Brown Rice Salad with Chickpeas and Nuts

TÜRKÇE İÇİN TIKLAYIN

PER ITALIANO

Hello,

Is it too hot and you don't feel like eating anything? We have just the recipe for you!

Brown Rice Salad with Chickpeas and Nuts is a lifesaver for us for many reasons. The first of all it is delicious and refreshing! It is easy to prepare. It works great as take away food. We can pack and take it to anywhere.. to the beach, picnic, our travels. A good lunch idea also for those who take their own food to the office.

I used ribe rice for today's recipe because it was what I got at the moment. I previously made this with organic and brown basmati, jasmine, red, black and wild rice or with a mixture of them.

Why is it important for us that our rice is both brown and also organic?

-Brown rice is a whole grain, instead white rice is a refined grain which loses much of its fiber and nutrients during the process. Brow rice is higher in fiber, protein, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals while it has a lower glycemic index.

-Brown rice, unlike white rice, contains all parts of the grain — the bran, germ, and endosperm. This may mean higher exposure to pesticide residues when it comes to conventional rice production which uses over 40 different pesticides to control weeds and insects.That's why we prefer to use organic rice products. As a matter of fact I use organic whenever its about whole grains.

I was inspired by a recipe in Gaz Oakley's beautiful cookbook "Vegan 100". I've made a few changes and additions to the original recipe, adapted it also to our whole food plant based diet.

Ingredients (for 6):
250 g organic brown rice
30 g unsweetened shredded coconut
30 g lightly toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
30 g pecans, roughly chopped
4 spring onions, chopped into small pieces
50 g dried apricots, chopped into small pieces
150 g green - red - yellow bell pepper, chopped into pieces
150 g corn, no sugar added
300 g cooked chickpeas
Fresh juice of 1 lemon

1 TBSP dry mint and 1/2 TBSP dry oregano

Additionally if you'd like;

1 - 2 TBSP dried blackcurrants

Red pepper flakes

Black pepper

Little salt

Curly lettuce for garnish

Preparation:

Mushroom Spinach and Cashew Cream Linguine

TÜRKÇE İÇİN TIKLAYIN
PER ITALIANO

Hello,

Today we will be making a great pasta sauce using the ingredients we have at home.

I've used organic whole grain linguine as pasta. Linguine is a type of pasta made from long, flat strands of pasta. It kind of looks like flattened spaghetti. You can replace it with another whole grain pasta that you'd like.

As cream I've used Cashew Mayonnaise, which I shared the recipe recently. While boiling pasta I've also added some frozen spinach. You can replace it with frozen or fresh other leafy green vegetables like chard or turnip greens.

At last I've added some roasted mushrooms which I shared the recipe yesterday. They all made a great combination together and we had a yummy pasta dish.


Ingredients (for 2):
160 g organic whole grain linguine pasta
1 cup frozen spinach
3 TBSP Cashew Cream (Mayonnaise)
4 TBSP plant based milk
1 TBSP nutritional yeast
1 cup Roasted Mushrooms

*Measuring cup/spoon info

Preparation:

Salad with Grilled Vegetables

TÜRKÇE İÇİN TIKLAYIN
PER ITALIANO

Hello everyone,

You may remember that we are salad lovers and we have salad at least once a day, often twice. Today I am sharing one of our favourite summer salads: Salad with grilled vegetables.

Eggplants and zucchini are in season. I'd say don't miss it out before summer is over.

When the temperature gets high we often don't feel like eating much. A light meal feels just about right. If it is one of those days for you, you can enrich this salad by adding some tofu or legumes like beans or chickpeas. This way you'll have one light but also satisfying and delicious meal that contains greens, veggies and protein.

Lettuces of today's salad come directly from the producer: our tiny garden :) We enjoy the luxury of having a tiny piece of land next to our building. There is nothing like the taste of your own freshly harvested lettuce.

We planted different varieties of lettuce after each harvest. So far we've tried over 15 varieties which had different tones of green, red, curly leaves, flat leaves, soft leaves and crispy ones... Using different lettuces improve your salad visually and nutritionally.

