Plant-based breakfast: Banana Pancakes

Looking for a fluffy yummy plant based pancakes that hold their ground against regular American pancake? Look no further!

One of the complains about plant-based pancakes is that they are often flat and lifeless and hard to cook. I have to agree that often they miss the body and softness of the regular American pancake. However, it does not have to be the case, as it is very easy to add this attribute to plant based or vegan pancakes. 

Ingredients

Recipe makes approximately 10

260 ml plant based milk of choice (I like oat milk)

240 g spelt flour (or barley flour or other whole grain flour of choice)

2 tsp of chia seeds

2 ripe bananas

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda 

0.5 tsp real vanilla powder

Instructions

1. Blend all ingredients together until smooth.

2. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. In a meantime heat the pan. 

3. Fry them without oil on a well-heated good quality non stick pan.

4. Enjoy them with anything your soul desires! 

Pumpkin smoothie

"One little pumpkin smiling smiling. One little pumpkin is happy." 

Every year I look forward to fall to enjoy this pumpkin smoothie. I swear it is better than the best dessert or ice cream.

Ingredients:

1 small pumpkin, baked then peeled and deseeded 

1 ripe banana

2-3 dates

4 cloves

4 cardamom pods, shell removed

0.5 tsp Ceylon cinnamon 

Pinch of sea salt 

1 cup of oat milk, coconut milk, coconut water, or just water 

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy it right away or for a snack later.

2. If you tried the recipe, share it and tag it @healthywithjoanna 

Vegan Banana chocolate chip muffins

 It is September and kids are going back to school tomorrow. For us parents it is a tough time as we need to prepare nutritious meals that kids will eat and at the same time pack some nutrition that will help them thrive in school. 

This year I decided to do a series of posts dedicated to back to school recipes. I will be covering snacks and lunches that my son will be taking with him to school.

Today I baked vegan banana chip muffins. Muffins area great snack that most kids love. This provides us parents with an ability to sneak few extra valuable nutrients.

Ingredients:

2 cups of all purpose ancient whole grain flour 

2 ripe bananas 

3 dates

2 tbsp flax seeds, milled

3 tbsp hemp hearts

Handful of chocolate chips 

3-4 tbsp of brown sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda 

Pinch of sea salt

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Steps:

1. Place milled glazed with water and set aside for a 2-5 minutes

2. Blend bananas, hemp hearts, and dates with half a cup of water until smooth

3. Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips in a large bowl. I usually mix them by hand with a spoon. Add more water as needed - approx 0.5 cup. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes. 

4. Preheat the oven at 375F.

5. Add chocolate chips to the muffin mix. 

6. Divide the muffin mass into muffin forms. Bake at 375c for 25-30 minutes. 

7. Let muffins cool off for at least 5 minutes so they come out if the form easily and you don’t burn yourself. 

Why I used selected ingredients?

I use whole grain ancient flour as it contains more nutrients, including gut benefiting fibre.

Hemp hearts in the recipe act as added fat replacing butter. However, my primary reason is extra protein that most baked treats are deprived of. 

Flax seeds are replacing egg and butter in my vegan recipes. Also, they are a great source of omega 3 and fibre. 

Bananas and dates are used in this recipe to help reduce quantity of added sugar. Both fruits are a great source of potassium that does not exist in refined sugars. 

Chocolate chips - I use semi-sweet Made Good brand as they clean ingredient and not excessive amount of added sugar. 

Muffin forms: I have been using Tchibo silicone forms for 7 + years and love them. I find removing muffins from them is very easy and barely ever I have issues with muffins sticking to them. 

Dill chickpeas salad

I love salads as my mid afternoon snack.
Usually people look at me strangely when I tell them that my favourite food is salad ... but I really love them!

Ingredients:
2 cups arugula
1 cup chickpeas
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 whole red pepper
0.5 cup fresh dill

Dressing:
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
0.75 tsp  cumin
0.5 tsp turmeric
pepper and sea salt to taste

White bean salad with parsley

After all this rich Christmas food I had been craving some good bean salad.


Ingredients:
1.5 cup White beans
1 whole red pepper
0.3 red onion
0.5 cup fresh parsley
1 garlic clove
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Steps:
1. Cut red pepper and onion into strips
2. Finely chop parsley
3. Crush the garlic clove
4. Mix all ingredients together
5. Enjoy!

