Sweet Potato Sauce and Rice

Ingredients:

(Serves up to 5)

4 cups (dry) Thai fragrant rice 

Sauce:

4 large pink sweet potatoes 

3 medium courgette

1 tsp ginger 

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

Parsley Salad: 

1 pack cooked black beans

1 red bell pepper 

1 cucumber (15cm) 

4 cups fresh spinach 

3 stalks fresh parsley 

1 lemon juiced 

First prepare the salad: chop everything up tiny, (you may like to peel the cucumber) and combine all salad ingredients. 

Cook the rice: (1 cup rice to 1&1/3 water) in a large pan, rinse rice, add water, bring to boil, simmer for 10 mins. 

In a pan add chopped peeled sweet potatoes, a few cups of water and steam, then add the courgette chopped small. Cook until tender. Add ginger and chilli and blend with hand blender until thick and smooth. (You may have to drain some liquid). 

Serve a tonne of rice, spoon on heaps of sauce and pile on the salad, done and eat :) 

Eating Out High Carb Vegan

Eating out may seem a bit of a challenge for a high carb, low fat vegan but I will share some tips that will help to make it an easy enjoyable experience. 

First of all I order a large jug of water but without ice so I can keep hydrated throughout the meal, the warmer temperature makes it easier to drink. I tend to drink about 3 glasses prior eating. 

If I fancy pizza: 

I find a pizza on the menu that lists some tasty veggies eg rocket, olives, peppers, mushrooms, sweetcorn etc. (Sometimes there is a vegetarian pizza option). Then when I order I just ask to replace the cheese with something else or something extra. They usually accept and will do just that. If there is a gluten free pizza base available I will order that as it tends to digest better. 

If I fancy pasta:

I ask for gluten free, usually they have rice or corn pasta. (Sometimes you have to phone up when booking to ask them to provide it or just bring it aha) I tend to avoid wheat pasta because of the gluten. To go with that I would ask for a tomato and vegetable sauce with no oil. I say no oil (100% fat) because I find it slows digestion, sludges up my blood and makes me feel less energetic. 

With the main meal or as a starter I like to order a large side salad without dressing (clearly specify this) as sometimes they add it as standard. I like to finish the whole jug of water as cooked foods are very dehydrating. 

If I fancy dessert:

I tend not to go for the fresh fruit at this stage because fruit digests faster than cooked so the fruit will literally run into the cooked causing a traffic jam allowing the fruit to putrefy and cause gas and bloating. However, I have found that fruit sorbet is fine, try it out and see how you feel. I like to have any sorbet flavour e.g. raspberry, pear, lemon. 

So the main points are to drink plenty of water, about a litre during the meal. Make it clear exactly what you want, making sure no oil is added (even olive oil). If you're not sure exactly what the ingredients are then don't be afraid to ask. Remember you're their customer and they want you to be satisfied. 

Happy dining :) 

Cassava Noodle Stew

Ingredients;

2 celery stick

4 medium carrots

10" cassava 

2 large cooking apples

1 packet rice taghletteli noodles

2 Plantain (when skin is black tastes best) 

1 courgette 

 

Spices:

1/2 tsp ginger 

1/2 tsp cumin 

1/2 tsp turmeric 

1/2 tsp aniseed star ground up in pestle and mortar 

Sprinkle of chilly flakes to taste 

Bring to the boil 1 litre water, add chopped celery and carrots. Peel and roughly chop the cassava and add. Then core and chop the apples and add along with all the spices. Cook until soft and a nice curry sauce forms. Whilst cooking, peel plantains, slice in half and place in a frying pan along with a thin layer of water. Allow to steam covered for about 10 minutes adding more water if needed, until soft and bright yellow. Meanwhile, in a large bowl or pan cook the rice noodles (follow packet instructions) usually you pour boiling water over them and allow to sit for 10 min or more depending on thickness, then serve immediately. Spiralize a courgette on the side for a fresh crunch. And serve it all up :) enjoy. 

Freshly Squeezed Pomegranate Juice

Ingredients:

Pomegranates 

Squeezing Utensils:

Wide bowl

Fine mesh sieve

Cup/jar 

Jug

1) chop pomegranates in halves or quarters 

2) fill up a large bowl of water, and turn the halves inside out 

3) under the water gently loosen all the seeds

 (the pith will float to the surface and the seeds will sink) 

4) scoop out the pith and drain seeds into a sieve

5) place the sieve into the wide based bowl (this allows you to apply pressure between the seeds and the bowl)

6) using the cup or jar using pressure and twisting actions squeeze out the juice

7) as the bowl fills with juice empty into the jug

8) once the seeds and husks have discoloured all the juice should be out

9) pour juice into a glass and serve. 

Delicious. 

Use as many pomegranates as you want, in this image 2 small pomegranates made this amount. 

Mango Berry Twist

Ingredients:

(Serves 1/2 - 1)

2 mangos or frozen chunks 

2 cups frozen raspberries

1/3 cup blackberries (optional)

Score the edge of the mangos and peel the the skin off. Slice flesh of the stone, add to blender. Add frozen raspberries and blackberries, pulse. Add 200ml water and blend together. Yum. 