Among the ingredients below I haven't written the exact amount of eggplant and zucchini. Add as much as you wish.

Ingredients (for 1):
100 - 125 g mixed lettuce
1/2 apple
2 - 3 artichoke hearts (jarred)
2 - 3 sun dried tomatoes (jarred)
Grilled eggplant slices
Grilled zucchini slices
Spring onion (chopped)
2 pitted green olives
2 pitted black olives
1 tsp sunflower and pumpkin seeds
3-4 pecans
Balsamic vinegar

Notes:

1. My artichoke hearts were preserved in oil. You can use a no-oil brand to make even a better WFPB version of this. If also yours are jarred in oil, strain them thoroughly.
2. My sun dried tomatoes were also preserved in oil. I strained the oil well before using them. If you have dried tomatoes at home you can soften them by soaking in warm water. 
3. As I mentioned before, if you'd like to have only salad for your meal, you can enrich protein content of your salad by adding some tofu or legumes like beans or chickpeas.

Preparation:

Broccoli Greens and Red Lentil Sedanini Stuffed Winter Squash

TÜRKÇE İÇİN TIKLAYIN
PER ITALIANO

Today's recipe has a long title. It is very easy to prepare if you have your Roasted Winter Squash Sauce ready in the fridge.

Each meal I prepare with this sauce tastes a little different because I enrich the sauce by using whatever I have in the pantry and the fridge at the moment.

The day I prepared this dish a friend of ours brought us some broccoli greens freshly picked from her garden, so I used them. As pasta I opted for red lentil sedanini.

Ingredients (for 2):
120 g red lentil sedanini
Broccoli greens, chopped
2 winter squash halves, previously roasted and scooped out leaving a cm of flesh around the edges
Roasted Winter Squash Sauce
Plant milk (only if necessary)

Preparation:

Sorghum and Spinach Stuffed Butternut Squash

TÜRKÇE İÇİN TIKLAYIN
PER ITALIANO

As promised, I start posting a series of dishes created by using Roasted Winter Squash Sauce. My intention here is to give you some ideas to inspire so that you can come up with your own creations using whatever you have in your pantry with a touch of imagination.

In today's recipe I used two butternut squash halves. They are two of the 6 halves I roasted in the oven to make Roasted Winter Squash sauce and scooped out the flesh, leaving a cm of flesh around the edges.

I stuffed my squashes with sorghum and spinach. I previously cooked 100 g of sorghum. Since the spinach had very fresh and delicate leaves I didn't precook them..

Ingredients (for 2):
2 halves of butternut squash, previously roasted and scooped out the flesh, leaving a cm of flesh around the edges
Sorghum, previously cooked (100 - 120 g dry)
Fresh spinach leaves, cut into small pieces
Roasted Winter Squash Sauce
Plant milk (only if necessary)


Yapılışı:

Mushroom Tofu Loaf

TÜRKÇE İÇİN TIKLAYIN
PER ITALIANO

Today we will be preparing a non-meat loaf with tofu which is rich in plant protein.

Tofu, which is made of soybeans, is a well-known food in east Asian kitchens. It is gaining popularity also in western world as more people adopt flexitarian / vegetarian / vegan diets.
Tofu is a good source of calcium, iron and selenium and contains 8 essential amino acids.

Even though it is often listed in cheese category, in my opinion, this might be misleading especially for those who are not very familiar with it. Because it taste nothing like conventional cheeses. Therefore, when it is not used how it should be, it can fail the expectations of those who are looking for a substitute for traditional cheeses.

Good news is it is possible to prepare delicious meals with tofu, but it doesn't taste much in its natural form. That's why it is often marinated before use. It is spiced with various herbs and spices. It can be cooked, grilled, baked as it can be eaten uncooked.
I often buy natural tofu and marinate or spice it myself. We also like very much smoked tofu.

One of my favourite meals with tofu is this non-meat loaf, which I read about in "Eat to Live Cookbook" by Dr Joel Fuhrman. I've made a few changes on the original recipe due to our palate and needs. I serve it with oven roasted potatoes and some tomato salad.


