Update and simple lentil dish

What are our experiences after not eating eggs and dairy for a month? In one word: good. There was not anything we missed and it feels more healthy. Too much dairy can stimulate a running nose and we don't want that. There were also some drawbacks that make it difficult to keep up the intention. Going out and eating with friends faces a dilemma to stick to them or to be a bit more pragmatic. I tend to fall in the second category so I will not continue the strict diet but try to whenever convenient :).

With lentils I usually end up with Indian dahl soup. This time we go for the more basic but not less tasty version. More garlic and less potatoes and olive oil is recommended.

2 servings:
- big onion
- clove of garlic
- olive oil
- 500 g lentils
- couple of laurel leaves
- 8 carrots
- 8 small firm potatoes

Bake onion slices and minced garlic in the desired amount of olive oil. Add lentils, laurel leaves and water so that the lentils are covered.

Wash potatoes and carrots and cut them in half if needed. Add them to the lentils 20 minutes before the lentils are ready. In my case the vegetables were not totally covered with water but became soft enough by steaming. Add more water if it cooks dry.

Cooking lentils depends on the type. Red lentils only take 15 minutes and green ones take half an our. Add sage, seaweed or Savory to make them softer and better digestible.

http://www.okokorecepten.nl/recept/groenten/linzen/linzen-wortelen-aardappelen

Dumpsterdive harvests

Not really related to veganism but also a fascination of mine: dumpster diving. A WWOOF hoost in Sweden does it every week and here is there harvest from one dive in the container:

In the Netherlands supermarkets throw away less and lock it behind closed doors. After experiencing different places, the Haagse Markt has a corner where damaged or (almost) rotten fruit is put. At closing time this is all disappeared. Between 15:00 and 16:00 there are usually a few boxes full such as these plums and oranges.

An effective use of damaged plums is to make yam.

Also an Albert Heijn Supermarket that closes on Sunday did have a container this Sunday full detergent, nuts, and other tasty stuff.

Want to join sometime? Give me a message on sannedegroot[at]gmail.com!

Decadent blueberry muffins

Decadent blueberry muffins ( protein enriched & vegan)
for 12 small or 6 big muffins

dry:
100g whole spelt flour
30g coconut flour
1scoop proteinpowder ( i used vanilla pea protein)
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2t salt

wet:
160g applesauce ( unsweetened)
1 chia egg
almond ( or soy, rice, coconut) milk
Vanilla extract
stevia to taste

Last:
130g frozen blueberries

Instructions:

Heat oven to 180*C.
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine wet ingredients. You might want to add the stevia last do it can dissolve better.
Fold in blueberries with a spatula.

Add wet to dry ingredients only to moisten, using a fork. Carefully fold in frozen blueberries as last. Divide the mixture over 6 or 12 muffin tins, if you are not using liners make sure it is greased to prevent sticking.

You can sprinkle some grated coconut, like i did. Bake the muffins for 20-25minutes, or untill a toothpick comes out clean.

Nutritional info per big muffin (6)
Kcal 113
Protein 7.6
Fat 2.2
Carbs 14.8

Enjoy for breakfast or as a comforting snack!

Bon appetit!

Ginger curry

For two persons.

25 g fresh ginger root, peeled
2 big cloves of garlic
1 onion
2 or 3 winter carrots (about 300 g)
1 red ball pepper
1 can of tomato pieces
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp curcuma
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup coconut milk
optional: 1 tbl sucanat

Make a paste with the ginger, garlic and onion. I use my food processor. Place the ginger and garlic in the food processor. Turn the machine on shortly. Add the onion and turn the machine on a second time.

Cut the carrots in thin slices. Cut the red ball pepper in pieces (not too small).

Heat coconut oil in a heavy pan and fry the paste on high heat. Add the red ball pepper, the carrots and mix all the ingredients together.

Pour 1 cup of water in the pan and let the vegetables cook in the water, placing a lid on the pan the first 5 minutes and removing the lid the next 5 minutes. The water should almost be evaporated by now.

Now add the canned tomatoes, coconut milk, spices, salt and sucanat. Mix together and leave to cook for a while on low heat.

Cook quinoa with some curcuma to get nice yellow quinoa. Also steamed cabbage, cooked pears and cooked dried plums can be added.

Source

Sweet potato soup

For two people

1 onion
1 clove garlic
1 can chickpeas
2 bay leaves
3 tsp cumin powder
3 tsp fish spices without salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons broth powder
260 g sweet potato
100 g zucchini
1 liter of water

Cut the onion into thin slices, chop the garlic, slice the sweet potato and zucchini into cubes. Saute the onion, sweet potato and garlic in (coconut) oil. Add the zucchini and chickpeas to the pan and add the cumin, fish spices and cinnamon. Pour the water into the pan. Add the bay leaves and broth powder. Mix everything together and close the pan with a lid. Bring water to a boil and turn down the heat. Let the soup about 1/2 hour simmer over low heat. Remove the bay leaves from the soup before serving.


Source

Stuffed eggplant

For two people

1 large eggplant
1 small can tomato paste
120 grams of soya mince
1 onion chopped
1 tomato sliced
gomasio *
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 dash of white wine
2 bay leaves
1 stock cube
salt, pepper, paprika powder

Wash the eggplants and cut the peel to the inch as a zebra. So peel an inch wide and let then sit an inch shell, etc.. We do this because the skin is quite tough, but we can not complete the eggplant shells because they then lose its firmness. Cut the eggplants lengthwise through the middle. Bake the eggplants on all sides with sunflower oil. Put the pieces of fried eggplant in a baking dish. Cut the inner side of the eggplants and make a space for the sauce.

Cut the flesh of the eggplant small. The onion in the skillet gently fry. Add chopped soya mince and loose boxes. Add the chopped flesh of the eggplant to it. The wine, bay leaves, pepper, salt, paprika powder and stock cube to it and stir well. Then tomato paste with the sliced ​​garlic. Reduce heat to low and put lid on the pan half an hour to draw. Fill the hollowed-out eggplant in a baking dish side by side with the mince mixture. Tomato slices over it and distribute the gomasio, cover with aluminum foil for 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 ° C set. Remove foil and put for 10 more minutes in the oven.

* Condiment of toasted sesame seeds and sea salt, available in health food store.
~ Serve with boiled rice and a salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, spring onion, feta cheese and vinegar dressing.

Source

Noodles with leek

For two servings

1 package of konnyaku noodles
1 leek, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber in half slices
1 ts ginger paste
coconut cooking cream with garlic*
2 sp soy sauce*
1 sp passion fruit vinegar
chili pepper and Gomasio* to taste

Let the noodles in a colander and rinse to 3 times with cold water.
Mix the soy sauce, vinegar and chili flakes in a bowl into a dressing. Add to the noodles, toss and set aside.
Heat oil in a wok. Carefully add the ginger paste. Add the leek slices after 30 seconds and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the marinated noodles and stir it through the whole 3-4 minutes. Add the cucumber and cook the whole. If it become too dry, add 50 ml of water. Season with ground pepper and gomasio.

* You can also use fresh garlic in combination with another oil, such as sesame oil
* Substitute for a sweeter accent soy sauce with soy sauce
* Gomasio is a condiment of roasted sesame seeds and salt and can be found in a health food store