Sweet potato waffles

Quick breakfast before morning yoga class. And weekend = waffles.
According to my son these are the best waffles ever.

Ingredients:
1 cup millet (milled)
1 large sweet potato (steamed)
2 very ripe bananas
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp flax seeds (milled)
1-1.5 cup water

Steps:
1. Place all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth
2. Bake waffles
3. Enjoy!

Polish Christmas: Tofu á la Grec

One of the Traditional Christmas dishes in Poland is fish with vegetables in Greek style. I tried this receipt with other things besides fish and it works great.

The dish is very flexible in terms of vegetables; you can pretty much use any veggies you have on hand. Another advantage of this dish is that it can be made in advance even 2-3 days ahead. The flavours penetrate the tofu, beans, meat or fish and make it even more delicious.

Ingredients:
1 block of tofu (semi firm)
1 onion
1 large zucchini
1 red pepper
1 large carrot
1 parsnip
4 garlic cloves
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cumin seeds
4 large tomatoes
3 tbsp tomato paste
salt, pepper to taste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Optional: veggie stock, oil



Steps:
1. Sauté onion and garlic for a few minutes
2. Julien all other vegetables (except tomatoes), then add them to the onion. Reduce gas mark to 2.2-2.6.
3. Add 1-2 tbsp of water (or veggie stock or oil). Cook for 10 minutes before proceeding with the next step.
4. Chop tomatoes, and add them to the vegetable. Add tomato paste and all remaining spices and vinegar. Continue cooking on a low gas mark.
5. Slice tofu and place on the baking sheet. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes.
6. Place baked tofu in a baking pan, cover with cooked veggies and its sauce. I like to keep it in the fridge for a day or two before reheating and serving for dinner.
7. Enjoy!

Condiments: Home Made Horseradish

Horseradish is one of my favourite condiments. In Canada I find it very challenging to find one that is actually tasty, as they are either too creamy and mild, or too vinegary. Making horseradish at home is very simple. Yet, usually it is a clean up session for your eyes if you try to grate it so many stay away from this function. But there is a solution - blend it!

Ingredients:
One medium size horseradish root
Juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp of sea salt
3 tsp of sugar
Around 1.5 cups of ice cubes
If desired you can add some cream (I don't as I like it very strong)

Preparation:
Peel and clean the horseradish. Then add all ingredients into a fast speed blender. Blend until it is a smooth consistency.

Enjoy with cooked eggs, meats, cheeses, or as an ingredient in sauces and soups. 

Banana Oatbran muffins with Cacao Nibs

This week we let the bananas overripe, not on purpose of course. I hate throwing out food and usually I try to create the recipe to use the food before it goes bad.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups of red fife flour (or eincorn flour)
1 cup of oatbran
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of coconut water
3 overripe bananas, mashed (I mashed them with a fork)
2 tbsp of cacao nibs
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt

Process:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. I did not take the blender out, just used a regular spoon.
Place the dough in the muffin forms.
Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes. Let them cool off in the over for 5-10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Vegan Oatmeal

Some people wonder whether they will need to give up oatmeal once they start their vegan journey.
The answer is: of course not!

While there are many alternative plant milks on the market, all of them have additives that I am less than comfortable consuming on a regular basis. Hence, I go with milk and mylk-less version of the oatmeal, which tastes delicious.

Ingredients:
0.5 cup uncooked Scottish oats
1.5 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
1 ripe banana
1 ripe peach
1 tbsp cocoa nibs
3 tbsp shivered almonds

1. Cook the oats with water and cinnamon for about 7 minutes, until it thickens.
2. Then place oatmeal with a banana and peach in a blender and blend until it is smooth.
3. Serve the oatmeal in a bowl, topped with almonds and cocoa nibs.

#cocoanibs #almonds #veganoatmeal #healthyliving #easymeals #healthywithjoanna

Healthy Lunch Box Series

Many of the snacks found in kids lunch boxes are packaged snacks, such as chips, pretzels, candy bars, granola bars, and cookies. While some are worse than others, and occasionally you might find something that is not loaded with fats, sugars, and chemicals. 

I want to show that preparing healthy snacks at home is not a rocket science and can become an adventure and lesson in healthy living.

Savoury Chickpea Flour Muffins

Who does not love muffins? Although often they are associated with sweet cakes, they can be a perfect savoury snack. Today's recipe is inspired by my exploration of chickpea flour recipes. While I tried many sweet recipes, I like chickpea four more in savoury dishes.