Ingredients (for 6):

Non-meat Mushroom Tofu Loaf:
250 g onions
60 g celery stick
400 g mushrooms
1 - 1 1/2 Tbsp salt-free meat loaf spice (*1)
1 Tbsp oregano
50 g water
40 g arrowroot powder (*2)
2 tsps Bragg's Liquid Aminos (*3) or low sodium Soy Sauce or Tamari
400 g organic natural firm tofu (with no added salt, sugar or spice)
100 g chopped walnuts
100 g brown rice
80 g whole wheat bread crumbs

Roasted Potatoes:
1 kg potatoes
A few sprigs of rosemary
Freshly ground black pepper
Very little salt

Tomato salad:
500 g cherry tomatoes
150 g green or red pepper
75 g scallions
Parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh lemon juice


(*1) You can buy any no-salt added meat loaf mixture of your preferred brand, or you can simply prepare your own special mixture. When I don't have any ready to use meatball spice at home, I prepare one using ground cumin, sweet paprika, black pepper and allspice.

(*2) Arrowroot powder (aka arrowroot starch) is a thickening agent often used to thicken baby formulas, puddings, soups ... etc. It aids digestion, boosts immune function. You can substitute with potato stach or cornstarch.

(*3) Bragg's Liquid Aminos, is an alternative to soy sauce and tamari. It is rich in amino acids, containing 16 of the 20 found in nature. It is not fermented, made of non-GMO soybeans and purified water. It can be substituted with low sodium soy sauce or tamari.


Preparation:

Red Cabbage Lentil

TÜRKÇE İÇİN TIKLAYIN
PER ITALIANO

Today I'd like share with you my very versatile basic lentil dish recipe which I modify every time due to seasonal vegetables and what I have available at home.

Soups and dishes which are able to bring a large variety of vegetables, legumes and cereals together can offer us so many nutrient dense choices. I try to include such dishes in our diet at least once a day, for lunch or supper.. most of the time accompanied by a large salad.

While a whole food plant based nutrient dense lifestyle requires us to steer away from processed food and the most of ready-to-eat convenience meals, it may also cause an increase in the time spent in the kitchen.

Of course it is fundamental to dedicate time to prepare some lovely healthy meals for ourselves and our loved ones but it is also crucial to come up with some practical solutions in order to make this way of alimentation a sustainable one.

One of the methods I exercise to reduce the time spent in the kitchen is to cook in abundance, eat leftovers in the next days and/or store in the freezer for the future use. This recipe, which easily delivers a nutritious 8 portions, makes my job easier.

As a matter of fact, I don't have some precise ingredient list. Therefore I end up with different dish and flavors each time I make it. This soup like dish, which I titled as Red Cabbage Lentil Dish, is only one of those endless variations. The day I made it I had red cabbage and red beets in the fridge so I used them. Some other day I may prepare it with white cabbage and white beets or some entirely different combination depending on the season. Our main goal is to prepare nutrient dense dishes using very wide range of vegetables, legumes and cereals.

Here is the basic recipe I use:

- 500 g green, red or yellow lentils
- 150 g wholegrain cereals (rice, buckwheat, farro, spelt, barley, millet, quinoa, rye, oat, sorghum, amaranth etc)
- 1.5 - 2 kg various vegetables (onion, carrot, garlic, celery stick, pepper, zucchini, tomatoes, leek, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, swiss chard, spinach, mushroom and/or many others due to the season)
- 1.2 / 1.5 liter water

In my blogs I've always paid attention to share the exact amount of each ingredient. So, I did the same also for my Red Cabbage Lentil and I weighed each ingredient after i washed, peeled and cleaned. However, you don't have to stick to the recipe to the letter.
You can take my above-mentioned basic recipe as reference and prepare a dish as you wish.
In following days I will be sharing many different variations.


Ingredients (8 portions):

500 g green lentils
150 g brown rice
300 g onions
550 g red cabbage
200 g red beets
250 g zucchini
150 g carrot
120 g green pepper
60 g celery stick (leaves included)
5 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp tomato paste
300 g tomatoes
1.2 liter water
A very limited amount of salt
Finely chopped parsley
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation: