 tbsp brazil nut butter
handful of activated raw pistachios

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender.
2. Top with chopped pistachios and hemp seeds.

*These are best eaten fresh and the recipe is easy enough that you can make them fresh all the time!

Fennel and Sweet Potato Soup

It's hard to believe with the glorious sunny weather we've been having on the Gold Coast, but it's still officially winter here! The chilly mornings make me crave warm comfort food like this hearty soup. The secret ingredient to its tantalising aroma is a special essential oil blend that is fast becoming a favourite in savoury cooking for me. Fennel is also a favourite of mine - it's an excellent source of vitamin C, which is vital for the immune system and has strong antioxidant-promoting effects.

This recipe is vegan, gluten-free and soy-free!

Ingredients (makes 2-3 servings):

1 fennel bulb plus stems and fronds
1 eschallot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 small chunk of fresh turmeric, finely chopped
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
6 cups filtered water
6 drops Young Living "Taste of Italy" essential oil blend
fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Celtic sea salt to taste

1. Saute eschallot, garlic and turmeric in coconut oil until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
2. Add all fennel bits and saute for another 7 minutes.
3. Add sweet potato, rosemary, water and essential oil blend and simmer until sweet potato is cooked, about 15 minutes. 
4. Cool slightly and blend in high-speed blender until smooth.
5. Garnish with parsley and coconut cream.

Note: you can replace the eschallot with red or brown onion.

Baked Falafel Stuffed Capsicums

The only time I will ever use the term "get stuffed" is when I'm talking to one of my favourite vegetables, the  commendable capsicum.

These stuffed capsicums are gluten-free and 100% plant-based.

This is literally one of my tastiest, yummiest, most mouth-watering and flavoursome recipes to date.

I've been wanting to write a blog post on these since I first made them on the weekend and seeing as my blog is now officially live (yay!) I decided I'd make them again this morning (double yay!) to remind myself of the ingredients and steps I used. 

I'm a big fan of Middle Eastern cuisine because of its freshness and flavour and also a big Mexican food lover (there's never a bad time for guac!) so stuffing capsicums with falafel just seemed to make sense in my mind, and then serving them with avocado sauce seemed like an even better idea!

I only had one capsicum and heaps of stuffing so I ended up making several small falafel patties too - these are perfect to fill a lunch box for school or work!

Makes 2 stuffed capsicums and 7 falafel patties
Prep time: half an hour
Cooking time: half an hour 

Falafel Stuffing

2 cups cooked chickpea splits (I actually cooked these on the weekend in a huge batch and froze them)
1 brown onion
small bunch of coriander, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed (for ease of peeling and also because garlic must be crushed or cut to release the anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral activity of allicin)
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Celtic sea salt to taste
3 tbsp coconut oil

Avocado Sauce

1/2 an avocado
juice of 1/2 a lemon, few tbsp of olive oil
2 spring onion shoots

1. Slice the capsicums in half and de-seed.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 190 C.
3. Toss all falafel ingredients into a food processor and pulse away until everything is holding together but a bit soggy.
4. Scoop mixture into capsicum halves and form remaining stuffing into slightly soggy falafel patties.

5. Place patties onto a baking-paper-lined tray for 25 minutes, until browned on the outside. 
6. Blend sauce ingredients and serve stuffed capsicums and falafels with avocado and Hawaiian red alaea salt, avocado sauce, lime wedges, and a smattering of hemp seeds and activated raw pumpkin kernels.

There you go! A Sisi-friendly, slightly Mexican spin on traditional falafel that's packed with nutrients and flavour!