Makes x3 of this picture

Pomegranate Salad

Ingredients:

(Serves 1) 

1 head lazy leaf lettuce

1 medium courgette 

1 carrot

2 celery sticks 

Seeds of 2 pomegranate*

Fresh basil leaves

Tear the lettuce, spiralize the courgette and carrot into thin spaghetti, chop the celery into tiny pieces, deseed the pomegranates add to a large dish and top with basil. 

* To deseed the pomegranates chop in half, fill a large bowl with water and pop out the seeds under the water. The pith will float to the top and seeds will sink. Easy. 

Monomeal of Dates

Ingredients:

(Serves 1)

20 gooey medjool dates found at my local grocery shop 

Just pit and enjoy :) but make sure you drink lots of water before and after to keep hydrated and keep your teeth nice and clean. I usually have 1 litre of filtered water about 10 minutes before each meal, and about 1/4 litre after if needed. Sweet and Simple. 

Pomegranate Smoothie

Ingredients: 

(Serves 1) 

3 pomegranates 

1/2 cup frozen raspberries 

1/2 cup frozen blackberries 

200 ml water 

Blend together, allow to sit, so seeds settle to bottom or strain and serve. So sweet :) 

 

Fully Raw Bun

Ingredients:

(Serves 1-2)

2 large flat Mushrooms

1 cup grated carrot

6 cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup basil

1/2 lemon juiced 

2 tsp tahini

3 Lettuce leaves 

Lay your mushroom upside down on a plate, add your grated carrot. In a bowl blend up the tomatoes and basil together then strain the juice into a small jar adding the rest on top of the carrot. Lay the lettuce leaves on top then mix the tomato juice with tahini and lemon juice in a jar and shake until well mixed. Then dress the bun and place the second mushroom on top. Slice and Done. 

Courgette Rice Boats

Ingredients:

(Serves 1-2)

2 cups (dry) Thai fragrant rice

1 tin chopped tomatoes 

2 large courgettes 

Wash the rice, cook with 2.5 cups water, bring to boil, simmer for 10 mins covered. Mix 1/4 of the cooked rice with the chopped tomatoes. Slice courgettes in half lengthways, using a teaspoon scoop out the seedy centre, discard or mix with tomatoes mixture. Layer a bed of rice, place the courgettes and spoon in the tomato mixture. Easy peesy! 

Date Grape Mousse

Ingredients:

(Serves 1-2)

2 cups pitted deglet noor dates 

600 ml water 

1 cup chopped grapes 

Add pitted dates to jug and soak ideally over night submerged. (If you just can't wait then add pitted dates to blender add water until just covered, let sit for 10 mins.) Add dates to blender, add water until dates just covered. Pulse until smooth (no floaties), may take a while. Then add 400 ml gradually as necessary until desired thickness. 

Then pour into bowl, let sit in fridge for 10 mins and serve. It should become thick and wobble like jelly. (If not then you added too much water). 

You will find that you can extend the mixture quite a lot (makes 1 litre of mousse at max before it turns into a smoothie), the dates tend to act as thickeners to the water when added. 

Top with grapes and enjoy! 

Robyn's Thai Green Curry

Ingredients:

(Serves 2-3)

1 mooli (30cm) *

1/2 Chinese cabbage head or bok choi 

2 large leaves spring green

1 leek

2 Tomatos

1 stick celery 

White green egg plant **

200g Thick rice noodles (aka rice sticks)

2 cups (dry) Thai fragrant rice

Spices:

1/2 tsp Ginger 

1/2 tsp Cumin

6 tsp Cardamom pods (grind up)

1/2 Turmeric

1/4 tsp Chilly flakes 

Bring 1 litre of water to the boil. Meanwhile, peel and chop mooli into rounds. Wash and chop up the chinese cabbage, spring greens, and leek. When boiling add mooli first (takes about 20 mins to soften), then add cabbage, greens, leek, noodles and spices. Cook for a few mins then with a hand blender, blend it all up. Add egg plant chopped into quarters, tomato and celery. Cook until soft about 10-20 mins. Cook the rice. (Follow instructions or check out previous posts ;) Then serve! Make sure you give yourself a nice big portion. 

* mooli is a mild-flavoured, very large, white East Asian radish. 

** white green eggplant is the size of a golf ball and is an essential ingredient in Thai curries (see my other blog for full details and pictures http://sweetsugarcrumble.blogspot.co.uk/ )

Cookie Dough Ice cream! - 'vegan style'

Ingredients:

(Serves 1-2) 

5 frozen very ripe bananas extra sweet (peel and freeze in container)

5 sticky gooey medjool dates (from local grocer) 

Few drops Vanilla essence or scoop seeds out fresh vanilla pod 

Take the bananas out freezer and let thaw for 10 mins or run under water briefly. Add to a large mixing bowl and blend away (check out my YouTube videos for a demo*). Once fully blended and creamy mix in the vanilla essence and blend again. Then chop the dates into tiny chunks and mix into the ice cream to act as the cookie dough. Serve! The best ice cream in the world! I ate this whole thing for breakfast and almost fell of my chair it was that good. 100% guilt free, eat all day as you wish. 

Inspired by youtuber: 40 below fruity 

* Blending Demo

Click Here