Chickpea Flour

I love chickpea flour as it is one of the healthiest flours, comprising of 25% protein, 14% fat, and 61% carbs. According to the nutrition data it is a great source of folate, B6, thiamin, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese, and fibre.

 Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups of chickpea four (aka besam flour)

2 tbsp flax, milled and combined with 4 tbsp water

1 tsp baking powder

0.5 tsp baking soda

50g sun-dried tomatoes, socked (reserve water)

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

10 olives, pitted and chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp organo

15 tbsp water from soaking sun-dried tomatoes

Preparation:

1. Mix all ingredients together.

2. Add it to the muffin forms, to about 2/3rd of each form.

3. Bake in a preheated oven at 375F (177c) for 25 minutes.

4. Enjoy!

Carrot and apple muffin - vegan and gluten free option

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #muffin #carrot

Today my son asked for muffins. I asked what does he want in his muffin...he said carrots and apples!

So we pulled a big bowl and set my son in his muffin mixing position with a measuring cup in one hand and a spoon in the other.

Ingredients:

1.5 c millet, milled into a flour

0.75 c buckwheat flour 

4 tbsp flax, milled and mixed with 6 tbsp of water and set aside for a few minutes

2 sweet apples

2 medium size carrots

2 handfuls of raisins

0.25 c honey

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1.5 tbsp of cinnamon 

1 tsp vanilla powder

1 tbsp of grape seed oil

1. In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients.

2. Grate carrots and add to the mix. I grated them on the small eye grater.

3. Place cored apples in the blender and blend until you have apple sauce. Add to the bowl.

4. Add flax mix, honey, and oil to the bowl and mix everything well.

5. Add raisins and mix everything together.

6. Place mixture in the muffin forms.

7. Bake in a preheated oven at 177c for 30-35 minutes

8. Enjoy!

Red Cabbage Delight

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #rawvegan

Red cabbage often is listed as one of the most potent vegetables for cancers and aging. While it was one of the vegetables I absolutely hated as a kid, I fell in love with red cabbage but only in a raw or lightly steemed forms.

Here is one simple creation that I made from few ingredients I always have in the house.

Ingredients:

0.5 head of medium red cabbage

1 Apple 

1 medium carrot

4 tbsp dried cranberries

4 tbsp pumpkin seeds

Dressing:

3 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil

1. Finely chop cabbage, grate Apple and carrot.

2. Add cranberries and pumpkin seeds. Mix everything together. 

3. Mix lemon juice with olive oil and add to the other ingredients; mix everything together.

4. Enjoy!

Dining Vegan: Okra Curry

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating

One of my favourite vegetables is okra. I fell in love with this little green seedy veggie years ago when I stumbled across it in the supermarket. Being me, I had to buy it and explore it from all angles.
I discovered that it is works wonders in curries. In curries, okra sliminess that might put some people off, works extremely well as a source thickener. What can I say, I have yet another recipe to offer to my gluten free followers! My son unexpectedly devoured the whole bowl so it might be kids friendly too.

Ingredients:

200gr okra

0.5 large onion

2 garlic cloves

4 medium tomatoes

1 inch fresh ginger

1 red chilli

1 tbsp Garam masala

1 tsp fenugreek 

1 tsp turmeric

2 tbsp grape seed oil (or any other oil or fat you want)

1. Chop the onion very finely, press garlic cloves, finely chopped chilli (you can deseed it if you want) and grate ginger.

2. Heat the oil in the pan (gas mark 3), add spices and onion, garlic, ginger mix.

3. Chop the tomatoes into very small pieces (or you can peel them), add to the pan. Add a pinch of salt.

4. Cut okra,  cut off the ends. I find that cutting it across under an angle speeds up cooking.

Add it to the pan, add 0.25 cup water. Cook for about 25 minutes on gas mark 2.8.

5. Serve hot.

6. Enjoy!

Favourites: Aubergine Caviar

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating

This is my version of the Aubergine (eggplant) caviar. It is so simple yet a very healthy alternative to dips and bread spreads available in the supermarkets. I had been making it for years yet never thought of sharing this recipe with anyone...it always vanished too fast!

It is truly a 4 ingredients recipe and I hope you will enjoy it too!

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

0.5 medium onion

0.5c finely chopped fresh cilantro 

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt, pepper 

1. Bake the whole eggplant at 175c for about 35 minutes. Set aside to cool offa little bit.

2. Scoop out the eggplant inside and discard the skin. Then finely chop the eggplant flesh.

3. Finely chop the onion. 

4. Mix eggplant flesh with onion, chopped cilantro. Add olive oil, salt and pepper.

5. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour. 

6. Serve cold with crackers, chips, bread, or as a side to a main dish. 

7. Enjoy!

Colorfull world: Red slaw / bean cakes

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #healthyeyes #vegan

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating

Many of us struggle with adding more cabbage to our diet even though we know its health benefits. In Poland, red cabbage is very popular however, usually it is cooked and I feel it does not have the colour, taste or texture that appeals to me in that form. I found that I really enjoy its bright colour, crunchiness, and sweetness in the raw form much more.

Here are two recipes in one - bean cakes and red slaw.

Red slaw Ingredients:

0.5 head of small red cabbage, grated

1 Apple, grated

4 tbsp pumpkin seeds

3 tbsp dried cranberries

Dressing:

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

5 tbsp olive oil

Salt, pepper

2 tbsp dried thyme

Bean cakes ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained and washed

1 c broccoli, blanched 

1.5 c Scottish oats

6 tbsp ground flax

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup of fresh herbs (basil, mint, dill, parsley, cilantro)

Salt and pepper

1. Prepare red slaw by mixing all ingredients.
2. Blend beans, broccoli, olive oil and herbs and spices, with flax mixed with 6 tbsp of water. Add oats and mix well.
3. Fry bean cakes on a medium heat for a few minutes on each side.
4. Enjoy!

Polish Christmas Eve: Barszcz (vegan beet soup)

#easyfoodcreations #Christmas #healthyeating #PolishFood

Barszcz takes a little bit of time to cook that is why we always make a big batch; It never lasts too long.
I love anything with beets - soups, salads, smoothies, juices, cookies - but peeling beets is one of my least favourite activities as it severely stains your skin and it is extremely difficult to remove. Hence when handling beets I use latex gloves which effectively solve the problem.

Important note - never cover beet soup while cooking it as it will become brown; you want to maintain beets beautiful ruby colour.

Ingredients:

4 carrots

2 parsnips

0.25 large celery root

9 medium sized beets

1 leek

1 onion

3 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half

3 whole allspice

10 black pepper corns

3-4 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice (helps in preserving the colour)

10 dried mushrooms

1. Peel and clean carrots, celery root, parsnip, leek, onion. Cut into large chunks, it will be taken out later and used in a Polish Vegetable salad.

2. Soak dried mushrooms for about 15 minutes.

3. Place carrots, celery, parsnip, leek, onion, dried mushrooms, and all spices (other than garlic and lemon/vinegar) in a large pot, add 2-3 litres of water. Bring to boil then lower the heat to gas mark 2.4 and cook for about an hour.

4. Peel beets, but into 6-8 pieces each. Set aside.

5. Take out all vegetables from the soup leaving mushrooms in. Set them aside to cool.

Add beets, vinegar and garlic. Cook on a low heat 1.8 - 2.0 for another 3-4 hours. Add more water if needed. If you use too high heat you will lose the ruby colour of beets. 

6. Take beets and all other spices and vegetables out. Since we don't like wasting food we keep the beets and use them in salads.

7. Serve clear soup in a cup or a bowl.

Beet soup can be served with uszka - Polish dumpligs with mushrooms. This way it would be served in a bowl.

Other alternatives are pasztecik - yeast cakes, or kulebiak - cabbage cake. This way we serve it in a cup as a drinking soup.

8. Enjoy!

Fibrous Bean Cakes

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #beans

Ingredients:

540 ml canned beans, I used Lima 

0.5 medium onion

1 clove garlic

0.5 red pepper

1 egg

1 tbsp milled flaxseeds

3 ryvita or wasa bread

3 tbsp oats

0.5 tsp turmeric

0.5 tsp salt

O.5 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

Handful of finely chopped fresh parsley

1-3 tbsp check pea flour (if needed)

Oil for pan frying

1. Take onion, garlic and pepper and process until smooth

2. Mash beans (I used potato masher)

3. Add all ingredients to mashed beans and mix well.

4. Form into balls then flatten forming small cakes.

5. Shallow fry on a medium low heat (gas mark 3) for up to 5 min per side.

6. Enjoy!